Magestorm: The Embracing (5 page)

14

Cassandra stepped out of the library and took a deep breath.  Everyone had settled down, with a little help from Xander on the werewolf side of things.  At least Dhane hadn’t ruined everything.

“You were a little harsh with him, no?”

Amber closed the library door behind her and walked down the hallway with Cassandra.  For a while, it was dead quiet between them.

“He could’ve ruined what we’ve been working so hard for.  This joint council could take the pressure off the witches and lead to peace for everyone.  It’s very important.”

“I understand, but that wasn’t just about the library.”

Bitch!

She knew Amber was right, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.  If not for the fact that he had connected with Amelia before he left, and that she knew he was alive and not in
danger, Cassandra would’ve spent the past six months fearing the worst and searching everywhere for him.  She had a right to be angry.

“I know.  I guess there’s some healing that needs to happen between us.”

“You will have sex with him then.”

Cassandra stopped dead in her tracks with a look like she’d just bitten into a rotten egg.  Amber turned and looked at her, feeling as though she’d said nothing wrong.

“No, that’s not going to happen.  We’re close, but not like that.”

“From what I’ve seen, having sex with a man will undo any wrong.  Would that not say you’re sorry and bring back the closeness at the same time?”

After closing her eyes for a moment and fighting off the laughter with a smile, Cassandra started walking again with Amber close behind.

“That would not be a good idea.  It would be like kissing your brother.  Besides, I only want to sleep with one person now.”

Amber didn’t seem to react, but her hand moved towards Cassandra’s hand and brushed against it.  They wouldn’t have any real displays of public affection, but the meaning behind that simple gesture was known and appreciated.

“You will go apologize to a degree, at least?”

“I probably should.”

“Very well, then I will go get something to eat in the restaurant.  You can page me when you’re done.”

“Thanks Amber.”

Cassandra stopped and turned towards her, leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.  Amber was caught off guard and simply stood there.  They parted ways, and Cassandra made her way to Dhane and Amber’s quarters.

Knock
knock
knock
.

“Dhane?
  It’s Cassandra.  Can we talk?”

No answer.  She tried the door and it opened, so she poked her head in and called out his name. 
Again, no response.
  After checking each room it was apparent he had left.  An ache in the pit of her stomach made her worry she had driven him away again.

She sat on the couch and fought back the tears that mercilessly formed in the corners of her eyes.  He wouldn’t do that again, would he?  With a shake of her head, she stood up and wiped away the tears before leaving quickly.  Anger replaced fear, and God help him if he had abandoned her again without a word.

A knock at the door got her attention and she straightened herself quickly before opening it.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t Dhane standing there.  Lila looked up in surprise at Cassandra.

“Oh, sorry.
  I was looking for Dhane.”

“Me too.
 
Anything important?”

“Not really.  I was going to see if he wanted to get some pie or something.  My plans with Charles got cancelled, something about an unexpected meeting to discuss the whole council thing.”

Shit, were they reconsidering things after tonight’s incident?

“Sorry, I don’t know where he is.  If you happen to come across him, will you let him know I’m looking for him as well?”

Lila nodded and turned to leave.  She stopped and turned back, struggling to find the right words.  After reconsidering saying anything at all, she was stopped with a hand on her shoulder.

“What is it?”

“I just wondered; you know Dhane as well as anyone in the world.”

“I thought so.  I mean, go on.”

An awkward silence fell between them for a moment.

“He doesn’t seem to like Charles, and I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t jealousy or something.  You know, I just want to make sure he didn’t have feelings for me in that way.  I don’t want to make him feel worse by repeatedly inviting him to dinner or anything like that.”

“I can’t really say what’s in his heart.  You’ll probably have to ask him about that.  I assume he would have made those kinds of feelings known, back before he left.  That’s just my guess.”

Lila breathed a sigh of relief.  With a smile and a nod, she turned and headed downstairs, leaving Cassandra to wonder where things were going next.

15

Dhane marched out of the grocery store and down the street, lemon in hand.  Apparently it was easy to get into Charles’ place, so this should really be a piece of cake.  And if Lila was still there, he’d simply make an excuse for showing up again.

At the penthouse, he tried to see from the ground if there were lights on.  It appeared there weren’t, or that the shutters were closed.  Being night, there was no reason for them to be shut, so that had to mean the place was empty.

The guard at the desk glanced up at him and then back to his magazine.  After signing in and turning towards the elevator, the guard called after him.

“Another of our guests asked that you visit him, if you returned. 
Third floor, to the left.
The name is Cal
Duar
.”

What the fuck? 

Nobody even knew he was in the building in the first place, except for Lila catching him as he left.  Now some other clown wanted to talk to him?  Forget that.

With a nod, Dhane got onto the elevator and pressed the button for the third floor, just to throw off the guard.  He’d just hold the elevator open for a few minutes,
and then
proceed to the penthouse.

The elevator, however, had other ideas.  Once it opened on the third floor, it wouldn’t move again, no matter how many buttons he pressed.  With a curse, he stepped off the elevator and looked both ways for a stairwell.  There was none, however, and Dhane figured this was by design.  Someone was making sure he visited Cal first and foremost.

He strolled down the hallway and stopped at the only door he found.  Faint music could be heard inside, and the door was open just a crack.  With a knock, the door creaked open and revealed the apartment within.

“Hello?”

There was no answer and he ventured deeper within.  The living room was dark and basic, a couch, a chair, coffee table, and a television.  He started down the hallway and glanced into the kitchen.  Again, it was as basic as it gets, refrigerator, stove, and such.

