Tegan's Power (The Ultimate Power Series #4)

  We simply started out in very different worlds.

  Ethan stops at the gates and reaches out his rolled down window to press the button for the intercom. A minute later a well-to-do male voice streams through the speakers.

  “How may I help you?”

  “My name is Ethan Cristescu and with me is Mrs Petrovsky’s granddaughter, Tegan Stolle. We would like to meet with the lady of the house, if it isn’t too much trouble.”

  “I’ll inform Emilia of your request,” says the voice curtly before the intercom shuts off.

  “She’s not going to let us in,” I say on a sigh, dropping my elbow onto the dash and resting my cheek dejectedly on my forearm.

  Several minutes pass before the voice comes back on the intercom. “Emilia has agreed to see you,” comes the unexpected reply. “Please, come in.”

  The gate buzzes open automatically and Ethan drives through. He parks by the front entrance and we get out of the car. Just before he can knock on the door I pull his arm back and stare up at him.

  “Don’t you think this is a bit too convenient that she’s letting us into her house?” I ask him. “She’s got a little girl in there that she’s kidnapped and is desperate to keep. She also knows that I’ve been trying to get that little girl back. Why would she let me inside?”

  The stark remembrance that Pamphrock is dead hits me suddenly. Even if I did get Rebecca back, I wouldn’t have anyone to return her to now. Unless of course her mother decides to make a miraculous recovery from her state of madness, wherever she is.

  “She won’t try anything, not with me here. She knows my people would come after her if she did.”

  “Are you certain their loyalties run that deep, Ethan?” I say, pulling no punches. “It wasn’t too long ago that they were siding with Whitfield when he decided to exile you.”

  He takes a lock of my hair between his fingers, his knuckles grazing my skin. “Everything is different now. Trust me in this.”

  “I hope you’re right,” I mutter just before he knocks.

  A well-dressed butler answers, and I presume this was the guy who’d been speaking to us through the intercom.

  “Welcome,” he says. “Emilia will be with you shortly.”

  He escorts us into a vast lobby and then inside a high-ceilinged living room. The décor is all cream with black lace trimmings. I don’t like it at all. I enjoy a good comfortable living room. This place is so pristine it feels like I’m staining it with my very imperfect presence.

  Ethan and I sit on the long sectional sofa and the butler asks us if we’d like anything to drink.

  “Yeah, a double vodka, please,” I tell him jokingly – but I’m not joking at all.

  He nods his head slightly and leaves the room. Ethan arches an eyebrow at me.

  “What? I need it. Emilia’s not going to be a walk in the park to talk to. In fact, she can be quite the little bitch. I get the feeling she hates that I’m her relative but feels this grudging obligation to get to know me.”

  “Has anyone ever said that your low self-esteem becomes you?” Ethan asks in a humorous tone, lounging on the sofa looking beautiful and laid back among such a stuffy environment. There’s the scent of lavender in the air that’s almost cloying.

  “I wear it like a badge of honour,” I tell him just as the butler returns with the vodka.

  Ethan watches as I raise the glass to him in a salute before knocking it back. I get a nice little buzz going as I pour myself another shot. A minute later Emilia appears and Ethan takes my hand into his. Her eyes zone in on the movement before she steps over to an armchair in front of us and sits down.

  She’s wearing a knee-length burgundy silk dress with a V neckline. Her attention settles on Ethan as she holds out her hand to him.

  “I don’t believe we’ve met. Ethan Cristescu, isn’t it?”

  “That’s right,” he replies, leaning forward and taking her hand into his. He places a kiss to her skin and then glances up, flashing his eyes at her. He must have willed them to go red for a moment because Emilia jumps back with a fright.

  Her furious gaze darts to me.

  “Oh, Tegan, please tell me you didn’t!” she cries.

  “What? Tell you I didn’t what?” I ask in confusion.

  “This man is a vampire and you allowed him to drink from you. There is no other explanation as to why he is sitting here in a room full of daylight.”

