by Kelly Hall
Liam leaned forward, kissing her on the cheek. “Then will you help me get my revenge?”
“Revenge?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. Maybe he was more like her own child than she’d expected. She had known a simple taste of blood would make everything all right. It was an instant addiction, one no vampire on earth wanted to be rehabilitated from.
Liam nodded. “Yes. I didn’t want to be this. I never wanted this. But the Immortal Huntress didn’t care. She gave me to Kayne. And now I want her to pay.”
“Don’t fret that horrible woman. She is incapable of being a mother figure. She is just a child.”
“You’re not much older.”
“No, but I am more mature. I’ve had the finer things in life, while she’s been sleeping in tents with those vile hunters. She could have never looked out for you like I can.”
“They wanted to make me like them until the attack. I’m glad I’m not.” He looked at the girl. They would have never approved or allowed such a thing. But he could already tell if he kept the redhead happy, he could have everything he always wanted.
Fiona looked into his eyes as he backed away. If he were a bit older, she might have kissed him on the lips and taken him to her bed, but as it was, she knew she could use this to have everything she ever wanted. Even though she was only old enough to be his sister, she would love him like a son. “Is there anything I can get for you, darling?”
“Yes, ma’am. Can I have more?” He glanced at Violet on the floor. “I’ll try to do better with the next one.”
She thought of the feeders she had kept on hand. “Of course, you can, darling Liam. Anything you want. Any preference? I have more blondes if that’s what you like.”
He thought for a moment. “Do you have a brunette?” He licked his lips.
“Of course,” she said, knowing the brunettes were her least favorite. The reminded her too much of the Immortal Huntress, who she hated more than anything in the world.
“Could you leave us alone this time?” He didn’t want her to watch him and everything he had in mind.
She smiled wickedly. “Of course, Liam. Anything you want. Anything at all. And remember, you can call to me when you need to. I’ll come running for you.” She stroked his hair, and he closed his eyes, feeling the sensation of her nails against his scalp. It was the mother’s touch he’d missed since his own had died, and he was going to milk this bitch for all she was worth.
He just might like it there after all.
Chapter 11
Rebekah walked into her study as her phone rang. Dixon’s name appeared across the screen, and she answered, hoping it wasn’t more horrible news. “Hello, Hoyt.” She walked over to the high-back chair and sat next to the fireplace.
“Huntress. It’s good to hear your voice.”
Rebekah nearly cringed at the comment, hoping Hoyt didn’t still harbor feelings for her that would bubble to the surface at the worst possible time. Not that there was a good one.
But thankfully, he quickly got to the reason he called. “I’m afraid we have a problem. Ever since I put in the report about the car, the Church has been cracking down on this academy. Elder Wick has been here, and he’s left Elder Burrows. The man is impossible and a spy. He’s also ordered for anyone bearing the star of the Fellowship to receive demerits.”
“Please tell me you’re not enforcing that ridiculous rule.” She was still sore that the church felt the need to replace her star with the cross. It was just another senseless form of posturing and a way to push her out.
“I haven’t had any choice. And that’s not the worst of it, Rebekah.” The tone in his voice made her heart sink.
“Now is not a good time for bad news. Things here are falling apart as well, and I’ve lost one of my young huntresses.”
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, Rebekah. I wouldn’t have called if I had known.”
“No, it’s okay. You didn’t know, and I’m not trying to diminish what’s happening there. It’s just I guess I feel a bit helpless at the moment.”
“It’s hard to believe that you could ever be helpless, Rebekah. You’re the strongest woman I know.”
“Even strong women have bad days, Hoyt. Now, go on and break it to me gently.” She took a deep breath and prepared herself for what he had to say.
“They came to me and said that they want to go ahead and advance the next trainees.”
“You mean next year’s graduates? They aren’t ready, are they?” She couldn’t say much about advancing before their year. In the old days, there were no academies or grades. A hunter simply joined the camp, and they were changed and made to perform in the next battle. Any training was in their spare time and with other experienced hunters.
