by Wendi Wilson
“Coco?”
Her eyes flicked up to me for a second before slamming the wood stake down as hard as she could.
The aim was true and the weapon sharp. She drove the stake deep into Jackson’s back before yanking it savagely up and stabbing him again.
Before my eyes, Jackson’s body began to decay.
She’d done it. She’d killed him.
But there was no time to process that information because an all-out witch battle was happening a few feet away. Red and blue light flew like fireworks on the Fourth of July. Spells sizzled and burned the grass as Imogen and Zelda took turns volleying them back and forth.
“It’s over!” Zelda shouted, sending a ball of throbbing red light at her sister. “Give it up, Imogen.”
“Never!” the witch said, swiping that spell away before shooting one of her own.
It hit Zelda, freezing her in place. Imogen grinned, a look of victory playing on her face as she circled in for the kill.
No. This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t at all what I saw in my vision! I started forward.
There was a loud crack as something collided with Imogen’s outstretched arm. The witch gave a strangled cry, turning in time to see the figure who’d attacked her pull the baseball bat back and swing again.
“True,” I whispered, watching in awe as she swung wide, breaking Imogen’s other arm in the process.
The witch fell to her side on the ground, groaning in pain. We circled close, watching her carefully as she moaned and rocked.
Zelda, free from Imogen’s spell, broke through the crowd, circling close to her sister. “How could ya do this, Imogen?” Zelda asked, shaking her head slightly as her eyes pooled with tears. “How could ya work with him?”
“Och, Zelda, ya know why,” the woman said. “Nothing be more important to me, ya know that.”
Talk about déjà vu. This was my vision. Word for word.
I sniffed the air, catching a familiar scent. Blood. My body began to tremble with need, my knees bending of their own volition as if I were preparing to strike. Liquid pooled in my mouth, and I…
I fought the urge to pounce on Imogen. I didn’t need her blood. There were bigger fish to fry.
Levi stepped toward me, touching my arm tenderly. “Are you—”
“I’m okay. We need to stop Warren.”
We turned to find the spot where The Count had been only moments before empty. He’d run. Of course he had.
“This way,” Levi said, nodding toward a copse of dark trees.
We took off running side by side. In minutes, we came upon three figures lumbering away. When they heard us approaching, they stopped and turned. Warren and two of his remaining minions regarded us.
“Save your Count!” he said, waving them at us.
The two vampires were ugly as sin—dark eyes, long dripping fangs, and pale skin. They lurched forward, ready to attack.
While Levi took the one on the left, I took the one on the right. It took me mere seconds to find his thread and sever it. The vampire fell to the pine needle carpet as a sickening crack sounded from beside me. Levi’s attacker fell to the side, neck broken, lying as immobile as mine.
Giving each other a nod, we advanced on Warren.
“Stop! Wait! Listen. I can give you two anything. Money? You want money? I have more than anyone knows what to do with. Power? I can put you in touch with five of the six most powerful leaders in the world? Fame? What do you want? I’ll give it to you.” His words ran together as he backed up, hands out as if he could defend himself against us, but I knew he couldn’t. Sure, he could spar and dodge in practice, but I’d become so much stronger than I was before. And Warren’s aura had always blazed as bright as the light of day to me. I knew I could find it in seconds and end this.
End him.
“Warren Thornberry, you have orchestrated civil unrest, violence, and crimes against humanity,” I said narrowing my gaze. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
His eyes shot to me and locked on. “Piper, you know I care about you. Come away with me. I can give you everything you’ve dreamed of and more.”
I laughed humorlessly. “What I dreamed of was him,” I said, glancing at Levi, “and you tried to take him from me.”
“No, I—”
“You tried to take my father, my mother, Coco. Everyone I loved, you have sought to destroy.” My voice rose with anger. “You tried to take everything from me!”
Warren retreated until his back hit a tree. He gripped it, staring at me. “Piper, please.”
