Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
D ominic remained distracted while he navigated toward my apartment, probably worrying about Areleus’s ability to persuade them to look for Helena. Charging next to me was the phone Dominic had retrieved from the glove compartment and given me to replace mine. I had no idea when I’d lost my phone. The last time I was sure it was with me was when I attempted to steal Peter’s magic. If that was when it was lost, I was positive it had been destroyed. There wasn’t any doubt that the anger and wrath he felt for me was enacted on my phone. But I’d erase my information nevertheless.
A concerned look marred Dominic’s features. He was burdened with the same conundrum that most siblings experience. Angry with their sibling but adhering to the rule that no one else could ever hurt them. It was solely the domain of other siblings. Despite threatening to kill her hours ago, preventing her ending Celeste and thereby ending an entire bloodline of witches, he’d do whatever was necessary to find her.
What benefit did the Dark Caster see in taking Helena? How would she use her against the royals and Ileana? Helena possessed her own powerful magic, was a skilled fighter, and her explosive temper was just a cross word from being detonated. She craved power and her loyalty was tenuous, but I didn’t believe she’d destroy her whole family and the realms of the Underworld to attain it.
Emoni’s head snapped up from the book she was reading on the sofa, when I opened the door. A weekender and smaller bag were housed in the corner of the room. A cup of coffee next to her. She’d made herself at home, or as much as she could while waiting for me. The crease of worry was the first thing I noticed about her.
“Hi,” her small voice offered as she pulled out the key explaining her presence. At my approach, she exhaled a soft, ragged breath, relief smoothing out her frown. It was quickly restored at the sight of Dominic.
“I’ve been here since you left to visit your family for dinner because I hadn’t heard from you since then.” Her gaze returned to Dominic. “My worries don’t seem to be a priority for you these days.”
The pain in her voice was palpable, overshadowing the tinge of anguish. It felt like a gut punch. It had to seem like I’d abandoned her and stopped caring about her feelings.
“It’s been a really rough couple of days.” My voice broke. She stood up and stiffened, as if forcing herself not to offer comfort or let me off the hook. She wanted answers. She deserved answers. Emoni had a hard time averting her eyes from Dominic, to whom she’d definitely attributed blame. The cold ire in them had no effect on him. Often on the receiving end of hostility, he’d developed an immunity to it.
“That’s on me,” Dominic provided, cool and devoid of emotion. It was a statement, not a request for forgiveness or understanding. Things happened and he would not offer any excuse for it. Emoni had no intention of offering anyway.
“We’re not friends,” she shot back at him, obviously not in a mood to be placated by his ownership of responsibilities. Dragging her eyes from Dominic, she fixed them on me. “We are.”
The hurt in her voice broke my heart. If the roles were reversed, I would have been sick with worry, and disappointed, too. And that’s what was happening. It showed in her deflated expression, the glisten of unshed tears in her eyes, and her burdened posture. I was responsible for it. What had it been like for her the past few days?
“You’re right. I’m so sorry.” Pulling her into a hug, I whispered a promise. “I’ll tell you everything. Not the abridged version. Everything.”
Turning to Dominic, I nodded for him to go. Even at my urging, he seemed reluctant to leave.
“Go,” I pressed him. “Find Helena.” Nothing he said would make things right with Emoni, so I’d have to do my best. He moved toward me, cupped my chin in his hand. Warm lips covered mine, his tongue entwining and exploring mine with a ravenous hunger and a promise to continue. Delicious heat coursed through me. When he pulled away, I felt his absence and his commanding presence.
Only a beat of time had passed. Knowing the drill, I pulled a strand of hair and gave it to him.
Emoni scrutinized the exchange. “What are you going to do with that?” she asked.
“A ward. It is linked to her and she’s the only one who can break it.” Dominic went on to explain the rules and limitations of the ward.
“If I do the same, can it be linked to us both, preventing her dismantling it without me?” She gave me a look that dared me to challenge her request. Her expression was hopeful as she moved her hand to her hair.
“I can’t do that.”
“Can’t or won’t ?”
“Can’t.” His response was clipped as he fought his irritation dealing with a rightfully worried Emoni.
“Can you make a ward that would keep us here and prevent us leaving?”
“Imprisoning—”
“It’s not imprisoning her. It’s regulating her departure,” she quickly refuted.
Sounds like imprisoning to me.
Dominic’s patience was faltering. With jaws clenched, he forced his words through gritted teeth. “Semantics don’t matter. She would still be imprisoned and that’s not the safest thing for either of you. I don’t anticipate anyone coming for her. But it would be foolish to believe that she is no longer a person of interest for many.”
Person of interest prompted Emoni into protective friend mode. “Hurry and put it up, please.”
His reluctance to leave was obvious. “Stay here unless it’s no longer safe to do so.” He inhaled a breath, displaying the intense withdrawn look he got when he was analyzing a situation and trying to determine the best course of action. How easy the situation would be if he could dismiss Helena’s life with the same ease she’d dismissed his.
“I may send Anand here, but I need him for a while.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said.
He nodded, erected the ward, and closed the door.
I had displayed more bravado than I’d felt.
“We will be fine,” Emoni piped up in a spirited voice, trying to allay the unease that must have shown on my face. With an encouraging sympathetic smile, she moved to the corner and picked up the smaller backpack and dropped it in front of the sofa. She plopped onto the sofa and invited me to sit next to her. Opening the backpack, she proudly revealed an assortment of gadgets, weapons, and other accoutrements for protection.
