Spellbound (Immortal Love Series Book 3)

by Anna Santos

  “I have no idea what’s the guy’s name,” Shane whispered with widened eyes.

  “Bob Simmons,” Anna said, pointing at the security tag with the photo of the guy.

  “Right!” he breathed out, placing his hand over the screen. “I hope this works. Bob Simmons.”

  “Access granted.”

  The door unlocked and Anna grabbed the knob.

  “Wait.” Shane grabbed her by her arm and stopped her from entering. “I’ll go first. We don’t know how many are inside. It could be a trap, or possibly be a room to store weapons.”

  “Okay,” Anna agreed.

  Shane entered and motioned her to follow him.

  “Look for security cameras.”

  “All clear,” he said, motioning her to get inside.

  Anna entered a long corridor with dimmed lights that seemed to end with another door.

  Her mate said, “I’m changing back to my old self.”

  Anna nodded as Shane drank a small vial and his body morphed back to his true form. “We don’t have a layout of the house, so we will need to split up to cover more ground.”

  “It’s pointless now. They are parking in front of the house,” Shane warned, listening for updates in his mind-link with his pack. “They will know we are here.”

  “Screw caution then. Once the alarm sounds, we don’t have much time to find Jessica,” Anna said, speeding inside and reaching the door on the other end of the corridor. She didn’t mull over what she had to do, she just did it. She opened the door, grabbed her swords, and entered a hall with stone stairs going up and down. She decided to go up and, as soon as she climbed the stairs, she was face to face with a vampire.

  “Who the hell are you?” The guy asked.

  Before he could react to the swords in her hands, she punched him in the stomach and turned him around, placing the blade against his throat.

  Anna whispered against his ear as she pressed the blade harder against his throat so he knew she meant business. “Hi! I’m glad I found you. I need a guide to tell me where I should go. You don’t happen to have a plan of the house, do you?”

  He asked with trembling voice, “How did you get in here?”

  “I’ll ask the questions.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Shane asked, from the bottom of the stairs. “Do you want me to go down?”

  “No, secure the rest of the division above. I’m going upstairs. Where are the other guards?” Anna asked, drawing blood from the vampire’s neck.

  “Upstairs in the lounge. Outside securing the perimeter.”

  “How many are there inside?”

  “Twenty or thirty, I’m not sure.”

  “Where’s Jessica?”

  “Who?”

  Anna rephrased her question, “Where’s the witch your master brought here earlier tonight?”

  “In the attic, upstairs,” he said.

  “Thank you,” Anna said, using her free hand to stick a dart in his neck and put him out cold.

  Shane said before she sped up, “You can’t go upstairs alone, the rest of the guards are there.”

  “Find the surveillance room,” Anna said as she dragged the unconscious vampire down the stairs and placed him against a wall.

  “I’m going with you. Sebastien and the others can deal with that.”

  A voice behind them asked, “Where’s Jessica?”

  Shane and Anna looked back, staring at Marcus who had sped his way there and left a trail of wind behind him.

  * * *

  MARCUS

  “Upstairs in the attic, apparently,” Anna answered. “Where’s Eric?”

  “In the car. There were other guards outside, my men are handling it. They have entered by the front door of the house and are clearing the rooms out as we speak. We need to find Jessica.”

  Anna asked him, “Does your mind-link work now? Is she awake?”

  “I don’t know.” Marcus closed his eyes and reached for his beloved. “Jessie, honey, can you hear me? Jessie, are you here, baby? Answer me.”

  “Marcus…” It was a feeble whisper in the back of his mind, but his body tensed and his eyes opened.

  “She’s alive. Tired but alive. I…can sense her inside the house.”

  “Let’s move upstairs. Shane cover our back,” Anna requested, throwing him her other sword. “Have you got a weapon, grandpa?”

  “Yes, my claws,” he said, with a serious face, his purple eyes and fangs extended. “Eliminate anything or anyone who comes our way.”

