by M. L. Briers
“She is.” Maxi said and she saw the hope within the vampire’s eyes as he turned the glare upon her. “When Morgana came to see me at your request … I saw…”
“That I was her downfall…” Nathaniel bit out…
“And her salvation.” Maxi reminded him.
“She never told me that part,” Nathaniel scowled back at her.
“I put a cosmic tag on her at the time, and my magic was placed first so it overrides any spell that Amber can weave. Morgana’s back where it all began…”
“The house…” Nathaniel said, starting for the door.
“Where you killed my brother and burnt their home…” Maxi called after him. Reminding him that he was the one who set the events in motion … it wasn’t lost on Nathaniel, even if the man didn’t look back over his shoulder at the witch.
Julian was hard on his heels … Daniella and Jessica were following were following.
When he got to the parking lot Nathaniel’s car was already racing away…
“So damn impatient…” Julian grumbled, heading towards his own car and looking back over his shoulder at the two witches… “Fine, but not a peep about my driving…” he grumbled.
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
~
Nathaniel knew that it could have been a trap – he knew and he didn’t give a damn. All he wanted – needed – was to find Morgana, to know if she was alive or dead, hurt and in need of his help, his blood to heal her … then he’d know what to do about it – what came next.
He remembered the way through the treetops of the woods well. He didn’t slow down or take his time as he ran from one solid branch to the next.
The scent of Morgana’s blood in the air drew him blindly onwards towards the charred remains of the Warlock’s house … his blood was practically boiling with rage and he needed the taste of Amber’s blood upon his tongue to satiate the lust that was burning brightly within him.
In mid-step between one branch and the next; he felt the magic wrap around his body – the pain was clawing at his flesh as if it was flaying him alive. He dropped like a wounded bird, down towards the ground, hitting with a heavy thud, and he was unable to even break his fall with his hands…
Like a steel cage; the magic wove around him, trapping him, and making him feel as weak as a human again…
I screwed up…
Now Morgana’s going to die … because I screwed up … because I’m an idiot…
Think … find a way to Morgana…
Move ... damn it … fight it…
Morgana…
~
~
~
Julian led the witches through the trees. He couldn’t follow the same path as Nathaniel had because he had the Fae with him, and he wouldn’t follow that path because if it was a trap then he’d be walking right into it as well.
He knew that Daniella and Jessica were already using their magic because he could feel it against his body. He guessed that they had put up some kind of a shield to ward off the dark witch’s magic or ability to sense them – at least, he hoped that they had and he wasn’t being used as some kind of beacon for the witch to home in on…
He didn’t want to think badly of the witches – but he didn’t much like the idea of being bait either.
He could scent Fae blood in the air and if Nathaniel hadn’t already taken the dark witch down then he knew it would be Morgana’s.
He picked up on the scent of Nathaniel’s blood a moment later and his head filled with every scenario possible – including the one where they would find them both dead.
Daniella tapped him on the shoulder and pointed the way that she wanted him to go. He hoped that was a good sign and not some kind of trap that she was walking him into, but he needed to have faith that they were on his side.
He could scent the burned out remains of the building in the air and he knew that they were close … he was just grateful that he wasn’t scenting a staked witch and vampire to go with it.
He heard the yell of pain that was torn from Nathaniel’s lips – it came from left of their location … he had a choice to make – find the witch or help Nathaniel…
Julian pushed ahead. He figured that three witches were better than two, and Nathaniel wouldn’t thank him for a rescue if Morgana was still out there alone somewhere…
They’d come to rescue the witch and that was what he intended to do. Nathaniel would just have to stay alive long enough for him to find the witch first…
“There…” Daniella whispered, pointing to the lifeless body on the ground a few feet from what remained of the house…
Julian was at Morgana’s side in a heartbeat, one of hers … it was slow, but still there, and he wasted no time in biting down into his flesh and feeding her his blood.
Morgana stirred and tried to fight against the taste of vampire blood in her mouth, but Julian wasn’t taking no for an answer. The witch was bloodied and bruised, but she’d live.
He only hoped that he could say the same for Nathaniel…
~
~
~
“An eye for an eye…” Amber bit out – using her magic to slash another deep wound into the vampire’s skin…
“Didn’t take you for a bible basher…” Nathaniel bit out against the pain.
As fast as she was using her magic to cut his body; so his blood was already healing him. He guessed that she was going down the torture route until she decided to get to the good part and kill him.
