CHAPTER NINE-THE SAFE HOUSE

The bed dipped down as Haldir shoved his knee on it, and he lowered Tessa on the sheet. After he covered her shoulders with the blanket, he glanced at Teddy as he sat on the edge of the bed facing the wall. “Have you been able to reach her yet?”

The crushing sensation began in his head and radiated through his body as Teddy’s mind got sucked into a dark room.

On the edge of that cliff she always teetered on, Tessa stared over the side as she swung back and forth and hummed out a song he couldn’t place. After he snapped his fingers in front of her, he tapped on her shoulder. “Are you done yet, Tess?”

He blinked out of his trance when she didn’t answer him and shook his head no. “I can see her now, but she isn’t ready to talk yet.” His back jerked as he huffed out his mouth and shook his head. “You’re not going to believe this shit, but I think she’s dancing.”

Haldir pushed his hands through his hair, then patted Teddy’s back and nodded to the door. “You’ve done a good job tonight, better than anyone could have, but I’ve got this now. Why don’t you get washed up?”

As he closed the bathroom door behind him, Haldir glanced back to Tessa and slid the back of his fingers across her cheek. “Hang in there, Tess.”

Thanks to Jasper’s paranoia, he took great care to keep the apartment well- supplied at all times in case they needed to get out of town for a while. Haldir rubbed the back of his neck as he passed through the kitchen, then opened the refrigerator, and the side of his mouth curled into a grin. “Well, thank the Fates for small blessings.”

The Viking took the frosty bottle of Vodka from the door and unscrewed the cap, then took a long gulp of it. “To Jasper and Isabelle.”

He blew out the cool sting of his words and the alcohol, then flinched as he heard a voice from behind. “What’s going to happen now?”

Pressed against the old enamel kitchen counter, Haldir took another drink and shrugged. “We wait for Billy. If anyone can help Tessa, he can.”

Always a bit jealous when it came to his sister, he sighed an irritated breath at Haldir as he sat down at the kitchen table and reminded him who took care of her all night. “Rafik already told me what to do for her. He said to give her as much Burdock Root and fluids as she can tolerate. I made the doctors give her a bunch of fluid, and I stuffed as many of those pills as I could in her mouth while we waited on you to show up.”

Haldir swallowed another drink and wiped his mouth on the back of his arm. “You think he knew what his father had planned?”

He shook his head as he slid his fingers back and forth on the tabletop. “No, he had no idea, Haldir. He was a mess when he found her like that.”

Nearly falling out of his seat when he jerked in fear as a knock came on the door, Teddy slapped his hand on his chest and gasped back a breath when a deep Scottish voice came from the hallway. “It’s Billy, Haldir.”

Haldir put his hand on Teddy’s shoulder and tilted his head to the bedroom door. “Go sit with her. If anything happens, you take her to Michael and wait for me.”

Once the bedroom door shut behind him, Haldir peeked out the peephole at the tall, stout Scot with a bushy white beard and long, curly white hair looking back at him. Holding out his arms, Billy shrugged and twisted his lips. “Just me.”

Reluctantly opening the door, Haldir peeked down the hallway in both directions and nodded inside. As Billy bent down and crossed the threshold, he pulled his hand down his beard. “Well, that certainly fell the fuck apart quickly, didn’t it?”

“He poisoned them at the fucking dinner table.” Haldir wiped the nasty words from his mouth with his hand. “What the fucks happening in Savannah?”

Billy crossed his arms and shrugged a shoulder. “A good, old-fashioned coup. While Omar was busy with Jasper, his sons took out the rest of the Mason’s. His family over in Africa got most of Isabelle’s people, as well. It was well coordinated; Jasper had a lot of dirty motherfucking traitors in his coven.”

Haldir rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes at the mess of it all. “Teddy seems to think the youngest boy didn’t know what was happening.”

The Scot shook his head as he searched the room for the children. “I can’t see how he wouldn’t. This couldn’t have been a secret. How are the kids?”

As he motioned with his hand, Haldir walked him to the bedroom. “He didn’t take the poison, but she’s in bad shape still.” After a few raps of his knuckle against the door, he glanced back to Billy. “You tell me if I need to get her out of here. Don’t let her die in front of him.”

Teddy opened the door slowly and stepped aside to let them in. Billy put his hand on his cheek, then leaned in and pressed their foreheads together. “I’m sorry, Lad.”

The giant of a man clutched at the ache in his chest as he saw Tessa as white as the sheet she laid on. While he inched closer, his hand trembled in anger as he pointed at her. “I’ll have them all hung from the rafters for this.”

The bed springs groaned out at the weight of him as he sat beside her and rubbed his hands together. “Alright, let’s see what we’re working with.” Placing a hand on each temple, he pulled up her eyelids one by one and studied her bloodshot eyes and dilated pupils.

With twisted lips, he clicked his tongue and pulled back her lips with his thumbs to inspect her gums.

He flipped her hands over and examined her palms. “That she’s even still breathing is a miracle. It wasn’t accidental what they did to her; the dose she received was massive. What have you given her so far?”

Teddy recounted what happened as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I think her mate gave her the antidote.”