  Anna nodded and ran next to him with Shane not far behind. Marcus’ men were entering the compound, armed, and with orders to clear the perimeter and secure everybody in there. They could use lethal force if necessary.

  Soon enough, the sound of shooting and fighting was heard and an alarm sounded and filled the house, alerting everybody about the invasion.

  “There goes the element of surprise,” Anna mumbled.

  Kicking a vampire, who had attacked her, she pierced her sword in his abdomen. Shane reached out and cut his head off. Three more enemies ran their way, coming from inside closed doors. Guns were shot, leaving bullet holes behind on the wall. A shotgun was fired and Marcus lunged forward, taking down the three vampires at the same time as he relieved them of their weapons and hearts.

  Speeding forward, Marcus slammed a guy against a door. The door fell behind and he saw two human girls, crying, half naked, while hugging each other. He didn’t have time to be a gentleman and tell them they needn't fear him.

  He turned to look elsewhere. There were plenty more doors to check and a lot more enemies there to question. Slamming an arm inside a wooden door, he grabbed a vampire by his neck. He destroyed the rest of the door, stepping inside the room as he looked the guy in the eyes. The vampire fought for air and gestured with his hands. Marcus realized that he was holding him too hard and the guy couldn’t breathe or speak.

  After getting nothing useful from the vampire, he entered the corridor and witness his granddaughter and Shane fighting the men who were leaving their rooms, partially dressed and half awake. The invasion had interrupted their sleep. They didn’t seem aware of what was happening.

  “We got this, move to the next floor,” Sebastien said, appearing with his men. Their eyes were glowing menacingly and his hands were morphed into claws to help them fight the vampires. “Upstairs. I smell her upstairs,” Sebastien informed with a guttural voice as the animal in him took over of his facial features.

  Marcus didn’t have to hear Sebastien twice. He was already climbing the stairs, paying attention to the sounds around him. He eluded the bullets that came from above, narrowing his eyes and launching himself against the vampire holding the gun. He ripped his throat, splattering blood around him and tainting his coat. He used the vampire’s body as a shield against the round of bullets coming from someone else with a gun. A dart buzzed near his ear, flying across the corridor and hitting the shooter in his forehead. The guy’s eyes rolled around, his mouth dropped open as he fell back.

  The king dropped his improvised shield on the floor and nodded his head in appreciation to his granddaughter. They headed forward.

  “Too many doors,” Anna sighed, staring at the corridor. “There’s no more stairs. The attic must be here.”

  “It doesn’t look like an attic to me,” Marcus said, looking around.

  “Maybe there’s a secret door or there are stairs to the attic in some other division of this floor.”

  “I’m not liking this,” Marcus said as he grabbed one of Anna’s daggers that were stuck in her belt and threw it across the corridor, hitting a new vampire in his forehead.

  “Nice aim,” Anna said, patting his shoulder.

  “They are like rats, hidden everywhere. We need to be careful.”

  “Smoke grenades,” Shane said, climbing the stairs and joining them with six grenades in his hands. “Open the door and toss it inside. It will blind them.”

  “Two for each of us,” Anna sa
id, grabbing her two.

  “I’m going to start at the back,” Marcus warned, grabbing his two grenades and speeding to the end of the corridor.

  One by one the doors were opened and the grenades tossed inside. They waited against the wall, protecting themselves from possible gunshots coming from the other side of the doors. Some of the sectors had enemies who came out coughing, but there were no signs of Jessica or Alaric.

  Opening the door, Shane warned, “She’s been here. I can smell her really well here.”

  Marcus sped to him and checked the small room with a chair and a table for furniture. “Can you catch her scent and tell us where they took her?”

  “There are too many vampires in this place. My senses are all over the place.”

  Marcus pressed his earpiece. “Eric, secure the perimeter around the house, extend tracking teams to the gardens and make sure there are no secret passages where they can get away from the house. Understood?”

  “Yes, dad,” Eric replied on the other side.

  Marcus asked, “Where is the library of this place or Alaric’s bedroom, does anyone know?”

