Requiem E-Book

Lorelei Bell

• Herausgeber: Next Chapter
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Bill Gannon is back from the dead, and resumes his mission to protect Sabrina - the last Sibyl.

When the vindictive demon Naamah enlists a terrible witch in her quest for retribution, Sabrina is in danger, and the secret behind a mysterious newcomer is revealed.

With her protectors facing a powerful enemy, can they find a way to save Sabrina before it’s too late?

Leseprobe

Requiem

Sabrina Strong Book 6

Lorelei Bell

Copyright (C) 2017 Lorelei Bell

Layout design and Copyright (C) 2019 by Next Chapter

Published 2019 by Next Chapter

Cover Design by Melody Simmons from eBookindiecovers

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the author's permission.

Acknowledgments

As most authors, we always need a little help from our friends.

Dora D'agostino for help with the Italian phrases and words.

Colorado Springs, Colorado

One Week Ago…

He wiped the blood from his mouth. Three men's bodies lay among the weird shapes of the stalagmites of the uneven cave floor and debris from the cave-in. One swinging light from their rig cast a ghastly series of blipping images of what was left of the three workers going from light to dark, light to dark again and again. Their yellow or white hardhats cast aside, their necks slit open—one man's head nearly severed, the flesh ragged where it was opened nearly to the neck bone.

He had drank his fill of the blood. How generously it had flowed. He now was more than satiated—he was bloated with their blood. It now pooled around their bodies like dark lakes and small rivers meandering over the cave's dusty, uneven floor.

Bill Gannon sat taking in the carnage around him in the cave. The savageness with which he'd attacked them now gone. The need had made him blind to what he was doing. He now sat and took in the carnage. What have I become? Why? Why me? I was happy where I was. Dead. At least in death I was at peace and did no harm to anyone.

The sense of bewilderment and despair fell over him as he curled in on himself, fists to his face, pressed against his eyes. He wept. The sounds of his deep weeping filled the cavern. He was certain no one would hear him. Not here.

He didn't know how long he lie curled up, tears—blood-stained—streaming down his face, dripping onto the floor of the cave. His leathery wings were wrapped around him. I hate them. They're ugly—an odd ululation, like that of a woman's voice, edged into his consciousness, pausing his self-loathing. Between sobs he heard it. He became quiet and listened. It was definitely someone's voice. Somewhere nearby. She spoked to him.

“William,” she said in a lovely dulcet tone, too beautiful for a mere human's voice. “Be still, my sweet. Don't cry over spilled blood.”

His self-pity now forgotten, he looked up. He was certain the brilliant light was not coming from anything man-made, but rather from something ethereal, and when he lifted his head he thought the dark figure standing there was not really there, but was a vision. Something in his head. Or a hallucination from… something he ate. The light around her blinded him, and he had to block it with a broad hand.

“Look upon me,” she said in a husky, yet gentle tone.

“I can't look upon you,” he said, trembling with the feeling of utter loss and trepidation. He was ready to parish, if that was his fate, even though he'd only been alive for a few hours as a vampire. “But if you have come to avenge what I've done, then do so and get it over with. I deserve it.” His head hung low, hair falling into his face. It dripped with the blood, feeling it wet on his face and brow.

“It would be that I should avenge what you have done, but that is not why I am here, my sweet. I have watched you, and have heard your despair and remorse for what you have done.” A pause. “I know your heart,” The woman's voice was rich and resonated like a musical instrument all around him. “You may look upon me now without fear, my sweet. My son.”

Hesitantly, Bill drew his hand away from his eyes. The light was gone and he could see the woman standing twenty feet away. She wore black robes and a sheer, black scarf over her head. But what struck him the most was the black wings, shaped like his. Like those of a giant bat.

“Who are you?” he asked. “Or should I even be so bold as to ask your name?”

“I am known by many names down through time, for I come from a time when humans revered and respected the gods and goddesses.”

“I am not of the human race,” he said, wiping his eyes. “Not completely. My ancestors come from those who were downcast from heaven. Called Watchers.” She paused again, letting that sink in. His eyes engaged hers. “The Fallen Ones.”

He opened his mouth to speak. No words formed.

Her hand came up to halt him. “I know well who, and what you are, my son, for I am the child of Nyx and Erebus. I am the personification of retribution for evil deeds and undeserved good fortune.”

He scoffed lightly. Undeserved good fortune? “Then I am well deserving of your wrath. I have lived longer than I should, and have enjoyed riches of untold wealth while alive.” He added sheepishly, “Perhaps undeserved.”

“I am not so concerned with your life-style when you were alive as a human,” she said. “One seed from a pomegranate is only one seed.” She smiled. “One seed among a million times infinity is too many for me to separate and single out.”

He pulled his knees up and curled his arms around them, and then his wickedly taloned wings draped his circumference, as he was embarrassed that he wore no clothes. Meanwhile, he searched his memory of Greek goddesses and tried to fit her into known mythology. Myth come to life. Who is this one? One of the Furies?

She smiled and it lit up her dark eyes. “My son, know that I have been searching for one such as you to be my… shall we say, representative on this earth realm? In the form you are now, you have many talents that I could use at my disposal.”

“What do you wish me to do, goddess?”

She smiled, then made a nod of approval that he knew what she was, and deserved reverence. “First of all, what was your full given name on this earth realm?”

“My father named me William Bartholomew Gannon. I go by the name Bill, mainly.”

“You are now my Avenger, Bill, for I am Nemesis, and have need for you to keep in check the evil ones who are causing havoc. One magical creature who was born not long ago will be in mortal danger soon, and she has not yet fulfilled her role which was foretold by ancient prophesy.”

Bill thought a moment, he was certain he knew who she meant.

“The sibyl?”

Nemesis nodded.

He had been tracking the sibyl for over a month—as a human—and was supposed to mate with her. Now…

“What would you have me do, goddess?”

“Go find her. Help keep her safe, for there are many who are now joining forces against her. The sibyl's life is in jeopardy.”

“Gladly,” he said, knowing this was so very true. “Anything else?”

