by Wendi Wilson
“It appears as if they are not dead,” Samuel said, his voice unnaturally high-pitched.
“He sent vampires to kill them,” I insisted. “He’s been allowing his vampires to drink from humans, using this camp as a blood bank for his people. He has declared war against the vampires here, and there will be much more death if you refuse to put a stop to his actions.”
I knew I was bordering on disrespectful, but I was so worked up, I couldn’t control it. How dare they come in here and pretend like it’s no big deal that the people I loved were dying around me?
“Warren wants Piper,” my father said, filling the silence. “He will stop at nothing to get her, and we will not hesitate to protect her. The situation is volatile, at best. You must do something—”
“Do not presume to tell us what we must do,” Silas interjected in that scratchy voice.
Dad was a relatively new vampire and obviously garnered no respect from these ancient beings.
“Why does The Count want you so badly?” Margaret wondered aloud. “You are not even very attractive.”
My eyes widened at her comments, which reeked of jealousy. Did she think I wanted Warren’s attentions? I just freaking told them the man killed my entire family!
“She smells,” Walter said, inhaling deeply as if to intensify the scent, “divine. Perhaps that is why he wants her.”
He wants me because Levi claimed me, and he can’t stand it. Also, I can break my own compulsion and can compel vampires, myself.
Oh shit. I really, really hoped mind-reading wasn’t a vampire power that one of these council members possessed. None of their expressions changed, so I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Will you help us?” I asked.
“We have seen no proof that Warren Thornberry has broken vampire law,” Samuel said.
Were they taking turns talking? So weird.
“We have, however, heard rumors that the child, Levi Kass, has been telling humans of our existence,” Walter added. “Perhaps it is he who needs to be reined in.
I opened my mouth to defend Levi, but a hand landing on my shoulder cut off whatever I was about to say. I looked over to see the dean’s fingers curling in to squeeze my shoulder in a way that told me to tread carefully.
“Levi admitted the truth only after Piper and her friend, True King, had figured it out on their own… which occurred after one of The Count’s vampires was seen attempting to drink from a human,” Dean Purty said.
“But he still confirmed the truth,” Silas said.
“Perhaps we should just compel them to forget and execute Mr. Kass,” Margaret said as if it were no big deal to offer murder and mind control as a solution.
“That won’t be necessary,” the dean said, his voice low and confident. “As you are well aware, the girls are both witches, and there are no laws that forbid a witch from knowing of our existence. Our kinds have known about each other for centuries.”
This was news to me. Happy news. If they tried to compel me and kill Levi, I was gonna go all Carrie on their asses. They might’ve been strong, but I had emotionally-charged witchy powers and a vampire blade strapped to my waist beneath my shirt.
Don’t screw with me, assholes.
Yes. Badass Piper was back!
Walter must have sensed the energy around me shift, because he cocked his head and stared at me with watery gray eyes. I met his gaze, refusing to flinch or look away.
I may not have been able to cast a decent spell, but I wasn’t powerless. I needed to remember who I was, and what happened to vampires that underestimated me and my friends.
“You are right, of course, Charles,” Silas said. “We do not have laws regarding revealing ourselves to witches. But we have yet to see any proof that this child is one.”
“Perhaps a demonstration is in order,” Margaret added.
“Yes, a demonstration,” Samuel agreed.
Well, shit.
My fear tried to spike back up, but, by force of will, I managed to tamp it back down. I was warned not to mention my compulsion abilities, and my spellcasting sucked.
I took a deep breath and blew it out. The council wasn’t here to grade the effectiveness of my abilities. I only needed to prove that I had them, not that they were any good.
“Send in the other one,” Walter called out.
Within seconds, True sauntered in as if she didn’t have a care in the world. She’d really embraced this whole witch thing, and I was kind of jealous of her obvious confidence. With a twirl of her finger and a few mumbled words, a stack of papers on the dean’s desk flew up into the air.
