Pretty When She Kills (33 page)

There had been concern about Etzli or The Summoner attacking in the aftermath of the battle. As a precaution, each of their homes was now heavily warded by Aimee's spells. Jeff was grateful to finally have a witch in their midst.

“Cut the chit chat. How fucked are we?” Cassandra asked with her usual lack of tact. She was clad in jeans, beat up Converse, and a Spider-man shirt. In contrast, Aimee was wearing a long green maxi-dress adorned with Celtic designs in gold.

Jeff rested his hands on the book in front of him, dreading what he was about to tell those gathered in front of him. “I’m not sure.”

“The Summoner is not going to give up,” Amaliya said. The dour look on her face was one that he was not used to seeing. It was hard for all of them to see the pain etched into her face, but she had lost two loved ones to The Summoner. She had Jeff’s complete sympathy and support. He didn’t take the sharpness in her voice personal.

“We're not sure what he's planning yet, either,” Rachon pointed out. “Or do we?” She looked significantly at Jeff.

“Tell us what you found out,” Cian said, trying not to sound like he was ordering Jeff about. “Tell us why you called us here.”

Jeff felt the intense scrutiny of those gathered and squirmed around in his chair. The usual jovialness that accompanied these gatherings was gone. There was no joking, no playfulness. Everyone looked somber and a bit frightened. Benchley was staring at his bitten-down nails and Jeff hadn’t seen him smile once since that terrible night. When Benchley wasn’t cracking a bad joke, the world felt a lot gloomier.

Jeff took a deep breath. “Okay, where to start. I…uh…took that photo that Cass and Aimee took of the ring they stole and did a lot of research. I had to call on several overseas resources and really dug deep into my dad's works.” He paused for effect, but saw that everyone was looking annoyed that he wasn't just getting to the gist of it.

“What's he not saying?” Benchley asked Samantha.

“I have no clue. He hasn't told me yet either.” She glowered at Jeff. “He's being all mysterious.”

Jeff sighed. “I'm trying to lay a foundation here for my discovery.”

“We just want to know what it is!” Amaliya snapped.

“Okay, first off, how did The Summoner get into Bianca? I figured that out with Samantha's help. When The Summoner died, there were a ton of ghosts around the motel and graveyard according to Roberto.”

Cian arched his eyebrows. “Roberto?”

Jeff nodded. “Samantha saw his ghost the night it all went really bad. Roberto told Samantha that he tried to escape the town, but couldn't. When he was slingshotted back to the motel, the ghosts were gone. Rachon, meanwhile, told me she found Bianca, the night The Summoner died, resurrected and already fully in control of her powers in the graveyard where she was buried.”

Rachon gave a curt nod, agreeing. “I should have known something was wrong.”

Jeff quirked an eyebrow. “Well, hindsight is always 20/20. I firmly believe that The Summoner consumed all the ghosts in the surrounding area after his death. He used their ectoplasm to travel to Bianca's body and claim it. Just like Amaliya, Bianca is one of his necro-vamp offspring.” Jeff let his words sink in. “I don't know if Bianca was a mad fledgling, or rebirthed brain dead, but The Summoner implanted himself inside of her. He then waited until Rachon set her plan in motion to begin implementation of his own.”

“To get his ring back?” Cassandra asked.

“I think to get his ring back and Amaliya under his control.” Jeff glanced at Amaliya, who shrugged. “He wants you. That was very apparent that night in the cemetery. And I think it might have to do with the rings.”

“Is this the fucking
Lord of the Rings
now?” Benchley grumbled.

“One ring to rule them all!” Alexia said, pounding the table.

“Actually, thirteen rings to tear down the veil between our world and the abyss,” Jeff corrected.

“Thirteen?” Aimee's eyes widened, looking at Cassandra with concern. “What the hell?”

“We hid the one we stole. The Summoner has one. Etzli has one,” Cassandra said. “Who has the other ten?”

“I don't know, but I do know where they came from.” Jeff flipped open the book in front of him and displayed a photo of a painting. It was a dramatic rendition of Lucifer falling from the heavens. “So, long ago, there was a war in heaven and Lucifer was cast out. When he fell, he hit the earth. More precisely, he landed in the Yucatán Peninsula.”

“Huh?” Benchley gawked at Jeff. “Lucifer? Hitting Mexico? How do you know that?”

