The Witch's Vampire (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (Mystery Springs Series) (13 page)

“Death?”

“No.” Chelsea sat down, “the treaties in place prohibit unnecessary death anymore. But Josephine was shamed out of Mystery Springs and Nicolai has been single since she left. He also lost the favor of his father. Some say Nicolai’s choice in lovers is the reason why Giovanni is the prince apparent.” Chelsea sighed heavily. “I do know the siblings in that family have all had the favor of their father Gregor at some point, but Giovanni has been the one that has kept it the longest. To be with you, without his father’s approval, will create a rift in the family.”

Sophie felt guilt sweep through her. Gio might have to give up his position in his family to be with her. “It sounds like his father needs to get caught up with the rest of the world.”

“He’s not alone in his thoughts. There are far more who believe mixing races is dangerous.”

“And you?” Sophie found she really needed to know Chelsea’s stance on this topic. She was surprised at how much it mattered to her that Chelsea was on her side, that she approved of her and Giovanni.

Chelsea sighed heavily, “I’m of the new age school of thought, but I still don’t believe witches should mix with vampires.”

“Why?”

“Two reasons really. Demeter, the mother of witches, wouldn’t appreciate vampires, children of Hades, soiling her line. The two deities already hate each other ever since Hades kidnapped her daughter Persephone, and forced her to eat food of the underworld, which made her his prisoner.”

Sophie frowned, she vaguely remembered the mythological story. She found the story far more romantic than Chelsea obviously did. A man loved a woman so much he took her and made her his bride. A mother loved a daughter so much she let the world fall apart until she got her back. Sophie was sure, if they were ever real, that family dinners might be a little strained, but Persephone got the best of both worlds. She got unconditional and romantic love. But they were myths, stories told to teach lessons. Nothing more, right? “You mean we’re creatures of the Gods? That’s a little far-fetched don’t you think?”

Chelsea shrugged her unusually thin shoulders. “It’s not my place to change your beliefs, just to educate you on other beliefs so you can make a well informed decision.” Sophie digested Chelsea’s words and wondered if her budding relationship with Giovanni was worth the trouble. “The second reason I oppose it is because Gregor is going to be a terrible roadblock to your happiness. He may never do you physical harm, but he is not a novice in emotional warfare. He’s had centuries to hone his skills.”

Sophie didn’t have to wonder if it was worth it. She listened and weighed the pros and cons and the idea of being without Giovanni was far worse than the consequences of being with him. She didn’t understand the extent of her feelings. She didn’t welcome the strong, unexplainable emotional connection, but she didn’t think she could change it. Chelsea’s warnings didn’t matter. She couldn’t change how she felt. She couldn’t change the instinct that kept telling her no matter what was thrown at them, if they were together they’d come out on top. She’d felt the attraction from the first moment their eyes connected in the nightclub and she knew he did too. “Then let Demeter, Hades, or Gregor come and tell me I can’t be with him. It’d take a Godly, or at the very least, kingly action to keep us apart I suspect.”

“That’s highly unlikely, but they can make your life difficult.” Chelsea added more to her warnings.

“My choices make my life difficult, not some mythological God created by people to explain strange occurrences that science and philosophers couldn’t dissect and answer. Doesn’t the mere fact that angels exist disprove the gods theory?” She bit into her apple, surprised that she’d eaten it almost to the core.

“No, and if you’ll take my class you’ll better understand. There are multiple religions across the world, everyone a little different, but many of the core beliefs are the same. They have similar themes with minor differences. In terms of western civilization think of the Greek gods as angels.”

“Well, that seems like a downgrade.” Sophie couldn’t help the sarcasm that came from her
lips. She really was interested in learning everything she could about this new world, but things were getting so far from reality she was having a hard time believing it. “Next you’ll be telling me there are demons.”

“There are, as well as many more other creatures. You’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.” Chelsea fought the smile that spread across her lips. “But we’re getting off topic. The reality of the situation is that there are multiple supernatural creatures that can make your life miserable. It’s important to make smart choices that keep you on the good side of as many of the more powerful ones as possible.”
 

“I may not understand everything but I’m not going to make choices that will make others happy. It’s still my life, and last I checked I still have free will.”

“That’s one way to look at it.”
Chelsea agreed.  “But remember, choices have consequences.”

Sophie gave Chelsea a somber look. She knew that all too well. She understood her mother’s decision to let her live a normal life, though she didn’t really agree with it. Sophie was fast realizing she had a lifetime of knowledge to catch up on and she was worried she wasn’t going to get a learning curve in real life. “There’s so much to learn.” She placed her head in her hands. “I’m a little overwhelmed… and scared, Chelsea.”

“It’ll all work out. Just be careful. Things are a little more dangerous than you’re used to.” Chelsea reached across the table and covered Sophie’s hand with her own in a rare show of affection.

A vision of a younger Chelsea popped into her mind. She was kissing a rugged looking man in the forested area outside of town. She felt Chelsea’s passion, her need to be with the man despite the rules they were breaking.

‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ the man with blond hair broke the kiss, they were both breathing heavily, their pupils were dilated and hands were hungrily roaming over each other’s bodies.

