by Kym Grosso
Samantha’s eye caught a spectacular oil painting which had been set in a sophisticated gold leaf frame. She studied the landscape, admiring the way the artist appeared to capture the sun’s rays.
“You like?” Luca came up behind her. Samantha jumped, but calmed under the touch of his fingers on her shoulders. “Paysage vers Canes-sur-Mer by Renoir. Lovely, isn’t it?”
“Stunning. I can’t believe you have all this stuff. No wonder you have such a serious security system. It’s like the Smithsonian in here.”
Luca chuckled. “All memories. Keepsakes. But I see nothing here as beautiful as you.” He released her shoulders to move over to the baby grand piano. He’d been accumulating all the art pieces for well over a century. Kade had suggested he needed a hobby, so he’d started collecting, piece by piece. “Some pieces are souvenirs. Others I just wanted for my collection. Kade said I needed to find something constructive to do with my time, immortal as I am, so I started antiquing. I live in New Orleans after all,” he joked.
“That you do,” Samantha said in amazement as she walked over to look at a marbled bust of a woman that sat on the hearth of the old fireplace. “She’s beautiful.” She touched the cheek of the marble and then quickly withdrew her hand, fearing she’d break something. “She must be a very important lady to command the attention of the room.”
Luca frowned. “She was…she was my fiancée, Eliza.”
Samantha’s stomach dropped. He’d been engaged. She had never thought that Luca might have been married. She silently admonished herself for being jealous of a dead woman. “Your fiancée? I’m sorry. I assume she’s passed.”
“Yes, it was a very long time ago. She was killed before I had the chance to marry her…before I was vampire. I had an Italian artist create this in her memory. Such a long time ago but the memories remain.” Looking out the windows to the gardens, he didn’t want to say any more about Eliza to Samantha. It didn’t seem the right time to tell her all the sordid details of how she met her demise. He felt he’d told Samantha enough of the truth for now. If and when they grew closer, he’d share the story with her.
Samantha resisted pressing him for details, realizing Luca didn’t want to talk about it. She knew what it was like to experience loss, and understood that there were times in life when you just needed to let things go. When he was ready to talk about it, he would tell her. She was about to tell him not to worry about telling her the details, when a tall gorgeous woman burst into the great room, looking pissed as hell. It took all of two seconds before Samantha realized the angry female was a vampire.
Glaring at Samantha, the woman bared her fangs and hissed. “You little bitch! I knew you survived Asgear, but I heard you’d left. What the fuck is she doing here, Luca?” she demanded to know. “No, don’t even tell me because I don’t care. I told you I’d get her back for what she did to me and now it’s game on.”
The livid female vampire raced across the room with preternatural speed, knocking the wind out of Samantha as she grabbed her around the throat and held her against the wall. Samantha’s eyes bulged as she watched Luca snatch the other vampire with one hand and throw her across the room. He growled as Samantha held up a hand to him indicating she was okay.
“Dominique!” he yelled. He strode across the room, where the woman shot daggers at him, looking like she was ready for round two. “Enough! It’s over. You will apologize now. And if you ever touch her again, I’ll stake you myself.”
The woman vampire acquiesced and quickly stood up, holding both her hands up in surrender. “Me? Apologize? Luca, how can you take her side? You know what she did! How could you?” she pleaded.
“She is mine,” Luca declared. “And you will not touch her. You will treat her with respect. She doesn’t even remember what happened to her. Samantha,” he glanced over to her and back. “This is Dominique. Unfortunately, when you were bespelled, you silvered her. And while she did suffer that night, she is no worse for wear as you can see. She most definitely does hold grudges but she will be respectful in your presence. Isn’t that correct, Dominique?”
“Goddamn you Luca. I can smell you all over her. Yes, I will try not to kill your plaything,” Dominique spat through her teeth with a sickening sweet smile that promised retribution. She hated having to follow Luca’s order but would do it for him. He was her superior.
