Chapter Thirty-Seven

Vaughn and Connor took off to let his uncle know the latest discovery while Skyler and I drove home in silence.

Solving the murder wasn’t nearly as satisfying as I thought it would be. I’d been so gullible. The murderer had been right in front of me, and I’d been too distracted—too hopeful, too lonely—to notice.

“I’m going to drop you off at home, Sky,” I told her. “There’s something I need to do.”

“Tansy?” she asked me, her voice sounding on the verge of panic. “What are you going to do?”

What was I going to do? It was hard to remember what my goals had been before this summer. Now I just wanted to survive. And I wanted the people I loved to survive.

I vaguely remembered wanting to finish Infinite Jest, get some sun, and get Vaughn to notice me. I still wanted Vaughn to notice me. He was a werewolf, and I was a vampire queen, but we loved each other. I would lose everything if I didn’t stop my mother.

Skyler got out of the Deathtrap and slammed the door. “Be careful.”

“Like you care,” I muttered under my breath, but she heard me and flinched. Her back went straight and she marched into her house without another word.

I cruised by Vaughn’s house, but no one was home. I drove by the house in the canyon. There were no cars there, so I continued to drive around.

I considered the werewolf I’d found at The Last Stop. Most of the attacks had occurred near or at the bar. That was where I might find the killer.

Within a few minutes, I pulled into the empty lot and parked, then ran up to the bar.

It was empty, too, from what I could see through the windows, but I could hear the faint sound of someone moving around inside. I sent Vaughn a quick text to let him know where I was and why.

The door was unlocked, so I went in.

My mother stood there. Her grin chilled me. I’d seen glimpses of the Executioner before, but my mother had managed to fool me into thinking she was human.

All traces of humanity had vanished, and I knew that she needed to kill again because the effects of the werewolf hearts she’d already eaten had faded. My mother was gone, and the Executioner was back.

People had died because I’d been so distracted by the hope that I would finally have a real mom, finally find out who my dad was, that I’d trusted a murderer. The werewolves were right. This was all the fault of a vampire. Or at least a vampire-witch hybrid. Me.

“Not very fair odds, Vanessa,” I said. “Or should I call you by who you really are? The Executioner.”

“I like these odds,” she said. “Four to one.”

Hecate bounded into the room and let out a low, challenging growl. The other hellcats cowered. Hecate had been the runt of the litter, but now she was a massive hellcat and stood head and shoulders above the others.

“Two to four,” I said. “I like my chances.”

When I was little, I’d longed for the day my mother would return and we’d be a family again. Now I wanted to travel back in time and slap that kid until she wised up and remembered to be careful what she wished for.

“Give up, Tansy,” she said. “I’ve outwitted you. Honestly, it wasn’t even my best effort.”

“I don’t think so.” Instead of a scowl, I gave my mother a smile. I think it confused her. “You were looking for something, weren’t you? That’s why you were cozying up to me. You think I have the Blood of Life.”

I’d surprised her. The cloud of hatred Mom sent my way couldn’t be missed, but I felt good for standing up to her for a change. I was a queen. It was time I started acting like one.

“I was right. You do have it, don’t you?” She studied my face, and then a grin crossed her face. “You don’t even realize what you have.”

“Why don’t you tell me?” I replied. “I already know about the crying violets and the werewolf hearts.”

“Tsk, tsk,” she mocked. “Dabbling in the black arts. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

I held onto my temper with difficulty and prompted her, “The Blood of Life?”

“There are some vampires who would give me everything they own for it,” Vanessa said.

“Because it makes them invincible?” I guessed. The thought made me shudder. Vampires were already hard to get rid of.

“Because it makes them human.” She smirked. “Not just the appearance of a human, truly human with all their vulnerabilities and emotions. I don’t really see the appeal.”

“Then why kill all those werewolves just to appear human?”

“A means to an end,” she replied. “There was no other way to arrange our reunion.”

“I should have killed you when I had the chance,” I hissed.

“But you didn’t,” she said. Her smile grew wider until I could see all her teeth. She didn’t have fangs. “Why didn’t you?” she asked. “Don’t tell me you didn’t let a little thing like biology stop you. I wouldn’t have.”

