Rise and Fall

by A. L. Kessler

  “Okay, so Liz and I find out about the forest and go there. Dannie’s magic was around that area. She used it to mark me. Had it been Liz that reached out, it would have marked Liz. You guys use that mark to track your next sacrifice.”

  He crossed his arms and looked away.

  “All so a demon could continue to possess your sister. That’s a lot of deaths.”

  “To keep her alive. You killed her. She could have lived many more years with that demon in her.”

  I raised a brow. “She was losing her grip on reality. The demon was eating away at her.”

  He shook his head. “She was alive and well and… and…”

  “Controlled by a demon,” I stated.

  “I want to call my lawyer now.”

  I stood and walked out with Liz at my back. “Dooming someone to a life of possession. What kind of psycho does that?” I shook my head.

  Liz shrugged. “People do crazy things for those they love.”

  I thought about it. What would I do to protect those I loved? I wouldn’t let a demon possess them, that was for sure, but I’d take on one mean vampire. I shook my head at the thought. “Let’s go get some coffee. We still have time before sundown.”

  “Going to go see Mario tonight?” She followed me out of the station and to my Hummer.

  I nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to go check on him. And then I think I’m going to spend the rest of the night with Simon. Catalina and I worked out a plan to take care of Samuel. I don’t know if she let you or anyone else in on it yet.”

  She frowned. “No, she hasn’t told us anything.”

  That set off a warning in my head. “She always tells you guys when we discuss something. Especially something dangerous.”

  “What exactly is the plan?” Liz climbed into the Hummer.

  I got in the driver’s side and started the car. “Samuel wants me in his territory. There are loopholes so I can kill him without going against vampire laws.”

  “Is one of those the fact that you’re not a vampire?”

  I nodded. “And that Levi wouldn’t be part of the negotiations, so he isn’t responsible for me.”

  “She has said nothing.” Liz shook her head. “I don’t like you going in there. We all planned on taking him down as a team.”

  “I know, but it doesn’t look like that’s how it’s going to happen. But I can’t leave Levi there. Especially after seeing how Mario is. Hannah is cruel, but Samuel is psychotic.” I put the Hummer into gear and headed out of the parking lot.

  Liz was quiet for a moment. “You’re already set on going into this alone, aren’t you?”

  “I don’t really have a choice. We know he won’t negotiate for me to bring someone with me. Especially you or Merick. He won’t want anyone magical to have my back because he doesn’t have Hannah anymore.”

  Liz was silent for a moment. “What if we don’t negotiate?”

  “What?” I glanced at her. “He’d never let us in… oh.”

  “He won’t be expecting it. You know where his territory is, right?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Can Merick get us that far?”

  “Not by the spell. Overseas is too far, but the cult has pilots.” She leaned back in the seat. “And he said that the cult could help now.”

  Yes. He did. I thought through it. We would have a couple of advantages. And since we were technically at war, there were no rules… as Hannah had pointed out. “Text Merick and see how soon he can get us over there.”

  Liz pulled her phone out and went to work. I tried to mull over the details in my head. I’d seen the territory on the map, but I didn’t know the layout.

  My phone rang, making me jump. I let out a breath and answered it on the hands-free system.

  “Special Agent Collins speaking.”

  “Oh, Abigail…” My uncle’s voice came over the line. “I heard you killed a certain someone.” He sounded so much better than the last time I’d talked to him.

  I laughed. “My body count is high this week. Would you like to specify which ‘certain someone?’”

  He paused for a moment. “How many people have you killed recently?”

  “A vampire-witch and a witch-demon. What about you? Have you been staying busy?”

  Another moment of silence. “You have been busy while I’ve been down. I’m not quite healed yet. Hannah did a number on me when she attacked me.”

  I stumbled over my words. “What? Hannah attacked you?”

  “Yes. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to overthink it.”

  I’d already done that and we had figured it was Hannah or Samuel, but the confirmation made me sick to my stomach. “Well, she paid for it. Are you up for visiting?”

