by Eve Newton
His eyes come back up to mine, but I see no sign of humanity in them. He is as Constantine said: damaged beyond repair. I push my wrist to his mouth and without hesitation he clamps down and feeds from me noisily and hungrily. I shake off Sebastian’s hand that has landed on my shoulder in warning.
Gustav pulls back and turns away from me. He curls up on the floor in a ball. My heart wrenches as I hear him say, “Please let it end. Please, I can’t go on.”
I look at Sebastian, but I don’t think he heard anything.
“Please, help me,” I hear.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper again. “I’ll make it better. I promise.”
I focus my magick to create a bright orb of light, which hovers above my palm.
“Aefre, NO!” Constantine shouts as Cole yells, “Liv!” They both dive for me as I shoot the orb towards my charge, one of so many I turned just because I wanted to, to suit my own needs, with no regard for them. The orb hits him, and he flinches. “Thank you,” he projects into my mind somehow. Then he disintegrates in a great ball of light.
I cry out in pain – emotional, as well as physical – as Constantine and Cole land on me a second too late.
“I’m sorry,” I say over and over again as I fall into a heap on the floor.
“Liv? Liv? Are you okay?” Cole asks me in a panic as he pulls me into his arms. CK is just staring at me in horror as if I might go up in flames at any minute.
“I’m okay,” I mutter. “My own magick won’t hurt me. No matter what other factors.”
“Fuck, Aefre. I have never been so terrified in all my life,” CK says, dragging me to my feet and embracing me. “Don’t ever do anything like that again.”
“I had to. He was in so much pain. I had to,” I whisper as he carries me back up the steps. “You should have told me straight away,” I say to him. “Maybe I could have helped him then. Maybe he would have been all right.”
“No, my love. I don’t even want you to know the state he was in when we found him. There is nothing you could have done.”
I close my eyes and say, “There has been too much killing lately. I can’t do anymore. Are there any more secrets? Any of you harboring something I should know about?” The pain of killing one of my own is slicing though me and making me slightly hysterical again.
They all shake their heads at me warily and I mutter, “I better not find out afterwards.”
CK puts me down and I reach into the cupboard that houses the Scotch. Not bothering with a glass, I pop the lid and drink deeply. “I need a minute alone,” I say as I reach down to retrieve my shoes. I wander off upstairs to my old room. Pausing at the door, I turn back and go towards CK’s room. It is exactly how we left it last year: my robe still slung over the chair and the candles still in place, all a bit dusty. He clearly hasn’t allowed anyone back in here since those two days in June. Those two wonderful days.
I mentally light the candles and my anguish eases. I crawl onto the bed with the bottle of Scotch and take another deep drink, curling up on my side.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FOURTEEN
Sometime later, I hear CK say, “Thought I might find you in here.”
I ignore him.
“Oh, Aefre. Don’t do this. Don’t shut me out again,” he sighs as he climbs onto the bed behind me and drapes his arm over me, just like he used to do after he found me. We lie in silence for a few more minutes, then Cole and Sebastian find us.
“Liv?” Cole says.
I turn to him. I don’t want to leave the comfort of CK’s arms. He must see it pass across my cursed face as he stares at me, and I see him debate whether to join us. He flicks his eyes to CK, and it makes up his mind. He leaves, backing out slowly. His action forces me to move and I leap off the bed, shoving the Scotch into CK’s hand, noting in annoyance the smug, arrogant look on his face. I storm past Sebastian and catch up with Cole, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the alcove.
“Don’t you dare,” I say to him.
“What?” he snaps at me.
“Make me choose between the two of you,” I hiss at him. “How many times do I need to tell you, I need you both.”
“That’s not what I was doing,” he says softly. “I was leaving you alone with him because I know you need him. It isn’t about me, or him. It’s about you. It’s always about you, Liv.” He curls a lock of hair behind my ear with a smile.
“Oh,” I say, giving him a sheepish look. “Sorry,” I mumble.
He sighs and pulls me to him. “Don’t be sorry. This is a fucking awkward situation. The sooner you speak to him about fixing this, the better.”
“I know,” I sigh. “Can I show you something?” I ask him, pulling away slightly.
“Okay,” he says.
I pull him out of the alcove and to my old bedroom. I push open the door and lead him into the gloom. “This was my bedroom,” I say quietly.
“This is yours?” he says, momentarily distracted.
I nod.
“It doesn’t look like it has been modernized,” he says with a frown. “No, of course it hasn’t. He wants it exactly as you left it. A shrine.” He rolls his eyes, which makes me laugh.
That’s the second time that word has been used. Is it a shrine? Yes, I suppose it is, really.
He wanders over to the bed and sits. “So, he used to come to you in here?”
Again, I nod and say, “Sometimes I went to his room. If he wanted me there. He prefers to have his own space.”
“You never shared a room with him?” he asks in surprise.
I shake my head.
“Huh,” he says.
I flop down on the bed next to him. “I’m getting really tired of these shit days,” I mutter.
He starts, remembering what I have just been through.
“Oh, Liv,” he says. He crawls up the bed and lies next to me. I turn to him and he puts his arms around me.
