8. Pavel
Pavel
O f course. Every plan Pavel had made to avoid his new-found mates had fallen apart in one fatal moment. Now they’d be stuck together for hours. His skin itched at the thought of having to tamp down his physical need to be closer to his two men.
His two men? These men didn’t belong to him. And they never would.
Pavel’s gaze bounced back and forth from Justin to Sebastian, unable to formulate words. How would he keep their connection a secret? If he even could. Vampires had to drink blood to recognize their mates, but he didn’t know about witches. Maybe Sebastian already knew.
So much out of his control. It was truly the worst?—
Sebastian’s troubled expression stopped his thoughts in their tracks.
“What is it?” he asked, making eye contact with the witch, who was now staring at the corners of the tiny metal box they were trapped in .
“This…this isn’t natural. It’s more than a random power outage.”
“It is?” Justin’s voice shook with uncertainty.
Sebastian shook his head. “This is witch’s work. I can smell it. I think my sister’s involved.”
Pavel’s skin rippled as his protective spirit urged him to take to stone, to protect his mates. He fought back the transformation. He needed to understand the situation better.
“Why? Do you have a contentious history?” Pavel kept his voice even, setting his conflicting emotions aside and focusing on the problem at hand.
Sebastian sank down, sitting cross-legged in the center of the shadowy elevator. “She has some kind of history with everyone. We’ve been waiting for her to make her move.”
Pavel raised an eyebrow, hoping for more information. After a sigh, Sebastian continued.
“There are two options I can see. Either she specifically trapped me here so she can try to take me out. Or she wanted me stuck here while she attacked the Circle in Bayonne. My money’s on the second.”
“Can you get us out?” Justin asked, his hand clenched tightly to the bar.
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.” Sebastian closed his eyes and fell still.
Justin glanced over at Pavel. Dammit, the adorable vampire was scared. Pavel could sense his fear. It was tangible in the air around them, and his gargoyle nature hated it. Without being able to stop himself, he crossed to Justin and leaned against the wall next to him.
“Don’t worry,” Pavel said, projecting calm with his even tone. “We’ll be okay. You’re a vampire. It would take more than a fall to kill you. ”
“I guess,” Justin said, his voice falling to a whisper. He didn’t look at Pavel. “I’m not a fighter. I can sneak around, disappear into the shadows, you know, vampire stuff, but I suck in a head-to-head fight. My anxiety gets the better of me.”
“Do you know what I am?” Pavel shifted slightly, making direct eye contact with Justin, whose cheeks flushed red in response.
“A gargoyle?”
Pavel nodded. “Gargoyles are protectors. It’s ingrained. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Justin let out a breath and relaxed a tiny bit. He leaned against Pavel’s side, and instinctively, Pavel put his arm around the vampire. Justin’s curly blonde hair only came up to his chin. The sweet man was putting his trust in him, and he wouldn’t let his mate down.
Pavel froze. What the hell was he doing?
This was the opposite of what he wanted.
Any affection between them was a mistake.
He would not saddle these two vibrant souls with his atrophying body.
Pavel refused to bond for them to watch him turn into a lifeless statue, some kind of sad monument to the creature that once lived.
But he also couldn’t let go, now that Justin was under his protection. He didn’t?—
Sebastian’s eyes snapped open, and the witch stretched his arms upwards with a groan.
“Well, this sucks.”
“What did you learn?” Pavel asked, ignoring the twinkle of delight in Sebastian’s eyes when the witch saw Justin in his embrace.
“How much do you two know about where witch powers come from? ”
“Nothing,” Justin said, his voice a little louder and more confident now. Pavel shook his head. He was in the same boat as Justin. Witches guarded their magical secrets with their lives.
“We have affinities for certain natural forces and elements, and we harness them through spells. Each witch has a small amount of personal power that doesn’t require any spellwork ahead of time, but for a significant working, there has to be some kind of advance preparation.
The ingredients, the meditation, the words, all of it combines to create an enticing pathway for the spirits we wish to command. ”
Pavel didn’t speak. He had a few guesses as to how it all worked, and so far, Sebastian hadn’t said anything shocking.
“My sister, Veronica… Her affinity is wind. That doesn’t fit with what happened. I expect the cause of this was probably electrical spirits, or maybe mechanical ones. My sister can’t command either of those. Which means she’s working with at least one other witch. Although…”
Sebastian went to the nearest wall and pressed his ear against the hammered metal wall. His eyes went hard.
“There is air moving around the elevator car now. That’s all Veronica. If we manage to get out of this box, we’ll have to fight our way through a wall of wind.”
“Leave the wind to me,” Pavel growled. The air was his domain, and he wouldn’t be stopped by some crude witch with a vendetta.
Sebastian swallowed. “Even without worrying about the wind, this won’t be easy. There’s another witch involved with either earth or metal magic. They’ve reinforced the carriage. ”
“Oh, have they?” Pavel asked, suddenly filled with rage. How dare these witches come after his mates?
Gently moving Justin off him, he began to transform, his skin taking on its familiar gray cast. He would bash the witches' heads in now and worry about the rest tomorrow.
