by L.H. Cosway
“You’re in one of my visions,” Allora exclaims in awe, her voice bringing my attention back to her.
“Yeah,” I breathe, unable to figure out how this is actually happening.
“Something isn’t right.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re not in the future,” she explains. “We’re in the past. This has never happened before.”
“How am I here with you?”
“It might be because you were touching me when the vision took hold, and probably because of how close I felt to you when we were kissing.”
Before I can ask any further questions a door at the end of the hall opens and Theodore steps through. His clothes aren’t modern, but they still hold that whimsical touch. He’s wearing an old timey suit with a cravat, and his socks are purple with blue stripes.
I hold in my breath as he approaches, but he can’t see us at all.
“We’re not really here,” Allora informs me. “We’re just spectators. Come on.”
Hand in hand, we follow Theodore down the long hall. I get the impression that we’re in some sort of fancy hotel. Theodore is smiling as he slips a copper key out of his pocket and sticks it into the door of room 203. He pushes the door open and steps inside.
As we continue to follow him, I’m struck with the harsh scent of lavender perfume – and the unmistakable aroma of blood and sex. The key Theodore had been holding drops from his hand and clinks when it hits the floor as he storms through the suite. He stops when he reaches the bed where there’s a woman with long dark hair and brown eyes lying naked in the arms of a muscular blonde guy.
When the woman sees Theodore her eyes widen and her fangs extend as she smiles. Shit, she’s a vampire. The man she’s lying with has bite marks all along his neck and he looks completely zoned out from blood loss.
“No,” Theodore whispers in disbelief. “How could you…?”
The vampire laughs cruelly. “Oh come on, you didn’t think I was going to stop, did you?”
Theodore’s eyes narrow to slits. “I thought you were mine. I told you I would give you all the blood you needed, so long as you stayed faithful to me.”
“The thrill of the hunt is half the joy of feeding, my dear. Surely you can understand that.”
“I told you I loved you,” he seethes.
The vampire continues to laugh. “People our age don’t know the meaning of love, Theo. Love is for mortals.”
“You are mortal, Jessica.”
“Not the way a human is. I’m six hundred years old.”
“And I am two centuries more than that, but still, I did love you. That was until I found you here…copulating.”
“You have to stop taking things so seriously,” the vampire Jessica replies. “I like to play with my human toys every now and again. You’ll just have to learn to live with it.”
Theodore’s anger comes to bursting point when he booms, “No! I will not learn to live with it!”
He jumps onto the bed and grabs the zoned out human, pressing his hand into his face. Magic sizzles from his fingertips and the man’s life starts to drain until his complexion has paled and he’s gone. Jessica watches Theodore kill the guy she’d just be drinking from and having sex with. She doesn’t even seem shocked.
She does, however, look scared when Theodore turns his attention to her, purple magic still zinging from the palm of his hand.
“Don’t,” she tells him in a voice that sounds calm on the surface but underneath there’s barely concealed panic.
He takes her by the hair and throws her from the bed onto the floor.
“You vampires,” he spits in a harsh voice, “I thought you had hearts, but now I see I was wrong. You’re all dead inside, with nothing but blackened stones inside your chests.”
“Theo, please don’t do this,” Jessica begs, all pretences of calm completely gone now.
“Why not? I’m done with you. Never again will I allow myself to be fooled by one of your kind. I hate you. I hate all of you.”
At this he throws both his hands forward, gesturing a rapid and intricate spell. He’s not even touching her anymore, but her head is starting to twist. It keeps turning completely until it snaps and she’s rendered unconscious, but not dead. Not yet. Theodore strides to the four poster bed and smashes it with his magic. He picks up a broken, jagged piece of wood before walking back to Jessica. Without preamble he aims the wood at her heart and stabs her, emitting a pained grunt.
When her body starts to disintegrate, Theodore drops to the floor, his face in his hands. It takes a moment or two for me to realise that he’s crying.
“This is why he hates vampires so much,” Allora whispers, suddenly enlightened.
A second later we’re both descending back into darkness. The next time I open my eyes we’re in Tribane again, standing on a path at Campion Row. There are people everywhere and it’s even more crowded than it had been the day Theodore had his chalk circles plan.
“Are we in the future now?” I ask Allora.
“I think so,” she answers.
People mutter excitedly all around us, sort of like they’re waiting impatiently for their favourite boy band to make an appearance. It’s day time; the skies are clear and cloud free above us. Then I hear someone gasp and others start to cry out in terror. The atmosphere changes so rapidly that it takes me a minute to pinpoint what’s happening.
I look up ahead to see the clear blue sky darkening as a black cloud overtakes it. It’s Theodore’s chaos. The light is completely obliterated within seconds and the chaos is shooting down from above, invading the bodies of the humans below. Instantly their bodies fall and convulse and no more than a minute later they’ve gone still. Dead. I turn to look at Allora just in time to see the chaos hovering above us. It bypasses Allora and comes straight for me. There’s nothing I can do to fight it and then there’s no more time left. The blackness takes over and my body is not my own anymore.
