Reign of Night (The Thorne Hill Series Book 7)

by Emily Goodwin

  “Fine,” I relent. “But you’re taking them, and Eliza can hold onto them. If anything happens, have her give them to Pandora. She can enhance the potion’s potency, and also, she won’t burn if vervain gets on her.”

  “I still can’t believe you’re making me go,” Eliza huffs. “Talk about a waste of a perfectly good two to three hours of my afterlife.”

  “Trust me, if I could go instead, I would,” I tell her. “And if you want to go through and start a baby registry for me, you can.”

  “I suppose I could do that,” she says, trying to keep the excitement off her face. “Now that we know for sure you’re having a girl, I have the go-ahead to get a lot of pink and purple, right?”

  “I figured you would even if we were having a boy,” I admit. “And colors aren’t gendered. I’m going to dress Elena how I want, and then when she’s old enough, I’ll let her dress how she wants.”

  “Let’s hope she takes fashion advice from her Auntie Eliza and not her mother, who always looks like she’s going to a funeral.”

  “Hey, black is sexy,” I counter, and Eliza just rolls her eyes.

  Ruby laughs. “You know babies are born pretty much colorblind, right?”

  “They are?” I wrinkle my nose.

  “Yes,” Lucas says. “They can see mostly black and red until their vision develops. The pastel patterns on most baby clothes and bedding are solely for you to enjoy.” He takes the potion from my hand and sets it back on the counter. “Which is exactly what you’re going to do.” His large hands settle on my waist, and he pulls me to him. I lean back, purposely making my stomach hit his torso, and wrap my hands around his neck. “We can go in person to a store as well, if you’d like.”

  “I would.”

  “So I don’t get to pick stuff out?” Eliza quips. “What the hell am I supposed to do, then?”

  “Make my registry list,” I tell her, planning to go in and change things later, removing what I don’t want and adding what I do. “You’ll probably think of more things than I would anyway.”

  “Oh, I would.”

  Lucas, who knows I’m offering this task to her just to keep her busy and make her happy, kisses me, pulling me close and tongue pushing past my lips.

  “Ugh, get a room.” Eliza makes a gagging noise.

  “Nah, they don’t have time for that,” Ruby jokes, and I slide my hands down Lucas’s chest, forcing us apart. My heart starts to hammer again, getting nervous all over again for Lucas to go to this meeting.

  “What if Scott is there?” I ask.

  “I’ll be able to smell him,” Lucas promises.

  “Can you let Freya and Pandora shadow ahead? I’ll cast a cloaking spell on them so no one will be able to see them except you and Eliza.”

  “Okay,” Lucas says with practiced patience. He knows I’m on the verge of freaking out. Fuck, I wish I could have some wine. “I love you, Callie. I’ll text you when I get there, and I’ll call when we’re leaving.”

  “Thank you.”

  I walk with him and Eliza to the back door. Freya and Pandora wait patiently as I cast the cloaking spell over them, and then Lucas gives me another long kiss goodbye. He’s driving his Range Rover today, and I watch until I can’t see them anymore.

  “They’re gonna be fine,” Ruby assures me and slides a book over to my spot at the island. I made loaded nachos and more virgin margaritas. Ruby didn’t want any tequila in hers, which made it easy to just throw in the mix with some ice and pour them right into our glasses.

  “Which book has the most consolidated info on Ley lines?” I ask, grabbing napkins and my plate. I join her at the island again. “I need to copy some of the info down into my Book of Shadows.”

  “This is the one we use when we first introduce Ley lines to class.” She taps the cover of an old, worn book with ugly green binding. “It’s a good introduction, though you don’t need it. You already know what the lines are.” She dips a chip in chili cheese and takes a bite, wiping her hands carefully with a napkin before picking up another. “This is the one I thought we should look at now. It highlights the hot spots, which if we think demons might perform another ritual at another hot spot, we should start a list.”

  “Good idea. And speaking of lists, I should finish my shit list.”

