“Do you think it’s that group against us assimilating?” she asks, and I can hear the fear in her voice.
“It might be. I’ll get to the bottom of this. Whatever threat was made to get them to stop doing business with us, I’ll make an even bigger one.”
“It’s just one fucking thing after the other. Please tell me you’re coming home tonight. If one more issue comes up tonight, I can’t promise I won’t massacre the whole fucking bar.”
“That would be really bad for business. Don’t do that.”
“Fine, I’ll refrain. But you are coming home tonight, right? I miss you.”
“Go,” I mouth, giving Lucas a nod. “I’ll come with.”
He tightens his hold on me. “Yes, I’ll be back.”
“Thank fucking God. Don’t tell me you’re bringing—”
“Don’t say it,” Lucas interrupts, knowing Eliza’s nickname for me is “the witch-bitch”, which actually has a nice ring to it. “And yes. She is coming with.”
“I was going to say, good, because if she can do her mind-reading trick or whatever again, it might really come in handy. The last thing Greg Marshall will expect is some perky little human coming to question him.”
“You raise a valid point.”
“On occasion, I do. I’ll make her a drink when she gets here.” Eliza ends the call.
“A drink is a nice peace offering,” I say. “As long as it’s not poisoned.”
Lucas frowns. “She won’t hurt you.”
“I’m joking…kind of. But go. I’ll meet you there in like an hour.”
“I’m not leaving you.” Lucas tightens his hold on me.
“I’ll be fine,” I assure him. “I need to mix up a vanquishing potion in case more scrappers show up. That heart in my fridge is still fresh, and the longer I wait to mix it into a potion, the less potent it becomes.”
“I will wait with you.”
“No, Eliza needs you. She’s kind of starting to like me, I don’t want to go backwards by having you wait here with me while I do witch things. I’ll be fine, I promise. I’ll up the warding on my house and keep my familiars with me.”
Lucas’s jaw tenses. “I don’t like leaving you.”
“I can handle myself, remember? I’m a witch, Lucas. One that should be worshipped at that.”
“Fine,” he huffs, still struggling with the fact he’s going to leave me alone. Vampires are protective by nature. I knew that going into this relationship. And really, I can’t blame him for being overly cautious. In the short time we’ve been together, evil forces have tried to kill me more than once.
“Just give me an hour or so to make the potion. I’ll drop some off with Kristy and I’ll meet you in Chicago.”
“And Binx will be with you the whole time?”
“He won’t leave my side.”
Lucas tenses but finally relents. He runs his hands up and down my arms, kissing me deeply before we break apart. He gets in his car and drives away. I watch until the taillights are out of view, and then go inside to start making the potion.
“Pandora?” I call, waiting a beat for her to shadow into the room. “I need to make a scrapper vanquishing potion. I have fresh scrapper heart in the fridge.”
She returns with my Book of Shadows and helps me go about preparing herbs. Binx circles the house, and Freya sits on the counter next to us, keeping a watchful eye.
“Bring the water to a boil,” I say out loud, running my finger down the page of my book. I’ve made this spell a hundred times but won’t risk getting careless. That’s when mistakes happen, and that’s not something I can afford.
Pandora brings me a bottle of sage leaves. I grind three up while the water boils, and then add the other ingredients. I stir the potion thirteen times and then drop in the scrapper heart. The potion bubbles up to the top of the pot, and I put a lid on it right before it boils over.
Six hundred and sixty-six seconds later, I remove the potion from the heat and hold my hands over it. “Partes diei noctisque quae vocant herbas atque haec in lucem proferat. Vi Luna solis gutta veneni huius inimicus meus est,” I chant, and feel magic rush through my hands and into the brew.
Leaving the potion uncovered, I go upstairs to change into leggings and a loose-fitting tunic top. I magically braid my hair, brush my teeth, and call Kristy.
“Hey,” she answers.
“Are you home?”
“I am…why?”
“Long story short, Lucas and I fought supercharged scrappers in the woods today that didn’t die when I hit them with energy balls. But I had Lucas rip out a heart, and I just made one hell of a vanquishing potion to drop off. Just in case.”
“What?” Kristy asks, and I imagine her face as she speaks. “I heard you, but I’m going to need you to say that again.”
“I went for a run this evening to check on the Ley line because I still think something is going on with it. But instead of the Ley line, I found a nest of scrapper demons.”
“Scrappers don’t nest.”
“Exactly. And they were strong, Kristy. Like put-up-a-fight strong that required Binx to help me stop them.”
“Shit.”
“I know. I think I got them all, but I made a vanquishing potion just in case. I’m headed to Chicago tonight to help Lucas with vampire business but don’t want to leave town without giving you something.”
“Should we warn the coven?”
“I’ll call Evander on my way over. Anyone crossing through the door should be careful they don’t run into demons in the woods…more so than normal. But scrappers don’t typically go after witches or risk exposing themselves, so…”
“So the Council might not consider this a high priority.”
“Right. And if they did send someone out now, I don’t think they’ll find anything. We combed through the woods and didn’t see any more demons.”
“I don’t like this.” Kristy’s voice is tight. “I have a bad feeling about something I can’t put my finger on, and now scrappers are leveling up? I hate myself for even thinking this, but something is going on, and whatever it is can’t be good.”
“I know. But whatever it is, we’ll find it and we’ll stop it.”
“Thanks for these,” Kristy takes the potion vials and crosses her arms over her chest. She’s nervous, and rightly so. We’re standing in front of her house, and the downtown streets of Thorne Hill are quiet.
Thank the bloody stars.
“No problem. I can’t imagine scrappers coming into town, but just in case.”
“What do you think the scrappers are after?” she asks. “If they’re following behind the last demon to make a dramatic entrance in our town, they’re a few weeks too late.”
“Maybe they know this is a good hunting ground? For other demons, that is.”
“Let’s hope.” She forces a smile. “So, what’s this vampire business you’re going to help Lucas with?”
“One of his human vendors suddenly called and said they won’t work with him anymore. Lucas thinks the guy was threatened by someone, and signs are pointing to that group of vampires who are against assimilation.”
“They’re trying to punish him for following the law?”
“Yes, and it’s a scarily smart way to go after him, really,” I ruefully admit. “Lucas is the oldest and strongest vampire in the city. Physically attacking him would be a death sentence. Going after his business like that would force him to do something, I suppose.”
“If those vampires go after other vampires, who’s to say they don’t start attacking humans?”
“That’s my fear. And you know how it is. One extreme act can ignite so much fear and hate. Vampires are out now, and there’s no going back. If humans and vampires got into a war against each other…” I trail off, shaking my head. The carnage would be staggering. So many people would die. “So, if we can find out who threatened the whiskey vendor, we can find out who’s heading up this anti-assimilation group. And then either Luc
as will rip their hearts out—literally—or he’ll turn them over to the VC.”
“Be careful, Callie. You’re getting really involved in vampire drama now.”
“I know I am. But look at all Lucas has done for me. I want to help him. And the plan tonight is for me to go talk to the human and stay away from any vampires that aren’t Lucas or Eliza. I’ll probably stay the night with Lucas at his place, and then I’ll be back in the morning to hunt demons and work at the bookstore.”