I looked out the window again, but I didn’t try to remove his hand and he didn’t take it away. And that was just as well.

  Chapter Twelve

  A few hours later, Lorcan parked in front of a three-story mansion on a wide street, lined with trees. The house was perched at the end of a cul-de-sac and was the only building for miles. We both got out, and I looked around, my heart already riding up my throat. I was nervous—I just didn’t know what to expect from Rupert. And much though Lorcan seemed to think he had Rupert’s character down, I still wasn’t convinced Rupert wasn’t behind the whole Dev situation.

  It was late evening and the street lamps were on—they threw shadows all around that made me jumpy—like we were being followed by ghosts.

  “Well, come on then,” Lorcan said as he paused at the threshold of the walkway leading up to the house and faced me. He took my hand, and I allowed him, further allowing him to weave me along the cobbled walkway that led through an immense rose garden (the buds of which were all blood red) until we arrived in front of the imposing mahogany doors.

  The architecture of the building was modern with severe angles and numerous windows that looked out on the street and the forest beyond. With the arrangement of the windows, the front of the house looked like a face with two eyes and a massive smile full of teeth.

  Lorcan opened one of the front doors and then walked through it without knocking. As soon as we crossed the threshold, two women rushed him from a parlor on our right.

  “Lorcan!” they both said in unison. “What a wonderful surprise!”

  “Janice,” Lorcan greeted the first one who was tall and gaunt with auburn hair piled into a bun atop her head. She wore a long-sleeved black turtleneck and black slacks and though her figure was decent, her face wasn’t. She looked… miserable.

  “And Adrian,” he greeted the smaller woman who was blonde and looked like Jayne Mansfield with her impressive set of twins. While this woman was certainly more attractive than the first, they both wore the same expression of disillusionment. I didn’t imagine the vampires within this house were very happy. At least, they didn’t look it.

  The women threw their arms around Lorcan’s neck, one at a time, taking turns kissing him all over his face as I just stood there like the unpopular kid at a high-school dance. Neither woman even noticed me it seemed or, if they did, they didn’t try to hide how shamelessly they pressed their bodies against him. They might have even played it up on my account.

  And, yes, I was jealous. The feeling started as a slight irritation in the center of my gut and then grew into more of a territorial feeling I did everything to control.

  A few more women and men sauntered toward us from the same room.

  “Lorcan, old man, haven’t seen you in ages!” One of the men stuck out his hand to shake Lorcan’s.

  “Where have you been hiding? Not still slumming it in Haven Hollow, are you?”

  Lorcan greeted everyone in turn. Then he waved to me and took a step nearer me, putting his hand low on my back. I noticed with interest that both Janice and Adrian eyed Lorcan’s every move with hawk-like precision.

  “Everyone, this Wandellmellia Depraysie. Wanda, this is… everyone.”

  The woman who kissed Lorcan first, Janice, held out her hand to me and though the gesture was a kind one, her eyes and facial expression radiated hostility and deadly superiority. Adrian’s features revealed much of the same. Actually, now that I realized it, everyone was looking at me with the same mix of shocked surprise and disgust.

  “This must be the Blood Witch we’ve all heard so much about,” Janice said as I felt one of my eyebrows creeping for the ceiling.

  “How delightful to meet you at last,” Adrian offered. She dragged out the word ‘delightful’ to make it into a sneer. Meanwhile, she trailed her eyes down my head to my shoes and then back to my face again, making me feel like a horse in a trade.

  “So you’re Lorcan’s latest plaything, are you?” Janice asked as Adrian turned from me to Lorcan and then made a tsking sound, like it was all a big shame.

  “I’m no one’s plaything,” I managed.

  “And, no, Wanda is not my latest plaything. She is my friend,” Lorcan added.

  “Your friend?” she started with a laugh. “Everyone knows Lorcan Rowe doesn’t have female friends. Lovers maybe.”

  I glared at her. “We aren’t lovers.”

