Hex and the Single Witch (Vehicle City Vampires)

by Roxanne Rhoads

  “I know you have issues with Galen’s sire and the way the Vampire Council leader was dispatched, combined with your previous dislike of Galen, it has all made you hate him even more, even though he should have your respect. You know better than anyone those council bastards broke all the vampire rules and had to be destroyed. I think you should be thankful you were not with them when their time came,” Satinka hissed the last words through clenched teeth.

  She paused, took a deep breath a vampire had no need of, and then continued, “I am sorry they had sympathizers but do not dare try to put the blame on Galen or point fingers at anyone. I protect no one that does not deserve it. I know Galen is innocent. This rogue has to be a very old vampire with a great deal of power. He is able to conceal his identity and hide amongst us. It is bad. Very bad magick is being used.”

  Devlin laughed. “Do not get your knickers in a bunch Sati, dear. I know how you feel about the old council leader and Galen’s sire. No need to get all worked up about things that cannot be changed. I am more worried about the things that are going on now and what you are going to do about it. I heard a rumor that last night’s dead girl met her killer right here at VAMP. Surely you should have noticed a killer in your midst. The council wants a full report on what is going on here in Vehicle City with your vamps and precious little humans. Having the spotlight on a rogue vampire turned serial killer is making them all a bit twitchy. It is a bit too much vampire publicity of the wrong kind. We are still coming out of the coffin, Sati dear; we have to be careful.”

  “I know. One reason why I am little miss do-gooder is to give us a better reputation. Did you know the Weres are getting treated even worse than we are? At least we are seen as semi-human. Once a human witnesses one of them shift or sees them in animal form, that becomes all they are...an animal, a monster. That is why I have to do good and create good publicity for all of us. We are not monsters; at least most of us are not.”

  Devlin snorted, he didn’t seem to agree. “So you are saying it is up to us to get rid of the ones that are monsters?”

  “If not us, who? The humans cannot. They do not understand and do not have the power. We would be wiped out, seen as nothing more than horrors to be disposed of. Humans do not see us as human beings. We have to prove we are worthy, that there are good and bad, we are not all monsters. It is up to us.”

  “Sounds like too much work to me.”

  “Of course it is too much work for you, Devlin. You have never been much for getting your hands dirty unless it was for your own personal satisfaction.”

  “You are absolutely right, Sati. I was born to wealth and privilege and have lived my whole life that way.” He laughed and started to walk away. “Do not worry, Sati. I will contact the council and let them know everything is on the up and up and that you have it all under control.”

  “Thank you, Devlin.” She hissed at his back as he sauntered out of the club. Then she turned and looked at me. I stood up and walked slowly over to her. She looked small and innocent behind the bar yet had an underlying wickedness I couldn’t miss. She exuded danger. Her entire persona reeked of power and control.

  I hesitantly introduced myself to her, “Ms. Tala, my name is Anwyn Rose, I am the—”

  She interrupted me with a tinkling laugh shattering all feelings of danger and unease in the air. “I know who you are Wynnie dear. I worked with your father during the Hysteria. I was his friend…his partner… and your mother’s best friend…when she…before she…” Sadness took control of her features for a brief moment and she looked down at the floor to regain her composure.

  I was shocked, my dad’s partner and my mother’s friend? My mother hated vampires with a passion—to have had one as a friend… “I’m sorry Ms. Tala, I was not aware of your connections to my family. With my father gone and my mother lost most of the time, anything before my father’s death is pretty much a blank. Grams won’t tell me anything, I think it pains her too much to talk about it, she just takes care of my mom.” I sighed. So much for me being She Who Knows.

  Her sad but tinkling laugh filled the room again. “It is a burden having your destiny set out for you, is it not? Forgive me for laughing, Wynnie, but I understand. I was destined to be Lonato’s Guardian and it has been a bitch all these years. And please stop calling me Ms. Tala. There is no need to be so formal. You used to call me Auntie Sati. I can still see you in pigtails wanting me to fly you around your parent’s backyard.” She walked out from behind the bar and led me over to a table and motioned for me to sit.

