Something was going to go wrong. Erik could feel it. He had no damned clue what, but he feared for Monique. He pulled her hand to his mouth and placed a kiss. “Whatever happens tonight, stay away from Nigel and Kjell. No matter what they say, or what they do.”
“How are you going to stop Nigel from waking the dead?”
He managed a tight smile. “Leave that to me.”
“Can’t blame me for worrying about you.”
“My sentiment exactly.” He huffed. “Stop, I get it. You want to help. You want me safe. And I want you safe. Period.”
Erik climbed out of the car and opened Monique’s door. “Come on, Mon. Hopefully, this will be easier than we anticipate.”
She took his hand and leaned up, bracing her hands around his waist as she stole a quick kiss. A spark trailed through him. He took her arm and led her to Robert’s door.
Liz answered with a smirk. “Good to see you two finally back together.”
He smiled, a laugh on his lips. “It’s good to be back together.” The truth of the words hit him and he pulled Monique closer. No more chasing, no more running, no more pleading with her to listen to him. She was his, he was hers, and their bond grew and expanded to encompass all of his soul.
Monique leaned her head against his shoulder.
Motioning inside, Liz let them in. “Come in.”
Consuela and Declan were sitting on the couch, closer than Erik expected. He wasn’t sure if that was a product of the bond or there was something more at play. And how weird would it be for a Shadowstalker and a Crimson Witch/Deathcaller to be together.
Erik pushed that thought aside as he looked around the room. He spotted Mike and Gwen, which gave him a sense of comfort.
“Hang on,” he told Monique before crossing the room.
Gwen glanced over his shoulder.
In hushed tones, he whispered, “Keep an eye on Monique for me. Please. Both of you.”
Gwen and Mike nodded.
“Of course,” Mike answered.
“Stop worrying,” Gwen said. “No one is going to let anything happen to either of you. We need you to take care of Nigel. And hopefully Consuela can help with that.”
“Nigel has access to vampires. Consuela can stop them with Declan’s help.”
Her brow arched. “A Shadowstalker amongst us. Interesting choice of allies, but I’ve heard only positive things about Declan.”
He rolled his eyes. “Remember we’re going after someone like me. And you’re on my side.”
She shook her head. “This is bound to be bloody. He hasn’t been a blood drinker long and we’re throwing him in with a ton of Others.”
“He lives in Edenton, for Christ’s sake.”
“True enough. I didn’t mean anything by it,” she promised.
He knew she hadn’t, but it still rubbed him wrong.
Monique wound her arm around his waist and smiled.
Preston whistled and began explaining the plan.
Mrs. Murdock appeared in the corner. Apparently, she was transferring all of them to a shielded area at once. He wasn’t sure how that worked, but he wasn’t about to argue. Faster they were there, the sooner they could stop whatever plan Nigel had.
In part, Erik hoped Nigel was ensuring Kjell was caught. That hardly made sense since he was well-known for his hatred of the Council.
In the blink of an eye, they were all standing outside the grounds. Whispers rolled toward him and he closed his eyes, reaching out with his senses. Thousands and thousands of dead rested beneath the ground.
He felt another Deathcaller, beyond Consuela. Nigel was already there.
“Where are they?” he whispered to the spirits. A couple of the mages startled at the quiet question, but made no comment.
A symphony of voices trilled through the quiet. He followed the sound, not waiting for anyone to make a move. A vampire swept in front of him and he locked gazes.
Erik firmly said, “Back down.”
The male cowered. Consuela walked up and took over. “Go. I’ll keep any vamp I find busy.”
Erik glanced back at Monique. “Stay with Mike and Gwen.”
“I want to be there with you.”
He shook his head. “Not for this, you don’t.” With that he pulled the night around him and faded from view, hurrying across the hilly grounds.
* * * *
Nigel felt the swine closing in. Perhaps he should have cut the mage/necromancer hybrid some slack. Fool seemed to believe most necromancers could wield magic the same way.
However, Nigel had his own tricks. He called on the dead, but only spirits answered. Vampires were on the way but something stopped them from coming.