“Yes. The equilibrium of good and evil has been tipped. There are many who have fallen prey to hubris, or arrogance. They join forces to kill her. Not only demons and vampires, but some humans too.”

“And you wish me to be your tool to make things more even?” he asked, his words measured with thought.

“It will be a continuous job,” she said with a graceful smile. “Rise up, Bill Gannon.” She moved her hand gracefully from the filmy black robes.

Bill rose, banishing his embarrassment of being nude, and folded his wings tightly behind himself. Her eyes took him in, and a smile dimpled her cheeks.

“Your wings are beautiful,” she said. “Hold them out so that I may see.”

He did so and gazed at the knobby joints throughout the leathery wings. His gaze rose to the thumb with the large, wicked claw that curved not in, but up and back. He knew now it was how he had slit the throats of the men he had exsanguinated to feed upon from the workers who had been trying to remove huge boulders from the cave-in. He was basically a killing machine.

“You don't seem to like your wings very much. Why is that?”

“When alive, my wings were made of feathers. Pure white, as white as snow. No other like me, had such.”

A finger tapping her chin, she thought on this for a moment. “Should you prove to be worthy of the task I have given you, at a time when I feel you have achieved a reward, I shall give you back your wings as they once were.”

Bill could barely rein in his joy at this. Tears made him blink in order to clear his eyes. “Really?”

She nodded. “Yes. Really.”

He bowed at the waist, the apex of his wings almost touching the floor, then he straightened. “I am at your service, goddess. But… tell me how do I get out of here, into the world?”

She chuckled then. “Bill. You are very capable of going wherever your mind wants you to go. Merely think it.”

“How long have I been…” he trailed off, his eyes dropping to take in the dead bodies around him.

“You have not been gone all that long from the living that you cannot pick up where you have left off.”

For the first time Bill's lips tilted into a half-smile. Yes. She was right. He certainly could pick up where he'd left off in his human life. But his smile vanished. “I have no clothes. I can't go about like this.” His hands out. “Not with these wings especially.”

Nemesis' lips twisted in thought again. “No. I can't very well allow you to walk about like that. Not in today's world. My apologies. Retract your wings.”

He hadn't thought of that. It took a little concentration, but after a few seconds, they vanished.

She thrust her hand toward him and a golden light arrowed toward him. He flinched, but felt nothing, except maybe warmth cascading over his body.

He looked down to find himself clothed, in nearly the very same thing he last wore. Looking back up at her he said, “Now, though, I would drink blood to live?”

Eyes glittering, she said, “No. You are not exactly a vampire. You are something more.”

“What?”

Another wry smile tilted her beautiful lips. “I will allow you to figure this out by yourself, Bill.” She began to fade. “Find the sibyl. Save her from her enemies.” She vanished.

Chapter 1 - Demons

“Stop. I'll take an ear off if you move again.”

I gaped at my cousin, Lindee, who wielded the scissors over Vasyl's head.

Vasyl made a little growl of annoyance. He sat in my kitchen blinking under bright overhead bulbs with a bath towel arranged over his shoulders. Clippings of his wavy hair on the floor around him looking like black snakes that a cat had clawed, chewed and played with. I bent down to gather one or two thick, wavy trimmings from the drastic cutting Lindee had done to my husband's hair. I held three foot long pieces. Women would pay through the nose for such extensions. I wasn't going to sell them. I wanted it for a keepsake. The notion was rather silly, or possibly romantic, I know. But I couldn't see throwing it all into the trash. It was simply too beautiful.

Moments ago, Lindee had tried unsuccessfully to use the barber scissors my dad had. “His hair is like cutting through chicken wire!” Lindee had complained—and not quietly. She then pulled out the large sheers from my mother's old sewing table. They were sharp and went through his hair easily.

Poor Vasyl. He'd lost most of his hair last night in the violent storm when he'd tackled Nicolas in my bedroom in Tremayne Towers in Chicago. They'd both crashed out my bedroom window and were side-swiped by a bolt of lightning that had hit Nicolas directly, killing him. Vasyl had made a remarkable recovery in less than twenty-four hours. Tonight he asked us to cut the rest of his hair off, because half of it had been burnt in a jagged way (and smelled bad), to the shoulders. His wings had protected him from the lightning strike, while Nicolas had taken the full brunt of it, already dead well before his ashes hit the pavement below. But the side-splash of lightning had hit Vasyl's wings, sending him careening into a building across the way where he clung until Bjorn Tremayne got to him almost a half hour later.

His beautiful hair. All of it gone in a matter of a couple of clips. Now the lengths fell a little past his collar. He looked like a totally different man. His cheekbones seemed sharper, and those violet eyes not as dark as they usually were.

“Oh, wow. What happened to your ears?” Lindee asked, as she moved to trim an uneven length from the front.

“What do you mean?” Vasyl and I both said in unison. I moved in as Lindee stepped away and brushed his hair aside to look at his ears. He had worn gold crucifixes on his earlobes. I know, weird that a vampire would wear any sort of crucifix, but he had been a priest in his former human life. The lobes looked as though someone had taken a laser and burned a quarter inch gash in each one. The earrings were gone, the cuts were healed over but blackened, almost like a weird Goth-style fashion statement.

I had a quick vision of when, and how this happened. “When the lightening hit you, the gold melted in your ears, and burned you.” I said automatically.

Both Lindee and Vasyl looked up at me giving me startled looks.

“Oh, God that must have hurt like a bitch,” Lindee said, grasping her own earring.

“When it happened everything hurt,” Vasyl said, his French accent thick.

I stepped away, unshed tears filled my eyes while the vision made a few loops in my head. It had been a gut-wrenching scene. Horrific. The lightening had fried his wings into blackened stumps. We were told those would never grow back, or if they did, he might not be able to use them.

“It will grow back,” Lindee said. “Won't it?”

I jerked my eyes to her.

“Yes,” Vasyl said. “In time.” He pulled off the towel, droves of his thick hair slid to the floor then. I'll need a shovel to scoop it all up.

“Wait. I wasn't done!” Lindee said, scissors raised.

