Visions of Vengeance: A Paranormal Romance (The Gypsy's Curse Book 2)

by Meg Anne

  A couple hours, and several breathy Lucas’ later, he and Skye joined Lizzie and Matthews in the living room. He caught a stolen moment between them, the way his sister’s cheeks flushed when Matthews leaned in and whispered something in her ear. Last night must have been a turning point for the two of them as well.

  Lucas waited for his usual brotherly flare of frustration, but there was nothing. They were clearly happy, and he wasn’t about to stand in the way of that. Not when there was no guarantee how long any of them would be around to enjoy it.

  “Morning,” he said instead.

  Lizzie eyed his and Skye’s joined hands and grinned. “Morning, lovebirds. Sleep well?” she teased.

  Lucas cut a glance at Skye who blushed, but merely raised a brow. “I could ask you the same thing,” she teased.

  “Touché.”

  The girls laughed.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Matthews asked once Lucas and Skye sat down on the opposite couch.

  “Giles is supposed to be back this afternoon. He went home to gather supplies and get some sleep. So, once he’s here, I guess it’s time to see what kind of power I actually have.”

  Skye tensed beside him. “He didn’t take the book with him, did he?”

  Matthews shook his head. “Nope. He insisted on leaving it here, actually.” He gestured toward the small book beside Lucas’ elbow. “Said it was safer with us, even if the Druid knew we were here.”

  Skye’s brows dipped in a frown. “I wonder why.”

  Lizzie shrugged. “Who knows these days? Nothing makes any fucking sense.”

  “Seriously,” Skye agreed. “Even my dreams are weird.”

  “More nightmares?” Lucas asked, his voice deepening with concern. He hadn’t felt her tossing and turning last night; he’d assumed she’d slept well.

  She shook her head. “No, actually. Just a really vivid dream about a Gypsy and her Druid lover.”

  Lucas’ lips lifted in a smirk. “You sure you aren’t just having trouble telling dreams from reality?”

  “Oh, gross!” Lizzie protested with a smile.

  Skye chuckled. “No, this was definitely not reality. Not mine anyway.”

  “I thought Druids hated Gypsies?” Lizzie asked, confusion wrinkling her brow. Then her eyes widened and she sputtered out, “Present company obviously excluded.”

  “Obviously.” Skye smiled. “They do, and this guy was no exception.”

  “How were they lovers, then?”

  “Lizzie, for fuck’s sake,” Lucas said. “Let her finish before bombarding her with questions.”

  Lizzie rolled her eyes, then offered Skye a contrite smile. “Sorry, go ahead.”

  Skye shrugged. “I’m not sure why they were together. But the woman—I—was heartbroken. The Druid was so angry at me, no, angry doesn’t even come close to the level of hatred rolling off this guy.” Skye shivered, and Lucas reached out to take her hand in his.

  “Do you know why he was mad at you?” Matthews asked.

  Skye frowned as she tried to cling to her memories of the dream and recount it. “Something to do with not warning him his father was going to die.”

  Her words scraped at him. There was something more, something she wasn’t saying. It was no coincidence that Skye just so happened to dream about a Gypsy and a Druid the night they decided to be together. So what the fuck did it mean?

  “Is that all?” he asked, his voice cold and hard.

  Skye flinched, just slightly, but he noticed. The reaction only deepened his frown.

  “Skye,” he prompted.

  “He cursed me,” she muttered.

  Lucas’ brows flew up. “What was the curse?”

  Everyone leaned forward.

  “To only see visions of death.”

  “Do you think it’s possible that wasn’t a dream, but a memory? Maybe of one of your ancestors?” Lizzie asked in a whisper.

  Skye looked a little pale. “I-I don’t know. I haven’t really had a chance to process it.”

  “Is that everything?” Lucas asked, his voice softer now.

  Skye bit down on her lip, her eyes shuttering. “No.”

  Lucas squeezed her leg, urging her to share the rest.

  “I—she—cursed him, too.”

  The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, as something like electricity raced down his spine.

