Chapter Fourteen
Somewhere Nearby
Plotting and Planning
Same Time
Time: Less Than Twelve Hours…
T here was nothing more infuriating than not having a plan in place. While Mathew was halfway into the crazy, and not all there, he still wanted to make sure this went off without a hitch.
Why?
He had people to punish.
By people, he meant Flynn Brogan.
There was nothing he wanted more than to take Flynn’s world, turn it upside down, and make him rue the day that he came after him.
They’d promised to protect him with their lives, and in the end, they did the opposite.
There was no doubt in his mind that they were jealous of him. Jolie had loved him, and in their world, there was no room for him.
So they sent him away.
They cast him out.
They broke their promise to him.
And that was unforgiveable.
Family never turned their backs on you, and since the day she found them abused and broken in that society, Jolie had promised to protect them.
Well, now, she was fair game, and he wouldn’t rest until someone paid.
As he walked the location that he was hiding out, he called out for the pretty woman who gave him the tools to dismantle the family.
Only, she didn’t answer .
She didn’t show up.
He wasn’t quite sure why she had abandoned him, too, but that also added fuel to his fire, pissing him off.
Women couldn’t be trusted.
That was the lesson in this.
It wasn’t shocking that someone else had let him down.
It appeared that he was going to have to do this on his own, and that meant using what he knew about the family.
Oh, he’d been watching them, and he knew lots about the people who had once been his family. Mathew also knew what that pretty blonde had told him.
The bottom line was that he had to cut off all the avenues of escape, and by escape, he meant how they could defeat him.
Glancing over, the rotting remains of Marie were sitting there, looking around the house.
It was kind of gruesome and creepy.
That was for damn sure.
“Marie, Love, we have work to do,” he said, moving toward her.
She slowly turned her head, her sightless eyes blank and empty.
“What is it that you wish?” she asked, as he was in full control of her.
“They have a witch. I need her handled. I need a spell so powerful that they won’t see it coming. She is the problem, and she must be slowed down. She must be ended.”
Marie tipped her head gruesomely, and blinked. Then, she said one word.
“Understood.”
Mathew grinned.
“I could kiss you. Well, if you didn’t smell like rotting flesh. You’re pretty disgusting, Marie. You’ve seen better days.”
The necromanced woman wasn’t happy.
“When will you set me free so that I can rest?” she asked. “You promised to put me back in my tomb so I could be with my family. ”
She was funny.
He laughed.
And laughed.
And laughed.
Yeah, he had, but the bottom line was that he needed her. She was his to control, and once he found the sword, he was going to make sure she never rested again.
“Where is the sword you promised to help me find. We have your bones, and you said you’d get it.”
“I am trying.”
“Master. Call me Master. It gets me all happy and giddy.”
Because she had no choice, she did just that.
“Yes, Master,” she said, staring at her boney feet. “If that is what you wish.”
Oh, it was.
He was controlling the most powerful Voodoo priestess. He was going to rule this city, and make Jolie and her family suffer for abandoning him.
“We need to slow them down,” he said. “Prepare yourself, Marie. We have a family to destroy.”
And he would.
Because when it came down to it, loyalty was nothing to them.
They’d betrayed the wrong vampyre.
Now, it was payback time.
* * * T u e u rA n t i q u i t i e s * * *
The Sacred Space
Louisa’s Grave
Their Property
Even going there to do something like this felt hella wrong to Flynn. Only, he needed to do it so that they could find that sword.
If Death was hanging out, helping them, that meant one of two things.
He was bored or he knew that this was about to be a clusterfuck of mass proportions.
Flynn was betting on the latter in this case.
Why?
Because that was their life.
As they stood there, the statue that he’d bought for Jolie to memorialize the grave site was pristine. He knew she went there every now and again to talk to the woman.
They’d raised her once before, using her to defeat a foe, and after that moment, they promised to never bother her again.
And yet now, here they were.
Defiling her grave once more.
The flowers and Creeping Myrtle had covered where he body lay interred, making it look peaceful and calm. Now, they were about to stir the shit up.
How could this go wrong?
“I need the bone, and then, I’d like to go home to my son to rest and spend time with him before you reap me,” she said.
Death stared at her.
“Who said I was going to reap you?” he asked.
