Davina’s head slammed against the side of the cart as the wheel passed through a deep rut in the dirt road leading to the clearing that was called the witch’s circle. It was an open space in the forest where they burned women suspected of practicing magic. Frustration consumed her when she tried to reach up to comfort her head and discovered that her wrists were bound together and then tied to a ring that was secured in the side of the cart. Her feet were also bound.
Her mouth and throat were dry and felt as if she’d swallowed something coarse, like sand. She struggled to bring her eyes into focus while she tried to remember how and why she was in this situation. The last thing she could recall was forcing down a sufficient amount of the stew the earl had served her and Theo so that they wouldn’t offend him or have to admit that they’d already filled their bellies on a scrumptious meal less than an hour earlier in the cave
“It’s been two days and I still can’t do magic,” Davina complained as she paced the hardpacked floor of their hideout. “I’m sick of this cave. I need fresh air. I feel like I’m suffocating.”“I think it might be prudent to return you to your own time. The means of clearing that potion out of your system are more readily available there.”“Why can’t you eliminate it with magic?”“It attaches to magic and sucks it like a pariah. It was risky enough to teleport us. I would be a fool to use magic around it; especially for something that involves getting rid of it.”“You conjured our food with magic.”“Only once. After that, I left the portal open for the servers to come and go. It was less risky than using the magic to open and close it.”“Damn Louella!” Davina hissed as she stomped her
Louella stopped outside of Valkyr’s club to collect herself before entering. Seeing the vampire who’d figured out a way to keep her breasts producing the milk they coveted and held her captive for months while he shared her with his two goons who joined him in drinking not just her milk, but also her blood before he seeded her womb with his brat was the last thing she wanted to do, but there was no choice. If she was to keep in good favor with her father, it was necessary to maintain amicable relations with the vampires.Valkyr had made a formal complaint to the dark lord that his daughter was ignoring him. He questioned the well-being of his unborn child while complaining that, according to vampire law, she was now his bride and it was necessary that she perform her wifely duties for him. While Damianfound it utterly amusing, she was outraged.She was about to knock on the door when it swung open and she found herself face to face with
Davina sat, nervously, on the examination table while she waited for the doctor to return. Her blood was drawn and tested positive for pregnancy – not that such a test needed to be done as it was clear with the naked eye that she had a child in her womb, but Freya had insisted upon it. She’d also insisted on a thorough examination; after which she, Margaret, and the doctor had retired to the doctor’s office for a discussion. She was left waiting; her nerves frazzled from the suspense.A wave of sadness swept over her as she thought of Theo. He should be with her for this. It was his child too, after all. She longed to feel his loving arms around her once more, but every time she questioned his whereabouts, either Freya or Margaret would remind her of the importance of her mission and demand that she remain focused.She knew what she had to do. She just wished she could do it with Theo. It seemed so wrong
Valkyr stared out of the window at the starless night. He was waiting for Louella to visit him again. She’d come by almost every day that week and he was growing accustomed to her visits. So much so that he actually looked forward to them.He was both disturbed and confused to discover that he was capable of attachment of the sort he felt for her. True, she was no mere mundane, but she was also not a vampire. She was a witch and witches were a dangerous lot for a vampire to associate with. Had he realized she was more than a mere mundane when she came to him smelling of magic milk, he would have sent her on her way; milk be damned. His saving grace was the fact that she was sired by the dark lord and he wanted to start a line of offspring with both dark lord and vampire genetics. Otherwise, he was sure she would have killed him and his two men as soon as her magic ignited.She’d tasted his blood on more than o
Davina sipped on her cup of herbal tea. The cooling summer breeze felt soothing against her sun scorched flesh as she sat at the bistro table in front of the coffee shop and waited for Margaret and Freya to join her.The day of reckoning was upon her.Margaret was the first to arrive. She ordered a tall sweet tea with lemon and sat opposite Davina. “It’s unseasonably hot today. As much as I enjoy the outdoors, I believe air conditioning would be welcomed.”“I wanted to be visible in case you weren’t sure what coffee shop I was at.”Margaret fanned herself with a linen handkerchief she pulled from her bag. “There certainly is an abundance of coffee houses on this street. It’s a bit overwhelming.”“It’s a little ridiculous,” Freya said as she approached the table. “If you think I’m sitting out here until I melt, you&rsqu
Dr Sally Morgenstern handed the vile containing the potion that Freya gave to her the night before. “They didn’t want you to take this until I’d had the chance to examine you one more time. It will be the better part of an hour before it takes effect, so I suggest you drink it immediately.”Davina accepted the petite bottle with shaky hands.“Are you alright?” the doctor asked with concern.“I dread having to do this,” Davina replied. “She’s my sister, after all.”“That would be the easy and simple explanation, but it’s not the factual one.”Davina nodded. “I know, but I’ve thought of her as my sister since the day I was born.” She uncapped the vile and tossed the liquid down in one gulp. With a twisted expression that displayed her dislike for thetaste, she said, “That’s nasty.”The doctor c
Louella paced the small cell that she’d been locked into by the two very annoying witches. It took her a while to realize that she’d been drugged by her doctor in order to lower her abilities to do magic. She couldn’t wait to be free and look that doctor up. The pain she’d happily inflict upon the medical woman would do her father proud.The cage was spelled. Not only did it bind her magic, but she could feel it drawing it out of her. If she was kept in it for too long, it might permanently syphon every drop from her. Should that happen, she feared reprisals from the unforgiving dark lord.She was rapidly learning that there were just as many disadvantages to being in the dark lord’s eye as there were advantages. Maybe more. After all, she’d witnessed him killing several of her siblings on various occasions for disappointing him and he’d allowed her to behead Sybil wit
Theo tugged at the chain that offered him roaming ability of only a few yards from the damp, stone wall. He was in the basement of a building by a body of water. He could tell that much. Unfortunately, because of the lack of windows, electrical lighting, and variety of attire worn by the vampires, he had no idea what body of water he was near or what century he was in.Being a seasoned traveler, he was able to tell certain things. One of them was the fact that he was no longer in the fourteenth century. The density of the air was heavier and far more familiar to him. If he was to take a guess, he’d say he was at least in the nineteenth century, if not later. He might even be in the twenty-first century. Not knowing was almost as annoying as the cuffs on his wrists and the chain around his ankle.“I see you are awake,” said the tall vampire that he’d heard the other vampires call Valkyr,