Chapter Twenty One
Peter carefully walked toward the bed as the ice blue eyes looked at him and the tail moved back and forth. Standing at the foot of the bed, Peter slowly moved his hand forward when his fingers felt the soft fur and the ice blue eyes blinked.
"You know, when I thought about what my familiar would look like, I never would have guessed it would be you," he said as he sat on the foot of the bed and the white Bengal tiger moved closer, butting him in the back. "Oh, don't get me wrong. I think you are bloody cool, but are you sure you got the right guy? Tigers are these tough, powerful creatures and that is definitely not me! I'm more the scared out of their fucking mind bunny rabbit sort of guy. You didn't eat the bunny, did you? I wouldn't blame you if you did. I royally fucked up. I have no fucking clue what's going on and I really don't think…."
The tiger butted him in the back again as he looked at the tiger and the tiger gently pawed at his left leg. Peter looked deeply into the ice blue eyes then gently smiled, slid onto his side and cupped his head in his hand. The tiger moved closer as it went face to face with him and Peter felt the warm breath on his face. Before he could move, the tiger started licking his face as he gasped and laughed.
"Ok, fine, I get it. You're real and you're my familiar. The question now is what am I supposed to do?" Peter asked as he rolled onto his back, wiped his face with his hands and looked at the ceiling. Placing his hands behind his head, he stared at the stucco, making patterns with his finger. He looked over at the tiger when he noticed the blue, leather collar around the tiger's neck and a gold tag gently moved back and forth. Taking the gold tag in his fingers, Peter blinked his eyes a few times and smiled. "Ah, your name's Boe, is it?"
Boe grumbled as it nodded its head and Peter sat up, folding one leg over the other. Boe gently placed its head on Peter's lap as he smiled and ran his fingers through the soft fur.
"Right, so that we're straight. You sleep on the floor until I can get a proper bed for you. Got me?" Peter asked with a grin and Boe licked his fingers. He watched as Boe got off the bed then spun around three times near the night table and went to lie on the floor. Sighing, Peter pulled the duvet off the bed when he motioned with his hand for Boe to stand up and the tiger stood up. Lying the duvet on the floor then fluffing it up a bit, Peter pointed with his hands and Boe snuggled down on the duvet. Moving the bedding back, Peter crawled onto the bed then moved the bedding up and looked down at the tiger. Patting Boe on the head, Peter turned the light off and pulled the bedding over his head. Boe looked up at him then walked to the door, closed the door then walked back to the duvet, turned around three times, flopped down on the bedding and closed its eyes.
London, England 1811
The night air was chilly while the full moon shone brightly in the sky and the stars twinkled like a thousand diamonds against the blackness. The moonlight casted long shadows long the stone walls of the small cottage and the lone light shone from behind the window. Crudely cut, wooden planks dangled down from the roof that covered the porch and a wooden rocking chair sat on the porch. The boot heels crunched on the stone path as the shadowy figure walked along and a sword dangled from the figure's hip. The figure walked toward the small cottage as the red eyes shimmered in the moonlight and the fingers flexed over the handle of the sword. It had taken days to find the stone cottage as the figure looked at the doorway and lightly laughed as the markings on the crudely cut, wooden planks flared in the darkness.
"Witch!" Jean-Phillipe shouted as he stood at the bottom of the wooden steps and balled his hand into a fist. The stone cottage belonged to Constance's grandmother and he could just see the curtain moving back as he rolled his eyes and a low growl bubbled in his throat. "Do not play games, Cheri! I will burn your cottage down around your ears if you do not come out!"
"I am not afraid of you, Night Walker!" a voice called from the house and Jean-Phillipe smiled. He always thought the moniker the witches gave him and his family to be slightly amusing and he rubbed his face with his hands then rubbed his hands together.
"You must know that I have killed the family of the man your granddaughter is betrothed to. I have no qualms in killing her as well!" he shouted when the door opened and a bolt of blue light sailed out the door, making him dive toward the ground and rolling out of the way. Getting up, he dusted himself off as he laughed and shook his head side to side. "You missed."
