“Hmm?” Solange said, looking from Crispin over to Marceline.
“Call Pauline. Let’s get him into bed and cleaned up a little bit. We’ll watch over him and make sure he’s not in danger. Alright?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Solange answered, she spun and ran halfway down the staircase screaming for Pauline. “Paaaauuuliiiiiinne!”
“Solange?” Pauline answered, calling up the staircase. “Is that you?”
“Yes! Can you come help us, please?”
“On my way up,” Pauline said as she climbed the stairs.
~~~
Crispin woke to soft murmurs around him. He was vaguely aware of what had happened to him. He remembered figuring out that Solange was a witch, then later finding out she was a vampire. He remembered being relieved that she’d killed Alastair, instead of the other way around. And he remembered the feeling of dying. But most prevalent in his mind was Solange leaning over him, begging him not to die as she fed him from her own veins.
She’d saved him. She’d allowed him to die to be free of Alastair, then she’d drained him, fed him, and claimed him herself, in effect becoming his maker. He felt more at peace than he had since he’d awakened and found himself turned by Alastair. Alastair of course had done it just to see what would become of him. Not like Solange, who’d turned him because she wanted him with her. He focused on the murmuring again, and realized that one of the voices was Solange’s.
“You are not a curse. You never have been. You have always been nothing but a blessing on this house, child. If you truly believe you are a curse, then I have been remiss in my duties of raising you,” Marceline said, holding Solange’s hand in her own while leaning toward her and looking sincerely into her eyes. “Speak to me, Solange. Explain yourself to me.”
“I can’t,” Solange said softly.
“You can,” Marceline insisted. “You are the strongest person I’ve ever met. Stronger than me, even. If you can travel the world eliminating vampires, you can most certainly explain yourself to me.”
Solange almost shouted the words she’d held inside all of her life. “I was cursed when I was conceived. My father created me to curse our family forever. I was cursed when I was born and caused my mother to take her own life. I’ve been nothing but a blemish and an embarrassment to you and this coven since before I was born. How can I even consider that I could have ever been anything esle?” Solange cried, the pain in her voice clear to any who heard her.
“Oh, Solange. No, child. You’ve got it all wrong.”
“You trained me to be a slayer from the day I was old enough to understand the physical training. You taught me to kill, to maim, to stalk! You taught me to hold myself in check, to never allow anyone to see who I truly was. You even bespelled the cross I wear to keep my eyes and fangs hidden so that no one will ever know my true nature. How could I ever believe I was anything other than a curse?” Solange shouted.
In that moment Marceline realized the mistake she’d made over and over again. She shook her head. “I trained you to fight because I believed that one day your father would come for you, and I didn’t want to lose you to him. I trained you to hunt and to stalk so that if he ever found you, you’d be able to turn the tables and become the victor. I taught you to hold yourself in check and not to ever allow anyone to see who you truly are because you are the heir to the LaCelle Coven and all its powers. People will use you for anything they can. They all have ulterior motives, and you needed to be aloof enough to see anyone for exactly who they are so they can’t take advantage of you. I spelled the cross to keep your true physical traits hidden because of the very organization you work for now. I’ve been aware of E.V.I.E. for most of my life. We’ve coexisted by keeping our distance and keeping a mutual respect. But I’ll be damned if I‘ll allow my most precious girl to be a victim of theirs. I had to keep you hidden to keep you safe. What better place to hide you away than within their own organization?”
Solange was crying, tears streaming down her face by the time Marceline finished.
“Do you understand, child?” Marceline asked, tears falling from her eyes as well.
Solange nodded and threw herself into her grandmama’s arms.
Crispin lay there, watching Solange hugging her grandmama with a smile on his face. Her behavior was completely understandable. Alastair had been her father and she’d always felt cursed. She was anything but cursed. She was his blessing, his savior. In destroying her father, she’d avenged her mother, removed Alastair’s savagery from the world, and saved Crispin. The only thing he saw in Solange was a blessing.
