“I think this is a great idea,” Vance agreed with Dad. “I’d also have two motors put on it. One more powerful that we can get up some speed out of, and one that will run quietly so we can maneuver around without making a big distraction if the need arises.”
“That’s a very good idea,” my dad agreed. “I’m also thinking evening surveillances would be our best bet. It was too hard to see into the window during the day last time. Now, I also need to know if anyone is having any pressing matters they need to return home for.”
There were several who commented that they needed to go back to Sedona for work, as their Christmas vacation time was coming to an end.
“I’m going to encourage you to go home and do the things you need to do,” Dad said to these individuals. “I have no idea how long we’re going to be here, and if the situation becomes too desperate for us who’ll remain; we can always fly you in if the need were to arise.”
The meeting was finally adjourned after much discussion, and it was decided that we would be sending everyone back to Sedona except for me, Vance, Dad, Grandma, Brad and Shelly.
“I’m glad everyone is going back,” I said later, as Vance and I were sitting out on the balcony with Brad and Shelly.
“Why?” Shelly asked, looking a little surprised.
“Some of them seem scared,” I replied. “I don’t think they wanted to be here anymore.”
“I got the same feeling,” Vance said, slightly nodding his head.
“Well, we’re still here for you,” Brad said as he reached over to grasp Shelly by the hand, and Vance started laughing out loud at his comment.
“What?” Brad asked, looking a little perplexed.
“I’m not trying to sound stuck up in anyway, but doesn’t it seem kind of ironic that the full-fledged witches and warlocks are running home, while the newbies are here sticking things out? You two rock,” he said as he smiled genuinely over at them.
“Maybe we’re just too dumb to know better,” Shelly suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.
“I don’t think that’s it,” Vance replied, growing somber now. “Brad was on the boat. I promise he remembers everything he saw that night. He knows exactly what we’re going up against.”
We were all silent as we remembered.
“I wish I’d been there,” Shelly said quietly with a dejected sigh as a forlorn look passed across her face.
“No, you don’t,” I said quickly. “Trust me, Shelly, it was not a pretty thing to see, and I didn’t even watch it all.”
“You didn’t?” she asked, seeming surprised by this little tidbit of volunteered information.
“No. Vance wouldn’t let me,” I told her honestly. “Even he didn’t watch everything that happened in the house, choosing instead to try and help calm me down.”
“It wasn’t the only reason I didn’t watch,” Vance said, turning to look at me as he swallowed thickly before he continued. “I couldn’t watch them consume the blood. It was too … hard.”
It had never occurred to me until that moment that he might have desired to be a part of the blood lust. That comment did scare me a little.
“Shelly, the things that happened that night were truly awful,” Brad said, redirecting the subject before I could say anything more to Vance’s comment. “If I could burn them from my mind, I would.”
“Oh,” was all she said.
Dad walked out onto the porch then.
“Hey, kids. You might want to think about calling it a night. We have a full day of things we need to do tomorrow,” he said.
“All right, Dad,” I replied as I stretched out, a sudden yawn overtaking me. “Thanks. We’ll head that way now.”
We slowly got up from our chairs and filed back inside.
Vance started pulling me toward his room, but I stopped him, and he turned to face me with a questioning look in his eyes.
“I’m going to sleep with Shelly tonight,” I said, softly, even though there were questions I had wanted to ask him.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, looking a little bit surprised. “Is this about our argument earlier?”
“No. We’re good, I promise,” I smiled, squeezing his hand slightly. “I just think Shelly is feeling a little left out again. I want to see if I can help her feel better about things.”
“Oh. All right then,” he said as he leaned over to kiss me goodnight. “Sleep good,” he added as he stepped away from me stretching our clasped hands between us until the connection broke.
“You, too,” I replied, watching him go until he entered his bedroom and closed the door behind him.
I turned and entered into my room.
“Are you getting your pajamas?” Shelly asked me casually, as she watched me move toward the dresser.
“No. Well, yes I am, but I meant I’m spending the night in here tonight,” I replied.
“Are you and Vance still fighting?” she asked me, sounding really concerned about it.
“No.” I smiled at her. “I just wanted to hang out here with you tonight.”
“Cool!” she said, brightening instantly.
“Actually, I thought I’d tell you about the night on the boat,” I replied watching for her reaction. “If you really think you want to know, that is. It was pretty gruesome.”
She thought about it for a moment before she spoke. “It just seems like everyone else knows exactly what happened, and I don’t. I know it’s a dumb reason, but it’s the truth.”
“Do you want to know then?” I asked her again.
She nodded. “Yes. I do,” she replied firmly, sounding completely sure of her decision this time.
I began to talk, as I got ready for bed, starting with when we first got on the boat, meeting Enrico and his crew, and then working my way through all the events that had occurred throughout the day.
She listened with rapt attention to every word I spoke, rarely even stopping me to ask a question.
