by C. J. Pinard
I chuckled. “No, you are powerful, and we need you. Warm up those spidey senses. I have a feeling we’re gonna need them.”
“Ah, shit,” she said as Evan and I took off running toward the side of the house.
“I’m okay, I promise, love,” he said. “Send the witch to me, so I can come help you.”
I drew in a big breath, contemplating my dilemma. We had snuck in through the side door of the mansion, but Kellan had been talking to me. Relieved that each other was still okay, we had been trying to devise a plan that wouldn’t end with the both of us dead. The problem was, it was near impossible to figure out where on the property he was. So far, we hadn’t seen any buildings, except that pool house/shed and of course the main house.
As we crept inside, we found ourselves in a small mudroom, which quickly led to a large, farm-style kitchen. The décor was rustic, but everything was new, and knowing that vampires didn’t eat, I wondered why they needed something so elaborate. I then realized that Kellan’s kitchen at his house was also badass, and came to the conclusion that, not only did it not matter, but that I had bigger things to worry about. I felt like I should be out on the property looking for where Kellan had been stashed, and not inside here on a goddamn suicide mission. Because honestly? That was what this felt like.
I was trying to remain calm, but all I could think about was my love, trapped somewhere. As we entered the kitchen, it was dark. Our feet whispered over dark bamboo floors, and then I had a sudden thought. I grabbed Sanja’s arm and stopped her.
She looked at me expectantly. “What?”
“How fast can you do a locator spell?”
She shook her head. “Not very fast. You want to find Kellan, don’t you?”
I nodded. “Very much. He could help us.”
She chewed her lip and looked at me sympathetically. With her olive-colored hand on my pale arm, she pierced me with a serious stare. We had stopped our walk, and I noticed Evan stood, watching us with worry in his eyes.
“Listen, my friend,” Sanja started. “I can’t do a locator spell without something personal of his, or some of his blood. Furthermore, I don’t know how much help he’d be right now.”
This confused me, because I knew how much Kellan really loathed Linden.
Sanja looked to Evan as if pleading for help.
Evan blew out a breath and looked at me sympathetically. “She’s right. If what you say is true, and he’s been sired to serve him for the next thirty-odd years, having him here with us would not be a good thing. No matter how much Kellan wants to help us, and no matter how much he’s in love with you, that spell will trump it all. It may cause us more harm to have him here.”
I fought the tears that began to burn my eyes. They were tears of anger, sadness, and mostly frustration, and the only person I was mad at was myself for being so naïve.
“Stop,” Sanja said softly, sympathy dancing in her warm gaze. “He’s safe for now. He’s probably bored, frustrated, and worried about you… but he’s safe. Let’s leave him be for now, and deal with the situation at hand.” She pointed to the ceiling, where I could hear voices speaking in hushed tones.
I nodded slightly. “I know you’re both right. It’s just hard… I want to help him so bad.”
Evan wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him in a brotherly hug. “I know, girl. And we will. But let’s help your brother and my wife first. Maybe even end this once and for all.”
I knew deep down in my cold heart that he was right. I nodded.
“Be strong. Be tough. Be fierce.” And with that last word, his eyes flashed yellow momentarily, and he smiled wickedly at me.
“You’re gonna have to teach me how to do that on demand,” I said with a bitter smile, swiping away tears with the back of my hand.
“Didn’t you tell us you wolfed-out in the drainage tunnel? What’s there to teach?” he asked.
Sanja watched us both with curiosity, as if she had been wondering the same thing. I moved my gaze away from her, and back to Evan. “I… I don’t know. I was angry, scared, backed into a corner… I just went crazy.”
Evan nodded. “That’s it then. You feel threatened, the wolf comes out.”
“But it’s not like I willed it to happen. I want to be able to have the wolf come forward at my command.”
Evan nodded. “And you will… all in good time. Now”—he pointed at a staircase leading upward that was across the living room that was set before us—“let’s kick some ass now, and take names later.”
I grinned. “You got it.”
