“I will take good care of him, Sabrina,” her mother said warmly. Aradia’s voice sounded like whispers on the wind.
“Mom, will I ever see you again?” Sabrina asked, choking on the lump forming in her throat. She grew up thinking she was an orphan. Less than a year ago, she found out her father never knew she existed and her mother remained exiled to the night sky. Having found Hadrian after nearly a hundred years on Earth, she lost him. She accepted that his death meant she might never see him again, but her mother still owed more than a millennia in exile for loving him. Sabrina refused to accept she truly was an orphan now.
“Some day,” Aradia replied and stroked Sabrina’s cheek. Her hand left a sparkling trail on Sabrina’s cheek.
Aradia turned to Hadrian, embraced him, and gave him another kiss. A swirl of wind picked up around them. Together, they turned into a glittering shower and rose up into the air. The wind carried them back to the stars.
Hadrian’s body, now free of his soul, turned to ash in Sabrina’s lap.
Chapter 19
Sabrina froze. Every muscle in her body locked up and refused to move. Black ashes and her father’s blood coated most of her body. Blood-tinged tears welled up in her eyes, stinging them.
Venus got down on both knees, made a twirling motion with her index finger, and created a beautiful Tuscan urn. She sat the delicate pottery on the ground. With one hand, she held open the lid. With the other, she made a scooping motion in the air over the ashes.
The blackened soot rose gently up and fell softly into the cream-and-ocher urn with scenes of a Roman emperor on his throne surrounded by attendants. The other side showed a general on horseback with his soldiers.
Sabrina sobbed. Her losses felt like mountains laid on her shoulders. Alone and lonely. Only when Brandon carefully gripped her shoulders and lifted her to her feet did she find a measure of comfort.
Her father was gone forever. Her mother took his soul with her into exile. At least they finally found the togetherness they had craved for centuries, and this thought eased Sabrina’s pain somewhat. Their love prevailed in the end.
Brandon pulled her into his chest. He held her close and let her cry. His hands patted her gently. “Everything will be okay. I’ve got you, and it’s all right,” he cooed softly.
Nemesis cleared her throat. “There is one final matter to deal with. The imbalance you caused in the Underworld when you attempted to turn vampire,” she said.
Mars spoke up, as well. “You might have damaged my sword, but I’m still short one student. Your lioness may have sacrificed herself, but all that means is you’ve returned to being a demi-goddess. You’re still more than capable of filling the role,” he said arrogantly. With a snap of his fingers, his Roman soldier’s uniform changed back into the black Armani suit he and his henchmen wore.
Oh my God! Sabrina searched her mind for the big cat, but found no trace of the beast. Her inner lioness, the goddess part of herself, left a void. Sabrina added the missing lioness to her reasons to grieve. She died saving me. Sabrina sent out a silent “thank you” to the creature and hoped her lioness heard her.
“Sabrina isn’t going anywhere with you. I don’t know how you coaxed Eleanor into the job, but my wife stays with me,” Brandon said, unspoken threats woven into his words with his tone. He tensed and held Sabrina almost too tight.
“I didn’t coax her into anything. I won her from Diana. If my sister hadn’t already disowned this one, I’d make her another bet and win this lovely creature, too. As it is, she isn’t a child of one world or the other, making her fair game to anyone strong enough to take her,” Mars said.
Sabrina felt anger welling up inside her. Her lioness might be dead, but Sabrina turned on Mars as if the big cat were still there. Her pendant flared to life. Dark rainbows danced around her. Twisting away from Brandon, she strode closed the distance between Mars and herself and slapped him hard.
“If you try to force me to do anything I don’t want, I’ll jam that sword into your heart the first chance I get,” she said with as much malice as she could muster.
His eyes widened with delight. “Such fire. That’s the kind of spirit I’m looking for in a woman. I can’t wait to break you in properly,” he said and reached out to grab her.
Without thinking, Sabrina dodged his grasp and jumped back several feet out of arm’s reach.
What do I do, Aunt Eleanor?What would you do, if you were me?
