Blood and Redemption (Cassandra Myles Witch Series) (7 page)

“Humor me
, Cassandra. In this room, there are two chairs facing each other. Na’min is in the one beside the lamp.”

I blinked in my mind and he was there. I felt Quintus’ strong hands on my shoulders
; his touch was the only thing anchoring me to the room. The picture in my mind was so vivid it felt like I was really there.

“Now take his hand in yours.”

I blinked again and I was sitting in front of Na’min, both the real one and the one in my mind, grasping my hand at the same time. My hand numbed with pins and needles as a low buzz of magic came from his touch. Every hair on my body prickled.

“Feel his magical essence. Feel how it overflows into you. Draw from it
, Cassandra; pull his magic into you.”

I tried, but it was like telling someone to feel the heat of the flames, now go ahead and plunge your hand in it. It can be done, but every cell in your body is telling you
“no.”

“Let go of the fear
. I promise to protect you. I know you can do this, Cass. Now do it.”

Oh! Well
, since you told me to, I’ll get right on it. I did feel a tiny pulse and it took everything I had not to pull my hand away. I held onto the feeling and tried to pull harder. This time, I gripped his hand tighter and I imagined pulling a little more. Power coursed through my body. Millions of tiny sparks coursed through me, bouncing off every cell.

I heard Na’min gasp, but it seemed far away. Then my name was called. “Cassandra
, let go.”

“Cassandra
, open your eyes. Now.” It was Quintus and he sounded frantic.

The real Na’min was looking at me,
wide-eyed and slack mouthed. I wanted to go to him to see if he was all right, but he recoiled from me like I had struck him. “Please…Na’min, tell me you’re okay. What in the hell did I do?”

Quintus had a mirror in his hand and held it in front of me. My eyes had gone black and the whites had disappeared. I turned back to Na’min. “What did I do? Please, is he okay?”

Quintus smiled at me. It was the last thing I thought he would do. “If you can do what you just did to Na’min to Mab, then we have found our way to kill her.”

He walked over to his former enemy and helped him into a more comfortable chair. They talked for a moment. I couldn’t take my eyes off my reflection. What had I done? All of a sudden
, I felt sick. “Na’min, please, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I know
, Cassandra.” His voice was very thin.

“Do you feel weak?”

“I feel less, like she took something from me. I can’t explain it. I do feel weak and it only took a few minutes, seconds really.”

“Cassandra
, how do you feel?”

“Powerful, like before. I feel like I could do anything.
In fact, here.” I closed my eyes and pictured the doors to the garden opening. They didn’t simply creep open, but flew wide, shuddering hard against the wall.

My magic had been silent for so long
, I forgot how good it felt to feel it screaming at me to let it out.

“I think I will go for a walk. I need some air. This room seems too small.” The walls felt too close. I needed the feel of cool fresh air on my skin. The smell of the ocean wafted in and I followed it outside.

The air was heavy and damp, but it didn’t bother me; nothing could, the way I felt. I headed towards the fountain at the back of the property. Na’min and Quintus were talking. They hadn’t bothered to shut the door and I didn’t know if it was the still night or the fact I was juiced up, but I could hear every word.

“I know what she just did
seems incredible, but it’s still very dangerous. You allowed her to take your hand and you were receptive. Mab will not be so generous and she will have her guards.”

“I hope you believe that the last thing I would want is to harm Cassandra. I am fond of her and she has only been kind to me. I just need to save my people. It has been more than a month.”

“I am lining up vampires I trust to help our cause. I want to make sure there has been no damage done to her by doing this. I told her I wouldn’t treat her like a child, but I can’t let her go towards certain death. I love her.”

“Yes,
I can tell. Does she love you too?”

I don’t know.
As a friend or, worse, a father figure, but I’m not sure she sees me as a man. I should’ve never waited so long to tell her how I felt. She fell in love with that wolf. I saw it happen and I was a coward. Then my own son fell in love with her. I would give him anything, Na’min, but I can’t give him her.” The sadness in his voice would normally kill me, but I felt removed from everything.

“Don’t you think it’s up to our fair Cassandra who she picks?”

“Yes, my head thinks that very thing. If I were a better man, I would ask her who she wanted. If it was Lucius, I would walk away. I would let her be happy and I would walk away.”

“Is that what you are going to do?”

“No. I have never felt this way about a woman. When that wolf took her and I couldn’t find her, I lost it, Na’min. I thought she was gone forever and I swore I would never let her go if she came back. Then she chose him and she did it for my son. I have a second chance and I’m not letting her go.”

“Then you mustn’t. Even when you live as long as I
, love doesn’t come around very often.”

“I love her and I have no intention of giving her up without a fight.”

“Then that’s all you can do.”

I moved on from the garden and wandered down the path. The night air carried a hint of brine. It reminded me of home. A home I was missing more and more. Maybe when this was over
, I could go back to Halifax and rest. If what Lucius had said was true, my cottage was there waiting for me. I could have a visit with old friends. Act like I didn’t have a care for once
.

“You know he fucked with your mind to make you want him.”

“I don’t care right now, Lucius. I feel much too good to care about anything.”

“You should.”

“I want to concentrate on getting back to the compound and killing Mab. Then I will worry about my love life. I just lost my best friend, my mate.”

He started to laugh. I felt hot tears run down my cheeks. I didn’t know if it was in anger or from talking about Declan.

“You were his mate for five minutes and if you really look deep down, you feel lucky you didn’t have to live your life in that wolf compound.”