“It’s what you didn’t say, Death. We both know that you can’t let me stay. I’ve unbalanced the universe. It will cause someone who didn’t deserve to die to perish. ”
He just blinked, those red swirls giving nothing away to the woman.
“So let’s get this over with, and let me have some time with my son.”
Death didn’t argue.
“What do we do?” Flynn asked, as the hair on the back of his neck was standing. He was pretty sure they were being watched, but then again, with vampyre family, as the sun was starting to head into the horizon, they could just be out patrolling.
Right?
“I’ll get the bone,” Death offered. “It’s easier if I do it,” he admitted.
Moving toward the grave, he touched the ground above Louisa, and sent his command into it.
“Come to me,” he said, controlling the dead beneath it. She was his to control, and he would do what it took.
Stepping back, the ground shifted, and out of the dirt and through the once-serene Creeping Myrtle came a hand. It reached up, as if it needed help being pulled from the ground.
It was a horrible sight.
There was very little flesh left on her bones, and they were eerily held together with something supernatural. She’d not come apart at the joints.
“Thank you, Louisa. I just need a small bone. I’ll return it to you,” he offered.
He reached for her hand, and when he did, she grabbed his wrist, making everyone jump.
Jacques seemed to be having a conversation with her because he didn’t look alarmed.
How he didn’t…no clue. Flynn was freaked out because who wouldn’t be?
“I promise. I’ll tell her. I know she misses you too,” Jacques said, speaking to her.
Immediately, the hand relaxed, and allowed Jacques to take the smallest of finger bones from her. When he palmed it, he waved his hand over the grave, and the hand sank back down, deep into the ground .
“Uh, how did she get out of the casket?” Flynn whispered. “Again.”
Death glanced over.
“Magick.”
Yeah, well, Flynn knew enough not to go there. The last thing he wanted was the answer when it would freak him out.
I don’t understand why Jolie wouldn’t be here with us. Can someone explain?
Flynn did.
It hurts her to see this place, and she comes here to remember the cost of Louisa’s life. It’s tragic and painful to her. She loved Louisa. If Jolie died, would you not visit her grave?
Rinnon paused.
No, because if Jolie were to die, I’d destroy everything around here. I’d get my memories back and annihilate the planet. I can’t live without her.
Yeah, this wasn’t going anywhere. Rinnon didn’t always get the bottom line.
Death held out his hand to Mambo, and she took the bone. As she moved over to a tree that had fallen, she laid out all of the ingredients to the spell, and began her thing.
They watched as the Voodoo practitioner cast one hell of a scrying spell to locate the relic.
When they felt the pulse of energy exploding out around them, they waited.
“I’m working on it,” she said, as she stared into the black mirror as if she was seeing something.
Rinnon urged Flynn to move closer.
I need to see if she’s really finding it.
Uh, I don’t want to be too close to a Voodoo priestess working magick. That could go wrong.
Please.
Flynn gave up on this one, and he moved closer. As he did, he could see the mirror.
In it, there was a necklace being shown to Mambo .
“It’s here,” she said, showing them a house in the mirror. “Only, it’s not a sword. It’s a necklace with a black charm. A dagger.”
Rinnon knew she was seeing it.
That’s exactly what it is. She’s found it!
Death moved closer, and Jacques recognized that particular building.
“That’s a society. The people who live there are our allies. They are the second most powerful family in the city,” he admitted.
Flynn recognized it too.
“So someone in a society has it?” he asked.
He nodded.
“Fate must have known who had it in their possession, and thus why she needed to use The Vampyre’s Cross to find The Necromancer’s Sword .”
If they know how to use the relic, they would be using it by now. Someone must be taking care of it.
Clearly.
The only good part about all of this was that Flynn wouldn’t have to take Rinnon into Club Noir.
That makes me sad. I wanted to find…
He must have felt his wife in his mind.
Some really cool dance tunes.
Flynn was amused, but somehow, he kept from laughing out loud.
Mambo did her thing, wrapping up the spell, so that she could go back to her son.
As they stood there, Kiera blinked, and her eyes went black as coals as Aiobeheann was warning her of the Voodoo practitioner’s intent.
She tried to warn them.
“She’s about to…,” she began, but didn’t get to finish what she was saying. There was a power surge in the area, and it knocked her back, into a tree, and out cold.
