Good As Dead (Dying To Meet You Book 1) (17 page)

Too Late

Although her grandmother’s hands could have taken her to dreamland quite easily, Lainey excused herself after a few minutes.

“I need to watch him,” she said by way of explanation.

Her grandmother waggled her finger. “There’s no point, child. It won’t change things for she holds far more power than both you and I, put together. If she wants him to feed, he’ll feed. By placing yourself in the room, you simply put yourself in danger and we’re in a precarious enough position as it is.” A hand gently smoothed her blonde waves down along her back, but Lainey was not comforted.

“I can’t leave him to face her on his own. You should have seen his face when she had him in her grip…he looked awful. He was in pain, even in his dreams. Imagine what she’ll do to him when he’s awake!”

“There’s only one way to keep her from appearing, Lainey, and you know exactly what it is. You’re going to be forced into doing it soon enough, so it would be kinder to put him out of his misery now.”

Lainey stood up so quickly she almost knocked her grandmother over in the process. “You know I can’t do that,” she said through gritted teeth. “Let’s not discuss this again.”

Holding her hands up in truce, her grandmother sighed. “Fine…have it your way. Go keep an eye on him. It will make no difference though. Things will come to pass as I have seen, and there is nothing you can do about it, bar the binding. I know you can’t see it, but it will be a kindness in the end. A lifetime of servitude to Kalliope is a hell that no man or beast should have to endure.”

Lainey stormed out of the room now feeling even more pressure heaped upon her, and her bones began to vibrate with anger. She hated feeling so helpless. For a witch who had always promised to do no harm, it seemed that every way she turned seemed to present her with problems that would require her do exactly that. Cause harm. Hurt. Destroy. Her life was becoming intolerable.

Heading straight for the kitchen, she marched to the fridge and slammed her fist helplessly into it. It didn’t make her feel any better, but it did manage to get rid of some pent up aggression. Grabbing a glass of water, she drank the contents in a single go. Everything was going wrong. Smashing the button down on the old CD player that had resided between the toaster and breadbin for the better part of ten years, she took a seat on a tall metal kitchen stool and laid her head against the breakfast bar. It was cool against her cheek and as the calming sounds of
Barcarolle
by Jacques Offenbach reached her, she almost had her moment of craziness under control. Almost. She didn’t move from her position for the entire duration of the song but then she heard her grandmother’s footsteps, and she knew that she had to straighten herself out. Pulling her fingers through her hair, she gave a short sniff, wiped her eyes, and straightened her back. She was a big girl, so she might as well act like one.

Her grandmother bustled around the kitchen for a few minutes, and then brought her a hearty serving of cottage pie on a tray complete with a glass of red wine. Giving her a soft pat on the back, she didn’t stay probably guessing Lainey wanted to be alone for a little while. She was good like that, even without magic. The woman had an unerring sixth sense where people were concerned and her advice certainly was well respected in these parts.

Tucking into her supper, Lainey ate with gusto and didn’t stop until the edges of her plate appeared licked clean. It had been a while since she’d had a full stomach and she couldn’t deny that it felt good. When she’d washed up and returned everything to its rightful place, the house was quiet and the lights were dim. Her grandmother had obviously decided to retire for the night, and as tomorrow looked like it was going to be a long day that was probably a good thing. Tiptoeing back to her room, Lainey headed straight for the bathroom and got herself ready for bed. She wondered whether to sleep on the chair or in the bed but considering they’d already slept together, she didn’t see much point in suffering for no reason.

Settling herself on the edge of her double bed, she lay facing Mercer her hands caressing the soft white stripes of her duvet. He looked odd in sleep. There was no need for him to draw breath, except when he was trying to pass for a human, so in repose his body was completely still. It was slightly unnerving at first, but she soon got used to it. He looked just as beautiful in sleep as he did outside of it, and she had to curb the urge to kiss him. For someone who’d had virtually no libido for the past few years, now it was surging to life with considerable enthusiasm. Pushing those thoughts firmly aside, she concentrated on her latest spell recitals and it wasn’t long before the rigours of the day had her snoring softly beside him.