Vasyl rose to his six-two stature. “You are done.” He handed her the towel. “I am taking a shower,” he announced and looked down at me. He had a bad-boy's two-days growth of beard on him. Holy crap, it gave me chills to look at him now. Especially with all his long hair gone. I found myself lost in those violet eyes of his. His face didn't match the hair. How was I going to get used to this new look? It was like looking at a stranger in my house.

He broke our stare and moved away. I wasn't sure if he had been inviting me to a shower with him or not, but I'd already showered. Plus I wasn't in that sort of mood at the moment.

“Oh, man!” Rick's voice slurried from the living room. Hobart's growly laughter rippled in. “Queenie, you ain't right!”

My two other guests were watching a reality show on TV. I half-rolled my eyes, and caught Lindee's dower expression as she took up the broom. I dipped to grab the dust pan. We worked on getting Vasyl's hair all cleaned up in near silence. It filled the kitchen garbage basket.

Our quiet mood made me remember the fact that Cho was leaving.

I took off the top of my garbage can and dumped the first bunch of clippings in.

“God, it's like we've sheered a sheep or something,” Lindee said and then made her trademark laugh.

“Right?”

“Oh my God, you could fill a mattress with this!” Lindee added.

I left that alone as I tied the bag, pulled it out and put on my boots to tote it out the back to the large green garbage bin. It was cold and silent outside. I looked up at the stars, my breath making a thick cloud as I watched the many twinkling lights, thinking to myself how lucky we had all been. I returned through the side door, locking it, and went up the five steps back inside where it was much warmer.

The notes from the TV show I Dream of Jeanie sounded from the living room.

“Hello?” Rick answered his iPhone from the living room.

Lindee and I paused in our motions and waited to hear what was being said. Rick didn't say anything for a long thirty seconds, obviously listening to what was being said to him.

“Holy crap! He did it!” Rick's shrill voice said. “Tremayne just got reinstated as magnate for the entire North American Vampire Association!” We cheered. “And he got the Hunting Humans Law thrown out under a technically.”

Lindee and I cheered again, jumped up and down and hugged. We surged into the dining room to see the nearly armless leprechaun jumping up and down with joy a couple of times himself. I got chills of excitement once again, only for a different reason all together.

“He's back?” I asked, noting the time. It was going on eight PM. Tremayne had left for Dark World a few hours ago. I had thought it would take him much longer to get things straightened out in Dark World, where demons ruled. I was happy to not have been invited to go this time. Not exactly your ideal vacation place.

“Is he on the phone right now?” I asked Rick.

“Yeah—wait,” Rick said, ear to his phone and a hand up to me. My eyes slid to Hobart. Hobart shrugged. He was the only werewolf in the house, besides me—the half-were-creature. “Okay… yeah. Okay. U-huh.” I waited and then Rick said. “Yeah, she's here.” He held out the phone to me. “Here, toots. Your boss wants to talk to you.”

I crossed the room and took it. “He isn't my boss,” I said under my breath. I put the phone to my ear.

“Hi,” I said feeling and sounding breathless, and maybe a little worried. Why did he want to talk to me?

“Sabrina,” Tremayne's baritone rumbled in my ear, making my toes tingle and my insides go warm and mushy. “The High Council has taken the bounty off your head because you were instrumental in saving my life.”

“Oh, good to know your life is so important,” I said, again breathless, and near tears I was so relieved and happy. “How nice of them.” I was trying to be trite.

“However, you have to become pregnant from either me or Vasyl.”

“Oh. Crap,” I said, and the tears of joy vanished, and I frowned. Shit, just when things looked like they'd go back to normal.

“They aren't fucking around, either,” he said in my ear. “They're serious.”

I looked around at my audience. I caught Vasyl's eyes right away, looking at me from the open bathroom door, steam pouring out. I gave him a smile and a thumbs up, since he must have missed the news. Or, he'd heard with his vampire hearing who was on the phone, and was wondering what Tremayne had to say to me.

With a razor in his hand, Vasyl shot me a warning glare and shut the door only partially.

This was not fair.

“Hang on,” I said. My feet moved me to my bedroom, I opened the door and was blasted by cold air. I closed it and stepped away. I needed privacy to say what I was going to say to him. I veered to the den where the fireplace snapped, keeping it warm and toasty in there. I closed the French doors.

“What if my child is in the womb of another woman?” I said low, making glances at the closed door. The TV's volume went back up. Good.

“What?” Tremayne said, sounding confused.

“I said what if my egg was put into another woman's womb? You know. En Vitro? Someone is the surrogate mother.”

I didn't expect Tremayne to get it right away, but it took five seconds before he said, “Who was the father?”

I bit my lower lip. “This is very secret,” I said in a warning voice. “You're the only other person who I've told—I mean no one knows!”

“I see. You mean Vasyl doesn't know?”

“Well, yes. He does know. I mean you're the only one of my closest friends. I haven't told Rick or any of the others. I'm trying to protect the mother.”

“Aw,” he rumbled. “You consider me a friend.”

I made a sound of exasperation.

“So, who's the father?”

“Bill Gannon.”

“Oh for the love of blood,” he said. “Why the fuck did you do it?”

“He was dying. I mean a humongous stone fell and cut him in half in that cave-in in Colorado Springs, and it was his last request for me to donate some of my eggs and I did.”

He made one of those guy grunts.

“Anyway, the Dhampir is conceived. Maybe all you guys who wanted to be the father of my child are disappointed.”

Tremayne's bitter laugh made me frown at Rick's iPhone. “I'm not half as disappointed as Vasyl is, I'm sure.”

“Thing is,” I went on in my hushed voice, “Vasyl doesn't realize that the child is the Dhampir.”

“How do you know it is then?”

“Dante told me. He used the prophesy in order to point out the details, and it all fits. The Watchers? You know who they are, right?”

“Fallen Angels and their off-spring—ohh.”

“Right. Bill Gannon was off-spring of Nephilim. Their kind were having breeding problems. It was his quest to find me—the sibyl—mate with me and continue his kind. In doing so, I don't think he realized the child would become the King of Vampires.”

Tremayne grunted again. “So you say you've told no one about this part of the news?”

