In Darkness We Must Abide: The Complete Third Season Read online

  “Vanilla tits is a cute, but damn, I want a drink of you,” Greg said, pushing the wrong button.

  When it came to defending her sister, she was a juggernaut.

  Thrusting a finger in the incubus’s face, she said, “Look demon, I want to get something straight between us right now. You won’t insult my sister. You won’t insult me. You’ll keep your dick in your pants and talk to me like an equal. I’ve put up with too much shit of late to deal with you. You ever call my sister vanilla tits again and I will find a way to go all exorcist on your ass. Am I clear?”

  “I either just came, or shit myself,” Greg answered, flashing far too many teeth at her.

  Alisha had no idea if he actually had a cock, but she kneed him as hard as she could where he should have balls. With satisfaction, she made contact with what felt like an impressive package. Whatever. The bigger the better the target.

  Greg’s grunt of pain was the only sound in the room.

  The others were shocked into silence.

  “Fuck,” the demon coughed out. “You hit me!”

  “I’m not joking about my sister. You back off.”

  “I’m just an honest guy,” Greg persisted, his red face almost matching his hair.

  “Your honesty will get you a one way ticket to hell if you don’t watch it, asshole.”

  “Fine! You don’t need to go all violent on me.” Limping away from Alisha, the incubus gave her a look resembling that of a hurt dog. If he had a tail, it was tucked between his legs. “She didn’t have to hit me,” Greg complained to Alexander.

  Alexander merely shrugged.

  “Well, played,” Sheila uttered under her breath.

  Feeling like crying, but resisting the urge, Alisha followed Sheila to the kitchen. To her relief, the faucet over the sink turned on. The clear water rushed over her hands, washing away the blood of her enemies.

  Dexios joined her at the sink while behind them Sheila and Greg exchanged a few words over the incubus’s need for civility. Alexander positioned himself between the sink and where his mate stood talking with the demon. Maybe he was worried about another violent confrontation, but Alisha was done for the moment.

  “I think you scared him,” Dexios whispered. Reaching under the stream, he helped her scrub the drying blood and bits of flesh off her fingertips. “Demons love to antagonize people, but respect those who stand up to them.”

  “He has no right to talk about my sister like that,” Alisha responded.

  “I agree, but now that you’ve drawn your line, you can stand down.”

  Alisha lifted her eyes and saw that he wasn’t being demanding, but was concerned. Though the mere presence of the demon annoyed Alisha, she accepted that they had to work together to defeat Aeron. “I just want him to respect Vanora. She’s so much more than people understand.”

  “So are you.” Dexios looked significantly at the bloody water. “You should have absorbed the blood.”

  Startled, Alisha looked over at Alexander and Sheila. Both appeared normal with not a speck of blood on them. Alisha remembered Roman’s blood slithering over her, sinking into her flesh. “I don’t understand.”

  Dexios shrugged. “Neither do I. I take it as a good sign that your body rejected the blood of your enemy.”

  “Maybe my witch blood...”

  “Maybe.” A stack of napkins from a fast food restaurant was discarded on the counter near an empty plastic bag. Dexios grabbed the wad and started to scrub at her neck. “When your sister gets here, she doesn’t need to see you were halfway decapitated.”

  The words chilled Alisha to the bone. “I was?”

  Dexios nodded. “You’ll need to feed again. I offer my blood.”

  “Is this becoming a thing?” Alisha said the words before fully processing them. She was horrified to realize the comment sounded overtly flirtatious.

  Dexios froze.

  Reddening, Alisha said quickly, “I meant that as a joke.”

  “Yes. Of course.”

  “We’ll rescue Kallos,” Alisha added hurriedly. “You’ll be together.”

  With a brusque incline of his head, Dexios leaned over the sink to wash his own face.

  “So where is Leto?” Sheila was asking.

  “She’s in the back room on the phone trying to sort out what all is going on. Word is that Lorelei was sent after Armando tonight. She’s trying to find out what’s up with that.”

  “Vanora is with him!” Panic washed over Alisha. She had to see her sister again.