Death and Flynn were barely able to stay on their feet as Mambo turned, and began chanting. She was focusing all her magick on the two men .
It looked as if this would be the betrayal Jacques saw coming.
Shit.
It was clear she didn’t believe that they were going to let her stay alive for a while because she was trying to escape them.
Yeah, and in any way possible.
Well, that was a bad idea. You didn’t tangle with Rinnon’s vessel, or Death.
As she kept chanting, Death wailed in pain, as he began sinking into the ground. Flynn did what he could, releasing Rinnon before he became the target.
Hold on, Jacques! Flynn shouted into his mind.
There was the shaking out of feathers, and just as Rinnon was about get to Mambo, he began sinking too.
Shit!
This was a powerful spell.
As they were waist deep, and Kiera was unconscious, that’s when it happened.
There was a hiss, the sound of fury and feathers, and Jolie appeared with The God Stone glowing around her neck.
It was pulsing.
“Release my mates!” she ordered, making her sword appear, as she stalked the still chanting Mambo.
“They will kill me, and I want to stay. I want to stay for my son!”
It was obvious that Mambo wasn’t thinking clearly. You couldn’t stop the inevitable, and the old Mambo would know that.
This version…
She was off.
Jolie morphed, her eyes going the deepest of swirling black and her mother of pearl wings coming out.
She’d been inside and heard Jacques’ call for help, and that scared her. Death didn’t go down easily.
While she didn’t want to see them defile Louisa’s grave, she wasn’t going to let Mambo hurt her mates.
That wasn’t happening .
So much for necromancing someone back who wouldn’t betray them.
Clearly, that wasn’t the case.
As she moved closer, Mambo kept chanting, and it was when pointed at Jolie that her spell tried to pull the demon under the ground.
Only, it wasn’t working.
Behind her, Flynn and Jacques were now buried to their necks.
Rinnon was raging, and Jolie knew what she had to do.
“You should have trusted us,” she said, holding out her hand to get the small bone to move into her hand.
It flew across the space, and was back with Jolie.
Then, the spell was broken.
Only, betrayal was betrayal, and Jolie wasn’t letting something she brought back hurt her family.
With a mighty swing of her sword, she cut off Mambo’s head, ending her.
As soon as she did, Death was able to climb from the ground and snap his fingers, claiming her.
Then, Mambo was gone.
Rinnon was right behind him, and he was absolutely not happy about what had happened.
He roared in anger.
“Take her and the son! No one betrays me! No one harms my mates!”
The ground vibrated, and all around them, the trees shook in his fury.
Oh, he was pissed-pissed. This was one of the angriest times anyone had seen him.
Because he was okay with that, Death snapped, and then glanced over at his mate.
“It is done. They are mine.”
They both focused on Jolie, and the men knew why she had been safe.
The God Stone.
Black magick didn’t work on it, and thus why Fate was afraid of it .
Jolie made her sword disappear, and she morphed back into herself. Her pretty lavender eyes returned, and she rolled her neck.
“I can’t leave you two alone for five minutes to retrieve a bone.”
They were just lucky Jolie was the kind of fighter she was. She had learned much over the last year.
Death moved toward her, and kissed his woman on her forehead.
“How did you know?” he asked.
She touched the stone around her neck.
“As soon as I heard you and Rinnon, the stone got warm. It was warm earlier when Flynn was in danger, and I didn’t think anything of it. I put two and two together, and realized that it might be warning me. You gifted me the stone, he’s a God, and I wield it.”
Rinnon kissed her on the cheek.
“You carry a Nephilim, and the stone. That makes you safe.”
Well, thank God for that.
“You don’t have to thank me, Little One,” he said, hearing what she was thinking.
She actually laughed.
He was ridiculous.
“I guess this answers our question as to if we can trust the things I necromance. We can’t.”
Then, she realized what she’d just said, and how that had to hurt her mate.
“I mean…”
Only, it was too late.
Flynn stayed quiet, but they could feel his fear and worry. He dreaded the idea of them having to end his parents and him having to watch it happen.
Jacques reached for his hand, and gave it a squeeze.
It’s going to be okay. I promise.
He squeezed back, but said nothing. Deep down, Flynn knew this was going to hurt him in ways he couldn’t even explain .
Jolie knew that they needed to update the family, and inform them what was going on. If they were going to another family’s home to find the relic, they needed backup.
