Deceived (14 page)
“Are you okay?”
Kye
rested a hand on my shoulder.
I nodded, but couldn’t find the courage to speak.
“What the hell just happened, Gwen?” Dorian crossed his arms and watched me.
Don’t tell them, little witch. They’ll lock you away; you’re a liability in their war.
As much as I hated to admit it, Ian was right. The NAWC wouldn’t trust me. With Ian bonded to me, he could infiltrate my mind and know their steps before they made them. But what if Ian knew they could break the bond and that’s why he didn’t want me to say anything? I was stuck between a rock and hard place and didn’t know how to get out. I felt like I had an angel on one shoulder telling me to say something and the devil on the other telling me to keep my mouth shut.
“I’m fine,” I told them. By the looks on their faces they didn’t believe me. I didn’t blame them, I was a horrible liar.
“You’re fine? Just like that?” Dorian
laced his words with sarcasm
. “You almost took
Kye’s
head off with a tree limb. I don’t know you, but I doubt you just have random crazy fits.”
I grumbled and
pressed
past both men. My hands trailed through my hair as I walked further into the cemetery. I’d never known what hate was, not really, until I met Ian
Despereaux
. He was making my life a living hell, and unless Aiden found out how to break the bond tonight, I was stuck with him until he died. I made a silent promise that I’d be the one who killed him.
Don’t be like that, you’ll see things my way soon enough,
Ian said.
Just leave me the fuck alone!
I made sure I thought the words instead of speaking them—another outburst would send Dorian and
Kye
into a tizzy.
A strong gust of wind whipped my hair around my face and heavy footsteps approached. “I don’t want to talk about it,” I said as I turned around expecting to see Dorian or
Kye
. Instead, a man I’d seen at the castle was running towards us. I watched as he took a moment to catch his breath and then he spoke to the two men. Fear was evident on his young face, and his hands danced in front of him as he spoke with rushed words.
When he was done telling them whatever the news was, he turned and hurried back towards the castle. My eyebrows arched as I walked back to the two men. “What was that all about?” I looked between Dorian and
Kye
. Dorian looked almost bored but
Kye’s
features were alarmed. “What is it?” I asked again.
“Two bodies were left at the front door of the castle with a letter,”
Kye
said.
I gasped. “What did the letter say?”
“Challenge accepted.”
“Where are you going?” Dorian questioned as I headed towards the mayhem.
Kye
was already half way back to the castle, where they’d most likely call a meeting. I had little doubt the witches and warlocks were in an uproar, and I would be expected to be there.
“Back to the castle,” I said and took another step towards the path.
Dorian stepped in front of me.
“We have training to do.”
I wrinkled my forehead and frowned in exasperation. “It’ll have to wait.” I shouldered past him and jogged up the trail. There was a large group of people huddled around the two bodies. Holly, and three other council members, stood on the stone steps and
worked to
calm the crowd. When we made eye contact her face lit up.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please back away from the bodies so Gwen may see who
killed them,” Holly announced, her tone pretentious.
The horde of people turned and stared at me expectant. I frowned but stepped forward. They backed away as I walked closer to the two bodies. Sprawled out on the front steps were two men in their early thirties with their necks ripped out. It was a miracle their heads didn’t fall off of their bodies. Nausea
gnawed at
my stomach
from
the sight of their tendons and bone poking out. Blood caked the front of their shirts, and their faces were frozen in fear. It was the most macabre scene I’d ever witnessed.
“If you would please assist us in finding out who did this, Gwen.” Charles said,
motioning towards the two dead men.
He was part of the council, but Holly was the voice, so he was rarely in the public eye.
“Of course, I’ll need to get my cat,” I told them. Dorian said I could penetrate the spirit realm without Aura, but I didn’t want to use these two poor men as practice. With Aura, I’d be able to read their memories without hang-ups.
“I’ll help,” Dorian offered from behind me.
I frowned but didn’t refuse his help, everyone was on edge from the murders and expecting answers. We knelt in front of the bodies, and I placed my hands on the temples of the dark skinned man, cringing at the feel of the gooey, coagulated blood under my fingers. Ignoring my unease, I closed my eyes and focused. With Aura’s help, I felt the stream of magic that connected me with the body; without her, I didn’t feel anything.
“It’s not working,” I whispered to Dorian.
