Page 21 of Quintus

“This, my friends, is a witch,” Quintus declared, nodding towards Gabriella. He snapped his fingers and a young woman dressed in a white transparent bodysuit appeared in front of him.

As his palm settled on her shoulder and the girl gave a sigh, Gabriella’s stomach tightened. Why is he doing this? A fucking test? Because I disobeyed his instruction? The icy stares of the patrons bored through her chest, and she balled her fingers into fists in response.

“Witches. They’re difficult. Humans on the other hand,” he paused and dragged his palm over the woman’s chin and she bared her neck, “we exercise control over. They listen. On your knees, pet.”

Gabriella’s breath caught as the woman dropped obediently to the floor, her hands brushing his feet. As if in a trance, she hummed in pleasure as he stroked her collarbone with the pad of his forefinger. As the female’s hands traveled up his shins onto his thigh, Gabriella gave a low growl.

Mine. Her breath quickened, the beast clawing at her psyche. She envisioned her beautiful black animal lunging at the female, tearing at her flesh. Gabriella suppressed the urge to shift and bit her lip, distracting herself with the pain. Her body tingled, the magick bursting from her skin. Don’t shift. Don’t use magick. Keep it together.

Quintus gave a laugh, his eyes trained on her the entire time. “Do you see? This witch, she’s harmless to us.”

“The others! They’re planning to attack,” a voice called from the darkness.

Gabriella froze, sensing movement behind her. Quintus calmed her beast with his swift response.

“You, Ravi. Keep quiet with your thoughts. I’ve warned you and the others more than once. Disobedience will have consequences.” Quintus’ eyebrows narrowed in annoyance at the antagonistic vampire’s outburst.

No, no, no, she silently repeated, the odor of stale cigarettes swirling into her nostrils as the vampire stalked behind her. Her beast growled, warning him away but she lost focus as her eyes were drawn to the girl on her knees, who began tearing at her clothing, revealing her bare breasts.

“How would you know what’s happening, Quintus? You’ve been in New Orleans. California. While you’ve been gone the witches grow stronger. And now,” Ravi paused, nodding toward Gabriella, “you’ve brought a witch to your club. It makes me wonder. Perhaps she has a spell on our fearless leader.”

“The next word you speak will be your last,” Quintus promised, his face tense with ire.

“This witch here. How do we know she isn’t working with the others?” Ravi baited.

Gabriella gasped as the vampire rushed her from behind, his strong grubby fingers clasped on her shoulder. Quintus lunged at Ravi, shoving him away from her. As she tumbled toward the ground, her fall was broken by a stranger. Out of her peripheral vision she caught sight of Quintus, his hands wrapped around the vampire’s neck. Before Ravi had a chance to speak, Quintus crushed his trachea. Droplets of blood sprayed onto her face as his head rolled across the floor. Terrified, Gabriella struggled to breathe as Quintus’ eyes burned red, glaring at the others.

“Shh, little one. My brother must settle things,” she heard Viktor tell her, his voice soft with concern. He took her by the hand, and gently helped her to her feet.

Paralyzed by the violence, Gabriella took a heaving breath, the taste of blood-tinged air on her tongue. Gooseflesh surfaced on her arms, the magick building a charge beneath the surface of her skin.

“This is a lesson to all of you here tonight. Go tell your children. Your friends. This isn’t a democracy. New York is mine and mine alone now. Should you decide to challenge me, there will be consequences.” He glanced to Gabriella who lay sheltered in Viktor’s arms and quickly refocused his attention on the crowd. “Tomorrow night, the Arronick witches are holding their solstice ball. Those who have been invited to attend will do so with caution and respect. Should they be colluding with other covens, I will deal with them. But this witch…” Gabriella’s heart pounded against her ribs as he reached for her.

Gently he pried her from Viktor’s arms and cradled her into his embrace. What is this man? Fear and arousal threaded through her, unable to process what she’d witnessed in his world. Terrified, she blinked up at him, clutching his bloodied shirt. His penetrating gaze held her captive.

“This witch,” he repeated, “she’s mine. If anyone touches her, they’re dead.”

Mine. Gabriella’s head spun with the words that claimed her soul. She screwed her eyes tight as the dizzying portal opened, darkness claiming her as they dematerialized into nothingness.

Chapter Five

“Don’t even give me that fucking look,” Quintus snarled, reaching for a bottle of one-hundred-year-old scotch. “Ravi’s had it coming for months.”

“No judgement, man. I’m just saying, you sort of…no, yeah, you ripped off the dude’s head. Now, call me crazy but that’s not the exact kind of thing women go for.” Viktor crossed the room to the bar and slung his leather jacket onto the sofa. “I like a good bloodbath as much as the next guy but…”

“If she’s going to be in my world, she’s got to accept me for what I am. And this city, you know there is no other way.”

“Tame the savages?”

“This world. Our world. Eat or be eaten. It’s not just a saying. Don’t play like you don’t know this.” He uncorked the bottle and spilled the liquor into the glasses. After sliding the drink across the granite, he gave a sigh and raised the rim to his lips. “Ravi. He’s been stirring on the others for a long time. Even a small uprising is enough to cause chaos. I’ve got enough shit on my plate right now.”

“But the witches…”

“You and I know they can be as evil as the demons. But our coven here? We haven’t had that many issues. Sure we’ve had a killing every now and then.” He shrugged and shook his head. “This is the city after all. Can’t be avoided.”

“Perhaps you’re right.”

“I’ll know better tomorrow night. The one thing Ravi got right is that I’ve spent too much time away from New York.” Quintus stared down at his blood-spattered t-shirt and took a deep swig. “Gabriella. She’s strong. She’ll get over what happened. Ravi would have killed her.”