Her head jerked from side to side as she tried in vain to battle against his magic. I had seen witchlings burned by humans over the centuries. Those weren’t memories I liked looking back on. And even so, I could see the same panic in her eyes as I did the witchlings and even humans who had been wrongly accused of witchcraft in a time when kruxa unintentionally created a whirlwind of accusations. Often times against those who were completely innocent and not even witchlings.
Her mouthed moved. Edmund took away enough of the magic paralyzing her to let her give an answer.
“Stop,” she screeched. “I swear! I swear to you! To the vixra!”
Edmund put out the flames just as they started moving up the length of her waist, searing off most of her tight jeans.
Edmund released her from the grip of his magic and she tumbled down to the ground. Then he lifted his hand and aimed for her throat.
“No!” she shouted. “I agreed! I will serve you!”
“Yes, you will,” he said, casting his magic outward and wrapping a magical cord around her neck. The same invisible cord that was around mine.
Edmund turned her into a slave. A slave that would eternally serve the vixra.
She gripped her throat once the magic disappeared and the cord around her neck turned invisible. “What the hell?” she grunted.
“Think of it as an insurance policy. I’ve learned not to trust vampires over the years. Especially now that I know even those who I thought I was on good terms with can turn the moment an opportunity presents itself.”
“What do you mean?” I asked him.
“I only trusted Tobias Vallas with droplets of my blood because I believed the warriors he trained could be of mutual use if a war was indeed ever upon us.” He turned around to face me with those weary and tired eyes that I dreaded seeing every time I was summoned by the vixra. Those eyes I went out of my way to avoid. “I cannot summon him any longer. Somehow, Tobias has freed himself from his chains. He’s broken free of the spell enslaving him to the vixra.”
My jaw nearly dropped to the ground. How in the world could Tobias escape the bind of the vixra? Or even amass enough magic to break a witchling spell cast by one of the oldest and most powerful witchlings in the world?
“Then why let her live if vampires truly are that untrustworthy?” I asked him pointing at the blonde vampire who was still in shock of what just happened.
“Because you’re going to need all the help you can possibly get to do what I need you to do next.”
I swallowed hard and waited for him to say the words. I knew they were coming but that didn’t make them any less shocking.
“I need you to find and kill Tobias Vallas. With the help of this vampire you will track him down, you will find him, and you will kill him.”
I didn’t say anything. I was in too much of a state of stunned silence. I may have been over two centuries old. I may have had more control over my magic than the usual kruxa still walking around. I even had immortality. But that didn’t mean I could kill a vampire who had lived for over a millennium.
“I know you and Tobias have some sort of history,” he said. “I don’t claim to know how deep the bond between the two of you once was. But I trust that you can handle these orders the same as you have any other over the years. With swiftness and commitment.”
I bowed my head to him in silence, knowing that his words were binding even though a flush rushed up to my cheeks.
‘How on earth does he know about that? That was long before the vixra ever found me.’
Regardless, orders were orders. And unlike Tobias, I didn’t have the luxury of finding a way to free myself from eternal servitude. Not that his freedom would last very long now. Tobias had placed a target on his back.
“You expect me to work with her?” the blonde vampire complained behind him, still on her knees and still with her hands latched to her throat. The feeling of a magical cord around her neck hadn’t faded away. And probably never would.
“Not only are you going to work with her, but you’re also going to do every single thing that she says,” Edmund demanded. “I doubt Georgeanna will have any reservations about reporting any hesitation you might have in conducting your duty to the vixra to the fullest.”
I couldn’t help but snicker. I didn’t like the idea of being trapped with her. But I certainly enjoyed her misery as she fully realized what she had agreed to.
“Meet me back at the house,” Edmund said as he turned away and started walking toward the tree line to a path in the distance with the sword still in his right hand. It was then that I noticed we were in a clearing near the forest surrounding the Matthews manor in Hungary. When I glanced back to the scene of what looked like a natural disaster around us, the debris from the lab and Dr. Richard Foster’s body had completely disappeared. Edmund had already disposed of it with some sort of spell he didn’t even have to say out loud.
‘Nice trick to have up your sleeve.’
I heard a light whimpering from a few feet away. The blonde vampire hobbled up to her feet with her hands still rubbing her neck where the cord lay just above her collar bone.
“You’ll get used to it,” I told her.
She didn’t say anything. But she did make eye contact with me in such a way that almost made me feel sorry for her. Almost. There was sadness in her eyes. And I could sense the defeat permeating from her body.
‘You truly have no idea how lucky you are. I wouldn’t have flinched if he decided to end you after what you did.’
“What’s your name?” I asked her.
“Liza.”
“Well Liza, the Matthews don’t particularly like vampires wandering around free in their family home,” I sneered. “So follow me to the garden and stay there until Edmund and I are done talking.”
I walked over to the few items that Edmund hadn’t made disappear with his spell. Including my gun and the magic-infused bullets still inside cracked test tubes. Along with my leather belt. I buckled it back around my waist and filled the magazine again with the bullets before heading up the same path where Edmund had disappeared.
