Pixie jerked in shock. She felt as if she’d been hit by lightning, and a wave of revulsion washed over her. Stefan tightened his grip on her.
“You,” she said flatly, feeling ice cold horror wash over her. “My father. You.” This was worse than anything that she could have imagined. Her father was a man whose soul was steeped in evil, a man who snuffed out lives without remorse.
Tomas nodded, his expression resigned. “You deserve the truth. You will loathe me for it forever, and I accept that. Your mother was a woman named Rose Hodge. She came to work for me and my brother at our family estate in Romania, as a maid.”
The Rose Foundation…he’d created that charitable organization in her mother’s name, Pixie realized.
“That’s the truth?” Stefan threw back his head and laughed. “She thought she came to work for us as a maid. She came to us so Tomas could seduce her and get her with child. That’s what we do. She was an orphan, with no family to look for her, which is why she was hired. Unfortunately, she found out the truth about why she was having his baby, and she turned out to be more resourceful than we thought. She escaped with you.”
“Why?” Pixie had a feeling she knew the answer already, but she had to hear it for herself.
“Because Tomas was going to suck the life from your body. You know about the Bloodstone,” Stefan said. “It was a witch who gave us our great powers of thievery, so we’d be able to spirit it away from its owner. The witch left out one little detail, which she didn’t tell us until we returned with the Bloodstone. The only way to harness its power was to use the life force of our own infant children, within thirty days of their birth.”
“Wow, a dark witch tricked you. Imagine that,” Anastasia said with a bitter laugh. “And instead of refusing to use the Bloodstone , you decided to choose option B. How many of your own babies have you drained?”
Stefan shrugged. “Honestly, I’ve lost count.”
Pixie swallowed the bile rising in her throat. “What did you do to my mother?” she demanded of Tomas.
“We found she’d fled to America,” Tomas said. “My men and I came after her, meaning to kill her and bring you back. We tracked her down, but she was no longer pregnant, and she didn’t have you with her. As my people were closing in on her, in Los Angeles, she jumped off a bridge. I imagine she feared that we’d torture her to make her reveal your whereabouts. We thought that the newspapers would report that an abandoned infant had been found, and we’d be able to recover you, but it never happened. After thirty days, we gave up the search for you, because your life force was no longer any use to me.”
“You pathetic bastard.” Hot tears stung Pixie’s eyes and ran down her cheeks. Her mother had sacrificed her life for her. The loathing she felt for her father was tempered by the overpowering admiration and love she felt for a woman she’d never met. “What the hell are you even doing here?”
“Knowing that I finally had a child that survived…it changed me. Not at first, but over the years, the knowledge ate away at me. A year ago, I fathered another baby, and when the time came to use the Bloodstone, I couldn’t make myself do it. I set him and his mother free, and I vowed, no more. I left our home and took the Bloodstone with me.”
“Well, aren’t you a damned saint,” Pixie sneered.
He shook his head with a sad smile. “Oh no, Pixie, I know what I am. I’m a monster who has lived for far too long. And I don’t ever expect your forgiveness, or understanding. I don’t deserve it.”
“You were the one who was sending me all those anonymous gifts this past year.” Pixie shuddered in revulsion. “You had Hillary drop some of them off for me.”
“They were nowhere near enough compensation for what I’ve done.”
“Damn straight. All the money on the entire planet wouldn’t be enough, and your charitable organization won’t buy you any karma points either, you scumbag. If I survive the night, I’m going to burn every filthy thing you ever gave me, because you touched it. So you tracked me down? How?”
“I had a picture of your mother. I hired a security firm to do facial recognition searches for women of your age in California, and I got lucky. Your face popped up in a news article about Shifters, Incorporated, and I started doing research. When I discovered that you were a renowned thief, I knew that the magic of the witch was so strong, the talent for thievery had been passed down to you. And most likely, the ability to handle the Bloodstone without dying.”
“Well, that was a guess,” Stefan said coldly. “But it was a risk I was willing to take.”
Of course he was.
“But how did you find me?” Pixie asked Stefan.