“I do have a couple that I would trust, but one of them is an angel, and so they won’t be changing her. I’ve expressed my concern and displeasure, but I think it’s falling on deaf ears.”
“You realize that the spelled daggers will not work, right?” Rebekah had made that clear to him at the trial.
“Yes, I’m aware. It’s also a little premature to let the Church find out about that, don’t you think?”
“I guess they will sooner or later,” said Rebekah, wondering if there was any way to stop them from the inevitable.
“I’d rather it be later. And I can’t go on with a ruse. What am I supposed to do? Stab my best cadet in the arm knowing it won’t heal and could possibly take him out of the hunt?”
“We’ll have to try and stop the ceremony. But I can’t leave that up to you. I have to do it myself. Are there any other of these ceremonies planned?” She hoped this wouldn’t be a worldwide show of power. She couldn’t exactly be everywhere at once, unless she used a hologram. She needed Ignis for that.
“Can’t you just fix the spell for the one time?”
“It doesn’t work that way.” She couldn’t tell him that Ignis had been responsible for Katie. She would have to eventually, but now wasn’t the time. “Look, I’ll handle it. Let me know when this is going to go down, and I’ll be there. That’s the best I can promise. I don’t want you in trouble.”
“I might already be. They didn’t like my attitude when they suggested the early marking ceremony.”
“Just sit tight, okay? Let me figure this out.” She had no sooner gotten the words out of her mouth when blue mist appeared under her doorway. She drew Stella and hung up the phone, cutting Hoyt off mid farewell.
Ignis formed in front of her, and as soon as he was solid, she gripped his arm and pushed him against her bookcase with the dagger at his throat. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you here and now!” Her voice was a growl, and a low rumble of the guttural sound lasted long after the last syllable was spoken.
Ignis’s eyes widened. “Rebekah?”
She narrowed her eyes. His voice seemed too vulnerable. “Why are you here? How dare you show your face?” She brought the dagger down hard and fast, aiming beside his ear only to show how angry she was.
Ignis misted out of the way, reappearing across the room with his hands out. “Whoa! What the fuck? Are you serious?” He looked at the shelf where Rebekah had stuck Stella through his first edition of Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus. “First, you destroy my fucking tower, library and all, and now you’re stabbing my signed classics? That was a gift to you.”
“Are you serious? You’re worried about a goddamned book? And you have the balls to ask me that after what you did?” She let go of the handle, leaving her dagger in place, knowing Luna was still within reach.
“I didn’t do anything.” He had no idea that being gone so long would turn her into a crazy woman. “I realize it’s been a while with no phone call, but I’ll explain if you let me.”
A wave of confusion made her blink rapidly as she realized something was terribly wrong. “What do you mean, you’ll explain? You know what you did!”
“Or perhaps you should explain things to me. What the hell are you talking about, an
d why did you just kill Frankenstein?” He glanced at the dagger still buried in its spine.
“Ignis, now is not the time for games. You left angry. You came back and killed Katie. And now you want to stand here and pretend none of it happened while you bitch about that fucking tower, which in case you’ve forgotten is part of my home!”
Suddenly, something clicked into place. Ignis’s expression, the way he stood there with his eyes watery and his mouth gaped, told her that he had no idea what had happened.
“Katie’s dead? Canter’s Katie?” He put his hand over his mouth. “I didn’t do that, Rebekah. I would never do that. How could you think that I—” He reached around her, pulling Stella and the book from the shelf. He dislodged the dagger and handed it back to her. “Could an enemy do that?”
Rebekah put her hand up to stop him as nausea made her unsteady. “I saw you. But how is that possible?”
Ignis’s face paled. “You saw me too? Tia said she saw me. At the time, I thought it was her imagination, but then I looked into it.” He took a deep breath and turned away. “That wasn’t me, Rebekah.”
