Buch lesen: «Witch's Fury»

Chapter 1

Over the past three weeks, Gilly François and her sisters, Vivienne and Evette, had been living a nightmare that the triplets couldn’t seem to wake from. The sisters, known as the Triad—a special set of witches—were at a loss over all of the strange and unusual events that had been occurring lately. Each sister was responsible for otherworldly creatures known as the Originals, the first of their breed. Gilly took care of the Chenilles, the original zombies, Viv the Loup-Garous, the original werewolves, and Evee the Nosferatu, the original vampires. Lately, however, no one seemed capable of taking care of anything or anyone.

Chenilles had been slaughtered, just like Loup-Garous and Nosferatu. Even worse, many of the members of their Originals factions had simply disappeared, leaving the safe haven created by the Triad years ago.

Although the sisters had cast additional protection and boundary spells over their assigned territories, more times than not, the spells appeared ineffective. The killings continued.

Feeling at a loss and hopeless, the Triad were nearing their wits’ end when four men showed up on their doorstep: Nikoli, Lucien, Ronan and Gavril Hyland. They’d said they were cousins, known as Benders, and had been sent to New Orleans to help the Triad. Whatever they were, there was no denying they were all tall, muscular and drop-dead gorgeous.

Along with their arrival, the cousins brought unsettling news. They revealed that the local deaths of the Triad’s Originals were not due to infighting among the factions as the Triad had first suspected. According to the cousins, the deaths were coming by way of creatures known as Cartesians—massive, monstrous creatures with long, razor-sharp talons and teeth. Their bodies were protected by inch-thick scales that hid behind a heavy matting of fur. Their job as Benders, a special generational group of men ordained by the Church centuries ago, was to destroy the Cartesians.

Gilly and her sisters had heard of the Cartesians before but only in folkloric tales. According to legend, Cartesians were an invisible lot, only revealing themselves occasionally. They fed on other-worldly creatures, anything whose life force exceeded that of an average human, which, of course, included the Triad.

Although it had taken some time for the Hylands to convince Gilly and her sisters that the men weren’t a few cards short of a deck, the Triad was eventually convinced. So much so that they’d decided to split up into three groups with the Benders to cover more territory in search of their missing Originals. Viv worked with Nikoli, Gilly with Gavril and Evee with both Lucien and Ronan.

Sadly, in the midst of a surprise attack on Evee, Ronan, whom Evee knew had a crush on her, had rushed over to save her and had been gored in the head by a Cartesian’s massive talons. The Cartesian had then disappeared with Ronan into another dimension. Evee and Lucien had witnessed it all; Nikoli had contacted the family back home and notified them of Ronan’s death.

Gilly had been sure that after that horrid event, the Benders would be off to their homeland to help console their family and help with Ronan’s memorial service. Instead, they’d chosen to stay in New Orleans. It was evident to Gilly that the Benders met their commitments and finished their missions, no matter what.

The Triad had even set up an elaborate feeding system in Algiers, across the river from New Orleans, using cattle as their feeding stock, so the Originals were always satiated: the Nosferatu fed on the blood, the Loup-Garous on the meat and the Chenilles on the bone marrow. But despite the appearance of the Benders and their offer to help, things had started to take a turn for the worse, and quickly. Word from the Triad’s Elders was that some of the missing Originals had already moved out of New Orleans proper and murdered two people.

In the midst of all the chaos, the Triad met with their Elders—Arabella, Taka and Vanessa—to ask for their advice, help and understanding.

Unfortunately, not only were the Triad’s powers beginning to wane, but the Elders’ powers were, as well. Everything from binding to comehither spells worked, didn’t work, or barely worked. The last two symptoms became more dominant each day. The only advice the Elders had to offer was to possibly speak to the three sorcerers who lived in New Orleans, in hopes they might be able to break through this spell malaise.

While meeting with the Elders, it was discovered that Viv and Evee had already been intimate with their Benders—more than once. The revelation came by way of the Triad’s familiars, all three of which snitched on their mistress for what they thought to be the greater good. Appalled, the Elders demanded that they no longer have any intimate contact with the Benders. Triad members were forbidden to marry or live intimately with humans. If so, they’d lose their powers completely, and the Originals they were there to protect would run amuck, killing humans at will.

