Chapter 9
Kane sat in the passenger seat of Chad’s car with a foot propped up on the dashboard.
“What do you really think of all of this?” Chad asked.
“I think it’s bullshit,” Kane answered while he lit a cigarette, “Envy loves both of them but their rivalry is what’s making her afraid to tell them the truth.”
Chad nodded, “Makes sense to me… they would do anything for her. I think if she just came out and told them, it would save us a lot of trouble.”
“She’s protecting them by not telling them,” Kane said. “Truth is, if Trevor wasn’t such a nice guy… Devon wouldn’t stand a chance. I’m glad the baby is Trevor’s. He will be strong.”
“He’s going to have to be strong to keep up with his sudden extended family,” Chad smirked wondering what his sister was going to name him.
“You were smart coming to us first. Right now, telling them the truth would probably be the same as telling them to draw pistols at dawn,” Kane said. “Either way they would be at constant odds… one wanting to be the father and the other actually being the father. They need to acknowledge the fact that she is double mated.”
“Double mated?” Chad asked.
“She belongs to both of them, connected through the soul,” Kane shrugged. “It’s too late to change that now.”
Chad frowned, “How would you know that?”
“When you’ve spent as long in the ground as I have with the only answer to your prayer being an oblivious soul mate… you learn a few things.” Kane looked out the window knowing if it was he, Tabatha, and another man… the other man would be dead.
“So where to first?” Chad asked not wanting to think of his little sister having a threesome.
“Let’s take care of the most dangerous one first, and then we’ll worry about the kitty cat.” Kane flipped on the radio and started surfing channels.
Chad took the next turn and headed toward the precinct. It didn’t take them long to reach their destination since Kriss didn’t live that far away from it. When they arrived, Chad quickly parked the car and they calmly went inside.
Some of the officers stopped what they were doing to stare openly at him and the sensation made Chad feel very self-conscious. The precinct thought he’d bagged two criminals and gotten only a bump on the head and a week’s vacation to show for it.
Trevor saw Chad walk in with Kane of all people and signal that he wanted to talk. He thought about calling Nick to let him know that Chad had been found without Envy but decided against it.
“Hey Chad,” Trevor said when he walked into the interrogation room Chad had chosen. “What’s up?”
Chad shook his head, “It’s not me that needs to talk to you.”
Trevor frowned and looked over at Kane, “Is something wrong?”
“I just need to deliver a message to you,” Kane said quietly when Trevor’s gaze met his.
Chad watched with wide eyes. He’d never seen Kane work before and it was as fascinating as it was scary.
“If you ever think about hurting Devon again like you did in the graveyard the other night, then you will feel pain explode within that thick head of yours,” Kane stated in a dangerous voice. “Envy is more important than your petty differences with the jaguar. If you try to fight past the pain… I’ll make a migraine seem like a very fond memory.”
Kane glanced over at Chad before walking to the door and throwing it open. Chad started to tremble when he saw everyone standing still… seemingly frozen in time.
“What the hell?” Chad whispered and rushed out after the vampire… or ‘Sun God’ as Dean had put it, leaving Trevor alone in the interrogation room.
As soon as they were gone, Trevor blinked his eyes and shook his head a little bit before glancing around the room.
“How’d I get in here?” he asked then frowned wondering if Zachary had paid him a visit. Something was telling him he was missing time again.
Chad kept close to Kane until they were outside. The extremely slow movement continued for a moment then suddenly returned to normal.
“What the hell was that?” Chad demanded loudly. “It looked like something Storm would do.”
“An old incantation Syn taught us a long time ago. Unlike Storm’s ability to hold it for an indefinite period, ours only lasts for a few seconds.” Kane answered. “Now then… let’s go find us a catnip toy to occupy the feline with.”
Chad fisted his hands to keep them from trembling… he needed to keep himself steady if he was going to be driving. “What did you mean when you warned Trevor about hurting Devon again like he’d done in the graveyard? What exactly did Trevor do?”
Kane smirked knowing he was going to have to erase that little slip from Chad’s mind before they reached Devon.
It actually didn’t take long to find Devon since he was unloading the Hummer right outside of Moon Dance. When Kane was finished giving much the same speech to Devon as he had given to Trevor, minus the graveyard stuff, Kane quickly grabbed Chad from behind before the jaguar could turn and see them.
Before Chad could blink they were back in the car like nothing had happened.
“What did you do this time?” Chad asked.
“Wrapped us in shadows so Devon couldn’t see us,” Kane answered leaving out the part where he also wiped Chad’s memory of it making it seem more like teleportation. It had been too tempting since Chad was having so much fun.
