My stomach dropped as I choked on my whiskey. “Did you just say…Bannister?”
Jenna crinkled her brow. “You okay, darlin’? You look like you just seen a ghost.”
I couldn’t breathe. I closed my eyes. The room spun. Images of flames flashed in my head.
Jenna put a glass of water down in front of me. “You know him or somethin’?”
Ignoring the water, I downed the rest of my whiskey. “I knew his uncle. A long time ago.”
Jenna stared at me, blank. “Huh. He’s never mentioned him before. Must not like him all that much.”
I shuddered. “I never liked him much either.”
Seeing me press my hands to my temples, Jenna insisted I drink the water. “Aldric will be here soon. I can introduce you.”
My head pounded. This was too much, too soon. I wasn’t prepared. “No, I need to go. Maybe next time.” I stood up too quickly and leaned against the bar to steady myself.
Jenna frowned. “Well, it’s been…interesting.”
I nodded, forcing a smile. “Thanks for the drink.”
A warm draft pulled Jenna’s attention toward the door. She smirked. “Well, darlin’, looks like it was meant to be. That’s Aldric.”
I spun around, knees trembling. Good looking was an understatement. He was gorgeous. His pale blond hair was loosely slicked back, half-tucked behind his ears. Standing tall with broad shoulders, he wore a white button-down shirt and black slacks. Simple, but elegant.
His top button was undone, exposing the pulsing vein in his throat. The scent of his blood filled the room. I licked my lips, wondering what it would taste like.
His eyes were a cool shade of blue, aquamarine with flecks of violet. My head throbbed. It was as if I was in my body and out of it at the same time. I couldn’t move or look away.
My cheeks flamed as I imagined wrapping my lips around his throat. His soft flesh against my teeth. What was happening to me? I must have had too much whiskey.
Aldric never broke eye contact as he made his way over to me. “Pardon me, but have we met before?” His voice was warm, but deep, like smoke and honey.
I couldn’t speak. My entire body was on fire. I had to get away from him. Pushing past him, I bolted out the front door. As I sprinted down the alley, I could still feel his eyes, staring after me.
I ran the entire way home. Throwing open the door, I rushed inside and collapsed on my knees. I was broken. Every emotion flooded out like a storm. I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore.
Valentina darted over, throwing her arms around me. I shook and trembled till I was nothing more than a heap of bones on the floor. She didn’t let go. We stayed like that for the rest of the night.
Morning light poured through the window, warm but blinding. Valentina sprang up. “You need to feed.” She started for the basement to fetch me a blood bag.
“I saw him.” My tongue scratched against my throat.
Valentina spun around, eyes wide. “You saw who?”
I pushed myself up off the floor. “Elemi’s human. Aldric Bannister. I saw him.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Where? What happened?”
“On Pirate’s Alley. I found a speakeasy called the Three Blind Mice. The Bannisters own it. I should have known right away. It was cloaked in magic.”
Valentina listened intently while I recalled all the details of last night’s events. How I almost lost control around him. She grinned from ear to ear. “You want him.”
My cheeks burned. I shook it off. I couldn’t let myself be seduced by him. He had magic running through his veins. Ancient magic. And I needed it.
“No. I want to link with him. That’s all.”
She smirked. “Sure. Keep telling yourself that. So, what’s the plan now?”
I didn’t really have one. “Well, I can’t just march in there and tell him I’m a four-hundred-year-old Dhampir who needs help destroying an ancient coven that he is a descendant of.”
Valentina giggled. “He’ll think you’re crazy.”
I paced around the parlor. “I have to be patient. Follow him, get to know his routine, and wait for an opportunity.”
Valentina huffed. “Gray, there’s never going to be a right time to tell him that his whole life is a lie.”
My heart raced. “Look, I know what he’s about to go through. My life was ripped away from me without warning. No one deserves that. I just need time to find the right words to say to him.”
Tears welled up in my eyes. Old wounds were reopening. I wasn’t sure I was ready for it.
