Crumbling Control (Helena Hawthorn Series Book 3)

by May Freighter

  Phil’s response came a minute later. He opened the door wide enough to find Lucious gasping for air.

  “How long have you been in the sun?” Phil asked in the highest voice Lucious ever heard him use.

  “An hour or two,” Lucious declared as the old vampire grasped him around the waist and dragged him indoors.

  Phil slammed the door and set the locks into place. “How can you walk in the sun for hours without collapsing like a corpse? And, I am still waiting on the answer about that heartbeat of yours.”

  Lucious chuckled. “I believe everyone wants an answer to that.”

  “And you won’t share such important gossip with me?” Phil quirked a brow. “Perhaps I should stick you in the sun for another hour.”

  After he managed to pull his body into a standing position, Lucious stumbled to the seat and fell into it. His head lolled back and his eyes remained closed as he contemplated whether he should bother explaining anything. He heard Phil walking over to his seat at the desk and settling in.

  “Care to tell me why you have come here during the day?” the informant asked.

  Lucious groaned. “The hunters tracked the hideout we were using for questioning. I believe one of the werewolves forgot to check for tracking devices, and they waited for daylight to trap the vampires.”

  “What happened to Byron? Was he not with you?”

  “I had to meet with someone while Vincent and Lucas took a look at the captives.” Lucious’ hands moved to his thighs, and he massaged the aching muscles. Phil’s perplexed expression made him pause. “What?”

  “Did you meet with the girl Vincent is interested in?”

  His aches forgotten, Lucious’ eyes narrowed. “You had me watched?”

  “I am London’s informant, Lucious. I watch everyone and everything. You are no exception,” Phil explained with a wave of his hand. “I also needed to know about your eyes. Red is a sign of madness, yet here you are, unaffected and able to walk in the sunlight as if you were human. That heartbeat—” He pointed at Lucious’ chest. “How is it your heart is beating again?”

  “You’re asking too many questions, Phil. I am not inclined to answer them.”

  “If you do not feel like answering, there’s the door.” The old vampire indicated to it for effect.

  Staring into the dark pits that were Phil’s eyes, Lucious assessed the situation. He could not go back out there. The hunters were still scouring the streets in search of his kind. “I will answer your questions under one condition.”

  “What will that be?”

  Lucious folded his hands on his stomach without diverting his gaze from the vampire. “I want you to look into something for me.”

  “And how many of my resources would it require?” Phil asked. Excitement and curiosity were this man’s downfall, and Lucious knew it.

  “Most of them.”

  Phil raised his dark brow. “With the hunters looking to eliminate the supernatural creatures in London, you wish for me to abandon my search on that front and seek something out for you? Are you in your right mind?”

  Rising from his seat, Lucious inclined his head. “Then that will be all. I am leaving, it seems.” He sauntered to the door, and Phil appeared next to him, grabbing Lucious’ forearm.

  “I will do as you ask. Tell me already!”

  Lucious sat down with a smirk and waited for Phil to do the same. He folded his arms behind his head as he contemplated his explanation before voicing it. “My soul and that of a human are bound together. The bond changed us both. My heart began beating again and my ability to walk in the sun appeared soon after. In regard to the descent and my red eyes, I believe the bond is keeping the madness at bay,” he said, knowing full well that only half of that information was the truth. The red in his eyes had more to do with the vampire blood he ingested than his descent. With the changes his body had undergone, he suspected his eyes would return to normal sooner or later. When? The answer eluded him.

  “And said human in the mix is that Miss Hawthorn you are so protective of?”

  “The very same. I believe it is why Vincent keeps her around. If she’s in his grasp, he can control my movements.”

  Phil’s eyes widened with worry. “Does the Council know about this?”

  Shaking his head, Lucious added, “I believe Vincent merely suspects this. If he knew the truth, he would dissect her to figure out what she is.”

