"Okay." I turned away and walked to a camel-backed loveseat upholstered in a tight English floral chintz print. Sitting down, I crossed my legs, leaned forward on my thigh and flicked my eyes towards the other end of the room. I noticed that Henry was now standing off against one of the walls, but clearly on my side of the room. It appeared as if he was taking a defensive position behind me. That's strange.
Looking back at Max, I noticed that he had taken a seat in an antique wooden chair directly across from me.
"I see that you are more than you appear to be." Tilting his head to the side, he thought for a moment and then smiled a sexy, dark smile. "I like that." His left eyebrow lifted and his smile seemed to broaden.
I wished, for some strange reason, that I could see how Henry was reacting to the new conversation. Something told me his unexpected reactions would tell me so much more about this vampire-warlock than anything else. My body instinctively turned to allow me to see Henry from the corner of my eye. I tried to make it look casual as I laid my arm across the back of the loveseat.
"I can't even begin to tell you how much your reaction actually disturbs me." I leaned my head down so I could look at him underneath my eyelashes. "It disturbs me very much. What were you expecting to find?"
Max leaned back and began to tick points off on his hand. "A beautiful woman. A witch. An opportunity to have a child with that beautiful woman who just happened to be that witch." He waggled his eyebrows at me and I immediately realized just how young this guy possibly was. Is there something wrong with his face?
"HA!" I barked out. "You are sadly mistaken about a few points." I noticed as Henry straightened his suit jacket slightly and returned to his formal stoic demeanor.
Max eyed me and discontinued his facial twitching. He immediately stood up, strode across the sitting area and then took the remaining precious space that was left on the loveseat next to me.
"I must admit—I am a bit concerned about how my body reacts to yours. In all honesty, I felt that I was never going to find anyone that inspired such...a reaction within me." His eyes narrowed as if he considered me to be dangerous. Henry's face twitched in my peripheral vision. Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!
"Hmm, and what does that mean exactly?" I gave him a sweep from head to toe to make it clear that I was assessing him as a package, and not as an incredibly intimidating vampire-warlock. I had to take control of the situation, and turning him into my personal eye candy was my way of doing it. Unfortunately, he just smiled broadly at me with a twinkle in his eyes before he leaned forward.
Speaking in a breathy, sexy tone, he reached out slowly to brush my shoulder with his long fingers. "I do have to reconsider my past decisions concerning you." Taking a breath, and blowing a wide gust of air out towards the ceiling, he continued. "I believe that I may have been...mistaken." He allowed his eyes to settle on me again as what he was saying began to sink in. What decisions?
I thought about it quickly. If I was slow on the uptake, and took too long to put two and two together, it could be the end of me and my family. This man had made decisions that had impacted my past. I was sitting in the territory of Leo's family. This man was related to Leo. Demons were involved...
"You sent the shadow demons to kill me." My chin popped up slightly as I noticed Henry take half of a step forwards. This was possibly news to him. Really, for a guard, he was actually quite sensitive to my personal reactions, and he allowed his own to be noticeable. That led me to believe that Henry was not really a guard.
Good information to know.
Max pulled his hand away from my shoulder and shrugged like there was nothing personal meant by an attempt on my life. "I don't know what you are talking about. I don't control the shadow demons." He turned his head towards the doorway that Sophia and Leo had disappeared through before. There was a lot said in that one movement—Sophia was the one pulling the strings, at least according to him.
I followed his gaze to the doorway and then my eyes floated back to him, cutting straight through the crap that he was trying to hand me.
"Bullsquat," I said firmly.
Max looked back at me as if he were offended. Wonder how long it took him to muster that look up. All of a second I would suppose.
"No...I'm very sure it was you. Those demons were poised to kill me. I would suspect that Sophia would prefer for them to capture me alive, since she knew about the prophecy and you clearly didn't or didn't care." Turning my head to the side, I could see that Henry was a step closer to us now, listening intently to the conversation.
