“Us witches have already kicked your ass once,” Ruby starts. “You know we can do it again.”
“Oh, I do.” Eamon steps back, puts his hand on his chest, and gives a bow. “And I come, humbly, to present my case. And that is all I came to do. Think about it, Mrs. King, and know if we were to unite, we could revoke silly old rules that say witches and vampires shouldn’t be together. Think about that as your dear husband is being questioned by the Vampire Council at this very moment. Who are they to stop true love?” He flashes a grin and then turns, moving with vampire speed and disappearing from sight.
Shivering from the cold night air, I stand there for a second, staring into the dark yard. I look at Ruby out of the corner of my eye, and her expression mirrors exactly what I’m thinking. What the fuck?
“It’s freezing out here,” I say, and we turn, going into the house. Binx shadows off the porch, doing a quick lap around the house before coming in with us. I close the door and seal it with magic. Ruby and I stand in the foyer, both stunned.
“You got another thing to add to your oh-shit list,” Ruby says seriously, and laughter bubbles inside of me.
“I know it’s not funny,” I say, hand going to my stomach. “It’s just…just…fuck.”
“Yeah.” She nods quickly. “We need to alert the coven so they can get in touch with the Grand Coven.”
“And tell them what? A vampire came to me to try and use my illegal marriage to get me to join his crazy cause?”
“You’re right. Our whole coven could get in trouble for that.”
“It is stupid,” I sigh. “And the rule is old.”
“You’re not thinking of siding with him, are you?”
“No,” I say quickly. Scarlet comes over, whining for attention. She’s disappointed she didn’t get to rip anyone up and drag their soul to the deepest pits of Hell. “Not all people are bad. Not all hunters are bad.” My head is spinning, and I can’t make sense of anything right now. “I need to call Lucas. I don’t think they’re there yet.”
Ruby nods, and we rush into the kitchen. I call Lucas, hands shaking, and he answers on the second ring, thank the fucking stars.
“Come home,” I say.
“What happened?” he asks back, and I probably should have opened the conversation a little differently. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but I was right, Lucas. This whole thing was a set-up.”
“How do you know?”
“A vampire was here, and he basically said he wants witches and vampires to unite because he’s tired of following rules. He’s the one who’s been messing with your business, and he knows what the Martins did to me.”
“That’s why he was working with Scott. He knew it was your weakness and wanted to make you angry enough to side with him.”
“Yeah, and he brought up the rules against us being married. He said you’d be questioned about it today. That’s why you need to come home. Turn around and come home.”
“This vampire,” Lucas starts. “Did he tell you his name?”
“Eamon. He didn’t give a last name.”
“Eamon,” Lucas echoes. “Did he have blond hair?”
“Yes.”
“I believe I know who he is, and he is a part of the VC. He’s old, Callie. Older than me.”
Well, fuck. “By a lot?”
“He’s claimed to be nearly two thousand years old.”
“You’re not far behind.”
“Three hundred and some years makes a bit of a difference. I’m turning around now. Stay in the house until I get back.”
“I will. It’s too cold to go outside anyway.”
“Right. I’ll be home as fast as I can. I love you.”
“Love you, too.” The call ends, and I set my phone down. “I wish I could have a real margarita,” I sigh.
“It’s that bad?” Ruby asks.
I meet her eyes. “Maybe you should stay until sunrise.”
It’s been a few weeks since Eamon showed up at the house, telling me he wants the witches and the vampires to unite, and in those two weeks, Lucas has had no issues at the bar. The vendors who previously had reasons to suddenly stop working with Lucas are back to business as usual. And while the last few weeks have left me on pins and needles, waiting for something to happen, I can’t say they haven’t been productive.
I’ve inventoried my magical supplies at least twice, put a dozen more entries into my Book of Shadows, picked a paint color for Elena’s nursery, finalized the landscaping design that will go around the pool—and I’m still not convinced we’re not going to find a zombie stuck under the ground, too tangled in roots to have clawed its way out when I resurrected it nearly a year ago.