She closed her eyes. “Let me guess. The stigmata?”
“Yes,” he said. “I’m afraid so.” He couldn’t believe what all had happened in his short time away.
“How, Ignis? How does it look just like you and know the things only you should know? It was too much like you. I thought the stigmata could only mimic people it had taken control of. And if you’re here, then how does that happen?” Ignis looked as if he wanted to speak, and Rebekah desperately wanted to trust him. “And where have you been?”
“I’ve been in a hole in the ground. Sealed in a fucking concrete block, thanks to Kayne. Do you mind telling me how the asshole knows I can be trapped that way? I’m sure he had to hear it from you. You’re the only one who knows that about me. I haven’t even told Talia about that.”
“I didn’t tell him.” She had a sinking feeling, wondering what else the vampire knew about her that he wasn’t supposed to. He hadn’t admitted he could invade her thoughts, but this was proof.
“Well, he knew. He showed up to threaten me, and then afterward, he cracked the wall. I had to spend hours digging my way to the surface until I could make a hole big enough to mist out of there.”
“Why did he take you, and why would he let you go?” He had done the same thing to her, and he was beginning to piss her off.
“I guess he enjoys powerplays. Which is why he made that bargain with you.” The very thought of that asshole defiling her made him want to kill. “That is never going to happen as long as I have a breath in me, Rebekah. How could you trade yourself for Liam?”
“I couldn’t let him die! He’s a child!”
“He’s a teenager, not a baby.” Ignis wasn’t about to lead up to a discussion with Rebekah about children. He knew that deep down, she would like to have been a mother to Ethan’s children, only to have to watch most of the women she came in contact with be not only his lover but grow fat with his young.
“He must know how important you are to me and the Hunters. I’m surprised he let you go.” She saw the way Ignis sighed and looked away. “Ignis. What’s the matter? What aren’t you telling me?”
“It’s a long story, Rebekah.”
“And here we go again. More secrets. You’ll tell me, ‘It’s a long story, Rebekah,’ and then you’ll say how exhausted you are and that you will tell me later, which you never will.”
Ignis groaned because she had just thrown a wrench into his plans. “I am extremely exhausted. I just dug my way out of a hole.”
Rebekah grew even more frustrated. It was the same old song and dance with her friend. “No! Not this time.” She closed the distance between them, getting right in his face. “The others in this house want to kill you. Canter? He left here to hunt you down, and Mace was so concerned, she went after him. I’ve been worried sick, thinking you’d turned against me and that the Fellowship was lost. I want answers, dammit. I want the truth, or you can’t be a part of my life anymore.” She couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth.
Kayne had not given him a choice. He had to come clean. “As much as I’m afraid I’ll lose you anyway, I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
“I want to know everything. Every secret and every lie. And make it quick. I need to tell the others what’s going on before they try to kill you.”
Ignis sighed. “Shouldn’t we tell the others not to kill me first? Besides, Bexy, I’m famished.”
“Ignis.” She couldn’t believe he was stalling again.
“Fine, but perhaps we should at least get comfortable. This is going to be a long story.”
Chapter 12
Ignis knew he had to fess up, but it wasn’t easy knowing that everything he had to say was going to hurt her. He walked over and turned the two high-back chairs in front of her desk toward one another. “Have a seat?”
“Don’t mind if I do,” said Rebekah, returning Stella to its scabbard. “I’ve been worried sick about you. Thinking you betrayed us all, as a matter of fact, which was so surreal.”
“Because it wasn’t real. You know me, Bexy. How could you think such a thing?”
“Because I saw you with my own eyes. You were you. And besides, your lies have tainted what we have. I need the truth, and I need it now, Ignis. Or else we’ll never be the same.”
“Okay, I suppose I should start at the beginning. I’ve told you how Talia and I came here. I had to learn ways around my magic, which wasn’t working so great here on Earth.”