"You didn't want to be part of the whole conceiving a child plan—you had other things to do with your life than to chase a rugrat around. But your mother, oh, she has ambitions that include an heir even younger than you, and much more connected to her than you could ever be. In your eyes you saw the baby as a threat to your right to inherit the throne. You would eventually be the ruler of all of the shadow demons. You would prefer not to make the mistake of having any legitimate heirs—they would just get in the way." I shrugged as I listened to a dark voice rumble in the back of my mind 'Insert anger HERE.'
"I am not threatened." Max's voice rang out clear as a bell—no emotion at all.
"Of course you aren't." I snidely turned and eyed Henry. He was looking past me now, but he could tell that I knew he was paying very close attention. There was something distinctive about Henry. His hair was waving behind him slowly as his body tensed even more underneath my scrutiny. Very interesting. It seemed that it was really my day for being observant.
"But now you find that you are attracted to me. Hmm, what an ironic twist of fate." I turned back to Max, keeping my face clear of all emotion.
"And why would you say that?" Max's eyes began to burn with ire. If he were truly a demon, his eyes would be glowing a bright red right about now.
"Because you are attracted to me. And now, because of your actions, you will never be able to have me." I laughed bitterly in his face, panning my eyes around the room before returning them to him, eyeing his rigid frame. "You tried to have me killed, and I will never harbor any feelings for you but distrust and loathing." I smiled at him as angelically as I could—it always threw people off when I did it as I was riding the wave of anger. I was going to win this argument.
Just then Sophia and Leo entered the room. Leo was looking as jovial as ever, casual and comfortable while Sophia was clearly seething with anger. Her body was so rigid that it looked like a metal spike had been shoved down her spine. Her hair even seemed to be standing on end, giving her the appearance that she had experienced a physical shock. Her arrival was clearly a surprise to Maximillian because he shifted in his seat and stood, stiffly walking across the room to look out through one of the windows.
I noted that Maximillian was also experiencing no problems with the sun, and guessed that he had been able to lay a charm on himself that would have aided him with that particular ailment.
Turning my eyes back to Sophia and Leo, I noticed that there was an unspoken conversation going on between the two of them. Paying close attention, I felt that I got a good idea of what was being said.
She is soooo into him! I already hear the sound of little footsteps running through my scary halls! Triumphant grin from Sophia.
Truly? I think the chances of that are just as good as you becoming pregnant yourself, you old bat. Sneer from Leo.
I doubt that she will be able to resist him with the way that he looks right now. I'd bet just about anything. Gloating.
Taking a swift look at my expressionless face and then looking back towards Sophia, Leo grinned widely. I'll take that bet!
That's when Sophia's expression changed. She took a long look at Max standing at the window, and then laid her eyes on me, scanning me up and down. Finally her eyes set on Henry standing behind me—just a little closer than he should have been. Sophia's expression was priceless—she had no way of knowing exactly what had taken place to drive a wedge between her and the hope
s for a demon heir, and I was definitely not offering to be the one to clue her in.
Leo swaggered happily over to me, bending down to offer me his hand.
"As much a gentleman as ever." I smiled generously up at him as I placed my shaking hand into his burning firm grasp, allowing him to pull me up to my full height next to him. The eye contact that he shared with me was a direct gaze as he squeezed my hand gently, reminding me instantly of where we really were, as well as the fact that we still had to get the heck out of dodge.
"I don't remember giving you permission to leave." Max's voice quivered from the window—anger clearly apparent in his voice.
This is what I had expected to have happen, but he was not the person that I expected it to happen with. My eyes cut to Leo as he eyed the back of the young warlock-vampire. Nothing seemed to faze Leo—he was as cool as ever. The only thing that gave away that he might sense or feel any danger was in his words.
"You are not a demon, my boy. You have no control over this domain. You are just a placeholder until your adopted mother is given a true heir." Leo was cruel and swift with his words.
