“He must need another necromancer to help him pull off whatever he means to do.” Samantha gave her arm a gentle squeeze.
Jeff nodded and shut the book he’d been reading from earlier. “She’s right. Why else would he have tried to make you and Bianca? It makes perfect sense that he needs you.”
Cian took Amaliya’s hand. “So we have pieces of his puzzle that he will come for.”
“Yeah.” Jeff winced.
“Then we’ll be ready for him.” Cian’s hand tightened around Amaliya’s.
Rachoń gave a curt nod of her head. “We create a coalition then, and we stop him.”
Cian also nodded. “We have no other choice.”
Cassandra leaned forward in her chair. “We fight.”
Eduardo grinned fiendishly. “Until we die.”
The witch gave him a dire look. “Or win.”
“Like Buffy and the Scoobies,” Samantha said, sounding almost jovial.
“Nothing will take you from me.” Cian stared into Amaliya’s eyes, a vow in his words.
“I won’t let him take me,” Amaliya said, pressing her lips to his hand.
“So let’s get to planning...” Jeff said.
“Any ideas on where we can find the asshole?” Benchley questioned.
“Too bad he burned down Santos’s mansion,” Alexia groused.
“He knew we would come for him there,” Cian said.
They learned that the blaze had devoured the mansion and part of the surrounding greenbelt. The amount of burned bodies in the mansion had caused quite a stir in the media. Santos had created a fake persona for all his human dealings, so the police were after a serial killer phantom that didn’t actually exist. Meanwhile, Santos had vanished, along with his sister, cabal, and The Summoner.
Benchley stared into his cup of cold coffee, looking grim and a little afraid. “I wonder where the psycho pixie is now.”
“Poor Bianca,” Alexia said in a sad voice.
“Poor Grandmama.” Sergio’s green eyes darkened with emotion. “She was trying to save someone who doesn’t exist.
Amaliya shifted in her chair, uncomfortable with the subject of Bianca. Her memories of the girl were now mixed with those of The Summoner. It made it difficult for her to sympathize with the girl she had barely spoken to in college. Guilt ate at Amaliya. Why had she risen, but not Bianca? Why had Bianca truly died while Amaliya had turned into a vampire?
“Vampires don’t rise after three days. When Bianca came out of the grave, we should have known it was him.” The regret in Rachoń’s voice and manner surprised Amaliya until she remembered that Prosper had died at the hands of the risen girl. “Though I cannot set the past right, I can send you help. A member of my family will be coming to Austin to assist you. His name is Baptiste. He’s an elemagus.”
“What’s that?” Samantha asked.
“He can manipulate the elements,” Alexia answered.
“Like an elementalist in Guild Wars,” Benchley added, trying to be helpful.
“I don’t know what that is.” Samantha squinted her eyes at Benchley, then understanding crept into her gaze. “Oh! Is that a game?”
Benchley opened his mouth to answer, but Alexia clamped her hand over it. “It’s a game, but that’s not important. Elemagus are very rare, so this kinda puts us ahead of the game.”
“We’re becoming a team of supernatural rarities.” Jeff’s tone didn’t reveal whether he found this to be a positive or negative trait. He frowned at his cup of coffee, then got up to pour more.
“Phasmagus in the house!” Samantha said, holding up her hands.
“But we could use more help,” Cian said pointedly to Rachoń.
Instantly the tension in the room increased. Amaliya set her hand over Cian’s, hoping he’d keep his temper in check. Jeff hesitated where he stood with the pot of hot coffee in his hand.
“I have Louisiana to take care of.” Crossing her legs, Rachoń rested her hands on her lap, her maroon eyes never wavering from Cian’s gaze. “Baptiste is powerful. He’s already asked to come to Austin to join the fight. Prosper was his great-grandfather. He wants revenge against The Summoner.”
“And we appreciate you sending him,” Samantha said swiftly, shooting Cian a look that basically told him to shut up.
Cian frowned, but didn’t speak.
“Cian, why don’t you just make vampires?” Sergio asked. “Seriously. I’m sure there are a whole lot of Twilight fans who’d love to be a vampire.”
