by Tara Brown
“Lasses, welcome to Gallymis.” His accent is thick like mud.
“Thanks,” I mutter and look around. The turrets and towers are intriguing as sin. Whit steps to where I am and towers over me like he's protecting me.
Angie and Em walk to us and hover close to Whit. We look scared, there is no doubt. The young lady smiles and I can't help but like her. She has the dark eyes the way they all do and plump lips. She must be their sister.
“I'm Gwen,” she says softly, I think trying to be calm for us. She points to the youngest of them all. “Olly.”
He talks fast, beaming, “Right pleased to meet ya.”
She points at a dark-haired one that looks like Whit. The harder I look, I the more I realize he looks identical to him. “Rydal.”
He nods at me severely but his lips play with a grin. When he lets it loose, my stomach aches. They are identical.
“Emily, Angie, in the car still sleeping is Aunt Tessa, and this is Lorelei.” Whit points to the top of our heads.
I look at them and smile politely. I can't fight all the breeding that’s still there.
Rydal takes my hand in his and kisses the top of it. The spark I feel when our skin connects makes me jump. He grins and I swallow hard. He presses his warm lips on the top of my hand and when he lets go, he drags his fingers along my palm. He winks a dark eye at me and moves on to my sister and Angie.
Whit takes my hand that’s burning from the lips of his brother and pulls me up the steps. A large bear of a man is in the doorway, grinning like a fool. He points at Whit and shakes his head. “We asked you to bring the blood, not the girls.” His accent is thick too.
Whit blushes and looks down. “Aye Da, I didn’t have any choice. Their ma went right radge. I had to save them.”
The man looks at us and nods. “Aye. Welcome to Gallymis, lasses.” I smile politely and cling to Whit. “Thank you.” I turn and glance back at my sister and Angie. They're clinging to each other, wide-eyed and uncomfortable. Whit waits for them. “Da, this is my Lorelei, her sister Emily, and her mate Angie.”
The man grins and takes my hand in his. He resembles Whit, with dark eyes, dark hair, and a slight cleft in his chin. He has the same plump lip and sparkle in his eyes.
“Welcome.” It sounds like weeelcome.
He steps aside. “The dawn’s coming.”
Whit leads us to a huge front entry with a grand staircase worthy of royalty. He pulls me along. I look back. “Tessa?”
“They’ll get her into a room and convince her she's going to sleep until she's woken by one of us.”
I gulp and look back.
“You guys okay?” I ask my sister and Angie. I don’t expect them to answer. They don’t. They climb the stairs, and when Whit shows them to their huge grand room, they close the door in my face. I hurt everywhere. I can't let it go. They're killing me.
He pulls me along to a bedroom and closes the door. I turn to see the huge four-poster bed and lavish furnishings. It's clearly his room. It’s dark and brooding, like he is. Too nice and too proper for me to be completely comfortable.
“Is this your room?” I ask.
He smirks. “’Tis, but if you want, I can get you your own room or you can sleep here and I can bunk with Rydal.”
“It's fine. We've slept together for a long time now. We can sleep together and not be—you know.” I blush and glance up.
He grins and shakes his head. “No, I don’t. I think I might need you to explain the ‘you know’ part of it.” I shove him and walk into the room. I sit on the bed and sigh.
He stands in front of me and looks confused. “You want to end the spell I have on you?”
“That’s not it.”
“Angie and Em?” he asks.
I nod and feel like I'm going to cry.
He lifts my hands and kisses them. “Go talk to them. Make them understand.”
I look into his dark eyes and nod. “Okay.” I stand and he sweeps me into his arms. His lips brush mine softly. I let him hold me for a moment and then press against his chest. “You promised.”
He laughs. “Only till we got here.”
I glower. “You promised.”
He sighs. “Aye, I did.”
I walk from his grip and out of the room. I walk down the hall, stopping at their door. I take a breath and knock. I gulp when they open it.
“Can I come in?” I whisper.
