by Martha Woods
Morgan quickly crossed the room, reaching into the fridge and tossing a bag to her. She caught it in the air. She would have preferred a warm mug, but she would crack it open like a juice box if she had to. People seemed to think that the different blood types had different flavors, but Veronica couldn’t taste a different types as she drank. Instead, she could taste what their lives were like. She could taste sunny days spent with loved ones.
She drank the last of the bag before turning toward Morgan. He was moving around the room quickly. Knives disappeared from the wall, disappearing into sheaths hidden on his body. Veronica wondered how long it would take her to find all the hidden blades on his body. She preferred a slow, meticulous strip search.
“Morgan,” she called out. “I’m ready to help you through the rest of this mission. Whatever it takes. This is for Tessa and Kristian.”
Morgan paused. He glanced over his shoulder and their eyes met. Veronica thought he would demand that she stay here for a moment. She refused to wait for her babysitter to arrive. Instead, he nodded and tossed her a bandolier of small knives.
“It should be about the right size for you. Sorry you have to use Ally’s equipment, but it’s the only stuff that will fit you.”
Her heart lifted. This wasn’t how she pictured her future with him, but she liked this. Maybe she was masochistic or, maybe, she needed a purpose. Spending your days reading smutty novels and taking long baths was alright. Luxury was needed sometimes, but she realized how sedentary she’d become in the last fifty years.
Now, it felt as though their lives were on the line every second they were together and she had never felt more alive. She set the bandolier down and crossed the room. Grabbing a fistful of his Mustang shirt, she pulled him into a deep kiss. Once his surprise faded, his hands snaked around her. They gripped her as if he’d float away if she didn’t hold him down.
“We… should… get out… of the sun,” he whispered between kisses.
Her tongue pushed into his mouth, scraping along his canines, before she pulled back. Both of their faces were flush from having just eaten. For the first time, Morgan pushed his hair away from his face and smiled down at her.
Morgan wrapped his fingers with hers and gently pulled her toward a knot in the wood floor. He hooked his finger into the hole and Veronica could hear a soft click. The floor lifted to reveal a dark stairwell.
“So that’s where Ally keeps her toys,” Veronica joked.
Morgan threw her a look that said he was not amused. Veronica stuck her tongue out at him before they descended into the darkness. The trap door closed behind them and no one would be the wiser. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.
Beneath the warehouse was a small apartment. There were several, narrow dorm beds on the far side of the apartment. Before that was a collection of black chairs around a card table. Poker chips littered the floor around the card table as if someone had thrown a fit upon losing and flipped the table. To her right was a door.
“Holding cell?” Veronica jerked her thumb toward the door. She imagined cold, metal chairs with bindings. A two way mirror would have been nifty, but maybe she watched too many crime dramas lately.
Morgan didn’t say anything as he reached for the doorknob with his free hand. He led her into the room, his hand slipping away from hers just long enough for him to light a series of lanterns. They glowed softly, the gentle light illuminating a soft, four poster bed.
“The dorm beds are for the big missions, when a bunch of us have to be here at once. But, when I come here alone I like to use this room. Never brought anyone in here with me, though.”
Morgan’s hands found her hips and walked her toward the bed. They made love on the bed, a new fire burning in each of them. At times, they were rough and at times, they were gentle with one another. But, a line had been crossed. It made them into one creature.
Part Three
Veronica and Morgan were laying in bed, enjoying a little post coital cuddling, when an alarm went off. It was a high-pitched kind of sound that made Veronica’s ears hurt. She closed her eyes, wincing. Morgan slipped out of bed and quickly tapped a key on the computer in the corner. The screen lit with the image of the cracked concrete outside the front door. A squat woman shifted from foot to foot on the concrete. Beside her was a taller, younger woman with her arms crossed over her chest.
Morgan threw a questioning glance at Veronica. She shook her head.
“I didn’t order dinner,” she joked.
He threw her a look that said it wasn’t funny. She thought it was. “No one knows that this is anything other than a condemned building. Why the hell are these women knocking on the front door?”
Morgan rushed around, attempting to find his lost pants. Finally, he found them half shoved beneath the bed. He tugged them on as she shuffled toward the door.
“You aren’t going to answer that, are you?” Veronica sat up straighter in bed, the sheets falling away from her breasts.
Morgan took in her bare skin and lost all thoughts of what he was supposed to do for a moment. He’d spent the previous night enjoying every bare inch of her that he could find. She was his lioness, his love.
“Damn it, woman. I have to at least make sure we aren’t being surround by Calder witches who could burn down the place on top of our heads.”
“I guess you have a point. Let me get dressed at least.” Veronica hurried to pull on her lost leggings and threw his Mustang shirt over her head. Silently, she bounded up the stairs after him.
On the ground floor, they eased open a boarded window and slipped into the dark. Morgan crept around one side of the building while Veronica took the other. Using her preternatural speed, she darted between the narrow trees. She moved out and back, scoping the area. But, they were blessedly alone.
Except for the women out front.