I didn’t point out that she hadn’t killed Granny because I didn’t want to give her any ideas.

She made a sharp motion with her hand, and one of the hellcats ran for me.

Then another cat growled, in challenge, and the hellcat’s ears perked up as Hecate bounded into view.

I needed another job just to keep her in kitty treats, but she earned every bite when she came to my defense.

She jumped, landing on the other cat and knocking it away from me. Hecate had her teeth on the other cat’s neck before I could tell her to stop, but she didn’t break the flesh. Instead, her eyes, blood red and scary, looked at me like she was searching for answers.

They exchanged a series of growls, and then the rest of the pack retreated, leaving only Hecate and the other feline. Hecate held him, her teeth near a vein in the other cat’s neck, until it whimpered. Hecate released her grip, and the other cat rolled over and showed its belly, then slunk out of the room.

Hecate’s jaws snapped and got one of the hellcats on the flank, but they kept coming after her. She was going to have to fight her own battle because I had to pay attention to my mother or she’d kill me without thinking twice.

“Why are you pretending to be human?” I asked her.

Something dark and devious passed over her face. “I’m not pretending.”

“Give it up, Vanessa,” I said. “We already found the plants. We know what you’re doing. Why you killed those werewolves. The pack will rip you apart when they hear about this.”

“They won’t get the chance,” she said. “You haven’t told them yet, have you?”

“Of course I told them,” I lied, but my mother saw the flinch I’d tried to conceal.

“You are a terrible liar,” she said. She snapped her fingers, and Boris came through the double doors that led to the kitchen. “And I don’t need to kill you. He’ll do it for me.”

I thought she’d leave, but she stood there as Boris came toward me. I realized she wanted to watch me die. That wasn’t going to happen.

I hit him in the stomach before he had a chance to shift. I wasn’t sure I’d stand a chance against a rogue werewolf, and I didn’t want to find out.

He bent over, wheezing, but threw off his gloves. His hands were long claws, sharp and deadly. I hit him again, and he swiped at me and missed. I turned my head to smirk at my mother, and by the time I’d turned around again, he’d gone full wolf.

His first blow sent me flying across the room until I landed against a wall. My head was ringing, and I staggered as I stood. His claws slashed out, narrowly missing my face.

I kicked at his feet, but it was like kicking a tree. I tried to clear my mind and focus on using my power, but I felt like I’d been hit in the head with a brick.

“Stop it!” I ordered, using my power.

My mom laughed. “The wolf can’t hear you when blood lust is on him.”

“Why did you need him anyway?” I asked. “You had the plants and the hellcats.” And the werewolf hearts, but I didn’t want to think about how my own mother had been running around brutally murdering people.

“He was dating a witch who would make the potion,” she said. “For the right price, of course.”

Vanessa had needed a witch to cast the spell, since she was no longer a Mariotti witch. No witch in her right mind would mess with such an evil spell, but Vanessa had managed to find someone.

An unnatural witch? Here? Granny was going to lose it when I told her. If I ever got the chance.

I hadn’t been paying attention, and Boris’s jaws snapped dangerously close to my neck.

Vanessa was going to get her wish. He was going to kill me.

His eyes were black, his jaw snapping as I dodged him. His arms wrapped around my waist and lifted me in the air and then slammed me to the floor. My head hit the hard wooden planks, and red exploded behind my eyes. I tried to focus, to see where Boris was, what he was doing, but all I could see was a curtain of red.

My fangs came out, and I bared my teeth. “Boris, be reasonable.”

I dodged and feinted, but knew I was losing valuable time.

“Don’t hit me ever again,” I said.

But he resisted my compulsion. This blow was to the face, harder this time. I doubled over.

He backhanded me. Rage suffused my whole body, and I had to force myself to take a deep breath. It was either that or bite him.

Frantically, I tried to remember what werewolves were vulnerable to during a full moon. I remembered the silver moon Granny had given me. I’d taken it off, but maybe it was still in my pocket.

My fingers found it as Boris’s teeth caught at the leg of my jeans.

I reached out and pressed the silver moon into his flesh. He howled, and his fur-covered flesh began to sizzle. I used all my strength, pried open his jaw, and forced him to swallow the charm.