“That's right. If Vasyl figures it out, I don't know what he'll think, but he wouldn't tell anyone. You know how to keep your mouth shut, so I'm telling you.”

“Yes. But, then we still have a problem.”

“We do?”

“If you announce that this child is conceived—or even when it's born—but not in, or from your body, the Powers That Be might send someone to check it out. No matter what, they stipulate that you are pregnant by either me or Vasyl, or they'll put a price on your head again. You have a month to get pregnant.”

“Well, crap in fudge!” My desire to remain unburdened by a child was not going as planned. I had done my best to trick Vasyl into thinking I was not on the pill any longer—but was. Then I had to stop using it, but we had not been intimate since. Looked like my little deception was not going well. What the hell! If I told him that the baby that Ophelia, (Bill's sister), carried was the Dhampir—which was foretold in an ancient prophesy that the sibyl (that's me) would have—he would be pissed at me. Again. I don't know how pissed, but I feared that the news would hit him so hard it would take him even longer to forgive me than what he'd learned I'd done for Bill. In fact I was sure he wasn't actually over it. He was merely acting un-pissed in a Frenchman-like way (tight-lipped, looking at me funny, like I might run off with the next vampire to come into my life).

“Sabrina?” Tremayne's voice from the iPhone yanked me back to the now.

“I'm still here,” I said on a sigh.

“Look, Morkel has told me you need to come in and give him an up-date on your files.”

“Up-date?”

“Yes. He needs to know what new powers you have. It needs to be on file.”

“So, you mean I have to come in? To Chicago? To the Towers?” Gak, another one of my not-so favorite places.

“That's right.”

I made a heavy sigh.

“I also wish to speak with Vasyl.”

“On the phone?”

“No. I'd rather talk to him in person.”

“So, you want me to bring him in too?”

“Yes.”

Cho's voice from the living room filtered to my ears. I peeked through the gap in the sheers over the lead-glass windows of the French door. He had his suit case in hand, jacket over his arm, ready to leave. He was going to hop on a plane and go visit his parents in San Francisco for Christmas. From there they were going to China to see the sights, and maybe find some relatives. He told me he had not seen his parents in two years. I thought that was terrible, and told him he should go and take all the time off he needed. Hobart was giving him a lift to O'Hare Airport.

“I'll bring him,” I said to Tremayne, my brain working things out.

“Good.” He paused.

“We'll be there in an hour or so,” I said.

“Oh, and one thing I need to tell you. Almost forgot,” he said.

“What?” I hated when someone said that to me.

“Talk is a war is pending between the Watchers and the demons in Dark World.”

“Nifty. Why are you telling me?”

“Because, demons will side with demons. The head demon, for sure.”

“Who is the head demon?”

“Naamah.” My stomach sank.

“Oh, my very favorite demon of them all,” I said, trying to incorporate humor into the dark sound of my voice.

“You know how he feels about you.”

“Let me guess,” I said. “Hates my guts?”

“Oh, much more than that. He wants to kill you in the most painful manner—his words, not mine.”

“Fantastic,” I said, faking a happy voice. “Just to change the subject, how are things there in the Towers?” Last night Tremayne and his minions took back the towers. Ilona was dead, thanks to me. And was now a broken-up stone statue, thanks to Cho. I wondered what happened to all her pieces after Cho broke her down using his feet as though he'd wielded a sledge hammer. With a combination of Martial Arts, and a powerful potion made with vampire blood, he'd turned her into gravel for a parking lot, basically. Good riddance.

“Things are getting back to normal. But I need to appoint a new magnate,” Tremayne's voice was in my ear, yanking me out of my thoughts.

“Oh. Good.” There came a pause and I might have spaced out thinking too much about things, because I didn't even absorb what Tremayne had said to me just now.

“Sabrina?” Tremayne said.

“What?”

“I never got to thank you for what you did.”

“Which was?”

“Your plasma. It saved me.”

“Seems we're always saving each other,” I said, a smile bending my lips.

“As a result I've just up-graded you to Level Two.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning you're the second most important member of my camarilla.”

“Nice. A big fat raise?” I asked hopefully. The whole “you're fired” speech from the now very dead Nicolas Paduraru coming to mind. He had no authority to fire me. Not then, and certainly not now.

“We'll talk about this more, later. But you get a special benefits package, including a free penthouse.”

“Whatever,” I snorted. Like I needed a penthouse. I had my own house, thank you very much.

“I have a few things to do, but someone will let me know when you get here, and I'll meet with you in the usual place.”

“Okay,” I said. “In your office, you mean?” I wasn't a big fan of his subterranean office.

“Yes. See you in about an hour?” he said.

“Yeah. Bye.” I looked on the phone's screen and found the end button and stepped back into the living room. I had to drive to Chicago. To the Towers. Yippee!

“Well, Toots, how's everything with the boss?” Rick asked.

“Fine and dandy,” I said, my eyes darting over the many faces in my living, and dining room. Vasyl had just stepped out of the steamy bathroom, his wet hair slicked back, shaven, a new blue shirt hung open over his shoulders and a new pair of jeans. He looked like a modern vampire magnate, ready to take on his corner of the world. Why did I think of that?

“Well, you ready?” Hobart said to Cho as he got to his booted feet and pulled up on his pants in that universal guy-thing, the heavy three-chains connected to his wallet in the back pocket jangling.

“Yes.” Cho looked at me. “Sabrina, I'll miss you.”

I strode up to him. I wanted to hug him, but he bowed deeply to me in that honoring way Orientals did. Straight black hair fell over his almond-shaped eyes. That was our relationship. He bowed to me, the sibyl. I waited for him to straighten and I gave him a hug anyway. As usual I did not get any read from this guy. I didn't know why, because in the beginning he was an open book for my Knowing, but he'd shut it down, like he could control what I could Know about him. Human, he had trained in the Martial Arts, a black belt and was a tremendous ally to have on my team. I figured he could block my clairvoyant powers whenever he wanted. Like Lindee could, but she didn't have the complete control this guy had. Cho had not seen his parents in two years and I was making him take a long needed vacation.