“I think he means Chicxulub, the meteor that hit like sixty-five million years ago,” Sergio said incredulously. When he noticed everyone looking at him curiously, he said defensively, “We keep
National Geographic
in the bathroom. You know...toilet reading?”

“That’s what tabloids are for,” Alexia grumbled.

“Sergio, you’re absolutely right. But Chicxulub wasn't a meteor, it was Lucifer,” Jeff said excitedly.

“Wait!” Samantha glared at him. “Since when do you believe in Lucifer? You were all against me saying the devil is real.”

“Well, since I found out about the rings, I have to say I now believe, okay?” Jeff felt annoyed by the interruptions. He hated to admit he was pretty excited to share his newfound information.

“So Lucifer lands in Mexico and what does that have to do with the rings?” Aimee asked.

“His sword,” Jeff replied. “His sword was in Mexico.”

Cian lifted his eyebrows as he turned to stare at Jeff. “In Mexico? Where Etzli is from?”

“Lucifer's sword was found by the Mayans. They believed it was the weapon of a fallen god and built a temple to house it. The Spanish conquered the Mayans, took the sword and the myth around it and delivered it as a gift to the Catholic Church.” Jeff paused for dramatic effect.

“They gave the Catholic Church Lucifer's sword?” Eduardo snorted. “That's pretty stupid.”

“Actually, it makes sense,” Alexia interjected. “It would’ve been made in heaven. It may have been his sword, but it could’ve been considered a holy relic.”

Jeff nodded enthusiastically. “It actually was, Alexia. It was made of pure gold with precious stones in the hilt.” Jeff held up the photo again. “See. Just like this. So, someone in the Vatican decided that it would be a great idea to melt down the sword and create rings out of it. Well, originally, they wanted to make a crown, too, but when the blacksmith melted the sword it lost mass. In the end, he only had enough gold for the rings. The jeweler made thirteen rings: one for the Pope, and twelve for select archbishops.”

“Does this sound like a horror movie in the making or what?” Eduardo joked.

“Does it ever,” Cass grumbled.

Benchley chewed on his thumbnail. “Totally Exorcist material.”

“So what happened to the rings, Jeff?” Amaliya's blue-gray eyes were demanding and a little cold.

“Well, they made the wearer go crazy. And realizing what was happening, the Jesuits collected the rings, dividing them up among thirteen devout priests and sent them out all over the world to hide the rings,” Jeff explained.

“And somehow the vampires found out about them,” Rachon added.

“Yeah. About a hundred years ago they became a hot commodity among the vampires,” Jeff agreed.

“About the time that The Summoner was holed up in some Mayan temples in the Yucatán Peninsula,” Cian sighed.

Rachon looked down at her hands, her face pensive. “That was when he kidnapped Etzli.”

“She's been in on it all along,” Cian agreed.

Jeff fidgeted in his chair, not sure how to impart the last of his information. “So, uh, well, lots of different hunter groups have been tracking down the individual rings over the years, but no one knew they were all connected. Not until now. The rings all ended up with different names and different legends, but when Cass and Aimee stole the ring from the Master of Dallas and then connected it to The Summoner, it all became clear.”

“He wants the rings. All of them,” Amaliya exclaimed, shaking her head.

Rachon sat back in her chair and tapped her chin with one finger. “The Master of Chicago just went missing a week ago.”

“We need to find out if he had a ring.” Cian drummed his fingers on the table. “Have any more gone missing?”

“But why now?” Samantha asked. “Why would he make his move now if he knew about the rings a hundred years ago?”

“The end of the Mayan calendar,” Benchley said in a low voice.

“Oh, shit,” Alexia whimpered, covering her face with her hoodie.

“Oh, c'mon. That's a bunch of bullshit,” Sergio griped.

Benchley snorted. “It makes sense! What if that date is significant for another reason? What if it has to do with these rings that used to be a sword?” Benchley stared intently at each person at the table in turn. “Think about it. What if the Mayans figured out that on that date if the sword is used properly, it could bring destruction down on us?”

“But why destroy the world? What does The Summoner get out of that?” Amaliya protested. “He seems real intent on living.”

“He has always been thwarted by the sun,” Cian spoke up. “Always. From the beginning of his existence as a vampire, he has always been confined to the night. Maybe he wants to eliminate his ultimate enemy. The sun.”

“Rip open the veil to the abyss and darkness consumes the earth,” Rachon whispered in a fearful voice.

