CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE || THIERRY
“ H ello, Thierry,” Godric said exactly an hour after he had appeared to me in the mirror, stepping out of the shadows.
He stood on the back porch of Danny and Michael’s house, looking exactly as he had in spectral form.
His expression was oddly neutral, without even a hint of malice.
But then, he had never been especially bloodthirsty—resigned, cold, and brutal, yes.
But each creature he killed was just another item crossed off a to-do list, nothing more, nothing less.
His voice was mild as he met my gaze and added, “Thank you for agreeing to meet me.”
“How could I refuse, after you asked so nicely?” I paused, listening. No movement inside the house. “Are Danny and Michael okay?”
“They remain unharmed. You have my word.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because I speak the truth. I have never lied to you.”
“No—you’ve just terrorized me for centuries. And now you’re threatening my friends.”
“I do not wish to harm your loved ones.” He frowned, cocking his head, peering at me with dark, unreadable eyes. “I apologize for threatening you. I would not have done so unless strictly necessary.”
Tension coiled in every muscle as I stared at him. Did I believe him? Of course not. He was dangerous. He had destroyed Rookwood. He couldn’t be trusted, not even for a second.
Naturally, he still looked the same as when I first saw him, the day after Magnus turned me.
But that wasn’t surprising. Age wouldn’t have touched him.
But there were differences: his black hair was cropped close at the sides, longer on top—a distinctly modern cut.
He had a five o’clock shadow instead of the clean-shaven look he used to favor.
And he wore all black now, not the crimson tunics from my memory.
“What are a few death threats among old pals?”
“We are not friends.”
“You don’t say,” I shot back, trying to sound more confident than I felt. I had put my trust in Jeremy and still, I was facing Godric alone.
A helpless feeling gripped me. Had I been wrong about the wolf? Had I been foolish to trust him? Maybe he wouldn’t come. Maybe he—
No. I had done the right thing, trusting him. I had spent so long denying my feelings, refusing to let myself trust. But I knew Jeremy. He would show up. I could trust him.
Which meant I had to keep Godric talking. I had to buy time.
“I must admit I am surprised,” Godric remarked, his frown deepening. “Magnus and I pursued you for hundreds of years, you know. And you always slipped away at the last moment. I never expected you to actually show up now.”
“I’m full of surprises.”
“Quite.” His lips pressed into a sour line as he studied me, as though I didn’t quite make sense. “And now is the part where I ask you nicely to remove the wooden stake from your sleeve. And the silver knife from your inside pocket.”
“If you wanted me to disrobe, you could’ve just said so.”
His features pinched with disdain, then smoothed as he let out a long breath. “Would it help matters if I told you I have no wish to harm you?”
“And why on earth should I believe that?”
He shook his head, eyes narrowing. “If I wanted you dead, you already would be.”
“Not true. You and Magnus chased me for—”
“Centuries. Yes. Though you were hardly the only one.” He arched a brow. “Think about it, Thierry. You know what I am capable of. If I had wanted Magnus to find you, he would have.”
I stared, stunned. “You can’t be saying you let me get away.”
The thin smile he gave chilled my blood. “You—and others like you. The ones Magnus treated like toys to discard when no longer entertaining. I saved who I could.”
“But you—you—”
“I spent centuries at his side, pretending to be his ally,” he said softly.
“The only ones I let him find were the ones already broken beyond repair. I protected nearly everyone else.” His smile faded, replaced with naked emotion at last: a seething, cold fury.
“I doubt you can imagine the depths of my hatred for him.”
“Then why didn’t you kill him?”
“The same reason I refrained from showing myself while you and the wolf were in Rookwood. My gifts allow me to see the outcome of my actions. Magnus is thousands of years old and one of the most powerful vampires I have ever encountered. Perhaps even more so than your Simone.” I gave another start, realizing how much he knew about my life.
More proof he had been watching from afar.
Godric continued, “He would have destroyed me if I raised a hand against him. I watched it unfold in a hundred different ways.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I settled for, “He couldn’t have been that old.”
“Magnus was turned during the first Celtic invasion by Rome. Even then, he was a vicious warrior. As a human, he reveled in making his enemies suffer. More so after becoming a vampire. He never lost his humanity—because he never had any to begin with.”