With his brows pulled down in confusion, Billy glanced back at him. “He did?”

His words came out at nearly a squeak as Teddy nodded. “Yes, then he told me to give her Burdock Root for a few days. I gave her a bunch at the hospital.”

The brute leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Rest now, child. Uncle Billy will settle all accounts for you.”

Before leaving the bedroom, Teddy shut off the light and gave her another look. “I’m right here, Tess.”

Slumped down at the table across from Billy, Teddy crossed his arms and leaned back into his chair as Haldir brought him a glass of water. After he took a drink, he set it down and cleared his throat.

Billy rubbed his fingertips against his lips and smiled kindly. “Tell me everything that happened. Start from the beginning and don’t leave out any detail.”

While he peeked back towards the bedroom, Teddy scratched at his ear. “Everything was alright. She and Rafik were all lovey-dovey. Omar couldn’t have been more welcoming.”

As he played out scenarios in his mind, Billy drummed his fingers on the table and nodded. “What about his other sons?”

Teddy sniffed back hard and shook his head. “They weren’t there. He said they had other plans.”

Billy bent his fingers to continue. “Go on.”

To mask the burning throat, Teddy took a deep breath and coughed. “While we were eating, she could tell something was wrong; she warned me in my head and grabbed my hand. Before I knew it, Momma was dead then Daddy started bleeding. I got Tessa back to the house and sent the servants away. When she came back with our bags, she was bleeding everywhere. Rafik came, and…”

He paused the recollection of tonight’s events, and Billy raised his eyebrow at him. “What did he do?”

After reliving the foyer scene in his memory, his eyes rose to meet Billy’s again. “He gave her his blood; he made her drink it.”

A sharp breath came from Billy as he leaned into the seatback and pointed at Teddy. “That boy saved her life.”

The old wizard sneered at his aching knees as he stood and peered out the tiny window that overlooked the dirty town outside and explained his orders. “The council won’t stand for this kind of treachery. They’ve authorized the other Orders to clean house in Savannah. We’ll kill them all, the Idrissi’s and all Jasper’s two-faced brethren.”

His promise to Rafik still fresh on his mind, Teddy shook his head. “No. You can’t kill Rafik. He didn’t know any of this was going to happen.”

A plume of fog spread out across the glass as Billy huffed out through his nose when he smirked. “I don’t kill children, but he will have to pay for his involvement in all this. I’ll make sure the council is aware how he saved her; that should go far in keeping his sentence light.”

His eyes teared as they glanced around the dirty drop ceiling as Teddy knocked his fist against the table. “You didn’t see him; it devastated him. He didn’t hesitate to help her. He didn’t know; I’ll stake my claim on it.” As Billy peered back out the window, Teddy looked up to Haldir. “There’s something else you both need to hear.”

Billy turned around and leaned against the windowsill, thinking that the night couldn’t get any worse. “What is it, Lad?”

He closed his eyes as he tried to remember the words Rafik spoke. “He said some kind of spell over her and drank her blood.”

A chuckle came from Billy as he leaned over the kitchen chair. “That brilliant, little rascal. Do you remember the words he spoke?”

As he tapped his finger on the table, Teddy shook his head and sighed. “Not all of it; just the last bit. Táimid ar cheann anois.”

An irritated breath filled the room as Billy sighed and closed his eyes. “Oh, shite.”

His suspicions confirmed, Teddy laughed to himself and nodded. “Yes, that’s what I thought you might say. So, it’s true then?”

With his hands pressed against the chair as Haldir leaned over it and stared at Billy, but he was fairly sure he knew the answer. “What the fuck ARE you saying?”

The Elder wizard tossed up his fingers and shrugged. “I’m saying that she’s a married woman.”

Haldir shook his head at the incredible idea and crossed his arms in defiance. “That can’t be. I’ve seen a hundred witch weddings. It always ends the same way, and Tessa’s not branded.”

The cheap metal chair at the table squealed under Billy when he plopped himself in it while he pulled a pack of Marlboro’s from his shirt pocket and fished out a cigarette. “Nor is it necessary that she be. Although that custom is popular, it’s not the only way to solidify a vow of marriage.”

With his cigarette between his fingers, he pointed at Haldir. “Their union was created when Rafik offered his blood sacrifice. The Fates allowed her to live when she should have died. It was their gift and approval of the rite. The bond is complete.”

After taking a drag from his smoke, Billy blew out through the side of his mouth. “If I can convince the Death Dealers to take him alive, I’ll place him in protection somewhere until Tessa is old enough, then he’s her cross to bear. I’ll not come between a husband and wife; I don’t need that kind of karma on my soul.”

Haldir rubbed his aching head with the heels of his hands and asked the obvious. “How the hell are we supposed to tell her she’s bound forever to the man who may have killed her entire family?”

His father spoke through him once more tonight as Teddy’s arms crossed, and he pushed his back into the chair. “WE don’t.” His narrowed eyes let Haldir know his place when it came to his sister. “I realize my parents wanted us with you for our protection, but this is a family matter. Since I’m all she has, I’ll tell her someday when I think she can handle it.”