He continued to the back, noting the pictures hanging were all of nature scenes.  A waterfall, a lake by a mountain, fields of grass, and a beach sunset.  No pictures of actual people.  At the last door he could hear the music behind it.  It was Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.

Carefully he turned the doorknob and pushed on the door.  It revealed another basic room, this time a bedroom.  There was a flower covered comforter on the bed, a dresser with a nice mirror on the back, some night stands, and a closet.

Dhane stepped into the room and glanced around.  The music seemed to be coming from everywhere, like he had stepped into the middle of it.  There had to be speakers hidden all around.  From the nightstand he picked up a photograph of a couple with a dog.  Something wasn’t right.  The picture looked like it came with the frame.  On the far wall were a couple other pictures of completely different people.  Again, they looked store-bought.

“What the fuck?”

In a dash he was at the closet door and threw it open.  It was empty.  A check of a couple drawers found them empty as well.  The apartment was a setup, nobody actually lived here.  He was in trouble.

He ran back into the hallway and was aware the music was coming from everywhere now, louder than before.  In a dead sprint he made for the front door, barely realizing that it was now
closed,
when he had left it open.  In the living room his trap was waiting for him.

Something hard hit him in the stomach as he reached the open area, and sent him to his knees, gasping for breath.  It had to be a lead pipe or two by four or something.  Either way, it did the job incapacitating him.  While he struggled to inhale, he heard Charles voice, though he couldn’t manage to look up to verify.

“You can do whatever you like to
him;
just make sure he won’t come back.”

“Done.”

The object hit him again and he was out like a light.  Through the front door two men stepped and picked Dhane up, dumped him in the elevator and went down to the first floor.  Out through a back door, a car was waiting and he ended up in the trunk.  The car sped off, the occupants ready to put an end to the mage’s nosing around.

16

“Cassandra!”

The shouting and fist beating on the door woke Cassandra from her nap with a start.  She jumped out of bed and put on a robe before answering the door.  In the hallway, Lila stood impatiently, with Elisabeth and a couple of others standing by.  She feared the worst.

“What is it?”

“The vampire king has just arrived in town.”

Cassandra went cold as she thought of what this meant.  Was he upset at the incident with the library?  Maybe he was here to inspect things in person.  Since he wasn’t supposed to be here until they were ready to vote on their inclusion to the council, this had to be important.

“I’ll get dressed.”

“He’s not here.  Charles says he has errands tonight, but he wants to visit with the council tomorrow.  It also sounded like they wanted to push for a vote either way, sooner rather than later.”

“Shit.  Okay, call an emergency meeting.”

“Everyone is waiting already.”

The witches departed and left their council head to get dressed.  Since the king wasn’t here, she just threw on jeans and a sweatshirt before rushing downstairs.  Of course, who would be walking in the front door when she reached the lobby, but Charles, the vampire prince
himself?

“Cassandra, has Lila spoken with you yet?”

“Yes Charles, I heard your father is in town.  I presume for a vote?”

“Indeed.  This is of utmost importance to him, and he will be leaving the country in a week, so he wanted to see about helping move things along.”

She wasn’t real happy with being pushed like this, but if letting the vampires join the council was the best move for everyone, she needed to make good with the king.

“I look forward to his presence, and to completing the vote.  About the library incident…”

“He knows nothing about it, and I plan to keep it that way.  It was just a misunderstanding.”

With a smile and a nod, she could only hope he would keep with that mindset.  Now, the witches were waiting, and they needed to have a final discussion before they had company.  With a quick but polite farewell, she excused herself and hurried to the meeting.

Inside, the witches were whispering and carrying on until the door opened and Cassandra stepped inside.  A hush went over the crowd as everyone waited for her to take her seat.  She sat and glanced around the table at everyone, noting that Dhane was missing.

“Has anyone seen Dhane tonight?”

There were a few head shakes as the women looked at each other.  Lila remembered the elevator incident and kept her mouth shut.  He hadn’t been acting right, and then she heard about the library incident, so it was probably best not to mention anything.

“Very well,” Cassandra continued, “We’ll continue on without him, and vote without him tomorrow, if necessary.”

Lila raised a hand.

“I probably shouldn’t vote either, considering.”

Cassandra nodded and the other witches seemed to agree.  It probably meant, without Dhane and Lila, that there was one vote for each, so they cancelled each other out anyway.  Where everyone else sat, she wasn’t sure.  She just had to prepare them for the vote tomorrow night.  Decision time was coming.

After an hour of discussing the pros and cons of the vote, they disbanded and she returned to her room after checking on Dhane.  He still wasn’t back, and now she feared he’d run off again. 
Maybe for good this time.

Fuck.

She hurried into her room, closed and locked the door before tears began running down her face.  Did he leave because of her?  Was the first time her fault as well?  All she wanted was to help him, but instead it seemed she drove him away, leaving him on his own.

A hurried walk to the bar led to one drink after another, until she was properly hammered.  Once she didn’t care about anything, it was off to Amber’s room, where she was quietly reading.

“Put the book down and take off your clothes.”

Amber paused, but then did as instructed.  Cassandra couldn’t wait and helped her by tugging roughly.  A passionate kiss and stripping of her own clothes were a prelude to rough,
‘make me feel alive’ sex.  If nothing else, it was a great distraction, though he kept popping up in her head.  Damn him for making her feel this way.