Bitten At Daybreak

by Deanna Chase

  I understood his reasoning for living in this world. His son was here. Pandora was here, whom he seemed to love very much. While he and his son Lex could cross over, she couldn’t. And even if something happened to the other Pandora, making it possible for her to cross, there would be nothing in that world that would keep Eadric Allcot away from her. It just hurt that Seth hadn’t felt he could be honest and had chosen to let me believe he was missing, or worse—dead.

  “I can’t stay here,” I said quietly. “Dax, Willow, if they haven’t figured it out already, they’ll do everything in their power to find me.”

  “I know. They love you.”

  “They’re my family now.”

  He nodded. “Don’t worry, Phoebe. I’ll take care of it. If she hasn’t come back by the time we finish with this raid, I’ll go find her and bring her back myself.”

  Gods. I’d had no idea how much I wanted to hear those words until he actually said them. “Thank you,” I said, air whooshing out of my lungs as if I’d been holding my breath. “I’m sorry I put you in this position.”

  “You have nothing to apologize for.” His phone buzzed, and after he checked the message, he said, “Time to roll.”

  We both jumped out of the SUV and then took our time strolling toward Frenchmen Street. I’d used some of my talents to disguise us so that we didn’t give ourselves away. Today we were dressed as tourists. I was wearing linen capris and a matching tank top while Seth was in jeans and a tacky T-shirt with a giant crawfish on the front. The words I sucked heads in New Orleans were scrawled across the bottom. I’d tucked my dark hair under a long, honey-blond wig, but Seth had refused the blond-tipped wig I’d suggested for him. Instead, he’d gone with a Saints cap, which I had to admit made him blend right in.

  “Tell me again who Genevieve is,” I said. I knew she was the one who was helping us get into Clio’s operation, but I hadn’t been clear on what she did for the witch.

  “She’s the person who looks after the staff, makes sure they’re up to Clio’s standards. A manager of sorts. But what she really does is keep an eye on them and keep them safe. You were friends with her when you used to work at the club,” Seth said. “You were friends until Allcot paid out your contract and brought you back to the plantation.”

  I nearly stopped dead in my tracks. “The other Phoebe was a sex worker, and Allcot bought her?”

  Seth nodded as if he hadn’t just dropped a bombshell in my lap. “He saved her actually.”

  And now she owed him. Was that why she’d married him? Out of obligation? It made me sick to think about my other self having so few choices that she grabbed her chance at my life the first chance she got. “He doesn’t deserve her,” I said defiantly.

  “You might be right, but he was way better than the alternative.” Seth put his finger to his lips, indicating our conversation was over, and gestured to the building in front of us. I almost laughed out loud. The Red Door. In my reality, the club was owned by Allcot and was a vampire jazz bar. Only in that world, the door was actually painted blue, while this one was red.

  At least I knew the layout.

  “I’ll take the front. You take the back,” Seth said.

  I nodded. It was time to work. Being that we were the only witches in Allcot’s gang, we were responsible for casting illusion spells so that the vampires could enter the club undetected to the naked eye. The spells were simple enough that the magic wouldn’t be immediately detected by the witch leader. But it also meant she could break through them without much difficulty. We’d need to be on our toes.

  As Genevieve had promised, the gate to get into the side of the building and to the back was unlocked. I slipped through silently while imagining the space void of any people, vampires, or werewolves and whispering a spell under my breath. Magic tingled on my skin as I sank onto a wooden swing, my limbs becoming light when the spell filtered over the brick courtyard.

  And then I settled in to wait.

  Allcot and his band of vampires would be entering the building through the front. Or at least that was the plan, but less than a minute had gone by before I spotted Kai and Paxton striding toward me. But without even a flick of their gaze or a wave of acknowledgment, they pulled the back door open and hurried inside.

  They hadn’t seen me. That was obvious. Good, the spell was working.

  I sat with my hands in my lap, trying not to fidget. Sitting on the sidelines wasn’t something I was used to. I placed my hand at my waist and grabbed the hilt of my dagger, ready just in case the shit hit the fan.

