by Kim Schubert
“I know.”
“She’s a monster and I plan on killing her.” I hadn’t actually known I had made that decision.
“Are you going to tell your father?”
“No. He doesn’t need to know.” It was easier to ask forgiveness than permission. Assuming I wanted his forgiveness.
Logan nodded. He didn’t agree with me, but it was my decision and he respected it.
“Where do you think they are taking us?” I asked, changing the subject.
Logan shrugged. “Somewhere with impressive security.”
“It’s gotta be somewhere where they can maintain their anonymity,” I mused.
Logan made the final turn, slowing down in front of a skyrise. Igor turned into the parking garage.
“Or they like their amenities more than practicality,” Logan observed.
“Fucking vampires.” I should have known.
Igor was waiting for us at the elevator of the parking structure, still no emotion on his weathered face. Logan and I stepped into the elevator without a word when it arrived. We made it to ground level, where we were waved past the front desk security with a wary stare, and finally into another set of elaborately decorated elevators.
“You will have to leave your weapons before we enter,” Igor said when the doors of the elevator opened at the tenth floor.
I stayed in the elevator when he exited. “You can pry them out of my cold, dead hands.”
Igor’s jaw clenched. “Why is everything so difficult with you?”
“Perks of my personality,” I answered, letting the door close. Igor stopped them with a loud thump.
“Fine, bring your weapons, but know it is an insult,” he growled.
“Can’t say I give a shit,” I answered, strutting out. We turned left toward closed doors, where another vampire stood guard.
He moved aside without a word. The double doors opened, and scantily clad humans stood on either side, their pupils dilated. I groaned as we entered the lair.
Lair was the appropriate word: silk and organza disguised the ceiling in sweeping scallops. Long pieces hung down, giving the illusion of privacy as hushed whispers and cries of delight seeped out from the shelters.
Logan and I shared a disbelieving and annoyed look. Setting up a fucking lair in my town—nope, not going to happen.
“Follow me,” Igor said, making his way expertly to the back left. Logan and I followed, my hands itching to pull back a few of those pieces of silk to see exactly what the fuck was going on. I didn’t appreciate my vision being hampered.
Igor held up a piece of thick black silk before unlocking a door and ushering us into a library.
I turned to find an empty room and Igor shutting the door.
“If they fucking make me wait,” I hissed.
“Executioner,” said a voice coming from behind the stacks. “I am Eduardo.”
“What the fuck do you think you are doing in my territory?” I hissed as my eyes settled on him.
Logan’s hand on my shoulder stopped me from shoving Eduardo in his stupid black silk robe.
“Have I broken a law?” he asked innocently.
I growled.
“These are humans, here of their own free will and suffering no harm.”
“Oh fucker, you can play this game, but know when you step out of line I will end you.”
“Enough,” he clipped out forcefully. “I will not be threatened in my own home by such a pathetic excuse for a leader. I will have your Council as a plaything if I so wish.”
Logan released me and stepped up next to me. “Watch your mouth, vampire. The humans in this town are not fans of your poor management of the Houses, nor are we. I’ve already killed two master vampires this year, and I’d have no problem with adding a third.”
Eduardo hissed, “You’re both disrespectful.”
I had nothing to say to that, apparently neither did Logan.
“I brought you both here to discuss the repairs you must make in order to fix the mess you’ve made.” He sat behind his regal desk, elbows perched on the armrests, fingertips touching in front of him.
I laughed, sitting down in a black high-backed chair. Logan sat on the arm and the chair groaned. Clearly, we were going to be there a while setting the record straight.
I stayed silent, wanting to hear exactly what the asshole thought we needed to do. “Due to your hasty execution of Tate and Zachariah, we are left with numerous vampires without a Master, and Raphael’s Houses”—heavy emphasis on the plural—“have doubled in size.”
“So?” I asked, none of that concerning me.
“The masterless will need to be collected.” He flexed his long, wrinkled fingers, scowling at me, his thick brown eyebrows drawn over his equally brown eyes.
“Not a problem, send over our retainer and I’ll put an executioner on it,” I told him with a shrug.
Eduardo blinked at me, confused. These fuckers did not hear “no” often.
“We are happy to assist you, but as Olivia has said, our help comes at a price,” Logan clarified.
“You would dare charge ME to fix your mistakes?” He was genuinely offended, his hands growing nails that dug into the soft Italian leather of his chair as he leaned forward.
I laughed. “We didn’t make any mistakes. You did and you keep making them. We aren’t here to bow down and give you false worship, we are here to see how the fuck you plan on fixing your mess.”
“We have a meeting with the potential new Governor.” He regained his composure, nails retracting.
“Good luck,” Logan grunted.
I nodded. “We didn’t have much success in that realm.”
“Yes, well, I am not surprised. You lack tact and any political sense.” I don’t think he could have tilted his nose any higher in the air.
I rolled my eyes. “Wonderful, so we came all this way just to be insulted?”
Eduardo said nothing to that.
I’m about done here, I sent to Logan.
Blake and Angelina are here, he sent back.
That had my eyes widening. What are they doing here?
I don’t know, but I can hear them outside the doors planning on surprising you.
