The Vampire's Spell: Alone with The Night (Book 6)

by Lucy Lyons

Now, my very life was hanging in the balance. I was supposed to be planning my epic wedding worthy of a vampire master, not trying to figure out how to keep my husband to be from executing me to protect his people, or himself.

  Chapter 2

  I stood in the middle of the training room surrounded by the heavy silence of being utterly alone. The spell hadn’t been going well at all, obviously abstinence for the clan wasn’t either, and even if he still wanted me, were we sure enough of my control over my power to continue our physical relationship?

  There was only one person in our group of misfits that knew for sure had already managed to keep his people from feeling the fallout from our magical connection. The wolves were keeping their distance, avoiding prolonged contact with us. I didn’t blame them one bit.

  Jeremy’s wererats, however, lived and worked among the vampires in both Seattle and LA. He hadn’t expressed any discomfort at the time we spent together, and I rarely invaded his thoughts at all as far as I knew.

  Either natural shielding was a byproduct of the side of their nature linked to natural rats, or Jeremy was holding out on us. I needed to find out if he had any ideas that would help keep me from having my head handed to me… literally.

  “Hey, Rachel, have you seen Colette? Is she okay?” I asked as I ran into Nick’s second-in-command. Technically, it was third in line after me, but as Nick’s human servant and his future wife, I was no longer within the chain of command, and sat in my own autonomous spot at the top. Nick still had veto rights, apparently, but he was in no rush to find out how I would react if he tried to exercise them.

  “Colette’s fine. She’s mad as hell at Nicholas for not letting any of us pair off, and she’s going to stay away from you for a bit, but she’s fine.” I leaned against the wall and folded my arms under my breasts.

  “Do you think I might be a danger to everyone? I mean, the last thing I want is to be the monster under the bed for our own people.”

  “I don’t know, Caroline. I don’t think Nicholas plans to make what happened common knowledge. Colette has always been closer to her desires than others. Her former master made her into an addict of all kinds of depravity before Nicholas saved her.”

  “Then I undid all her hard work and mental health improvements, simply because I wasn’t strong enough to keep her off me in the first place.” I kicked the wall. “I’m off to find Jeremy. I think he’s holding out on me, and I’m going to find out where his control comes from.”

  Rachel hugged me quickly, and that was all it took to chase away a little of the panic that stuck to the back of my throat.

  “See? I don’t have a problem with you.”

  “How is that? I mean, if I ask about your sex drive, how many boundaries of social propriety am I leaping over, exactly?” My questions were sincere, but she laughed like I’d told her a great joke.

  “I’m Nicholas’ second because I’m loyal. That’s not always the same as obedient. Sometimes, you need to know when a command or directive is harmful, or just plain stupid. Our master is the best of his kind, but he’s still pretty selfish on occasion.”

  “You have a boyfriend,” I gasped, relief coursing through me. Suddenly, I felt lighter than I had since I landed on my back with my closest undead friend on top of me.

  “Well, I wouldn’t go that far. I have a friend, who is a man, and I enjoy his company.” She dropped her gaze and I knew if she still had a heartbeat of her own, she’d be blushing.

  “By man, you mean human, not vampire, right?” I clarified, and I felt discomfort rising off her in waves.

  “Not exactly.” She refused to elaborate, and I didn’t want to push. But I was almost certain that among us was one very lucky shape-shifter.

  “Good for you, Rachel. I won’t say anything unless you decide to. I’m just glad that there’s a fix for my sudden irresistibility.” She smiled at me and I continued toward Jeremy’s spacious quarters. Fin was on the door and he nodded me over to one side instead of knocking.

  Neither of us spoke for a minute, and I resisted the urge to reach out with my magic and eavesdrop on what was going on inside, even though I suspected I might be the topic. Usually, one of my favorite things about Fin was how utterly unflappable he was. Standing outside that room while my fate might lie in the balance on the other side of the door, his neutral silence made me want to wring his neck.

