Ollie, Ollie Hex 'n Free (14 page)

I swallowed against the dryness in my throat and she put a cup of tea in front of me, then stroked my cheek. “It’s been a long time since we had a heart-to-heart, little girl, and you’ve been busy.”

“I’m sorry—”

“Shhh. Never apologize for being who you are, Selene. You have lived an amazing life and have done amazing things. I never expected less from you. Just as you shouldn’t expect less from your daughter.”

I looked down at my stomach then back up at her. “Did Sy tell you?”

She laughed and went back to the stove. “No, I can just tell—just like I sense the darkness you’re carrying with you. Drink the tea. It will help with that.”

“Can you see it?” My heartbeat sped. “No one else can. Everyone keeps saying I’m fine.”

She nodded and the pot she was stirring beginning to steam. “I see it. Drink the tea, Selene, and we’ll see where we need to go from there.”

I took a sip and glanced over at Sy who was smiling at me. “Good instincts.” He shifted toward her. “Too good,” he said louder. “But she won’t admit to anything.”

“Like you’re one to talk,” I said.

“Oh, we’re a family of secrets, no doubt. Like why you really came to the Office today.”

Lorelei put bowls of soup in front of each of us. “Don’t stop on my account.”

I filled them in on everything that had happened, including Frost’s suspicion of Corbin. “That’s why I came. I need to see Corbin, but Cheney would come with me and then Corbin wouldn’t be honest.”

Sy raised an eyebrow. “Corbin wouldn’t be honest with you anyway. You want answers, talk to Paolo. He likes you. He’ll get to the bottom of whatever Corbin is up to.”

“Will he meet me at the Office?”

Sy shook his head. “No, but I’ll take you to him. I swear you will be safe.”

I looked at Lorelei. “And what about the darkness?”

She glanced at my cup to make sure it was empty and then had me stand. Her hand hovered over my stomach as she spun me in a circle, inspecting me.

“You’re under attack. Maybe from your friend or maybe from someone else. But whoever it is wants you to be weakened.” She shook her head and opened a cabinet over the stove. “You aren’t going to like this, but if you continue to lose strength, the birth will kill you.”

“Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”

She handed me a brown bag. “Tea. Drink it all day every day—and bed rest until the baby is born. No spells, no magic, no
stress
.”

I snorted.

“I mean it, Selene. I’ve seen enough women give birth to recognize the ones who will make it versus the ones who won’t. If you continue on as you are, you won’t. Take care of yourself and the rest will follow.” She looked over at Sy. “Make sure she does.”

“You know I will.” He kissed his mom’s forehead. “But we’re going to see a vampire first.”

Lorelei shook her head. “Sometimes I don’t want to know.”

****

“Whatever you do, don’t mention Frost,” Sy said as we approached the house.

“Why?”

“Vampires hunt necromancers. Obscurity is her only safety.”

I nodded.

Sy didn’t even knock on Paolo’s overly cheerful front door. He opened it and ushered me inside, then led us to the basement stairs.

“Paolo,” he called out as we started down.

Paolo’s head popped around the corner and he smiled at us. “Selene, what a pleasant surprise.” He took my hand and kissed it. “It’s been too long. But I take it this is not an entirely social call.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re right. I do need something.”

“Please have a seat.” He gestured to a gorgeous rocking chair. “It’s my latest piece. A gift for the child.”

“I love it. Thank you.” The smooth, soft wood hugged my body as I sat back—the first time I’d been comfortable in far too long. I allowed my eyes to close for just a few seconds as I rocked back and forth.

“Shall we?” Paolo asked, drawing me back to reality.

I took a deep breath. “I’m here about Corbin.”

He crossed his legs. “Has he acted inappropriately again?”

I shook my head. The first time I met Corbin, he fed from me and Cheney and Paolo had taken exception. It had been so long and we had gone through so much since then, however, it hardly seemed important anymore. “No. Corbin and I have become quite good friends.”

His eyes narrowed. “How good?”

“Very.” I told him the story of purgatory and everything else Corbin had done to help me. Paolo simply listened, occasionally grimacing in response to my story. “So we’re still bonded even though I’m married and I don’t know that there is a way to ever break it.”

“You have come to me to break the bond?”

I shook my head. “No.” I felt like a traitor even bringing this up. “Something happened last night. Now I don’t believe Corbin had anything to do with it, but my other friends do. I was going to talk to him, but Sy suggested I speak with you instead.”

Paolo smiled. “He was quite right. What happened?”

“We caught my friend who has been possessed. Corbin spoke to her briefly alone—then later, when we realized it would take longer than expected to safely free her, he left. Minutes later someone helped her escape.”

“And what does the entity want?” Paolo asked.

“To possess my child. I don’t think Corbin would help and I’ve said as much, but—”

“But you can’t be certain?”

I shook my head. “Not one hundred percent, no.”

Paolo recrossed his legs in the opposite direction. “If he is guilty, what would you like done?”

