by Ally Shields
“I was, until you explained you and Daron had traded territories and a few other things like the jet. Besides, it allowed you to come home.” She squeezed his hand. “But that can’t be the whole story.”
“Well, not quite. After that, it took my pledge of loyalty, a lot of fast talking, and a little bit of acting.”
“Which apparently included convincing them I meant nothing to you.” The moment she said it, she wished she’d waited until they were alone, but Andreas handled it with ease.
“Of course. My defection would not have been complete without renouncing their enemies, and I hoped it would turn their attention away from you. It might have worked if not for the warlocks.”
“So the elders believed all this?”
“Not all, but enough. Bastian swayed many of them, I think.”
“About him, I can’t figure out his part in this.” She stopped when Andreas squeezed her arm, as if cautioning her. Had he figured out Bastian was Daron’s sire?
“Hard to say why any of the elders act as they do.” His voice betrayed nothing. “The O-Seven court is a hotbed of political intrigue. Whatever he intended, his actions turned out to work to my advantage. When I was brought before the council, he demanded my personal pledge to him, and then offered me his protection in return.”
“I hope that pledge isn’t binding,” Sophie said. “He must have had some terrible use for you. I think the farther you get away from him, the better.”
Ari frowned. The priestess had been quiet during most of Andreas’s story. Maybe too quiet. Was she satisfied with his explanation? Ari couldn’t tell.
“The pledge meant nothing to me,” Andreas said. “And it was never sealed in blood. Bastian cannot hold me to it.”
Ari let out a soft sigh. Would Bastian see it that way? What game was the elder playing? Maybe he didn’t hate his First Son as much as they thought, and had protected Andreas for Daron’s sake. Or was this part of some evil plan of his own? Maybe they’d never know, but she’d be glad when they were on the plane and away from everyone in Germany.
“So, what about the note? You tried to warn me it was a trap, but you must have expected me to come. Did you have a plan for getting out?”
“Not exactly, but I knew you did.”
“What? How?”
“Remember how I knew about the attack in the vampire compound two years ago?”
She sat up and tried to read his face in the dark. How could she forget? It was the first time they’d experienced their telepathic link, and it had scared her to death. She’d woken him from his vampire sleep with visions of the werewolf attack. “You saw us practicing the teleport?”
“Yes, and writing the spells. I saw pieces of everything that happened to you. Whenever I was asleep, I could not keep you out of my head.”
Just like she kept seeing images of the castle off and on. Their magics really had an uncanny affinity for one another.
“You can thank Gerhard for the idea of luring you to the castle with the note.” Andreas squeezed her hand again. “He knew you would not pass up the opportunity. Since it seemed to fit in with your plans, I agreed, but I thought we could escape in the forest that night. Then you resisted capture, and they knocked you unconscious. I could not believe they had so easily overpowered you.”
“My lost Guardian powers,” she said softly.
“Ah, of course. I still need to hear how that happened.”
Yes. Just like they needed to share so many other things.
They pulled up to the terminal, and everyone climbed out. At the last minute, Sophie asked to speak to Andreas in private. Ari watched their whispered exchange, waiting to have her own last words with Sophie. Afterward, Andreas went inside to check on the flight, and Lilith discreetly followed him, leaving the two witches alone.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” Ari said. “You got us out, and you saved his life with your water spell. If there’s ever anything I can do…you know where I am. Just call.”
“I did it for you. But after listening to his story, I know it was the right thing.” Sophie reached out, and the two women hugged. “I’ll miss you. Come see us, if you get back this way.”
Lilith beckoned from inside the terminal. Ari turned to leave, but Sophie caught her sleeve. “If Andreas doesn’t bring it up on his own, ask him what we talked about.”
Ari widened her eyes in question, but the priestess just smiled. “Ask him.”
She nodded and hurried inside, finding Andreas and Lilith waiting by the corridor to the departure gates.
“Our flight is already boarding on gate 17.” Andreas threaded their way through the crowded terminal.
As they approached the gate, Ari noticed their posted destination.
“Italy? I thought we were going home.” She hung back. “Andreas, I don’t like this. The O-Seven will find you there. You’re safer in the States.”
“It will only be a brief stop. I have spoken with Samuel, and he will meet us tomorrow with the jet.” She was still unconvinced, and he tugged on her hand. “Arianna, I cannot go home without making arrangements to protect my people from retaliation.”
“Oh, sorry. Of course you do.” She had tunnel vision when it came to his safety. “But I don’t suppose you’d let Samuel handle it?”
He shook his head, and she followed him onboard.
She still had a nagging sense of urgency. A hundred miles separated them from Castle Verdammung. She’d had two hours to get over that awful feeling of inevitably that hovered over the elders, that sense of unstoppable power. Yet, her skin tingled. She wanted to put an ocean between them. Ari wasn’t going to feel safe until they were back in Riverdale. And maybe not then. Maybe not ever again.
* * *
Although she was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to curl up against Andreas and sleep on the short flight to Tuscany, Ari couldn’t wait any longer. As soon as they were buckled in, she turned to him. “Who was the woman?”