  I was still dumbfounded by what she said as I sat down at the table. “Auntie Sati? Fly?” I mumbled, totally at a loss for words. How could I have forgotten such a major part of my history? I had a past with this woman, this vampire. Why was it lost to me? “So you know me well then, Ms…I mean Satink...er Sati.”

  She sat down across from me. “Of course, you are the daughter of my partner and one of my dearest friends. I knew your mother before she met your dad. We were so close once. Then during the Hysteria your father and I,” she paused as pain etched across her features, “became partners on the Preternatural Task Force when the humans needed supernatural help taking down the rogues. Your dad and I worked side by side; we had each other’s backs…until that night,” her voice trailed off.

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. She had been there the night my father died. She knew what really happened. Her sigh seemed to carry the weight of the world in it. “I have never forgiven myself, Wyn, your mother never forgave me either. She has not spoken to me since that night. She…she’s…”

  I interrupted, “She’s never been the same. I know. I lost both my mother and father.” Familiar bitterness crept into my belly, but I chose to ignore it, like usual. “Look I don’t know what really happened, but I am sure it wasn’t your fault. I heard my dad’s partner had taken several bullets and a stake close to the heart. Sounds like you were in pretty bad shape yourself. It wasn’t your fault.”

  “That does not matter. I was supposed to protect him. I was stronger, faster, immortal. Your dad, he was just a man, a powerful man and warrior…but still just a man, mortal. I still don’t know what happened. Your mother’s spells and wards always kept us safe but the last night…something went terribly wrong. All of our protection was gone.” Blood-tinged tears filled her eyes. After all these years her emotion, her pain…it was still so raw.

  I blinked and all signs of tears and emotion disappeared, sucked inside. I guess when a master vampire got their emotions under control, all else disappeared.

  “So, Anwyn, tell me why you are here on official business.”

  So much for a trip down memory lane.

  “The police want to know about last night’s murder and they’re interested in the rumors about your vigilante group. It doesn’t settle well there are crime fighting creatures roaming the streets hunting one of their own. The woman killed, apparently she met her killer right here in your club last night.”

  “Somehow this vampire has slipped by me, I’m not pleased about it at all. This bastard, the killer, is using old magick, like he walks around in an invisible cloak. No one senses anything unless he wants them to. I can’t help you with him. I have nothing.” She looked really upset about the fact she had nothing to offer me. I thought about what she had said to Devlin about Galen. I was about to ask when she sighed and then asked me, “You know there are more than just vampires in the Guardians, right?”

  “I know, Sati. Look that’s not my biggest concern. I just need something to give the police. Something bad is coming or is already here. The energy fills the nights. This city feels so dead sometimes. Other times it is so alive with magick it’s downright oppressive. Makes the air hard to breath. Even the non-sensitive humans are reacting and not in positive ways. Then there’s this damn killer, this evil, freakin’ invisible vampire… What the hell is going on, Sati?”

  “I’d like to be completely honest with you, Anwyn, but you are going to have to
sort through what I give you and decide on what is best to share with the humans.”

  She gave me a knowing wink and patted my hand in a very motherly way. I knew she was a centuries old woman…vampire who had been a woman, a mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and numerous greats on down the line, yet her appearance was a young woman no older than me, perhaps even younger than me. So the matronly gesture seemed odd to me. Yet, strangely comforting and familiar.

  Suddenly an image appeared in my mind, I was climbing on her back then she flew us around the yard while I squealed with delight, “Faster, Auntie Sati, faster.” I giggled with joy as she flew us around. I couldn’t believe it, she had been telling the truth. Her touch brought back a piece of my lost memory. I wondered what other memories she could give back to me.

  I smiled at her. “My job as Liaison is to keep the peace between the Others and the humans. I would never give the humans more than they could handle.”

