by Amber Flora
“I've tried to get a connection to her. I can usually foresee things that will happen a few days out. I also have a tether to Bethany — we are twins. Wizard twins have a link to each other. We can feel when the other is upset or injured; we’re drawn to one another, like a magnetic pull whenever one of us is in danger.”
The more they heard, the more confused Ben became. What in the hell was going on?
“So you haven’t been able to locate her? Did you feel her in danger when she disappeared?”
The man shook his head no. He stared at his hands as if he thought them to be defective.
“I felt nothing, not even a shiver. It was days before I even realized she was missing. We meet once a week for dinner. When she didn’t show, I went to her house looking for her. Bethany’s neighbors said they hadn’t seen her in three moons. I must have tried over a dozen times to connect with her, but I couldn’t get through.”
Cody knew the next question was going be upsetting but he had to ask.
“Jeremiah, are you and your sister full-blooded wizards?”
The man leaned forward with an agitated look on his face.
“Are you implying that we are impures?”
“It’s just a question. We're trying to connect the dots between her disappearance and others’ we have encountered recently.”
Jeremiah relaxed a little, but Cody could tell he was still offended by the question.
“I can assure you that both of our parents are wizards, but … ”
“But what?” Ben asked, impatiently.
“Well, there were rumors. I never really thought much of it. After all there was never any proof and it wasn’t exactly something we talked about around the dinner table.”
“Anything you can tell us would be helpful, even if you think it might be irrelevant.”
Cody didn’t want to show it, but Ben wasn’t the only one getting impatient.
“My mother had said a couple times that our great-grandfather was a vampire, but, like I said, we never believed it.”
Cody and Ben gathered as much information as they could before heading back to dream realm. They were completely befuddled. It seemed as though someone was targeting impures. Granted, Bethany might have been a third-generation half-blood, but it was highly possible that she still had vampire blood running through her veins.
They had to talk to Gloria. If she could find anything connecting the missing dreamwalkers to other races then it would solve the question of what all the women had in common. Once they figured that out, they then had the nearly impossible task of determining who took them and why. Cody was also in a hurry to get back and check on Ashtyn. If someone was really going after impures, then Ashtyn might be next, and he would be damned if he would let anyone get his or her hands on her.
Ben was ready to get back to Gloria. For the first time in his life, his job wasn’t the most important thing in his life. He never saw it coming. Ben had known Gloria nearly his entire life, but he never truly saw her. He spent so much time chasing a woman who could never return his feelings and then another few decades nursing his wounds from her rejection. Then, out of blue, as if a light had switched on, he finally noticed the fiery redhead and all she had to offer. Gloria opened his heart in a way Deandra never had. She saw him, flaws and all, and still accepted him. Ben was head over heels for her. He loved her beautiful mind and gentle soul; he adored the way her lips moved as she silently read a book. Most of all, he loved her strength. No matter what life threw at her, she remained herself — loyal, kind and prepared to take on the world.
The moment they returned to dream realm he was happy but surprised to see Gloria running up to him in the sanctuary.
“Thank the heavens you have returned. We are in serious trouble here.”
Ben and Cody looked at one another. What could possibly have gone wrong now?
“Breathe, sweetheart. Tell us what happened.”
Gloria huffed and Ben could see tears forming in her eyes.
“Where would you like me to start? The part where Ashtyn, Mac and Herrick are in shadow realm hunting down the world's first vampire? Or that no one can find Katrina.”
Cody’s face grew hard as he grabbed Gloria’s shoulders.
“What do you mean? You’re saying Kat’s missing?”
Gloria nodded, trying her best to maintain her composure.
“She’s been missing since this morning. She went to her chambers after her shift at the hospital ended. She was supposed to meet Bonnie for lunch but never showed. We looked everywhere but we can’t find her.”
Cody was enraged. He hardly heard anything else as Gloria also explained the reason behind Ashtyn’s trip to shadow realm and some crazy tale about their heritage.
“Gloria, I need you to scour the archive. Find anything you can on Katrina and her family. See if you can find any connection to her and an impure ancestor.”
“Okay. Why, may I ask, are we searching for this?” Gloria asked, perplexed.
“We found some things out in Cardician. It seems as though the women who went missing there had one thing in common: They were both half-bloods.”
Cody wasn’t sure Katrina fit the profile. He knew her parents and if Kat had impure grandparents that would have been great gossip throughout dream realm but he had to start somewhere. So far they had zero leads as to who took the women or why. Whoever did made one vital mistake: They took someone he cared about and he wouldn’t rest until he got her back.
Chapter 5
Shadow realm reminded me of New York City — if the metropolis was overrun by sinning, blood-drinking vampires. The high-rises and neon lights hinted at a thriving civilization. In reality, it was a terrifying display of immortals with too much time on their hands and an unhealthy appetite. My first trip to shadow realm didn’t go well. In fact, it was one of the strangest nights of my life. Not only was I kidnapped by a psychotic vampire, I also ingested his blood, which unbeknownst to me acts as an aphrodisiac. That enormous mistake led to an awkward yet incredibly hot experience with Mac. I glanced at him as we made our way to his father's apartment, wondering if he, too, was having flashbacks about our last trip here. He gave me a wink when our eyes made contact, and I blushed, remembering the way his hands felt against my bare skin. Herrick’s voice pulled me from my thoughts and I tripped over my own feet as I withdrew from my haze.