Today marked two weeks in a row of following Aldric around the city. I wanted to figure him out, but I was also stalling. Either way, he fascinated me. Everything about him was fluid and effortless. The way he walked, spoke, even the way he stirred his coffee was light and rhythmic.
Every morning, at eight a.m. sharp, he strolled into the Honey Butter Café. He would come out minutes later with a steaming cup of black coffee and a flaky croissant. He’d polish both off as he walked through the Quarter, smiling and savoring every bite. Keeping to himself mostly, he would stop to chat with a local merchant or street performer on occasion.
At night, he was at the Three Blind Mice. I discovered he lived in the loft directly above it. Like clockwork, he would leave for the night with a beautiful woman on his arm. A different woman.
He had each one of them wrapped around his finger with his infectious charm. The women would giggle and bat their lashes as he walked them home. He would escort them inside and stay a while, but always left before morning. He slept with them, but he didn’t sleep with them.
Before heading back to the loft, he would walk down to the river front. That’s when his face would change. His eyes would darken as he stared, vacant, out into the water. For hours on some nights.
Tonight, I had to fight the urge to touch him. Looking up at the sky, his brow furrowed harder than usual. It took everything in me to remain hidden. I wanted to wrap my arms around him, shielding him from the world. What was torturing him? What kept him up at night?
Valentina was right. I wanted him. Body and soul. I wanted to know him. Be with him. My heart ached because the minute I touched him, his life would no longer be the same. It would cease to be normal. But I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
Like a drug, the pull to him was intoxicating. I wanted more. I imagined his mouth over mine, his body pressed up against me. My entire body tingled at the thought. I whimpered softly, my breath quickening.
Aldric spun around, straining his eyes in my direction. Damn. Did he hear me? I backed up, further into the shadows.
He froze, his eyes darting around like a mad man. “Is someone there?”
I held my breath. I could have kicked myself for being so careless.
Aldric called out again. “Hello? Anyone out there?”
I stood as still as I could. Beads of sweat dripped down my temples.
He took a couple steps back, convinced something was lurking in the dark. He moved backward toward the city before turning on his heel and sprinting down the alley.
I let out a sigh of relief and fell to my knees, bracing my trembling hands on the pavement. Darkness crept into my mind. I sickened myself. You have no right to him. You’re nothing but a demon. A monster.
What sickened me more was that I knew what I had to do next. I had to turn him so we could link. I had no other choice. He was a Bannister Witch. His magic was stronger than the others’. I needed that power in my veins. Tears streamed down my cheeks, falling harder with each step I took.
Longing for my humanity, I mourned his. I said a silent prayer to the gods. Forgive me for what I am about to do.
Five
As I followed Aldric’s scent, the back of my neck tingled. A subtle breeze fluttered past me. My heart pounded. I was not alone. Something was lurking behind me. Picking up my pace, I turned down a side street away from Aldric.
The fluttering continued. It darted back and forth like a fi
refly, just out of my line of sight, but teasing my peripheral. The shadow fragmented like shards of glass, staying with me as I turned down another street. There was only one thing that could move this way. Dhampir.
I picked up speed as it gained on me, sprinting around corners and twisting in and out of the shadows. I clenched my fists, my anger rising as I led it away from the city. The fluttering turned to footsteps. It shook the ground with each stride. It was getting closer. Good. My lips curled into a half-snarl, half-smirk as my eyes shaded to black. I gripped my daggers tight.
Closing in, its breath tickled my neck. I took a deep breath and braced myself. Now. Spinning around, I crouched down, daggers out in front of me. The shadow materialized, taking on a solid shape. A female. I lunged forward.
Her eyes widened, throwing up her hands to block my attack. A gust of wind pushed toward me, whipping my hair into my eyes. My daggers were ripped from my hands. Blood rushed to my head. Magic.
I threw my hands up, willing my body forward. I cried out, channeling every ounce of anger and rage. My mind raced to Aldric. Did I just lead them to him? I pushed forward, overcome with a need to protect him.