Eleanor’s words came rushing back. “You will have released your celestial powers,” Sabrina repeated to herself. With her lioness gone, all Sabrina had of value was her powers. She might be able to kill two birds with one stone.
Mars laughed. “You’re not going to get away that easily,” he said with a snarl. He lunged at her again.
Brandon tackled Mars. They both rolled over and over, each one struggling to get the upper hand. Snapping sounds told of broken bones, but whose?
Sabrina took a step forward, but Nemesis held up her hand. “This is their fight. You will not assist, nor will you hinder,” she instructed Sabrina.
“That’s rich, coming from you,” Sabrina said spitefully. Her necklace burned against her skin as her anger rose.
Delilah clapped and cheered from the sidelines. “Hit him, Brandon. Hit him harder! That’s my boy!”
Winston and Marley sat quietly beside a still-unconscious and now-human Salem. Both of them wore blank expressions. Silent tears slid down Marley’s face, the only outward sign of emotion from either of them. They clearly grieved for their sister’s fate.
“I can’t stand this anymore,” Sabrina muttered. Not sure what she need to do or say, she closed her eyes, dropped to her knees, spread her arms to the night sky, and wished her powers to leave. She remembered Eleanor’s lessons on witchcraft and how careful the practitioner needed including and excluded every detail of intent.
“I want my celestial powers to their proper place in the universe, for them to roam free and be separated from me and my pendant, and never again to answer to my call. Never again do I wish to spindle magic in the celestial way. I wish any earthbound powers not related to being a vampire returned to their proper place in the universe. Leave me as a creature of the night with only my vampiric power given to me by my father, Hadrian, and my husband, Brandon, left intact,” she said aloud.
A sharp pain hit her stomach and began spreading throughout her body. Fire sizzled in her veins as if her blood were boiling. The pendant and gold chain around her neck scorched her skin. She opened her eyes to make sure her body had not caught fire, but there were no flames.
Dark rainbows and hazy shadows undulated in the air, twisting and twirling. They seemed to gather around the edges of an invisible wall, separating from each other. The pendant gave one final push of power. The magic stung her skin as if bees lined the length of gold and the pendant was a nest.
She rallied all her self-control to not give into the pain, but to remain still and allow all the magic to leave her body. The cramping in her middle turned to a throbbing ache. With each miserable pulse, she felt her magic ooze from her body through her every pore. The air around her seemed thick with energy, so much so she could hardly breathe.
“Sabrina! No!” Brandon shouted from somewhere nearby.
She did not bother to look for him, knowing the process kept anyone from getting to her. More energy left her in another pulse. Now and again the different magical powers sent tiny lightning bolts back and forth. A few of them reached back and shocked her. Finally, a dark-green glow radiated from her core and formed a small orb I front of her.
“Go back to where you belong and bother me no more,” she commanded the dark rainbows and hazy shadows. To the dark-green light floating in front of her, she said, “If you are the part of me that will allow me to remain a vampire and nothing more, I take you back into myself.”
The dark rainbows moved skyward like a multicolored comet. The hazy shadows returned to Delilah, who stretched out her hand an
d welcomed them home like an old friend. The dark-green orb shot back into Sabrina’s middle.
The electricity of the orb filled her body, burning and stinging as it stretched into place. Sabrina screamed. Her body felt like it tried to rip apart and was suddenly jammed back together. For a brief moment, her heart tried unsuccessfully to beat and then went more silent than she knew was possible. A raging burn tore at her throat, begging to be satisfied with human blood. The cold of a thousand graves flashed across her skin and soaked into her pores. Her teeth chattered so hard, she was afraid she might break her fangs.
Brandon’s scent filled her nose as he picked her up and held her against him. “Oh, sweetheart, what have you done to yourself?”
“I gave it all back. I just want to be with you, to be what you are, forever,” she managed to say between shivers.
He kissed her forehead. “I’m not letting you go anywhere, and I don’t care what you are, as long as you’re mine,” he promised.
When the shivering and teeth chattering subsided, she looked at him. “What about your fight? Did you win?”