Evee and Viv tried to deny that they had been romantically involved with the Benders. But to the Elders, what else explained why things had taken such a severe turn for the worse? It had to be because Gilly’s two sisters had sex with their search partners, and the reason their powers were waning Although Gilly had spoken to her sisters about that hypothesis and they had agreed that it might be a possibility, neither Evee nor Viv seemed to regret their actions.

So far, Gilly was the only member of her Triad who hadn’t had sex with a Bender, and it wasn’t for lack of desire. Every time Gilly saw Gavril, the only thing that crossed her mind, no matter what else might be going on, was kissing his full bottom lip. She wanted to stare into his violet eyes and run her fingers through his collar-length, ginger-colored hair. She could have wrapped up her emotions in one huge, lust-filled package, but it didn’t explain why her heart ached when he wasn’t near. As much as she longed for him, she supposed guilt played a part in allowing it to go any further. After the Elders had found out that Viv and Evee had been intimate with their Benders, they’d confessed their senses of guilt to Gilly. They worried about the role their intimacy played in making things worse. But despite worry and guilt, however, they both declared that the drive, need and love for their men kept them going back for more.

“Fifty bucks for your thoughts,” Gavril said, as they walked to St. Louis I cemetery to check on the remaining Chenilles.

She gave him a sideways grin. “Isn’t it, ‘a penny for your thoughts’?” The Benders had been with the Triad for a little over two weeks now, and the longer they stayed, the more Gavril tugged on her heart strings. His looks were one thing, but she so admired his drive and determination, his caring, thoughtful manner, and his do or die attitude when it came to accomplishing any task.

Gilly and Gavril had been searching incessantly for her missing Chenilles. By last count, twenty-five had gone missing. If her brood wasn’t found before feeding time, chances were extremely high that they would start attacking humans for food. The police were getting involved, and that scared Gilly to death.

The last thing Gilly would admit to anyone, however—especially her sisters—was how badly she wanted Gavril. So badly, in fact, that it wasn’t unusual for her to have wet dreams about him. She felt a bit guilty about that. Viv’s entire troupe of Loup-Garous had vanished, as had Evee’s lot of Nosferatu. She should be thinking of them, of helping them, while keeping track of her own Originals.

She and her sisters had spent their lives working hard to fit into the social day to day of New Orleans so as not to draw suspicion that they were witches. They were also ultra-careful in tending to their Originals, keeping them out of the way, in safe zones, so humans wouldn’t find them. They lived in the Garden District and made sure to play nice with the neighbors at all times.

“So I’m a big spender. Besides, you haven’t said three words to me since we left Evee’s café to come to the cemetery. You looked so lost in thought, at times, I was sure you’d run headlong into a lamppost.” Gavril stopped walking and took hold of her arm gently, stopping her movement and turning her toward him. “I know things are crazy right now, but aside from that, are you okay?”

Gilly sighed. “Yes and no. I wish I could be more help to my sisters, but I know I have my own Originals to look after.”

When she stopped speaking, Gavril studied her face. His eyes pierced hers, looking for more answers than what she’d just given him.

Gilly bit the corner of her mouth, unable to resist the questions in his eyes. “And I’m scared. So much has gotten out of control that I don’t know if we’ll ever know normalcy again.”

Gavril ran his hand up and down her arm with a soothing touch. “All we can do is the best we can do. You can’t explain why some of you and your sisters’ spells aren’t working, or if you know you haven’t told me about it, and I have no idea why the scabior canopies are failing. I mean, this has never been done before, not to my knowledge, but it should react similar to our scabiors, which never just go out.”

The Benders had assured the sisters that the Cartesians were not fictional creatures but real, vicious monstrosities that were determined to be the sole power in the netherworld, a three-dimensional place that held vampires, elves, djinn and other supernatural creatures. They had also dispelled the myth that Cartesians moved under the cloak of invisibility. It only appeared that way because Cartesians were able to slip in and out of physical dimensions in the blink of an eye.

The Hylands were able to track Cartesians by their scent, which was a noxious odor of sulfur and clove. They’d been taught, as were their fathers and grandfathers before them, how to battle the giant hellions in order to protect those who lived in the underworld. They did so by using a special weapon called a scabior—a six-inch rod of steel with a bloodstone attached to one end—which was handed down from generation to generation.

