Nothing happened, at least in terms of his defense. His spell fizzled, and he vaguely recalled how long it had been since Tess had gotten a chance to refill her essence. Mira seized Lee, not in a chokehold or wrestling grip, as he’d expected, but in a tight embrace.
“I’ve been a good girl,” she whispered. “I’ve been so careful and controlled, for so very long. Tell me, Mr. Amaranth: are you my reward?”
Lee tried to spin out of her grip, but she was stronger than he was. He only managed to mash himself into her more directly, which wouldn’t have been unpleasant in another context. Her breasts would have made Harper’s look average in comparison, and he could almost picture Tess pouting in response to how unfair they’d be up against her own petite bosom.
“We’ve only just met,” he said. “I’m a gentleman. I don’t put out on the first date.”
“You’re a trespasser,” whispered Mira. “You refused to listen to me when I asked you to leave. I had no other choice but to… subdue you.”
Her voice was soft, which made it easy for him to hear the conflict in it. He’d already guessed that she was a vampire, but what she’d said earlier made him wonder if the door was still open for him to talk his way out of danger.
“Slow down,” said Lee. “I’m not the type of person you want to make an enemy out of. Let’s discuss this like grown adults with proper self-control.”
“But you smell so good.” Her whisper shifted into a pout, and her hands began roaming over his body. “I’m sorry. I just can’t resist.”
Lee didn’t get a chance to object. He felt a small pinch, followed by a sensation beyond anything he could have ever prepared for. The pleasure was overwhelming, echoing through his body in a chain reaction of muscle twitches, shivers, and blatant physical arousal.
Mira moaned with each small sip and the sound was like erotic music, the sound of a sexual harp, gently being fingered and stroked to produce a melody that was far too lewd. Lee was moving against her, grinding into her, groping and touching and absolutely willing to let her continue kissing, feeding, whatever, from his neck. Tess was screaming at him from the other side, right in his ear. He tried to tune her out even though he knew that logically, it might cost him his life. His free will, at the very least.
***
“Oops,” whispered Mira. “Well, it’s a little late for me to ask your permission now, but I will anyway. Should I keep going? Would you like me to do that again?”
“Yes!” Tess let out a whoop and grinned at him. “I managed to block it, and she doesn’t even realize it! Don’t worry, you’re not enthralled! Though she did put handcuffs on you.”
Handcuffs? Lee glanced around, numbly realizing that he was also sitting down on one of the lounge’s couches. When the hell had that happened?
Mira was sitting next to him, and as his eyes readjusted to the dark, he saw her for what she truly was. Blood dripped down the pale skin of her chin. Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated like a psychonaut deep inside the grips of a hallucinogenic trip. She was grinning and raised an eyebrow at him in question.
“Well?” she asked. “If you ask me nicely, I’d be more than willing to bite you again. I’m afraid you’ll need to keep your hands to yourself, as my body is pledged to someone else, but that’s just a small thing.”
“I’ll pass,” he said.
She stared at him, her excitement fading to abject disbelief.
“You get off on this, don’t you?” he said. “I’m sure my blood tastes fantastic, and there’s the whole element of sustenance from the supernatural essence and all that jazz, but clearly it’s more than that.”
“How… are you still…?” She shook her head, searching for the words and failing to find them.
“Independent?” he offered. “Cool as a cucumber? It’s one of my skills. Bite me again and I swear to god, I’ll stick a silver stake through your heart.”
She flinched back, reacting but also recovering quickly, folding her arms and narrowing her eyes.
“You are something else, aren’t you?” she sighed. “I suppose I was stepping out of line by biting you on a rash impulse. I apologize for that, since it clearly has set our friendship off on the wrong foot.”
“Our… friendship?”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to keep you here, for now,” she said. “Jack would be even more furious with me if I let you run off after all this, and I’m sure your sister would, as well.”
