“Put the gun down, Gemma,” I said, dropping my stake and holding my hands in the air.
“Drop the sword.” She waved the gun in Grace’s direction and Grace dropped it, then held her hands up.
“Why are you doing this? We can all get out of here. We’ll take you with us. You’re free.” I lowered my voice, infusing it with as much kindness as I could. “Don’t you want to see your family again?” She wouldn’t seriously shoot me, would she? She didn’t have it in her. But as I looked at her, clenching her jaw, a look of steel in her eyes, I saw an entirely different woman from the one who’d always behaved as a vacuous airhead around her ‘Hughie’.
I tried to reason with her. “Just let us go. In fact - come with us. You don’t want to stay here, do you?”
She tossed her blonde hair, keeping the gun trained on me, her arm as still as stone. “Why wouldn’t I?”
I creased my forehead. “You can do so much better than this.”
“Can I?” she shouted. “You don’t know me, you don’t know the kind of life I’ve had. Hugh Beaufort was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was bad enough that he chose you to mate with.” She sniffed. “I knew you’d turn on him one day, I warned him but he wouldn’t listen.”
Grace looked at Gemma. “You don’t need that wrinkly, vampire scumbag. Find a nice young man your own age and…”
“Shut up!” Gemma screamed. She took the safety catch off the gun and pointed it at my head. An icy cold shiver ran up my spine and sweat broke out on my top lip. Everyone was silent. I steadied my nerve and took a slow step forward, praying that she wouldn’t shoot me. Softening my face, I reached my hand out slowly. “Listen to me, Gemma, Beaufort never cared about you - he used you.”
“No! He loved me! He should’ve chosen me, not you. I would’ve given him a baby. I love him.” Her lip began to wobble as her baby blue eyes took on a quality of vulnerability.
My heart broke for her. Was it Beaufort’s abuse that had made her believe she was worth so little? Or had she been this way before she’d even come here, her low self-esteem making her an easy target for his grooming?
Her wrist softened and I seized my chance. Taking one more step forward, I reached her and closed my hand over the gun. I took it from her hands and passed it to Oliver.
She collapsed into my arms in racking great sobs. “He… he told me I was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. He said he loved me.” She looked up at me, her features twisting from anguish to confusion then desolation. “You know, I was just fourteen when I came here.” She wiped her eyes. “I lied about my age to get a modelling contract. I had to get away from home…” Her eyes clouded over. “… I wasn’t happy there.” She buried her head in my chest and I stroked her hair. An arrow of familiarity pierced my heart. My home hadn’t been happy either. Is that why Beaufort had singled me out? Had he sensed the same in me that he’d seen in Gemma? This was clearly what he did. He found broken, abused girls and lured them in with promises of love, security and riches, creating a fake family and fake love - something these girls all craved. He was pure evil and white hot hate coursed though me. I gritted my teeth, waves of nausea fluttering through my belly as I thought of how that twisted pervert had taken advantage of her. He must’ve known how young she was. He’d exploited her naivety, sucking the youth and innocence from her as surely as if he’d sucked her blood.
I took a deep breath and pulled away from her, holding her at arms length as I looked her in the eyes. “Come with us.” I whispered.
She shook her head. “I can’t”
“Yes you can. Put all this behind you and start a new life - I’ll help you.” I knew it wouldn’t be easy but I meant what I said.
She shook her head again.
I didn’t push her. She’d been through so much. Looking at her now, I guessed she was in her early twenties. That meant she’d been here for years, at the mercy of his manipulative mind games. Maybe she’d leave one day but she wasn’t ready for it yet.
“What about the other girls?” I asked. “Do you think any of them will come with us?”
Gemma’s brow furrowed. “I’m not sure, maybe Mel? She already ran off. I think she’s hiding on the estate somewhere.”
Waiting for a chance to make her escape. I thought.
Gemma’s eyes grew distant. “Hugh is very possessive. If you take any of his girls, he’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth.”
I gritted my teeth. “Yeah well, the feeling is mutual.” I didn’t explain further, aware that Gemma’s feelings for this man were complicated. I was still angry with myself for getting distracted and letting him get away. But he’d get his own. I’d make sure of it. I wouldn’t rest until I destroyed him.
With Gemma subdued, I picked up her gun and gave it to Derek. “Just in case.” I said, as I picked up my stake again and Grace got her sword.
Derek tucked the gun into the waistband of his dirty jeans and then walked through the extensive garage to the hummer, at the far corner. “Hey Grace, give me one of those skewers, would you?”
She handed one to him and within a matter of minutes, he’d used it to gain access. Then he popped the hood and fiddled with some wires, inside the engine. The hummer roared to life.
