“Where's everybody else?” I asked.
A small wave of dizziness passed over me, and I lifted my hand to the tender lump on my head.
“I didn’t let them come,” Dad answered. “It was too dangerous. Your Mom and Krista would be sitting ducks if Vance decided to use them. Shelly and Brad don’t have enough powers to face one demon, let alone a whole coven of them. Needless to say, none of them were very happy with me.”
“I bet,” I said, thinking about how mad Mom and Krista had probably been over the idea of being left behind.
“We told the rest of the coven members to stay home, unless something came up and we really needed them. I didn’t want them sitting around here waiting if nothing was really happening,” Grandma added.
“How long have I been here?” I turned to look at Hex.
“About five minutes,” he answered. “You knocked your head on the counter pretty hard. When I saw you were losing consciousness, I slipped into your head briefly and told your brain to evaporate you back here.”
“That was not a smart thing to do, Hex,” I said, berating him slightly as I continued to rub my hand over the nice sized knot that was forming on the back of my head. “Vance is going to be livid.”
“I don’t care,” he replied. “I'm just glad you’re safely back with us.”
I looked up at him quickly. “I’m not staying.”
“What?” their three voices said in unison.
“Portia, you can’t be serious!” my dad said stepping toward me. “He's a full-fledged demon now. Your life's in jeopardy every second you're with him. He could turn on you in any given second and kill you. You cannot go back!”
I raised my hand up to stop him. “I understand what you're saying, but I gave him my word. I intend to keep it.”
“This is really unwise, sweetheart,” Grandma replied. She sat next to me on the cot, placing her arm gently around my shoulders. “I know you love him, but he isn’t the same person you married. Demons are different. They operate from a different place than we do. It's too dangerous for you to be with him.”
I sighed, trying to think of a way to make them understand. “I appreciate your concern. I really do, but I'm going back to him. Hex has given me powers which give me an added advantage. I'm safe for the time being.” I looked at each of them while they stared back at me skeptically.
“Look,” I continued. “He's giving me a week before he tries to do anything … like changing me. I have absolutely no desire to become a demon, so I need you guys to put your heads together. Try to come up with some sort of plan. If you figure something out, Hex knows where to find me. But until then, I’m going back before he shows up here to freak out on all of us. He's had you followed, so I’m pretty sure he knows where this place is.”
I stood up from the cot. “Thank you for your help. I’m glad I got to come here just so I could see you, even if it was only briefly.” I smiled.
“Portia, please think things through,” my dad said, stepping towards me.
I moved to pull some of the fighting clothes Hex purchased for me out of the nightstand next to my cot. Dad followed me as I made my way to the bathroom.
“Just give me minute, okay?”
I stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. I dressed quickly into one of the spandex outfits and the spare pair of boots. I was missing my utility belt however, since I had left it at Vance’s house. When I was done dressing, I gathered my hair back into a ponytail before I stepped out.
My dad was still there, leaning up against the opposite wall. His eyes widened as he took in my strange apparel.
“What are you wearing?” he asked and then his eyes caught sight of my scabbed neck. “Are you letting him bite you still? You're no longer immortal!” he added in extreme frustration.
“The clothes are some that Hex bought for me to fight in,” I explained with a sigh. “And yes, I let him feed from me. He hardly drank anything though.”
At that moment Hex appeared at my side holding another utility belt, loaded full with weapons in his hands.
“This is a spare one of mine.”
“Thanks,” I said, and I reached out to take the belt, fastening it securely around my hips.
“What's going on here?” my dad asked while he looked between Hex and me in question.
“I have something I need to take care of,” I answered him.
“Which is what?” he asked me, still prodding.
“There's a demon outside who’s under Vance’s orders to watch this place. I don’t want him to have the opportunity to hurt you, so I’m going to take care of him,” I said nonchalantly.
“You're going to fight a demon by yourself?” my dad asked skeptically. “I don’t think so. Your grandma and I will come help you.”
“She doesn’t need your help,” Hex said, stepping closer to me. “Portia's a quick learner. I’ve taught her well.”
“I don’t care!” my dad said turning to look at him. “She's my only daughter and I won’t send her out to do battle with some demon by herself. What if the whole coven was waiting to ambush her?”
“They’d have to catch her first,” Hex said with a grin.
Dad looked at me in concern and I reached out to pat his arm.
“I’ll be right back. Don’t worry.” I closed my eyes, centering my thoughts, concentrating on evaporating to the outside of the bunker. My body rematerialized next to the dilapidated shack up above.
I took in my surroundings, trying to find anything out of character in the lush foliage. The southern heat quickly caused a slight perspiration to creep up upon my skin and my clothes felt like they were sticking to me.
“Hello?” I called out, stepping forward. “I know you're out here. Vance told me he sent you to follow my family.”
I moved quietly while I stalked toward the tree line. “I won’t let you hurt them,” I continued on, hearing nothing but my own voice. After a few moments I decided to try a different tactic.
