If Greyson Molder overthrew the haven system and put his Vampire Council into place, there would be no one to stop vampires from taking over, especially if they actually managed to unlock the Thraxis medallion and were able to go into daylight. They would be unstoppable. The entire SPA wouldn’t be able to contain them. It would be an all-out war and the humans would be the ones to pay the price.
“Bats! This is so much worse than I ever imagined.” I paced back and forth a few times, my mind swimming with images from my academy textbooks that depicted the last vampire uprising. “Okay. Let me slow down. Obviously something went wrong with his plan. If he didn’t plan on being with Georgia, then why did he agree to turn her?”
“She was looking for an escape. I lured her to Raven one night. It was all a set up. She met Greyson and that was kind of it …” Naomi swallowed hard. “Turning her into a vampire was the one thing he could promise her to string her along. He filled her head with all sorts of gothic romance and she fell for it.”
I folded my arms. “Well I just saw her about an hour ago and I can assure you that she is all vamp now.”
Naomi cursed under her breath, though she didn’t seem too surprised by the revelation.
“And what about Paul? You were there. What did you see? If it wasn’t Greyson that killed him, then who was it?”
“Dread was there.”
A shudder coursed through me at the whispered name.
Naomi shoved her hair back. “See, Greyson was the one that made the bargain with me. I was bound to the Molder family, to do their bidding, until my debt was paid. At first, I only reported to Greyson. But as he got deeper and deeper into his plans and schemes, he turned me over to Dread, who lived to torment me.” She paused and dragged in a slow breath. I could only imagine the things he’d put her through. “I got desperate. Really desperate. I did some things I wasn’t proud of to make some money. I thought if I could pay back my debt, I could get away.” She gave a hollow laugh and chewed on her lower lip. “I was so stupid.”
“No. You weren’t.” Pity surged up inside my chest. The woman standing before me might have made some bad decisions, but she certainly didn’t deserve the things that had happened since. And now she was putting her very life on the line to try to make it right. “You did what you had to do to survive, Naomi. Vampires like Greyson and Dread aren’t the kind you can cross and live to tell about it.”
She sniffled. “A lot of good it did. Now my husband will pay the ultimate price. And everything I did was to protect him!”
“Who glamoured him? Was it Dread?”
She nodded. “He came to the house two nights ago. I was in the kitchen making dinner, and Gus invited him in. He didn’t know …” her voice trailed off and she dissolved into tears. “I came out and there they were, sitting on the couch together. It was too late. Gus’ eyes were glazed over like some kind of puppet, and he was repeating everything Dread told him. By the time I dis-invited him, it was too late. Gus kept babbling over and over again that he’d killed Paul. He wept. Begged for my forgiveness and then … then he got angry. So angry. I’d never seen him like that before. He called me all kinds of names and screamed at me to get out of the house.”
“Where have you been since then?” I asked softly. “Do you have someplace safe to stay?”
She nodded. “I’ve been with a friend that Dread doesn’t know about. But I had to come see you. I was hoping you could help.”
“How did you even find me?”
“I was at Raven the night you and your friend came in. I saw you talking to Dread and then you stormed out. Everyone was talking about it. No one talks to Dread like that and gets away with it. I followed your friend back here that night, but I didn’t know what to say to you. So I left after a few minutes. But then after Gus got arrested, I decided I couldn’t wait anymore. I needed to tell someone the truth.”
“I’m glad you came, but to be honest, I’m not sure how much help I can be.”
Naomi clutched my arm desperately. “Please, you have to help my husband. He can’t go to prison for something he didn’t do. He shouldn’t have to suffer for my mistakes.”
My stomach twisted into a knot at the pain and desperation in her eyes. “I want to help, Naomi. Really, I do.”
I wanted to tell her about my current plan and assure her it would all work flawlessly and that her husband would go free and she would be rid of the threat hanging over her head. But I couldn’t. The plan was still piecing together in my mind and I wasn’t sure that Harvey would be willing to go along with it. He might dismiss me and tell me that they would handle it. Which, based on my past interactions with the SPA, I didn’t have a lot of faith in.