For the first time perhaps ever, I was grateful to him. He saved me from captivity. And from the looks of it, he didn’t seek to punish me for what happened at the president’s speaking event. He had bigger things to worry about. As did I. I now had orders to kill a thousand-year-old vampire. A man I allowed myself to love and then shamed myself for over two centuries for giving away my heart to him. Only to find that I could do nothing but run from every other relationship I ever had with a man before he had the chance to harm me the way Tobias did. Killing Tobias was unthinkable. And worse, I was almost certain that it wasn’t even possible. My magic was gone. Dr. Foster drained it from my body. I had no idea when it would come back. Edmund was ordering me to do something I wasn’t capable of carrying out.
9
I heard Liza following me from about ten feet back as I walked up to the manor, making sure I entered from the usual acceptable area in the lower kitchens then meeting Edmund in the main entryway. I wasn’t sure what to expect. A scolding perhaps? All I knew was that Edmund rarely spoke to me unless he had something negative to say. And I rarely spoke to him mainly because he was the one who made me a slave and I didn’t want to be reminded of those times. Or the despair I felt after.
“Follow me,” he said as he took a few steps up the gigantic staircase leading to various halls. I knew many of the dark corners of the manor. But once in a long while, I got a view of one that I wasn’t familiar with. This was one of those times.
Edmund took me to a bookcase and pulled out one of the books. But only halfway. The bookcase slowly moved backward pushing through the wall and moved to the side, revealing a long dark hall made of stone that was hidden from plain sight. Once he stepped inside he raised his arm and lit the torches of flames with his magic to reveal the passageway. The flames sparked one by one, showing just how long the hall was. I entered behind him and the bookcase s
lowly closed behind us.
I was alone in an area of the Matthews manor I knew nothing about with a man that already hated me and a sword in his possession that had magical abilities beyond what I understood. It didn’t exactly inspire me to feel comfortable.
“Calm yourself,” he said to me in a deep voice, sensing my trepidation. “You’re not in trouble.”
“How can I not be in trouble? I allowed myself to be captured. They drained me of my magic. They ran tests on me for three days. I don’t even know what they did while I was still unconscious.”
“It’s unfortunate, yes. But I won’t lay blame where it’s not due. You have been at fault for many things. This isn’t one of them.”
His words didn’t calm my nerves but they did make me curious.
He led me down the hall toward a spiral staircase. When we reached the bottom I saw a room with a large fireplace, a bed in the corner, several Renaissance-style paintings hung on the walls along with tapestries, and an array of glass bottles with magic swirling about, begging for release.
“This room is for my personal use. There are some things I wish to keep private, even from my own family. In a world where our existence must be kept a secret we often times have to hide even from those we hold most dear.”
‘I know the feeling,’ I thought as memories of Kitty when she was still alive trickled into my mind. I remained quiet, not wishing to step out of line given that I might already be on thin ice. He said I wasn’t in trouble. But that didn’t mean I could relax.
“Georgeanna, I need you to recognize the scale of what took place over the last few days,” he said somberly as he took a seat in a large chair in the corner. “When the vixra council first assigned you to the task of hunting down the remaining members the Catach-Brayin, they knew that Tobias was an unlikely ally and one that couldn’t be trusted. His enslavement was a practical punishment but not an entirely wise decision. I didn’t fight my son Arthur or the council when the decision was made even though I knew Tobias’s character. He’s not the type to follow or be chained. Which was why I decided to give him vixra blood over the course of the last century. I knew it was against witchling law to provide it and I might be punished alongside him if the council ever discovered my actions. I, however, feel as though we are at a crossroads and have been for quite some time.”
I let him keep talking, unsure of when he expected me to speak.
“The creation of vampires was regrettable,” he continued. “Perhaps even inevitable. Their treatment of kruxa was even more deplorable. But unlike the council, I do not see their existence as something to be purged from this world. I see them as an opportunity. Tobias shared in this view.”
“An opportunity?” I asked, hoping he would explain further.
“The prophecy regarding your birth and the coming of an age of war between humans and witchlings caused me to be careless over the years. I took risks that I probably should not have taken. Even so, I saw Tobias’s willingness to train vampires to discipline their savage ways as a sign that they may be of more use to us alive rather than dead. But only for those who can be reasoned with. And if they can be reasoned with, they may prove a tremendous weapon.”
“A weapon should war happen?”
“Oh, it will happen. I’ve lived long enough to see the causes of unrest, dissatisfaction, and despair. And how the masses tend to react to such grievances. Once the world is made aware of our existence, and one day soon enough they will, witchlings will be seen as a threat. And not because they don’t understand us, feel frightened by us, or because we are indeed other. But because humans dream of a world that does not exist. Once they discover that our magic cannot deliver the world they desire and that we will not help them create it, they will turn on us. Vampires may offer a defense for our kind once this event happens. As of right now, they are a convenient offense that we can manipulate from afar while we prepare for the inevitable. Tobias agreed with me given that he wants to see the survival of his kind. As any reasonable man should strive for the survival of his people or his kind. And yet, for some reason beyond what I can fathom, Tobias now sees his survival as separate from witchlings. He’s found a way to break free of his enslavement. And his punishment. If Tobias Vallas no longer feels that his fate is tied with that of the vixra or any other witchlings, then I failed in my assessment of him. There’s no longer a reason for him to be kept alive. Or any of his warriors given they’ve already proved that they cannot operate without his guidance.”
