Chapter 4
I tap my fingers on the top of my tarot deck and let out a sigh.
It’s nearing three AM and all is quiet in the compound I call home.
The old brick building used to be a school, converted into a home large enough to house our entire family of hunters, including a few aunts, uncles, and cousins.
There’s hardly a time when we’re all here together.
Tonight, it’s just my immediate family plus Aunt Darcy and cousin Danielle.
Something is off and we could tell right as we got home.
Darcy is Marco’s sister, and she pulled him to the side as soon as we all walked through the door.
It was nearing ten PM and my siblings just wanted to crash in their own beds after being away for work.
To be fair, it’s not unusual for Vivian, Marco, or the other elders to have hushed conversations without us.
The Order is pretty strict on seniority rules, which is irritating.
My kill-count is higher than most members twice my age.
But it was more than that, and I’m probably the only one in the house able to detect the subtle shift of energy. It made the uneasy feeling deep inside me bubble and wake with a start after only a few hours of sleep.
Pair that with the fact that I did another tarot reading and got the Tower card again…I don’t need to be a witch to know something is going to happen. And whatever it is, it’s not going to be good.
“Hey!” Leo whisper-yells.
“Hi,” I say back as I turn.
“Damn. I thought I got you.”
I laugh. “I could see your reflection.”
“In what?” Leo joins me at the kitchen table and I motion to the glass of water I have sitting in front of me.
His mouth opens, only to close, and then he shakes his head. “Again. Damn.”
“Not my fault you’re sloppy,” I tease.
“I’m distracted and can’t sleep. Seems like you can’t either.” He sets his phone down and lets out a sigh.
“Something feels…off,” I say and pick up my tarot cards. I’m not the best at divination, as it was discouraged by the Order as a “waste of time” since things can change in an instant.
“You’re telling me.” He taps the screen of his phone so it lights up, and I can see five notifications from his on-again, off-again situationship, Patrick.
He’s also a hunter, but more of a freelance one, if you will, and has used the excuse of “not dating Order members” as a way to jerk Leo around.
“You need to block him,” I press. “He’s using you for validation and I beg you to let me curse him. Maybe then you’ll stop shrinking your plate so the breadcrumbs look like enough.”
Leo bites his bottom lip and shakes his head. “What kind of curse do you have in mind?”
I wrinkle my nose as I think. “Anytime he sees someone he’s even mildly attracted to, he can only speak with a really bad Irish accent.”
Leo laughs. “That’s creative, I’ll give you that.” His phone vibrates with yet another text.
“Do not answer. I swear, if you do, you’ll be the one cursed next.”
“I’m just going to see what he has to say.”
I snatch the phone off the table before Leo can pick it up.
“It never ends there. You’ll meet, he’ll give you the run-around about wanting a relationship, and then he’ll ghost you for a week or two before coming back and feeding you the whole bullshit line about how he got scared, and it’s so risky to let someone get close in our line of work… blah, blah, freaking-blah.”
“I know you’re right,” he goes on. “But it doesn’t—”
He cuts off when one of our motion sensors beeps with an alert. We both turn, looking at the screen that’s mounted on the wall behind the table. The compound is armed to the max, with cameras and security measures that would prevent most normal humans from even walking past the front gate.
“Who is that?” I ask when we see a man in dark clothes briskly walking to the front door. Two men are behind him, looking like hired security.
“Someone from the Order?” Leo wonders out loud. “I’ll get Dad.”
“No need,” Marco says as he comes into the kitchen, turning on the lights. Vivian hurries behind him, followed by Aunt Darcy. All three look terrified.
“What’s going on?” Leo asks.
“Florence,” Marco starts, gaze locking with mine. There’s an unreadable expression on his face, and the energy is swirling with negativity. “Make sure Gia stays upstairs.”
I shake my head, looking at Leo, but he’s just as confused as I am. “If there’s a problem I can—”
“Go!” Marco booms, right as the doorbell rings. “Keep Gia quiet.”
I look at Leo one more time and then get my cards and rush up the stairs. Gia is still sound asleep in her room, and I stand in the threshold of the door, listening. Several people have come into the house, and I hear a man’s voice drift up the stairs.
“Is this everyone?” he asks. “The report says you have two daughters.”
“No!” Vivian cuts in. “She’s only eleven!”
“Mom!” Larissa cries. “Don’t do this!”
