by Renea Mason
All the buildings lining the street were built of stone. They looked like something from another time. The quaint, magical feel of the village was like something from one of those wizard novels children read. The car pulled over in front of a small storefront.
Eli patted my hand. “Well, here we are.” He spoke to the driver in a language I didn’t understand, exited the car and then circled around to open my door, extending a hand to help me from the car.
The streets were alive with energy. The scent of vampire mingled with the unmistakable tingle of witch magic. I stared in wonderment. It was true. They hadn’t lied to me. The bustling of shop patrons hurrying along the sidewalk, going about their chores lent a veil of normalcy to the supernatural.
“Do they all live like this? Together?”
He laced his fingers with mine. “Yes. For centuries, the vampires and witches in this area have taken care of each other. The children used to protect human mates aren’t stolen, it’s an honor to be chosen.” The door to the shop in front of us opened and a tall man holding a child held the door for a petite waif of a woman.
Eli smiled at them.
My eyes followed them as they walked down the street. “Eli, the child.”
He nodded. “Yes, half vampire, half-witch.” He raised my hand to his lips, pressing a kiss so gentle it was almost as if I had imagined it. “Come…”
He pulled me into the shop and released my hand. With long strides, he crossed the floor and threw his arms around a large woman in a frilly apron. Nasha, he called her, but I couldn’t make out anything else they said.
I made my way past displays of crystals, vials, potions, and books until they were in view.
The old woman cupped his face in her hands and kissed one cheek and then the other. Her gaze fixed on me. “Oh, has cel mic finally found dragoste?” The woman wiped her hands on a dishtowel tucked in the waistband of her apron and pushed Eli aside to greet me.
She clasped my hand between her large, wrinkled hands.
Eli blushed. “No, Nasha. It’s professional. She’s a job.” He glared at me, apparently unhappy with the line I drew in the sand.
The old woman grabbed my palm and ran her fingers over the skin. Her wide eyes sought Eli. “That’s what you think,” she said in heavily accented English.
Outlining the creases in my palm again, she commanded Eli, “Look, the magic says differently.”
Eli stood beside her. “Nasha, you’re mistaken. You know that’s not…” he said as he ran his finger back and forth over my skin. His brow furrowed.
She took my hand and placed it in his and stared up at Eli. “We don’t question fate. We embrace it. Accept it. The why or how is not for you to know.”
“But my mother said when Elizabeth died… there couldn’t be another.” His puzzled expression seemed to amuse the strange lady.
“Yes, it was probably true but the human Vessel, turned vampire, is with child. A witch shares her bed with the vampire lord. Every one thousand years the Vessel’s birth brings forth change. In the past, plagues and curses doomed us because our kind resisted the change. The vampire lord has embraced it. He loves the Vessel. Made her his Queen. None of the old rules apply now, Eli. What you thought you lost has been found.”
“Yes, well… That’s fine, but…” He wouldn’t meet my gaze.
“I know why you’re here, Eli. Come, won’t you both have a seat?” The woman walked behind the counter, waved her hand and the shelves lining the back wall, holding dozens of potions, disappeared and an old steel safe stood in their place. She turned the knobs of the lock to the left and the right and then the left again until there was a click. From my angle, the safe appeared empty, but when she reached in the fabric of reality rippled and she pulled out a small braided strand of ribbon. With painstaking detail, she re-secured the locks and replaced all the incantations until once again the safe was invisible and the shelves in place.
Eli’s rigid stance and folded arms betrayed his fake smile. He was obviously still upset by what Nasha said.
The woman waddled her way back to the table and clasped the metal closure on the ribbons forming a bracelet over my wrist. “Never take that off until you finally understand why I gave it to you.”
The earth-toned ribbons contained symbols and words—Lies, Truth, and Hope. “Thank you.” I shot Eli an inquisitive stare.
He shrugged his shoulders. “I wouldn’t take it off if I were you.”
The woman patted my arm. “Do you know why they call you Clancy?”
“How did you know my name?” I stared, puzzled by the knowledge she shouldn’t have. She hadn’t given Eli time to introduce me.