  “The bedrooms were downstairs,” Shane said, shrugging.

  Marcus gruffed, “Do you have satellite images, Liam?”

  “Yes.” the boy responded from the other side.

  Marcus pressed his earpiece harder. “Are they in real time, can you track the enemies movements?”

  “I can detect heat signatures inside the house.”

  Before Marcus could say anything else, the house shook and everybody had to keep their the balance.

  Anna said as she held her back against the wall. “Jessie is here, somewhere.”

  “That’s magic at work. She’s in trouble or she’s performing some sort of ritual,” Marcus said more to himself than anything else. He squinted his eyes. “Liam,” he barked. “Check the top floor for heat signatures.”

  “Marcus, Marcus.” Jessica invaded Marcus’ thoughts.

  “Jessie, where are you?”

  “Upstairs…”

  “We are upstairs.”

  “Look behind the fireplace. Hurry, I can’t hold it much longer.”

  Her voice sounded tired. The link was broke and Marcus ordered, “Fireplace. Find a fireplace. Shane,go downstairs, tell the others, and look for a fireplace.”

  “It’s an old house, there must be hundreds of them,” Anna said.

  Shane had already run down the stairs to warn the others, and Marcus was speeding his way down the corridor to look for a fireplace.

  “Both the library and the bedroom have fireplaces,” Anna shouted from across the corridor.

  “The library is the most common and probable option,” the king said, rushing to her side. Behind the door, he found a sumptuous library. “I see his tastes haven’t changed. He still likes expensive stuff.”

  “Are we going to break the fireplace down?” Anna asked.

  The house shook again but not as strong as the first time.

  Marcus said, worried, “She’s getting tired. Whatever she’s doing it’s draining her. I can feel it. We need to hurry up. Once she’s vulnerable, Alaric won’t hesitate to kill her.”

  “There’s a lot of heat signatures upstairs from where you are,” Liam said in the com.

  “There must be an attic,” Anna assumed.

  Feeling distressed, he punched the wall next to the fireplace.

  Anna tried to find a way to open the secret passage that gave access to the attic. “I’ve tried everything, candelabras, statues, and even the books on the shelf of the fireplace.”

  Marcus growled impatiently, pressing his hands against the tiles on the fireplace, looking for an opening switch.

  “It can’t be that obvious,” his granddaughter said as she looked at the medieval full suit of armor holding a sword next to the fireplace.

  She didn’t waste any time and moved its arms, looking for the switch. Whatever Anna did, a dry sound was heard and the wall behind the fireplace began to move, opening into a dark hall with stairs.

  Marcus didn’t waste any time, he sped up the stairs, rushing to save Jessica, at any cost.

  Chapter Nineteen—RESCUE TEAM

  JESSICA

  Jessica kept forcing the thread, that connected Alaric and Marie’s souls, to break. She ignored the background noise of the girl screaming. It couldn’t hurt that bad since she was the one experiencing the consequences of trying to break a black magic spell. Alaric’s mate was being disruptive and trying to prevent her from separating them. It was only natural since she knew that he was planning to kill her after. Not that Jessica would let him do that. Not that she would let him bind his soul with some other innocent girl, either. But she wanted to break the connection so her friends and her own soul-mate could rid the world of Alaric’s malefic presence.

  Suddenly, amid the veil of pain and magical power, she felt Marcus in her mind. He reached out to her and filled her thoughts with his tender and concerned voice.

  “Marcus.” His name left her lips, making her skin ripple with love and sadness for being apart from him.

  The alarm rang as Jessica opened her eyes and saw Alaric trying to get up from his chair. Alaric’s men were fighting against the heavy gravity that restrained them against the wall.

  The cavalry had arrived before she was able to sever the bond.

  “I’m going to kill you, witch, whoever you are!”

  Alaric’s words didn’t scare Jessica as much as he wanted them to. For the moment, he was at her mercy, and she was at her full strength. Even if she drained all her magic power, she had to keep him there until backup arrived. Draining her powers would leave her vulnerable, but she needed to save the life of that baby, before someone plunged a sword through Alaric’s heart, also killing Marie and the child.