“Fine. He’s super-powerful, ancient, and pure evil,” I said dryly. Mostly out of habit, to hide how off-kilter I felt. This wasn’t going the way I’d pictured it. “If that’s true, then why didn’t he destroy your humanity when he turned you?”
“It’s far easier to control an ally if you know you can hurt them when necessary.” Godric gave me a thin smile. “In other words—leverage. If I cared for nothing, why would I obey him? You, of all people, should understand this.”
My gaze flicked to the door before I could stop it. Michael and Danny were inside. Rico too. None of them had been vampires for longer than a year.
I flashed back to one of Magnus’s creations—a young priest with golden hair, not much older than I had been when I was turned.
Magnus made him feed on a young woman from the Spanish village we had settled in.
The priest had wept at first, but when he was done, his eyes went cold.
He looked down at what he had done and smiled, his mouth stained with innocent blood.
Magnus, pleased, unleashed him on his village that same night. The priest had been headed for the convent in the foothills. Godric caught up with him and tore his heart out. It had taken no effort at all.
My progeny—and everyone I loved—would die just as easily at his hand.
I had to keep him talking until Jeremy and the others arrived.
If they arrived.
“What did he threaten you with?”
The flicker of anger across his face told me I had asked the wrong thing.
“That is not the point.” His tone sharpened. “The point is, you must realize by now that I could have killed you a dozen ways in these past few minutes, and I have not. Therefore, remove your knife and wooden stake.” His dark eyes glinted dangerously. “I will not ask so nicely again.”
Feeling desperate, I strained my ears. Were Jeremy and the others coming? Could I hear them?
Silence was the only reply.
I tried not to despair. Jeremy would come. He would bring the others. He would—
“Now, Thierry.”
Grimacing, I pulled the silver knife from my pocket. Then the ironwood stake from my sleeve. I held them, one in each hand. Solid. Comforting. Old friends.
I could throw the knife. I had always been quicker than most vampires. Maybe fast enough that he wouldn’t catch it? The silver would weaken him, make him easier to finish. Or I could rush him. He wouldn’t expect something so foolish, would he?
If I could just catch him off guard, I could—
“If you attempt either course of action, you will die.” Godric said it mildly, like he was commenting on the weather. “And I have no wish for your death, Thierry. I never have.”
A chill ran up my spine. Was he in my head? Or had he foreseen this? How much did he already know? Did he know the others were coming?
Godric watched me closely. “Throw the weapons into the trees. You may retrieve them later.” He paused. “After all, think of your wolf. There is still a strong possibility you will return to him once I finish with you. If you wish to see him again, you will do as I ask.”
Cold inside, I threw the knife first. Then the stake. They landed side by side at the tree line, just inside the forest that stretched for miles. Too far away to protect me now. I was defenseless.
“Very good,” Godric said.
When I turned back to him, he was sitting on the top step of the porch.
“Why did you destroy Rookwood?” I demanded. “Was it just to get to me?”
“I did no such thing.”
“If you’re going to be evil, you can at least cop to it. I saw you.”
“Yes, you saw me in the dream I sent you.” Godric’s tone was ice cold. “You and the wolf both. The young warlock tuned in as well, of course. After that, that is his gift.” He paused. “You needed to see firsthand what he had done. You needed to understand what the stakes are.”
“What who had done? What are you talking about?”
Godric favored me with a thin-lipped smile. “I suppose now is the moment I ask for your help. Or rather, this is the moment I ask you to clean up your own mess. And I, being a kind creature, will help you do it.”
“What are you talking about?”
I felt off-kilter. Which was the point, wasn’t it? He wanted me unbalanced. But why was he still toying with me? I was no longer armed. He had to know he could overpower me whenever he pleased.
“Magnus is not dead.”
The words hit like a blow. My world tilted.
“What?” My voice quavered despite myself. “No. The witches killed him.”
Godric smiled, humorless and grim. “ I was the one who spread that story. And the greatly exaggerated tale of my own demise, as well. All it took was my allies—those who feared me enough not to speak of it again—saying the right words to the right people. And voilà. As far as the world knew, Magnus was destroyed, his progeny along with him. And Magnus’s enemies wanted to believe it. ”
I stared blankly. If Magnus was alive, he could—and would —come for me. Which meant no one I cared about was safe.
Poppy. Michael. Danny. James. Bryan. Tobias. Nathaniel. Jeremy—