by Terry Spear
I sighed heavily when I saw her stirring mayonnaise and tuna fish in a mixing bowl. Tuna fish sandwiches. She couldn’t go wrong with that.
Kate looked up from her work. “Exactly how can we kill a vampire? I’ve read the fictional books on it—stake to the heart, cut off their head, expose them to sunlight—anything else I’ve missed?”
We both looked at Dominic to hear what the authority on the subject had to say about it.
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Kate’s voice rose an octave while she slathered the tuna fish-mayonnaise mixture on slices of white bread.
“Just that. I’ve never seen one killed. So I don’t know if the fictional tales have any truth to them or not.” He walked in front of the oven door sporting reflective black glass.
We could see Dominic’s reflection in the glass, and I felt a bit of relief that he was still pretty human.
“See? Not all the tales are accurate.”
“Ah, but what if that’s because you’re only partially turned?” I asked.
“Might be.” He carried his plate and a glass of milk to the table. “I don’t have any idea if a full-fledged vampire would have an image in a mirror or not.”
I glanced at my own reflection. “What about garlic?”
“No reaction to that. My mother is a big believer in spicing food up. Unless it’s a dessert dish, she adds garlic to it. I ate both her grilled chicken and lasagna last week, no problem.”
“Crosses?” I asked.
He shook his head and took a drink of his milk. “Not that either. I even went to church with my brother’s friend’s family and experimented with holy water. No effect.”
Kate cut her sandwich into quarters. “What about carrying around the dirt of your birthplace?”
“Old wives’ tales,” Dominic and I said at the same time.
I was really glad for that. I could just imagine trying to get a coffin-load of dirt from my birthplace in Minnesota to Texas by express mail.
Dominic lifted half of his sandwich, then paused. “I wonder if Lynetta can still control my mind now that I have some warlock abilities.”
My heartbeat quickened. “Do you think she won’t have control over you now?” Hope surged through me.
His eyes shimmered. “I’m going to face her on my own without involving you.”
My stomach twisted. I wasn’t the bravest witch on earth, but I wasn’t a real scaredy cat either. Plus what if Dominic wasn’t right? What if Lynetta could still control him, even though he had gained some warlock abilities? We really had no idea what she was capable of. I couldn’t let him try to tackle her on his own. Didn’t he say I was his savior? That it was written in the stars? Yet the stubborn look on his face indicated he’d made up his mind.
“I have made up my mind, Marissa. I don’t want your help in this.”
I knew he was trying to protect me, so I curbed my irritation with him for dismissing me like that, but I couldn’t let him fight Lynetta on his own. I could be stubborn, very stubborn, too. “Sorry, when you took my blood we became blood partners,” I said with resolve. I fingered my uneaten sandwich, my appetite instantly crushed.
I tried to read his feelings, his thoughts, but the stone wall rose in place again. The connection I had with him instantly severed.
Yet he didn’t have to tell me what he was thinking. I knew it anyway in the hard set of his jaw, the determination in his dark brown eyes. Did he plan on leaving before the cloud-veiled sun disappeared to the other side of the earth? Did he intend to face the vamp on his own?
He avoided my eyes, and I realized he was reading all of my thoughts. I wished I could erect my own wall to keep him out.
He looked up at me. I smiled. He didn’t want me to shut him out. I held my glass of milk to him in a salute. I didn’t want him shutting me out, either.
“It’s for the best,” he said softly.
“We don’t know that, Dominic. And you can’t risk it.”
Up until now, Kate had reserved comment, quietly listening, mulling over the conversation. She finally said, “Let him go, Marissa. It’s a guy thing. It’s to prove how macho he is. Let him do what he thinks he has to do.”
I couldn’t believe Kate could be so…so unbelievably heartless. She had no idea how evil, how cruel Lynetta could be. No way did I want him facing the vamp on his own. I started to object. “But—”
Kate gave me one of her looks—the kind of look that said, “We’ll discuss this later, when Dominic isn’t around.”