“When I grow up… I so want to be you,” Chad smirked.
***** Envy walked into the shop with Tabatha and Kriss who were both teasing each other about the possibilities for costumes. They had been doing the comedy act to cheer her up, and much to Envy’s surprise… it had worked.
The shop had been around a while according to Kat and sold all kinds of stuff that a lot of the local ‘covens’ loved to come in and buy. The real heavy duty stuff was actually never put on the shelves for just anyone to buy.
Envy quickly asked the girl behind the counter about the scent cover-up spray telling her that Kat Santos had told her about it. She giggled when the lady sprayed some on her before handing her the bottle.
In addition to that, the lady showed her a room in the back where more adult costumes for any occasion, especially Halloween, could be found. This is where the three friends filed into and immediately started talking quite excitedly.
Gypsy watched the three of them go in the back room and recognized Envy and the tall blonde from Nick's description earlier… that and the fact that the girl had said Kat sent her. Picking up the shop phone she dialed Nick’s number and waited for him to pick up.
“What’s up beautiful?” Nick asked when he answered his cell.
“She just walked in,” Gypsy informed him wondering if that meant Nick was coming back. She glanced in the huge mirror beside the counter and fluffed her bangs nervously. Nick always had that effect on her.
“Thanks, and leave your hair alone. It looks fine,” he leaned against the store window watching her.
Gypsy blinked then made a comical face. “You’re right outside… aren’t you,” she asked and hung up the phone before turning and spotting him through the glass. She was sure she was doing a great rendition of a tomato and was glad for the distraction when a customer came up to the counter looking for something.
Nick chuckled and closed his cell phone. He still missed the old man that owned and ran the place up until about a month ago. At least he’d died of old age asleep in his bed instead of falling victim to the madness the city was now under. Problem was… the old man had left the store to his beautiful granddaughter therefore putting her in a world of danger.
He nodded to Gypsy listening from a distance as she helped a customer pick out a love potion to help a failing marriage. He smirked to himself wondering if Gypsy had added anything into the potion that would actually help the depressed looking woman. It was a sad day indeed when humans needed to resort to love potions to make someone stay with them… especially if that someone no longer loved the person they were with, if they ever loved them in the first place.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw the quick hand of a teenager five-finger-discounting one of the silver necklaces hanging on the wall. Nick walked up behind the kid and growled trying not to laugh when the young man cringed and shrank a couple inches. He thought the adolescent would pee himself when he looked over his shoulder and saw who was standing behind him.
“Get out,” Nick ordered. When the boy quickly started to obey Nick grabbed his arm and growled, “Without the necklace moron.”
It took several tries before the boy got the piece of jewelry hung back on the hook and ran out of the store.
“I need to hire you for security,” Gypsy laughed as she walked up to Nick. “Your missing sister-in-law is in the back with her friends checking out some of the more adult costumes.”
Nick inhaled not smelling Envy’s scent anywhere. Seeing Gypsy watching him closely, he wondered just how much her grandfather had told her. Thinking to test her knowledge he smiled playfully, “Normally I can smell her perfume and track her.”
“Not today,” Gypsy smiled not missing a beat, “she’s wearing a special blend of herbs that hides your scent.”
“Add some of that to my normal supply of stuff,” Nick nodded then looked toward the curtained section. “Mind if I go check on them?”
Gypsy smiled and winked at him, “Yeah, you might want to go. If you stay here distracting me any longer, I’m libel to pour a salt circle around you so you can’t leave.”
Nick smirked and leaned toward her so he could whisper in her ear, “You wouldn't need the salt.”
Gypsy felt her knees go weak and her thighs go up in flames. She blinked as he walked toward the back of the shop. Following him with her gaze, she wondered how he was able to do that. When other men got that close to her it didn’t really faze her, but when Nick did it… it was like her whole world narrowed down to just him.
Nick stopped in front of the curtain and couldn’t help but overhear Tabatha, Envy, and Kriss talking.
“Have you decided when you are going to tell Devon about the baby?” Tabatha asked as she held a French Maid’s outfit up against her then shook her head and giggled holding it up against Kriss.
“Tomorrow maybe… I’ve been through enough for one day,” Envy answered laughing when Kriss wiggled his eyebrows at Tabatha.
“I don’t mean to push but you should tell him as soon as possible,” Kriss said. “If you wait too much longer he’ll start to detect the change in your scent… if he doesn’t hear the fast little heartbeat first.”
Nick’s eyes widened, a baby… he was going to be an uncle. His shock gave way to excitement and he threw the curtain aside knocking a barrel full of broomsticks on the floor.