The pages swirled around us, flapping like butterfly wings before sliding back onto the desk. The papers landed in a neat stack, and I was in total awe.
Had True been practicing without me? Or had she been holding back, downplaying her ability so I wouldn’t feel so bad about my own lack thereof? I needed to talk to her about this later. She shouldn’t feel like she needed to hide her power from me.
She was awesome. She should’ve owned it.
Each member of the council nodded, satisfied with her performance. Giving them a little curtsy, she shot me an encouraging look before walking out. It was my turn. How was I supposed to follow that?
Crap. Okay, no. I had this. I made that boulder move earlier. It had to be easier to move papers.
“Exalta. Siʻi i luga. Sollevalo. Ei godi,” I mumbled under my breath, trying to force the power through both my useful hand and my casted one as I’d done before.
Nothing happened. Was I saying it right? Shit. Shit. Shit.
A creepy smile curved Margaret’s lips, making me shiver. That one wanted me dead. That was for sure.
For a second, I considered compelling them to think I’d performed some magically badass spell, but I quickly wrote off the thought. If it didn’t work, I’d be in even bigger trouble than I already was. So instead, I closed my eyes, forgot about what True had done, and concentrated.
I tried to see their auras, as I’d done with Xander at The Society, then again today on the cliff, but the light coming from these four was very dim. My dad glowed like a meteorite next to me, and the dean shined like a welcomed porch light on a dark night.
Focusing back on the council members, I let myself really feel the danger they represented. I let the fear wrap around me, shooting through my veins until my whole body felt like a live wire ready to throw off sparks.
Then I turned my attention to the papers on the desk behind them. I imagined them lifting from the surface and flying through the air, fluttering like birds in a whimsical display of fairytale magic. The chords of Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast played through my mind, and I almost swayed to the tune.
I was in the zone. It was time.
“Exalta. Siʻi i luga. Sollevalo. Ei godi!” I shouted, then opened my eyes to see the magical display.
The dean’s desk violently shook for a moment before rocketing toward the ceiling, where it exploded into a million tiny toothpicks. I blinked and found myself outside, tucked under my father’s arm. The dean and the council were there, too, all watching me with wide eyes as Dad set me on my feet. He’d zipped out here with me tucked under his arm like I weighed nothing.
“Did she just try to kill us?” Samuel asked, his voice dull and lifeless, as if he were talking about taxes instead of attempted murder. I quickly jumped in to defend myself.
“No! I… I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.” Other than making a desk explode, shooting hundreds of tiny wooden stakes at a room full of vampires. No biggie.
“Piper is still learning to control her powers,” the dean said. “You put a lot of pressure on her, and she tried too hard. We have a former witch here who is working with her and Miss King. And, as you can see, she is injured.” He gestured to my cast and bandaged neck.
“So, we can assume that she will be under control the next time we meet?” Walter asked.
“Of course,” the dean promised.
&
nbsp; Why did it feel like I was on trial here? What about the reason we called them? What about Warren?!
Before I could ask the questions aloud, the council took off, their bodies nothing but a blur as they disappeared through the forest without as much as a goodbye.
“So I guess we’re on our own,” I mumbled.
“Just the way I wanted it,” Dad responded, giving me a light smile. “We don’t need their so-called help.”
“It’s the way things are done, Scott,” Dean Purty said, defending his insistence that we call them.
“Yeah, and now they’ve got their eyes on my daughter, Charles,” Dad shot back.
“Don’t fight,” I said. “We have to stay united, or we won’t stand a chance at beating Warren.”
“She’s right.”
I whipped around at the sound of that voice, as unexpected as it was familiar. My eyes darted around, scanning the faces of the mountain and camp vampires that had crowded around us.
And there she was—perfectly-styled blonde hair, amber eyes, and proportioned body sheathed in a slim-fitting, black dress. My eyes widened, my mouth fell open, and I choked a little as I uttered her name in confusion.
