The Witch Is Back (15 page)

“How many times have you seen him?” he repeated while his eyes burned with anger.

“I don’t know … Twice, I think,” I spat out. “The second time I forced him to leave.” A flashback of the last time I’d seen Rand came on with a vengeance. I looked up at Sinjin, my eyes going wide. “I … I touched him and something happened, Sinjin. There was like a bright burst of light and the next thing I knew, he was sailing through the air. I … I have no idea how it happened.”

Sinjin nodded as if it were no surprise at all, as if he weren’t in the least alarmed by my ability to defy the laws of gravity. “Did he hurt you?”

I shook my head and in a blink Sinjin was standing before me, holding both of my hands in his. I gasped, shocked by his speed. He smiled apologetically, as if he’d just realized that I wasn’t exactly used to his vampire quickness.

“He is a dangerous man, poppet. You must avoid him at all costs. Do you understand?”

I nodded, feeling like I could lose myself in the whiteness of Sinjin’s eyes, the beauty of his face, and the caress of his skin against mine. Then the image of Rand intruded on my thoughts. “Why is he dangerous?”

“He is a warlock, love, a conjurer of dark magic.” Sinjin took a deep breath, which I knew was all for show, and turned away from me. “He wants to possess your power, poppet. He wants to control you.”

I nodded, thinking about Rand’s visits, how emphatically sure he was that I was something other than what I thought, how he and Sinjin had that in common. “Yes, he insisted that I was a witch.”

The narrowed, calculating expression returned to Sinjin’s eyes. “What else did he say?”

I closed my eyes, trying to remember what had happened during my meeting with Rand, but was flooded by feelings instead. Memories of Rand’s touch, the way he looked at me, how I’d felt so connected to him … I faced Sinjin. “There was something about him …”

“Yes?”

I shook my head, unable to put my finger on it. “I just felt like I’d met him before, a long time ago, as crazy as that sounds. I felt like we’d known each other all our lives and …”

Sinjin’s jaw became even tighter as he crossed his arms against his broad chest. “That is his magic, love, nothing more. It is an artifice, a lie to manipulate you.”

I faced him and took a deep breath. “He glamoured me, then?”

Sinjin nodded. “Something quite similar. He bewitched you, my little poppet. He bewitched you into believing that the familiarity between the two of you was real. He wanted you to trust him, to feel safe with him.” He approached the fireplace and leaned on the mantel, quiet for a second or two as his gaze seemed to focus on the floor. Then he faced me again. “You must believe none of it.”

“Why did he come after me?” I asked, my stomach sinking at the thought that my feelings for Rand were fake, not to mention designed to take advantage of me. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t zapped him across my store?

Sinjin ran his hands through his hair and studied me for a moment or two, as if he were trying to memorize
my features, line by line. “Because, little poppet, you are the missing puzzle piece.”

“I don’t understand,” I said and shook my head. “You’re going to have to explain better than that.”

“Sit,” Sinjin said as he escorted me to the couch. I took a seat and he knelt in front of me, pushing his body between my legs. He took each of my hands in his and smiled up at me while my stomach dropped. He was just so … close, and now he was kneeling between my … legs.

“You are more than a witch, love. Your power is unrivaled, and has never before been seen in any single creature of the Underworld.”

Okay, I could admit that this whole role of witch was starting to grow on me—maybe I was just getting used to the idea. I mean, everyone I seemed to encounter was convinced I had lots in common with Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. So the witch part wasn’t what struck a note of discord. But the fact that Sinjin seemed to think I was incredibly powerful? Me? Someone who couldn’t even command my visions? Nope, power and me were definitely not bedfellows. “Why do you think I’m powerful?” I demanded.

Sinjin shrugged. “I do not think. I know.”

“But how?”

He didn’t miss a beat. “Let us just say it is a feeling, a strong one.”

I wasn’t satisfied by the fact that it was just a hunch. I mean, it was difficult enough to wrap my head around being a witch, but now the idea that I was even more than that … I couldn’t really comprehend it. What did that even mean? What was more powerful than a witch? A different creature altogether? A harpy maybe? I shook my head. “It just sounds really far-fetched, Sinjin.”

