BloodWish

by Tima Maria Lacoba

  I nodded. ‘Never told him, but I hated when he called me “babe”.’

  Alec’s chest rose and fell in a huff. ‘Why didn’t you?’

  I just shrugged. ‘Got used to it, I s’pose.’

  He lifted my chin. ‘Let me deal with Sommers from now on?’

  ‘Gladly. What are you going to do when he gets here?’

  ‘Nothing. We’ll be in Scotland. I’ll instruct the staff not to speak to him nor let him through the front gate. He’ll have no option but to return to Sydney.’

  ‘What if he follows us?’ I racked my brain trying to remember if I’d blabbed all the details about the Curse to him. Had I ever mentioned the massacre site, where it all began?

  ‘How would he know where we’ve gone? And even if by some stretch of the imagination he did find out, I doubt his superiors will let him follow us to Scotland. They’ve got no body and nothing to go on. It’d be a waste of police resources.’ He placed a finger on my lips as I opened my mouth to protest. I knew Matt. He was as tenacious as a bulldog, and I had a gut feeling that he wasn’t going to let this go. ‘And,’ he continued, ‘even if they did, it’d take a lot of paperwork and as well as convincing the Scottish police to agree. It could take months.’

  I huffed and eased his finger from my lips. ‘You don’t know him. He’s like Inspector Fix from Around the World in Eighty Days. You know, the detective who literally chased Phineas Fog around the world to arrest him for a crime he hadn’t committed.’ It was the closest analogy I could think off.

  Alec chuckled and stroked a finger down my cheek. ‘In that case, I’ll mesmerise into believing what we want him to believe. That should get him off our backs. And I’ll get Sam to hack into the police files, find out who the witness is and let the Brethren in Sydney wipe his mind. Then Sam can erase all information relating to Jean-Philippe.’

  I inhaled and exhaled a relieved breath. ‘That simple?’

  He shrugged.

  A knock on the door. ‘Yoo-hoo! Can I come in?’

  Kari!

  My heart leapt. I jumped out of Alec’s embrace to fling open the door. Sam and, a shirtless, Jake stood there with Kari in-between. Grinning and wearing, what I assumed was, Jake’s long-sleeved T-shirt; leggings and ... barefoot, she held her arms out. ‘I’m baaack!’

  I pulled her into my embrace, doing my best to hold in a stream of tears. ‘You’re not hurt? You’re okay?’

  ‘Nope, all good.’ She patted my back like I was the one needing comfort.

  Well, maybe I was. ‘I’m so sorry, Kari. It was all my fault. I should never have asked you to go outside the ward.’

  ‘Oh, don’t be a nutso. If anyone’s to blame, it’s that stinky lamia. You know I had to ditch my all-time fav boots and Jake’s perfume pendant to get away from it?’ Her exaggerated pout and eye roll brought a smile to my lips, and the weight of guilt I’d carried since her abduction finally lifted. ‘Gotta tell you all about it but—’ she lowered her head and took a sniff ‘—I so need to take a shower first. I smell like Old Stinky. See you in a tick.’

  ‘You do a bit.’ I laughed and fanned my nose. ‘Old Stinky? Does that mean the lamia’s de—?’

  She sprinted down the corridor leaving me mid sentence, but I couldn’t remove the smile from my face. Warmth radiated through my body at having Kari safely back. It had to mean the lamia was dead. Had Kari killed or wounded it and my grandfather and the men had finished the job? I wanted to know. Guess I’d have to wait till she got out of the shower. My heart feeling lighter than ever, I turned to where Alec sat, deep in conversation with Jake and Sam. I hadn’t seen either of them enter.

  ‘Let me download the paperwork, and we can get to it.’ Sam shook Alec’s hand, a broad grin on his face. He pecked me on the cheek as he strode out.

  ‘What was that about?’ I’m sure my eyes must have widened. Sam had never done that before. It was nice, but unusual.

  Alec rose and took my hands, his thumbs caressing the sides of mine. His eyes glittered. ‘Marcus sent word. We’re to leave for Scotland as soon as possible. The lamia’s escaped.’

  My heart raced and I sucked in a breath. ‘It’s not dead?’

  He shook his head. ‘It evaded their nets. They’re hunting it, but it could come back here anytime. The villagers aren’t safe.’ He didn’t need to add that the village had grown beyond the ward’s capacity to cover it for any extended period of time.

