by Alicia Rades
“Be—because,” I stuttered.
Stupid mouth.
I cleared my throat. “Because I need your help.”
No! That’s not what I meant to say!
It wasn’t like I could shove the words back down my throat.
Venn’s expression softened, and he took a step back.
“I can help you, too,” I said in a rush, standing up straighter. “I’m a witch, after all. I can perform spells, and—”
“Fine,” Venn said with a heavy sign.
Wait. What?
“Really?” I asked, not quite sure I believed him.
“Against my better judgement, yes, I’ll help you.”
I jumped in excitement, startling Venn and sending a fresh wave of pain through my thigh. I quickly composed myself. “Cool. When do we start?”
“Whenever you’re ready,” Venn said.
I ran my fingers through the knots in my hair. “I’m ready. So… where do we find this guy?”
Venn shook his head. “It’s not that simple. I think we should head back to my place first. We’ll talk to the family and come up with a game plan.”
I passed Venn and headed to my dresser to gather my purse and the few belongings I carried when I wasn’t out getting myself into supernatural trouble.
“The family?” I asked without looking back. “You spend one night at my place, and suddenly I’m meeting your parents?” I turned from my dresser and slung my purse over my shoulder. “Sorry, Venn, but we may want to slow this relationship down a little.”
Venn leaned his shoulder against the refrigerator and smirked at me from across the room. “To be fair, you’re the one who invited me back to your place and had me take your pants off.”
“Oh, God,” I groaned, shoving my face into my hands. “That’s how you’re going to introduce me to your parents, isn’t it? I’ll never live it down.”
“Relax,” Venn said with a laugh. “You don’t have to meet my parents. They’re dead.”
My entire body tensed at the words. It was official. I was the worst person on the planet. My hands slowly dropped from my face, and my mouth hung open. All I wanted to do was tell him that I knew how he felt, but my lips refused to move.
“Come on.” Venn straightened and crossed the room toward the door. He acted so casual, like my comment hadn’t bothered him in the slightest. “We should get going. Ryland’s going to be mad enough at me as it is. The sooner he’s done yelling at me, the sooner we can go after Cowen.”
I grabbed my spell book off the table then followed behind Venn into the hall, flipping off the light and locking the door behind me. I bent and peeled back the loose baseboard in the hall next to my front door and placed my key inside the crack. It was easier to leave it there than coming up with the money to enchant it to shift with me.
“Who’s Ryland, and why would he be mad at you?” I asked when I stood.
“You’ll meet him soon, but be careful,” Venn warned. “He’ll be mad at me for bringing home a stray.”
A stray? I almost asked before realization hit. Me. He means me.
This Ryland guy was going to be mad at me. Too bad he had no idea I was a fighter. And when I fought back, I fought back hard.
3
“Is there anything I should know before I meet your family?” I asked Venn once we reached his car. It was a black four-door sports car with a sleek, modern design. Though it looked at least a few years old, its paint shined as if it’d been recently cleaned. The car was parked a few blocks away next to the bar we’d both confronted Cowen outside of. The street was quiet, in stark contrast to the bustling nightlife of last night. “Anything that will help me make a good first impression?”
Not that I care.
Venn turned the air conditioner on full-blast before it had a chance to cool. Hot air burst from the vents and blew in my face. The air today was thick and far too hot for a summer morning.
Venn pressed on the gas, and the car sped forward with a quick jolt. This thing clearly had its fair share of horsepower. “You could’ve started with a better pair of pants.”
“I told you these were my best pair,” I defended. “You of all people should know how valuable clothes that shift with you are. Yours are obviously enchanted.”
Venn glanced at my pants then back to the road. “They’re that valuable?”
My brow furrowed. Was he toying with me, or did he really not know? Either he was made of a crap ton of money, or he was sleeping with a high witch. His car was nice, but it wasn’t that nice. I had to guess it was the latter.
“Do you have a cleaning spell in that book of yours?” Venn asked, gesturing to the bag on my lap. “Something that will get rid of the blood?”
