by Martha Woods
Veronica tore her gaze away from her brother and Tessa, but it was too late. Deidre had already locked onto her train of thought. A deep v appeared in the woman’s forehead. She turned her eyes on Tessa, the look of tough love already on her face. It seemed like a look that settled onto her easily, one that she wore often.
“Get out,” Tessa said before Deidre could speak.
She looked startled. The younger witch stepped forward, a snarl on her lips. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. This is my home and I’m telling the two of you to get out.”
“Oh, no. This isn’t how this is going to work, sweetie,” Deidre proclaimed. “It has been a damned long time, Theresa. There is a lot that we need to talk about and you’re sure as hell going to get over whatever it is that you’re so hung up on.”
“Up until a couple weeks ago none of this existed!” Tessa shouted, waving her hand to encompass vampires and fire throwing witches. “You’re telling me that I need to get over it? And stop calling me Theresa!”
“Maybe you should calm yourself, sweetie.” Deidre’s words were calm and even. Veronica wondered if she had enough experience from calming the young witchlings of their flick as they came into their powers. “If you had just read the damned book then we wouldn’t have this problem. I get why you hate witches, why you might even hate me.”
“I don’t even know you,” Tessa growled.
“A spell was woven over you and your replacement family,” Calla said. “The journal would have broken it on you. Your replacement parents found it and it broke the spell on them. They panicked when they realized their real daughter was dead.”
“What are you saying?”
“We’re saying that the people that put you in that institution weren’t your biological parents,” Deidre said. “I’m saying that you have some real family left and you are so hung up on irrational fears that you refuse to acknowledge them. Your family could help you hone that noggin of yours into a fine tuned machine.”
Tessa’s brow furrowed as she took in the two women. Deidre looked like someone’s eccentric grandmother. It was easy to look into her eyes and want to trust her. It was Calla that seemed off. She acted as if she didn’t want to be there and Veronica guessed that she probably didn’t. Calla had been called Deidre’s escort. She probably had to accompany her elder whenever she left the flock’s territory.
“Why can I not read you?” Tessa demanded to know as her eyes bore holes into Deidre’s head.
“Because I’m trained,” Deidre challenged, a glint in her eye.
“Listen, sister.” Calla’s arms uncrossed. “Whether you like it or not, our blood runs in your veins. You are the only daughter of our High Priestess. Your magic is strong and rare. You would do good to learn to harness it. If not for us, then for your new family. They look as though they love you deeply and for you to learn your magic would help put them at an advantage against the Calder. Then, Deidre and I can go home to our families.”
“You aren’t going to try to make me leave with you?” Tessa’s voice sounded unconvinced.
“I would have very much liked you to,” Deidre said. “Your true home is with your flock, but if you think that you belong here then so be it. Who are we to rip you out of the arms of love? I only suggest that you resign yourself to visiting the flock every so often.”
Tessa visibly relaxed. She studied Deidre’s face for a long moment. Calla looked between the two, something unreadable passing through her eyes. Veronica longed, once more, for Tessa’s gift. She could see that something was happening, a silent war raging between Deidre and Tessa, but she could not fathom why.
“Stay,” Tessa declared. “But only long enough that I can learn my magic. That’s all.”
Her voice sounded cold. She was still the same woman, still prone to running. There was still a distrust in Tessa’s voice, in her face. She wanted to shake the girl’s shoulders, to tell her that they had found exactly what she had longed for. She wanted Tessa to be grateful.
Kristian’s hand squeezed Tessa’s shoulder. Her hand rose to hold it, a sign that their love would get them through whatever happened. He had taken the news of her blood rather well. He’d told Veronica that he figured she hadn’t been raised by the flock and they hadn’t put anything into her head. Tessa was still the human that they had come to know. The fact that they knew now that she was a witch didn’t change that.