“Now that we’re done with introductions, I believe you’d best get back to Kade’s to continue working. Dominique is the Director of Public Relations for Issacson Industries. We have a downtown office, but she spends a lot of time here if Kade is working from home. She also helps me with security when needed.” Luca came to stand next to Samantha and put his arm around her shoulder; he wanted it to be clear to Dominique that Samantha was his. “We’re going over to see Ilsbeth. I’ll contact you later if I need your assistance. Goodbye, Dominique.”
Dominique shot Samantha an icy scowl and nodded at Luca. “Goodbye, Luca. I hope you know what you’re getting into with this one,” she huffed. As Dominique walked out the door, she slammed it in defiance.
“Are you okay?” he asked, checking Samantha’s neck for injuries.
“I’m fine, just a bit shaken up is all.”
“Dominique can be a bit of a handful, but she’s very loyal. I promise that she won’t hurt you now that I’ve talked with her.”
“I sure as hell hope so. That was one pissed off vampire bitch.” Samantha rubbed her neck. “I don’t even remember her, but I certainly will now.”
“I’m really sorry about her. She’ll get over it, though. I meant what I said to her, and she knows it,” he assured Samantha.
“Thanks, Luca. I appreciate you saving me. She’s kinda scary,” she admitted.
Luca couldn’t resist pulling Samantha against his hard chest. He caressed her back and neck. Her shiny red hair now smelled of peaches, and he smiled, remembering how responsive she’d been the night before. She’d nearly killed him when she took him into her mouth. Growing aroused, he knew it wasn’t the time to start something he couldn’t finish. They needed to go soon and get some answers. He reluctantly released Samantha, putting some needed distance between them.
“Darlin’, as much as I’d like to play museum curator and show you all my fun toys, we’d better get going over to the coven. I’m barely holding onto control. If we don’t leave within the next five minutes, I might be tempted to have my way with you yet again,” he teased.
“And I might like that very much,” she countered. She blushed, thinking about how they’d made love the night before. She’d never met a man who could make her climax during intercourse, let alone make her feel as if she’d gone directly to heaven. It was as if he intimately knew every square inch of her body so well that he could send her into a blinding rapture with just his lips.
Luca could tell Samantha was silently reminiscing about how incredible last night had been for them both. The mind blowing sex wasn’t something he’d soon forget. He couldn’t remember ever having been with someone who was so vibrant and loving. Envisioning her beneath him, writhing in pleasure, he groaned, willing his erection to subside. He needed to think about something else besides making love to Samantha.
“So did you have any luck getting into the database?” he asked, grabbing his keys off of a hallway desk.
“Yeah, about that. I tried breaking into the coven database, while you were on the phone. It was pretty tight, so I have to take a more indirect approach. I sent both Rowan and Ilsbeth emails that have a hidden key stroking tracking worm attached. I’ll be alerted once they go online and then we can nab the password. It might take a little while but the method is tried and true.” Samantha was confident they’d have the passwords within the day. Ilsbeth might not go online that often, but she was sure that Rowan would do so, since she actively worked in the library.
“Smart and beautiful.” Luca hugged her and brushed a light kiss on her lips. “We’d better go now, before I decide to take you back down
stairs and ravish you senseless.” Luca wished he was joking but knew she was quickly becoming an irresistible vice.
Chapter Nine
Samantha and Luca sat in the parlor waiting on Ilsbeth. Feeling her hands tingle, Samantha wondered if maybe she was feeling her magic. The only other time she’d felt a similar feeling was at the cabin. In an effort to dull the sensation, she closed her eyes, breathed in a deep breath, held it for five seconds and then blew it out. She reasoned that she might know shit about magic but she was pretty good at meditation. Relaxation seeped through her veins as she repeated the exercise.
It was not that she hated the idea of the existence of a witch’s coven; she just hated what it personally represented. It was where she’d been sent to be cleansed of the dirt that had tainted her very soul. Whatever Asgear had done to her was beyond human reason, possibly demonic. She shuddered, wondering what could have happened if the evil had been allowed to grow within her. Would she have stolen? Murdered? Learned and utilized black magic for her own gain?
