Chapter

Chapter 8

Ren sat behind the desk in his office trying to mentally scan the soul orb that Carley had found hidden in Gypsy’s safe. So far he couldn't get past the powerful barrier of the orb itself to get a taste of what was inside but he didn’t have to feel it to know there was indeed a soul trapped inside.

He watched as the liquid light swirled within it like an angry starburst. The orb rejected him every time he tried to feel out what kind of soul was imprisoned inside of it and Ren frowned at it becoming annoyed.

He took off his sunglasses and sharpened his silver gaze when he caught the phantom image of what he would almost swear was a drop of blood suspended in the center of the orb. He doubted anyone else had ever seen it hidden there behind the swirling light except maybe the person that had trapped it. This light was brighter than most souls and that alone intrigued him.

Guy and Carley had the other items spread out all over the office floor, looking at each one with wide fascinated eyes. They were supposed to be labeling them so they could put them into Storm’s vault room for safe keeping but right now curiosity had gotten the best of them and besides, within the safety of the castle no one seemed to be in a big hurry to lock them away.

So far, they’d flipped through an ancient book of shadows almost as old as the one passed down through their family. Guy was keeping that book closest to him in hopes Storm would let him keep it or at least study it when they had more time.

They’d even found some kind of treaty drawn up between human and demon kind… though it was never signed by humans because it was written in the demon’s favor. What made it worth something was the fact that there was a smear of demon blood at the bottom of it. The document was encased inside of a crystal so air would never touch it and it would forever be saved.

To the side, they had made a small pile of scrolls that had enchanted seals preventing Guy from opening them without doing a lot of research first to find the right spells. Anyone with the knowledge of magic knew that if the seals were broken without the proper spell then it would destroy the content of the scrolls.

“Do you suppose Gypsy has anything else in that shop of hers that could act as a demon magnet?” Carley asked curiously as she gazed at the things they hadn't gotten to yet.

Ren sighed giving up on the soul orb for now and leaned back in his chair. “It wouldn’t surprise me. I need to find a way to protect that shop since I’m the one that screwed up her grandfather’s barrier in the first place.”

“I thought Nick had taken over security at The Witch’s Brew,” Storm suddenly said from behind him.

Ren tilted his head back to look at his friend, “He wishes.”

Storm’s eyebrows shot up and he gave a slight nod, “Fair enough. I just figured that since you were still in the process of helping the poor girl put the shop back together that you would be in charge of maintenance.”

Ren’s face melted into a scowl making Storm grin and walk through the office, almost dancing through the mess Carley and Guy had strewn across the floor. He finally stopped in an empty space next to Guy and took a seat, gracefully crossing his legs and almost floating to the floor.

“I love it when he does that,” Carley whispered.

Guy merely grinned at Carley’s whispered words and kept searching through Gypsy’s treasures.

Storm began looking through the book of shadows Guy had opened next to him, stopping occasionally to lean forward to read a passage or spell. He smiled as he picked up the book and something slipped out from between the pages.

“What’s that?” Carley asked seeing it fall to the floor.

Guy picked up the folded piece of parchment and carefully opened it while Carley hovered over his shoulder and the two of them began to read.

“Oh wow,” Carley exclaimed.

“What is it?” Ren asked suspiciously when Storm pretended not to be interested.

“According to this,” Guy began, “it looks like this is the legend that started humans thinking that vampires need permission to enter a human’s home. If I’m reading this right, this was a spell that was secretly given to several monasteries in Romania. The monks went around to some of the villages that surrounded those monasteries back during a small vampire problem they had in order to give them a safe haven within their own homes. The legend says it’s not a barrier but rather a repellant spell.”

“Will it work against anything besides vampires?” Ren asked.

“Back then, they thought anything non-human was a vampire, but the spell should work on all non-humans that have a strong enough bloodline to activate it,” Guy answered with a smile.

“Looks like you’re going to need an invite to cross Gypsy’s threshold from now on,” Storm said with a knowing smirk.

Ren cocked an eyebrow as an evil little thought crossed his mind, “What about shifters? Will it repel them too?”

Storm chuckled softly knowing exactly where Ren’s mind was headed.

Ren smirked while Guy and Carley looked at Storm oddly.

“For a shop like the Witch’s Brew it wouldn’t matter,” Guy informed them. “Any clientele that visits the shop regularly would only have to receive their invite the first time. Once the person is invited, that individual would be able to come in anytime they wanted. That’s where Nick’s security measures would take over. On strangers it would work great. You can tell Gypsy that it’s a new policy… a novelty type theatric that would give the shop the real feel of being magical.”

“That’s a very good idea,” Storm praised Guy’s idea. “Maybe you should go into business for yourself.”

Guy snorted, “Yeah right! And leave all of this behind?”

