Everyone gathered around her after she was finished speaking, giving her hugs and well wishes. When they were done, Sarit singled me out in particular.
“Thank you, Portia, for your help,” she said as she grasped my hand warmly in between both of hers. She looked around the room then, searching for something. “I do not see Vance anywhere, but please tell him that I greatly appreciate him and the services he has rendered to me. Without him I surely would have died.” Her eyes misted over a little bit at this point. “I truly hope that everything works out for him and that the two of you will find the happiness together that you seek.” She smiled.
I removed my hand from hers and hugged her.
“Thank you, Sarit,” I said. “I’ll tell him everything you said. I wish we could’ve met in a different place and time, under better circumstances.”
“I do, too,” she replied, as she stepped away from me. “If you ever find yourselves in India ….” Her voice trailed off.
“We’ll be sure to look you up.” I smiled at her.
“That would be wonderful,” she agreed as she walked slowly away. “Then my family could meet you, too.”
Dad left with her then, to take her to the small local airport that would transfer her to a larger plane in Mexico City, and I was sorry to see her go.
Once they were out the door, I closed it behind them, turning to go into my room to get showered and cleaned up.
Shelly followed right after me.
“So, that was some show the two of you put on this morning,” she said, with a short laugh.
“It was, wasn’t it? I don’t know what was up with him!” I laughed lightly. “He was talking all about making his mark on me and things like that. One minute he was deliriously happy, and the next he was upset.”
“I think you make him feel so happy that he gets desperately afraid of losing you,” Shelly replied, offering up an explanation for his strange behavior.
I just shrugged my shoulders, thinking she could possibly be right.
“I don’t know what he’s afraid of losing me to. I don’t plan on going anywhere without him ever again,” I replied.
“I think the two of you are acting out because you’re avoiding the real issue,” she said, solemnly, watching me closely.
“What do you mean?” I asked as I looked at her, confused over what issue she could possibly be talking about.
“I saw the terror on all of your faces when you came to drop Sarit off at the dock. Whatever the four of you witnessed out there scared the heck out of all of you,” she stated flatly.
I felt myself take in a sharp breath. “You’re right. I am avoiding the subject,” I said, as I walked into the bathroom, closing the door abruptly behind me.
I felt bad for cutting her off like that, but I didn’t want those images flashing through my head right now.
“She’s right,” Vance said in my head, and I realized he had been eavesdropping again. “We are avoiding it. It actually has a name. It’s called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.”
“So that’s the reason our emotions are all over the place?” I sighed, listening to him even though part of me didn’t want to.
“Yes. It’s the natural way the body reacts to something it has a hard time dealing with,” he explained.
“So how do we make it better?” I asked, not really wanting to talk to him about this at all right now.
“By doing the one thing we don’t want to,” he said, as if he were reading my thoughts. “We’re all going to have to sit down and talk about it.”
“You go ahead and do that. Let me know how it goes,” I mentally replied to him, while turning the shower on and climbing in.
I realized then I was showering in complete darkness. I hadn’t even wanted to turn the light on. I just wanted to hide in a safe dark place.
Changing my mind, I decided at that point to settle down into the tub instead, letting it fill high, with the water as hot as I could stand it, before turning on the Jacuzzi jets. I closed my eyes and let my body relax under the heat of the water.
I didn’t even know I had fallen asleep until I heard the door to the bathroom open and close as someone entered the room.
“Are you all right?” I heard Vance’s voice in the darkness.
“Mmm. Yes. I guess I fell asleep,” I replied a bit groggily. “I’ll be out in a little bit.”
“Do you want to talk to me about it?” he asked from the other side of the shower curtain.
“Not now,” I said, knowing he was trying to help me, but I didn’t want to talk about this. “If I start crying, you’ll be tempted to reach in here and hold me. It wouldn’t be good.”
“I understand,” he answered quietly, and I heard him open the door to the bathroom again. “I’ll wait for you in the living room.”
“Okay.”
I didn’t hurry to get out, taking my precious time so I could delay the inevitable as long as possible. I just tried to relax as well I could in the water.
After a while I sat up and took my time shampooing and conditioning my hair, then shaving my legs. When I couldn’t think of another feasible reason to stay in the soothing bath any longer, I finally got out.
I went into the closet after I dried off and got dressed in a sweet little blue and green plaid top, with a scooped neck that went up into a high collar around the back, and belted with a thin strip of material at the waist. After which, I slid on a pair of boot cut blue jeans and stepped into a cute pair of moccasin-looking clogged heels.
I took the time to dry my hair with the blow dryer and then pulled it into a chic looking ponytail, with my long bangs across my forehead and tucked back behind one ear. Then I carefully applied my makeup, so it was in complete perfection, dark eyes, soft pink lips, and a little bronzer to give my pale skin a sun-kissed glow.
Digging through my bag, I found my favorite body spray scent, caramel green apple. I applied a little of it behind my ears and on my wrists before spraying a couple of pumps into the air and walking through it.
