by Unknown
“What?” Brogan demanded, catching the exchange with his very observant cop eyes.
“She’s afraid that her old master and mistress will realize that she’s back in France,” Jolie answered, heading to her closet to dress before they had to leave for Mambo’s.
“Master and mistress?” he repeated in confusion. “In order to have one of those, wouldn’t she have to be a vampyre?” He followed Jolie into the closet, Jacques close behind.
Apparently, their human mate wasn’t going to let this go, and that meant sharing the family secret.
“You don’t have to be a vampyre to have a master or mistress. There are other beings out there that have them, Flynn.”
This was news to him. Six months ago there were humans, humans, and more humans. What the hell else was out there lurking?
“Like what?” he questioned, feeling his stomach roll uneasily.
“Now isn’t really a good time to discuss this, Flynn,” she stated, pulling on panties and a bra. When she glanced up at him, she could see his icy blue eyes focused on her. “Flynn,” it was said pleadingly.
“When did Chloe come to live here?” he asked, running his hand nervously through his shoulder length black hair.
“Why does it matter?” Jolie responded, looking to Jacques for any kind of help.
Brogan watched them both, waiting for someone to answer him. “If she isn’t human or vamp, then what’s left?”
Jolie sighed and sat on the dressing bench.
Brogan took it as a bad sign when Jacques came to stand protectively by her side. It just proved what he was feeling inside. There was a divide over this, and a fight was coming.
He could feel it.
“Chloe has been with us almost two hundred years. As to her age, I don’t really know. I never came out and directly asked her.”
Brogan moved to stand next to them. “She isn’t a vampyre and she isn’t human. What does that leave?” he asked once more. He was getting frustrated with their lack of openness. If the shoe were on the other foot, they’d be pissed.
“Mon ami, do you really want to know?” asked Jacques, touching his shoulder.
“Well, hell yeah! If I’m living in a house with something, I like to know what they are. Call me crazy, but you two usually aren’t so secretive. What’s up? Is this going to freak me out?”
“Yes, probably,” she said, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
“It can’t be that bad. Can it?”
That was a matter of perspective. “Flynn, her real name is Vanth.” Jolie started pacing the closet in her undergarments. “You have to keep in mind that her master and mistress were abusing her abilities for their benefit. She came to us one night, and we took her in. Vanth altered her looks, and she became a member of our family. What you want to call her isn’t as important as much as her loyalty to us over the centuries.”
“What the hell is a Vanth?” Now, he was getting super nervous at the nonchalant attitude they both were expecting him to swallow.
“I don’t think we should tell you if it’s going to change how you treat her,” said Jacques. “She’s our family. As in all of ours, and it’s our duty to protect her. We’re hiding her, and until now, Jolie and I were the only ones who were aware of her origin. It has to stay between us.”
“I understand, Jacques, but I need to know. As part of this,” he said, pointing at the three of them, “I should be in on it, don’t you think?” He stepped in front of Jolie and stared into her eyes. “That is, unless you don’t trust me, so then why am I here?”
She didn't want him to be upset. “Flynn, of course we do. If we didn't know that you were a loyal person, you wouldn’t be with us.” She brushed the hair lovingly from his cheek.
“Well, then I swear to protect her, but I won’t do it if you don’t tell me what she is.” He stood his ground, only because he felt like he had earned that right. Flynn would sacrifice himself for the family, but not if he wasn’t completely an equal partner.
“Tell him,” said Jolie, giving him the ‘careful what you ask for’ look.
“I don’t know how much you are aware of mythology and mystical beings, but Vanth is a demoness.”
“A demoness?” He looked confused. “I wasn’t aware such things existed. I always thought that demons were the way religions scared the masses. They actually exist?”
Jacques just laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
Jolie was trying not to laugh either. “You are asking two vampyres, creatures once believed to only exist in stories, if other mythical beings exist. Don’t you see the irony in that?”
He said nothing for a while, trying to absorb it all. “Okay, so she’s a demoness. I get the feeling that there’s more.”
Yeah, he was learning fast.
“As usual, Detective, you’re perceptive,” said Jacques, taking a seat across from him.
“Vanth is the demoness of the underworld and the dead.”
Brogan stared at them blankly, and he could see that they were trying to be patient, as if he were a small child.
“Say something, Flynn,” Jolie said, waiting for him.
“Well hell! I don’t know why I’m surprised,” Flynn stated, as he began pacing nervously.
“You aren’t disturbed?” Jolie asked warily.
“As you pointed out, how can I be? I live, sleep, and have sex with vampyres. Who am I to argue the semantics of demons?”
Jacques dropped the bomb. “There’s more.”
“Damn! I knew it,” he said, stopping to look at them.
Jolie took his hand in hers, trying to offer some kind of reassurance. “Vanth is the bringer of death.”
He stared at her. “Are you trying to tell me that we’re living with the Grim Reaper?” This had to be some sick joke they were playing on him. After all, he had just been asleep.