  Skye’s eyes looked sad and confused as she finished, “I cursed him to never know true love. But it wasn’t just him, it was him and his entire bloodline.”

  “Holy hell, that’s a doozy,” Lizzie said in a rush, falling back into her chair.

  “You’re telling me,” Skye said.

  “So what does it mean?” Matthews asked, cutting to the heart of the matter, as usual.

  Skye shrugged. “For all I know, it was just a dream.”

  Lucas glanced around at the others in the room, gauging their carefully neutral expressions. It was obvious no one was buying that. True, Skye’s visions had never come to her in her sleep before, and no one had died, but it was clear this was more than ‘just a dream.’ It had to mean something, especially being about a Gypsy and a Druid. They just needed to figure out what that was.

  “How do we figure out if it’s true? Or what it means if it is?” Matthews asked.

  Skye shrugged again. “How the hell do I know? This is new ground for me. I see death visions, not memories. There’s not exactly anyone in my family I can ask about it either.”

  “Maybe there’s something in your Gran’s journals?” Lucas asked.

  Skye nodded absently, her mind focusing on something. “Yeah, maybe.”

  Before anyone could question her further, a knock sounded on the front door.

  Lucas looked at the grandfather clock, it was just after eleven. “Guess Giles is early.”

  Matthews stood. “I’ll get him.”

  “I’ll make a fresh pot of coffee,” Lizzie said, moving to follow him.

  “Bring me some?” Skye asked hopefully.

  “You got it,” Lizzie replied with a wink.

  “Maybe it was just a dream,” Lucas said softly once they were alone. “It’s possible that with everything that’s going on, your subconscious is just creating a narrative to support the various threads and fears.”

  Skye looked at him, her eyes far too ancient for a woman in her twenties. “Maybe.”

  Lucas brushed a kiss against her lips, resting his forehead against hers. “If you are somehow cursed, then we’ll find a way to break it.”

  “Before or after we kill the psycho Druid?”

  He chuckled. “I guess it depends, just know it’s on the to-do list.”

  Skye kissed him. “Thanks, Detective.”

  “Anytime, Giovanni. You know I’ve got your back… and your front.”

  Skye’s answering laugh was like music, warming all the parts of him that had long been frozen.

  “How’s your hand feeling?” she asked, changing the subject.

  Lucas shrugged. “Dunno, haven’t had a chance to check it out yet this morning.”

  “Let’s look at it.”

  He sat back and held out his bandaged hand for her to begin unwrapping.

  “Morning,” Giles called.

  Startled, Lucas twisted, and the bandage, still held in Skye’s hand, pulled. The blood had dried in the night, but the movement tore the wound back open, and Lucas hissed in pain.

  “Shit! I’m so sorry.”

  “Not your fault,” Lucas ground out around the shock of the pain. Lucas moved to stand, blood already welling in the palm of his hand. “Should we bottle this for later?” he asked, lifting his hand a little and gesturing toward Giles.

  Blood dribbled down his hand and splattered onto the cover of the book.

  Lucas only had time to notice Giles’ eyes widen just as a burst of green light shot through the room and then everything went black.

  Chapter 20

  Skye

  The entire room filled
with a bright green light, and Lucas crumpled to the ground. It all happened so fast. Skye barely had time to react and missed catching him before he hit the floor.

  She fell to her knees beside him, just as his body began to convulse.

  “Lucas!” Lizzie screamed. She lunged for her brother, but Giles gripped her shoulders and held her back.

  “Keep her away from him!” he shouted at James, pushing a struggling Lizzie into his arms. “If she’s too close, it’ll ruin everything!”

  “What the fuck does that mean? What is happening to him?” Lizzie yelled back.

  All Skye could do was hold Lucas’ head and stare down at him as he thrashed, his body jolting up as if it were being pumped full of electricity. All the while, the green light blazed in the room, shooting up from the book and surrounding them with its eerie glow.

  “What needs to happen,” Giles answered vaguely.

  James released his hold on Lizzie and the duo crossed the room in an instant. James grabbed the older man by the collar of his shirt and slammed him into the wall.