Grace looked at him. “I’m coming with you - Samuel too. That’s the deal we made with Bree.”
He looked at me, “What - you don’t trust me?”
I held my hands up in a placatory manner. “I’m not the one who doesn’t trust.”
Grace pointed her sword in his direction, looking at him with steel in her eyes. “Do you want to get out of here, or not, vampire?”
“Alright, alright, whatever you say.” He looked at me. “What are you going to do until we get back?”
I thought for a moment. “Can you give us all a lift down the hill? We’ve got another group of people we need to connect with.”
“Of course. Get in then.”
We all climbed in. The inside was huge, big enough for all of us to fit comfortably. But we’d still need that bus to get everyone off the estate.
We picked up Samuel along the way and drove down the hill. By now the gunfire was tailing off. Most of the vampires had been killed and those who hadn’t, had run away to hide, like Beaufort. As I had this thought it occurred to me that Oliver might have an idea of where to find him.
“Oliver, I lost Hugh right at the start of the fight. He scurried off, out of his bedroom and then disappeared around a corner. Do you have any idea where he might have gone?”
Oliver looked up at the ceiling then back at me. “The mansion has a subterranean level. Lots of tunnels and dungeons, like the one we were imprisoned in. My guess is, he’s hiding in one of them until the coast is clear and he can come out and rebuild his mansion.”
The idea of this made my blood boil. That he could just saunter out, as if nothing had happened, and then start capturing and enslaving humans again, at the very same mansion, was too sickening for words. I had to stop him. Not now - now my priority was getting away from here. But I’d make sure I came back as soon as possible. I wanted to be the one to put an end to his modern slavery house of hell. I also wanted to be the one to watch him turn to dust as I drove a stake into his black heart. I owed it to Darla. I owed it to all the people he’d enslaved and abused. But I also owed it to myself.
Derek let me out, further down the hill and I flew across the lawn, in the direction of the thicket of trees. When I got there, I found, not just all the former blood slaves, but many of the house servants and some of the favoured humans too. Mel sat among them, huddled up in a blanket. I met her gaze and smiled. She smiled back, shivering slightly, probably as much from the cold as from the shock of the evening’s events. I’d never been in a gunfight before and I doubted Mel or many of these other people had either. It was only when I saw them that I realised I was starting to feel cold myself. I’d been going on adrenaline but now things had calmed down, my exposed torso, clad in only a bra, was not nearly enough for this time of year.
Veena was walking around, handing out blankets and checking on everyone.
“Hey Veena, could I get one of those please?”
“Sure” she walked over and handed one to me.
Wrapping it around myself I asked. “Is this everyone?”
“I think so” she nodded. “We lost a few people.” She dipped her head, her eyes growing bitter and glassy.
I held her hand. “You did your best, we all did.”
She nodded, then looked back up. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been in active combat like that. I’d forgotten how brutal and bloody it is.”
“At least we’re all getting out of here.”
“How can you be so sure?”
I realised she didn’t yet know about the perimeter fence spell. None of them did. I clapped my hands, getting everyone’s attention. “Hi everyone. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Bree. I know that some of you have heard that I tried to break out of here and failed. Well, this time, I’ve successfully removed the perimeter spell.”
There was a gasp and twittering of voices as everyone started to speak at once. Then a voice I recognised called out from the back. “How do we know it’s for real this time?” Paulette stood up and looked at me. I didn’t blame her for the heavy mistrust that I saw in her eyes.
“I’ve already tested it. I got over the fence and back again, totally unharmed.” She still looked doubtful so I continued. “The spell was put in place by a spirit witch. That’s why I couldn’t break it before because I was trying to use my arcane witch powers. But it turns out I have spirit witch powers too.”
Paulette hesitated. “You’re going first.”
I nodded. “Okay. That’s fair.”
CJ stood up next to her. “What are we waiting for? Let’s leave this shithole.”
I explained. “A friend of mine is coming back for us with a bus.” I didn’t want any nasty surprises for them when Derek came back so I added. “He’s a vampire but he was in the dungeons with me. He hates Hugh Beaufort just as much as the rest of us.” They still didn’t seem convinced so I added one more thing that I thought might clinch the deal. “He’s a black man.”
The crowd visibly relaxed and started high-fiving and celebrating, in raucous whoops.
CJ shouted out once more. “Did you kill Hugh Beaufort then?”
I gritted my teeth, feeling like he’d poured salt on my wound. “Not yet CJ but I will do. I will do….”