"NO!" Max turned on his spot in one quick flash of fury. "I command the shadow demons—me! I am the one that they answer to. Who do you think conceived of them? I was the one strong enough to create them with a little of Sophia's blood. I am their true master and they answer to ME!" He shook with rage where he stood, his black clothing quivering in the sun—annihilating every ray of daylight that dared to touch him. His image wavered and flickered. He was doing something with his magic but I wasn't quite sure what. My eyes narrowed as I watched him closely to try to understand the spell that he may have been weaving.
Suddenly I felt Henry's thin but long hand on my forearm. "You must leave—now." His voice was absolutely cool and collected. He was still what he appeared to be—a servant as he turned his head towards Sophia and she nodded at him quietly.
Sophia's face was frozen on the warlock-vampire by the window as he seethed with rage. "It would be best if you would calm down, my dear Max. Why don't we sit down and have some tea?" She reached out for him but they weren't the hands of a mother that reached out towards him—they were the wickedly sharp talons of a demon. Her claws were much more intimidating than even Camela's, and that was saying a lot.
Leo was instantly pulling my hand in tighter to his arm, offering me protection by turning me so that he was standing directly between Max and me. My eyes cut up to his and I could read the urgency in his eyes.
"Shall we?" He tilted his head towards a portal that was now standing beside us, clearly produced by Henry.
Nodding, I walked towards the portal as I listened to Max's voice drift from the window.
"Don't think this changes anything, Celeste Ravenwood—I will find you. Before, it would have been an easy death...but now..." His wicked tone sent shivers down my spine. "Now I have a lot to think about."
"Go." Sophia's voice snapped at our backs as we walked through the oval portal cutting an entrance to a beach scene beyond.
When we were all finally back on the beach, I stepped closer to Leo as he pulled me in with his strong arms. He was holding me tenderly, but I couldn't feel it—my mind and body were numb from the overload of information that had just been poured out onto me.
I scanned the beach to register that we were back at Cannon Beach, the sight of our previous departure. Turning towards Henry, I noticed his lips twitching as if he were attempting to suppress a smile.
"You aren't going to make this easy for me, are you?" My voice gave away just how tired I was.
"No." He grinned at me and leaned forward slightly, looked in Leo's general direction and then turned back towards the portal, pausing before he stepped inside. "I would watch my back if I were you. That warlock is trouble."
"He's also a vampire." I reminded him.
"He's more warlock than vampire. Trust me—he's more trouble than Sophia times ten...she just won't see it. I'm not sure that she ever will." He bowed his head slightly in my direction. "We will see each other again." He flicked his head towards the ocean like we were going to meet somewhere on the other side.
My eyes followed his. Can he see the future?
Turning my head back towards Henry, I saw that he was finally gone.
"What a freaking day I've had."
I shook from head to toe—probably in shock as Leo pulled me in closer to him. Clearly he was enjoying the extra opportunities to feel me close. His inferno temperatures were helping to cut the chill from my bones—I didn't fight his arms.
17
Solomon
This was like my wildest nightmare coming to life. It was unnerving as I stood there helplessly while Celeste walked through the hull of the plane and out onto the wing. I practically tore the door down myself, but the pressure from the wind and air speeds, as well as Jack and Von, were enough to make me go insane. There was no way to reach her, no way to help her—she was utterly on her own.
How I would survive the loss of her in my life was beyond me. I felt as helpless as a child, watching through the window as she decapitated the shadow demon only to be accosted by an albino in white.
The man was clearly a warlock—his whole demeanor screamed it, as well as his attire. I would have guessed that the attire alone would have meant that he was Scandinavian and he probably had many years behind his belt, judging from the way he stood unaffected by the wind and low oxygen levels. This man was dangerous in so many different ways that I growled unconsciously next to the door.
