Mike grunted, “Fine.”
I knew by that response that he would have liked to take his chances with his wits and his gun, but that his pregnant wife was enough incentive to make him go along with it.
I finished my coffee and stood up, “Got a busy day off today. I’ll should have these back by the end of the day easy, earlier if possible.”
I rinsed the mug and slipped it in the dishwasher, and Jenna gave me a fierce hug before I left. One thing was certain of, even if I did feel a little guilty about putting them in possible danger, neither of them seemed to agree with that thought.
The kitchen back at the pack house was empty as I appeared in the corner. I smiled as I grabbed another coffee, and then went out to join my family for breakfast…
The jeweler looked a little nervous as he unlocked the door at ten to let us in. Things had snowballed and it had turned into a much larger group than just me and Aiya.
First, Sierra wanted to spend all day with me, since we both had off work. I’d no objections to that plan. Then Todd had objected to me buying an ankle bracelet for who he believed was his mate, Aiya may have not acknowledged it yet, but as far as Todd was concerned if Aiya had to wear a piece of jewelry the rest of her life, he was going to buy it.
Then Carrie and Selene chimed in, they might as well come along to save time so they could go straight to Tara’s place after and get it over with. I was suspicious of their proclaimed motive, I knew werewolves didn’t wear jewelry, it would break during a shift, but they were still women. I had a feeling this was all about window shopping for what they couldn’t have. Especially since it was relatively weak excuse, the travel time to pick them up here and get them to Tara’s shop was about ten seconds from the city, round trip.
Derik of course, couldn’t have his wife, and both his mystics go off without at least one protector, so Gerald and Katie volunteered to come along.
All in all, our two person shopping trip turned into the eight of us entering this poor man’s store like an invasion. Six of us were apex predators, and I was sure the man’s hind brain was trying to trigger his fight or flight response. He seemed to relax a little when we all looked away from him and started to browse the jewelry.
I left Aiya and Todd to pick out hers, and Sierra was glued to my side as we went to the diamond earring section. I had no idea how she walked so gracefully while being pasted to my side, but she managed.
The case was full of earrings, and of course the one karat diamond earrings caught my eyes right away, but those seemed a little big for everyday casual use. But what the hell did I know?
I asked the jeweler, “I’m looking for diamond earrings for my sixteen-year-old sister, and… a colleague,” yeah, I wasn’t strange at all, bringing my mate along to shop for jewelry for two other women. I couldn’t imagine what the man was thinking, “What would you recommend?”
The man asked, “What price range?”
I shrugged, “That matters less than the idea they’ll be wearing them all the time, I don’t want them to stand out as strange, or be mugged, at the same time I want something that looks good.”
That mugging concern was more a worry for Amy. God help the human mugger that went after a vampire, even a baby one.
The jeweler started to look nervous again, I guess my requirements and the herd of people was still freaking him out a little. I resisted the idea of relaxing him a little, using power in everyday dealings would be a slippery slope. I didn’t want to become someone who manipulated humans constantly to smooth the way. Of course, I wouldn’t be having this problem if six werewolves weren’t in the store with me. Still, I resisted, maybe I’d get a better price this way.
The jeweler cleared his throat, “I’d have to say a quarter, or half karat diamond studs would be appropriate.”
Sierra was no help at all.
The quarter karat diamonds looked… puny.
“Let’s go with a half on both pair.”
The jeweler asked, “What kind of clarity are you looking for?”
Clarity? Hell. I reached out and pulled all the information I could find on precious stones as it related to jewelry.
Things went a bit more smoothly after that, and I picked out a couple of pairs. We still had to wait a bit, since Aiya was taking her time choosing. I couldn’t blame her, she’d be stuck with the thing for a long time. I was also right about Carrie and Selene, it was obvious they’d only came along to do some window shopping…
Chapter 16
Saturday, June 11th, 2016, 10:53 AM
They say plans fall apart once contact with the enemy is made. Apparently that was even true for enchanting jewelry. We were just wrapping up and leaving when I got a text from Caroline.
Need to see you, ASAP. At your office.
So much for my day off, although I had a feeling this was more about running Chicago than it would be a case.
“Change of plans, need to stop by my office quick.”
Carrie replied, “It will take time to prepare the jewelry anyway, and the spells. We won’t need you until we have to cast it.”
We split up at that point, everyone but Sierra and I went to Tara’s store, while we started walking toward my office which wasn’t all that far. The streets were crowded so I didn’t even consider cheating and going the quick way. Especially the way the wolves fed me, I needed the exercise.
Sierra asked, “What do you suppose it is?”
I shrugged, “I don’t know, nothing out of control, just a bit urgent. I think you’ll like Caroline, she’s one of the good ones.”
Sierra snorted, “As long as she doesn’t try and seduce you, I don’t care.”
I grinned, everyone had their priorities.
“That won’t be a problem.”
She looked at me as if she wasn’t quite sure she believed me.
I asked a little hurt, “You don’t trust me?”
She frowned, “Of course I trust you. But your also an idiot when it comes to how woman feel about you. Or did you forget I waited for you to figure things out for nine months.”
Oh, right. I blushed.