She stood up and helped him to his feet. Lee still had both hands cuffed behind his back, and there wasn’t much he could do to resist as she pushed him out of the room and through the hallway. She brought him downstairs, all the way into an old wine cellar in the basement level of the mansion.
“I’d offer you a bed, but it’s much simpler for everyone involved if you just remain down here for the time being,” said Mira.
“You start by drinking my blood, and then proceed to lock me up in a basement?” Lee made a tsking noise. “As far as first impressions go, you’re making a terrible one.”
Mira looked visibly annoyed by Lee’s teasing. She briefly unlocked his handcuffs for the sake of looping them through one of the support pillars, trapping him in a sitting position. Lee attempted to resist, but despite whatever Tess had done to maintain his base freedom, he was still completely drained of energy.
“You’ll be safe down here, if not comfortable,” said Mira. “Do rest up.”
Lee grudgingly took her advice as soon as she left the basement. His eyelids were heavy, and his neck still tingled where she’d bitten him.
CHAPTER 16
Lee’s body was uncomfortably stiff and cramped when he woke up. The support beam he’d been leaning against hadn’t done him any favors. He could hear voices, two familiar ones, both pitched high and loud in argument.
“I said, get away from him!” shouted Tess. “There’s no reason for you to be here!”
“You’re loyal,” said Lucas. “Loyal and brave. I must admit, I believe I underestimated your fire.”
“Take one step closer and I’ll send a wine bottle through your face!” she snapped.
Lucas laughed. Lee finally managed to get his eyes open and focus them in the dimly lit cellar. Tess was standing over him, arms outstretched in an earnest, though functionally ineffective defense.
Lucas was leaning against the wall on the other side of the basement. He looked much like he had when Lee had last seen him. He was bald, with a sharp face full of chin and cheekbone edges. He wore a pair of shorts, a polo shirt, and sandals, though the entire ensemble was as wispy and pale blue as his ghostly body.
“Move out of my way or I’ll move you out of my way,” said Lucas. “My master would wish to know the status of her brother’s health.”
“He’s sleeping!” said Tess. “If your master wants to know if he’s alright, maybe she should come herself. I’m not moving.”
“This won’t be much fun for you then, I’m afraid. I always follow through with my threats.”
The bald ghost took a step forward. Lee grunted and slid upward along the support beam, standing himself up with effort. He glared at Lucas. Tess slid into place at his side and helped support him with one arm as he pulled her into his mystic stream.
“While we’re on the topic of threats,” said Lee. “If you say another rude word to Tess, I’ll erase your entire existence.”
Lucas scowled and muttered something under his breath. “You’re both overreacting to what should have been a simple health checkup. I was merely making sure that you were unmolested, ah, in a manner of speaking.”
“I’m fine,” said Lee. “Why don’t you go find your master now? She’s the one I need to talk to.”
“She bid me to wait for her here, and I follow her orders, not yours,” said Lucas. “She’ll come along once she’s finished attending to her business.”
“Her business? What would that be, exactly?”
“Nothing that concerns you. Now still your mouth or I’ll be f
orced to start making threats again.”
Lee laughed. “I guess you forgot how our last fight went. Our last two fights, even. You’ve got a big ego for a ghost, and that’s saying something.”
The image of Lucas and Ricardo, instigated and locked in a room together, briefly leapt through his mind.
“You would issue taunts while being held prisoner?” snorted Lucas.
“I would,” said Lee. “I know, it really makes a statement about the amount of respect I have for you.”
Lucas narrowed his eyes. For an instant, it looked as though he was about to fling himself forward, heedless of the consequences, and follow through on his words. A noise came from the top of the basement stairs before he could, followed by the telltale sound of descending footsteps.
The new arrival was a young woman with dark hair and almond-shaped blue eyes. She was on the short side, probably in her mid-twenties, and she wore an apron over a t-shirt and sweatpants. She was pretty, though in a fragile kind of way, like a porcelain doll that had been carefully repaired to its original luster.