“Flynn, this is tricky ground we’re on here. Technically, yes, she is, but technically she isn't. You have a fantasy idea of the Grim Reaper. It is not like that. Vanth’s job traditionally was to help the dying cross into the next world.” She wrapped her arms around his waist before pleading with him. “Please don’t be distraught. It helps if you picture her more like an angel.”
“What can she do?”
“Do?” asked Jacques, looking genuinely confused.
“Abilities?” he clarified. “You know, like you two can see in the dark and are strong. What does Chloe, I mean Vanth, do?”
“She can call death and as the intermediary, she can tell when it’s near.”
“Is that all?” he questioned.
They shrugged.
“As a demon, you would think she would be super powerful.” He glanced down Jolie.
“It is what it is.”
That answer pissed him off and frustrated him to no end. “So, basically in this house, we have the undead, Death’s Harbinger, and now the bringer of death. Well shit! There’s just nothing but death going on here,” he snapped in frustration at their blasé attitude.
Jolie released him like she had been scorched by his words.
He stared her down.
“Ouch, Flynn,” she said, as she moved back toward the safety of Jacques’s arms. Leaning against the front of his body, Jolie found comfort wrapped in his arms.
He went to say something, but she cut him off.
“Yes, you’re right. We offer nothing but death in our family,” she replied, hurt by his words. “We’re creatures of death, Flynn. I am sorry if that upsets you.”
“Hey! I didn't mean that.”
Jolie grabbed her clothes and headed for the bed to begin dressing. She ignored them when Brogan and Jacques followed her.
“Don’t get mad, Jolie. It’s a lot to take in,” said Brogan, stepping toward her. She immediately moved out of his way and turned her back to him.
“I need to go and see Mambo. I have bigger issues to deal with right now. Like, when will Genevieve show up and try to put my head on a stake in t
he front yard,” she said it with anger in her voice.
“I’ll go with you,” said Jacques.
“Thank you, mon amour.” Jolie continued to lace up her leather pants and shirt.
“Do you want me to come too?” asked Brogan angrily, his temper flaring at how she was treating him for being honest. Wasn’t that part of a relationship?
Honesty?
Jolie turned to stare him in the eyes. Icy blue met violet and more anger flared. “No, Flynn, I think we’ll go without you if you don’t mind. The less death you’re forced to surround yourself with, the better. I wouldn’t want to force you to be near Death’s Harbinger.” She pulled her hair back before walking out of their room.
Brogan glanced over at Jacques. “What?”
“Nothing, mon ami. If you don’t realize what you’ve just done, then far be it for me to show you how to fix it.”
He followed Jolie from the room, except he didn’t slam the door to show his displeasure. Oh, he wanted to, but it would be too childish.
Brogan sat on the bed, pissed at everything that just went down. His complete lack of control of the situation was irritating the shit out of him. In his heart, he knew he was allowed to feel, but in that moment he did something he wasn’t proud of.
He made them feel like they were less than him.
Now, he needed to fix his mess.
Somehow…
∞ ∞ ∞
Friday Evening
Jolie and Jacques sat in silence in the Jag as they headed to Mambo’s shop. It was more than quiet.
It was deafening.
Jolie tapped her finger on the band that Jacques had given her. Her displeasure was blatantly obvious as was her hurt over what had just happened.
“He didn’t mean it,” said Jacques, taking her hand in his.
“I know, Jacques, but it still stung. I started to believe that he was one of us, and it was painful to realize that Flynn really isn't.” She continued to stare out the window. “I do see his point. We’re undead, and now I’m Death’s Angel hiding out a demon. I guess that is daunting for anyone.”
“It’s sometimes hard to remember that our detective was… is human,” he added, unsure why he was working so hard at helping the man who just insulted them both.
Jolie sighed, “I know, I just wanted him to look past it all and see us.”
“It’s our way, mon amour. We can’t help what we are, just like we can’t help what bothers Flynn and others. He’s smart and loves you. Shortly, he’ll come around. When you love someone, you occasionally fight.”
“Yes, I know.”
Jacques found a parking spot and smoothly pulled into it. “Come, we need to get this taken care of tonight.”
“I need a vacation,” she said, taking his hand.
Didn't they all?
“Soon, mon amour, very soon.”
∞ ∞ ∞
Genevieve stood in the shadows of her window, looking down on the French Quarter. She watched as her nemesis stepped from her car, blissfully unaware that their every move was being stalked.
While Jolie might believe she’d hide on a plantation, she wouldn’t. The French Quarter was the ideal place to lie in wait.
Look at her adversary.
She didn't even feel her near. Genevieve could thank the hundreds of local undead for that. It was like hiding in plain sight. A girl couldn’t ask for more.
Glaring at the woman as she entered the building, the thrill of the hunt was pulsing through her veins.
It was time.
“Oh, Mistress Harcourte, I’m about to turn your world upside down. I think I’m ready to start this party,” she hissed. Her daughter’s death was about to be avenged.
One way or another.
While the pretty French cat was away, the big scary vampyre would play.
∞ Chapter Twenty-Eight ∞
Mambo’s shop wasn’t particularly busy, but there were some customers there when Jolie and Jacques entered. The priestess looked up, sending them both a smile and a wave welcoming them.
