Hey! Thank you all for reading and reviewing! It's always appreciated even if I don't always have the time to respond. Big thanks go to Inverted Meridian for going over my chappy for me.
There's one more chapter left and the epilogue. I'm a bit busy in the next few days, but I'll update by the end of the week. Hang in there! Love you all
PS - I'm sorry for the delay - this was supposed to go up yesterday, but Fanfiction didn't want to let anyone upload any updates.
It felt like time stood still when Victor's body turned to ash and blood in front of us. The panther's paws hit the ground as all was left of the vampire we all hated was a set of clothes.
Jason was panting heavily over Victor's remains, his body still tense. He suddenly let out a strangled howl before he took a few steps back, away from the place he made his first kill. Jason turned around and started running towards the trees nearby, losing himself in the dark.
Eric and Pam both made a move to go after him, but I stopped them. "Let him get himself together. He's conflicted. He's not sure if to feel happy about killing Victor and revenging Michelle or sick for killing someone."
They both looked back at me and nodded. "Come on, I need to discuss something with you all before he comes back," I said, trying hard to sift through everything before laying it all out for my audience.
Eric and Pam followed me into the house, while Russell shut the door behind. I took the time to scan the area, making sure there was no one else tailing Victor as he had made his way over. I was still a little shocked by Jason grabbing Victor in that manner from Eric's hand. The way it all ended, however, wasn't that surprising. I had seen it all before, after all.
My brother had finally gotten revenge over the killer of his Michelle and I felt happy for him, although I was sad he had to take a life for it. The knowledge that someone lost his or her life because of your actions always weighted down on a person with any type of conscience.
"So, what did you find out from Victor?" Russell asked.
"That asshole served a purpose after all. I figured a lot of things from the memories flashing through his mind before he died and it's a lot to take in.
"Michelle's death is on him, which is something I suspected for a while. What I couldn't figure out was why he'd do it. Well, now I know. She had served her purpose; or so he felt. Michelle had been glamoured from the start. That's how she got into Jason's life – she was ordered to," I took a deep breath I didn't really need.
"She was supposed to report back on what Jason and I were doing and to make sure that Eric and I never got back together by playing the helpful friend for me. Victor wanted me to be all alone so I could be up for the taking whenever he saw fit.
"When I disappeared he assumed I had gone to Eric and while he was right about that part he put blame on Michelle for it. He saw it as her failing at her job and that's why she died. She has also apparently started asking questions – his glamour wasn't really doing its job. I think she had really fallen in love with Jason. The way Victor saw it, even if I hadn't gone to Eric, the fact that a vampire had killed off Jason's fiancé would be enough to turn me against vampires. "
Eric mulled this over, anger in his features. "I suppose his logic also dictated that Jason would be mad enough on vampires as a whole that he'd just interdict you from seeing me."
I snorted. "As if I'd ever listen to that."
"Back when Victor was turned that's how the world worked. Male members of the family had a say in who the women dated. It doesn't need to be real in your case for him to believe this to be a perfectly logical argument."
Russell nodded, mumbling about vampires who shouldn't have been turned in the first place.
"What else did you read?" Eric asked.
"Well, this is the part that gets trickier. We were right. He isn't working alone. All the fucking puzzle pieces finally fit in. It's Niall."
"What about Niall," Russell prompted.
"He's been working with Victor. Niall promised Victor his and his army's help to take out Felipe so he could become king over three states. They are moving forward tomorrow night. In fact, Victor was just coming from my house where he'd met Niall to iron out the last details."
"It still does not make sense," Eric said, his tone pensive. "If Niall offered to help Victor to become king, what does he get out from the entire deal? It is not in the nature of faeries to do anything from the goodness of their hearts."
"Me. Or at least that's what their deal was. Victor was supposed to kill you after taking over. Niall believes that would be the ultimate step that would send me over to the fae world."
Eric's fangs extended and he was growling low in his throat. I put my hand over his. I wasn't going anywhere.
"One thing that doesn't fit in the story is why Victor would hand me over. He's gone to all this trouble to torment me and Eric over the past months, I just can't believe he'd be ok with the deal. I believe there is something I didn't see, some part of Victor's plans."
"Maybe he was double crossing Niall," Pam suggested. "Maybe he was planning
to kill him and the rest of the fae with his brand new army."
Russell shook his head. "I don't think he was that delusional. He'd never have been able to kill Niall. There must be something else that the Prince offered him to make sure he goes forth with the plan."
"I agree," Eric said. "If Victor made a deal with Niall, then Niall would make sure he went through with it. He's no fool."
"But how would he believe I'd go to Fairy with him even if you got killed? I already told him "no" on a number of occasions."
"If Victor was supposed to kill me, then your connection to vampires would get cut abruptly and your hate for our kind would grow. I wouldn't put it above Niall for him to tell you that your pain of our severed bond would lessen if you go to Fairy."
"Yes, I wouldn't either. He has done worse things, after all. Starting with lying to me and putting his mojo on Jason and I to smell like the fae."