But, it did change what Tessa was possibly capable of. The two women they’d brought to their New York apartment had claimed that two forms of witch blood ran through Tessa’s veins. She was both Firehaven and Calder. Could Tessa harness the gifts that the Firehaven witches displayed? Or, would the Calder blood corrupt the Tessa that her brother loved?
Veronica slumped in a high backed, leather chair. It could only be something that Kristian picked out. It was good to see that he had healed enough to return to decorating. The whole city of New York was splayed out before them, only an invisible glass wall between them and hundreds of feet of air space. She liked the new apartment.
Somewhere out there, Jared and Ally were making their rounds. Veronica was still not happy with Ally. She had practically driven the female vampire out of the house once she returned. They’d had a conversation and Ally had been properly apologetic, yet that hadn’t quenched the fire burning inside of Veronica. So, Ally had taken Jared to do perimeter checks. Jared had taken one look at Calla and seemed reluctant to leave.
But, Veronica liked that they had new allies. She watched the Firehaven witch smack Tessa’s hand with her own bejeweled hand. Kristian had splurged and bought Tessa an ornate meditation chair, a wicker monstrosity with a quilted cushion in bright, jewel colors. The Firehaven matron had taken one look at it and shook her head. She was a stalwart woman, very much set in her ways. She told Tessa that it was the floor or nothing so the two of them sat on the cold, wood floor to meditate.
“Quit laughing at me, Veronica,” Tessa growled.
The Firehaven witch slapped her hand again. She jerked back, holding her hand to her chest. The weight of the silver rings had to hurt more than the slap, Veronica thought.
“I didn’t laugh!” Veronica said, trying to suppress a smile.
“Not out loud, but you were thinking it!”
“Shhh,” the Firehaven witch said.
Kristian stood in the kitchen, brow furrowed as he watched the witch handle his lover. Veronica wondered if he put the marble countertop between them for a reason. It wasn’t much of a physical barrier, but it was enough to keep him in place. He would get over it when Tessa came into her true power.
“Everything is so much...louder this way. It’s impossible to concentrate.” Tessa’s shoulders slumped. She cracked open her eyes and gave Kristian a pleading look. She still wanted little to do with the witches.
“You will learn to master this. There are no other choices.”
Tessa pursed her lips, but turned back to her meditation.
Morgan appeared, falling onto the couch beside Veronica’s chair. She left the leather chair to fall onto the couch beside him. He pulled her into his arms. Their bodies melded together. Morgan nuzzled her ear. Tessa grumbled in the corner, making them laugh.
“I have something for you,” Morgan whispered in Veronica’s ear.
A shiver raced down her spine. She twisted in his arms to study his face. Thoughts raced through her mind. Had he bought her jewelry? He should be buying himself a new car. They’d left the Shelby in the ravine for the witches to burn.
“Follow me,” he commanded.
He slipped away and Veronica could barely wait to follow him. She was okay with his gift being in his pants, too. She crept down the hall toward her room. The door closed quietly behind her. Morgan was standing beside her bed. Laid across it was a series of black sheaths.
“You’re going to learn to use all of these better than me.” Morgan grabbed her by the wrist and gently pulled her closer. He began strapping the elastic sheaths onto
her limbs, his fingers lingering against her skin.
“And her I thought you were going to buy me a ring or something shiny like that,” Veronica joked. It wasn’t like she needed a confirmation of their relationship. At least, that’s what she told herself. She didn’t need to get married again. Marriage meant nothing to her anymore.
Morgan smirked. He stood up straight and produced a small, velvet box from...somewhere. Veronica had no idea where he had it hidden before he pulled it out. He reached her her hand, placing the velvet box in her palm and closing her fingers around it.
“I also thought you’d like that, too.” Morgan said.
Had she been alive, her heart would have thumped. She pulled her hand back, hesitant to open the small box. She looked up to Morgan, meeting his eyes. She hoped that he could see the storm brewing in her eyes.
“This isn’t a question,” Morgan said before he placed a soft kiss on her lips. His hand held her fingers tight around the velvet box between them. “Think of this as a proclamation. I love you, Veronica. I always have and I always will. Perhaps we both became undead because we were destined to meet despite our distant lives.”