  She winked at me. “That is my girl. You are your father’s daughter indeed. Now here is the deal, my Guardians are not vigilantes, of course you know that. We respect human laws as much as we can, but there are Others who do not care about humanity, especially the bad ones who utterly disregard humans and kill without remorse. So we cannot always abide by human law. Human laws cannot stop the evil consuming the area. More and more humans are being sucked into the darkness. Evil is drawn to despair and we have so much despair here. Every day it grows, every day it draws more darkness. Some creatures feed off of it; others are just drawn to the darkness. The economic crisis, the depression, the crime… It is tearing this city apart and creating a beacon for all the baddies to head our way.”

  “So you’re trying to stop the unease, the crime…your way.”

  “Not my way, our way. The way of the Others. We have to fight magick with magick, power with power; human weapons cannot even touch half of us. Human law will not do a damn thing to stop or deter Others. All human law will do is get a lot of good cops killed. They would not have a chance against a demon…or something worse.”

  Satinka spoke in earnest and passion. I heard it in her voice, more than that I could feel it; I knew it to be true. She was The Guardian of Flint. Rumors said Satinka’s mother, a powerful shaman from an outside tribe, had prophesized Satinka’s destiny during her spirit quest. Now Satinka took her role seriously. She was determined to save Flint from despair, disaster, and destruction.

  “Is there something coming, Sati? Something other than the ghosts and demons preying on despair here? Something more than thrilled to turn Flint into a literal ghost town, a big bad preternatural playground? I get the feeling something big has its sights set on Flint.”

  Her expression turned grim. “There is a lot coming. With empty houses on every street and abandoned buildings everywhere there are plenty of places for demons, ghosts and ghouls to live in comfort and darkness. No more tombs or dark and nasty sewers. Creatures of the night can live in luxury once reserved for humanity. But it is not the ghosts and ghouls creating the dark oppressive feeling. They just want a comfortable place to live. We have nothing to worry about from them. It is the something else we have to worry about. I too, get the feeling something big is coming. Possibly already here, at least part of it. Problem is I do not know what it is, Anwyn. I sense old magick, ancient evil. A really Big Bad Something. And on top of everything else I think someone has tossed a Hex into the mix. I get the feeling the hex is really riling up the humans right now.”

  “A hex?” I asked incredulously. “With everything else going on why would someone bother to hex the city of Flint?”

  She shrugged. “I do not know, it makes no sense unless it is all a distraction so the really big bad has an open pathway when it gets here. That is why I am recruiting Others to be a part of the Guardians. I have a feeling we are going to need all the help we can get.”

  “A hex on the city and ghosts and ghouls filling up the empty houses, how are the humans not noticing this? Wait, I know, because the ghosts and ghoulies are taking up residence in the many areas where most of the houses are empty. Can you imagine being a human and realizing your next door neighbor is a demon? And I thought I had neighbors from hell. Wow, talk about ghost towns.” I let out a sardonic laugh.

  Satinka gave me a thoughtful smile. “You are just like your dad, cracking jokes even when things are serious.”

  “Sorry, Sati. I’m not usually a joker.” I wasn’t either, just felt like I was going to explode from all the pent up emotion inside me combined with all the worry and stress about my city. Laughter seemed like a good way to relieve some of the stress.

  Of course, wild passionate sex would be even better. I shook my head. Where the hell had that thought come from? Guess I still dealt with the effects of last night’s vision.

  Shrug it off, I told myself and continued talking to Satinka, “I hear your Guardians are giving eviction notices to some of the unwanted tenants?”

  “Yes, the unruly ones. You can share this information with the humans, I am sure not too many of them want to play ghost buster, ghoul chaser, or demon slayer.”

  “No, I’m sure they don’t.” I laughed imagining Malone dressed up in Ghostbuster garb but sobered quickly as an odd sensation pricked my senses. “I still get the feeling you’re not telling me something, perhaps about the murders. What is it, Sati?”

  “Come now, you are She Who Knows.”