Marceline held Solange and let her cry it out. Eventually, she noticed that Crispin watched them. She nudged Solange who was still in her arms. “Your male is awake.”
Solange quickly pulled away from Marceline and turned to Crispin. “Crispy!” she cried, laughing through her tears. “You’re awake! How are you? What can I do for you? I’ve never done this before!”
“I’m fine. It just takes a little time for the system to acclimate. Then all will be well,” Crispin answered, his voice weak, smiling up at her as she smoothed her hands down his face.
“I was so worried,” Solange admitted.
“I’m fine now, I promise. Better than I’ve ever been. Happier than I’ve ever been,” Crispin said.
“You are lying in bed recovering from being killed — technically — then turned into a new vampire by a completely inexperienced vampire-witch,” Solange said, trying to make it sound as outrageous as possible. “How does that make you happy?”
“I’m happy because I clearly remember that vampire-witch accepting my claim right after she changed me. I belong to you. And you agreed that you’re mine. That’s all I need,” Crispin said, cupping his hand around one of hers as it caressed his jaw.
“I’m going to leave you two alone to get reacquainted. I’ll send up some food and drink. Call me if you need me, Solange.”
“Thank you, Grandmama.”
“You are most welcome, my sweet Solange,” Marceline said lovingly. Then she met Crispin’s eyes. “And so are you, Crispy.” Marceline winked at Crispin and pulled the door closed behind herself.
~~~
Two days later Solange, Crispin, and Mr. Scruffikins, who Solange had popped in briefly to pick up from her condo, were relaxing in the backyard.
Crispin accepted the ball from Mr. Scruffikins and tossed it out past the large tree. He paused to look up at the bright sunshine filtering through the trees. “I still cannot believe I’m standing in the sun. This is amazing, Solange.”
“I guess I never thought too much about it because I’ve always been able to go out in the sunlight.”
He looked down at his new running shoes. “You’ve given me so many gifts, Solange. But of all of them, even more so than the ability to move about in the sunlight, you are my most treasured gift. You’ve saved me, Solange.”
“I love you,” she whispered, looking up into his eyes.
“I love you,” he answered, pressing his lips to hers and laughing when Mr. Scruffikins snarled and grabbed ahold of his blue jeans right near his ankle. The dog still didn’t like it when anyone was too close to Solange. “Will you stop?!” Crispin laughed, shaking the dog off.
The bell at the front door could be heard ringing from inside the house but neither paid attention to it, knowing that Pauline or one of the other ladies would get it.
A few moments later Pauline rushed out into the back yard. “Solange! Marceline says to go up the back stairs, now! Hurry up, you and Crispin need to hide now. Gillian is at the door.”
Solange turned white and grabbed Crispin by the hand. “Come on! Grab Mr. Scruffikins! Hurry up, you have to stay hidden!”
“Why? Who is Gillian?” Crispin asked.
“My handler. My boss at E.V.I.E. Come on, we have to hide you upstairs,” Solange said, pulling him by the hand toward the kitchen where the hidden stairway was tucked behind the pantry as it was in most old New Orleans h
omes.
Solange and Crispin with Mr. Scruffikins in hand, wasted no time getting upstairs to their third floor bedroom. Solange searched through her jewelry box for the replacement black onyx pendant Marceline had made her that would hide her red eyes and fangs from anyone who looked at her. She fastened it around her neck and turned around to face Crispin. “How’s this?” she asked.
“Amazing. Your eyes are blue again,” he answered, taking her in his arms and kissing her soundly.
“I still miss my cross. I wish I’d been able to find it.”
“It’s likely lost in all the junk in that basement you and Alastair fought in.”
“Yeah,” she agreed, wishing she’d had the presence of mind to search for it before leaving the basement, but she’d been too worried about Crispin to even think about it.