Veronica leaned into Morgan, her head tilted back to face his. She wrapped her arms around his trim waist and was about to kiss him when a scream split the air. They jerked apart, both running towards the source of the sound.
Back in the living area, Kristian was crouched atop the marble counter. His eyes flashed between Tessa’s body and the lean witch standing before him. Fire burned in Calla’s hands, but the look on her face was apologetic. Behind her, Deidre stood over Tessa’s body. She jerked back her hand, a small, silver knife flashing. Tessa writhed on the floor, clutching the wound in her chest. Her mouth moved, but nothing came out.
Veronica moved first. She was faster than she’d ever been before. One moment she was beside Morgan, the next she had Deidre hoisted up by her neck. The witch no longer looked like someone’s happy grandmother. Veronica knew what she was.
Deidre was a Calder witch. She had led a Calder witch right into their home. She had been fooled by them again.
Her lips pulled back in a snarl as Veronica felt the air crackle around them. Heat singed her hair for a moment. She felt the impact, but no pain at first. The pain followed in a blinding rush. It radiated from her stomach and on through the rest of her body. Her fingers relaxed against her will. Strength left her body.
Deidre slipped from her grip. She heard the old woman cackle softly. She would not go down without the witch, Veronica thought. Gathering the last ounce of her will, she squeezed the velvet box in one hand and reached for a blade beneath her shirt with the other.
“The girl’s power will be mine and no one else’s,” Deidre growled.
The blade sung through the air towards the sound of the cackling. The edges of her blurred vision were turning black. She heard a soft thud before a gurgling sound filled the room. Veronica slumped to the floor, all of her strength sapped. There was a hole through her stomach, charred and burnt.
Dying had not felt like this before. The pain faded into cold numbness as the world turned dark.
“I swear I didn’t know!” Calla’s voice screamed. “I’m not like her. I’m not like her!”
“You’re going to die here,” she heard Kristian’s voice, low and ominous.
“No!” Calla sounded shrill, afraid. “Give me the chance to make this right!”
Veronica woke in her own room. The blankets were rumpled on the bed beside her. A cream colored faux fur blanket had been thrown over her. Was there an afterlife for vampires after all? If there was, then why did it look like her bedroom in the New York apartment? Why couldn’t it have been the beach house?
She turned her head and saw the velvet box sitting on her nightstand. The black box was stark against the cream painted wood. There was a promise of a life she could have had. She only hoped that Tessa had lived, for her brother’s sake.
Her phone vibrated on the same table, startling her. With one eyebrow raised in confusion, she reached for the cell phone. Charley’s face appeared next to a text message.
Get better soon, Vamp Leader One. It’s mission Rom Com when you’re back in shape. You and Ally need it.
So she wasn’t dead. While Charley was a demon, she doubted that one could send a text in the afterlife. Her eyes fell on the velvet box once again. It waited for her, patient and unmoving. Kind of like the man who had given it to her. Morgan had never really left her. She’d been the one to run from him. All along, all she had to do was follow him into the fray. She doubted that he’d be too happy about her doing it again after her brush with death, but he’d have to deal.
If that was what dying felt like, then she’d already faced it all. She could take on the world.
She could open the box.
For a long moment, she simply stared at it. Then, reaching with an arm that didn’t ache as much as she thought it would, she grabbed the box. It’s weight was familiar. She’d clutched it like a good luck charm as she killed Deidre.
Chewing on her lip, she flicked the box open. Nestled inside was a gold band with a coffin shaped diamond. She clamped a hand over her mouth, but she couldn’t suppress the laugh that bubbled up through her. On either side of the coffin shaped diamond was another diamond supported by gold skulls. It was beautiful in such a silly, macabre way.
She slipped it onto her finger, not thinking which finger she had chosen. Once she pulled it back to admire the ring, she realized that she had placed it on her left hand. She was startled by how right it felt.