My mother put up a hand like she was going to give me a high five. “Look at you.” She smirked. “A natural born killer. You’ve made your mother so proud. I thought he’d kill you and I’d have to find another werewolf, but now I’ll kill you first and take his heart later.”

In response, I doubled up my fist and popped her in the nose.

Her head snapped back, and her hellcats growled at me. One of them took a running jump at me, but Hecate slammed into the other feline mid-jump, snapping and tearing at its flesh.

The other two attacked, but I took out my drumstick and smacked one of them on the head.

That caught its attention, and I started to run. It chased after me, and I jumped on the bar, sending beer bottles and glass tumblers to the floor as I slid across it and into the back room. The big cat followed, but it overshot and went past me. I stepped back into the main room and locked the door.

There was a thud as if a two-hundred-pound enraged animal had thrown itself against the door. I hoped Vaughn could get here before the cat broke down the door. It was a temporary fix. The other two hellcats ran out, and Hecate followed them, howling her fury as she went.

Somewhere in the room, a cell phone began to chirp with text notifications, one after another. I vaguely wondered where my phone was, but it didn’t matter at this moment. I needed to concentrate on staying alive.

The texts stopped, and then seconds later, a phone began to ring and ring. Someone was trying to call me.

I returned my attention to the bigger problem, Vanessa Mariotti, the woman who was willing to dabble in the dark arts.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” she sneered. “Out with his buddies instead of you?”

I ignored her. What kind of mother preyed on her own daughter’s insecurities like that? A terrible one.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said calmly, but my heart raced.

“He’ll choose his friends over you every time,” she snarled.

She called them his friends, not his pack. So she didn’t know Vaughn was a werewolf. Good. I had no doubt if she had known, she would have tried to kill him. Just to hurt me.

I gagged when she punched me in the stomach, but then I summoned power from somewhere deep inside me. My mother hit me over the head with something heavy. A bottle of booze maybe? My skull felt like it was cracking wide open.

Vanessa knocked me down and had her hands wrapped around my neck.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak to try to use my magic. I used my legs to push up and got her off me. I jumped to my feet, wheezing. I was going to have to hurt her, and I didn’t even feel bad about it.

She wrapped her hands around my neck again and squeezed so tightly that I thought I was going to black out. “You’ll never find the ruby if you kill me.”

She stared down at me for a long moment and then dropped me to the floor.

My mother thought she’d won, but I wasn’t ready to admit defeat. I used a move Thorn had taught me and kicked her feet out from under her. As she went down, her head hit the edge of the solid wooden bar. She lay there motionless. I got to my feet and stood over her, waiting for a counter-attack that didn’t come.

She hadn’t exploded into ash and goo, so she was still alive, or whatever the vampire equivalent of that was.

My drumstick was sticky with my sweat, and I gripped it tighter as I stared at my mother. Could I actually stake Vanessa? Staking a vampire in self-defense was reasonable. She’d never stop trying to mess with me, but I couldn’t drive my drumstick through my mother’s heart when she was unconscious. I could, however, give her to the Paranormal Activities Committee and let them decide her punishment.

I turned away to look for something to tie her up. There was a sharp pain in the back of my skull, and then I went down.

I wavered in and out of consciousness as the adrenaline rush faded. I didn’t know how long I lay there before I heard Vaughn’s voice.

“Tansy, what happened?” he asked.

“My mother happened,” I rasped out. My throat hurt. My neck felt like it was starting to bruise.

He helped me up and carried me to a chair. “Shh, I’ve got you,” he crooned and sat down, with me cradled in his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck and put my head on his chest.

“My mother was behind it all,” I said.

Vaughn growled. “I’m going to kill her.”

I put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m okay.” My bruises would fade.

“You look like you could use a trip to urgent care,” Vaughn replied.

“No hospital,” I said. There was no way I would be able to explain my injuries.

“At least let Xavier check you out,” he said.

I nodded. Even that hurt.

He fished his phone out of his pocket, careful not to jostle me, and made a quick call. “I need you at The Last Stop. As soon as possible. Tansy’s hurt.” After he hung up, he put me down and went behind the bar and came back with a plastic bag full of ice. “Put this on your face. Your eye’s already starting to swell.”