Not long after the Benders had arrived, in order for them to find the missing Originals and keep the ones they had safe, they’d created a scabior canopy, an electrical shelter that hovered over each safe zone. No Cartesian would be able to drop in through that crisscrossed electrical current.

“But they did go out. One of them, anyway—Evee’s, the one Lucien set up in the catacombs for the Nosferatu. Remember? He told us he’d had to recharge the current. Then, before we knew it, it was completely out, and all of the Nosferatu that were inside disappeared.”

“I know.”

“How could that happen?”

Gavril frowned and shrugged. “It’s as much a mystery to me as it is to you. What’s stranger still is that the canopy was still intact over the north compound, where Viv kept her Loup-Garous, yet all of them disappeared.”

“Yeah,” Gilly said. “Explain that one.”

“I wish I could, but I have no answers. The canopies were something that had never been done before, just a brainstorming idea that seemed to make sense, so we really don’t know their power or capabilities. As for the Loup-Garous going missing with the shield over the compound still operational, it’s beyond me. The only thing I can figure is that they purposely chose to leave.”

Gilly shook her head. “That doesn’t make any sense. Their food is there. Safety is there.”

“That may be, but if they’ve never known anything else but the safe zones, they have no way of knowing what they face once they escape it.”

Gilly lowered her head reluctantly. She didn’t want to break eye contact with Gavril. His gaze consumed her, no matter the topic of conversation. The rest of him was nothing shy of downright hulk, bulk and sexuality. He exuded all three.

Although Gilly had never asked his age, Gavril appeared to be in his mid-thirties. He stood at least six foot four and had a body and face built for GQ—wide shoulders, biceps that looked like he could lift an elephant one-handed and, even from the black T-shirt he wore, the ripples in his abs were evident. His violet eyes were accented by a short, red beard, an aquiline nose and a cleft chin. His hair, the same color as his beard, sat just below shoulder length. His lips were always something Gilly worked hard to avoid looking at. Average upper, thick bottom, a mouth made for kissing. For deep, passionate kisses, not only on her own lips but all over her body.

When she looked back up at him, his eyes were still on her face. “Right now, our best move is to make sure your Chenilles are okay in their safe zone and lead them to their feeding. Once that’s done, you bring them back here, and we keep hunting for the ones that’re missing.”

Gilly watched his lips as he spoke, feeling warmth spread through her body. She had to concentrate hard on his words as they were damn near lost to her need for him. So much of this felt odd, yet wonderful to her. It had been at least a year and a half since she’d dated. Since a committed human relationship was forbidden, she’d kept her dates limited, never with the same man twice.

With a feeling of reluctance, Gilly felt Gavril release her arm. “We’re almost at the cemetery. I’ll wait across the street near the voodoo shop, where it’s darkest. Once you have them on their way to the docks, I’ll follow but at a distance.”

Gilly nodded. “No heroics, okay? Remember, the Chenilles are going to be ravenous by this time. If they see you before I can get them on the ferry and across to the compound, we’ll be the ones contacting your family about your death.” Gilly regretted her words the moment they came out of her mouth. A cloud of sorrow and depression crossed Gavril’s face, and she was sure he was thinking of Ronan. What an insensitive ass she was.

“I mean—”

“I know what you mean,” Gavril said, the light returning to his eyes. “No worries. I’ll be careful.”

Knowing that the François family ferry was waiting at the dock for her Chenilles, Gilly signaled Gavril to go into the shadows. Then she went into the cemetery to round up her brood.

As the Chenilles exited the cemetery—following Gilly’s lead Chenille, Patrick—Gilly stood by the cemetery gates and took count as they went by. Ten more short than the last count, and as best she could tell, the scabior dome was still intact and operational. Being led by Patrick, the Chenilles followed in pairs. Their tall, thin figures bent over at the waist slightly, their beautiful faces intent on the Chenille before it. It was feeding time, and every Chenille knew it, which was what kept them from breaking formation and made it easy to walk them through the shadows and alleys to the dock.

Not having time to stop and give Gavril the news, she hurried over to Patrick’s side and led her Originals to the docks, winding through side alleys and behind buildings to remain undetected.