Chapter 13
Once we reached the upstairs, a loud slapping noise echoed through the massive hallway that was stretched out before us. It stopped the three of us in our tracks. We looked at each other wide-eyed and froze when we heard voices.
“I’m not sure,” came a deep voice sounding an awful lot like Phil’s.
Smack.
“Sir,” said the same voice, strained. “I… I wasn’t finished…”
Smack.
“Fucking-A! Can you stop that for a minute so I can explain what—”
Smack. Thud.
A barely restrained growl came next.
“I realize you have no idea how servitude works,” came Linden’s accented voice, “but blatant disrespect, the use of cheap, modern profanity in my presence, and your obvious impatience isn’t anything I will ever tolerate. Do you understand me, vampire?”
I looked at my compadres in alarm as we stood at the end of the hall. Evan’s eyes were just as wide, and he shook his head in disgust. Sanja just looked at us both in confusion, until I realized, that, from our position she probably only heard hushed voices and yelling. She wouldn’t have been able to make out the distinct words that had been spoken.
“Where is my brother and Karina?” I asked Evan, anxious to get this show on the road so I could send my brother and best friend back to Denver, where they would be relatively safe, and go get Kellan from his supernatural prison. You know, after I killed Linden and danced on his fucking ashes.
“On their way,” Evan mouthed to me.
I rolled my eyes and continued to listen to the conversation going on behind the large wooden doors at the end of the massive hallway I found myself lingering at.
“Kellan is still imprisoned,” Phil said in a clipped tone.
I heard a snort. “Kellan is still imprisoned… what? I think you left out a few words.”
Silence ensued, until another smacking sound lit up the silence.
“I’m… I’m not sure what else I could possibly tell you—”
A rumbling growl emanated from behind the closed doors. “Kellan is still imprisoned, sir. Your majesty. Et cetera. Do I need to spell it out for you, you dumb, useless oaf?”
Oh, hell naw.
“I’m gonna kill this motherfucker,” I said under my breath.
Evan wrapped an arm around my shoulders and whispered in my ear. “So you’ve said. But all in good time.”
“I don’t see any use lurking around here. Let me go. I need to finish this,” I said with hate lacing my tone.
“Thank God,” I heard Sanja mutter under her breath.
I turned around to see Karina and Aden heading our way. Karina looked relieved to see her husband, and Aden looked half-pissed off and half-relieved.
“Damn, you scared us,” Aden said, pulling me in for a hug.
I nodded and held back tears at seeing my brother. I looked at Sanja and she was typing on her phone.
“Really?” I said.
“Mom’s worried about me,” she said with a chagrin. She put the phone back in her pocket, and pulled out a necklace. “We made you a new talisman. This one will make the dagger invisible to vampires and witches.”
She clasped it around my neck and I could see it was a bright blue stone that didn’t sit high on my chest, but dropped down deep into my cleavage. Sanja closed her eyes and muttered in Latin, then opened her eyes.
“Whoa,
” Karina breathed. “Disappeared before my very eyes.”
Sanja looked down at my leg and smiled. “I can’t see it, either.” She looked at Aden. “Can you see it?”
He nodded. “Yep.”
“Let’s just hope that Linden is only vampire and witch and nothing else,” Evan said, eyeing the dagger. Since he was part wolf, I assumed he could see it too since it was only spelled to be invisible to witches and vamps.
Just then, the large, heavy-looking wooden door to the room began to open and we scrambled back into the hallway that would barely hide us. I saw Phil and Maurice walking out of the chamber looking really pissed off. Phil’s face had two healing black eyes and dried blood around his lip. To my relief, though, it was only the two of them.
“Group hug,” Sanja whispered in a panicked voice.
Without a second thought, we huddled together and Sanja said, “Invisibilia.”
When the two large vampires turned down the hallway, we all stood stock-still and held our breath. They walked right past us as if we weren’t there. I had never been invisible before, but it was, like, the coolest thing ever. Except the world around me looked like I was seeing it through a shimmering plastic bubble. Once the vampires were out of sight, Sanja said, “Visibilis.”