  “Which is why he’ll probably be just fine. You have no idea what your sister has become,” Greg said with a sniff. “She’s powering up like an ivory-colored She-Hulk.”

  “They’ll be fine,” Sheila assured Alisha. “Armando is old and powerful, too.”

  Alisha clung to her friend’s comment, but her stomach still felt like it had popped.

  “Of course, we also have to take into account, Pólemos, Aeron’s favorite werewolf, has arrived.” Greg shuddered. “I hate that guy.”

  Dexios jerked his head up. “Pólemos? Then that means Mirrah is here.”

  “Mirrah?” Alisha asked.

  “Aeron’s current queen. She’s a total cunt,” Greg sniffed. “Even I wouldn’t fuck her.”

  “What does this mean?” Alisha asked Dexios. “That they’re here?”

  Beats of water clinging to his beard and long hair, Dexios’s eyes flashed with hate. “It means all the most powerful servants of Aeron are now in Houston. His favored ones. The most dangerous and ancient.”

  “The scene is set for war.” Sheila’s face and voice were grim.

  “But we got Leto on our side and Vanilla...” Greg shot Alisha a look. “Vanora on our side.”

  “But she’s connected to Aeron,” Dexios reminded them.

  “But Vanora is on our side.” Rubbing her hands on her jeans, Alisha didn’t immediately realize she was bloodying them again. Her clothes were sodden with the blood of her enemies and her own. Dexios caught her and motioned to the sink. With a sigh, she started to wash her hands off again.

  “She wouldn’t betray us,” Sheila said sharply while Alexander stepped toward Greg in a threatening manner.

  “Don’t forget we’re up against some serious mojo. Vanora was made for Aeron. We’re trying to save someone who might not want to be saved in the end,” Greg retorted. “I actually kinda like her beyond the fact that I would bend her over and....” Another wary look at Alisha shut up the incubus. “I like Vanora, but I don’t know if we can trust her.”

  “She’s my sister. I trust her. We can depend on her.”

  “For now maybe,” Greg said with a shrug.

  “He’s right.” A striking woman with Greek features and thick dark hair stepped into the kitchen with a large wolf at her side. Her aura was powerful, intimidating, and dangerous. “Once she is close to Aeron, we cannot depend on her loyalty. The magic that created her will make her want to be with him.”

  “So then we keep her from him.” Alisha had planned to fight, but she would run if it meant saving Vanora. She was so tired of not knowing what to do and changing her mind. If only there was a clear way to deal with the situation.

  “We can’t. She’s the only one who can kill him.” Leto remained unmoving in the doorway, regal and feral at the same time.

  “But if she can’t be near him...” Sheila faltered. “How can we kill him then?”

  “She’ll have to go to Aeron,” Dexios replied.

  “No, absolutely not.” Alisha wagged her head, her damp hair clinging to her cheeks and neck. “No.”

  “If it’s the only way, I’ll do it,” Vanora’s voice said.

  All eyes immediately turned toward the doorway that apparently opened to an attached garage. Vanora and Armando stood on the threshold, both looking a bit battered. Fingers wrapped around Armando’s, Vanora regarded those in the kitchen somberly.

  “You can’t,” Alisha protested.

  “But I will,” Vanora replied,
her gaze resolved.

  Alisha feared in that moment she was doomed to lose her sister.

  * * *

  The scene in the kitchen of the rental house was bizarre. Sheila and Alexander, decked out in black leather, looked a bit rough, and there were ragged tears in their clothing. They’d obviously been through a battle. More disturbing was Alisha completely drenched in blood. Next to her stood a man that Vanora instantly knew was a werewolf. Despite looking human, there was a distinctly lupine look to his features. Leto stood in the opposite entrance to the kitchen staring at Vanora with subtly glowing wolf-eyes. Greg stood apart from the rest of the group and appeared noticeably anxious. That was unusual and very unsettling.

  No one seemed to notice her entrance except Leto. The She-Wolf’s face was inscrutable.

  “But if she can’t be near him, how can we kill him then?” Sheila was saying.

  “She’ll have to go to Aeron,” the werewolf replied.

  “No, absolutely not. No.” Alisha cut in immediately.

