“It will keep her from burning the place down,” Jane says, crossing her arms. “And possibly keep them from accessing her. But the first domino has fallen—now it’s only a matter of time before they find a way inside.”
“What the hell does that even mean?”
“It means we need to be really careful what we say around her. And, we’d better get to work figuring out how to get that magic out of her.”
“And how the hell do you suggest we do that?”
“We need to read.”
“I’ve been reading. For days. There’s nothing in any of my texts.”
“We have the original witch’s grimoire,” she says. “It’s what trapped her soul. There must be something to help us recapture it.”
“Seriously? You want to crack open an ancient book full of black magic, which is the very reason we’re in this predicament in the first place? What if it somehow activates your power and brings the ones hunting you right to the doorstep?”
Jane scoffs. “Honestly? My death would be a hell of a lot easier to swallow at this point than having to watch Rainey wither away and be replaced by those evil bitches.”
“Don’t say that,” I snap. “Your self-pity isn’t going to help Rainey, and frankly, it’s the sign of a weak person. Is that who you are, Jane? Weak? Spineless? That why you’ve run all this time instead of fighting?” I know my words are harsh, but they’re real. Pulling punches to avoid hurt feelings is not something I’ve ever done, and I sure as fuck won’t do it now.
Not when Rainey’s life is on the line.
“You don’t know a thing about me, Vampire. So don’t act, for a second, like you do. Besides, I’m not the one who’s going to touch it. Therefore, there’s no risk of it activating anything.”
“So I guess it’s up to me then?”
“You’re half-witch, Elijah. You have no business touching it either.”
“I touched it before.”
“And probably suffered consequences for it!” she scolds, cheeks red.
“I would know if I had.”
“Oh, like Rainey does? You wouldn’t know, Elijah, so until we figure out just what the hell we’re going to do about Rainey, you can’t touch it either. No way in hell I’m going to be able to save both your asses.”
“Then who can?”
“Someone who has no witch blood in their veins.”
“And someone we can trust explicitly,” I add as I run through the mental list of anyone we’ve met who would have zero interest in the ancient text.
She nods. “Don’t suppose you know anyone like that?”
“Actually, I do.” Pulling out my phone, I call the one person in this entire world I know I can trust. “Here’s hoping he’s up for it.”
31
Rainey
“Jennifer Allison Klaus. You stand in front of this court accused of practicing witchcraft of the darkest nature. How do you plead?”
I stare up at the aging, portly man in front of me, his stark white wig a direct contrast with the dark soul lurking within him. I can see it now, an aura surrounding him in shadow. Yet, he accuses me of dark magic.
My gaze travels to my family seated to my left. They stare back at me, pale-faced, eyes wide and brimming with unshed tears. I wish I could tell them there is no need to cry. No need to shed any more grief over me.
For I will be reborn, and then I will take my vengeance.
She has promised me so.
I do not speak, do not respond, and the human’s cheeks turn pink with frustration. “I asked you a question, Witch. How do you plead?”
“Have you not already cast your judgment upon me? Have you not already accused me beyond doubt?”
He smiles down at me. This man urged me to do his bidding, blackmailed me into poisoning his wife so he may live on with his lover. When she no longer wanted him, he ordered me to make her love him.
Such power is beyond my capability though, and even if it hadn’t been, I would have refused. Now, I shall burn for it.
The pillar I am shackled to stands firm, holding me in place atop the wooden stage they built for me. Wind whips at my hair, and I look over to meet the eyes of her. The witch who has promised me a safe haven in the afterlife while we await the one who will bring the world to its knees.
Punish the ones who do not speak up against the evil.
They will all burn as I will.
She offers me a slight nod. The power snapping around her is potent, though these fools who claim themselves to be witch hunters do not take notice.
They are not true hunters.
They are not the predators.
They are the prey.
And soon they will feel the wrath of every witch they have burned.
Every shifter they have killed.
Every vampire they have beheaded.
We will make them all pay, for soon it will be the supernaturals who roam freely and the humans who hide away.
“We believe you to be guilty, Witch. But I wish to hear the plea leave your lips. Beg us for your life. Tell us how you will seek retribution for your wicked ways.”
“I will make no such promises,” I say. “You will never hear me utter a single plea, you bastard.” My words are harsh, but my tone calm. “For I am what you say.”
Loud whispers erupt in the crowd around me, panicked, for I am the first to openly admit to guilt while standing atop what will soon become my funeral pyre.
“Then you will die.” He nods and gestures to the executioner beside me. A scream pierces the air, and I look over toward my family one last time.
To my mother.
My father.
My brothers.
And my sister. She stares at me, eyes wide with terror, and I smile. “Do not be afraid, Bea,” I tell her. “For I will see you soon.”
The executioner’s torch touches on the kindling at my feet, and flames surround me.
“I will see you all soon.”
My lungs burn and I gasp for air as I shoot up in bed. I can still feel the fire—the heat of flames as they engulfed my body. Quickly, I look over myself, taking note of the sweat coating my skin, the way my clothes cling to my body as I suck in pained breath after pained breath.