That meant Percy.
Lucian.
Alex.
Oh, and Vanth.
Speaking of family…
Kiera was not far away, sitting on the ground as she shook her head.
They focused on her.
“Are you okay?” Jolie asked.
She was blinking as if trying to clear the fog of being knocked out.
“I’m good. That really sucked though. I don’t like getting flung around.”
Yeah, no one did. Body versus tree never felt good, especially if you were human.
Been there.
Done that.
“How did you know?” Rinnon asked, curiously.
She only said one word.
“Aiobeheann.”
Well, that was interesting. It appeared that Kiera was getting more and more from that little piece of the witch vampyre that was housed in her.
Yeah, and if that was the case, how could that go wrong?
Only, they’d have to worry about that another time.
They had two relics to find before the dead were rising left and right.
“Shall we get ready to head to the location?” Rinnon asked, as Flynn pulled him back down so that he could be in charge of this.
The relics were his job.
I hate it when you do that.
I know. That’s why I do it.
Jolie was ready .
Tucking The God Stone back into her shirt, she hoped this didn’t bite them in the ass.
When you went head-on at a family, especially a powerful one, bad things happened.
How did she know?
In New Orleans , they’d been to that rodeo more than a few times.
Unfortunately.
* * * T u e u rA n t i q u i t i e s * * *
Harcourte Manor
Minutes Later
Inside, they were getting their team ready, and sharing what was about to happen. There were protocols in the city, and if you were in a vampyre family, you followed them.
Precedent had been set here.
By whom?
Jolie Harcourte.
When they came here, they had used old-school traditions to reshape the societies here, and now, they were going to break the rules.
Oh, well, how could this go horribly awry?
It seemed that they were going to find out.
“So you want us to just walk up to the house, kick in the door, and pillage a relic?” Percy asked.
Oh, she knew what he was thinking .
This was what they got bitchy about so many times. You didn’t go to someone’s home and force your way in. That was how she died once.
And now, they were going to do exactly what they fought so hard to instill in the other families.
“Pretty much.”
Percy wasn’t enjoying that.
“But when you leave, that will make it more difficult. That will make surviving here…hard.”
She was aware.
“Percy.”
It was rare the man argued, but for this, he had dug in and was fighting them.
“Mistress, and I mean this with the utmost respect for you…it’s easy for the three of you because you’ll pop out of here, and abandon us.”
And that hit her hard.
Jolie got quiet.
Flynn, explain to me why our mate feels so upset? Should I end this vampyre for hurting her? She feels like she wants to cry.
Flynn tried to explain.
Jolie is feeling guilty. She feels like she’s abandoned her family, and now, she has to figure out a way to make it better for them, and herself.
Because of me?
Flynn hesitated.
It is because of me, isn’t it? I can feel how you three relate to this city. I can feel your joy when you’re here, like it’s…home.
Flynn didn’t mince words. There was no point sugarcoating it.
Because it is, Rinnon. This is where we ran to when we were ostracized from Philly. This became our only place, and when we had to fight to the top to stay alive, New Orleans welcomed us.
And you don’t have that because of me?
Again, he hesitated.
Finally, he shared .
Your home is in Paris, and we moved there because you’re lair is safe there. We didn’t have an option.
That hurt his heart.
Well, the heart he shared with Flynn.
As they stood there, Jolie tried to apologize to Percy for how difficult they were going to make this on him.
“I know that you mean no disrespect, Percy. We’re family, and you are entitled to speak your mind.”
“Mistress…”
“Jolie,” she said. “I’m just Jolie.”
He held out his hand, and she placed hers in his.
“You’ll leave again, and I fear the ramifications of that. We’re the strongest society, but only because the others fear you. If we stir the pot, we might get displaced. I’m the only guardian here. We run without a Mistress. That could cost us our lives.”
“You’re marked,” she said.
He squeezed her hand.
“Some of us are, but…this is home, and breaking the rules without them being afraid after the fact will put bullseyes on us.”
“I’m sorry that I have to go after,” she said.
Let me out, Rinnon said.
No, because you can’t smite Percy. He is just being honest. He’s legitimately afraid of the ramifications of us tearing the societies apart.
I won’t hurt him. I promise you.
Reluctantly, Flynn set him free, knowing that he could pull him back down if he got spicy.