Waking up covered in sweat and shaking all over, I find I’m back in my bed in Cristescu’s. Relief washes over me when I realise none of that really happened, not yet anyway. Allora wakes up beside me and her mouth forms a round ‘O’ shape.
“You were inside my visions,” she says, her face showing her amazement at that fact.
“I think it’s because I was touching you when it happened. Has anyone ever been touching you when a vision came before?”
She shakes her head. “No, most people’s reactions when I start convulsing is to get as far away as possible.” She lets out a little laugh. “Like this crap is contagious or something.”
I pull her close and rub her shoulder soothingly.
“We were in the past,” I murmur, trying to figure out what it means.
“My ability must have shown me that for a purpose. It wanted me to know that Theodore has a reason for wanting to wipe out vampires.”
“The guy must have a very easily wounded ego. I mean, he got cheated on. Build a bridge and get over it.”
“Sorcerer’s are so old though, it makes them crazier. Every little thing is a personal affront, so imagine how angry being cheated on would make them.”
“I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that such a hot vampire was with Theodore.”
Allora shrugs. “I know, but some women find power a strong aphrodisiac. And Theodore has lots of power. He was 800 years old back then. That means he must be almost a thousand now.”
I ignore her conjecture about Theodore’s age and focus in on the aphrodisiac part.
“Is that so? What about you?” I ask with a grin.
“What about me?”
“What do you find an aphrodisiac?”
“Finn,” she mutters and looks away. I squeeze her arm and chuckle, bringing my mouth to her earlobe and sucking. She gasps.
“I love it when you make that noise,” I whisper and move her so that she’s lying flat down on the bed. We could spend the next several hours discussing what we saw in h
er vision, and yeah, we should probably tell the others, but right now I just want to be with her. Everything seems so vital, almost like we only have so much time left.
It always feels like that in this city. There’s this constant anxiety that your next breath could be your last, which is kind of an occupational hazard when your job is slaying vampires.
I capture her mouth in a kiss, cradling her face in my hands.
“Finn,” she says my name again in protest but I choose to ignore it. My hand drifts down between her legs.
“Open for me,” I murmur into her mouth and her thighs which were squeezed tight fall instantly apart. That’s my girl.
“Finn.”
“Stop worrying, baby, I’ll take good care of you,” I say, my breaths speeding up when I cup her in my hand. She whimpers and I apply pressure to her clit. I shove her T-shirt up and off over her head before swiftly discarding with her bra. Then her beautiful tits are bared to me and I groan aloud. She’s too fucking perfect. I trail my hand down her side, revelling in how her hips jut out lavishly from her small waist.
“Finn, I’ve never done this before,” she finally confesses and I pause.
Okay, so I kind of already knew that. With some women you can just tell, and Allora projects her innocence like it’s scrawled across a billboard.
“That’s alright.” I reassure her, meeting her pretty gold eyes. “Do you want me?”
“Yes, so much. God, so much.” Her gaze drifts down my chest with need and I smile, obliging her by removing my shirt so that she can look her fill.
She shyly reaches out a hand and feels down my abdomen, my muscles jumping at her touch. I close my eyes and enjoy the sensation of her fingers as they explore me.
“Hey,” I say opening them. “You want to get on top?”
She chews on her lip and nods. I flip her deftly and my back hits the mattress as I let her straddle my thighs. Her hands continue to move over my bare chest before fumbling with my belt buckle and undoing the fly of my jeans. I’m so busy staring at how incredible her tits look from this angle that I don’t immediately notice her tugging down my pants.
I chuckle and help her get them off. Then I’m completely bare arse naked and she’s almost naked. The last item of clothing she has on are those white knickers that I’m just itching to tear off.
Gripping the back of her neck, I pull her mouth down to mine, kissing her hard and possessive. She moans as she grinds herself into my erection and I swear I almost blow my load. Both our chests are rising and falling as our arousal builds. I hook my fingers under her knickers and ease them down an inch.
Her mouth moves to my neck and I can’t take it any longer. I have to be in her now. Her underwear is off seconds later and I continue to kiss her as I reach over to the nightstand where I stashed a few condoms the other day…not like I was planning this or anything. Ha, yeah right.
She breaks the kiss to watch me tear open the foil and roll on the johnny. Her eyes are wide, taking everything in. Once it’s on I pull her under me and spread her legs wider. I let my hand drift over her wet folds for a while, and then I start rubbing circles into her clit. I want her to come first, that way she’ll be less tense when I enter her.
She orgasms with a strangled cry and a rosy blush colours her cheeks. Wow. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of doing that to her.
“That feel good, baby?” I ask, my voice low. It’s taking every ounce of willpower I have not to plunge into her hard and fast. She’s too fragile. She needs me to be slow. For now.
“So good,” she sighs and I nudge my tip at her opening. “Oh, God, please,” she begs. “I want to feel you, Finn.”
“I want to feel you too,” I groan and bring my mouth to her ear, licking along the shell and sucking. I enter her just the slightest bit and she whimpers.
“Jesus, you’re fucking tight, babe,” I practically growl.
“Please,” she continues to beg.
