“Do I know you?” He looked familiar. Why couldn’t I think? I was beginning to panic, my eyes darting in every direction.
“Stay calm. It’s okay.” He began to take the girl from me, the weight hardly noticeable. I wanted to run. Something was on my face—I could feel it moving. I touched it, glancing down at the redness. Blood? Was I bleeding?
“I’m bleeding!” I shrieked.
“Shh, no, that’s not yours. See the holes on the side of her neck?” the man asked me, pushing aside the woman’s hair so I could see them.
My teeth began to ache. I tentatively touched them, finding long, pointed ones. “I’m a Vampire!”
The man laid the girl down on the ground, pulling out his phone so he could dial a number. When the person answered on the other end, he told them to pick up a girl who was bitten by a Vampire. A new Vampire. I didn’t know if I should freak out, or consider the possibility that I was dreaming.
I began to pace, suddenly realizing I had no shoes on. When I glanced down at the rest of me, I found that I was dressed in a silk nighty that barely covered my ass. Blood drenched the front of it, as if I had just killed a deer with my bare hands. If I was a Vampire, then I was a monster. A monster that needed better eating habits. I chuckled to myself, feeling a little insane. What was I even doing? I was a Witch! Not a damn Vampire.
Laughing still, I looked around, realizing I was in a city somewhere. Where the hell was I? Things were getting even more confusing as the night went on. The man was now staring at me with a look of concern on his face. He seemed at a loss as to what to do with me. I should thank the stranger and be on my way. That’s the only thing I could do. He was taking care of the girl, after all. I had to get to the bottom of this Vampire business. It had to be a mistake.
“You don’t know who I am, do you?” the man asked.
Shaking my head, I paused, wondering if I should remember him. My head started to hurt, like someone was taking an icepick to it. Unable to handle the pain, I screamed, pressing the palms of my hands to the sides of my head. Flashes of images appeared in my mind. Some were of me and this man together. Then one of the accident. My mother and Merlin. The faster they came, the more my head hurt.
Falling to my knees, I hunched over, blood dripping from what I assumed was my nose. It was becoming too much for me to handle. I felt lightheaded. My body began to waver and I fell to my side, my head bouncing off the pavement. The man – Drake, I realized—ran to me. He was flickering in and out like a bad film on a reel, until his visage was finally overtaken by blackness.
*
Dead eyes stared into mine. She was dead. I killed her. Screaming, my whole body began to convulse. No. Someone was shaking me. I looked around, the dead eyes gone. Drake hovered over me, his gaze heavy with apprehension.
“What is going on?” I asked, looking around the room. I was in his room, but the light at his desk was on, showing he’d been up, reading a book. He was fully clothed, and smelled good from showering recently. Me? I felt disgusting. My body was covered in sweat, my nightgown sticking to my skin.
Pushing away the hair from my face, I sat up, with Drake trying to help me. “Do you remember what happened?” he asked me.
Thinking, I tried to recollect what I had done before going to sleep, but I kept seeing the blonde woman’s eyes. Then it started to come back to me. The woman in my arms, just after I sank my teeth into her warm flesh. She came to me so willingly, too. I remembered that all I did was speak to her. When I touched her skin, it was seductive, her whole body shivered under my fingers.
“Did I kill her?” I asked, swallowing. I still had the sweet, copper taste of blood in my mouth.
Drake sighed, shaking his head. “Nearly, though. Luckily, I have a few friends that can hide what you did. If the Council got wind of your attack, you’d have to appear in front of them all.”
Feeling bad, I looked down at my hands in front of me. “I don’t even remember what happened.”
“You were sleeping, but were very restless. You were having a nightmare. I tried waking you up, but the next thing I knew, your necklace began to glow, and you shot out of here faster than I could track.” He shook his head, running a hand down my thigh. I shivered in response, wondering why the hell my body would choose this moment to be turned on by his touch.
“By the time I caught up to you, it was too late. You weren’t yourself. You didn’t even remember me.”