Veronica made her way toward the front. The older woman waited patiently, playing with her cell phone as she waited. Veronica could hear the sounds of a popular mobile game as the woman flicked her finger over the illuminated screen. She showed the effects of a long life, her body round in places that meant she’d had children, maybe several. Her black and gray hair was tied back into a thick brain that crawled down her spine. Her hands were littered with thick rings and a series of bangles covered her wrists. She looked nothing like the Calder witches they’d come across. Every now and then, she would cock her head and glance around. She looked into the dark, eyes eerily stopping where Veronica stood. She shouldn’t be able to see her.
She couldn’t, could she?
She waggled her chubby fingers at Veronica and she felt her stomach drop. The other woman’s eyes followed her companion’s gaze, face twisting into a sour look. She clearly did not want to be here.
“I can tell you’re out there,” the older woman called out. “Don’t be alarmed. I only have a couple questions for you and then we’ll be on our way.”
Against her better judgement, Veronica crept out of the dark. Logic said to run after the days they’d been having, but her instincts screamed to move forward, to talk to her. She straightened her spine, reaching her full height. She was terribly tall for a woman, just shy of six feet. While it hadn’t helped her in life, it was rather useful as a vampire. She could strike an imposing figure.
“I believe there should be another one of you prowling around here,” the woman glanced around herself. “A delicious looking fellow. Hair the color of dark chocolate.”
Morgan pounced from the shadows. The woman found herself against the building. She gasped for air, legs kicking beneath her. Uselessly, her long nails clawed the air in front of Morgan’s face.
“Who are you, witch?”
The younger woman startled before throwing her hands out, lips moving. The older woman put her hand up to stop her. The younger woman did not like it, but Veronica could see who was in charge between the two. The younger woman’s arms slumped by her sides, useless.
“P-put me down, animal,”
she was able to rasp out.
The older woman’s feet mercifully hit the concrete once more, but Morgan made no move to back away. He looked down at her, face completely unamused.
“Well, you aren’t wrong,” she began. “I am a witch, but probably not the kind you’re thinking of if you welcome visitors like that. The Calder may be distant cousins, but there is no fond blood between us. We are descendants of the witches that left the violent life of the Calder.”
Morgan growled in response. The woman didn’t find the threat funny. She stepped into Morgan’s space. Her hand shot up. Veronica heard the crack even as she saw Morgan step backwards. The mystery woman’s hand had connected with his cheek. There was a burnt patch on his cheek that was slowly healing. Veronica looked at the woman’s silver rings.
“How about we take this inside?” the mystery woman asked. “I came here to look for my grandniece you you vamp shits better tell me what I want to hear.”
“Your grandniece?” Veronica asked, completely confused. She put her hands up, palms out. “We don’t do that, Ma’am. Donor blood only. How did you know we were...vampires?”
The woman tapped her temple. “This gift can be pretty darn handy. Heard you shits halfway across town. I think one of you compared a bag of donor blood to a juice box.”
Veronica cursed. Morgan glanced to her, taken aback. Veronica dropped her hands. The old woman was right.
“Fine. Inside.” Veronica strong armed the door.
The woman glanced around, taking in everything from the restaurant quality refrigerators stocked with blood to the sword on the one wall. She didn’t seem particularly shaken by it. Veronica had an idea of why she was here. This was what they’d been looking for all along. She looked to Morgan, trying to tell him with her eyes alone that their mission was over.
“You know Tessa,” Veronica stated.
“Who?” the old woman croaked, rubbing her throat.
Veronica felt the world shift beneath her feet. She’d been so sure that this mind reader had come here looking for Tessa. It made sense.
The old woman stepped towards Veronica. Morgan vibrated, he wanted to step between them so badly, but Veronica held out a hand.
“It was your mind,” she said to Veronica. “You thought of a mind reader, a woman alone in the world.”
“Tessa,” Veronica repeated. “That’s the mind reader that I know. We came across her a few states west before she joined us.”
“She’s talking about Theresa,” the younger woman said, her voice flat. Her arms had taken up their position across her chest again.
The older witch’s eyes darted between Veronica and the younger witch. “Joined you?”
Veronica shook her head. “Not like that. The witches are hunting her. My brother offered her protection with us.”
She watched the woman’s shoulders visibly drop with relief. She placed a hand over her heart. If only the woman knew. Tessa might be a few steps away from her new life as a vampire. Kristian only had to back off and Tessa would bounce back. A little blood exchange could be postponed.
“She was Theresa when she was with me, but I can see how she might have changed her name. I found her a few years back, but she reacted badly when I visited. So badly, that she left town. It’s been hard to track her down since then. I got lucky tonight when your thoughts popped onto my radar.”
“You could hear me across town?”
“Oh, yes. With years of practice a gifted Firehaven witch can get the dirty on a whole town. It takes a lot of work and patience. I was looking to get some dirt on a town councilman, but I’ll take this over blackmail anyday.”
There was so much potential within Tessa and she had absolutely no clue. The human, or perhaps witch, had proved useful the last time the witches had tried to ambush them at the beach house. She had heard their thoughts approaching and given them time to prepare for the attack.
“How are we to know that Tessa isn’t running from you?” Morgan posed.