“I’d like to hear you beg,” I said, my rage crescendoing. My anger roiled inside me, setting me on fire. I lifted my hands, ready to strike.
“Piper.” Levi’s voice cut through my rage as his hand touched my arm. “Don’t let him change you.”
I blinked, realizing that the rage had taken control. If I killed Warren in this way, wasn’t I taking my first step toward becoming a monster? Toward being as bad as he was?
“Warren Thornberry, you’ll face a trial of your peers. Until then, we don’t need to hear from you anymore. Frossen, rhewi, rigor mortis, congelé.”
Warren went rod straight as my spell froze every muscle in his body.
“There. Now he can’t hurt anyone.”
Levi stepped beside me, putting one hand on my shoulder. “You did the right thing.”
“Did I? The right thing feels wrong. The vampire in me wants to kill him. Make him pay.”
“He will pay. And that’s what is so great about you, Piper,” he said, smoothing down my hair. “You’ve got all the ferocity of a vampire, but all the wisdom of a witch.”
“Hmm, then why don’t I feel better?” I asked, leaning into him, sinking into his embrace. “Is all of this really over?”
“I think so,” he said, pulling me into his arms and holding me there. “I think, for once and for all, it really is.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Welcome to The Society. Please come in. Would you like a drink? We have a fresh sang de vache that’s to die for.”
I bit my lip to stop the laughter for trickling out as my father welcomed the council members into the estate. My family, friends, and the mountain vampires had taken up residence in the days following the battle with Warren and his minions, taking our places in the Shadow Lake Vampire Society now that they were all imprisoned…or dead.
Calling cow’s blood by its French translation was my dad’s way of thumbing his nose at the snooty council members while keeping up the pretense that we had no idea they were in league with Warren and his illicit band of human-drinking vampires.
“No, thank you,” Margaret, the council’s sole female member, said, wrinkling her nose slightly as she brushed her white-blonde curls back from her face.
Apparently, she speaks French.
Silas, Walter, and Samuel shook their heads, also refusing Dad’s offer as they made their way into the parlor. Mom, Levi, Coco, Desmond, Sasha, and Zelda waited inside, ready to show their support as Dad and I stated our case to the council. The wood paneled room seemed smaller with everyone crowded inside. No one used the small settee or chairs, opting to remain standing.
We were all poised and ready, should this conversation turn sour and fight or flee became our only two options.
True was somewhere upstairs, much to her chagrin. Despite her arguments about her awesome witch powers, I’d convinced her it just wasn’t safe for her in this meeting—the scent of her blood would be too distracting, and we needed the council’s full attention.
“We heard about the skirmish at the camp,” Silas said, making it sound like a fistfight over a small disagreement. His voice was as scratchy as before, belying his youthful appearance.
I opened my mouth to set him straight, but Levi’s hand slipping into mine cut me off. His long fingers squeezed tightly, giving me a silent warning to let it go. I gave him a slight nod and swallowed the angry words that wanted to burst out of me.
&n
bsp; It was a war, not a skirmish, asshole.
The loss was devastating on both sides.
Dean Purty is dead. Rose is dead. So many more are dead.
“We’ve called you here to review the list of charges against Warren Thornberry and make a ruling to determine his fate,” Dad said.
“Warren is still among us?” Samuel asked in that high-pitched voice I remembered from before. He seemed shocked. Like he just assumed we’d killed Warren.
And maybe if we were like them, we would have.
“He is,” Dad said.
“How are you containing him?” Walter asked, smoothing the edges of his mustache.
They were doing that weird thing where they took turns speaking again. It made them seem creepier than they already were, and I had to work hard to suppress my shiver.
“I have incapacitated him with a spell,” Zelda said, her eyes flicking to meet mine before refocusing on Walter.
She was shielding me. No one contradicted her statement, letting me know everyone else agreed with her decision. No one wanted the council to understand just how powerful I was.
