by Claudy Conn
Auntie Elle would be sad to learn that I had just experienced an emotion she had always railed about. “Never hate,” she would tell me. “You may dislike, but you may not hate. Hate is ugly and causes pain.”
And still, the emotion took hold.
My witchy senses, totally on call and alert, demanded I keep watch. I had to see everything she did, analyze its meaning, and find a solution if she attacked.
Once again, I sensed something was terribly off about her. I blinked to make certain my suspicion was correct and discovered that, oh yeah, my suspicion was damned well in the right.
What to do? Wait.
I zeroed in with my Shama and watched her entire body, sword and all, as it faded in and out right before my eyes. I didn’t think this was an optical illusion. I knew better.
Slim rays of moonlight still engulfed her as she took another step forward, giving me an even better view of her person.
Someone in my head—me actually, whispered, You know what to do. Did I?
I could see it all so clearly now and absolutely knew she was projecting herself from another place, and she was having a difficult time maintaining her image here in the MacLeod library.
I concentrated. If I was right, she wouldn’t be at full strength in this state. If I was right, I could have the advantage for a moment or two, and a moment or two was all I needed.
It hit me like an explosion in my head—the sword.
I had already guessed this was the sword she used to kill my grandmother, and then suddenly my Shama gave me a first row seat to the past. I saw it like a 3-d movie playing out right before my eyes.
I saw Allora produce the sword. I saw the surprise hit my grandmother’s face and eyes as Allora began her attack, swinging the sword with her vampire strength.
What Allora didn’t realize was just as the sword met my grandmother’s neck, my grandmother transferred her most potent magic into the sword.
She knew one day her daughter or her daughter’s child would arrive here to rescue Devin MacLeod from the spell she had enacted to enslave him in another realm.
She knew the sword would be pointed at her own blood.
Her magic called to me now, and she showed me just what to do.
It was mine! The sword was mine, and I could feel it reaching for me. Her magic wanted to join with mine. I centered myself on meeting those stretching tentacles of white light the sword sent out to me—my grandmother’s white light.
This sword was meant to respond to me, only me, and it flew across the room into my waiting hand, and I took hold of it.
I also nearly fell over from its weight.
Holy good gosh, it was heavy and full of power, and it was mine.
This sword would never miss its target. It had a magic all its own and was never meant for a vampire’s hand. I wondered briefly where Allora had originally obtained it.
Allora roared with fury, but she made no move towards me. We stood staring at one another, challenging one another, when Jeremy burst into the room!
At my back, on the other side of the invisible divider, Devin was still shouting and breathed with relief. “Finally!” And then, “Ye can beat her back, lass. Together, ye and Jeremy together can beat her back, she isn’t at full strength…she is projecting!”
Jeremy, in dark boxers, now beside me, put out his palm and I know he called down pain on Allora because she held her head and howled with agony before she screeched at us, “I’ll be back and you will both die.”
Just like that, with those last words, she faded out and was gone.
Yeah, and I had the sword.
Jeremy and I just looked at one another for a moment before he said, “She projected herself. A vampire doesn’t have that ability. How…?”
“Don’t look at me,” I said, as I too was astonished. “I’ve never heard of a vampire owning that kind of magic.”
“We dinnae have the ability to project ourselves,” Devin interjected. “Nae even the ancients can accomplish that. She must have a powerful witch working for her.”
Jeremy said, “This is bad, Bobbie, very bad. If she can project herself, she can kill while in that projection, but I am not certain we can destroy her when she is in that state.”
“Well, I don’t know about that because…” I held up the sword for his inspection. I had to use more than my usual strength to lift it. Damn, but it was weighty. “I got this.”
He laughed. “So you do.”
“She used it to kill my grandmother. I would like to use it to kill her,” I said.
“Bloodthirsty little American,” he said, but smiled.
“Yeah, so tell me, if she projected herself from another locale, whatever came with her would be real?”
“I’m not sure,” Jeremy answered. “We are going to have to do some research.”
“I wished I had killed her when she was here,” I said quietly.