I push in a bit more and she clamps her thighs around me tight, her legs locking around my waist. I try to focus on keeping this slow and steady, but damn, she feels amazing. I know this has to be hurting her. She’s still moaning but once I push through that thin barrier of skin she goes incredibly quiet. I brace myself on my hands to see her face and her eyes are squeezed shut.
“I know it’s sore, baby. Tell me if you want me to stop,” I say gently, watching her intently.
She must be biting on her lip hard enough to draw blood right now. Finally, she opens her eyes and answers, “No, keep going, I want you to.”
I rock my hips back slowly and then in, never breaking eye contact with her.
“You’re so beautiful, so gorgeous,” I whisper and continue to utter sweet things to her as I lose myself in the sensation. Our slow rhythm allows me to feel every inch of her around me. Her muscles clenching on my dick are almost too much to take.
“Finn, God,” she moans.
I quicken my thrusts just a little and her mouth falls open in response. I think this might feel better for her now that she’s gotten used to me. I’ve never actually been with a virgin before. The kind of places a fella like me frequents doesn’t really make for meeting a lot of untouched women. The fact that I know I’m her first awakens something primal inside me. I feel like I could kill if another man ever tried to touch her.
Moving my hand to her clit and my mouth to her breast, I’m determined to make her come a second time. Her muscles clench around me exquisitely when I touch the tiny bundle of nerves. Her thighs lock around me tighter as I feel her orgasm building.
“Yes,” I rasp. “God, you feel so good.”
I know I shouldn’t but I’m too frenzied to stop myself, and I start to fuck her now. She lets out a loud cry of pleasure and I know I’m going to come soon. I wait until I bring her to the edge to let go, and just as she shatters in pleasure beneath me I spurt into her with a strangled groan.
“I love you,” I think I hear her whisper so quietly that I can’t be sure she actually said it.
I roll us so that I’m cradling her body in my arms. I hesitate, unsure whether to ask her to repeat herself.
A minute later I finally summon up the courage. “Allora, what did you just say?”
There’s no response and when I pull her around to that I can see her face I find her breathing deeply and her eyes are closed. She’s fallen asleep.
I try to fall asleep too, but I can’t seem to manage it. I just keep thinking about her words, thinking about whether or not she actually said them.
Nope, not going to be getting some shut eye any time soon.
Making sure not to wake her, I roll over and off the bed, pulling on my jeans and shirt. I decide a quick bite to eat might make me sleepy so I go down to the kitchen to see what’s on offer. Gabriel, Alvie and Tegan are sitting at the expensive chrome looking table drinking tea and talking.
“What has you all up so late?” I ask taking a seat beside them.
“Oh, you know, we’re just hashing things over, trying to see if there are any holes in Roman’s plan,” says Gabriel.
“And…are there?”
Alvie sighs. “Aren’t there always.”
I can’t argue with that. Looking between the three of them, I decide to tell them about what happened with Allora and what we both saw in her visions.
“Jeez, talk about a spurned lover. I never thought anyone would actually be crazy enough to kill their partner because they caught them cheating,” says Tegan. “Though it does explain how determined he is to destroy the vampires in this city.”
“You know, I’m kind of disappointed,” says Alvie with a grin. “I mean, I just expected his reason to be bigger than a simple case of wounded pride.”
“People are pretty simplistic when you look beneath the surface,” Gabriel adds. “Even sorcerers.”
“There’s only one more day until Theodore lets the chaos free,” says Tegan and we all go quiet, thinking about it. She looks at me. “Finn, when you were
in the vision with Allora, did it feel like the people were dead when the chaos got into them, or did it feel like it was Roman’s spell taking effect?”
“Honestly Petal, I have no idea.”
She lets out a long breath, a crease forming on her brow. “There must be an easier way of doing this. I don’t see why we can’t just find Theodore and kill him before he even releases the chaos.”
“Well, we don’t know where he is for a start,” says Gabriel. “He won’t have stayed in the house Roman found him in for long. It’s too risky.”
“I guess.”
She clasps her hands together and a thoughtful expression comes over her, but she doesn’t say anything more. If I didn’t know any better I’d say she was concocting something that’s going to get her into trouble. But no, she’s not that stupid.
At least I hope she isn’t.
With these thoughts in my head, I’m not so hungry anymore. I return to my room and climb into bed beside Allora. I wrap my arms around her, making the most of the time we have left, because if Theodore gets his way we’ll all be done for soon enough.
Chapter Seventeen
Shut Your Mouth and Fight Me
Tegan
I can’t stop thinking about how the All-Knowing Tome showed me what it takes to kill a sorcerer. I have this innate feeling that it told me because it’s my responsibility to put an end to Theodore.
Cut off his head.
Burn his body.
I can do that, right? I was the one who killed Eliza when she’d been intent on my death. Theodore might be a little trickier, but it’s…doable. There is that one little obstacle of having to find him first, but I have a plan.
There’s a scarf among my things that belongs to Rita. I borrowed it and forgot to return it, which is lucky because now I can use it to cast a location spell. If I find where Rita is I’ll also find where Theodore is.