“Very good,” Silas said. “Take us to him.”
Dad led the way to Warren’s bedroom, followed by the council. The rest of us trailed behind, with Mom slipping her hand into mine. With her on one side and Levi on the other, I was completely surrounded by love and protection.
We crowded into the bedroom, and every eye landed on Warren’s prone body where it lay, almost lifeless, on the bed. A few beats of silence reigned before Margaret spoke.
“Release him so he may speak for himself,” she ordered without taking her eyes off Warren.
Zelda chanted the counter spell to break the one I’d frozen Warren with, and he sat up with a growl. He leapt from the bed in a blur of motion, but Silas zipped forward to grasp his shoulders. Catching Warren’s gaze, he mumbled a few words. Warren’s body seemed to deflate, and he stayed where he was when Silas stepped back.
“I’ve compelled him to remain still and tell nothing but the truth,” Silas said.
“State your charges against Count Thornberry,” Walter ordered.
“Warren Thornberry has committed multiple crimes against vampires and humans, alike,” my father said. “He has been drinking from humans and encouraging his followers to do the same. He had one of his men take my human life and blamed it on the mountain vampires. His ally, Jackson Carter, transformed Coco Morales to use her against my daughter, then killed my wife, who I transformed in order to save her. He utilized the powers of the witch Imogen to attack us in an effort to kidnap my daughter, which resulted in the deaths of several vampires, including Charles Purty and several camp counselors. He also sent the ancient Astrid into a crowded club, where she revealed herself to dozens of humans.”
“Where is Astrid now?” Samuel asked.
“She was given her final death after she slit Piper’s throat,” Levi answered, his voice deep with emotion at the memory. I tightened my grip on his hand.
“How do you plead to these charges?” Margaret asked Warren.
“I am guilty as charged,” Warren said in a monotone voice.
“While his actions may be looked down on, none of them actually break vampire law,” Silas said. “Warren did not reveal himself to humans. And while we are attempting to curb our appetites and refrain from drinking human blood, doing so is not illegal.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Levi applied pressure on my hand to stop me. We’d discussed this before they’d arrived—I was supposed to remain silent and not draw the council’s attention. If they discovered the powers I have… I didn’t want to find out what they’d do to me.
“Fraternizing with Imogen and using her power against fellow vampires is a punishable offense,” Desmond said. “The Russian council proclaimed it so one hundred years ago when she aided in a revolution against them.”
By the sour looks on the face of the council members, I could tell they already knew this and hoped none of us did. Warren was in league with them, after all. We knew this going in, but decided to call them anyway. We were trying to follow the rules. In other words, covering our asses.
If they decided to let him go on some technicality, we had a backup plan. Mountain vamps surrounded the estate and would catch him the moment he tried to run from this place. There would be no escaping his punishment this time.
Warren Thornberry would die his final death… and it would happen today.
“You are correct,” Samuel said.
“Count Thornberry, you have broken vampire law. Do you have anything to say in your defense?”
“I was only following your ord—”
His words cut off quickly as Silas murmured something under his breath. My eyes widened at Warren’s admission, but I held my tongue.
We’d just ended one war. I did not want to start another. Not today.
“For the crime of fraternizing with the witch Imogen, you are sentenced to your final death,” Walter said, his voice deep and commanding.
Margaret pulled a dagger from her boot, its blade strongly resembling the one Levi had given me. I blinked, and she was in front of Warren, jabbing the blade into his chest. A small groan vibrated from him just before he burst into a cloud of black ash.
And just like that, Warren was gone. Forever.
And we were free to start the rest of our afterlives.
Epilogue
Two Months Later
“Are you all packed?”
“I think so,” I said, zipping up my suitcase and turning to face Coco and True, who stood in my bedroom doorway.
They rushed forward, pulling me into a three-way embrace. I hugged them back, hanging on long after I should have let them go. God, I was going to miss them.