“He gave up the moment you released your magic. It appears a powerless demi-goddess is of no use to him. He left cursing like a sailor and griping about missing his last chance to regain his former glory. Delilah did make him promise to call off his eavesdropping goon squad. Apparently, now that you’ve given up your celestial connection, you’re firmly in her territory,” Brandon explained. He gave her another kiss and a warm smile that lit up his entire face.
“And Nemesis?” Sabrina hated think about what else the goddess of divine retribution wanted for the imbalance she created in the Underworld. The burning in her throat became nearly unbearable, distracting her. She wanted something sweet and coppery to cool her thirst. She wanted blood.
“Did you just hear a word I said?” Brandon asked. His look told her he already knew the answer to the question. He gave her a crooked smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you home and fix that. You don’t have your magic to tamp down the burn. You’ll get used to it eventually, and it won’t be so distracting then.”
“For the love of all that’s unholy, Brandon, put the girl down,” Delilah said. Her long, sharp nail tapped out a rhythm on her leather-bound hips. “There’s some unfinished business in need of her attendance.”
Brandon gave Sabrina a quick peck on the cheek and let her feet slowly touch the ground. “As you command,” he said with a nod of his head toward Delilah.
Nemesis strode forward, clasped Sabrina’s hand, and tried hard to smile. Clearly, the act was unfamiliar and the effect was strange. Her face looked more like she was in pain than a friendly expression.
“Releasing your magic brought back the balance to the Underworld. I would suspect treachery, if not for your love for Brandon. You truly do wish to be with him and live as he lives. For this, I can find no fault. May you both endeavor to keep the other happy for as long as you exist,” she said and spread her wings wide. She gave a few flaps and lifted into the night sky, disappearing into the darkness.
“That leaves us with one tiny little detail to wrap up,” Delilah said with a hint of glee. She walked over to Salem and reached down to grab a fistful of the unconscious woman’s short, magenta hair.
Marley gave a yelp of sympathetic disapproval but quickly slapped both hands over her mouth. The tears on her face stained her cheeks. Fear played in her eyes.
Winston kept his eyes lowered to the ground. He plucked up enough courage to ask, “What will you do with her?” He never looked Delilah in the eyes. He just glanced from his feet to his sister’s lifeless form and back to the ground.
“She will be disposed of as all traitors are. Jeezabeal formally severed their bond. As Salem sought to leave the nine levels behind, I’m only granting her deepest wish. She’ll leave and never return,” Delilah replied without actually answering his question.
Sabrina frowned. She refused to see any more death. Her beautiful lioness, her father, and her magic felt like enough loss without adding Salem’s demise to the list.
“Can’t she stay with the humans?” Sabrina asked. “I mean. Nemesis stripped her of her magic. She can just blend in, can’t she?”
“No, Sweetums, she can’t. She might have lost her powers, but her genetic makeup will allow her offspring access to demonic magic. If she’s up here alone, who’s minding her pack of brats to keep them from burning down entire towns or blowing shit up? I’m not babysitting,” Delilah said firmly.
Sabrina thought for a moment. There had to be another way. “Wait. Can I buy her?”
Delilah stopped dragging Salem back to the ring of scorched Earth. She turned and said, “I’m listening.”
“I’ll give you all the treasure Eleanor left me in exchange for her life,” Sabrina said and swallowed hard. The burning in her throat became a raging inferno. She tried very hard to ignore it, promising herself an entire blood bag when they arrived back at home.
“Are you saying you’ll babysit her and her offspring for the rest of eternity? After all she put you through and after what she did to your father?” Delilah asked, disbelief coloring every word.
“No. I’m offering to buy her life because I’ve seen enough for one evening. Send her to Charon,” Sabrina suggested. It was the perfect solution.
“I can’t just go to the Underworld whenever I feel like. There are rules, you know,” Delilah pointed out with a smirk.
“But he would love to have a companion. If she can touch both shores, but never leave, he would finally have someone to share his load with, someone to talk to. She wants out of the nine levels. He wants a friend. For all we know, they’ll actually fall in love with each other. The worst case scenario is they hate each other, and he sends her back down the river to you. She’s human. Treat her as you would any human in your realm,” Sabrina tried to rationalize. She wanted Delilah to see how much sense the decision made.
