Voodoo Priest (Blaire Thorne Book 2)

by N Gray

  “It wasn’t her fault, Phillip,” Jeremiah said. “I almost killed someone tonight, and you know I am the last person to do anything remotely violent. I attacked Ralph. That has never happened to me before. Ever. I felt possessed.” He shuddered. “If Blaire hadn’t shot Grant, he would have torn his way through her, and then what would have happened? Cops would be here, and who would we blame? They would have the right to kill us all on the spot, because human law protects humans first.”

  Jeremiah seemed very practical and wise for his age. I wanted to jump up and give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek for standing up for me. I felt an edge of a smile play across my lips, but I stopped it there. I didn’t want to look pleased about what I had done. He glanced at me and winked. I stiffened, then scanned the room, but no one else had seen it; they were busy talking amongst themselves.

  “Okay, I think that’s it; we have all the information we need. Or does anyone have anything to add?” I asked. Taking their silence as proof that there was nothing more to be learned here, I pocketed my notebook.

  “We have lost enough tonight,” Anne said as she rose from her chair. “There will be no further punishment. And you three, shift so you can heal.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Phillip said, and he started to undress.

  When were-animals shifted, they tended to shred their clothing because their bodies became so large. Most wore the bare minimum or old clothing and were usually happy to shred it during their transformation.

  Lauren removed her clothes but kept her underwear on. Nobody seemed to mind, but after all, there was nothing sexual about the process. It wasn’t something to lust after: it was part of who they were. She shifted first. Her turning furry was smooth and graceful; her muscles moved like flowing water beneath her skin until she was covered in orange-brown fur with black spots, or rosettes. I would have thought that, with her jet-black hair and blue eyes, she would be a black leopard, but she wasn’t. Her eyes were grass-green in leopard form. A growl escaped from her mouth and she opened wide to reveal her sharp teeth. Lauren stretched her large body, dug her claws into the carpet, and went to Greg to rub her face on his body, marking him with her scent. He scratched her head and led her away down a corridor.

  Phillip was next, and I fought not to look, but I wanted to see his change. His shift wasn’t as graceful as Lauren’s, but he shifted just as quickly and was much larger than her: he was bigger than a pony. He made a husky coughing sound, and a woman led him down the same corridor that Greg had taken Lauren through.

  “Where are they taking them?” I asked, my head near Sebastian’s ear.

  “Shifting can take a lot out of us, so when we change, we are usually hungry. It’s only new leopards that have to be secured for the first few moons. Us older ones can control our animal and don’t always have to feed soon after, but if we can eat, we will. There is a feeding den downstairs where we keep live animals.”

  “Ah, I see.”

  Jeremiah stripped down to his birthday suit. Although I had avoided looking at Phillip, I couldn’t avoid staring at Jeremiah. He stood tall and removed pieces of clothing almost provocatively, teasing all the eyes that were watching him. The baby fat in his face was a youthful look that would fade as he got older. When he removed his shirt, the muscles beneath his skin rippled and moved flawlessly. Once he had slipped off his underwear, it became obvious why he moved the way he did: he was well endowed and relished in people staring at him. I felt heat creep up my neck because he was watching me and smiling mischievously.

  “Jeremiah loves to flirt,” Sebastian whispered near my ear.

  I could feel his hot breath on my neck, and I turned to meet his gaze. His expression hinted at something I couldn’t put my finger on. I didn’t know him well enough to discern all of them yet. Was he somehow suggesting that no matter how well-endowed Jeremiah was, Sebastian could compete? I felt hotter than I should have and turned away from him, but as I did so, I looked straight at Jeremiah and felt a little dizzy with embarrassment.

  Too much movement, too quickly.