“Okay,” I said.

“Xavier, Beckett, and Lucas are on their way,” he said. “They’ll be here in less than five minutes.” He scooted a chair next to mine. “How are you doing? It looks like you got hit pretty hard.”

I didn’t want to think about what could have happened if my mother got her hands on the Blood of Life. Now that I knew what it could do, at least according to Vanessa, who had demonstrated once more that I couldn’t trust anything she said.

Who had sent me the ruby, though? And why?

“I’m okay,” I said. Hecate returned, her muzzle black with blood. The ferocious look on my cat’s face vanished and was replaced by my cuddly kitten.

I scratched her under the chin and then handed her one of the kitty treats I kept in my pocket. “Good kitty, Hecate.”

The pack of hellcats had vanished as quickly as they’d come.

I couldn’t just leave Boris’s body on the floor I had to wait until the pack arrived to go after my mother. And for my head to stop spinning.

It was just after dark when I heard the door open, and the Thirsty Thieves walked in. They’d showed up for their gig. Even though I’d banned Travis. No one was surprised.

“Not again,” Travis bellowed when he saw Boris’s body. He’d died mid-shift. I couldn’t look at Boris’s corpse.

It didn’t make me feel any better that I’d had to kill the werewolf or he would have killed me.

“You’re gonna need a new drummer,” I said. I was trying not to throw up, but the guys in the band would pounce if they sensed any weakness.

“You killed our drummer again?” Travis asked.

“He attacked me,” I replied. “He didn’t leave me any other option.”

“I had nothing to do with that,” Travis said.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “He was working with my mother. Killing werewolves to appear human. I don’t suppose you know anything about that?”

“Why would we want to be human?” Armando said. He swept his hand down his body. “And give up all this?”

Lucas, Beckett and Xavier entered the bar, and when they saw the Thirsty Thieves, they immediately shifted to werewolf. Werewolves really disliked vampires, or at least they disliked these vampires.

“There’s no time for that,” Vaughn said. “We need your help.”

It took a minute for his voice to get through to them.

I stood there shaking.

Vaughn draped his coat over me. “I’ll call your grandmother.”

…

A few hours later, I was home and resting in my room with an ice pack and a tall glass of tonic.

“Tansy, how are you feeling?” Edna asked.

“It looks worse than it is,” I said.

“Your face looks terrible,” Skyler said. “Like nightmarishly bad.” She’d shown up, even though she was still mad at me. I was still kind of mad at her, too. But we’d both get over it because that’s what friends did.

“Thanks a lot,” I said.

“Just being honest,” she said with a small smile. “Your eye is almost swollen shut.”

Vanessa had given me a black eye. I sat on the couch, Hecate curled up beside me, and I drank another tonic, this one spicy and laced with honey and herbs.

“To help you heal,” Evelyn said.

Granny and her friends coddled me with tonics and snacks, but I wasn’t home long before I got a call from Connor.

“My uncle wants to talk to you,” he said.

“When?”

“Now,” he replied. “Vaughn knows where.”

“I have to go see Connor’s uncle,” I told my grandmother. Edna left the room while we were arguing.

“You’re not going alone,” Granny said. “And that’s final.”

“I’m going with her,” Vaughn said. I’d been so busy bickering with my grandmother that I hadn’t heard him come in.

“Maybe I should come, too,” Granny said.

“I’ll be fine,” I told her. Whatever was waiting for me, I didn’t want Granny to get hurt.

Vaughn drove. We didn’t talk, but his hand held mine in a comforting grip. I wondered if we were walking into an ambush.

Instead, it felt like we were at an interview of some kind. Only if you didn’t have the right answers, it wasn’t the job you’d lose, it was your life.

The GPS told us that we’d arrived, but I still couldn’t see the house. Then the road curved around and suddenly, there it was. The driveway was near a barn, where more cars lined up in neat rows.

I sucked in a breath. “There are so many people here.” Apparently, there were more werewolves within traveling distance than I’d thought.

I surveyed the green lawn, the horse pastures, and the woods behind the house. “There’s plenty of space for the werewolves to roam.”

A group of people were on the front lawn, sitting at picnic tables and deck chairs.

