“How is that possible?” Bella demanded.
“Is there any proof?” Willow asked.
“Have you ever not been able to contact a pack?” Bella countered.
Willow thought about it then shook her head.
“I was contacted early this morning by a survivor of the Necro family in Italy. Mercenaries were hired to abduct the family,” Louis announced. “All but the son are dead.”
“That’s surprising,” Samuel said, his voice appraising. “What did they want with them?”
Hallis sighed. “Again, this has nothing to do with us. They haven't contacted my people. They aren't following shapeshifters. This is a magic user problem."
"Don't be stupid, Hallis," Bella snapped. "They might not be after you now, but they will be later."
Hallis got to his feet and shook his head. "I don't see that happening. Not with my numbers."
"How many of those are non-combatants?" Louis asked. "Children? Women who can't fight due to pregnancy?”
Hallis grinned. "We have enough."
"I'd check those numbers again," Bella added.
Hallis turned to her. "I will. But until they start poking around my wolves, we're staying out of this." With that, he left the meeting room.
Bella shook her head. "He's going to regret that."
"If this doesn't escalate further then he can keep his people safe," Samuel explained. "My people haven't been affected yet. Though, I too have my own information on the council's policies toward vampires. Two bloodlines were decimated in Florida. Their nests were set on fire during the day. One survivor."
"Is that survivor on their way here?" Louis asked.
"Why do you ask?" Samuel countered.
"You know as well as I do that my survivor and yours are making their way to safety." Louis sighed.
Samuel chuckled. "Mine is, it’s not here though. I’m sending him to another House to be kept away from the Witches Council.”
"What about this meeting with the witches?" Bella demanded.
"We'll ask them for a cease fire against civilians, and appeal to their better nature," Willow announced.
Louis and I groaned in unison.
"That's right up there with duck and cover," Ethan snapped.
"That's a terrible idea," Louis added.
"If we show a united front, tell them we know about the gargoyles, then they should back off. As Lexie suggested," Willow explained.
I shook my head. This was going to be a disaster.
* * *
The agreed upon meeting place wasn't too far out of our way. It was also in public. Audubon Park was full of tree lined jogging paths. Spanish moss hung from the trees giving the place an eerie feel. Or that was just the reason we were here.
"Stay close to us," Zeke reminded me as we walked down the path on my right. Isaac was to my left, Miles in front. Asher and Ethan in the back. When the guys automatically moved into position, Louis had raised an eyebrow. He seemed to think about something before turning and joining the others.
"I'm not going anywhere," I promised as I bumped Zeke’s arm with my elbow on purpose.
He just shook his head as we walked a few steps behind Miles.
Isaac wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Don't worry, Red. I've got your back."
We reached the meeting spot, and we weren't alone. Polo shirt guy, tank top man who wasn't wearing a tank top now, and two women were waiting in the middle of the field.
A brunette beauty ran her dark eyes over our group then stopped on me. I met her gaze unflinching.
"Merry meet," Willow greeted.
Brunette raised an eyebrow. "Is it? Have you lot finally agreed to join us?"
Willow adjusted her cane and held her head high. "No. We've come to ask you to stop attacking normals. Jadis, you're drawing unwanted attention to our existence." Willow knew her? That was new info.
"Willow, all you have to do to protect the normals is join us." Jadis grinned.
"You know that isn't likely," Willow chided.
"Our job is to unify all magic users," Jadis said in a patient voice. "The gargoyles have retreated, leaving us in charge. This resistance is pointless."
I snorted.
Jadis's gaze went to me.
I held up my phone. "Should we call them? They're already caught up on what you’ve been doing. They’re very interested in what’s going on here."
The others with Jadis shifted a bit. Oh, they didn't like that.
Jadis, however, smirked. She turned back to Willow. "However, I did receive new orders this afternoon just before your people called." Jadis's gaze found me again, her smirk growing into a Cheshire grin. "Give us the young Necro and we'll leave New Orleans in your care."