Scooting up against the headboard of the massive bed I’ve been sharing with Elijah, I bend my knees and lean my forehead against them.
It felt so real.
It all felt so fucking real.
“They will all burn.”
My heart hammers, my stomach dropping as the angered voice fills the room. I search for the source, my eyes landing on a doorway cloaked in darkness. A woman steps out, her body covered in soot and ash.
Eyes black as night stare back at me. “They will all pay.”
“Who? Who are you?”
“We are you. And you are we.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” I scream at her. She smiles, completely unfazed by my outburst.
“You’ve awoken us, and now, you owe us.”
“What do I owe you?”
“Blood.”
The door opens, and Jane steps in, her eyes wide, face pale. The expression of the woman in the doorway changes to anger as she looks at my friend.
“What’s wrong?” Jane asks, rushing toward me.
“Do you see her?”
Jane searches the room, looking right past the woman in the doorway. “See who?”
“Tell her we’re coming for her,” the woman says before fading from view.
I gape at the now empty doorway, feeling nothing like the badass hunter I’m supposed to be and everything like a little girl who just discovered a monster beneath her bed. “What the fuck?”
“Rainey, what happened?”
“You didn’t see her?”
Jane shakes her head.
“She saw you,” I growl, anger at her treachery returning. “She said to tell you that they’re coming for you.”
Jane stiffens, her face going sheet white as she star
es at me. “She said what?”
I don’t answer and get out of bed.
“Rainey, what the hell did she say?”
“I already told you, and I have zero interest in saying it again.” My tone is sharp, angry.
“I’m sorry, I—”
“Fucking save it, Jane. I really have no interest in listening to a damn thing you have to say.”
“Fine.” She crosses her arms. “But I’m going to say it anyway. I made Elijah swear not to tell you. He kept my secret because I convinced him it was what was best for you.”
“Doesn’t mean shit to me,” I say, pulling on my boots. “You both lied to me.”
“Because it’s what was best.”
I shake my head and get to my feet. Shoving past her, I head down the hall toward the kitchen. I can sense him there, a beacon calling to me, but I ignore it.
My entire life, I’ve been careful who to trust.
And the moment I decide to extend that branch, to put my faith in someone else, he fucking lies to me. It doesn’t matter why.
A lie is a lie.
Elijah stands beside the front door as though he knew I was going to make an attempt to run. “Get out of my way, Elijah.”
“Not until you hear what we have to say.”
I glare at him then turn back to glare at Jane. “More secrets? Why am I not surprised? What the fuck else have you been keeping from me?”
“Quite a bit,” Elijah admits, the first truth to fill the space between us. “But I want to tell you all of it.”
“Rainey, please let us explain.” Jane’s urgent tone calls to the part of me that relied on her for so long.
“Why should I? I trusted the both of you.” I whirl on Elijah. “And you. You promised me no more secrets, remember?” A muscle in his jaw ticks as I fight the urge to ram my fist into something.
“We had to know for sure before we told you,” Jane insists. I don’t bother looking at her, my gaze trained on the man who somehow managed to hurt me worse than the woman who’s been lying to me my entire life.
“You want to talk? Fine. Go for it.” I cross both arms over my chest. “Well, go on now. Don’t be shy. You two had so much to tell me, remember?” I snap when neither of them offers anything up right away.
“You are being haunted,” Jane says.
“Got that much, thanks. Maybe start with something I don’t already know.”
“We know what’s in the box,” Elijah says, his tone strained.
I glare at him.
Kill him.
He lies.
He broke his promise.
He no longer deserves to live.
“You opened it without me?” I growl, clenching my hands into fists at my sides.
“No.”
“Then how do you know what’s inside?”
“I told him,” Jane says. “Because I’m the one who sealed it.”
I whirl on her. “You did what?”
“I am the one who sealed the box after I got done gutting the original witch. The bitch deserved it.”
Lies.
Kill her.
I shake my head, attempting to focus only on Jane. “You killed the original witch?”
“I did. And I sealed her soul—and the souls of twelve others—in that box.”
“Thirteen,” I whisper and turn to Elijah. “There were thirteen witches at that warehouse.”
“I made the connection too.”
“What warehouse?” Jane asks.
“Good to know you and I have our own secrets,” I retort, glaring at Elijah.
“There was a sacrificial killing at a warehouse the shifters found yesterday. Thirteen dead witches and one shifter. In fact, dead witches have been popping up all over the city.”
Jane gasps, her face turning sheet white. “Oh no. It’s starting.”
“What’s starting?” I ask. Aoife said the fall would start with dead witches, but she never actually clarified what that meant. Is it possible Jane knows even more than the fae?
“The Lunar Divide.”
“Every fucking thing keeps coming back to Halloween, and yet no one can tell me why. What the hell does it have to do with anything? I know I was younger nineteen years ago, but I don’t remember hearing about massive sacrifices then.”