A knock sounded on their door. “Solange, Gillian is in the front sitting room. She’s insistent that she speak with you,” Marceline said.
“Damn!” Solange whispered to Crispin.
“No cursing in this house, young lady. Slayer or not, you are still a LaCelle!” Marceline snapped.
Solange grinned at Crispin, shaking her head at being scolded like a young child. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be right down.”
Chapter 18
Moments later Solange came down the grand staircase, giving the appearance of being completely relaxed and at ease. “Gillian! How are you?” Solange said, as she stepped off the final stair and walked toward the front sitting room where they greeted all visitors.
“I’m doing very, very well, Solange. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch sooner, but after the clean up and interviewing the surviving girl, there were so many loose ends to tie up that it was overwhelming. I’m just now getting it all wrapped up.”
“I can imagine,” Solange said.
“I kept waiting for you to check in after your initial call for clean up. Kept expecting to see you walk through that door, but you never did. I knew if you needed me, you’d reach out, and figured since you didn’t, you were surely here resting, giving yourself a chance to heal in both body and mind. I decided to come by here on a whim today. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. I’m happy to see you,” Solange said distractedly, her mind wandering with all the possibilities of things the rescued girl might have told E.V.I.E. while being interrogated.
“Can we sit?” Gillian asked.
“Yes, of course,” Solange answered, ushering Gillian toward the small love seat against the window.
“Look, I know that this is what you planned on your whole life, and I know the image you wear for the world is kick ass, bad ass, you can’t influence me and I’d kill you if you could, but that’s not who the Solange I know is. Not the Solange I consider my friend. Not the Solange who has hidden herself away here since the day she killed the man who was partially responsible for giving her life.”
Solange looked down at her hands folded in her lap.
“Are you okay? I mean you — not my operative — you,” Gillian said.
“I just needed a little downtime,” Solange confided.
“Take all the time you need. But know this, Solange, I am your friend. Yes, I work for E.V.I.E., and technically, when you’re on assignment, I’m your handler. But I’m your friend first and foremost.”
Solange looked up at Gillian, and saw the sincerity in Gillian’s eyes. “I’ve never had a real friend before.”
“You do now, and you have had since you walked into my office wanting intel on Alastair.”
“Thank you, Gillian. I’m your friend, too. I’d kill for you,” Solange said, meaning it from the depths of her heart. A promise to kill would have been a scary thing to hear from most people, but from Solange, it was her declaration of affection.
Gillian grinned, knowing that coming from Solange that was a very, very heartfelt pledge.
They sat quietly for a few moments until finally Solange had to ask. “So, the girl, who interrogated her?”
“I did. After I heard the claims she was making I jumped in and insisted that I be allowed to interrogate her and reintegrate her into society since it all happened in my city.”
Solange nodded. “And was she able to give you any information?”
“Nothing that made sense.”
“Really?” Solange said, perking up.
“Really. She kept rambling on and on about a pretty girl with dark hair and blue eyes that she saw through the air grate when she was hidden in the crawl space. She swore the girl tore off her necklace and then had red eyes. She said the girl kept calling the evil vampire Daddy. Then after the girl killed the evil vampire, she attacked a man with blonde hair who was lying on the floor and was drinking his blood when the girl tried to escape. She said a sheet was thrown over her head, and she wasn’t sure where it came from, but she couldn’t see anything anymore, but she heard a girl crying and begging someone named Crispin not to die. She thinks it was the same girl with the red eyes who’d attacked the blonde haired man.”
“Wow! That’s quite a story,” Solange said nervously.
“It is. Especially since we’ve tracked a male named Crispin for some time. It was our belief that Alastair created him, so we were very concerned that he would turn out to be just like Alastair.”
Solange didn’t say anything. She just met Gillian’s eyes and waited for the inevitable.