  Jessica yelled at him, “Your mate isn’t letting me break the curse. Whatever you think it’s not my doing, I’m trying to separate you from her.”

  Magical light surrounded Jessica’s body as the rest of the attic was swept by a powerful wind.

  “Marie, stop fighting,” he shouted at her, unable to get free from Jessica’s hold.

  “She’s a fake. She led them to you. Kill her!” The crazy pregnant vampire yelled. “She’s not here to help us. She’s here to kill us.”

  Her words had some effect on him because he yelled, “Conrad, stop the witch.”

  Jessica’s eyes aimed at Conrad. Freeing one of her hands, she swirled it and sent a wave of invisible power that sent Alaric’s minion slamming against the wall. It didn’t knock him out, but he seemed disoriented.

  Alaric recoiled in his seat as Jessica twisted her hand. The two vampires guarding the top of the stairs fell on the floor with broken necks.

  Jessica’s eyes focused on Beth. The woman looked surprised, but she didn’t move to do anything that could be suspicious.

  “Are you really here to kill me, mother?” Jessica’s attention was on Alaric who had professed those words. “You aren’t Valentina. She’s no longer a pure witch, she can’t use her powers, and your hand is still bleeding from the cut. You must be Jessica.”

  “I don’t possess the full extent of your mother’s memories to be moved by your words,” Jessica warned him. “All I want is to have my revenge for what you did to my family and your own family. I can’t love a son who killed me in another life and killed his baby sister.”

  Alaric screamed at her with red eyes, “You said you had no memories, then how can you remember that?”

  “I remember it from nightmares and dreams I have from my past life. You may not believe that I was your mother, I’m not that keen on remembering that you were my son either. Yet, that doesn’t change the fact that you are a psychopath and you need to die.”

  “Then kill me,” he dared her, smirking as if she was no threat to him. “You were always weak. You are trying to save a child that I don’t want, and a woman that I despise.”

  “And who do you love? Her?” Je
ssica asked, pointing her hand at Beth. The vampire girl fell on her knees, screaming in pain.

  Alaric lost his smile as he said, “Nothing you can do to her will be worse than whatever I already did to her.”

  Jessica lessened her grip on the girl, surprised by his words.

  Alaric added in rage, “However, if you kill her, I won’t just kill you, I’ll skin you alive!”

  “You really are a monster,” Jessica stated, caught inside his red eyes and flustered face.

  “We’ll catch up some other day. Now, it appears that I have unwelcomed visitors in my home,” Alaric declared, moving his arm to get to a panel that was in the armchair of his seat.

  Jessica understood that there were buttons that she had no idea what they were meant to do. Before she could understand, the floor shook beneath her feet, secret passages on the wall opened to let other vampires in, and the platform beneath Alaric and Marie’s chairs began to descend.

  “Marie, Marie,” Beth screamed in panic, seeing her sister being taken away.

  “Bring Beth with you,” Alaric screamed to his men, who were trying to understand what they had to do. “And stop the witch and anyone who tries to enter this room.”

  Jessica counted the vampires who had joined them. She also noticed that the platform wasn’t descending fast enough, she could reach it in time. Yet, before she could move, she heard the sound of the mad hatter laughter that came from Alaric’s mouth when he pressed a new button and something behind her exploded and threw her forward.

  When she came around, she noticed that the vampires were moving around her fast, too fast for her eyes to understand. Before she could blink, ashes were falling around her and she caught the blur of other bodies, familiar figures that had arrived to save her.

  “I don’t see him anywhere,” Anna said, getting Jessica’s attention.

  “He had some sort of elevator to take him down,” Jessica explained, kneeling and coughing.

  The air shifted behind her back, when she tilted back her head, a vampire flew through the air and hit the wall. Marcus showed beside her and helped her up.

  “Marcus…” Jessica’s eyes welled with tears, before she could cry and tell him how much she had missed him, he was hugging her.