“Old-fashioned police work?” I bring my shoulders up in a shrug. “I suppose I’ll start with questioning his friends and family, see if they noticed anything demonic. Then I plan to break into his house and look to see if he was into any sort of Satanic cults. I’ll use magic, of course, so no one will catch me.”
“That’s a solid plan. Question them at night and I will hold them spellbound, compelling them to tell the truth.”
“How come you can’t hold other vampires spellbound?” I close my fingers around end of the feather.
“For the same reason your spells don’t always work on vampires. We’re dead. The magic doesn’t work the same.”
“Shame. I have this sex-slave spell I really want to put on you.”
A growl comes from deep within Lucas’s throat and he brings his lips to my neck. “You don’t need a spell for that.”
“I know I don’t.” Now I do expect him to tell me how much he wants to take me home and fuck me. My phone rings, and I have to tear myself away from Lucas to see who’s calling and if it’s worth answering.
It’s Kristy.
I grab the phone, answering her call right away. “Hey, you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Thank goodness. What’s up?”
“The Grand Coven is here again.”
My heart moves up to my throat. “Please tell me you’re calling with good news about that.”
“I am. Well, kind of. They want you to come to a hearing to review your case. I was only able to get a few words in with Evander, but he seemed optimistic. They found no reason to suspect you of Satanism like Ruth tried to accuse you of.”
I let out a breath of relief. “And the bad news?”
“They know Lucas has seen the location of the door. But,” she adds quickly, “they also know he only went there to help assist us to safety and then stayed and helped you fight off the demon. That’s still a punishable offense, but we think the fact that he saved us will hold up with the council.”
“What about Ruth?”
“She’s still being held with her powers bound.”
Sensing my heart beating faster with anxiety, Lucas rubs my back. I let out another breath and lean into his hand.
“When is the hearing?”
“That’s why I called. They want to do it tonight.”
“I’m in Chicago.”
“I know. I told them you were visiting your sister, and it checked out.”
“Thank you, Kristy.”
“Do you think you could be here by the witching hour?”
Lucas nods. “I can get you there fast.”
“You shouldn’t go,” I tell him slowly, hating that I’m saying it. “Or at least not to my house.” Resting my head in my hand, I let my eyes fall shut. It’s nearing ten thirty and in theory, we could get to Thorne Hill before midnight. If we hit traffic, that will be a different story.
“I’ll be there,” I tell Kristy. “Alone.”
“The Grand Coven can’t get mad that you’re here.” I open the door to Novel Grounds and turn on the light. “Vampires have as much right to live in this town as the non. There are two vampires who live downtown somewhere already.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t discourage it.” Lucas follows me through the store.
“I don’t think these vampires know the bad blood between witches and vampires, and as far as the rest of the world knows, we’re just an ordinary small town full of ordinary people. If it got out somehow that residents here didn’t want vampires to move in, it could bring unwanted attention to us.”
“Does it bother you?”
I wave my hand over my office door, unlocking it. “Does what bother me?”
“Having to hide who you are from the world?”
I shake my head. “No. People can hardly handle the fact that vampires exist. Knowing magic is real, they’d go insane.”
“But that has nothing to do with what you want.”
“Sure it does.” I turn on the light to the office. It’s nothing fancy, and it’s pretty small. “People will either want to kill me or want me to do spells for them. I’d rather just be left alone.”
“You can cast spells for that, like you did at the bar tonight.”
“True.” I turn and lock eyes with Lucas. We made it to Thorne Hill in just under an hour. Lucas is good at speeding thirty miles over the limit while weaving in and out of traffic. I put a good luck spell on us not to crash and burn and the drive still terrified me. “Really, though, I just want to be accepted. I’m so tired of having to explain and rationalize things to people.” I let my purse fall off my shoulder and go over to Lucas, sliding my arms up around his shoulders. “Like us. It’s nobody’s fucking business, and I am so over being told how I feel is wrong. It’s not. There is nothing wrong about us at all.”
Lucas’s large hands land on my hips and he brings them to his. “You are the only thing that’s right about me, Callie. You brought me out of the darkness, and I don’t just mean that literally. I died over a thousand years ago and part of me never left the grave. And then I met you.”
