I Accidentally Hooked Up with a Vampire (Accidents Happen #2)

18. Maverick’s Trick

18

Maverick’s Trick

I stood there, ass out, staring at the witch like she had lost her mind. She handed me a towel and watched me as I struggled to dress.

“Go home? What do you mean, am I ready to go home ? What the hell was that?” I looked at my hands, and my fingertips sparked with energy. Tiny lightning bolts danced around my hands then absorbed into my skin. “What happened to me?”

“Oh, you want more explanations?” Likosa looked around me at the shelf full of potions. “Do you really need them? I have other appointments I need to get to.”

“Well, yeah!” I threw my hands up, and a spark of light shot from my fingertips, blasting the ceiling. Chips of rock fell around us. I jumped back to avoid getting hit in the head. “See! What the hell was that? I feel different but the same. I know you unlocked something in me. Are you even going to tell me how to use it?”

“I could, but what would be the joy in that?” Likosa hadn’t even flinched. Instead, she stood there, looking impressed by the destruction I caused. “The fun is in the discovery!”

“Excuse me?” I twisted the ends of my braids around my hand to wring out the water trapped within them. The weight was already pissing me off, and I just knew it was going to take forever for them to dry.

“Don’t you want to stumble through it and figure it out?” She smiled. “Imagine how exciting that would be.”

“Who the hell would choose that over having explicit instructions? If you know, just tell me!” I insisted.

“Fine, but I can only do so much.” She hooked her finger towards her, telling me to come closer. “You’ll still need to work on refining things.”

“Thank you.” I moved toward her, and when I got within arm’s reach, Likosa reached out and flicked me on the forehead.

I wanted to fight her, but I couldn't. Before I could ball my fist to punch her in that pretty face, I went flying back into the pool, this time fully clothed. The water rushed into my mouth, nose, and ears and blinded my eyes.

A cacophony of sounds raced through my mind before the varying noises settled into one voice, one which told me, in simple terms, what my magic was.

Yours is a power that reaches the sun, channeling its energy in expressions of light and force. It is our gift to harness one of the purest representations. Look within, find your light, and shine. Four beats of your heart. Quiet the mind and direct the energy through your core and out.

That was it. The voice ended, and the water dumped me back at Likosa’s feet.

I coughed and struggled to get back to my feet. “You know, you could warn a girl before you do that!”

She shrugged, unbothered by my choking. “I thought you understood my magic now. Did you get what you needed?” Likosa was suddenly holding several of the small vials in her hands. She held one up to the light and smiled.

“It was more a riddle than instructions.” I stood, wringing out my hair once again. “But it’s somewhere to start.”

“Glad to hear it,” she said without looking at me. “Well, have a nice trip.”

“What?”

Likosa waved her hand and the ripples began.

“Wait, I—” I reached out to her because I had more questions, but an invisible force pushed me further from her. The last thing I saw was her waving her fingers and turning her back to me as she walked away.

That was it. She left me no more time for questions. The woman was done with me. The vacuum snapped around me, and I was in darkness for a moment before I was standing in Jackie’s kitchen, dripping all over her fresh floors.

“Damnit.” I slapped my hand over my mouth as the contents in my stomach stirred.

“Whitney!” Lena jumped up and ran over to me, but she stopped when I held my hand out to her.

“I think I’m gonna puke.”

“No, the hell you’re not!” Jackie hopped out of her seat. “You’re already getting my floors wet.”

“Jackie!” Lena fussed. “Seriously? She just popped in here from nowhere, and you’re worried about your floors?”

“I just had these floors refinished! Are you going to pay for them?” Jackie ran out of the room and returned with several towels. One, she wrapped around me, and the others, she laid out on the floor and pulled me to stand on top of them. “Now, are you okay?”

“I—”

RAWWARR!

Maverick pounced, jumping into my arms. His massive body knocked me backward and into the wall. His body hummed as he purred and licked my face.

“Not my wall!” Jackie pulled me off the wall. “You’re trying to ruin my house, aren’t you? Is this some kind of payback?”

“You need help.” Lena smacked her shoulder.