Chapter 13

Lainey hadn’t been abed for long, before a noise penetrated her sleep-fogged brain. It was an annoying rattle, and it wouldn’t go away. When she’d finally managed to open both eyes and groggily look around, it was to find Mercer had managed to open the bay window in her bedroom, which always stuck solid in the winter and had just jumped through it.

Racing across her bedroom, she stuck her head out of the window and found him trailing down the stone steps in jerky ragged movements. She knew he was heading to the woods at the bottom of the garden. Tearing around the bedroom, she picked up a pair of jeans and a thick angora sweater. Hopping about all over the place, she finally managed to pull them on and drag a pair of sturdy walking boots over her feet. Not bothering to search for a coat knowing she would definitely lose him if she wasted any more time, she jumped up onto the white cushions of the love seat, and then took a flying leap out into the garden.

There was no one in sight just as she’d feared. Running as fast as her legs could carry her, she raced over the frozen grass and down towards the bare crooked hedge that lined the end of their garden. There was no need to open the gate, Mercer had left it wide open and it was flapping in the wind. Hurtling past it, Lainey plunged into the dark thicket beyond and wished to hell she had thought to bring a torch with her. There was a tiny sliver of moonlight to see by, but it was nearly useless as soon as she was under a thick canopy of yew trees that blocked out all the light. Her running ceased immediately and she had to feel her way around. Although she knew the path like the back of her hand, the darkness disorientated her and she knew from experience that it was better to be safe than sorry. Exposed tree roots, rocks and leaves littered the ground, and the last thing she needed was to go head first into a tree trunk. Besides, she had a good idea of where Kalliope would be leading Mercer.

Half a mile down the wooded track, there was a little clearing where her grandmother had built her stone circle. It was carefully constructed with her magic in mind using several carefully balanced cairn stones. Each one specially chosen, in width and height, so they would balance perfectly with their counterparts. Her grandmother had always believed that everything could live in harmony if the right balance was achieved, and her circle was a monument to this. It featured an altar stone facing due north and there was a grass space inside the circle for three witches, but no more. Over the years, her grandmother had practised her rituals there and the circle had become quite powerful, intensifying with each spell and blessing she’d cast. Kalliope would want to use that to her advantage.

As Lainey neared the spot, she slowed her feet down and began to creep forward, trying to make as little noise as possible. She knew she mustn’t be discovered if she could possibly avoid it. Any contest between she and Kalliope would be non-existent if her life were to end here, for there wouldn’t be a thing she could do to stop the stronger witch. Her heart rate accelerated at the thought, but then she calmed herself down. The witch wanted the serum and Lainey knew that. Yes, it was true that as soon as she had it, she would be able to recreate it herself but until then, she needed Lainey—alive. Of course, that didn’t mean she couldn’t deal out a whole world of hurt, so Lainey needn’t fear death just yet. That would come later.

A crackle of twigs alerted her to movement ahead and Lainey froze. She could hear voices, one belonging to Mercer, although his seemed strained, while the other voice must belong to Kalliope and hers was anything but.

Sinking to the ground, Lainey crawled forwards on her hands and knees, finding a spot between a pair of trees allowing her to see straight into the circle. Smothering a gasp as her eyes took in the scene before her, she just managed to stop herself from vomiting onto the patch of grass in front of her. Closing her eyes, she dipped her head towards the ground and let out a strangled breath.
Mother of God
.

Kalliope was inside the stone circle and her outstretched arms were weaving an electrical storm all around her. Lainey saw frantically moving hands and swirls of colours. There were reds, purples, blues, and magentas, all combining together as the witch summoned the dark arts. The air around them almost seemed to flinch in horror. These were spells of pain, suffering, torment, and death. Spells that no self-respecting witch would ever learn, but Kalliope had never been any such thing. Lainey watched with sickened fascination as the witch spoke her incantations and the threads of magic interwove making the spell hum with power. That was the circle’s doing. Somehow, Kalliope had breached the protection spells surrounding it and had claimed it for her own. She was going to prove a fearsome adversary.

