Midnight Coven (Devil's Roses Book 7) (The Devil's Roses)

by Tara Brown

  “Did you just announce our arrival?” Lorri looks like she might strangle me. She doesn't trust me like last time. Not yet anyway.

  I shake my head. “The witch who made the barrier is on our side, trust me. She isn’t happy about the state of things either.”

  The ghost of the small child, Sara, walks to the entrance. She puts her finger to her lips and turns back into the tunnel, floating down it to the room of sin.

  “Why does it have to be children that come as the ghosts? It makes it so much worse. She starts singing in the tunnel and I’m out,” Dorian grimaces.

  I pat him on the chest. “Man up.” We enter the tunnel, walking through until we come to the door that’s the wall. Sara is there, smiling at me. “You came back?”

  I nod, a bit surprised she remembers me. “Are they all here?”

  “Yeah.” She winces, staying in the hall as I push the door, revealing the room with the table. A naked blonde with bloodstains smeared across her pale skin lies on the table. Lorri’s jaw sets and Henry looks like he might murder someone. Dorian and Marcus look like I’ve shown them the gardens and they could care less.

  I wink at Sara back in the hall. “Sing something for us, sugar.”

  Dorian scowls. “We were off to such a great start.”

  Sara parts her lips but it’s Marcus who turns and shakes his head. “She was joking, she’s a bit touched.”

  Sara frowns and vanishes. I know she won’t come into the room with the dead witch. We cross the room. I don't know about the rest of them but I’m holding my breath. The stench of the girl is too much.

  In the long, dark corridor I find the aunt—the blonde ghost who scared the piss out of me. She nods once and then vanishes.

  “What the hell is this place? How many witches?”

  I turn and look at Dorian. “Hundred or more. They call themselves the Midnight Coven. At midnight they are powerful; their magic reunites with them for moments every night at midnight.”

  Lorri looks at her watch. “Two minutes to midnight.”

  “I know.” I wink. I turn and hurry up the stairs to the wooden door. I give it a push and walk out onto the overlook.

  Gwen is there. I jump when I see her but she puts her finger to her lips. “My Ma showed me everything.”

  I’m excited but hesitant. She was my best friend in England for fifty years—my very best friend. “You remember me and everything that happened?”

  She shakes her head. “Ma showed me how you saved them last time. You were the witch Whit brought. I saw that I helped you. I got Sara to tell you to go to the cabin and I waited there for you with clothes. I must have trusted you to choose you over my family.”

  I shake my head. “You didn't at first but you wanted to be free of them and their evil ways.”

  “I still do.” She swallows the lump in her throat.

  I hold my hand out. “Lorri, this is Gwen. She was a Rose with me for fifty years in England and Europe. She is Whit’s sister, and since she ate the first witch when she first turned, she hasn't had another.”

  Gwen shakes her head. “It felt wrong.”

  Lorri steps forward, cocking her head to the side. “You choose our side over your family?”

  Gwen nods. Lorri vanishes, taking Gwen with her. She’s back seconds later but without Gwen. She doesn't say a thing so I have to assume she took her to headquarters for training. I have to hope that. Lorri doesn't like questions, and if I start the new relationship with her asking them, she might never like me.

  I point to the stairs, snapping my fingers to get the sparks of lightning flowing as I creep down them. Laughter fills the wide, dimly lit hallway. I pause, not scared but intimidated. Having Henry and Lorri is like having ten armies. We hurry into the great dining room to find Inger looking over a map. He lifts his head the moment we enter, but Dorian is already behind him, snapping his neck. Marcus walks to him, pulling his heart from his chest and his head from his shoulders and tossing it into the crackling fireplace.

  This is going to be easier than I anticipated.

  When we leave the room we creep down the long corridor to the rooms. It’s the far wing of the house but I can sense them there. A girl giggles off to the right, and I almost think it’s Sara until I hear a moan follow it. It’s coming from Whit’s room.

