Immortal Embrace (Vampire Magic Book 5)

by Sela Croft

  Chapter 35

  Logan

  While the others showed up, Rosamon started talking, pouring out what had been happening. “You should know that Callie isn’t really with us.”

  I groaned. Although, I’d expected as much, it would have made things easier if the real Callie had joined the group.

  “We’ve been in touch with Callie, briefly,” Morrigan said. “She’s with Seth, and in a bad way.”

  “That’s horrible,” Rosamon said. “Well, then you know about the fake Callie that came with us. It didn’t take too long for us to discover that she was a horror created by Seth. She certainly isn’t my sister.”

  Morrigan furrowed her brow. “Where is she now?”

  “Once we figured it out, we tricked the substitute Callie, and have managed to keep her asleep,” Rosamon said. “But I don’t know how long that will last. It was Amalia’s magic, and she isn’t sure either. The exact mechanics involved in this pretend version of my sister aren’t know. She’s out of commission…temporarily.”

  She held tight to the tortoiseshell handle. “And I took this mirror from her pocket, suspecting it might be magic.”

  Then the others showed up. I peered through the glass, relieved so see that they were okay. Noah put his arm around Rosamon. “You’ve found us,” he said. “I knew it would only be a matter of time.”

  Natasha smiled. “It is good to see you both. I’ve had blocks to my visions since arriving here, so I didn’t predict that you’d locate us. I only wish you were close enough to hug. You don’t have any idea how badly we need your assistance.”

  Then Florian joined them. My brother was alive and well. I couldn’t have been happier. “Logan, you’re here at last. I was sure you’d come.”

  “Florian…” It took a beat for me to gather my thoughts. I’d thought my brother had been lost for good on the other side of the wall. I should have known better.

  “I had no way to let you know that I survived,” Florian said. “But I am well. Not only that, but I’ve joined with the Fae rebels.”

  “What rebels?” Morrigan said.

  My brother gave a quick rundown on what had been happening. “The Fae who Amalia recruited have pledged their support in the fight against Seth.”

  I was glad to hear that the small group wasn’t alone. “The more the better,” I said. “It’s clear that Seth is a worthy opponent, if evil.”

  “He cannot win,” Amalia said. “We must not allow it. My kingdom degrades by the day. My people are at his mercy and he is a ruthless dictator.”

  “He won’t stop at anything,” Rosamon said. “You wouldn’t believe what I’ve seen over here.”

  I had no trouble imagining how bad it was. There was no time to waste in finding Callie, as leaving her in the hands of her father would mean the end. My desire to find her strengthened, forged from my undying love for her.

  Florian frowned. “I must warn you, Logan, that Seth will test his new creations of war against you. What Rosamon has shared is true. The sorcerer is creating monsters to do his bidding.”

  “His abominations have already broken through the wall,” I said, “but Valter is controlling the incursions.”

  “Those are the weakest of Seth’s creations, merely a test to see how they fair,” Amalia said. “What will come is far worse. You need to retreat into your most defensible positions, to survive the coming attacks.”

  “I should warn Valter and tell him to put our armies on high alert,” I said. But I wondered if it was already too late. The more I listened the greater my fear for Callie. She was alone. At least, the group had each other and rebels who’d combined forces.

  My dearest love was by herself, facing her evil father, a powerful sorcerer. She was both vampire and sorceress herself. But she was new at both, unpracticed and unskilled. Would her humanity make her even more vulnerable?

  My gut wrenched. I could not let her fight this alone. More than I’d wanted anything, I wanted to be with her, to use my power in her defense. I wished it, so very much.

  I felt a spinning motion as if I’d begun transporting. But I’d made no effort to do so, not knowing how to cross into the other realm.

  Then…in the blink of an eye the hand mirror drew me to it like a magnet. And I appeared on the other side of it with the others. Stunned, I looked around, unable to believe my luck.

