Whitelighter

by Angie Derek

  Alandra trembled. “You must do it quickly.”

  The other witch lashed out, smacking Alandra across the face. “You don’t tell me what to do.”

  Alandra stepped back, her hand covering her red cheek and she nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

  The witch smiled and crooned lightly. “It’s all right. Come here.” She put an arm around Alandra and gave her a quick hug. “You’ll feel better soon.”

  “Yes, I haven’t been feeling well.”

  “I know.” The witch went back to doing whatever it was she was doing on the table.

  Lily twisted her wrists trying to find some give in the ropes. She closed her eyes letting her power flow. She couldn’t always control it, but it never failed her when she needed it desperately.

  “There we go.” The witch’s voice was suddenly in front of her and she jerked her eyes open in surprise. “Let it go my dear.”

  “What do you want?” Her eyes locked on the small ceramic bowl held in front of her.

  The witch laughed. “Your power of course. She tells me you cracked the crystal. Remarkable really. Alandra wasn’t even that powerful before I took her light.”

  She snapped her gaze to Alandra who fidgeted against the wall. She didn’t understand exactly what was going on, but now she knew why his mother’s aura was messed up and her light was barely distinguishable.

  “Just think. No more vampires hunting you down any longer. You’ll be able to live a normal life. Isn’t that what you want,” the witch crooned.

  Her power flowed through her veins as her instinct for survival took over. She might not know what the witch planned, but she was in danger and had to protect herself.

  The witch held the bowl to her lips and drank whatever she had concocted. She let the bowl drop and held her hands out in front of Lily’s face. They began to glow.

  Lily’s power surged, racing toward the glow. She closed her eyes and shook her head trying to regain control. Her power wasn’t trying to fight the glow, but was rushing for it. Pain streaked up her face as the witch touched her hands to Lily’s forehead.

  Lily screamed.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “What the hell is going on?” Reyes ran behind Brenda through the pouring rain to his truck.

  Brenda opened the door and buckled Sophie in. Against his instincts, he grabbed the vamp’s wrist before she could climb into the driver’s seat. The rain water had already soaked his clothes and the vamps.

  Her eyes narrowed a fraction. “Lily’s in trouble.”

  “How do you know?” He dropped her wrist in panic.

  Brenda gestured to Sophie. “She has her own powers.”

  He jerked a glance at the little girl who was beginning to glow faintly. The vamp hissed as she noticed the glowing.

  “We’re wasting time.” She slid over, allowing him to get behind the wheel.

  He started the truck and wrenched it through the packed parking lot before heading down the back street at double the speed limit. The wipers were on full blast and barely kept the windshield clear. “I hope you’re wrong.”

  The vamp flashed her teeth. “Something we agree on.”

  It took nearly two minutes for him to finally reach the road to his mother’s house. The truck soon screeched to a halt in front of the house and twin shadows emerged from the trees beside his mother’s door. Vampires.

  Shit! He opened his door about to run forward as Brenda was already leaping over the hood of the truck when Sophie made a noise. He looked at her realizing he couldn’t rush in to save the day. She would be left alone and unable to defend herself.

  Brenda faced off with one of the vampires. The other vampire had passed her and was walking steadily toward his truck. Her gaze locked on him through the downpour. He swore again in his head and slammed the door shut. Shifting the truck into reverse, he took Sophie away from the immediate danger.

  The vampire leapt into a run as he backed away from the house. He swallowed another swear, not wanting to frighten the now awake Sophie, and pressed harder on the accelerator. He kept one eye on his mirrors to make sure he didn’t hit anyone while keeping the other on the vampire in front of him. It was a female, but he wasn’t stupid enough to think he could take her in a physical confrontation after his experience with Brenda. The little blonde was smaller than Brenda, but he couldn’t chance it with Sophie. The vamp slowed as if deciding the chase wasn’t worth it. He couldn’t see Brenda any longer and he wondered what she was facing with Lily.