“Devon’s going to be a daddy?” he asked excitedly as he rushed to Envy’s side. “Holy crap, why are you standing up? You need to sit down… you’re starting to make me nervous. Why haven’t you told Devon about the baby? I’m calling him right now.”
Envy looked at Tabatha and Kriss with a terrified expression. This was her worst nightmare come to life… she wasn’t ready for this.
Tabatha and Kriss shared a similar look before Tabatha suddenly appeared directly in front of Nick, making sure to look him dead in the eyes just like Kane taught her. This was her first chance to erase someone’s memory without Kane overseeing what she was doing.
Nick saw the change in Tabatha’s eyes realizing immediately what she was attempting to do. He calmed his breathing and let his eyes fall half-mast hoping his acting ability was up to snuff.
Thankfully, Alicia had given him her necklace that had protected her from the vampire thrall in the past. After Michael’s threat she felt he needed it… now he was glad he’d taken it. Thanks to her and the necklace tucked under the collar of his shirt, he couldn’t have his memory erased or tampered with by a vampire.
“I need you to forget what you just heard,” Tabatha said softly. “You just now walked in here and found us laughing about costumes and nothing more. Do you understand?”
Nick nodded slowly like he was fighting sleep, “Yeah, I understand.”
“Good, now go back out and head home,” Tabatha smiled.
“Okay,” Nick said before slowly turning around and leaving the room.
“That was a close one,” Envy said with a sigh and wrapped her arm around Tabatha. She couldn’t help but grin as she replayed Nick's reaction in her mind. Sometimes he could be so cute.
Kriss’ gaze followed Nick until he walked out the door and disappeared from view. “Be right back ladies,” he told the girls and left before they could ask any questions.
Nick slid a sideways glance toward Gypsy seeing she was busy with another over eager male customer but pushed his jealous tendencies away in light of the fact that he was about to become an uncle and Devon didn’t have a clue. It didn’t take him long to close the distance between him and his car.
Opening the door, Nick slid into the front seat before he realized there was someone in the passenger seat.
“Shut the door Nick,” Kriss ordered calmly when it looked like the jaguar was going to bolt.
Nick sighed then slammed the door. “You’re going to make me forget… aren’t you.” he looked toward Kriss knowing necklace or not… he wasn’t going to win this round.
“No Nick, I’m going to let you keep the memory. I’m just here to give you a warning,” Kriss stated.
“And that warning would be?” Nick asked trying not to cringe.
All expression left Kriss’s face as he answered, “If you tell anyone before Envy does, then I’ll take your memory so far back that you will have to learn how to crawl all over again.”
Nick didn’t say a word as Kriss got out of the car and headed back into The Witch’s Brew.
***** Aurora tilted her head back and let the cool breeze blow through her long hair. She finally decided she’d had enough of being underground and craved the sunshine… hence her current position. She was crouched on the very edge of a skyscraper roof and was looking out over the city.
Reaching up to her neck, she fingered the necklace that hung there. A crystalline stone… blood red and in the shape of a teardrop. It had belonged to her lover but it was hers now.
Aurora couldn’t regret being with him even if he wasn’t a Fallen. That was the part that confused her the most… he was neither human nor demon but something else completely. The only other thing she could think to describe him as was vampire, but she knew that was wrong… vampires didn’t have souls.
She glanced up at the sun curiously and frowned. The sun… his soul had reminded her of the sun. The evil that should have been there in a vampire was absent from the man that had taken her… claimed her in the most primal way.
If she was being truthful with herself… she had done the claiming. She felt a sudden tightening between her legs recalling how it had felt to push downward on him that first time. The amazement in his eyes when she’d done it had taken her breath away.
She looked down over the edge of the building seeing how high up she really was and wished she could still fly. That desire brought back painful memories of the demon realm. It was just as vast as this world, only there it was like and infinite number of dimensions pressed together into a large maze that had no exit. Some were full of sleeping demons waiting to awaken… others were like jungle battlegrounds bloody with war.
She’d found one area that reminded her of the mountains where she’d grown up and sought sanctuary within the numerous caves there… that had been her first mistake. Her need to find shelter had been shared with others that wanted nothing more than her demise.
Within those caves many demons had taken refuge and lain in wait for anything to pass by unawares. They’d come out of nowhere, attacking her in droves that she couldn’t even hope to fight off. They’d accused her of being in league with the other Fallen that had driven them into the rift and left them to rot. She tried to tell them that she’d never even met another Fallen… not a pure blood anyway.
