Chapter 15 #2
Ethan’s smile returned and he seemed to relax again, his shoulders slumping. “Then keep doing what you’re doing. Make him happy. In the short time you’ve been here, I’ve heard him laugh more than I have in the past year. That means more to his sons than anything else.”
Ronan nodded. “Thank you.”
They finished clearing away the boxes, putting the room to rights, before they would head off in search of a step ladder. Ethan had turned the lights down so that they could enjoy the glow from the village and some of the other lights hung around the room.
“It looks beautiful,” Ronan declared. “That…that was more relaxing than I thought it would be. I guess I should have been decorating for the holidays every year.”
Ethan snorted. “The bitch part is going to be packing all this stuff up again.” He walked over toward a small side table and frowned.
“Do you think I have too many candles? I really love how they cast a warm glow and make everything look cozy.” Ethan waved both of his hands over the candles as if simulating the glow of the candles, when two little flames burst onto the ends of the wicks.
“Holy shit! Fire! I made fire!” Ethan shouted, which answered Ronan’s question of whether Ethan had done that before.
He certainly hadn’t heard that the fledgling had such a power.
“Look! I made fire!” he continued, which really wasn’t necessary because there was no missing it.
But when he pointed, a new flame spouted into existence on one of the nearby throw pillows.
Ethan yelped and tucked both of his hands against his chest.
Ronan quickly snatched up the pillow and threw it on the ground, stomping it out under the sole of his designer shoe. It was only a tiny flame. Nothing to worry about, but it took only one look at Ethan’s pale face and tear-filled eyes to see the vampire was on the verge of panic.
Grabbing Ethan’s shoulders again, Ronan gave him a little shake to make him finally tear his eyes from the pillow to look at him.
“I-I set that on fire. I couldn’t stop it. What if I set the house on fire? What if I hurt Marcus or Rafe or-or—?”
“Ethan, stop. You can’t be afraid of this,” Ronan said firmly.
Ethan blinked and tears rolled down his cheeks. “But what if I accidentally hurt someone I love? I’m dangerous.”
“All gifts can be dangerous. That’s why you have to learn to control it. And you can’t control it if you’re afraid of it.” Ronan crouched a little so that he was at eye level with Ethan and smiled. “This is a big day. An important day. We need to celebrate.”
“Really?”
“Yes, you got your vampiric gift.”
“Are you sure? I can also sense what a creature is like a witch can. Fox thinks I might have witch genes running through my family tree.”
Ronan lifted an eyebrow at the young man.
That was interesting, but he shook his head.
“I’ve known a few witches in my lifetime.
Witches don’t cast accidental spells, but vampires can accidentally tap into their powers, particularly at the beginning.
Controlling fire is your vampiric gift. This is an important moment for a vampire.
One you will always remember. We need to call the family together, if not the whole clan. Have a celebration.”
Ethan giggled and wiped his face with both hands. “You make it sound like a birthday party.”
“It sort of is. This needs to be celebrated, Ethan. You can’t run from it.”
The young vampire shocked him further by wrapping his arms around him in a quick hug. “Thanks.” He released Ronan on a gasp and another laugh. “I need to tell Marcus!”
“I think he’ll appreciate the good news,” Ronan said as they started for the door.
They didn’t get more than a couple of steps toward the door when there was a loud thud against the window.
Ethan looked as if he nearly jumped while Ronan was already reaching for the young man to tackle him to the floor.
Twisting around, he could make out something black flapping followed by several angry caws.
“What the—”
“Ozzie!” Ethan cried out.
“Who? What?” If there had been any question in Ronan’s mind how Aiden kept busy these past two hundred years, it was becoming clearer by the minute that the Varik clan was nonstop adventure. Every time he turned around, something weird and unexpected was happening.
“That’s Bel’s raven, Ozzie. He sometimes sends him to us,” Ethan explained.
“What? In lieu of a text message?”
Ethan snickered and waved for him to follow. “Nah. Just to keep an eye on things.”
Ronan trailed behind the young vampire, his mind still struggling to keep up with what he was hearing. “So, Bel—the scientist—has a trained pet raven who flies from his house to this one to keep an eye on the people for him?”
Stopping on the stairs, Ethan turned partially around to look at him.
“You don’t know, do you?” he asked slowly and gave another little laugh before he continued.
“I already feel like you’ve been around forever.
I keep forgetting you’re still new to the Variks.
” Which was a warming notion. “Bel can talk to animals. It’s his gift. ”
Ronan nearly tripped down the last of the stairs, his hand locked on the handrail with a death grip to catch himself.
That was a damn handy gift. Combine that with Winter’s ability to disappear and Ethan’s new ability to create fire, and the Variks were a dangerous and powerful clan indeed.
He was a little afraid to ask what the rest of them could do. Not that he would.
A vampire’s gift, while a thing to celebrate within his clan, was a secret thing.
A valuable tool and weapon. Each vampire was wary of another because they didn’t know what their rival could do.
Oh, Ronan had known a few that liked to brag about their gift, but they weren’t living now.
Something that would need to be explained to Ethan, but it could wait.
He followed Ethan through the foyer into the back of the house, which he’d not had much time to explore yet.