  Chapter 36

  Amalia

  Logan appeared. He’d transported through the mirror. But Natasha was gone. She’d traded places with him. That was the only explanation.

  I gazed into the mirror and saw Natasha looking back. “What just happened?” I asked it of no one in particular. Yet, I expected Morrigan to reply. It seemed like she’d used her sorcery to manage a trade.

  “It wasn’t my magic,” Morrigan said.

  Natasha spoke up. “It was the best option. I can warn Valter and relay all I’ve learned that will help Shadowland.” Then Natasha looked at Logan. “I perceived your agony, because you couldn’t be with Callie. Your wish was powerful enough to pull you through to this side, provided someone traded places.”

  “I can’t thank you enough,” Logan said. “Go to Valter. He will need your support. Now that you are home, maybe your visions will return. Anything you can tell him will be of the utmost importance.”

  “I will do that,” Natasha said. “Find Callie and bring her back.

  While Logan was briefed on the situation, I went to check on the fake Callie. I’d conjured up my best sleeping potion, but my abilities weren’t a match for Seth’s. His creation was strong and wouldn’t be subdued much longer, unless I could come up with something more potent to keep her asleep.

  But like the living dead, the substitute Callie stirred then stood up. Before I could get to her, she’d fought off the three strong guards I’d left with her. I watched with horror as she thrust her arms in the air then looked at the darkness above.

  The imposter looked like a robot made of flesh. Her eyes glowed bright and rays of light shot into the sky. Of course, Seth would have armed her with a way to communicate to him. I dreaded to think that she’d already alerted him to our secret location in the mushroom forest.

  I shouted, so the others would come to my aid. It wouldn’t be easy to regain control, since she’d startled awake after a deep sleep. Being the first on the scene, I wrestled with the Callie-like creature but found that she was stronger than she appeared.

  The magic I wielded to hypnotize her into submission had little effect. So, I tried a binding spell, a trick that Morrigan had shared with me. But her arms flailed wildly then she broke free of it. Catching me off guard, she launched her body at the others, who were running toward her to assist in her takedown.

  It came as no surprise that Seth had imbued her with sorceress magic just as the real Callie had in her blood. She waved her hands in circular motions, then lifted them high. Noah and Rosamon fell to the ground.

  Logan tried to help, but it appeared his telekinesis ability was dampened. But he remained strong and was able to detain the Callie who was out to destroy us. I dug deep and created a beam of unconsciousness to knock her out.

  Instantly, it took effect but wasn’t long lasting. At best, it gave us a few minutes to regroup. Florian rushed over to Noah and Rosamon, but they seemed to be okay. The force had knocked them to the ground yet hadn’t done any serious damage.

  “I tried to get here faster,” Florian said. “But my ability to teleport has been curtailed.”

  “Seth’s evil pervades this imposter,” I said, looking down at the unconscious form of Callie. “And the poison fills the atmosphere. We are all weakened by it.”

  My worst fears were realized. Before we had a chance to figure out what to do, Seth’s Fae minions surrounded us. The fake Callie had already reported to her master, before I’d been able to knock her out. The creatures fell upon us, their foul breath disgusting, and their demented auras further weakening us and stealing our powers.

  Seth’
s armies were large and fearless. The duped Fae were under his orders, so moved to kill us all. The rebel troops I’d recruited fought valiantly. Their lives were at stake as much as ours. Yet it was a massacre.

  Bodies fell, bloodied and dead. The rebel forces were overwhelmed so fast, it was difficult to follow what was happening. But it seemed that there were a few of us who were pardoned from instant death. The merchants of chaos surrounded Logan, Rosamon, Noah, and I.

  There was no escaping our fate. The magic we possessed was ineffective against them, as though each of us had been stripped of any power. Those of our fighters who weren’t killed were captured. And, along with us, were transported away from our headquarters.

  We were carried away from the bloodbath to a new location. It could have been no other. We were deposited in the Fae capitol and left with the gargoyle-looking guards at the palace. Then we were escorted to the high court and informed that we were to await judgment by the ruling sorcerer…Seth.

