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Chapter Two
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Chapter Two
“Hey, Rene.” I slide onto a barstool, smiling at a pretty red-headed vampire.
“Hey, Callie,” she replies cheerfully. “Red or white tonight?”
“I’m in the mood for red.”
Rene smiles, flashing her fangs. She keeps them drawn most of the time while she works, saying it helps with tips. “Same.” She winks and turns, grabbing a wine glass and a bottle from the fridge under the bar.
The Taproom is busy tonight, as it usually is. For a hipster bar located in one of the more expensive parts of Lincoln Park, this place does very well for itself.
“Thanks,” I say, taking the wine from her. Rene tends to other customers while I sip my wine. I pull my phone from my purse and scroll through social media, not looking for anything in particular but keeping myself entertained enough while Lucas talks with Eliza in the office.
Kristy calls, and I finish my wine and answer. It’s too loud to hear her, so I tell her to hang on and slip out the back and into a little alley that runs behind the businesses on this street.
“Sorry,” I say into the phone.
“Are you at Lucas’s bar again?”
“Yeah.” I lean against the outside of the building. “He’s meeting with some other vampires tonight to talk about that whole anti-assimilation issue.”
“Sounds fun. Be careful though, Callie.”
“I’m always careful,” I say, and Kristy laughs. “Okay, not always, but this time I am being careful. All I’m doing is hanging out at the bar drinking free wine.”
“Tell the truth. That’s the real reason you’re sleeping with Lucas.”
“You do know how much I love wine,” I laugh. “You’ll have to come up with me again sometime soon.”
“A girls’ night in Chicago does sound nice. Anyway, the reason I called was to tell you the good news.” She pauses, making me wait.
“And?”
“Francine Henderson can make it tomorrow after all! She’s feeling much better.”
“Yes!” I exclaim. “This has nothing to do with that health spell you did last night, does it?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kristy laughs. “I’m just glad she’ll be the one reading her book to the children and not me. It’s crazy our little event sold completely out.”
“It’s going to be great,” I tell her, knowing she’s still a bit nervous for the Story Time event we have planned at our bookstore tomorrow. The whole thing is for charity, with all the money from the tickets going to Thorne Hill’s 4H group. We have three authors coming to read their favorite children’s book to the kids participating, and then Kristy has the cutest book-themed crafts planned after that.
But the best part is that we’re all supposed to dress like our favorite book character.
“Thanks. I hope it goes smoothly.”
“It will,” I assure her. “You’ve worked so hard on this. It’s going to be amazing. Take a deep breath and leave the store.”
“How did you know I was still here?”
“I know you.” I shake my head and smile. “Now lock up and go home.”
“Fine. Leaving now. Love you, Cal.”
“Love you too.” I hang up, stick my phone in my purse, and turn around to go back in the way I came out. “Dammit,” I mutter when I realize the door locks from the inside, and I’ve accidentally locked myself out.
Which isn’t a big deal since I could just walk around to the front of the bar and go back in. But I’m a witch, and locks aren’t usually an issue for me. I step in closer to the door and raise my hand, whispering the incantation.
“So, you’re Lucas King’s latest plaything?” A voice rings out behind me as soon as I get the door unlocked.
“Excuse me?” I whirl around, eyes narrowing at the man in the alley. He’s tall, with long dark hair swept back and secured in a low ponytail. He looks like he’d fit right in with the hipsters at this bar, but he’s had that hairstyle for centuries. For he’s not a man at all, but a vampire. Magic burns at my fingertips, and I suck in a breath, tying to hold it back.
The vampire advances, moving fast and trying to startle me. I cock an eyebrow, unamused, and it pisses him off even more. He flashes his fangs, yet still doesn’t get a reaction out of me. I hold steady, curling my fingers into my fist.
“Don’t think you’ve gone unnoticed, my darling. Mr. King hasn’t taken interest in a human in well over a hundred years. What makes you so special?” He brings his hand to my neck, fingers dancing over my jugular vein. My heart skips a beat, but I swallow my fear.