Chapter 10
July 14th, Saturday Afternoon
They knew I could cross the dead. I don't know how, but they knew. The guys stepped closer, trying to close ranks. The tension rose.
Jadis turned back to Willow. "Those are the terms."
Willow's jaw clenched. "We don't trade people. You used to know that."
Jadis's eyes were cold. "Times change."
I had enough, I stepped out from between the guys. "They can't give me to you, I don't belong to any group. Besides, I wouldn't go with you anyway. You'd just turn around and go after them again."
Jadis turned to us, her gaze running over the guys then back to me. "What would you do to protect your friends. This is an unstable situation, so many horrible things could happen."
My chest grew tight. My stomach knotted. The guys... No, she couldn’t get to them. They weren’t eighteen... then again, neither was I. She didn’t know they had the Sight, so she couldn’t go after them. But she shouldn’t be able to come after me, and she is. What would I do for the guys? Fear burned through me, making me grow still.
Her gaze ran over my friends, searching for something. Her eyes narrowed over my shoulder.
What would I do to protect my family? My mind went deep into the darkness without hesitation. My voice was cautious when I finally said, “I don’t think we want to find out.”
Jadis’s eyes met mine, satisfaction filled them.
“Well." Her voice was calm and sharp. “We're not going to get anywhere." She turned to Willow, ignoring the fact I was still staring at her. "Let us know if you can reason with her." Jadis took a step back then another. She kept her eyes on me as she continued to back away. After a few more steps she turned and left with her people, smiling.
Everyone was silent until they disappeared.
“That could have gone better,” Willow announced.
“She didn’t have any intention of calling a truce,” Bella pointed out.
“I agree,” Louis sighed. “But she came here for something.”
And I think she got it. Dread ate at my heart.
Willow shook her head. “We need to prepare.”
“I’ll tell my people to get to their hidey holes,” Bella agreed. The two began to walk away, continuing to discuss preparations.
"Since there is nothing else that requires our attention at the moment,” Louis said. “Let's have lunch. I want to talk to you more about the Veil situation."
Miles had his thinking face on when he answered. "Alright."
We walked out of the park with Louis, I was back to being between the boys again. It made me smile.
It wasn't long until Louis was discussing food with Asher. I looped my arm through Miles’s as we walked down the sidewalk in twos.
"You're quiet," I whispered.
"I’m just thinking over Jadis’s behavior,” he murmured.
I was smiling to myself as Louis and Asher turned the corner ahead of us.
"Shit!"
Everyone hauled ass around the corner.
Louis was in Asher's arms on the ground, blood pouring from his nose down the front of his shirt. His eyes were rolled up in the back of his head. My heart stopped. He was being jumped. Isaac was already there pulling out a kit and the
vial of holy water. Asher opened his mouth so Isaac could pour the liquid in. The soul was thrown from Louis and skidded across the sidewalk like a pebble on a flat lake. I walked around the guys and reached for the fucking guy. My will wrapped around his throat like a noose. I dropped. I wasn't gentle, I wasn't nice. I was pissed.
We dropped into the Veil. I stood watching as the extra energy was pulled from him. When he was just him again, I walked up to him and clocked him with a right hook. "You fuckers need to stop fucking with people's lives!" I snarled. I pulled myself out of the Veil without giving him instructions. He'd fucking figure it out.
I opened my eyes on the sidewalk. Zeke and Asher were lifting Louis between them.
"We need to take him home," I announced as I came toward them.
"We'll need a cab," Miles pointed out.
The guys cursed, well, everyone but Miles. While we were drawing attention, Miles hailed a cab.
"Is he alright?" A woman with a small white dog asked.
"Yeah, he just had a seizure," I lied automatically. "We're going to take him home now."
A cab stopped. There wasn't a lot of room.
Zeke cursed. "Give him to me."
Asher shifted Louis's weight to Zeke. Zeke lifted the grown man as if he weighed nothing. He put him in the middle of the back seat.