As Pavel changed into his transitional form, transforming into a being of living stone, fear sprang up in Justin’s eyes. Pavel’s chest clenched at the sight. His gargoyle nature wanted Justin to love him, to adore him, to let Pavel take care of him.
No. It would be better if Justin were afraid, if both of the men were. The fear would keep his mates away from him, safe. They wouldn’t witness his slow descent into oblivion. Not if he had any say about it.
Pavel’s wings stretched out behind him, covering the whole wall of the elevator with his stony webbing. The fear in Justin’s face intensified, and he stumbled back. Good. The vampire should be afraid. Pavel would bring nothing but sadness to Justin’s life.
Pavel glanced at Sebastian. The witch was not afraid. He was standing there with his arms folded, one eyebrow raised, and…licking his lips? Had Pavel’s stone form turned him on?
This man would be trouble.
No matter. Raising his fist of heavy rock, Pavel reared back and slammed it against the elevator doors. He didn’t put the full might of his stone muscles behind it, but it still hit with a force more powerful than any man or vampire could manage.
His fist bounced right off. Pain burst in his hand as his stony flesh met the impenetrable metal.
This was not okay .
Sebastian held up a hand. “Pavel, you won’t?—”
Pavel roared, letting his gargoyle fury at his inability to protect those around him take over. This would not stand.
He brought two fists up now, raising them above his head and bringing them down against the doors. This was a strength that had crumbled buildings and carved out rivers.
More pain. His hands could not penetrate the barrier. This time, Pavel was thrown back as he bounced off, landing on the floor of the elevator. There was a loud ringing as his stone wings connected with the metal floor.
“As I was about to say, you can’t force your way out.” Sebastian ran his hand along the walls. “It was definitely some kind of elemental witch, probably someone with a metal affinity.”
Pavel breathed heavily for a moment, then raised his head. Justin was in the corner with his arms wrapped around himself, his eyes glued to the floor.
He… Yes, it would be helpful if Justin stayed away from him, but he also couldn’t stand being the cause of this fear. He took a deep breath, calming himself and releasing his grip on his form as the living stone shrank and softened until he was human once more.
A chuckle escaped Sebastian’s lips, and at the sound, Justin brought his eyes up to Pavel’s, then immediately blushed.
He was naked.
Pavel grabbed his now-shredded trousers and covered his crotch. His face warmed, and he knew his cheeks were likely as pink as Justin’s. Damn.
“Anyone have another solution?” Pavel grumbled, pushing aside his embarrassment .
“I don’t!” Justin’s gaze came back to Pavel’s exposed chest and then flitted away, his blush deepening.
“I don’t have much with me,” Sebastian said, bending down and opening the small backpack he had slung over his shoulder. “I hadn’t planned on doing any spellwork today. I’ve got a few emergency supplies, and…”
Pavel cocked his head when Sebastian trailed off. What was wrong? After a moment of thinking, Sebastian continued.
“This is a well-maintained elevator. The kinds of spirits I traffic with are in short supply here, and Veronica may have done something to drive them away as well. There’s no way to keep a place sealed from spirits completely, but there are definitely things the little guys don’t like.”
“Wait…” Justin’s brow furrowed. “What is your kind of spirit?”
Pavel’s eyes narrowed. He wanted that information as well. Knowing Sebastian, it was probably something the spirits of trolling. Or the color black.
“My affinity is chaos.”
Pavel groaned. “Of course.”
“What?” Sebastian fluttered his eyelashes in faux innocence. “It’s a perfectly lovely affinity.”
“I don’t understand…” Justin looked back and forth from Pavel to Sebastian. “Chaos isn’t a force or an element like metal or wind or electricity.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” Sebastian smiled wickedly. “Just because you can’t sense it doesn’t mean it’s not there. Chaos is one of the most powerful forces in the universe.”
“And fickle,” Pavel added with a sigh.
“Well, yes. Chaos spells are all about focusing on the intended result and letting the little monsters figure out the means themselves. Chaos spirits don’t like to be told what to do.”
“Okay,” Justin said, confusion written on his face. “This is all new to me.”
Pavel stood, trying to maintain his dignity as he did.
He didn’t want to take stone again, since his gargoyle form filled so much of the elevator, but he was naked.
His suit jacket was probably his most intact piece of clothing.
He draped it over his shoulders, half-covering his chest, although a nipple peeked through no matter what he did.
“What do you need?” Pavel asked, a growing unease stirring in his gut.
“To get us out of here?” Sebastian pursed his lips.
“I have enough ingredients to improvise a spell to send a chaos spirit out to weaken the barrier. Enough for you to break through in your gargoyle form, at least. The challenge will be getting the spirit here in the first place. I’ll need help with that. ”
“How can we help?” Justin asked. “We’re not witches.”
Pavel’s shoulders tightened. He was afraid of what the answer to the question might be.
Sebastian smiled, a gleam in his eye. “We need to create enough chaos to lure a spirit here.”
Shit.
Pavel grimaced. “I don’t think?—”
“Oh, it shouldn’t take much.” Sebastian stepped closer to Justin, touching his shoulder. Justin’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “How much do you know about witches and their mates?”