“As you can see, I've escaped from Vance. I know you have orders to kill if I didn’t stay.” I wondered if this was going to work at all.
There was a slight rustling behind me and I could almost feel the demon’s hands when he reached out to strike. I closed my eyes and immediately evaporated a few feet away, turning to face my attacker.
A surprised look registered on his face when his hands closed over nothing but thin air where I'd stood a moment before.
“Here I am,” I called out to him with a grin, waving my hand airily at him to bait him.
We made eye contact and he rushed me again, but I popped away just when he was about to reach me. This time I came up behind him, kicking out with my booted heel, catching him in the middle of his back.
The demon went sprawling face first onto the moss covered ground, a giant growl of frustration erupting from his chest. He jumped nimbly back to his feet and turned to face me.
“I've heard rumors of the jinn, but I never believed them until now,” he said baring his demon teeth at me.
“Well, I’m happy I could surprise you,” I said, sarcastically.
“Now it is my turn to surprise you,” he responded, and he suddenly disappeared from my sight.
I blinked a few times, swinging my gaze wildly around trying to find out where he had gone. I saw a slight shimmer in front of me, right before something hard hit me in the face with a loud smack.
Pain exploded through my jaw and I fell backward, landing on the ground roughly. I saw the shimmer of movement again and I rolled quickly over onto my stomach, swinging my legs out in front of me. A rewarding thump was heard as I connected somewhere on the approaching demon. I bounced back to my feet.
“So you can become invisible. That is surprising,” I said holding my fists in front of me the way Hex had shown, knowing I’d never encountered a power like this one before.
The demon rematerialized in front of me with a snarl. “You can’t fight what you can’t see,” he said pompously.
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“But I can see you,” I replied honestly and he looked confused. “You shimmer every time you move,” I added, and he immediately vanished again.
I honed all of my senses onto detecting the slightest blur of movement. The next time he struck out at me, I evaporated slightly to the left before kicking out at him with my leg, making full contact with him. His figure flashed in front of me before he regained his magical control and disappeared.
The shimmer moved toward me again and this time I threw one of my starred weapons in the direction of it, watching as he flickered back into view again before he howled in pain. He didn’t disappear, instead pulling the weapon out of his abdomen and throwing it back at me.
Whoops! That’s not good, I thought, flashing away from the spinning weapon. I reappeared next to him and slammed my fist into the side of his head.
He reeled backward before turning to face me full on and began attacking me in hand to hand combat.
We moved together, almost in a graceful dance as we both placed blow after blow against one another, each one making the appropriate countermoves to the others measures. The demon craftily made his advances toward me until I found myself backed up against a giant tree.
“I guess we can see who the winner is here,” he said with a demonic grin and he leaned in closer to me.
“About that,” I said, lifting my hand to place it over his chest. “There's something I should tell you.”
“What's that?” His eyes flashed over me and I could tell he was attempting seduction and it nearly turned my stomach.
“My jinn powers aren't my natural magic.”
Shock registered on his face as I slammed an ice shard clean through his heart. A burst of blood sprayed up from his mouth and he gurgled, sinking to his knees in front of me. I removed my athame from my belt and sliced out at his neck, pushing him away from my body as he fell to the ground.
“Don’t ever mess with my family.” I stepped over him, walking back toward the shack.
I heard a clapping sound coming from the direction of the old shack and looked to find Hex standing there with my dad and Grandma.
“Very good, Portia,” he spoke up with a smile.
“All thanks to you.” I placed the bloody athame back into the belt.
“Let’s go back inside now,” my dad said stepping forward. He looked around nervously, surveying the area.
“Yes,” Grandma agreed. “Who knows what else may be lurking out here.”
I shook my head. “Sorry, but I won’t be coming back in,” I replied, wishing I could make them understand. “If I stay here then the war will come here. I have to go back.”
“Please stay, Portia,” my dad pleaded with me. He strode out across the ground toward me.
“I love you, Dad,” I said, but I closed my eyes before he could reach me and wished I was back in Vance’s kitchen. Instantly my body rematerialized next to the counter at the mansion.
I noticed right away Vance was no longer in the room, but I could see the proof of his anger since there was nothing left of the poor dining table but splinters on the floor.
“Vance?” I called, running out of the room to head up the stairs, hoping he wouldn’t be too upset with me.
He must've felt me rematerialize because he was already running down the stairs toward me. We met halfway, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. He pulled me tightly to him in a giant bear hug.
“You came back,” he said against my skin as if he was truly surprised, and I could feel the relief run through his system. That was when I noticed he was fully dressed and his motorcycle helmet was sitting on the banister. He'd been getting ready to come after me.
“I never wanted to leave in the first place.” I laughed when he lifted his hand to remove my ponytail so he could run his fingers through my hair.
“You’re hurt,” he said with a concerned glance when he brushed the knot on my head. “You also have a bruise on your jaw.”
