I turned to Aidan and said, “Lead the way, Counselor.” Aidan and I left Masarelli to clean up the mess that the Afrit had made.
15
“Maurin, get in the car,” Aidan said.
He opened the door of his sixty-nine Camaro SS and leaned against the side, waiting for me to get in. It was a classic - black with white racing stripes - and any other day I’d be begging him to let me drive it, but right now I couldn’t even bring myself to get inside. I stood there frozen on the sidewalk. My feet felt as if they were cemented in place.
“You’re going to have to face the coven sooner or later. Sooner, in fact, because later is not a luxury afforded to people like us,” Aidan said.
I could feel him moving toward me, it felt as if the air was displaced as he came closer. He stood in front of me, but I looked right past him. I stared over his shoulder at nothing until he grabbed my face with both hands and forced me to look at him.
“This is not your fault. No one blames you for what happened,” he said.
“You don’t know that,” I told him, jerking free of him only because he let me. He was a vampire; I’d never be as strong as he was.
“If they want someone to blame, they can blame me. I’m the reason that you were here in the first place - remember? I was only worried about us getting out of the warehouse; I didn’t think about what would happen if they took your amulet,” he said.
“You’re not the one who-” I started to say, before Aidan cut me off.
“Neither are you. It was the Afrit, and we’re not going to be able to stop it from killing again standing here and arguing, so get in the car,” Aidan pleaded.
I let out a heavy sigh and got in. Aidan shut the door and walked around to the driver’s side. “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails came on when he started the car. I turned it up and then turned to face the window. I didn’t feel like talking and something told me that Aidan did. I didn’t want to hear about things that made sense or have someone try to talk some sense into me. He reached to turn off the radio.
“Don’t,” I said.
“At least let me put something else on,” he said.
“No, I want to listen to it,” I told him.
I understood why he wanted to change the music. Nine Inch Nails wasn’t the most upbeat choice, but right now I wanted to listen to someone who seemed to understand how I felt.
No genre of music would make me feel any better right now anyway. Aidan put the car in gear and didn’t say another word.
When we pulled up in front of Mahalia’s house, I couldn’t help wondering why the trip was always shorter when you didn’t want to go somewhere, as if the dread of your looming destination actually sped up time. Aidan got out and had my door open before I even had my seatbelt off. He held out his hand and I took it, but he still had to pull me out of the car. My left foot got hung up on the floor mat and I stumbled into him. He gently brushed my hair out of my face and took me by the shoulders. My heart raced at his touch. He leaned in and I was suddenly nervous, my palms sweaty from the anticipation of what I thought was about to happen.
“You can do this,” he said.
“I know I can. I just don’t want to,” I responded, relieved and disappointed that he had misread my feelings.
As we headed up the little walkway leading to the front door, I couldn’t stop thinking about my attraction to Aidan. What the hell was wrong with me? I was here to face the coven. I was here to try to explain my role in Oberon’s death and ask their forgiveness; not get weak- kneed with a hot vampire outside their door. I had been instantly drawn to Oberon, but I had been attracted to Aidan when I first saw him, too. But that’s only natural, right? He’s gorgeous. Then again, what I felt for Oberon was nothing like what I was feeling for Aidan. There was no magical connection pulling me to him. Not like there had been when I first saw Oberon. Maybe it was some lingering effect from letting Aidan drink from me. Maybe it was just plain old physical attraction. Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to act on it.
I had been so focused on the feelings that were starting to stir for Aidan, that I hadn’t been paying attention to anything else. I stopped staring at my feet and looked up. I was hallucinating. That was the only explanation.
“I think I’m losing my mind,” I said to Aidan.
“Not unless we’re having the same delusion,” he replied.
Oberon was standing in front of the door. My heart was pounding so hard that I thought it would burst through my chest. I was having a hard time catching my breath. There were so many emotions swirling around inside my head: I felt nausea, joy and relief, but mostly guilt for what I had been thinking about Aidan.
I didn’t run to him, I just stood there. He didn’t look hurt; in fact, he looked perfect. He paused halfway, but kept walking when I made no move to meet him.
“Maurin,” Oberon said.
Hearing him say my name set me in motion. I walked away from Aidan and closed the last few steps between us.
“I thought that you were dead,” I said, my voice hoarse and my throat tight.
His face crumpled at my words. “Maurin, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean…when I broke the connection, I thought that you’d know.”
I couldn’t process what he had said. He reached for me, but I was already in motion. I landed a right-handed hook to his jaw, knocking him on his ass.
“I thought that you were dead, you son of a bitch!” I screamed at him, with tears streaming down my face.
He didn’t say anything. He just sat there staring up at me in disbelief, which only pissed me off more. Aidan got me in a bear hug from behind. He held me up in the air with my feet swinging wildly, trying to make a connection with Oberon. I wanted him to hurt as much as I had.
Lights flicked on in the house and people started coming outside to see what was going on. Amalie was standing on the stone slab in front of the door. Graive stepped out from behind her.
It was close to four in the morning, but none of us cared about waking the neighbors. She started walking over to Oberon.
“You damn near killed him! That wasn’t enough for you?” Graive yelled at me.