“Dr. Whitley?”
Chapter Twelve
I shook my head, trying to clear it, but I wasn’t crazy. Dr. Whitley—my Dr. Whitley was here at Camp Shadow Lake.
But why?
“I don’t understand,” I stammered, glancing between her and my father, who seemed similarly confused. “Dr. Whitley, what are you doing here?”
She walked toward me, that same look of understanding and compassion that she always had in our counseling sessions on her seemingly timeless face. Her blonde hair was perfect as always, her makeup impeccable, and her wide amber eyes seemed to radiate calm, just as they had in our counseling sessions.
“Piper, I’m so sorry to turn up out of the blue. I’m sure this is all very confusing for you, but I have information I think might help your cause.”
I blinked, still trying to put the pieces together. “But… You…”
“I’m a vampire,” she said. To confirm it, she opened her mouth to show me her canine teeth elongating into fangs. When I froze, she closed her mouth, not reopening it until her teeth were normal again. “I would have told you sooner, but a lot has happened, and I didn’t want my presence to be another thing causing you distress after all you’d been through.”
I nodded even though my brain seemed to be malfunctioning. I’d just been up a freaking mountain, tested and found wanting by the vampire council, and now my therapist was a vampire?
“Veronica,” the dean said, skirting around me. “You’re here.”
“Yes, Charles. Sorry I’m late. I see I missed the council.”
He nodded. “They were… ahem, true to form.” He sounded like he wanted to say something else but was holding back. “They left, but I’m sure they’ll be back. They’re very interested in Piper.”
“They were assholes who should know better than to return,” my dad said, inserting himself. In his mountain man garb, he was quite intimidating. He gave Dr. Whitley an unwelcome look. “And you are?”
“I’m Veronica Whitley. I’m Piper’s counselor. She’s been seeing me ever since your unfortunate encounter.” Her eyes darted to my father’s neck before centering back on me. “I was assigned by the vampires here at the camp to keep an eye on Piper after the attack. Make sure she was dealing with it okay.”
“Wait, what?”
I realized her words meant that she hadn’t been some counselor my mom found off Google. She was saying she was planted by the camp to monitor and watch me like a vampire babysitter. All our counseling sessions, everything I’d told her, was all part of some ploy by the vampires to keep tabs on me. Make sure I was towing the line.
What the hell?
Dr. Whitley, as observant as ever, watched the realization play across my features and seemed to take note of it. “Piper, please don’t assume that, since I was picked by people at the camp to help you, our relationship wasn’t real. I am a counselor. I do have a license to practice therapy. I do care about you and your recovery. The trauma you experienced was very real and very painful, and I wanted to help you through it.”
“But you weren’t honest with me,” I said, a strange mix of emotions bubbling up in my gut. It felt like betrayal. “Lying by omission is still lying.”
She winced. “You’re not wrong, but I swear I always had your best interests at heart. My position just meant I had a better understanding of what you were going through.”
I stared at her, trying to read her expression, but she was an adept counselor who could probably conceal emotion as easily as blinking. Her words didn’t make me feel better. Instead, I just felt deceived.
“I need to clear my head,” I said, stepping away.
“Piper, I’m sorry,” she said to me as I turned to go. “If I could have told you without endangering your life, I would have.”
“Great excuse,” I mumbled, not just walking away, but starting to jog.
I ran away from the adults, angling toward the lake, but soon stopped when I saw that several dozen mountain vamps were doing hand-to-hand combat training with the camp vamps that remained. They fought in quick bursts, blurring and reappearing to put their opponents in choke holds or flip them into the air. It would have been amazing to watch their supernatural skill if I wasn’t so pissed and upset.
Turning, I headed toward the only other safe place I knew, the bunker.
Cutting through the woods to our hideout, I felt the unease stirring. What the hell did I even know for certain? Was everyone a vampire, and I just didn’t know it? And would they all eventually turn into assholes like those council members who didn’t seem to care one bit about human life?