“Nae, lass…killing changes a person, and I like ye the way ye are. Get me out of here, and I’ll be the one doing the killing.”
Jeremy inspected the sword and stepped back, horror on his face. “This is the sword that killed my sister.” His voice was hoarse with feeling.
“And my grandmother.”
“How did you get it away from her?”
“It reached for me—Jeremy, I saw my grandmother’s murder…my magic showed me the past. She knew—my grandmother knew a moment before Allora killed her and she transferred her magic to the sword. The sword showed me how my grandmother was taken by surprise, but in that moment, when she realized what was going to happen, she transferred her magic to the sword and also spelled it to react to her bloodline. My grandmother must have hoped her bloodline through my mother would prosper and one of her descendants would return here to free Devin.”
“Put the sword away. Put the filthy thing away!” Devin shouted.
I realized what a visual this was for him. It had killed his new bride. It had killed the only witch that could have saved him from eternal banishment.
I couldn’t speak as I saw the anguish on his face.
“We need to store the sword where Allora can’t get it should she return,” Jeremy said quietly.
“I don’t think she can use it any longer. The sword has attached itself to me. I can feel my grandmother’s magic actually purring all around me, and that purr…is coming from this blade.” I touched it. “But just in case…there is something I can do,” I said. “My Aunt Elle taught me a trick many earthly witches know. They store their wands in the atmosphere, ever-ready to be called on when needed, but out of the way—so glans can’t see them.” I wiggled my brows and got ready to use Aunt Elle’s wand spell. “I guess I can do the same with a sword.” As I silently said the word the sword vanished, but I could feel it nearby, ready to be taken by me. Well, that was one for our side.
I turned to look at Devin, who was frowning darkly. “Coom back here, lass. Now. I want ye on this side where Allora cannae get to ye.”
“I can’t do that, Devin. There is so much to be done and I have to figure out what spell my grandmother used to imprison you. I have to see this through. Allora will soon find out who I am…who Jeremy is, and when she comes back here, she will come to destroy us. Jeremy and I need to figure out a way to finish her before that happens.”
“Mad? Are ye mad? Ye aren’t strong enough to take on the likes of Allora,” Devin yelled as he ran his hand through his hair. “I wouldna have ye hurt!”
“I told you not so long ago, I am an independent woman…I make my own decisions,” I said softly.
“Och aye, ye cannae see, ye dinnae know. I will wither without ye, Bobbie lass…have ye nae care for that?”
Jeremy’s eyes opened wide and he looked at me and then at Devin before releasing a slow whistle. “Well,” he said, “that is a new development.”
I went to the invisible wall and put my palm against it. He immediately matched mine with his large one pressed to the divider. A tingling sensation swept th
rough the glass…to me. Our eyes met. In that moment, an emotion as sure as the air we breathed, as potent as the power created from rushing water, took us on that eternal journey I like to think of as love.
“I care and I won’t let that happen. Trust me,” I told him.
He closed his eyes and didn’t speak for a moment, and then his voice was as fierce as his expression. “The first sign of daylight, ye and Jeremy immediately take to action and Blood Ward the grounds and all around the exterior. At least her vampires wouldna be able to roam around outside at will. The thought of that makes me wild with worry.”
“Yes, and we might get lucky. There is a chance she won’t be able to get through a Druid Blood Ward, even though she was given an invite,” Jeremy offered.
That made me chew my lip.
Devin said, “I think she can get through. That invitation trumps the ward. There is only a slight chance she wouldna be able to get past the Blood Ward, so we prepare for the worst.”
“What if we specifically warded the place against her…against Allora Brently?” I asked.
“You would need something of hers…to do that,” Jeremy said, and suddenly grinned.
“Something from Brently Manor,” I suggested. “Are you game?”
“Hell yes!”
“Bloody hell, no!” Devin ranted. “Jeremy…the place might be crawling with vampires. They will tear ye both apart. I wouldna have it. I cannae allow it. No, do ye hear me…lass, dinnae make me feel more helpless than I already feel.”