  ‘Of course.’ I sighed. I’d been preparing myself for this moment. I could cope. ‘I’ll go pack.’

  I turned to leave when Alec caught my hand. ‘Wait. I’m not finished yet.’ His eyes glinted and the smile that lit his face had my insides turning somersaults. ‘Today was meant to be our wedding day, and it still can be. I don’t want to leave this house until I ... can call you my wife.’

  Wife! Who would think that such an ordinary word could sound so wonderful? Wasn’t he just the most amazing man? His eyes darkened to the deep purple shade I loved, and the tenderness in them caused a warm wave to spread from my chest all the way to my toes.

  ‘What do you say, darling? We’ve got a few hours before the jet’ll be ready to fly us out. In the meanwhile, we can get married. In the conservatory. Sam’s a JP, so he’ll—’

  ‘Sam’s a JP?’ I snapped out of my daze, my bewilderment with just how much I didn’t know about these guys was a becoming daily habit.

  ‘He’s our fixer. Anytime a passport needs updating, a legal document needs ... doctoring’ —Alec’s lips drew up in a lazy curve at his obvious pun— ‘whatever requires a stat dec, he does it. Makes sense for him to be a registered JP. Easier all round.’

  ‘I s’pose it saves you having to look for a new JP whenever the old human one dies.’ The depressing price of immortality.

  ‘Sadly, yes.’

  ‘How many JPs had you known before Sam took the job?’

  ‘A few.’

  I wrapped my arms about his neck. ‘I’m all for it then, but what about rings? Unless you plan on using soda tabs.’ I had my lovely pink diamond engagement ring, but there simply hadn’t been time to shop for our wedding rings.

  ‘You two sort that out while I’ll go inform the housekeeper.’ Jake slapped Alec on the shoulder and left. It’d been months, and Jake still referred to Sabine as “the housekeeper.” Would he and the others ever get used to not having the Thierry’s managing the estate?

  Alec tucked a lock of hair behind my ears. ‘I have my parents’.’ The excited glint in his eyes was temporarily extinguished by, what I could only guess, was a rush of memory. ‘My father kept my mother’s wedding ring on a chain around his neck after she died. He passed it to me on his deathbed.’

  I curled some of his hair at the nape of his neck around my fingers, my heart aching for his loss. We had both lost our parents, although to be fair, I still had my mum and dad: John and Eileen. ‘I’d love to wear your mother’s wedding ring.’ And just as I said it, my chest tightened in the knowledge that his first wife had worn it also. After all, I wasn’t going to be the first Mrs Alec Munro.

  ‘No, she hadn’t. We’d used her deceased parents wedding rings, and I buried them with her when she died.’

  A pang of guilt struck me that I’d even had that thought. ‘I’m sorry, I ... don’t know where that thought came from. It was so insensitive of me.’

  Alec brushed the back of his fingers down my cheek. ‘I got over that pain a long time ago. And no, you have every right to think that.’ He leaned in and gently placed a kiss on my lips. ‘You, and only you, are meant to wear my mother’s wedding ring.’

  Oh! He knew just how to melt my heart. ‘You planned all that in those few minutes with Jake and Sam?’

  ‘Among other things.’ He grinned and brought my hands to his lips. ‘I know it’s not the wedding you deserve but it’s the best I can do for now.’

  Could I love this man any more? I cupped his face, drew his head down to mine and kissed him till we were both breathless. ‘Your
best is amazing.’

  His smile lit a fire between my thighs.

  ‘Can you be ready in an hour?’ Alec’s thumb grazed my lower lip, his voice seductively low and flowing over me like hot caramel sauce, his pine and fresh earthy scent making me heady. I inhaled deeply, infusing him into every cell in my body, my mind, my soul.

  In one hour, I’ll be Mrs Munro. Alec will be my husband. My pulse went for a wild gallop.

  ‘Laura?’

  ‘Yes, I’m here,’ I said, almost dreamily.

  Alec chuckled and brushed his lips over mine again. ‘I’ll get my stuff and get changed in Jake’s room. Meet you in the conservatory in an hour.’

  ‘I’ll be ready.’ Dress? Tick. Accessories? Tick. Veil? Tick. ‘Doable.’ I’d need a bridesmaid—at the very least I needed help with my dress because it had a zip at the back I could barely reach. Kari. ‘Think if I asked Kari she’d like to be my bridesmaid?’