Ren and Carley grinned when Guy emphasized his point by spreading his arms wide open.

“Putz,” Ren muttered and stood up from his chair. “I’m going back to The Witch’s Brew. You and Carley can meet me there with the spell.”

Storm began laughing as soon as Ren tapped into Storm’s Time Walker ability to teleport and vanished. He knew there was a reason Ren kept returning to The Witch’s Brew and it sure as hell wasn’t Gypsy.

“What’s he laughing about?” Carley asked.

Guy looked over his shoulder at their leader and arched an eyebrow before slowly leaning toward his ghostly sister, “Ask me what’s the secret of the universe and you’ll probably get a quicker answer.”

***** Gypsy smiled in her sleep when Nick appeared in her dreams just as handsome as ever. Though neither of them said a word, she could tell he was flirting with her just by the seductive look in his eyes… and what hypnotic eyes they were. She could only hope that she was giving him the same looks because she really wanted to reach out and touch him.

Dream Nick beat her to it by cupping her face in his large hands. She pushed herself up against him not realizing until that moment that they were completely nude. She blushed but refused to look down between their bodies to verify the bare skin she was feeling.

He slashed his lips across hers in a passionate kiss that weakened her knees and made her quickly wind her arms around his neck so she would have something to hold on to. She sighed into the kiss as his hands roamed over her body with touches that set her skin on fire.

Gypsy didn’t resist the urge to hoist herself up and wrap her legs around his waist so she could have better access to his mouth. She frowned when Nick’s touches became more demanding… harsher and almost bruising.

Pulling back from the kiss, she stared down at Nick’s face and gasped when his eyes changed color and his expression darkened. Gypsy pushed herself out of his embrace just as he shifted into a jaguar and screamed at her. His once sensual mouth was now snarling at her, showing all of his teeth… along with a pair of wicked looking canines that reminded her of the miniature Saber Tooth tiger toys she’d had as a child.

Turning, she fled through the foggy dreamscape trying to get away from Nick who was stalking her now and making frightening sounds. She stumbled and tried to scream as the furious jaguar closed in on her. Just as she was falling, a pair of arms suddenly wrapped her up in a tight embrace and pulled her against another equally muscled chest.

Looking up at her rescuer, Gypsy shrank away when she saw that it was Samuel holding her. His eyes were blood red but other than the evilness of that he was still breathtakingly beautiful.

“What is it that scares you more than a demon?” Samuel asked with an evil smirk on his perfect lips.

Gypsy heard an ear piercing scream from right behind her and flinched before looking over her shoulder. The huge cat paced one time before slinking low to the ground then leaping toward her. Time slowed down making the jump seem extremely exaggerated.

Samuel chuckled and pulled her tighter against him. “The jaguar wants to save you,” he whispered harshly in her ear, “but I think I want to play with you first.”

Time suddenly sped back up and Nick’s jump landed him just over Gypsy’s shoulder with his mouth wide open. Gypsy slid straight down, sliding out from the circle of Samuel’s arms just as Nick’s fangs clamped down on the demon’s neck. Black and red blood shot out like a geyser as Nick and Samuel went flying backward vanishing into the wall of thick fog.

Gypsy crouched on the ground staring in the direction they had disappeared into. Her lips parted with worry for Nick. Samuel had said Nick was trying to save her but now what? Was Samuel killing him? She flinched again when she heard a feline scream in the distance. Her heart wanted to follow them but fear kept her feet rooted to the spot.

“This way… hurry.” A female voice suddenly whispered in her ear making Gypsy jump and grab her chest in panic.

Spinning around, Gypsy blinked when she saw Carley’s ghostly figure motioning her to follow. Knowing she couldn't break up a fright between Samuel and Nick, she ran after the ghost girl and abruptly slammed into something that hit her right in her stomach.

Swallowing, she lifted her eyes and breathed a sob of relief when she saw that she was in her shop again and she’d just plowed into the checkout counter. Carley was standing just a few feet away with an apologetic look on her face and that confused Gypsy. Looking around, she soon understood why Carley was feeling sorry for her. She was surrounded by ghosts… they were all over her shop making eerie sounds that had the hair on the back of her neck standing on end.

The ghosts began to press forward with their hands reaching out toward her and Gypsy retreated only to again back into someone. Slowly turning her head she felt complete relief finding Ren. She slid her arms around him and smashed herself against him wanting protection from the ghost. Feeling them getting closer, Gypsy hid her face against Ren’s chest.

“Aren’t you afraid of the monsters?”

She made a face hearing Ren ask her such a strange question. Pulling back just a little, Gypsy looked up and watched as his eyes turned from silver with a strange blue hue to blood red… just like Samuel’s. She jerked her gaze to the ceiling when the water sprinklers suddenly came on and cried out in horror when it started raining blood all over the store.