Reflecting on those four ancient douchebags got my anger stirring. We’d gone to them for help, and they’d turned on us, suggesting I needed my mind wiped and that Levi needed to be destroyed. If I didn’t already have Warren to deal with, they’d be next on my shit list.
God, everyone was pissing me off today!
The one person who was not on my shit list appeared precisely on time. Levi skidded up, stopping a few feet ahead of me on the path.
“Hey,” I said, pushing hair out of my eyes.
“Hey,” he answered back, looking gorgeous and perfect in the dappled sunlight. “I heard it didn’t go well.”
I shook my head. “They are not going to help us. Not with those sticks shoved so far up their pruney, ancient asses.”
Levi barked out a laugh. “I’ve heard rumors about pruney assholes. Now, it’s confirmed that they are true.”
I had to snicker, but as their words washed back over me, my good humor dissipated. “They said that they should compel me to forget you.”
He took two steps forward and enveloped me in his arms. I sagged into him, taking comfort in his touch. It felt so good to be held. Levi was my rock. Thank God he was here.
“They can’t compel you anyway, remember? You’re a mental genius who can’t be controlled.”
I shrugged, my shoulders brushing against his arms. “They could just kill me.”
“You think I would let that happen?” There was a low growl in his voice as it rumbled in his chest. “I’d tear their pruney asses apart.”
I brushed my cheek against the soft fabric of his shirt. “They threatened to kill you, too.”
“Let them try,” he said, softly. “They won’t be the first. Or the last.”
“God, Levi, why does our life have to be a constant fight to the death every damn day? For once, I just want to sit on a hilltop with you and eat strawberries and make out until our lips fall off.”
He chuckled again. “I promise you I will make that happen, Piper Williams. Mark my words. Everything except for the lips falling off part.”
“Okay,” I mewled pathetically.
“But, while we have a few moments, can I show you something?”
&n
bsp; “What is it?” I asked, pulling back to stare into his eyes.
One corner of his mouth curled up coyly. “Follow me.”
He took my hand, leading me toward the bunker. Pulling back the giant steel door, he paused. “Can you close your eyes and try to forget all the awful stuff. Just for a moment?”
“I’ll try,” I said, blowing out a breath. With it, my tension seemed to ease just a notch. I focused on the feel of Levi’s hand on mine as he tugged me forward and into the bunker’s dark recesses. The cool trace of his fingers along my other arm was also a nice touch as he helped maneuver me inside.
The fresh breeze from the forest disappeared as we shuffled deeper into the concrete layer. The door creaked, then shut, and I heard the lock turn. I wondered if Levi fancied another make out, and, even though I was still kind of pissed off, it might help me blow off some steam. I’d never say no to wrapping myself around his rock hard body.
“Open your eyes.”
“Oh my God, Levi.”
The bunker had been completely transformed from what it had been only a couple of hours ago. When we’d first started using it as our private place, we’d done our best to make it feel homey with some lights and a few blankets, but we hadn’t really had much in the way of decorations. Now, the low ceilings were strung with thousands of twinkle lights that ran up and down in neat rows, making the whole place sparkle. The tiny cot had been replaced with a real bed, comforter, and matching throw pillows in muted blues and beiges. Cute lamps were strategically placed, as well as tapestries to hide the dull gray walls. The whole place looked as though it had been expertly decorated by the crew at HGTV.
I turned to Levi. “What is all this? And how did you set this up in the last hour?”
He smiled and squeezed my hand, looking pleased with himself. “I did it for you. We’ve been spending some time down here, and it didn’t feel special enough. Amelia helped me, making night runs into town when she wasn’t training. The planning of it helped us both take our minds off of things. She came with me just now to set everything up…after the council left, of course.” He let his gaze travel over the space. “It will work until all this is over, and I can take you to Paris.”