Embry is unusually quiet. I can hear Raven’s pulse, and I know she’s genuine.She’s telling the truth, Embry. Hear what she has to tell you, love.
Embry turns misty eyes to Raven, and if there was anything I could do to take the pain away I would. She’s been through enough, yet every time she turns around it’s one emotional betrayal after another it seems. But this time, she does need to listen to Raven. If she doesn’t her entire journey has been for naught. And I’m not going to let that occur.
Romano comes to sit beside me on the longer couch across from the two ladies. Raven squeezes Embry’s hand. “The witches’ books, what we call the shadow books, they have all the old-time instructions for warding off vampires, keeping them at bay if they ventured too close.”
Embry’s eyes go wide. “What in the world does that have to do with me? I mean, the witches have hated the vampires for as long as time, so it would seem obvious that the books would have something to do with us, but I thought they may give me a clue about my grandmother.”
Raven draws in a deep breath. “This is what I wanted Devora to explain, or for you to read for yourself, but in truth, I don’t even know which of those books you would find the actual passages that relate to what I’m going to tell you in. It’s where they got the information from that matters, Embry. The fact of the matter is…”
A loud swooshing sound comes right before furniture starts swirling around, glasses from the bar begin crashing through the air, shattering on walls and the floors in a million little pieces as the windows of Romano’s great room blow out and Devora swoops in on her broom riding so low she nearly hits the top of my head with her shortie boot. “You’ll not spill our secrets to the vampires you wretched, no good little traitor!” she screams, circling above Raven’s head. I already know things are about togo to shit. Romano’s eyes have gone completely red, his fangs have descended and even before his ferocious growl comes, I see the change in his posture. No one talks to his mate that way no matter who the fuck it is, witch leader or not.
I walk quickly, stepping in front of him and Raven, putting myself in between him and Devora as a last-ditch effort to keep the peace where the possibility probably no longer exists. No matter how long time goes by, no matter how many truces the witches and vampires make, it always comes back to the original feud. The land right here in Romania, that both the vampires and the witches claim for their very own. It has to be what this is about.
And whatever secrets those shadow books contain or that Raven was able to spill, Devora is bound and determined to keep the deepest, darkest secrets of the witches from us at any cost. She was fine with letting us go when we were snooping because she knew we didn’t find anything, and trusted Raven not to tell. I sigh, this fucking night just goes from bad to fucking worse, and there’s no sign of it getting better any time soon. “Devora, let me explain.”
The cackling biddy laughs right in my fucking face. I swear one of these days things are going to be reversed and she’s going to be on the receiving end of my wrath. For now, Romano is going to protect Raven, willing to toss all peacekeeping efforts aside for the sake of his mate’s safety, leaving me to try and restore a semblance of peace before all hell breaks loose.
I glance up at her, my eyes ready to throw heat that will burn her back to her fucking academy if she doesn’t settle down, but for the sake of the vampires and the future, I restrain myself. Although it’s not easy at all. “The vampires and witches are in a truce. We were only trying to help Embry find out about her grandmother. You know that and allowed us to leave. But Raventries to explain what’s actually going on and you come unhinged. What is it that you’re not telling us, Devora?”
Her eyes swirl and electric sparks come out of her fingertips. She screeches so loud it almost pierces my drums. “You’ll never get the secrets of the witches. We’ve guarded them for centuries, long before you and your kind were in rule. You were just a bunch of bloodthirsty villains pilfering innocent humans, but in the end, they wanted to burn us alive?” she screams.
“Enough, Aunt Devora,” Raven cries. “You have to tell Embry. What harm would it do? She’s going to find out sooner or later. What did you think, that she was just going to traipse into the Mystic Forest and not put two and two together at some point? Her grandmother led her here for a reason. Maybe it’s time!”
Devora’s hand shoots out faster than any of us can react, and with a twist of her magical wand, her niece vanishes into the air. Romano is the first to react, bolts of heat sent from his eyes, but Devora is already headed out one of the windows, the wind she’s blown up blowing strong and loud as she flies through the opening, her cackling voice slowly drowning in the wind she’s left behind in her haste to make her escape.