Busy or not, I feel like I’ve been sleeping with one eye open, waiting for Eamon to come back and take a harder swing at Lucas’s business or will supply the Martin with more ammo, though now that we know it was him the whole time, he’s not going to get the fuck the humans reactions from us like he’d been trying to get.
“That is an interesting combination,” Evander tells me.
“I know.” I dip a piece of pita bread into a bowl of balsamic vinegar. “But it’s so good.” Tabatha, Evander, Kristy, and I are all out to eat at a restaurant in Newport. Now that I’m five and half months along, Tabatha insisted she take me shopping for maternity clothes. To a stranger, I might look like I ate too much or have a belly from drinking too much alcohol, but to my friends, I’m very obviously showing. I can’t fit into my jeans anymore, and the black leggings I prefer anyway have been a lifesaver.
The high-waisted leggings I got today are more comfortable than I want to admit, and I might be a little excited to wear some of the dresses I got today as well. It’s so damn weird to have a belly like this. I’ve been fit and athletic my whole life, thanks to being part angel. And I’ll be the first to admit it was difficult for me to accept that my body wasn’t my own anymore. Everything I’d seen before painted pregnancy is such a perfect light, making it seem like all moms love every single aspect of pregnancy, and if you didn’t, there was something wrong with you.
I have more going on than the average mother, I know, and the fact that if I get hurt, Elena can get hurt adds to my anxiety. I don’t do well with sitting around waiting for the other shoe to fall, which is partly why Tabatha offered to take me shopping today, and it’s been really freaking nice to get out of the house and think about something other than demons and vampires wanting to wage war on humans, though I’m ready to get back to checking things off my list, because the longer it takes to confront my problems, the worse they usually are.
“I take you it got your invitations to the baby shower next month.” I dip another piece of pita bread in the vinegar, letting it soak it up for a second.
“Yes, and I may have gone slightly overboard buying sweet little Elena things.” Tabatha beams. “I thought it might take a few more years before I got a grandchild to spoil.”
“I didn’t think I’d be the first one in our circle to have a baby,” I admit and look at Kristy. “I thought it would be you years before me. And then I’d get to the point where I’m too old to have kids, so I’d just have to settle for cats, lots of cats.”
“I think that’s my future,” Kristy grumbles, and I laugh.
“No way. You’re a catch!”
“She’s right,” Evander says, and when they look at each other, my own heart skips a beat. “You just have to find the right person.”
Like you, Evander, like you. Now kiss her!
“I’ve said it before, I need to find a hot, rich vampire,” Kristy laughs. “It worked for Callie.”
Dammit, thanks, guys, for sinking the shipping I had going on, though I’m still not giving up hope for those two. “You know what they say. Once you go vamp, you can’t go back. But for real,” I press and pick up my water, more thirsty than usual from eating so much vinegar, which I know sounds disgusting, yet the weird combination is so good right now. “I think it
would be really disappointing to go back to a human man after being with Lucas. I mean, put the fact that I love him more than anything aside and he’s made me a very selfish lover.”
“Oh goodness,” Tabatha scoffs, trying to keep the amusement off her face. “You’re pregnant, so I’m well aware what goes on behind closed doors, but I don’t need to be part of this conversation.”
“At least we can have this conversation now,” Kristy says. “It’s okay for you to know about Callie’s relationship with a vampire.”
It really wasn’t that long ago when the less Tabatha knew about us, the better. She was at risk herself by not reporting us, and it was only until most of the coven took a stand and demanded I be let back in that we’ve been able to acknowledge my relationship due to the whole witches and vampires shouldn’t be together thing.
“It’s really time for that rule to go away,” I say and pick up the last piece of pita bread from my appetizer plate. “If that extremist vampire was right about anything, it’s that the rule forbidding witches to be with vampires and vampires to be with witches needs to be rejected.”