  ‘Would I ever!’ Her voice reached me from the hallway. In a second, the door flew open, and Kari stood there, face glowing, her wet, Nordic-blonde cropped locks slicked back off her forehead, giving her the appearance of a mischievous pixie. ‘Well, c’mon then. Not much time.’ She grabbed my hand and, with us both laughing, dragged me away from Alec and into the bedroom.

  * * *

  ‘What do you think?’ I studied myself in the full-length mirror. My mother’s three-quarter length creamy satin and tulle wedding dress hugged my figure perfectly. No evidence of a little bump yet. The simple tulle veil floated wistfully over my shoulders, held in place at the back of my head with an ivory comb.

  Kari’s reflection grinned back, giving me a two-thumbs up. ‘You look gorgeous. Judy would be so proud.’

  My heart gave a little kick. I glanced at my parents’ portrait through the bedroom door. How I would’ve loved to have had them here with me, in this special moment. I swallowed against the tightness in my throat. ‘Ah! Not now, Kari. You’ll make me cry.’ I blinked away the moisture that had pooled in the corners of my eyes, took a deep breath and fluffed out my mother’s veil. ‘I’m sure they know, and they’re happy.’

  Kari gave me a hug from behind, crossing her arms across the front of my shoulders. ‘Yup!’

  We stood silent for a few seconds, both in our own thoughts, before Kari’s eyes widened, and a look of horror crossed her face.

  My insides plummeted, and my breathing quickened. I spun round. ‘What’s wrong? You sense something wrong?’ I checked my serpent ring. If there was any danger nearby, its eyes would turn black, but they glowed bright scarlet.

  ‘You don’t have a bouquet,’ she said in all earnestness.

  Oh for crying out loud! ‘Kari!’ I slapped her arm. ‘I thought it was something serious. Don’t give me a heart attack before my wedding!’ I took a few deep breaths and waited for my erratic pulse to slow.

  ‘Oopsy!’ She shrugged. ‘Didn’t mean to scare you.’

  ‘Can we pinch some flowers from a vase? Nobody would know ... would they?’ I glanced around the room. None in here, but there was some in the living room. Sabine had fresh flowers brought up every second day from the greenhouse. I hitched up my dress and sauntered into the living room.

  ‘Nooooo.’ Kari followed me out. ‘Everybody’ll know where you got them from. They scream “house flowers!”’

  She was right. Most of them were bulbs—tulips and daffodils—and some pansies. I sighed. We had fifteen minutes before I was due to meet Alec down in the conservatory, and I was out of ideas. ‘Do I really need a bouquet?’

  Kari’s face lit up. ‘Got an idea. Back in a sec.’ She raced out the door. In the time I tried on the long white gloves, decided against wearing them and took them off, she reappeared arms laden with bunches of late-season snowdrops, magnolias, and sprigs of cherry blossoms that grew on the estate. The delicate perfume of spring flowers filled the room. ‘Here you are, your bouquet, my lady.’

  I nearly squealed with delight. ‘They’re perfect!’

  We both turned at a knock on the door. Kari skipped over and opened it a crack. ‘Just making sure it isn’t Alec. Bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding.’

  ‘It’s only the best man. So you’re safe.’ Kari flung the door open wide. Jake stood there, a box tucked under his arm and a smile on his face. ‘I have something for Laura.’

  ‘Ooh, what is it?’ Kari clapped her hands, her face lit with excitement.

  ‘I said it’s for Laura, not you, kiddo.’

  ‘I can be excited for her. Right, Lolly?’ Her grin was so infectious I found myself laughing and agreeing.

  Jake placed the wooden box on the table and opened it. ‘Marcus asked me to give you this since he can’t be here to give it to you himself.’

  Sadly, Marcus and some of the guys had to go after the lamia. I would’ve loved him to have been at my wedding, but the creature was simply too much of a threat. He, Terens and Cal had had no choice but to go after it.

  Kari sidled up to Jake, curling both arms through one of his as he held aloft a shimmering golden net of ruby-coloured jewels that sparkled like fire between his fingers.

  I caught my breath. ‘It’s exquisite!’

  ‘This was Gallia’s, Marcus’s wife ... and your grandmother. She wore it at their wedding beneath her veil.’ He held it out to me.