  Ruby raises an eyebrow. “You mean a list of people you don’t like?”

  “Not this time. I guess I should call it my oh-shit list. So much shit is going on, it’s, um, more than a little overwhelming.” I fish my notebook out from under a large book about Ley lines that’s written entirely in Latin. “I didn’t get very far.”

  Ruby looks down at my list. “I’d combine this one.” She taps the page. “And put demons as the main issue with bullet points underneath to everything they want to do with you.”

  “Good idea.”

  She opens up her laptop, pulling up a map. “I scanned the page from one of the books and plugged it into a program, making the map interactive. The red lines are the Ley lines, the red dots are hot spots, and the transparent blue dots are highly populated areas, not that it means anything yet. The bodies in Sedona were found here.” She zooms in. “The bodies were found just outside of the Coconino National Forest. It gets a lot of hikers, but I can’t say it’s populated. Demons typically want discretion.”

  “Yeah, they do.”

  “Has anything else been released about the victims?”

  “Not much other than names and ages. Ricardo Martinez was a fifty-something-year-old teacher at a local middle school. Betsy Jones was a twenty-two-year-old cocktail waitress, very pretty and very popular on social media. And the last victim’s name was withheld for privacy since the family hadn’t all been notified or something yet, but I do know it was another female in her thirties. So, pretty random so far. I looked up Ricardo and Betsy online. There wasn’t much about Ricardo, only his profile on the school website. He’d only been at the school for three years and moved from Colorado. Betsy shares every aspect of her life on Instagram. I can tell you what she had for breakfast the morning she died.”

  “I’m guessing there’s no obvious connection.”

  “No, and depending on what ritual was performed, it might not have mattered. If whoever killed them needed blood, any blood will do.”

  “I think it would be a good idea to have the High Priestess reach out to the covens in the area and make sure none of the victims were witches.”

  “Good idea, I hadn’t even thought of that.”

  “Thanks. She filled me in on the demon you came across last week, and if they really are planning something big, we need to be ready.”

  I shovel another loaded chip into my mouth, wanting to tell Ruby that I more than appreciate her help but don’t want to put her in danger, though I have a feeling she’ll say the same thing Easton said. If the world is in danger, it’s everyone’s problem.

  My phone dings with a text. It’s too soon for it to be Lucas, and it’s not. It’s Abby.

  Abby: Do you know why Scott is ranting about Lucas getting arrested yesterday evening?

  Me: Because he did get arrested.

  Abby: ??

  Abby: I saw you that night.

  Abby: I’m so confused. He’s saying you blew up his office now.

  Me: I did.

  Abby: Hang on. I’m calling you.

  “I need to talk to my sister,” I tell Ruby and get up, grabbing one last chip, eating it as I walk into the front sitting room. “Hey, Abby,” I say, answering the phone after only one ring.

  “What is going on?” she whispers. “Scott keeps saying Lucas is in jail.”

  “That’s because he thinks he is.”

  “You altered his memory?”

  “The opposite, actually,” I tell her. “He and Ella were the only memories that didn’t get altered.”

  I hear a door close, and something rustles through the phone. “Okay, I’m in my closet,” she says, speaking a little louder. “What happened?”


  “I’m guessing you didn’t see the news where William and Scott are trying to get some new law passed that will punish anyone who’s in a relationship with or works for a vampire, did you?”

  “What?”

  “I take that as a no. They want to take away healthcare and insurance from anyone with any sort of relationship, whether it be personal or professional, with a vampire. My employees at the bookstore would be affected by this because I’m married to Lucas. If this law goes into effect, their insurance companies can legally drop them or charge them an insane amount.”

  “That’s terrible!”

  “I know. And the only reason they’re doing it is to lash out at me, because Nancy and William had dinner at the same restaurant Lucas and I did, and that creepy old white guy, Gregory Smith, I think is his name, and his wife were there, and they knew who I was and tried to roll with the Callie was off helping poor kids in Africa story. I didn’t play and said I had no idea who they were.”

