I almost snickered at the way that rankled Mage Thomas. The witches and the mages needed to get over themselves.
Cecil must have seen how fed up I was with their ancient feud that needed to stay in the past. She gave a tight smile and said, “I can help with that.”
Maura looked like she’d swallowed a massive lemon, but kept her mouth shut. Finally, a step in the right direction.
I clapped my hands and turned up the sarcasm as I said, “Look at you guys, playing nice.”
“Don’t push it, Nyssa,” Cecil said.
I smirked.
“How about we help each other move your guests to make sure they remain safe?” I asked. “I’m willing to help the vampires.” I raised my hand with a grin.
“Why the fuck would you do that?” Landus asked.
“Why wouldn’t I?” I challenged. “This is a chance to learn more about them. I’m curious.”
“That isn’t a good idea,” Jamal said. “My Queen will kill you on the spot.”
“She can try.”
He sighed and rubbed at his face, as if I were the frustrating one. Frankly, after saving her precious human servant from being a piñata, she owed me.
“Tonight. We could use your help anyways.”
“Then tonight. Anyone else need any help? I have all day with nothing better to do.”
No one volunteered and I sighed. “Fine. Cecil, might as well get the ward up for the mages, I’ll go with you to check the property, make sure no hidden gates are there before you set it.”
She nodded. “I’ll get the supplies.” She slipped in the house, followed closely by Maura.
The meeting broke up after that, and I went to the kitchen, trying to find something to fill my stomach. Cecil caught me scarfing down a sandwich when she came in with a bag.
She raised an eyebrow. “You never eat like that. What’s wrong?”
“Why does something have to be wrong? Why can’t I just be enjoying food?”
“Because you don’t care about food. You prefer being skin and bones.”
I sighed and dropped the sandwich on the napkin.
“No. Please finish.”
“Too late, let’s go protect the mages’ butts.”
She reached out and grabbed my hand, stopping me from walking away. “Nyssa, if there was something wrong, you’d tell me, right?”
I shook my head. “No, I wouldn’t, and you know it.”
Her sigh hurt my heart. “Just tell me one thing…”
Raising an eyebrow, I waited for her to finish.
“Will you be okay? Do I need to curse someone?”
I forced a laugh. “No, Cecil, you don’t need to curse anyone.”
She frowned. “Two problems right there. You didn’t call me Baby-cakes, and you didn’t answer my question. What the hell is going on?”
As she asked that, the shifters came into the room. Including Landus and Slade.
“That’s what I’d been trying to get out of her,” Slade said.
I growled, surprising everyone around me. In a lame attempt to cover up the sound, I cleared my throat and patted my chest, pretending something had been lodged into it. “Let’s just go.”
“We’re coming,” Slade said.
I glanced behind him at Landus. He still wouldn’t look at me.
“Fine.” I grabbed Cecil and dragged her outside with me. We took my car and the others took their monstrous SUVs.
“Nyssa, please tell me what’s wrong,” she said.
“You said you remember some of what I told you while you were out of it. What do you remember exactly?”
She was quiet, and I focused on the road, feeling her eyes digging into me. “You’re a phoenix, and you began sleeping with Landus. He would probably still be warming your bed if you didn’t fuck it up and accidentally elect yourself as the leader for the council. Misunderstanding what happened, you pissed off Landus, and now he wants nothing to do with you. You became an idiot while I was unconscious. A complete idiot.”
“Am not.”
“Are too.” She huffed. “Tell him. Tell him that you were manipulated, that you didn’t realize what they were doing until it was too late. Tell him you miss him.”
“Cecil, it’s too late.”
“I already said this, but it isn’t too late until one of you is dead. Since the two of you will live forever, that will never happen. So let’s skip all this angsty drama and just tell him you were a gullible idiot.”
“It’s too late,” I mumbled.
“It isn’t.”
“Is too.”
“Nyssa! When did I raise you to be so morose?”
That got a twitch of a smile out of me. “You didn’t raise me.”
“Well, you make me feel like a mother and I didn’t even had the honor of pushing you out of my vagina.”
I winced. “Too much information.”
“Oh, I’ll go into all the specific ways you fucked me without the decency of buying me dinner first.”
And she did. She really did go into all the dirty little details. She got very graphic, and if I hadn’t already been turned off from having children, then I definitely didn’t want them now. Who wanted cracked nipples and a sore vagina? I didn’t even want to get into the sordid details of vaginal discharge.
By the time we pulled up to the Academy, I was ready to shove icepicks into my ears. I stopped the car and hopped out before it could even finish being turned off.
“Shut up, Cecil,” I said.
She laughed hard and I glared at her.
“What’s going on?” Slade asked.
“Don’t ask,” I said.
“I’m just giving her a lesson in childbirth.”
“What the fuck? Why?” Slade asked.
I threw my arm in Cecil’s direction. “Because she’s a witch, that’s why.”
“Thank you, I’ll take that as a compliment.” She beamed at me.
“I didn’t mean that as a compliment and you know it.”