I’m well aware this vampire is old. I can feel his age in the energy that’s coming off him. Seven hundred? Seven-fifty, if I’m being generous. Barely half the age of my beloved.
“Don’t you know?” I rasp, slowly bringing my hand up and twirling a blue strand of magic between my fingers. “I’m a witch.”
The vampire jerks back, eyes wide. “You’re a—”
“Any vampire worth their salt would have been able to smell the magic,” I shoot back, not entirely sure I used that phrase correctly. The magic sizzles stronger at my fingertips. “But you didn’t, did you? You have no idea how easily I could kill you right now. How I could burn you from the inside out.”
The vampire steps back, eyes flitting from my neck to the strand of magic I’m holding. “And do you have any idea how fast I could rip you to shreds?”
“You’d die trying, you undead asshole.”
“You’ve got a mouth on you. No wonder King has taken a liking to you. I’m sure you’re a fun plaything.”
“I’m his,” I sigh, hating that I pulled that line. When a vampire claims ownership over a human, it makes them off limits to other vampires.
“For now.” The vampire leans forward, inhaling deep. “You smell almost as good as you’ll taste.”
“Fuck off,” I retort, getting annoyed with him. I raise my hand, and the magic I’m holding glows brighter.
“You’re a grumpy plaything.”
I narrow my eyes. “Call me plaything one more time.”
He snarls. “Worthless plaything,” he spits.
“I warned you.” I throw my hand out, hitting him with the energy ball I’m holding in my hand. It smashes into his chest, and strands of blue light flash through his body, lighting up every vein under his skin.
Gasping, I step back, closing my eyes at the last second. The vampire before me explodes, burning from the inside out. His mouth falls open, but no sound escapes before he bursts into a puddle of smoldering goo.
Shit. I didn’t mean to do that. Well, I meant to throw an energy ball at him, but I didn’t mean to power it so strongly that it would cause him to explode.
“Callie?”
I whirl around, not having a chance to wipe the blood splatter off my face.
“Lucas, hey.” I blink, trying to get the vampire bits off my eyelashes. I fail and reach up, wiping my face and smearing the blood over my cheek. I push my shoulders out and force a smile, trying my best not to act like I didn’t just kill an ancient vampire on accident.
Lucas’s dark blue eyes meet mine and something passes through me. The world stills around us and I’m instantly calmed.
“See? She’s fine.” Eliza appears next to Lucas, with one hand on her hip.
“I’m fine,” I echo, flicking a piece of the vampire off my hand. “I’ve got everything under control.”
Lucas looks from me to the smoldering remains of the vampire and back again. “Did he hurt you?”
“Not as much as I hurt him,” I say, laughing at my bad attempt of a joke. Lucas moves forward, putting his hands on my shoulder, not caring that I’m covered in blood. He looks deep into my eyes, needing to see for himself that I’m not injured.
“What happened?”
“He, uh, he…he pissed me off, so I blew him up with magic.”
“If I could lay you down and fuck you right here, I would.”
Eliza huffs and heat creeps through me. “I should probably shower first,” I say slowly, though if Lucas really did lay me down right here in this back alley, I know I’d enjoy it, even covered in blood.
Because if there is one thing and one thing alone Lucas King is good at, it’s sex.
Lucky for me, he’s good at a bunch of other things as well, with one of them being taking damn good care of me.
“He said he wanted to taste me.” I exhale, blinking before I get lost in Lucas’s eyes.
“You’re mine,” he growls.
“I told him that, and he didn’t seem to care.”
“Typical man,” Eliza sighs. “And you know how much I hate breaking up this love fest, but we’re supposed to be meeting with that long-haired creep any minute now.”
“The vampire you’re meeting has long hair?”
“Yes,” Lucas answers.
I make a face and look at the puddle of vampire goo splattered in the alley. “There’s a slight chance he’s not going to show up for the meeting.”
“You killed him?” Eliza’s blue eyes widen, and she draws her fangs. But she doesn’t look mad, she looks scared.
“He attacked me,” I protest. “And I didn’t mean to!”
“Great, just explain to the VC that you didn’t mean to kill one of their members.” She throws out her hands as she talks. “Lucas, what are we going to do?”
