Rorik sighs but complies. He walks over to the couch in the common area and sits. Millie brings the human over, and he takes the spot next to Rorik. She watches as Rory feeds, making sure the elder vamp doesn't go feral and kill the human.
Because he’s not in his right mind at the moment.
Millie’s mate, Teddy, sits across from Rorik with his elbow on his knee and chin in his palm.
“The first vampire,” he whispers in awe. “So cool.”
This is possibly the quietest I've seen the man.
“You’ve met him before, Puppy,” Millie says with a snort.
The cute nickname makes my stomach ache.
I miss my mouse.
“You’re quiet,” Xander says, coming up next to me. He observes the room; arms crossed over his expansive chest per usual as Thorne, Vara, Layla, and Evangeline continue discussing plans.
“I’m trying not to lose my shit here.”
Xander nods. “I know how you feel. Helpless. Scared. Enraged.”
He went through the same thing, but we were ready for it. We knew his brother was going to target Evangeline, and we quickly found where she’d been taken. We saved her and now they’re living happily ever after.
It’s been twenty-four hours and my mate is still missing.
“You should prepare for my death,” I say, the last word nearly cut off with the tears fighting to take control. “If Farrah dies… I won’t be able to survive without her.”
He places a clawed hand on my shoulder.
“I know, brother. But it won’t come to that. I promise.”
He walks away. How can he promise that? He doesn’t know what we’ll be facing once we’re inside.
“The witches are here,” a gargoyle soldier says upon entering the common area.
We don’t know what’s waiting for us, but the witches might. It’s why Xander sent for them.
Xander tells the soldier to allow them in and within a minute, the room is packed. Shoulder to shoulder, supes wait to hear the plan. Gargoyles, vampires, shifters, werewolves, witches, demons, orcs… the list could go on.
I should be the one up there giving orders. I’m the commander of Xander’s army for fuck’s sake. But my body does nothing. It can barely function. I can barely breathe, let alone move to lead an army.
“What we’re facing tonight is a witch who practices dark magic,” Xander begins. He waves to a woman with light gray hair and crow’s feet around her eyes. She appears to be in her sixties, but I have no doubt she’s hundreds of years old. “This is Saoirse, leader of the New York City areawitch coven. She can explain more about what to expect when we enter the building where Farrah is being kept.”
They haven’t told mewhichbuilding yet. Probably because they know I’ll rush there to save her myself. Which would end with me dead. I could easily scout the area and find out, but I’m trying to be smart and not let the fated mate bond take over.
Saoirse clears her throat before speaking. “What I can tell you about black magic is it has no limits. It preys on emotions. It will feed off fear and anger, but it can be fueled by any encompassing emotion.
“The only way to fight against black magic is to take down the one yielding it. Unfortunately, a witch that has been using black magic as long as this one has will be hard to kill. She won’t be able to die from wounds. Even decapitation won’t kill her unless you burn the body, douse it in holy water, and light it on fire.”
Rorik has finished his meal and now stands beside me.
“What kind of spells would she be doing with black magic?” Layla asks.
“Any supe that is technically dead can be controlled by her. I recommend vampires stay to the very back. She could place spells or curses on anyone in her eyesight. She’ll also be able to manipulate someone’s will, especially human fighters. Supes are harder to control, again, unless you aretechnically dead. She’d need to get inside the head so make sure shields are in place before going into battle. We’ll double up on everyone’s shields beforehand. That’ll make it harder to cast her spells, especially since there are many of us. Harder, but not impossible so stay alert.
“Since we don’t know exactly how she’s been helping the hunters, we should be prepared for anything. If she’s provided them with protection spells, we have counter spells to break them. Please be aware, if she gets through to your mind, she will try to use your fears against you. She’ll be capable of hallucination spells. What you see may not be true. To determine if it’s real, ask a question. One that she wouldn’t know the answer to.”
Saoirse searches the crowd until finding Rorik. She smirks, crossing her arms.