Once they were loaded onto the ferry, Gilly got on. As the boat began to move, Gavril came out of the shadows and watched her, and she watched him. With the distance between them growing, Gilly could have sworn she saw Gavril give her the smallest wave goodbye and then lay his hand over his heart. If she was right and hadn’t mistaken the gesture for some odd shadow, the thought of him making that heart tap made her heart feel full to the point of bursting. It took a lot of will power for her not to return the gesture. But what if she’d been mistaken in what she thought she saw? What would he think? That she was having a heart attack and attempt to get to her? Or would he see it for what it was and think she was making a move on him?

Deciding to play it safe, Gilly faced forward, glancing occasionally at the water lapping on either side of the ferry, and forced her mind to focus on business.

With Viv’s Loup-Garous and Evee’s Nosferatu both missing, her clan would have to use their screw-like incisors to drill down hide and meat to get to the bone. Marrow fed them, and they were used to having fresh bone to suck from when brought in for a feeding. Usually the Nosferatu had drained the cattle of blood, and the Loup-Garous had eaten the meat from the same. This left only the bone for the Chenilles to deal with. Now that wouldn’t be the case, however. She didn’t have any idea how they’d react to this change.

Viv was waiting for her on the Algiers side of the river, as was Evee.

“The cattle are in the feeding area like always,” Viv said loudly so her voice carried over the ferry motor. “Lead them down the feeding shoot like usual. We’ll be waiting for you here, behind the trees, over there, while they feed.”

Nodding her understanding, Gilly moored the ferry to the dock and saw her sisters in her peripheral vision hurry off behind the grove of trees nearby.

Gilly unlatched the back gate of the ferry, led her troupe down a winding path, and once they came to the front of the feeding shoot, no more direction was needed. The Chenilles took off at a dead run, all of them ravenous and anxious for the food awaiting them.

In the distance, Gilly heard a few Chenilles whine, while others grumbled, obviously displeased over the fact that they’d have to do so much work to get to marrow. Once all had quieted down, and the only sound she heard was the crunch of bone, Gilly went back to the dock to meet Viv and Evee.

“Any issues?” Viv asked.

“Some whining, a few sounding pissed off,” Gilly said. “But at least they’re eating.”

Evee let out a shaky sigh that sounded very much like she was close to tears. “What are we going to do? We can’t keep running around the city looking for our Originals. We’ve run out of time. With so many Nosferatu and Loup-Garous missing, human deaths are going to become the norm—every day.”

“We can’t give up,” Gilly said. “If we do, we’re already defeated.”

“I’d call losing an entire troupe of Originals pretty much defeat,” Viv said. “I have no idea why my Loups left. The north compound was their home. Why would they just walk away from it?”

“If they walked away from it,” Gilly said. “We really don’t know what’s happened to them.”

She suddenly looked up and about as if just remembering something. “Where the hell are Nikoli and Lucien? They’re supposed to be with you, protecting you. Or did they forget that those ugly sons of bitches determined to kill all of our Originals intend to kill us, as well?”

Viv held up a hand as if to stop Gilly’s tirade. “Nikoli’s still back at the hotel, dealing with his family about Ronan’s death. Lucien went to check on him.”

“To check on him?” Gilly huffed. “The man’s six-four, if he’s an inch, and built like a tank. What’s to check on?”

“Emotions,” Evee said. “I know you’re worried about us, Gilly, but you can’t forget that these men, no matter their size, have hearts. And right now they’re mourning the loss of a close cousin.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Gilly said. “So is that the excuse I use if one of you gets chewed up by those sky assholes?”

“Chill, okay,” Viv said. “We’re fine. We’ll leave here as soon as you get the Chenilles back city side, and the ferry makes it back here.”

“I don’t like it,” Gilly said. “You’re too out in the open. If something happens to one of you...well, it ain’t gonna be pretty for Nikoli and Lucien. That’s all I’ve gotta say.”

With small shakes of their heads, Viv and Evee cocked an ear toward the feeding area.

“Sounds like they’re about done,” Gilly said. “Patrick will lead them back here, so go hide behind a tree or something, will you? The last thing I want is for one of my own to get to either of you.”

Doing as they were asked, Viv and Evee ducked into a grove of trees just as Patrick led the now satiated Chenilles back to the ferry. They boarded lethargically, all of them seemingly overfed.