“It wasn’t that hard to find out where my brother had moved to,” Stefan said. “I couldn’t get close to him, because he was always surrounded by security, but I knew there must have been a reason that he came to settle down in Playa Linda. I was able to track down the person who found you for him, and I tortured him until he talked.” He shrugged as if that was the most natural thing in the world.
Then he directed his attention at Tomas.
“I’ve let you ramble on,” Stefan snapped. “Now, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m not going to give you a damned thing. No money, no deeds to our property. You’re going to give me the Bloodstone, and come back to our estate, and we’re going to resume our lives. Or I will kill your daughter in front of you, and I’ll find your baby son and kill him too.”
“Oh, I don’t think so. You see, I have this,” Tomas said. He gestured with the pistol.
Stefan laughed. “That’s a good one. As if you’d shoot me. You know that if I die, you die. If our lives weren’t linked, I’d have killed you myself long ago, you whiny, miserable bastard.”
Tomas pointed the pistol at his temple. “This was never about money; I just used the ransom demand to draw you out. I came to Playa Linda to spend one glorious year watching my daughter from afar, and reminding myself every single day of all of the children whose lives I stole. Now it’s time to look you in the eye for the very last time. We were wrong, Stefan.”
Stefan let out a strangled cry, and let go of Pixie. He took a step towards Tomas, whose finger tightened on the trigger.
“Stop being melodramatic,” Stefan pleaded, his voice panicked. “We’re gods, Tomas! We have all the wealth and power in the world, and we can live forever! You’re not ready to die!”
“Oh, I’m so very ready to die. We’ve lived all these years for nothing, Stefan. Our children would have been our immortality. I threw the Bloodstone in the ocean, by the way.”
And he pulled the trigger, and Pixie closed her eyes for a second, and when she opened them her father was lying on the ground with a bullet hole in his temple, his dark eyes wide open and staring.
Stefan let out a strangled scream, clutched at his head, and staggered backwards.
He fell to the ground, thrashing and kicking. His body arched, and he howled in pain and writhed as if he were burning alive.
In the distance, they heard sirens. The men in the room glanced at each other. One of them raised a gun and pointed it at Anastasia, and then he let out an agonized scream as his hand caught on fire. The gun fell to the ground, glowing red.
“Burn, you bastard!” Anastasia screamed, her eyes glowing.
More men burst into flames and ran screaming from the lodge, ablaze like human torches.
Dominick let out a mighty roar, and shifted. He stood huge and golden, eyes glowing with anger. When the guards reached for their guns, Anastasia set their hands on fire. There were screams of panic, men running, fleeing the room. Domminick chased after them, his mane flowing, tail twitching furiously, and Pixie heard agonized screams outside of the hut.
Anastasia ran over and crouched down next to Stefan, who was still thrashing and screaming. She jabbed his arm with a knife and let the blood run into a vial, which she quickly capped. His screaming stopped, and he lay still.
Pixie knelt down next to her. “Why didn’t you
just bring the cops to begin with?” she asked.
“Because Stefan would have refused to give us his blood, and we’d have to get a warrant for it, and he’d have rich lawyers stall until all of your friends died. We were hoping we’d find a way to get his blood ourselves. It was worth the risk.”
The room in the air was hazy. Smoke was curling up from the furniture and the curtains. “We’ve got to get out of here,” Pixie said to Anastasia.
Anastasia handed her the vial. “If you take this to the hospital, they’ll be able to make the antidote. Go. Leave me.”
“What the hell is the matter with you? Of course I’m not leaving you.”
Anastasia’s eyes were wild. She gestured at the men lying on the floor. “That is my end, Pixie. That’s what I become. I won’t let that happen to me.”
“Bullshit. You can still be helped. You haven’t gone over. Not all the way. The fact that you don’t want to become pure evil is proof that you can still be helped.”
“No, I can’t. It’s too hard. I can’t do it.” Anastasia was kneeling on the floor, doubled over. “Go. I’ll burn you if you try to save me. Go.”
Pixie shrugged. “Well, if you’re sure, then okay, fine. Stay here and fry.” She turned and walked away, eyes stinging.