“I brought these just in case things got truly terrible.” The tight smile dipped into a frown. “I feel like we’re there.”
At the top of the heap of weapons and gadgets were zip ties.
“What were you going to do with these?” I asked, snatching up the bundle.
“I had no idea what was going on. Was it going to be a rescue mission or an escape?” In response to my confusion, she blew out an exasperated breath. “Okay, I didn’t have a concrete plan, but someone was going to be tied up. They need their hands for magic, so I was going to prevent any use of magic. You can’t shift if you’re bound. I’m not sure how’d I deal with vampires, but I have this.” She pulled out a vial of what I assumed was holy water, several surprisingly well-made stakes, and handmade wooden crosses. “The holy water was blessed by Pastor Tanner. That bastard actually charged me for it.”
“Of course he did. He has a divorce lawyer to pay,” I pointed out. Tanner was a disgraced pastor from the local nondenominational church who’d risen to fame when his mistress and their three children were discovered. “If he blessed it, how holy do you think that water is?”
I didn’t pursue a conversation on how she’d convinced him to do it. “Hey pastor, can you bless this water so I can go fight vampires?”
“I was not in a position to be picky. Desperate times. He still has the church. I assume a hypocrite’s blessing is better than none. I’m prepared for it all.” She was so confident in her arsenal, it was heartbreaking to dispel her beliefs.
“Shifters are really strong. They’d break the binding during their shift. Holy water and crosses are a myth. You stop a vampire by driving a stake through their heart or cutting off their head. They’re ridiculously fast and strong. Without the element of surprise, a human is unlikely to be successful at doing that. And they can disappear. If they feed, then your efforts were for nothing. I’m not confident witches need their hands for all magic. Sometimes the magic is in the form of a spell and can be just as dangerous.” I’d became a wealth of supernatural information—something I wasn’t particularly proud of. I recalled the ease with which Ophelia used her magic. Without lifting a finger, she’d subjected me to unspeakable pain.
Emoni’s frown deepened but she didn’t look discouraged. She presented a massive knife that could do serious damage, but I was more concerned the damage would be to her.
“Do you know how to use that?”
“I know how to debone a chicken.”
“You think a magic wielder is going to stay still and let you debone them?”
“I was desperate.” She pouted playfully. “Stop punching logic holes in my vampire slayer and magic assassin fantasy,” she grumbled.
“You’re right. I’m confident you would have come with your arsenal of weapons and your knife ready to slice and dice in order to help me,” I teased.
She rolled her eyes and sank into the sofa.
“Where have you been? What happened?” she asked.
“It’s a lot,” I warned.
The scowl twisted her pleasing features. “How much alcohol will I need?”
Flashing a weak smile, I went to the kitchen and rummaged through my cabinets and pulled out a bottle of vodka.
“Probably this. Straight,” I said, pushing humor into my voice that I knew wouldn’t soften anything I was about to tell her.
Emoni got the whole story, from being attacked by Conventicles, Helena and Areleus’s betrayal, me saving Dominic by slamming a car into them. I paused while Emoni took another shot after being told that hitting them with a car didn’t kill them.
“You might want to pace yourself. It gets weirder.” Once I’d told her about meeting Ileana, her creatures, and becoming one of her created with magic, Emoni shoved the bottle in my direction.
“I think this should be for you.”
I rejected the offer, and she appeared to lose the desire for it, too. The information was so sobering, alcohol couldn’t dull it.
“Is the mom as terrible as her daughter and husband?” Emoni frowned, I suppose recollecting her meeting with them. They hadn’t left a good impression.
“They weren’t married. They just wanted to customize their children,” I admitted, her question prompting me to tell her about the reason for Helena and Dominic.
“Everything about these people is calculating and dangerous. You don’t need to be involved. Nothing good can come of it.” She sighed. “I don’t think he’s worth it. None of this is worth it.”
It was like my heart felt the need to remind me how much I cared about Dominic, because the mere thought of walking away left emptiness that I wasn’t sure I could handle.
Not addressing her comment, I continued, revealing Peter and my magic being stolen, Helena’s releasing the worst prisoners, the Dark Caster’s plans, and Helena being taken when my abduction was unsuccessful.
Emoni pulled me into a tight hug as if she feared I was moments from being snatched away. The load felt lighter after telling it to her, but I felt guilty, knowing it was a burden we now shared. Her phone buzzed, pulling her from the hug. Grabbing her phone off the coffee table, she looked at it.
“It’s your brother,” she mumbled, then answered the video call with a tight grin and told him that I was right beside her. Without further discussion, she quickly passed me the phone.
“Hey.” I made my tone light and airy. Not a trouble in the world.
“What the hell do you mean hey !” he growled, a streak of pink running along his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.
“Give me a minute, I need to grab something,” I lied. I muted the phone and turned off the camera to keep him from reading my lips. “What does he know?” I asked Emoni.
“Nothing. He’s been calling and texting me since your disappearance, but I avoided them all. I sent him a text to let him know I’d contact him as soon as I heard from you. I didn’t want to lie, but I damn sure wasn’t going to tell him the truth.” She frowned. “I didn’t really know the truth, did I? Things are so different than what I was expecting.” She cast her gaze downward. Perhaps looking at me reminded her of how she felt being in the dark about everything.
Taking a slow measured breath, I released it while unmuting the phone and turning on the camera. “Forest?—”
“Are werewolves real?” he blurted.