  Chapter 37

  Logan

  We confronted our fate, but Amalia refused to bow down to Seth. As she stood before him, I witnessed her rage. The evil sorcerer had usurped her power, perverted her kingdom, even disfigured her lovely face.

  His nerve at bringing all of us to the Fae court, after the massacre at the rebel headquarters, was vile. He sought to make us his slaves and steal more power for himself. Instead of cowering, Amalia strode up the stairs to his throne then pointed a finger at him.

  “You have no rightful place here!” Amalia yelled. “Move aside and relinquish that throne to the one it rightfully belongs to.”

  I watched in admiration as the princess walked up to Seth, as if to throw him aside then take his seat. She held her hands out and chanted, not oblivious to her enemy’s magic. It appeared that she used some of her own to stun him, before taking command.

  Seth allowed her to stand before him. But his face contorted with anger. “You dare to defy me!” He grabbed Amalia by the shoulders. “Your witchcraft comes from those who went before you. It is a gift. But instead of thanking me, your ancestor in sorcery, you spit in my face.”

  Amalia didn’t move; she seemed frozen in place by Seth’s touch. “Your behavior is an insult, and not to be tolerated.”

  Seth’s hands glowed where he gripped Amalia and she shuddered. I witnessed his action in silence, unsure what to do.

  “I absorb your power, and take it unto my own,” Seth cried out. “You are returned to your natural form, no longer graced with magic. You are as helpless and worthless as any human.”

  When he released her, Amalia backed away then slowly descended the steps with her eyes cast down.

  Seth wasn’t finished with her. “But I did not kill you, as I might have,” he said. “You are an example to your people, a demonstration of what I will do to any who go against me.”

  At the bottom of the steps, Amalia slumped to the floor in a heap. High above, Seth loomed in all his glory. The palace room seemed unnaturally hot and shined yellow-orange like fire. The insane sorcerer stood up, holding his hands high to exude magic that would suppress us all.

  I stared in awe. His eyes were black and wild, staring with hatred at any other living soul. He wore ancient Egyptian garb that appeared to heat from his wrath, to turn golden like the sun. A frightful aura radiated out from his body.

  His hair was dark, sticking out at all angles, disheveled as if he’d stuck his finger in an electrical socket. There was no mercy in his visage, so sense of caring for anything but what he could grab. He was the personification of greed and a morbid lust for control.

  His voice boomed, echoing in the chamber. All beneath him were expected to quiver and cater to his every wish. The air in the room became fetid with the fear emanating from any within his purview. But the stench didn’t come from Florian or me.

  We were vampires, royal brothers, so not as easily bent to the will of a tyrant. Rosamon knelt beside Amalia with her arm around her. Seth loomed over them, glowing with the power he’d plundered. He stood tall, his face contorted and his eyes vacant of life.

  The sorcerer was no longer one of us, could not be reasoned with. He had reached the god-like level that he’d dreamed of achieving. That he’d done so at the expense of others and was willing to sacrifice all realms, didn’t reduce his haughty persona.

  In desperation, I nudged Florian. My brother and I attempted to escape and free the others. While Seth wallowed in his overblown ego, I lobbed any heavy object that was handy at his head. Florian transported up the stairs to hover close to the sorcerer and tackle him at the first opportunity.

  If we could incapacitate the demonic dictator, even momentarily, then all could rise in rebellion to overwhelm him. He had no friends among us, only subjects in abject terror. Given any hope of successful mutiny, all would unite to help my brother and me defeat the tyrant.

  The stone missiles that I thrust with full force at Seth’s head bounced off without striking him. There was some protective barrier, many feet out from his body. Without turning, the sorcerer tossed Florian into the air and he fell to the ground beside me, unconscious.

  Then Seth laughed, a demented sound if any was. His dark eyes looked like black pits and the fire glow around him burned blue. In his presence, any escape was impossible. The heavy wooden doors were closed, and I had no doubt were barricaded from the outside.

