by Terry Spear
I looked up at Dominic, my eyes searching his for the truth. “What if they’re like you, Dominic? What if they’re partly turned and can move around in the daylight?”
“Use your protection spells,” he reiterated. His avoidance of my question troubled me.
Did he know these men? I couldn’t read his thoughts as though a brick wall suddenly rose between us. Not knowing what he felt or what he thought sent panic hurtling through me.
He squeezed my hand, then warned, “Run, ladies, run!”
My heart lodged in my throat, but I ran for my house like he commanded.
Kate sprinted like a deer while I tried to catch up, and Dominic protected us from the rear, or so I thought. Kate suddenly screamed when one of the men appeared in front of her.
“Vampires!” I cried out, realizing at once that was what they truly were.
Kate stepped backward, but to my surprise, the man didn’t advance.
I turned to look for Dominic, but he and the other man had vanished. “We’re on our own, Kate,” I whispered.
“Just like a man. The going gets rough—”
“And the tough hightail it out of here so the women can handle the trouble.”
I couldn’t figure out why the vampire wasn’t attacking, though. Maybe our protection spell? “Try the you-know-what we did in Mrs. Robertson’s class today.”
“Ah, the—”
“Yes.”
We both attempted casting the spell on him, trying to wipe his mind of what he intended to do to us. He jerked his head back as if he were trying to fight our efforts.
I remembered how Dominic had commanded the volunteer he worked with in class to send the host to New York City. I didn’t have any money to bus this guy anywhere. Instead, I commanded him to walk to Disney World and ride the roller coaster at Space Mountain two hundred times. I didn’t know if my suggestion would wear off shortly or what, but the man began walking in an easterly direction.
“Come on!” I grabbed Kate’s arm and we sprinted for my house.
After unlocking the door, we rushed inside, then bolted it shut.
“Dominic.” I couldn’t curb the crushing thought he was in terrible danger while the adrenaline still pulsed through my body at an all-time high.
Kate squeezed my hand with reassurance. “He’ll be all right, Marissa. I just know it.”
But I didn’t. I couldn’t sense anything from him. Not one feeling at all. He’d disappeared into a black void of space and my heart felt like it was ripped out and sucked into the abyss with him.
Chapter 11
DOMINIC
In a deeply wooded area next to a swollen creek, about a mile from Marissa’s housing development, I faced the newly-turned vampire—though in truth I was still only a fledgling myself. Dressed in jeans and matching jacket, the tall blond stared at me with bleak gray eyes. Thankfully, he kept his teeth sheathed. I assumed it was only because Lynetta had ordered no harm was to come to me. But in the secluded woods, I was prepared to do battle if need be.
With all my heart, I hoped Marissa and Kate were all right. I was relieved Marissa had told her friend the truth about us. Together, two witches more than likely could deal with the lone vampire. I wasn’t sure Marissa could have handled him by herself, with as little confidence as she had in her witch’s spells.
The vampire seemed hesitant to tackle me, and I wasn’t willing to make the first move, not yet.
Suddenly, the thought occurred to me that the man who faced me didn’t realize I had the advantage. Thinking I was a human-turned-vampire like him, he had no idea I had Marissa’s gift and was now a warlock-turned-vampire.
The man must have been in his thirties, as evidenced by the stockier build of his body and the light crow’s feet at the edges of his eyes when he squinted. His beady eyes seemed to grow even smaller as he glared at me.
Had Lynetta turned to older men to do her dirty work? It appeared so. But she’d sworn I was to be her only mate forever. For a second, it bugged me. Then I had to laugh at my idiocy when I pondered the matter further. I didn’t care for her, so what difference did it make if she sought out other guys?
“What do you want?” I asked, surveying the empty woods to ensure there were no others readying to attack me. Figuring it would be advantageous to lure one of the men away from the girls, I’d urged him to follow me to this private place and hoped my plan was a good one. The breeze whooshed through the leaves of the oaks, birds chattered in the treetops, and the fragrance of pine scented the air. Nothing hinted at the evil that lurked in the bloodsucker’s heart as he stood several feet away from me.