I heard myself laughing and it surprised me. “What do you want me to say? That Declan’s death was a stroke of luck? The truth is I’m lucky I’m not stuck in that wolf compound; I would have hated it there. Declan was a big part of my life for a long time and I miss him. Would we have made a perfect couple? No, but I loved him and he died saving me and I miss him every
day. Happy?”

“I want you. Come to me and we can finish what we started in Quintus’ study.”

“I don’t think so, Lucius. I want you and I love you, but tonight you’re not yourself and neither am I.”

“Maybe I should just take what I want.”

“I’m juiced up, Lucius. If I make you human, maybe that poison will kill you.”

I was alone. I walked the garden
, waiting to feel normal again and wondering if I even knew what that was. 

Chapter Six

I didn’t wake the next morning until almost supper. Last night, I had walked the grounds for hours as the power drained from my body. I went from feeling invincible to doubting whether I could make it back to the house before passing out. It was like drinking one hundred energy drinks all at once and then experiencing the worst caffeine hangover in history. I didn’t feel a whole lot better when I woke up. Every bone in my body ached and every muscle cried out in pain at the slightest movement.

Thirty things flooded my mind when my brain kicked in. Each fought for its deserved shelf
space on my worry wall. The urge to scream was almost too great to ignore.

Quintus wanted a relationship with me
that I couldn’t give him. Mab was likely doing who knows what in Northern Alberta. Lucius was a crazy, moody, hungry vampire, wanting my blood and body, and likely in that order. I had the ability to kill a fae, but not with enough reliability to make it a real defense or offense.

I wished someone would clunk me over the head so I could forget all this and start over. I never regretted coming to Vancouver. I know my problems would have happened here or
in Halifax and Quintus was protecting me from a lot of it, but a pause button would be nice. A pause where I could just relax for a day with no worries and nothing to fear.

I flew open my closet
. As usual, Quintus had bought me things and had someone put them amongst my own clothes. There were more new clothes with designer tags hanging than there were of my own. I never was a girl who cared about where an outfit came from.

Feeling rebellious
, I selected a pair of ripped jeans and an old t-shirt. Jeez, was this how far things had fallen. I had to rebel by wearing things “Dad” wouldn’t approve of. Fuck me.

Brushing my teeth
, I turned off the harsh fluorescent lights. My hair was a total rat’s nest. Despite how long I slept, I still looked tired. Black circles really show on a face as pale as mine. My hand went to my neck. It didn’t feel like I had been bitten, but it did feel like I was a few pints short.

Pretty bad when you can’t be sure you won’t be lunch when you sleep. I made a mental note to take some iron pills. I should probably have a nice juicy steak for supper too. I called down to Laura, the cook for the human staff
, and asked if I could have a nice juicy t-bone. We compromised on a hamburger.

As usual
, I ate alone. I couldn’t swear to it, but I felt the specter of a rather large former bodyguard following me wherever I went. Quintus seemed to be AWOL. The mansion felt cold and sad. I needed to leave. I decided to go for a very short run. That was all my body was capable of. Outrunning my thoughts was at least worth a shot. The property had a magical quality at night, but the day was just as breathtaking. A maze of perennials, hedges, and ornamental trees were lovingly placed in a beautiful pattern all over the garden and when you get to the edge, there was a view of the ocean and mountains. I never got tired of it. No matter what was going on, that view could kick me out of the deepest funk, even if it was only for a little while.

Every step was painful
. I thought I would loosen up, work out some of the kinks, but no such luck. Holding that much power inside me was physically exhausting, every muscle in my body tensed to keep the magic from tearing me apart. I went from a sad, empty balloon to one that was about to explode. The waning sun warmed my body if not my spirits and after a brisk walk and a very brief jog, I decided I had enough. As I went into my room, I felt drained, physically and emotionally. As I sauntered into my bathroom, the thought of a hot shower was almost orgasmic. Sweat and mist glued my clothes to my skin and I had to peel myself out of them.

Feeling almost giddy
, I opened the huge glass shower door. As I stepped in, my feet gripped the pebbled floor. The hot spray coaxed the knots from my shoulders and back. I felt like staying here until the hot water gave out. Soaping my hair, I stepped under the most forceful jet. There were about twenty in the walk-in shower, something I thought was silly at first, and now I didn’t know if I could live without it. The strength and heat of the spray embraced me. I felt almost human again.

A cool waft of air struck my back, painting my body with goose flesh. I froze in mid
-lather. My heart was racing and a hand clamped onto my mouth before I could scream.

“Don’t be scared
; I won’t hurt you.”

Lucius took his other arm and pulled me tightly against him. I
should have been scared, but my heart was racing for a completely different reason. His hard body molded to mine. A large hand lay flat against my stomach; it felt like I was on fire. Everywhere his skin touched mine shot a wave of pleasure through my body. His hard cock pressed into the crack in my ass. I wanted this to happen. He was holding me still when all I wanted to do was turn and embrace him.

His cool lips pressed against my ear. “Remember the last time we were in the shower together?” I nodded my head. People usually don’t forget almost dying or being naked in a shower with one of the most gorgeous men on
Earth.

“I wanted you that day. I was a stupid fool. I was following a meaningless code. I should have taken you right there in the shower.” His leg came up between mine, so I had to straddle
him. “I can feel how aroused you are. I can feel your heart racing in your chest. I can almost taste your need.”

His lips nibbled at the back of my neck. “Fuck
, I want you.”

His hand
s cupped my breasts. I arched my back and moaned. “I want you too.”

The shower door shattered into tiny pieces. Quintus
’ eyes glowed and his fangs were down. He had Lucius’ naked body lifted off the floor by his neck. He held him there like he weighed nothing.