An older man sat on a carved teak chair, surrounded by his loyal pack members. “I’m Tansy Mariotti. Queen of the California vampires.”

There was a low grumble of complaint from somewhere. I looked over at the group of Connor’s friends, but didn’t see Connor. Lucas gave me shifty eyes and Vaughn shoved him. It must have been Lucas complaining.

They snarled at each other, but then Lucas bent his head. An older woman said something to them both and they shut up.

The man stood and extended his hand. “Cormac Mahoney. Please take a seat.”

“What should I call you?” I asked. “Boss or alpha or king or what?”

“We don’t use titles. Call me Cormac.”

Title or not, there was no doubt this man was in charge. His dark eyes examined me from head to toe, assessing me, probably searching for weaknesses. He had a closely trimmed beard and looked to be about thirty or so.

“You don’t look like a vampire queen,” he said. He kept staring, and I realized his eyes were brown, like his nephew’s, but while Connor’s were an eerie amber, Cormac’s were almost black.

I stared back at him. He was extremely tall, at least six foot six, with pale skin and a streak of white in his black hair. “Sorry I forgot my tiara.”

Cormac got right to it. “A Mariotti witch is to blame for the deaths of my people.”

I squared my chin. “Vanessa Mariotti is not a Mariotti witch.” My mother was technically a Mariotti, but from now on, I’d remember what she really was—a deadly vampire who would do anything to get what she wanted. No matter who it would hurt.

“But she is a Mariotti,” he said. “Reason enough to put you and your family to death.”

Someone, probably Lucas, snarled in agreement, but I didn’t look away from Cormac. Vaughn started to move in front of me, to protect me, but I put my hand on his arm, and he fell back to my side.

“I found out who was responsible and why,” I said.

“And the plants?” he asked.

“The ones we found were destroyed,” I said. I didn’t want to meet his cold dark eyes, for fear of what I’d see there, but I did anyway.

I shifted on my feet when the silence extended. Cormac appeared lost in thought, but the other werewolves started to crowd around Vaughn and me. Lucas got too close to me, and Vaughn snarled out a warning.

“What about the hellcats?” Cormac asked.

“They’ve been taken to the Paranormal Activities Committee headquarters,” I said. His dark eyes studied me, like he was searching for any untruth, and I added, “Except for one.”

Cormac frowned. “Where is the missing hellcat?”

“She’s not missing,” I said. “Hecate’s mine.”

The werewolves crowded closer. I searched for Beckett and Xavier, looking for any allies, but I didn’t see them. A skinny teen reached out a hand to touch my hair, and Vaughn shoved him hard enough that he fell into a group of his friends. The teen swore, and I thought a fight would break out, but Cormac growled. The other werewolves stopped but didn’t stop pressing close.

“How is Connor?” I asked. Homecoming seemed like ages ago.

Cormac’s solemn look lightened. It was almost a smile. “He is nearly recovered.”

He waved his hand. “Give our guests some room.” The other werewolves stepped back, finally giving Vaughn and me enough space to breathe.

A wise queen owned up to her mistakes, and it was time that I admitted mine. “I was wrong,” I said. “I underestimated my mother, but I did my best to correct my mistake.”

“Your mistake cost good werewolves their lives,” Cormac said.

Vaughn’s low growl could be heard. Cormac’s gaze went to Vaughn’s, and they exchanged a long glance. “But you saved my nephew’s life, and for that, I am grateful.”

“How did you know?” I hadn’t told anyone I’d used a healing spell to save Connor after he was attacked. “I mean, Xavier is the one who saved his life.”

The pack leader didn’t answer my question. “But your spell is what kept him alive until Xavier arrived,” Cormac replied. “And because of that, you have our pack’s loyalty. You may go.”

Vaughn’s sigh of relief was barely audible. We started to leave, but then Cormac added, “If you want my advice, Queen Tansy, you will take care of Vanessa Mariotti once and for all.”

It was good advice, and I planned on taking it.

Once we were back in the car, I finally relaxed my tense shoulders. “Well, that went well.”

Vaughn laughed, but there was no mirth in it. “If Vanessa’s smart, she’s already left town,” he said. “Because Cormac Mahoney won’t be so forgiving next time.”