Chapter 7 Luciu
Suggested Listening: Friday Night by Vigiland
Icannot believe that this is my life. I also can’t believe that I’m finally getting the opportunity to stick it to one of my shitty clients.
And Treznor at that. With my hot witch wife, her scary sexy demon, and the fae twins that honestly make me pee my pants a little in terror.
They’ve been nothing but welcoming—not including Puck—yet I still feel like a wart on a newt.
It’s all my pent-up insecurity talking. And I’m well aware it’s screaming at me.
It’s like I’m part of the Baggins Brigade, a formerly popular children’s book series aimed at young witches whose name was a nod to a certain famous author.
They used to be sold across the country in these poorly made print runs for pennies.
My great-great-grandmother scooped them up, and since then everyone has been trying to find the few missing volumes.
Mom is still holding on to them. We’ve discussed the fact that I would be inheriting them at some point.
I fully intend to be the one to complete the collection.
I’ve got a few leads on one of the harder to find volumes.
And now that my life isn’t ending, maybe I’ll do it. I’ll have the full collection of books.
I loved those stories, though I always struggled to see myself in them as a half-breed witch.
The community at large had drilled it into my head that I’m not a witch; I’m a warlock due to my human ancestry.
But I haven’t lived as a human. My life is in the witching world.
I am a witch even if the community doesn’t recognize me.
At no point has Gracie treated me with anything except kindness.
I’m not an idiot. I know things might not be perfect.
But I’m damn well going to make the most of this situation.
I think I could really like her. And these men.
While they might inspire nightmares, I’m more than a little curious what they’re like.
“How close are we?” Vyslan asks.
“Close. We’re about to pass through the wards.”
I check the rearview mirror to make sure the Jeep behind us is keeping up.
Puck, Darius, and Gracie are following behind my work truck.
I left the Cadillac at Gracie’s for safekeeping.
Since we don’t know what shape Ezra will be in, we all agreed that two vehicles are necessary.
Worst-case scenario, Vyslan will pin Ezra in the bed of the truck and glamor them until we can get somewhere safe.
This way, my witch wife won’t be in harm's way. Just me. And that’s an acceptable risk.
It’s good to know that where Gracie is concerned, we all have the same priority. I might not know these men, but I can work with them. And that might be all that matters.
“Here’s the turn,” I mutter and crank the wheel.
We go bumping over the uneven ground. Treznor doesn’t give a shit about what his subordinates have to put up with, so I wasn’t surprised to find the gravel lane leading to the utility entrance in poor condition when I took the job. It hasn’t gotten any better since I finished the job.
“Do you need to do anything? Dispel the ward?” Vyslan asks.
“No, it’s not like that. The perimeter ward is mostly a glamor.
He’s got a massive amount of land, and a true ward would prevent animals from roaming safely.
Not to mention the legit monsters he’s keeping on the other side of the mountain.
Then there are the thralls. Ezra might have all his cognitive abilities, but that’s not the case for all thralls.
Some of them are basically zombies. If Treznor is waiting on a meal and his thrall can’t get his UberEATS past the ward, he’s going to be one pissy vampire.
Nah, we can just drive through this one.
I did tweak their system to not alert on my truck, though.
And I duplicated the vehicle tag on Puck’s Jeep so it’ll seem like I just crawled through the ward really slowly, if anyone is paying attention. I doubt they are.”
“And the cameras?”
“Oh, that’s why I put these medallions on the rearview mirror. Sorry, man. I think you were distracted when I was explaining that to Puck.”
Vyslan looks totally human right now, but I’m acutely aware he isn’t. He stretches his left arm across the truck and grips the back of my headrest. His fingers brush against my nape, and I’m glad the road is so bouncy. It makes it easier to pretend I’m not squirming for the incubus already.
“You’re quite resourceful, aren’t you?” he asks in a low, purring voice.
I flash him a nervous grin. “I mean, yes. I try to be.”
“Just so we’re clear, Luc?”
“Uh…” I glance at him and swallow. “Is this the you-hurt-Gracie-and-I-hurt-you talk?”
Vyslan brightens. “Yes, exactly that.”
“Dude, I’m so fucking terrified of you. I swear that’s not going to happen. I am very invested in being a contributing member of Gracie’s family.”
