Chapter 1
Embry
It was only a matter of time. We knew the witches would come and now they’re here. Flying with vengeance in their hearts, right outside the very windows of the dark lord’s estate.
Every time they pass, the glass rattles and trees sway, their branches and even trunks bending with the breeze. “Get ready!” Raven screams. I cross the marble floor to reach Lucianna and Delilah while Willow and Madria join Raven in the center of the room just as the brightly colored baubles around the friendly witches’ necks begin to glow.
It was only a matter of time before the rogue witches found out the vampires have their shadow books. Cleary they’re here to take them back. Devora couldn’t have counted on her niece and two other witches being with us at the time, or of them being such devoted friends.
The floor-to-ceiling windows shudder as the witches outside try to breach the vampire’s estate with their brooms. They shouldn’t be able to get in, but they’re trying hard to find a way.
“Stay down, they won’t be able to get in a vampire’s lair. They’re just trying to intimidate us! But I’ll make double sure,” Raven yells above the high-pitched sounds. She waves her wand,raising her voice in chant, ensuring that her Aunt Devora and the witches outside are unable to penetrate the windows or walls of the vampire’s estate.
The baubles around the necks of Raven, Willow and Madria blaze with color as electricity in a fashion of multiple colors hits the windows. Devora’s face expands to the full size of the pane, glaring at us, as her face turns an eerie green.
“Stay down!” Raven yells as she, Willow, and Madria aim their wands at the tall windows, screaming a chant I can only hope will keep the witches out. Especially Devora, because she looks mad as hell. I’ve seen her come unglued before, seen her appear in bubbles, but she’s never been this angry. At least in all the years I’ve known her, not once has her temper been so out of check.
A sudden crack and thundering against the glass causes all of us to hit the floor flat out, almost simultaneously. We stay behind the couches, as though they could protect us from the cackling outside, while the witches with us continue to raise their voices in chants trying to ensure the other witches’ wrath does not allow them to penetrate Lord Corvinus’s estate.
“They can’t get in no matter what they do,” I tell my friends, but they are simply not convinced.
“Devora’s not going away easily until we return the shadow books!” Raven aims her wand toward the windows in sync with Willow and Madria’s. Magically a solid wall of iron falls into place in front of every window in the room, completely blocking out every sound or vision those witches outside try to concoct.
A silence washes over the room, almost immediately calming us all. Sparking electricity from the witches’ fingernails begins to dim and the baubles around their necks begin to fade to a lighter color hue while each of us glance around, making sure the other is okay.
I sigh with relief, even though my heart is still pounding. Those evils witches had to be watching, waiting, and knew the vampires would be at their consulate meeting and thought that we would all be alone. Pesky witches probably didn’t think Raven, Willow and Madria would be here. Or maybe they did and just didn’t care. Who the hell knows with that batshit crazy bitch, Devora.
My mind races with all that has happened in such a short time. The minute we stole the shadow books from the witches, we knew they would come. All of us were hoping we had a little more time, a lot more time. Enough that we could make sense of some of the passages that no one until now has been able to decipher. I exhale a huge sigh. “We have so much more work to do.”
Not one of my friends, witch, psychic, or vampire, can disagree with that. It’s going to take all of our power to figure this out. In the meantime, those witches aren’t going to stop. We have to work fast.
In the time spent going over the passages of the shadow books by myself, not once was I able to crack the codes. Sure, some I could surmise what they alluded to but just not fully comprehend with any level of certainty.
But now that my friends have joined me, Devora shows up. Damn, maybe she did know the witches were here and that’s why she raged in like a lunatic. She knows the witches can help me and she’s flying in on a broomstick of rage, just like she did at Master Romano’s not so long ago. Only she doesn’t have the powers she has in Romania. Here, Lord Corvinus has all the protections from the witches in place. Powers that perhaps Master Romano was too quick to relax because of his mate’s relationship with Devora. Well, niece or not, he needs to up protection at his estate in Romania, because her flying through his house was scary as hell.
I stand up and press a hand down the sides of my skirt before settling onto the couch along with Delilah and Lucianna. Raven, Willow, and Madria continue to pace the room, circling the couch, their baubles, while way dimmer, still all aglow. Those baubles aren’t still lit up for nothing and every one of us knows it. Those witches are right outside, and we know it.
Willow looks pensive. “She’ll leave soon. But they’re going to be back and they’re going to keep coming until we give those books back. We need to get to the bottom of the secrets contained within them sooner than later, ladies. Like get these passages deciphered quick, quick, quick. She’s going to be incorrigible until she has them back in her possession.”
Personally, I’ve had about enough of the witches and their games. Although I wouldn’t trade my friendships with Raven, Willow, and Madria for anything in the world. But Devora and the ones from the academy, I’d like to blast every single one of them all back to hell.
I exhale a deep cleansing breath, just relishing in the silence with the iron walls in place, no matter that the witches are probably still outside the doors. “We do need to do it quickly. We should have known it was the pesky-ass witches who drew me into the Mystic Forest with their tricks and deception. They used me to start a war so they can try and take the sacred land that does not belong to them. We just have to prove it somehow. I know it’s in the shadow books.
It’s been the point of contention between the vampires and witches for centuries. The land that’s been the vampires for as long as time. They may believe that it’s theirs but it’s not. I’ve read the stories in the vampire bible over and over. The Vade Mecum is clear. But it’s hard to know what my witchy friends here believe. Better just to dig into the shadow books together and see what the witches actually know or at least believe. The books lay out on the coffee table in order, and I open the edges ofthe first book. “Ladies, I think we’re all going to have to put our heads together and dig into this shit, real quick and in a hurry.”
Raven’s swirling eyes begin to calm. “I swear my Aunt Devora gets worse every year. She’s seriously losing her grip. She knows they can’t penetrate the vampire’s lair but yet brings them all this way just to give us a good scare?” She shakes her head and waves her little wand. “I need a drink, and a witch does not drink alone.”
She blinks her eyes and the coffee table is suddenly full of large colorful margarita glasses in all the primary colors, red, blue, and green, thick glasses, rimmed with delicate chunks of salt and filled with the aroma of good quality tequila.
“Well, I was going to behave myself but after a scare like they gave us, screw that,” I tell them, lifting a glass for a group cheer. Lucianna laughs, her bright green eyes penetrating. “I let Descallia know. It won’t be long before the guys burst in here to save the day.”
It’s hard not to laugh because we all know it’s true. We all know how protective the males can be of us females. It makes me wish I could tell them about my relationship with Corvinus and didn’t have to keep it under such close wraps. But Raven knows exactly what I’m thinking. She gives me a wink.In time, it will be okay.
I take a deep invigorating sip of the strong drink. “Okay, why don’t we split up? There are four books. Two of us can take each book.”
Raven knows exactly what I’m thinking. “One witch, one psychic on each book where it works? It may help with interpretation or trigger a vision or who knows what?”
Lucianna’s eyes begin to glow bright green. “That’s a fantastic idea, ladies.” She takes a sip of her drink and then passes out books. She and I take the first book, Raven andDelilah take the second book. Willow and Alyssa take the third book, and Madria and Angel take the fourth.
