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“I see,” she said softly.
“Believe it or not, Alicia, I can help you navigate your way out of your recent unfortunate decisions. It’s not too late to turn back, to make another choice. Damon is poison for you in so many ways.”
Alicia blinked, shaking her head. “I must say, Thierry, you have presented a very compelling argument tonight. And it’s true. I do struggle with feeling worthy. I can’t think of a single day in my existence when I felt that I was fully in charge of my own decisions. My own power. And yet, here we are.”
She reached into her tote bag and pulled out the flash drive.
Thierry eyed it. “Give that to me, Alicia. This can end right now without any further difficulties.”
“I don’t know how Sarah managed to get a message to you.” Alicia shook her head. “But I must say, I’m impressed.”
He held out his hand patiently. “The grimoire, Alicia.”
“Truth be told? For a moment, I thought we had a chance, you and I. Right here, right now. I might have turned my back on Damon, and we could have picked up where we left off a century ago and lived happily ever after.”
“Apologies, Alicia, but you seem to remember something much more meaningful than I do,” Thierry said.
Her eyes flashed with anger. “Very well. You’ve made my choice much simpler for me.”
She reached into the tote bag again and pulled out a PC tablet. The screen lit up in the darkness. “I make my own choices, Thierry. And I choose this.”
As she began to connect the flash drive to the USB port on the tablet, I realized I wasn’t in the tree anymore. I was in the air, flapping my wings, and I hadn’t hit the ground yet.
In fact, I was making a direct beeline (or bat-line?) toward the vampire who wanted to gift my husband’s body to her evil boyfriend.
I flew like a pro! Like I’d been a bat all of my life!
Fat Bastard was right: I just needed to believe in myself.
And I believed. I believed I could fly! Fly high into the—
I felt the stunning hit as Alicia’s hand swatted me away like a pesky mosquito. I landed on the ground hard, my head swimming.
Thierry’s gaze shot to me. “Sarah!”
I blinked, my vision clearing in time to see Alicia slide the flash drive grimoire home.
No!
Nothing happened for several moments, but then electricity charged the air, and I heard a crackle to accompany it. A gust of wind picked up, whipping across the patio, bringing with it a ribbon of darkness, a tornado of shadows, that swiftly took the form of a man. No face, no clothes, nothing but shadows.
“Damon!” Alicia gasped.
“You did it.” The warlock sounded very pleased.
“I did. Of course, I did. We’ll be together forever, my love.”
The Shadow-Damon turned toward Thierry, who’d risen to his feet. I tried to move, tried to crawl closer, but I was still recovering from being clobbered.
“Thierry,” Damon said, and even in this form with an unnaturally deep echo of a voice, I could hear his disdain.
“Damon,” Thierry replied. “This was a very bad decision on your part.”
“I disagree. No, in fact, this is a very good decision.”
“You despise me. Why would you want to reside within my body indefinitely?”
“I despise you, yes. I always have, and I always will. But I recognize your power, Thierry. Your influence. Those who fear you still respect you. You are able to deeply reach into the world of both vampires and witches in a way that I cannot. That’s something I can use.”