To fuel his magic, he slashed his hand and spilled blood on the ground, chanting a spell.
Erik’s words rose up, weaving magic that wrested control from the corpses.
A scream tore from Nigel’s mouth as he pushed his energy into the ground, causing a tremor through the earth. The nearest corpses crawled from their graves and turned in the direction of Erik Mortale. Bastard was rumored to be the strongest of the Deathcallers and still refused to use his magic to his full capability.
Perhaps it was fitting he was about to die at the hands of the dead he so greatly respected. The fool never did understand they were given the power to strike fear into those who would hold them down. The dead were a tool to be used to forge a new path and get their way.
A snort sounded from Erik as the corpses shambled toward him. Shadows flew away from the black spot, closing in on Nigel. Erik appeared. He hissed a few words and the corpses turned on Nigel.
He flung his hand out, and the dead fell apart. He threw up a shield and called out, “Bianca Bitshi, come to me.”
Her image flowed before him. A red-haired, blue-eyed mage who was born to a Jewish family. She went dark when part of HARP took her family. Hitler recruited them to help in his paranormal and supernatural experiments. Bianca was tortured at a young age. Something had snapped. Her magic erupted, draining the entire death camp. She’d been forever changed.
Nigel had found the young woman wandering in the forest when he was called to search for a specific dead relative. He took pity on her and quickly learned she was made of stronger stuff than he first gave her credit for. She was too young at the time, so he found her a home and walked away.
Shortly after his tryst with Monique, he ran into Bianca again, and they fell madly in love. Years later, after Bianca learned that Monique had been with him, and he still went to her for his clothing, she started chasing Monique with the intent to drain her.
Only Monique found a way to counter a dark mage’s spell. Bianca drained herself. Now that Monique had found herself back with Erik, it only seemed fitting to have Bianca destroy what they built.
“My love,” she whispered.
“It’s time for your revenge. Take Monique’s body. Come to me. I’ll ensure you live again.”
A sneer twisted her lips. “You’ll only think of her while I reside in her body.”
“That is far from true. I never loved her. Only you. Please, do this. We need to end Erik and the mages he brought to stop our plan. The Council must fall.”
Her eyes narrowed before she fluttered away, heading for the enchanter who tempted then twisted Nigel’s blackened heart so many years ago.
* * * *
Consuela quickly spread out the salt and went to work drawing the vampires to her. Declan stayed by her side, even though the whispered spell quickly drew two dozen vampires all crammed into the space. She couldn’t wrest control of all the ghosts from Nigel, but he had a stronger hold on spirits without corpses than she did. And if she wanted to scare everyone in the place, she would call on several of the corpses to possess with the spirits she could take.
However, she was there to help, not make matters worse. So she stood her ground, watching as more vampires filled the circle, hissing and spitting like cats as they tried to reach beyond the wall of magic and continuously got zapped back into place.
“Holy shit!” the closest mage exclaimed. “You can really control them.”
Consuela snorted. “Yes, it’s possible, but he holds their sway. I merely pulled them to this spot so as not to scare the lot of you further.” And she could have wrested control, but it would have required spilling blood, and a literal bloodbath seemed like a poor idea.
“Oh, if I were a vamp, I’d be pissing myself that someone managed to lock me into a prison so easily. Though why isn’t he within your circle of power?”
“Declan is a friend, not a foe. Trust me.” She was tempted to make some snide remark, but again didn’t want to make the situation worse. Otherwise, she could use the vampires against the other side.
She would have taken great pleasure in forcing these vampires to her side to tear the enemy apart.
The mage offered a jovial smile. “Relax, I was only curious how you managed to force these ones into the ring of protection and not him, when he clearly has your back.”
She smiled, glancing over her shoulder to see Declan watching everyone.
“Focus on your spell. No one is getting past me,” Declan promised.
The mage smiled over at her. “I’m watching too. We’re on the same side.”
She dipped her head, knowing she really didn’t need mage support, but was not about to argue.