  I felt a glimmer of power from inside a moment before Fin leaped into action, instantly going from bored to high alert as he slammed his fist on the heavy steel door. The caved in like folded paper, crumpling in on itself with a high whine. I couldn’t easily tell who was on the other side, or what had prompted the power burst. But I knew violence, and as I followed Fin through the hole he’d made, I braced myself for the worst.

  Chapter 3

  As it turned out, the trickle of power I’d felt was coming from an unexpected visitor from my old life as Venatores watcher. Dominique, the centuries’ old assassin and sorceress who had been my first real teacher waved and managed a tiny smile as I stepped over the folded metal remains of the door. But seeing her here didn’t exactly give me warm fuzzies. She had only recently been accepted back into the vampire hunter society I’d been raised in, before I’d found love in the one place that was forbidden to those of the Venatores lamiae.

  “Dom, is everything okay? What was with the power charge? Is Nick okay?” I asked in quick succession before she could say hello.

  “Uh, yes, Nick’s okay, there was just a little misunderstanding between me and the nice vampire in the corner,” she began, and I glanced over at Colette, who was still crouched in a defensive position and baring her fangs.

  “Okay, hold that thought,” I cut her off, raising my hand to quiet her. “Colette, are you okay? You really scared me in the practice room.” I thought for a second. “I really scared me.”

  “I’m not scared, Cares-a-lot,” she hissed, using the nickname she’d learned irritated me the most. “I’m pissed off.” She paced the floor, her movements feral and anxious, like a panther behind the glass at a zoo.

  “I’m sorry, Colette. You know I’d never hurt you on purpose.”

  “You aren’t the problem. Nicholas is. He binds his own powers to seem less of a threat to the council, even after they attack us.” I glanced at Jeremy and Dominique, who reflected twin expressions of confusion.

  “You’ve lost me, Colette.”

  “He feeds off lust and libido, off any strong emotional energy, right?” I nodded, and she stood still, facing me, speaking to me, and me alone, despite the others in the room. Even after what I’d done to her, I was the one she turned to. I wasn’t sure if I should be flattered, or afraid for her.

  “So, he’s limiting how much he feeds?” I turned to Jeremy and Dominique then. “Tell me I’m not the only one out of the loop on this?” Jeremy shrugged, but Dominique wouldn’t even look at me.

  “He’s done so for much longer than he’s known you. He was convinced it would keep him safe from the council…” Colette paused.

  “And the Venatores,” I finished. “Fabulous.” I stuck a finger at the end of Dom’s nose. “If you ever became an honest person, I wouldn’t be the only one to drop dead of shock.”

  Dominique smirked and tossed her long silver-dyed hair over her shoulder. I could feel a shimmer of desire as Jeremy responded to her and I glanced quickly at him. His eyes met mine and he dropped his gaze to the floor. Dominique pushed at me with her power until it felt like she was going to physically move me. I shoved back, fast and hard, my power hitting her with all the subtlety of a slap in the face. I turned back to Jeremy, who was watching us with his eyebrows in his hairline, and he raised his hands in surrender.

  “Hey there, king of the wererats. I was coming to you to stop the spill over. Don’t disappoint me and start oversharing now.”

  Jeremy laughed aloud, his pale eyes sparkling with genuine humor as he shook his head and offered me a seat. I glanced at Colette and Dom, then took the s
eat he offered me on the settee.

  I arched my eyebrows at Dominique, and she joined me, sitting across the large tufted ottoman from me. I patted the seat next to mine, and Colette joined me, glaring daggers at Dominique.

  Jeremy sat near Dom, and I gave him side-eye until he stood and started pacing again. I didn’t care so much what his personal relationship with her was, but when it concerned the rest of the clan, he needed to be on the right side of the ottoman, so to speak.

  “We could be stronger, and Nick didn’t pull out the big guns, even when we were under attack? I don’t believe it,” I growled at Dominique. “We almost lost two vampires to their wounds. He never would’ve let that happen.”

