Caroline got up and went to the door. “Patrick,” she yelled into the hall.
“Yeah?” he yelled back.
“Jill’s back, you might want to get in here.”
“Give me a minute and I’ll be in. I’m talking to Drew.”
Jilly jumped up. “Get off the phone now!” she screamed.
Patrick appeared in the doorway a second later, holding his phone. “What’s going on?” he asked warily.
“Drew is a vampire,” Jilly said flatly.
“He is not,” Patrick said. “I would have known.”
“Believe me, he is Vampire. He did not lose his power when he was turned. He can mask himself.” Patrick shook his head, trying to wrap his mind around what Jilly had told him.
“I knew there was something weird about him,” Caroline said triumphantly.
Patrick shot her a look. “This is hardly the time for gloating, my love. Jillian, would you continue please?” He motioned for her to go on.
“Well, there was a party going on when I popped in; there had been some sort of hunt earlier.”
William nodded. “Vampires do hunts every month. It’s an excuse for them to let out their inner monster. Normally they try and blend in; but when they gather in groups, it’s impossible.” Jilly shuddered and glanced over at the poor people who were passed out on the floor.
“Well, I gave them a taste of what I can do.” She smiled wickedly.
“What exactly did you do?” Patrick asked.
“You guys saw me when I came back. That was small scale compared to what I did there. I set the room on fire and I think I burned up several of the vampires before we left.”
William smiled. “That’s my girl.”
Jilly’s smile faded. “I was too late to save most of the humans; these were the only ones still alive. There was so much blood. It was everywhere.” Jilly closed her eyes, wanting to chase away the vision of what she had seen.
“You did what you could. Don’t feel bad about the rest,” Katya said softly as she knelt down by one of the victims.
“I know, I keep trying to tell myself that; but you didn’t see what I saw. I’m trying not to imagine what they went through.” William pulled her into his arms, smoothing her wild hair away from her face.
“Honey, you did a great thing, tonight. You can’t beat yourself up. Kat’s right, you can’t do that to yourself.”
Jilly nodded into his chest, taking comfort in his strength. “He wouldn’t tell me why he wants us, but I’m pretty sure I landed myself on the list, tonight.”
Caroline choked back a giggle. “Leave it to you to show off to a crazy vampire.”
“Was there anything else to share?” Patrick asked.
“No, that was pretty much it. Valdus was not happy, so I’m pretty sure he’s going to up his game.”
“He would have done that no matter what you did,” Nikolai said. “I suggest we all get some sleep. Katya and I will take care of the people you brought back. We can talk to them in the morning.” He directed his men to carry the people out. Jilly started to get up, but Katya waved her away.
“We’ll take care of them tonight; you’ve been through enough. Get some sleep and we’ll figure it out in the morning.”
Caroline kissed Jilly on the cheek and hugged her tightly. “Sleep well.”
“You, too, Car. See you guys in the morning.”
When they were finally alone, William crushed her against him in a tight hug. “Do you have any idea how terrifying it is when you do that? I know you can’t control it, yet; but it still freaks me out every time.”
“I’m sorry,” Jilly whispered. “I never mean to go.”
“You’re back and safe, that’s all that matters.” He waved his hand and Jilly was in her pajamas again.
She looked down. “Thanks, honey. I’m so tired; I would have just slept in the dress.” She hopped into bed and patted next to her. “Come in and warm me up.” He obliged her and formed his body around hers.
Hannah fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. The day's events had taken their toll on her. She found Valdus standing before her smiling.
“I’m so sorry we did not meet properly, this evening. I am Valdus,” His voice as smooth as drawn butter.
Hannah frowned at him. “Why are you doing this?”
“Doing what? Talking with you? Well, I would have thought that obvious. I wish to know you better.”
“Don’t be cute. I want to know why you want us. What are we to you?” Hannah asked angrily, growing weary of playing games. She felt far braver than she really should, given the situation.
Valdus smiled. “This is why I wanted you; you have such a fiery spirit.”
Hannah cocked her head slightly to the side. “You still have not answered my question. Why do you want us?”
“All in due time, my dear, I can’t give away the ending before we’ve even started, can I?”
Hannah sighed. “Fine, then what will you tell me?”
“What else do you want to know?” Valdus asked her.
“Are you going to kill me?”
“Kill you? No, death is not what I have in mind for you. As for the others, they are expendable. I know the amaranthine are harder to get rid of, but I’m sure I can come up with an entertaining solution to that little problem.”