Once everyone was on board, Gilly closed the back gate of the ferry, kicked the motor on and steered the ferry to city side, where she knew Gavril would be waiting. She wished the ferry had a throttle, wanting it to go faster. All she cared about right now was seeing his face and getting her sisters back from the compound safely. But there was no throttle, so she had to tolerate the chug-chug of the engine and snail crawl of motion until they reached the other side.

After unlocking the back gate, Gilly motioned for Patrick to take her troupe back to the cemetery and make sure they were hidden in old crypts that had been busted open by vandals or in between any open mausoleum slots.

Patrick nodded and, with a grunt, motioned for the other Chenilles to follow him, which they did. Their steps were lumbering, as if trying to balance oversized bellies as they walked.

When they were well out of sight, Gilly uttered an incantation that sent the ferry back to Algiers for Viv and Evee to board. She waited at the water’s edge, nervously biting her nails, her insides shaking. Her nerves were already shot with all that had been going on, but thinking that her sisters might get hurt by a stalking Cartesian en route made her nerves so bad, she thought she’d vomit.

“They’ll be fine,” a man’s voice said behind her. And it took a nanosecond for Gilly to recognize it as Gavril’s. He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned closer to her ear. “I promise. They’ll be fine. And as soon as they return, they’ll have Nikoli and Lucien at their sides at all times. That I assure you.”

“But what if—”

“You can ‘what if’ until the cows come home,” Gavril whispered into her ear. “But the key is to think positive. Visualize them back here safe and sound. Nothing will happen to them.”

Gilly turned toward him, Gavril’s hands still on her shoulders. “Nobody can know for sure. Crap happens, you know?”

Gavril let out a chuckle. “That’s one thing I like about you, Ms. François. You do speak your mind, no matter what crosses it.”

“It’s not funny,” Gilly said. “They’re alone out there and—”

“Look,” Gavril whispered and turned Gilly around. There in the distance was the ferry, already headed city side. From the light of the moon, Gilly easily made out Viv and Evee, both standing near the landing gate. She let out a breath of relief she didn’t even realize she’d been holding.

Instinctively, Gilly reached up and covered one of Gavril’s hands with her own. The spark of electricity that went through her when they touched shocked her, and Gilly quickly removed her hand. She thought of the Elders’ warning not to be intimate with the Benders, as doing so might be their undoing. Yet she couldn’t help but think of Evee and Viv. Both had received the same warning but continued their relationships with Lucien and Nikoli.

Gilly helped maneuver the ferry into its slip and hugged each of her sisters as they walked off the ferry.

“What’s with the mushy stuff?” Viv asked with a laugh. “We only saw you a few minutes ago. You’re acting like you haven’t seen us in a year.”

“Mushy stuff, huh?” Gilly huffed. “Just glad both of you are safely here.”

“Me, too,” Evee said, with a worried expression on her face. “Me, too.”

* * *

Gavril watched as Gilly greeted her sisters, and felt his heart swell. As tough and independent as Gilly might have come across to the rest of the world, Gavril had been fortunate to see more. He’d seen how hard she could love, how deep her loyalties ran, her tenderness when the moment called for it.

Simply watching her interact with her sisters now, Gavril could not deny the fact that he was falling for Gilly and falling hard. This filled his heart and took him aback at the same time.

Gavril had dated more than his share of women over the years, but not one of them had affected him the way Gilly did. This had him walking in unfamiliar territory, which made him a bit nervous. He didn’t want to move too fast or too slow, and knowing either with Gilly was a hard call. Aside from that, he had to keep his mind on the matter that had brought him here in the first place—the Cartesians.

Worrying about how to approach Gilly with his feelings had to come second. His first order of business had to be protecting the Triad and the remaining Originals from the Cartesians. The problem was, every time Gavril saw Gilly, his mind took a hard left without permission, and all he could see or concentrate on was her.

Regardless of how he felt, he had to gain control over his emotions and focus on protection. He’d tried comforting Gilly earlier by telling her to focus on Evee and Viv returning on the ferry safe and sound. The whole time he’d been trying to convince her that they would return safely, he’d been worried about their safety. Both Evee and Viv had been out alone without a Bender to protect them from Cartesians. And having a Triad member out alone when the Cartesians were after them along with their Originals was like teasing a catfish with a fat, juicy worm.