I groaned. Date one vampire and never hear the end of it.
“If that is all?” Logan asked.
Eduardo gave us a dismissive wave. “We will be in touch.”
I was certain he would be, since he clearly couldn’t handle his own fucking masterless vampire problem. I was charging him double for being a dick.
Logan opened the door. I stepped through it and around Blake and Angelina hanging in a swing of silk suspended from the ceiling, naked.
I gave thought to making a comment as their bodies intertwined and rubbed against each other. There was a whole diatribe of horrid and caustic one-liners running on repeat in my head. I even opened my mouth, having selected the one I deemed best, but I just shook my head and kept walking. Blake meant nothing to me. Logan filled the void he had left and overflowed my soul with emotions the vampire could never inspire in me.
I just didn’t care anymore, though that didn’t mean I was above killing them.
We passed through the doors, the same drugged-up females letting us out. I didn’t see Igor and I didn’t care to, either.
In the elevator, I leaned back with a sigh, resting my head against the spotless glass. I was secretly hoping I left an oily smudge.
“What?” Logan asked, pressing the opaque white DOWN button before coming to lean back against the glass with me. I looked up at him, wondering if he’d heard my earlier, unspoken thought.
I shook my head, dismissing the childish worry and answering his question. “We’re getting pushback a lot. I’m not used to it. I’ve become too soft if both the vamps and the humans think they can railroad me.”
Logan chuckled, “No Blake and Angelina comment?”
I leaned into his shoulder. “Nope, you are the only one I want to see naked.”
> He hung a heavy arm around me, pulling me close. “Right answer,” he whispered into my ear.
I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Can’t we just kill them all?” I asked hopefully, looking up into those caramel depths.
Logan sighed, “Unfortunately not.”
I groaned, “Then it’s going to be interesting.”
Chapter 4
True to his word, Amin showed up exactly two days after our conversation. Logan and I were in our office, looking over the limited documents we were able to obtain from Grams’s lawyer.
“The widow is taking over operation of Kitten,” Logan said, pushing the papers across his desk to me. I scanned them, a sinkhole forming in my chest.
“Maybe it’s time to move on from dance clubs,” I sighed.
“What are you going to open next, a daycare?” Logan teased, trying to lighten my mood.
“Sure, Junior Executioner Camp: While you work, I’ll teach your kids how to shoot, kill, and maim.”
Logan laughed. I thought the idea actually had merit.
The air pressure in the room condensed, my ears popped, and there appeared Amin, sitting regally next to me in a suit that was possibly more expensive then my gun collection.
Logan growled, not appreciating the show of power. I just shrugged; if he had the ability to do that, he could have killed us at any point. Granted, Jerry said Amin was unable to kill me directly. I had asked him once for the long laundry list of what Amin could do, and it quickly became apparent it would be easier to list the things he couldn’t do.
“You are certain you wish to travel to the red world?” Amin asked, not bothering with pleasantries as he unfastened the gold button of his suit jacket. I don’t think expensive was the right word for his clothing choices. Opulent, possibly; over the top, definitely.
“Yep, sure am,” I answered in my yoga pants.
Amin nodded. “I’ll go get The Magician,” Logan said, standing and glaring at Amin the entire way around his desk.
I stood. “I’m going to prepare. I’ll be damned if I’m surviving on moldy bread and cheese again.”
Logan looked down at me outside the doorway as I closed the door behind me. I could read the determination in his gaze not to lose me again. I had ventured once to that world, and sending me back there wasn’t sitting well.
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t want to go, either,” I offered with a shrug. His brow only furrowed further.
I pulled him down and kissed him, infusing it with all the love my damaged soul could carry.
“I will always come back for you,” I told him, standing on tiptoe and searching that raw sienna gaze, hoping my message reached home.
He stroked my back my strawberry blond locks. “I know. I just don’t relish you traveling somewhere that I can’t.”
I nodded. “Someone has to keep the kids in line.” We both had control issues.
He huffed out a breath.
“Besides, I’ve already been there once. How hard can it be to grab a few dusty books?” I asked with a shrug, trying to minimize the danger. One exceptionally pissed off mother, check. Unicorns and mermaids I wasn’t prepared to bring over, check. No Magician or Doyle to guide me through … okay, now I was just depressing myself.
Logan kissed my forehead, one large, warm palm cupping my cheek. He pulled back to look deeply into my eyes. “I have never loved another the way my heart belongs to you, Olivia. I trust that not even death could keep us apart.”
“Oh, stop it.” I pushed him in the direction of my father, blinking away the tears. Damn emotional shifter.
I heard his soft laughter behind me as I headed to our room to get changed.
…
Anna was waiting for me outside my room. I raised an eyebrow at Ginny perched on her hip.
“I thought you’d want to say goodbye,” she said, handing me the quiet baby.
“You are correct,” I said, holding Ginny close, kissing her chubby cheek. “I’m surprised she let you hold her.”
Anna shrugged, not meeting my gaze. “They’re growing on me.”
I nodded, understanding.
“It helps,” I added softly.
