| |
Witches, like vampires, prided themselves on the complexities of their schemes. The question was, what was Samantha after? Velvet didn’t care. Everything for her and Tyra came down to battle. The direct approach, Velvet called it. Know your enemy and destroy them. Was Samantha his enemy? After all these years, was she finally going for revenge?
Shivering, he pulled his coat collar up. Funny, he didn’t recall grabbing his coat earlier. God, Velvet was so infuriating.
He walked on into the night, out past the city lights. He wasn’t wandering anymore, as he had a place in mind. The baby, Devon said smelled of death until Velvet gave her a bath. So where and how could a baby get the smell of death on her?
~*~
“Samantha.”
She stopped near a grave marked with a statue of Mary. She straightened her back before she turned. “Amon Ra,” she said. Her voice sounded craggy from her throat. She touched the jeweled belt that hung loosely about her hips. “Don’t come any closer.”
“I hoped I was wrong, but finding you out here, I can’t deny what I’ve suspected.”
“Eh?”
“It was you. You killed Jasmine Tanaka.”
“She was killed by vampires.”
“She was killed by someone with fangs. You disguise yours easily because they are small, but they are fangs.”
“Well, I am surprised you’d remember a detail like that.” Samantha’s dress trailed over the ground, making a rustling noise as she closed the space between them. “A childless female werewolf’s blood twenty four hours after a full moon is rather potent,” she grinned. Her facial expression stilled, then the muscles contorted changing her facial shape. Her ears and eyes enlarged as her teeth grew. “It is also unstable. Keeps changing and it hurts.” She rubbed her face gingerly. “But I have to say it is worth it.”
He stepped closer to see her more clearly. “My God, Samantha.”
“Shocked at my appearance? This is only temporary.”
“Did you eat that child’s mother?”
“Come now, Amon Ra. You know the recipe.”
“But what are you doing? Who do you want?”
“Once I wanted you, my love. You were all in the world that I wanted. You promised you would be mine. Don’t you remember? I shared my body, my heart, my soul with you. I shared my magics with you. I gave it all to you. All you had to do was love me.”
“Samantha, that was a long time ago. I’m concerned about now.”
“Of course, you are.” She smiled through the obvious pain of her face contorting back to a normal younger version of herself. “This is how you left me. A half witch is not a witch!”
“Samantha, that is not what happened. Let me explain.” Her long plaits lashed out, striking him across the mouth. “I always wondered how immortal you really are.” She pulled a dagger from the belt and sliced into his throat. “You asked who I want. That is the wrong question.”
“Samantha.” Talking wasn’t difficult as his throat was already healing. He pressed a palm to the wound. “What do you want? Is that the question? Tell me.”
“Yes, Amon Ra! I want everything!” Arms stretched outward, she twirled around. “Everything! Everything is here!”
“Here?” Rankin surveyed the graveyard. “Bodies and bones?”
“Fairlight, you fool! It is fertile again! I can live off it another hundred years. Oh, the sweet, sweet magic! So thick in the air! I am finally reborn! But I need fresh young bodies to eat and bones to grind to keep me strong!”
“You’ve really gone cannibal!”
“You dare judge me, you snake?”
“You’ve lost your mind. Fairlight will not be your feeding ground.”
“Because your big strong witch is going to stop me? Velvet is special, probably the only one of her kind. So once she is taken out the rest will be quite simple.”
“You think eating bone meal and drinking werewolf blood is going to help you defeat a true battle witch?”
“Soon every werewolf and vampire will be at each other’s throats. Demons and humans will be forced to take sides as chaos threatens the soul of this city. Who will be obliged to take control, but the Sisterhood? And by then, I will be the most powerful witch ever created!”
“Samantha, you were never very bright, but this master plan of yours is the dumbest thing I’ve heard in over a thousand years.”
“Careful now, you bastard.”
“What do you really want, Samantha?”
“I want your battle witch to burn in my balefire. I want this city on its knees before me. I want you to die broken and bloody a thousand times at my feet. I want your immortal soul in torment forever!” She threw the dagger at his face. He shielded with the blade of his sword. Samantha began to chant, pointing two fingers at his chest. Her face contorted and her teeth lengthened. Her back humped and her legs twisted. The brutal pain of it showed on her wolfish face.
“Samantha? Samantha!”
She overcame the pain with a quick gesture that produced pink energy around her. She stood straight and pointed a long finger at his face. The wind rose as her body lifted from the ground.
Rankin turned and ran. He thanked all the gods he knew that Velvet placed his battle coat on him after he called her a bitch and walked out on her. He ran from the cemetery back down the highway. After a mile, he stopped to puke and catch his breath.
A loud growl calling his ancient name froze him in horror. “Oh gods.” It was Samantha. She was turning herself into a monster for revenge on him. She was going to go after Velvet and the others. They would fight to the death to protect her. “No,” he vowed. “Not because of me!” He searched for his cell phone that he left on his office desk. Gripping his sword, he ran again, and he knew he had to make it to town before Samantha’s transformation was complete.