He placed his hand on my forearm and an icy sensation crawled up the length of my arm.
A shiver sneaked through my insides
from our contact.
“Connect with the death,” Dorian whispered.
I nodded and focused. Sparks of light danced behind my eyelids, and a large home came into view.
The ma
n strolled up the stone walkway, checking his cell phone. When his head came up, realization that something was wrong was evident in his wide eyes and still body. His eyes roamed the area as he looked for the threat. Taking cautious steps, he moved closer to the home. He continued up the walkway, his eyes darting to the side as he watched for danger.
His friend, the other man who lay dead on the steps of the NAWC castle, stood just behind him, his eyes also roaming the area for any danger.
The only warning was the slight ripple in the night air and then she was on him.
A
woman with jet black hair that hung to the small of her back
ceased him by the throat, slamming him against the brick exterior
.
His head make a sickening crack as it made contact with the stone.
Her fingers dug into his throat as she
pinned him against the building.
H
er fangs
scraped against his skin as she leaned into the crook of his neck
. “You’re either really stupid or really generous. Have you come to make a donation?” Her tongue darted out and lapped at the scratch her fangs made on his
throat
.
“Fuck you!” The warlock
snarled.
“I’ve come to let you know the NAWC has declared war.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the vampire sunk her fangs into his throat. The man wailed in pain, and his friend
fought the vampire who held onto him. It was u
seless
though, the woman
had ripped his throat out, her mouth covered in the sticky red liquid.
She rushed
the
other man and
ripped out his throat
too. His body fell
to the ground.
Both men were dead within seconds of their approach of the home.
The connection waned, and I was back to staring at the dead man in front of me. “Did they get the message to the vampires?” Holly asked, her voice devoid
of any
emotion
over
the lives lost.
I shook my head in
aggravation
. “Yes, and they were killed for it.”
“That’s what war is, Gwen, people die for their cause,” Holly replied.
I wanted to ask why
she
wasn’t the one delivering the message for the cause, but I bit my tongue. As I looked down at the two dead men, I wondered how many more would die. The crowd still hovered around the bodies, and I pondered if the scene was enough to scare them into understanding just how serious Holly’s war was.
“The vampires killed them once they declared war,” I told Holly and Charles. Charles, at least, had the decency to look sad over the deaths. Holly, on the other hand, looked happy the message was received.
I stood up and shoved past Holly and Charles and went into the castle. My feet pounded up the stairs and I flopped onto my bed. Aura was curled on my pillow. She stood and stretched, then walked over and rubbed her black furry head against mine. “You’re such a sweetie,” I cooed. I hadn’t spent much time with her, even though she slept twenty some hours a day, I felt bad.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. Pulling it out, I checked the display and smiled at Aiden’s name. My visit to his hotel room hadn’t gone as planned, and I missed him.
“Hello?”
“Good, you’re still awake,” Aiden replied.
“Just caught me, I was on my way to bed. How did the meeting go?” Aiden put more stock in his council than I did. With the witches declaring war on the vampires, I didn’t think they’d jump at the opportunity to help me break my bond with Ian
Despereaux
.
“They’ll help,” Aiden said, but I could tell there was more he wasn’t saying.
“But?”
He
was silent for a moment. Worry trickled in and
gnawed at my insides. “Before you hear what I’m about to say, just keep in mind it’s not as bad as it sounds.” I sat up straight and
hard-pressed
the phone
to
my ear,
my heart beat thudding harder in my chest.
“What do they want, Aiden?”
“Two things, actually. First, they want you to convince the NAWC to have a meeting with them.” Aiden paused, whatever the second thing was, I wasn’t going to like it.
“Spit it out already!” I
said with exasperation
. I couldn’t stand the waiting. My mind raced with all of the worst possible scenarios, and I hated it.
“They want to sample you,” Aiden said.
“Sample me? What the hell does that mean?” My words lodged in my throat when I realized what “sampling” meant. “They want to taste my blood? Drink from me? And you agreed to it?” With each question my voice raised in pitch, and my anger grew heavier in my chest.
“Gwen, a gift of blood is customary when asking the vampire council for a favor. I know it sounds bad, but I wouldn’t agree to it if it was, you know that. Gifting blood is a small sacrifice when it comes to getting rid of Ian.”
