by L.H. Cosway
I wrap my arm around her middle and lead her inside the house.
It seems that Emilia has simply replaced one pair for handcuffs for another, because Roman is in the process magically biding her hands with rope so that she can’t cast any spells. Tegan must be feeling better because she’s kneeling on the floor hugging Rebecca.
“I’ll never let anyone take you ever again,” she whispers in her ear. “I promise.”
Emilia watches her with barely concealed jealousy, before exclaiming in shock. “Oh my God, please tell me it’s not true. You’re pregnant!”
Tegan turns to her in surprise. “How do you know?”
Emilia scoffs. “It’s plain as day to see.”
“Yeah well, it’s none of your business anyway.”
There’s a touch of something desperate in her voice and Emilia’s eyes light up.
“You need me to help you, don’t you? You need me to teach you how to survive the birth.”
“Shut up. I’ll come and talk to you later,” Tegan shushes her and leads Rebecca upstairs to her room.
“Emilia,” says Roman once Tegan is gone. “She is your granddaughter. Why do you treat her this way? You should be cherishing her.”
“Don’t you dare talk down to me. She has been nothing but rude to me since the day we met. Somebody needs to put manners on the girl.”
“And that person is you, is it?”
“Ha! I have far better things to be doing with my time.”
Icy silence elapses between the two of them and I cast Allora a ‘this is incredibly awkward’ glance. She suppresses a grin and I try to hide my elation at the fact that she can actually see me now. I’m almost giddy with excitement. I want to know everything she’s thinking, everything she thinks about me.
“I saw how you looked at Theodore’s daughter,” Emilia says to Roman, breaking the silence. “You want her.”
“She is a powerful witch, too powerful for her age,” Roman replies as if that explains everything. Emilia snorts.
Cristescu has been standing by the window the entire time with his arms folded over his chest, absorbing the back and forth between the witch and the sorcerer.
“Roman,” he speaks up. “Might I request that you bind the house with magic to prevent Theodore from getting inside? He is going to move against us after today and we need to be prepared for when that happens.”
“It would be my pleasure,” Roman answers and swiftly leaves the room.
Cristescu strides toward Emilia and kneels down in front of her. She watches him with wary eyes as he trails a hand down the side of her face.
“I apologise profusely for all of this. It pains me to restrain a beautiful and powerful witch such as yourself, but for the moment we must take every precaution for our safety and your allegiance has not yet been solidified. I will put you in a comfortable room and you will be provided with food and anything else you might need. Please, call for me if you require anything.”
Okay, I have to admit he’s good. The defiance that had strung Emilia’s body tight dissolves. She doesn’t smile at him, but she doesn’t scowl either.
“Thank you. I appreciate being treated with respect,” she says finally.
“A lady of your fine standing deserves nothing less,” Cristescu replies in a smooth voice as he helps her up off the sofa. “Come, I have had a room set up for you. You will be able to rest there.”
“Your brother really knows how to charm the ladies,” I say to Delilah once they’re gone.
She’s standing beside Ira, her hand in his. “Ethan understands how essential it is to always leave people with their dignity. He also knows the right things to say to earn their trust.”
“He should become a politician,” I joke.
“Well, he kind of is one now, isn’t he,” she says and then tugs Ira by the hand out of the room.
I’m grateful to be alone with Allora once more and I pull her swiftly into my arms. She gasps in surprise but I muffle the sound with my mouth when I kiss her.
“Want to get out of here for a while?” I ask breaking the kiss and she nods fervently.
Outside we find Roman walking circles around the parameter of the house, golden magic streaming from his hands. It wraps around the building as he mutters a Latin incantation. He seems to be deep into it, so I make sure not to distract him from his task.
I’ve only known him a day, but there’s something about Tegan’s grandfather that makes me feel like he’s one of the good guys – and staying good when you have power like that is no small feat.
I lead Allora to my van and help her into the front passenger seat. Having spent the last few days assisting her with every little thing because of her blindness, I’m having a hard time getting used to letting her go it alone. I only realise I’m doing this when I look at her and find her on the verge of laughter.
I have her seatbelt in my hand and I’ve just secured it around her waist. “Sorry. Old habits die hard.”
“It’s okay. It’s nice to know someone cares enough to help. Still, I’m glad to have my sight back. I’ll need to thank Roman personally once things quieten down.”
I hop into the driver’s seat and start the engine. “Oh yeah, and how would you do that?”
“Well, normally if you’re a seer like I am, the best way to thank someone is to tell them something you’ve seen about their future. However, I’m not sure how much a sorcerer as old as he is cares about stuff like that. It’s mostly humans who fret over what’s going to happen to them.”
I drive away from Cristescu’s street and pick a random road. I don’t really care where we go, I just want to spend some time alone with her.
“I’m sure he wouldn’t say no to a little prediction. So, since I’ve helped you these last few days, do I get one too?”
Her cheeks colour. “What’s to say I’ve seen anything of your future, Finn?”
“Well, have you?”
She glances out the window at the world passing by and doesn’t turn back to face me when she replies, “I might have.”
“It’s bad isn’t it? That’s why you don’t want to tell me.”