I wanted to argue with her, with him, to tell him to give up this foolish and dangerous plan. But I conceded. I knew in my heart he was wrong and I could lose him forever. I also recognized he stubbornly resisted the idea that I help him now that he had his new warlock abilities and was determined to protect me at all costs.
My hands clenched in my lap, I looked down at my uneaten sandwich and tried to reconcile myself with his wishes. Then I turned to him, my own eyes moist with tears. “You still need my blood, don’t you?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed.
I sensed he thought I wouldn’t offer my blood to him unless he gave up his idiotic plan. Reaching out, I took his hand. “You do what you have to do, Dominic. But I offer you my blood freely, whatever you choose to do.”
His hand tightened on mine. “I can’t say enough how I don’t want Lynetta to hurt you.”
I nodded, though I didn’t have the same self-assurance he seemed to have that he would fare well with her on his own.
“I won’t leave until much later tonight.”
“Until we’re asleep and unaware you’ve gone.” I stated my concern as fact, with an edge to my voice. I couldn’t help the anxiety building in every fiber of my being.
“I would have told you my plan, Marissa. I wouldn’t have left without a goodbye kiss.”
I could have screamed at him. All he wanted was a parting kiss from me?
His lips turned up sinfully sexy-like. He dropped the wall briefly to allow me to read his thoughts. “No, Marissa, that is not all I want from you. But for now, while the devil lies in wait for me, I can only think about what I would like to do with you in my embrace.”
Again, the wall rose to keep me from reading his mind further. I tried to pry into his thoughts.
Dimples formed when he gave me one of his more kissable smiles. His eyes sparkled and even his dark brows rose.
A growl twisted deep inside me. I wanted to know these secret longings he had for me.
His smile broadened.
I looked away from the focus of his chocolate eyes melting with desire, my own cheeks heated to sunburn level.
“Well,” Kate said grabbing up her empty plate, “want to play a board game for a while if we have no other plans like vampire extermination methods to discuss?”
No, I didn’t want to play any board games! I wanted to know what Dominic had in mind to do with me.
His eyes focused on my lips. They turned up in response. He chuckled under his breath, then he helped to clear the table for the game.
Somehow I would find a way to break down that barrier he’d put up to block me out. Also, I had to figure out a way to prevent his reading of my mind. Most of all, I had every intention of thwarting his plan to see Lynetta on his own. Somehow.
Chapter 13
DOMINIC
Even though Marissa wasn’t happy with my plan, I had to stick to it. Keeping her safe, now that I was pretty sure I could handle Lynetta, was the only way to go.
All through the game of Magical Monopoly, which we played for several hours though I’d never played the game before—well, couldn’t have, not until I had some of Marissa’s magical abilities—Marissa cast sideways glances at me. A gentle nudging at my temple occurred every time she tried to probe my thoughts. Keeping my guard up against her attempts to read my mind, and concentrating on the complicated game of shifting land values through the use of magic, proved to be a strain
. A slight headache plagued me with the effort. If she didn’t know what my plan was, she couldn’t try to barge in on it, though. At least that’s what I’d read she had in mind to do—not once, but several fleeting times. So I kept my defenses in place.
She was persistent, if nothing else. Again, those Caribbean blues caught my gaze. My appetite grew for her as darkness enveloped the house, but I wasn’t comfortable about drinking her blood in front of Kate. I’m sure the image of a vampire sucking on its chosen host looked a lot more barbaric than it felt. In actuality, the contact was totally sensual, but something that could not be explained adequately to someone who had never been bitten by a vampire. Though, when Lynetta had bitten me, her bite was a little savage—probably because she hadn’t fed in so long and couldn’t control her craving.
I reached over and squeezed Marissa’s hand while she tapped her fingers on her lap. She looked over at me.
I opened my mind to her. “I’m hungry.”
“Oh, dinner.”
I shook my head. Dinner would be fine, of course, but I had something else in mind. Somehow we had to seclude ourselves from Kate for a few minutes. Then I worried. “Do you have the urge to feed also?”