The wind howled, piercing my ear drums with the force of a banshee. Blood spilled out of my eyes, obscuring my vision. A pressure filled my head, threatening to burst it. I collapsed, dry heaving on the way down.
The wind stopped. I blinked the last drops of blood from eyes. With my heart pounding out of my chest, I raised my head toward my attacker. A chill passed through me. It was Elemi Bannister.
She stood over me, a raven-haired beauty, trembling with fury. The moonlight cast a glow across her face, illuminating her like a dark angel. Her pale skin was smooth, but her eyes gave away her age. She was much older than I.
The infinity necklace draped around her neck confirmed my suspicions. She was still with the Consilium. Why did she show me restraint? And why was she following me?
“Elemi.” Her name rolled off my tongue like sour milk.
Her eyes were full of ice, cold and unflinching. “What do you want with my nephew?”
I returned her icy glare. “I mean him no harm. I can promise you that.”
Elemi took a careful step forward. “You despise us for what we did to you, don’t you?”
Flames flickered and flashed in my head. Memories of a long time ago. Being ripped from my bed and tied to a stake. Being set on fire. Despise is not the word I would use.
My eyes narrowed. “Ah yes, the night you created a monster. You should’ve seen the look on your brother’s face when my flesh didn’t burn. Why weren’t you there? And Tobias, your demon king…no sign of him either. I guess you both just let Nicholas do your dirty work.”
Elemi’s mouth fell open. “Just to be clear, I had nothing to do with what happened to you that night. Nicholas had his own agenda. You have every right to be angry, but I will not let you punish Aldric for our mistakes.”
I snapped, “Angry? That doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
Elemi lowered her eyes, her voice a pleading whisper. “Aldric is innocent. Please.”
I wanted to stab her. “I was innocent too once. Just a young girl who was never given a choice. Funny, no one came forth on my behalf.” I pursed my lips in disgust.
Elemi kept her head down. “There is so much you don’t know. So much.” Her eyes welled with tears.
I sighed. “Relax. As I said, I have no intentions of harming Aldric.”
She looked up, puzzled. “Then why are you following him? What do you want?”
I took a deep breath and looked her dead in the eye. “I’m going to turn him and link with him.”
She blinked rapidly, pondering my words. She swayed from side to side, as if lost in a dream. “It makes sense that you would find him. All these years, I’ve cloaked him with magic. But magic doesn’t seem to affect you the way it does others.”
I shrugged it off. “Nonsense. I didn’t track him. I found him by accident.”
Elemi’s eyes drifted off, trancelike. “There are no accidents in our world. I don’t want Aldric in Tobias’s hands. He’s not the same man I believed in hundreds of years ago. Darkness consumes him. Aldric is safer with you.”
I was stunned. Dumfounded. My head was pounding. “I don’t understand. You’re with the Consilium. Why would you think he’s safer with me?”
She looked away. “This world will suffer at their…our hands. It’s too late for me, but Aldric still has a chance at freedom. Once the two of you link, I won’t be able to cloak him anymore. It will be up to you to protect him. Don’t make me regret this.” Elemi’s face twisted in pain.
I understood the sacrifice she was making. Committing an act of betrayal against her demon family to protect her human one.
I let out a deep breath. “In four hundred years, I’ve never been able to piece together what happened to me that night. I’ve been chasing ghosts. But Aldric has given me hope. I will get my answers, and then I will destroy every last one of them.”
I had to get to Aldric. I started toward the Quarter when Elemi called out.
“You should start with Jane. She might be able to help you get some of those answers.” Her tone was firm.
The sound of my mother’s name turned my blood to venom, but I swallowed my rage. Without looking back, I sprinted forward, leaving Elemi alone at the edge of the river bank.