  “Saucy little thing, isn’t she?” Adrian asked on a laugh as she looked from Janice to Lorcan again. In fact, it seemed she had a tough time pulling her attention from my would-be sire.

  Janice never took her eyes off me. “Well, enjoy it while it lasts, Wandellmellia. As soon as Lorcan tastes something he likes, he loses interest and moves on.”

  “It’s Wanda,” I corrected her.

  “Janice,” Lorcan said, shaking his head. “That is quite untrue!”

  “Take it from someone who knows,” Janice continued, giving me a self-impressed smile.

  Adrian then looked at me. “And we both know.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I managed.

  “We’ve all been there,” Adrian continued as she flapped her wrist at the other female vampires who stood around us in a near circle. “Lorcan Rowe made all of us feel like royalty just before finding some other mouse to chase.”

  One of the men shifted his position, dragging my attention to him and I realized it was Joseph, the short, stocky English vampire who first delivered Rupert’s ultimatum. “You,” I said, glaring at him.

  A prickle went up my spine as I wondered if I should have been preparing to defend myself against all of them? On the outside, they looked modern, professional, even somewhat reasonable. But, I knew they were anything but. Under their polished exterior, every last one of them was a killer, and they wanted me dead—I could see as much in their eyes. They detested me.

  Well, the feeling was mutual.

  Lorcan took a step closer to me and reached down, taking my hand. The gesture surprised me, but I let him do it, all the same. I figured we were in his territory now so it was best to defer to him.

  Adrian reached for my other hand. “Come this way, both of you. I’ll show you where you can wait while I tell Rupert you’re here.”

  “He already knows we’re coming,” Lorcan began, but Adrian towed me away, all the same. She guided me down the hall to a room set up as a library. Throwing open the door, she pushed me inside with Lorcan bringing up the rear.

  “You can wait in here.” Then she turned to face Lorcan. “And would you prefer to wait somewhere else?” she purred. “Maybe with me?”

  “No,” he answered quickly. “But thank you.”

  She shut the door on us with a shrug, as if trying to lock the contagion away where it wouldn’t spread to the rest of the vampire world. Silence descended in the room until Lorcan glided to my side.

  “Don’t pay any attention to them, my dear. They’re jealous.”

  “Jealous of a Blood Witch?” I answered with a scoff in my tone.

  “That and none of them approves of me living in Haven Hollow, and now with this situation….” He trailed off. “Make yourself at home. There’s no telling how long Rupert will keep us waiting.”

  “Was… what they said true?”

  “About what?”

  “About them… being your previous lovers?”

  He smiled and it was telling. “I have lived a long time, my dear.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that in that time, I have made mistakes.”

  I turned my attention from the conversation to the room as I tried to make sense of his comment. Finding I couldn’t and not wanting to be overcome with irritation, I focused on the bookshelves that lined the walls all the way up to the ceiling. Ladders and runways stretched around the room, making it easy to reach any book you wanted. I crossed to the nearest shelf and scanned the spines. A Magical History of the World. The Rise and Fall of Dragon Magic in China. African Jinxes and their Many Uses. Voodoo Through the Ages. Demons and Devils.

  I grabbed the last book and flipped it open with a pattering heart. This library was amazing. In fact, I doubted I’d ever seen its equal, and that was saying something because Crescent Circle Coven’s library was definitely something to write home about. But, not even Mother had this kind of information or this number of books in her collection.

  I lowered my eyes to the first random page I came to, but at that moment, the door burst open and Adrian stuck her head in.

  “Rupert will see you now.”

  Lorcan and I started after her. She led the way to an office decked out in the finest furniture, art, and state-of-the-art technology. Adrian didn’t enter. Instead, she held the door open for us and then shut it without ever taking a step inside.

  I scanned the room twice before I spotted a tall, distinguished-looking man who was standing at the end of the room, looking out at the view beyond his window. When he turned to face us, I first took in the scattering of grey at both his temples. Other than that, he looked as youthful and strong as any twenty-year-old.