I glared at the warlock through the window of the hatch as I watched him grabbing Celeste by the arm, moving to drag her towards the portal that he had appeared from. Celeste's body was tense, anger was obviously on her side and that gave me a sense of relief. She was furious, which meant she could protect herself. Usually, when Celeste was attacked, her best moments of power and defense were contributed to by her anger. Basically, if she was angry she would live.
But if Celeste was frightened...well, that was when I would step in and destroy and conquer. She was my whole reason for being—my reason to live. Without her, my life would collapse. Just thinking about it gave me a swift kick in my gut. She is going to be okay, you idiot. Snap out of it.
My body quivered with unrelenting energy. I wanted to shift and pop out on the wing, but there was no way that I could stay there and fight without being torn away by the wind. I didn't have the powers that these two clearly had, and there was no way that I could help in this situation. "Dammit!"
Just then I saw the plane's hull begin to glow with a distinctive shape. Celeste was walking through the wall again, and it appeared as if she was in a trance. I attempted to push her backward but she simply passed straight through me.
"Celeste!" I screamed as I ran back in front of her, pushing myself against the far cabin wall as she came towards me, not seeing a thing. I held my hands out in front of me as if I was going to stop her, even though I knew that it was impossible. If I didn't stop her, she was going to walk out onto the other wing—vulnerable again to an attack by the albino.
"CELESTE!"
Celeste stopped suddenly, her eyes clearing and finally taking stock of the situation. She eyed me as if I had just appeared, and then she eyed the rest of the group in the cabin, slowly, cautiously.
I heard Von's shaky voice from the back of the cabin, stating what we all were thinking in disbelief. "I had no idea that you could do that."
Celeste walked back to the hull's wall that she had just passed through, looking intently through the window as a sharp shiver passed through her. I walked over to her and slowly pulled her away, attempting to steer her towards the seat she had vacated earlier.
"What the hell happened, Celeste?" Von's voice was demanding and I wanted to slap him across his shocked expression just to get him to shut the hell up.
I didn't pay attention to anyone else as I looked down at her. "You almost stopped my heart, you know. That's pretty difficult to do,
considering I'm already dead." I shook my head as I dragged her into my arms—her stiff body resisted being moved at all. "But you are safe." I smiled down at her and I could tell that she felt my relief.
The short of it was that she was in shock and sick to her stomach. She couldn't believe what had happened, so she was in good company. I watched her closely as Jack doted on her with ginger ale and she closed her eyes, trying to wash away some of the discomfort that she was feeling.
She's safe. My heart swelled as I thought about how incredible she was out on the wing of the airplane. She had been able to fend off a shadow demon as well as a warlock—she was absolutely amazing, and I had no idea where any of this was going to stop. I struggled to clear my head as I began to pace from one side of the cabin to the other, keeping my eyes on the wings of the plane to ensure that we weren't under attack again. It was impossible not to notice the damage that had been done to the wing, but I was well aware that only magic was holding us aloft, and we were in good hands.
Cora ducked into the cabin a couple of times, asking questions about the encounter and seeming a little befuddled by the details of how Celeste had walked through the plane fuselage as well as through the warlock. She didn't seem impressed, though—she was too upset to think of anything else except her mother's safety.
I nodded as she gave instructions to keep Celeste quiet and comfortable. Humoring her seemed like the best choice when it came to her mother. There was no group of men that could have taken better care of her, but sometimes it felt like a room full of capable supernatural men was just never enough to take care of one Celeste Ravenwood.
I returned to my pacing after Cora retired to the cockpit. Who could possibly be behind these shadow demons? Who is pulling their strings and what is waiting for us on the ground when we finally get to Durango? My eyes flicked back to Celeste, noticing that her body was slowly becoming limp as she was using her relaxation techniques. Good. She needed rest.
I turned back to the hatch and looked out at the wing again. That was so odd. Two were sent—a shadow demon and a warlock. Why? Could the warlock have been working on his own? Could he have been after Celeste for his own interests?
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