But I certainly wasn’t going to tell Naomi that.
“Can you tell me what you saw that night? When Paul was murdered? I work with a PI and if we can come up with some solid proof that Gus wasn’t anywhere near that hotel, we can maybe get him out of jail.”
Naomi nodded and dried the tears from her face. “Paul and I had gone on a date before. At that same hotel. He called me. I remember thinking it was a little early, but he was really upset and said he didn’t want to be alone. He needed to blow off some steam. I met him at the bar up the road.”
“The Grasshopper?”
She nodded. “We had a drink, talked, flirted. It was nice. I liked Paul. He was always kind to me. Anyway, we left and went to the hotel and up to the room. But before anything happened, the window broke and Dread swooped inside. He was angry at me for working off the books. He hit Paul and when I screamed, he choked me. He attacked Paul and I ran. I thought he was dead. There was so much blood.”
“Did you go out into the hallway?”
“No. They were in front of the door so I went out the window. There was a balcony. I jumped off. I didn’t know what else to do. I was so scared.”
“That was two stories up!”
“I know. It was stupid.” She shook her head like she still couldn’t quite believe it. “I jumped and landed in some bushes off to the side. As soon as I hit the ground I just started running. I got to the bar and hopped in my car and just started driving. I didn’t stop until three in the morning when I ran out of gas. I was almost to the border and decided to stop at a hotel for the night.”
“I’m so sorry, Naomi. That sounds awful.”
She shuddered. “It was terrifying. I keep dreaming it over and over again. It’s like I can’t escape from the memories or stop thinking about that poor man. If I hadn’t been with him that night, he’d still be alive.”
“You can’t blame yourself, Naomi.” I moved away from the window and the orb of light bounced behind me as I stooped to retrieve a woven basket from a shelf. I’d stashed some of my potions there when Harvey had first shown up at the manor. I searched through the pile until I found one labeled Sweet Dreams. I turned to Naomi and handed her the vial. “Here, try this. It will give you dreamless sleep. Just one drop in your nightly cup of tea should do it.”
She took the vial from me and inspected it. “Really?”
I nodded.
“Thank you so much.” She moved for the door.
“Naomi?”
She stopped and looked at me over her shoulder.
“Do you think you could get Greyson to Raven tomorrow night? I have a plan. I’m still working out the details, but I think I have a way to make this all right.”
Naomi nodded slowly. “I know I can.”
“Dread told me that Raven is full of his people. Is that true?”
“Yes and no. These days it’s mostly Dread’s playhouse. But if Greyson decides to show up, I can guarantee his lackeys will be right behind him.”
“The Vampire Council members?”
“Yes.”
A bubble of panic swelled in the pit of my stomach. The plan was coming together, but as each new step built on the last, a dozen new scenarios of how it could all go wrong started to creep in. It had to work or else everything would fall apart. And
not just in Beechwood Harbor.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
I called in sick to work the next day and spent the morning pacing around the manor, nervously plotting and planning, until Posy told me that I was wearing trenches in the hard wood floors and suggested I needed a cup of tea. While I was in the kitchen waiting for the water to heat, Lacey came down from her room and pushed into the kitchen.
“I didn’t know you were in here,” she said, pausing at the door like she wasn’t sure if she should stay or go.
I sighed. “Lacey, come on, you can’t still be mad at me.”
She frowned. “Oh, believe me, I can.”
I scoffed and finished making my tea. “Fine. Stay mad. I’ve got enough on my plate without figuring out how to appease you.”
Lacey stalked to the fridge. “Good! Because I’m not in a forgiving mood.”
“Shocking,” I muttered to myself as I took my cup to the table.