  The strange cut to his cheekbones, nose, and jaw instantly reminded me of Dev—they both had that chiseled and impossible male beauty. A wave of revulsion went through me as soon as I met Rupert’s eyes and I could see a reflection of my distaste for him in his gaze.

  “Is there some reason,” Rupert began with exaggerated slowness, “why you have elected to bring this abomination into my house when I have insisted more than once that you do away with it entirely?”

  “It?” I started, already fuming.

  “Wanda,” Lorcan whispered and took a step in front of me, holding out a hand to keep me behind him.

  “If this is your way of throwing yourself on my good graces, you have failed sadly, Lorcan,” Rupert continued.

  Lorcan gave a slight bow and stood up straight. “I apologize for the intrusion. I know how you feel about Blood Witches and I would not have brought Wanda here if there had been a way to leave her in Haven Hollow.”

  I was suddenly worried Lorcan would tell Rupert about what I’d done to the duplex… again. If Rupert learned my unpredictable magic was growing by leaps and bounds, he’d want me dead even more than he already did.

  Rupert appeared to ignore Lorcan’s comment and, instead, turned his cold eyes on me. “Give me one reason why I should allow you to walk out of this office alive. I have already received dozens of reports about your escapades in Haven Hollow and last night was the last straw.”

  “How did you know?” I demanded. Even Lorcan looked surprised.

  “I know everything,” Rupert answered.

  “Is Dev working for you?” I demanded, my anger starting to boil.

  “I don’t know of any Dev,” Rupert responded. Then he looked at Lorcan again before turning his pinched expression back to me. “If Lorcan refuses to turn you here and now, I will have no choice but to kill you myself. We cannot allow a Blood Witch to live.”

  Lorcan interrupted before I could answer and took a few steps nearer Rupert. No doubt, he was remembering my instructions that in order for Rupert to be swayed by Lorcan’s enchanted suit, Lorcan would have to be standing close to him—close enough that Rupert would inhale the concoction of potions.

  “I will be the one to decide when Wanda is turned and if Wanda is turned,” Lorcan announced. I’d never heard him adopt this tone before—his words were steel and just as icy and his expression scared me. “She is my heir, and it is my business to determine the appropriate time and place to turn her.”

  “The appropriate time and place to turn her,” Rupert fired back, “was the first time you bit her!” Then he grew quiet as he turned to face the view outside the window again. When he spoke, he didn’t bother turning back around. “We have all put up with enough of this deplorable situation. I only waited this long out of respect for you, Lorcan, but my patience is at an end.”

  Lorcan started to respond, but I’d heard enough. “You asked me to give you a reason why you should let me walk out of this office alive,” I started, but he made no motion to face me. “Turn around and look me in the eyes!”

  “Wanda,” Lorcan whispered and his tone held a warning in it. But I didn’t give a damn. No one talked to me this way, and no one forced me to speak to his back. Yes, we were adversaries and witches and vampires had no love for each other but there was also such a thing as common courtesy.

  After another second, Rupert turned around and snared me with the intensity of his gaze. I took a step towards him and allowed the fury inside me to come through in my voice. “You should allow me to walk out of here because I have reason to believe I can reverse the blood curse. I can return Lorcan’s Kiss to him and, at the same time, return to being a normal witch with normal powers and eliminate the vampire blood that’s still in me. That would mean Lorcan would be released from the bond, as well. Everything would go back to the way it was before he bit me.”

  “I don’t believe you,” Rupert snapped. “There is no such process to reverse the Vampire’s Kiss. Once given, it’s given. The change is permanent.”

  “Just because it’s never been done before doesn’t mean it can’t be done,” I barked back. “Besides, we have reason to believe it has been done before.”

  “What is she talking about?” Rupert demanded of Lorcan.

  I answered. “There was another Blood Witch living in Haven Hollow before me.”

  “I know of no such witch,” Rupert responded.

  “That doesn’t mean she didn’t exist,” I fired back.