She let out an audible breath and I glanced at her. She looked exhausted, as her shoulders were slouched and her eyes had lost a little sparkle. I instantly became angry at myself for being so selfish. “No more magic,” I said, putting my arms around my friend. “In fact, Karina, can you take her somewhere safe while we finish this?”
Karina nodded and put her arm around Sanja’s other shoulder. “Of course. I’ll blitz us outside and find somewhere. What time is it?”
“Four a.m.,” Evan said, looking at his fitness watch.
“No,” Sanja said. “If that door is spelled, I’ll need to do an unlocking spell.”
“Not if it’ll kill you, you won’t,” I said.
“She’s right, though,” Evan interjected, looking sympathetically at Sanja, then me. “We need her. Once Linden is dead, she can rest. I’m sorry, Sanja, but I have an idea to recharge you, but you’re not gonna like it.”
“I’ll do anything to feel better. It usually takes some of my grandmother’s special tea and like two days of sleep when I’ve used this much magic,” she replied, almost slurring she was so tired.
I narrowed my eyes at Evan. “What are you gonna do?”
He looked at his wife and nodded.
Karina produced fangs and bit into her own wrist. “If you just have a small sip—”
“Except that,” Sanja said, making a face and taking a step back.
“Disgusting,” Aden said, also stepping back.
“This is the only way? And it won’t hurt her?” I asked, concerned.
Evan nodded. “The healing properties are amazing, and yes they work on witches. We had a hunter once who was a witch and almost died, Karina had—”
“It does work,” Sanja whispered. “But Mom said to never use it for healing. Not only is it cheating, it can become addictive, and can also turn me if I take too much.”
Karina smiled and lifted her non-bleeding hand to Sanja’s face, brushing a stray hair out of her eyes. “You’ll just need a small sip. I promise.”
“A small sip?” Sanja asked innocently.
Was she hypnotizing her?
“Hey!” I whisper-yelled, not liking this, but not sure what else to do.
Evan laid a restraining hand on my arm and put a finger to his lips, shaking his head to shush me like I was a child.
I flipped him off and looked on as Sanja grabbed Karina’s wrist with both hands and began to suck.
“Enough,” Karina whispered after a few seconds and pulled away.
Sanja stepped back against the wall and then sunk down to her butt with her eyes closed.
“What’s wrong with her?” I asked.
We heard the door open once again, and we all looked at each other. Aden poked his head around the corner. “Here comes the bastard.”
“Fuck! Get up, Sanja,” I said, shaking her.
She opened her eyes slowly and blinked up at me, then got to her feet quickly. “I’m okay.”
It was my turn to shush her with my finger to my lips. I pulled the dagger from my thigh holster, and Aden pulled out a gun from his pocket. My eyes went wide, but I just shook my head and decided not to ask questions.
As his footsteps got closer to the corner we were hiding around, I had to tell myself to breathe and not hyperventilate. This was it. The moment I’d been waiting for for five years. I looked at my brother and he looked intense and determined, but I saw a slight bit of fear mixed with excitement behind his blue eyes.
“Sir, there’s something on the cameras you need to see,” we heard a female voice say, and I recognized it as that blonde buzz-cut-haired bitch who had been in the dungeon prison downstairs.
Sweet, I could kill them both!
We all looked at each other and hoped he wasn’t going to turn back and walk the way he came, because then we’d have to rush them from behind, and I wanted to see the fear in that piece of shit’s eyes when I ended him.
“What is it?” he asked, sounding annoyed, and I could only guess it was from what had happened with Phil earlier.
Deciding I was not letting him get away, I shrugged off Evan’s hand on my arm and stepped into the hallway.
Chapter 14
With my arms down by my sides, I heard Sanja whisper, “Invisibilia,” again. Except I knew that I wasn’t invisible, only they were. Which was actually perfect.