What he was saying made sense. When it came to vampires, everything revolved around blood. But that didn’t mean I wanted a council of vampire elders to sink their fangs into my neck. “Let me think about it. As for the meeting with the NAWC, all I can do is ask. Holly’s on a rampage to see every vampire turned into a pile of ash, so convincing her isn’t going to be easy. Why do they want the meeting?”
Two soft knocks sounded at my door. I walked over and opened it to see Dorian on the other side. I held up my pointer finger as a signal to wait. After the news Aiden gave me, I didn’t want to deal with anything else, except crawling into my bed and sleeping.
“They think they’ve come to a solution to end the war,” Aiden told me. I eyed Dorian and turned around, not sure if I should be discussing this stuff with him nearby.
“That would be a lucky break, but I doubt she’d go for it. Maybe I could convince the others members though.” Ending the war before it got started would be an amazing lucky break. The vampire council was smart to not want to go to war with the witches—aside from werewolves, we were their only other threat. Of course with vampires drinking our blood and learning how to produce magic, we were becoming less of a threat to the fanged.
“I miss you, my Gwen,” Aiden said out of the blue. A smile crept along my lips, and the slightest flutter of butterflies twirled within my stomach.
“I miss you too,” I told him, the yearning to see him was almost overwhelming.
“What are you wearing?”
“Yoga pants and a hoodie, why?” I paused. “Oh, no. We can’t do
that
.” Looking over my shoulder, I eyed Dorian.
He smirked at me and my cheeks warmed.
I’d love to shuck my clothing, bury myself under my covers and feel myself while Aiden’s smooth masculine voice instructed where my hands should go, but Dorian ruined that.
“Why not? And don’t tell me you’re shy. A shy girl wouldn’t ambush me in my office and fuck me like a
drunken
college girl.” Aiden laughed.
“I resent you comparing me to a drunken college girl; I’m more talented than that.” A day before Fiona and I left for Moon, I visited Aiden at his bar, Vain. The popular vampire club was packed, but I wasn’t going to let that spoil what I went there to do. I sauntered into his office, dressed in a black trench coat and not much of anything else. His eyes glinted with anticipation while I
deliberately
untied the belt and revealed a red and black bra and panty set I’d bought that day. We christened almost every square inch of his office that night, and the memory
still
sent heat
to rush
between my thighs.
“Indeed you are, my Gwen. Why don’t you tell me exactly how talented you are,” Aiden goaded.
“Just a minute, lover boy.” I laughed and covered the end of the phone. I turned to Dorian and asked, “What do you want?” The amusement on his face was evident. His gray eyes gazed me with a carnal curiosity.
“Holly says we have to finish the blood rituals tonight,” he said.
My eyebrows arched and my anger spiked. We’d only gotten around to summoning one spirit, there were at least ten more vials of vampire blood.
“Why can’t we do it tomorrow?”
“You have training with the witches tomorrow.”
“How am I supposed to train with them when I’ll be up all night summoning ghosts with you? Do they think I don’t need sleep?” My grumpiness was a concoction of weariness and sexual frustration, not to mention Aiden’s news about the
vampire council
wanting to use me as their personal
Slurpee
machine. I was being pulled in every direction, and one more tug would cause me to snap.
“I don’t make the rules,” Dorian remarked.
I let out an annoyed grumble and uncovered the phone. Unfortunately, phone sex with Aiden would have to wait. “
Hey,”
I said into the phone. Sorry, but the council needs me to finish something tonight. When does the VC need my answer?” I prayed for the day I could return to my crappy, nine hundred square foot apartment and normal life. I was a simple woman and life in Moon was anything but since I arrived. Regrettably, I didn’t think my life would get back to normal anytime soon.
“As soon as possible,” Aiden paused. “Has Ian contacted you again?”
“No. Fiona and Ethan worked a spell
to block him.”
I didn’t want to worry Aiden over the telepathic episode earlier. I could handle hearing his voice in my head so long as he didn’t have the ability to physically harm me.
“Good. I’ll call you tomorrow night.”
“All right. Sorry, I know we haven’t had a lot of time to talk.”
“Things are difficult right now. That just means there’ll be a lot of catching up to do when you get home.” His tone was sinfully seductive and tempted me to throw Dorian out of my room so we could continue with the phone sex.
“I look forward to it,” I told him, my own voice thick with want.