Recalling my dream, I sighed. Someone was messing with me. I explained my dream to Drake, wondering what would happen next. We needed a plan, because the killer had access to me and I had no real idea who they were. It was in that moment of reflection that the doorbell rang. Drake shot to his feet, his face clearing of any emotion. “Whoever it is, they got past the main gate. That doesn’t please me.”
I hurried to my feet, running after him. “It could be someone dangerous!”
“If it were, I doubt they’d ring the door bell,” he replied.
He had a point, but maybe it was a polite criminal. I shrugged, increasing my speed so I could see who it was. Good thing Drake changed my clothes and cleaned me up; otherwise, I would be a surprise to see. I grinned, picturing if it were Stella. Was she still in jail? Tracking her was at the top of my list. I had a feeling she had a lot to do with what was happening around Riverdale.
Drake opened the door, probably on the verge of attacking whoever was on the other side. I hurried to him, glancing over this shoulder to find Kevin standing on his porch, wearing all black.
“Was it too much trouble to ring at the gate?” Drake demanded, having no idea who Kevin was.
“I’m here to speak to Sophie.” Kevin dismissed him, looking over at me. He looked me up and down, a tilted smile forming.
Taking a step forward, Drake snarled. “Who are you?”
“Sophie, I found a body,” Kevin began, ignoring Drake completely.
My shoulder slumped. “Another Witch murder?”
“Yeah, but you won’t believe who it is.”
“Who is this man?” Drake asked me, ignoring the news about another body. Bodies probably came along all the time in the Vampire world. He hardly seemed fazed by it. I wasn’t sure if that should bother me or not. Or maybe he was too focused on the man who just leered at me a few seconds ago.
How was I supposed to explain Kevin? The High Mistress’s pet-assassin? That would probably go over well. Not. I opened my mouth to say something, but Kevin put out a hand to Drake. “I’m Kevin, and I work for the Witch’s Council with Sophie.”
Calming down visibly, Drake shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“He’s also the High Mistress’s pet assassin!” I blurted, ignoring the glare from Kevin. I couldn’t lie to Drake about who Kevin was. If I left that piece of information out and he found out later, there was no going back.
“Are you serious? Why the fuck is he here?” Drake demanded, fangs revealing themselves again.
“Kevin is here to help.”
“So he says.”
“I’ll prove it by showing you the body I found.”
“Anyone can find a body. You probably put her there!” Drake felt that there was a threat toward me with Kevin standing on the porch. I placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a look to show him that it was okay.
“He’s fine,” I told him, placing a kiss on his cheek.
His face softened and he smiled at me. “You will always be the most important thing in my life. I will not allow anyone to take you from me. I almost lost you once, and I don’t think I can deal with that pain again.”
“Ah, right. Good thing you changed me into a Vampire.”
Drake gave me an apologetic look. Then he turned to Kevin. “Harm her in any way, and I will tear your head from the rest of your body.”
Kevin nodded once and then looked to me. He didn’t seem even a little bit scared, but then what else did you expect from someone who killed for a living? At least he didn’t mock Drake—though I h
ad a feeling my lover would spend a long time torturing the assassin before actually tearing off his head. Even though Drake had limited strength when he went against the Leader of the Vampire Council, I knew he was stronger than he looked. What I found interesting, Kevin didn’t even seem surprised that I was a vampire. Then again, he was always keeping an eye on me.
“The body is behind the house, in the woods, outside of the gates,” Kevin began.
“No way.” I couldn’t believe there was yet another body for the Council to link to Drake. How the hell was he going to escape the murder charges? I didn’t have any ideas. The only thing that I could do is reveal the real killer. Did we report the newfound body? I chewed on my thumbnail, becoming nervous. I didn’t want Drake to get trapped in that prison again.
Drake shook his head, rubbing his chin. Then, he turned on his heel, leaving the door open for Kevin to come in. “Take me to the body.”
“Are you sure that’s wise, considering you’re the prime suspect?” I asked, hurrying to catch up to him.