“Careful, love, we don’t need you spraining an ankle,” Herrick said, helping me regain my balance.
“Honestly, lass, I’m amazed you’ve survived this long with all your body parts intact. You’re a walking disaster.” Mac shook his head at me and continued forward.
“Shut up, would you? I tripped. It happens. It’s not like I set fire to a building.”
I told myself that from then on if I ever relived a warm and fuzzy moment involving the Irish boar, I just needed to hear him speak and those feelings would pass.
“Don’t give yourself any ideas. It’s not as though ya don’t have those abilities. Need I remind ya of the shed?”
Herrick looked to Mac and then me. “What about a shed?”
I mean-mugged Mac as I ran my my finger across my throat in a “you’re dead” fashion.
“I torched the old shed on my farm. I was practicing my abilities and the fire got a little out of control, but that was nearly two months ago. I’m much better at wielding it now.”
“Thank the heavens. Much more of that and the place would have looked as though a volcano had torn through it,” Mac snickered.
Why did I ever think I could survive a trip to hell with two massive instigators?
“Can we please just focus on the task at hand? I believe we have more important things to discuss than my clumsiness.”
“Ashtyn, I think it’s best if you keep a handle on your emotions. Even if you have improved on your fire-starting skills, we don’t want to draw unnecessary attention.”
The nerve of him. He disappears for three months without so much as a pos
tcard, shows up as if not a day has passed and has the audacity to boss me around? I stopped in the middle of the street and bore my eyes into Herrick’s when he turned to face me.
“Are you serious right now? You have no idea what I’m capable of. While you were on holiday I was busting my ass learning how to control my emotions and properly use my magic, but you would know that if you actually picked up a phone and called someone once in a while.”
I pushed past them, leading the way into Brian’s complex.
“For the record, I would like to state that I call and visit often,” I heard Mac say from behind.
“No one asked you, Mr. Clean,” Herrick spat back.
It took everything I had not to burst out laughing at Herrick’s retort. I found it comical and ironic that he used the same nickname I had called Mac when I first met him.
Once we made the excruciating climb up eleven stories to Brian’s apartment, I had a full-blown migraine — not from the climbing but from the endless banter between two assuming alpha males.
“Well, this is a nice surprise,” Brian said, wrapping me in a hug.
“Aww, Pops, I didn’t know you cared so much,” Mac said smiling.
“Not you, buffoon, the lovely lass in front of me.”
I giggled and kissed Brian’s cheek.
Herrick stood in the doorway waiting to be invited in. I was surprised by his manners. The old Herrick would have stormed in and plopped his feet on the coffee table without so much as a “How do you do?”
“Come on in, lad. Any friend of Mac’s and Ashtyn’s is a friend of mine,” Brian said, guiding Herrick inside.
“He is not my friend,” Mac said, feeling the need to clarify.
I rolled my eyes and turned back to Brian. I didn’t want to get into another argument.
“I’m sorry we showed up unannounced but we need your help finding someone.” Herrick had already said that he combed shadow realm searching for Skyler, but Brian had lived in this realm for decades; if anyone could point us in the right direction I had a feeling it would be him.
“Nonsense, it’s always a pleasure to see your smiling face, lass. Although, I am curious who could get the three of you to work together.”
I retold the story of the Zeotecs and my ancestors Skyler and Anastasia. I was worried about sharing the secret of my blood and its capabilities with so many people, but I trusted Brian and, at this point, I was running out of options.
“Well, lass, that’s one hell of a story. I don’t mean to poke the bear but I think the assassin might have been fed misinformation. I have never even heard a whisper about the original vampire.”
Herrick leaned in toward Brian, staring him down.
“My information is not wrong. Skyler is alive and he’s hiding here in shadow realm.”
“Watch your tone, lad. You may be a vibrant but that won't save you from my fist,” Brian said.
Oh, good lord, I should have brought Gloria. Surely the two of us could have made more leeway by now.
“If there were any chance of finding him, where would we start?”
I decided if we were going to make any progress, I would need to direct the conversation. It seemed as though the men would rather rip one another apart than accomplish anything — and they said women were catty.
“I would start with Ruby. If anyone has answers it would her. She owns the Nightstalker bar,” Brian said, leaning back in his chair.
“I asked around that bar months ago; no one knew a thing.”
I waved my hand at Herrick to shut up. Every time he spoke someone got pissed off.
“That’s the problem, lad, you asked around. Ruby has a specific taste. She is more willing to divulge information with someone who shares her chromosome.”
We all sat there silent for a moment. I think everyone else was trying to wrap their minds around his statement. It didn’t take long before I got the hint.
“Brian, where can I find a sexy dress?”