“I would be creating cannon fodder,” Cian answered. “They’d be low-powered and easily killed.”
“And we’re not?” Benchley scowled as he pointed to his sister, Sergio, and himself. “We’re human. We’re not super-peeps.”
“But you’re well-trained vampire hunters who work for The Assembly.” Cassandra shifted in her chair, the wood creaking in protest. She looked a little uncomfortable with the topic. Amaliya had been observing Cian’s daughter for the last two weeks and it was obvious that she tried to live as a mortal as much as possible. Amaliya was starting to suspect Cassandra wasn’t always comfortable with the vampire side of her nature.
Rachoń filled the awkward silence by speaking up. “New vampires are unpredictable, weak, and have to be under constant watch by their creators. If Cian made a bunch of vampires, he’d have to exert his control over them constantly.”
“Which would draining,” Cian said, agreeing.
“Which would make you weaker instead of being at full strength.” Amaliya felt the need to defend Cian. He was dealing with enough without being reminded that he had screwed up by not building his cabal. But then again, he couldn’t have anticipated all that was happening. Cian had wanted a low stress life without vampire politics. Obviously, that had not been in the cards for his life.
Cian squeezed her hand lightly. “Exactly.”
Amaliya loved the feel of his skin under her hand and the way his gaze made her feel. They were united in this battle.
“What if Amaliya makes a vampire?” Sergio dared to ask.
“I wouldn’t,” Amaliya said swiftly. The mere thought terrified her. “I can barely control what’s happening to me. And look at what my blood did to Sam…”
Samantha winced, but had to bob her head in agreement. “She totally fucked me up.”
Amaliya stuck her tongue out at her former rival. Samantha returned the gesture.
“What if she makes another one just like The Summoner?” Rachoń interjected. “There’s no assurance that the fledgling would side with us. The Summoner made all of the vampires in this room. His blood is within us.” She pointed at Cian. “You and I know that the only reason we can stand against him is because of our age.”
“But Amaliya can stand against him.” Samantha cast a big smile at Amaliya. “She can totally kick his ass.”
A shiver ran through Amaliya at the thought of how hard it was to defy The Summoner when her creator’s power mingled with her own. It was very difficult to admit how much sway he still had over her whenever she was near him.
Cian looked at their combined hands while Rachoń lifted her eyebrows slightly.
Jeff abandoned his seat at the end of the table to pull another chair close to Samantha. Sitting down, he gazed at Amaliya pensively while nursing his hot cup of coffee.
Benchley and Alexia stared at Amaliya with open curiosity. They had not been in the graveyard to see the last battle between Amaliya and The Summoner.
“Well, she can!” Samantha looked defensive. “We all saw her do it!”
Settling back in her chair, Rachoń regarded Amaliya thoughtfully. “How hard was it?”
Amaliya shrugged, not enjoying the feeling of being put on the spot.
“You missed the make out session,” Cassandra said to Samantha under her breath. “Amaliya totally lip locked with The Summoner.”
Cian gave his daughter a sharp look, his hazel eyes cold.
“Well, she did,” Cassandra said.
&n
bsp; Amaliya met Samantha’s stare with a defiant tilt of her chin. She didn’t feel she should be judged for something she had no control over. Whenever she was around The Summoner his magic called to her in a way that was difficult to fight.
“Really?” Samantha was clearly grossed out. “Really?”
“It’s a vampire thing,” Amaliya answered. “He created me. We’re connected. It’s hard not to...”
“Did you make out with him, Cian?” Samantha leaned forward to peer past Amaliya at her former fiancé.
This brought a surprisingly girlish giggle from Rachoń.
Cian ignored the question and his sister’s laughter. Remaining silent, his fingers played with the rings Amaliya wore.
“Ha! You were his bitch!” Eduardo’s laugh was more like a bark than a human sound.
“Do you want me to kill you that badly?” Cian asked the coyote.
“Look! Everyone knows how hard it is to break free from a vampire’s blood bond.” Cassandra pounded her fist on the table to get everyone’s attention. “It fucks your brain up hardcore. So it’s not her fault.”
Sergio let out an explosive sigh.