  He might not be able to fight, but he could at least distract one of the enemy away. It would be a balancing act. Keep Sophie safe while tempting the vamp to chase them. He glanced quickly at Sophie before letting up on the accelerator. She didn’t say anything and the light glow remained. Her eyes were closed, but he was sure she wasn’t sleeping.

  “We’re gonna be fine, Soph,” he found himself saying, worried about her lack of response to what was going on. Of course, maybe it was better she wasn’t responding. With her eyes closed she couldn’t see anything that would frighten her.

  He focused back on the vamp before stomping on the brake. The tires slid before gaining traction and the truck jerked to a stop. The vamp’s stride quickened as her interest in capturing them renewed. Slowly pressing on the accelerator, the truck backed down the empty street again. He just had to stay far enough in front of her to keep Sophie safe.

  ****

  The pain subsided. Lily took another deep breath, fighting to center herself as she shoved her power down and away. It fought her, but it slowly receded and the pain lessened.

  “No,” the witch whispered. “Stop it!”

  She found her center and pulled the light even farther within her. She would not let the witch gain power over her. The little she had seen between Alandra and the witch convinced her it would be very dangerous to allow the witch a spark of her light. The witch might not be threatening death, as a vampire would but she was trying to steal her power all the same.

  The sounds of the room faded to an eerie echo and the witch screamed again, but not at Lily. At least she didn’t think it was at her.

  “She’s useless now!” A voice shouted, but from far away. It sounded familiar yet not.

  Something hit flesh and a body fell to the floor. Alandra screamed and sobbed.

  Lily struggled to emerge from her trance, but her power started to spike and she renewed the effort to squash her light down. Her fingers tingled letting her know she had to open her eyes and find out what was going on.

  Something heavy hit her and the world tipped before the chair slammed to the ground and slid several feet. Her eyes jerked open and she gritted her teeth to keep her power from surging as she tried to figure out what was going on around her.

  “You will not take me!” the witch screamed.

  Her wrist moved. The arm of the chair had broken from the impact. She wiggled it pulling the ropes off, keeping her head still and trying not to turn her head to see what was happening behind her. She suspected playing possum was crucial at the moment. Her arm was free. She flexed her fingers and slid the rope across her stomach, tilting her head just a fraction so she could see the witch chanting and the master vampire smiling in front of her.

  The coat the vampire wore was way too familiar as was the back of his head. He wasn’t looking at Lily and the witch was completely focused on her own defense as her power amped up and surged. Several objects flung off the walls to bang into the vampire, but he barely moved.

  A chill went through her as she slowly moved her hand toward the rope binding her wrist. It couldn’t be the master vampire she had killed two days ago? Could it?

  She worked the knot taking her eyes briefly off the pair to focus on what to tug on. The vampire suddenly lunged forward with blinding speed and seized the witch before she could raise her arms to protect herself. The witch screamed again and something heavy hit his back.

  It didn’t stop him. Lily flinched as the witche’s scream
turned into a high pitched squeal before fading off. Her rope loosened and she yanked her wrist from the confinement. She angled her head again, her gaze briefly sighting her belongings just a foot away in her backpack before focusing on the struggling witch and vampire.

  The witch was limp in his arms as he fed from her neck. An odd glow surrounded the pair and Lily lurched to her knees to grab the pack, her searching fingers immediately grasping a long stake. She pulled it out and scooted around to face them. She wasn’t sure where Alandra was, but the witch had stopped making noises and the vampire was completely engrossed in his kill.

  She would have to move right now before he finished if she hoped to escape. Rocking back on her toes, she leapt up and ran four steps to the pair. The vampire raised his head just as she reached him. She refused to scream and put everything she had into plunging the stake into his back.

  The stake buried deep into his back. Her hands trembled as they continued to move forward pushing it through his body into his heart. He spun, his hand going around her neck, but he was too late and his grip barely squeezed before he wheezed and dropped to the ground. The light surrounded all of them, burning her as it released from the vampire’s body.