When they felt the energy shift, they all looked over at Flynn. It was when he opened his eyes, and they weren’t icy blue that they knew who was there.
Percy immediately took a step back, but Jacques reassured him.
“We don’t hurt family for being honest with us,” he said.
Still, Percy was worried.
Only, The Big Scary wasn’t focused on him. He was focused on Jolie .
“Little One, it hurts you not to be here in this city with your family.”
She said nothing, but he didn’t need her to. Mates knew each other’s hearts, and he could feel her misery.
“Why didn’t you just tell me you are not all that fond of the lair in Paris?”
She shrugged.
“Because it’s your home, and when you possessed Flynn, we knew that we had to adjust.”
“But you’d rather be here?”
Jolie stared down at her feet.
Immediately, Rinnon lifted her chin with his fingers, and he saw the tears in her eyes.
“My queen doesn’t look at the ground and bow her head to me,” he said. “She is my everything. Do you want to stay here?” he asked. “With the life you, Flynn, and Jacques created?”
“We can’t,” she admitted. “You have to be protected. The lair does that. It keeps our children safe.”
He glanced over at Jacques.
“Death. I need a boon.”
Jacques’ eyes changed, and he morphed.
“Yes?”
Well, here went everything.
“I believe that I can move my lair, but I don’t know how. I know I knew at one point. Can you give me those memories back? What would it cost?”
Death knew he couldn’t give him his memories back. That would literally bring on Armageddon and the Horsemen.
“You’d need to do the spell that we did with Mambo to give her the memories back.”
Kiera cleared her voice.
“I wouldn’t do it,” she said in warning.
They all looked over at her.
“Why not, witch?” Rinnon asked.
She was honest.
“Aiobeheann would then know what you know. I know what Mambo knew. I don’t think that giving her a peek into your head is a good idea. ”
They all heard the laughter, and they knew who it was. Kiera was trying to protect them, and with good reason.
Rinnon knew she was right.
“Point made.”
Rinnon glanced over at Death.
“Can you move my lair? You can manipulate time and space? Will you do it for me?”
Death considered it.
“You know that I have to take something in exchange. Death doesn’t give favors.”
Rinnon was aware.
He’d tangled with Death, his first child, plenty of times.
“What is the cost?”
Jacques went there because he knew it would help them at a later time.
“I request a piece of you.”
Rinnon blinked, and then, he gave in for the love of his woman. Before Flynn, he’d never trust anyone, but his mate had taught him to trust his family.
“Deal.”
Jolie gasped.
“My love, don’t do this. I’m good with living in Paris in the lair. You don’t have to…”
He placed his fingers over her lips.
“If my mate needs this, isn’t it my job to supply it? If I knowingly see you hurt and do nothing, am I a good partner?”
He was learning.
“I love you, Rinnon.”
He softened.
There was only one way to make the demon God get all mushy.
It was Jolie.
He focused on Death.
“Take your boon. What part of me do you want?” he asked.
“A chip of your bone.”
Rinnon was hella possessive about his blood and being. It took a lot of trust to give any part of him away. He was magical, and that meant he could be used to hurt someone.
Mainly his family.
“Granted.”
The room’s energy changed, as Rinnon morphed, getting bigger. Flynn’s body seemed to disappear, and in its place, there stood the monstrous form of Rinnon.
He was all bone and armor.
“I told you he needed to eat,” Flynn’s mother said, from where she was seated. “I don’t think I baked enough cookies. I need to make more.”
Rinnon looked at her.
“Mother of Flynn, are you not scared?”
She laughed.
“Not really. I’m accustomed to dealing with men who thought they were tougher than they were,” she said, glancing over at her husband.
“Why do I think that Mother of Flynn just insulted me?”
She more or less just put you in your place, Flynn said from deep within Rinnon.
Yeah, he thought so.
Focusing on Death, he watched as all the dead in the room were on their knees. They feared Jacques’ when he was Death, but they REALLY feared Rinnon.
No one looked at him but Jolie and Death.
Even the humans, well, minus Flynn’s parents, looked at the ground.
“Take what you need,” he said to Death.
A scythe appeared.
There was a growl from low in Rinnon’s belly, as he had to put his whole faith in Death.
Moving closer, Death touched one of the bones on his being, and slid the scythe against it, chipping off a small sliver of bone.