Gypsy opened her eyes for real this time but remained caught between sleep and awake for a moment. She was lying in her bed watching the crimson droplets fall and as they dissipated, so did her panic.

She was no stranger to vivid dreaming and even sold things in the shop that could make you remember your dreams and learn how to control or decipher them. She also sold things that were supposed to keep the dreams away or at least not let you remember them and at the moment… she liked that idea better.

She sat up and let her gaze travel the room to make sure all of the blood was gone… it was. Getting up, the first thing she did was check the bomb shelter to make sure she was completely alone. Once satisfied that she was, Gypsy locked the door and went to take a shower. Nick may know the combination but she was pretty sure she would hear him open the door if he came in.

She used the time in the shower to decipher the dream she’d had. It was pretty easy to understand all of it but her mind kept going back to the fact that Samuel had said Nick was trying to save her. She’d learned a long time ago to listen to her dreams… nightmares or not.

She owed Nick and out of all of the strange people that had showed up in her shop within the last twenty-four hours… she’d known Nick the longest and trusted him the most.

It was over an hour before she finally unlocked the bomb shelter and slowly opened the door trying to be as quiet as possible. She could hear noises coming from upstairs and frowned hearing the quick sound of a drill. By the time she made it up the stairs and peeked around the corner the sound had stopped again.

There was a man on a ladder at the side entrance playing with wires and boxes. Gypsy blinked knowing that wasn’t the same door as before she’d fallen asleep. He had a drill hanging from his belt along with other tools. She flattened herself to the wall when Nick walked into the huge back room with another man.

“The new windows have pure iron bars which will stop a lot of paranormal creatures in their tracks and the fact that they’re coated with strips of sea salt mesh should at least keep out low level demons,” Harley explained to Nick as they walked over to inspect the progress of the back door.

“And the vampires?” Nick asked not wanting a repeat of the vampires in the alley.

“If the infrared sensors detect something moving that doesn’t have a heartbeat, then it will send out a number of alarms. One goes directly to the werewolves at the police department, one straight to us, and the color coded flashers in the store will alert her,” Harley answered.

“That’s still not enough. I don’t want a vampire to get anywhere near her,” Nick said in a hard tone.

Harley smirked, “I already figured you’d say that. As an extra precaution against vampires, if the non-heartbeat sensor is triggered then the megawatt sunlamps will all come on and if it doesn’t kill them then it’s at least enough to make them not want to stick around.”

Nick smirked, “Maybe we should install a set of those lamps in the entrance of Moon Light when it opens back up. It would be a dead giveaway if someone’s skin starts smoking as they’re walking in the door.”

“Moon Light, that’s going to take some getting used to but I’m glad the cougars and jaguars are combining the clubs.” Harley’s smirk widened, “It actually helps out with some of the shifter politics of L.A.”

Nick nodded but steered the conversation back on topic, “Considering people will be walking in and out of the storefront every day, how safe do you think she really is?”

“By the time we’re done, this place will have better security than you guys over at Moon Light do… but she still has the disadvantage of living here alone. My advice would be to tell her to come here only during store hours, then lock the place down and sleep somewhere away from this district.” Harley shrugged.

Gypsy sighed, feeling bad for the way she’d treated Nick after overhearing him talking about breaking in. He’d only been trying to protect her and she’d known that… she’d even known it while dreaming. After all he’d done and was now doing she needed to find a way to pay him back. First… she needed to apologize for being such a bitch.

“Hey Harley,” another man called out and walked into the back room scratching his head in confusion. “Did you know there’s rock salt in the water sprinklers instead of water?”

“Leave it,” Gypsy said coming out of the stairwell. She glanced toward Nick knowing he was in charge of these guys. “Can we leave it? When Samuel came in, he had two other demons with him and the rock salt killed them.”

“Fires can be just as dangerous,” Harley pointed out helpfully, earning in a glare from Nick and a groan from Gypsy.

Nick thought for a moment before voicing his solution, “What about a compromise… let’s make it salt water.”

“That might work even better than rock salt,” Gypsy nodded actually liking the idea. She looked at the man that had asked in the first place and smiled, “can you do that?”

“Lady, for a smile like that I can do about anything,” he said then ducked back into the front room when he noticed Nick's gaze wasn’t half as friendly.

Harley laughed and walked over to the man climbing down from the ladder. “Come on, let’s give him a hand.”

Nick made a metal note to thank Harley later for the offered privacy. He turned back only to see Gypsy approaching the window. Waiting to see what she would say, he followed her.

Gypsy laid her palm against the glass and looked closely at the iron bars on the other side. Even without touching them, she could see the sharp looking salt crystals that would probably cut into your skin if you wrapped your fingers around one of the bars and tried to pull. Maybe she should follow his advice and only stay here during store hours.