A tense silence filled the room, making it feel stuffy despite the somewhat chilly temperature. Lacey dawdled at the counter, pouring her lunch into a crystal goblet. After a few minutes, I heaved a sigh. “Okay, fine. I’m sorry, Lacey. I wasn’t trying to make a scene at Raven. And I never thanked you for helping me.”
“You’re welcome,” Lacey sniffed. “After all, I’m not the one deluding myself that I can be some kind of super spy.”
“That’s what you think I’m doing? Playing games?”
She shrugged and took a long sip.
“For your information, I’m going to Harvey’s office in an hour to tell him exactly how to bust this whole Vampire Council. Oh, and by the way, your buddy Dread, he’s a cold-blooded killer!”
Lacey slowly set her goblet down. “What do you mean? He’s the one who killed that man?”
I nodded. “That’s right.”
“But—wait, why would he—he couldn’t have been the one.”
“It was him, Lacey. And he’s trying to frame Greyson so that he can take over the entire Molder House.”
She straightened. “We have to do something!”
I sighed. “Did you miss the part about me going to see Harvey?”
“We have to go now!”
“Relax, princess. I have an appointment and nothing is going to happen until tonight anyway. In case you haven’t noticed, the sun’s still out.”
She sagged back against the counter but her expression was tight and her eyes continued to dart back and forth as the puzzle pieces fell into place for her. “I can’t believe that little rat! Do you know he tried to hit on me?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, clearly that’s the most disturbing thing going on here now. Some low life tried to sweet talk you.” I stood from the table and swept my mug up. “Honestly, Lacey …”
I shoved through the swinging kitchen door and headed toward my bedroom. As I passed the front door, a loud knock startled me. A stream of hot tea sloshed over the edge of my overfull mug and burnt my hand. “Bats!” I cursed. “Who on earth could that be?”
I checked the peephole and saw Harvey standing on the front porch. I hurried to open the door and he marched inside. “Change of plans,” he declared, crossing over the welcome mat.
“What are you doing here?”
He stopped in the center of the foyer and spun around. “Close the door, Holly. We can’t risk being overheard. Who’s here right now?”
I looked around, mentally counting off my roommates. Evangeline would be at The Emerald, working. Posy was probably in the attic or maybe out with Gwen. And Adam had promised to take his parents out for the day after the disastrous dinner the night before. “Lacey is the only one home and she already knows what’s going on.” Harvey scowled up at me. “Just deal with it. I needed her help.”
“Fine. Where can we talk?”
I led the way into the study and closed the door behind us. Harvey heaved himself into one of the two tall, wingback chairs in front of the fireplace and I sent a blast of fire into the hearth to get the room warm in a hurry as I took my own seat. “Is there a problem at the office? I was about to leave to come see you.”
Harvey shifted, his legs dangling off the chair, and pulled a small box from his pocket. “I can’t trust that we won’t be overheard. We discovered that there are some Vampire Council supporters in the SPA ranks.”
“Great.”
Harvey glared at me before holding out the box. “Here is the replica.” I reached for it but he tugged it out of my reach. “First, you tell me what your plan is.”
I hurried to explain everything I’d learned—the tidbits of information about the medallion, the true murderer, and the glamoured human who was lined up to take the fall. As I went on, Harvey’s expression became darker and deep worry lines etched his face.
“This is much worse than I expected,” he said when I was done. “We have to act tonight.”
“I agree. Naomi isn’t safe as long as Dread is still free, and her husband is days away from going to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.”
Harvey gave a sage nod. “What’s your plan?”
I took a deep breath, hoping that what I was about to explain didn’t sound completely insane.
****
At half past midnight, I arrived at Raven’s back door, alone and dressed head to toe in black. My heart was slamming inside my chest like a jackrabbit and the pounding in my head made it hard to think. There were about three dozen things that could go wrong in the next few hours, most of which would result in my own death. Harvey hadn’t been thrilled with my plan, but in the end, he’d had no other options and had reluctantly agreed to it.