“Luc, I’m hurt,” Vyslan says with mock sorrow. “If you mean Gracie no harm, you have nothing to fear from me. Unless you’re into that, I mean.”
I shake my head vehemently. “No. Nope. Sorry, I’m not into pain. Not kink-shaming or anything, but that’s a no. I’m very much a wimp where pain is concerned.”
He tips his head back and laughs. “Pity. I was rather hoping you might be up for a game. Puck and Darius seem lovely, but very… Focused. You, on the other hand…”
I can feel the heat climbing up my neck.
Right now, I can’t tell if it’s a good or bad thing that I understand Vyslan’s meaning.
Puck and Darius only have eyes for Gracie.
Puck especially. Darius seems like a fun sort of guy, but he’s literally sat around staring at her and ignoring the rest of us.
He might enjoy our company, but if the rest of us keeled over?
The fae would just shrug and keep going. Gracie is the center of his universe.
Vyslan, on the other hand, exudes sexuality. Which is expected from an incubus. I’m not surprised that while he scares the piss out of me, I’m also a little intrigued.
Goddess knows Mom wanted me to be a proper, boring witch.
She always did want me to have a shot at a normal life away from Lilith’s Lounge.
Probably because she was never able to extract herself.
Sending me to boarding school was her way of giving me distance and perspective.
But at the end of the day, this is where my roots are.
I’ve always been proud of my family and freely curious.
While I haven’t been in a committed relationship with another man or masculine-presenting person, it’s not for lack of trying.
Witch culture doesn’t leave a lot of room for male-centric, healthy relationships.
Everything revolves around your female witch and getting her knocked up.
It’s a lot of pressure for most male witches.
“Is there…” My voice breaks like my balls haven’t yet dropped. I clear my throat and try again. “Is there a question?”
“Just an observation,” Vyslan says in that cheeky, confident way of his that tells me the incubus already has my number.
My hands are sweating, and after the show earlier, my dick is currently sporting zipper patterns.
We bounce along for half a mile, the lighthearted conversation dying out into tense silence.
Ahead of us, the trees part, and I pull into an open, stone-covered garage.
There are a random smattering of other vehicles here.
Thralls will often use what tools they had in their human lives, but eventually those break down in the face of immortality.
I wouldn’t be surprised if every vehicle here was stolen, which is why ours doesn’t matter.
With the preventative measures I’ve put into the amulets, the truck and Jeep won’t raise an alarm.
And if someone more senior in Treznor’s hierarchy sees the vehicles, well, they probably don’t know what a license plate or VIN number even is.
The older a creature gets, the less they seem to care about how the world operates.
I pull into the very end of the garage and get out, grabbing my backpack and visually scanning the area.
Calling it a “garage” might be too generous. It’s essentially a rectangle carved into the stone deep and tall enough to accommodate most vehicles and provide some shelter for the entrance.
There are fewer cars around. It seems like there’s less activity overall. Given what Vyslan said about all the thrall bodies turning up as chum, I’m not surprised.
Puck jumps out of the Jeep first. He turns in a circle, eyeing the trees and shadows around us as if they’ve offended him.
His presence is ominous and dark. I find I want to hunch my shoulders whenever his gaze passes over me.
I’m really fucking glad he’s on our side.
Though I have to wonder about what Darius said.
He mentioned that Puck wasn’t even in the top two strongest. What the fuck does that mean?
And who is stronger than him? It isn’t me, that’s for sure.
I’m not exactly weak, but I’m also realistic.
In terms of raw power potential, Gracie and I are likely similar.
I shake my head and glance back at the doors leading into the compound.
Gracie wants to rescue Ezra. I think I love her for being so fierce and determined.
But if Treznor has regained control of Ezra?
There will be no saving him. We might have to put him down.
Will Gracie be able to make that call? Or will we have to do it for her?
And if we must kill Ezra against her wishes, is there any salvaging what we might have had?
Those unknowns hover in the back of my mind, plaguing my thoughts.
Darius has insisted several times that things will work out. I know he sees potential futures, but we aren’t promised another moment. He can’t tell us for certain that things will be okay. But Gracie needs to hear it. She needs that comfort.