Author: Emily Goodwin
Category: Vampires
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“Good,” he grunts, tipping my face up to his. He kisses me softly and then pushes my hair back. “You did mention the house has at least one place clean enough for me to strip you down and fuck you senseless.”
“I did,” I say with a smile.
“Multiple orgasms are always a good distraction,” he goes on, though he doesn’t have to convince me.
“They tend to get my mind off troubling things.” My heart swells in my chest. I love him so fucking much. I’ll miss the Covenstead, but I know, without a doubt, I made the right decision. “But I have to pee first. Is Eliza still here?”
“Yes. She was waiting until you got back to take off.”
“I’ll let her know I’m alive and kicking and then will use the bathroom.”
Lucas takes my hand, and we walk back inside together. Binx shadows ahead of us, going to tell the others about what went down back at the Covenstead.
“You can go home to Miss Piggy,” I tell Eliza on my way upstairs. She’s in the living room, watching Gossip Girl. “I’m alive for now.”
“For now is the key word there.” Eliza stands, going over by the front door. “Good timing, too, because Dom is almost here to take me back to Chicago.”
“Right. We all rode here together,” I say, thinking back to the stressful car ride from Chicago to the house. Lucas owns more cars than I can count, and most are in a garage somewhere out west. He has garage space at his multi-million-dollar estate in Lincoln Park, and his most expensive cars are parked inside. I suppose he could bring the others here, but I’m pretty sure Eliza had him keep them parked on the street so no one else could have the parking spots.
We have plans to put in a large pole barn at the new house that will be heated and air conditioned just for Lucas’s cars. I would roll my eyes at it, but I haven’t had a covered spot for my car—ever. It’ll be nice not to have to clear snow off in the winter or get into a hot-as-hell vehicle in the summer.
Lucas is sparing no expenses when it comes to our “forever home.” For him, it really will be forever.
Blinking, I hurry upstairs, use the bathroom, and rush back down. We don’t have a ton of time before Kristy and the twins arrive.
“Ready, my love?” Lucas asks, standing by the front door.
“Yeah,” I tell him and call for Scarlet to come with us. I look at my puppy, biting my lip.
“What are you thinking?” Lucas asks in such a way that he knows exactly what I’m thinking.
“Do you think she feels crammed like that? It’s a glamour, but it does bind her powers in a way.”
“She seems fine to me.” He opens the front door, and Scarlet rushes out, leaping off the porch.
“I think so, too. I’m sure she’d give me some sort of clue if she wasn’t.”
Lucas takes my hand as we start down the street. Scarlet runs ahead, jumping and yipping with excitement. We walk in silence, enjoying the sounds of the night.
“Will the vampire crew be at the house?” I ask.
“They arrive at eight-thirty. And the humans will have all left.” He takes his hand from mine and wraps his arm around my waist. “We’ll have the house to ourselves, don’t worry.”
“You’d just take me in the attic and shut the door,” I say with a shrug.
“That is true.”
Suddenly, Lucas jerks his head up and sniffs the air. A second later, Scarlet growls, and the deep and harrowing sound coming from her is all hellhound and not at all cute fluffy puppy.
“What is it?” I ask, conjuring an energy ball.
“Smells like a vampire.” Lucas turns toward me. “Stay here.”
“Lucas,” I call as he takes off, zooming away. I hold my hand up, narrowing my eyes as I look down the road. Scarlet backs up next to me, and I debate calling for my familiars—and taking Scarlet’s collar off. “Do you smell anything, girl?” I ask and increase the intensity of my energy ball. Vampires are attracted to magic. If any are lurking about, they wouldn’t be able to resist me. “I don’t, either.”
A minute later, Lucas comes back, hair blown from running through the woods.
“Anything?”
“No, whoever was here is gone.”
“And it was a vampire?”
He nods. “An old one.”
I bring my fingers in toward my palm, shrinking the size of the energy ball. “Older than you?”