“What do you think?” Nick said from just a couple inches behind her.

“Impressive,” Ren answered having teleported into the room a couple minutes ago without anyone noticing. This whole time he’d been reading Gypsy and Nick's mind and now… he wasn’t in too good of a mood.

“You know what’s fucked up?” Nick asked gritting his teeth and sending the succubus a cold glare.

“Yeah, I got a long list of what’s fucked up. Let’s start with the fact that right now I’m riding on the powers of those close by and I walked right through your security with no problem,” Ren pointed out.

“And you’re bragging why?” Gypsy asked making both men look at her.

All the anger Nick had been feeling melted. It looked like Ren’s struggle to make him look bad might have backfired on the big guy. Standing behind Gypsy, his lips pulled into a small satisfied smile that only Ren could see.

Gypsy kept her gaze on Ren. “I was starting to feel better about being here,” she indicated the bars over the windows, “salted iron. So, unless you’re special and can teleport, which I’m hoping not many can, then because of Nick… I’m about as safe as I can get.”

Nick again didn’t bother taking up for himself because Gypsy seemed to be doing that quite nicely for him. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the window waiting to hear Ren’s comeback for that.

“Speaking of safe,” Ren countered calmly. “There was something in your safe that could have kept demons out had it been activated. It’s a spell and Guy is on his way over to help with it.”

“In my safe?” Gypsy asked feeling all of her muscles tense up making her inwardly cringe. There were things in there no one was ever supposed to know she had. Her grandfather had warned her while he was still alive and had even repeated the warning in his will. “I thought you already fixed the safe?”

“It is fixed,” Ren said gently. “But Carley stumbled on a few things in there that have the potential to attract more high level demons to your shop,” he explained not completely lying through his teeth. “And it’s a good thing she found them. If they weren’t removed before the security measures were put in place, and I’m not talking about just stronger locks and salted iron bars, there’s a good chance that the shop would have been attacked again.”

‘Smooth,’ Nick growled to himself wondering when Ren was going to run out of ways to make him look bad in front of Gypsy.

Gypsy’s eyes widened as panic settled in and she turned to head toward the front room where the safe was. “Where did you put the artifacts?”

Ren reached out and caught her by the arm, “Hold on, they’re in a safe place I promise. They are in the vault room of PIT headquarters behind more barriers than you can possibly fathom. Let’s get this place protected, then I’ll take you and show you exactly where your items are.”

“I’d like that,” Gypsy said hugging her arms and trying to shake the feeling that she’d just been robbed. “What’s the spell you were talking about?” she asked.

“It’s a basic repellant spell,” Ren answered. “Just like the old legends of vampires, if one of them or a demon tries to enter without being invited, they will be repelled.”

“How long before Guy gets here?” Nick asked grudgingly liking the idea. He was game if it was going to help keep Gypsy safe.

Ren looked at his watch. “Not long, the way Guy drives I’d say just a few minutes. We’ll have to get the workers out of here though.”

“I’ll take care of that,” Nick said. “We’ll just get them to come back and finish up later.”

Gypsy nodded her agreement while Nick returned to the front of the shop to tell Harley and his crew that they had the next couple hours off.

“I’m sorry I took the contents of the safe without your permission,” Ren said having heard her silent reaction to the items being gone. “I was only trying to protect you and the store.”

Gypsy nodded but frowned feeling like she’d already let her grandfather down in so many ways. Although she didn’t know what half of those things were… to her grandfather they were priceless and sacred.

Ren placed his finger under Gypsy’s chin and raised her face so that she would meet his gaze. “Right now, those sacred items are in the safest place in the world but they are still yours. You might want to think about leaving them in their safe haven for both you and their protection. I think your grandfather would agree.”

Gypsy looked up at him in amazement that he’d read her mind. No matter what the dream had indicated… she knew she could trust Ren.

Nick took a step back from Harley so he could glance into the back room and almost snarled seeing the way Ren was touching Gypsy’s face. His heart dropped a couple inches when he noticed the sweet smile she was giving Ren in return.

Shaking his head, Nick glanced back toward Harley, “No matter what hocus-pocus they have planned, we will still need every backup possible so you pick up the extra stuff I ordered and I’ll call you later when the coast is clear.”

“You got it,” Harley nodded and headed toward the door, pausing to look over his shoulder at Nick when the man that had been here earlier showed back up. Seeing Nick's quick nod, he opened the door and let Guy in before leaving.

“Carley will be with Guy,” Ren said with a raised eyebrow. “Would you like to be able to see her again?”

Gypsy's smile brightened and she didn’t miss the fear she’d woken up with. If it hadn’t been for Carley then they wouldn’t have known about the repellant spell. “Yes, I would like that very much.”