"The point is moot anyway," Pam jumped in. "You're no longer human."
"Yes, but he doesn't know that yet. And we'll use it to our advantage when we meet up with him tomorrow," I said, a smile spreading over my lips. It was time for Niall to get a reality check.
"You want us to stop him from killing Felipe?" Russell asked. His tone didn't reveal whether he believed it to be a good idea or not.
"I don't really care what happens to him. My beef is with Niall. Without Felipe, the throne of three states will be up for grabs and unless you want them all, none of us will step up. If Felipe doesn't get killed, he might carry on believing we're actually dead. I doubt Victor reported yesterday's activities."
"I don't think he did either. He was with me most of the night before he left for the morning," Pam said and I hated to think about what must have happened to her during her time with that bastard.
"Are they supposed to meet before killing Felipe?" Eric asked me.
"No, they're set to meet afterwards in the desert. Niall and his army will just pop in the palace, kill them and leave the same way. They don't expect much resistance, but Victor was supposed to be nearby to claim the throne as Felipe's second in command."
Eric and Russell exchanged a look. "It's settled then. Felipe dies tomorrow and we'll meet with Niall afterwards."
The door opened and Jason came in the room, both hands covering his privates. He said nothing as he moved to his bedroom, seeking clothes. Despite the embarrassed look on his face, none of us had it in us to crack a joke at his expense.
In a few minutes he was back with us, wearing a pair of slacks and a ratty T-shirt. "What did I miss?"
We all exchanged a look, but thankfully, he interpreted it as worry over his current state rather than over the entire Michelle situation. Before anyone else had the chance to say anything I stepped forward and hugged him.
"We're going to Vegas tomorrow," I said after I released him.
"Feeling lucky?" he asked, a smirk on his face.
"No. Niall will kill Felipe de Castro, the current vampire king of Nevada, Arkansas and Louisiana."
"Are we helping him? Thought we didn't like the guy."
"We don't and we won't," I said before explaining the situation to him.
It wasn't long before the inevitable question came. "Why did that vampire kill off my Michelle, Sook?"
I felt like my heart was breaking. "He wanted to piss you off enough that you'd ban me from seeing Eric, maybe even get the both of us to hate vampires."
That much was true, although the story wasn't anywhere near complete. I decided, however, that he didn't need to know. He'd just believe that simply because Michelle had been glamoured to walk into his life, her feelings for him were complete bogus. I knew for sure that wasn't the case, so why torment him?
Jase sighed but said nothing. He was thinking that he could never make me do anything against my wish and if Victor had thought that would work he surely didn't know enough about me. "Don't feel guilty, sis. It wasn't your fault," he said in the end, surprising me.
I hugged him again. He might have been an idiot most of the time, but my brother knew me. I didn't even have time to realize that in truth I was feeling guilty over Michelle's death.
"I'm turning in. Wake me up when you go into the basement, ok?" he said, kissed my temple and went into his bedroom.
I let out a puff of air and went back to the table where everyone else was sitting.
"Let's go over our plan for tomorrow, then."
Russell said he was setting up his private plane to come over to Shreveport and it would be a three hour flight from here.
"That should have us there in time to meet with Niall." They were planning for everything to take place at 10 PM. They wanted as many witnesses as possible to the king's death and there was no better time than scheduled court time.
"Have you decided, Russell?" Eric asked.
The quirky king raised an eyebrow. "Decided about what, Viking?"
"Taking over the three kingdoms."
"I have nothing to do with Nevada and Arkansas. Nevada is certainly a fucking ruin if that Spaniard was ruling it for so long. He has a bad reputation when it comes to business. Let's just say he could fuck it up even if someone else was doing all the work. As for Arkansas, it's basically a ghost state," Russell said and we all smiled, knowing just how right he was.
"As for Louisiana," he paused. "Maybe. I don't know. I'll see how I feel about it tomorrow. I'm inclined to take it over just because it's so close to my own state. You'd also be able to live here if you want to, without anyone bothering you."
"Thank you," I said, meaning it. "But think about your own interests. We might be leaving the states altogether. For a while at least."
I really wanted to visit Eric's homeland. I wasn't lying when we were faking that scene in Eric's house weeks ago. I wanted to see every last piece of land that was a part of his past. I wanted to see the world. I'd barely even left Louisiana my entire life and I didn't want to keep spending eternity in the same place.
"What do you want to do about Niall, Lover?" Eric asked.
"I don't know yet. He won't come after us if we let him live. He won't have the guts to do it, not after he finds out I'm Seraphim now. Not if Russell reveals himself too. I don't know if I want to kill him either. I'd rather he scratch his eyes out for losing the nuke he wanted so badly – me. But…" I trailed off, thinking about the thing that had been bothering me – how he planned to make sure I wasn't going to get locked off in Victor's prison somewhere.
"But?" Pam asked, her fingers drumming lightly over the table.
"But it depends on the glue that keeps together all these puzzle pieces I took from Victor's mind."