“I’ll take her,” Venus offered cheerfully. “If there is the slightest chance love is involved, I’m all for it.”
“Fine,” Delilah said sharply. “Give her to the Ferryman.” She practically tossed Salem at Venus. Salem moaned slightly as she landed with a hard thump at Venus’s feet.
Delilah pointed at Sabrina. “This is going to cost more than that case of gold and gems. I’m going to need to grease more than one palm to make this go away back home. Elsewise, these two are never going to hear the end of it. About the only thing I’m going to get out of this is not having to listen to all the complaints when Sabrina loses control of her magic. Not having to worry about her flooding the place with tears or sending us earthquakes will be nice,” She hitched her thumb over her shoulder at Winston and Marley.
“Done,” Brandon said. “I’ll give you the contents of my safe deposit box in Zurich. Will that do?” He pulled out his keys and took one off the ring, giving it to Delilah.
She held it, turning the oddly shaped key over in her hand. “If this is what I think it is, you’ve got a deal,” she said brightly.
“It’s exactly what you think it is,” Brandon said. He reached down and took Sabrina’s hand. The hard squeeze he gave helped steady her growing restlessness.
Delilah squealed with delight and clapped her hands. “Wonderful!” She strode confidently back the scorched earth. A ring of flame rose rapidly around her, and in an instant, she vanished, leaving only burnt ground her behind.
Venus gave a girlish giggle. “Oh, I can’t wait to see Charon’s face when I deliver his new playmate! By the way, Sabrina, that was a good thing you did. Are you sure you’re not after my job?” She gave a playful wink, leaned over to touch Salem’s body, and faded into a ray of golden light. The light hovered for a moment and then disappeared into the ground.
Winston still stared at the ground. “I’m really sorry, Mrs. T, for what my sister did, and we can’t thank you enough for finding a way to spare her life. We feel terrible about your father, too. You’re a bigger person than I would ha
ve been in your shoes. I know we don’t have the right to ask, but we’re still under contract until Mr. Thorpe releases us. What do you plan to do to us?”
Brandon gave an exasperated huff. “If you two plan to get the shop opened back up, I think you’re going to need to take us all home. Don’t you think?”
“Yes, sir, I do. Except you’re home already. The house is over there. Delilah sent us to fetch Hadrian and to follow her trail. We had no idea Nemesis chose a cavern near your home as her lair,” Winston said, pointing to a thick tree line.
Sabrina gasped. She knew exactly where they stood. The neighbor’s pasture butted right up against her woods.
Winston took Marley’s hand. “We’ll see you tomorrow evening, Mrs. T. The cleanup is going to take forever,” he said. A ring of flames erupted around their feet. “Oh, and Mrs. T? Don’t worry about your Aunt’s stuff from the store. The storage facility wasn’t open when we went to get it and didn’t feel like doing a little breaking and entering. Her stuff wasn’t in the store when it burned.”
Sabrina smiled, overjoyed some part of her past remained. “Thank you, Winston. Take tomorrow night off. I think we all deserve a break,” she said.
With that, the pair of half demons left in a flurry of flames.
“Now, Mrs. Thorpe, I think we need to get some blood into you before the entire town goes missing,” Brandon teased. He scooped her back up into his arms and gave her another kiss.
“Agreed,” she said. A nagging question refused to go unanswered. “What was in your safe deposit box? Delilah seemed thrilled to get her hands on the key.”
“Oh, nothing much,” Brandon said dismissively. “Just the MIA French crown jewels lost since old King Louis parted with his head.”
Sabrina gasped. “That’s a lot of money!” If she still had a beating heart, it would have stopped.
Reaching up to the pendant around her neck, she felt a large crack. Glancing down, she saw the entire stone lay smoky and dark against her pale, white skin. The gold bezel deformed with the heat of the two magic powers separating. She gave a light tug and the thick, rope chain came loose. She let the pendant dangle for a moment. “I guess this is worthless now, too. I’m sorry you lost your fortune,” she said and sighed. Giving it a firm toss, she discarded it in the heavy underbrush.
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