“But he'll let out all the demons, the monsters of the pit...” Alexia's voice faded. “Of course, he'd love that.”

“So he wants to destroy the world,” Cassandra said, slightly shrugging. “Great.”

Aimee looked several shades paler and her hand clutched Cassandra's tightly. “So we stop him.”

“But how?” Sergio asked. “We're just a bunch of...uh...”

“Fuck ups? Rejects?” Amaliya offered.

“Speak for yourself. I'm pretty awesome,” Eduardo retorted.

“Some vampires will help him, you know,” Rachon said grimly.

“And you?” Cian stared into her eyes.

Rachon shook her head. “I love my family. He was right about that. And some members of my family aren't vampires. I don't want them to die.”

“What about you?” Sergio asked Cian. “Do you want an eternal night?”

Cian said simply, “No.”

“I say we send out what we know to the hunters and get a coalition going. We need to track down these rings and keep them from him,” Cassandra said, thumping the table with her fist.

“If we do that he'll know that we figured it what he's up to,” Amaliya said, her hands nervously combing through her long hair. “He'll come for us.”

“He's going to come for you anyway,” Samantha said, resting her hand lightly on Amaliya's shoulder. “At some point, he'll come for you, because it's obvious he tried to make you and Bianca for a reason. Now that he's in her body, he's going to be coming for you.”

Amaliya looked at Samantha worriedly. “What do you mean?”

“He must need another necromancer to help him pull off whatever he means to do,” Samantha answered.

“She's right. Why else would he have tried to make you and Bianca?” Jeff closed the book gently and sighed. “It makes perfect sense that he needs you.”

“So we have pieces of his puzzle that he will come for,” Cian said.

“Yeah,” Jeff answered.

“Then we'll be ready for him,” Cian said firmly.

“We create a coalition then.” Rachon’s jaw set with determination. “And we stop him.”

“We have no other choice,” Cian agreed.

“We fight,” Cassandra said firmly.

“Until we die,” Eduardo said with a flash of teeth.

“Or win,” Aimee amended.

“Like Buffy and the Scoobies,” Samantha said in a perky voice.

Jeff gave her an amused smile and she grinned at him.

Taking Amaliya's hand, Cian gazed into her eyes. “Nothing will take you from me.”

Pressing her lips to his fingers, Amaliya nodded. “I won't let him take me.”

“So let's get to planning...” Jeff said, and ignored his own wildly beating heart.

Epilogue

Amaliya stared across the treetops toward the sparkling Austin skyline. Safely ensconced in their new home in the Bouldin Creek area south of downtown, Cian and Amaliya were adjusting to their new digs. Amaliya rather liked the modern-style three-story home with its blocky exterior. The flat roof doubled as a deck that allowed her to gaze toward the building that had been her home for a brief, but lovely time.

Smoking a cigarette, she glanced down into the dark street below. Eduardo was somewhere down there patrolling. The streets were much quieter and darker than the busy downtown area and she was still adapting to the stillness.

Voices drifted up from downstairs. Aimee and Cassandra were doing dishes after their dinner. Amaliya hadn't been surprised when Cian had taken them in. The couple occupied one of the bedrooms on the second floor. Though the women seemed wary of the vampires at times, things were slowly warming between all of them. Amaliya had been amused to find Cassandra and Cian playing pool in their new game room earlier in the evening. They were both competitive, but their playful jibs had made her smile.

She heard the door open behind her and smelled Cian’s cologne. He had been on the phone for the last hour. Cian had attempted to warn Santos in hopes of recruiting him eventually to their cause, but the vampire master of San Antonio would not listen. Amaliya really didn’t care if Etzli ended up killing the jerk.

Cian slipped up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. She rested against him, relishing his touch. His soft kisses on her cheek made her smile.

“You're always so beautiful in the moonlight,” Cian said, his voice husky in her ear.

Putting out her cigarette, Amaliya nuzzled his cheek. “Stop trying to seduce me.”

Their new bedroom didn't have the retractable walls of their former home, but it did have reinforced doors and heavy metal shutters that covered the wide windows. Amaliya rather enjoyed having an actual bedroom to sleep in, even if her clothes were strewn all over the floor. It was a habit that drove Cian crazy.

“I can't help myself.” Cian kissed her cheek again and then rested his chin on her shoulder. “How are you tonight?”