29. Pavel #2
“Someone want to explain this?” Veronica asked through clenched teeth.
“Sister dear,” Sebastian teased with fire in his eyes, “you can’t exclude my mates from a spell if I’m involved. The bond is too strong.”
“It’ll be sad to have to kill a gargoyle,” the old man said, not yet ditching the casual posturing. “There’s only a few of them left.”
“You won’t be killing anyone,” Pavel growled. His protective instincts were in high gear, and it took effort not to tear the old witch apart with his stone hands. A glance at Justin, his fangs and claws glinting under the stage lights, and Pavel knew his vampire felt the same.
“That is where you are wrong,” Veronica said. “I don’t want to kill my brother, but he’s sided with our mother too many times. We’ll take care of the three of you first, then drag Linda into this moment and take her out as well.”
As she said that, Veronica gestured to the blazer-bedecked Eldest, still as a statue in the front aisle. The look on the matriarch’s frozen face was one of unchecked rage.
“How can you side with her? After she treated us like her tools. Disposable.”
Sighing, Sebastian rested his hands on his hips. “She wasn’t any worse than any other overbearing New Jersey mom with high expectations. She’s also the Eldest of a Circle with a legacy to protect. At least she was there .”
Sebastian’s father stared down at his feet at his son’s words, but Sebastian didn’t acknowledge him in the slightest.
“I will never understand why you stick up for her. She’ll never allow you to have your own life.” Veronica’s hands fell to the sides of her long, billowy white duster. Pavel’s stomach clenched. Was she reaching for a weapon?
“My life is mine, sis. And I didn’t have to depose our mother to get it.” Sebastian crossed his arm and pursed his lips, like a dandy in his 17th-century clothing. “But where are the rest of your people, Vee? Did they abandon you after we killed off your most powerful witch?”
From her glare, it was obvious that some had, in fact, done just that, scared off after Alistair’s death. But after a moment, she smiled humorlessly.
“They’re in Bayonne, little brother. Once Linda is dead, the wards will fall, and my witches will swarm the house. So let’s get started.”
With a swift motion, Veronica pulled out a long athame of carbon steel from her robe.
Pavel moved toward her, but after a few quick movements of writing in the air with her implement, a dome of swirling wind sprang up around them.
Pavel reached his clawed hand into the maelstrom, but the air was going too fast. Any attempt at breaching the whirlwind was quickly repelled.
Pavel spun around to see Sebastian’s father stalking toward him, exhausted determination shining from his wrinkled eyes. Before Pavel could say anything, Justin stepped in between them, growling, with his claws out in front of him, threatening the elderly witch.
“Step aside, young fool,” the man said, reaching out and grasping Justin’s forearm.
To Pavel’s horror, the material of Justin’s navy suit began to deteriorate and flake away, dissolving into dust. Once the witch’s hand came into contact with Justin’s skin, it did the same, shriveling and turning gray as his mate screamed in pain .
The vampire yanked his arm from the old witch’s grasp, flying back to Pavel’s side. Justin held his arm out helplessly in front of him. It looked even worse close up, as though a section of Justin’s forearm had mummified.
“He uses time magic,” Pavel said, clutching Justin tight to him. “You can’t let him touch you. He can cause even your heart to grow old and shrivel.”
“But I’m a vampire…”
“You can’t oppose me, children,” the old man said, although there was little conviction in his voice. Mostly, he sounded tired.
“I’m no child,” Pavel answered, pulling himself up to his full height and spreading his enormous wings out behind him. “And I stand with my mates.”
“Your mate won’t be standing much longer,” the old replied, glancing at the ongoing fight. The wind-encircled battle between Sebastian and Veronica was growing more intense by the second.
Veronica was using her athame to direct the wind, flinging all sorts of pointy-ended projectiles she’d tucked away on her person. So far, Sebastian had mostly dodged her assault, although one dart had stuck him right in the chest.
Sebastian, for his part, was not staying idle. He was tossing small spell jars he’d hidden in the pockets of his costume. Pavel was relieved to see the witch had taken his advice and carried supplies with him, even in his costume.
His spells were more unpredictable, of course, because of his affinity. Some seemed to have no effect, although one had exploded into a fire hot enough to singe Veronica’s hair on one side. The burnt section made her appear even more unhinged .
Pavel turned back to Sebastian’s father, who was once again advancing on them. Pavel growled. This decrepit deadbeat would pay for injuring his mate.
Moving Justin out of the way, he hurtled forward, flapping his wings once to speed him toward the man. His claws wrapped around the old witch’s throat.
“You will not hurt my mates,” he roared.
Almost casually, the old man brought his hands to either side of Pavel’s head, pressing inward.
In an instant, sleep tugged at Pavel. No, not sleep. This was deeper, stronger, like a hand around the ankle of a struggling swimmer, pulling downward. The witch was shepherding him into his final dormant state.
“No,” Pavel whispered, squeezing as hard as he could even as strength leached from him. A low gurgle issued from the witch’s strangled throat, but his grip on Pavel’s head did not loosen.
Pavel resisted. He did. He tried so hard. But ultimately, his mind darkened, and his skin transformed, little by little, into stone.
The last image he saw before he was gone was his vampire mate, eyes ablaze, throwing himself at the elderly man.