Chapter 17 #2
“I don’t disagree, but it’s deeper than that.
You, on your own, are a threat. Not just physically, but to their egos.
They convinced you but also themselves that you need them.
You don’t, and you’re thriving without them despite the constant harassment.
I’ve lived long enough to know that people like that are fragile, desperately clinging to the opinion of others for their own validation.
You’re proving them wrong, and they won’t stop until they can stop you. ”
“So you’re saying this is going to be my life?”
“Yes.” He draws his fangs. “Unless you let us handle it. They deserve it, not just for what they did to you, but for what your sister did to Mabel.”
My lips part, and for half a second, I want to tell him to go for it. Tear the hearts out of everyone who’s given me hell over the last few years. But would that be the end? Would the Order keep sending people? How much death and carnage would it take to just be able to live my life in peace?
Maybe it should scare me that there’s a small part of me curious to figure it out.
“Cheaters don’t win,” I say, both trying to convince Theo as well as myself. “And some day, I can look them in the eye and tell them just that: when you cheat and lie and still don’t win, it’s a whole other level of embarrassment.”
“But that’s precisely it,” he goes on. “It is an embarrassment. And a frustration for them. And they’ll only come back harder. Fight dirtier.”
A sick feeling in the pit of my stomach starts to form, because he’s right—again. “I just have to believe that good wins. Eventually.”
“Maybe. But will you live long enough to see that day?” He flashes a cocky grin.
“Take solace in the fact that you are—for a lack of a better term—living rent free in their heads. They are very much obsessed with you, which is why you are actually controlling them. They cannot simply go out and live their lives without thinking about you. You consume their every thought, every move, every motive. The more they try to control you, the more they are showing you have power over them.”
“I guess I never thought about it like that.”
“There’s a lot you haven’t thought about,” he says with a sign, sounding bored. “Now are you ready to proceed so we can close this exciting chapter?”
“Maybe you’ll have fun.”
“I highly doubt that.”
Shaking my head, I put my glass in the dishwasher and go upstairs to get my shoes. Devon steps out of his room as soon as I get into the hall. I bring a hand up, sparking magic around my fingers. Devon’s face falls when he sees me standing defensively.
“H-hey,” he says shyly, taking a step back, whether it’s to resist temptation or to make me feel comfortable, I don’t know.
“Hi.” Awkward tension fills the air. “Hey,” I start. “Two of the people from our list of demon-deaths had recently been recruited by the Order. Does that sound familiar?”
He shakes his head. “Sorry, but no. Also, the fuck?”
“Right?” I want to drop my guard and talk to him about this, but the bite on my neck looks even worse today.
Mabel did her best to cover the bruises with makeup, but it’s still pretty obvious.
The scabs are tight when I turn my head, serving as a constant reminder of what Devon has become.
“I might be getting close to figuring out what you found.”
“I think I talked to someone,” he starts. “That night. I checked my phone and my search history. I called someone and we talked for seventeen minutes. The number is out of service now.”
“A burner phone, maybe. Can you text me the number?”
“Yeah, of course.”
The door to Mabel and Zeke’s room opens and they both come out, pausing when they see Devon talking to me in the hall.
“Hey,” Mabel says and hurries over. “Ready?”
“Yeah, just gotta grab my shoes.”
“I’ll come with you.” She links her arm through mine and escorts me into Xavier’s room, which I guess is also mine now.
I grab a pair of black boots and then go down the stairs with Mabel.
Devon’s door is shut when we go past. A heavy feeling starts to form in the pit of my stomach, bringing back the same sadness I felt when I opened the fridge.
“Look what I got!” Mabel says as we both get into the back of Theo’s SUV. Zeke sits shotgun and starts flipping through songs. “Tarot cards!”
“Ohh, cool.”
“Can you teach me?”
“Of course,” I tell her and she hands me the deck.
We spent the entire drive to Huntersville reading cards.
We park a block away and walk to the bar.
It’s already full, and we get led into a table that’s been reserved just for Mabel.
She goes live on one of her social media channels, showcasing the bar to her followers.
It’s themed like a 1920s speakeasy, and I can tell Mabel just loves it.