“That is because your powers have not realized themselves yet, love. You will come to see in time.”

I seized his mention of the Underworld. “You’re saying I’m part of the … Underworld?”

“Yes. Although not yet formally, of course. My duty is to prepare you, to teach you.”

I was still having a difficult time grasping it. “Prepare me for what?”

“Your place, love, exists in the Underworld, with your people, and it is my responsibility to ensure your continued safety.”

“My people?” I repeated.

“Yes, love, I will answer all of your questions in time. But what is most important for you to know now is that you have a purpose, a calling.”

“But—” I started.

Sinjin held his hand up. “In time,” he answered simply.

Figuring I’d make no headway on that front, I focused on another. “You make it sound as if you were assigned to me.”

He shook his head. “As I mentioned earlier, I am a master vampire …”

“You’re in charge then?” I interrupted.

“I answer to no one, love.” He smiled with fangs as if he relished the fact that he was a free agent.

“Is that what it means to be a master vampire?”

“Not necessarily,” he replied. “Master vampires are merely the oldest of our race, and therefore the strongest and the most powerful, but that is not to say that they do not come under the authority of others.”

So how come he didn’t answer to anyone? “Then you must be the oldest of the master vampires?”

He shook his head, and the smile died from his lips and eyes. “No, there is one even older than I am.”

“Then why don’t you report to that vampire?”

He cocked his head and smiled, his eyes raking me from head to toe. I felt myself begin to blush, but I
forced my attraction to Sinjin aside. This was not the time for that—I needed to understand what I’d gotten myself into, and what it meant to be a member of this so-called Underworld.

“Are you going to respond?” I asked.

“At one time, I did answer to a vampire older than I, love; but I was granted autonomy by someone very special to me, and now I answer to no one but myself.”

I gulped, not liking the part about the person special to him, and liking even less that I was getting jealous. “And this person who granted you autonomy … Was it a woman?”

He smiled even more broadly. “Yes.”

I nodded, deciding I didn’t want to hear any more. Sinjin and other women was not a subject that interested me. Instead, I wanted answers about how and why Sinjin had orchestrated our first meeting. “So you never really had a flat tire, did you?”

He shook his head. “Oh yes, it was flat.”

“But?” I prodded.

“I flattened it.”

Even though I had every right to be annoyed—Sinjin had basically created the circumstance that led to our introduction—I wasn’t. Go figure. “How did you know who I was?”

“You are part of the prophecy, love, of the Underworld.”

“The prophecy?” I repeated, dubious. “What does that even mean?” I shook my head, wondering why I was believing any of this. “God, I feel like I’m stuck in
Lord of the Rings
or something.”

Sinjin chuckled. “You are meant to unite the creatures of the Underworld, little poppet.”

“Unite them?” I repeated, wondering when Frodo or Gandalf would be making an appearance. Gollum I was less enthusiastic about. “Unite them against what?”

He sighed but apparently realized he needed to tell me just what was going on. “Unite us against a threat that will wipe us out.”

“What?” I asked, rather eloquently.

“They are called Lurkers,” Sinjin clarified. “I, myself, think of them as the others—those who are underworldly but do not associate with the creatures of the Underworld kingdom.”

“Who are they?”

“They were once humans,” he said and tapped his long fingers against his thigh. “By ingesting vampire blood, they gained the extreme strength and speed of the vampire but none of our weaknesses. Thus they can go out in the daylight.”

“And they want to destroy you?” I asked, not understanding why that would be. I mean, it sounded like they were cut from the same cloth.

“Yes, they want to destroy all creatures of the Underworld. I suppose you could say they have a vendetta against us.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “No one knows for certain.”

“And you think it’s my duty to bring the creatures of the Underworld together so they can fight this threat?”

He nodded.

“The creatures of the Underworld don’t get along?”

Sinjin nodded again. “Quite disparate factions of creatures make up the Underworld, my pet. It is your duty, your calling, to ensure the Underworld is not divided against itself so that we can defend ourselves against the threat of the Lurkers.”