“I can’t be certain.” He takes my other hand, and I toss the energy ball up and snap my fingers, making it explode into a hundred tiny pieces that shimmer and shine above us like stars.
“That’s a new trick.”
“Yeah.” I look up, mesmerized by my own magic. “It’s so pretty.”
“It reminds me of the sky before the Earth filled with light pollution.”
“That had to be incredible.”
“It was.” He steps closer, pulling me into an embrace, and we take a moment to look at the glittering magic above us. “I will never understand how anyone can say your magic is wrong.”
“I don’t, either,” I whisper back. “It will follow us. We can go.”
Lucas takes my hand in his, and we continue down the road. He doesn’t say anything, but I know he’s on high alert.
“Maybe the scent you picked up on was one of the construction workers,” I offer as the dark shadow of the house comes into view.
“Maybe,” he says, not believing it. “If a vampire shows up tonight and even looks at you wrong, I’m going to rip its heart out and shove it up its ass.”
“Won’t its ass be a pile of goo after you rip its heart out?”
“Sometimes you’re too literal,” he chuckles and then comes to a stop, looking at our house.
“Wow,” I say after I toss the particles of energy into the air, shining light down on the house. “They repainted more siding today. It looks amazing.”
“It’s come a long way from the shit-hole I bought you months ago.”
“Hey, don’t insult our house!”
“I’m not. It was a shit-hole. Did you forget about the black mold? The water-damaged floors? The lack of any working plumbing? Oh, and the water in the basement?”
“Okay, it was a little rough.” I rest my head on his shoulder. “But you’re the one who bought this shit-hole.” I playfully elbow him.
“I really wanted to get in your pants.”
“You’d already gotten in my pants quite a few times before I even mentioned the house.”
“Fine. I’m pathetically helpless when it comes to wanting to make you happy. I’ll do anything.” He looks at Scarlet. “Anything.”
“You have spoiled me.”
“And I’ll never stop.” Lucas picks me up and carries me to the front door. I use magic to let us in, and we slowly walk through the house, looking at everything that’s been renovated, stopping our tour in the master bedroom.
“Take your cloak off.” Lucas demands, voice deep and gravely. “Fuck, I haven’t said that in centuries.”
“Should I keep my petticoat on, too, mister?” I slowly pull the ties on my cloak. “I’m not one hundred percent certain I know what a petticoat is, though.”
“You’ll leave nothing on.”
Right as my cloak whooshes to the ground, Lucas’s phone rings. I know by the ringtone it’s Eliza, and Lucas sends the call to voicemail. And then she calls right back.
“Answer it,” I tell him. “Something could be wrong.”
Lucas grumbles but answers the phone. “What?” Blue-and-silver light from my magical galaxy dance across Lucas’s face as he listens to whatever Eliza is saying. “Don’t do anything,” he tells her. “I’ll deal with it when I can.” He ends the call and puts his phone back in his pocket.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“One of our distributers is being threatened again.”
Again…oh, right. “By the group of vampires against assimilation? It’s been so long I thought they gave up.”
“A few months isn’t a long ti
me by vampire standards,” he tells me.
“True,” I agree. “Do you have to go to Chicago?”
“Not now, but yes, I should go,” he sighs. “The distributor they’ve threatened is a family-owned business. One of the founders was turned into a vampire about ten years ago, didn’t want to give up his successful business, and registered with the Vampire Council as soon as it was formed.”
“There wasn’t any sort of VC before, right?” I ask as a shiver goes down my spine. Lucas speeds forward and picks up my cloak, wrapping it around my shoulders. “We’ve always had some sort of Grand Coven, and it’s not like witches are trying to mainstream.”
“No, vampires never abided by rules. It was up to the maker to teach whatever they wanted to the new vampires they sired, and we always knew the danger of revealing ourselves to humans.” He runs his hands down my shoulders, and I step in. “You’re cold.”
“It’s chilly out tonight. This cold snap will be over soon enough, though, and second summer will be here.”
“Second summer? Is that a witch thing?”