Her words and pleas had fallen on deaf ears… those demons hadn't cared. They were going to kill her… bragging about how they would rip her limb from limb and drink her blood while she was still alive like they had other Fallen. She wanted to fight back but she hadn't the strength nor had the ability to draw her sword on them… something in the rift had kept her from reaching for the power of her soul. This left her with only her wits as her weapon of necessity, not choice.
That was when Samuel emerged from the darkness, graceful and proud… with so many demons following behind him. At first she thought he’d come to save her because of the way he was looking at her. She hadn't understood what that look truly meant at the time but she’d quickly found that rescue at his hands would come with a terrible price.
The demons hadn't stopped him when he walked up to her and extended his hand, helping her up from the ground. She’d blindly taken it, grateful for him being there. However, before she could thank him, he took her right wing in an unforgiving grip and broke it.
She’d screamed in agony and vaguely remembered the demons surrounding them… laughing at her plight. With pain shattering through her mind she’d tried to fight back but he’d held her easily while she struggled to get away. When his hand reached toward her other wing she panicked. In that moment she hid both of her wings swearing he would never have the chance to break the other.
Samuel had merely smiled knowingly at her then looked around at the demons still lingering. He informed them that the female, her, had been claimed by him and they would not touch her… unless he desired it. That’s when she’d realized the demons that moments ago tried to kill her answered to his command.
She’d fallen to her knees, the pain of her broken wing almost too much to bear, and tearfully begged him to make her death quick instead of torturing her. Samuel had gently taken hold of her chin, forcing her to look up at him and told her the last of the Fallen had been killed. By taking away her ability to fly, she would remain safe from the slaughter… as long as she agreed to stay with him.
Aurora sighed at not only the memory… but her gullibility as well. Samuel had said he was doing it all to protect her, but demons lie… all of them. The short, sweet, and simple of it was that Samuel wanted her and breaking her wing would ensure she could not fly away. He’d offered her life… but it had come with chains. She never let the demons see her wings again after that and she’d fought Samuel at every opportunity as best she could.
Many times during their exile she’d escaped him and had managed to do so again… actually running when the rift opened. Using the strength she didn’t know she had, she clawed and fought her way back into the human world… a world where she was free to defend herself with her own blade and even make love to a stranger in the subways if she wanted.
She smiled and let her wings free for a moment wanting to feel the wind on them. She was so lost in her daydreams that she didn’t see the demon as he approached.
Samuel had been tracking his wayward Fallen for almost a day… following the alluring scent of her arousal. His anger flared knowing it was an arousal he had not caused. When he stepped onto the roof of the skyscraper, he paused in wonder seeing her standing on the edge looking like the beautiful broken angel she was… one wing limp and broken, the other spread out proudly, almost defiantly. He hadn't seen her wings since the first day he’d met her.
He traced across the rooftop coming up behind her, the rustle of his clothing the only thing that gave him away. Before he could grip the unbroken wing, it shattered from existence.
Aurora spun around in surprise and screamed when he grabbed her by the wrists. She pushed away from him trying to stay at arm’s length but Samuel only tightened his hold and jerked her hard.
Samuel knew better than to let her have the freedom of reaching for the Fallen’s Blade hidden inside her and moved to the edge of the roof, dangling the frustrating woman over open air.
“You made love to another,” Samuel stated with a tilt of his head.
Aurora glared up at him, “How did you find me?”
“It was too easy to track your lustful scent across this city… I merely followed it.” Samuel said and brought her closer to the edge and safety. “I’m curious… did the master vampire fulfill your every desire or did he leave you wanting more?”
“Not from you,” she hissed knowing he wouldn’t drop her.
Samuel sighed sadly and shook his head, “A pity… your lover is dead.”
Aurora narrowed her eyes, “You lie!”
“Are you so sure?” Samuel asked and pulled her flush against him. “I would show you his body but I’m afraid there are far hungrier things in the tunnels… I couldn’t even save you a lock of his hair.”
“You’ve lied to me before,” Aurora stated feeling his hard body against hers and was mortified that her body was responding to the familiarity of him.
”Would you rather it was true?” he smirked wickedly, “We both know you do not need another demon to satisfy your body… you have me. I am all you will ever need.”
Aurora felt her fury mount at his words… he’d just admitted to lying about the vampire’s death. On the outside, her expression remained passive but her reasons for hating Samuel resurfaced. Using his hold on her to pull herself closer to him, she brushed her body against his seductively. Samuel’s self-satisfied smirk only strengthened Aurora’s resolve.