The thought of deliberately hurting someone made her sick; it all seemed unbelievable. Even after she’d left the coven to return to Pennsylvania, she’d felt normal, perfectly human. But she couldn’t deny the surge of electricity and power that she had called when pushed into a fit of rage. Seeing the cabin ablaze had given birth to an uncontrollable reaction.
“Luca. Samantha. So glad to see you safely made it back to New Orleans.” The lilt of Ilsbeth’s voice jilted Samantha back into reality. Ilsbeth sat in a chair across from Luca and Samantha, who sat side by side on the sofa. Noticing their closeness, Ilsbeth quietly smiled. “Samantha, you are welcome to move back into the coven and continue your training,” she offered.
“No thank you,” Samantha refused kindly. “I…I’m staying with Luca.” She looked to him for comfort and then returned her gaze to Ilsbeth. “We came because we need your help with a few things. The first is my magic. I did something in Pennsylvania that I think you should know about. The cabin I was staying at. Well, someone set it on fire. I was so angry and scared, and before I knew what was happening, something called to me within, like my skin was crawling. I felt out of control, like electricity was bolting through my body. I felt this need…to call rain. And it worked. It rained and put out the fire. I guess I just wanted you to know…” Samantha’s voice trailed off as she stared at Ilsbeth. God, I sound crazy. Although I’d take crazy over ‘witch’ right now.
Laughing out loud, Ilsbeth stood and began to pace the length of the room. “This is wonderful, Samantha! Don’t you see? Of course you don’t. How would you know?” She quickly returned to her seat and held Samantha’s hands. “It sounds as if you are an elemental witch, my dear. The elements: fire, water, earth and wind. They will come to you when needed and when called. You may not have good control right now, but with practice, you will be quite powerful someday. Please consider returning to the coven. It will be great fun to teach you.”
“Thank you for the offer, Ilsbeth. But right now, I need to stay with Luca. He’s keeping me safe. Nothing has happened since with my magic. I’ll let you know if something else does. I guess that I’m just…I’m just not ready for this. Maybe someday.” She sounded unsure, but after all, she didn’t seem to get a choice about when or how the magic came. She didn’t want Luca to send her back to Ilsbeth. “I promise to think it over, but right now we’ve got a more pressing problem. Whoever is after me wants something called a Hematilly Periapt. Do you have any idea what it is, or why someone would want it?” she asked.
Ilsbeth’s face hardened; her lips pressed together in a fine line. An icy sheet fell across her face. “Now listen here, I am not sure who told you about that, but the Hematilly Periapt is not to be trifled with. It’s a very powerful amulet, and it belongs in the care of a coven. No one currently knows its location and thankfully, it is probably lost or destroyed. Whoever is asking for it is nothing but trouble. Now, I suggest you forget about it.”
Samantha hesitated then pressed forward. “Ilsbeth, I’m sorry if this line of questioning bothers you. But someone could have killed us and they wanted that amulet. And for some ungodly reason, they think I have it. So please forgive us, but I have to ask about it. Could you tell us, you know, if you had to take a wild guess, who might have it or where you think we should start looking for it?”
“Samantha, maybe I am not making myself clear. There are certain things that are not up for discussion. You are welcome to train with us, to be accepted within the sisterhood. By doing so, there are many secrets that will become known to you. Until that time, I am sorry, there is nothing I can do to help you,” Ilsbeth replied coldly. She stood as if expecting them to leave. “Is there anything else I can help you with? I’m very busy.”
“Would it be all right if I went up to my old room? I think I may have left some notes there, and I really would like to collect them. I wanted to keep a journal of my transformation,” Samantha asked. It couldn’t hurt to look around to see if perhaps she’d left any clues during her time at the coven. Samantha barely remembered the first few days she’d spent there, but there was a small chance she’d left a note about the amulet. It was a long shot, but grasping at straws was about the only thing she could do, now that Ilsbeth had clammed up about the Hematilly Periapt.