  “Not yet. I’m still healing and Melisandra won’t let me out of her sight.”

  I smiled. “Good, let her take care of you.”

  “I’ll see you soon, niece. I just wanted to make sure Hannah didn’t hurt you.”

  “Nope. I survived it.”

  The phone went dead, and I drove to the coffee shop in silence with Liz.

  Liz and I walked into the mansion and kicked off our shoes. I wanted to see Mario and then I wanted to see if I could find a map of Samuel’s territory in Levi’s office.

  “Hello?” I called down the hall to see if anyone would respond. A woman stepped out of Mario’s room and smiled at me.

  “Hello, Princess. Mario’s been wondering when you were going to stop by again.”

  “How is he?”

  “Feeding better than he was last night. He’s able to walk around without leaning on objects now. He’ll need to feed every night for a while.” She shrugged. “I called the day staff and had them fill the fridge back up with some things so that we wouldn’t have to worry about leaving to get food.”

  “Good. Thank you.” I gave her a smile. She wandered off, and I looked at Liz. “Levi’s office is the third door on the left, right passed the media room.”

  She nodded and headed that way while I went to Mario’s room. I knocked on the door and then opened it.

  Mario was sitting in his chair, looking at his phone.

  He looked much better than the night before. Color had returned to his face, and he almost looked human.

  “You look like you’re feeling better,” I said.

  He looked at me. “You look like shit.”

  I frowned and walked in to sit on the bed. “Hey now, at least I pulled my hair back up and changed my shirt off before I came.”

  He raised a brow. “And the limp?”

  “It’ll be gone by morning. Knife to the thigh. Claws to the stomach too, but you should have seen the other woman.”

  He actually rolled his eyes at me. “Princess, you can never come away from a case without bleeding, can you?”

  “I don’t know. I’d have to look at my files. I can’t remember every case.”

  His smirk faded. “How much of that damage is from Hannah?”

  “None of it. It was all from my case. Hannah got Merick pretty good across the neck, but she didn’t get me at all. She thought her magic would hold me in place. Merick provided the distraction for me to get out. I killed her with my knife before she had time to cause any actual damage to me.”

  Mario leaned back in his chair. “So she’s gone. Really gone.”

  “You’re free.” I stood. “I just wanted to see how you were doing tonight. You still look exhausted. So I’ll let you be.”

  Mario grabbed my hand before I could leave the room. “There is no way that I could tell you how much I appreciate what you’ve done. You’re right, I’m truly free of her. Because of you.”

  I looked at him. “We may not always see eye to eye, Mario. But I wasn’t going to let her live to torture you or use you against me.” I patted his hand and he let me go.

  I walked out and went to find Liz in Levi’s office.

  “Any luck?”

  She nodded and held up a folded item. “Map.” And then she picke
d up something else and handed to me. “And picture.”

  I looked at it and saw Levi and my mother standing together, and in my mother’s arm was me as a baby. “I haven’t seen this one. He used to keep a similar one in the study, but it was Tobias, my mother, and me.”

  Liz smiled. “I thought you might want to see it.”

  “Yeah, I guess it’s probably the only picture of the three of us together like that.” I put it back on the desk. “What would she think of me now? Heading into Samuel’s territory to save Levi.”

  She shrugged. “She’d probably be proud.”

  “I hope so.” I walked out of the office and came face to face with Catalina.

  “Did you two find what you’re looking for?”

  I met her gaze. “We did, doing just a little more research before you tell Samuel I’m ready to go to his territory.”

  She studied me for a moment and then looked at Liz, then back at me. “The Council has your back on this. They understand how this is going to go down.”

  “Good, because again, I won’t let your laws hold me back when I finally kill him.”

  She nodded. “Tomorrow night, we’ll make plans and work on the negotiations. I feel you probably want to rest tonight after closing the case today.”

  “How did you know about that?”