  “So they got embarrassed and are punishing millions of people to punish you. I’m so sorry, Callie.”

  “Don’t be. You didn’t do anything, and I have doubts these laws will go into effect, right? Like you said, millions will be hurt from it. I’m trying to be hopeful that there are more decent people in the country or the…the place where they vote for things.”

  “Yeah, me too. But, uh, how does this have anything to do with Scott thinking Lucas got arrested?”

  “Because he really did,” I say. “We went to talk to Scott, to tell him if he has an issue with me then take it up with me alone. He must have hit a silent alarm or something, and the cops showed up, blah, blah, blah, and Lucas didn’t resist arrest and instead went peacefully.”

  “Was this after I saw you?”

  “No, before.”

  “But…when…how?” she stammers.

  I bite my lip and look out the window at the front yard. Frost covers the lawn, glimmering in the light cast down by the lamp posts along the cobblestone path. I know what her reaction will be if I told her Lucifer flew in and saved the day, and I know I’m going to find it unfair to him. He’s helped me many times now, not including how he saved Abby’s life.

  “I had some family help me.”

  “Oh, you mean your dad’s side.”

  “Yes,” I say, and it’s not a lie. “Everyone’s memory got altered except Scott. There’s no record of Lucas getting arrested. No body cam footage to go over. It’s like it never happened.”

  “Wow. Well, that was a much more complicated response than I was expecting.”

  “And that is what you should expect from me,” I say with a snort of laughter.

  “You’re right. Everything is good, other than that?”

  “Yeah, it is. And we’ve watched the ultrasound video at least a dozen times today. Thank you so much, Abby.”

  “Of course, Cal. I’m glad I was able to get you in. I better go back downstairs or everyone will wonder what’s taking me so long. I said I had to go to the bathroom.”

  “They’ll just assume you’re pooping.”

  “Exactly. I better go. Love ya.”

  “Love ya, too.” I end the call and take one last look at the yard, feeling compelled to stay by the window for some reason. My intuition has never failed me, and I see him as soon as I feel him. He moves impossibly fast, stopping just a foot before the line of protection that’s drawn around the house. It’s dark, and he’s just silhouette in the night, but I know what he is.

  A vampire.

  Chapter 25

  Fuck.

  “Ruby,” I call, hurrying through the house.

  “Yeah?” she calls back.

  “There’s a vampire in my yard.”

  “You don’t know who he is?”

  “No,” I say, jogging into the kitchen. “I fucking knew getting Lucas out of the house was a trap.”

  She closes the book and stands, eyes wide. “You think that’s why the VC held a meeting?”

  “Maybe? I don’t know. I suppose they’d have no way of knowing if I’d go with or leave the house or something.” I go through the kitchen and grab my boots and coat from the mudroom.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to see what that asshole wants.”

  “No, you’re not,” Ruby says, shaking her head, sending her braids flying behind her back. The beads softly clank together as she looks at me sternly. “You are not going out there to confront that vampire. Not alone at least.”

  “I knew you couldn’t resist.” I smile. “And I was going to stand on the porch.”

  “The doorway. Play it safe. They can’t hold us spellbound, but who knows what else they have planned? If you really think this could be some sort of elaborate set-up, we need to be careful.”

  “Oh, I know.” I pat my leg and make a kissing sound, calling both Binx and Scarlet. “Stay out of sight and only come when I call you, okay, girl? Keeping you a secret helps keep me a secret.”

  By the way Ruby is looking at me, I know I’m speaking Enochian, even though the words come out in English in my head. Talk about weird, right? Scarlet moves to the side of the grand staircase, out of sight from anyone at the door but ready to spring into action if need be. I keep her collar on, keeping her in dog form. Even Lucas can’t really pinpoint what she is when her collar is on, and I’d rather not alert anyone that I have a hellhound unless I need her to rip something to shreds.

  But I have Binx, and he’s just as fierce.

  “Ready?” Ruby mouths when we get to the door. I give her a nod and use magic to open the double doors. The vampire is standing directly in front of us, unable to cross my warding.