“If you come with me without a fight, Lynetta will leave your girlfriend alone.”
“What guarantee do I have?” I considered the notion briefly, not because I believed him, but because now that I was a warlock, I wondered if I had a chance to kill Lynetta on my own. Since I couldn’t control a witch’s or warlock’s thoughts, could she, being the ancient vampire she was, still control me? The idea I might be able to save myself without involving Marissa in the deadly business held a definite allure.
“Will you come with me?” the man asked, his words hopeful, but edged with a threat.
“I’d love to, but I already have a lunch date.” With the loveliest girl I had ever met. Besides, I figured if I went with him, I’d find a house filled with vampires and wouldn’t stand a chance. They’d keep me there for Lynetta, and she’d take her revenge out on me, and on Marissa and Kate. I didn’t trust her not to. My stomach knotted, along with my fists.
He paused for a second, then bared his teeth. I assumed my reply didn’t meet with his approval. Instantly, I tried the mind-clearing spell. His canines slipped back into their sheaths, the elongated teeth now their normal human size. He seemed confused, and I nearly laughed, only the business at hand was too dangerous to consider lightly. Marissa’s passing her gift of magic skills to me was further proof she was my savior.
“Do you have a credit card?” I asked, extremely cocky now that I thought I had everything under control.
He pulled out his wallet, then looked through it. Seizing a credit card, he held it up, a silly grin plastered on his face.
“Very good.” I refrained from speaking to him like he was an obedient dog to be praised with a pat on his bony head, but the thought did cross my mind. “I command you to go to the Waco airport and buy a ticket to…Australia.” I figured that would give him a nice long flight. “You will get on the flight to Dallas, then transfer planes until you make your way to Sydney. Once there, you will find an apartment and stay.”
The wearing off of the mind-clearing spell might occur faster, but controlling a human, even if partially-turned, was easy and lasted indefinitely, unless someone else with vampiric abilities controlled him. But now that I was a warlock…
I smiled—I had even more abilities than before. Marissa couldn’t have aided me any better if she’d tried. Marissa! My heart plummeted, thinking of the difficulties she and Kate might be facing.
“Go!” I ordered, and with a wave of his hand, he disappeared. With a wave of mine, I vanished from the woods and reappeared in Marissa’s living room.
First, high-pitched, ear-shattering screams from two frightened witches in reaction to my sudden appearance filled the room. Then hugs and kisses from both were bountifully bestowed on me.
I could really get used to this.
Then Marissa slugged me in the shoulder with her fist. “Where did you disappear to? You had us worried sick.”
Unable to take her punch seriously, I gave her a small smile. But the fact she had worried about me made my heart soar. “I wanted to separate the vampires and thought it safer if the two of you only had one to tackle.”
“Hmpf.” Marissa folded her arms.
I kissed her lips, and she immediately wrapped her arms around me and gave me another wonderful squeeze. Her perky breasts brushed against my chest, stirring my hormones to high heaven.
�
�What happened?” Kate asked, her voice still concerned.
To my annoyance, her words temporarily broke the spell Marissa had over me. “The vampire I took care of is taking a trip to Australia. And yours?”
“A trip to Disney World,” Marissa explained, her hand stroking my arm.
My heart already beat out of control, and my body reacting to her touch would soon embarrass me. “That’s not very far. A few hours to fly at the most.”
She smiled. “He’s walking.”
I was momentarily speechless. She got the vampire to walk there? Bravo!
She read my thoughts and her lips curved up. “And when he arrives, he’s going to ride Space Mountain two hundred times.”
I laughed out loud. “You sure know how to punish a guy.”
“Yeah, so just remember that and don’t get on my bad side.” She teasingly poked me in the ribs with one finger.
Kate stared at Marissa as if she’d sprouted bat’s wings.
Marissa frowned at her. “What’s wrong, Kate?”
