Before I could ponder on the various ways the movies told me I should enter a hostage situation, a voice called out from behind the door. It was faint, but I heard "come in, bitch," loud and clear. He needed to expand his vocabulary. At this point, hearing “see you next Tuesday” would at least show variety. My power rushed to my wrists at my sudden flood of adrenaline. If my body was choosing fight over flight, that was a good thing, right? Maybe I would pull this off.

  I opened the door with force, courtesy of my new-found bravado. There was no sign of Alice or the invisible man in the entry. I walked past the white adobe walls and looked up to the landing. Alice stood frozen at the top of the steps, her eyes wildly darting around her. Her purple and lime green mumu was stained around the neck. It looked like blood, which brought me to the floating knife at her throat. "I'm here. I have your potion. Let Alice go. She has nothing to with this."

  "All of you whores of Satan have something to do with this."

  "Yeah, but you chose to sleep with a whore of Satan. What does that say about you?" I regretted the words immediately as the knife pressed into the abused flesh at Alice's throat.

  Alice let out a small whimper.

  I winced. "Sorry, I'm sure she tricked you."

  "As if you stupid bitches could trick me. I gave that whore what she wanted. I just didn't want to play house afterward."

  "Sorry, my mistake."

  He grunted, temporarily appeased. If I could see him, I’d bet he would be sporting a look of self-righteous indignation.

  "Can I come up?" I wanted to get this show on the road before I lost my nerve.

  "Walk to the top of the stairs and roll the potion to me. Try anything at all, and I'll slit her throat."

  No need to throw it at him then. I’d wasted the thinner bottles for nothing. It sounded like he would happily shower in it. As I walked up the stairs, I couldn't help but remember how I used to find the thick carpet comforting. Right now the sensation reminded me of quicksand. I climbed anyway, counting again in sets of three. One, two, three, one, two, three. My eyes never leaving the knife, I watched for any twitch. Countless sets of three later, I stood on the top step.

  "Now, let me see the potion."

  I reached into my purse and pulled one from the kitchen towel. "Do you want me to roll it?"

  "That's what I said, right?" His voice oozed condescension.

  My brow creased in annoyance, but I bent over, eyes still on the knife and gave a surprisingly good roll. It still didn't exactly go to Alice, but we were dealing with a lopsided bottle and thick carpeting. Apparently universal physical laws were my fault as well.

  "Stupid witch." Alice jerked like a rag doll a foot to her left as Grant went after the bottle. He had to be a big guy if he was able to pull her around like that.

  Alice fell to her knees as the bottle was picked up, floating in the air like the knife.

  "Do I drink it?"

  "Uh, I think you can just pour it on yourself."

  "You're not sure? What are you an amateur?"

  "Witchcraft is not a science. I’ve never had to cure the invisible man."

  He let out a harsh laugh. The stopper came out of the bottle and the liquid poured out. This was where I needed to get ready. My adrenaline-fueled magic was primed. I directed it toward my palms and waited. Nothing happened.

  "You lied. Guess that means you both die," he said, his voice full of menace.

  Alice's head snapped back as he pulled her hair. "Try drinking it," she said her voice suddenly calm and authoritative. Sane Alice joined the party.

  "Are you trying to poison me, cow?"

  Alice grunted which increased the trickle of blood running down her neck. "Like she said. Some of magic is trial and error. If you want to stay stuck like that, suit yourself." Her voice was softer this time, she seemed to be trying to avoid further damage from the knife.

  "Well, bitch, do you have any more?"

  I nodded and reached into my pocket, wishing I had a vial of poison instead. This time when I rolled the vial, it managed a wobbly path right to him, and it was scooped right up, uncorked, and I assumed devoured. With Alice on her knees and knowing where his head was I had the perfect opening. I swallowed my nerves and let my magic loose. I hoped for a scream that never came. Maybe I hadn’t actually hit him? He remained invisible and my magic passed straight through where I thought he was.

  He laughed. "Stupid bitch, didn't you realize? I'm immune to your shit now, which means you can't see me still. I thought you bitches would be useful. Guess I was wrong." The knife quivered for a moment.