  I smirk casually. “Oh, yeah. I did do that. It’s not what I came to talk to you about though. And relax, he’s not going to bite you…unless I tell him to, that is.”

  Ethan smiles at me and lets out a low chuckle.

  Emilia bristles visibly and settles back into her seat. Trying to appear unaffected, she glances down to study her fingernails which are painted the exact same hue as her dress. “So many men in your life, I can hardly keep up,” she tuts.

  “It takes one to know one,” I say cryptically and she narrows her eyes at me on a scowl.

  There’s silence for a moment before she asks, “So, do you care to enlighten me as to why you are here? Or are we going to just sit here all day?”

  “I dunno. The vodka’s pretty good. I don’t mind sitting here all day,” I answer pouring myself one more shot of Grey Goose. I might as well get my money’s worth out of this awkward visitation.

  “Tegan and I came to ask a favour,” Ethan interjects, taking my empty glass from me and giving me a stern look that says, no more vodka for you, my dear.

  “A favour?” Emilia scoffs.

  “Huh. I told you she was going to be a bitch,” I say tipsily.

  “Let’s try and keep things polite, shall we ladies?” Ethan requests smoothly, taking my hand back into his. His touch calms me slightly.

  “Fine,” I mutter while Emilia proudly lifts her chin and nods.

  “I suppose you know about the barrier surrounding the city,” Ethan continues.

  “I’ve been informed of it, yes,” says Emilia stiffly.

  “Doesn’t it bother you?” I ask.

  She glances back down at her nails. “I have no immediate plans to travel. And I’m sure the situation will resolve itself sooner or later.”

  “I don’t think it’s going to be quite as simple as that,” Ethan disagrees. “All signs point towards Theodore as the culprit and nothing with him has ever been easy. We have come here because you informed Tegan that her grandfather is a sorcerer and she would like to get in contact with him. We think he’s the only one who will be able to help us.”

  “Roman?” Emilia exclaims with an incredulous expression. “You want me to put you in contact with Roman?” Disbelief colours her words as she shakes her head. “He’s not in Tribane. Nobody knows where he is, certainly not I. And even if I did know, there would be no way for you to reach him since the barrier is up.”

  “He’s a sorcerer. I’m sure he could find some way to break through it.”

  Emilia’s gaze flicks from me to Ethan. “Isn’t it better if it’s left in place anyway? Without that barrier humans would be fleeing the city and spreading stories about killer vampires and dark magic. Before long the world’s media will set their attention on us and then we’ll all have to leave and start over. If the world ever found out the truth it would be the end of us. They’d kill us all.”

  Well, I never thought of it like that.

  I sigh long and hard. “What do you suggest we do then?” I question her.

  “I’m not suggesting anything. I’m staying out of all of this and focusing on keeping myself and my little girl safe.”

  “Your little girl?” I say. “She’s not yours, Emilia. You stole her.”

  “She’s mine now. Her father is dead. Who else is going to raise her?”

  I smile smugly. “She has a mother, you know.”

  Emilia pales. “What? Where? I was under the impression her mother was out of the picture.”

  “That’s none of your concern. What is your concern is the fact that you’re going to h
and Rebecca over to me so that I can return her to her rightful parent.”

  I don’t know where my steely determination comes from. All I know is that I feel a sense of loyalty to Rebecca that is almost sisterly, and I’m certainly not going to leave her to be brought up by Miss Stone Cold Black Heart herself, Emilia Petrovsky. I can just imagine the loneliness of growing up in this big, sterile house under the supervision of such a woman. She probably makes Rebecca wear a flipping ball gown just to go brush her teeth.

  Emilia folds her arms tightly over her chest. “You can’t have her. I won’t hand her over.”

  I begin to laugh, putting on my best Oscar-winning performance. “Oh Granny, you have no idea who her mother is, do you?”

  “Clearly I don’t and you won’t tell me,” she answers in annoyance.

  “You should hand her over. Her mother is a scary woman, not someone you’d want to piss off,” I lie.

  Emilia eyes me sceptically. “I don’t believe you.”

  Damn, maybe my performance wasn’t so Oscar-winning after all.