  “Who was this witch?”

  I took a breath. “Her name was Betanya Tayir and she disappeared. No one knows what happened to her. The vampire that blooded her, Roscoe, continually attempted to turn her and everyone assumed he succeeded or that he killed her. Regardless, Betanya penned numerous journals outlining what happened to her, as well as various spells to attempt to reverse the situation. I have those journals.”

  “So what?” Rupert demanded.

  “So, I’ve learned that Betanya developed a way to reverse the blood bond.”

  “And? Have you attempted this magic?” Rupert asked.

  I swallowed hard. “Lorcan and I have tried the spell…”

  “And?”

  “We didn’t succeed… yet.”

  Rupert’s acidic laugh nearly interrupted me. “Then that only further proves my point—there is no way to reverse the Vampire’s Kiss.”

  “It proves nothing!” I fired back at him. “Just because the spell failed once doesn’t mean it will fail again. It’s just a matter of perfecting Betanya’s recipe and finding the right strain of magic.” I took a breath. “We just need a little more time.”

  Rupert continued to glare at me as I gathered my courage for the last sally. “Lorcan says you’re a caring sire who protected him when he needed you most. You could say, that through Lorcan, I’m also one of your own. And, since that’s the case, you should care about me as much as you do your other offspring.”

  “I care nothing for you. You’re an abomination,” he declared.

  I kept my ego in check. “But, I don’t have to be. If there’s still a chance I can return Lorcan’s Kiss to him, why wouldn’t you allow us that chance?” I looked at Lorcan and he nodded, encouraging me. “Because one thing I know about Lorcan is that he’ll never turn me without my permission and, furthermore, I’ll never give him my permission.”

  “Then I shall just kill you here and now.”

  “And you can do that,” I offered. “If I fail at reproducing Betanya’s magic.”

  “Wanda,” Lorcan whispered again, taking a step nearer me. I held up my hand to keep him at bay. Then I faced Rupert again.

  “If Betanya’s spell doesn’t work, I will make the decision to allow Lorcan to turn me. But, you have to give us a chance to find the right prescription. I know there’s still a chance we can reverse this.”

  Rupert’s features hardened and the muscles in his jaw spasmed. “I’ll give you two months. After that, I’m coming after you myself.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  My heart sank when we returned to the duplex later that evening. Even though Lorcan had offered to pay for a hotel so we could stay in Seattle overnight, all I wanted to do was get back to Haven Hollow and my life which was currently falling apart.

  Marty and the guys had done an unbelievable job of cleaning the place up. Not one trace of blood, guts, muck, maggots, or anything else stained the floors or the walls. Most of my furniture was missing, yes, but I was more than sure that had to be because it had broken in all the chaos. Now, to walk into the place, you might not realize anything untoward had happened—well aside from the claw marks in the walls. But all that would require was a drywall contractor. All in all, the extent of the damage wasn’t as overwhelming as I’d previously thought. Thank Tituba.

  Lorcan had done a walk-through of the place, to make sure everything was okay and when I’d convinced him I needed some alone time, he’d hesitated, mostly because he didn’t want to leave me to my own defenses, in case I fell asleep. Because then we both knew what could happen—that I’d dream up some other awful scenario that would come true.

  Once I’d promised him I’d drink as many pots of coffee as was required to stay awake, he’d agreed to leave. Then I’d wandered into the living room and thrown myself onto the floor where the couch used to be as I pondered everything that had happened—from the dream becoming reality to the visit with Rupert.

  I winced when I thought about all the dead creatures I’d inadvertently brought back from the grave. I really had to stop doing that. Darla and Libby were bad enough, but all those dead animals… That was beyond gross.

  The problem was that I was no closer to coming up with a solution to my current crisis. I tried to relax, but every spotless corner of the room made me only feel sad and listless. Astrid should have been here to make the place feel like a real home, but she wasn’t. And I wouldn’t see her again until I found a way to make sure she was safe. Yet, I had no idea how to do that.