  Suddenly Alice reached up and scratched at the hand holding the knife with her nails. There was a yowl of pain, and the knife fell. Alice ducked and began to crawl away, when I heard an oomph, and she went sprawling across the carpet.

  He could be physically harmed. Rushing forward without thinking, I needed to save my friend who was curled in a ball clutching at her ribs. I tackled the space above her, satisfied to hear another oomph and the knife clatter to the ground. With no formal fight training, I tried to punch, bite, and claw my opponent to submission.

  He let a few grunts and a laugh. "Really think you can win this? Why couldn't you just do what I asked? I'm going to make you hurt."

  His first punch landed, hitting me right on my cheekbone, snapping my head to the side. The floor seemed to rise up to meet me. There was no time to react before kicks hit me in a relentless staccato. I wanted to fight back, but blinding pain shot through me. The darkness began to close in when I heard Alice. Her voice acted like a beacon, allowing me to hold on to consciousness a bit longer.

  "You idiot, the spirits have spoken, and they are unwilling to release you. Do you think killing their kin will convince them to grant you mercy?"

  I had no idea what she was talking about, but it kept the darkness at bay for the moment. I wanted to give into the pain, but letting the darkness in meant death.

  "What are you talking about?" He asked, pausing his assault.

  "Just what I said. We gave you the tools to free yourself. You did not seek forgiveness. You sought justification of your supposed wrongs. Well, death does not agree with your self-righteousness."

  Suddenly a hand grabbed my hair, pulling my head up at a sharp angle. "Hear that, bitch? Your friend bought you a few extra minutes." Hot breath hit my ear.

  My head was thrust back down and hit the carpet with enough force cause the shadows to return for a moment as the air above me shifted, and he kicked me again. My entire body was in agony, but the kicks brought fresh jolts of pain to my system.

  "Come on, boy, kill me. Your curse will only be ten times worse."

  I clung to her words and tried to sit up. My body revolted. I could hear him begin to start punching and kicking Alice. She was a stronger person than me and didn't make a single sound. Inside my head, I was screaming in fury as the sounds of cracking bones and a wet noise that sounded like blood being drawn filled the air. I couldn't lie here. Pain engulfed me, as I found the will to roll over. I needed to help my friend. The knife was on the floor since he decided beating us to death would be more satisfactory. It was there, out of reach, taunting me.

  I dragged my body forward inch by excruciating inch. My fingers found the hilt, but they didn't seem to want to grip the hilt. Something was wrong with my arm. I gritted my teeth and forced my fingers to cooperate. Knife in hand, I slashed blindly and hit something. I heard a yowl of pain, and a body fell to the floor. Hopefully it was Grant. Maybe I managed to hamstring him, but there was no way of knowing.

  My pain suddenly stopped, as my power realized this was my last opportunity for survival and rushed through my body, giving me one last burst of strength to keep fighting. I crawled forward until I felt the hard body of a large man. I began stabbing indiscriminately. He punched me some more, yanked at my hair, getting any blow he could. I kept stabbing. His blood was visible when it left his body, and I had never seen anything more beautiful.

  A punch to my ribs brought the pain rushing back as the magic powering my brief recovery left as quickly as it came. Pushed onto my back, I felt strong hands encircle my neck. I tried to stab him again, but all the blood coating my fingers made the knife slippery. It fell from my numb hand. I didn’t even have the satisfaction of looking in my killer’s eyes. Needle points of light invaded my vision, as I feebly clawed at the hands, not wanting to give up.

  Just as the darkness was going to win, the weight crushing my throat was gone. Sucking in a sharp breath, my lungs burned. My fractured ribs protested. Blinking, I managed to clear my vision, expecting to see Deval or Bruce. Instead another danger appeared. Fane Dimir was smiling down at me. My mother was going to be so pissed that the vampires got me in the end.

  "Peg, you look good enough to eat."

  I was sure he was referring to the fact I was covered in blood, but he would say that even if I weren’t. He turned his attention back to Grant, whom he could apparently see.

  "You thought to take my property, did you, you stupid little mortal?"