  I don't know why but it bothers me. Dorian vanishes with Lorri as I open the door. Whit shouts through his fangs as his eyes meet mine. He’s panicked, but I don't know if it's me seeing the naked girl’s mouth around his cock that bothers him, or the fact Dorian has just grabbed Rydal and sucked his soul out of his naked body. He slumps to the floor behind the screaming girl who Marcus picks up and sinks his fangs into. She squirms for a second, no doubt terrified but then she falls limp in his arms. He drops her to the floor.

  Lorri scowls at the horrific sight but Marcus doesn't care.

  Whit’s fangs drop away as I walk to him. He looks scared and confused. I slide my trembling hand up to the side of his face, and I give him my heart’s version of our story. I let it loose to shoot through him, pulsating and probing every dark corner. He shakes at first, like he doesn't believe what he sees but I keep pushing. My fingers push so hard I feel the stickiness of his blood coating my nails.

  Black tears join the blood, as he sees what he made me feel, what he made me think. I show him the trust and the pain and the horror of the night he killed my family. I show him everything I gave him—my virtue, my heart, my love, and my trust. I show him how it felt to witness his brothers so their thing to witches.

  He buckles, dropping to his knees. I drop with him, lifting his chin so he can see in my eyes when I say, “I forgive you, Whit. I know you hardly know me and you ain’t got a clue how all those lives happened between us, but I don't want the anger I let you put in my heart.” I want to save my showstopper for the man behind the menace so I look at Dorian and stand up. He grabs Whit by the face, lifting him and sucking his soul. Whit’s dead body drops to the floor, and I hate the fact a piece of my heart is still there with him. He exploited the sadness in me.

  I won’t ever know if he really loved me once upon a time.

  I turn and leave him there. The room is a massacre and I’m sort of glad Gwen isn’t here for it. No one wants to see both her brothers sticking it to one girl.

  I shudder, realizing the level of debauchery they have been raised with. Clearly their age shows their respect for women. They haven’t matured beyond what they were when they were human. The world has aged around them but they have not grown with it. I was fooled by his looks and his accent and his vampirish appeal. I too was shallow and weak of the mind, but reliving the same fifty years has aged me. I didn't stay the same young girl I started out as.

  I grew and aged with my world.

  We creep down the hall, a band of tiptoeing monsters sneaking down the corridor of a haunted castle. When we get to Ollie’s room I can’t help but hate the fact he probably never really stood a chance. Being the youngest, he has become what he was shown.

  He’s sitting in the window of his room when I open the door.

  He doesn't turn and look back at me but he speaks softly. “Am I the last one?”

  “No.”

  “I sort of always imagined I would be the last of them.” He turns, looking sweet and innocent. Just like the day I first met him. Dorian winks into the room, ending him quietly.

  As we leave the room Lorri gives me a funny look. “I liked you, didn't I?”

  I shrug, not wanting to be cocky and gush about how we were friends and sometimes we even talked. “We were sort of—”

  “You were friends. You put her in charge in England.” Marcus interrupts me.

  I turn, giving him a look.

  Landry cocks an eyebrow at me. I nod at him. “We weren’t friends. You didn't like me at all.”

  “I can’t guess why?” He smiles bitterly.

  Lorri scoffs. “The way you’re leading us masterfully through this stale-ass castle h
as me wondering.”

  I put a hand up, pausing and turning the other way. I break into a run as a scream of magic fills the air. “He’s escaping.” I feel the burst of magic fill the air and then the trace of him is gone. I hurry down the stairs to the opposite side of the castle where the master’s room is. Inside a witch lies dead on the floor, still twitching and sparkling from the amount of magic she used to make the traveller’s door.

  I turn as Henry grabs my hand and looks at Lorri.

  I know he’s thinking the same thing I am because when I lean forward to wretch, my stomach empties on the bayou floor.

  I shudder and wipe my mouth. Marcus grins wide. “That never gets old.”

  Ramón comes running from the cabin. His face is drawn up. “She says der’s a man here. He be hunting Emily. You gotta run home, cher.”

  I grab Dorian’s hand but he stares at me blankly. “I don't know the way.”

  Henry touches all of us. I grab Ramón’s hand at the last second. We wink and I heave again.