“Your father treasured you and fancied a good inside joke. Clandestine Vrăjitoare, literally meaning secret witch. Very few knew your father was a witch, turned vampire. A vampire and human produce a human child, but a witch and a human or vampire produce a witch. Witches and vampires have been at odds outside these hills for centuries. Once a vampire, it can take thousands of years to find a compatible mate. But your father found Mary, your mother, here in the village… Such a beautiful human woman. You were born special.”
“My mother’s name is Sasha.”
The old woman ignored my interruption. “Your father came home one night to find your mother dead, your brother alone in the house, and you missing. Your mother was one of many mates slaughtered that summer.”
Eli’s inhalation caught my attention. The pain in his eyes broke my heart. Nasha’s reassuring caress of his arm didn’t go unnoticed. Did he lose a mate?
“No, you’re wrong. My mother is alive. We’ve lived in the same small house outside of Cleveland all my life. She would tell me stories of her coven in Romania and how the vampires sold our people into slavery and how the New Orleans Covens allowed it to happen.”
“That’s a ridiculous story. The New Orleans Covens can be pretentious old crones, but they had no involvement with the vampires. There was no reason to. Human familiars, who protect human mates until their vampire counterparts can be found, aren’t slaves. Those rumors almost caused a war. After your abduction, your father moved to the US and took your brother with him. They protected a human mate who is now Vampire Lord Baron McCaffrey’s wife.”
I shook my head. “You’re not saying… I mean… You can’t be implying that Colin, Baron and Lillie McCaffrey’s partner, is my brother?”
“Oh, there’s no implication, dear. It’s the truth.” She shot me a wide smile.
I couldn’t stop shaking my head. “No. No. No. This can’t be true.”
“Nasha,” Eli pleaded. “I think she’s heard enough for one visit, perhaps we should save some revelations for next time.”
I covered my face with my palms. “This can’t be happening. You’re saying my mother is my abductor?”
Her wrinkled old hand rested on mine. “Yes, my dear, and I have a feeling your false mother is responsible for or at least knows something about the attack on the New Orleans Covens.”
“What am I going to do?”
“Eli will help you. Won’t you, Eli? You may find him difficult to get rid of now. Why don’t you two run along? Take her to the mountains. Show her how beautiful her homeland is. Baron still has the mountain chalet. Take her there, allow her to process all she’s learned and help her come to terms with it.”
Eli didn’t answer the woman, he simply nodded. “Come on.” He stood and extended a hand to me.
“What about the curse? What are we going to do about the curse? When the New Orleans Covens were cursed, I may have been affected. Do you know how to dispel it?”
The old woman smiled. “You know everything you need to know.” She rubbed my shoulder. “And Eli…” Nasha pressed a kiss against his cheek. “I expect you to bring your family to see me. I might be long-lived, but I’m not immortal like you.”
“Of course, Nasha.” He returned her affection with a press of his lips to her wrinkled skin.
She winked at me a
s Eli pulled me toward the door. The bell chimed when the door closed. “Is she your grandmother?”
He shot me a smile that opened a million more questions. “No. Godmother.”
“Are your parents…?”
“Yes, dead. Hundreds of years ago. They were human. I was created, not born.”
“Did she raise you? Nasha, I mean.”
“In a way, she raised all of us. Come on, I have a small cottage I keep for my visits here. We can stay there tonight. Nasha gave us pretty much everything we needed to know. Let’s rest and we can head back tomorrow.”
“Why didn’t you just call her?”
He smirked. “Nasha prefers face-to-face visits and isn’t much for technology. And I wanted you to see for yourself that vampires and witches are not enemies.”
Eli’s cottage wasn’t far away. The small, white wooden-sided structure was quaint and homey. Before we entered the front door, I grabbed his hand. “Do you believe all those things she said?”
He stared down at me with his fingers gripping the doorknob. “In the three hundred years I’ve known her she has never been wrong. Even when I wanted her to be.”