But the inevitable didn’t come. Instead, Gillian reached into her pocket and withdrew something. “I was there when the cleaning was done. I knew you’d killed the right vampire, but… regulations, I had to put eyes on him or his ashes.” Gillian held out her hand and allowed Solange’s cross to dangle from her fingers. “I saw your cross on the floor and picked it up for you. I never, ever saw you without it on. The clasp was broken as though it had been pulled off you, I had it fixed for you.”
Solange held her hand out and Gillian placed the cross on her palm.
Then Gillian spoke quietly, calmly. “Your father was Alastair. Your mother was Adrienne LaCelle. I have no doubt you have inherited talents from both of them. Traits, too. So maybe the outlandish story the rescued girl told isn’t so outlandish.”
Solange just looked at Gillian, not saying a single word.
“I’m not sure you understand this, Solange. I was told once by someone I respect and care for very much that not all ‘others’ are bad,” Gillian said, with a slight smile on her face.
Solange smiled shakily at Gillian, knowing she was referring to Solange’s own words.
“I’ve explained to the girl that if she tells anyone at all what she thinks she saw, the vampires will come for her and her family. The only thing keeping her safe is her silence. We won’t be able to protect her. I believe she fully understands.”
Solange swallowed. “And if she’s not silent?”
“We have ways of making sure our operatives are safe and uncompromised,” Gillian responded.
“I’m still an E.V.I.E. operative?” Solange asked hopefully.
“I hope so,” Gillian answered, “But that’s entirely up to you.”
“And if Crispin is ever found?” Solange asked.
Gillian smiled brightly. “Funny thing, that. I tried to look him up in the mainframe this morning before coming over here. His name popped up and the little bit of history we had on him along with it. Then all of a sudden, it just disappeared, as though it never existed. I might have hit a wrong button or something, I’m not sure. But any reference to him just went up in smoke.”
Solange smiled as she nodded and her eyes fell on the cross again, and Gillian matched that smile.
Still looking at the cross in Gillian’s hand, Solange reached behind her own neck, releasing the clasp on the onyx pendant she wore. She took it off and held it in her hand, hesitating a moment longer before looking up at Gillian with her red eyes very clearly on display. She smiled nervously at Gillian and her fangs were easily seen.
Gillian chuckled softly. “There you are,” she
said, reaching out to hug Solange. “There’s my friend.”
Solange hugged her back.
Gillian sat back, then extended her hand toward Solange, allowing the cross to dangle from her fingertips.
Solange accepted the cross, then handed the onyx pendant to Gillian so she could fasten the cross behind her own neck. Once she’d fastened the clasp, she allowed it to fall against her chest and laid her fingers against it. When she looked up at Gillian again, she had blue eyes and her teeth were just as blunt as anyone else’s.
“That’s amazing,” Gillian said, handing her back the black onyx sphere suspended on the silver chain. “Maybe you could give this one to Crispin. He’d probably be good back up.”
Solange’s eyebrows raised.
“You could be the first E.V.I.E. operative to have her own personal built in bodyguard with her on all missions.”
Solange laughed lightheartedly and looked down at her hands again, before raising her gaze to look Gillian in the eyes. “He’s mine. He’s my male, and I won’t give him up for anything.”
“I suspected as much. Are you happy, Solange?” Gillian asked.
“I am. Very. Things are changing. Grandmama wants me to take over the coven in the next few years. Crispin is patient with me while I learn to share who I am and to give and take, and he loves me unconditionally. Mr. Scruffikins is happy and adores Crispy as much as I do.
“I’m happy for you, Solange. I’ve always felt bad that all you did for your entire childhood was train to slay. I understand why it was the way it was, or at least I think I do. I think Marceline was preparing you to protect yourself.”
“Exactly,” Solange confirmed.
“But you never got to have any fun, never got to go on your first date. Never got to have sleepovers or go to school dances. Never went shopping with your friends. Every time I read through your file, my heart hurt for you and your youth. I’m so happy you have your Crispy. And I’m happy you’re exploring other avenues in your life.”
Blessed Curse Page 16