“Great,” I muttered and shook my head, deciding to shelve this newest information for now. Otherwise, I thought I might have apoplexy.

“I have searched high and low for you,” Sinjin continued, his voice deep, sexy.

“Do you have some sort of witch-tracking device?” I persisted, feeling as if there were something he was leaving out, something he wasn’t telling me.

He chuckled and shook his head. “It is very complicated, love; but it took me years to locate you, and now that I have, I remain your faithful and loyal servant, as well as your teacher and protector.”

“What does that mean?”

“I will help you perfect your abilities, poppet. I will introduce you to the right people, mentor you, protect you, and essentially help you grasp who and what you are.”

I swallowed hard as all of this sank in. And then something occurred to me.

Sinjin has never been romantically interested in you! It was all a front, just a show
.

It felt as if the air was constricting my lungs as this newest discovery began to unfold within my mind.

Oh my God, it’s so obvious, Jolie! His goal this entire time was to ensure your role as “she who will unite the Underworld.” He’s known all along who and what you are, and his goal has always been to train you to fulfill this role
.

You don’t know that for sure
, I started to argue with myself, too ashamed to face the truth in my thoughts.

God, you are so stupid! All along, Sinjin’s objective has been to get you to yield to him, to accept him as your mentor, and you stupidly fell for it, wanting nothing more than to believe he actually had the hots for you!

Well, you don’t have all the pieces to the puzzle yet. You don’t know for sure what his intentions were
.

Puh-leeze, Jolie, he’s been playing you all along, bending you to his will as prettily as you please. You’ve felt it too—that he was completely and totally out of your league
.

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach over my own stupidity. Sinjin must have thought this whole charade was so simple. Lure in the naïve girl with your incredible good looks and charm, and once she chomps on the bait, reel her in bit by bit until you have her flopping back and forth in your hands.

“Poppet, you appear upset. What is stewing in that lovely head of yours?”

I faced him as anger and humiliation took over. “I just realized what a complete idiot I’ve been.”

“Idiot?” he repeated.

“This was just business for you all along.”

“Business?” he repeated, sounding confused, even as I realized I’d used the wrong word. “I am afraid I do not follow.”

I felt something simmer within me that was about to start boiling and blow its top. “What I’m trying to say is, you came into my life with an agenda. It was never for … it was never because …”

I couldn’t finish the sentence, afraid I sounded too much like a lovesick dumb-ass. I couldn’t deny I was now head over heels for this man, who saw me as nothing more than a duty. It was crushing, not to mention humiliating. Actually, the whole thing was mortifying.

And that was when I realized I wanted nothing more than to escape, to stop this from gathering steam and turning into a huge cluster fuck. I took a deep breath and started for the door.

“Where are you going?” he demanded.

“I’m tired,” I said and glanced back at him. “And this conversation is too much for me at the moment.” I started for the door again.

I didn’t even have time to expel my breath before I felt a rush of air against my face and found myself in Sinjin’s arms. I pulled away, glancing up at him in shock.

“You do not realize my feelings for you. You never
have,” he said. His hold on my upper arms tightened, but I didn’t feel threatened. It just seemed like he wanted to feel me against him, to be close to me.

Yet there was no way in hell I was falling for it. Not again. “Fool me once, shame on you … fool me twice … No, I won’t be fooled twice.”

“Poppet, you do not understand.”

I shook my head, rage still rampaging through me. “I understand perfectly well.” I dropped my gaze to the floor and exhaled. “God, I’m so dumb.”

“Jolie,” he insisted and tipped my chin up with his long index finger. When I made the mistake of glancing into his eyes, I felt the breath catch in my throat. His expression was determined, angry even. “I will not allow my feelings for you to be trampled so.”

I swallowed hard. What did that even mean? “But you … You just said there was a reason you came into my life … You made it sound like the whole thing was orchestrated.”

He nodded and never dropped his gaze from mine, taking both my arms prisoner in his large hands. “When we first met, love, I had one goal in mind—to mentor and teach you, to help shape your powers. But sometime during the course of our acquaintance, our friendship, you have grown to mean much more to me.”