Mage Thomas pulled up next to us and sent confused looks our way. Cecil was still laughing as she led Mage Thomas away from us and they began the process of creating the ward.
“You get an hour to check the property,” she called over her shoulder before disappearing into the building.
“Well, later.” I left the shifters there.
I didn’t make it far before Landus was at my side. “No one is to be alone.”
“Then why isn’t Slade with me?”
“He’s going to help Cecil. He’s familiar with what she will need.”
I didn’t say anything else, trying to understand why he was at my side. I thought he wanted nothing to do with me. The stubborn part of me refused to ask him. Or maybe it was just me being a chicken shit.
Landus stood two feet away from me. Yet, it felt like a chasm between us. I didn’t know what to say, where to begin. With all the words whirling around in my head, there was a disconnect between my brain and my mouth.
He remained silent.
I glanced at him. He scanned the surrounding area, expression closed off, eyes focused. None of his attention was on me. Cold.
Focusing on work became nearly impossible.
“What will you do?” he asked, startling me. We had been quiet for too long.
“What do you mean?” I asked, feeling like there was a conversation going on and I was just now being brought into it.
“Once we find Baron and take him out. After that, what will you do?”
I glanced at him and finally he graced me with his stare. He waited for an answer but none came to mind. I didn’t know what he was asking for.
“You’re hell-bent on revenge. I just want to know what you’re going to do once you get it.”
“Is this where you say revenge paves the way to hell? Because I’m pretty sure it’s good intentions that does that.”
“I know revenge, Nyssa. It has a way of burying itself deep into the soul and sucking everything else good out of
it. Then all that is left is a husk. You’ll get your revenge, but then what?’
Bitterness slipped into my voice. “I didn’t realize we were so close that you feel the need to give me advice.”
He grabbed my arm and turned me to face him. Stepping closer, he crowded me, trying to intimidate me.
“Your revenge is going to get people I care about killed.”
I barely contained the wince his words made. “You don’t get it, Landus, and I don’t think you ever will. Sure, you’ve been in the Woodlands. Sure, you’ve had your fun in there, chasing after prey. But you never lived in them. You never had to wonder where your next meal was going to come from or whether the next being you came across was going to hurt you or keep on moving. You never had to run for your life or fight for it. Revenge is survival, revenge means safety.”
“We don’t live the Woodlands.”
“You do, you just don’t get it. Every being in this city lives behind a mask. Everyone here hides behind smiles and sweet words but when given the chance are more than willing to stab you in the back.”
“Like you did,” he snarled.
Exhaustion filled me. I yanked my arm out of his grip. “Yes, Landus. That’s what I love to do. I’m just a lowly Woodlands creature who doesn’t know any better other than to lie and kill.” I shook my head and blinked back tears. “I’m not so sure what I’m doing here. It’s evident I don’t belong. You want to know what I’ll do after I kill Baron, after I make sure the people I care about are safe?” I sneered. “I’m going to go far, far away from here. I can’t stay here. Not anymore.” I shoved passed him and stomped away, taking my anger out on the ground since I had nothing else to lash out against.
I wanted to tear my hair out and scream out my anger.
“I’m so fucking stupid,” I muttered.
Landus disappeared, and I did the rest of the walkthrough on my own. Cecil waited at the front with everyone else. Slade frowned when he saw me.
“Where is Landus?” he asked.
“Hopefully in a ravine with both his legs broken,” I muttered.
“He was supposed to escort you. No one should be alone right now.”
“Don’t, Slade.” I shook my head. “Just don’t. Cecil, are you ready?”
“It’s all clear.”
I nodded. “Nothing around.”
“Okay.”
I stayed out of the way as Cecil did her thing.
At least there was some progress on that front, with the witches willing to help the mages. Couldn’t say that about anything else in my life at that moment.
Chapter Twelve
I remember losing control, my body not working right. I wanted to do one thing and my body wanted to do something else. I remember screaming in frustration as I hopped off the cliff, praying it would work this time. The water splashed around me when I landed. A man laughed when I came up for air and told me to do it again.
—Nyssa’s Journal
Cecil was exhausted, but she wasn’t going to say anything. So as soon as they were done with the ward, I dragged her back to her home and forced her into bed.
Then I crawled in with her.
She turned on her side and stared at me. “You haven’t climbed into my bed for a while,” she whispered. “Nyssa, what’s going on?”
Her gentleness almost did me in and only my determination kept me from breaking down.
“You almost died.”
“And?”
“Baron is still alive.”
“And?”
I wanted to growl. “I fucked Landus.”
“And?”
“I learned I’m a phoenix.”
“And?”
I did growl that time. “Why does there have to be more?”
“Because I know you. There’s something else. I’m alive and I’m doing well, so you shouldn’t be,” she waved her hand around trying to find the words, “so depressing and quiet. You’re well acquainted with enemies so it isn’t that, and you like fucking. Screwing with men was never an issue.”
I winced and she saw it.
“Nyssa?”
I sighed.