On one of the tables, she spotted a heavy wooden candlestick. That should do nicely.
She raised it high, knocked Anastasia unconscious with a blow to the head, and grabbed her collar, dragging her towards the door. “Sorry, you stubborn dumbass,” she muttered.
It was hard to see. The smoke stung her eyes, and the room felt hot, and she started coughing and choking as she struggled to pull Anastasia. A growl sounded in her ears, and she looked up, blinking, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Dominick rushed in, still in lion form. He ran over to Anastasia, grabbed her shirt in his jaws, and hauled her out of the cabin, with Pixie following behind him, clutching the vial of blood in her hand as if her life depended on it.
Chapter Fifteen
A week later, in Big Timber, California
“So how do you feel?” Dominick asked Bobbi.
“I feel like having another drink. I’m fine, Dominick, really,” she said. She was still pale, her dark hair bringing out the pallor in her oval face. She sat next to her husband, Jax, a wolf shifter, who also looked a little under the weather. Jax raised his mug of beer in a salute to Dominick.
“Thanks again for everything that you did for us. We owe you,” he said.
“Yeah, you do. Don’t worry, I’ll figure out a way to collect,” Dominick grinned. “I’m thinking you could wash my car for a year.”
“Or not,” Jax suggested. “I’ll buy you a beer next time we’re out, though.”
They were all gathered around a long wooden table on a patio, at his parents’ estate – everyone but Pixie and Anastasia. His boss Kenneth and Kenneth’s wife Chloe were there, holding hands.
His parents, May and Christopher, were at the head of the table. His brother Ryder, sat next to Barbara holding her hand and looking thoroughly miserable.
Barbara wore a plunging lycra halter dress and high heels. Her frosted hair was teased and streaked, stiff as a helmet. How could he ever have found her attractive?
Actually, he knew how – and everyone else was about to know, too.
Barbara’s obnoxious family, including her uncle Kai, the shaman who had sold Dominick his talisman, were arguing with each other loudly. Her loud, overbearing father was already drunk, and it wasn’t noon yet.
Dominick ignored them, soaking in the warmth of the sunshine. The table was laden with trays of sandwiches, frosty cold pitchers of beer, and bowls of sweet sun-warmed fruit. Life was good.
Barbara shot Dominick a nasty look. “Too bad you broke up with that ugly little thief,” she sneered. “You could have had conjugal visits with her in prison; I’m sure she’ll end up there.”
Dominick shrugged and smiled.
“Barbara!” Ryder pleaded. “Please, honey.”
“What?” Barbara snapped at him. “You got a problem?”
Dominick remembered when it had been like that for him. He’d been terrified of offending Barbara, and despite her constant barrage of nasty comments, he’d frantically tried to placate her for the whole miserable six months that they’d been engaged.
He’d met her at the hair salon where she worked. She’d cut his hair, tried to flirt with him, and he’d brushed her off. He’d instantly disliked her. And yet, a day later, he found himself obsessed with her. They were engaged within the week.
It was all so clear now, he felt like a complete moron for not having seen it.
Dominick’s mother shot Dominick a pained look, and he gave her a slight smile. Patience, he mentally telegraphed at her.
“You’re in an awfully good mood,” Barbara grumbled, and took a huge swig of beer. She didn’t like to see Dominick happy. He should be miserable and pining over her. “So, where is the criminal anyway? Off banging someone else? You never were enough to keep a woman satisfied.”
“Barbara. Please.” Ryder’s hands were shaking.
“Looking for me? I’m right here.” Pixie’s voice made Barbara jump. Dominick broke out in a huge smile – partly because he always smiled when Pixie was in the room, and partly because of what was about to happen.
Pixie wore leggings, high heeled boots, and a t-shirt with skull and cross-bones on it. Her eyes met his, and a lightning bolt of desire shot through Dominick. He winked at her, and she blew him a kiss. He’d be stripping that outfit off of her in the not too distant future, and continuing his mission to explore every inch of her body with his tongue.