  She grabbed her head as her body flashed scalding hot as the light releasing from the vampire rushed into her. She crumpled down to her knees with a moan. A breath shuddered through her lungs as she tried to fight her way through the light. Closing her eyes against the blinding flash, the burning crawled over every cell in her body. She couldn’t pull her power in or release it. She had lost control. Everything went dark.

  ****

  Reyes wrenched the wheel of the truck at Sophie’s cry. He jerked a glance at her and she appeared to be unconscious again, held up by the seatbelt. Swearing under his breath, he brought the truck full circle around the block and back down his mother’s road. He was still in reverse which had earned him a few odd stares from passing cars on the busier crossroad. But the rain seemed to keep everyone else inside and no one seemed to notice the tiny vamp pursuing him. She was getting pissed now and he was going way over the speed limit in reverse.

  A blur stepped into the road behind him and he stomped on the brakes. His truck slid to a stop an inch from Brenda. She leaped and thudded on the roof of the camper shell before jumping for the vampire in front of him. The little vampire, taken by surprise, didn’t last long against Brenda’s expert hand.

  He almost jumped out again, but hesitated. Brenda didn’t pause before pivoting and dragging the limp vampire back toward the house. He swore again, checking his mirrors. No one on the streets and he hoped no one was at their windows. Thunder rumbled. It was possible the storm was masking everything. He glanced at his mother’s house. He didn’t see any other vampires besides Brenda, who went in the front door, making him wonder why she hadn’t already gone in. It had taken him a couple of minutes to drive around the block.

  His mother stumbled out the door and he was out of the truck. Sophie made a protesting sound behind him and he hesitated gritting his teeth as Alandra stumbled down the front steps. Brenda came out next carrying Lily in her arms. He looked around the neighborhood again before jumping back into the truck to drive over the curb and into his mother’s precious flower beds. He braked just as Brenda reached them.

  Sophie undid her seatbelt and climbed into the front seat in her haste to get to her sister.

  “Wait,” he said, but she was already scrambling out the passenger door and would now be as wet as the rest of them.

  He jumped out of the driver’s seat and looked around the quiet neighborhood. He supposed they were lucky the storm had hit. There wasn’t a single person coming out to see why he was parked in the yard, but now the rain was slowly turning to a drizzle. People might be venturing out shortly.

  “Is she alright?” Reyes asked Brenda, his eyes passing over Lily to his mother who hadn’t moved from the shelter of her front porch steps.

  Brenda sat Lily in the passenger seat of the truck. Sophie leaned in tight against her unconscious sister. At least, he hoped she was unconscious. Her light flickered and flared as if it couldn’t find its pattern. Brenda nodded and scanned the area.

  “What?” He looked around to spot what she’d seen.

  “Nothing,” Brenda said. “She’s fine, Soph. You stay with her.”

  Sophie slid in tighter to her sister, her little fingers threading through Lily’s. With Brenda taking charge of Sophie, he finally felt able to step away from the truck and jogged over to the porch where his mother stood. Her face was drained of all color.

  “What happened?” He took her hand. Her flesh was cold and she wasn’t even wet. He rubbed it between his to get her circulation going, worried by her non-responsiveness.

  “A vampire came in.” Her gaze locked with his. “You said you hadn’t brought her trouble with her!”

  He looked at the open door. “How did they find you?”

  She jerked her hand away. “They didn’t find me. They followed her. He knew who she was and became enraged when he saw…”

  “Saw what?”

  Brenda was suddenly beside him. “The other witch? You didn’t mention you were expecting company.”

  Alandra didn’t respond to her question. “I want you all to leave, now!”

  “How do you know the vampire tracked her? What if it isn’t safe for you here any longer?” He stepped between Brenda and Alandra to get his mother to focus on him.