The door cracked open and Morgan slipped inside. His hair was stuck up in every direction. And he looked like he hadn’t eaten anything in at least a day. His skin was nearly translucent. Those dark brown eyes lit up when he saw that she was awake. He crossed the room in an instant, gathering her into his arms. He jerked back, a grimace crossing his face.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you,” he said, hands becoming gentle.
Veronica shook her head, her hands moving to cup his face. His eyes caught on the ring on her finger. A slow smile curved his lip. He caught her hand in his.
“Do you like it?” he asked hesitantly.
“Very much.” She smiled like an idiot. Her heart sang for the first time...maybe ever.
His rough thumb traced over her knuckles. “I know that you like the finer things in life, the prettier things, but I see now that there’s a dangerous streak in you. You aren’t a princess to be tucked away in a castle. You’re a vampire and life as a vampire suits you.”
“It does, doesn’t it?”
Morgan laughed. “Just don’t go pulling any stunts like you did the other night” His eyes darkened. Worry tightening his lips. “You killed Deidre, but I thought that she’d taken you with her. Kristian lost it when he saw both of you on the floor.”
Her brother. She hadn’t thought of him since she woke. To lose one’s sister and lover in one night? His head was just starting to come together.
“Tessa? Is she…?”
“Kristian was able to heal her with his own blood. She’s sleeping the rest of it off. The Calder witch missed her vital organs, thankfully..”
“What of Calla?” Veronica remembered the apologetic look on the witch’s face, her screams after Deidre breathed her last breath.
“It was her blood that healed you. She offered herself up to right her wrongs. Now, wherever Calla goes, we will know. If she escapes and leads their flock to us, we’ll know.”
Veronica rubbed her temples. There was no attic in the New York apartment. There was, instead, a room in the very center of the apartment with no windows. There was only a surgical table in the center of it. She knew that Calla would be strapped to the table while she cuddled Morgan in her bed. Calla would be there while she watched romantic comedies with Tessa, Charley, and Ally.
Calla hadn’t even wanted to attack them. Veronica had seen that in her eyes. She had seen the reluctance in Calla’s movements. Hell, s
he even offered her life blood to help heal Tessa. She’d only been a pawn in Deidre’s power play. That witch had lied to Calla. Deidre must have infiltrated the Firehaven flock under a false name. How long ago had she weaseled her way into their flock? How long had the Calder been searching for Tessa?
Jared leaned the wood chair back on two legs, one long leg stretch across the hall. On the other side of him was the door to the room. The walls were so thick that no one would hear Calla scream. The witch was in there, on the other side of that door.
Veronica knew what she was doing was stupid. She knew that her brother might hate her for it, but he would live. She would always know where Calla was. She would always be able to sense if Calla was coming for them.
“I need to talk to her,” Vanessa said, her voice flat as she spoke to Jared.
He turned his head up to look at her, interest swirling through his eyes. “Talk about what, exactly?”
She leveled her glare at him, trying to be so imposing that he would simply let her by. It didn’t phase Jared one bit. He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest lazily. Veronica couldn’t help but wonder who had told him to keep her out of the room. It felt like a knife in her chest. Had someone mistrusted her?
But, realization dawned on her. A slow smile touched the corners of her lips. She leaned in close, planting a hand on either side of the chair back.
“Let me in or I’ll tell Ally that you’re protecting the witch,” Veronica whispered.
“I’m not scared of you, Ma’am. Tell them what you want.” It was the slight wrinkle in Jared’s forehead that gave him away. Veronica knew she was right.
“Then help me.” She smiled. She jumped over his raised leg and was in the room before he could stop her.
The witch had her eyes closed tight, hands fisted so that her knuckles were white. She wasn’t the sassy young woman that had stood on the doorstep of the safe house. There was a will of iron inside of her, but the veil of bravado was gone. She was simply prepared for pain. There was a bandage on the inside of her arm, proof that she had offered up her vein for Veronica’s life.