Amaliya glowered at her cousin across from her. “What?”
“Your life is so fucked up,” he said sadly.
Aimee set her hands on the table and took a deep breath. “Everyone leave her alone. I was bonded to a vampire. It’s not easy to defy them. I’m a true witch and not a mortal so I had a certain amount of immunity, but it was still very, very difficult to break free.”
“How did you do it?” Sergio asked. “Can you do the same for Amal?”
Pressing her lips together, Cassandra appeared uneasy. Aimee gave her a significant look, but Cassandra responded with a short shake of her head.
Aimee sighed, her fingers fidgeting with the bracelets she wore on one wrist. After a long pause, she said, “I don’t know if I can help a vampire. It was a spell I had to cast. It was complicated.”
Curiosity gripped Amaliya. She had a feeling the dhamphir and witch were hiding something significant and not willing to divulge the information. One look at Cian revealed that he thought the same, but he gave her hand a light squeeze to keep her from saying anything. They’d talk to the women later.
“So if you can’t make vampires, what are you going to do?” Sergio asked Cian, his eyes narrowed. “Without more people how the hell do you plan to take on The Summoner?”
“That’s the thing,” Jeff said, speaking up. “If we can keep him from getting all the rings, we may not have to fight to keep him from tearing the veil. The Assembly is going to help us track down the rings and claim them. I’ve been on the phone most of the last few days trying to get some sort of plan going among all the various groups.”
“And we have one hidden,” Cassandra muttered.
“That puts us ahead automatically, right?” Aimee ventured a small encouraging smile.
“Except he will still come for Amaliya.” Rachoń tilted her head and regarded the tattooed woman with a quite serious expression. “You’re unique. He’ll want you at his side even if he fails to rip open the veil.”
“That’s their fight,” Eduardo said, gesturing toward Cian and Amaliya. “Not mine.”
Samantha glowered at the coyote. “Do you have to be such an asshole?”
“I’m stating the truth. We’re all here to save the world, not her. Even if she is pretty fuckin’ hot and I’d love to bend her—”
Cian kicked Eduardo’s chair over. The coyote hit the floor, rolled, and came up growling. Instantly on his feet, Cian bared his fangs, eyes flashing red.
Amaliya rolled her eyes. “Oh, my gawd! Calm the fuck down, boys!”
“Don’t push me, vampire,” Eduardo said around a mouthful of sharp teeth.
“You’re in my city because I allow it.” Cian answered. “Amaliya is mine, not yours.”
“Excuse me?” Amaliya slammed her high heels onto the floor and stood with her hands on her hips. “I’m my own person, Cian, and your girlfriend. You don’t own me.”
Rachoń laughed with delight. “And you wonder why I won’t send more of my people to help you.”
Back me up. He’s challenging my authority, Cian’s voice said clearly in Amaliya’s mind. Don’t weaken me.
“But Cian is totally the boss of the city and what he says goes,” Amaliya said quickly, her brow furrowing. Had she really heard Cian’s words in her head? She didn’t want to undermine him, so she decided to act as though she had somehow really heard him. “I’m totally in his corner, so back your shit down, Eduardo.”
Eduardo narrowed his non-human eyes at her.
“So if I tell you to help me defend Amaliya, you will do exactly that or you will leave my city.” Cian met the coyote’s gaze. His lean muscled body was tensed for battle.
Using the tip of his boot, Eduardo up righted his chair, slumped into it, and nodded. “Fine.”
“The truth of the matter is that we all have a role to play,” Cian said, turning to face the people gawking at him from around the table. “Jeff, coordinate with The Assembly. Aimee, find a way to set up strong wards against any form of attack and we need the most powerful defensive and offensive spells you can mix. Alexia, you need to start building a communication center so we can keep track of what is going on. Rachoń, send Baptiste, but you better prepare your people to fight if the veil does come down. Benchley, you know a lot about ghosts and mediums, so help Samantha. Samantha, you need to be at full power, so you’ll need to practice, and often. Amaliya, I expect you to do the same. Cass, I will need you to build an arsenal that will be able to take out supernaturals. Sergio, go home. This isn’t your fight.”