When I finally reached the part about the demon kiss and the men who were fed upon by Damien and his followers, I could see a sickened look pass over her face, but I didn’t skip a single detail, choosing not to sugar coat it at all.
I continued on with the story about all the hysteria I had caused for the crew with my actions and of rigging the boat to fool the fishermen, trying to keep them in the dark about the magic.
She laughed a little at that part.
“So that’s all of it,” I said at the end of my narration. “You know everything that happened after that.”
“Thank you,” she said, looking relieved, like a huge burden had been lifted from her mind. “And I’m really sorry it was so traumatic for all of you.” she added sympathetically.
I sighed heavily. “I just wish this was all over. I miss just being a normal person with a normal life.”
“You’re a witch, Portia,” she said as she laughed at me. “You’ll never be normal again.”
“True,” I replied, pondering much longer on her comment than she was even aware.
“So is your mom leaving tomorrow with the others?” Shelly asked, changing the subject.
“Yes. The hospital called and said they need her to come back to work,” I explained absently.
“You and I should get up early so we can make something great for breakfast for everyone before they leave,” she stated.
“That sounds like fun. What should we make?” I asked wondering if she had something specific in mind.
“Let’s make strawberry crepes,” she said. “We have all the stuff for it. I was with your mom when she bought it.”
“It sounds delicious,” I replied, as I crawled under the quilt and pulled it up to my chin. “As long as Dad doesn’t have any other things he needs us to do, I think it’ll be a fine idea.”
Shelly used a little of her simulated magic to conjure up enough power to turn out the light.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this lifestyle,” she said, and I could hear the grin in her
voice.
“It isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.” I smiled, thinking back to my life’s simpler times, but those had been without Vance, I reminded myself.
“Maybe for you!” she replied, breaking back into my thoughts. “Goodnight, Portia.”
“Goodnight, Shelly,” I replied.
I closed my eyes knowing he was listening. He had been listening to every word since he had left me earlier.
“I love you, Vance,” I said in my head, happy that he was still near enough to me to talk to.
“I love you, too, baby,” he answered back softly into my mind. “You were right to tell her everything.”
“Do you think so?” I asked him.
“I do. She needs to feel like she’s a part of everything that’s going on around here. After all it was when she’d been isolated from your life before that my mom had been able to get to her. We don’t want her susceptible to anything like that again,” he said.
“Thanks for caring about her,” I said, before adding, “I’m sure missing lying next to you tonight.”
“You’re welcome to come and join me,” he replied. “I miss having you here next to me, too.”
“I can’t.” I sighed, really wishing I could. “She’d be hurt if she woke up and I wasn’t here.”
“I know,” he said. “But hey, look on the bright side. Breakfast sounds wonderful.” He chuckled.
“You might want to hold that comment until you taste it. I’ve never made crepes before,” I warned him. “I’m not sure if Shelly has either. It could turn out to be a disaster.”
“I’m sure they’ll taste fine,” he said, encouraging me.
“You know what I want?” I asked. “I mean really, really want.”
“What do you want?” He waited for my answer.
“I want to wake up every morning and make you breakfast,” I said, smiling at the thought.
He was quiet for a few moments.
“I would really like that, too.” he replied back finally. “Except for one thing, I think.”
“What’s that?” I responded.
“Some mornings I want to be the one to make breakfast for you,” he said. “I like doing things for you, too.”
I smiled bigger.
“That does sound pretty nice.”
“Hopefully someday soon,” he replied.
“I wish for that, too.”
“Get some sleep, baby,” he whispered.
“You, too. Goodnight,” I said back to him, as I slowly drifted off to sleep.
I woke up some time later while it was still dark. It was well before sunrise as I wandered out onto the balcony from the sliding glass door in our bedroom. I pulled a chair up close to the wall, so Shelly could see me when she woke up and know that I hadn’t abandoned her.
It was chilly, though, so I wrapped my sweater around myself a little tighter as I burrowed back against the chair, crouching myself into a tiny ball to conserve body heat. I closed my eyes and just sat in the dark listening to the relentless sound of the surf with its relaxing push and pull.
After a little while of dozing on and off, I stood and went over to the rail, looking down, trying to see the water that was moving beneath me. I could see the beach, as it was dimly lit by light from the grounds of the resort, but the water faded out into the darkness making it difficult to see on this moonless night.
I suddenly felt the urge to go back down there to sit by the water and let my mind just be. I needed to let things go.
Slipping back into the bedroom, I fumbled around in the dark until I found where I had left my slippers under the bed, sliding my feet into them.
I quietly tiptoed out the door, through the living room and down the hall, pausing for a moment at Vance’s door to consider inviting him to come with me. I thought better of it, though, as I still worried about offending Shelly if she woke and found me out with him when I had committed to spend the night with her, not wanting her to feel left out of things again.
