First Thirst (Craving 1)

I was taken aback by this and in spite of the seriousness of the conversation, a chuckle escaped me.

She looked again in my direction and said, “Not funny, My Lord.”

“Nae, nae at all funny, and the thing is that while we dinnae think ye are in immediate danger, ye will be if Allora gets wind of the fact that MacLeod thrives and a descendant of yer grandmother is here.”

“Well, then, we better get ready,” she told me.

“What are ye saying?”

“Today…when you told me by the forest you couldn’t go any farther, when I thought you were a ghost, something was in the woods. We both know it was a vampire. But not just any vampire…it was evil. I picked up on its aura. I picked up on the scent of blood because it had just had a meal somewhere else. So, we have vampires in the equation. I am acquainted with two vampires. One is like an uncle to me and the other was my BFF at college. I know a thing or two about vamps.”

“It was probably staying up at Brently,” he said resignedly.

“Right, so it is a good bet he will report back to her that MacLeod is running smoothly and there is a new girl installed within its walls,” Bobbie said, and clucked her tongue. “Trouble sooner than later, it would seem.”

“Aye, and now, I’m nae certain returning ye to New York will help if she finds out who ye are. Allora will track ye and finish ye…so that ye cannae help me.”

She grinned without fear. “You mean she will try.”

~ Seven ~

BOBBIE:

AN ANCIENT V

AMPIRE WHO could come and go at will inside of the castle. That was what he was saying. That was a sure problem. Rafael had always told me never, ever invite a vampire into your place.

Why should I get involved? This was scary shit. Yeah, but how could I not get involved? This Allora bitch had beheaded my grandmother!

Okay, let’s weigh the facts.

I am a witch…but did I have enough training to go against an ancient vampire? No. Simple answer. Ancients had a reputation of being without any semblance of humanity. Hence, they were ruthless and cunning. They were super strong, vicious, determined, and each ancient had his/her own supernatural skills. Ancients were nothing to take on lightly.

That weighed down one of my hands.

What brought up the other hand was the grandmother I had never known because of Allora. Oh, that brought up the other hand big-time.

Allora beheaded her and robbed my mother and me both.

Justice walks a fine line with vengeance. I was cool and collected, so I didn’t think I was after revenge, but I did want justice for the grandmother I never had a chance to meet because of a murdering vampire. Also, ridding the world of an ancient was a good thing.

Here was another matter. My grandmother had unwillingly imprisoned Devin MacLeod. Yeah, he was a vampire, but not one that took human lives to survive. Somehow I knew my grandmother would want me to free him. The fact that Allora killed my grandmother meant that even Allora knew my grandmother would have returned to free him if she had lived.

So, how do I stay alive and work on his rescue?

Naomi, my BFF, survived on pig’s blood. She said that she had to work her other skills to stay as sharp and strong as other vampires who lived on human blood.

She had let me in on many secrets that went on in the vampire world so that I could have my magic on the ready if need be to counter any attack I might encounter.

I knew the story about having to be invited in and that was a plus, but Naomi told me about a vampire who wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer and burned down some woman’s entire home to make her come out to him.

So, if I stayed elsewhere, Allora might be just the sort to burn me out.

I had to work on my skills.

Auntie Elle had taught me a spell to use if a vampire was stupid enough to try and attack. Pain is a deterrent, and most witches can induce pain in other supernaturals.

I got good at it and can do it with a thought.