This time Marissa shook her head. I couldn’t have sighed a bigger sigh of relief, and by the look on her face, she seemed to share my feelings. I leaned over and kissed her cheek.
She kissed my lips, and I wanted much more. But as I attempted to kiss her further, she rose from her chair. Already my escalating bloodlust curbed my appetite for anything but her warm, sweet blood. I’d hoped she was going to tell Kate we had to be alone for a few minutes, but instead she said, “I’ll fix a pizza.”
I swallowed the groan that rose from my belly. Pizza.
She raised her blond brows at me in a teasing fashion. “You’ll have to wait for dessert…later.”
“Tease.”
“We should go to bed first.”
At this last comment, my gaze raked boldly over her. The notion of being in bed with her filled my thoughts, tangling under the sheets and comforter, kissing, touching…
She shook her head, her eyes amused.
Chagrined, I realized I’d let down my guard, and I’m sure my ears were as red-hot as they felt.
“Keep thinking those thoughts. I’ll know what you’re up to.”
“Wild woman.”
“Hmmm-hmmm.”
I chuckled and Kate cast me an annoyed glance. She focused on Marissa when she shoved the pizza in the oven. “Are we having a silent conversation here without me?”
Marissa’s cheeks turned scarlet and her lips curved upward.
“Forget it. I don’t even want to know what’s being said. Or not said.” Kate shrugged. “Whatever.”
Yet she didn’t seem perturbed that we’d left her out of the conversation. Instead, she seemed glad that she was with us tonight, in on our adventure, as it was.
The doorbell rang and Kate hurried to answer it. I ran my hand over Marissa’s arm, then nuzzled my face against her neck. “I don’t know why I’m so hungry…I mean, so much earlier than I was yesterday.”
Marissa’s eyes widened. “You don’t think you’re more turned now, do you?”
I clenched my fists, then shoved my hands in my pockets. I hadn’t considered that, and my heart raced with anxiety at the thought.
“Yeah, sure, come in Joshua,” Kate said, her voice enthusiastic, as if we were having a party.
Instantly, my blood boiled. Joshua? The warlock from school? Here to see Marissa? She was mine!
Already, my canines threatened to extend. With the bloodlust urging me to feed on Marissa already, I wasn’t certain I could control my anger toward Joshua.
“You stay here,” Marissa warned, but in a loving way, sensing there’d be trouble. “I’ll get rid of him.”
I took a step toward the living area, ignoring Marissa’s command, but she grabbed my arm. I hissed at her, and she released me at once. The look of fear in her eyes sliced through my heart.
“I…I’m sorry, Marissa. I don’t know what’s come over me.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, a flicker of fear still marring them. “Stay here.” Her words were harshly spoken, but I imagined they were the result of her being scared I’d do something wretched to Joshua, maybe even to her and Kate. Or maybe she worried if she didn’t use an authoritative tone, I wouldn’t listen.
I truly wanted to take her in my arms and comfort her. And I wanted her blood. I clamped down on my teeth, gritted them to hold them in place.
Marissa left me in the kitchen fuming, attempting to get a grip on my hostile emotions while I paced.
“What do you want here, Joshua?” Marissa’s tone was as caustic with him as it had been with me.
Good.
Joshua cleared his throat, then spoke in a persuasive, charming tone, certainly more like the way I should have talked to Marissa. My gut clenched in irritation.
“I thought we might go out for pizza tomorrow night. Then we’ll go to the dance the following night,” Joshua said, as if Marissa hadn’t already said she wasn’t interested.
“No.” Marissa’s tone was final. “I already told you I have plans to go with Dominic.”
Now she sounded highly agitated. I was certain it irritated her that he’d never asked her out and now was forcing the issue. Was it because I was seeing her? No. He’d approached her when I was in the school administration office. I’d “heard” her talk with Kate, so knew that she hadn’t bribed Joshua to ask Marissa to dance. So what was he up to?
“What kind of a fruitcake name is that anyway?” Joshua asked, now his own voice on edge.