Her ice blue eyes were conflicted when she looked back at me. “I thought if I could just forget about it all, pretend it didn’t happen, I’d be better off. But now, now I look at these kids and see the survivor I wish I could have been.”
I nodded. I didn’t need words, I understood perfectly.
Finally I said, “They’re resilient, partly because they have to be and partly because they have us.”
Anna nodded, clearing her throat. “Anyways, I wanted to see if I could come with you.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “You want to?”
She nodded, “I want to see our home.”
“We will have to check with The Magician, to see if he has the energy to send us both back.”
She nodded. “Your father,” she clarified.
I sighed, rocking Ginny when she started to fuss. “I’m not ready to call him that on a regular basis.”
We began walking downstairs to the kitchen. “Let’s get our food together,” was all I had to add.
…
It didn’t take us long to stuff two backpacks with food, and to dress in leather that I would instantly regret once we crossed into the overheated red world. Anna strapped her dual swords to her back, matching my own.
I gave Ginny a long squeeze, inhaling her baby scent before passing her over to her nanny, Katie.
“You ready for this?” Anna asked next to me, ascending the stairs.
I shrugged. My back had healed, but my guards were just alright. “I’d rather not go back, but I need to unlock what The Magician hid from me to face what is coming.”
“The Fae,” Anna offered on a long, exhausted exhale. It had always been the damn Fae.
“Yes,” I agreed. I wish those fuckers could stay in their own damn dimension.
We pushed into the office. Logan’s gaze flicked over us, noting our similar dress and weapons. Relief washed through the mate bond as he realized Anna was trying to come along. Maybe this would win her his trust.
“You both will be traveling through the portal?” Amin asked, his obsidian gaze flicking between the two of us.
“If you can handle it,” Anna taunted, a wicked smile curving her blood red lips. I’d have to ask her how she kept her lipstick so damn perfect.
The Magician nodded. “It might take longer for us to bring you back, but we can send you both. Just be certain to be touching each other when the portal opens. Now, you are clear on what books I need?”
“Yes, you’ve recited the list several times, made me repeat it, and given it to Anna in writing.” I was not acknowledging that I sounded like a petulant child. “Where are we doing this?”
“Here,” Logan said, coming around his desk. “Jerry warded the room. He said keeping the energy contained will be easier here than outside.”
I nodded, meeting his raw sienna gaze and tramping down the voice screaming at me not to leave him, again. I pushed out a shaky breath. This had to be done. I had no other choice.
Logan stepped in close, brushing his fingers against my cheek. He gave me a small smile, feeling my hesitation and our shared worry. Blowing out a breath, I focused on the two magic users in the room. I was glad Jerry wasn’t here. I didn’t need his judgment on my trust in Amin.
“Shall we?” Amin said to The Magician.
My father nodded. As pouches were dumped out onto the once clean coffee table, I heard Logan’s internal groan. The various herbs were ground up and fragrant. The Magician and the djinn shared a look, a nod passing between them before they began chanting. I didn’t understand the whispered words, but I felt the power flooding the room. My skin prickled, goose bumps running along my spine.
I took Anna’s hand, tiptoeing to kiss Logan one last time. My lips had hardly brushed his stubbled cheek when the portal sucked Anna and me backwar
ds.
I didn’t have time to scream. What little air my lungs held was trapped, my chest unable to inflate. I was going to die in this tunnel of brilliant colors. Anna’s hand became the only thing that grounded me and kept me sane, her fingers digging in just as strongly as my own.
My body was certain it was being ripped apart. My ears heard nothing but the constant whoosh around us. I wanted nothing more than a release from the constant pressure.
As quickly as it began, it stopped.
I sucked in a breath, still refusing to let go of Anna’s hand. I could feel the rough pebbles under my palms and sticking into my forehead. I wheezed, sucking in the dirt I knew was red, well I really hoped it was.
“Can you see?” Anna choked out, before falling into a fit of coughing.
“No,” I answered, my voice hoarse. The light had sufficiently blinded us. I still saw imprints of the swirling colors on the black of my eyelids. I pushed into a sitting position, forcing her with me and closing my eyes for long moments. I didn’t enjoy being vulnerable. Neither of us did, and being blind in an unfriendly world was a horrible idea.
Slowly, my vision returned, and I squinted at the familiar red scene. “You good?” I asked Anna.
She nodded, looking over the red dirt world around us. I hadn’t found it awe inspiring the first time I saw it, and I can’t imagine she did, either.
“What is this world called?” she asked, releasing my hand. I flexed my own, returning feeling to my fingertips.
“I don’t know. I’ve just been calling it the red world.” I shifted to my knees, heaving a breath before we both pushed to our feet.
Anna nodded, turning in a full circle to survey the same lotus rock formation I had found myself in not long ago.
“How do we get out?” she asked, touching the jagged rocks around us.
“Climb. Carefully, the rocks are sharp.”
She nodded and we began our ascent. It was impossible not to obtain a few scratches, but neither of us needed stitches. This part had been easier when I wasn’t corporeal.
“Is that it?” Anna asked, jutting her chin toward the red-stained horizon.
I looked at the Aladdin-style palace in the distance. “Yeah. That’s it,” I answered.