  “Did you fucking do this?” he bellowed into the man's face.

  “In a sense, I suppose I did, but only to help!”

  “What the fuck is that even supposed to mean?” Lizzie demanded, her voice icy with hostility.

  “He needed power—more power—if he’s to take on the Druid. Do ye honestly think he could win using only warding spells and the like?”

  “What’s happening to him?” Skye looked up, tears in her eyes, as Lucas continued to thrash in her lap. His face was pale, his mouth drawn in a tight line, but it was his eyes that worried her.

  Frozen open, the once bright blue had paled to nearly a complete white. He stared past her, up at the ceiling, unblinking, but tears slipped down his cheeks from the corners of his eyes. He was in pain, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

  “He’s finally accessing his power, Gypsy.” Giles smiled, nearly giddy even though all James had to do was close his fist and the old Scot’s neck would snap. Skye eyed James thoughtfully. It would probably make our lives a whole lot easier if he would. Not like the fucker’s brought us anything but riddles wrapped in heartache.

  Turning from the darkness of her thoughts, Skye glanced over at a devastated Lizzie. She was quietly sobbing, her tears streaking down pale cheeks and her arms hugged around her middle, as she helplessly stared at her brother’s twitching body.

  Lucas made a gurgling sound, pulling Skye’s attention back to him, just as his body stilled and his eyes closed. The green light faded, leaving the room bathed in its normal morning light. One last tear slipped down his cheek and landed onto the carpet beneath them.

  “Lucas?” she whispered, barely breathing as she waited for him to respond.

  He didn’t stir, but his chest rose and fell normally, easing a bit of the fear inside her. What the fuck did Giles mean? Finally accessing his power? Where the hell was it coming from, if it wasn’t already inside him?

  “You are going to start explaining things or I’m going to start breaking body parts, old man.” James pressed his hand harder against Giles’ throat, and the man started to turn red.

  “Lizzie?” Skye called her name softly, as if she were talking to a child, worried she might snap.

  Lizzie’s hands were balled into fists and her entire body was trembling. Her soft blue eyes were brimming with tears as they caught Skye’s.

  “Can you come hold him?”

  Lizzie nodded and started to move toward him but hesitated and looked at Giles. “Go ahead, lass. ‘Tis fine now,” he choked out.

  Lizzie crossed the floor, and Skye stood, leaving Lucas with his sister. Skye’s rage built inside her, burning through every other emotion. The only thing that mattered right now was getting answers, by any means necessary. She’d never been a violent person, but seeing Lucas in so much pain had twisted something inside of her. Just give me a reason old man, and my knee is going straight for your balls.

  Turning on Giles, Skye growled, “You’re going to start talking now. If you don’t, James here will be the least of your problems.”

  Giles swallowed audibly as he eyed her.

  “Outside,” Skye demanded.

  He nodded and made for the patio door, James and Skye on his heels.

  “I knew there was a way to activate the book,” Giles began as soon as Skye shut the door behind her.

  The red ring around the man’s neck would bruise, and while she wasn’t sure what type of person it made her, Skye was happy he would bear a semi-permanent mark. Maybe the reminder would make him think twice before being such a conniving bastard in the future.

  “Activate it?” she questioned.

  “The book contains power, complete and utter power, from the Druid’s entire line, Ms. Giovanni.”

  “So Lucas activated the power in it? How?” James asked.

  Giles shrugged, entirely too unflappable for a man that was a hair's breadth away from death only moments ago. “My best guess, ‘twas activated when he bled on it.”

  “You knew that would happen?” James sputtered.

  “Why not warn us so we could have better prepared?” Skye demanded.

  “I dinnae know how to activate the book. Could have required Lucas to simply touch it, for all I knew.” Giles pulled a handkerchief out from his pocket and dabbed at his forehead. “I should have known ‘twould be blood, though; everything with those damned Druids is blood related.”

  “So when he wakes up, is he going to be supercharged or something?” James’ hands were linked in his lap, his knuckle turning white.