  Luckily, the strip tease didn’t last long because Jeremiah suddenly shifted. Like snapping your fingers, there he was: large with thick black fur and brown-green eyes with a yellow hue. He gave a deep roar, then a purr trickled from his mouth as he started pacing. He walked past everyone, brushing his big furry body against them, and everyone rubbed either his head or along his body, like you would pet a dog. When he reached me, he scent-marked me and licked my hand—it sent shivers down my spine. I tickled him behind his ear, where his fur was smooth and silky. One woman rubbed his head and started to pull him away from me. At first, he didn’t want to go with her, but after some gentle persuasion, he went reluctantly with her down the hallway.

  “I’d say he has a crush on you,” Sebastian said, with a laugh that didn’t sound entirely happy.

  When in doubt, say nothing. I couldn’t get into trouble for keeping quiet. If Jeremiah did have a crush, I would just ignore it. And besides—I was way too old for him, anyway.

  “I’m heading out, Blaire,” Ralph said as he walked toward us. “I’m going to crash at Devan’s place. We’ll fetch you from Sebastian’s place around five tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Okay. I think we’re going as well?” I made it a question and glanced at Sebastian. I was tired; it had to be close to one in the morning.

  “Yes, we are,” Sebastian said, then he went over to speak with Anne.

  Ralph was a friend, but we weren’t the type of friends who would hug each other each time we said goodbye. We only engaged in the mushy stuff if either of us was hurt or there was something going down where we might not live to see each other the next day. But with Jeremiah having attacked him with his claws, there was a chance that Ralph could now be carrying the were-leopard strain.

  I went to Ralph and gave him a hug. I held onto him and felt a tiny white spark as I wished away his pain and the strain that might have infected him. I didn’t want him to become a were-leopard. I needed my friend to stay as he was, and I could only assume that he didn’t want to turn into a were-leopard, either. Everything would change, and as selfish as it sounded, I didn’t want that to happen. I was also having my own thoughts about the strains I carried, but the difference was that I hadn’t yet changed into any of the were-animals.

  “When will Mel call you?”

  “She said the results would be quick. Two days, if she pushes it.”

  “Does your forearm hurt a lot?”

  “It hurts, but Devan said he will make me a special herbal tea when we get to his place. Apparently, it’ll sort me out.” He glanced back at Devan, who was still standing against the wall, eyes wide.

  “Devan, are you all right?” I asked, walking over to him. He was paler than before, and his eyes flitted around the room.

  He cleared his throat. “I’ll be fine.” He squinted at me, but the lights in the living room were soft, gentle dinner lights.

  Did he have to touch anyone to feel what was happening around him, or could he just sense it? Some clairvoyants knew what you did by skin-to-skin contact, while others only had to touch clothing. Then there were those clairvoyants who were powerful enough that being in the same room was good enough. Was he one of those who just needed to be there to know what you did, to sense your feelings, or know your future?

  Without bombarding him with questions, I asked, “Are you always this sensitive to light?”

  He bit his lip and stared down at me as though he was trying to read my thoughts.

  “I don’t have to touch anyone to feel.”

  I frowned at him. “You read my thoughts?”

  He grinned. “No, I could see the question on your face.”

  At least I took his mind off everyone else. His shoulders visibly relaxed, and color came back into his face.

  “Is it difficult for you to switch off like that? To tune people out?”

  “It was hard at first. I was ten when my parents sent me to live with my
aunt. She was a priestess. She taught me how to control my power and how to focus. But, yes, if there are too many people in a room, it does become hard work tuning them all out.”

  “Were your parents gifted like you?”

  He chuckled. “No, my parents were plain human. But the priestess I stayed with helped them to understand my gift. Which is why, when I was old enough, I went to live with her. She taught me everything I know.” He smiled, but behind that smile was sadness.

  Were his parents still alive? I wanted to take that sadness away, so I changed the subject instead of asking more questions about his childhood.

  “What do you think of the dolls Ralph and I found under our mattresses?”

  Until now, with everything that had happened that night, I had completely forgotten about the dolls the voodoo priest had left Ralph and I in each of our rooms. The voodoo priest knew who we were, where we lived, and he had been able to manipulate the were-leopards into attacking us by supplying them with those armbands. Yet we were still no closer to pinning any of the murders on him. My hands balled into fists, and my head started to ache from being thrown against the wall earlier.