“Hello, Mr. Amaranth,” she said. “My name is Ryoko.”
She issued a small bow, which felt ridiculous to Lee, under the circumstances. His posture was uncomfortable, half leaned against the support beam, hands still cuffed behind him. Ryoko seemed to take notice of that, and the first thing she did was to walk behind Lee and free him from his bindings, slipping the manacles into the front pocket of her apron.
“Thanks,” he said. “Do you mind telling me why those were necessary in the first place?”
“Mira was simply doing her due diligence,” said Ryoko. “We’ve now checked in with Zoe to confirm that you are who you say you are.”
“That could have happened a lot earlier than it did.” His hand went to the spot Mira had bitten him on reflex.
“I… apologize for anything Mira did to you beyond what you’re comfortable with.” Ryoko bowed again, lower this time. “She has an old habit of playing with her food, though it’s been many years since she’s last indulged in a stranger. She and Mr. Masterson are both very careful about their urges.”
“In a different context, I might have been okay with it,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it felt bad, but I didn’t exactly give my consent.”
“In a different context?” said Tess, with a few annoyed blinks. “She’s a creepy vampire, Lee! I’m not going to give you permission to become a creepy vampire’s thrall.”
“Who says I’d need your permission?” asked Lee.
Ryoko frowned slightly and glanced around the basement. “I’m sorry? What was that?”
“She obviously cannot see your ghost companion or myself,” said Lucas. “Only Zoe can. You should watch your mannerisms, lest you gain a reputation for talking to thin air.”
“Um, I meant, do I have permission to leave this basement?” asked Lee.
“Of course. I came to bring you up. Miss Brock will be arriving back at the mansion shortly. If you’d follow me, sir.”
“Sir,” chuckled Lee. “That might be the first time anyone has ever called me that without a disapproving edge to it.”
A faint smile bloomed on Ryoko’s face, and he got a glimpse of just how pretty she was. He followed her upstairs and into the mansion’s expansive first-floor lounge. Mira was nowhere to be seen, but that fact alone wasn’t enough to disperse the uneasy feeling building in his chest.
“Do you need anything while you wait?” asked Ryoko. “I could prepare coffee or tea, if you’d like.”
He started to shake his head no and then thought better of it. “Coffee would be nice.”
It felt strange to go from being a prisoner to being a respected guest in such a short span of time. It left him with questions, too. He sincerely doubted that Mira would have consented to allow him free range over the mansion so soon after their intense confrontation, at least not if she thought there was any danger in it.
He doubted that he could do much to threaten Mira, at least not with Tess entirely drained of spirit essence and unable to help him cast any spells. Ryoko, on the other hand, seemed so unguarded and vulnerable that it almost looped around to the other extreme. She wasn’t a normal human; he could tell that much just from looking at her unnaturally blue eyes. He sensed that she might be as powerful as Mira in her own right—not a vampire, but something else.
Ryoko brought him his coffee after a few minutes. She slipped away after handing it to him, leaving Lee and Tess to relax, to whatever extent they could, on the lounge’s couch. Lee held Tess in his mystic stream, and she nestled in close against him, clearly as wary of their surroundings as he was, judging from the flicker in her eyes.
The mansion’s front door groaned as it opened. Zoe’s particular style of arriving home was still recognizable to Lee’s ears, even though it had been years since they’d lived together. She kicked her shoes off in a literal sense, dropped a bag in the hallway, and then walked into the lounge at an over-brisk pace.
He had to admit, it was a relief to see her alive and well. She’d grown her brown hair out a little, not by much, but enough to walk the line between a pixie cut and a bob. She wore a white long coat over a pink t-shirt and grey leggings, an outfit well-suited for a girl of her build. She set her hands on her hips in the same way she always had whenever Lee would find his way into trouble as a kid.
“Hello, little brother,” she said with a sigh. “Mind telling me what, exactly, you’re doing here?”