Our entire group had moved into the estate and had worked tirelessly to fill The Society with vampires who were committed to feeding on animals and protecting humans. Dad had been voted in as our new leader, and he’d fallen into the role effortlessly.
The vampires trusted him, and he did everything he could to deserve that trust.
His first edict had been to shut down Camp Shadow Lake. Despite Dean Purty’s best efforts, the camp had remained open only to supply the old Society vampires with human blood, and we knew shutting it down was the best choice. Having kids with no familial ties in such close proximity would prove too tempting to vampires, especially the ones who’d recently dedicated themselves to only feeding from animals.
Thinking of Dean Purty, my face fell into a frown.
“What’s wrong?” True asked, her hand landing on my shoulder. “You should be over the moon right now.”
I shook my head. “Nothing. I was just thinking about the dean.”
“We all miss him,” she said, her own smile fading.
“I didn’t know him well,” Coco added, “but he seemed like a good guy.”
“He was,” I said.
“It was a beautiful service,” True said.
It had been, with every vampire—plus True—telling stories of the dean’s stand-up character and selfless actions. We’d also had a much more subdued funeral for Rose and all of the other vampires killed during the war. It had been a somber few days.
“Anyway,” I said, shaking off my melancholy, “you’re right. I should be excited, and I am. This trip is going to be amazing.”
“Not to mention, romantic,” Coco added, swooning a little.
“And filled with hot sex,” True said, her eyebrows bobbing up and down suggestively.
I laughed. “I can’t argue with that.”
Levi and I were flying to Paris on an early morning flight, so I’d spent the last hour packing everything I thought I needed for the two-week vacation. He’d made me a promise that night in the bunker—crepes in bed as we stared at the Eiffel Tower from our hotel room window. After everything that had happened, I’d forgotten all about it. But Levi hadn’t. He’d surprised me with the tickets a few days ago.
; “Oh,” True said, pulling me from the memory. “I finally got through to my uncle. He didn’t seem the least bit upset when I told him I wouldn’t be coming home.”
She ended the announcement with a shrug. There was no love lost between True and her abusive, alcoholic uncle, and she had no other family to return to. We were her family now—me, Levi, Coco, Mom, Dad, and the others. We were the ones that mattered to her.
And I couldn’t forget a certain hot Buddhist vampire.
“How’d Desmond take the news?” I asked, grinning.
“He’s ecstatic, of course,” she said, waving a hand like it was no big deal. “Who wouldn’t be?”
I chuckled, shaking my head at her. She and Desmond had grown closer with every week that passed. He treated her like the queen she was, and she practically worshipped him in return. They were so cute together, and I couldn’t be happier for my friend.
“And now that I’ve tied up that loose end, I’ve asked Desmond to turn me.”
“What?” Coco and I yelled simultaneously, making True flinch.
“Everyone I love is a vampire. I’m the only human here, and I don’t want to grow old and wrinkly while you all stay young and beautiful, forever. Besides, if things keep progressing the way they have been, Desmond is going to make me his Inamorata. And I can’t wait.”
So they haven’t had sex. Yet.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” I asked. I wasn’t about to argue with her. First of all, I could hardly condemn her for wanting it because I’d wanted the same thing. Second, there was no arguing with True when she set her mind to something. That was one of the reasons I loved her.
“I’m sure,” she said. “He’s fighting me, a little, but I can tell he wants it, too.”
Silence fell between us, broken when Coco spoke up. “I have some news in the romance department.”
“Really?” I asked. “Tell me. Tell me.”
I couldn’t curb my excitement. I’d honestly felt bad, being so happy and in love with Levi while everything in Coco’s life had been ripped apart by Jackson and Warren. Her large circle of friends was gone. Her social media following thought she was dead, along with her family, so she couldn’t even post her beautiful pictures and videos. I was the only scrap of her previous life that remained, and I was taking off for two weeks in France.