Angie answers and steps away from the door. She leaves it open. I walk in and close it.
Em looks at me and snarls. “What?”
My fingers burn. I sigh and start. “I watched you die. It was hard. It wasn’t Whit but it was one of the others. His hand sliced across your throat and your blood sprayed across the foyer. I'll never forget the color of it. You were dead and so was Daddy. I ran and hid in the hiding house. They came for me there. I was alone in the world but Whit put the blood in my mouth. I died when the sun set. I became what I am now but no magic. I ran for forty-eight years believing you both dead.” A black tear trickles from my eye. I shudder and continue, “I came back to Baton Rouge, and Angie, you were married to Martin. He had hurt you at my engagement party. He told me that he warned you he would either have you or hurt and humiliate me. He forced you to marry him when I was gone. You had kids and grandkids when I saw you again, but you were so unhappy. He cheated and humiliated you for years.”
Her face is streaked with the tears. She sputters, “He came to me at the party. He wanted that very thing.”
I nod and look at Em. “You were dead but cursed to live forever as a sixteen-year-old ghost. I didn’t know. Your only company was our dear aunt who moved in and lived with you. You destroyed the house and lived in the ruins, haunting them. I got there and started rebuilding, but you were so angry about being dead and stuck there. It was sick and sad and broke my heart. I met a girl who could send us back in time. She is part angel and magical. She did it. She forced you, Angie, to go back and change a decision. You didn’t let Martin rape you. He roughed you up, but you got away. I came back with full memory. I remember it all. I was able to save you, Tessa, Angie, and Maria. But I had to choose this. Em, you were dead already. Momma had trapped you at the mansion, and Angie, you were doomed. Martin was gonna make your daddy force you to marry him. This is the only way I had to change it all. I chose in the few moments I was given.”
My lips tremble but I continue, “I made the choice. You may hate me for the next forty-eight years, but I made this choice. I didn’t think I had any other. I'm sorry.” I stand and walk from the room, leaving them both tear streaked and sniffling. I don’t know what else to say or do, and I don’t want emotionally forced apologies or forgiveness.
I walk down the hall, hugging myself and sickened. I'm almost to the door when a hand reaches out and pulls me inside the room across from mine. The door is closed and a hand is pressed against my lips. I gasp, seeing the grinning face of Rydal. I can tell them apart from the clothes they're wearing.
He gives me the same lazy grin. “I know your secret, witch.”
“I don’t have secrets.”
He lowers his face and smells my nape. My skin shivers from the proximity. He stands back up and nods. “Aye, ya do. Ya smell just like a witch I knew once, only stronger.” He grins and I get a glimpse of his fangs.
He runs his hands up and down my arms. “Let me have a sip of the nectar, and I won't tell my brother how attracted ya are to me.” His eyes sparkle with trouble.
I shove him back and open the handle of the door. He slams it shut again and pins me against the hardwood with his huge body. “You and me are going to be great friends, Sister.” He growls into my nape and then opens the door and leans against the frame. His expectant expression mars his beautiful face as he walks out of the room. He closes the door.
I stand there, confused. I want him to have my blood like I did with Marcus. Technically, I shouldn’t. Technically, my bond with Whit should be protecting me.
I'm shaking w
ith anger and embarrassment when I realize I'm upset. I step to Whit's door and put my hands on the handle. I take a deep breath and enter. He smiles at me and I hate it. I want the spell gone.
“Want it gone now then?” he asks.
I nod and close the door.
He walks to me, slow and strong steps. I almost run in the other direction but I don’t. I let him wrap himself around me and lift my chin. Our gaze meets and he holds my eyes hostage, the way he does.
“Wish to feel the way you truly want to about me, the way you truly feel,” he whispers.
I blink and speak softly, “I wish to feel the way I truly feel about you.”
It washes off, it's not totally gone though. The brunt of it's gone and I'm cleaner for it. His charms and good looks attract me normally. It’s not forced and harsh, but light and only there when I think about him.
“Thanks.”