  "Stupid fucking witch, I didn't take your property. That bitch belonged to me."

  Fane's laugh sent shivers up my spine. "Is that what Violet told you, that I’m a witch? You are too stupid to live. Witches are nothing compared to my race. Violet was always mine." His razor-sharp fangs extended two inches from his upper and lower canines.

  Grant screamed in terror.

  Fane looked down at me, his ice-blue eyes glowing. He winked, and my body shuddered involuntarily bringing a fresh wave of pain. I wanted to scream too but could barely breathe. There might have been a lung punctured.

  "What a lovely sound, don't you think, darling?"

  I stared back transfixed, unable to say anything.

  He laughed and turned back to his first prey. The sounds of wet popping and torn flesh filled the air. Grant's screams continued for a moment, before turning to gurgles followed by a deafening silence. I turned my head to the right. Alice looked back at me. She was bruised and bloody but breathing. Her eyes were open, but they held that glossed over look. Either shock or she’d checked out again, possibly both. Suddenly there was a thud, and I was looking into the eyes of a dead man. Hello, Grant. He really was handsome, too bad he was evil.

  I didn’t want to look, but realizing Fane was being very quiet, I didn’t have a choice. Death stared back. It was the first time I had ever met and held a vampire’s gaze. Well, I got my wish. I would be able to look my killer in the eyes.

  He got down on the floor, crawling over me, careful not to touch my injured body. I was surprised he wasn't deliberately manipulating my injuries. Oh right, he was going for mental torture. He straddled me but didn't touch as he studied me. With an injured woman under him, Grant’s corpse practically touching him, he was in sociopath heaven. He continued to stare silently.

  "Kill me already."

  He laughed softly and placed his face in between my breasts, inhaling as he moved his head up my chest to my neck. "Killing you sounds fun, but I wouldn’t want to deny myself your particular vintage in the future. Just a taste I think. I want to savor your blood, your fear, your body." He spoke in my ear, like a lover. Then he bent back to the top of my breast and took a light nip, licking the fresh blood before dragging his tongue back up my neck and to my ear, where he took another quick bite.

  Fear induced shivers wracked my body, but I locked my jaw, refusing to beg or scream.

  The sound of a door being slammed open downstairs was the most beautiful thing I’d ever heard.

  "Peg! Alice!"

  It was Deval, thank the gods.

  "Well, my sweet, looks like our time is up for now. I will dream of you tonight, I think. Dream of me as well." He dragged a fang along my lower lip and licked my mouth before standing up with unimaginable speed. He looked to Alice. "I heard your secrets, witch. With the goblins here, you have a brief respite, but I will come for it. You ladies have brought so many interesting new games into my life."

  I could hear Deval pounding up the stairs and felt strangely safe, even with an ancient vampire standing over me with a proverbial hard-on. Darkness finally won.

  Epilogue

  Another day, another bouquet. As per usual, they were gorgeous. Today's bunch was two dozen roses, a deep crimson and a purple so dark they were almost black, arranged into a heart shape. I should be thrilled with the expensive flowers filling my home, but they all came with simple white card that simply read Fane.

  Like this one, not all of the arrangements came with a vase, the few I already owned were full, so I grabbed a large mason jar that had held marinara in a previous life, to support the heavy arrangement. Flowers settled, I set them on the table in the kitchen. There were already two arrangements on the table. I'd figure out a place to put them later.

  A sturdy knock sounded on my front door. Checking the peephole, I my breath quickened when I saw Deval. I opened the door and gestured him in. "This is a surprise."

  "I wanted to come and check on you."

  I did a little twirl, ending in a bow. "Nothing a talented witch practitioner couldn't heal."

  He gave me a hard look, apparently unamused, and bypassed me to make himself comfortable in my living room. I shrugged and followed. He took a seat, and I picked one on the love seat opposite from the couch he chose. "You were very close to death when I saw you. I'm surprised you’re moving about."

  He didn't need to know the first thing I did upon arriving home was take a sleeping bag to my plane and sleep for ten hours straight. "Yes, I've been very fortunate."

  "How is Alice?"

  "Sore and shook up, but she's doing better. She's offered to train me. I have a lesson with her later tonight."