I moved silently out the front door, shutting it softly behind me, before I hurried over to the elevator and pushed the button to go down, waiting impatiently for it to make its way back up from the ground floor to get me.
Soon I found myself at the steps to the sand, and I ran down to the water’s inviting edge. I sat on the ground, much as I had earlier the day before and stared out into the drifting sea. I couldn’t see out very far, but I was able to make out the small white caps of the waves as they rolled inward before thy crashed heavily into the shoreline.
It was very soothing to me. The ebb and flow did a lot to calm my turbulent spirit which was churning inside me. I thought of the argument I had been in with Vance, and I could easily see that we were both suffering, yet we both desired to be part of the same goals.
I suddenly felt very selfish for fighting with him earlier. He really was trying to make things better for both of us I realized. I needed to apologize to him and tell him to do whatever it was that he felt would be necessary regarding the situation we were finding ourselves in. I was not going to hold him back from doing whatever he felt was right.
Sighing, I felt a huge weight lift off me, and I knew this was the right thing for me to do.
I continued to sit by the water, watching as a pre-dawn fog began to drift in toward the shore.
“What are you doing down there, pretty girl?” I heard Vance’s voice in my head, and I jumped at the unexpected sound, being completely unprepared for the intrusion into my thoughts, though it was a welcome one.
Turning slightly, I looked up toward the resort, and I could see him standing out on the balcony at the railing, softly illuminated by the dim lights that were shining on the property.
I stood up and waved my hand, smiling at him, though I didn’t know if he could see that at all.
“I’ve been thinking about a lot of things,” I said, through our mental connection, wanting to share my self-discoveries with him, while also wondering why he had awakened so early.
“Do you feel better?” he asked, as I stood brushing the sand that was sticking to me from my shorts and legs before I began to walk through the mist-shrouded air toward him.
“Much,” I said, suddenly worried he might have awakened because he was having trouble from withdrawal again.
“Good.” he replied. “I’m glad.”
“Actually, I feel better than I have in a long time.” I said, turning to look at a movement that caught my eye in the swirling fog.
Fog! The fear streaked through me instantly, my body going on full alert as I looked about in trepidation.
“What is it?” Vance asked, feeling my sudden alarm, and I felt him tense in return.
A figure stepped out of the shadows and walked straight toward me, and I recognized the scene from my nightmares instantly.
“Hello, Portia,” Damien Cummings said, as a smile spread across his face. “It is a lovely morning for a walk, isn’t it?”
I swung my face back around toward Vance, hoping with every fiber of my being that I was dreaming.
“Vance!” I screamed with all my might, feeling like the word was being dragged slowly from my mouth.
“Run, Portia!” he yelled, reaching out toward me, and I started to run toward him, my legs feeling like they were lined with lead in the sand.
I felt two very strong arms reach around my waist and lift me up off my feet into the air, just as I saw a fireball shoot out of Vance’s outstretched hand, heading at a rapid pace straight for us. I struggled to get away from the iron grip that held me prisoner, fearful that we would both be hit by the onslaught of powerful magic shooting out from Vance.
At the last possible second, the fireball was diverted by some unseen magical force, zipping passed us harmlessly, and I saw Vance lift his arm again, ready for another attack.
It was the last thing I remembered as I felt the hard stick of something sharp into the side of my neck.
Then everything went black.
Chapter
20
It was dark. Something was wrong, really wrong, I just couldn’t quite place what that something was. I tried to rouse myself some more, but everything in my head seemed so foggy.
I felt the crush then, as the physical pain of separation filled my being, signaling that Vance was no longer near me.
Had he left me again? I thought, confused, and I felt the panic rising in my body, as my mind sought desperately to fill in the blanks. Why would he leave me? Hadn’t we worked everything out?
No, I thought, and I had a sinking feeling as I remembered. I had left him, or more appropriately, I had been taken from him. The images of my capture on the beach now danced vividly inside my head.
“Is our little girl coming around finally?” a strong voice, that I never wanted to hear again, permeated the air around me, sending a jolt of fear into my cloudy mind. “Open your eyes, Portia. It’s a beautiful day today. The sun is shining, everything is going as it should be, and you are missing it.”
My eyes opened immediately in response to the request, even though I had no intention of doing so. This was instantly irritating to me, but being able to see what was going on around me, of course, could have its advantages. I fought to focus on the fuzzy images that floated in my sight, blinking several times to try and get through the haziness, before my vision finally cleared.
I found that I was restrained in a very comfortable chair, in a small space of some sort. Damien Cummings was sitting across from me, holding a champagne glass which appeared to be partially filled with blood, watching me with great interest it seemed to appear.
We were on an airplane, I soon realized as I began to recognize the whirring sounds of the engine floating in the air around us.
“It’s a great day for a flight, don’t you agree?” Damien asked me, as he gave a quick glance out the window at his left, as if to survey the world that was zipping by below us.
Of Witches and Warlocks: The Demon Kiss Page 21