  His Fae guards made no move against him. Instead, each took a step closer to his majesty then glowered at the rest of us. It appeared the victory over all that Seth had longed for was imminent. And what of Callie? What of the future?

  That could not be; it was not a destiny that I’d envisioned. There had to be a way to unseat the madman. But I didn’t know what it was. From the look of it, no one else did either.

  A devilish voice filled the room, although I didn’t see Seth’s lips move. He’d transcended his very body, encroaching on some ethereal talents better left to the gods. “You have but one alternative,” he bellowed. “I offer no special favors to vampires, having considered you enemies for centuries.”

  Seth raged on without taking a breath. “Logan, you must surrender. And advise any supporter to do the same,” he said. “That is the only way to ensure that your dear Shadowland experiences less destruction than will occur, if you do not.”

  As far as I could tell, surrender did not give us any advantage, or increase our chances of thwarting his evil purposes. “No!” I yelled. “I will never surrender, not to a devil such as you.”

  I moved to the base of the stairs to look up at him with distain. “You assume position that is not rightfully yours. You are arrogant enough to toy with destiny. But you will not succeed. And not one here will grant you passage to the world demise you crave.”

  Chapter 38

  Logan

  Boldly, I’d admonished Seth for his crimes. And I fully expected to reap the consequences, whatever they may be. That his ability with sorcery was beyond compare, was without question. Thus, he might do almost anything to me for my insolence.

  But Seth did not act against me.

  I was shocked to see Callie appear next to her father. She appeared to enter from behind the throne, maybe through a hidden door. But she was suddenly there, only inches from the glowing throne. My heart ached. She was alone, and within reach of her evil father.

  Her raven-black hair shined as though sunlight surrounded her. Her violet eyes were lovelier than before, filled with an energy that I didn’t recognize. Love surged inside me, and I was struck by how much I loved her.

  Callie raised her hands in a graceful motion. On her left finger was the opal ring I’d given to her. It seemed like lifetimes ago that we’d danced at my penthouse. The recreation of her school prom and my gift to her of the special trinket seemed remote, as though it couldn’t have happened.

  But it had. And Callie wore the ring that I’d given to her as a symbol of my love. The gem on her finger gleamed in the light, touching my heart. It occurred to me t
hat I should have known the other Callie, the one who’d appeared at the cottage, had been a fake.

  The imposter hadn’t worn an opal ring on her finger. She hadn’t been my true love. But the stunning woman before me was; she was the woman I adored. There was no doubt it was her.

  It gave me slight comfort to know that she wore the ring, as it had been given to me by my mother; its purpose was to provide protection. Callie could certainly use any protection that was available. Until I could rescue her, which I vowed I would.

  Before processing what was happening or thinking it through, I called out to my love. “Callie! Beware of your father. He is of evil intent. He will hurt you.”

  Callie turned to look at me.

  I gazed up at her. “If you can usher your sorcery forth, save yourself then help the rest of us.”

  But she was no longer the Callie I’d known. She had become something else. She’d morphed into an unrecognizable woman. She appeared to be a personification of evil, yet I failed to believe it. Had she become an amalgamation of the good and bad parts of her? Had her demented father had such an effect on her that he’d overpowered any humanity she’d had left?

  I cringed in horror at what I witnessed. Callie’s beautiful eyes possessed an eerie glow. She was unfamiliar and the look she gave me was one of distain. It wasn’t possible that she didn’t recognize me. Or if she did, that she wouldn’t rush to my side.

  I raised my hand toward her. “Callie…you are in danger. Flee, while you are able.” I hoped that she would heed my warning, that whatever spell Seth had cast would be broken. But I was disappointed.

  Callie spoke in a voice that sounded lifeless, devoid of feeling. Her eyes met mine but there was no reaction. Her expression did not change, and trepidation wove up my spine.