“I'll miss you too,” I said. “But two weeks will go by fast. You'll call and let me know how things are going?”

“Of course.”

Lindee stuck her hand out to him and he shook it. “Hey, eat sushi for me while you're there in China.”

“I actually hate sushi,” he said, grimacing. “Besides, that's Japanese.”

We all chuckled.

“Well, have Peking Duck or something, then,” she said. “I hope your Christmas will be great. And Santa will be kind.”

He laughed. “Santa is always kind.”

I turned to Vasyl. “We're going to Chicago. To the Towers.” I informed. “Tremayne wants to see you, and me.” Vasyl frowned.

“Why?” he asked.

“Oh! Can I go?” Lindee cried, hand up, jumping up and down wearing my sweatshirt and old jeans. “Pleeeezzzz!”

I glanced her way. “Yeah. I think we need to go shopping for you.” I didn't think it would be right to leave her all alone. “I'll give you a vial of holy water and a crucifix.”

“Wow. Are these requirements to go there, or something?” she asked.

“Yes. Especially if you don't want a vampire to hit on you,” I said.

The loud bang, and shaking of the house made us all jump.

“What the fairy fart was that?” Rick asked jumping to his feet.

“Earthquake?” Hobart asked.

The rumbling began to shake things off the walls. Earthquake?

“Might be,” I said grabbing for the sturdy beam of the threshold between the living room and dining room. Vasyl stepped over to me. Panic went all around.

“We should get out, if it's an earthquake,” Lindee said, her voice shrill.

“Here? In Illinois?” I questioned. “We might get itty-bitty ones, but not major—” I broke off my words remembering the day I went to get the mystic ring, and an earthquake shook Mrs. Bench's house.

“OH, FAIRY CRAP ON TODESTOOLS!” Rick cried, looking up from his phone. “We've got an invasion!”

“Invasion?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

“We're under demon attack!”

Chapter 2 - Bill

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner taxied on the runway of the DIA—Denver International Airport. He took Business Class so that he'd have comfort and privacy. The gentle blue, gray and white interior helped calm his nerves. Although the Dreamliner had carry-on luggage, he had little with him, just one bag.

Bill looked out into the darkness, watching the lights of the city and runway rush by, and then eased out of sight as he felt the familiar lift of the jet leaving the tarmac.

Bill had only two concerns about the flight. The first of which was possible fires on board related to the jet's lithium-ion batteries.

His second concern was the passenger seated next to him, on the other side of the privacy wall, occupied by a large businesses man on his way to Chicago. He'd said he was from L.A. almost right away, as if this made him important. He complained about the airline's on-board baggage requirements, the food, the fact that they only allowed two drinks, made a running comment about the stewardesses (who were bitches from hell), and would not shut the hell up from the moment he'd sat down, plus every fifth word he dropped the f-bomb. Finding the man boorish, and obnoxious Bill used his new powers to make the man go to sleep, and in ten minutes the man went limp, his head lolling back on the headrest.

Thankful, Bill smiled to himself and watched whatever movie was on.

Unfortunately the man began to snore. He put the headphones on in order to drown that noise out. Now, at least, he could think. After the vision of Nemesis, he had followed his inner voice, which told him he must get back home. The first place he had gone to instantly, with just a thought, was the Hyatt Place in Colorado Springs where he had been staying. He had made reservations for two weeks, as he had no idea how long it would take him to locate and snatch Sabrina.

He retrieved his luggage from the motel room. Although he didn't need to make any excuse as to why he had been gone so long (he had used a credit card and was checked in for the whole week), he had told the motel clerk that he had been in the mountains during a snow storm. He went into an elaborate story where he'd tried to hike out, fell and somehow lost his wallet and cell phone. He couldn't very well tell him his wallet had burned up with him, could he? Plus, he'd given Sabrina his cell phone in order to get in touch with his father. He felt fortunate that the car he had rented was still there. He had rented it for a week, so no one had bothered it. But he no longer had the keys. There were ways around that, however, and he used his new-found powers to open the door, and drive it to the hotel parking lot, and left it there.

Fortunately his other credit cards were in another wallet with his luggage, and he'd rented a new room for the day—to shower and sleep. He needed the time to compose himself after what had happened in the cave, and figure out what he needed to do and how to do it.

When he awoke midday, and found that sun poked in through the drapes, burning a hole in his arm. Sitting up abruptly, he moved away from the blaring sun and examined his arm where the sun had touched him. Nothing had happened. He did not smolder and other than a little redness, he was fine. Did I imagine it burning me?

Nemesis had been right. He was not a vampire. He could walk in the sunlight, and did not require blood to live. The throbbing in his chest from his near-panic told him he indeed had a heartbeat, like a normal human had—not like a vampire, which was one beat per minute. He felt for his pulse in his arm and counted fifty beats per minute. Not quite like a human, then.

What am I?

He rolled over, rearranged the covers and pillow, and eventually went back to sleep. It was as though he had not slept in weeks. His dreams consisted of his awakening in the cave as a vampire, and slashing the throats of the men and drinking their blood. Waking up sweat-drenched, he sat in the bed trying to steady himself. The images were hard to shake. He had killed those men. Guilt-riddled, he felt he should turn himself into the authorities. But something stopped him from doing so. It was called self-preservation.

“Why me?” He clawed his fingers through his sweat-soaked hair. The lives of those three men who had been working on the cave-in swirled around in his head. He threw off the covers and headed straight for the shower, hoping to wake up completely.

After drying off and dressing, he found he was hungry.

But not for blood. For a nice porterhouse and all the trimmings. He could find a decent steak in Denver. After all, they bred cattle here.

Now, on the last leg of the flight, his mind played out the scenes in the cave once again. They were currently over Iowa, a stewardess had said so to a passenger who'd asked nearby.

Almost there. Will I find Sabrina at home? She wouldn't know I'm alive. So his thoughts went.

Once home he would still have to figure things out. He now felt relieved that he had not sold the condo in Naperville. When he had first come to Illinois to find the sibyl, and eventually came to Emma to ask for her help. She had welcomed him and insisted he stay with her. She knew right away where the sibyl was—living right across the street from her.