“Can't make you love me.”
I laugh. “I guess you did though, huh?”
His eyes search mine before he kisses the tip of my nose. “I guess I did.”
Instantly, his breath against my face is attractive. I lean into him and take it in. He laughs and shakes his head. “Not all gone then?”
“I think it's the way I feel about you normally.”
“You're mine, Lorelei,” he mutters and pulls me to the bed. I wrap myself around him and close my eyes. Nothing matters for the moment we are in. We can sort the rest of it another day.
Epilogue
Gallymis, Scotland, 1964
I sip from the glass in front of me and watch the actions and words. Rydal watches me. I give him a glare. I look at Whit and then down at the meal they’ve prepared for me. I'm the only one who eats, except Tessa. Everyone else has a glass of wine before them.
“Does it taste all right?” Gwen asks.
“It's real nice, thank you.” It's not. It's the worst thing I've been given to eat yet. I almost gag as I stuff small picked-over bites in my mouth. I need some blood. The glasses of wine are infused with blood. It's creepy and weird.
Tessa picks at it too and gives me a look. I snicker and shake my head.
I stand, making all the men at the table stand.
“Excuse me,” I say and walk to the bathroom. It’s huge and marble and amazing. I run my fingers along the marble and close the door. As I turn the lock, the handle turns and the door is opened.
I jump back as Rydal comes in and closes the door behind him. He gives me a dangerous leer and turns the lock again.
I take a step back as he takes one forward.
“All I have to do is scream,” I whisper.
He nods but the fire in his eyes is intense. “I know.”
“I'll use my magic on you.”
He nods again and takes another step toward me. “I know.”
I point a finger at him, but he grabs it fast and pulls it to his face, kissing the back of my hand.
“Stop,” I'm begging.
“I want your blood.”
I shake my head. “No.”
He nods again and steps closer. He's looming over me, pressing me into the wall behind me. His fangs drop. My hands shoot up and shock him.
He stumbles back.
“No. I said no.”
I stop the shocks but he just grins devilishly. He smiles a fangy smile and leaps at me.
I scream, “STOP!” and flash something from my fingers.
He flash-freezes mid air. I open my eyes and cover my mouth with my hand. I don’t know how to undo it. I don’t even know how I did it. I slide past him to the door, but I feel the icy whispers upon me. I glance in the mirror where I see the frost forming on the mirror. I see something moving and realize it's like a finger drawing in the frost.
Danger, Lorelei. I'm coming for you.
I swallow and open the door and run for the main room.
The End
Volume Seven
Chapter 1
Scotland, 1964
The wind howls around me, raging in a way I have never felt. It’s cold and hateful here, reminding me of the Rockies in Canada. It’s not a place I would have chosen had the world not fallen apart, drowning me in sorrow and mistakes.
My eyes drift to the nearby windowpane where I anticipate my momma’s ghostly fingers will appear any second to frighten me with her creepy drawing. But it’s Momma, so I have to assume she will try harder next time. Maybe she’ll go for scaring me half to death with the reflection of her decaying face.
I shudder as warmth wraps around me but when I turn it isn’t Whit. It’s my sister, Em. She still has tears dried to her cheeks and her fingers squeeze harder than I would like, but at least she’s here.
She continues to hate me, no matter how hard I try to make it all make sense for them. Especially Em. She was sixteen, madly in love, and completely normal two weeks ago.
But how do you tell someone you love that you killed them to save their life?
Shoot—I won’t ever be able to convince her of that. The best I can do is to prove I didn't have any other motive. But their general lack of trust, as far as Whit and his family are concerned, has them both suspicious that I’m working with his family.
“What are you doing up here? We were worried. I thought something had happened to you. You left the table and never came back. I know no Southern lady would ever leave a table before a meal is finished so I have to assume it’s something else.” Her eyes focus downward like she might be harboring something or she’s ashamed maybe. “Is it me? Are you mad at me and Angie because we’re upset? You must know it’s all a shock to the system. Nothing I have lived through in sixteen years could have prepared me for this. Two weeks ago I was dating, sixteen, and pretty darned normal. Now I’m in Scotland and I had bloody wine for dinner. Just don't be mad that it’s gonna take us some time.”