  Marcus chuckles. “Nope, still enjoying it.”

  “Fuck you, Marcus.” I heave again.

  Ramón is dizzy and shaking his head. “What was dat?”

  Lorri and Dorian ignore us, walking up my driveway. She is sniffing the air around us. Landry is looking in the woods. Marcus looks around as Henry walks behind Lorri.

  Ramón gives me a look. “Da Roses? Ya got some weird friends now, cher.”

  I nod, not wanting to talk about it. I might start throwing up again. Henry looks back at me, I can see the worry in his eyes, but I can also hear the thought he sends me.

  I think as loud as I can. ‘Maria, there is a bad vampire here. He’s got the magic of a witch in him right now. He’s coming for you and Em. HIDE!’

  She responds with the same loving motherly voice in my head. ‘Already hiding, my dear. He’s in the backyard. We’re at the hiding house.’

  I sigh. “Backyard.” I break into a run, praying I get him first. When I round the corner of the large yard I catch a glimpse of his dark hair in the moonlight. I sprint, but Dorian is so much faster. Whit’s daddy turns to face me, smiling. I see Angie in his arms and cringe. Dorian doesn't care for her. He walks toward them, prepared to kill everyone, I can tell. I run, waving my hands. “Don't hurt her. Please. I’ll give you anything.”

  Angie’s blue eyes are wide with tears and fright. She shakes her head. “Run, Lorelei.”

  I do run, but not away. I run toward her as Dorian gets too close. Whit’s daddy bites down on her neck. I hear the crunching sound of her bones breaking from his bite. I look back at Marcus, who starts to run when he sees my eyes. He knows what I need him to do. Dorian tackles Whit’s daddy to the ground, making me scream. “NO!” I jump into the wrestling match, pulling Angie free and pushing her limp body toward Marcus’ waiting fangs.

  When I’m free of her I grab Whit’s daddy with air and slam him into a tree. He shoots a weak flame at me. I catch it and throw it back, but I use my magic to enhance it. He screams in pain as I look to the storming sky above us. I open my arms, calling down the rain and the wind to make it stronger and hide the magic I am filling the sky with. In case normal people are here. Then I call them, all of them. I walk to him, driving my hands into the sides of his head and kissing him just like I did Whit. The ancients fill me with power and wisdom as I look up into the rain and scream, “THE SOULS YOU STOLE MAY CLAIM YOU NOW!”

  I stumble backward as the sky becomes red—blood red with the souls of over a hundred dead witches. They pick him apart just as they once did to Whit. The rain makes it all worse. I look back at Marcus and Dorian with Angie but neither will meet my gaze. I start to sob instantly, making blackwater run down my cheeks. I shake my head. “NO! NO! NO! I NEVER GOT A CHANCE TO SAY GOODBYE!”

  Landry wraps his arms around me, holding me tightly to him. “I’m so sorry.”

  I shake my head. “NO! I CAN’T WAIT ANOTHER FIFTY YEARS! NO!”

  Marcus leaves her, dead in the grass and the bushes. I know he wants to comfort me but I run to her. I grip her slippery, wet skin with my fingers, gripping to her and holding her as tightly as I can. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” I drape myself over her, pinning her to me and wishing with all the magic I have that she’ll be okay and come back to me. But she doesn’t. She doesn’t come back. The magic won’t let me. The ancients won’t touch her and me. They whisper things I don't want to hear. Things like she’ll be dark and evil. Ramón wraps around me. I can hear him whispering too but I can’t listen.

  I grip to her, refusing to let go.

  I let her down. I let her die.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The funeral is the worst day of my life. She’s so lovely but too still, laying there in her coffin.

  She’s so pretty and calm and I can’t take it.

  I need her to tell me a dirty story or make me laugh.

  I realize I just need her.

  I didn't have the heart to tell her I was taking a job in Europe. I didn't say goodbye because I couldn't. I knew I would come back and see her married and happy.

  It was chicken of me to avoid seeing her when I was leaving and now the last image I will ever have is of her screaming my name as he broke her neck and back.