“It is something I’m bringing up with the Grand Coven,” Tabatha tells me. “Oh, and speaking of them, I’ve informed the Grand Coven about the possible attacks on the Ley lines, and a coven from Florida has reported strange influxes of power over the last few days. It could be from the changing moon phase, and the lines can be slightly unpredictable during a new moon.”
My phone, which is on the table next to my plate—terrible habit, I know—vibrates with a text. I flip my phone over and see Melinda’s name on my screen. I unlock my phone, not really paying attention to what Tabatha’s saying at the moment.
Melinda: Hey, Callie! The news hasn’t hit the general public yet, so you probably haven’t seen. We have a friend in the Tampa area who told me three bodies were found, strung up with their throats slit in Philippe Park (in the Tampa area). Victims all seem random too, with one being a tourist from Asia coming for a visit.
I put my phone down and look at Tabatha. “This coven that felt energy fluxes…is it by any chance in the Tampa area?”
“Yes,” she says. “It is. Why do you ask?”
“Because three more bodies were found there this morning.”
Chapter 27
“How do you know?” Tabatha asks, looking alarmed.
“Melinda just texted me. This is all she said. ‘Hey, Callie! The news hasn’t hit the general public yet, so you probably haven’t seen. We have a friend in the Tampa area who told me three bodies were found, strung up with their throats slit in Philippe Park (in the Tampa area). Victims all seem random too, with one being a tourist from Asia coming for a visit.’ I’ll text her back now.”
Me: Well, shit. Did you get any more info?
Melinda: Yeah, want me to call?
Me: That would be perfect.
A few seconds later, my phone rings. “Hey, Melinda,” I answer.
“Hey, Callie. Someday I’ll call you with good news.”
“I wouldn’t even know what to do with it,” I joke.
“Right? That awkward small talk would be, well, awkward when demons aren’t mentioned.”
“Can I put you on speaker? I’m with Kristy, Evander, and Tabatha.”
“Oh, uh, sure,” she says, sounding a little nervous. I pull the phone away from my ear, put the call on speaker, and lower the volume just a bit so people around us can’t hear. “Okay, tell us what ya know.”
“I don’t know a whole lot,” Melinda starts. “A group of kids found the bodies while at the park for a field trip.”
“Ugh,” Kristy says with a shudder. “Poor kids.”
“Right? Talk about childhood trauma. Easton and I had talked to another—another, uh, friend,” she says, aware she’s talking about hunters to a group of witches. “And they knew we were interested in the case in Arizona. We were actually going to drive there and see what we get dig up when I got the call just now about the bodies in Florida.”
“Do the police think it’s connected?”
“Yeah, because the FBI is getting involved.”
“There’s no chance it’s a copycat?” Evander asks.
“No, because there were sigils carved into the bodies, and that detail wasn’t released. I’m working on getting crime scene photos of both set of murders. My friend that’s in Florida is at the scene now.”
“The bodies were discovered a few hours ago?” Tabatha asks. It’s about seven p.m., much too late for a field trip have just concluded, especially since Florida is an hour ahead of us.
“Yes, around two in the afternoon, and time of death was marked around dawn.”
“So that rules out any sort of creature that cannot be in the sunlight,” Evander notes.
“Oh, my friend just texted me and—holy crap,” Melinda says, and we all lean in, waiting for her to go on. “I’m texting you the photo. It’s a demon sigil with some sort of writing around it. No one was able to identify it, and they sent photos to two professors who specialize in ancient languages already and have come up empty handed.”
A second later, her text comes through, and I open it up and zoom in on the sigil. Its swirly markings are familiar looking, with four circles on both the top and bottom of the markings.
“Paimon,” I say, reading the word carved around the sigil. “That’s what it says. I’m guessing it’s in Enochian to you guys?”
“Yes,” Tabatha says, looking from the sigil to me and back again, looking slightly panicked. “Was the same sigil carved on each body?”
“On the three victims here, yes. From what my friend can gather, a different one was carved on the bodies in Arizona, but it was the same on all three victims out there. Do you know what the sigil means?”