"Lexie, get in the back with Zeke. Asher, take the front." Miles told me. "Ethan, Isaac, and I will follow in the next cab." I did as he said and squeezed into the back seat. Miles spoke to the driver and handed him a couple of bills as Asher got in. I pulled tissues out and held them to Louis's face as I gave the driver the address. The driver pulled out into traffic and began to haul ass. I shared a look with Asher. Miles must have paid him to get us there as fast as possible. We took a corner too fast. Louis shifted.
"Ouch." I grunted as I was squished.
Zeke cursed and pulled Louis’s unconscious body back to the center. I braced my elbow against the door just in case it happened again. Which it did ten seconds later.
Amazingly, we made it Louis's house without a wreck. Grateful, I got out. "I'll be right back." I told the driver before running around the car. Uma or Savannah might be home, if not we could get his keys from his pocket.
As Zeke carefully pulled Louis out of the car with Asher, I ran up the walkway, then the front steps and started knocking.
Savannah answered. “Lexie?”
“Louis was jumped,” I explained as I turned back to watch the guys start up the walkway.
Her blue eyes flashed at me as she opened the door further. "Door under the stairs, there's a tub of salt."
"The soul is already out," I told her. She closed her eyes and let out a breath of relief. The guys reached the top of the porch stairs.
She turned to them. "Okay, boys, up the stairs and first door on the left." She turned to me as the guys started climbing. “I need to go take care of him, can you watch the kids for me? They're in the living room, it's just through the doors on the right." Before I could answer she hurried up the stairs and out of sight. Well, shit.
First things first. I started to head out to the cab only to find it was gone. Miles must have paid him already. Figures. Even in an emergency he took care of everything.
I stopped in the bathroom under the stairs and washed my hands before I headed for the doors she had indicated. The four kids were playing. Juan was playing a game on a computer. Ami, the little girl with Uma's nutmeg skin, was playing dolls with the younger blonde girl on one side of the carpet. Caroline, if I remembered right. An older Hispanic girl around twelve, Emilia, I think, was drawing quietly at the coffee table. Not wanting to scare them, I leaned against the doorway. My eyes met Juan’s, as that weird sensation ran over my skin. He still wore several rows of beads around his wrist. He had no clue his dad almost died today. Guilt ate at me. I pulled out my phone.
Alexis: Sorry to ask right now, but is there any way we could give another Necromancer the wards too? No huge hurry, take care of you and your babies first.
I hit send and started tucking my phone away. My phone vibrated. I checked it and smiled. It was a picture of a tired Evie, with two small bundled-up newborns in her arms.
Evie: She says yes.
Atticus must have her phone.
Alexis: They’re so beautiful! Everyone healthy?
Evie: Yes, Eve and both girls are happy and healthy.
I smiled a big smile as I texted back.
Alexis: Two girls? You're screwed.
Evie: I’m aware.
I ran my fingers over the picture. Evie was in a white cotton nightgown, she didn't look like she had just had twins. Even her hair was still braided. I tucked my phone away and looked up to find Juan watching me.
He got up from the computer and came over to stand a few feet from me, his arms crossed over his chest. "You're that new Necro."
"That's right." I waited to see what he would do.
He tilted his head to the side while he studied me. "Why are you here?"
"Because no one in my family knows how to deal with Necromancy." I kept it simple.
He straightened his head. "Why not?"
There was no point in denying it, the kid probably knows anyway. "Everyone who knew, died."
"I guess you can borrow my dad," he said begrudgingly. "But don’t let him catch you trying to raise a snake to put in your sisters' room. He'll lecture you for hours." With that he turned back around and went back to his computer.
I was still grinning when the guys came back downstairs. Zeke was stretching his shoulder while Asher was muttering under his breath.
"How is he?" I asked.
"The same as when it happens to you, he woke up then passed back out," Asher said.
Well, that sounded right.