"But I won't!" a voice cried out as Jean-Phillipe turned around and saw someone walking out of the shadows. The moonlight shimmered on the white gown as Constance walked closer and Jean-Phillipe smiled, folding his arms over his chest. She was holding onto a wooden staff with an iron lantern dangling from the end of the wooden staff and she stopped, standing a few feet away from him.
"I have no real argument with you, Cheri. So why don't you tell me where he is and I will be on my way," Jean-Phillipe said while walking toward her then stopped when she held up a silver cross and he sighed, rolling his eyes. "Do you really think that will stop me?"
"Yes!" she said with conviction in her voice and Jean-Phillipe walked closer, pulled the silver cross out of her hand while smoke rose from his hand and tossed the silver cross into the shadows.
"Now, unless you have a stake under that gown, I suggest that you tell me where he is," Jean-Phillipe purred after moving his face toward her ear and grabbed hold of the wooden staff. The runes carved into the wooden staff glimmered as he looked at the wooden staff then arched his eyebrows up and turned, tossing the wooden staff at the small cottage. The wooden staff had sailed through the window as the small cabin exploded and a scream echoed from within the fireball that rose toward the sky. Before she could move, Jean-Phillipe smacked her hard enough to knock her to the ground and she lay on her back, the world blurring in red and orange waves. She felt him lift her up as the blackness consumed her and his laughter echoed in her ears.
Las Vegas, Nevada 2011
The sound of screaming woke Peter as he sat up and turned the light on. The numbers on the alarm clock read three thirty-two as he moved the bedding back and nearly tripped over Boe. Boe snorted as it looked at him and Peter placed the black, silk robe on then headed for the door. Boe followed him down the hallway when he saw the lights on in the bedroom where Jane, Amy and Charlie were sleeping and they came out into the hallway, looking at Peter then at Boe.
"Uh…" Charlie said as Peter shook his head and walked into the bedroom where Cassandra was sleeping. Turning the lights on, Peter walked toward the bed and saw that Cassandra was curled into a ball under the bedding. Peter carefully sat on the edge of the bed when she rolled onto her back and looked up at him.
"Hello," he said when he moved toward the headboard and placed his legs on the bed. He nearly fell off the bed when she half jumped on top of him and he wrapped his arms around her. Her warm tears rolled down his chest as he kissed the top of her head and looked at the doorway. Jane led Amy and Charlie away as Boe closed the door, turned around three times and flopped onto the floor in front of the door. Cross, who was sitting on the dresser, glanced over at Boe then looked at Peter and Peter slightly shrugged his shoulders. Cassandra sobbed quietly while Peter rocked her and gently rubbed her back. He looked over at the night table when he removed some tissues from the box and lifted her chin, wiping her nose with the tissues. "Yuck, you're all drippy."
Her mind was still replaying the nightmare when Cassandra slowly became aware of him and gently smiled, nodding her head. Peter lowered her chin as she placed her head on his chest and stroked the slightly damp chest hair.
"So, what's the matter? Or do you normally scream like this at three in the morning?" he asked as she hiccupped a sigh and stroked the underside of his nipple.
"I dreamt about her," she whispered and he lifted her chin, giving her a confused look.
"You dreamt about who?"
"I'm talking about Constance Lake."
"And what was she doing in the dream?"
"She was confronting De'Avante. I think they were at her grandmother's cabin. I don't know why, but that's where they were."
"Ok, then what happened?"
"He wanted to know where he was, I think he meant Giacomo, but she wasn't going to tell him. That's when De'Avante grabbed this witch's staff she was holding and tossed the staff through the window of the cabin,. The place went up in a ball of fire and….," Cassandra said then started crying again and he hushed her, rocking her back and forth. It took a few minutes for her to calm down while he wiped her eyes and nose and she gently flexed her fingers on his chest.
"What happened next?" he finally asked and she sighed, kissing his chest.
"He knocked her out," she whispered and he nodded his head.
"Sounds like we're getting close to the end of our little mystery," he said and she rubbed the tip of his nipple with her fingers.
"Only the part of what happened to her. We still don't know what happened to Giacomo or why I have the portrait and the sword. We don't even know why De'Avante is after me," she sighed and he slightly smiled, kissing the top of her head. Snuggling closer, Cassandra listened to his heartbeat when she noticed Boe lying on the floor near the door and looked up at Peter. "Um, where did the tiger come from?"