She hurries to reassure me. “No, no that’s not it. It’s not bad, it’s just kind of personal.”
I glance at her sideways. “I can deal with personal.”
She bites her lip, which I’ve noticed is a nervous tick of hers. “It actually, well, it actually involves me.”
Now I grin big, glancing from the road to her. “Really? It must be good then. Come on, don’t leave me hanging. Tell me.”
She doesn’t say anything for at least a minute, then ventures. “Remember when we first met? When I said I’d heard your voice before?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I heard it in a vision I had when I was just sixteen. It’s rare that I see something that’s about me personally, so I always held onto the memory of it. That, and it was one of the few happy things I’d seen. I was older in it, maybe late twenties or early thirties, and I was laughing and running through a country meadow.”
I swallow as I listen to her description, waiting with bated breath for her to finish.
“I was being chased by someone, like in a playful way,” she continues. “It was a man with an accent I wasn’t used to hearing, an accent just like yours. He was calling me, teasing me that I’d never be able to outrun him. Finally, I was caught up by a pair of strong arms and hauled into an embrace. That’s when the vision ended. Now that I’ve heard your voice, Finn, I know undoubtedly that the man was you.”
I pull over onto the side of the road, unable to help myself, and drag her from her seat onto my lap. Framing her face in my hands, I look between her eyes, trying to figure out if she’s playing with me. All I see is complete and total honesty and I know she’s telling the truth. This beautiful woman saw me in her future. She saw the two of us being happy together and I can’t help but to be stunned. I’ve never felt more hopeful.
“You really saw that?”
I ask as I whisper my lips over her silky soft cheek and she sucks in a breath.
“Yes. I’m not sure what it means exactly…”
“You know what it means,” I cut her off. “It means we belong together.”
“Finn, those are awfully committed words to be saying to a girl you hardly know.”
“I trust in your sight, Allora. Neither of us knows what road is going to take us to that place you saw us in. It could be a road full of trouble and strife, but so long as I know that’s where we’re going to end up I can be happy. I’ll go through all of it just to get there, to that little spot in the country where we’re together and finally at peace.”
She blinks, stunned by my words. I might be a little bit stunned by them also. I didn’t know I had it in me to be such a romantic.
Moving her so that her legs are astride my lap, I run my hands up and down her thighs.
“I like touching you,” I say in a gravelly voice before dipping my mouth to her neck. “Do you like being touched by me, Allora?”
“Mm-hmm,” she mumbles. “I – I do.”
“That’s good.”
Pressing my lips to her skin, I trail kisses from the spot below her ear right down to her collarbone. She sighs and both of her hands clutch my shoulders tightly. I’m so hard I feel like I might be scaring her a little, but she only moves against me, seeking friction. Moving one hand to the back of her neck, I pull her mouth to mine, licking inside her lips with my tongue.
Sometimes I think I forget how relieving it can be to just lose myself in a woman. I’m always so on edge, always waiting for the next disaster to hit.
Moments later my hands are under her top, pulling down her bra and squeezing at her breasts. Her hands are lifting my shirt up and over my head, throwing it onto the other seat. I want this to happen with her, in fact, I need it to happen. However, I don’t want it to happen on the side of the road in the front seat of a van.
I want her in a bed. More importantly, I want her in my bed.
I groan, knowing I’m going to have to stop this now. The problem is, it feels way too good to stop. She starts fumbling with my belt buckle and before I know it she’s slipping her fingers inside my pants, groping for my erection.
The feel of her slender fingers wrapping around my thick length almost undoes me.
“Baby,” I murmur but she doesn’t stop. She keeps on moving her hand up and down and I close my eyes from the pleasure. Jerking off never really does it for me anymore. I think there’s a point when you reach a certain age and you’re just so over yourself, but having Allora do it is like starting anew. I feel like a randy teenager who’s going to come within seconds.
I pinch at her nipple and fist one hand in her long hair, kissing her with urgency and feeling the need build. I can tell that she’s excited, too, because her breathing is all erratic and her cheeks are flushed. Her lush lips seem to have become even softer; I really can’t get enough of them.
When she breaks the kiss and whispers, “Come for me, Finn,” in my ear I can’t hold back any longer. I blow my load in her hand and she smiles against my lips. I grab a box of tissues from the glove compartment to clean up and then she curls herself around me. Holding her in my arms, I close my eyes and a feeling of contentment takes over.
“That was…embarrassingly incredible,” I tell her, kissing her hair.
She scrunches up her nose as she grins at me. “Why embarrassing?”
“Because I’m a thirty year old man and I haven’t come from being jerked off by a woman in a really long time.”
She stares at me and I wonder if I said something wrong. “You’re thirty?”
Ah, so she wasn’t aware of the age difference. I laugh affectionately. “Should I take your surprise as a compliment that I don’t look thirty?”
“Um, I guess I just didn’t think you were that much older than me.”
“Is it a problem for you?”
“No,” she answers quickly. “Of course not. You just took me by surprise. Actually, I kind of like it. It’s cool to go out with an older guy, right?”
I chuckle and talk like a vacuous teenage girl. “Way cool, Allora. All your girlfriends are going to be like totally jealous.”