“Nothing,” he says calmly, which only makes Eliza freak out even more. “If Jacob bit a human that belongs to me, I have every right to kill him.”
“But you didn’t kill him! Your little witch-whore did, and you can’t take the—”
“Enough,” Lucas booms, silencing Eliza and making me jump. “The VC will never believe a human was capable of killing a Council member. And they can’t know she’s a witch.”
I swallow hard, feeling a chill go through me. I almost forgot. Vampires and witches aren’t supposed to be together in the way Lucas and I are. The Grand Coven forbids it, and the Vampire Council doesn’t approve either. Lucas isn’t one to follow rules, but I know the VC getting involved is never a good thing.
“Get the bleach,” Lucas tells Eliza. She narrows her eyes and shakes her head but does what she’s told.
“I’m sorry.” I wipe my hands on my shirt. “The energy ball was much stronger than usual. I meant to knock him out, but I guess I was angry, and it fueled my magic or something.”
“If he so much as thought about touching you, he deserved to die. And you killed him much faster than I would have.” He steps closer, using the sleeve of his button-up shirt to wipe blood off my face. “Your powers have gotten stronger since you commanded the hellfire.”
“Maybe.” I cast my eyes down, knowing he’s right. Something changed after that night, but I can’t even begin to explain what. Because sometimes it feels like everything changed. “Are you going to get in trouble for this?”
He turns his gaze back to mine, flashing his trademark cocky grin. “Only if we’re caught.”
“Would it be bad if the VC finds out about us?”
The grin fades, and Lucas takes me in his arms. “I don’t care what the fucking VC says. I love you, and nothing is coming between us.”
“I love you too,” I whisper, and my heart flutters, both from feeling so damn much for him…and because he didn’t say he wouldn’t get in trouble if the Vampire Council found out about us.
Which means it would be bad.
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“This is not going to come out, is it?” I look down at my shirt. “Of all the nights I didn’t wear black.” Grimacing, I pull my shirt over my head, trying not to get blood on my face. “I guess I’ll just toss it.” I roll my shirt up the best I can, keeping the blood and guts on the inside, and put it in the kitchen garbage, tying the bag shut and putting it in another to make sure the smell of blood isn’t detectable.My pants come off next, and I think these are salvageable. I take them to the laundry room and rinse them in the utility tub before throwing them in the washing machine. Wearing only my bra and panties, I pad my way upstairs and into the bathroom.Lucas is still at the bar, cleaning up my mess. I wanted to stay and help, but he reminded me how suspicious it would look if someone else from the VC showed up and I was covered in vampire blood. It’s a good point, but I still felt bad leaving. He should be here soon, thanks to handy vampire speed.I get in the oversized shower a
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“I take it everything went well with your sister.” Lucas looks up from his computer. He’s in his office, hair damp from the shower I unfortunately didn’t get to take with him. Abby stayed for nearly an hour, eating another grilled cheese while we talked.“Very.” I cross the room, and he pushes away from his desk, scooting his chair back enough for me to sit on his lap. He’s only wearing gray sweatpants, which is sexy as fuck to me for some reason. “She’s bringing Penny to our book event at the store tomorrow.”Lucas smiles and runs his hand through my messy hair, brushing it to the side and exposing my neck. “They’ll both have fun.”I wrap my hands around his shoulders. “I think so.”“She’s been trying hard the last few weeks to reconnect with you.”“I know,” I sigh, picking up on his unspoken question. “I’d like to stay in touch with her. She is my sister, after all, and there aren’t many people who know me or the shit that—” I cut off, realizing what I’m about to say.“I don’t know
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I step away from the door, jaw clenched tight. The Grand Coven doesn’t approve of witch-vampire relationships, but hearing how the VC wants to deal with witches…it’s unnerving. They’ve been so focused on assimilation, ordering anyone other than vampires to death is extreme. Many witches lead fairly normal lives outside the coven and look like ordinary humans. The VC must really hate us to be willing to risk a vampire murdering a human in cold blood.Lucas has made it clear that he only follows the laws put in place for vampires because he saw it as beneficial to himself to be able to put his businesses and properties in his name instead of having a human proxy. He’s a rules-don’t-apply-to-me kind of guy and wouldn’t stop seeing me just because the VC told him to, even if he didn’t care about me as much as he does.Which happens to be a lot. A take-a-demon-blade-through-the-heart lot. And I love him.More than anyone I’ve ever loved before.More than I thought possible.Because for a w