Beautiful art decorated the walls, and he caught glimpses of antique furniture in nearly every room.
The kitchen was another large room that was clearly in regular use—an odd thing for a household full of vampires, but he’d quickly learned that Ethan still enjoyed eating food.
Then there was also the matter of feeding a pair of werewolves and a witch when they came to visit.
If fact, he could remember all of the Variks nibbling on something here and there.
He had to wonder if Ethan was aware of the influence he had on his family.
The back door was quickly unlocked and pulled open. Ethan stepped outside on the patio and turned toward the side of the house where they had last seen Ozzie flapping against the window.
“Ozzie!” Ethan called out.
There was nothing in the crisp night air.
A thick blanket of snow covered the ground, glistening in the thin moonlight.
The stillness was unsettling, and Ronan’s eyes were drawn toward the dark line of trees at the edge of the property.
His instincts were shouting for him to grab Ethan and pull him into the house for his own safety.
The flapping of wings and an angry caw had Ronan turning in time to see the raven speeding toward them.
Ethan raised his hand as if expecting the bird to land on it, but Ozzie bypassed him and settled on the stone railing for the patio area.
Even after he landed, he continued to flap and flutter his feathers, his cawing breaking the silence of the air.
“What’s wrong with him?” Ethan muttered as he walked cautiously toward the bird. Ronan remained close to Ethan, ready to pull the smaller man behind him as they watched Ozzie turn toward the tree line and shout before turning back toward them.
Ronan looked at the trees, frowning. Something had upset the bird.
As they reached the railing, Ronan could suddenly feel it.
Vampires. At least a dozen of them lurking in the woods.
They were clearly outnumbered. But they were manageable numbers.
He and Aiden could handle a dozen vampires, but the presence of the fledgling made them more dangerous.
He was an easy, untrained target. And considering that someone among them likely knew the layout of the house meant that they would be attempting to infiltrate through an overlooked entry.
But Ronan wasn’t concerned about a small contingent of vampires.
Even with Marcus guarding Ethan, he and Aiden could wipe out the army amassed in the woods.
No, his main concern was drawing out all of Heller’s forces.
They couldn’t afford to be preoccupied with small numbers constantly harrying them, while the European Ministry rallied more and more clans to their side to destroy the Variks.
No, what Ronan needed was a way to draw them all out.
He had to convince Heller and Mara that they had to come out of hiding to face the Variks.
Let them believe that they could win in a swift skirmish by simply outnumbering the Variks.
It would certainly please the European Ministry, making both Mara and Heller appear competent.
And what better way to accomplish that than to hand over a traitor and the ultimate leverage over Aiden?
Placing his hand on Ethan’s shoulder, he gently pulled the vampire backward. “I need you to go into the house and lock the doors. Find Aiden and Marcus.”
“What? What’s going on?”
“There are at least a dozen vampires in the woods. They mean to attack the house.” Ronan turned his eyes on the raven who was watching him, head cocked as if he knew Ronan understood what he’d been trying to tell him. “Go to Bel. We got your warning.”
The raven cawed at him once and then leaped off the railing, wings spread as he swooped up into the air. Damn smart bird.
“What are you going to do?” Ethan demanded.
“I’m going out there to meet them. To hand myself over.”
“What? Are you crazy?” Ethan pulled out of Ronan’s grasp but surprised him by grabbing his hand with both of his. “I can’t let you do that. We have to go inside and plan something. Or-or you have to let me go with you.”
“No, I need you safe because you’re going to be the key to saving me.”
Ethan’s mouth bobbed open and closed a couple of times, but no sound came out as his eyes darted from Ronan to the woods and back again. “I-I can’t. I have no idea how to use my gift. I definitely can’t control it.”
“Wrong gift,” Ronan said with a smirk and tapped Ethan’s forehead. “I need your brain. You hacked the Ministry’s database, right? Can you hack my cell phone? Use it to find me?”
“Yeah,” Ethan replied softly and then repeated with more confidence. “Yeah, I can. Are you sure? Aiden is gonna be pissed.”
“True, but he’ll be pissed at me. I’d rather him be pissed than dead. Now go into the house. Lock the door and warn the others.”
Ethan hesitated another second and then released him, running toward the door.
Ronan watched him as he slipped inside. Ethan met his gaze through the kitchen window, seeming to hesitate again.
Ronan didn’t breathe again until he heard the lock slide into place.
He smiled reassuringly at the young man.
His plan was stupid and dangerous, but it wasn’t just about keeping Aiden safe.
He wanted to protect the entire Varik clan.
They were too important to Aiden to allow anything to happen to them.
Plus, Ronan found that he genuinely liked them with their snarky comments, strange quirks, and unwavering loyalty. And love. They all loved so deeply. That love would get Aiden through this if his idea failed miserably.
Stepping into the snow, he smiled to himself as he crossed the yard toward the woods.
He wished he’d grabbed a knife or a sword.
A nice blade would make quick work of these vampires, not that he wanted to kill them all off right away.
Just enough to make them wary of him. But he could handle getting a little bloody with his bare hands.
It has been years since he’d enjoyed a nice fight.
He’d remind them why the Ministry had been happy to give him a wide berth for so long.
No one fucked with a thousand-year-old vampire without paying the price.