Andreas raised a dark brow.
“At the elders’ court, the foxes saw you with a woman.” She struggled to keep it from being an accusation.
He studied her for a moment, his hooded gaze giving away nothing. “This is the first thing you ask me when we are finally alone?”
Ari swallowed. He was right, after all he’d been through, she was acting like a jealous lover. Which she was.
He leaned over, placing a finger under her chin. “Do not look so stricken, cara mia. I did not mean to tease you. You have every right to ask, and under similar circumstances, I certainly would.” His eyes met hers. “She was a human donor. The only source of blood the elders allowed. I took only what was needed from her wrist. Nothing else happened.”
“OK.” She nodded and heaved a silent sigh. Maybe she’d ask him for details later, maybe not. For now she let it go and cuddled against his side.
“I have something for you.”
She raised her head. “From the castle?”
“Not precisely.” He dug in his pocket and pulled out her charm bracelet. “I knew you would want this. It was dangling in plain sight on the way back to the stronghold, but no one was willing to touch it. When they threatened to get a raptor to rip it off, I took it from your arm and hid it away.”
Touched by his thoughtfulness, she leaned up and kissed him on the mouth, ignoring the interested looks from other passengers.
Although flight time between Frankfurt and Florence was under two hours, dawn was threatening to break when they arrived, and Andreas was hustled into a limo with the back windows blackened. Two bottles of blood brought a momentary gleam to his eyes, but the sun’s pull was irresistible. Arriving at the casa, his staff immediately transferred his nearly comatose body to his room.
The enforced inactivity of the next hours chaffed on Ari. Although there were so many guards the casa looked like an armed camp, Ari paced the house, edgy, irritable. Her apprehension grew, an insidious fear that dogged her every step. Her neck prickled, her fin
gers twitched, and her arms itched like ants were marching up and down. Every witch sense told her they needed to get out of Europe.
The noon arrival of Samuel and Russell in the jet from home was a momentary relief from the waiting. Russell hadn’t been expected, but he claimed he wanted to get a peek at Italy. Yeah, right. He’d missed his wife, and after a whispered conversation, he and Lilith disappeared on a long walk.
Complying with Andreas’s pre-dawn instructions, Samuel arranged for a meeting with local lycanthrope leaders at 4:00 that afternoon, shortly after Andreas would rise for the day. Any discussion with the scattering of vampires who lived in his territory—mostly loners that he had granted sanctuary—would have to be done by staff at a later hour. The jet would be ready and waiting for their departure at 5:00 before most of the vampires were awake.
At 3:00 Ari was hovering outside Andreas’s quarters. When she felt that familiar power surge, she knocked on the door, and he opened it immediately.
“Everything is arrang—” She gasped as he grabbed her and his lips descended in a long, hungry kiss.
“I’ve waited too long to do that,” he murmured against her throat. “Everything else can wait.” He kicked the door closed with his foot and carried her to the bed. “Do you know how dreams of you tormented me?”
Her own dreams, and even the daylight touches of his magic, flashed through her mind. “You were always with me.” Twining her arms and legs with his, she met his passion with passion of her own, putting all the love and longing into actions, molding her body to his, willing them to be one. He seemed more than happy to oblige.
* * *
“You need to hurry.” She laughed up at him forty minutes later. “The leaders will be waiting.”
He toweled the water off his muscled body, ran a hand through his wet locks, and looked at her sprawled on the bed. “If you don’t get into the shower, they will be waiting a lot longer.”
Much as she was tempted to lure him back to bed, Ari scrambled off the side. She eyed her blouse on the floor, missing two or three buttons from their earlier impatience. “It appears that I need a change of clothes, so I’ll clean up in my own room.” She threw on a long shirt of his, just enough to be decent, and grabbed her jeans. With one hand on the door, she turned to throw him a kiss, but he was beside her, claiming her lips before opening the door. When he lifted his head, she saw the smoldering fire in his eyes and fled down the hallway. His deep masculine laugh followed her.
Showering and dressing in record time even for her, Ari descended the stairs five minutes later and entered the library. The meeting hadn’t yet started, and Lilith met her at the door.
“You’re glowing,” the lioness whispered.
“What?” Ari caught on to the teasing and gave the lioness a once over. “Likewise. Did you and Russell have a nice walk?”
Lilith grinned.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice.” Andreas spoke from the front of the room. The seven strangers in the room took their seats. Ari looked for a good spot, but Andreas caught her eye and motioned for her to join him. “I’d like to introduce you to Arianna Calin, she works for the Magic Council in the USA and shares my life.” He flashed her a brief smile, before turning back to his guests. “I understand you have all known for years that I am a vampire.” He smiled when no one seemed surprised. “I already owe you my gratitude for maintaining that secret from the outside world. But your knowledge also makes it easier to explain recent events that may have drawn powerful Otherworld enemies to this area. I am urging you to take steps to protect yourselves, but I also need your assistance.”
His guests stirred but waited for him to elaborate.