  “Impressive,” he says, holding up his hand. “This is much stronger than I expected.”

  “I never disappoint.” I move to the threshold of the door, and Binx sits at my feet, growling. “Who are you, and what do you want?”

  “I’m sorry for the intrusion,” the vampire says. “My name is Eamon, and I’d like to talk to you, Mrs. King.”

  “About what?” I ask, taking in a steadying breath. I’m not going to let this undead asshole know he’s unnerving me. Binx jumps from the house to the porch, letting me know he can’t sense anything other than the vampire at the end of my cobblestone path. Regretting that I didn’t grab my coat, I step onto the porch and move to the top step. The vampire’s face is still cast in shadow, but now I can see that he’s tall, with dark blond hair that’s swept back from his face. I can sense that he’s old all the way from up here. Older than Lucas? I’m not sure. Physically, he looks like he’d be in his late thirties or early forties and is rather good-looking, which I take it he knows.

  “Your husband.”

  “And?” I cross my arms over my chest. Ruby moves behind me, hands out to her sides, ready to cast a spell if need be.

  “Well, this is interesting,” Eamon coos, eyes lighting up as he looks from me to Ruby and back again. “Two witches.” He tips his head up and inhales. “And someone else?” Lucas told me vampires can smell that a woman is pregnant. Is that what Eamon is picking up on? Or does my angelic side give off a different scent to vampires?

  “What do you want?” I repeat. “I’m getting bored.” I hold up my hand, rubbing my thumb over my fingers and summoning a string of white light.

  Eamon inhales again, breathing in the smell of the magic. “You’re a powerful witch at that. What really interests me is how you and the infamous Lucas King met.” He rests his chin on his fist. “Now that has to be a love story for the ages! Especially when you throw in that he didn’t disclose his new bride was a witch on the legal papers.”

  “So what?” I say, aware my heart is speeding up. “You came here to tell me you’re going to turn Lucas in for marrying a witch?”

  “Oh, goodness no. That law went out of fashion centuries ago. We live in a different time, Mrs. King. Vampires aren’t your enemy, and witches aren’t ours. We share a common enemy, and I think it’s time we bury the h
atchet—and not in each other’s backs.” He laughs at his own joke.

  “What are you talking about?”

  He steps forward, getting dangerously close to my warding. The magic sizzles against his skin, and he purposely extends his hand, burning the tip of his finger against the invisible wall of protection. “I’m talking about couples like you. A powerful witch. And a vampire as old and strong as Mr. King. Together.”

  “I’m not following.” Binx sits between my feet, tail swishing. He’s dropped his shield so his eyes glow red in the night, and his power can be felt by this vampire, even though he’s yards away.

  “Vampires came out, and it’s time the witches do, too. Step out of the shadows,” he says, and my blood run colds. Scott is working with him. “Stop letting humans push you around. We are better than they are. They’ve ruled for too long, but it’s time we take back the night.”

  Chapter 26

  “Take it back from who?” Ruby moves forward, taking a spot by my side.

  “You know.” Eamon smiles, and light from the lamp posts glints off his fangs.

  “Humans,” I say.

  Eamon winks and points a finger at me. “Bingo.”

  “It was you,” I start, going down the first step. “You were the pain in the ass making things difficult with Lucas’s businesses, weren’t you?”

  “A vampire Mr. King’s age leads a great example. If he retaliated, if he revoked the laws and limits put in place on us, others would, too. And you…humans haven’t been kind to you. Not even those who were supposed to be family,” he tells me and then looks at Ruby. “Humans haven’t been nice to either of your kind throughout history. You witches claim to be human, but we both know you’re not. You’re better. You’ve evolved. Just like vampires. Aren’t you tired of hiding? Of living by their rules?” He gets a crazed look in his eye. “I waited centuries for the vampires to make our presence known, but it didn’t go as it should. We should have come out as rulers. We should have let the humans know we are supreme.”