“Three hundred years, that’s quite a track record.” I stared deep into his eyes and the pain and sorrow that only a vast existence could cause stared back. The playful man he was when we first met was nowhere to be found. Our meeting with Nasha seemed to have opened old wounds.
“Let’s get you inside. I had supplies delivered yesterday. We’ll have a nice quiet dinner, then we can talk.”
Eli insisted on preparing our meal alone. “You need your rest. The flight here can be brutal.” Urging me to lay back, he placed a pillow behind my head. His long fingers closed around my ankles and lifted my legs onto the sofa. Gripping my shoes in his hand, he looked up at me. “May I?”
I nodded. So much had changed in such a short time. “You don’t have to take care of me, you know?”
Slipping each sneaker off each foot, he smiled and set them on the floor. “Yes, I remember. Purely professional. Close your eyes. Rest. I’m going to make us a stew my mother used to make.” His finger caressed the skin just above my sock line before he turned and headed toward the kitchen.
I sat and grabbed his hand and was met with his shocked expression. “Thank you.”
With a quick nod of his head, he slipped his hand from mine and disappeared.
I woke to the savory smell of rosemary, thyme and… Eli. My eyes drifted open, and I found him seated on the floor in front of the sofa. The light from the kitchen highlighted the copper hints in his chestnut hair. Before I thought to stop myself, I brushed the strands between my fingers. They were even softer than they looked. He didn’t move.
I shifted my hips, rolled onto my side and faced his back. His smooth, ivory skin and the taut muscles of his neck were beacons for my wandering fingers. Was he asleep? Could he sleep? The only thing I truly knew about vampires was an apparently false legend, their scent, and how to kill them, but even that knowledge had been turned on its head.
Propping myself up on my elbow, I leaned in and breathed in his scent. God… what was it about him? The smell of vampire normally made me nauseous, but not Eli, not now. His proximity made me wet. I squeezed my thighs together while trying to rationalize how he made me feel, but there was no explanation. The tip of my nose touched his skin at the base of his scalp with the faintest touch as I inhaled.
He moaned.
I froze. He was awake. Great, now he knew I was fascinated by him. I pulled back.
Faster than I could register, he was on top of me, holding my head between his hands.
My body stiffened, unsure of his intentions. Would I need to fight him? But when I looked into his eyes, I relaxed against the cushion.
“Please no, don’t be embarrassed. I can feel your heart racing. You can touch me anytime.” His thumb caressed my cheek. “I enjoyed it. Please, don’t second guess yourself.” Sincerity gazed back at me from behind his dark eyes.
I wanted to drown in them. To pull him closer. To feel his skin against mine. “What did Nasha see when she looked at my palm?”
He closed his eyes and kissed my forehead. “Dinner’s ready.” He made to stand, but I grabbed his wrist and pulled him back to me. “Will you tell me? Will you promise me you’ll give me the truth?”
He nodded. “Once I know you’re fed and cared for.”
I tried to lighten the mood with my teasing tone. “So, bedtime stories, then?”
“If you like them dark and grim.” He stood, extended a hand, helping me from the sofa.
The stew was aromatic with thick broth. The meat was so tender it crumbled with the slight touch of the fork tine. “You’re an excellent cook.”
He smiled. “Three hundred years gives you a lot of time to perfect many skills.”
“What else have you mastered?” I raised an eyebrow and took another bite.
He dipped his spoon into the broth. “Oh, I don’t know. Let’s see… I’m not a bad dancer. I’m a pretty good shot with a bow or a gun. I can fix a car engine, and I’ve been known to please a lover or two.”
“That’s quite an eclectic assortment of skills.”
His lips released the spoon, and he said, “Oh, I forgot to add… capturing witches. I’m pretty good at that too.”
I laughed. “Only when we’re sleeping. A real challenge.” I rolled my eyes.
“Strategy is only ten percent of the game. Winning is everything. You’re mine now, aren’t you?”
A delicious shiver tingled in my belly. What the fuck was wrong with me? I stared at my bowl, trying to maintain my composure. I needed to change the subject. “Why did you get so solemn when Nasha mentioned the vampire mates?”