  “Well, that’s your funeral. If you want to put yourself in danger for a little girl who you didn’t even know existed a week ago, and who isn’t related to you in any way whatsoever, that’s your choice.”

  “Are those sour grapes I hear in your voice? Are you jealous?” Emilia questions somewhat smugly.

  “Yeah, because I really want to be coddled by some crazy old witch,” I bite back.

  “We should leave,” says Ethan.

  He must be bored with this backbiting between me and Emilia. “Yeah, we should. I don’t need your help and I will free Rebecca,” I inform her coolly.

  “She’s not a prisoner. I’m giving her the kind of life most little girls can only dream about.”

  “We both know that’s a lie, but whatever.” I stand and Ethan follows. The butler waits in the hallway to escort us out and when we reach Ethan’s car I slam my hands down on the dash in frustration.

  “That was a complete waste of time.”

  “Not necessarily,” says Ethan as he slips into the driver’s seat. “We might not have gotten any information on how to find Roman, but I can get the girl for you if that’s what you want.”

  My interest piques as I turn to him. “How?”

  “I can sense which room she’s in and there’s no longer a magical force field surrounding the house like there was before. Although taking the conversation you just had with Emilia into account, I imagine she’s casting a spell to put it back in place as we speak, so I’ll have to act fast.”

  “Yes, yes, go, please,” I urge him.

  He leans in and kisses me quickly on the lips. “Just out of curiosity, what are we going to do with the girl when we have her?”

  “I’m going to return her to her mother like I said.”

  “Ah, okay. For a moment there I thought you wanted to keep her.” He grins.

  “No way!” I exclaim. “I don’t have a clue how to raise a kid.”

  Ethan only continues to grin and gets out of the car. I watch as he climbs swiftly up the side of the building and lands on the roof. He drops down onto a balcony and slips inside the glass sliding doors. Seconds later he’s leaving with Rebecca struggling in his arms. I’m suddenly aware that she must remember Ethan from her first abduction by Whitfield.

  He slides into the car with a crying Rebecca. As soon as she sees me she stops.

  “Tegan?” she whispers in disbelief.

  “Hey honey, come sit on my lap.”

  “You came for me again,” she exclaims as she crawls over to me.

  “I did.”

  Her momentary happy expression falters. “Miss Emilia said my daddy is dead. Is it true?”

  God, what a bitch. I can’t believe she told Rebecca about Pamphrock’s death already. For a second I feel like lying to her and telling her it’s not true, but I can’t do that.

  “Yeah, honey, it’s true. I’m so sorry.”

  Tears begin to fill her eyes as she clutches onto me tightly. Ethan starts the car and drives towards the gates which open for him as he nears. Just as we pass them and get out onto the road I hear a sharp wail emanate from the house.

  “You better put your foot on it,” I say to Ethan. “It sounds like Emilia’s already discovered Rebecca’s gone.”

  The little girl holds my hand tight. “I don’t like her.”

  I laugh. “Who would? She’s crazy.”

  My gaze is drawn to a dark vehicle that has suddenly sped up behind us. At the wheel is Emilia’s butler and Emilia sits in the passenger seat, a wild expression on her face.

  “Don’t let her take me again,” Rebecca pleads, tears spilling from her eyes as her lower lip trembles. “She said I had to change my name to Darya. I don’t want to be called Darya. My name is Rebecca.”

  Jesus, she’s even crazier than I originally thought.

  “I won’t let her,” I tell her firmly and squeeze her hand.

  Ethan’s car swerves as a stream of Emilia’s sparks lashes against the side of the vehicle.

  “I don’t think she’ll come across the river, not into vampire territory. How far are we from a bridge?”

  “Two minutes,” Ethan answers before stomping his foot down on the gas pedal.

  We’re out of reach of Emilia’s sparks now and I see her yards behind us, half her body sticking out of the top of her car through the sun roof. She throws her hands in front of herself, streams of magic flowing from her fingertips. I almost regret having taken Rebecca and making a true enemy of my grandmother when I see the insane look in her eyes.