  “The ruthless scientist in him has not faded in the past two millennia, that I am certain of,” Phil agreed. “So, what was it you wanted from me?”

  “This…soul-bond, that’s what the angel called it, I need to know how to break it before anything happens to me. I cannot let her die.”

  Phil scratched his jaw. The deep-set frown lines on his forehead grew more prominent. “I have heard that term before, sometime in ancient Egypt if my memory serves me right. In the city of Thinis where I grew up, there were rumours of two goddesses that came from the sky to walk among us.” His eyes moved erratically as he recited the story from memory. “Those who sought eternal love, pleaded with them to bind their souls. When two humans became one, they lived and died together as part of one being. Years after, I was turned and heard from my sire that the Royal vampires were involved in the slaughter of many. It was believed that the goddesses had abandoned the city and returned to the heavens. The others said they died in the bloodshed that has been erased from history by the Royals.”

  Lucious soaked in the information, trying to piece the puzzle together in his mind. Helena was a human with Wiccan blood. Even the power she used to control him and Alexander came from the awakening Wiccan lineage. After the mark on her shoulder was gone, and her soul-string returned to normal, he had not felt any power coming from her. Yet, he had to admit, the soul-bonds were never a speciality the witches possessed. No one did. The only equally unknown creature in their realm remained to be a saint. Could she link souls as Helena did? Was Helena lying to me about what she was all this time? For some reason, he disregarded that thought. She didn’t know what she was. On the other hand, her guardian angel undoubtedly was hiding something.

  “The Royals would know what she is?” Lucious asked.

  Phil gave a shrug of his shoulder. “Maybe. That is if you can find one of them. It had been a long time since anyone saw them. Once the original vampire vanished off the face of the earth, so did his seven children.”

  “I would rather you kept the information about Helena’s abilities a secret. I do not know how the elders will react to it.”

  Someone banged on the back door. Phil mumbled a curse then made his way over and opened it for Byron, Lucas, and two men Lucious did not recognise.

  Looking past them, he did not see the Councilman. “Where is Vincent?”

  Byron rubbed the back of his neck. “He told us to drop him off at the Council building on the way here. Lucas called his Ius since the Laeva here is a useless mutt.”

  Lucious looked at the two young men behind their Alpha. If he remembered correctly, Ius was a term the werewolves used for the second in command, or beta, while the Laeva was a wolf selected by the pack to support the Alpha and act as an intermediate between the pack and their leader. For someone as selective as Lucas, such an oversight was surprising to Lucious.

  “You two, return to the pack and contact Alpha Theo. Whether he likes it or not, we need to have a meeting about the threat,” Lucas barked out the order and both men bowed their heads low. “And, Darius, you are no longer required as my Laeva. You are dismissed from your post.”

  The peroxide-blonde man raised his head, his eyes wide with fear. “But—”

  Lucas glared at Darius. “As your Alpha, I relieve you of your post. Gather the others. Tomorrow they will select a new Laeva for me among them.”

  Byron placed a hand on Darius’ shoulder. “You better get moving. He doesn’t like to repeat himself.”

  The werewolf snarled at Byron and stormed out of the office. He slammed the metal
door behind him, making Phil complain. “If you do not teach that useless dog some manners, Lucas, I will skin him and give him to the Grave Keeper.”

  “Pay the fool no heed, Philip.” Lucas shook hands with the informant. “It is nice to see you again.”

  Phil rolled his eyes. “Lying through your teeth, as always.” He faced Byron. “Did you get to keep any hunters?”

  Byron sighed. “Before we could get one ready, they were already bursting through the doors. It was either getting Vincent out of there alive or taking a hunter or two. We put our money on the Council member.”

  “I see…” Phil said. “It appears we may need to request help from the Ghoul Master once again.”

  Lucious stared at Phil. His unpaid debt remained, and he did not wish to incur another one with that vampire. Not if he could help it. “Is there no other way?”