“You wouldn’t have. The cleaners typically get to them first,” Elijah says.
“And if this happens every nineteen years, then why is this one so special?”
Jane meets my gaze, her annoyance present as though I should have already pieced this part of the puzzle together.
And then it hits me, and I don’t have to wait for her answer. “It’s different because I opened the box, isn’t it?”
She nods. “You freed the damned souls inside, Rainey, set them free upon the earth. They’re going to do everything they can to take control of you. And if what the fae told you is true—”
I pale, ice flooding my veins. “Take control of me?”
“Use you to resurrect the original witch, and if you do that—she will have the power of all of those souls and the newly dead as well.”
I glance back at Elijah.
“We didn’t tell you earlier because we couldn’t be sure they weren’t able to listen in. We didn’t want them to realize we knew.”
“Why tell me now then? If you were so fucking concerned.”
“Because the café changed things. You lost yourself to the power, and if you do that—there’s no telling what will take control.”
I laugh, the sound bursting from me, icing on top of my psychotic break, and Elijah watches me, concern evident in every line on his handsome face. “I’m sorry,” I choke out. “It’s just, my knee-jerk response is that I’m going to be totally fine, but who the fuck knows anymore, right?”
“And that’s funny to you?” he growls.
“It really is. Because if I don’t laugh, I’m going to focus too intently on the fact that I’m losing my fucking mind.”
“We’re going to figure this out, Rainey.”
“Are we, Elijah? Can you promise me that?” I glance back at Jane. “Can either of you promise me that? Because the way I see it, I’m being haunted by thirteen dead witches, who are all itching for the chance to wear me like a hunter puppet. Oh, and let’s add to that the fact that both of you knew this and couldn’t find a time to tell me before now. Should we bring Aoife into this as well? Oh wait, we can’t. Because I let her go into the veil to try to find out who was after me. Something you,” I snap, pointing at Jane, “could have filled me in on earlier and saved her the trip. Then, she would be here to help us. After all, she is the one who told me the entire supernatural world is going to crumble.”
“We wanted to tell you, but—” Elijah starts, and I throw up a hand to stop him.
“Save it. I get it, let’s move the fuck on. I’ll kick both your asses later.” Taking a deep breath, I do my best to focus on one problem at a time, which is probably the only way I’m going to keep fighting.
The thought of giving in is far too tempting at the moment. I may not have been able to recall everything that happened back at the café, but I can sure as fuck still feel the way the power called to me.
The way it felt when it seduced me into using it.
“Where do we go from here?” Jane asks.
I glance at her then turn my attention to Elijah. Out of the two of them, he’s the easiest to forgive. Probably because I can feel his guilt. He wouldn’t have lied to me unless he truly believed it was for the best.
Doesn’t necessarily erase the anger, but it makes it easier to swallow. I’m a rational adult, so maintaining a grudge against him in the middle of a life or death situation just doesn’t seem like the smartest option.
But Jane is going to take me awhile. She was with me every time I lost a loved one. Every single damn time I had to put someone in the ground, she knew why.
And she’d let me suffer it alone.
“Let’s figure out how to
put these fucking bitches back in that box.”
32
Heather
Since I was a young girl, night has always been my favorite part of the day.
People sleeping in their beds, dreaming of a different life. I remember doing just that back when I was human. I would dream of flowers, of happy times, but then I realized just how ugly the world was, and it ruined me.
Or did it make me better?
Honestly, I’ll never really know. But I do know that I am no longer bogged down by the pain of the past. There is nothing before me but a future where everything I’ve ever wanted is within my grasp.
Power.
Immortality.
Pure, untainted love.
It’s all right there. All I must do is take it for my own. And tonight will be the final step in doing so.
The house before me is quaint, simply beautiful really. In another life, perhaps I could have been content in a home like this. With a husband to love me unconditionally.
As I move up the path, I take in the bright blooms contrasting with the dark siding beneath the light of the moon.
A pale green and blue wreath bearing an ‘R’ decorates the door, a large welcome mat beneath it. Such a shame this place will see death tonight.
But if I’m to reach my goal, it must happen.
Destroying a hunter like Rainey Astor takes work, precision, planning…and I will not fail.
Somewhere an owl hoots, another predator seeking prey. I breathe deeply, inhaling the mountain air before opening my eyes and calling to the power flowing in my veins. It’s potent—so much more than it ever was—than I ever was.
Why must you wait? Go!
“Hush now. All in good time,” I whisper to the voices calling for blood.
The door opens soundlessly with a wave of my hand. Frozen images of the happy couple residing within line the walls.
Bright smiles, lustful looks.
I take in the man’s aged face. He’s handsome, striking even, and it just infuriates me. The handsome ones are always the most deceitful. But not mine.
No, my love is true. And soon, he will know me as I know him.
Blood Captive: A Paranormal Vampire Romance (Vampire Huntress Chronicles Book 2) Page 25