“I have to see if I know her,” he replied, his face showing the frustration he was feeling.
Kevin followed us out the back door, toward the woods. Drake hesitated briefly to let him move to the front in order to lead us to the body. It was only a short distance, though, because we went about five hundred feet before Kevin was already moving some bushes aside to reveal something pale.
“Oh my gods.” Drake clenched his fists, eyes flashing and fangs descending. “That’s Stella!”
“It looks like she’s been here longer than a day, Drake.”
Kevin nodded his head in agreement. “At least four days.”
“That’s impossible. We just saw her before I had to go to the Vampire Council house.” Drake seemed confused, running a hand through his dark hair. “I don’t think I understand.”
Shaking my head, I realized what it was. It wasn’t a popular spell because it was really hard to pull off. Whoever killed Stella had used a spell to impersonate her. Who knew how long this person had been pretending to be her. Had I even met the real Stella? The person had to be good enough to fool Roark and Drake. I just didn’t understand the point of it. Why pretend to be Stella?
“She wasn’t murdered.” Kevin pointed to the body, indicating the wrists. “It was suicide.”
“The killer could make it look that way,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest as chills went through my body.
Kevin shrugged, bending down to look at the wrists. Blood had dried along them, the wounds appearing as if whoever made the cuts had been hesitant. Maybe Kevin was right. Who would dump her body behind Drake’s house? The killer? Did that mean whoever it was knew Stella well? Did he or she drive her to suicide? There were far too many questions here, and not enough answers. I felt like we weren’t getting any closer to solving the murders.
“I’m telling you, this was suicide.” Kevin rolled the body to check around it. He found a piece of paper with typed words on it. “See?” He then handed it to Drake. I leaned over to read it for myself.
I’ve killed myself because I couldn’t have Drake. He denied me many times, fully knowing my level of devotion to him. I blame you for this, Drake.
“I don’t understand what Stella’s importance is here.” I shook my head in confusion.
Drake crumbled up the paper. He stared down at the pale, soulless body. “We had our differences, but never did I lead her on. I never understood her fascination with me. What else could I possibly do to tell her that it would never happen for us, especially since she was married to my brother?”
“What are you doing—”
Roark appeared behind us, his sentence cut off when he saw the still form on the ground. Then he roared angrily, fangs extending as he pushed us out of the way. I fell to the ground, not expecting him to stampede in our direction. He fell to his knees, cradling Stella’s head in his lap. “What happened?”
“Suicide,” Kevin answered.
Roark appeared confused for a few long seconds, but then it was as if he realized something. His gaze snapped in Drake’s direction. “This is your doing! If it wasn’t for her obsession with you, this would have never happened.”
“She’s been dead a few days,” Kevin pointed out.
“Impossible.” Roark glanced down at the body, his nostrils flaring as if he was taking in the scent. “We just saw her. I don’t understand.”
“Someone is pretending to be her. What else could it possibly be?” I tried to hold back my anger. He blamed Drake for her death, and yet he had nothing to do with it. Stella had formed an obsession that happened all on its own. I couldn’t picture Drake leading her on. Then again, what did I know? The man had lived for years, and probably changed so much over time. Anything was possible. Still, I had to believe that he wouldn’t have done such a thing. He would have at least known to stay away from his brother’s wife.
Drake was staring in my direction, as if he could sense where my thoughts were going. He was slowly getting angry from his brother spouting off words that blamed him for Stella’s demise. Roark just kept continuing on, standing up so he could get into his brother’s face.
Angrily, Drake pushed his brother back. “I had nothing to do with this. I’m sorry you lost your wife, but she was ill. You knew that, and yet you did nothing!”
Roark growled, eyes flashing. “This is your fault! You should have stayed away instead of returning to our lives.”
“It didn’t matter. She showed up everywhere I went. Why didn’t you keep her on a tighter leash?” Drake snarled.
If there was a crowd around us, everyone would have been like, Oooooh. Drake pushed the wrong button, because his brother slammed him into a tree, shaking so hard that a few branches fell to the ground. I went to stop them, but Kevin grabbed me around the waist, his face next to mine. “Let them. Both are angry over what happened.”