“Yes,” Tabatha says again. “Paimon is a demon, powerful just like Bael and the demon who came looking for Callie in the spring. But unlike Bael, he has never been captured and locked away in a demonic prison.”
“So something is trying to summon him?” Evander asks.
“My fear,” Tabatha starts, “isn’t that something is trying. My fear is they already have.”
“Did you have a nice time with your friends?” Lucas asks me when I come home about an hour later. He’s in the living room, wearing nothing but dark gray sweatpants, reading one of my new romance novels that I just got a few days ago and haven’t had the chance to read yet, and he’s cracking the spine. I’m going to have to have a serious sit-down talk with Lucas about the way he handles books. He likes to read and can read in many languages, but his get rid of it and buy a new one later attitude drives me crazy when it comes to my precious books.
There’s a fire going, acting as the only light source for this room, though Lucas doesn’t need any light in order to read. I set the bags of clothes down on the coffee table.
“I did, and I got some dresses that will look very cute on me with this thing.” I gently pat my stomach. “I feel huge already.”
“It’s all baby.” Lucas moves me between his legs and rests his hands on my stomach. “And it’s so fucking sexy.”
I rake my fingers through his hair, which I’ve still forbid him from cutting just yet.
“You should try on what you bought for me.”
“They’re maternity clothes, Lucas, not lingerie.”
“It will still be hot as hell if I get to watch you undress.”
“Well,” I say and step back. “In that case.” I wiggle my eyebrows and grab the hem of my shirt, pulling it over my head. “You like this?” I ask, half joking, as I rub my hands over my belly. I’m not in the third trimester yet, and I already can’t imagine getting any bigger.
“You know I fucking do,” he growls, reaching out and pulling me back to him. I kneel over his lap, resting my hands on his shoulders.
“We’re not going to be able to fit like this for much longer.”
“Then we better make the most of it.” Lucas buries his face in my breasts as he rea
ches around to unhook my bra. I pull the straps down and toss it on the floor. Lucas sweeps his hand up my back, going around my side, thumb circling my nipple, which is overly sensitive. He keeps his touch light, and desire tingles through me. I rake my fingers through his hair once more and then push his face down against my chest.
He caresses my skin, kissing his way to one of my nipples and flicking his tongue over it.
“Oh, fuck,” I moan, rocking my hips against him, feeling his erection grow. He takes my breast in his mouth, swirling his tongue around my nipple now, and holy fuck, I could come just from this. Lucas is always good with his hands and mouth, but right now, the nipple-play is sending pulses of pleasure right to my very core. I grind harder against him, widening my legs as I sink down deeper onto his lap, annoyed I can’t move forward anymore because of my baby bump.
Lucas, sensing my frustration, stands, holding me with one arm, and moves us closer to the fire, laying me down on the soft rug. He strips me of my leggings and underwear in one swift movement, and then urges me back up, flipping me over so I’m all fours. Then he lays down next to the fireplace and directs me overtop of him, but instead of centering my core right above his cock, he pushes me up so I’m riding his face.
Hands clasping on my waist, he gets right to work, licking and sucking at my most sensitive parts. My eyes fall shut and my lips part. I’m already so worked up, it’s not going to take much for me to come. I pitch forward, grabbing onto the coffee table to hold myself up.
“I’m so close,” I mutter, feeling the orgasm build inside me. I suck in a breath, muscles tightening in my thighs. Lucas slides one hand to my butt, fingers sweeping between my cheeks. One of his fingers presses lightly against my asshole right as I come, and the sensation is different than anything I’ve felt before.
My center of gravity is off from carrying extra weight up front, and my knees are threatening to buckle from the intensity of the orgasm. I grip the edge of the coffee table harder, body still humming, and Lucas turns his head and sinks his fangs into my thigh. He lets the blood drip down before lapping it up, moving his tongue back to my core, lashing it against my clit before going back for more blood. He sucks hard, pulling out a mouthful. It hurts, and the pain pairs perfectly with the aftershocks of the climax.
Reign of Night (The Thorne Hill Series Book 7) Page 22