  “It’s all over the news.” She shrugged. “Now I understand why Levi watches it every night. PIB is all over the news, and today it’s yours and Liz’s face on the screen. Congratulations on a case well done.” She walked down the hall and into the media room.

  I glanced at Liz, and she shrugged. “Okay then, let’s head back to my house. I’ll order dinner so it’s there when we get there.”

  Liz and I sat at the coffee table with our pizza to one side and the map laid out on the table. Simon was looking over my shoulder, and Merick would peer down at it occasionally while he looked at a version on his computer.

  “This is a fucking island,” I muttered. “Looks like there’s a structure here?”

  Merick nodded. “Updated satellite images show that someone rebuilt. There were ruins there before.”

  “Levi mentioned once that he’d burned down Samuel’s house.” I shrugged. “Maybe Samuel rebuilt it.” My fingers danced over the map, measuring how far from the coastline it was.

  Simon shook his head. “Not a lot of cover to get an airplane or a helicopter there unnoticed.”

  I had thought the same thing, but none of us could figure out a better way to get to the island. A boat would take too long. “A vampire could pop us over there, but we don’t want any of the council to know we’re going. We don’t have their blessing.”

  “Because we don’t need it,” Liz reminded me. “You’re not going as princess or PIB. You’re going in on a rescue mission.”

  She was right. I tried to think of any vampires I knew that weren’t attached to the council or any of their members. None came to mind.

  Zayne walked into the room. Merick closed his computer, and Liz and I put our plates on the map, hoping to cover enough of it.

  Zayne raised a brow. “A rescue operation? And you’re not going to take me?”

  Fucking vampire hearing.

  “To be fair, we aren’t taking Simon either.”

  Simon let out a low growl. “Not by my choice.”

  “Travis would kill me. And then if I rose as a vampire, he’d kill me again.” I shook my head. “No, not taking you. And Zayne, I’m not taking you either or Catalina will learn that we’re going and we don’t want any of the council to know we’re doing this.”

  Zayne chuckled. “Princess, I don’t tell my maker everything. Besides, she’s too distracted right now. The council is arguing with each other about you going to Samuel’s under a truce.”

  “Great, they can stop arguing when we get back.”

  Liz and I uncovered the map. “We leave at noon our time. It should be after dusk there. Zayne, can you take us there?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, that would be the best way. Who is coming?” He sat down with us.

  “Liz, Merick, me, and you.” I pointed to where the structure should be. “According to the satellite images, this seems to be the main structure. I don’t think this is the same place Levi and I were at before, but this is Samuel’s territory. He just recently petitioned to get it back.”

  Zayne nodded. “He’s there. The council had been monitoring his movements.”

  “Good. We get in, we kill him, we get Levi out. Take him to his house because we can pop into there and we know it’s safe for vampires.”

  Zayne nodded. “Plans on how to kill Samuel?”

  “Guns, knives, magic as a last resort.” Liz pressed her lips together. “Shouldn’t be hard with four of us.”

  Zayne hmmed for a moment. “He’s bound to have people around him. He’ll have some way of distracting us. We don’t want to get divided. We know his goal is to change Abigail. So we do not let her be alone with him. Understood?”

  There was muttering of agreement around the room. I finished my piece of pizza. “Zayne, I want you and Liz to find Levi when we get there.”

  “We just talked about not being divided,” Zayne said.

  I nodded. “Yeah, but Levi is in rough shape, and if we can get him out of there, Samuel can’t use him against me.”

  Liz nodded. “She’s right. Like Hannah using Mario against her. Levi will be too weak to fight Samuel’s call.”

  Zayne sighed. “Fine, but as soon as we get him out, we return to back you up.”

  “Deal.” I looked down at the map and wondered if we could pull this off. Once again, that feeling of dread climbed through me. I pushed it away. No. If I took down Hannah, I could take down Samuel. He wasn’t magical, he was just an asshole.

  “Well, on that note.” Simon stood up. “I think it’s time for all of us to turn in and get some rest.”