Dark of Night Chapter Six
I slow, gravel crunching under my feet, and stretch my arms up over my head. Sweat rolls down my back, and I’m dying for a cool shower.“Anything?” I ask Binx, looking over at his shadowy figure. He accompanied me on another run, and we went the same way we did the other day when I swear I felt the Ley line buzzing with an influx of energy.“Nothing unusual,” he says.Exhaling and swatting away mosquitoes, we start back down the road. The sun is getting lower in the sky, which means Lucas will be arriving soon. I’m tired and want to eat dinner, watch mindless reality TV, and crash in bed together.But Lucas is just starting his day.Being on opposite schedules is hard enough, but adding the hour of travel it usually takes to get to each other’s houses makes it even harder. It would be different if I lived in Chicago with him and we got to spend time together during the day. Granted, we’d be confined to the house, but just being together would be so fucking nice.“What’s going on here?
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“Lucas bought you a house?”“Kind of.” I set two cups of to-go coffee from Curlew’s Café on the counter. Kristy opened this morning, and I came in a little while later, after stopping for coffee of course.“How do you kind of buy a house? You either do or don’t.”“He knew I liked it, and neither of us like the long-distance relationship thing, especially since we’re limited to the night to do anything together. This way he can make the house vampire friendly, and we can have more time together.”Kristy blows on her hot latte to cool it down. “So you’re moving in with him?”“Yeah,” I say but sound unsure of myself. “It all seems so soon to move in together.” I pop the lid off my coffee and watch steam billow up from the cup. “And Lucas didn’t say anything, but I can tell time bothers him.”“Time?”“He’s going to live forever unless he’s murdered, basically. And I won’t.” I bite my lip. “A lifetime for me isn’t that long for him.”“That would have to be hard,” Kristy says without thinki
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“That’s ridiculous,” I spit. “I didn’t make a deal with the Devil, nor would I ever. I’ll admit I’m reckless and impulsive, but I don’t have a death wish.”Kristy twists the ties to her cloak around her fingers. “I hate to admit that this has any validity, but it does. I mean, if you look at it from their point of view.” Her blue eyes meet mine, and she frowns apologetically. “The demon was after twenty-five-year-old Virgos, which you are, and then you were able to fight it off. We know that’s not how things went down, but from an outsider looking in…”“Fucking hell, I see it too.” My eyes fall shut, and I shake my head. “What do I do now?”“Leave,” Evander says. “Dessert is optional, and many have already left. The Grand Coven has a sentencing tomorrow, and I know Ruth and Albert will be leaving tonight. Go before they have a chance to question you about it, because we both know the punishment for being found guilty of Satanism.”“I’ll go too,” Kristy says. “Make it look not as obvio
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The harrowing sound of metal on metal jolts me from my sleep. I sit up with a start, comforted instantly by Lucas’s embrace.“I was wondering if you’d startle again,” he says, cradling me against his chest. “What is it about the automatic blinds that does that to you?”I inhale, hearing the echoing of the see-through door opening. My heart speeds up, knowing what’s coming next. I hate leaving this room almost as much as I hate being in it.“It’s something from my childhood,” I blurt. “Something associated with a bad memory.”He runs his fingers through my hair. “Repressing these memories is doing you no favor, Callie.”He’s right, but dammit, I’ve worked hard to store these memories away and never let them rise to the surface again.“Your father and brother were cruel to you because you were different, but there’s more to it than that, isn’t there?”“A lot more.”Lucas lays us back down, bringing me onto his chest. He turned on the heated blanket before he got into bed, and the warmth
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Dark of Night Chapter Thirty-two