I scoffed. “Sure I do, but if I could actually perform the spell, don’t you think I would’ve done something about that water stain on my ceiling?”
“I thought you said you were a mid-witch,” Venn said.
“No,” I corrected. “I said I was somewhere between a low witch and a mid-witch. There are some spells I can’t get right, okay?”
“Whoa.” Venn held up a hand in surrender. “I didn’t mean to hit a nerve.”
Had I been that harsh about it? Woops.
“It’s okay,” I told him in a softer tone.
I looked out the window as we turned down a residential street. The houses here were small and cramped together, but they looked well taken care of, which was in total contrast to the dump neighborhood I lived in. Here, the houses actually had a homey charm to them.
Venn pulled into the driveway of a white two-story home. A bright flowery wreath hung on the front door. My thoughts immediately went to Jenna. Every spring, we’d pull out craft supplies and make a wreath for Mom for Mother’s Day. It would hang all year until we made her a new one. My heart ached at the reminder of my family.
“What’s wrong?” Venn asked as he shifted into park. He sounded genuinely concerned.
My face must’ve gone pale—paler than normal. I shook my head, as if trying to rid the memory from my mind. “Nothing. It’s just a lovely home.”
Venn opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle. “Yeah, we got lucky.”
I slung my purse over my body and followed behind him up the sidewalk. Nerves twisted in my gut. Sure, I had no problem confronting a Soulless in a dark alley, but something about voluntarily meeting new people was terrifying.
Venn led me inside. I warily stepped over the threshold into a narrow hallway. The first thing I noticed was the faint smell of cinnamon. It was the same scent I’d noticed on Venn, the smell of comfort, of home. Hardwood floor spanned in front of us, reaching back into the house where it met an open doorway that led to a bathroom. A flight of stairs rose to our right. Framed drawings hung on the wall and climbed upward with the steps. Two other doorways opened from the entryway, one leading to the living room on our left and the other to a dining room on our right. I noticed six chairs set around the table, so I figured Venn’s family couldn’t be that big. I hadn’t had a chance yet to ask more about who lived here with him. If his parents weren’t around, who did he live with?
“Venn Jason Michaels!” a deep voice boomed from upstairs.
A shudder traveled through my body. We were in trouble. Well, Venn was, and I’d walked straight into it. Part of me wanted to stay just to see the fight while another part of me felt like ducking out of the house the first chance I got. I kind of had a love-hate relationship with drama.
“I’m back!” Venn shouted before lowering his voice and gesturing to the living room. “You can set your stuff down in here.”
I followed behind him and sank onto the couch, but I didn’t accept his invitation to set my bag down. Instead, I held the strap close to my chest.
My eyes swept across the room. This room alone had more decor in it than my entire apartment, though it wasn’t like my apartment was much bigger. A TV hung on the wall across from me, and a coffee table sat in the center of the room with
a vase of flowers placed on it. A brick fireplace was built into the far wall, and a painting of a landscape hung above it. On either side of that stood two bookcases filled with old books and picture frames. I noticed a skinny redheaded teen girl in several of the photos and wondered who she was. Her pale skin was in stark contrast to Venn’s dark complexion, so I guessed they weren’t related.
Just as I thought it, the same redheaded girl rushed into the room. She stopped abruptly in the doorway, and her wide eyes locked on Venn. He faced the doorway with his arms crossed, bracing himself for whatever came next.
“Ryland’s pissed,” Red warned.
“I know,” Venn replied tensely as heavy footsteps pounded down the stairs.
“Venn,” the deep voice came again.
Red stepped aside as the man the voice belonged to stomped into the room. His facial structure was similar to Red’s, but he had chestnut brown hair. He didn’t look much older than me, yet he towered at least a foot above Red. If I thought Venn was made of muscle, he was nothing compared to this guy. His biceps were as big as the trunk of the tree my dad built my childhood treehouse in. In other words, the guy was massive.