Hannah shivered involuntarily. “Why would you kill them? They’ve done nothing to you.”
“They haven’t done anything, yet, my dear; but they will. It has been foreseen.”
“Why do all of you ancient dudes always use words like foreseen and foretold? Can’t you just say that someone told you it would happen? We’re not in medieval times, you know. It’s 2012.”
Valdus laughed and in spite of herself, Hannah found she liked the sound of it. “Tell me, young Hannah, how would you like me to speak then?” Valdus asked.
“Like a normal person from this day and age. I feel like I’m reading a history book or something with you guys.”
“And who exactly are you lumping me in with when you say, ‘you guys’?”
“William, Nikolai and Patrick; you all talk like a Jane Austin book. “
“Very well, I’ll do my best to adapt to you then, little witch. Anything else you want to know before I go?”
Hannah thought for a moment. “Yeah, where do you live?”
Valdus laughed. “Did you really think it would be that easy?”
“No, but it was worth a try, right?” Hannah said, laughing. Valdus blew her a kiss and faded into nothing before her eyes. She jolted awake, feeling very afraid of what was to come.
Jilly and William were awakened by her phone ringing at 3:00 in the morning. She fumbled around on the nightstand and answered it, “Hello?”
“Jilly?” A voice whispered.
Jilly’s eyes popped open and she sat up in the bed. “Grandma?”
“Yes, it’s me, sweetie.”
“Where are you? Where have you been all this time? Is mom with you, too?” The hope in Jilly’s voice broke William’s heart. He hoped that Viola had some good explanations.
“I’m in Europe, as you are, yourself. As for where I’ve been all this time, I’ve been running. The car wreck was not an accident. It was a kidnapping attempt. I’ve been running ever since.” There was silence on the line. Viola obviously didn’t want to say what she needed to say next.
“Your mother was taken,” she whispered into the phone.
“She’s alive then?” Jilly screamed.
“She was the last time I saw her and I expect she is still. They want us, or our blood, to be more accurate.”
“Who has her?” Jilly asked frantically.
“Valdus does. He’s been after me for hundreds of years. Me and my children,” Viola said softly. “Now, I fear he’s after you and your sister, as well.”
Jilly was quiet for a moment. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to put you in harm’s way; you were just barely ni
neteen, Jilly. I wish I could have explained what we are to you. I do regret that,” Viola responded.
“So, Mom is amaranthine, too? Is Caroline? Why wasn’t Liza?” Jilly shot back.
“Yes, your mother and Caroline are both immortal. As for my darling Elizabeth, I do not know why she wasn’t immortal. I’m sorry for all the trouble my Mary caused you, this year. I have always tried to reign her in. She went a bit mad after we imprisoned Patrick all those years ago.”
Jilly laughed into the phone. “I think ‘a bit’ is an understatement. She’s full on insane. I hope she rots in that cave, forever,” there was venom in her voice.
“I understand your feelings, my darling; and I’m sorry for the pain she’s caused you. I think it’s time we rescue your mom, don’t you think?”
“When do we go?” Jilly asked with a determined smile on her face.
For my wonderful husband Matt. There are not enough words to tell you how much I love and appreciate you. Thank you to both of my editors, Tawdra Kandle and Kim Swain. You both were amazing!!! Thank you also to my critique partners, Lola James, Desmond Hall, Christina Rawdon, and Jordan Hall. You all made such a huge difference in the way the book turned out. And of course, thank you to my amazing formatter, Julie Titus, without you, no one would be reading his. Thank you to my street team girls, you all make me what I am. Finally, thank you to all my readers; I was blown away by the response to Mark of the Witch. I hope you love this book just as much.
Jessica lives in California with her husband and young son. She loves to read, and that love helped her to branch out into writing. Aside from writing, she runs an online event planning business called the Release Day Diva. In addition to novels, Jessica writes and maintains the blog Book on the Bright Side.
Books by Jessica Gibson
Mark of the Witch (The Boston Witches Series, Book 1)
Chasing the Witch (The Boston Witches Series, Book 2)
Love and Blood (Blood Ties Series, Book 1) - COMING January 2013
Short Stories
Blood Lust (Blood Ties Series Short)
Learn more about Jessica and her books at
www.thisauthorslife.blogspot.com
Table of Contents
Dedication
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chasing the Witch (Boston Witches) Page 23