  Dorian, Lorri, and Landry don't come to the funeral. They didn't know her, regardless of the fact that once upon a time she worked for the Roses for fifty years.

  But Marcus is here. He is sitting in the back row with Henry, looking awfully uncomfortable. His eyes never leave me, haunting my every step from there.

  Angie’s mom and dad sob, not understanding what she would have been doing to fall from the second story of my house. They knew she was always wild and crazy so it’s not far-fetched, it’s just hard to understand. Not that it matters now. She’s dead and I have to wait fifty years to go back and make her alive again. Fifty years until Ari comes into her power to push me back for a fourth time.

  Ramón walks to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  I shake my head. “No.”

  “You know it wasn't your fault. Dat was a bad man, cher. He woulda killed you or Em or everyone. You saved us all.”

  “Not Angie.”

  He shakes his head. “Sometimes accidents happen and sometimes bad people dey do bad things. You can’t save everybody, cher.”

  I turn and nod. “Yes, I can.”

  Em and Maria come and join in on our embrace. We are all heartbroken. Ramón kisses my cheek quickly, so no one sees and whispers. “I catch you later, huh? Don't beat yourself up.” He turns and walks from the church, nodding at Marcus as he leaves.

  Em and Maria stay with me. In my family, Maria is the only one who knows what happened. She had thought fast when she sensed the vampire trying to break into the barrier and whisked Em and my daddy off to the hiding house, claiming someone had damaged it. Angie had shown up, just as Whit’s dad did. He couldn't get into the barrier but he could skirt the yard.

  It’s like a cosmic joke from the fates to change so many things and still end up with one turn of events I cannot bear.

  Daddy, Em, and Maria walk from the church with me with Marcus’ stare hovering over us like our very own ever-watchful guardian.

  Daddy shakes his head. “I can’t believe your flight hadn’t even taken off before it happened.”

  “Plane troubles. I came back to see y’all one more time because the flights were delayed a whole day.”

  He looks down. “What bad luck to be the one to find her in the yard.”

  I nod.

  The story doesn't even really make much sense, but I notice regular people accept death for what it is. It is only us oddities in the world who see death for what it really is, negotiable.

  I know I cannot stay in Louisiana. I have to go and leave my family behind so they will be safe from things like Whit and his family. I will always have a life filled with the possibility of retribution from some unnatural creature or demon.
<
br />   The hole that has become my heart burns with the pain and loss of Angie. It stings from the pain of seeing my momma’s life up close and real.

  A week later, I kiss my family goodbye and leave with Marcus and Henry in the car again, for a second time. It’s easier and harder at the same time. I used more of my blood to make a better barrier, letting the ancients use my body completely to do the spells.

  All I can do is hope they stay safe.

  Marcus gives me a look, almost like he’s worried. “You’re going to the Roses training now?”

  I nod.

  “You don't think taking the training over and over is going to make you crazy?”

  It makes me smile. Only he knows how it feels to live the same godforsaken crap over and over. “I do but I know Lorri can’t just make me a Rose. She has to train me.”

  He leans forward. “What is that look in your eyes?”

  “What look?”

  “Like your heart is destroyed, not broken but ruined forever. I have seen it before, when a human loses all sense of the word love.”

  “It’s Whit, I think.” A bitter grin crosses my lips. “You know, he never took the opportunity to run, not once. He never suggested that I flee from his insane family or took the chance to tell me the whole truth. All three times I have repeated this bullshit, he has never once actually chosen me.”

  “And you care because?”

  I know he can’t understand it. I shake my head. “’Cause I am a foolish girl with a head full of pudding. I loved him once upon a time, I really did. I never realized until recently that Whit always saw me as a lesser being. Like witches were just meant to be food for the vampires of the world—food and sex toys.” My voice trails off as I look out the window, muttering, “I don't know how I never saw it right from the beginning.

  He sounds amused. “You were the perfect target. Ladies raised in the South have always been the best fodder for us. You are actually taught to tolerate heinous amounts of disrespect and bear it with a grin. You are the strongest women, and yet, completely gullible.” He nods. “No, Whit saw you coming from a mile.”