  “If he wakes up at all.”

  Panic laced through her. “What do you mean ‘if’?”

  Giles sighed heavily. “‘Twas a lot of power. ‘Tis possible his body is not strong enough to contain it.”

  She gaped at him, a mixture of fear and rage fighting for control. She wanted to cry, to scream, to hit something, hell she wanted to do anything to release the emotional current inside of her. Lucas not waking up was not an option. He had to wake up, he was the strongest man she knew and they were lost without him. She would be lost without him. In the short amount of time Skye had known him, Lucas had opened her eyes, and her heart, to everything she’d closed herself off from. Friendship. Intimacy. Romance. She couldn’t go back to that cold, empty life.

  James shot to his feet. “If he doesn’t wake up,” he growled, “I’m going to take great pleasure in ripping you apart.” He stalked back into the house, leaving Skye and Giles alone on the porch.

  Giles paled slightly and, had she not been so terrified, she might have smiled. You should be afraid, you asshole.

  “Why did you say Lizzie couldn't be near him?”

  “She’s his blood. While there has never been any evidence of a female Druid, I couldnae risk her tainting the transfer of power.”

  “You’re a real sonofabitch, you know that?”

  “Why? Because I want to keep all of ye alive?” His face flushed with anger. “I’ve been running from this for years, lass. Even though there was no reason he should have been able to return, I spent the last two decades looking over my shoulder. Now he’s back, and instead of hiding, like a smarter man would, I’m here trying to give ye the tools ye need to survive.”

  Skye got to her feet. “You caused this,” she told him angrily. “You and whoever else locked him in the fucking Wasteland. You didn’t solve the problem, all you did was piss him the hell off. Don’t come at me like you’re helping us, we all know you’re only saving your own ass.”

  She spun and headed toward the house, slamming the door behind her as she made her way over to Lucas on the couch. Lizzie and James were in the kitchen, and while Skye couldn’t make out what they were saying, she imagined James was filling her in on what Giles had told them.

  Skye gently lifted Lucas’ head and rested it on her lap. He looked so peaceful now. Tears filled her eyes as she brushed a strand of blond hair off his forehead.
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  “Don’t you dare die on me, Detective Loomis,” she choked out. “You had damn well better wake up because I’m falling in love with you.” She whispered the last part, a special secret shared with him only now when he couldn't hear her. Resting her forehead against his, she whispered again, “I love you.”

  Chapter 21

  Lucas

  Lucas stood in the center of a desert. The ground was cracked beneath his feet, starved of water and any kind of vegetation. There was no breeze, the air completely still as though even it was dead.

  “Hello?” Lucas tried to call out, coughing from the dryness in his throat. Where the hell am I? He looked around, searching for anything that might help him discover where he was, but there was nothing but dry, cracked ground.

  He broke into a run, charging straight ahead, pushing and pushing until his lungs burned from exhaustion.

  Still, nothing surrounded him but more of the same barren land.

  Lucas spun in a circle, panic surging through him. How the hell had he gotten here? Where was Skye? Where were Lizzie and Matthews? Were they alright? Had the Druid somehow gotten to them? Or him?

  He turned back around and jolted slightly when a dark form appeared in front of him. The dark cloak that fell to the ground told Lucas just whom he was dealing with.

  “You,” he growled, his hands clenched into fists. The Druid didn’t move, didn’t say a damn word. “What the hell have you done to me? Where am I?” Lucas demanded.

  The Druid still didn’t move, he just stood there, his face hidden by the hood of his black cloak.

  “You better fucking answer me!” he yelled, crossing the space between them. He ripped the hood off the Druid’s head and gasped.

  “No.” Lucas backed up, horrified, as he stared into familiar blue eyes. His own eyes. “No. This can’t be…”

  “Surprised?” It was his voice coming from that mouth—his mouth—but the words were laced with power, an underlying current he didn’t recognize.

  “This isn’t possible.”

  “What isn’t possible?” his twin asked.

  “You! Who the hell are you?”