Bill knew everyone would think him dead and gone, since Sabrina had been present and would have told Emma. The news would have gotten back to his parents, his sister, everyone who knew him. He had feared all his accounts would have been frozen, or dissolved. But when he'd checked, his accounts seemed to be left alone. He'd had the wording of his will to read that no one could touch any of his accounts, or sell any of his property for one full year after his death—just in case. It was well known that as a Nephilim, one might return as a Vampyr and need money and dwelling.

He had returned. What now? Pretend he was the same old Bill Gannon? Or stay out of sight? He still had a lot to think about.

Chapter 3 - Payback

Hobart and Cho rushed outside, trekked through the deep snow, and jumped into his warmed-up truck.

“Why can't we use the ley lines?” I asked Rick, grabbing my purse and coat in such a flurry, I nearly whacked him in the head with my purse. He ducked. “Sorry.”

The sound above our heads made us all look up.In quick succession, we ducked and dove when the ceiling light fixture swung dangerously. The ceiling cracked, plaster fell in big chunks, then all of it crashed onto the dining room table. Lindee and I screamed as bits of glass shot everywhere like shrapnel. More things in the other room crashed—lamps, and pictures falling from the walls. It was like small bombs going off. I very briefly worried about the clean-up, and then checked myself. When would I ever be able to come back and do any sort of clean up?

“We can't because it's too dangerous!” Rick yelled over the crashing noises, answering my question. “I can't protect us from demons while traveling in ley lines. This is the only way! We have to get out! Grab your keys!”

I grabbed my keys off the hook on the wall just before the rack fell to the floor. I pulled a hooded sweatshirt off a peg and shoved it into Vasyl's hands. “Here. Put this on!” I turned around to watch Lindee run around in circles, she looked like a chicken with her head chopped off. She screamed obscenities when something big crashed—my mother's china cabinet. I wanted to cry as I ran into the living room and dialed down the heat. No reason to keep the heat on high if I wasn't going to be here for a while. It was automatic for me to also turn out lights.

“What are you doing?” Rick asked, jumping up and down looking like the Mad Hatter. “We've gotta leave!”

The house itself gave a huge heave, like it were a boat riding a tsunami.

Lindee fell. Vasyl helped her up.

“Let's go! Let's GO!” Rick said, door opened to his magical whim.

“What about Hobart and Cho?” I asked.

Vasyl jerked his head. The dark form coalesced next to him and formed into the long-haired Native American, better known as Dante. “I will go with them,” he offered, and smiled at Rick. “Demons will not attack an Undead,” he explained, his lips curled into a humorless smile. “Unless they want to die a horrible death while I feed on them.”

“Okay. That works for me,” I said. He vanished. I wasn't sure how he would be traveling with Hobart and Cho, since there wasn't a lot of room in Hobart's truck, but Dante could remain invisible, or sit in the corner of a mirror, so I didn't think he would take up too much room.

“I'm ready,” I said on the move. “Let's go!”

We all streamed out of my house toward my olive green Jeep. Hobart's truck took off out of my drive as we jumped into the Jeep. Gasping and panting, I plugged my key into the ignition and the engine turned over. Thank you! I shoved it into gear and we were out of there. Rick had his eyes on his iPhone the whole time. I didn't know what he saw in it, but it had everything to do with his protection spells.

The snow had been removed from all the country roads and were actually very good to drive on. I was seriously thinking of getting a larger SUV, because I might need something bigger if I had so many house guests—if I ever got my house back.

Fortunately, my brother, Randy, wife and kids had gone to Florida for a few weeks. Disney World was one destination. I secretly wished I could be with them.

“Seriously, this is holy water?” Lindee was holding up the vial she'd dug from my purse.

“Do not take it lightly,” I firmly told her. “Act as though it were acid because it burns demons and vampires severely.”

“Oh, I promise.” She leaned, glancing at Vasyl who rode beside me. The crucifix I'd given her dangled from her neck. Vasyl would not have bothered her, but she did feel slightly unnerved with a vampire around the house and so continued to wear it.

“I'd never use it on you,” Lindee said to Vasyl.

“I was not worried,” he said. “But why are we going to the Towers to see Tremayne?”

“For one thing, it's safer than here,” I said, my eyes sweeping the road and all my mirrors for any possible demons following us. “Secondly, he said he wanted to speak to you about something. Plus I've been put up to Level Two, and I'm supposed to give Morkel an up-date on my new powers.”

“What new powers?” Lindee said. “You have powers?”

I laughed. Rick chuckled beside her.

“Let's see. My new powers include telepathy… um.” I stopped at a stop sign and turned, using the clutch and manual shift. “Oh! Remote viewing.” That was both great and not so great.

“Turning someone into stone,” Rick added and chuckled again, still looking into the iPhone.

“Oh, yeah,” I said, smiling broadly.

“Omygod! Really?” Lindee asked from the backseat, and leaning forward. “You can do that?” Since a lot of things happened last night, and Vasyl had been found by Tremayne, barely alive, I didn't have time or need to hash over the particular details of my night with anyone.

“I turned Ilona into stone, so I guess I can,” I said, trying not to sound boastful. I had no idea that I could do this, and so it had surprised me probably more than anyone, except for Ilona herself.

“Those powers Dante gave you are very dangerous,” Vasyl warned.

“No shit,” I said. “I'll have to watch my temper.”

“Oh, yeah. I'll be sure to never to piss you off,” Lindee said and laughed.

“You never make me mad,” I said. “I love you. Besides, Ilona was horrible. She was going to bite our little niece, Jena.”

“Oh, my God!” Lindee said. “Really?”

“Yes. They covered my hands so I couldn't use my normal powers.” I looked over at Vasyl. “They tied the bags with pure silver, knowing I couldn't touch silver, and no other person who couldn't touch silver could untie them.” I hadn't told anyone of the details of my trying to find and save my brother and his family from Ilona in Tremayne Towers.

“I don't understand,” Lindee said.

“I couldn't use the mystic ring to control her because of the ring being covered.”

“Oh. That's the magic ring. Got it,” Lindee said with a nod. She was only half right.