“Maverick, buddy.” I tried to pull the cat away from me. He wrapped his paws around my head, refusing to let me go. “What is going on here?”

“He misses you!” Jackie was suddenly unconcerned with her ruined floors and walls. “Look at him. He was so worried about you.”

“Since when?” I frowned and tried again to remove the cat. “Maverick, please, ease up!”

“Don’t be like that. I told you, this cat loves you.” Jackie rubbed his head, only encouraging his behavior.

“He loves when I feed him.” I squinted at him, and there was something different there in his eyes. They flickered with a weird light, and then his body shuddered.

“Did you see that?” I looked at Jackie.

“What?” She shrugged and continued petting him.

“Maverick. He looks…different.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Lena?”

“He looks the same to me.” Lena also rubbed him. “A little skittish but still the same Maverick. I really think he missed you. Where were you? You know, it’s been a full day since you vanished! Likosa told us to stay here, and you would return. That’s the only reason we weren’t out there, hunting you down.”

“You know damn well I was ready to go kick some vampire ass!” Jackie slammed a fist into her palm.

“I can imagine.” I laughed.

“Especially since you won’t let me hit the one you have stashed here!”

“Domino!” I gasped. How could I forget to check on him? “Is he okay?”

Rrrmmmmhhh

Maverick fussed in my arms.

“What is your problem?” I sucked my teeth at him. “Ow!”

The cat slapped me with his paw then gripped each side of my head and pulled my face to his. Everything slowed as he pressed his paws against my temples. A feeling like a sheet of ice spread across my skull, and my eyes rolled into the back of my head.

When I looked back at the cat, sparks of energy flowed from my fingertips, stabbing into his side. He didn’t shriek from the pain and claw the side of my head like I would have expected. No, the maniac cat purred, as if the pulses of energy were no more than a gentle massage. And then, with Jackie and Lena still moving at half speed, Maverick changed!

His body expanded in size and changed shape. What was once an oversized cat turned into a small, Chinese dragon! His body wrapped around the length of me like a boa constrictor without the strangling hold. Long whiskers on his new face tickled my chin as his weight settled on me. First, it felt like a thousand tons pulling me down to the floor, but in seconds, my companion felt more like a second skin. Maverick was a part of me.

“Holy shit!” Lena jumped back, and her ass hit the table, sending drinks flying to the floor.

“Mav!” Jackie clapped her hands. “I knew you were special, buddy, but this is beyond anything I could have imagined.”

“So you see it now?” I stood frozen, terrified that if I moved, Maverick would devour me.

“Of course, we see it!” Lena pointed her finger at us. “What did he just do?”

“Shit!” Jackie jumped around like a cocaine addicted rabbit. “That’s what she was talking about!”

“Who?” Lena asked.

“The witch who gave him to me! She said he would do something like this if paired with the right person.”

“And you gave him to me?” I spoke through tight lips. “You really are insane.”

“I didn’t think it would happen, but if anyone could use a protective, form-shifting guard cat, I figured it would be you. I just never thought it would happen. I mean, you’ve had him for years! What’s different now?”

Energy crackled at my fingertips, and I lifted my hand to show them. “Me. I’m different now.”

While Jackie and Lena stared at me, their brains trying to make sense of things, I rubbed Maverick’s head. Instinct told me this was the best way to calm him. I spoke to him in a gentle tone. “Okay, Maverick, you can go back now.”

His tiger cat roar sounded more intense, and it resonated from my head to my toes. He let out a powerful cry, and then his body unraveled from around me as he returned to the big cat I was used to. He licked my face once more before he jumped from my arms.

“What happened? Likosa told us not to worry, but I tried to do a location spell and couldn’t find you.” Lena watched Maverick with more trepidation.

“I doubt it would have worked, considering I wasn’t on Earth,” I answered her, still eyeing the cat who left the kitchen, swinging his tail.

“What do you mean you weren’t on Earth ?” Lena asked.

“Exactly what I said. It’s a long story, but a friend of Likosa snatched me up from that vampire’s crib and took me to another world.”

“Another world? Why? What did she do to you?” Lena rambled off her questions.