“It is done.”
Rinnon stepped back, and the Scythe disappeared. In its place, the bone was in a tiny vial. A chain appeared, and it was placed around Death’s neck .
“For later.”
Rinnon reminded him of one thing.
“Remember who you are loyal to,” Rinnon said. “Don’t forget it.”
Death showed no emotion, but then, Jacques made his eyes go green, so the demon God knew it was him.
“Death is loyal to no one. Jacques is loyal to you. I won’t allow that bone to be used by anyone.”
Jacques, you’re irritating Rinnon. It’s my body he’s playing fast and loose in, and I am fond of it.
I know, Mate. His ego calls to my ego. It gets all masculine here.
Death snapped his fingers, and a doorway appeared on the one wall in that living space. It was between two bookshelves.
“Go ahead,” Death said, waving his hand.
Jolie headed toward it, and when she touched the doorknob, it opened easily in her hand. When she pushed the door open, it was the grotto.
She gasped.
“I connected them. So, technically, you are there and here. If Percy needs you, or the family is in danger, you can just come through the doorway.”
When he whistled, Jolie saw Cerise and Logan standing there.
“Uh, this doorway just appeared…,” Logan said, and he was grateful they were dressed at the time.
“Oh, good. You’re here,” Rinnon said, as they walked into the room.
Logan shook his head.
“This is all so weird.”
Because she was grateful for this gift, Jolie ran at Rinnon, jumped up, and was caught by him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and held onto him.
“I love you so much,” she whispered. “Thank you for this gift.”
He held her, and cuddled Jolie into his body.
“What wouldn’t I do for you? I’d destroy worlds for you. This is small and makes you happy, so it is yours. ”
It did make her happy.
Behind Logan and Cerise, Death made the door close to secure the realm and teach them.
“Percy, try to open the door,” Death said.
He got up from the floor and did what Death asked. Only, he couldn’t.
That’s when Death shared what safeguards he put into play.
Just.
In.
Case.
“No one can access it but the three of us. That’s the failsafe to ensure Jolie and the babies are protected. Now, Percy, destroy the door to get inside.”
He slammed into it with his shoulder, and when it splintered open, it was a closet.
“Uh, there’s nothing there.”
Exactly.
Death made the doorway repair itself.
“When you want, Jolie, you can leave it open, and when you want it closed, it will be. When you’re in the lair, you’ll be close to the family.”
She headed toward Death and hugged him. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her.
“Thank you, Mate. I wish you could be with us,” she admitted.
He did too.
“Twenty years. It’s only twenty years,” he said, grateful that they stayed with him more often than not.
They weren’t sure who he was trying to convince—himself or her.
Flynn pulled Rinnon back down, and he morphed back into his normal form.
“Well, now, it looks like Percy doesn’t have to worry about us not being here. We’re technically here. Does this make you feel better about heading to that society? Because you know Jolie. She’s going to tell them she’s back, and New Orleans is about to be chaotic again.”
She laughed .
“I think someone wants to be lectured.”
He winked at her.
Flynn loved it when she lectured them. It normally ended up with her beneath them being taken in some wild romp.
Later, my mate. I’ll thank you for the gift.
That worked for him.
Since they asked him a question, he’d answer. Percy nodded and was curious.
“So you’re really back?” he asked. “Because carrying a family is exhausting, and I’m not going to pretend I won’t be relieved.”
She laughed.
Jolie looked over at Flynn and Jacques. When they both nodded, she grinned.
“I’m back! If they give you a hard time, I’ll kick ass. Word will travel as I show my face around the city.”
Yes, yes, it would.
As for work, Jolie was jazzed.
“Let’s go shake down a family of relic hiding vampyres!”
Flynn laughed.
“Well, that’s predictable,” he said, but didn’t get to finish.
Uh-oh.
“We have a problem,” Kiera warned, her eyes going black as coals, and the Irish lilt getting deeper.
They all looked over at her.
And that’s when they felt it.
The whole house shook as it was bombarded with energy.
“What the…?” Flynn asked.
But they knew what it was.
“It’s Voodoo. They dare come to our home?” Rinnon said, his voice booming as Flynn released him. “This is an insult!”
Well, shit .
They had company.
Marie Laveau was back.
With a vengeance.