  “He did bind his power, at the command of the elders. It was a condition of him receiving his first territory, and I’m sure he’d love to undo it. But it takes big magic to free those spells. We cast them hundreds of years ago. Back when people believed in magic, their faith made it easier to cast complex spells,” she explained. “When we figure out how to shield you both better, I’m happy to help you bring Nick back to full power.”

  I raised an eyebrow at her and she sighed heavily, leaning back in her seat and kicking one foot up onto the leather footrest. In a way, it was a relief. If I ended the ridiculous sex-ban, and got Nick a little of his long-lost power back… I thought to myself. Of course, without the shielding spell, that would be a lot of power with a side of crazy…

  I jolted at the uncomfortable feeling of being glared at and met Dominique’s irritated gaze.

  “It wasn’t my secret to tell or not. You need to talk to your fiancé if you want to know what’s going on in his head. He doesn’t tell me anything anymore.” She was right, so I stifled my internal happy dance that she wasn’t his bestie anymore and nodded in agreement.

  “I know better than anyone, how easy it is to lose sight of what you can be, when you’re used to living with less.”

  “I think you’re right, Caroline,” Jeremy added.

  “And you need to understand. Nick isn’t exactly more powerful, so much as having abilities that he set aside at the command of the elders. I don’t know how much it has to do with his feeding, sorry.” Dominque clasped her hands together and made a steeple of her fingers. She pressed her fingers under her chin and looked thoughtful for a moment.

  “Why were you coming to Jeremy about the spell you guys crafted?” Colette asked. “He doesn’t have any magic, do you?” Jeremy shook his head and I chewed on my bottom lip.

  “I was looking for whatever he does to avoid spill over and the apparent inadvertent sharing of feelings that’s been going on. It seems to only be a problem between Nick and I,” I offered.

  Jeremy waited a beat before answering, but all eyes were on him. He coughed and scrubbed his hand over the short hair on his neck.

  “Shifters spend a lot of time naked together, even when it’s not about sex,” he explained. “I would’ve happily offered my rats to help with that… that skin hunger that makes everything you and Nick do together affect your people, but I know how uncomfortable you are with the whole ‘nudity’ thing.”

  I leaned back in my chair as Dominique and Colette both laughed at me. I widened my eyes at the sorceress and she smirked, her eyes shining with mirth.

  “We did pound chastity into her pretty hard back at Catholic school,” she admitted with another chuckle. “She was too pretty for her own good, and the professors tried to make her afraid of men to keep her safe from all those hunters with their heads in the gutter.”

  “They chased me straight into the arms of a vampire, so I hope they’ve made their peace with it,” I retorted. “Colette, I’m just so glad you don’t think that I hurt you on purpose. I’ll talk to Nick about the skin hunger, and I’ll figure out how to prevent any further, uh, parasitic events.”

  Colette shrugged and twisted her fingers together. I knew there was more to what had happened than just a case of horny vampire with no outlet, but that was not for Dominique to know, and I wasn’t sure I wanted Jeremy to, either, if they were getting friendly. Since Colette held her peace I followed suit, knowing we’d talk to Nick later, without shifters or visitors posing as spies from the Venatores compound.

  The problem with Dominique, was that after living as long as she had, her playbook had gotten predictable. If she was willing to help, there had to be something in it for her, and she wasn’t fond of being forthcoming with that portion of the information. If she’d risked being put back on the Venatores ‘kill list’ by her cousin, her potential payout had to be huge.

  “Okay, um… You need me to get the door fixed?” I offered. Jeremy shook his head and offered me a hand to help me up, but I bounced to my feet without taking his hand. Nick was the only man in my life, supernatural or not, from whom I appreciated such old-fashioned gestures. After having my sweetheart execute chivalry in the most elegant ways, anyone else doing it seemed patronizing.

  I ushered Dominique out of the room ahead of me, and escorted her back to my magic lab. We looked over the spell again, and even she agreed that it shouldn’t be as hard as it looked when I tried to cast into the reflecting pool again. She ground up herbs and made me tea on my electric hot plate.