“What do you mean? You’re a very powerful mage.”
Ignis loved the way she stroked his ego, but he shook his head. “I might have led you on these centuries, letting you think I was better than I am. In fact, your entire creation was a stroke of luck.”
“You make it sound like I was a guinea pig.”
He paled at the very idea. “In some ways but trust me. I made sure that your chances of survival were solid.” He wasn’t going to tell her that if it had failed, she’d have become a vampire. She didn’t need to know every little detail.
“I trusted you enough to step forward.”
“You had faith in me, Bexy. Faith like no one had ever had. Not my family, for sure. Only Talia’s faith had compared, but this was different. I knew I was your last chance. You were so miserable. I couldn’t stand to see your life turn into the mundane and simple existence you dreaded. I had to do something to give you more, and I did.”
“And I know all of that, Ignis. I want to know the parts I don’t know. I want to know how we saw you kill Katie, and if that was the stigmata, then how can it look just like you?”
Ignis took a deep breath. “When we first came to this world, Talia and I fell in with a group of travelers. Through no fault of our own, she was captured, taken by Kayne. You’ve seen how he can swoop in and take whatever, whoever he wants.” Ignis had a theory on that, and if it were true, then the vampire knew more than he was letting on, especially about what Ignis did with his blood.
“Yes,” she said with an intense expression, her gray eyes piercing his soul.
Ignis looked away. “It was then that I learned about something Kayne wanted from me. He claimed I had a darkness. A shadow, he called it. It was my dark energy, and while I had never entertained that part of myself, he tried to taunt me to. When I refused, he asked for it. He wanted to trade it for Talia. But I refused. I was not going to give a part of myself to the vampire. Talia would have never forgiven me. So, I found another way. I stole her away, and after that, I had to send her away to heal and be safe. I went to hide in the church.”
“And you met my father. I know this, Ignis.”
“What you don’t know is that I traded my shadow to Kayne years later.”
“Why? What did you want from him?”
Ignis took a deep breath to answer, and that was when the door opened across the room and Canter strolled in with Mace behind him. The two loo
ked like they’d been on a mission, and upon seeing the mage, both pulled their weapons.
“Careful, Rebekah!” shouted Canter. “He’s the stigmata!”
Ignis got to his feet and held out his hands as if to wave them off. “You’re mistaken.”
Rebekah did the same and stood in front of her oldest friend. “Wait! There’s been a mistake!”
“No!” said Mace. “We found Grady down by the water. He’s dead. The stigmata abandoned him, and that’s why Ignis was acting so strangely!”
“No, this is really Ignis. He’s trying to tell me what happened. I’m in no danger, and I want you to lower your weapons.” She turned and met Canter’s eyes, knowing how badly he wanted to kill her best friend. “That’s an order.”
Canter seethed, his chest rising and falling with each breath. He wanted so badly to remove the mage’s head from his neck and kick it across the courtyard, but he did as Rebekah told him and lowered his weapon instead. “You better start talking. If you don’t convince me, you’re not walking out of here.”
Ignis could tell the young man had been through hell since the last time he’d seen him. He looked like the weary soldier returned from war, with dark circles around his eyes and the look of a man who had seen so much death that he was now dead inside as well. “I’m sorry about Katie, but it wasn’t me. I’ve been in a hole since I left. Kayne took me.”
“I saw you with my own eyes. So, until you prove it with more than words, I’m not going to trust you.”
“Then I should get back to what I was saying.” He knew if he explained about the shadow, then they should understand.
Rebekah urged him on. “You were talking about Kayne wanting your shadow.”
“Yes, it’s the dark part of myself, and he recognized it in me. I think it was that dark shadow that you saw. It has to be. It was what I thought Tia saw when she was found. It’s the only explanation of how there could be two of me. You, yourself, know that I was here when Tia had been found. I’d been far too busy with Rebekah and the new castle and the Nevada Academy to wander too far.”