‘Yes, Roger, I’m sure. We need to run away, it’s the only way we can be together.’
Chelsea’s need overflowed into Sophie and made it uncomfortable to hold onto the memory
. It felt like she was stealing a moment from her mother’s friend and she didn’t want to take that from her. Sophie pulled her hand away quickly and broke the connection.

“I’m sorry, Chelsea.”

“What did you see?”

“You and Roger talking about running away.” Sophie looked away guiltily.

“It looks like your powers are strengthening nicely.”

“Being able to see memories is normal?”

“For a healer, yes. Sometimes knowing what happened to your patient helps you heal them. And of course, there’s the fact that 80% of the pain one feels in the body is brought on by mental or emotional distress. Not being able to feel, not being able to see the mental side of illness would put you at a great disadvantage.”

In a strange way what she was saying made sense, and it was a reminder of something her mother always tried to teach her. But her mother never talked about having a conversation with a patient in their mind. “Should I be able to talk to a physical representation of the patient in their mind as well?”

“In dire situations, I’ve heard that was possible.”

There was silence between them. It was strange. All of this was odd, and she didn’t know what to do or think or feel. She was terrified and exhilarated in the same breath. “Could I have saved her?” Sophie asked barely above a whisper. “If I had my powers could I have saved mom?”

“No.”

“How can you know for sure?”

“Your mother saw multiple witch doctors. She didn’t want to die yet. She wanted you to go to college and come home a doctor so you could do what you were meant to do.” Chelsea went to pat Sophie’s hand, but thought better of it. “Everyone dies, Sophie. Even immortals, strange as it sounds. This is simply one journey in our soul’s life. We’re here to learn what we need to have our soul progress, and then we move onto the next journey in life which is death -a subject matter your father would be best suited to teach you about.”

Sophie nodded, she didn’t know why she wanted Chelsea to think she understood. She didn’t. She couldn’t agree with her mother’s decision to keep this part of her life a secret, why she didn’t let Sophie help with her treatment. It was possible that since she was closer to her she would’ve been able to do more.

“That’s not how it works.” Chelsea answered her thoughts with a soft smile.

“Did you just…?

“Yes. You’re a healer and I’m a telepath. We all have special individual gifts. I knew your mother’s thoughts. She chose this path for you because she loved you with all her heart, more than anyone in this world. Her sacrifice gave you a normal life, something you’ll never have again. It was the greatest gift she could give you.”

Sophie felt tears sting her eyes and flow freely over her cheeks. It was the first time she cried in the open since her mother’s death. She’d told herself she needed to be strong for her mother. But something in Chelsea’s words broke the ice around her heart and the excess water flowed down her face. Chelsea got up from her chair, and Sophie was vaguely aware of her arms wrapping around her body as she allowed the pain to ease slightly with the waterworks.

Chapter Nine

It took Giovanni two hours to clean up his father’s mess. Shortly after he got things situated daylight hit, and he was forced to bed. His body shut down despite hi
s desire to stay awake. Vampires just didn’t have the ability to function in daylight hours, unless they were mated. Then the rules in their world changed. But the idea of being mated was unrealistic. He’d lived too many years to think his true mate was out there, but it didn’t keep him from hoping, and that hope, and Sophie’s face were the last conscious thoughts he had before the darkness of sleep enveloped him.

He was up when the sun fell from the sky. His strength regained.

His first thought when he woke up was Sophie. He needed to know that she was okay so he called Marissa who reported she was safe. He was so thankful his consort was loyal and trustworthy. The two girls may not like each other, but Marissa would protect Sophie with her life if she needed to. Once he knew his girls were safe he could clear his head and focus on the political problems.

He spent an hour getting the thirteen fraternity members who were turned into his vampire brothers situated with a trainer, and making sure his father was being treated fairly by the council enforcers. He’d been arrested shortly after the cleaners came to cover up the incident. It was a terrible tragedy, and his family wasn’t prepared to accept this many new members, but he couldn’t be more thankful that the frat members were turned. The alternative was death, and that would make his father’s survival impossible. With so many sired children he’d probably be put into cryogenics for his crime, but there were plenty of council members that would love to see the whole Mancuso line wiped out, and it could be done with the death of one vampire, his father.

His sister, Dani, would take on the duties of training the new vampires which meant they’d be fully functioning members of society in no time. She was tough, but she was also the best trainer his small family had. Their numbers were miniscule, but everyone had a duty, a special skill that made them invaluable members of the fold. Dante was the enforcer, Nicolai, the tracker, Dani, the trainer, Marco was the scientist, and Giovanni, the heir. Marco’s work was invaluable, and they’d need to find a replacement soon. Marianna was good as the assistant, but she didn’t have the knowledge to perform the actual research on her own. His loss was going to hurt the family in a large way, which only confirmed his belief that Marco’s death was a calculated attack, and Giovanni needed to find out why.

Nicolai called in Dante for help with Christopher last night when Gio reported to Nicky he wasn’t going to make it. It was a dangerous call and not one Gio would’ve made. Dante was not one that could be held back in his interrogation techniques, it was why he asked Nicky to work on the angel boy first. Not to mention, Dante’s sordid past with other nephilim could come into play during the interrogation. Dante was not the forgiving type. Gio knew Dante would press until he got what he needed or the man died. To that end, Giovanni knew he needed to get to the headquarters as soon as possible. He had a feeling Sophie would never forgive him if Christopher was killed.