  “It’s not you, and it’s not the spell, Caroline. You just don’t have the juice,” she confessed. I knew she was trying to reassure me, but it made me feel worse.

  “I’m supposed to be shielded and planning my wedding, Dom. I don’t want to wait any longer for this.” My voice sounded petulant to me, but my mentor didn’t even blink.

  “Well, I think I have an answer, but it’s highly theoretical, and a bit of a reach…”

  “Just spit it out, Dom. You know I don’t have patience for being manipulated.” She flinched at my harsh tone and I felt a sliver of guilt stab at me. “I’m sorry. We are who we are, and I don’t mean to be offensive. I just really need you to be straight with me on this, because we’re running out of time. Nick’s starting to exhibit my neuroses. It’s no bueno for the man in charge to be paranoid and suspicious.” I huffed out a frustrated breath and Dominique laughed at me.

  “Are you sure that’s a bad thing?”

  “I don’t know. You’re one of my closest friends. How does it feel to you?” She laughed again at my sardonic reply, and the sound was lighter, happier than I was used to, as though I’d surprised the truth out of her for once.

  “Well, it keeps things interesting, that’s for sure. But it would be nice to have one of those girl-squad, pedicure parties, mimosas on Sundays kind of friendships, but that’s not really in the cards for people like us, is it?” I peered at her over the edge of my steaming tea cup.

  “Not yet. Maybe we’ll both find our forever homes, and have brunches together while we talk spellcasting.” I warmed to the idea the more I thought about it. After all, that’s all Dominique had ever wanted. “You’ve thought of something, so talk.”

  “You told me about the vision you had about the Queen of the vampires, the Night Mother?” I nodded and she continued. “I’ve done some searching at the Rat-King’s request, though I think it was really for you.” she chuckled. “I think I know where the Night Mother sleeps, and if I’m right, it’s a good spot to get a power boost.”

  I sat up straighter in my chair and blinked rapidly. Every day I had newfound respect for Jeremy, who was the most invisible of us sometimes, but every bit as valuable to our power base as he was to his own people.

  “Hit me, Dom. Don’t keep me waiting, I only get bitchier with steeping.”

  “Caroline!” she blurted and shook her head, regaining her composure. “What would you think, if I suggested a destination wedding?”

  “You mean, like we put all the vampires on a boat and ship them to the Caribbean?” I asked, a grin splitting my face.

  “I was going to suggest something a little further from the equator, actually,” she replied. “How do you feel about Salisbury?”

  “England? We need to go to England?�
�� I thought for a moment, and felt a rush as understanding washed over me. “You want me to cast a spell at Stonehenge? The actual honest-to-God, birthplace of witchcraft?” I could barely stay in my seat, my heart felt so light. It has to be the answer, I thought. Everything she’s saying feels…right.

  I felt Nick press against my mind inquisitively and sent him our telepathic short-hand for “everything’s all right, need to talk soon.” But, why wouldn’t witchcraft have come to the Celts who lived near and worshipped at Stonehenge, when the world of man was still young?

  “So, what do you think. Can we fit all the necessary coffins on Nicholas’ private jet?” she grinned. I chewed my lip and stared over at the traitorous reflection pool that had refused to amplify my power enough to complete the complicated spell.

  “I think I’m about to ask my fiancé to take me to the United Kingdom for a renaissance wedding,” I agreed. “If we’re going to do this spell right, and this wedding, for that matter, we should aim for the summer solstice. There’ll be a huge party anyway, and three weeks is just barely enough time to promote Pulse too. Bring a few of our performers with us to distract the revelers,” I paused. “What do you think?”

  “I think I wouldn’t have remembered to provide a legitimate distraction, which is why you were such a good Venatores emissary, and why you’re in charge of all things human at the club, I’d wager.” She crossed her arms under her breasts and pursed her lips. “Am I invited?”