She punches me in the chest and I pretend she winded me. “Stop making fun.”
“Sorry, no can do. There’s something you should know about me,” I say leaning close to her.
“What is it?”
I let my voice drop several notches lower when I answer, “I’m a massive tease.”
She narrows her eyes at me but she’s still smiling. “Shut up.”
I’m about to say something else when there’s a loud thump on the hood of the van. It’s started to rain so I have to turn on the windshield wipers to clear the glass. When I do I see Marcel standing in front of the vehicle. He’s dripping wet, his long grey hair straggled around his face – and a massive blood stain smeared across his hemp shirt.
Chapter Fifteen
Baking Cakes for the Enemy
Tegan
The atmosphere in the house has settled down since Roman brought Emilia and Rebecca back from where Theodore had been keeping them. I’m lounging in the living room, nibbling on a selection of cream buns and scones that Alvie put together for me, (yeah, my appetite is still crazy strong) when a loud ruckus sounds from the front door.
I sit up just in time before Finn bursts into the room dragging a rain soaked Marcel by the scruff of the neck.
“Evening, Petal,” he greets. “I brought a visitor for you.”
My mouth curves a little in a smirk as I eye Marcel. I hold the plate out to him, saying casually, “So nice of you to stop by. Scone?”
Marcel shakes his head and the usual confidence that accompanies him isn’t there anymore. He looks scared and desperate.
“I need your help,” he says in a low voice. It sounds like he’s sacrificing a good deal of pride just to spit those words out.
“Evidently. Is that your blood or someone else’s?”
“It’s not mine, it’s Michael’s.”
“Michael Ridley?” Finn asks stepping forward. Allora’s hovering by the door, watching Marcel closely. Perhaps she’s trying to figure out if this is a ruse.
Suddenly, she asks in a whisper, “Is he dead?”
Marcel glances at her and nods solemnly. “Yes.”
The tension in Allora’s shoulders dissolves when she hears this.
Marcel continues, “Theodore killed him. He flew into a rage after Rebecca and Emilia were taken. He said it was Michael’s fault for allowing himself to be overpowered. He was being completely unreasonable. Everyone knows that there’s no way for a mere warlock to fight off a sorcerer of Roman Abraham’s power.”
“So Theodore killed him?” I question.
“He did. I fear he would have killed me too simply to assuage his fury, but I managed to escape when Rita began to calm him down.”
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I fold my arms. “And now you’re here to beg for sanctuary?”
“I didn’t know where else to go. I had thought my grandfather was the answer to restoring the balance in Tribane, but now I see he is too old. His age has caused his sanity to slip. Most of the magical families are afraid of him and are in hiding.”
“You should have thought of that before you decided to bring him back from hell,” I tell him and take a bite out of a scone. I have to say, I really am enjoying this. It wasn’t too long ago that Marcel thought he was so high and mighty with Theodore on his side. Now it seems his plan has backfired. It serves him right for what he did to my poor father. Just thinking of my dad makes my throat get tight with emotion.
“I know I’ve made a terrible mistake, and I will do anything in my power to make up for it. All I ask is for protection.”
“And how do we know Theodore didn’t send you here himself?” Ethan asks in a foreboding voice as he steps into the room.
Marcel’s eyes practically pop out of his head
when he sees Ethan. Obviously, he can sense the change in him, feel the power.
“I can prove it, I promise. I’ll tell you all of his plans,” Marcel replies in a jittery voice.
Ethan walks to me and sits, pulling me into his side, his strong arm wrapping around my waist. “Go ahead.”
“I need a promise from you first that ensures my safety.”
Ethan raises an eyebrow. “I will promise you nothing, Warlock. You will tell me Theodore’s plans and then I am going to lock you up until I see with my own two eyes that these plans are real and not some ploy to lead us into a trap. Once we have defeated the sorcerer I will set you free.”
“That sounds mighty generous,” Finn interjects nudging Marcel’s shoulder. “I’d take that offer if I were you, mate.”
“Yes, yes, okay,” says Marcel in a fluster, running his hands through his long wet hair.
“I’m waiting,” Ethan urges him blandly but there’s an edge of impatience to his words.
“He’s going to release the chaos again,” Marcel answers swiftly. “But this time it will be far more powerful. He has been summoning it from the hell dimension, building up a store to release when you are least expecting it.”
“And when would that be?”
“Sunrise, three days from now. He’ll release the chaos but because it’s stronger than before it will kill the humans the moment it enters their bodies. By the time night falls and the vampires awaken, the humans will all be dead. There will be no blood for them to feed on so they will weaken. Theodore will wait a few days and then he is going to open a portal from the hell dimension and let all variety of entities through. Those entities will kill the vampires in their weakened states.”
“That is quite an ambitious plan,” Ethan muses while scratching his chin. “But why did he want Emilia and Rebecca?”
“He needed Rebecca’s blood to cast the spell that will open a big enough portal. He has a vial of it that he’s keeping hidden safe. He was holding Emilia hostage to keep her from undoing the barrier spell around the city. It was an added bonus to his plan, because not only would the vampires be weakened when he opened the portal, they would also be unable to flee.”