  “Phoebe, look out!” a voice called from seemingly out of nowhere, startling me into action just as a ball of fire came right at me. Without any thought, I dove to the ground and rolled, coming up on my feet with my dagger in my hand. The swing I’d been sitting on was engulfed in flames, radiating an intense heat that caused the flames to turn blue.

  “I should’ve killed you the first night you came to me.” The gravelly-voiced woman was right behind me, so close I could feel her breath on my neck.

  “Probably,” I said and jabbed my elbow into her gut before jumping out of her way.

  “Stupid bitch,” she said, her tone ice-cold. She had long, curly, bright red hair, silver eyes that flashed with disgust, and was holding a weapon that looked a lot like a gun.

  “What are you doing to do with that?” I asked, pointing my dagger at the pistol. “Shoot me?”

  Her thin lips turned into an evil smile as she started to squeeze the trigger.

  I cursed and placed my hand straight out, erecting a clear shield that was like a protective barrier.

  “Goodbye, Kilsen,” Clio said, her smile only widening.

  Magic poured into my dagger as I clutched it harder, and when I heard the bang of the gun, the weapon was already pressed against my chest, protecting my heart. The bullet sailed right through my barrier and was stopped by the magical blade, much to Clio’s horror.

  “How did you…? Why didn’t that work?” she asked, astonished she hadn’t been able to kill me. Not yet anyway. Then the strangest thing happened. Her appearance shifted into a short blonde and then a tall, thin brunette and back to the long-haired redhead.

  “Magic,” I growled and leaped for her, my hand closing over the gun. My attack must have surprised her, because I got the gun easily, but as soon as I took it from her, she disappeared into thin air.

  I spun, searching for the witch.

  Nothing. There was no one. I wasn’t even sure if it had been Clio. The witch attacking me could have been anyone.

  But then I heard a blood-curdling scream from inside the house. A scream I recognized.

  Willow Rhoswen.

  I knew she wasn’t my Willow, the Willow I’d left back in my world. But she was still Willow, and leaving her to whatever fate was going on in that club was unimaginable. Holding the gun in one hand and my dagger in the other, I tore into the building.

  Carnage, everywhere. A wolf was sprawled out in the hallway unmoving, a large vampire bite in his neck. A naked man was curled in the corner, blood spilling out beneath him from a wound in his gut. My stomach rolled, but the truth was I’d seen worse and probably would again.

  The screaming was overhead and only louder now. I sprinted around the corner, jumping over a woman who’d fallen and was whimpering, and then took the stairs two at a time and headed straight for the office I’d known as Allcot’s back in my world.

  I burst through the ornate double doors and skidded to a stop, my heart in my throat. The redheaded woman I’d seen out in the courtyard was standing on the desk, her eyes narrowed as she pointed her finger at the familiar fae floating in front of her.

  Willow Rhoswen.

  Her wing was torn and there were shackles around both her ankles and wrists. Dried blood marred both her hands and her feet. This wasn’t a new predicament for the fairy. The screaming had stopped and her head was lolling to the side, her eyes unseeing.

  “Willow!” I cried and ran forward,
but a bolt of magic hit me straight in the chest and hurled me back into the heavy door. My lower back hit the knob, sending a jolt of pain straight to my toes. I fell with a grunt but quickly pushed myself up and moved forward again, this time with both hands on my dagger. It could fight magic; the gun could not.

  “Stand down, Kilsen,” the redhead said.

  “You first.”

  She let out a sardonic chuckle. “You always were a feisty one.”

  I felt my magic coil in my gut, slithering around, ready to strike.

  “Don’t even think about,” she said with a snarl. “If you do, I’ll have my man slit your brother’s throat.”

  I jerked my attention to the two men to the left of her and almost stumbled to one knee from the shock of the sight.

  My partner, Dax Marrok’s, doppelgänger was holding a magic-infused knife to Seth’s throat. Seth’s T-shirt had been shredded by what appeared to be wolf claws, and he had four large gashes in his skin.

  “Stop this, Clio,” Seth ground out. “You can’t win. The vampires have you surrounded.”

  Did they? I didn’t know for sure how many vampires Allcot had enlisted for this rescue. I knew about the four from dinner, but were there more?