“She had it all planned, it would seem,” Vasyl said.

“That it does,” I agreed. “But, when she lifted little Jena, saying she wanted to make a child vampire out of her, something snapped in me. I had to stop her and thought of either turning her to ice or to stone. I chose stone and it just happened.”

“You mean like a statue?” Lindee asked.

“Yes. Like a statue.”

We all became quiet as I pulled up to the toll booth.

“Crap. I don't think I have enough change.”

Rick's snap of fingers made the light turn green and the blockade go up.

“Sweet!” Lindee said, looking at him. “You'd come in real handy. The next time I want to go to Merrilville for a concert, you're coming along.”

“Sweet. I love concerts,” Rick said, smiling at her.

I drove through the toll, and glanced in my rear view mirror to engage Lindee's eyes. “Look for my wallet in there. We still need money to get through tolls next time. They all have toll booth operators in them.” I handed her my bag. Good thing I'd grabbed it.

Lindee opened my purse and dug out my wallet.

“Did he say what he wanted with me?” Vasyl asked.

I glanced over at him, startled as though there was a stranger sitting next to me. It was going to be a while before I got used to his new look. “No. He just said he wanted to see the both of us.”

We caught up to Hobart in his white truck, and came up beside him in the other lane. We waved to him. He would be turning off to go to the airport, eventually.

Red flashing lights ahead made me slow and get into the right lane behind Hobart's truck.

“Looks like an accident,” I said as we went by slower than the break-neck speed that I had been going. A wrecker was there, and so were two police cars, their blue lights strobing.

“Looks like a bad fender bender,” Lindee said, turning around in her seat.

“Remember when I saved you from the car accident?” Vasyl asked.

“Oh, yeah. I was shot in the back,” I said, smiling with the memory. It was the first time Vasyl had touched or spoke to me.

“You mean you were shot another time?” Lindee said, sounding shocked.

“Yes. We were being followed and someone was shooting at me.”

“They were werewolves,” Vasyl put in. “I took you to my place to heal you.”

I chuckled, remembering how he had taken me to his barn and had taken the slug out of my back, and then had me drink his blood to heal—all while I was out, or under his vampire thrall.

“That was our first intimate moment,” I said, smiling.

“The first time I'd given you my blood.” Our eyes met. His eyes had a preternatural glow in them. It would have freaked me out a month ago. But I was pretty used to vampires now.

“You were so handsome standing there, telling me I would have died, and there I was without a shirt on.”

“You held on to that horse blanket as though it were going to hide you from my eyes when I had already seen you.”

“Aw, how romantic,” Lindee said, making me jerk.

Rick made a wolf whistle.

I'd forgotten about them in the Jeep, I was so wrapped up in my memories.

“You guys have a special bond,” Lindee said.

“We do,” I said softly. He reached for my hand. Our fingers twined, he lifted my hand, and his lips brushed the back of it.

“Romance isn't dead after all,” Lindee said.

“I had been searching for her for a thousand years,” he said over his shoulder. Then looking directly at me he said, “Never had I thought I would have to come to America to find you.”

“You were looking for her?” Lindee said, sounding amazed.

“She is the sibyl. The first one in two thousand years,” he explained.

“I still don't understand this sibyl thing,” Lindee said, shaking her head.

“The supernatural community has been waiting for her all this time. She is important because she will give birth to the Dhampir.”

Lindee was quiet for a moment. I could almost hear the wheels grinding, since I now was telepathic. “Is that why you two need to make a baby?”

“Yes.” Vasyl answered first. “And we will. Soon.”

Gulp.

I could not help the little zip of excitement shoot through me. Memories of how he stood in that barn and how singularly handsome he was made me hot. I don't know if my desires were ratcheted up because he was talking about us having a child together, but I couldn't single out any one reason my thoughts suddenly blossomed into desire. We had not been together intimately since the night before because of his injuries. He was now recuperated. I could see from his expression that he thought the same.

“Okay, you two. Sabrina, eyes on the road.”

Lindee's warning made me turn my eyes back on the road. Ahead, Hobart's white truck turned onto an off-ramp. I noted the green sign for O'Hare. I tooted my horn at Hobart, and he honked back at me.

“There goes Cho,” I said, waving. Lindee waived too. As if they could see us.

In another mile I had to pull up to a toll plaza.

“Got the money for me?” I asked Lindee.

“Oh!” Lindee made one of her laughs, as she was caught off guard. “How much?”

“Two bucks. I can get change.” I pulled up behind a van and stopped and waited, then inched forward.

“Here.” She handed me two ones.

I took the moment and put the dollars between my legs while I worked the clutch as I inched forward and then took it out of gear to wait while holding my foot on the break.

“Highway robbery,” I complained low to the others before I powered down the window.

“This reminds me of the tolls we would have to pay when I was alive,” Vasyl said.

“They had tolls back then?” Lindee asked.

“More than you think,” he said. “They took anything, including money, food, clothes.”

“That is highway robbery,” I said.

“Basically,” he said. “Robbers could make a great deal selling what they stole.”

“You want me to put a whammy on them, Sabrina?” Rick asked.

“No.” We crawled, stopped, and crawled some more until I got to the window.

Finally it was our turn. I powered down my window and was about to hand the teller my money when I saw two demon eyes glare out at me and she and a gun was in her hand pointed at my face.

“Holy shit!” I thrust my right hand at the gun and I yelled “Jam!” Directing my next words to Rick, I said, “Open the gates, Rick! Now!” He snapped his fingers. At the same time the gun clicked but didn't go bang! The gates shot up and I put the Jeep in gear and sped away.

“Come back here!” the demon screeched behind us.

I pressed the window button to power it up again, and cut off the cold air rushing in.

“Ohmygod, what was that shit about?” Lindee asked, her voice high pitched as she turned around in her seat to look back.

“That was a demon,” I said.

“They're following you,” Rick said.

“I thought you said you could keep them away,” I said.

“Ah, that one sort of slipped through my defenses,” he said, looking at his iPhone again.

“Make sure no more do,” I said, realizing he was monitoring things from the phone, like he always did. How he could detect demons on it, I had no idea. I mean, what would be that app?