  He nodded in approval. "You couldn't ask for a better teacher. Even my mother speaks highly of her."

  "Are they friends?" I asked.

  "More like friendly acquaintances. They respect one another." He looked around and suddenly noticed the multiple vases around the room. "You certainly have a lot of people wishing you a speedy recovery, or an admirer perhaps?" He quirked an inquisitive brow.

  "Yeah, he's tall, blond, and a sociopath. Every girl's dream. Still, he does seem to have good taste in flowers." I surveyed the various arrangements throughout the room.

  "Fane has been sending you flowers?" His body tensed as he leaned forward and inspected each bouquet as if they were a ticking time bomb.

  "Yup, he's taken quite a shine to me."

  "You're being a little blasé about this. Why are you keeping the arrangements?"

  "It's not the flowers’ fault that they were bought by a man who wants to eat, torture, and rape me. They're beautiful."

  "One would think that you wouldn't want the reminder."

  "The reminder is good. I need to step up my game. He's fixated on me, pretending he doesn't exist isn't going to help me. I want the reminder so every day I spend getting strong enough magically and physically will allow me to be the one who kills him."

  He nodded. "I'll have a talk with him."

  A week ago I told Deval I hadn't wanted him to intervene on my behalf because I didn't want mixed loyalties. After nearly dying, I was more pragmatic. I wasn't ready to out myself as part goblin, but I also wouldn't turn down the offer. "I'd appreciate it, but I don't think it will hold him at bay forever."

  "You'd be surprised."

  Maybe I would, but I wouldn't count on it. "Perhaps I will, but apparently I'm a special vintage."

  "Yes, I imagine you would be. Mixed heritage has become rare. He probably hasn't tasted a goblin-witch mix in several hundred years. Even if your goblin heritage is small."

  "I'm not sure if he realized what he tasted."

  He shook his head. "He at least suspected. I'm afraid my talk with him will confirm those suspicions. Even the implied relation should keep him from acting on his promises."

  "We'll see. Did he say anything to you that day at Alice's?"

  "Just that I could thank him for saving my friends. He was trying to imply I owed him a debt."

  "I'm guessing you told him otherwise." I laughed.

  "Yes, I was angry he had killed my prey."

  "Can't say I feel the same way."

  "Understandable, but that means I still need to find out how he did it."

  I nodded. If his property had been stolen once it could happen again. There was no way that Grant didn’t have inside help. Deval had a traitor among his people. "If you need my assistance, I'll cut you a fair deal."

  His lips twitched. "You would charge a friend?"

  "Are we friends?" I asked, tilting my head.

  "We could be. Maybe more than friends."

  My cheeks flamed. "Oh, really? That's presumptuous."

  "We'll see." He stood abruptly and walked purposefully toward me.

  I scrambled out of my seat, rising to meet him and feeling a bit like a rabbit. He stopped, leaving an inch between our bodies. He gave me a smoldering look before his face broke into a grin. Reaching up to tuck my hair behind my ear, he leaned in and closed my eyes. He didn't kiss me but placed his cheek against mine. The feel of his stubble against my cheek was strangely erotic. I inhaled sharply.

  He spoke softly in my ear. "We could have a lot of fun. Next time I tie you up, you'll enjoy it.”

  I leaned into him enjoying the sensation of his hands cupping my face and was a little disappointed when he dropped one. Then it was at my breast. The sound of rustling paper made me open my eyes as I realized he wasn't copping a feel but putting something into the pocket of my button up shirt.

  "Don't argue about this. It's a reward. I will not be indebted to you."

  With that, his hand dropped, and he pulled his face back to look into my eyes. "This is going to be fun." He turned and walked out my front door.

  Well, damn, my dance card was filling up, though I shouldn’t consider Fane a suitor as he took “until death do us part” too far, in my opinion. I pulled the paper out of my pocket and sat down my legs turning to jelly. A check for five grand. Add that to the three grand I’d gotten as a Fortune, and I didn't need to take any Fortune gigs for a while. I would though. Every job meant more experience, which might just keep death at bay a little longer.

 

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