Lucas comes into the bedroom and pulls his shirt over his head. After dropping Evander off through the door, Lucas and I went back to the house to release the hunters. They’re on their way to the hospital to check on Melinda.“How do you know those hunters?” Lucas asks as he undoes the button on his jeans.“We met like ten years ago. I was home for the summer at my parents’ and was looking to be a little rebellious in a normal way. Easton and his sister were passing through town and invited me to a party. I went, my teenage heart thought he was the cutest boy in the entire world, and we started hanging out.”“You didn’t know he was a hunter?”I shake my head and unhook my bra. We’re stripping down to shower. “And he didn’t know I was a witch. The group of hunters they run with were in that part of Chicago looking for a witch to kill. When Easton and Melinda realized it was me, Melinda refused to do it.”“But the hunter tried?”“Kind of. I stopped him before he could try.”“Would he ha
Dark of Night Chapter Thirty-one
The energy ball hits the ground, shattering into a million little balls of bright blue light. They sink down into the earth, filling the crack. The white light pushes the negative energy away, sending it back down to the pit of Hell.I stand transfixed, too scared to breathe. If this doesn’t work, then I don’t know what will. And if it doesn’t work…then maybe I really am evil.“No!” the demon shouts, using Evander’s voice. I jerk my head around, holding my hands steady over the crack, needing to power the energy. The demon lunges for me, but Lucas is faster. He wrestles him to the ground.“Don’t hurt him!” I yell, suddenly feeling drained. Another string of magic sizzles around my fingers, and I push it down into the ground. The air starts to vibrate, but it’s not suffocating this time.The little stream of energy that was trickling off the Ley line retracts, breaking contact with the crack. Right away, the feel of the forest is back to normal…but it doesn’t solve the demon problem. G
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“Evander?” I repeat. “Hey…talk to me.”He jerks his head up, and his chocolate brown eyes are jet black.“Evander?” I shake my head. “No, no, no…” His hand is still on the ground. I didn’t notice it before but now I feel it. The pulsing of the Ley line, traveling through the ground. I jump back, staring at the ground. I can’t see the energy, but it’s there…and it infected Evander.The banshee screams again, but Evander doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t react at all. Slowly, he gets to his feet.“Can you hear me?” I ask, heart racing. Binx snaps the neck of the scrapper he’s fighting and comes over, getting a read on Evander’s energy. Evander looks Binx up and charges at me. Binx knocks him to the ground and Evander jumps up, holding out his hands to cast a curse on me.“Stop!” I yell at Evander. “You’re still in there! You don’t want to do this!”Binx shadows around Evander, and I take a few steps back, looking behind me as the banshee’s screams ring out again. Two more scrappers drop, and F
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Lucas dusts off a creaky old chair and turns it around. He sits down, joining Evander and I at a breakfast table left here from the previous owners.“Our best bet is to leave the hunters here and go back to my house,” I say. “We need supplies to kill the banshee and to set some sort of trap for the wendigo that’ll hold it still long enough for Lucas to cut out its heart.”“And then figure out how to close the rift in the earth,” Evander adds ruefully.I nod. “Once we’re back at the house, one of us should astral project to the Academy and alert the coven. Someone there might know something, or at the very least we can cast a collective circle around the area and that will hopefully keep anything else from coming out.”“You do realize what that means?” Evander leans forward. “Only a few of us know how powerful that demon was, Callie. By telling the whole coven there is a crack from Hell leading to the Ley line, they’re going to know the gates of Hell were opened.”“And they’ll know you
Dark of Night Chapter Twenty-eight