“What happened—?” Tree Trunks started to say, but his voice cut off when his eyes fell on me. His jaw tightened. “Who’s this?”
Venn raked his fingers through his hair and sighed. “This is Rae. I mentioned her last night.”
“She’s the situation?” Tree Trunks boomed in disbelief. He cursed under his breath and clenched his fists tight. He spun around and took a few paces—which basically covered the whole room with his long legs—before turning back to Venn. “You let Cowen get away for her?”
“I—”
“What did you do to her?” Tree Trunks cut Venn off and stared down at my bloody jeans.
I was stunned by the accusation.
“Nothing,” Venn defended.
Tree Trunks shot him a look of disbelief.
I stood abruptly. “This was Cowen’s doing. Venn saved me.”
Tree Trunks hesitated for a moment, but he didn’t reply. He turned back to Venn. “Why’d you bring her here?”
Venn’s gaze darted between mine and Tree Trunks’s. “She’s on our side.”
“So what?” Tree Trunks objected. “She’s a complete stranger. You can’t just bring strangers into our home. This is supposed to be a safe place!”
“She needs our help,” Venn replied, calmer than I expected him to.
“You should’ve at least asked first,” Tree Trunks insisted.
“Asked who?” Venn’s voice rose. “You? You’re not in charge here. Sondra would’ve—”
“It doesn’t matter what Sondra would’ve done,” Tree Trunks argued. “While she’s gone, I am in charge.”
This was getting to be too much. I was a sucker for violence, but only when it involved kicking vampire ass. I didn’t want to be the reason this home turned into a war zone.
“Hey,” I said to get their attention. All eyes turned to me, including Red’s in the doorway. “All I need is—”
Tree Trunks held up a hand to stop me. “Hold on. I’ll get to you in a minute.”
“Excuse me?” I snapped. This guy was a total asshole. I knew it was his house and everything, but I couldn’t just stand around and let him treat everyone like dirt.
Tree Trunks blinked at me, like he couldn’t believe I’d objected to his orders.
“You interrupt people an awful lot,” I observed. And I hadn’t even known the guy for two minutes. “As I was saying, all I need is help finding Cowen. Venn offered his expertise. As soon as we find him, I’m gone.”
Tree Trunks’s jaw tightened. “This isn’t about you. This is between me and Venn.”
“Fine,” I agreed. “Have your little chat, but you can’t stop Venn from helping me.”
“Believe me,” Venn said with amusement on the corner of his lips. “She’d castrate you if you tried.”
I smiled proudly, glad he understood me. I adjusted the strap on my purse and stepped out into the hall while Venn and Tree Trunks continued yelling at each other. I took a seat on the bottom stair, intent on waiting out their fight where I could still eavesdrop. Though at their volume, I could probably easily hear them halfway across the street.
“Hey,” Red said as she sat next to me. “I’m sorry about Ryland. He’s never like this. He’s actually really sweet, and I say that as a sister who can’t stand him half the time.”
He could’ve fooled me.
“He’s only mad because he’s been up all night worrying about Venn,” Red explained, keeping her eyes fixed on a hangnail she was fidgeting with. “Venn called to let us know he was okay, but Ryland couldn’t help but worry, you know?”
My shoulders relaxed. It sounded like the time I was fifteen and snuck out of the house to attend a party. Jenna wouldn’t take me because I was only a freshman, but I went anyway. We both got an earful from Dad the next morning.
“I’m Fiona, by the way,” Red introduced.
I cleared my throat. “Rach—Rae. I’m Rae.”
“Cool, so why—?”
“Back off, Ryland!” Venn’s voice boomed from the other room, cutting Fiona off.
She glanced to the living room, looking positively embarrassed by the guys she lived with.
“You don’t have to worry,” Venn continued. “I’ll take care of her.”
Take care of me? Who says I need taking care of?
“That’s not the problem,” Ryland responded. “How do we know we can trust her?”
I raised my eyebrows at Fiona. “They’re just going to keep talking about me like I can’t hear them?”