  Liz and I stood and gathered the plates. Merick grabbed the pizza box. After taking care of everything, Liz left, promising to be back before noon tomorrow, and Zayne went to feed.

  Simon and I walked upstairs and to my room. I changed into my pajamas, but he stopped me before I could put my shirt on.

  “The wounds on your stomach… are you going to be able to fight with those?” He frowned and traced the edge of the bandage there.

  I put my hand over his. “They’ll be mostly healed by tomorrow, just like my leg. It’s an advantage of the vampire blood. Quicker than witch healing.” I stepped away and pulled my shirt over my head. “I’m going to come back to you, Simon.”

  “As a witch or a vampire?” he asked, his voice soft. “We’ve been told repeatedly how dangerous Samuel is, how much he hates you, and now you’re waltzing right into his territory, where he makes the rules.”

  I sat down on the bed and Simon sat next to me. I looked at him. “Samuel needs to be taken care of. He’s declared war on the vampire council and all who support them. He has the King of the Vampires, so he has the advantage.”

  “Then let the vampires handle it.” Simon sighed. “You’re not a vampire, you’re not a wolf. You’re a witch. They have dragged you into too much of this.”

  I put a hand on his cheek. “Where is this coming from?”

  He turned and kissed my palm. “I’m afraid you won’t be coming back at all, Abby. Witch. Vampire. Neither. I’m going to lose you to Samuel.”

  I sat there for a moment, studying his face. Replaying his words. There was nothing I could say. No false promise I could make, so I kissed him and put my head against his. “I love you.”

  “And I, you.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The island was humid, dark, and I was sure there was a bug that was the size of my head that kept flying by. If I had been Levi, I would have burned the entire island down, not just the house. Zayne stood to my left, Merick at my back, and Liz to my right.

  I had two guns, two blades, and my magic to get me through this. Liz had two guns and at least one blade. M
erick came with blades and Zayne had an honest to god sword at his side.

  I didn’t question it, as long as he could wield it and keep Levi safe. We inched toward the miniature castle. It was the only way to describe the stone building in front of us. It had two towers that cast shadows in the moonlight. Neither tower had windows, so I assumed they were rooms meant for vampires. Luckily for us, there was no moat, but there also didn’t seem to be anyway to sneak into the building.

  I pressed my lips together. “So much for not having to use the main door,” I muttered. “Zayne, Merick, think you can pop us in there?”

  Both nodded, but it was Zayne that spoke. “We don’t know what we’ll be walking into though.”

  It was a good point. “I’m all ears if you have another suggestion.”

  The wind seemed to shift around us, and Samuel appeared. “What about just asking for an invitation?” He gave me a sinister smile. “Welcome to your new home, Abigail.”

  He reached for my neck, but I jumped out of the way, pulling my gun out. Something took me down from the side, and my gun fell from my hand and skidded across the ground.

  A werewolf pinned me to the ground. Its massive paws on my back. Its muzzle growled right by my ear, giving me what I assumed was a warning not to move.

  I could see other paws on the ground.

  “I see you brought a friend.” Samuel laughed. “Good, he can watch as I torture you, and then he’ll be your first meal. Bring them inside, pups.”

  The wolf walked off my back and gave me room to stand, but the moment I was standing, it was by my side, snarling. I walked with the animal and glanced behind me to see Merick there as well. I didn’t know where Liz and Zayne were, but I hoped they disappeared and were sticking to the plan.

  We walked through the two large wooden doors at the front of the castle. The wolf never left my side but had stopped snarling. I wasn’t dumb enough to take on two werewolves and Samuel. I had no desire to be eaten. I’d seen werewolves eat a person before and it wasn’t pleasant.

  Samuel walked into a large room. I would have called it a ballroom, except the floor was made of stone and wouldn’t have been ideal for dancing or entertaining. Merick stepped closer to my back than was normal, but I had a feeling he was going to take us out of there if things went bad. But really, there was no turning back now.