“I don’t know. She didn’t stick around and explain her thought process.”
Several heartbeats of time passed in silence. Then, “Someone’s developing a smart mouth.” Dryly said, without any heat.
“I thought you liked my mouth,” she replied, kicking a stone with the toe of her tennis shoe. Please, still like my mouth.
He chuckled, and the sound warmed her. “I do.”
Thank God. Her knees almost buckled—and might have, if he hadn’t wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her up, holding her close.
“You know what I want?” he asked softly.
Her gaze lifted, meeting his. She shivered. “Tell me.”
“To go on a date with you. A real date. Just you and me. No war, no being chased, no looking for answers. Just the two of us getting to know each other.”
Yes, please. “I would like that,” she said on a trembling breath.
“Soon as the witches are taken care of, that’s what we’ll do.” There at the end, he’d sounded depressed, as if he didn’t think it was possible. As if one of them would be dead by then.
Perhaps he didn’t realize that he was killing her just then. Pulling her in one direction, then another, letting her hope before crushing her into nothing. “Nope. After the witches, we’ll have to start searching for Aden’s parents.” A reminder for Riley, for her. Aden was still their friend, and they still had a mission.
“No.” Riley shook his head. “Aden won’t have time to search for his parents yet. He’ll have vampire meetings to attend, laws to pass, punishments to issue. Then he can focus on his parents.”
“At this rate, he’ll have to drop out of school,” she said. Her, too.
“Nah. Things’ll calm down soon.”
“And maybe then we can go on a second date.” Fingers crossed. To be honest, nothing had really been worked out between them. Had it? They might be dating, they might not. She might be a Drainer, she might not. Fingers crossed on that one, too.
He chuckled, but it was no more assured than his final words.
The door behind him squeaked, and Riley released her, turning. Victoria and Aden exited the cabin. Both wore grim expressions. Aden looked sick, even. His skin had a greenish tint, and there were bruises under his eyes. And he was limping, dragging one leg behind as if it hurt to bend his knee. Maybe it did. His jeans were ripped and stained with dried blood.
“Are you okay?” Mary Ann asked him.
“Yeah, fine.”
“I asked him the same thing, and he gave me the same answer,” Victoria said.
Aden smiled, and for a moment, he looked all better. “Because it’s true. I’m fine. Just tired.”
“You’ll be home soon, I swear, my king. So did the witch tell you anything?” Riley asked. He didn’t release her, but moved to her side.
“No. So we’re going to leave her tied up for the rest of the night,” Victoria replied. “Perhaps boredom will make her more interested in talking to us tomorrow.”
They were running out of time, though, the week the witches had given Aden to attend their stupid meeting nearing its end. “So what now?”
“Now we spread the word that we’ve got a witch,” Riley said, grim. “If they want her back, they’ll call their meeting to order.”
“They’ll curse us,” Victoria said.
“They already have. Therefore, you’ll do what I suggested and spread the word.”
One by one, Victoria, Aden and Mary Ann nodded.
“As for what’s left of tonight, we go home, rest.” Riley’s gaze met Mary Ann’s, just as grim as his voice. “Soon the real battle will begin.”
FIFTEEN
TUCKER REMAINED in the shadows for a long while, covered by his illusion of trees, darkness and night birds. Thankfully, no one at the cabin had noticed him.
So he’d watched…and listened…
He’d been ordered to follow Aden, which was easy for him, as Tucker could somehow sense wherever the boy went, and he had. Followed, that is. Yet Mary Ann was most often with the boy, and that delighted him, even as it frustrated him.
When it was just the two of them, Aden and Mary Ann, Tucker would lose his ability to cast illusions, forced to hide by regular means. He would wonder what the hell he was doing, following them, watching them and listening to their secrets when he should be protecting them. Oh, yes, there was a small part of him that wanted to protect the two people responsible for saving his dreaded life. And he would hate himself for what he was doing, vow not to do it anymore, and walk away. But the farther he walked, the more he would hear Vlad’s voice, whispering to him across the distance, commanding him to spy on Aden, and so, Tucker would return to Aden’s side. If Mary Ann was gone, the desire to please his king would spread again. He would watch, listen and wait. An urge to hurt the boy would bloom, grow.
Thankfully, that hadn’t been the case tonight.
Tonight, Mary Ann was with the other boy, Riley. When those two were together, Tucker could cast his illusions. For whatever reason. So, knowing Aden was inside, Tucker should have gone inside, too. And he could have, no one would have known—even when Aden was with Mary Ann, Tucker could use his illusions if Riley was there—but Tucker had stayed out here. For Mary Ann, determined to protect her from the rage of the other boy.
As he’d watched them, he’d realized he was glad she had a new boyfriend. She deserved happiness. She deserved love. She was the light to Tucker’s darkness, pure where he was tainted. He’d never been right for her. But damn it, why couldn’t they remain friends?
And why couldn’t Penny be more like her?
Penny. Sometimes—when he was around Mary Ann and calm—he was glad they’d made a baby, even though he most often denied responsibility. Penny would be better off without him. Unlike Mary Ann, she didn’t make him feel better about himself, his actions, his future. He would make a terrible father.
Without Mary Ann, he wanted to hurt those around him. Penny, yes, and probably the baby.
The boy. Follow the boy…
As Vlad’s command drifted through his head, his teeth gnashed together. How did the vampire always know what Tucker was doing? How did the vampire wield such unbreakable control?
Disappointed, angry, dreading what was to come, Tucker straightened, unable to do otherwise, and headed south, toward the D and M Ranch where Aden lived. That’s where the vampire princess, Victoria, had taken him when they’d vanished in a blink. As always, Tucker sensed it, felt a pull tugging him in that direction.
So far, there hadn’t been much to report to the king. Aden had gotten sick, Aden had gone to school. Aden had returned to the vampire stronghold—where he’d been treated like royalty.
The last had infuriated Vlad. So much so, Tucker had feared for his own life. For with the former king’s fury, invisible hands had wrapped around Tucker’s neck, choking him. Finally, though, the vampire had released him and sent him on his way for more spy duty.
What was the vampire’s ultimate goal? he wondered. Why was he using Tucker like this? Why wasn’t he claiming his throne now? And did Tucker care?
The more distance he placed between himself and Mary Ann, the more the answer solidified in his mind. No. He didn’t care. He would do what he was told.
THE GOBLIN POISON SAVAGED Aden, turning his blood to lava, his organs to ash and his skin into one giant welt. He burned, he itched, he vomited thick black goo over and over again. Thank God he’d convinced Victoria to leave him. She’d protested, but he’d done the smiling, “I’m fine” thing and managed to convince her all was well.
Been here, done this, he thought weakly, though he’d never experienced a reaction to this degree. Yeah, this was worse than any other corpse poisoning he’d endured. This one even affected the souls. They were moaning in his head, sometimes screaming, always incoherent.