I shake my head, hair falling into my face. “No. A Midwest thing. We have third winter, too. Sometimes I swear it’ll never end.” I tip my head to the side, looking out the window. The original glass is still in place, and it’s slightly wavy, distorting the view of the forest. I want to keep as much original as possible in the house, but for effectiveness in regards to heating and air conditioning, all the windows need to be replaced.
“When you get fed up with the cold this winter, we will spend a few weeks at our vineyard.”
“I do like the sound of that.” I let my eyes fall shut and rest my head against Lucas’s chest. “Should we go home and get ready to go to Chicago now? I can text my friends and tell them not to worry about coming over.”
“You can stay here,” Lucas says, running his fingers through my hair. “Getting tangled in vampire business is the last thing you want. And you smell like magic and…and something else.”
He doesn’t have to say it. I’m already at risk for the coven finding out who I am. We can’t be certain what my fellow witches would do if the truth came out, but we know what the vampires would do.
Kill me, though before they did, they’d try to sell me off to the highest bidder. Witch blood has been sold at a high price before. I don’t think anyone—besides Lucas—has even tasted Nephilim blood. If it got out that I was the daughter of the Archangel Michael, vampires would line up around the block to get a taste of me.
And then all of Heaven and Hell would know exactly where I am.
Chapter 19
I roll over, unable to fall back asleep. Lucas left about half an hour ago, needing to hit the road before dawn. He’s probably almost to Chicago by now with the way he drives.
Kicking off the heated blanket, I grab my pillow and try to get comfortable again, but now I’m cold. And my mind just won’t shut the fuck up.
Sighing, I sit up and run my hands over my face. It’s too early to get up, and I know I’ll be tired later. But I’d rather try and nap this afternoon than lay here tossing and turning.
I conjure a string of blue magic, using it to light up the room and find my pajamas that I had on for a whole two minutes last night before Lucas ripped them off. We didn’t end up watching any of Star Wars, but I don’t think Lucas minded one bit.
Stuffing my feet into the legs of my pajama pants, I fumble my way out of bed, finding my shirt on the ground by the door. I pull it over my head, grab a pair of socks, and go into the kitchen for coffee.
“Dammit,” I grumble when I see the kitchen is still a mess from half-cooking the stir fry last night. “I’ll get to it later.”
My familiars and Scarlet have all followed me down and into the kitchen. Binx winds around my feet, and Freya and Pandora are sitting on the counter, expectantly looking at me. Scarlet runs around, jumping up at me.
“When have I ever not fed you?” I ask and am reminded that I’m much more of a cat person than a dog person. I get the coffee going and then make my familiars and hellhound something to eat.
I take a blanket from off the back of the couch, wrap it around my shoulders, and go back into the kitchen, waiting for my coffee to finish brewing. Then I pour myself a generous mug and go onto the back porch, leaving the door cracked so Scarlet can come out when she’s done eating.
“Julian,” I whisper, looking up at the sky. “Where are you?” I take a sip of coffee and wait, though at this point I don’t expect an answer. “I wish there was a way to call you,” I sigh and sit on the first step, slowly taking another drink of hot coffee. “You’re supposed to be watching over me, not ignoring me.” I sink my teeth into my bottom lip and slowly shake my head, unable to help the sinking feeling that something bad happened.
Michael—my father—isn’t able to sneak out of Heaven and come to Earth without it being noticed. But Julian can…and has. Where is he? I really could have used him a few days ago. If not to help break the curse but to just be there for me.
He’s family, after all, and I—
“Holy shit.”
I turn, looking in the house. “I do have family.”
Pandora, who’s the first one done eating, trains her eyes on me, giving me a look that says duh.
“I know you’re my family,” I go on, setting the coffee on the porch. “And Lucas is my husband, and I have Kirsty, Evander, and Tabatha…but I have a mother. Well, had. But she came from a family. What if I have a cousin? Or grandparents.” Tears suddenly prick the corners of my eyes. My mother was a witch. I could have witch relatives in another coven.
The thought is both overwhelming and joyous.