  We get onto one of the more populated city streets where there are lots of people looting goods out of abandoned shops. Emilia is so crazed that she’s not even bothering to be careful. She’s not disguising her magic with a glamour either. I know because some people are standing stock still on the streets to stare at her.

  She begins to weave fire through her sparks, and as it descends on Ethan’s car it burns through several men and women who had been unfortunate enough to be crossing the road. Their singed and blackened bodies lie instantly dead in a trail along the ground.

  Fuck.

  Panic erupts and those left on the street flee.

  I had remembered her describing the sparks as ‘electrical fire’ but I have never been able to do anything like that with mine. And Jesus, she just killed a shitload of people simply because they were in her way.

  “She’s F-U-C-K-ing nuts,” I shout at Ethan, trying not to swear in front of Rebecca, despite this being such a swear-worthy occasion right now.

  “Isn’t that the truth,” he agrees swerving around a corner.

  I spot a bridge coming up ahead, looking like salvation in worn steel. My heart rate slows as we near it. Then suddenly something bangs loudly against the side of the car. The next thing I know Ethan is curling his body around both mine and Rebecca’s to shield us from the impending impact. Emilia’s magic flips the car completely over.

  All I can feel is his muscle protecting me and the banging in my head. All I can hear is Rebecca crying.

  “Are you okay?” Ethan asks staring down at me when we’re no longer moving.

  “I think so. We need to get out of here and over that bridge.”

  “I know, hold still.”

  He reaches out and pushes at the door beside me. It groans under his strength and seconds later falls off, meeting the ground with a loud clang. Whoa. I have a feeling that’s something he couldn’t do before he drank my blood. Ethan takes Rebecca from me and I crawl out as he follows behind. A crowd has gathered to ogle the wreckage. I ready myself for Emilia’s next attack, but it never comes.

  I look around in bewilderment. The car she and her butler had been in has disappeared and Emilia’s nowhere to be seen. That’s when my attention is drawn to the freakish giggling coming from overhead. My eyes travel up the building in front of me until I see two figures standing on the roof all dressed in black. No, that’s not right, t
here are three figures. One of them is Emilia, but she’s unconscious as Theodore holds her in his arms. Beside him is Rita gazing down at me expressionlessly.

  A swirl of purple smoke surrounds them and when it dissolves they’ve disappeared.

  “What the hell?” I whisper.

  What does Theodore want with Emilia?

  When I feel Ethan step up beside me still carrying Rebecca, I ask, “Did you see what I just saw?”

  “Yes, it was Theodore,” he confirms.

  “He took Emilia.”

  “He probably wants to use her for something. Perhaps he thinks she’ll join his side.”

  “Wonderful,” I sigh.

  He grabs my hand. “Come. We must get into vampire territory before they come back.”

  I nod, but I don’t think Theodore’s coming back just yet.

  When we reach Ethan’s house I put Rebecca to sleep in one of the guest bedrooms. She only has a small bruise on her temple, which is lucky since Ethan’s car was practically totalled. It’s a good thing he was there to shield us from most of the impact.

  Once I leave her I go and run a bath. Ethan is downstairs meeting with the last of the vampires from yesterday. He told me I could sit this session out since I’ve had a rough day. He’ll determine whether or not they are loyal on his own.

  Everything seems to move so quickly when I’m with him that I never get the chance to simply relax. I unplug my phone from where it had been charging in Ethan’s room and bring it into the bath with me. The moment I turn it on it starts beeping with messages and missed calls.

  Most of them are from Finn, but he never left any voicemails; he just hung up when I didn’t answer. I have some messages from Amanda. The first reads:

  Oh fuck! Just saw my neighbour get attacked right out on the street. WTF is happening?

  And the second:

  Jesus, Tegan. The city is swarming with vamps gone nuts. I need you to call me ASAP.

  The final one says:

  All of my housemates are missing and I’m hiding in the basement. Please call. I’m scared.

  Upon finishing the final message I dial her number immediately. It only rings once before she picks up.