“I’m invested in this, too! I have a family,” Sergio exclaimed.
“You’re also a liability. You’re not trained for this.” Cian remained standing, arms folded over his chest. Amaliya remained at his side, trying to look supportive and imposing.
“Then train me!”
“Go home,” Amaliya said, tired of the fighting. “Sergio, I already lost Grandmama. Do I have to lose you, too?”
With a grunt of frustration, Sergio looked away from her. “Fine.”
“What will you do, Cian?” Jeff ventured to ask.
“Talk to the other vampires and hope I can convince them to side with us,” Cian answered.
“Any chance they’ll do that?” Cass asked.
Cian lifted his shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“So we’re done,” Jeff said.
“We know what we need to do,” Cass agreed.
Cian shoved the chair he had been sitting in back under the table. “Let’s get to work.”
As the group split apart, forming small pockets scattered across the room, Amaliya followed Cian along the short hall into a smaller room filled with bookshelves. Taking hold of her wrists, he tugged her close, kissing her deeply.
“You heard me in your mind,” he said in a soft voice when they parted.
She nodded.
Cian grinned. “Finally. I’ve been trying to break through that tough head of yours for months.”
“You hear my thoughts, don’t you?” Amaliya asked. She had always wondered, but was afraid to ask.
“Yes. Not always, but sometimes.” Cian slid his hands up her arms to rest on her shoulders.
Did you notice Aimee and Cassandra when talking about the blood bond?
Cian nodded.
Amaliya was both unnerved, but impressed by their new connection. They know how to break it, don’t they?
Maybe. I don’t want to push too hard...yet.
“Still trying to connect with her?” Amaliya said aloud. She pressed her hand to his cheek and he turned to kiss her palm. The pulse of his power enraptured her. She loved him so much.
“Yes, but it’s not easy. Though getting better.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but I’m leaving. I have much to do,” Rachoń’s voice said from behind them.
Cian turned and nodded. �
��We’ll be in touch.”
“You do realize that most vampires have no reason to side with us, don’t you, Cian?”
“I can try to convince them otherwise.”
“You’ll most likely fail,” Rachoń said.
“We’ll prepare for the worst.” As always Cian sounded reassuringly calm and confident.
“That’s good. Because the worst will probably happen.” Rachoń’s maroon eyes settled on Amaliya. “Unless you have any ideas of what to do?”
This comment surprised Amaliya. “Why me?”
“Because you’re the closest thing we have to The Summoner. You’re more like him than any of us. If anyone can figure out how to destroy him and win this it’s most likely you.” Rachoń’s gaze was unwavering.
Maybe Cian sensed her sudden panic for he took her hand once again. As always, her first instinct was to run, but she knew it wasn’t an option anymore. She cared too much about the people willing to fight with her against The Summoner. She loved Cian too much. And, if she was honest with herself, what Rachoń said made perfect sense.
“I’ll see what I can figure out,” Amaliya said at last.
Rachoń’s lips turned up at the corners just a bit. “You do that.”
The she was gone.
Facing her again, Cian kept a firm hold on Amaliya’s hand. “We have time. Don’t stress yourself.”
“Maybe,” Amaliya answered. “But if our luck stays the way it’s been going, we may end up scrambling right up until the big deadline.”
“December 21, 2012.” The words were spoken with distaste. “Wouldn’t it be amusing if at last one of the dire prophecies got the date right?”
Amaliya sneered at the thought. “I just don’t want to be scrambling with our backs up against the wall up until the very end. I’d like for us to have a real life one of these days.”
“A real life would be nice.” Cian kissed her again, making her shiver with love and lust.
“Can we go home now? I really want to get you naked.”
With a chuckle, Cian said, “My thoughts exactly.”
Chapter 3
When Cassandra observed her father and Amaliya slip out of the room into the hallway, guilt gave her conscious a little nip as relief swept over her. Though she was definitely warming to Cian and they were making strides in their father/daughter relationship, she wanted to speak with Aimee alone before he inevitably questioned them about possibly breaking the blood tie between Amaliya and The Summoner.
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