“Umm, yeah,” I know, I was so damned smooth with the ladies, and by that I mean I wasn’t, “It really isn’t a problem. She’s still in love with her human husband, but despite that she isn’t bitter, and is making the best of it.”
She shook her head, “Are you sure? I’m surprised she wouldn’t go get him and make him a bloodsucker too.”
I nodded and ignored the name calling, “She might, in fifteen years. The vampire world is dangerous, and they have a very young son. She’ll stay away until he’s grown I think, to keep them safe. I don’t think they let baby vampires turn anyone either, so either way she has to wait.”
I felt a little guilty giving out personal details like that, but I wouldn’t keep things from Sierra.
When we got up to my office, Caroline had a coffee ready for me with an impish smile.
“Boss.”
I gratefully took the coffee, and asked, “What’s going on?”
Caroline rolled her eyes, “Ceara left last night, and two dumb bastards decided to take advantage and play cat burglar. They got caught, and risked exposure, and ruined lives. Anyway, since it’s the first time with you in charge, I thought a swift response would set the tone for the rest of us.
“Stealing is against the coven laws, since we provide everything needed and they can work for their own money on top of that. There is no such thing as a disabled vampire.
“The second thing was ruining lives, we’re supposed to be subtle with compulsion and leave behind no indications of absence of evidence. That’s the second strike.”
I wasn’t quite sure what to say, “Ruined lives?”
Caroline nodded, “They figured they could just mesmerize their way out of anything if they got caught. The alarm went off, and the security cameras caught some footage of their faces. When the cops got there, they ordered them to clean things up. Of course, the sec
urity company as well as the police department wanted to know why the first responders had deleted evidence, so they’re suspended without pay and will probably lose their jobs, if not do jail time for tampering with a crime scene.”
I sighed and reached out for the usual penalty of something like this, of course any exposure or risk of exposure came back as death. It was that moment when I realized I was more than judge and jury, I was also expected to be executioner. It made me feel a little sick at the thought. These idiots needed to pay for what they did, but did they earn death?
Caroline added, breaking me out of my thoughts, “By the way. Last night some of the guys who run the club were passing around photos of you two from their security cameras saying your banned and to keep an eye out. I fixed it, you’re no longer banned.”
She smiled a bit gleefully, “What took longer was to convince them they didn’t have to run for it and leave the city, once I told them who you were. That won’t happen again, the whole coven knows you by sight now.”
I shook my head, “I’m sorry I missed their faces.”
I reached for and found out everything I needed to know about the two idiots. Mark and Tim. When I discovered it was just a thoughtless prank, and that they hadn’t meant to get anyone in trouble, and things had just gone wrong I wasn’t sure what to do. Sure, thieving wasn’t a prank exactly, and they needed to understand that, but it also hardly deserved the death penalty.
Both of them were only about fifteen years old as vampires. I also realized this kind of stupidity was why not very many vampires lived to a century, and even less beyond that. Stupid vampires didn’t last very long. Still, I didn’t think I could kill them, but I worried at the problems that would cause if people thought I was soft. The beginning of an idea started to occur to me.
“So they’re being held at the coven house?”
Caroline nodded, and I wrapped the three of us in air to take us there. I hadn’t been there, but it was easy enough to pull the location from her mind.
To call it a house of course, was an understatement. They lived in a very large mansion on the northern edge Chicago, just out of the city proper. It was three stories with two wings and also had additions running out the back. My power told me there was more than a hundred fifty rooms, though it wasn’t full, there were just under fifty vampires in the city.
Luckily, at least for me, they didn’t use the basement to lock people away, they had a fortified room with no windows, and bars, to hold vampires when necessary.
Sierra held onto my arm as we followed Caroline in and toward the back of the house. It was almost amusing when the vampires looked at us, they always decided they had somewhere else to be and left in a hurry. I wasn’t expecting any issues really, but I had both Sierra and I shielded just in case.
The house itself was modern looking, as if just normal rich humans lived there. Nothing screamed vampire, and I suppose it was silly of me to think that there would be.
When we entered the room that was guarded by two vampires, Mark and Tim looked almost resigned to death. They didn’t even try a desperate escape attempt, or to attack. I actually felt a little disappointment, if they’d attacked me I could’ve justified killing them in my own mind.
“So, are you both too stupid to learn?” I asked as offensively as possible.
Mark froze and his fangs dropped, “What the hell?”
I shrugged carelessly, mostly because I knew there was a camera watching this, and about fifteen vampires wedged into the security room down the hall.
“You are both dead men from risking exposure. Even if I was to grant you clemency, you would owe your lives to Ceara for breaking other coven rules. So, before I even bother trying, would you like to live, or are you too stupid and arrogant to learn?”
Mark and Tim exchanged shocked looks, “We can learn, what would we have to do?” Tim asked.
I smiled without humor, Caroline looked a little worried, but Sierra just looked amused. She wasn’t surprised at all I hadn’t just killed them. Of course, to make this work I’d have to make the punishment make death seem like an almost pleasant alternative.
