CHAPTER FIVE
Idove in, smiling as I approached some of the closest witches.
“Hi, I’m Everly… Alexius’ recent addition to Savannah. Nancy didn’t say how any of this works and left before any other introductions could be made.” I tried to play it cool. Tried.
“Bella,” the closest greeted, holding out a hand. “Regular member of the coven, no special ranks to deal with from me. Nancy is my great-grandmother. I get it. She’s a whirlwind.”
“She really is,” I said, chuckling. “A good one. She’s wonderful.”
“I’m glad you think so. As for how all this works?” Bella pointed once our handshake was done. “We’re going to go outside. There, a tree was planted when the spell was first cast. As it’s grown, its capacity to help and protect has grown. We keep it alive; it keeps us alive.”
“Really? A single tree?” I wasn’t prepared for that.
“It’s heavily protected, and we can only talk about it now because we’re in the house. Once you leave, you can’t talk about it anymore. Magic.”
“Yeah, I know gag order magic,” I said, chuckling. “Know it very well.”
“It’s a classic for a reason. Every good witch knows how to make sure secrets are kept.
It’s woven into the spell that its core is hidden in, whether we want it to be or not.
It’s naturally deeply rooted and more protected from storms by the same spell that protects us.
You will go to it while we perform the ritual. ”
“And then you’ll bleed on it,” another woman cut in, walking up. Her gaze was more cutting than the warm, informative Bella. “Though maybe it won’t work since it’s not your blood.”
“It is, but I don’t think this party is the place to discuss vampire biology,” I retorted quickly, not missing a beat. This sort of attitude I was more prepared for. A sharp tongue, something that required me to be on guard.
“Oh, really?” She hummed, entertained and annoyed with me already.
“Do you want to enjoy the drink you’re holding or not?” I asked, daring. “Because I can ruin your appetite if you want me to. Hard to drink when you’re already queasy.”
“Don’t be catty right now, Claire,” Bella pleaded in a whisper.
The room was quiet now, everyone listening to the exchange.
There were a thousand good reasons. I was a new, mostly unknown vampire in their most precious place.
An outsider. I was being tested on every front.
With Nancy, it had been friendly and fun and disarming.
With Claire, it was catty, as Bella put it, and that put people on edge.
Catty was just a soft word for bitchy or aggressive.
“Claire, it’s not the time,” Bella said, continuing in the hushed tone to try to bring down the energy, even if the room could hear it all.
It was smarter than raising her voice. “I know you’re now council, but cousin, we can’t be rude to other supernaturals, certainly not one of Alexius’ people.
He’s never brought someone in, and we should respect every member of his household. ”
“She’s a nothing and a nobody. I don’t know why everyone is so worked up,” Claire replied, not bothering to keep her voice lower like Bella. Talking about me like I wasn’t there scratched something in me.
“Claire, huh?” I said softly, feeling something dark bubble up in my chest. “The last time I knew a Claire—”
“Everly,” Alexius said softly, stepping out of the sitting room. “Let me show you the tree.” He extended an arm, and I took it, watching Claire roll her eyes.
“Just because he won’t fuck you doesn’t mean you get to be rude to guests,” Bella hissed as we walked away, probably not realizing we could clearly hear her.
“What do you think she was going to say?” Claire asked, ignoring her cousin’s comment. "What about the last Claire you knew?"
“That I killed her,” Alexius replied, loud enough for anyone and everyone listening in to hear.
“Because she hurt Everly, Jacob, and his nest.” Alexius glanced back at Claire, and I saw the glint in his eye that showed he was properly annoyed with the entire thing and was going to do what he had just stopped me from doing.
“I tore her limb from limb for her crimes against the people I cared about.”
“Claire, apologize,” Nancy snapped over the silence. Only her and Bella were daring enough to speak.
“Claire, take a walk, cousin,” Bella said at the same time as Nancy’s sharp order.
“I…” Claire didn’t finish. I turned to see her leaving the room entirely. Even though she was leaving, her heartbeat was the loudest, thundering in fear at the rumbling, murderous words of Alexius the Hunter, first and best vampire hunter.
Oops.
Alexius got me out the door, and I could see the magnificent tree. I wasn’t an arborist and was terrible at identifying these things, especially since I didn’t know the Southeast that well. If we were in Maine, I’d have a better chance.