Although, he was losing blood at a rapid rate…
“You killed the love of my life and I’ve killed your witch…” Amber lied, but Nathaniel couldn’t be certain. The woman’s voice was coated in hatred and bile, and it was hard to get a perfect reading on her…
His heart still mourned the loss of Morgana…
“Let me out of these bonds and I’ll reunite you with him…” Nathaniel bit out. There was no doubting that he meant every word…
“I’d prefer to reunite you with the witch…” Amber flicked her hand on her wrist and cut him again, deeper, longer, and it was far more satisfying to her than the previous cuts…
“Well, she’s going to wherever white witches go and I’m going to hell, so, I guess I’ll be saying hello to your boyfriend…”
He rallied against the pain of a thousand cuts as her fury took hold and she went a little slasher crazy…
“Ouch…” Nathaniel bit out, but he knew that he was weakening.
His blood wasn’t moving fast enough within his system to compensate for the amount of damage the witch was inflicting on him, and witch the amount of blood that he was losing there would be little left to heal him.
There was a blinding light that came from nowhere and hit the witch head on. It practically blinded him to what came next, but he could feel the magic within the air – could scent the familiar Fae essence of Daniella and Jessica as they turned their magic loose on the dark witch … and he would have done a damn jig if he could have…
Nathaniel felt the bonds that held him in place slip away as the witch was otherwise occupied, but still he couldn’t seem to rally his body to move…
Kill the witch find Morgana…
Move … damn it…
Move…
Push up … turn the hell over … do … something…
He could feel the darkness trying to claim him…
Vampires don’t faint…
“Nathaniel…”
Morgana…?
“Take my blood…” She said, and he could feel the chilled skin of her wrist against his lips.
His bloodlust was high … He could scent the Fae blood in the air that came from her … but he couldn’t bring himself to bite – to feed – not from her…
“Take my damn blood or I’ll kill you myself…” Morgana bit out, shaking something loose within his brain.
She pushed her wrists against his lips, determined to make him open his mouth and bite down into the flesh, but still he refu
sed the bite – the feeding – the blood…
“That’s the way you want to play it…” Morgana hit him with her magic so hard that hit mouth opened and she forced her wrist inside – his fangs scratched her skin, cutting deep welts into the flesh, and her blood spilled over his tongue…
He was lost in the scent of it – in the taste of it on his tongue – his lust for blood fired within him and he bit down – sucking hard and drinking in his thirst for her…
He’d never tasted anything so damn good before…
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
~
Julian had deposited a weakened Morgana at her bequest next to Nathaniel and had turned his attention towards the battle of the light and dark witches that ensued behind him…
Three against one as Morgana joined her magic with Daniella’s and Jessica’s, and yet still the dark witch was standing.
Julian pushed up into the treetops and raced from one thick branch to the next. He dropped down behind Amber, taking something of a sideswipe from the white witches magic, and reached up to grip Amber’s head on both sides – one twist and she dropped to the earth at his feet…
“My strength and stealth beats your magic … checkmate.” Julian announced with glee…
“Okay, smartass, but I suggest you get the hell out of there, or that’s where you’ll be heading…” Jessica said, but Julian didn’t move…
His attention was on Nathaniel as he fed from Morgana … but the sound of tortured souls greeted his ears and snatched his attention back to the darkness that was swirling up from the earth all around him…
A heartbeat later and he’d been hit in the chest by someone’s magic that had sent him flying backwards through the air as the beasts of hell came to claim one of their own.
“Appreciate it,” Julian bit out again the fleeting pain, and Jessica snorted at him.
“Try listening next time…” She muttered.
Julian pushed up to his feet and stalked towards Nathaniel.
“Next time?” He grinned at the witch, before reaching over and punching Nathaniel as hard as he could in the face, knocking the man out and making Morgana bit down on the pain of the man’s fangs being ripped from her flesh…
“What the hell?” Daniella bit out…
“He had a lust for the taste of her blood – not his fault – but he would probably have drained her dry…” Julian said. “And Morgana has my blood in her veins – she’ll heal.”
“Give a girl some warning…” Daniella hissed.
“It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to explain…” Julian grinned.
~
~
~
Morgana walked into Maxi’s parlour and waited for the seer to appear … when she did; there was a smile on her lips like she’d been expecting her.
“Sit…” Maxi said, motioning to the seat opposite her own as she took her place at the table.
“Do we have to go through this again…?” Morgana asked, but Maxi reached for the cards within the box and raised just one eyebrow back at the witch.
“Tell me it’s not why you’re here…”
Both women eyed each other for a long time, before Morgana blinked first, and bit down on her need to fess up.
“Fine…” she bit out begrudgingly.
“I said he would be your downfall…” Maxi reminded her as she started to cut the deck before laying them down in a fan on the table between them…
“And my saviour, both was true. I don’t want another reading…”
Maxi looked surprised at that one.
“Sure?”
“Certain.”
“Then why are you here, Morgana?”
“I don’t want a new reading – I want you to tell me the last one.”
“The bits you didn’t want to know?”
“Yes,” Morgana acknowledged where the fault lay between them.