This is her era, after all. The whole vibe is great, and the cocktail waitresses are dressed like flapper girls.
We’re seated in the back, in a “secret room” that you go to through a hidden door. It’s pretty cool, if I’m being honest.
We order drinks, and by we, I mean just Mabel and me. I get a fruity mocktail and Mabel orders the new bottled blood that’s being advertised. According to the label, it’s a mix of pig blood and human donor blood that has been “filtered and refined”.
I’m almost curious enough to taste it. Almost.
“That’s fucking disgusting,” Theo tells Mabel as she pours a can into a wine glass.
“It doesn’t taste that bad,” she says after she takes a drink.
“That bad isn’t how I want my blood to taste,” Theo goes on.
“Hey, if you like it, then drink it,” Zeke tells Mabel. Even though I’m unclear on if he turned her against her will because he couldn’t stand the thought of living without her, there’s no doubt that this love and support of this woman is real.
“This place is cool,” I say. “Did they really have speakeasies like this?”
“Not like this,” Mabel says and looks at Zeke. “I think.”
“No, they weren’t like this,” he tells both of us. “They were hidden, so you wouldn’t find anything this big or fancy.” He turns to Theo. “You spent a lot of time in Chicago in the 1920s, so you’d be the best to judge.”
“Did you meet famous gangsters?” I ask, half joking.
“Al Capone begged us to turn him,” Theo says, making a point to sound bored as he casually name drops one of the most notorious gangsters ever.
“Why didn’t you?”
“He got himself arrested,” Theo says. “Don’t you know your history?” Mabel looks at me and makes a face mocking Theo. We both laugh and he just shakes his head.
“You can leave, you know,” I tell him. “I don’t think the Order is going to go after me tonight, though part of me hopes they do.”
“They can’t just walk in,” Mabel says. “You have to show ID to get in.”
“Honey,” Zeke puts his hand on her. “That doesn’t mean they’ll know who is in the Order.”
“Ohhh, that makes sense.” She nods and picks up her drink. “Take a picture of us?” She hands her phone to Zeke and leans next to me. We pose for several photos and then get so Mabel can fill a little tour.
“I think Theo hates me,” I tell her.
“He hates everyone, and he only tolerates me because he has no other choice. And now that you’re in the house, I’m not the only outsider. But at least I’m a vampire. And he must not hate you that much because he’s here. He could have told Xavier no. He wasn’t commanded to watch you.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
Mabel loops her arm through mine. “I think he’s jealous that Xavier pays more attention to you than him, which sounds weird since they’re brothers.
I didn’t mean it like that. Just for centuries, it’s been the two of them.
Even Zeke told me he’s felt rather left out, and there’s not much of a death-age gap between them. ”
“He was Xavier’s grandson, right?”
“Right.”
I shake my head. “Fuck, that’s so weird.”
“I thought the same when I was human.” She shrugs. “I’ve just accepted it now. Though now Devon is the newest addition to the family in a sense, and even I was a tad annoying when I was newly turned.”
We stop next to a photo wall and take a few pictures.
I want to ask Mabel more about what it was like becoming a vampire, but now is not the time nor place.
Instead, we make our way back to the table so I can sample all the food the cook is bringing me so I can write a review to go along with Mabel’s post.
“You sure you don’t want some?” Mabel asks Zeke, holding up her cup of blood.
“I’m sure, darling,” he replies gently and leans over, kissing her. Suddenly, Theo tenses. Zeke does a couple seconds later, followed by Mabel.
“What is it?” I ask, turning and following their gazes to the entrance of the bar.
“Werewolf,” Mabel whispers. “Which is fine.” She put her hand on Zeke’s arm. “They’re allowed to be here.”
“They are,” Theo agrees but he looks quickly at me. Right, Xavier has filled him in on what Larkin told me.
“Oh, I know that wolf,” I say when Delphi comes into view. She stops, scans the bar, and then spots me and makes a beeline over.
“Did you invite her?” Theo asks.
“No, I don’t even have a way of contacting her,” I rush out.
“Wren, thank god,” Delphi pants once she stops at our table. She eyes the vampires warily and pushes her hair back. “I need you to come with me.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“You might be the only one who can stop our pack from going to war against your family.”