What I could identify was that it was tall.
It was strong and beautiful. It was immense and powerful.
It radiated with it, overtaking everything I could see, making the world disappear around it.
Stunning. It was awe-inspiring. Everything that had happened inside disappeared in an instant as I took it in.
“Alexius, what was that?” Nancy said, following us out.
He released me, and I couldn’t help but get closer to the tree, feeling the energy of it.
“If she had listened to her cousin, I wouldn’t have snapped, but she got curious when she should have been biting her tongue,” Alexius nearly growled in response. “She and the younger members of the youngest council are constantly out of line, and you know it.”
“They’re modern and bold,” Nancy retorted. “But you scared her in our home.”
“Good,” Alexius snarled. “Your founders were scared of me, and they were right for it. They’d never get an attitude because they would never try to get in my space or pants or bed.”
“This isn’t just that, though, is it?”
“Any reasoning I could possibly give you doesn’t matter.
It’s a line. Make sure they know it’s been drawn,” Alexius fired back.
“They want me to be polite and nice and not say things like that. They can remember that I am due all the respect I’ve earned over my thousands of years of being a warrior.
I work directly for Tribunal members. They are playing minor politics and chasing a thrill. We’re not in the same league.”
“Fair enough,” Nancy said in a whisper. “You finally pulled the Tribunal card after all these years.”
“If that’s the way you want to see it,” Alexius grumbled.
“Nothing needs to change. They need to remember the boundaries. I will not have my one guest disrespected because of some girl’s horny behavior.
And make sure they understand that Everly is permanent.
She’ll outlive all of them. They need to make a good impression not just for themselves, but for all future generations of your coven, Nancy. ”
“I’ll make sure it’s very clear for them.”
There was a pause, and I imagined they were glaring at each other, but then it turned surprising.
“I’m sorry,” Alexius said with a sigh. “I haven’t entirely been myself, and I don’t have much patience tonight.”
“Apology accepted… and the need to re-educate the younger women is still noted as necessary,” Nancy said back, almost kindly, almost grandmother-y.
“Thank you.”
He sounded tired. In the middle of the night, when we were most awake, when it was almost impossible to sleep, he seemed so tired.
Nancy left.
I was still staring at the tree, having heard every word, keeping my thoughts in control. I didn’t move as I listened to him approach.
“We need space,” he whispered.
“My brother invited me to California. He wants to propose to a girl, and I have the ring our dad gave our mom… He wants me to bring it in person and meet her. He’s planning to propose in the summer.
I’d fly out tomorrow night if I was allowed,” I said, huffing.
“Because we do… need space. We’re both going a little crazy in the house.
It happens. It’s been ten months of limited real-world contact and no space. ”
“Was it an open invitation to just show up?”
“I think he wouldn’t care at all if I showed up on his doorstep, so long as I had a place to go when the sun came up… though he would probably let me sleep in a closet if I needed it.” I snorted. Declan absolutely would. He’d give me shit about it, but he would.
“Then let’s go to California,” he said, taking a deep breath. Unnecessary since we didn’t need to breathe, but I understood that the human urge still hit.
“Um, are you forgetting the Isaiah problem?” I said, going wide-eyed, finally looking away from the tree.
“No.” Alexius met my gaze. “I’m tired of dealing with him.
You can’t go alone, not with how many enemies I have, but we’ll go together and explore different places, and you can go see your brother without me, and it will be…
different enough, I hope. I’ll be close enough if something happens, but we won’t have to be…
in each other’s space the entire time. We’ll do two weeks… no, we’ll go for a month.”
“You can’t just say fuck Isaiah, let’s not listen to him,” I hissed, trying not to yell and inform the witches of Alexius’ insanity.
“But I can,” he said, finally smiling a little, that turn of a corner of his mouth that so many others would miss.
It made his face warm and human. “That’s the privilege of being older and more powerful than him and…
well, just being me, actually. I believe I’m the only vampire in the world with the privilege. ”
“You’re serious.”
“Yes. We’ll pack after this. I’ll call Rupert to start getting the plans in order, and he can finish it up tomorrow,” he said, pulling out his phone.
Rupert answered before the first full ring finished.