Those words got to me. I turned back to him and once again put my palm up for his. I looked into his burning blue eyes and said, “Devin, she needs to die. We need to keep her away from MacLeod and the people that work here. I am fairly certain that if we get something of hers, we can prevent her from entering MacLeod, and I have a plan.”
“A plan is it?” Devin growled. “A plan to die and break m’heart?”
“No, a plan to get in and out without one vampire getting near us,” I said.
“And how do we do that?” Jeremy asked.
“Ah, we have to find a blueprint of Brently Manor.” I was so excited and sure that this was something we could accomplish. I went towards the desk and said, “Jeremy…you might want to get some clothes on, and we’ll see what we can come up with.”
Jeremy grinned. “On it.”
I watched him leave the room but looked around and saw Devin, his face drawn in grim lines.
“Nae, lass, ye disrespect me. Ye have nae care for what I suffer when I cannae get to ye and keep ye safe. This is nae independence but foolishness. How can I convince ye to stay away from Brently Manor?”
I got up and went to the wall that divided us. “Don’t think like that, Devin. How can you say I am disrespecting you? It isn’t true. We are both individuals and at times we won’t agree, but I respect all your feelings—all your thoughts…”
“Nae, ye dinnae…cannae know,” he moaned at me.
“I do, I do know, but I have to do what I think is right, and I have taken everything you have told me into consideration. You must see what I am doing now is for you, and well, in a manner, also for us. If we can keep Allora out of the castle, we will have won a major victory. You—we aren’t at all certain that the Blood Ward will keep her out, in fact, you don’t think it will. Only one way to insure that we can keep her out of here and then fight her on our own terms is to go ahead with our plan. We need to obtain something of hers…don’t you agree? If it wasn’t me involved, isn’t that what you would do?”
He wouldn’t answer and I waited for him to compose himself. When he shook his head and growled, I realized I had not changed his mind.
“Dinnae treat me like a fool, or worse, like a child ye must sugar up to get to behave. I wouldna have it, lass. There is a fact ye are refusing to consider…and that is ye are in the direct line of fire. She knows ye to be a witch and now she wants ye dead. Ye took something she considered her own. She will come for ye with a vengeance. She must have a witch—a powerful witch doing her bidding. I can think of only one with the power to project a vampire like that. He is an immortal warlock, and he is Ramon’s man. That means the ancient, Ramon, is nae only her lover, but also working with her. I can only think of one reason a warlock of such power would do a favor for Allora, and that is because of Ramon. That is the long and the short of it. Right then, ye want to go off to her manor house and what…find something of hers? How long will that take, lass? Dinnae ye know a brush or a gown wouldna work? It has to be an artifact she has used in the past, something she claimed as her own.”
That piece of information brought me down from my high. I thought we could get into her bedroom, swipe a brush, and get out. Searching for an artifact that she had used would be time consuming and make the mission far more dangerous. It was something to consider.
“Why would Ramon want to help her?” Jeremy asked as he stepped back into the room, tucking in his blue T-shirt.
“M’guess, lad, is that she told him at some point that I am a day-walker. He might believe I hold the key, and ‘tis possible he covets that ability. ‘Tis hard to say for sure…but I think that might be at the heart of it, as far as Ramon is concerned. Aye, the little I know of him, and about him, I’m thinking ‘tis a good guess,” Devin said, and then appeared to me to be mulling it further, as he went very quiet.
I chewed my lip, anxious to find a solution and offered, “Well then, we’ll have to find a way of keeping Allora out of MacLeod while we try and free you. Also, we have to find a way to convince this Ramon vampire that he will never be a day-walker because he has drank human blood.”
Jeremy eyed me and then Devin before he said, “I don’t know about that. If he thinks we have something he wants…a formula for day-walking, well, he might be more willing to keep us alive?”
I eyed him as I played with this idea. “You make a good point.”
“Nae necessarily. Ramon has his own quirks and we cannae know for sure what his purpose is in this equation,” Devin cut in.