“She—well, Likosa—unlocked whatever was in me. She did something to help me understand how to use the power, but honestly, it’s a riddle that maybe we can solve later?”

“That’s helpful,” Jackie huffed. “Why not just tell you exactly what to do?”

“That’s what I said!” I threw my hands up. “There was something else.”

“What? Tell us everything!” Jackie insisted and grabbed my arm, pulling me to the kitchen table to join them.

“I will, but I really should check on Domino. Is he okay? Where is he?”

“He’s sleeping. Sun’s up for a little while longer.” Lena pointed to the window, where I could see the last rays of sunlight.

“Oh.” I looked at the fading sky. “That’s right.”

“So, what happened?” Jackie asked. “Don’t make us wait for him!”

“His brother tried to bite me but couldn’t,” I reported. “It was like his teeth just wouldn’t penetrate. Honestly, it was a little embarrassing. The man went and snatched up some poor guy to bite him in front of me, as if he had to prove a point.”

“Of course he did. Vamp couldn’t get it up for you?” Jackie laughed. “I’m telling everyone about that.”

“Maybe we should keep that a secret,” I stopped her.

“Why? That’s a good thing, right?” She slipped the phone she’d already pulled out back into her pocket.

"Maybe.” I nodded. “And maybe it’s something we don’t want to risk other vampires finding out about.”

“Smart. What else?” Jackie asked.

“Well, he fed me his blood.”

“Shit. So he can track you now?” she muttered. “As soon as that sun goes down, he’s going to be here.”

“I don’t know. Maybe. What happens when two vampires give you their blood?” I asked. “Does one cancel out the other?”

“The most recent blood takes over,” Lena answered. “Anyone before that will be cut off.”

“So in order to stop him from finding me, I need to drink Domino’s blood again?”

“Yes.” Lena winked. “You like it, don’t you?”

“I’m not answering that.” I put my hand in her face. “Where is he?”

Annoyed, Jackie pointed to the stairs. “He’s upstairs. Not that I wanted him in my house, but we couldn’t leave him where he was after those morons busted up the place with that modified crane thing. I have the other hunters looking at it now. It was like some precision tool made for fishing humans. Those damn vampires are getting real creative.”

“That’s what snatched me up?” I rubbed my sides, remembering the pain it left behind. “Hurt like a bitch.”

“Yeah, it had multiple clamp attachments, so they’re able to use it a few times. After they grabbed you, the clamp detached while still restraining you, and they just threw you in the back of some van. I tried to get to you, but I was outnumbered.” Jackie looked disappointed. “Next time, I’m killing the familiars. Subduing them takes too long.”

“You can’t do that.” Lena pointed at her. “It’s in your oath. You know you’ll get booted from being a hunter if you do.”

“What?”

“Whatever Likosa did to him, he’s not healing. We even have donor blood here to give to him.” She rolled her eyes. “Hard explaining what I needed that for. I had to pretend I was torturing a vampire for intel.”

“Had to save face, huh?” Lena laughed.

“Damn right.” Jackie pumped her fist. “I’m a warrior, not a caretaker for creatures.”

‘Thank you,” I said. “I really appreciate this. I don’t fully understand what doing this means for you, but I know it can’t be easy.”

“Yeah, yeah, best friends… What else are they there for?” Lena waved off my show of gratitude.

“Apparently dealing with vampires.” Jackie sucked her teeth.

“Jackie…” Lena fussed.

“Look, I’m chill, but that vampire can’t stay here forever.” Jackie sat down and frowned at the mess Lena had created when she bumped the table. “My ancestors are probably rolling over in their graves right now.”

“Would they be as dramatic?” Lena asked.

“If they are anything like her?” I pointed at the scrunched expression on Jackie’s face. “Yes.”

Lena and I laughed while Jackie ripped the towel from around my shoulders and wiped up Lena’s mess.

“Anyway, your vampire is in the third guest bedroom. It’s the one with the best curtains so he won’t burn up in the sun.”

“You’re the best.” I hugged her.

“Hurry up.” She smacked my butt. “And find some damn dry clothes to wear!”