Anastasia stood next to Pixie. She looked much better. She was in recovery, in a program designed to help witches taper off dark magic. She took Zoloft to help take the edge off of her anger, which lessened her craving for dark magic, and she met with a warlock every day to monitor her progress. She’d even taken up meditation.
“What the hell are you doing here? Ryder, throw her out, honey, this party is for decent people only.” Barbara’s eyes lit up, and a smirk twisted her pretty lips. She thrived on drama.
“You…you’ll have to leave,” Ryder mumbled, staring into his beer. He looked as if he were praying the Earth would swallow him up.
“Why is she here? You dumped her!” Barbara snarled to Dominick.
“I’d never dump her. She’s my fated mate.” Dominick was grinning from ear to ear now.
“What the hell are you smirking about, you jackass?” Barbara snapped at him. Then she turned back to Pixie. “Just finished up with some breaking and entering?”
“Actually, yes,” Pixie said.
Barbara’s eyes widened with surprise.
“At your house.” Pixie paused for effect. “122 Redbird Lane.”
Barbara gasped with anger. “Dad!” she wailed.
“I bought my friend here with me because she’s an expert in sniffing out dark magic,” Pixie said. “She helped me find this. Under your bed. Man, your house is a pigsty.”
She reached into her purse and pulled out a voodoo doll, with a tuft of blond hair on its little head. It was crudely sewn out of cloth. There was a pin stabbing it through a cloth heart which was sewn on the front of it.
Barbara’s parents and her uncle Kai cried out in dismay, and jumped up. Hans, Kory, Kenneth and Jax all jumped to their feet at the same time.
“Kill her!” Barbara screamed, shaking with rage, her eyes wild with panic. “Get me that doll, get it for me, baby! It’s mine!”
“No it’s not!” Kai cried out. “No! We’ve never seen it before!”
“She broke into my house? That’s illegal! We can send her to jail for real!” Tears of rage streamed down Barbara’s face, leaving black gritty streaks of mascara on her cheeks.
“You know what’s really, really illegal? Mind control spells,” Anastasia snapped,. “Like, life sentence in prison illegal.” She yanked the pin out of the voodoo doll
’s heart. She bowed her head over the doll and began muttering, as Ryder clutched his chest and gasped.
Ryder’s parents jumped up and ran over to him.
“Ryder?” his mother said anxiously.
“He’ll be fine,” Anastasia muttered, and resumed her incantation.
Ryder climbed to his feet, bewildered.
“Baby! Honey! Are you all right?” Barbara bleated plaintively.
“You bitch!” Ryder shouted. “Oh, my God. I can’t believe I was going to marry you. The way you’ve talked to my family? I hate you. I hated you from the minute I set eyes on you. Get out. Get off my family’s property and never come back!”
“Wait!” Dominick bellowed. “Not so fast.” He glared at Barbara. “First of all, take off that engagement ring.” That ring had clearly set his brother back a cool couple hundred thousand. No way was she walking away with that.
“I will not!” she clutched it to her chest. “Never! It’s mine!”
“Take it OFF!” her father yelled at her. “Do you understand what they could do to us?”
He pounced on her and grabbed at the ring, and she punched him and clawed at him, and her uncle Kai joined in, and they all fell on the ground. Barbara bit her uncle’s hand, and he screamed and cursed, and pulled the ring off her as she clawed his arm.
“Here!” Kai jumped up and eagerly thrust the ring into Ryder’s hand. “Here’s your ring back! No harm done. Okay, we’re leaving now.”
Dominick grabbed him by the arm.
“That’s assault,” Kai snarled, his face turning ugly.
Police sirens wailed in the distance. Kai went pale. “You didn’t,” he said to Dominick.
“No, I did,” Anastasia said. “I reported your violation to the Council. Bad shaman. Very bad. You used Dominick’s hair to make that voodoo doll after he went to your niece’s salon, and then when he caught your niece cheating on him, you somehow got Ryder’s hair and did the same to him. You did it so she could marry into Ryder’s family and leach off them. By the way, now I know why Dominick used to get so irritated by Pixie; it was because she was his fated mate, and the talisman that you made for him was fighting it every single second.”
Pixie the Lion Tamer Page 9