  “They’re all too busy fighting off my familiars.” She turned her attention to me as her lips curved into that same chilling smiled I’d witnessed out in the courtyard. “They’re immune to illusion spells. Too bad you didn’t know that. You might have gotten a little farther on this fool’s mission.”

  That wasn’t quite right, I thought. Hadn’t I watched Kai and Paxton go into the building without any trouble? Where were they now? Still working through the carnage downstairs? In the bar area? I had no idea.

  “The only reason this one got up here is because I let him.” She cut her gaze to Seth and gave Dax a nod.

  He grimaced and let out a roar as he twisted Seth’s arm until the entire room heard the unmistakable sound of bones cracking.

  Sweat ran down Seth’s face as he let out a grunt of pain and fell to the floor on one knee.

  “Well done, pet,” Clio said to Dax in a tone that made my stomach turn.

  The shifter bared his teeth to her and growled.

  She threw her head back and laughed as if all this were some big giant joke.

  Dax bent his head and whispered something to Seth that sounded a lot like, “Sorry, man.”

  He was compelled to do her bidding. I was sure of it. His body language and the way he was glaring at Clio made that perfectly clear. If I could break her hold on him, that would give us an ally.

  “Now, about Rhoswen here. She has a very special gift. I don’t think it would be prudent to kill her. She’s especially valuable to the vampires. How about we work out a trade,” Clio said. “What do you say, Kilsen?”

  The use of my name startled me. I hadn’t realized she was talking to me. But that made sense, didn’t it? Allcot had invaded her space, and I was Allcot’s goddamned wife. It would be natural for her to assume I had bargaining power. “I’m listening,” I said with a great deal more calm than I felt. She was torturing the three people I loved most in the world. Well, I loved Seth anyway. The other two were the counterparts to the people I loved, and that was good enough for me.

  I took a step forward, holding her sinister gaze. “What do you have in mind?”

  “Easy. I let everyone live, and you take your vamps and go.” Her eyes were almost black with the power she was wielding. How long had she been levitating Willow and controlling Dax? In my universe, the prolonged use of powerful magic would drain the energy of a witch faster than just about anything else. There was no way I was taking her deal. Besides, I was pretty sure some people downstairs weren’t interested in negotiating with her.

  “How about you let Willow down and I’ll consider it?” I asked with my eyebrows raised.

  “No.” She snapped her fingers, and a noose made out of silk wrapped itself around Willow’s neck and tightened.

  Willow’s eyes popped open and she made a gurgling noise like she was choking or couldn’t breathe.

  “Are you ready to make that deal, Kilsen?” Clio asked.

  “Don’t. Do. It,” Seth said.

  Clio turned her ire on him and opened her mouth to no doubt order Dax to do something else vile to him, but I wasn’t having it. My magic had been building the entire time I’d been standing there, and without any warning, I hurled my dagger at the witch. It moved so fast it hit her right in the middle of her chest before she even saw it coming.

  Willow fell to the floor and Dax stepped back from Seth.

  I knew I’d broken the spells she’d had them under, but I didn’t wait to see what might happen next. The witch had already pulled the dagger from her chest, and despite the blood staining her white dress, she was moving toward me, holding my dagger high above her head, ready to use it on me.

  Not so fast, witch, I thought and raised my own hand high in the air, muttering a spell under my breath. It was an ancient family one that connected precious family heirlooms to the owner. The hilt of my blade glowed yellow and then orange as it heated to unbearable levels, and finally Clio let go. It flew into my palm, cooler than an ocean breeze. As soon as I wrapped my hand around the hilt, I leaped forward, ready to take this bitch down.

  But she wouldn’t prove an easy mark. Before I could reach her, a locket at her throat opened all on its own and blue gas filled the room. It tasted and smelled of sulfur. My limbs turned heavy, and my mind slowed down. Sleeping gas? I didn’t know for sure and I didn’t care. Whatever it was, it had to go. I made a slashing motion with my dagger, forming a flaming X in the air. Then I poked it in the middle with the dagger, releasing the flame. It went straight for her gas, popping, crackling, and sizzling through the room as it burned her spell into nothing.