  My jaw dropped as I stared at the magnificent headpiece, itself a nearly two thousand year old rare piece of jewellery. ‘Jake, this must be priceless.’

  He shrugged. ‘It’s just an object.’

  ‘Easy for you to say.’ I was afraid to touch it let alone to try to figure out exactly how to wear it. Yet, I couldn’t help but let my fingers graze the fine gold filigree surrounding the glittering stones and dangling teardrop-shaped pendants. ‘It’s so beautiful.’

  ‘Go on, Lolly. Put it on. Let’s see how it looks.’

  Excitedly, I pulled out the comb holding the veil in my hair and lay both on the bed. Then, with a deep breath, I gently lifted the priceless object from Jake’s fingers and turned to the mirror. But, there was no clip to know which end was front or back. ‘Think I’m going to need help putting it on.’

  ‘Oh yeah, Marcus said the hanging stones go to the front.’ Jake wriggled a couple of fingers at his forehead.

  ‘Okey-dokey, let’s do this.’ Kari grabbed a chair and sat me down in front of the mirror. Taking the headpiece from my hands, she carefully positioned the teardrop pendant over the top of my brow before draping the rest of the coronet around my head. Then, with her hands resting on my shoulders, she cocked her head and gave a satisfied smile as she viewed her handiwork. ‘How’s that? Like it was made for you.’

  For a moment, I was lost for words. The headpiece sat comfortably, hugging my head like a bespoke piece of clothing and cascaded down the back of my head like a glistening fiery waterfall. From whichever angle I turned my head, the effect was stunning. In the light from the chandelier, the little jewels glowed as with an inner fire, their blood-red hues a striking foil against my lavender eyes and ivory dress.

  Kari whistled. ‘Who needs a veil.’

  Decision made.

  Jake was standing back, hands thrust into his back pockets, a curious little smile on his face. ‘I remember a little girl who liked to suck the ends of her pigtails. And here she is, a beautiful bride about to be married.’

  The unexpected note of sadness in his voice reminded me how old he really was in spite of his eternally youthful looks. He’d seen every Ingenii from birth to death. Would he see me grow old and die too? Ugh! This was not a day for being maudlin.

  ‘I never did that!’ Honestly, I couldn’t remember if I did or not, but it was enough to shake him out of his melancholy.

  ‘Oh yes, you did.’ He chuckled. ‘You were only three ... and cute as a button.’

  ‘Was?’ I winked at him.

  That brought a hearty laugh to his lips. ‘You’re still cute, sweetie, but I’ll leave that department to Alec. And o
n that note,’ he spun on his heel and went toward the door, ‘I’ll go see how the bridegroom’s getting on.’

  Kari’s gaze followed him all the way out the door, and beyond.

  My heart ached for her even as my hands longed to shake some sense into Jake. But that would have to wait for another time.

  I stood and did a little twirl, enjoying the swish of the fabric against my legs, and the delicate tinkle of the gold links and clashing garnets in my headdress. I stopped and gazed into the mirror. ‘Goodbye Miss Dantonville. Next time I look at you you’ll be Mrs Munro.’ I couldn’t stop the smile that crept across my face.

  * * *

  Moonlight streamed in through the glass panels of the conservatory, sending watery ribbons of rainbows rippling across the polished floor to converge where Alec and I stood, hand in hand. Was this really happening? Breathless, my heart fluttered wildly at just the touch of his skin on mine.

  “Laura Anne Dantonville, will you have this man to be your husband, to live together with him in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful unto him as long as you both shall live?”

  Lost in the dark purple depths of Alec’s eyes, the world fell away so I barely registered Sam words. My hands trembled slightly as I answered, ‘I will.’

  Sam then repeated the question to Alec. He gently squeezed my hands, his expression intense, his gaze penetrating deep into my soul.

  ‘I will,’ he answered. ‘With all my heart, soul and mind. I’m yours for eternity, my darling.’

  Could a heart burst with love? Mine was threatening to do just that. The words from the Book of Ruth in the Bible came to me in that second. ‘Where you go, I go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people shall be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried.’

  Alec sucked in a breath, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.

  We hadn’t had time to write our own vows, yet these words came naturally from my lips, unprompted and unrehearsed.

  Sabine sniffed and dabbed her eyes with a hanky. ‘C’était charmant,’ she whispered.