Afterward, I went to my jewelry bag and pulled out my large silver hoop earrings and placed them through the single holes I had in my earlobes.
Then I surveyed myself in the mirror.
Trying not to be too vain sounding, I realized I did indeed look great. But I knew I had spent way too much time on getting myself ready in an effort to avoid everything else.
Time to face the piper, I thought as I took a deep sigh and walked out of the bathroom, through the bedroom, and into the living room.
Vance wasn’t in there, so I swung around to look outside and found that he was standing on the balcony, staring out into the ocean.
I quietly stepped out the patio door, closing it softly behind me and walking up behind him. I had intended to sneak up behind him so I could place my arms around his waist to hug him, but he turned to face me as I approached, leaning back up against the rail.
“Wow!” he said, as his eyes ran up and down the length of me, a smile of appreciation gracing his face.
“Wow, yourself!” I said back to him with a smile, as I checked him out in return, thinking how delicious he looked just standing casually there with his arms across his chest.
He was wearing the long-sleeved, dark gray, pullover sweater that I had given him for Christmas, over a pair of dark indigo-colored low tide Levi’s, with a pair of Kickers sneak high shoes.
His hair was textured into that perfectly messy look I loved so much, and I could smell the cool scent of his aftershave wafting through the air as the breeze blew it toward me.
He reached a hand out to me, and I accepted it, as he pulled me up against him, so our faces were mere millimeters apart, our bodies in full contact with each other.
“You smell good enough to eat.” He smiled with his sexy grin that he saved exclusively for when he was alone with me, as he nudged my nose slightly with the tip of his.
“Thank you. So do you.” I chuckled, loving the feel of being next to him. “
I have to warn you, though,” I said, suddenly serious. “I’m overripe.”
I held up my pruned looking fingers which had been in the water far too long, showing him their wrinkled appearance.
He just laughed and slipped his fingers through mine so they were intertwined together.
“I thought you had drowned in there,” he smiled gently, as he looked at me with a concerned look.
“Sorry,” I apologized, feeling bad now for keeping him waiting for so long. “I got a little too relaxed.”
“Looks like your dad is back,” he said, as his gaze moved away from my face, looking over my shoulder though the glass into the living room. “Shall we go in and have a chat? I think we have some planning to do.”
“Lead the way,” I said to him, though I wasn’t at all eager to get into the Damien Cummings issues surrounding us.
We went back into the condo, where the coven was gathering together to talk things over. Vance led me over to the wall and leaned on it, pulling me so my back lay against him.
We had been standing there for a few minutes, waiting for things to get started when I noticed I could see our reflection in the large mirror that decorated the opposite wall.
Vance had apparently noticed the mirror also as he was already looking at me through the glass, too. I had never realized what a handsome couple we made together before now. There was something about us that just fit. It was like we were two separate parts of something that made a whole picture.
I looked at him in question, as these thoughts ran through my mind.
He nodded his head slightly in acknowledgment.
“I see it, too,” his voice whispered into my mind.
I couldn’t look away from the image in front of me, and I wasn’t even trying to be vain or anything. There was just something there, something different about each of us that made us the same. I couldn’t explain it, except to say he was my other half, the thing that completed me, and I him.
We just stood there staring at each other until he leaned his head forward and kissed me softly on my neck.
I found that I liked watching him do that in the mirror, and I leaned my head slightly to the left to see if he would do it again.
I heard him laugh quietly, as a quick grin spread across his face, but he still leaned in and obliged me once more.
“Temptress,” he accused, and I gladly accepted the title.
Dad began speaking then, and I reluctantly turned my attention away from the mirror and the special moment the two of us had experienced together there.
“We need to have a discussion and make some decisions,” he said, looking around at each of us seriously.
Grandma stepped forward slightly then.
“As you know, things are much worse than we expected them to be,” she said. “We’re all kind of at a loss about how to deal with this problem, as we’ve never had to be involved with anything like this before, so any suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated.”
“I think we need more help,” Babs said, looking around with a concerned expression. “This guy has proven he’s completely evil and has no concern over who he destroys.”
“We need to get out of here before we all end up being his lunch, too,” Hal said, shaking his head. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for confronting the guy, but it would be better on our own turf and under our own conditions.”
We listened quietly as the conversation bounced back and forth, realizing that everyone here was seemingly scared to take Damien on. Not that I blamed them for feeling this way. He terrified me, too.
Finally, Dad turned toward Vance and me.
“The two of you have been awfully quiet over there. Do you have anything you want to add?” he asked us.
I shook my head, not even wanting to be here for this discussion, but Vance spoke up quickly.
“I think we need to bring him to us,” he said matter-of-factly.
“What do you mean exactly?” Dad asked, clearly wanting a better explanation from him.
“I mean I think we should set up a trap for him,” he replied.
“What kind of trap are you suggesting?” Grandma asked, leaning forward in interest now.