I shook my head. “You don’t understand,” I said to him. “I know it might be bold of me to say, but you expect me to do something that I’m not even capable of. Dr. Foster drained my magic from me in his lab.”
“Why do you think I brought you down here?” he said as though the answer was obvious.
“I’ve collected magic from witchlings who disobey our laws for over three centuries. It’s sitting on the table behind you.”
I admired the weaving spirals of magic in various jars. There was every sort of magic I had seen over the centuries. Gold magic from the kruxa. Blue magic from the luxra. And green magic from the vixra. Then flaming red magic in the corner that I had never seen before. He saw me admiring it and spoke before I could ask.
“Not all magic is suitable for use,” he said. “It can be dangerous if you don’t know how to channel it properly. Which is why I want it in the hands of someone I knew is capable of appreciating its power. Luxra are too bold. Kruxa tend to be too meek and reckless. But a kruxa who has lived as long as you might prove capable. Especially given you possess the courage to think you can stop a presidential assassination.”
I just about lost all the air inside my chest. “I…um… I can explain that. Victor was-”
“I know what Victor was doing there. But do you?”
His brow curved in a way that was downright quizzical. Like he knew something that I did not. And given that I had been held captive and probably under a drug-induced sleep for a few days, it was a fair bet that he did know more than me.
“To expose witchlings?” I asked. I thought I knew exactly why he was there that day, glancing back at me from the middle of the park with a ball of fire weaving in and out of his hand. Was I wrong?
Edmund reached his hand toward me and cupped my cheek. His magic glowed over my skin. I expected it to hurt but miraculously I barely even felt it. He was being gentle with me.
“He’s been inside your mind,” he said, almost concerned as he sensed Victor inside of me with his magic. “He’s tracking you for one purpose. He wanted to know where the facility was. He knows about Gandira Corp. And that they have been kidnapping vampires from the Catach-Brayin for weeks to experiment on them. He used you as bait to lure them out and have you captured so he could track you and find out where they are keeping other vampires.”
“How do you know that?” I asked as he slowly removed his hand from my face. “Why would a self-serving monster like Victor take such a risk to save other vampires? Is he trying to gain trust to become the new coven master?”
He shook his head. “No. He’s working with another. A man Victor made into a vampire because he knew he would be a great leader on and off the battlefield.”
Tobias. I recalled the vision I had days ago. Tobias was running through the woods, trying to escape Victor chasing him down. That was why he turned him into a vampire?
“Wait. But that would mean…”
“Yes,” Edmund said with severity in his voice. “Tobias has regained the trust of the coven. And I believe he’s been directing them for weeks. And with Victor’s ability to enter your mind he knew where you were and could always be one step ahead of you to protect the Catach-Brayin.”
I took in a deep breath. “I wish I could say I’m surprised but I’m not. He’s always valued power over loyalty.”
Edmund smirked at me and I knew I had given too much away. Even so, the fact remained that Tobias had done the unthinkable yet again. He betrayed me in his pursuit of po
wer once. I already knew he would do so again. Edmund clearly didn’t.
Edmund lowered his hand from my face and went over to the bottle on the table to the far back corner and took it in his hands.
“Hold out your arms,” he ordered me.
I did as he commanded. Then he opened the cork at the top of the bottle and released the magic inside, directing it to my body.
The red magic swirled in a mess of beautiful chaos all around my arms and funneled down to my legs before ever touching my body. And once it did, my skin absorbed it instantly. It was like being given the gift and curse of life all over again. Wind shot through me, filling my blood with a power and energy like I had never experienced. As if it was a fantastic drug coursing through me for the first time. Just enough to get me hooked and wanting more.
“What is this?” I asked him.
“A very rare form of vixra magic,” he said. “I think you’ll find it useful given your own magic was wrongly taken from you. Your body should recover in a few weeks. But until then, this will have to suffice.”
I wanted to thank him. To show appreciation. Then the memory of how he imprisoned me into this life returned to me in full force. I was still a slave. Still subservient. Still forced to accept the bidding of my masters. I would always resent him for it.
“Now,” he said. “Take the sword with you and use the connection Victor created in your mind to find him. I have a feeling where ever Victor is now, Tobias will likely be. The sword will let me know where you are if you get into trouble.”
He handed the sword to me and I took it, watching as the blade vanished before my eyes and it was nothing more than a thin cylinder again.
“But I don’t know how he even created the connection yet alone how to use it.”
“I enhanced it for you when I touched your skin.”
‘Um… thanks?’
Cursed Relic: (Witchling Wars: Vampire Echelon Book 1) Page 10