  “She’ll be safe now,” Lily said softly behind him.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Alandra wouldn’t look at her, but Lily couldn’t say she was surprised. If she’d just tried to have someone killed it would probably be difficult to meet their eyes. Reyes spun around, relief clear in his gaze, but his relief would shortly turn to disbelief and then anger, most likely directed at her.

  “Why?” she asked the one question she had wondered since finding herself tied to the chair.

  Reyes frowned, his gaze going from her to his mother and back again.

  Alandra didn’t answer. Lily hadn’t really expected her to. With a small sigh she squeezed Soph’s hand to reassure her. She needed to be careful of what she said, but she had a feeling a part of her sister had been with her the entire time. She’d felt her calming presence. It was something to figure out and deal with later.

  “Brenda, you need to check the vampire’s body.” She locked eyes with her vamp. “It’s the same one I killed two nights ago.”

  Brenda pivoted to look at the open front door. “You sure?”

  “Pretty sure.” His presence had felt the same as before even if she hadn’t gotten a straight look at him. “If he survived then…”

  “Right.” Brenda was already running up the steps to make sure the master vampire was indeed dead and wouldn’t come back to chase them again.

  “If you didn’t want me in your home, you could have told me to leave,” Lily said softly, keeping her gaze on Alandra’s face, but watching Reyes out of the corner of her eye. She was about to accuse his mother of trying to kill her.

  Alandra’s eyes narrowed. “You were already here. She felt your presence as soon as you entered the island. This is her domain.”

  Reyes cleared his throat. “Someone want to clue me in to what the heck we’re talking about?”

  She took a deep breath. “You’re mother isn’t dying, Reyes. She’s being drained of her whitelight by another witch.”

  “What?” He stared at his mother in dismay. “Why didn’t you tell me someone was hurting you?”

  Alandra avoided her son’s gaze. “She wasn’t hurting me.”

  “It certainly hurt me when she attempted to drain my whitelight.” Lily spat out before she could hold back.

  Reyes winced at Lily’s accusation and his eyes locked with hers. Her heart squeezed as she waited for what he was going to say. She hadn’t flat out accused his mother of trying to kill her and maybe the two women wouldn’t have killed her. She didn’t know what their plans
had been exactly. But he didn’t verbally respond as his gaze went back to his mother’s face.

  Taking a deep breath, she tried to keep control as more of her power surged inside her. “She drained you over and over, didn’t she?”

  Alandra glared at her. “It was better than being constantly on the run from vampires. She made me invisible to them.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Reyes asked softly. “I always asked how you were.”

  “I was fine,” Alandra said, her chin going up. “Why would I tell you anything?”

  His hurt shot right through Lily’s heart and she couldn’t hold the words in. “Because he’s your son and he cares about you. She didn’t care about you. All she wanted was your power for herself.”

  Reyes stared at the ground his agony coming off him in waves. “You hate me that much?”

  Alandra’s stubborn expression turned to one of surprise. “I’ve never hated you.”

  Lily suddenly understood why Alandra had put herself through the agony of having her power drained from her. “You hated yourself.”

  “Wouldn’t you? It was my job to protect my daughter - to guide her into her full powers and I failed.” Alandra’s gaze didn’t waver. “I failed her and she died.”

  Sophie squeezed Lily’s hand and she squeezed it back, dropping down to pick her up and cuddle her against the cool wet breeze. Her sister’s clothes were just as soaked as her own were now. She couldn’t say what she wanted to the woman with Soph’s ears pricked and ready to remember every word. She kissed Sophie’s cheek and tried to reassure her with a hug.

  “I’m fine,” she whispered in her sister’s ear.

  Reyes looked back to his mother. “You should have told me you were afraid. I could’ve protected you.”

  Brenda chose that moment to exit the house and nodded to Lily. “He won’t be bothering us anymore. The witch has whitelighter residue?”

  Reyes was still focused on his mother and Lily stepped away from the two and jerked her chin for Brenda to come back to the truck with her.