  “Fuck me!” Clio cried and tried to turn and run through a side door.

  But Seth was there. He grabbed her by her hair and dragged her back. She muttered curse after curse, but the fire I’d unleashed was still active and burned them all before they could be effective.

  She glared at me. “That witch needs to die. I should’ve killed her when I had the chance.”

  I walked over to Seth and towered over her. “Yeah. I’ve heard that before.” Crouching down next to her, I reached for the magical zip ties I usually kept in my back pocket and came up empty. “Dammit. Seth, do you have restraints?”

  “Only ones that require spells, and I think you’ve managed to make those useless for the moment.” He eyed the room, his gaze following the tiny sparks of fire still flying around like fireflies.

  I chuckled because it was true. It was interesting. That spell didn’t quite work like that at home. It didn’t linger like it was doing here. I wasn’t sure what to make of that.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Allcot said from the doorway.

  I glanced back at the vampire. He was disheveled, blood staining his chin, and he looked pissed off. Was that because a shifter had gashed his face or because we didn’t appear to be able to handle the witch on our own? There was no telling, but before I could blink, Allcot was at Clio’s side, her head in his hands. Without even a hesitation, he twisted, snapping her neck before the witch could try to utter another spell.

  I gasped out loud, shocked to my core.

  “Grow up, Phoebe,” he said, sounding annoyed as he turned his gray eyes on me. “What did you want to happen? After what this bitch did to you, I’d think you’d be thanking me.”

  What she’d done to me? What did that mean? I’d have to ask Seth. “Well, I’m certainly glad she won’t be torturing my friends any longer.”

  He glanced around the room, eyeing Willow and Seth before letting his gaze linger on Dax. Finally he gave me a withering stare and said, “Friends?”

  “I… uh, I just meant…” I shook my head, not sure what to say. “I just meant that she can’t hurt anyone anymore.”

  “Right.” His tone was dismissive. “Tak
e care of the fairy.” Glancing back, he pointed to Dax. “You, come with me.”

  While I knelt next to Willow, carefully untangling the scarf from her neck, the shifter got to his feet and reluctantly moved toward the vampire. There was a scowl on his face and he looked like he was one wrong move away from ripping Allcot’s head off. As they stepped through the door, I heard Allcot say, “Clean up the carnage. I want this place ready to open back up by the end of the week.”

  “What?” I jumped back up and moved toward Allcot. “You can’t be serious? What are you going to do? Open it up as a jazz club?”

  “Of course not, Phoebe. This place is a brothel and that’s what it will continue to be.” Allcot moved toward the door and barked at Dax, “Come.”

  The pair of them disappeared into the next room while I stared after him and Willow started to cry.

  6

  The Masterson residence was in the Lakeview neighborhood. Dax and Leo sat in front of a large custom home with floor-to-ceiling windows in the front and ornate double wooden doors. The grounds had been manicured to perfection, with jasmine vines, large red hibiscus flowers, and a blooming crepe myrtle in the middle of the yard. Two matching BMWs were sitting in the driveway, one with a license plate that said His and the other said Hers. There was also a sporty powder-blue Mini Cooper off to the right.

  “Wow,” Leo said, his eyes wide. “Gorgeous place. A lot nicer than the double we live in with the peeling paint and sagging porch.”

  “Watch it, kid. It’s cheap and provides a roof over your head,” Dax said, pushing his door open.

  “I wasn’t complaining. Just making an observation.” Leo waited for him on the sidewalk. “I wouldn’t know what to do in a fancy place like this anyway. Can you imagine? I’d probably break that fancy door handle the first time I used it.”

  He probably would, Dax thought. It appeared to be crystal and looked more delicate than it likely was. “You’d be fine,” he said and rang the doorbell.

  Nothing. No dogs barked. No sound or movement from inside.

  Dax rang again and then knocked. Leo started to crane his head to peek over the fence, but then the door swung open and a woman in a white T-shirt with a coffee stain on the front opened the door. Her tearstained face was pale, and she looked like she wanted to vomit.