“I’m about to take a shower. When my hand is wrapped around my cock, it’ll be your body I’ll be thinking about. Goodnight, my Gwen.”
The click of the call ending didn’t make me move. I was so turned on all I could do was picture Aiden stroking himself. Obligations were a bitch.
I shook the image away with resentment. “Let’s get this over with.” My frustration found an outlet with Dorian who was sitting on the floor, the vials of vampire blood in front of him. His arms wrapped around his bent up legs, causing his t-shirt to strain against his bulbous biceps. I took my place on the floor in front of him; all the while thinking of Aiden’s soaking wet body in the shower.
“What’s so funny?” I snipped.
“Why are your cheeks so flushed?” Dorian’s innocent question was anything but.
I looked up through my eyelashes and said, “Shut up.”
He smirked but didn’t comment further. Instead, he picked up a vial of blood and handed it to me. “Do what I told you and concentrate on the death within the blood,” Dorian instructed.
The glass vial felt ominous in my hand, but I did what the Angel of Death said and concentrated on the
feeling
it emanated. Without thinking, I pulled the stopper out of the tube and dipped the pad of my finger in the blood. As soon as my skin made contact with the sticky liq
uid, a shiver washed through me. The feeling of d
eath and despair surrounded
me
. My body shook against the icy coldness crawling through me.
“Call the spirits forward, Gwen.”
That was easier said than done. The death within the blood was overwhelming. Whoever the blood belonged to, they had killed a lot of people. Instinct took over, and something inside of me commanded I take control of the ghosts. My body stopped quivering, a peaceful calm replaced the confusion. When I opened my eyes, a large cloud of gray hovered just behind Dorian’s back. The cloud separated and formed what looked like human shapes. It took less than three minutes for the fog to completely separate. At least fifteen spirits stood in my room, their bodies shimmering like a heat mirage.
Dorian turned to see what I called forth from the blood. “Good job. I’ve never seen a newbie pull that many ghosts at once.”
“I’m not sure how I did it,” I said
flabbergasted
.
“I told you it’d get easier. Once you learn to associate the feeling of death on someone, you won’t even have to think when you summon their victims.” The look of pride was hard to ignore on Dorian’s face.
I thought about every time I read the memories of the dead and what that meant. When Holly said I was more powerful than I realized, she wasn’t wrong. Reading
memories of death was only the tip of what I could do. Mixed emotions gnawed at me. On one hand, I was excited I was strengthening my power, but on the other hand, I was scared shitless. My ability had everything to do with death and the feelings that came with it.
When
I
interacted with death, I
felt their despair, confusion and anger.
It was tough to feel emotions that didn’t belong to me. I had yet to come across a ghost that was happy.
Spirit walkers were nearly extinct. Either killed by the bad guys or driven insane, like
Kye’s
sister, we didn’t have a long life expectancy.
Being a spirit walker didn’t come with a lot of perks.
With so many ugly emotions bearing down on me, how long would it be before they left permanent damage? My future would always be up in the air and that frightened me.
“Gwen?”
I looked up from the floor, my thoughts vanishing. “Yeah?”
“You did a great job, why do you look like a house fell on your sister?”
I snorted at Dorian’s Wizard of Oz reference. In many ways, I could relate to him. He was death, after all. He knew all the emotions doing this
caused
. Fiona and Aiden didn’t. It was nice I’d found someone this side of me could to relate to, but he didn’t understand the other half that was fearful of my gift. Or the part of me that wanted to return to Flora and run my shop like any other normal, red-blooded supernatural. I yearned for normalcy and tonight the revelation I would never be normal again was a sucker punch
to the gut
.
“Just taking it all in,” I told him and eyed the ghosts still hovering in my room. Their eyes were glued to me, their bodies
still and lifeless.
They were dressed in an array of different period clothing. Some wore eighteenth century garb while others wore more modern clothing. “What am I supposed to do with them?” I nodded towards the spirits.
“They’re at your command. You won’t need them until you guys go to war.” Dorian pulled another tube of blood from the rack.
“At
my
command?” I asked incredulously. “I can control them?” The news just got better and better. Controlling an army of ghosts wasn’t my idea of cool tricks. “Isn’t this wrong? Shouldn’t they be enjoying their afterlife in heaven, rather than being earthbound and controlled?”