Fiona crinkled her nose and nodded. “Probably.”
“We can trust her,” Venn emphasized. “Because…”
I couldn’t see Ryland from the hall, but I pictured him crossing his arms when he spoke.
“Because…?” Ryland prompted.
“Because…”
Every muscle in my body tensed. Oh, God. He’s going to out me as the Ravenite. I know he said he wouldn’t turn me in, but what if one of his friends does?
Venn let out a frustrated growl. “I just trust her, okay? Isn’t that enough?”
I relaxed. He was keeping my secret.
Venn lowered his voice, but I could still make out his words clear as day. “There’s just... something in her eyes.”
Ryland paused for a beat. “That doesn’t give you the right to act without consulting us first.”
Fiona turned to me, ignoring the on-going argument. “So, how’d you meet Venn?”
I still didn’t know this girl—or Venn for that matter. I didn’t know any of them, so I was hesitant on how much to say. I avoided her gaze, looking anywhere but her eyes—at the front door, at my boots, up the stairs at the sketches on the wall. Even though her question was innocent enough, I purposely didn’t answer.
“Those are nice,” I said flatly, gesturing to the closest drawing. Venn’s eyes stared back at me from the paper. Whoever had drawn him had managed to capture the soft beauty in his eyes perfectly.
“Yeah,” Fiona agreed. “Sondra drew them all.”
I twisted further to view the portraits. I noticed a drawing of Fiona beside Venn’s, and Ryland next to hers.
“Who’s Sondra?” I asked.
“She’s mine and Ryland’s cousin,” Fiona answered.
“So, you’re all related?” I asked. “Even Venn?”
Fiona shook her head. “Not by blood. We sort of adopted Venn and Teagan.”
“Teagan?” I asked.
“She’s probably in her room listening to music to drown out the guys’ argument.” Fiona gave a light giggle, as if it was a common occurrence.
“You all live here together?” I asked.
It felt like there should be an adult in the house, until I realized I was an adult. When did that happen?
Another voice in my head quickly responded. The day Mom and Dad died.
“Yep,” Fiona answered.
I eyed her curiously. She definitely looked younger than me. “How old are all of you?”
“Venn’s nineteen, and Ryland and Teagan are twenty. I’m seventeen.”
I was eighteen and couldn’t afford a place a quarter this nice. How did they do it?
“Sondra owns the house,” Fiona explained, like she could read my mind. “She’s a lot older than the rest of us. She inherited the house from her parents and then took me and Ryland in when ours died.”
“Oh,” I said softly. It sounded like Sondra was running some sort of orphanage. I’d fit in perfectly.
Great. Because that was just the kind of place you wanted to fit in at.
An uncomfortable silence hung between Fiona and me, but Venn’s and Ryland’s voices in the other room somehow made it less awkward.
“So, what do you need to find Cowen for?” Fiona asked. “You don’t seem like the kind of girl to get involved with people like him.”
I laughed a deep, full-belly laugh l couldn’t control. “You’d be surprised.”
If my job was any indication, I was exactly the kind of girl to get involved with people like Cowen. Bloodstone wasn’t exactly legal, and neither were my… hobbies.
Eight years ago, Valkas showed up and started changing a bunch of people into vampires, presumably recruiting them for his Soulless army—until the Soulless fell off the radar two years ago, not long after they kidnapped my sister as a blood slave. Anyway, when I was a kid, the new vampires went on killing sprees all across the US. No one knew for sure if it was the product of bloodlust or if it was under Valkas’s orders. Maybe he just wanted to spark fear in the masses. Which, by the way, totally worked.
At the same time, ordinary people began to discover they had magic. Shifters started shifting, and witches started casting spells. It began with adults, but kids my age followed a few years later as we grew older. Magic usually appeared at first during times of high emotions, but the more we used it, the more we could control it. Most people never changed, but you never knew if you’d end up supernatural or not. It was clear from the beginning that shifter magic ran in families, but witch magic was random. There wasn’t a genetic component that anyone knew of.