“Please, feel free to search your room. However, I believe the sisters have cleaned the area of any belongings you may have left behind. I’m serious, Samantha. No more talk of the periapt. Sometimes just talking about something can affect our universe,” she warned.
Samantha nodded and hurried up the stairs.
Luca stood to walk Ilsbeth to the foyer. “Ilsbeth, I do have one more question, which may seem quite odd. Definitely off topic.”
“Yes, what is it, Luca?
“It’s rumored that it’s possible for witches to bear the child of a vampire. Is this true?” He knew Ilsbeth would put the puzzle pieces together and surmise what he was thinking. At the same time, he needed to know if it was possible for him to father a child.
Ilsbeth’s face softened, and she smiled slightly. She put her hand on Luca’s forearm. “Yes, it’s true, Luca. It is uncommon but has occurred a number of times over the centuries…very rare, though. I certainly would not plan a future based upon it. Witches bear children to humans and witches…sometimes shifters. It is the natural course of our kind. Luca, I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but please be cautious in how you proceed in your relationship with Samantha. I can see how she trusts you. I must counsel you to be honest with her before you decide to claim her. She’s getting stronger, but she’s still fragile,” she advised.
“She may have once been fragile, but she is not as delicate as you would think. In fact, she’s quite a bright and capable woman,” Luca acknowledged.
“Luca, today you are full of surprises. I never thought I’d see the day when you would come to care for a human woman, albeit a witch. Very interesting indeed,” Ilsbeth smiled slyly. “Take care, Luca. Please keep her safe.” Shaking her head in disbelief, she turned and walked behind the shimmering curtain that blocked the view of visitors from seeing further into the coven’s home.
Luca considered Ilsbeth’s insights. Yes, Samantha was emotionally delicate. But that was only because of the unwanted circumstances that had been thrust upon her; she’d suffered a loss of control. Luca reasoned that any human would have crumbled, given the same situation. Samantha could have chosen to give up, but instead, she’d fought with him to get her life back, to find out who was after her. Luca knew that Samantha was substantially stronger than he’d initially judged. She’d proven herself resilient and resourceful at each step of the journey; she was more determined than ever to find the Hematilly Periapt and get her life in order.
Upstairs, Samantha feverishly searched her guest room for evidence of an amulet or some kind of clue. When she’d spent time at the coven, she’d written herself little notes every day, hoping that one would spark her lost memory. She was ce
rtain that she had left a few in the room when she left for Pennsylvania. Yet, scouring the room, she could barely find a speck of dust in the cleaned out desk, let alone any of her memos. No wonder Ilsbeth had allowed her to search her room; everything she’d written had been thrown in the trash.
Samantha walked down the circular, cedar-lined hallway. As she approached the library, Rowan, the librarian, sat working at her desk, guarding the entrance. She sat in front of the ornately-carved wooden doors, working on her laptop, appearing not to notice Samantha. Rowan’s long, frizzy black hair cascaded over her petite figure. She was oddly attractive, dressing as if she was a college student, in a mini-skirt with a sharply pressed white oxford shirt. While she looked as if she was only in her twenties, Samantha knew that she was nearly fifty years old.
Casually approaching the witch, Samantha cleared her throat. “Hi Rowan, long time no see.”
“Ah you’re back, Sam. Are you moving back into your old room?” she inquired.
“Uh…no, well not yet. Right now, I’m staying with a friend,” Samantha responded. “I was just looking for my notes in my old room, but I guess they were thrown out. I really need to get going but I thought I’d stop by and say hi on the way out. I’m not sure when I’ll be back. Do you have my cell number? Maybe we could go out for coffee sometime,” she suggested.
“Yeah, sure.” Rowan cautiously eyed Samantha, wondering why she was roaming around the coven hallways unescorted. She made a mental note to discuss this incident with Ilsbeth. Samantha was nice, but she wasn’t a sister. They couldn’t afford that kind of security lapse. Rowan got up from her desk and stood protectively in front of the library doors, guarding its entrance.