  “The ghouls under his control will be more useful during the day. That is unless you wish to see the werewolves shifting on Oxford Street and ruining the Silent Treaty,” Phil retorted.

  “My men are more than capable to not get shot by the hunters!” Lucas protested.

  Byron shook his head. “Even a scratch from a mercury bullet will cause the half-shift. We can’t risk humans finding out about us. The treaty must remain intact.”

  “You should have stayed as my Ius, Byron. Has your choice to live with that human been worth it?” Lucas asked.

  With a wide grin, Byron said, “Every last second of it.”

  Lucious reclined his back against the wall and crossed his arms. “We are left with little choice then. Contact the Ghoul Master and let us open a bottle of whisky.”

  “Are you in the mood to celebrate something?” Byron asked with an arched brow.

  “Yes, life while I have it,” Lucious replied, earning a chuckle from the lot of them.

  Helena’s hand hurt from clutching her phone for so long. She sat in a room Levile showed her to in the separate block of the abbey. Unable to decide if she should call her mother, she stared at the black screen as if hoping it would give her an answer by itself.

  Her phone vibrated in her hand. She nearly fell off the single bed as she fumbled to see who was calling her. When Perri’s name lit up on the screen, she sighed with relief. “Hey.”

  “I hope you’re doing well, Helena.”

  Relaxing against the brick wall, she smiled. “I’m fine. Did you need something?”

  “I was cleaning my room and found a strange crystal ball the size of a fist. Is it yours?”

  Helena slapped her forehead for forgetting to pick up Cullodena’s relic. With so much going on, she had overlooked it when packing. “Yeah, it’s mine.”

  “Where would you like me to post it to?”

  There was a chance she may see Perri before her flight to the States. Constantly being on the move didn’t help her make a decision. She rubbed her face in irritation. “Hold on to it for now. When I go to America, I will send you the address.”

  “Alright, will do. And, Helena?”

  “Yes?”

  “Call me if you ever need someone to talk to. You tend to keep things bottled up and, as your friend, I want to help.”

  Helena’s heart melted at her friend’s kindness. “Thanks, I’ll call you another time.”

  They said their goodbyes, and Helena was filled with newfound determination to contact her mother. She dialled her number and waited for it to connect. Maybe she could plead for a few more weeks or even an extra month. The idea of leaving Lucious behind caused her chest to ache. It had to happen sooner or later. No matter what, she wanted to get an extension.

  “Helena?” her mother’s voice brought her to the now.

  “Hey, Mum. Did you guys get settled in?”

  “Oh, it is a beautiful home like the ones you see on TV. I’m sure we could never afford anything like this in Dublin, but…”

  Sitting up straight, Helena pressed the phone closer to her ear. “But what?”

  “It’s not home, is it? I still can’t grasp the situation either. I mean, vampires? It’s ridiculous they even exist! As for how you got involved with such creatures, I will question you the moment you come here next week.”

  “Mum, about that…”

  “You are coming here, Helena. If you don’t keep your promise, Richard and I will pack our bags and come for you. Understood?” Sasha said with parental strictness.

  When Helena didn’t reply, Sasha added with fear heightening her tone, “Those things are not natural, dear. We should get away from them and live normal lives like normal people.”

  “Alright, fine. I’ll come back on time,” Helena assured her. “Tell Richard I miss him.”

  “I will.”

  Helena tossed the phone on the bed and fell sideways onto the mattress. Her head collided with a pillow and specs of dust danced in the sunshine that flooded through the abbey’s clear windows. She would continue trying to convince her parents to let her see Lucious again. But, would he abandon England and Anna to be with her in Florida? Could they retreat from all this darkness and run away to where it was safe? Her head started to hurt. Too many questions popped up one after another. With a rolling growl, her stomach announced its emptiness, and she hopped off the bed in search of something to eat.

  Opening the door, she gasped. Levile stood guard outside it. He must have overheard every conversation she thought was private.

  “Why are you out here?” she snapped.