Dear Aldric,
Dhampirs are real. We are not what you expect us to be. You cannot hide behind your crosses or braids of garlic. Sunlight cannot harm us. You will not be able to recognize one on the street. Not yet. I was like you once. Human. I believed that all creatures were inherently good. That was another lifetime. There is a war going on behind the veil. A war between monsters and demons. That veil is about to come down. Only you can help me stop that from happening. If we fail, blood will spill into the streets and there won’t be anything human left. I will reveal all that has been hidden from you. Get ready. I am already on my way.
- Gray
I tucked the letter into my coat and headed out the door. Sneaking into the Three Blind Mice would not be difficult. It was what came after that terrified me. Rehearsing what I would say to Aldric, butterflies danced in my stomach. No matter how I arranged the words, it sounded ridiculous.
Slipping into the bar, the usual crowd of twenty-somethings swayed to the old jazz melodies. Familiar songs from distant pasts that clung to them like lovers. Darting past the band, I charged up the stairs to Aldric’s loft and picked the lock with one of Valentina’s hair pins.
Just past ten p.m., the loft was empty, as I suspected it would be. I wondered which beauty had the pleasure of his charms tonight. None of that would matter in the morning. I shut the door behind me and flicked on the lights.
The room was wide open with no dividers. A brown leather couch stood in the center amidst small piles of books and album covers. Across from it was a wood coffee table with an empty bottle of bourbon and a half-smoked cigar, propped delicately inside a marble ashtray. Traces of honey and tobacco still lingered. A king size bed stuck out a few feet away, its blankets tucked in tight and unruffled. Did he ever sleep here?
Placing my letter against the empty bottle on the table, an alarm went off inside my head. I froze. Footsteps. Damn. Why was he back so soon? As I paced around the room in a frenzy, the footsteps got louder. I should have made sure he had plans for the night. Just my luck, this was the one night he didn’t.
I spun around, panicked. Nothing but a closet to hide in. Great. He was almost to the door. My heart beat loud and fast in my chest. With palms sweating, I threw myself inside the closet just as the front door opened.
Aldric stumbled inside, stinking of liquor and cheap perfume. He cried out, banging himself into the coffee table. A glass shattered. Keys crashed to the floor. He was drunker than usual. I held my breath, waiting for him to pass out.
Two hours went by in that small, dark closet. My skin burned and itched from the wool swe
ater I was shoved up against.
Every time he poured himself another drink, the bottle hit the table a little harder. He cycled through a raw range of emotions that bordered on hysteria. Going back and forth between sighing, laughing, and talking out loud. He mumbled with a slurred incoherence that was undecipherable.
Silence. Finally. It was short-lived. He ruffled a piece of paper. My breath quickened. The letter. I’d been so consumed with being trapped in his closet that I had almost forgotten why I came here to begin with.
The sound of his voice reading it aloud made my stomach turn. Drunk and chaotic, he burst out laughing. He read it again. And again. Now, on his third read through, his voice changed. It was hoarse, raspy, choking on the words. A twinge of guilt stabbed at me. I shouldn’t be here.
His mumbling turned to snoring. I breathed a sigh of relief. Pushing the door open, I peeked out, still terrified that he would see me. My fingers unclenched. He was asleep sitting up, with his head cocked back against the couch, the letter still in his hands.
His face was calm and serene. I laid a blanket over him and brushed a strand of hair back from his forehead. I couldn’t resist. Seeing him in this state, drunk and tortured, pulled at my heart like quicksand. I couldn’t bring myself to leave.
I had to face this. It wasn’t fair to leave him with that letter and no explanation. I took a seat at the other end of the couch and waited. I watched his chest rise and fall, all the way into the morning.
Six
Morning light spilled into the loft. The stained glass windows cast a kaleidoscope of color onto the walls. I sat there, mesmerized by the reflections they created on his hardwood floors. Reds, golds, and deep blues swirled together like spilled paint.
Aldric let out a groan and grabbed his head. My heart skipped, snapping me out of my reverie. With my stomach in knots, I fought the urge to run away. He yawned, struggling to open his eyes. I didn’t move a muscle.
Blood and Magic (Blood and Darkness Book 1) Page 4