Pressing her lips against his, she sucked his lower lip between hers with sensual slowness and wound one of her legs around his hip. She didn’t fight him when he raised her arms above her head. For her compliances she was quickly rewarded when his palms slid down her arms in a caress.
Samuel leapt back with a curse when she attempted to cleave him in half with her damned sword.
“You will never have me again,” Aurora hissed raising her chin in defiance. “I will make love to whoever I want, but I will never truly give myself to anyone.” She held the long blade between them and added, “Only if they possess a Fallen Blade will I be theirs. The beauty of it is you told me all of the Fallen are dead… amazing how things work out, isn’t it?”
Samuel snarled when Aurora stepped backwards over the edge of the building and rushed forward to catch her. When he leaned over the side, she had vanished into thin air. She couldn’t fly… so where the hell had she gone?
***** Michael lay in bed breathing heavily as the silence of sleep left him and the dream world expanded out to shatter the peaceful darkness. He was back in the tunnels beneath the city looking across at the beautiful woman. The only thing separating them was the roar of the subway train rushing by making her long hair flutter around her.
He once again gripped the security railing ready to close the distance between them as soon as the train passed. Michael felt the anticipation building and jumped the railing just as the last car cleared. Reaching for her, he was brought up short by a hand suddenly around his throat. He felt the wall at his back and stared up into the beautifully snarling face of a male demon.
“She… is… mine!”
Before Michael could retaliate, he was thrust from the dream as pain once again stabbed at his back.
Michael opened his eyes just in time to see several objects in his bedroom levitating several feet in the air. He lifted his head and flinched when they… along with his bed crashed to the floor in places they shouldn’t have been. He frowned as he sat up and looked around… his bed now in the center of the room.
It took him a few moments to realize that he had been levitating everything in the room while he slept. Since when could he do that? A power of that magnitude was something Syn would do… not him. He had never possessed that kind of power and probably never would.
Kane had brought him home hours ago but the wound still had yet to completely heal. He knew it was because Syn had killed him… the healing had been just as slow when he and Damon had killed each other. He felt his anger surface at the unwanted memory and the thickness of power slammed through him.
‘If the wound hurts you, then make it stop,’ Syn’s voice breathed through his conscious.
Michael closed his eyes and chuckled to himself… if there was a time for him to express complete idiocy about himself it was that moment. “Make the pain stop,” he whispered to himself. “If I can heal others… then I should be able to heal myself.” Making himself as comfortable as possible, he took a deep breath and relaxed.
He felt a tickling sensation in the center of his back and tilted his face up toward the ceiling. His eyes opened when he heard the tinkling of broken porcelain and smiled with amusement as the items in the room started levitating again. They wobbled in the air but continued to hover precariously.
The tickle on his back stopped and Michael sighed, slumping his shoulders in relief. The pain was still there but it was down to a very dull ache and he had a feeling even that would be gone shortly. Unfortunately his peaceful countenance was shattered… along with everything else left in the room. His entire body jerked when the bed hit the floor again… this time the cloth canopy falling down on his head.
He would have laughed but he had a feeling someone else was doing it for him. After wrestling with the canopy cover for a moment, he finally got it off of him and looked around the room. It was worse than before and Michael sighed again when he saw his antique mirror had shattered on the floor.
“Seven years no sex,” he muttered in frustration.
A deep frown creased his brow when he heard scratching at the door downstairs and groaned when it didn’t stop. Gingerly rising out of the bed, he made his way to the ground floor. He couldn’t help but smile when he opened the door and saw Scrappy sitting on his doorstep looking up at him with an imploring face.
“And just what are you doing here?” Michael asked leaning against the doorframe. “Isn’t Kane paying you enough attention?”
Scrappy barked up at him and turned around in a circle before rising up on his hind legs and waving his front paws at him.
“All right, all right,” Michael said with a soft laugh and slowly stooped over to pick up the little dog.
He placed the dog on the kitchen tabletop and started going through the refrigerator. Finding some hamburger meat that he planned to use for meatballs the night before, he pulled that out and gave it to him.
“You know what?” Michael asked.
Scrappy looked up at him from his bowl and whined.
“I really need to get a life,” he finished.
Scrappy barked at him and Michael gave him a sardonic look.
“You’re not supposed to agree with me.” Michael grumbled.
Scrappy barked again and Michael smiled, “I suppose I could just wait, I did bite her after all. Perhaps she’ll be back.”
Scrappy made a groaning sound and went back to his dinner. His master’s brother was a strange one indeed. Why he didn’t go after his mate was something the immortal canine was confused about… but then again all humans and human-like creatures confused him. Scrappy was beginning to think he was the only sane critter left in the world.