“I thought you just wiped his mind of his thoughts, like I did. We haven’t learned any spell that’ll control a person’s mind and make them do what you did. In fact, I don’t believe we can do any such thing.”
Kate didn’t know the whole story and was bound to be angry when she heard it. Again, I felt compelled to let Marissa do the explaining on her own.
Marissa cleared her throat and took Kate’s hand. “We hadn’t meant for it to go this far…well, not yet, anyway. But when we kissed, Dominic had bitten his tongue and—”
Kate pulled her hand free and collapsed on the sofa, her face pale. “You’re one of them now?”
“Some of his abilities transferred to me. I can read his thoughts, and he can read mine.”
Kate glanced back at me as if seeking confirmation. I nodded.
“I…I, well…” Marissa straightened her spine. “…I can turn invisible without a potion. But I didn’t know about it until it just happened.” She gave me a scathing look.
How would I know she’d have that ability, too?
Kate rubbed her temple. “Is that how you stayed so long in the boys’ locker room without getting caught?”
Marissa glanced at me—this time her face definitely had a guilty look. “Yes.”
“Did you see anyone? I mean, naked?” Kate looked totally intrigued, even hopeful.
Still trying to curb my annoyance that Marissa didn’t believe I could control my primal urges to knock Joshua’s block off, I said, “If she had, she’d have probably lost her concentration and become visible again. As it was, Joshua and a couple of other guys heard her run out of the room. I’m sure they figured she was a witch who’d used the invisibility potion to sneak into the locker room for a peek.”
Kate laughed.
Marissa’s cheeks colored beautifully. I reached over and gave her a hug.
“What else can you do, Marissa?” Kate asked. Her voice had changed from one of horror to awe. I wondered if she wished she could have switched places with Marissa in the locker room.
Marissa wrinkled her forehead at me.
I chuckled inwardly, forgetting for an instant that she could read my mind. In fact, I often forgot she could read my thoughts and wasn’t sure I’d ever get the hang of keeping them cloaked from her.
Tilting her chin up, she shook her head at me. We exchanged knowing smiles, then she turned and answered Kate. “Well, I can control a human’s mind. But not a witch’s or warlock’s. I can’t seem to disappear and reappear in other places like Dominic can. When I saw Matthew wearing only a towel in the locker room, I had to run out of there. Vanishing like Dominic does would have been preferable, but I can’t seem to do it.”
Kate’s green eyes were wide with excitement. “Wow. Awesome. Will you let me know if you suddenly have more abilities?”
Marissa regarded her with amusement. “Sure thing, Kate.”
Kate turned her attention to me. “You don’t happen to have a brother lurking about, do you?”
I knew then, she truly was part of our team. “I have an older brother, eighteen, James, really bright and is in his freshmen year at Baylor University, but he’s just a plain old human. I’m sure you wouldn’t be interested in him.”
“Oh.” Disappointment reflected in her voice.
A human wasn’t an acceptable boyfriend for a witch, nor would a human wish to date a witch. The two would never in a million light years be interested in each other. Then again, unwritten rules were made to be broken.
“There are plenty of warlocks who are interested in you at school, Kate,” Marissa said, her voice cheerful.
Kate eyed me. “Yeah, but none are as fun to be with as Dominic.”
Liking the boost to my ego, I smiled at her.
Marissa plunked herself down on the sofa. “She’s the adventurous one of the two of us, Dominic, if you hadn’t guessed it already. If she found an old oil lamp, she’d clean it until it sparkled to find the genie in it, or kiss a frog to find her prince. She’d even climb down that rabbit’s hole to join Alice on her adventures in Wonderland.”
“Well, Kate,” I said, grabbing up the portable phone, “when things start getting really rough, you may wish you didn’t sign onto this little adventure.” I punched the numbers for my favorite pizza place, Pizzas Out of this World. “What does everyone want on their pizza?”
After deciding the kind of crust and the toppings, Kate called her parents to tell them she was having lunch with Marissa and asked if she could stay the evening. Marissa called her Aunt Betsy and told her how her day at school went, and that Kate was spending the night. I relayed to my family that I would be staying safely with a friend for a couple of more nights.