  That was her older sister. Always being protective. But she was wrong to try to protect her. Vanora would have to do whatever was required to defeat Aeron.

  “If it’s the only way, I’ll do it,” Vanora said, interrupting the conversation.

  Everyone swiveled toward her, surprised to see her and Armando looming in the doorway to the garage. Armando’s hand rested on her hip, his chest pressed against her back. It was reassuring to feel him at her side. Since she’d awakened in a car that Armando had relieved from its owner using his vampire hypnotism, she’d been anxiously awaiting this reunion and expected it would go quite differently. Instead of a warm reception and long embrace with her sister, she stood awkwardly before them, already feeling at odds with those gathered to meet with her. Also, how had the group in the house not seen or heard them enter? Had her magic once again kicked in to protect her? Why would it choose to protect her from her friends and family? The pulse of her magic coursed through her veins, gradually swelling in power. The attack on Lorelei and the Brides had greatly diminished her powers, but she was starting to recuperate.

  “You can’t,” Alisha protested.

  “But I will,” Vanora said, and knew no one could stop her from doing what was right. Now that she knew her entire life had been constructed to fulfill a dark destiny, nothing would prevent her from destroying the power of the prophecy.

  Alisha started to reply, but the half-naked werewolf at her side restrained her with a touch on her arm.

  Vanora had expected to be swept up in her sister’s embrace upon their reunion, but they merely stared at each other in silence.

  “You eluded Aeron’s minions. Well done,” Leto said, her voice neutral.

  “How do you know he sent people after us?” Armando asked suspiciously.

  Leto tugged a phone from her jeans. “This thing.”

  The male werewolf chuckled.

  The playful sneer Leto gave him alleviated some of the stress in the room. “You should be pleased, Dexios, that I actually use this damned thing.”

  “Ancient goddesses don’t care much for technology,” Dexios explained.

  “It’s just another form of magic,” Leto sniffed. “But it did allow me to find out that Aeron sent Lorelei to Armando’s haven.”

  “How did you elude her?” Sheila asked.

  “We escaped because of Vanora.” Armando’s fingers gently caressed her waist. “She’s far more powerful than any of you realize.”

  Stowing her phone away, Leto lifted her gaze to Armando’s face. “I’m beginning to see that.”

  “We had to fight off Lorelei and Aeron’s Brides, but what happened to you?” Vanora asked, flicking her hand toward Alisha.

  “Six of Aeron’s vampires,” Sheila responded. “A few blocks from here.”

  “They know about this haven?” Armando’s tone was sharp.

  “If they knew about it, they’d be here by now.” Dexios sounded confident in his proclamation, so that was a bit of comfort.

  “But why are you okay, but Alisha is covered in blood?” Vanora finally dared to disengage herself from Armando and approach her sister.

  “That’s what we’re wondering,” Dexios said, stepping aside. “Her flesh should have absorbed it.”

  Alisha stared down at her clothing. “I look like a slaughterhouse.”

  Grimacing, Vanora said, “I want to hug you, but...”

  “I wouldn’t hug me.” Alisha laughed, shrugged off her overcoat, and surveyed her sweater. Blood stained the entire neckline down to her bust. “Not much better.”

  “This isn’t how it should be. Look at me and Alexander. Our skin soaked up all the blood from our skin and clothes.” Sheila set her elbows on a counter and leaned forward to stare at Alisha with confusion.

  “The sisters are of Aeron’s blood, people. That makes them different from everyone else in this room.” Greg rolled his eyes. “Put two and two together.”

  Armando shoved his hands into his coat pockets and frowned. “True, but how should that affect Alisha’s abilities?”

  “Aeron’s vampires are his progeny,” Leto stated. “Alisha was created by a different Master.”

  “Why should that matter? It never has before,” Armando pointed out.

  Leto’s eyebrows drew together. “I’m trying to figure that out.”

  Armando focused on Leto. “With Aeron’s power being destroyed, maybe so are we. It was always feared all vampires would die with the Seven Sisters. Does this mean we’re rooted in Aeron’s power and if he dies, we all die?”