“How sure were you that you wouldn’t die as well?” he asks quietly.
“Ninety percent,” I say confidently but then sigh, adding, “Seventy, no, about sixty percent.”
“Liv! Why would you risk yourself for anything less than one hundred percent?”
“I am his sire. Was his sire,” I amend. “His agony was horrendous. He didn’t want to live anymore. I did the only thing I could to help him.”
“Oh, baby, if anything had happened to you…” he trails off.
“I know. I’m sorry, Cole. I should have thought about how it would affect you if I had gone as well.”
“I don’t mean it in that way, Liv. I mean I love you so much. If anything ever happened to you, I couldn’t go on living.”
“Well, you won’t ever have to worry about me. If that didn’t do me in, not much else is likely to.”
“Don’t even joke about it,” he says sternly, and I kiss him. He forgets about everything else as he deepens the kiss and pulls me on top of him, hands sliding up my back and into my hair.
“I want to make love to you,” he says wickedly. “Right here, right now.”
I chuckle at his tone and am about to comply, when CK and Sebastian interrupt us. What a downer, I think wryly, mentally laughing at CK's face as he sees us defiling his ‘shrine.’
“Aefre,” he snaps, “the book.” He holds it out and I remember the main reason we came here in the first place. “You don’t mind if we go back to New York. This place is off-limits to guests,” he states.
I frown at him, wondering if he is including me in that. Reading my thoughts or my stupid expression-filled face, or whatever it is that he does, he looks at me and his eyes soften, saying, “You are not a guest, my sweet.”
My eyes light up at that but I refrain from any other reaction.
I wrap my arms around Cole as we stand and without another word, I Astral us back into CK’s penthouse, acutely aware that we have been gone from Toronto for nearly three hours now.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FIFTEEN
A couple more hours pass as we all
pour over the book, which has been magickly bound, hence its survival for the last three thousand years, along with CK’s translation. He was right in saying he hadn’t gotten very far. He has told us everything he knows, which surprises me. He is a secretive son of a bitch and I went to get this book because I assumed he was hiding something. I brush my fingers over his handwriting, aware that it has been years since I saw it. With cell phones and emails, no one seems to write anymore. I remember him teaching me how to write. I was dreadful at it. He made me practice every day until it was acceptable to him. I smile at the memory and he clears his throat.
“Aefre?” he says, watching me closely.
“Hm?” I say absently.
His eyes flick down to my fingers lightly brushing over his written words and he smiles, remembering too – most especially the part where he rewarded me for good work and my nipples tighten in response to his intense gaze.
“I asked if you would go and see your mother. See if she can speed this up a bit,” he says.
“Oh. Erm, sure,” I stammer, surprised that he would ask for help. “But it’s going to have to wait. There’s too much other shit going on next week.”
He nods. “Yes. We need to deal with your Demon friend.”
“Vegas road trip!” Sebastian says. “I’m totally in, by the way.”
“Who asked you?”
He shrugs and says, “I’m not sitting around here while you guys go off for a couple of days of debauchery.”
“It’s business,” I growl at him.
“Still, I’m sure there will be time for playing as well,” he replies with a wink and I glare at him.
“Anyway,” I say to CK, “it’s going to have to be next Wednesday due to the time shift and all my other… commitments.”
He doesn’t look best pleased that I will be cutting our time short but it’s this or nothing. “Fine. Is there any way for me to come with you again?” he asks.
“To the Sahara, yes. To the Dragon Realms, no, I’m afraid not.”
“Well, I will go as far as I can then.”
“Liv,” Cole interjects now, and I look at him. “We’ve been gone for nearly five hours. We did have plans. Can we get back to them at some point?”
“Yes, of course, baby,” I say and stand, much to CK’s disappointment. Sebastian doesn’t look too pleased either that I am leaving him alone again with a moody sire.
I brush my lips over CK’s, lingering slightly and then wave to Sebastian. I Astral me and Cole back to our suite.
We settle on the bed, Cole with a film and food, me with my wine and laptop. He sulks at me for working but I tell him I’ll just be a minute. He is leaning against the pillows and I am on my stomach tapping away. He tickles my foot absently and I giggle as a shiver goes up my spine.
“I love it when you touch me,” I say.
“I love it too. It makes me feel…complete,” he says hesitantly.
I turn over and sit up facing him, “If I ask you something, will you answer honestly and not just what you want me to hear?”
He looks wary but agrees.
“Are you okay? On the days I’m not here, are you coping?”
He stares at me for a few minutes, his blue-gray eyes clouding over. “Yes,” he says. “I cope. I obviously want you here with me always, but I know it’s not possible. But yes, I’m okay.”
“Okay, good,” I say quietly. He knows I’m thinking of Gustav.
“I don’t want to have to say this, Liv, but if he knows the extent of what happens, why would he threaten you, threaten us with that?”
A damn good question.
I sigh. “After today, I have to think it is an empty threat. He wouldn’t put me through that on purpose,” I say convincingly but not altogether sure in my convictions. “We shall definitely be having words about it, and not pleasant ones, I guarantee you that.”
He nods, not convinced either.