Of course, I was hoping that by Friday evening, I could give them the really good news—I was liberated from Lynetta forever. Every time I spoke to my mother, I could hear the tears in her voice, and I couldn’t help but feel awful for what I was putting her through. But as much as I could, I attempted to reassure her that my new friends were going to help me, and that seemed to relieve her anxiety somewhat.
Half an hour later, the doorbell rang. Our pizza had arrived. But when Kate opened the door, both Marissa and I sensed something was wrong right away. It wasn’t the uniform the pizza boy wore, though the one-size-fits-all red vest seemed two sizes too small. It wasn’t the ancient vehicle he drove that carried the pizza parlor’s logo lopsided on the passenger’s door. Nor was it the well-worn, warming mitt colored orange instead of red that covered the large pizza box that really aroused our suspicions.
His dark brown eyes focused on Marissa with a vengeance, a glint of pure malevolence sparking in their depths. But even more than that, we both smelled the scent of fresh blood on him as if he’d just had an afternoon snack.
Kate motioned for him to come inside. Before she could utter a word, Marissa and I lunged for her.
Chapter 12
MARISSA
I was certain this was one adventure even my poor friend Kate wasn’t ready for. My heart pounding, I slapped my hand over Kate’s mouth to keep her from inviting the pizza delivery boy into my home, while Dominic slammed the door in the imposter’s face.
Poor Kate. Her eyes couldn’t have gotten any wider, nor could her skin have turned any whiter. She’d taken everything so well until Dominic and I reacted so violently to the pizza delivery. The thought that the vampire could have gained entry into my house and let Lynetta or any other vampire in, sent chills cascading down my spine.
“That was too close for comfort,” Dominic said, eyeing both of us to ensure we weren’t too shaken by the ordeal.
“Lynetta’s going to keep sending them, isn’t she?” I asked, hoping he’d say no and settle the disquiet forming in the pit of my stomach. In my heart I knew she’d come for him, her chosen. And she’d destroy me, too, for trying to steal him away from her.
“Uhm, guys,” Kate said, peering out the front picture window, her brow furrowed,
“what do we do with the pizza delivery dude?”
To my surprise, Dominic suddenly vanished from the house and materialized next to the delivery boy. The guy nodded, climbed into his car and drove off.
This time Dominic returned to the house via the front door. “He remembered the pizza belonged to a John Smith in San Francisco, California.”
Kate chuckled. “I imagine the pizza will be ice cold by the time it gets there.”
Not wanting Kate to hear my question, I spoke to Dominic telepathically, the worry imprinted on my brain. “Why did he smell of blood?”
“He had just eaten a rat.”
My head began to spin. I’m sure my face was paler than pale. “I’ll be right back.” I hurried for the bathroom.
Seconds later, I held my head over the toilet, grateful I made it in time and didn’t have to clean up a mess in the living room. Someone rapped on the door.
“Marissa?” Dominic half-whispered, his voice threaded with concern. “Marissa, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you.”
I wiped the tears from my cheeks and pulled the bathroom door open. “Is that what we’re destined to do?”
Would I end up killing mammals, feasting on their blood, siphoning the life force from their shuddering bodies? Again, I felt the urge to return to the toilet.
“Not if we can kill Lynetta.”
It all came back to that. “Just how are we to accomplish such a feat?”
Dominic sighed a ragged breath and ran his hand over my arm. “We’ll find a way. We have to.”
Clanging resounded in the kitchen. I raised my brows in question.
Dominic jerked his thumb in the direction of the noise. “Kate is looking for something else for us to eat.”
I ran for the kitchen, the nausea in my stomach instantly subsiding as my mind focused on a new concern. “She has a chef’s heart, but she burns everything she cooks.” I turned to Dominic who followed close on my heels. “Inattention to the task. Easily distracted.”
“I heard that!” Kate yelled out, laughter in her voice.