“I’ll be fine,” I answered and squeezed him tighter, so happy he genuinely seemed to have missed me.
“No,” he replied firmly. “I’ll fix it.”
I didn’t see it, but I felt his healer’s magic move through me and was extremely surprised. He'd always been hesitant to use his healing powers, even after his near conversion, not knowing how they might have been affected.
“Thank you,” I said, pulling back to look at him.
“No problem,” he said with a smile, and I narrowed my eyes slightly. He seemed so normal, like the guy I’d fallen in love with. “What is it?” he asked.
“Please don’t be offended when I say this bluntly, but you’re so much like the old you at times it's hard for me to associate you with the demon killer I know you've become.” I held my breath not knowing how he was going to react.
“Portia,” he said with a confused sigh, and he suddenly seemed very tired. “What're you talking about?” His hands dropped away, back to his sides.
“How could you kill all of those people in cold blood, just to drink from them?” I asked.
“What people?” he asked with a perplexed look. “I haven’t killed anyone, innocent at least. I did kill Catriona.”
Now I was the confused one. “The blood of thirteen innocent witches and warlocks is in your refrigerator at this very moment,” I stated, pointing back down the stairs in the direction of the kitchen.
“Ah, that!” he said, light dawning in his eyes. “You’re correct about the blood, but I didn’t kill any of those people. Mayla’s coven did. After I couldn’t find you in the bayou, she came after me. She brought me back to the shack and gave me a lot of blood. She sent the others out for more.”
I looked at him skeptically. “Then what about the pretty little witch you were stalking down the road? I’ve seen you feed on others with my own eyes.”
He laughed then. “I've attacked innocents to feed from them, I just haven’t killed any of them,” he replied nonchalantly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world for him to be doing.
“What about the night when I first came here? You seemed pretty intent on killing me then.”
“That night was different,” he said all of a sudden reflective. “I'd spent the evening with the coven, drinking fine blood and equally fine wine. Mayla had been showing me things …,” his voice trailed off. He got a faraway look in his eyes, before he suddenly shook his head as if to clear it. “What were we talking about?”
A little shiver crept up my spine. Something wasn’t right here, and I was beginning to have suspicions Mayla might be drugging him somehow.
“We were talking about how Mayla wants me dead,” I responded even though it wasn’t exactly what we’d been saying.
“Mayla will have to get over herself.” He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me. “You belong to me and I won't ever let you go … not for any reason,” he added possessively before sliding his mouth over mine, kissing me hard.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and returned his heated embrace, our passions burning together in perfect unity. We stood, just kissing on the stairs, until he swept me off my feet, carrying me back upstairs.
We got showered and cleaned up for the rest of the day before we went downstairs again. I was surprised to find lots of clothing for me in the drawers and closet. Vance apparently had no doubt he would get me back and had prepared accordingly.
I pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Vance asked me if I wanted to help him uncover all of the furniture in the house so we could see what was beneath the dust covers. I was very excited, feeling kind of like a kid opening Christmas presents, but on a very grand scale.
We started in the parlor and found the house was loaded with beautiful antique period furniture. It was like taking a step back in time. Everything was in pristine condition and perfect for the style of the house.
I was like a little school girl as I ran my hands over native hardwoods which had been built into custom furniture. It was breathtaking.
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I was truly having a fun day with him, though I noticed he would disappear for several minutes at a time without warning. I presumed he was slipping away to drink blood to help him keep a handle on things. I didn’t question him about it though, choosing instead to pretend to be oblivious to the threat he still posed to me.
We made it through about half the house when Vance came up and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“So are you liking any of this old stuff or shall we throw it all out and get new?” he asked.
“Don’t you touch a thing!” I said playfully slapping his shoulder. “It's perfect! You’ve bought yourself a beautiful home.”
“No. We have a beautiful home,” he said, correcting me. “This place is ours. It belongs to you as much as it does to me. I want you to be happy here.”
Though I tried not to, my face clouded over a little. He noticed it right away of course.
“What’s the matter?” he asked with a puzzled look of concern on his face. “Don’t you like it here?”
“I love it here,” I said, reaching out to stroke the side of his face. I decided to be completely honest. “I don’t want to become a demon, Vance. It isn’t that I don’t want to be with you, I do—more than anything else in the world. That’s why I’m here with you now. But I like who I am, and I don’t want to change.”
He sighed heavily. I saw several emotions flash briefly in his expression—hurt, anger, and frustration to name a few.
“I think it might just be the natural end to this road, Portia. The more I feed from you the stronger your attraction to the dark magic will become. Eventually, a blood exchange will be the next thing to do. Picture it as a way to come into stronger powers instead.” he said his eyes searching mine. “It really isn’t as awful as you think.”
I knew better than to believe that. This experience had been horrible for both of us. I wasn’t going to push the issue with him though. I didn’t want to make him angry.
“I just wanted you to know how I felt,” I said, leaning in to peck him lightly on the lips. “Promise me you’ll think about it, okay?”