“The wendigo,” Lucas starts. “It came out of Hell.”“It makes sense. You said it yourself, they’re thought to be extinct, and even if they aren’t, none were ever spotted around here.” My chest tightens even more, and I have to tell myself to pull it together. It’s not just demons flocking to the energy leaking out of the Ley line. Demons long since vanquished and banished are coming back, crawling their way out of the depths of Hell. Like moths to a flame, all sorts of supernaturals are attracted to the Ley line.Becoming assholes is the least of the people of Thorne Hill’s worries. They’re about to become the feast of a demonic army.“How do we close it?” I ask Evander, but the only response I get is a blank stare.“I haven’t the slightest clue,” he finally says. The banshee circles again, screaming so loud it echoes inside our heads, rattling the glass windows of the house.“Get inside,” Lucas shouts over the screech of the banshee. He’s wincing in pain but is fighting through it. H
Dark of Night Chapter Twenty-seven
My heart aches, and my stomach twists with worry. Lucas is strong. He’s fast. He’ll be able to get to the house before the wendigo can catch him…and honestly, I don’t even know if a wendigo would go after a vampire.They eat the living. Vampires are dead.I close the door and turn around, coming face to face with all the hunters. My familiars stand in front of me, sitting tall and swishing their tails, letting everyone in the room know they will shift into shadow form and fuck shit up if they have to.“What’s going on out there?” Melinda asks, gritting her teeth and pushing up against the stairs. “You said it was…was something.”“It is something.” I go to the window, wiping away dust, and look out. The Ley line is pulsing again, and I hope each burst of energy doesn’t further fuel the demons. “What are you doing here? Coming into Thorne Hill is suicide.” I whirl around, cocking an eyebrow. “The Grand Coven was just here. Consider yourself lucky I’m the one who ran into you.”“Why? So
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“Run!” I tell Lucas, and he picks me up, moving at vampire speed through the woods. He’s faster than the wendigo, but with it being hopped up on demonic energy, there’s no telling if we can outrun it or not. I tuck my head against him and mentally call for my familiars, warning them against the wendigo.Lucas slows to a stop, and I look up. We’re at the house—our house—and there’s no warding here. Lucas jumps onto the front porch. I push out of his arms and go down the steps, holding out my hands.“Elementals vocationem ore exíbit gládis acútus: hanc domun praesidio! Custodrie moneia malo!” I spread my hands apart, setting a line of magic around the house. The wendigo barrels out of the woods, sprinting right at us. Lucas leaps in front of me, putting himself in the line of fire.The wendigo runs into the warding and bounces off, roaring in frustration. It leans in, coming as close as it can to the warding without getting zapped.“I thought wendigos were extinct.” Lucas takes a step b
Dark of Night Chapter Twenty-five
“What are you going to do with that?” Lucas asks, taking his eyes off the road for a second and looking at the hagstone in my hand. The sun just set, and we’re heading back to Thorne Hill.“Keep it. These are hard to come by.” I flip the stone, feeling the etchings with my thumb. “Binding spells are effective but take time and concentration. You just slip this baby around someone’s neck and bye-bye powers.”“Is it dangerous to keep in your house? Someone could use it against you.”“No more dangerous than a human owning a gun. And I’ll keep it safe, don’t worry. I’m good at concealment charms.” Yawning, I wrap the leather cord around the stone and put it in my purse.“Close your eyes,” Lucas tells me, reaching over and placing his hand on my thigh. “Get some rest before we get to your house.”“I have a hard time sleeping in cars,” I tell him, though I do feel like I could lean my seat back a bit and take a nap. “But closing my eyes sounds nice.”“Do you want to get food before we get t
Dark of Night Chapter Twenty-four
“Oh my God.” I squeeze my eyes shut and spin around, stepping back through the door. I’m never going to unsee Eliza bent over the desk while a dark-haired vampire plows into her. I’m so stunned I just stand there in the hall, not able to concentrate enough to pull myself back into my body.The office door flies open, and Eliza stands in the threshold, zipping up her dress and glaring at me.“What the fuck are you doing?”“Funny you should ask,” I say with a nervous laugh. “I came to check on you. But you seem to be doing just fine.”“She really is a witch.” The other vampire, who I assume to be Dominic, pulls up his pants. “I didn’t think Monica knew what she was talking about.” He steps forward and waves his hand through me.“Hey.” I jerk back. “Don’t do that. That’s…weird.”Dominic tips his head, staring at me. “I’ll be damned. I’ve never seen this before.”“What do you mean you came to check on me?” Eliza puts her hands on her hips and flashes her fangs.“Lucas called and you didn’