  Levile inclined his head. “I was told to guard you, Miss Hawthorn, and that is precisely what I’m doing.”

  For some reason, she doubted his honesty. “I’m sure you can watch me from almost anywhere. You don’t have to stick so close.”

  His cold, green eyes met hers. “Alright, I shall state the truth. I was curious about you and, therefore, decided to investigate.”

  Helena glared at him. “You mean spy on me.”

  “Take it however you like, Miss. Just as I cannot let you roam the grounds at will, I cannot let you out of my sight. You did cause the death of a Council member. Some may wish to test their strength against you.”

  Colour bled from her face. There were people, no, vampires who knew she killed Andreaz. Not only that, with these creatures, it was always about the show of strength. She wasn’t keen on the idea of facing a vampire without a weapon.

  “Where is my luggage?” she asked.

  “Would you like me to have it delivered to your room?”

  She nodded and retreated inside. Once she closed the door, she sat on the bed, patiently waiting for her things to arrive. There were silver daggers Maya left behind, hidden under her clothes. Since they arrived using Alexander’s private plane, there was no need to worry about customs, especially when everyone at the airport looked the other way.

  Shortly after, a ghoul arrived with her luggage. Helena rummaged through the contents of her bag in search of her weapons. She secured a slim dagger to her right ankle and looped another horizontally around the back of her jeans. Her long black sweater covered most of it. She felt better, less exposed as their familiar weight protected her in silence.

  She left the room to find Levile waiting for her at the end of the stone hallway. He took onboard what she said and kept his distance from her room.

  “Is there anything you need or do you wish to return to the Archives?” he asked politely.

  Helena rubbed her stomach, thinking about anything that could make her happy on a day with so many events. “Pizza.”

  Levile struggled to hold back his smile. “You want pizza?”

  “Yeah. I’m starving, and I feel like I need some carbs to get me through the rest of the day in that dark cave you call the Archives.”

  “I will order one immediately. Will you remain here?”

  Helena walked past him, heading for the stairs to the lower levels. Behind her, she sensed Levile’s presence as he followed her without a sound. His shadow-like existence was getting on her nerves halfway down the stairs. She
whirled around and her mouth dropped open when she was faced with Eliza.

  The Head of the Council eyed her and joined Helena on her step. “Now, what are you doing in my Archives?” Eliza asked with a growing smile.

  Pressing her lips together, Helena peered over her shoulder. She was three floors down. It was a long tumble if Eliza chose to push her. The racing heart in her chest and her clammy palms reflected her rising panic. She folded her hands behind her back, searching for the dagger, in case she needed a weapon.

  “I was asked to come here…” Helena whispered, trying to not look the woman in the eye.

  Eliza clicked her tongue and outstretched her pale fingers towards Helena’s face. She brushed the stray locks away. The sharp red nails hovered too close to Helena’s left eye for her to be comfortable. “My childe sent you here, I presume?” Eliza’s expression darkened. “Because my only other childe was murdered by you.”

  Swallowing didn’t help reduce the boulder of nerves trapped in Helena’s throat. She grasped the hilt of the dagger behind her back with shaking hands. “I should get going.”

  Eliza’s hand moved to Helena’s shoulder. She grasped it none-too-gently with her bony fingers. “Tell me, how did you kill my son?”

  All sentences turned to mush in Helena’s head as she failed to formulate something that seemed coherent.

  “Mistress Eliza, you’re here?” Levile’s voice broke the building tension.

  Eliza’s attention shifted to him, and Helena blew out a breath. She moved out of the Councilwoman’s immediate reach.

  “I am having a conversation with this young lady, or are you here to tell me I cannot do that?” Eliza asked.

  Levile’s face hardened and he bowed his head in greeting. Then, he spared a glance at Helena who clung to the wall for support with her trembling limbs.

  “Master Vincent asked Miss Hawthorn to look into the Wiccan Circles who may help the Council in the future,” Levile said.