I had never used my body to get what I wanted, but I’ve seen enough movies to know that if I wanted to get Ruby's attention I would have to stand out. I doubted my blue jeans and plain black T-shirt would turn many heads.
After arguing with Mac for what felt like hours, I finally persuaded him to wait in the apartment with Brian while Herrick and I went dress shopping. If anyone was going to pick out the perfect dress it would be him. The man had taste and knew exactly what looked good on me. Also, if I were being honest with myself, I missed him and wanted to spend some time alone with him.
“I doubt we're going to find a satin ballgown in this neck of the woods.”
I browsed through half a dozen racks and couldn’t find anything seduction worthy.
“You need to play to your audience, love. We’re in shadow realm. Ruby isn’t a ballgown type of girl.”
Herrick held up a short black leather dress and matching leather boots with a zipper up to the knee.
“You don’t honestly believe I’m going to wear that, do you?” I wrinkled my nose at the barely there material he held in his hands.
“I’m sorry, I thought you wanted answers. I guess we’ll just head back to human realm and go out for pizza,” he said, pretending to walk away.
“Give me the damn dress.”
I snatched it out of his hand and headed for the dressing room. After spending twenty minutes wiggling my ass into the skin-tight dress, I pulled up the boots and shyly stepped out for an opinion.
Herrick stood there expressionless. I wasn’t expecting him to take me into his arms or anything, but a smile would have been nice. I waved my hand in front of his face to ensure he hadn’t gone into some kind of trance.
“Well?” I asked, with my hands on my hips and annoyed with my current situation. This moment right here is why I don’t attempt the sexy attire. Unlike Lori, I didn’t have the body or confidence to pull it off. I wanted to run back to the dressing room and cover myself in as much clothing as possible.
“It’s fine,” he said, turning away from me, about to walk off.
“This dress was your idea! Now it isn’t good enough? Just forget it; I can’t do this.”
Herrick stormed over to me, grabbing my arm and spinning me back around to face him.
“Stop doing that. Why is it so hard for you to believe in yourself?”
“Maybe because all you can say is I look fine when I’m feeling ridiculous in this outfit.”
I didn’t even want to see myself in a mirror. Lori had tried on more occasions than I could count to get me to show more skin and she always failed. Now I’m showing more skin than I'm concealing and I’m about to go make googly eyes with a female vampire — and I once thought sitting in a cubicle working on spreadsheets forty hours a week was the worst it was ever going to get.
“You’re a knockout, love. It’s not as elegant as the emerald ballgown but it’s just as sexy.”
“You thought I looked sexy in the ballgown?” I asked, my cheeks flushing.
“I’m a man, aren’t I? If there is one thing I can appreciate it’s the female form.”
“Well, let’s hope Ruby feels the same,” I sighed.
“In that dress? You can bet on it.”
“Do you think Damon is still looking for us?”
I hated saying his name. I had spent the last three months trying to forget about him and rebuild my life, but the truth was no matter how much time had passed, I would never be able to forget the damage he had done. Herrick placed his hand on my cheek and ran his palm across my face.
“I’m afraid so, hummingbird. He may be taking some time to regroup, but he will not stop.”
“Why hasn’t he struck then? If he wanted me it’s not like I’m difficult to find. I’m exactly where he left me.”
Herrick sighed and I knew he didn’t want to talk about Damon. If anyone had insight into the mind of a psychopath it would be him; he wasn’t too far off himself.
“He is either toying with us, making us believe we’r
e in the clear or ensuring his next strike will leave no chance of retaliation.”
“Well, thanks for sugarcoating it. I feel much better now.”
I rolled my eyes, annoyed with myself for assuming a vibrant could ease my concerns.
“He won’t succeed, love. Damon isn’t as powerful as he likes to believe.”
I sat down in a nearby chair. The thought of Damon taking anyone else I cared for made me sick. I already swore to myself I would make him pay for what he had done to my grandmother. I missed Victoria so much. With my father on the run and Mimi gone, I had to teach myself magic. It was no easy feat and I nearly killed myself a few times. The only thing that kept me going was the comfort of knowing I would one day get my revenge. Looking at the anguish on Herrick’s face, I was reminded of something I let slip from my memory.
“Herrick?”
He threw his hands in the air with exasperation.
“Love, can we just let this go for now? I don’t wish to discuss Damon anymore tonight.”
“It’s not about Damon.”
My voice came out in a whisper.
“I’m sorry, hummingbird. It’s just, I’ve spent these last few months searching for any sign of him to no avail. It’s a bruise to the ego.”
“I understand your frustration, trust me, but that wasn’t what I was going to ask.”
I took a deep breath, praying he wouldn’t pull another disappearing act.
“Herrick, do you have emotions?”
I watched his gray eyes dance in the florescent lights of the shop, searching them for the truth. I knew I wasn’t wrong. Herrick had felt something the night he left me standing in the bar with a thousand thoughts running through my head.
“Ashtyn, now isn’t the time … ”
“It’s a simple question, Herrick. Are you able to feel things?”
His eyes locked on mine and he nodded.
“Yes.”
With that one word I jumped from the chair, wrapping my arms around him.