Two weeks later I was back at my flat, packing my bags. It was so good to be home, although I’d only returned briefly to get ready before leaving again to go to the Arcane Realm. I’d never take my flat or my flatmates for granted ever again. It might be tiny and expensive but it was home and my flatmates were my best friends. As I packed, I reflected on just how much I’d been through and how much I’d grown. I wanted to believe it was my strength and smarts that had got me away from Beaufort Heights but if I was honest with myself, a lot of luck had come into play too. A shiver went down my spine as I considered that without some of that luck, I might still be there. Frowning I thought of Gemma who was still there. I hoped that one day she would see the light and that when that day came, I, or someone like me, would get her out.
As I packed, I reflected on how everything had turned out. After Derek returned, with the bus, dropping everyone off had taken the entire night. Then me and Derek had parted ways, after exchanging phone numbers. I felt like, after the ordeal we’d been through, we’d be friends for life. Plus, he’d been very interested in where to get synthetic blood from and I’d put him in touch with Carlotta and the rest of the Ahimsas.
I’d decided it still wasn’t safe for me to be at home. I needed somewhere I could rest and recover without having to sleep with one eye open. Beaufort could send his henchmen to come back for me at any time. I would’ve taken Nik up on his offer to stay at his flat, but we both agreed that was too risky. So instead, we got out of London, booking a fortnight in a countryside holiday rental home.
The best surprise had been the jewellery I was still wearing, when I got there. The genuine, Harry Winston necklace and earrings were worth over two hundred and fifty thousand pounds. Derek had helped me sell the set, on the black market, to a buyer who didn’t ask any questions. I’d been able to get all the damages to the flat repaired and still had enough money to live on for years, without needing to find a job.
As soon as I’d got to Nik’s flat, I’d contacted the police. I couldn’t tell them I’d been held by a vampire but I’d told them as much as I thought they’d believe - that Beaufort was a human trafficker and was engaged in modern slavery at his mansion. They’d filed a report and opened an investigation but I hadn’t heard anything further. I had a sinking feeling that I never would. Beaufort was the kind of guy who had connections in high places. He could buy or glamour himself out of anything and that meant he was above the law.
“Almost ready?” Agota disturbed my thoughts as she came in and slumped down onto her bed.
“Yep.” I walked over to her. “I’ll miss you.” I gave her a playful punch on the shoulder.
“I’ll miss you too - you’ve only just come back and now you’re leaving again.” She stared at my bags and back at me, with a hint of regret to her expression. “It’s just so crazy to think that a couple of weeks ago, I believed you’d assaulted me.” She shook her head. “I was an idiot - as if you’d ever do something like that.”
“Don’t blame yourself. Vampire glamours are very powerful, no human can resist them. Anyway, at least I’m back and we’re cool again now.”
Agota agreed. “Yes and now I know that not only are vampires real but you’re dating one of them!”
I laughed. “I know, you couldn’t make it up, right?”
I figured now that they knew vampires were real, it wouldn’t be that much more of a stretch to find out I was a witch. So I’d told Agota and Tallulah everything, including my plan to go to the Arcane Realm and learn how to use my powers properly. I never wanted to put myself in a position where I’d be too ignorant to defend myself against vampires, ever again. If I’d had proper training, I would’ve known about the dangers of obsidian and how to avoid it.
Agota continued. “Do you know anything at all about this Arcane Realm you’re going to train at?”
I twinkled my eyes at her. “Not really. That’s what makes it so exciting. I do know one thing though.”
“What’s that?”
“There are definitely no vampires there and that is the kind of peace and quiet that I am really looking forward to.”
“I’m sure.” She tilted her head, coquettishly. “But there is one vampire you’ll miss, right?”
Nik. I was going there partly for him. After my time at Beaufort Heights, we’d had a big heart to heart. He’d levelled with me that he had indeed initially got involved with me as a way of forming an alliance with the arcane witches. But he’d assured me that, even though it had started out as that, it had grown into something much deeper. And the Ahimsas wanted an alliance with the arcane witches so they could destroy the Draculs together - an aim I was more than on board with.
I didn’t know what the future held for me and Nik. Our relationship was certainly unconventional but it had a strange kind of logic to it. We worked and that’s all I needed to know for now. We could figure out the rest later. But what we all agreed on, Nik, my flatmates and the other Ahimsas, was that I needed to get properly trained on how to use my powers. So, I’d called Morgana and Evelyn and they’d asked me to meet them at a nearby hotel. It made my insides burn with an unmatched fury to think that Hugh Beaufort had got away but he’d get what he deserved, I’d make sure of that. As I packed the last of my bags, I made a promise to myself.
I’m going to learn how to harness my powers and then I’m coming for you Hugh Beaufort. This damsel is going to bring the pain.
Book 2 of the ‘Arcane Witches’ series, entitled, ‘Charmed Fate’ is out now. Want a sneak preview? Turn the page to read chapter 1…
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