Vance shrugged his shoulders, as if setting a trap for his father should be no big deal.
“I say we let him think he’s found his next victim. You know, get him really excited,” he said.
I turned to look at him with wide eyes, knowing the answer to my question before I even asked it.
“And who, pray tell, will be the bait?”
Chapter 18
“I will be of course,” he replied nonchalantly, as he looked back at me, holding my gaze stare for stare.
“Absolutely not!” I replied as I folded my arms over my chest, knowing this was an issue I was not going to budge on.
“Why not?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow at me, actually having the gall to try and look surprised at my reaction to his suggestion.
“Well, let’s see,” I began, feeling the heat from my frustration creeping into my cheeks. “You’ve been running from him your whole life. You lost your mom because of him, and Marsha, not to mention the fact that this coven has spent the last two years of their lives trying to keep you hidden from him. Now you want to just waltz in for a family reunion? No! It’s too dangerous. I don’t want him to hurt you.”
I stared at him, waiting for him to say something, but he just stared back at me. After a moment passed, I turned to face the rest of the group.
“I’ll be the bait,” I offered, stepping forward, knowing the coven needed another option or they might actually consider what he was suggesting.
“What?” he said loudly, grabbing me by the arm and turning me back to face him. “No! Absolutely not!”
“Well, now you know how I feel!” I shouted back, my eyes flashing in anger as I returned his angry look.
“Kids! Kids!” Dad spoke above us. “Relax! Let’s calm down and talk about this together.”
Vance and I both stood there glaring at each other, neither one wanting to be the one who gave in.
“I think Portia would be a good person to use in the trap,” Dad said, surprising everyone in the room.
“What?” Vance and I both said in unison, as we turned to look at him.
Dad sighed as he shook his head slightly in frustration.
“I’m saying that I think your idea to reel him into a trap is a good one, Vance, and that I think Portia should be the bait.”
“Not a chance!” Vance argued with him, stepping protectively in front of me, as he glared angrily at my father.
“Listen to me, Vance,” Dad said, holding his hands up in front of himself, trying to calm him down. “I have no intention of putting my daughter in any real danger. We’ll just use her to draw him out so we can get him alone somewhere, into a position where we can contain him.”
“Contain him? How? And if you manage to succeed, then what?” Vance asked, not letting his guard down for one second.
“I don’t know! This is why we’re having this little get together,” Dad replied in irritation as he waved his hand around at the rest of the group.
“I’d rather you use me as the bait,” Vance said in a steely determined voice, not willing to let it go.
“Think about it, Vance,” Grandma said suddenly, standing up and coming over to put an arm around his shoulders. “We’ve been protecting you all this time, and your dad knows it. He sent your mom to get you, and you killed her, then disappeared. If all of a sudden you show up right in front of him, in a different country no less, don’t you think it would make him a just little bit suspicious?”
The muscles in Vance’s jaw were working back and forth the entire time she was speaking to him, as he clenched his teeth together.
“All right! I see your point,” Vance said, folding one arm across his chest and resting his opposite elbow on it so he could reach up to pinch near the bridge of his nose before rubbing there as if he we
re starting to get a headache.
He sat there with his eyes closed for several moments before he spoke again, looking directly at my dad.
“So if I was to agree to this, and I mean IF, what do you have in mind?” he asked.
“We would need to get him someplace where we’d be able to use our magic, without alerting a bunch of people to the fact there are real witches and warlocks out there. And we’d definitely need all of our powers to contain him,” Dad said.
“And then what?” Vance asked, becoming quickly agitated again. “We keep him as our pet demon? Come on, people! Think!” He looked around at all of us. “This is a powerful warlock we’re talking about. We have no idea how this demon kiss thing is affecting his powers! Does he retain all the power he steals? Does it wear off eventually? If he is retaining everything he steals, then it’s going to be a twenty-four-hour job for this coven to contain him, if they even can contain him! And what about when he goes into withdrawal? Are we all just going to sit there and watch him shrivel up and die? He needs to be destroyed … immediately.”
Everyone sat there quietly, not knowing what to say to help make the situation better.
“You’re right. We aren’t prepared,” Dad said, standing up to pace the floor. “We need to keep up the surveillance for a while longer, learn his habits and his patterns before we try to make any kind of move.”
“Thank you!” Vance said with a wave of his arm, sounding relieved at the turn of events, before turning around to face me. “You,” he said pointing directly at me. “Follow me.” He strode past me and down the hall to his room.
I turned to look at Dad, in question, suddenly wishing he needed me to continue on with the conversation.
“Go,” he said, waving his hand in dismissal at me.
I sighed and turned to follow down the hall after Vance.
He was standing at the door holding it open for me. I walked through, and he closed it behind me.
“What the heck was all that? Offering yourself up as bait! What are you thinking?” he asked, walking up to stand toe to toe with me, glaring down at me.
Of Witches and Warlocks: The Demon Kiss Page 19