I imagined he was not used to being turned down by a girl, and being repeatedly turned down by the same one had to really irk him. Maybe that’s why he persisted. He didn’t like to lose. I knew the feeling well.
Silently, I paced across the tile floor, ignoring his comment, attempting to honor Marissa’s wishes, avoiding the confrontation I feared would occur if I didn’t. I sensed Joshua eyeing the kitchen where I, the totally useless wimp that I was, stood hiding. At that last thought, my canines extended.
“I’d like for you to leave now,” Marissa said in her usual diplomatic way.
I would have told the jerk to get out, now, with a few choice curses to ensure he got my meaning.
Certain he realized I was in the kitchen, I knew he baited me, hoping to bring me out in the open. Taunted me. Did he think that since I attended the average magic classes that he had the advantage? I’d rip his throat apart.
“What the—” Marissa’s surprised words were cut short.
I stepped into the living area to see what the matter was and got an eyeful of Joshua kissing Marissa and her hand flying toward his cheek in what would end in a painful slap.
Keeping my mouth shut to hide my extended canines, I charged across the carpeted floor, not sure what I would do when I reached them. But I was certain once I was through with Joshua, he would not ever pull that trick with my girlfriend again, if he even lived to tell the tale.
Joshua shoved Marissa aside as if she was garbage and not worth his time, which infuriated me more. Marissa threw her hands up in surprise, trying to keep from falling. Kate gasped. I was ready to explode.
Expecting a more physical encounter—as I’d certainly planned to get very physical with him—I was thrown off-guard when instead he voiced some kind of spell.
Both girls screamed out, “No, Joshua!”
By the time the words registered in my brain and I realized what he had invoked, it was too late for me to react.
Chapter 14
MARISSA
As soon as Joshua cast the lightning spell, my heart stopped. The deadly bolt of white light shot down from the ceiling, striking Dominic with such force, he collapsed instantly.
Kate and I shrieked and ran to Dominic’s crumpled form.
I felt for his pulse, but there was none. His face was ghastly white and he was still
as death, his hair standing up as if it was filled with thousands of atoms of static electricity. I sobbed, then turned my wrath on Joshua. “You’ll be destroyed by the witches’ and warlocks’ council for this,” I choked out.
My words sounded lame considering how devastated and infuriated I felt. I leapt to my feet and he cast me a sinister smile, his once handsome face twisted in a mask of something vile.
The council didn’t tolerate killings by warlocks or witches one bit. They allowed only the most extreme cases of self-defense, but this wasn’t self-defense. This was out-and-out murder and I hoped he’d fry. On the other hand, I didn’t want to wait for them to get through the long procedure. I wanted to kill him myself.
The snide look on his face turned my anguish into anger. Without thinking, I attacked him. With my nonexistent nails, I attempted to rip his face while tears blurred my eyes and my heart wedged in my throat. I couldn’t conjure up a spell to hurt him, I was so distraught.
Seizing my wrists, he prevented my doing any harm to him and gave me another smug grin which stoked my anger even further. “A witch will never be as strong as a warlock,” he simply said.
If I could, I would grow canines like Dominic could and rip Joshua’s throat out. My whole body vibrated with anger, and I struggled to free myself from the beast so I could kill him.
Joshua responded by kissing me on the neck, shocking and sickening me. The adrenaline coursed through me, filling me with the energy to fight off the bastard. But my mind was so torn with Dominic’s death, I couldn’t focus my thoughts on what I had to do to Joshua.
“Now you’ll go with me to the dance.” Joshua shoved me aside, and I fell backwards, landing on my backside hard, knocking the breath out of me.
By the time I was back on my feet, he’d slammed the door in his hasty exodus.
He had to be mad! He’d just killed Dominic! Did he think anyone would let him get away with it?
Kate knelt at Dominic’s side, holding his hand in hers. I ran to join them.
She whispered, “I didn’t want to say anything while Joshua was here because he might have cast another deadly spell, but Dominic’s fingers twitched a few seconds ago.”