“That’s it! I’ve had enough of her shit! Put me down Aidan!” I said.
“As much as I’d like to see you have a go at the necro, I’m not going to let go of you until you calm down,” Aidan said.
“I am calm. I’m the epitome of calm! I shouted.
Aidan laughed. “Yes, I can see that.”
“Let her go, Aidan.” Oberon said as he got back on his feet.
“If I let you go, do you promise not to hit anyone else?” Aidan teased.
“Don’t ask her to make a promise that she can’t keep. She’s out of control,” Graive said.
“How about I come over there and break that promise on your face? No one’s talking to you, so shut up!” I yelled.
“See what I mean? She almost got Oberon killed, who’s going to be next?” Graive asked.
“You - if you don’t shut your mouth,” I retorted.
“I seriously doubt that,” she said.
“Graive,” Oberon warned.
She took a couple of steps forward, muttering something that I couldn’t understand. The ground hummed as she moved toward us and the air smelled like damp moss.
“I’d think twice before you finish that spell, Necromancer, or Maurin will be the last of your worries,” Aidan said.
Graive stopped when she realized what Aidan meant. She was about to break Mahalia’s agreement with the vampires. She looked devastated when Oberon didn’t come to her defense like he had against Matthison. She wouldn’t find any allies in the crowd that had gathered outside either. No one wanted to go up against Agrona. Graive stormed into the house.
Aidan put me down, but didn’t walk away. He stood at my back like a bodyguard. Now that the excitement was winding down, most of the onlookers had gone back inside. Cash and Amalie were the only two left.
“I’ve got it fr
om here, Aidan. I just want to talk to her,” Oberon said.
Aidan looked at me, but didn’t move.
“I promise not to hit him again,” I sighed.
Aidan gave me a mischievous smile that said that he didn’t quite believe me. He went and sat on the steps with Cash and Amalie, which only gave us the illusion of privacy. They’d still be able to hear everything we said.
“I’m sorry, Maurin. I thought that you would be able to feel my magic when I broke the connection,” Oberon tried to explain.
“What was I supposed to think? I could feel you one minute; it became weak like you were slipping away, and then the next minute there was nothing. You were gone. The connection was gone,” I said.
“I told you before not to worry - that I could handle myself. Remember?” he said.
“Yes, but I thought that you meant physically, like when I almost slit your throat - by accident,” I clarified for the audience on the front step.
I could hear Aidan and Cash chuckle.
“But it’s not like I was replaying every conversation we ever had in my head while I was drugged and an Afrit was sucking the life out of me,” I told him.
“A what? Who drugged you?” he asked.
“If you were at the police station, then you would already know that. You knew that I was in trouble, so where were you?” I asked, getting angry all over again.
If the roles were reversed - if it were me feeling everything that he was going through - I would have been at that police station no matter how badly injured I was. I would have been tearing walls down to find him. Sadly, I realized that was a big difference between Oberon and me.
“You weren’t the only one getting the life sucked out of you,” Oberon said defensively.
“You look fine to me,” I said accusingly.
“It took almost everything that I had to break the connection with you, Maurin. I wasn’t exactly at peak performance after that,” he responded.
“What, no magic elixir to get you back on your feet?” I asked.
“Why do you do that? Why do you always mask your true feelings with anger?” Oberon asked.
“I’m not masking anything, you self-serving ass! I am angry. I am royally pissed off. So don’t try to change the subject. This isn’t about me. I thought the link between us was supposed to be permanent?” I asked.
“Now she’s asking the right questions,” Cash mumbled.
I shot him a look that would pierce armor. He raised his hands into the air and then pretended to lock his lips.
“It was. I mean, that’s what we thought. And there was never any reason to test that theory before,” Oberon said.
“Never a reason? How about any one of the million times I was freaking out about the connection or about us? How about when I started questioning whether or not what I was feeling was real or even my own? None of those seemed like a good time to you? No, I guess not. You were too busy cramming all this shit down my throat,” I said bitterly.
“Come on, Maurin, it’s not like that,” Oberon pleaded.
“Really? Well it sure looks that way to me,” I said. “You must have been so pleased with yourself, keeping me tied to the coven, and making a fool out of me.”
“I was just as confused by the connection as you at first,” he said, stepping closer.
“Don’t,” I warned.
I closed my eyes and counted to ten. If he got any closer, Aidan was going to have to come back over here. Part of me wanted to hit Oberon in the hopes that Aidan would grab a hold of me again, wrapping his arms around me. I imagined his body pressed against mine, and his breath on my neck. I pictured his fangs, dangerously close to breaking my skin. My breath caught. I felt feverish. I wanted to…. ‘Snap out of it, Maurin!’ I thought to myself. I was having erotic delusions now? I figured that there could be worse side effects from a vampire’s feeding. Still, I needed to ask Aidan how long this would last. I scrambled to get my thoughts back on track. Not that I hadn’t enjoyed getting derailed by Aidan. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah.
“Bullshit. The other night you said that this all came easy to you because you’re a witch. Now it’s difficult for you. You can’t have it both ways. So which is it, Oberon?” I challenged.
He didn’t answer. I’d caught him in a lie and he knew it.