His brow furrowed. “Smack me with questions about my past to keep from having to answer mine? I see how it’s going to be.” He swirled his spoon around in the brown liquid.
I folded my napkin in my lap. “You know what… I don’t want to know the answer. It’s not my business anyway.”
He shoveled a piece of meat into his mouth, chewed and then swallowed. “They slaughtered my mate. The New Orleans Covens were blamed, but it wasn’t them. None of the evidence ever pointed to them. It’s why I became an investigator. I worked for the Vampire Council for some time, but found they were impeding my investigation.”
I reached across the table to touch his hand, but he pulled away. “I’m so sorry. I’ve heard it’s incredibly painful to lose a mate.”
“It is,” he answered abruptly before swallowing another bite.
We sat in silence for a few moments, unsure of what to say. I focused the conversation back on Baron. “So, you ended up working for Baron because the Council wouldn’t play fair?”
He dabbed at the corner of his mouth with his napkin. “Yes. Baron is a wonderful friend now, but at one time I was sent to investigate him. When I saw everything he represented was exactly what was wrong with the council, I made it my mission and started working for Baron. We do what’s right, not what some bureaucrat wants.”
“You never found her killer?” I laced my fingers together and sat them in my lap.
He closed his eyes. “No,” he breathed just above a whisper. “We haven’t solved any of the murders that happened that summer. One day they just stopped happening, so we suspect the killer died or is incarcerated. That’s the only thing that brings us comfort.”
I fiddled with the end of the napkin in my lap. “What was her name? Your mates’ I mean.”
“Elizabeth.”
“How long were you together?”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “Three years, but it might as well have been three-hundred years. The connection between mates is unexplainable. It’s soul-deep and nearly instantaneous. Living without her was pain far beyond grief. It almost broke me.”
“Oh, Eli… I’m…”
“Losing her wasn’t the worst part. I insisted on putting off her transformation until she had more time to enjoy
being human. It was because of my insistence she’s dead. Had she been a vampire, she could have defended herself.”
I scooted my chair over to sit beside him and placed my hand on his knee. “She died because someone took her from you. You loved her. You did what you thought was best. I’m sure she understood that.”
“What she thought matters. It still happened, and I could have helped, but instead I ensured it.” He picked up the bottle of wine and refilled my glass.
“Eli…” I waited to continue until he looked at me. “If there’s anything I can do…”
He closed his eyes. “There might be. Someday.” He let out a long sigh and folded his napkin in his lap. “But enough about me. What about you? How are you handling everything?”
“You mean my mother isn’t my mother, and my abductor raised me? That everything’s a lie? Just peachy.”
He placed his hand over mine and squeezed. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sure she’s wrong. There’s no way—”
“She’s not, Clancy. She’s the Godmother.” The seriousness in his eyes was unwavering.
I chuckled. “I’m sure she’s a wonderful woman…”
His brows knitted together. “You don’t understand, do you? Nasha’s not my Godmother specifically, she’s the Godmother. Your Godmother. The Godmother of all witches. Nasha means Godmother in Romanian.”
The gravity of everything she’d said hit me all at once. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Why didn’t you say something?”
“You’re a witch. I thought you would have known.”
I stared at the table trying to will away my shocked state. “It can’t be… wait… what did she see on my palm?”
He cleared his throat and took a sip of wine. “It’s probably nothing. Silly legends.”
I rested my forearms on the table edge. “It’s been a day for stories. Try me.”
He took another bite, chewed and then wiped his mouth with his napkin. “You met Lillie, Baron’s wife. She’s what many call the Vessel. Her birth is a catalyst for the supernatural world. Creatures with our longevity rarely change, but every one thousand years, we have a sort of forced evolution. For ages, the Vampire Council hunted the Vessel. The last one was imprisoned, studied and then eventually killed. We all paid for that decision. The past thousand years have been dark times for all our kind. Mates are rare now, powers weakened, chaos haunts our councils. Baron saved Lillie from a dark fate in hopes that loving her and caring for her would cause a shift in our fortune.” He stood and reached for my bowl. “Are you done?”