Andreas gave them a much watered-down version of their history with the O-Seven, and Ari took the opportunity to study the gathered lycanthrope leaders. Ramon, the leader of the local foxes, sat between a female Italian wildcat and a male werewolf. A red deer couple sat by themselves on the far side of the room. A pair of falcons had chosen the middle seating.
“That’s an amazing story.” The werewolf was the first to comment when Andreas had brought them up to date with the final escape from the O-Seven’s stronghold. “So what do you want from us?”
“Beyond increasing your own security, I would ask that you become our eyes and ears out in the community. I will return to the States within the next few hours. Hopefully the elders will direct any retribution in that direction. But if they come here, my people will need some warning in order to get themselves to safety.”
“As I told you earlier, I’m in,” Ramon said immediately.
The wildcat added her voice. “You can count on us too. You and your staff have lived in harmony with us for two hundred years. We won’t fight the ancient vampires for you, but we can warn your people if we hear or see any sign of them or their minions.”
Minions? Ari’s head came up at the wildcat’s use of the word. She’d once accused Andreas of being old-fashioned when he’d said it, but maybe it was a regional thing. Kind of like Tuscan slang.
She listened as the other leaders voiced their willingness to cooperative. Even the shy deer chimed in.
“Thank you,” Andreas said, once he’d heard from everyone. “I cannot express how much I appreciate this. Ramon has agreed to be our local contact, but you can always reach me directly if you prefer.” He included everyone in a final look around the room. “I am truly in your debt.”
Shortly after that, the leaders filed out, each of them stopping briefly to speak with Andreas and Ramon. Ari ran upstairs to pack her bags but found the staff had been there before her, and the luggage was already aboard the plane. She returned to the library to find Andreas alone, searching the shelves.
“What are you looking for? Can I help?”
“By all means. Sophistrina advised me to read my family history, that we would find the answers to some of our questions.” He cocked an eyebrow at her. “What questions did she mean? Had you discussed something with her? She seemed adamant, so I thought we should check before we leave. I do not know how soon I will be able to return.”
“I don’t know what she meant. She hinted there was something in your past.” Ari became thoughtful. “Come to think of it, so did Zylla.” The 800-year-old wise woman had said that Andreas would need to learn about his heritage. “Do you have any idea what we’re looking for?”
“There was a book, when I was very young. A brown leather book.” He ran his hands over a set of bound encyclopedias and moved on down the row. “I saw my mother looking through it once. When I asked to see it, she said she would show me someday. But I have not seen it since she died.”
“If it was important, would she hide it to keep it safe?”
He swung his head to smile at her. “You are absolutely right. And I think I know where. My brother and I had a secret hiding place in her sitting room. We would bring her a special rock, or a treasure we had found, and she would keep it for us.”
He grabbed her hand, and they ran up the stairs. Andreas paused a moment outside a closed door, then opened it and they stepped into the 18th century. Large canopied bed in white, heavy gold drapes. Nothing had been changed in two hundred years, but the room had been aired and dusted. Andreas strode directly to the fireplace. A picture of two young boys stood on the mantle. “If the book still exists, it may be in here.”
Ari picked up the picture. She recognized the boys from the portraits that hung in Andreas’s home. It was Andreas and his older brother Luis who’d died as a young man. She set it back.
Andreas touched one of the ornate panels above the mantel, and a section of the molding popped open. He peered inside, then shifted so Ari could see. A folded parchment lay on top of a brown leather book.
“My mother’s book.” Eagerness or maybe a different emotion made his voice husky. “And a note or letter with it.”
“Well, see what it is,” she urged.
He picked them up, handling the yellowed parchment with care. He
handed her the leather book and opened the single sheet of paper.
Power surged through Ari’s fingers, warm, friendly, and her magic sang in harmony. “By the Goddess, Andreas. It’s a Book of Shadows!” She turned to look up at him. “Did you know your mother was a witch?”
He was so absorbed in the letter that he didn’t respond. She studied his face, usually so expressionless, but Andreas appeared stunned. Finally, he refolded the paper, took the Book of Shadows from her and tucked the letter inside. “We should get to the plane. We can discuss this on board.”
He looked so lost in the past, that Ari didn’t argue, and they hurried out the front door. The bright sunshine of earlier had disappeared during the last hour, leaving an ominous haze blocking the sun. Her neck prickled, and Ari wished they’d left earlier. She grabbed Andreas’s hand to keep him from stopping to give Beppe one last instruction.
“Why are you suddenly in such a hurry?”
“I don’t know. Something’s just wrong.”
They reached the door of the waiting limo and handed the book to Samuel to place with their luggage. She ducked her head to get in, and the first wave of power struck.
Andreas grabbed the doorframe to keep from falling. A savage, tornado-like wind nearly lifted Ari off her feet, and she grabbed his arm. He drew her in and held on tightly as the pressure increased and a high whine filled the air. Blood tinged the corners of Andreas’s eyes pink as his blood began to heat to a boil.
“A psychic attack,” he murmured.
Ari didn’t have to ask who or why. The elders had found them.
She filled her aura with white protection, clutching Andreas to keep him within its shield. “Get us to the plane,” she yelled. “Our only hope is to outrun it.”