“You’ve been trying to convince me that this was what was best for me, but the whole time it was what was best for you,” I said, finally putting the pieces together.
“Best for me?” He laughed nervously. “I wouldn’t say that.”
“Well, what would you say?” I asked sharply.
Mahalia came outside before he had a chance to answer. At some point, Amalie had gone to get her, probably because she was afraid that I’d beat the shit out of Oberon after he had fessed up to the truth. He was right there; he was ready to spill his guts out here in the front yard.
“Maurin, come inside. Let’s talk in my office. Alone,” she said, glancing at Aidan and Cash.
“We don’t need to go inside. We can settle things right here,” I said.
She sighed heavily and audibly. “Fine,” she said, in a tone used when scolding a child.
“Youth today - I simply don’t understand it. You’re all perfectly happy to air your dirty laundry in front of anyone who’ll listen. I’d prefer a little discretion myself,” she said, stepping off of the stone staircase and out onto the front lawn.
The air moved, like heat coming off of hot pavement in the summertime. I watched as it closed around us like a stage curtain being drawn. The ward was in place. I could still see the quiet street and the houses lining it, but now no one would be able to see us. She knew that I wouldn’t like whatever it was she was about to say. I think Mahalia was afraid that I’d start kicking and screaming again. She was probably right.
“Your anger is misplaced, Maurin,” Mahalia said.
“No, I think that it’s locked on the correct target,” I said.
“Oberon made a lot of sacrifices to do what I requested of him,” she said.
“What exactly did you ask him to do, Mahalia?” I asked, trying not to lose my temper.
“I encouraged him to pursue you, of course, and to nurture the connection between you,” she replied nonchalantly.
She may have said that like it was no big deal, but I felt the full weight of her words. I thought back over the last couple of months. I scrutinized every detail, especially from the last couple of days. Graive stretched out over Oberon on the couch, Oberon rushing to save her when Matthison shot the zombie girl, the way that he’d held her to his chest. I thought about how worried he was that Graive would walk in on us in Mahalia’s office, the things that I overheard her saying to him yesterday, her reaction tonight and his overall absence since she got into town. Their relationship hadn’t ended years ago as Oberon had led me to believe.
I had already begun to doubt him and his feelings for me, but the truth of her words still stung. I was an idiot. I felt like I was in one of those crappy teen movies where the cool kid dates the nerd on a dare and everyone’s in on the joke. Except without the sappy sweet happy ending.
“Why?” I asked, unsure if I really wanted to know the answer.
“Oberon will become High Priest as my successor, but that does not guarantee him a place on the Council. Unless-” she began before I interrupted her.
“Unless he was so powerful that they wouldn’t risk his becoming an enemy,” I finished for her.
“Precisely,” she replied, pleased that I understood.
Oh, I understood all right. I understood that for the last few months they all had been manipulating me. No wonder Agrona and Roul had been so pissed off with her when they’d left the other night. They knew what she was up to.
“So you decided that it would be better to lie to me? To use me?” I asked bitterly.
“The connection was already there, and so was the attraction. I merely nudged things along,” she said.
“This isn’
t The Dating Game, Mahalia. It’s my life!” I shouted.
“I made a decision to ensure the future of my coven and I would do it again. Everything I do is for them. There are only three seats on the Council, Maurin, and the coven hasn’t always held one. The last time that the coven did not hold a seat on the Council was from 1686 to 1696. I think that we all know just how well that decade turned out for us,” she said, her anger getting the better of her for the first time.
“Well, you’ve had a pretty good run since then,” I said tartly.
“We’re in danger of losing our position within the Council, Maurin. I made a terrible mistake aligning myself with Baylen. It was an error that I could not afford with the Fae constantly vying for our seat. Your union with Oberon would have ensured our place within the Council for centuries to come,” she explained.
“You could have asked for my help, but instead you lied about about everything! I can see why you and Baylen worked so well together; you’re just like he was. Why didn’t you just tell me the truth?” I demanded.
“If left alone, that first spark that you felt for Oberon would have faded. The metaphysical tie would have remained, but when you found someone else you would have tried to break the connection. Your alliances would have changed,” she said, as if that justified what she had done.
“You don’t know that! I don’t even know if I’d do that, because you never gave me the chance to figure it out for myself,” I told her.
“I’ve seen it!” she hissed.
“Well a fat load of good talking to a seer did you! The outcome’s still the same. The connection is still broken, and it’s certainly safe to say that my alliances have changed now!” I snapped.
I was ready to get the hell out of there. With the Inquisitors taken care of, I could finally go back home. I looked for Aidan on the front step, but he was gone. Damn it! I needed a ride. I’d rather walk than ask Cash for a lift. I didn’t feel like dealing with him and his inevitable “I told you so.”
I was just about to put feet to pavement when I saw Aidan squeeze through Cash and Amalie; he had my duffel bag in one hand and my sword in the other. It’s a good thing that he had the sense to get my stuff, because I would have stormed off without it. I always seemed to be doing that. I turned on my heel and stomped over to Aidan’s car.
Witch Hunt, A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy (The Maurin Kincaide Series) Page 16