  “Yeah, well, my powers of knowledge have been a bit off lately, especially where the murders are concerned.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  Her ominous tone sent a ripple down my spine. “Really?” How the hell did she know my powers were off? I hadn’t told anyone how hard I had to work lately to get visions, other than the ones from the murder victims which oddly came at me all too loud and clear.

  “Darling Wynnie, I know you overheard my conversation with Devlin. You wish to speak to me about Galen. The murders…he did not do them, I know he did not and I want you to know he did not kill them, but…all of the women…he had connections to them. Someone is trying very hard to get Galen’s attention. They very much want the murders to lead to Galen, but I do not know why. I want to make sure the police do not find their way to Galen. If they look too hard into his past they will find reasons to execute him.”

  I shivered. Vamps found guilty were never sentenced to prison, they could just escape. Vampires got staked, then beheaded, then burned. Then their ashes were separated and sent to the far corners of earth to be scattered in the wind. Extreme? Yes, but it was amazing at how many vamps came back from the dead if these measures weren’t taken. I couldn’t imagine this fate befalling my beautiful Galen. Well, he wasn’t really mine; we hadn’t even had a real date yet.

  Do vampires even date?

  “Wyn?” Satinka’s voice broke through my thoughts of Galen.

  “Sorry, Sati, lost in thought.”

  Her brow wrinkled. “I know Galen is innocent, but even he has his doubts. Someone is messing with his mind. Some have sensed the same dark magick around Galen that has lingered at the murder scenes. I know it is not his, he does not possess such magick but someone, something wants him out of the picture. His past leaves him open to harassment if anyone learns of those connections. If the police find anything on him they will not put him to trial. The unholy combination of Galen’s sire and his past will ensure him a quick trip to the vampire execution chamber. It is up to us to protect him. Do you understand this, Anwyn?”

  “Oh course, Sati. You know I don’t want anything bad to happen to him either, but I’m going to have to talk to him. What’s so bad about Galen, anyway? What has he done in the past?”

  “I’m sorry, Anwyn, it is not my place to tell you of the horrors Galen has suffered or the experiences he was forced to be part of. All I can say is his master, his sire was a sadistic, evil, power hungry bastard who loved torturing those weaker than he. And he was a terribly good master at what he did.”

  With that Sati st
ood up and quickly left the table. She left me sitting alone, interview most definitely over.

  Chapter 6

  I stood up and turned to leave. A subtle shift in the energy of the room made me glance up to see Galen on the stairs leading to the upper level of the club. My stomach flip-flopped. Damn he looked so exquisitely beautiful—a strong, square, masculine jaw; high cheekbones; long, dark, wavy hair; beautiful, big green eyes which seemed to take in every detail; long lean muscles, and all on a body towering above six feet. He was…sex incarnate. Masculine beauty that could make a girl cry…or shiver with desire and anticipation. Electricity curled in the air around us, waiting for us to touch so sparks could fly.

  My reaction to him turned me inside out, always so intense, demanding, visceral. From the moment we met at a party sparks flew between us. Well I thought they did. Electricity certainly poked at me. Galen on the other hand seemed to personify stoic, unemotional vampire. Who the hell knew what went through his mind.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked him as my flip-flopping stomach turned into butterflies delicately making my insides flutter.

  “Just hanging out. It gets lonely at my place all day so I usually hang out in the apartment upstairs with a few other vamps. No one else is here today except Sati. And she doesn’t hang out upstairs. If she’s not in the club, she’s hiding away in her private chambers underground.”

  “Wow, I didn’t know the club had so many secret areas.” I suddenly had the urge to be alone with him in a secluded area…doing secret things.

  “Old buildings like this often have much more than what meets the eye.” Galen’s green eyes shimmered bright and his body rippled with catlike grace as he moved down the stairs.

  “I guess so. Ah, uhh…Galen…since you’re here, I kinda need to talk to you.” I really did not want to interrogate him. In fact, interrogating him was the last thing I wanted to do. My licentious libido had a much better idea about what I could do with Galen. Oh the possibilities…