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He appreciated Emma and approved of her drive. However, he didn’t like the idea of her anywhere near Loghry. He kept trying to arrange scenarios in his head that would keep her safe.
He watched her eat, then unbent his fork and went to work on his meal as well. He had no idea what they’d be facing, but food was as much a necessity for a vampire warrior as blood.
~ ~ ~
As soon as Emma had the dishes cleaned up, she headed to her spellroom.
Vaughn came with her, but the moment she reached the threshold, she stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m nervous. I know once I go in, everything will change.” Her throat closed up tight, as she turned toward him. “I mean, we may not make it back here alive.”
He surrounded her with his arms and pulled her close. “Maybe I should go alone. Or I could give Brannick a call. I have a number of friends on the Crescent Border Patrol who would throw in without a second’s thought. Hell, I could call Fergus. He’d be happy to bring his crew into Elegance and help take this bastard down.”
Emma wrapped her arms around Vaughn’s waist, but she shook her head. “There’s a big part of me that wants you to do exactly that. But you and I are a team now, that’s what I know to be true. We do this together.”
He drew back. “Emma, let me do this for you. I have resources with Crescent that you don’t have with the Trib. This could work and dammit, I want you safe. You’ve done enough.”
Every instinct Emma possessed told her going after Loghry was her fate as well, that she needed to be there. But she could see from the determined light in Vaughn’s eye that he was warming quickly to the idea of leaving her behind.
Knowing the male warrior mind as she did, she chose the diplomatic course. “Let me prepare a new spell and settle into my meditation. I won’t make any decision without being connected to my witch abilities. Then, if it’s clear your course is the one we ought to take, I won’t argue. How does that sound?”
He smiled wryly. “It’s not exactly what I wanted to hear, but I agree that your witch ability should be involved, especially because we’re dealing with a wizard.”
~ ~ ~
Vaugh
n followed Emma into the spellroom, and immediately his mind grew clouded with the level of power in the space. He had to pause for a moment to gain his bearings. The owl was on his perch facing the door to the backyard, but he swung his head around to have a good look at Vaughn.
When Vaughn acclimated to the room, he remained at a distance. He felt irritable as he watched Emma begin her preparations. The warrior in him needed to get going, to start making a plan to catch Loghry in his home. He also didn’t want Emma in danger. If there was a way he could prevent her from going, he’d do it.
She ground herbs, seeds and twigs with a mortar and pestle, the various scents filling the air. The whole time her power rolled at him in waves. His mind grew loose again, yet the muscles of his body twitched with readiness. It was a strange combination of sensations.
She drank her potion, then carried the small, red ceramic bowl from her worktable to the chaise-longue and slid it beneath. She took her time lighting the previous arc of seven candles above the area where she would settle her head.
When she lay down, he felt disconnected from her, maybe because he’d lost his motivation to have her with him when he went to Loghry’s.
~ ~ ~
Emma knew this experience was completely different from the last one with Vaughn. He was keeping his distance but not for a selfish reason. His desire to keep her safe was why he wanted to go it alone and it warmed her heart to know he cared so much.
However, protection wasn’t what she needed right now. She had her own score to settle with the vile wizard who had tormented so many girls all these years. She could only hope that somewhere in the process of reaching into the future, Vaughn would accept whatever role she was supposed to play.
The triplets arrived but they were in a solemn state. Becca didn’t attempt to communicate telepathically. Instead, she waited with her sisters and offered one serious dip of her chin. Clearly, the ghosts believed she was on the right path.
She drew a deep breath, the nature of her witchy power stronger than ever. She kept herself open to what the future might tell her. After all, it was possible she and Vaughn were meant to go somewhere else besides Loghry’s home. Therefore, she didn’t focus on anything specific at first, but let her mind move from her spellroom all the way to Savage Territory and even over to Crescent.
But only as she dwelled on Elegance did a few snapshots finally emerge. The moment she settled on Loghry’s mansion, sure enough, the images increased and formed a spinning carousel in her mind.
Her heartrate ramped up. Tonight would be about the wizard.
His mansion was only three miles away near one of the few hills in the Elegance portion of Phoenix. Within the connected snapshots, she saw herself flying beside Vaughn, which settled the matter of her going once and for all.
They would do this together. Vaughn would simply have to adjust to her role in the night’s events.
The images moved rapidly, so she engaged as she had last time, placing herself within the stream of snapshots. She flew over the top of the mansion all the way past the pool and landed behind a distant guest house. Trees cloaked the area, which made it an excellent location for entering Loghry’s several-acre complex.