“Well, first things first,” I said on a long sigh and headed for the computer, “we need blueprints of Brently Manor.”
“Nae, nae, ye don’t…” Devin shouted.
Jeremy groaned and offered a compromise. “Better to have them if we can and figure out the rest afterwards, eh, Devin?”
Devin did not think so at all!
~ Two ~
I AWOKE WITH A START and realized someone was banging on my bedroom door. “What…who…” I looked at the clock. It was only six in the morning and Jeremy and I had not parted company until three. It is amazing the amount of information the internet has stored out there in space. I wasn’t tired, immortal here, we recoup our energies very quickly, but even so, I would have liked to slept on…
“Bobbie, I have news…can I come in?”
“Nae!” Devin said. “Ye cannae enter m’lady’s bedroom when she is in her bed,” Devin said on a hard note.
I stared at him and glared, but he was adorable.
Devin ignored my look and added, “Go downstairs, Jeremy, and make the coffee…she’ll be down as soon as she can pull herself together.”
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to laugh or scream. He was so damn controlling, and so damn dear all in one. I eyed him and pointed a finger at him. “Hey…you, My Lord, don’t make decisions for me.”
“Do ye nae want coffee?” Devin asked, his blue eyes twinkling and one brow arched.
“Good idea,” Jeremy said through the door. “Coffee would be good. Meet me in the kitchen.”
“Aye then, lass…up with ye, since I’m nae there with ye, that is,” Devin said, and his smile was wicked.
“Turn around,” I told him, and laughed. Our naked bodies had been entwined for hours, only a couple of days ago. Shyness was not called for and yet for a moment, just a moment, that was just how I felt, ridiculously shy.
“Nae,” he said, his voice dripping with his sexy, old world Scottish accent.
&nb
sp; “Fine,” I said, boldly getting up and walking to our divider. “Want me to come over for a kiss?” I teased by swaying ever so slightly as I spoke so that he had a full understanding.
“Aye, but more than that, I want ye safe and if ye coom to me now, I’ll nae be letting ye go anytime soon,” he whispered, and sighed heavily. “So, go on then. Sounds as though Jeremy has some information we need to know, now!”
I laughed. “Okay.” I went into the bathroom and asked him for privacy, got it, and then went through my morning rituals before squeezing into my tight jeans, a silky black sweater, and a pair of black ankle boots. I hurried out of the bathroom wondering where Devin had gotten to when I saw him break through the lush growth back to our divider.
My vampire released a low whistle. “Ah, lass, ye look as good in clothes…almost, as ye do out of ‘em.”
I laughed and as Mrs. Tunny and Davis wouldn’t arrive for a bit, I poofed in a cloud of my purple smoke down to the kitchen.
Jeremy laughed as I stepped out of my cloud and said, “Damn, but I have never known a woman who could get ready as fast as you.” He poured me a mug of black coffee and set a dish of pastries Mrs. Tunny had baked the day before in front of me as I took a seat. “Bobbie, I heard from my men.” His voice was portentous and his eyes bright with excitement.
“And?” Devin said. “Get to the point, lad!”
I waited while Jeremy took a long breath. “Devin was correct. Allora is aligned with the ancient, Ramon. Apparently they have been off-again, on-again lovers over the centuries, and yes, Ramon’s ally, also over the centuries, is a Dark Warlock, Beyland. Some say he and the warlock are connected somehow…because this particular warlock has no reason to help Ramon…other than friendship. My men find their relationship somewhat inexplicable. At any rate, because Allora and Ramon are lovers—well, that could spell a wide complication. There can be no doubt that Beyland was the reason she was able to project herself here, and yet I find it quite incredible that he would help her, even for Ramon. It is rumored that Beyland despises vampires…with Ramon as the one exception. Also, he has never taken part in the petty grievances supernaturals have with one another, putting himself, my men tell me, above what he calls the ‘general fray’. He would see Allora’s ‘trouble’ with Devin as just that, so if he helped her, I don’t think he would do so again…unless he has a personal interest in doing so.”