I pushed his arms off of me, taking a few steps over to the right to get away. I didn’t like how he handled me. It was like there was more to this then him just helping us. Why I wasn’t suspicious of his motives until then was beyond me. He was the assassin. There had to be a reason why he was suddenly helping me when his boss demanded my head. Well, I assumed she did, anyway.
Drake and Roark were now on the ground. Roark was on his back, taking punches to the face. Blood smeared all over both of them, but I couldn’t see a single wound. Must be because of their Vampire healing. I was getting frustrated over their fighting. I felt like there was more that I should have been doing. But what could I do? Tackle Drake? I could only imagine how well that would go. I’d probably be knocked out and forgotten about. Then I realized I could use magic to bind them from each other. Glancing over in Kevin’s direction, he was shaking his head in warning. Since when did I ever listen, anyway?
Chapter Nineteen
“You’re only going to piss them off more,” Kevin warned as I readied myself to use magic.
I rolled my eyes. Mature, I know, but he was starting to annoy me. Since when did an assassin have more of a conscious than I did? “They need to stop before one of them ends up killing the other.”
“This has probably been building between them for centuries. I bet Roark knew how his wife felt the entire time, so there had to be some resentment there. Let them work it out.”
“Is this a therapy session?” I snapped. Without listening to anything else he had to say, I let my magic wrap around the two fighting Vampires. They struggled against it, snapping at each other like rabid animals. I pulled them apart by spreading my arms wide.
Drake glared in my direction. “Leave us be!”
Again, I rolled my eyes. “This isn’t high school. You guys need to settle this like men.”
“Men have fought against each other since the dawn of time.” Roark growled, struggling. “Let us go!”
“Not until you stop fighting.” I shook my finger at them, which only made Drake move up and down in the air like I was shaking a can of hairsp
ray. Giving him my ‘oops’ smile, I let the magic release them. They were going to do what they wanted, but it wasn’t helping us get any closer to finding out who the killer was. Now we had to figure out what Stella’s connection was with the killer. Did she know who the killer was? Was it a plan she had initiated? Again, so many damn questions!
I threw up my hands in surrender. “If you want to act like boys, then whatever. I’m going to try and solve these murders before any more happen.”
“Do not contact me again, brother.” Roark picked up Stella’s body and disappeared with Vampire speed.
Drake rubbed his face with one hand, suddenly appearing tired. “I don’t think I could have done anything more with Stella’s crush on me. I refused her time and time again, and even moved away from them. Still, she tracked me down, coming around as if we belonged together. Roark didn’t want to hear that his wife was ill. That it was in my head that she may be infatuated with me. He was in denial for so long, and now this happens?”
We started walking back to the house, but I was getting tired fast. My body started to feel sluggish, as if something heavy was weighing me down. I didn’t know what was happening. I just felt so exhausted. The need for my bed was growing stronger, but I fought through it, hoping that I was just tired from so many unbelievable events. I had been on this case nonstop, with so little sleep and nourishment.
“Sophie?” Kevin called out my name, but it sounded so far away.
Groaning, I fell to my knees, unable to support my weight any longer.
Drake rushed by my side, placing his hands on my arms. He hunched over, kissing the top of my head. “Are you all right?”
I couldn’t concentrate enough to respond. Pain shot through my skull, and I collapsed to the ground, eyes rolling back into my head. Next thing I knew, I was back in my dream. This time, I didn’t get any warning before I was attacked by the killer. He or she came at me like a broken image, flickering across the concrete room. A punch landed on my face. Pain registered, surprising me again. If this were a real dream, I shouldn’t be feeling things. I tried to block the next blow, but I was unprepared. The attacker came at me with a kick, hitting me in the stomach. The wind got knocked out of me, forcing me to bend over in pain as I hugged myself at the spot.
Spell Hell: An Undercover Witch (Witch's Brew Book 1) Page 13