I could feel them behind me as I raised my chin and said, “Hello, Linden. Are you looking for me?”
The bitch—if I knew her name I could use it—was standing next to him, and neither of them seemed surprised to see me. She still wore the shiny black cat suit and red stilettos. A smirk twisted up in her shiny red lips and I wanted to knock it from her face.
I knew, well, I hoped, they couldn’t see the dagger in my right hand. I held my hand loosely, letting it dangle on my fingers so I wasn’t making a fist. Linden gave me a once-over.
“Doesn’t look like we’ll need to review the cameras,” the bitch said dryly.
“Was she alone?” he asked her, not taking his creepy silvery eyes off me.
She shook her head, also not taking her eyes off me. “Nope, there are four others.”
“Go find them,” he ordered.
“No, you’re not going anywhere, bitch,” I said under my breath.
She chuckled. “You gonna stop me, totally unarmed?”
I nodded. “Yep, I have these.” I put up my fists like a boxer, the dagger now gripped tightly in my fist.
She blitzed toward me, but I was ready for her. I heard gasps behind me, and hoped Linden didn’t hear them. I knew the invisibility wouldn’t last long, as it wore my friend out, but it didn’t matter now. It was time to fight.
The bitch jumped on me and I threw her off toward Aden, who I could clearly see now. Sanja didn’t look too tired, but I lunged toward Linden, who, to my utter shock, was running away in the opposite direction.
Are you kidding me right now…?
“Get back here, you coward!”
I heard a scream, then a female voice yell, “No!” This was followed by an earsplitting gunshot that seemed to shake the walls.
I blitzed after Linden as he went back into the doors from where he’d come. I looked to my right to see Aden running alongside me, a smoking .357 revolver in his hand, and I smiled.
“She dead?”
He nodded. “Fuck yeah.”
I chanced a glance behind me to see Phil and Maurice come running up to Sanja, Karina, and Evan, and could only pray they could hold their own, or at least the two hulking vampires would be merciful and not kill them if they got the upper hand. I just had to kill Linden, then all the spells would be broken.
“Little Wolf, please tell me you’re okay,” Kellan pled.
“Yes, hang tight, I’m okay. You’ll be free soon. I love you!”
“Love you too…”
I blocked out his voice because I had a mission to accomplish and I didn’t need his worry. I needed anger, vengeance, and the love I had for my brothers to get me through this.
Linden threw the door closed and I heard a bolt get thrown. Aden and I skidded to a stop and he looked at me and said, “Stand back.”
He lifted the revolver, cocked the hammer back with his thumb, closed his left eye, and aimed straight for the door handle. The wooden door exploded in a spray of splinters and wood, and I covered my face with my arm.
He had missed the bolt, but had weakened the door enough for us to start kicking it in. I looked through and could see Linden running into a back room of the massive hall, and kicked harder.
Then I heard the bolt unlatch and the door swing open on its own. I turned around to see Sanja smiling with her hand up, and Evan and Karina standing on either side. The three were flanked by Maurice and Phil, but they weren’t doing anything. A pile of ash and hooker clothes lay at their feet.
“We were told to restrain them, that’s all. We won’t hurt them,” Phil promised, and I could see the purplish-yellow bruises almost healed around his eyes. He then pierced me with an almost apologetic sincerity in his gaze before he mouthed to me, “Kill him, please.”
I nodded as Aden and I rushed through the doorway and across the throne room, headed for the door we’d seen Linden disappear beyond.
It was like he’d vanished into thin air. The room was void of anything. Windows, furniture, nothing. Just a door and another one on the opposite end of the room. When I opened it, it was just a small, empty closet. I pushed on the walls and ceiling for any hidden passageways.
“What the hell?” I whispered, wondering if this was some kind of trap. I began to panic. “We need to get out of here. Maybe he used an invisibility spell like Sanja?”
I began slicing at thin air with my dagger like a lunatic as I walked toward the door.
“I don’t think he’s that powerful, to be honest,” Aden said, gun out in front of him.