My eyes fall shut, trying to dam up the tears that threaten to fall.
“You brought me back to life, and I’d go through another thousand years of pain and darkness if that’s what it would take to be with you.”
I slit my eyes open and see that he looks just as emotional as I’m feeling.
“I love you now.” He brings his lips to mine. “As I will tomorrow. And the day after that. For the rest of my existence, Callie, I will always love you.” He kisses me hard, tongue pushing past my lips. I’m weak against him, resolve lost and crumbled on the floor.
I don’t care about the hearing.
I don’t care about being removed from the coven for the rest of my life.
All I care about is Lucas and how he makes me feel. How I don’t think I could survive without him. My life was full of pain and betrayal. Of heartbreak and tears.
I’ve always loved being a witch, but it took a long time to learn to love myself. And Lucas…Lucas accepts and embraces every imperfect part of me.
“And I’ll love you,” I pant between kisses. “I don’t care what happens tonight. I’m not letting anyone get between us.” I hold onto him like my life depends on it. In some ways it entirely does. “I won’t let it come to that. Whatever happens tonight…I won’t let them even attempt to keep us apart.”
His fingers dance over the marks on my neck where he sank his fangs in yesterday. I put Kristy’s extra-strength healing balm on them, fading them fast but not fast enough. I’ll put more on when I leave the shop, and then hopefully makeup and wearing my hair in a braid over my shoulder will be enough to keep them from being noticed.
“I’ll call you when I get back to my house.” My words choke up in my throat. If I stay here, I’ll be with Lucas. If I leave…there’s no telling what could happen.
Chapter 20
“Holy shit, it’s good to see you.” I throw my arms around Evander, feeling a shade better just to be near him. “How are you?”
“I’m fine. There were no demonic side effects.”
“Thank goodness.”
“No, thank you.” He releases me and takes my hand, turning to say the incantation to open the door. My suspension has been temporally lifted, allowing me to pass through.
“Invoco elementum terrae. Invoco elemuntum aeris,” I chant another with Evander. “Invoco elemuntum aqua. Invoco elemuntum ignis.” The empty space in the large tree flickers blue. Still holding my hand, Evander and I walk through, emerging into the Covenstead.
It’s obvious right away shit is going down tonight.
“Our entire coven is pissed about this,” he whispers to me, taking his hand from mine and wrapping it protectively around my shoulders.
/> “At me?”
“No, at the Grand Coven. We all know what you did, Callie. You saved us from a demon. You were the first one to notice the Ley line had been tainted. And you saved my life.”
“When you say it like that, I sound pretty awesome.”
“You have your flaws,” he laughs. “But we are lucky to have you and everyone in the coven knows it. Persecuting you is wrong. You haven’t endangered anyone, and we all know it.” He gives me a squeeze. “We have your back.”
We go into the gathering hall and my stomach clenches. Three members of the Grand Coven are seated to one side, with an empty chair in the middle of the altar for me. A handful of council members are seated as well, with half being from my own coven and the rest from another to weigh in as unbiased opinions.
Tabatha is seated in the first row, a stricken look on her face. Kristy and the twins are seated two rows behind her, and I can’t bring myself to even look at them. Kristy is freaking out, I’m sure of it. I undo the ties of my cloak as I walk down the aisle, eyes set on the chair on the altar.
“Callista Martin,” Albert, a Grand Master, stands and beckons me to the chair. My heart is all flutters of nerves inside my chest. Once I’m seated, another member of the Grand Coven brings over a black candle. I take it with one hand and hold my other over top of it.
“You have been brought forth before the council today to address the accusations against you. Do you swear to powers of the coven to stand before us and tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”
The flame grows taller, heating the palm of my hand. “I do.”
“Very well.” Albert gives as curt nod and the candle is taken from me. He goes to the podium and every witch and wizard in the gathering hall holds their breath. “You have been accused of willingly leading a vampire to the location of your coven’s sacred door. How do you plead?”
I press my hands against my thighs and let my eyes fall shut for a second. “Guilty.”
Almost everyone in the gathering hall gasps, and even Albert looks shocked.
“You admit that you took a vampire to the location of the door?” he repeats.