  “Why would the reversal affect Alisha and not the rest of you?” Leto cocked her head. “The disruption is probably her witch side, don’t you think?”

  “It’s because they’re of Aeron’s witch/human bloodline,” Greg insisted. “If Alisha is rejecting Aeron’s vampire progeny’s blood, it’s probably some sort of witchy hoodoo.”

  The corner of her lips tugged upward as Vanora settled on one possibility. “Maybe it’s a portent that the prophecy is unraveling. A sign.”

  Alexander nodded gravely.

  Sheila appeared confused. “I don’t get it.”

  Vanora wasn’t too sure she grasped the concept entirely, but she was convinced Alisha’s condition was a sign. “Well, a lot of magic went into making Aeron what he is. So maybe once the spell started to disintegrate, so did his power. Aeron built his empire by stealing the blood of the Seven Sisters. Does it make sense that the vampire descendant of his bloodline would be first to see the manifestation of this reversal? Vampires drink the blood of others for life and power. Maybe Alisha’s body rejecting the blood of another is a sign that…” Vanora faltered, unsure she liked this line of conjecture.

  “That all vampires are dying.” Armando finished for her. “Our blood is not as potent. Therefore, Alisha’s half-witch nature refused the dying blood.”

  Vanora grabbed his hand. “I don’t believe that.”

  “I still don’t get it,” Sheila said irritably.

  “What he’s saying, Morticia,” Greg started, his voice sounding strained, “is that maybe all vampires are tethered to Aeron. Without his life, you all lose yours and that it’s already happening.”

  Wearing an alarmed look, Sheila pressed her hands to her face. “Shit. I don’t have the usual rush I get after taking another vampire’s power.”

  Alexander gravely nodded in agreement.

  “So we’re dying,” Alisha murmured.

  “I don’t accept that,” Vanora protested, even though she feared it was true.

  “Mother, what do you think?” Dexios sounded calm, but there was a frantic expression in his eyes.

  “I don’t know.” Leto glanced down at the wolf at her side. It regarded her solemnly. “The supernatural world has been imbalanced for a long time.”

  “And if I kill Aeron, will all of the vampires die?” Vanora asked.

  Leto exhaled long and slow. “You are all of my blood. I always thought it was my de
ath that would end you all. But maybe Arianrhod destroyed even that link.”

  What if Vanora killed Aeron only to kill those she loved most? She twisted about to face Armando. His golden gaze met hers in quiet surrender.

  “No,” Vanora whispered. “It can’t be true.”

  “Maybe what we’re experiencing is the return to how it’s supposed to be,” Alisha suggested. “Maybe we’re being reconnected to you, Leto.”

  “Maybe,” Leto replied, but sounded uncertain.

  “So if I kill Aeron, I kill the people I love?” In misery, Vanora clutched her head in her hands.

  “We’re dead either way.” Sheila shrugged. “He will kill us. Our only hope is that we’ll survive you killing him.”

  “How can I risk it?” Vanora stared at them incredulously, but knew she would have to and infuriated her.

  “You’ll do what you must,” Armando replied with certainty.

  “Not to pour more water on this dying bonfire of rebellion, but I feel I need to point out that Vanora is linked to Aeron, too. Killing him might result in her dying, too.” Greg exhaled, green smoke unfurling from his pudgy lips. “Y’all may be dead monsters walking.”

  “The vampire race would end,” Dexios whispered. “Kallos would die.”

  Alisha put a gentle hand on the werewolf’s arm. “We can’t be sure of that.”

  “Can we be sure of any of this?” Sheila pounded her bony fist against the counter. “Fuck it all. It can’t just end like this. Damned if we do, damned if we don’t.”

  “You mean damned if I do, damned if I don’t,” Vanora corrected. Tears stung her eyes. What had Arianrhod done to all of them?

  “We don’t know for sure that any of this is true!” Alisha shook her head adamantly. “No, I don’t accept it. Vanora can kill him and we can all live. I know it. I feel it.”

  “Except your sketch showed Vanora connected to Aeron,” Dexios said cautiously, obviously trying to avoid upsetting everyone even more. “There was a link between them. A thread.”