Romano, ever the cool, calm, and collected one is everything but right now. “I swear if that evil witch lays one hand on Raven I will burn her alive and not give two fucks about the wrath it brings from the high priestess. It’s gone too fucking far when she takes my mate. If Descallia wants peace, he’s going to have to negotiate it himself.” Romano draws his sword, his eyes flaming red and his fangs down and fierce. “Because where I’m sitting, this fucking means war!”
I glance around at the damage; it looks like a fucking tornado has destroyed Romano’s home. Embry’s eyes are red, her fangs descended, and she looks as angry as I’ve ever seen her. “This is my fault. I brought this on the vampire community. I am sosorry, Romano. I’m going to fix what I’ve broken right the hell now.”
I realize what she’s going to do about one second before she does it, but she’s fucking gone by the time I reach the very spot she was standing in just two seconds ago. “Fuck!”
Romano and I look at each other. He starts moving fast, growling orders. “Closet, we have more gear. Let’s get Descallia on the phone. We’re going to need reinforcements to rescue Raven and to find Embry. My guess is wherever Raven is, Embry won’t be far away.”
I don’t doubt one word he says, and my heart beats a million miles a minute fearing the worst if Devora gets her hands on Embry or decides that putting an end to her will stop her from digging up long buried secrets the witches don’t want anyone to know. Sacred secrets that those damn shadow books or Raven herself could reveal.
We’ve barely reached the closest, and Romano starts pulling out longswords, daggers, guns, as well as stakes to get us supplied for our hunt. Descallia and Lucianna appear seemingly out of nowhere, already outfitted for war. How the fuck they already know unless it’s Lucianna’s powers of sight is beyond me but I’m fucking glad they’re here.
I give Descallia a nod. I’ll let him and Romano talk in private later. There’s no fucking time for protocol or niceties and Romano doesn’t seem to give two shits about that right now. His eyes meet Descallia’s. “Devora snatched Raven, she just made her disappear in front of us. Devora probably sent her back to the witch academy and has her locked down somewhere. She’s fucking done it before but never on this kind of temper.”
Lucianna’s green eyes glow, and I know exactly what she wants to know. “Embry thinks it’s all her fault and fucking disappeared. She’s probably gone to get her friend back,” I tell them.
Descallia roars so loud the long oval mirror in the hallway cracks. “That fucking witch! This is war. Do you hear me, Devora? I’ll bring you a fucking war you can’t win, you evil bitch!”
Lucianna places a hand on his arm, usually ever the calming force, but yet the fear in her bright green eyes is obvious to anyone looking. She and Embry have a special bond and no matter what’s happened between them and that Embry may think Lucianna thought she was a traitor, nothing could be farther from the truth. As queen of the vampires, Lucianna just had to be sure for the sake of the vampire community. It was her responsibility but her love for her friend is sincere. I can feel it. Her heart’s racing a million miles a minute with fear for Embry.
I also happen to know that she’s the best psychic in the land and that we may not have much time. “Can you find her?” I ask Lucianna.
Her bright green eyes flash. “Give me something of each of theirs,” she instructs, but then without waiting for me to grab something, she walks to the couch where Embry was sitting just a few minutes ago. “Never mind, this is hers.” She picks up a scarf that belongs to her friend, holds it to her face, inhales deeply, and closes her eyes while trying to evoke one of her well-known visions. “I know where she is, let’s go.”
8
EMBRY
The witches’ cackles can still be heard in the night as I make my way to the edge of their property, transporting quietly before slithering along the walls, keeping to the darkened shadows of the long vines in the dead of the night. A quick scan of the treetops and large peaked roofline of the academy ensures Devora hasn’t yet shored up security with the ghouls. No matter though, I’d find a way to my friend either way. And those nasty little witches are going to pay.
They’ve had those walls protected from us for years. But lucky for me I know a back way. The one Raven told me about, where she and Blair and her other friends used to slip out in the night. I edge around the facility, ducking every once in a while to avoid the long floor-to-ceiling windows that would give me away to anyone on the other side.
The minute I reach the back I find the hatch-like door easily. An extra entryway to the lower level for deliveries and the like, tucked away behind a set of bushes probably planted years ago to protect it from sight. The large W on the entryway door does not scare me at all. It may scream keep out, but no one is going to stop me from rescuing Raven. I’m the reason she finds herself in this predicament and I’m the one who’s going to get her out.