  “I think it’s best if we discuss it tomorrow when we fetch you. You’re tired, and your anger just spiked a few notches.”

  I frowned at him. “How did you know?”

  “I can taste your anger, and it’s hot. If I had to lick the air, it would burn my tongue like a chili.”

  “Geez,” I said, pressing my hands flat against my jeans. “And now?” I tried to relax.

  “Pepper. It’s like pepper now.”

  I started to say something else when Ralph headed for the front door and opened it. Ralph wanted to leave, and he gestured for Devan to follow him. The boy smiled at me briefly and then darted out the door after him.

  Rory, Sebastian, and I were in the car, with Sebastian driving, me riding shotgun, and Rory lying in the back. Grant had clawed Rory so badly that he had missing pieces of flesh on both sides of his hips and a deep scratch over his chest. He would shift when we got back to the Labyrinth; we didn’t want anyone to see a large grey wolf in the back of the Jeep and start shooting at us. Although there were laws protecting were-animals, there were still some gun slingers who shot at anything bigger than a dog. That kind of hunting was illegal, yet they still killed were-wolves, were-tigers, were-hyenas, and were-bears.

  Apparently were-leopards were too fast for them to kill. Go leopards.

  It was after one on Friday morning by the time we arrived at the Labyrinth. Since there were no other cars on the road, the journey didn’t take us that long. Sebastian took my bag and carried it to his room. The walls were different and the way to his room was a mystery once again. Rory left us and went to his room, which I assumed was to enable him to shift and heal.

  I thought of the voodoo priest. How easy it had been for him to enter our houses and put a doll under our mattresses. Could his powers get him inside this fortress?

  “How tight is the security here?”

  “Why’d you ask?” Sebastian said as he set my bag beside his cupboard and sat down on a chair.

  “I want to make sure the priest can’t get in here and leave another present for me.” I sat on the chair across from him and started undressing.

  “We have great security, Blaire, and it would be very difficult for him to get in. And even if he did, how would he know which room you were staying in?”

  He made a good point. I shrugged. “Had to check.”

  My shoes were off, and I slipped out of my shirt, opened my bag, and pulled out my pajama top. Just as I was about to remove my bra, I realized he was watching me, and I froze. Was I getting too comfortable around him, maybe? I grabbed my pajama bottoms from the bag and headed for the bathroom. He chuckled as I walked past him.

  I dressed in my sleepwear and entered the bedroom. Sebastian was in his boxers and pulled the covers back without noticing me. As I watched him, I tripped over my feet but corrected my balance before I crashed to the floor. I giggled and felt like a sixteen-year-old with a school crush. Apparently, I was utterly clumsy as well. Which would be terrible for a thirty-year-old to admit to. I threw my clothing on the floor near my bag and went to the side of the bed I had slept on last night. I wasn’t sure whether Sebastian had seen my ‘almost fall,’ but I was glad he didn’t mention it.

  Sebastian switched off the bathroom light but left his lamp on and climbed under the covers. He was very much on his side of the bed, avoiding the middle. I didn’t like the distance he had created.

  Being this close to him, I wanted to touch him—to hold him, and to be held by him. I crawled to his side of the bed and forced my hand between his arm and his waist, and I held him. I snuggled my head onto his pillow with my face against his back and breathed in the scent of him: the ocean, a hint of cologne, but beneath all that, his leopard. The warm sun, tall grass, and wet leaves. I breathed it all in and exhaled. I held him tightly, and he moved my hand up to his chest until I felt the rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my fingers.

  The feel of him against my face and under my hand felt so right, and I took it all in. I pressed as much of my body against him as I could, and I felt my lips curl upward.

  Being away from him for two months had felt right at the time; not being near him had helped me to think and to fight whatever connection there was between us. I had fought to push us apart and had kept it that way, thinking that I was meant to be on my own.