“You’re in for one hell of a ride.” Maxi said, nodding towards the cards and Morgana frowned down at them…
“Meaning?”
“You know what a blood tie with a vampire means as well as anyone else, Morgana. I do not need to spell it out for you.”
“Anything … more?” Morgana said – reaching out her hand tantalisingly over the top of the cards and hesitating as she brought her eyes up to Maxi’s … the seer leaned in as if to whisper a truth…
“Turn the card, Morgana.”
“Just a little hint…”
“Turn the card, Morgana.”
“A clue…” Morgana bit down on her need to curse out a few home truths about how damn annoying the woman could be.
“Turn the card…”
“Morgana … yeah, I heard that somewhere before…” Morgana groaned.
Her fingers twitched as she let destiny guide her into revealing what it wanted her to know…
“It’s already written in your future – you know it – I know – the cards know it – turn the damn card, Morgana…”
She flicked it with her fingernail, as if not really touching it wouldn’t make it real … it flicked up and landed paint side up – staring at her like doom and destruction right there on the table…
Morgana groaned…
Maxi pressed her lips together and sat back against the chair.
Both women stared down at the picture of the man and woman wrapped around each other in an embrace…
“The Lovers…” Morgana twitched her nose at the card…
“The Lovers…”
“It doesn’t have to be…”
“You know that you’re his one true mate.”
“Don’t say it like that…” Morgana groaned…
“He’s your fated mate…”
“That’s not good either…”
“It’s not just your blood that he’s going to stalk you for…”
“Still didn’t wanna hear it…”
“You’re going to be rubbing more than your noses together…” Maxi cracked a smile and Morgana groaned…
Yes, the man is sexy…
Yes, the man can – on occasion – make my toes curl in a good way…
Yes, I knew when I let him feed that he’d want my blood…
But… but … but…
“The man’s a ho…” Morgana groaned…
“Not anymore…” Maxi grinned.
“Don’t…” she shook her head.
“Now he is totally devoted to you…” Maxi couldn’t help herself.
“Maxi, I think you’re enjoying this a little bit too much…”
“You want another card?”
“No.”
“I think you should…”
“What’s it going to say …? Babies – I think not.” Morgana sighed.
“You don’t want babies…”
“That’s lucky then…” Morgana pushed up to her feet…
“Sit…”
“Bite me…”
“That’s what Nathaniel is for, no?”
“Don’t use my tone back at me.” Morgana grumbled.
“Then take another card…”
“Not this side of forever…”
“Be careful, Morgana … danger is still out there.” Maxi warned.
“What? No happily ever after? There’s a damn shocker.” Morgana grumbled.
“Come back when you want to know more…” Maxi said as Morgana stalked towards the door.
“I’ll pass.” Morgana tossed back over her shoulder, and as the door closed behind her; Maxi sighed.
“No, you’ll be back.”
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
~
“Oh look, my takeaway has arrived…” Nathaniel said as Morgana walked in through the front door of her shop and dumped her keys down on the counter top.
“Funny.” She glared at him. “So, breaking and entering…?” she motioned towards the back door.
“I have my skills.”
“That’s not exactly an apology…”
“Didn’t know I
needed to give you one … depending on the one that we’re talking about…” his eyes flared at the thought of them together, and the suggestive remark made the colour hit her cheeks. “Ha! I can see right through your glamour, little witch.”
Nathaniel informed her and Morgana was taken aback…
“No you can’t…”
“Actually, Miss rosy red cheeks, yes I can.” His eyes were alive with devilishness and his tone was teasing. “Guess you won’t be needing that amulet anymore…”
Morgana’s hand flew to the pendent between her breasts and his eyes followed. She felt the heat of fire within her cheeks and as his eyes climbed up her body; he saw it too.
“Red hot…” he teased, reaching out and touching her cheek with just his fingertips… “On fire.”
“That’s not possible…” Morgana bit back.
“I’ve tasted your blood, ergo, the very essence of you. We have a bond, a link, a connection that transcends magic tricks…” He gloried in that knowledge and their new reality.
“So, you came here for a top up?” Morgana bit out.
“I came here to invite you to dinner tonight…”
“Mine, or yours?” She bit back.
“Ours.”
“There’s safety in numbers…” Morgana said and watched him frown.
“Not Julian again…” he grumbled.
“Everyone. I think we should lay the last few days to rest, bury the hatchet…”
“In whose head?”
“Yours, if you annoy me…” she muttered.
“And so the pain of monogamy begins…” he groaned back.
“I know you, Nathaniel…”
“Not yet, but sooner rather than later … being my one true…”
“Don’t say it!” Morgana lifted her hand and held it up in front of his face, palm against his nose.
“Smells good…” he teased and she snatched her hand away.
“Too soon?” He grinned.
“You followed me to Maxi’s…” her words sounded more than accusing.