Lainey began to worry if she even had the courage to face such a witch in direct challenge, but then frowned at the negativity filling her. This had been the whole purpose of her life up until now. To fail at the final hurdle because she was a coward was not an option. Mercer would help her—if he survived.

Wincing, she directed an eye back to her vampire. She could hardly look at him without wanting to scream. Kalliope had nailed him between two trees just above the altar stone. She had driven large cast iron stakes through each of his hands to pin him up, and his blood was spilling in a long river to the ground beneath. Mercer’s eyes kept rolling back in his sockets, but he was trying hard to keep his head up. All his weight rested on those two pinions and it must have been excruciating. Feeling bile begin to bubble back up in her throat, she looked at the ground once more. That was safer. If she kept her attention on Mercer, she was shortly going to do something she would regret. Perhaps there was a chance she might develop a taste for death after all. If an opportunity to kill the witch presented itself, Lainey didn’t think she’d need to consider it too carefully. That woman was running on borrowed time. As if she’d sensed Lainey’s presence, Kalliope took that moment to swing her body around, looking through the trees intently but hearing nothing amiss, her attention quickly refocused on Mercer.

“They’re crucifixion nails, sweetheart. I had them replicated carefully. I thought they would bring back fond memories for you.”

“Fuck you.”

“You will be soon, and I’m thoroughly looking forward to it. Now, where were we?”

The air began to quiver and tense as the spell took form. With a few more soft words uttered, the colours flew. Lainey didn’t shut her eyes fast enough, so the effects were blinding. The lights were so bright, they imprinted dark afterimages upon her retinas and everything went blurry for a moment. Streaks of glowing lightning entangled themselves together and headed directly for Mercer’s body. Lainey’s breath froze solid inside her. She knew this was going to hurt him horribly, and as much as she didn’t want to watch, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the impending carnage.

Sure enough, when the force of the spell hit the defenceless vampire, his whole body buckled as the sharp splinters of energy tore through him and waged war. There was a shocked expression on his face as the burn hit, but Lainey knew from experience that it had barely begun. The spell was a virulent one. Entering through his chest, Lainey watched as the colours merged into one and began to melt the exterior of his skin. She had no idea how he held back his screams but somehow, his mouth remained closed as his blood began to fizz. However, he could not contain the tears that poured freely from his eyes.

“Feel good?” Kalliope sauntered over to his body, now racked with tremors, and ran her fingertips down his chest. He did scream then, and the effort of holding the noise in had cost him dearly. The sound was fierce and desperate.

“I need you to take my blood again, Mercer.” Her fingers continued to wreak a path of destruction, drawing blood wherever they touched and his continued cries of agony had Lainey wanting to bury her head in the ground.

Heaven help her, there was nothing, she could do to stop this. If she made a move, Kalliope would flatten her, and then she would become useless to everyone, especially Mercer. She needed to be in one piece in order to restore what was left of the poor vampire when the witch finished with him. How she was going to endure watching his pain was beyond her. She felt it resonate through her entire being and she would have wrenched her own limbs off to stop it.

Risking another look at the horrors befalling the vampire in front of her it was to find that Kalliope had her head pressed against the vampire’s chest. Her fingers were continuing their line of damage down his stomach. When the witch put a hand behind his neck and pulled his head forward encouraging him to perform his task, Mercer managed to spit out a single word. “Won’t.”

The witch’s laughter trilled in his ear, and it was clear that she was not upset with his response. Turning her back to him, she walked away then stopped to retrieve something on the floor of the circle. Her lilac skirts rose up her leg as she bent down exposing a long creamy thigh, and then the cloth abruptly closed around her as she began storming her way back to him. In her hands were two more wicked-looking nails. She caressed them in her hands and bent, allowing her lips to caress them. Looking back up at him, she separated them a nail in each hand and let her gaze fall to his legs before she once again met his eyes.