“Rupert, hello. Yes, the meeting with the coven is going well, but that's not why I'm calling. I need flights to California for tomorrow night. Everly and I will be visiting her brother to deliver something, and she needs to catch up. Los Angeles.”
“Oh, okay! I can do that. A little less than twenty-four hours notice. Fantastic!” Rupert’s excitement at the amount of time he had was unreadable. I had no idea if he was being sarcastic or if he was being serious.
I wonder how short that notice has been before…
“You’re welcome. And if Isaiah calls while we’re away, don’t pick up. Get in touch with Maria’s people. They’ll handle us on the other side. Maria will let us stay anywhere we need.”
“Oh, yes. Good people,” Rupert was certainly genuine that time. “Are you thinking of going to her or using one of her branching homes?”
“Schedule us to see her when we arrive to fully explain the trip, then we’ll discuss which of her branching residences is closest to Everly’s brother.
We’ll be there for a month, so we’ll need something she’s willing to lend out that long.
If there’s a payment necessary, I bet there’s something she would rather me look into while I’m there, and I’ll take the work instead. To get myself busy again.”
I checked out, still unbelieving that we were about to ignore Isaiah’s orders to stay in Savannah until he reached out.
Knowing our luck, he was going to reach out while we were breaking the one rule he wanted from us after leaving New York.
Oh well, I guess. I’ll just tell him the truth and blame Alexius.
He was still busy with that while the witches came outside for the ritual.
I was ushered into the right spot as nearly twenty women made a full circle around the tree.
High fences and massive bushes protected their plot of land from prying eyes, and the tree was so huge, its canopy so vast, that I figured even drones, helicopters, or even satellites wouldn’t get good pictures.
A bit of magic to protect from thermal, and almost no one would have any idea what was happening underneath the branches.
I was handed a knife made of silver and pointed toward the tree.
“When we start the ritual, walk up. Slowly, follow the beat of the ritual. When you arrive, cut your hand and let it bleed. When it’s given you a good handful of blood, press it to the tree,” Nancy explained.
“You’ll know when it’s worked. Remove your hand and wait until the ritual is over. And get barefoot now.”
I kicked off my shoes and looked at the tree.
Then the chanting began.
The chant made the world pulse with energy. The tree’s leaves fluttered in the night breeze, summoned by the magic at play.
I walked nearly twenty paces and cut my hand, letting the blood pool.
When I placed it on the tree, it dripped, running through the bark lines. It nearly happened too fast. The tree absorbed it. Alexius had said his blood was integral to the spell’s original casting. Now I knew why, at least in theory. The spell tied us in with it.
The ground felt alive underneath me. It felt like, for a moment, something inside me was drawn into something far more vast. The earth beneath me, the sky above me, the tree before me. For a split second, I was all of it and all of it was me.
Then it was gone, the witches ending their chanting. Some went down to a knee where I could see them. Some wobbled. Others grabbed them, while the most just stood, resolute.
“Oh,” I said softly, looking for the one face I cared to see.
Alexius nodded at me once our eyes met.
“Now, let’s eat some food, drink some wine, and let our guests be on their way,” Nancy declared.
The witches went inside, and I could tell now why this was a party, an event.
The magic drained them of power, energy they needed like my own vampiric abilities did.
They partied as an excuse to eat as much as they wanted and drink sugary things to recuperate.
The booze probably took the edge off. They offered me nothing, nor to Alexius, all knowing we didn’t indulge in those items anymore.
It wasn’t impossible. It wasn’t entirely pleasant, either.
They certainly didn’t offer blood, though I wouldn’t have asked.
We stayed, gave pleasantries for a minute, and with goodbyes to Nancy and the other elder council members, we left.
I followed Alexius out, getting into the car, still taken in by the feeling I had experienced. I would be thinking about it for a long time.
“We leave two hours after sunset for California. Tell your brother. He’s in Los Angeles, right?”
“Close to it, yeah. LAX would be the airport, and it won’t kill us to stay in the city and meet him on the outskirts… I think.”
“Perfect.”
“I’m going to close my eyes now and just sit in silence.”
“Of course… I wasn’t sure how to warn you—”
“Alexius.”
“Silence. Of course.”
And finally, there was silence, and I could remember what it felt like to be just in my body. That split second had felt like an eternity.