“Welcome my friends! I’ll be with you shortly. Please look around,” she offered, turning back to her other customers.
Jolie examined the spell boxes sitting on the shelf, reading about each and every one. There were all different kinds, ranging from love to protection, and even a few revenge spells thrown in. There was something amusing about the notion that a simple spell could rid her of Genevieve.
Ah, if only life was that simple.
It wasn’t long until Mambo was free and came to their side, Leroy wrapped around her arms.
“Ugh, really?” Jolie asked, stepping behind Jacques. It was silly, but the snake knew she hated him. Jolie could tell just by looking into his beady little eyes.
“What can I do for you, Jolie?” she asked, already aware of why she was there. Last evening, she had a vision in the smoke, and it told her everything.
“Mambo, I’m having some side effects from your spell to bring me back from the dead, and I need to know if I should be worried.”
“Really?” Mambo said, as she headed back to the counter to sit on her stool. “Like what?”
Jolie told her the entire story about the other vampyres’ fear of her, and the touch of death making her the harbinger.
Mambo watched with blank eyes, taking in everything she was saying.
“All of this is quite possible. You’re dead to begin with, so when I brought you back, it could be viewed as one of Death’s minions defeating him. What exactly is the problem?”
Jolie looked confused. “I don’t know if there is one. I just wanted to know if you could shed some light on what is happening to me. There’s this weird mist that leaves my body and slowly kills my victims, or at the least drains them.”
“You are gaining power and gifts?”
“Yeah, if you can call them that.”
“I don’t know, Jolie, but it sounds like you’re lucky,” she answered. “You could use these gifts to help save your lives. Maybe Death has given you these things for a purpose.”
Jolie sighed, closing her eyes. Truth be told, she wasn’t exactly happy to hear any of this. She was still torn over the premise these gifts were ones she wanted.
“I feel your frustration, Jolie, but I can’t help you. You’re the first vampyre I ever used a zombie spell on. This is beyond the scope of my knowledge.”
“I know, Mambo, but it was worth a try. At least our trip here wasn’t a waste. Walking through your shop, I came up with an idea. I think I know how to stop the vampyre hunting me, but I need your help and a spell.”
“Certainly girl, just tell me what you need.”
Jolie told Mambo her plan as Jacques stood near, nodding in agreement. It was an excellent plan. When in New Orleans, do what the natives would do-by using black magick and Voudon.
When they had finished talking, Mambo excused herself to the back room to get everything together. Jolie began wandering the store, looking at the items while she waited.
When something touched her leg, she glanced down. There stood a little imp of a girl with curly hair staring back up at her. Jolie crouched down to touch the pretty girl’s cold cheek.
“Hi there,” said the girl, shyly.
“Hello, Belle,” she replied, as the child held her hand. The little angel had a mop of curls and bright green eyes the same shade as Jacques’s. The idea warmed her heart. “What can I do for you?”
“There’s a message for you. I have to tell you something,” she said, eyeing Jacques over her shoulder.
“What is that, Belle?”
The little girl went serious. “You need to be careful. Something bad is coming for your soul tonight.”
They both froze.
“What do you mean?” Jolie asked. “My soul?”
“I was told to tell you that something is going to happen tonight.” The girl touched Jolie’s cheek. “Where is your other mate?” she inquired, staring at them curiously.
&nb
sp; “He’s at home, but who told you to tell me?” she asked, as Jacques bent down next to her so he could be at eye level with the girl.
“You know who, Jolie. Think about it.” The girl leaned in and kissed her on her surprised face.
“You know my name?”
Jacques took her hand as a cool chill brushed their bodies. Instinctually, he pushed energy into Jolie to warm her up. For some reason, he could feel the energy immediately leaching from Jolie’s body into the small child.
“The warmth feels good, Jacques.” She paused, running her hands up and down her little arms in a very adult manner.
“What’s coming for my soul?” Jolie asked again.
“You must protect your family. Tonight, someone is going to die.” The girl began backing away.
“Who sent you?” Jolie begged, feeling a wave of panic overcoming her.
“Why our mistress did of course, Jolie.” With that, the girl ran around the rack only to disappear.
Jolie stood, clutching Jacques’s hand. She was more pale than normal. All of this was making her sick to her stomach. Flynn always referred to himself as her soul.
When Mambo returned with a satchel in hand, she paused at the look on Jolie’s face. “Here’s is your spell,” she said, handing her the instructions and the satchel. “Are you okay?”
Obviously, they weren’t.
“You look like you just saw a ghost,” offered Mambo.
“We did. I need to get home! I believe one of my new abilities just reared its not so ugly child-like head,” she blurted, grabbing the things from the woman’s hands.
As they raced from the shop to the car, her heart pounded in her chest.
“If that was a message from death, I think we have a big problem!” she declared.
“Oui, we must get home.”
“We left Flynn there alone to defend the house.”
He was well aware.
Now, he only hoped their human mate could hold down the fort until they arrived. “Don’t worry, we’ll be in time.”
Jolie prayed he was right.