  But, being so close to him now, this was where I was supposed to be. This was what I had been missing all those months. Perhaps it hadn’t been the broken pieces of my mind—it was pieces of him that I was missing.

  My memory fully returning would take time, but until that happened, could I be happy? Could I be happy with him?

  The bed moved, and I jolted awake. Sebastian turned around to face me and pressed his body against mine. Moving the hand that was holding him, he placed it around his waist and pulled me close to his body. He was taller than me, so his hips were lower than mine, which I was grateful for, but I could still feel him pressed hard against my body.

  He stared at me, like he was studying my face; like he was counting every pore of my skin. I fought not to look away; not to squirm. I gazed back at him, staring into his eyes. Those soft lips that always kissed me gently, tenderly. It brought back a memory of a kiss we had shared when we were running away from danger in the drain beneath Léon’s warehouse. We had both stunk of sewage, but he had kissed me like it was the last day on earth, and it was a kiss I would never forget.

  “What are you thinking?”

  He brought me back from my daydream and I said, “I was just thinking of that one time you—”

  Before I could finish the sentence, his mouth was on mine with a growing need. His hands were everywhere, and I touched his back, arms, waist, and the soft mound of his ass. He moved his right leg between mine, forcing my legs apart. I lifted my leg over his hips, and he pushed me closer into his body. Somewhere low in my body tightened, and my own need for him grew. A soft purr escaped his lips as we kissed, and that stopped me enough to look at him. His face held a look that all men had when they were intimately close to a woman.

  A look that said, ‘mine’.

  I kissed him and smiled in that kiss. His hands went under my top, and I tensed. He brought his hand back out, but he still held me.

  “We don’t have to do anything else.” He traced his thumb across my swollen lips, then kissed my cheek, temple, forehead, and neck.

  He pulled me closer into the circle of his arms, my eyes closing from the calming feel of his body against mine, and his next words sounded as if they were spoken in a dream. “You are like a magnet, Blaire. I can’t get enough of you. It’s really good to have you back.” Then he whispered, “You’re the only one to capture a piece of me the way you have—”

  I didn’t hear anything else after that, as I drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 11

  HEAVY
CONCRETE GROUND AGAINST CONCRETE, AND the earth moved. I sat up and felt the room shift sideways. I wasn’t sure if I could get used to the place with its walls moving every twelve hours. The clock on Sebastian’s bedside table read 10:47am. I must have been exhausted to have slept for so many hours.

  Sebastian was still asleep. He was lying on his stomach with his left hand under his head, his right arm over his pillow, and the covers falling over his hips. I lay against his back and felt his body rise and fall with every breath; he was so warm and comforting.

  Then I remembered the words he had said to me last night, and it felt like butterflies were loose inside my body. I smiled and kissed him lightly on his shoulder blade, my index finger caressing his skin and my heart contracting with exhilaration. The thought that only I had managed to capture a piece of Sebastian was a treasure, something I needed to explore.

  And, if he was exhausted, then he should sleep. Ralph was fetching me after five that afternoon, so I could take my time.

  Sebastian didn’t stir when I moved off him.

  I climbed out of bed, grabbed clothing and toiletries, and went to the bathroom to shower. There was nothing like a hot shower to wake you up in the morning.

  I took my time in the bathroom. When I was finished, I dressed in black cargo pants, a white vest, and my shoulder holster, with a loose-fitting navy top over it so I didn’t scare civilians by having my gun on show. The loose navy top had buttons going halfway which I could leave undone, allowing me to grab the gun easily.

  When I entered the room, Sebastian was still asleep. As he was half-were-leopard, half-vampire, he could walk in daylight without the risk of death, which other vampires could not. He was one of a kind. Amazingly, no one had tried to kidnap or kill him. He could potentially be perceived as either a threat or a miracle—depending on the group of people and their level of crazy.

  Here I was, metaphysically tied to him, and he wanted us to be something … more. As I stood there, soaking up his presence, it would be so easy to fall for him—and to fall hard.