Thirty minutes later we drove into the city, and soon the entrance of Tremayne Tower's underground garage came into view. I turned off the street and through the first gates. Only then did I realize I didn't have my identification card on me. It was the only way we could get inside.

“I'm sorry,” I said to the man in the gate house. “But would you please call Mr. Tremayne and tell him Sabrina Strong and Vasyl are here?”

“Okay, ma'am.” The dark haired man ducked inside his window and shut it. I turned to stare at the red and white-striped gate in front of the Jeep.

“They sure have a lot of security here,” Lindee said.

“Yeah, they won't let anyone inside the garage on this side of the building unless we have our ID's.” I sighed. Elbow to the window ledge, I leaned on my fist. “I can't believe I don't have it on me.” I straightened as realization hit me. “Oh, shit. I won't be able to get on the elevator without it and go to his office.”

“Won't he have someone meet us?” Vasyl asked.

I twisted my lips in thought. The guard opened his window.

“There you go, Ms. Strong.” He handed me a parking ticket as the gate rose. I'd never come in here where they gave out parking passes before. “Have a good evening.” He made a three-fingered salute to me.

“Oh, thank you.” I took the ticket and drove forward, into the lit parking garage. It was the same as always. But something different had been added. Parking attendants, wearing bright yellow vests, held flashlights while directing cars. I pulled up behind a car that had stopped. There were three cars in front of him.

“Wow. This place is busy,” I said. “Must be something going on.”

“Maybe there's a party,” Lindee said.

“Yeah, a vampire party,” Rick chimed in.

We were finally next in line. The young man leaned to my window.

“Are you here for Tremayne's party?” he asked.

It was the first I'd heard of any party. Clueless I said, “I'm here to see him.”

“Do you have a parking pass?”

I handed him the parking ticket. He nodded and pointed. “We've got your parking slot over there, Ms. Strong. In the D parking area.”

I followed the signs, turned down a different way than the cars in front of me had. I'd never liked the parking garage. I'd been shot at down here too. Ever since then I really hated coming in here.

“This place is super!” Lindee said, eyes wide open looking around.

“It's been a while for me,” the new voice startled us. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw Dante seated between Rick and Lindee.

“Shit! You scared the crap out of me!” Rick swore.

“Me too!” Lindee nearly screamed.

“My apologies,” he said.

“Hobart and Cho got to the airport okay?” I asked.

“They did. Hobart said he would head back to his place.”

“You know what's going on?” I asked as I drove along, following more parking attendants who pointed me through when I held up my parking pass. My Jeep was the only American made vehicle in this section. Expensive vehicles, makes and models of which I wasn't familiar with, aside from the Beamers and Mercedes.

“This is Tremayne's party, and announcement of his return to the vampire world,” Dante informed.

“That makes sense,” I said. “After all, he'd been considered a rogue for a few weeks.”

“I sense there is more to it than that,” Dante said.

“What does he want of me?” Vasyl asked.

“I wouldn't know,” Dante said.

“I guess we'll have to find out the usual way, 'coz I'm not getting any reads at all,” I said and pulled into an empty slot next to a red Ferrari and a silver BMW.

We all piled out. I knew the way to the elevators and the others followed me. The walk from where I would have normally parked may have taken us five minutes. Today, we were much closer. Dante strode ahead, and stopped at the elevator doors, ready to press the button, but he didn't need to. It opened and two people stepped out. My gasp echoed next to me with Lindee's surprised intake of air.

“Jeanie! Heath!” I knew it had to be Heath, because they were a couple. I wanted in the worse way to run up and hug them both, but I needed to err on the side of safety.

“Going down?” Jeanie said, looking super sexy wearing a shimmery blue cocktail dress. Heath was in a very nice suit. He never usually wore a full suit. But tonight he had a tux on.

Part-ay-y-y.

“Look at you guys! You look fabulous in that dress, Jeanie!”

“Thanks,” she said. Her short very blond hair was teased and the long tendrils were died to match her dress.

I turned to Lindee. “I don't know if you remember my cousin, Lindee? Lindee this is Jeanie. And this is Heath. Remember what I told you?” I prompted because I didn't want to blurt out that Jeanie was now a vampire.

“Oh, sure. I remember her during summer vacations. I went to your house once when I visited Sabrina,” Lindee said. Jeanie and I were practically inseparable during the summers.

“Hi, Lindee,” Jeanie said, smiling her brilliant smile. “I'm sorry that I don't remember you. Seems some things from my former life are a blank.”

“Oh, that's okay. A lot of my own life is a blank,” Lindee said and laughed.

“And this is Heath,” I said, gesturing. I had told Lindee to not look directly into their eyes or extend her hand. You didn't shake hands with a vampire, unless you wanted to become dinner.

“How'd you do,” Heath said making a little nod.

“Oh my God! I love your accent!” Lindee said. We all chuckled. Heath was originally from Liverpool, England, turned in the mid-sixties. He and his brother were both Beatles fans before they were turned.

“I hear there's a party?” I said, watching several people going to another elevator and crowding on.

“That there is. But we're to take you to Mr. Tremayne's office directly,” Heath said, pointing to another set of elevator doors.

“Well, I guess we'll go with you,” I said, pulling my purse strap over my shoulder.

“Blimey, Dante, it's good to see you, again,” Heath said as we stepped on. “Heard there's been some drastic changes to you. An Undead, now, eh?”

“I get around much easier now,” Dante said with a wicked smile.

“No doubt,” Heath said.

We all entered the elevator with the vampires. The doors snicked closed. My stomach rolled. I didn't like going down to Tremayne's office. Too many bad memories there, too.

Heath pressed for Level A—Level Hell, as I liked to call it—and the elevator slid downward. It was a very short ride. Filing out, we strode through the familiar curving hallway.

“Oh, wow,” Lindee said moving to the glass that made up one wall, and looked down into the next two levels. “This place is cool! Is that a billiards room way down there?”

“Yes,” I said, looking down to the bottom level. The two levels were arranged below like huge steps.

“You think we might have time to go shoot some pool?” she asked.