I frowned. “Nothing. I mean, I’d like to know why, but I don’t want him punished. I just need to know where we stand.”

“Because you are bonded?”

I hadn’t even considered that. “No. Because he’s my friend.”

Paolo stared at me completely silent. “Good answer.”

The cold bite of metal against my skin was a hell of a wakeup call. Movement in any direction would cause the blade to slice through my throat, which didn’t exactly mesh with my plans for the day. I opened my eyes to see Paolo above me, patiently holding the blade. I should have known. No one else could have made it in here without me sensing it.

“What?” I asked. Just saying a single word had a trickle of blood streaming down my neck.

“You’ve been keeping secrets, Corbin.” He tsked at me. “You know how I feel about that.”

I blinked, waiting for him to remove the knife. This wasn’t a bluff. The carefully controlled rage in his eyes was genuine. Vampires everywhere trembled at the thought of Paolo. It wasn’t because he was the oldest vampire, it wasn’t because he had been a dictator and warlord at various points throughout history, and it wasn’t because he had killed more people than anyone had bothered to count. It was for the simple fact that once you were on his radar, he owned you. And anyone he owned who failed to live up to the standard he set died. No talking. No trial. No second chance. How did I know? Because I was the blunt instrument. I killed anyone he pointed at. In fact, only one vampire had ever escaped his rage.

I lifted an eyebrow and the left side of his lip curled. He hadn’t killed me, which meant he wanted to talk.

He stepped back enough for me to sit up. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“That I sleep in the nude? I didn’t think I was your type.”

“Enough. I have killed for less. Tell me.”

“You think I’m not aware of that?” He was angry, but I wasn’t about to reveal anything to him that he didn’t already know. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re here?”

“I know, Corbin. I know everything. You have been distracted, withdrawn. I tried to talk to you and you lied.”

“I never lied.” Withheld, perhaps, but never lied.

“I had a visitor today. One you are apparently quite close with.”

Fucking Selene. “Oh?” I stood up and pulled on a pair of pants.

“You bonded with the witch.”

I picked up a long sleeve shirt from the floor and put it on too. “I didn’t mean to. You know I would not have hurt your sister.”

He nodded only once. “You could have ended the pain long before you did, though.”

I sat back down on the bed. “I never would have let her go. It was an accident.”

“You care for the witch. That isn’t the problem.”

“What is?”

“Do you know how long I have waited and worked for the Abyss to open to our kind? The amount of effort and expense I have gone to, in order to make myself indispensable to the right people? The Erlking himself came to me for help not too long ago, and you jeopardize that. For what?” His voice thundered off of the walls.

“She would have died had I not helped her. Surely the Erlking will not hold you responsible for me keeping his wife alive.”

“Not her, Corbin. The witch you freed last night. The one who threatens them.”

Oh. Her. Suddenly it was clear why Selene chose to go to Paolo and not to me. I placed my hands on either side of me and leaned forward. “I was protecting Selene.”

“Try again.” Paolo toyed with the blade still between his fingers.

“The witch wanted to be in the castle, she wanted the child, and she had a plan. I removed her to protect Selene.”

“No.” The blade pierced through my hand deep into my mattress. “Had you wished to protect her, you would have killed the witch who threatened.” He tore the blade back out. The pain was much worse the second time through.

“Sonofabitch.” I held my hand to my chest. “You know you are only hurting Selene.”

“No, you’re hurting her. You choose to lie to me. And every time you do, she will feel your pain.”

“She offered me Selene,” I ground out. “In exchange for helping her possess the child, I would get
Selene
. The elves and witches were close to figuring it out. Her plan was going to fail, so I got the witch out. I will not continue to live tied to someone I will never have. Why should she not be mine?”

Paolo leaned back in the metal folding chair he must’ve brought with him and crossed his legs.

“Do I not deserve to be happy?” I asked.

“What else have you hidden from me?” Paolo asked.

If Selene wanted to go over my head then she would deal with the consequences of that. “There is a necromancer.”

The blade stopped in his hand. “Why have you not dealt with her?”

“She isn’t a threat yet. She doesn’t embrace or understand her gifts.”

“Then she is all the easier to kill.”

I shook my head. “She is a bounty hunter and isn’t without friends. If I kill her, it will draw attention. Selene nearly did it for me, a few months ago.”

Paolo tapped the knife against his leg. “Can you not just have an affair with Selene? Must you possess her?”

Once I had her, she would be mine. I would never let her go. No one, especially Cheney, would ever touch her. “She will not.”

He shook his head. “Is there nothing I can do to talk you out of this madness?”

I shook my head. If the witch could give me a chance at Selene, I would be a fool not to take it—a fool that would live with regret for a thousand or so years.

“Then I will not stop you…but I will not protect you either. If you are caught and the Erlking asks for your life, it will be granted.”

“He cannot kill me so long as his wife lives.”