“Stop working and come here. I need to hold you,” he says. I obey without hesitation as I need him too after this god-awful day. I snuggle up to him happily and feel myself drift off in his arms.
I awake a bit later. Cole is fast asleep with the TV still on quietly. Something has woken me, but what? I glance at the clock and it says 3 AM. Shit! I fell asleep on Cole without us being together. This is getting to be a right pain in the arse. The candles burning on the bedside cabinet flare up suddenly. I cautiously climb off the bed, still clad only in the sexy black babydoll negligee I’d changed into when we got back here. Closing the bedroom door, I wander silently into the sitting room and all the candles there – that had been extinguished before – are all burning brightly, the flames licking the air far above normal heights.
Oh, for fuck’s sake! “What do you think you are doing?” I hiss at Cade, who is looking around the room expecting to find something. “Especially at this time. And how the fuck did you even get in here?” I demand in a whisper.
His eyes laser over me, head to toe. “Nice outfit,” he says, not meaning it one bit. “This is your time of night, is it not? As much as you try to blend into the human world.”
“Actually, I was asleep,” I snap.
He looks a bit surprised but then leers at me. “You don’t wish to cover up?”
I am fully aware that most of my bits are on display, but I don’t give him the satisfaction of acknowledging my nudity and just glare at him.
“Hm,” he says, “your husband obviously doesn’t mind then.”
“Leave him out of it,” I snarl.
“Oh, I intend to. I have no interest in him. You, on the other hand, are just such fun to play with.”
I stare at him. Does he not know that Cole is a Vampire? By his words, I’d say not, and I relax just a smidge.
“I am curious though,” he muses. “I assume he knows what you are? Do you drink from him?”
I just stay silent, not willing to discuss this. He laughs then. “Of course, you do. You are a parasite. Does he know that your lover is one of your kind?”
“Why are you so obsessed with me?” I ask instead, trying to draw the conversation away from Cole.
He laughs again quietly and repeats, “You are just such fun to play with.”
He holds his palm out and a bright sphere pops up. He twirls it around and steps closer to me. My eyes go to it briefly, but I pull my gaze away and stare at him instead.
“Oh,” he says, only slightly surprised. “They said you were strong.”
“They? Who are they?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he says, peering at me. “What am I going to have to do to you to get you undone?”
He pulls a knife out of his back pocket and slices his already wounded palm open to draw blood. It is oozing out; I can smell it. My fangs are aching to drop. I am so hungry.
“Drink,” he says, holding out his hand. “I know you want to. Your kind can’t resist.”
I just stare at his hand. He steps closer, but I back away. He knows he has me in a corner and holds his hand up to my mouth. Hating myself, I lower my mouth to his bleeding palm and drink. My lips are tingling, and it burns my mouth and throat as I swallow. The rush of power is immense. I suck harder and he hisses. I pull away before I extend my arm and with a palm flat against his chest, knock him flying across the room. He bounces off the wall and slumps to the floor. I take a menacing step forward as he picks himself up, rubbing his head.
“Know this, next time you offer me your blood, I will drain you dry. I think it’s time you left now,” I say.
“That should have incapacitated you,” he mutters to himself, as he takes a defensive stance.
What? Thank the gods I stopped Cole from touching it earlier.
He peers at me and asks, “What are you?”
“That’s a rude question,” I reply, irritated.
“Is there something that I don’t know about you, Mrs. O’Dell? You have me intrigued now.”
“Get. Out,” I hiss at him. “Before I knock you around a
bit more.”
With a last curious look at me, he backs out of the suite, just as Cole comes looking for me.
“Liv. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Our not-so-friendly Hunter paid me a visit. Seems he thought he could scare me. But I showed him who to be afraid of.”
“Shit. What did he do to you?”
“Apparently, his blood incapacitates Vampires. Whatever that means. I, being a bit more than the average Vampire, am immune. Thank fuck, I stopped you before.”
He looks worried and says, “Yeah. I wanted it. It was drawing me in.”
“Listen, Cole, he doesn’t know you are a Vampire. As long as he continues to think that, you will be safe.”
“What? How can he not know? I thought he could sense us or something.”
“I don’t know. Maybe you are too new yet, or maybe I am too strong and all he can sense is me. Just don’t give him a reason to suspect you. If he thinks you are human, you will be safe.”
He nods. “But what about you?”
“He knows I’m stronger, that his magick doesn’t work on me. I hope to not see him for a while until he regroups.”
He still looks worried, but I drag him back to bed. “I think we missed out on something before,” I say with a knowing look and he relaxes.
“Yes, we did,” he agrees before he claims me in a deep kiss that leaves me breathless.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SIXTEEN
A few hours later there is a knocking at the door. I answer it and it is Dawn.
“Hi, Liv,” she says. “How are you?”
“Hi, Dawn. I’m good, thanks. Come in.”
She steps in and hovers uncertainly. I know she feels awkward being here while I am here, but I smile encouragingly, and she relaxes a bit.
“Cole is in the bedroom,” I say, and she nods.
“Is it okay if I go in there?” she asks, unsure.
“Yes, of course.”
Again, she is hesitant but goes off in the direction I’m pointing to. I follow and she looks back at me curiously.