“I could never be mad at you. Never. You forget I’ve experienced what you are going through—someone killing you for their own selfish reasons but making you stay alive at the same time. I too have lived through that.” I glance back at the Scottish hillside and shake with the cold air. “I left the table to go to the bathroom and something happened. Something bad. I ran, desperate to get away or find you and Angie. Then this cold wind hit me so I ran up here. I needed fresh air.” I don't want tell her the rest. It won’t make anything better. She doesn't need to know about the child’s voice that led me to the stairs. The child that told me to come up to see the secrets of the castle.
She also doesn't need to know about the finger drawing on the mirror. Besides, it doesn’t take up near as much room in my mind as the frozen vampire in the bathroom. When they find him they’re going to kill me.
What if I can’t bring him back?
“Why do you look so upset? What were you running from? What was the bad something?”
“Rydal.” There is no way to keep the secret of what I have done. I may not want to burden her with it all, but we are alone in the world, the three of us. I whisper, “They’re gonna kill me.”
“What are you talking about? Who’s gonna kill you?”
“Whit and his parents.”
“Did you hear them talking about something? We can run, Lorelei. We don't have to stay here.”
As much as I don't want to tell her, I don't have a choice. “I saw something in the bathroom and I have a bad feeling Momma was there. She might have made words on the mirror, threatening me.”
She pales.
I realize if I don't tell the whole damned story it won’t make sense. “But that's not the scary part. Something happened with Rydal.” I close my eyes, hating what I did more than his attack on me. “He confronted me, wanting blood and other things ladies don't do, and I froze him. He’s stuck like a frog in a frozen pond, mid stroke.”
“Ohhhh. That. Yeah, I heard the commotion downstairs.” She starts to breathe again. “You have all the good luck. Momma and a twisted vampire? If Momma tracked us here, we probably need to leave, Lorelei. Tonight. I do
n't know if she can hurt us but if she can, she will.”
“Not to mention, Rydal wanted to eat me. Whit swore he wasn’t going to tell them what I was and then I used my magic. But only because Rydal seemed to already know, so Whit must have told them.”
She cocks an eyebrow, making me laugh bitterly.
I put my hands up. “I know it. I know that look and you’re right. He never has been the sort of guy a girl should trust. And I think you’re right also—we should leave tonight. The sun’s down and we have the whole night to run.”
“You ready to leave him behind, for good?” Em asks.
“Yeah.” I’m already exhausted from the level of running we will have to do, only this time I’ll have Aunty Tessa to boot. “He don't love me the way he should, and I can feel my love for him is part of some kind of trick. A trick I can’t seem to reach and get rid of.” I glance back at the scenery. “I truly am sorry for what I did to you and Angie. I never woulda hurt you. I’d walk through fire before I’d hurt you. You know that, right?”
“I do. I just don’t know how to reach inside myself and forgive all of what you’ve done to me. When I come to terms with being this, I’ll probably be fine. But I need to come to terms and move on first. Just don't be mad at me needing time.”
My eyes find the floor as the shame weighs more than one of Grandmamma Holt’s sofa afghan blankets. “I know what you mean.” Neither of them will ever understand that I do. I know what they’re feeling. That last sunrise and the betrayal of Whit and the death of my entire family was the most pain I have ever endured. Of course, loving Whit counterbalances it. Both things are equally disturbing.
Angie comes rushing up the stairs. Obviously, she isn’t as close to forgiving me as Em might be. She folds her arms across her chest and gives me a sassy look. “They were getting all suspicious so they went and looked for the sexy one and found him in the bathroom. He was frozen solid like that mountain lion Mr. Griffiths had in his deep freeze for the taxidermist to stuff in the spring. He was stuck with his fangs out and everything.”