“Oh. Oh.” She sat up. “Seriously?”
“Seriously, what?” I asked.
She laughed and shook her head. “I can’t believe this. Holy Goddess, I can’t believe this. I never…” She glanced at me. “I can’t believe this.”
“What?” I scowled at her as I sat up too, not liking her hovering over me like that. It made me feel vulnerable.
“You love him, Nyssa. You fell in love with Landus.”
I snorted. “Impossible.”
“You’re heartbroken.”
“Am not.”
“Are too.” She rolled her eyes. “Nyssa, you’re pining after him.” She laughed. “This is good. So good.”
“He doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
“If that were true, he’d have cut you completely from his life. You still have a chance to fix this fucked up mess that you created.”
I wish that were true. Not wanting to talk about it, I gave her my back. She tried to talk to me some more, but I ignored her and she eventually settled back down. Her breathing smoothed out as it deepened and she went to sleep. When I was sure she wasn’t going to wake up, I got out of bed and went into her kitchen, digging through her stash of flavored hot chocolate. Okay, it wasn’t her stash, it was mine that I forced into her cupboard.
She didn’t have much else in her kitchen. I had had to clean it out a few days ago before everything spoiled. Now, trying to keep my mind busy, I ended up cleaning her kitchen. It didn’t work. All I could think about was how I loved Landus and because of that, I was going to die.
By the time Cecil got up and we were ready to head out to help move their vampire friend, my heart was hurting and the kitchen was sparkling clean. I was impressed with myself. Cecil raised an eyebrow but knew better than to open her mouth.
At some point, Jamal had texted the address we were going to meet. From there, we were heading to the actual location, driven by a vampire.
The small park was dark, the trees casting deep shadows promising hidden danger.
“Nice,” I said with a grin. “Perfect place to get jumped.”
“Probably trying to scare us,” Cecil grumbled.
“Don’t worry, Baby-cakes, I’ll keep you safe.”
She mumbled something I didn’t bother trying to hear.
Pops stood by a slide, staring up through the little clearing of trees to the sky.
“If I had a camera, I’d be taking pictures,” I said in lieu of a greeting.
His eyes met mine. “Are you ready?” His body was tense and alert.
“Are we expecting trouble?” I asked.
“I don’t know. It took a long explanation to my queen to get her to agree to this. I’d rather get it over with before she changes her mind.”
I waved my hand dismissively. “She’ll get over herself. And she’ll thank me later when her guest lives and there aren’t political repercussions.”
Jamal sighed. “Come. My driver will take us the rest of the way there. You wouldn’t be able to get through the wards without him.”
We followed him back to the parking lot where a car idled by mine, managing to make mine look it belonged in a junkyard.
“Are all your locations protected like that?” I asked.
“Most. And before you ask, yes, the one Baron attacked had the ward too.”
“So it’s useless.”
Jamal shrugged. “Only for those of Baron’s level.” He glanced at me as he held the door open for us, as if asking for me to admit that I could break through.
I just flashed him a big smile before climbing in after Cecil.
As soon as he was settled, Cecil asked, “What are we dealing with?”
“Travick Eldanario. He’s a very old vampire who goes from territory to territory to check in on the seethes. It becomes two weeks of bowing and apologizing and taking
on every fault of the seethe as a personal transgression.” As he talked, exhaustion seeped into his expression. “He’s been here for a week. We still have another week to go.”
“Is he aware that he will be moved?” I asked.
“No. We did not want to risk that information slipping out.”
The ride took fifteen minutes, the houses spreading further apart as we went away from the city.
“Why way out here?” I asked.
“The queen really doesn’t like others in her territory unless needed.”
“So tuck him away until it’s time to meet.” I snorted. “And he’s fine with that?”
“He won’t show it, but it is blatant disrespect. He’s of higher standing than she is, but she has grown too paranoid.”
“It’s in my experience that those who live immortal lives grasp onto that life even harder,” I said.
“That I can agree with.”
I gave Jamal a surprised look and he just smiled before looking outside.
Cecil finally got the ball rolling on how to relocate the vampire guest. She was always a planner. I always thought I did my best work when I didn’t plan, but when I said that to Cecil, she glared at me.
I shrugged. “What? It’s true. We often get so caught up in plans and steps that we lose the ability to adapt to the situation.”
“I’d rather not attempt that and get Eldenario killed.”
I shrugged. “Then we’ll do it your way until we need to do it mine.”
She shook her head and continued on, filling the space with ideas that I knew were going to get tossed the moment we arrived. Nothing had been going smoothly the last few weeks, so I didn’t expect it to be any different this time.
I was counting on it.
~*~
Cecil’s plan involved cloaking us until we were inside and then kidnapping Travick Eldanario.
Jamal had backup nearby in case we needed them, but he hoped we could pull off being ninjas to get his guest out. Of course, both their plans went up into smoke literally as we pulled up.
“Your safe house is on fire,” I said, pressing against the window to get a better look.
Transformation (From the Embers Book 2) Page 11
