Running through the foyer, Samantha chased Léopold as he shouldered his way through a double set of locked wooden doors. In the melee, she could have sworn she heard dogs growling, but didn’t turn around to investigate the noise. Samantha froze upon entering. Rowan, nude, was scrambling around on her hands and knees. Luca, barely dressed, held the throat of a red wolf. Its jaws snapped at Luca’s neck as they fought for dominance. Léopold, baring his fangs, turned toward her and roared. She ducked as he flew over her head. Crouching down, she peeked to see him wrestling two brown wolves. The crisp pattering of feet could be heard from the hallway; more wolves approached.
Spying the periapt in the corner, Samantha tore across the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Xavier tearing the fur from a gray wolf. Blood sprayed across the room. Focusing on the amulet, Rowan and Samantha raced to get to it first. Rowan, deciding to use her magic, stilled and blasted Samantha, effectively smashing the back of her skull against the wall. Samantha gritted her teeth, staving off the pain. Touching the back of her head, blood trickled onto her fingertips.
Rowan grabbed the amulet and sneered in victory. “Stupid Samantha, did you really think you could come in here and take what’s mine?”
Samantha stumbled to her feet. Instead of feeling lightheaded, strength and loathing rushed through the whole of her body. Samantha closed her eyes, concentrating on the element she wished to call. She’d had enough of death, fighting, torture. It was time for it all to end and she’d be the one to end it. The room started to slightly vibrate at first. The vampires and wolves barely noticed the buzz as they bit and tussled. Within seconds the house came into a full tremble. Dust cascaded from above as the ceiling threatened to collapse. Floor boards creaked and snapped as the foundations began to heave and rock. As the room began to shake violently, the vampires and werewolves steadied themselves against the barrage of tremors.
Rowan attempted to telekinetically bombard Samantha with magic, but was thwarted by her reflective palm. Rowan looked around as the planks beneath her feet began to split open and crack. Screaming out for help, she collapsed into the crawl space. Holding onto the sides of the flooring, her upper torso supported her weight. Rowan’s face turned stark white in fear, unsure of how Samantha was causing the quakes.
Samantha’s eyes flew open as she called upon the elements. “Care dea aperuerit mihi thesaurum terrae. Hoc malum pythonissam in sinu. Quia non est de hoc mundo. Adhaerere. Tolle eam nunc!”
Open the Earth.
Rowan screamed Sköll’s name as the earth began to cleave open at Samantha’s command. Luca bit deeply into Sköll’s shoulder, rendering him immobile. Helplessly he watched as his lover, Rowan, flailed her arms, shrieking as she plunged helplessly into the crevice.
Samantha walked over to the gaping chasm, and knelt down to Rowan.
“Save me, sister,” Rowan pleaded. “I swear to you. I will share it with you. Please, grab my hand.”
Samantha considered her plea but knew in her heart, that evil was speaking. “Dear sister,” she chided. “You are no sister of mine. Back to the earth you go. May the Goddess grant you peace.” Peeling open Rowan’s fingers, Samantha took the periapt and shoved it into her pocket.
Rowan cursed her. “You little bitch. This will never be over. There are others who will want the periapt. They know of its existence. They will find you! This will not end!”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Rowan. This! Ends! Now!” Samantha yelled.
A seism rocked the entire house as the fissure grew wider and deeper. Samantha closed her eyes and called once again on the elements. “Lorem benedictionem, dea. Accipere, Rowan, soror Ilsbeth, in calore et munda eius eius malum.”
Rowan clawed at the crumbling dirt in an effort to save herself as Samantha’s words took effect. A loud shriek emanated from Rowan as she plummeted deep into the fiery core of the earth.
Samantha breathed deeply, willing the brown terra together again. Within seconds, the gaping crevice consolidated, leaving nothing but disturbed dirt in its place. As exhaustion racked Samantha’s mind and body, she crumbled to the floor, and sobbed.
As the shaking subsided, Sköll sliced into Luca’s arm. Not lethally, but it was enough to make Luca release his hold. Sköll transformed into his human form and scurried toward Samantha. “What have you done, witch? I needed Rowan. Now that you have taken her, I will take you.” He wrapped his arm around Samantha’s neck.
Xavier, Étienne and Léopold stood still, acknowledging her capture. They had killed all the wolves except one or two who’d retreated out to the woods. Luca stalked cautiously toward Sköll.
“Don’t hurt her. You need me for your war. Take me,” he ordered.