"We didn't really stay around, she was changing his clothes when we left," Zeke supplied as he tried to stretch his arm. "That guy is heavier than he looks."
"What are you?" A little voice asked. I turned to find Ami and Caroline holding hands while looking up at Zeke and Asher like they were going to cook them.
"A boy," Zeke supplied.
I snorted. Zeke could be funny when he wanted to be.
"They're both my friends," I added.
The girls ran their eyes over me.
"Where's Mama Vannah?" Ami asked, holding her doll close.
"Um, she's upstairs helping your daddy," I hedged. The little girl eyed me, probably deciding if she should believe me or not.
Asher stepped forward letting Zeke and I fall into the background. He knelt down to their level. "Louis got sick, so she's taking care of him. She asked us to watch you guys until she can come downstairs again.”
The girl narrowed her eyes at him. I bit back a laugh. It wasn't often that little girls weren't charmed by Asher.
There was a knock on the door. I went to answer but Zeke stopped me. I gave him a 'really?' look. He sighed and let me go. Though he did move to the bottom of the stairs as I opened the door. Miles, Isaac, and Ethan were on the front porch.
I smiled. "How was your cab ride?"
"Insane." Isaac came through the door fuming.
I raised an eyebrow. Isaac? Complaining about something being dangerous?
"Miles bribed the cab driver to take the fastest route and to run stoplights." Ethan shook his head as he came in.
I snorted and turned to Miles.
He shrugged as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "How's Louis?"
"Oh, you know how it is, all we can do now is wait." I tucked a stray hair behind my ear.
Footsteps on the stairs had all of us turning around. Savannah came down the stairs, her eyes widened when she saw the boys. "Oh my, there are a lot of you."
"Yeah, sorry, we were all headed to lunch when he got jumped," I explained, moving so she could actually see me in the forest of guys. “These are my friends, you know Zeke, and these are our other friends Asher, Miles, Isaac and Ethan.”
She finished coming
down the last steps with a smile. "Well, why don't all of you come into the kitchen. The kids have taken over the living room today." She looped her arm through mine and led the way to the kitchen. "My name is Savannah for you boys I haven’t met, I'm one of Louie's wives." There was that word again, wives. I resisted the urge to ask but Isaac didn't.
"He has more than one?" Isaac asked. I cringed.
Savannah chuckled as we reached the kitchen. "He tends not to tell anyone about it. Down here in New Orleans, it's best not to advertise that we're a polygamy family." She let me go at the dinner table. "Please have a seat, and who is who?"
Everyone sat down and the guys re-introduced themselves. Savannah eyed Zeke. "Zeke, darling, I may have to impose on asking you to change a few lightbulbs. My ladder broke last week and I haven't had time to get a new one."
I choked on a laugh and tried not to smile.
Zeke shot me a look before turning back to Savannah. "Sure."
Savannah smiled. "Thank you." She turned to me. "Now, how did you get the ghost out of him so quickly?"
I pulled my Lexie kit out of my back pocket and slid it over to her. "It's a Lexie kit. Miles came up with them. There's a vial of salt, salted holy water, and nausea tabs."
She opened the little container and smiled. "This is brilliant. I hope you don't mind if I steal this idea."
"Of course not," Miles said without hesitation.
She set it on the table then turned to me. "So, you've met the children."
"I really only spoke to Juan," I admitted.
She smiled. "He's a sweetheart when he's not turning into a teenager. Which isn’t very often these days." She moved to the fridge. “Now, let's get you kids fed.”
“Uh, there’s no need.” Miles’ ears turned pink. “We can go out and get lunch.”
Savannah began setting sandwich fixings onto the island. “Oh, hush, it’s not a problem. Besides, I’d feel better if you boys stayed. Louis will be up and about soon enough and he’ll want to thank you himself.” She turned and grabbed a couple loaves of bread. “Let me make you boys some sandwiches before I make the kids’.”
All of the guys began to protest at once.
Secrets From the Grave Page 16