Naomi had called two hours before and told me that Greyson had rounded up his followers and was planning to be at the club at midnight. I’d given them a little time to get comfortable and—if I was lucky—a little tipsy. But I couldn’t stall any longer. It was time to make my move.
I raised my hand and knocked on the back door. The mysterious, disembodied voice asked me for the password and I rattled off the one Naomi had given me. The small doorway appeared and opened for me. A large guard appeared from the shadows and gave me a once-over. “You again?”
I recognized him as the one from my first visit. “What can I say? I like the ambiance.”
He grunted and let me pass. I strode into the club but felt his eyes following me as I went. I briefly wondered if the security had been warned to be extra alert since the Molder heir was present. I ignored the guard’s attention and moved further into the club, scanning the outskirts of the room and the occupants of each table as casually as possible. I could almost see Dread’s normal table, but before I could get a good look, a group of vampires passed in front of me without so much as an apology as they jostled me.
“Excuse you,” I grumbled, squeezing between two of them.
A hand reached for me and tugged me back before I could get past. Magic pulsed on my hand, ready to fire. I whipped around to confront the two vamps but instead found myself staring into Georgia Banks’ eyes. Only, instead of the sharp, fiery eyes I was used to, they were dull grey and sunken far into their sockets.
“Georgia?” My mouth dropped open. Inflamed lines wound around her neck in a spider web pattern. I couldn’t help but stare and Georgia—for once—didn’t look perturbed by my presence. “Georgia, are you okay? What happened to you?”
“The necklace,” she croaked, her voice scratchy and nearly inaudible over the pulsing music piped throughout the club. She reached up and gingerly traced the red marks in her translucent skin. Her golden tan was gone and it looked like she’d lost an alarming amount of weight overnight. “You were right.”
“The necklace did this to you?”
She nodded. “It was a rash … now this …” she licked her lips and I had the urge to go and get her a tall glass of ice water, though it wouldn’t physically do her any good.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, shuffling out of the way as another cluster of vampires came through. I cast a glance
around the room. There were nearly twice as many people as the last time I’d been there. It could only mean that Greyson was here and that Naomi had held up her end of the bargain. I needed to get to him in order to to follow through with the plan that Harvey and I had agreed to. I didn’t have time for Georgia, but at the same time, I couldn’t leave her.
The old flare returned to Georgia’s eyes. “I’m here to see him.”
I craned around to follow their path and saw that Dread’s table was now within sight. The cluster of vampires had moved on. A tall, broad-shouldered vampire sat beside Dread and the two were laughing together like they’d just shared some kind of inside joke. A blonde walked by, hips swinging, and they both stared after her.
Georgia still had a grip on my arm and her nails dug into my skin as she watched Greyson’s eyes stray. “Ouch!” I yelped. She released me, but didn’t offer an apology. I tugged my arm back and rubbed the spot where her nails had broken the skin. “Listen, Georgia, you should leave. Confronting him here, with all his people around—it’s not going to end well.”
Her eyes snapped back to mine. “I’m dying, Holly. He killed me. This time for good.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked, already knowing I didn’t like the answer.
She narrowed her eyes, locking them onto Greyson as though they could shoot lasers and turn him to dust from across the room. “I’m going to take him with me.”
Bats.
Without waiting, Georgia stalked across the room, heading straight for Greyson. I scrambled to follow her. My plan was about to be blown out of the water. I reached for her arm but fell short.
Greyson looked up and saw Georgia barreling toward him. His cool grey eyes registered panic for a moment but with a snap of his fingers, another vampire, this one twice his size, stepped between him and the blonde. “Stop right there,” the guard warned Georgia.
“Get out of my way,” she hissed.
The guard bared his fangs. Georgia did the same.
I backed up a step.
Greyson laughed and the sound echoed around the club as the other patrons fell silent. “Now, now, Georgia, what’s this all about? You’re not going to attack me in my own club, are you?”
Witch Slapped: A Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery (Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries Book 3) Page 16