“Now you want to come willingly? Hmmm….this one smells good,” Sköll growled and licked the back of Samantha’s neck. She hung like a ragdoll helpless in his grip. “Ah, she’ll do nicely. A fertile witch who can serve all my needs. And she’s got the periapt.” He reached around with his free hand to grope her breast and smirked. “Go now, and she’ll live. I’ll find another vampire to do my work.”
“Get off her. She’s mine, wolf,” Luca snarled; his bared fangs dripped with the blood of his enemy. He was going to kill the wolf for touching his woman. But he resisted the urge to attack, knowing that Sköll could easily snap her neck. Cornered, Sköll was running out of options, and that made him particularly deadly and unpredictable. Luca was certain he’d kill Samantha just to make his point.
Samantha felt dazed as the wolf held his arm tightly around her, crushing her trachea. She barely felt his grubby hand touching her. All of the energy she’d exhausted on Rowan had left her weak. She peered up at Luca through teary eyes. Sucking in a quick breath, she tried to speak but couldn’t.
“Wolf, you’re making a mistake. I’m warning you, let her go or you die within minutes. Your choice,” Luca growled at him. There was no way he was taking Samantha alive.
Sköll laughed violently and flashed his canines.
Samantha trembled under his touch and sought a means of escape. Closing her eyes, she intensified her thoughts, praying that she had enough energy to call an element. Unable to speak, she silently chanted to herself, “Adducam ignis ad manus… Adducam ignis ad manus… Adducam ignis ad manus…”
Bring fire to my hands.
At first she simply felt a tingling. Soon, the smell of burnt flesh and hair wafted into her nostrils. Sköll hollered as the searing heat scorched his arm. Reacting to the scalding pain, he threw Samantha aside. Red handprints were branded into his bubbling flesh.
“What the fuck did you do?” he screamed at her.
Léopold rushed to gather Samantha from the floor as Luca charged Sköll. Wrapping his hands around the wolf’s throat, Luca tore his fangs into Sköll’s shoulder, tearing and spitting the raw flesh onto the ground. In a struggle for dominance, the two men lurched onto the floor. Sköll pinned Luca down, and landed a punch to his face. From the corner of his eye, Luca saw Xavier and Étienne rushing to help him. He held up his hand to them. “Back off. He’s mine.”
The pain of the strike only served to fuel Luca’s anger. Adrenaline surged. Reaching up with both hands, he wrapped his fingers around Sköll’s neck, digging his thumbs into his windpipe. Sköll coughed and faltered as his oxygen was depleted. Luca wrapped his legs around the man’s waist and flipped him over. He straddled Sköll’s chest. Sköll clasped his hands around Luca’s wrists, but could not shake him off. For a second, he thought Luca was releasing his hold. Luca quickly grabbed the back of Sköll’s head and palmed his chin. In a fluid, accelerated motion, Luca shoved upward and down, twisting Sköll’s neck until he heard a loud pop. Bereft of life, death bled out of Sköll’s eyes. Discarding his prey, Luca roared in domination, wild with fury. Rising, he scanned the room for Samantha.
Like a ferocious animal, Luca searched for his mate; he was dangerous, primal. Léopold carefully watched Luca approach him. Restraining Samantha had been the only way that he could keep her from attempting to enter the fray, in what would have been a treacherous and unnecessary effort to stop Sköll from killing Luca. Luca hadn’t needed help; this kill was his and his alone. Cautiously, Léopold released Samantha’s arms, facing his palms upward toward Luca, gesturing that he had not hurt her. Léopold was unsure if the already enraged Luca understood that he was friend, not foe, and did not want to agitate him further.
As Samantha broke free, she ran into Luca’s arms. “Luca,” she cried.
Possessively taking her into his embrace, he cupped her face, and pressed a punishing kiss to her lips. She was his woman. “Samantha mine,” he said, his lips against hers.
“Yes, I’m yours. It’s okay now,” she said softly, reassuring him.
“It’s over.” Luca wasn’t quite sure if he was trying to convince Samantha or himself. He only cared that she was safe.
“Luca, oh my God. Are you okay?” she reluctantly pulled away, inspecting his face and body, noting the bruises and cuts that were already beginning to heal.
He laughed, wincing slightly as she touched a gash on his face. “Am I okay? I’m better than okay now that I’ve got you in my arms.”
“But he bit you,” she protested, continuing to inspect his body.
“Don’t worry darlin’. I’ve had my rabies shots. Now come on, let’s get the hell out of here.”