“You are both dead men. You have no rights, no need for things, nothing that Caroline or I don’t approve. Your lives are no longer yours. You will get jobs, and actually work, because dead men aren’t allowed to mesmerize others. The only exception to that is when you feed. When you get your grubby dead hands on a paycheck, you will donate half to a police charity, and the other half to the families you destroyed when the cops were arrested for your mistake.
“When you’re not working, you will be here, in this house. You won’t leave it, at all. You also have no need of personal time, so if Caroline, myself, or any of your coven brothers or sisters need help, you just volunteered.”
I leaned toward them and my voice dropped to a menacing whisper, “Let me be clear. If you run, you die. If you screw up, you die. If you break the rules, you die. Make no mistake, I will know. This is your life now, for a very long time to come.”
Caroline had moved from worry to shock, Sierra was trying not to laugh at me being so hard on them. I actually didn’t think it was that bad, it was the vampire version of house arrest, or at least my interpretation.
Mark and Tim looked shocked. Mark asked, “How long?”
“Let’s start with twenty years, I can review then, see if you’ve learned your lesson,” I said nonchalantly in a soft, and even friendly voice.
For a human that was impossibly long, for a vampire that learned to survive in this world, it was a drop in the bucket.
Tim nodded right away, like I was doing him a huge favor. Mark reluctantly nodded, and that was it. We left the room and walked out front.
Caroline still looked nervous, “Are you sure about this?”
I nodded thoughtfully.
“One of them will probably run, thinking they can get away from me, when they realize I made them bond servants for twenty years. Most likely while they’re out looking for a job. At that point, I’ll drag them back, call the coven, and execute him rather painfully while everyone watches. After that, no one will doubt me. I don’t give third chances, and I only give second chances to those that deserve it. Those boys are stupid, not evil, they just let their power go to their heads. If they can’t learn self-control now, I’ll have to kill them anyway.”
Caroline cleared her throat, but she was looking a bit more accepting. Hopefully Ceara wouldn’t have an issue with my verdict either, I’m sure someone would send her the video.
Caroline whispered, “You know, they’re listening to us right now right?”
I smiled, “Counting on it Caroline, I’m counting on it.”
I was a little conflicted about what I’d decided, and said, but I also knew it was the least I could get away with. Risking exposure was not a minor thing. If it came down to it, I would kill them. I’d put myself out there in an attempt to save their lives, if they threw it back in my face they deserved death.
It was time to go though, we had to get to Tara’s, get those enchantments done, and get the jewelry back to my friends and family as soon as possible…
Chapter 17
Saturday, June 11th, 2016, 12:11 PM
“It’s about time,” Katie teased when we walked into the back of the store.
Tara smirked, “We just got done preparing actually, good timing.”
Katie glared at Tara for ruining her fun.
Selene just sighed and shook her head, “Children, behave.”
Carrie grinned at her mentor, “What fun would that be?”
Aiya was having trouble keeping a straight face.
Gerald and I exchanged looks, clearly we were outnumbered by the estrogen, so neither of us commented. They were obviously having fun though, which was nice to see.
“What do I need to do?”
Tara pointed at the floor. There were two circles, between them were arcane designs I recognized from the spell book I made Tara from the warding
section.
“Sit there,” she handed me a pair of diamond earrings, “and hold those. We’ll have to do the spell six times. Actually five times, before we do Caroline’s we’ll have to make some changes to the circle as well as the words.”
That made sense, since Caroline’s would work more like the one Tara already made for herself, it wouldn’t automatically call me, it would require Caroline initiating the contact. I stepped over the lines of the circle carefully so I didn’t break any lines, or smudge one of the symbols. Tara moved to the north part of the diagram, Carrie the east, and Selene the west. I was surprised when Katie moved to the south.
Tara shrugged, “She can’t contribute magic, but symmetry is important for this spell and being a magical being means she can participate for that purpose alone.”
Aiya was staring at us all with interest, the one human in the room. I hoped she wasn’t too disappointed, wards were not flashy magic, only those that could wield magic would be able to even see what was happening.
First, Tara sealed the circle with a short chant. Aitheria was over on the other side of the room and didn’t look happy, she hated to be cut off from me. Yet, she trusted Tara as I did, and knew that if she was in the circle it would affect the spell. The binding of the circle was for exactly that after all, for keeping elementals and other non-corporeal entities out, as well as other magic.
Which is why I also dropped my shields once it was up.
They all started chanting in Latin, but I paid little attention to the words, focusing instead on the magic. I watched as water, fire, and air swirled in a pattern and came together in perfect harmony. It was rather beautiful, even though there were gaps in it. I knew those gaps were caused by the earth magic which I couldn’t see. It started to shrink, binding together tightly in a spell of warding. Then it sunk into the ring, and I could feel it make a connection to me, the magic would reach out if the ward was violated.
In this case, if the wearer were threatened with harm by a supernatural being. It didn’t take very long at all actually, just a couple of minutes. It actually took longer for Tara to take down the circle barrier, exchange jewelry, and raise the circle once again for the spell. We did it five times, and then I walked to the side while Carrie, Tara, and Selene started to make changes in the circle.
Sorcerer: Betrayal: Power of Air (Book 4) Page 9