I make my way silently down the hall, slowing at the top of the stairs, and taking in the sight of a man dressed in all black.
I can tell just by looking at him that the suit he’s wearing cost more than everything I own combined.
He has an air about him that is intimidating, like he has a sense that he knows he’s better than anyone in this house.
His thick dark hair is casually swept back and he stands with his broad shoulders pushed back slightly. He’s a good looking man, that’s for sure, but there’s something…off…about him. He’s human, and yet everyone else is staring at him with fear in their eyes.
Two armed guards stand behind him, at the ready. They have guns and bulletproof vests and tasers on their hips that could take down a horse.
What the hell is going on? What does this man want with Larissa…or Gia?
“It’s been this way for centuries,” Aunt Darcy says and I see tears run down her face as I edge closer. “It has to be done.”
“Why me?” Larissa sobs.
“You appear to be the best fit,” the man in the black suit says, voice loud.
“Danielle is older!” Larissa counters.
“She’s past her prime,” the man replies in a level tone.
I take a few more steps closer to the top of the stairs.
Marco is clutching Vivian’s hand, and she looks sullen in shock, standing perfectly still.
Leo and Antonio are next to their mother, both with looks of horror on their faces.
“The deal specifically states the trade is to be of age but no older than twenty-eight.”
“Wren!” Larissa says with desperation. “Wren is twenty-six!”
“Wren?” the man questions. He takes a step forward and Marco flinches. What the fuck? “Do you have another daughter, Mr. Russo?”
“She’s not my biological daughter,” Marco sputters and looks at Vivian. Her eyes widen and she gives him a look.
She’s a witch, she mouths, not in a protective way, but in a the-gig-will-be-up kinda way.
“I want to see her,” the man demands and makes a small motion to the bodyguards. They both move their hands to their weapons and the man leans forward, almost snarling. And everyone backs away.
Again…what the ever-loving fuck is going on?
“Don’t forget what happens if you break the agreement, hunter,” the man spits, using the word hunter as an insult. “I don’t think your fellow members will appreciate it.”
“He’s right, Marco,” Darcy says solemnly.
“Florence is…” Vivian starts. “Exceptional. The best hunter the Order has ever seen.”
“Hmmm,” the man ponders. “Is that why she was left off the report? You didn’t want to lose your best hunter? Now, where is she?”
“I’m right here, asshole,” I say. The man looks up, and his dark eyes pierce mine. I take in a sharp breath, but I get no air. There’s something familiar in his gaze, yet different and dangerous.
“There she is! That’s Florence,” Larissa tells him loudly, over Marco’s plea for her to stay quiet. “She goes by Wren for short.”
“Florence,” the man echoes as he looks me up and down, inspecting every inch of my body as if I’m a horse at an auction, judged solely on my appearance as to whether or not I’ll make a good ride. “I want her.”
“What?” I ask, slowly shaking my head. No one but Vivian, Marco, and Darcy have any idea what the hell is happening. Gia’s bedroom door creaks open behind me, and I take another few steps forward, coming into the top stair.
“She comes with me, or this house is marked,” the man threatens.
“Marked for what?” Antonio asks, eyes going from the man to his parents and back again. I can read him like a book, and his page is screaming what the fuck in all caps.
“Should you explain it, or should I?” the man asks Marco and only waits a beat before continuing. “Centuries ago, the Order made a deal with my family. We leave each other alone if, every twenty-five years, you give us a female.”
His words only confuse me more. His family? A deal? What?
“Dad,” Leo starts but Marco holds up his hand and silences him. Then he turns to me, and the look in his eyes is all I need to know. I don’t have a choice. I’m going with this man whether I want to or not.
“S-s-someone better explain,” I stammer.
“Xavier Malus doesn’t like to be kept waiting,” the man goes on. “You have three minutes to gather a few personal items.”
“What?” I say, not making sense of anything. Did I hear this guy correctly? What he’s saying makes no sense. Because I know who Xavier Malus is.
A vampire.
A very old, and very powerful vampire with a big vampire “family” if you will.
We’ve been told they’re too dangerous, too connected to go after.
They’re rumored to operate like a mafia, both underground with other vampires and demons, and with some of the most powerful human families in the country.
“And I’m getting hungry,” the man says and makes a face like he’s going to flash fangs. Wait a minute…does everyone think he’s a vampire? I blink a few times, trying to process it all—and make sure I’m not wrong.