“Not so fast, Luca. We must discuss the periapt.” Léopold stepped up to introduce himself. “Mon ami, I’m Léopold. Léopold Devereoux. I am Kade’s maker and you are descended from my blood.”
Luca was shocked. Kade had never spoken of his maker, and Luca had never asked. He was loyal to Kade only. Despite Léopold’s claims, he did not fully trust the vampire.
“You kept Samantha safe?”
“Oui.”
“Pardon me if I sound ungrateful, but why the hell would you bring her here? And where the hell is Kade?” Luca asked.
“Ah, there is trouble with the wolves. Kade entrusted me with your safety while he provided them with assistance. I don’t know the details, but I suspect these dead wolves here have something to do with the problem.” He perused the room, counting six dead men. “There were others who escaped. They planned to use you?” He raised a questioning eyebrow at Luca.
“Yes, they’re going after Marcel’s pack. But why would you bring Samantha? She located the amulet. Wasn’t that enough for you?” he demanded.
“We need her. The
Hematilly Periapt
must be destroyed and only a witch can do it. In addition, we needed her help in subduing Rowan. As you can see, she was more than capable.”
Luca recalled Samantha’s display. Her command of the elements was extraordinary. “You were amazing, my little witch.” He kissed her again, hugging her against his bare chest.
“Hmmm….” was all Samantha could manage. She was exhausted from the ordeal; her legs felt weak.
“We must destroy the periapt now,” Léopold informed him. “We can’t risk it getting into the wrong hands. The wolf was correct about one thing. Others may know of its existence. The temptation will be too great for any witch who toys with black magic. To have a vampire as a slave is quite the coup. He could be used in war, to harm others, for all sorts of purposes. Do you have the amulet, Samantha?”
Samantha twisted around in Luca’s arms enough so that she faced Léopold. Luca’s strong arms remained secure around her belly. She leaned into him. “Yes, I’ve got it here.” She dug into her pocket and held up the teardrop-shaped rock. Eyeing the amulet, she affirmed her commitment to its destruction. “So, how do we destroy this thing?”
Back at Léopold’s townhome, Samantha waited in his study for the vampires to join her. She ran her fingers over the volumes of antiqued books on the bookshelves that ran top to bottom on the wall around the entire perimeter of the room. He had quite the library, all alphabetically categorized. She wondered what it would be like to live so long. Would you miss those humans who died when your own youth stood still? Would you try a thousand different hobbies to keep boredom at bay? Her thoughts drifted to Luca and how he’d lived for centuries.
Centuries. What must that be like?
Watching Luca kill Sköll had reminded her that Luca was more than a man. Vampire. He was immortal. In contrast, she was very much mortal. If she honed her witchcraft, she could extend her life considerably. But she considered what Luca had told her about Sydney. If she fully bonded with Luca, then she’d live as long as he did.
She knew deep in her heart that she loved him, but the human part of her still wanted normal everyday things: a home, a family, children. She and Luca hadn’t discussed the future. Would Luca want children? Could she even have children with a vampire? After what had happened today, she reasoned that perhaps she had no right to bring children into the paranormal world where evil lurked and waited for weakness. All she’d known of the supernatural world was chaos and violence.
She herself had killed tonight. Rowan was dead by her hand. Samantha had never gone hunting before, let alone killed a person. She wasn’t sure what she felt yet. Realistically, she’d been given no choice. Rowan would have killed her in a minute, given the chance. But still, she felt pangs of guilt knowing she’d taken a life. Conflicted, she threw herself into an overstuffed, brown leather couch; well worn, the soft grain caressed her skin. She closed her eyes, praying for forgiveness and also thanked her lucky stars that her magic had saved her and Luca from certain death.
Sighing aloud, she grew irritated and impatient. The only thing she wanted was to go home, take a shower and sleep.
Home?
She laughed. Samantha truly had begun to think of Luca’s home as her own. She wondered if she should start making plans to return to Philadelphia. Tristan had promised he’d help her get a new job within the paranormal community. Should she try to start a fresh life so far from Luca?
Maybe Luca would ask her to stay. She certainly wasn’t crazy about managing a long distance relationship. He’d told her he loved her. But declaring love wasn’t the same as a commitment. It wasn’t asking someone to move to where they lived, nor was it asking them to move in with you. It was a feeling. People threw around the word ‘love’ all the time, only to choke when it came to marriage. She knew plenty of friends who thought they were in love only to end up being dumped a week later. Then she knew some of her guy friends who, despicably so, used the ‘love’ word to get a woman in bed. People weren’t always the way they seemed.