“Stop,” I tell myself, knowing I’m thinking too far ahead. “How the hell would I even explain myself to them?” I look at the simple silver bracelet around my wrist. Did my mother’s family know she was even pregnant? If they did, I don’t think they knew she was carrying a half-human, half-angel baby.
How did they think she died?
I close my eyes and blow out a slow breath, trying to tell myself it doesn’t matter. I have no idea who my mother is. All I know is I share a striking resemblance to her.
She was a witch.
Her name was Callista.
And she somehow met and fell in love with an archangel.
I still have more questions than answers, though I’m sure my mother was wonderful. She had to be for a freaking archangel to take notice.
“Where the hell are you, Dad?” I ask, looking back up at the sky. Then I remember Lucifer saying he heard my prayers to my father. Can the other angels hear them, too?
Lucifer was listening, specifically, for me. The others don’t know about me…yet.
“If I hadn’t just left my coven,” I start, picking up my coffee mug again, “I’d go back to university and start a witch version of 23 and Me. Then I could locate my mother’s side of the family.” I flick my eyes up again. “Or you could just tell me,” I say through gritted teeth. If only there was a way to summon angels. “Wait a minute,” I say out loud as another thought occurs to me.
Pandora and Binx trot out onto the porch, sitting on either side of me. “You can summon demons. Surely you can summon angels, too, right?” I take another sip of my coffee, mind whirling. “I channeled something and drew a sigil on Lucas’s chest when I was trying to bind the curse. Sigils are needed for demonic summoning. They’re on different ends of the spectrum, but I don’t see why you couldn’t summon angels.”
I get up, blanket slipping from my shoulders. I hastily reach down and grab it, hurrying into the house. There is nothing in my Book of Shadows about angels, and even the Academy’s library is lacking books about them. I have no idea where to start my research, but a good old-fashioned internet search couldn’t hurt.
Rushing into the office, I look for a notebook and pen out of my desk drawer. I didn’t use the office all that much before, and if this room wasn’t so small, I’d have set it up as a formal living
room or something. Lucas has taken it over, and I shuffle through some of his papers, careful not to knock them off the desk as I search for something to write on.
I finally find my composition notebook I use from time to time when I need to make a to-do list and take it and my laptop into the living room. I sit cross-legged on the floor, setting everything on the coffee table.
“This is what the sigil looked like,” I tell my familiars as I draw it. “I think.” I tip my head and look at the paper. “It was kind of messy since I drew it in blood.” I set the pen down and open my computer. “So now I just need to search for Michael’s symbol and see if I can find something that looks like this. I know I can’t trust what I find online,” I go on, rambling as I search for archangel symbols.
I get a lot of hits and find several sites that have Michael’s sigil exactly the same as I drew it. I print off pages and jot down notes, but I don’t get any closer to figuring out how to summon an angel, which I suppose is a good thing. Having that sort of information on the internet could be dangerous, though it’s not like most people who’d access this info would actually be able to pull it off.
“Michael might be too powerful to start with,” I say, though I don’t need to actually summon him here. If I can somehow communicate with him, I’m sure he’ll come.
He has to.
He’s my father, and I really do believe that he loves me and cares about me. He risked everything to keep me alive and risked it all over again to come back and save me when I was dying from a demon virus.
He’s staying away to keep me safe, no matter what Lucifer says.
Though…I honestly believe Lucifer cares about me, too, which is fucking insane, I know. I can’t explain it…it’s just a feeling I have.
“Trusting the devil is worse than trusting a vampire,” I muse, laughing at myself as I draw another sigil in my notebook. I go back to my Google search, skimming through the results.
“This might be something,” I say as Binx steps into my lap, purring. “There was a book written in the thirteenth century that was partially translated into English in the eighteen-hundreds.” I scroll down on the article, impatiently tapping my fingers against my keyboard as the page slowly loads. “You can buy versions of the translation on Amazon, though I’m sure it’s missing vital information.” I skim the article so fast I have to go back and start over.