“Did you know that we have another sibling?” asked Lee. “His name is Bryan.”
Zoe stared at him without saying anything for a few seconds before slowly shaking her head. “Have you lost your mind?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes. Luckily, I found it again.”
CHAPTER 17
It took a while to give Zoe the full explanation, but Lee left nothing out. She stopped him numerous times during his retelling of the events of the previous month, and not always for the sake of mere clarification.
“You took on an entire horde of zombies under the lich’s control?” she asked.
“Well, it wasn’t an entire horde, and I didn’t take them on completely alone,” he said.
“That’s still impressive. Good work, Eldon! I’m so proud of you.”
He grinned, feeling a bit surprised by how much he appreciated her praise, and continued. She stopped him again as he began describing the end of his Midterm Trial, his betrayal, and the Cropping.
“No way,” said Zoe. “You’re serious? You actually underwent the Cropping?”
“I managed to resist it at first,” he said. “They had to switch the method up, but the change meant that my memories were just dormant and not fully erased.”
“How did you manage to get them back?”
“I didn’t do it alone.” Lee smiled at Tess and reached over to take her hand. “I had help.”
Zoe rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m sure your ethereal sex doll was of the utmost help.”
The smile faded from Tess’s face, replaced by a flush of shame in her cheeks.
“Hey!” snapped Lee. “Don’t talk about her like that.”
“You are so naïve, little brother,” said Zoe. “I’m glad she was able to help you. Really, I am. But try to keep some perspective, alright? She’s dead.”
“I’m aware of that, Zoe,” he said through gritted teeth. “It would help if you also kept some perspective and censored yourself a little while you’re around the woman I care about.”
Zoe looked as though she had more biting, edgy words to share on the topic, but she merely shrugged and gestured for him to continue. The rest of Lee’s story was a recap of his time living as “Eldon,” lacking any real idea of who he was or what his past had entailed.
“Do you think this ‘brother’ of ours is still chasing you?” she asked.
“Probably, but I doubt he’s made much progress,” said Lee. “Someone would have had to lend him a hand for him to follow me here.”
“I see your sense of humor hasn’t evolved alongside your mystic abilities,” said Zoe. “In all seriousness.... I can talk to the Dealmaker about your circumstances, and potentially helping you, but if you’ve led the Melting Pack straight to our doorstep, it might complicate things.”
“I doubt Bryan was still following me after our last encounter,” said Lee. “Where is the Dealmaker, anyway? And where are all the followers you had when you attacked Primhaven?”
Zoe hesitated and then shrugged. “I suppose there’s no harm in telling you now that you’ve been outcast from your school. The Dealmaker and the rest of our number are busy organizing the Independent Gathering. It’s a… friendly get-together we hold each year for any supernatural faction interested in attending.”
“Why are you and the others here instead of with him, then?”
“We’ll be joining him in a day or two,” said Zoe. “Which leads to the question of what will happen with you.”
“That’s a non-question. If you and your friends can’t help me, I don’t plan on staying here for long.”
Zoe slowly made her way over to the couch across from him and sat down. “Maybe you should plan on it. Or at the very least, consider it. Staying here.”
He’d been expecting this. She’d made her pitch to him once before, back when the situation had been vastly different.
“I don’t think I can do that,” he said.
“You don’t think you can, or you don’t think you will?” asked Zoe. “Where else do you have to be at the moment, Eldon? If you show up back at Primhaven, with Shannara and her lycanthropes secretly occupying the campus, you’ll only get yourself killed.”
“If I went alone,” he said.
“I sincerely doubt you’ll be able to convince the Dealmaker to take a side in a battle from which he has nothing to gain against a faction that we aren’t necessarily enemies with.”
“The Melting Pack killed Gabby, remember?”
“Gabby?”
“The prisoner Harper and I took back to Primhaven, that was my nickname for her. She was a member of the House of Shadows, wasn’t she?”
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