She put her chubby hands on her hips before turning to him. “Do I look like one of those Calder freaks to you? Don’t look at Calla. She could pass as one of you if she scowled hard enough.”
The younger witch turned her glare upon her elder.
“No, but that doesn’t answer my question. Tessa could have run from you for a reason we don’t know yet. How should we know to trust you?”
“You can trust a demon, but you can’t trust a grandma?”
“You pulled that from my head again, didn’t you?” Veronica scowled.
The woman shook her head before jerking her thumb towards Morgan. “Look, I am looking to reconnect with my niece and I would appreciate your help. If you take us to her and she decided that she doesn’t want to see me then there should be enough vamps to escort us out, right?”
“She has a point,” Veronica said. She was still clinging to the hope that this was their lucky chance. This woman could be the key to Tessa’s past that they’d set out to find. It was hopeful, but it also felt too easy. She didn’t blame Morgan for being on the defensive.
“If you are her family then why are you looking for her? What happened to leave you estranged?” Morgan asked as he pulled a metal chair out from beside the wall. He sank into it, arms crossed over his chest.
“We placed her in the arms of another family when their child died. It is an old practice. Changelings is what it was once called. Tessa would have been hunted and we did not want to risk that.” The woman toyed with one of the thick silver rings on her hand. “The family’s true child suffered from cancer. When that child passed, we wove a spell over the family to accept Tessa as their child. We regret the course that her life took from there, but it was a measure we had to take.”
“Why was that?” Morgan pressed. His brows were knit together in confusion. What did he feel that Veronica did not? She’d never been able to have children, but Morgan had two young children before his transformation. What kind of chord did this conversation strike within him?
The woman turned her gray gaze upon him, eyes burning in response to his challenging tone. “The Calder hate more than vampires. They sought to wipe us from the earth as well. Our flock numbers were brought from hundreds to twenty in the matter to ten years.”
“You were in the middle of a war,” Veronica’s voice was soft. “You wanted to give Tessa a chance at a better life.”
The woman nodded. “Her parents had already been killed by the Calder. I could not care for a child at the time. Not when I was smuggling other Firehaven witches across the country to safety, when I was fighting off the Calder at every turn. They would have hunted the girl until her last breath.”
Morgan fidgeted, but Veronica reached out to grasp his hand. What was done was done. There was no changing it. He could very well dislike it, but he could not change it. The witch had done what she could to keep Tessa safe from the Calder.
“The Calder must have been too busy with your war, with hunting our kind, to spend much time looking for her. Why would they hunt Tessa?”
“She is... the blood of our High Priestess. To destroy the bloodline of the High Priestess is to end the Firehaven flock.”
“Well,” the other, younger witch began, “Tessa is more than just the blood of our High Priestess. Her father was the blood of the Firehaven High Priestess, but her mother was… she was a Calder Witch.”
Veronica thought of Leticia, the Calder High Priestess she once knew. It was strange to think of Tessa in the same light. They had wanted to see Tessa become a vampire like them, to see her gift become part of their coven.
“Can a Firehaven witch become… one of us?” Veronica ventured. “I know that the Calder witches may look human, but they are not. Our blood would not affect them the same.”
The woman’s eyes bore into Veronica’s. Something like panic flitted through them. Just a flash, and then it was gone. “We are something between human and witch. We sought respite from the fire of the Calder centuries ago with humanit
y. I have never seen one of our kind become a vampire, but there is enough human in us that it could be possible.”
“I’m sure Kristian had plans of Tessa joining him in blood. She has no idea of what she is because you abandoned her without explanation. Can you blame her for choosing the man she loves over the heritage she doesn’t know she has?” Morgan asked.
“We left her journal with her. We spelled it to reveal itself when Tessa was of the right age to accept her heritage. What has she done with it?”
The two vampires looked at one another before shrugging in unison. The woman seemed a little off put by it, but quickly recovered. She threw her hands in the air, bracelets clinking together. Veronica wanted to take a step back. She didn’t want to offend her, but she also didn’t want to get in the way of the massive amount of silver this woman wore.
“If Tessa is part Firehaven and part Calder, then why are the Calder hunting her? She is partially one of their own.” Morgan ran a hand through his messy hair. They weren’t prepared for what was happening at that moment.
“We have yet to figure that out ourselves,” the younger witch confessed.
“I think you need to meet Tessa,” Veronica suggested. “The Calder must know who she is because they’re still hunting her. We thought that they were onto our trail, but we crossed paths with Tessa. The witches destroyed the only home she had. They destroyed our home in search of her.”
Morgan sighed. He didn’t like it, but he could play the part of the look out. The moment anything looked fishy, he could rip the woman’s head off. Fair was fair.
* * *
In the end, they agreed to take Deidre and her escort, Calla, to meet with Tessa. The two witches went back to their homes to prepare for the journey. Veronica was halfway down the stairwell when she heard her phone vibrate. Instinctively knowing something was amiss, she darted for her phone.
Charley’s number flashed across the screen. She couldn’t remember when she programmed the demon’s number into her phone, but when she saw the contact photo, the teenage face throwing up devil horn fingers, she realized that Charley had done it herself at some point. Probably when they were trapped in the bathroom together.