Her voice was dangerous as she said, “I loved that about your brother, sweetheart. He was so damn stubborn. It was such fun to break him. He had a tolerance for pain that I’ve not seen before, and you seem to be remarkably like him for some reason.”

The nails flew up in the air, and then her hands rose turning them in the correct direction, their sharp points facing forward. “Are you sure you won’t reconsider, darling?”

Mercer spat at her feet in response. Raising her eyelids in warning, she shook her head at him. “Uh, uh, uh.”

Then the same fingertips, which had left cuts all over his skin, flew forward and the horrible nails followed suit burying themselves in each of his legs, and pinning him firmly to the trees behind him. Mercer’s head slammed forcefully against the tree trunk and he hissed through the excruciating pain before his eyes turned dark red. The loss of blood was beginning to affect him. Lainey wondered if this had been Kalliope’s plan all along. If Mercer entered the point of no return, he wouldn’t care who she was, he’d just take the nearest warm body available.

Stepping back until she was once again in the middle of the stone circle, the witch began weaving another spell. Using the same colours as before, the spell looked similar but the threads were thicker and more powerful. The air all around began to quiver in anticipation of its release, and the wind began whipping up a storm. A break in the clouds revealed a shaft of light spilling down from a pearlescent full moon. It lit up the witch’s body in stark relief. There wasn’t a chance in hell that Mercer could win this battle, and Lainey had a feeling that Kalliope would continue to throw everything she had at him, until he was sobbing for forgiveness at her feet.

As his head lolled against the tree trunk, the same thought must have occurred to him for he whispered only one word. “Stop.”

Kalliope considered his plea for a long moment, while holding the spell in shape as if in two minds of what to do. It continued to revolve around her hands, sparking, and hissing with an unpleasant ferocity.

“Please stop. I’ll feed,” he croaked. Lainey couldn’t listen to the fear in his voice but instead, buried her head against the frozen ground beneath her and covered her ears with her hands. She told herself she was not going to watch this. In the next moment however, she was determined to watch every second of Kalliope’s atrocities. It would make it far easier to kill her when the time came.

“You’re spoiling my fun, vampire.” As she said the words, the spell began to lose its concentrated glow and the streaks of colour slowly diluted into the atmosphere before evaporating altogether. “But I suppose I need you in reasonable shape if I want you to stand a chance of completing your task on time. So, I might take it easy on you. But just so you know, I don’t do the second chances thing. You obey. Period.”

Sidling up to his body once more she presented her neck to his head, which hung low as if ready for her. Her fingernails gashed a line in her throat, and then she pressed the bleeding wound to his lips. Mercer didn’t hesitate. His fangs burst forth and he plunged forward gripping her neck. If the rage radiating from his eyes was anything to go by, he was hoping to do some damage.
If only
.

The witch fell, lost in the throes of her orgasm for a moment but managing to claw her way back to reality with surprising speed. Touching her fingers to his chest, she pushed away from him and he pulled back as if stung.

“Greedy boy. You’ll be able to have plenty more of that, but all in good time. For now, you need to get your little witch to fix you up, which I’m hoping will exhaust her, and then follow the instructions I give you. Remember, I want both the witch and the serum. Don’t disappoint me…or else your brother’s life, such as it is, will be forfeit. Do we understand each other?”

“Yes.”

Kalliope smiled and tapped her finger condescendingly against his nose. “I knew we would.”

Blowing him a kiss, she rose gracefully into the air and promptly disappeared. The moon immediately hid behind a thick band of clouds and the wind dropped to nothing more than a murmur. The ground below seemed to sigh in relief, and bar the occasional leaf rustling through the brush, the earth seemed to have stilled once more.