“Very true, but he may keep you for as long as he wishes and do as he pleases. Including burial.”

A buried vampire would starve to the point of insanity, then eventually wither past the point of recognition until it fell into a deep slumber—a hibernation if you will. A vampire bonded to another living being, like I was, would only have the madness. Continually fed through the bond, I would never wither and I would never hibernate. I would simply have to wait. Forever.

“He would not hurt Selene.”

“She is a witch. There are ways she can protect herself.” He stood in a single fluid movement. “Is it worth the risk?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Very well.” He left the room. “Corbin,” he called. “If you lie to me again, there won’t be a discussion. Oh—and I’ve left you a gift. I don’t expect a return.”

The muffled sound of my front door closing, released something in me. My fist slammed into the wall, and plaster and dust fell around me. I picked up the metal chair, twisted it beyond recognition, then threw it across the room. She went to Paolo.

My phone rang. I knew it was her before I even looked. I dropped the cell phone onto the floor and crushed it with my boot. If she wanted to talk, we would bloody well do it in person.

I stalked down my hallway and into the living room—then stilled as I took in Paolo’s present. It was Selene’s lookalike, dazed and smiling on my couch. I didn’t fucking care how he knew about her.

I took her hand. She slowly rose to her feet, eyes unfocused, and ran her hands over my chest. Her lips automatically sought mine, but settled for my neck. Closing my eyes, I traced my hands down her spine toward the swell of her perfect ass, trying to convince myself it was Selene, but her nagging presence inside of me wouldn’t allow me to pretend this woman was anything more than an imitation that I did not want. Not really.

I took her lips, my tongue plundering her mouth as I drew hard against her life force. I needed to forget. I needed the numbing of overindulgence. My fingers dug into the soft flesh of her ass as I lifted her from the floor, my body pinning hers to the wall. Her fingernails scratched down my back as her thighs squeezed around me.

It’s still not Selene,
my voice echoed through me.
She doesn’t smell like her, she doesn’t taste like her and when she’s gone, you will still have nothing.

I didn’t want nothing.

I lowered the woman back down to the floor and backed away from her. She aged. She aged a lot. She blinked several times as filmy blue cataracts formed over her eyes, then she crumpled to the floor. She wasn’t dead, but I had as good as killed her. She would probably never recover from the venom of our kiss, mine or Paolo’s—and her death would be painful and prolonged.

I lifted her from the floor, took her to my bed, and placed her under the covers. What was I supposed to do with her now? I stared down at her and tried to feel sympathy or regret, but nothing came. She wasn’t Selene. No one ever would be.

I headed out of the house, closing the door behind me. I would figure out what to do with the woman later. Right now I had a witch to see.

****

“Not much of a secret hideout,” I said, walking into the morgue of the abandoned hospital.

“It’s the perfect hideout,” a pretty dark haired woman with a slight Dutch accent purred, sitting up on the autopsy table. She waved her hand over her head. “Death, death, mental illness. They’ll never trace us.”

Dirt and flecks of paint from the peeling walls covered the floor. A few lights, protective glasses, and some hoses were the only things on the tables. Jessica stood at the window, scowling out at the light that barely penetrated the filth.

“Well, I love what you’ve done with the place.” I touched the rusted shade over one of the lights. “You have a problem,” I told Jessica.

She turned her head slowly, eyes narrowing. “A problem you created. My plan would have worked.”

“You’re in over your head. They were inches away from figuring you out. If I didn’t free you, the witch would be free and whatever you are would be in hell.”

Her teeth clenched. “What exactly do you see as my problem?”

I flashed a smile, not even attempting to make it friendly. “I am. You see, if you can’t succeed, you cease to be useful to me. And if you aren’t useful, there’s no reason for you to be alive.”

“How dare you threaten me?” She got that faraway spell casting look in her eye.

My hand darted out, and I lifted her by the throat until her toes scraped the floor. “No spells. No escape. You give me what you promised or die.” A hose wrapped around my throat and tightened as the pretty brunette attempted to strangle me. I reached around and knocked her away. “A tip. Next time you strangle someone, make sure they need to breath. Like this.” I tightened my fingers and Jessica sputtered, clutching at my hand. I held her for just a moment longer then dropped her to the ground. “I am stronger, faster—and more resolved to get what I want.”

Jessica waved her hand. “Enough, Monique. He’s still useful.”

The woman behind me dropped her hands, giving up whatever spell she was saying to cast.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you both.”

“We had a setback. We haven’t been defeated.”

I shook my head. “She knows your plan by now.”

“It doesn’t matter. There are other ways to get what we want.”

“How?” I asked.

Her eyes narrowed. “You will see.”

I crossed my arms. “I’m not going to waste my time. Right now, I can take you back to Selene and erase any suspicion she has about my loyalty.”

“Mon, get Gregor and Cyrus. It’s time.”

Monique’s head rolled back and she grinned. “With pleasure.” She skipped out of the room.