Coffin Girls (Elegantly Undead: Book 1 of the Coffin Girls Witch Vampire Series) (22 page)

“Of course. I’m going to have a delicious little snack.”
Elektra beckoned a dazed-looking woman with a black painted nail, pulling her
into a corner cubicle.

Anais let herself into a cubicle, as far away from Elektra’s
as she could find and allowed the repressed shudder to escape. Thankfully
Elektra wasn’t a messy eater and the only sounds that she was done with ‘her
snack’ was the opening and closing of the door and the thumping of the
enthralled human when she left. Another shudder. Anais hated the out-dated and
technically illegal practice of drinking from the source. Elektra must be
following the new ‘organic movement’ that claimed that drinking directly from
humans was healthier for a vampire. It was the vampire equivalent of healthy
organic eating. Anais dreaded to think of their interpretation of ‘free-range’.
Yuck. It was cruel and unnecessary given the advent of blood banks. Anais
hadn’t had blood directly from a human in decades. She breathed deeply and took
solace from the thought that Elektra was one vampire who would definitely go to
hell when she was snuffed out.

Centering herself and going to that place inside where the
magick lived, she forced the negative thoughts away and focused. She felt the
glow erupt from her, grateful that the floor-to-ceiling toilet cubicles would
hide it. As the glow was let out, the flashes came in. They were ghastly, dark,
scenes of girls and women, young and old, being held in a dark, dirty cell.
They looked ragged and unkempt. Some were walking around, talking to themselves;
others sat in a daze. Dark, damp, the smell of blood seeping into soil
assaulted her senses before she found herself looking through the eyes of the
sender.

“Help us.” The words jolted her. It was the voice of a young
girl with the lilt of the Irish tongue. God! Were these the girls Conall was
looking for? The surprised realization broke the link. Silently cursing, she
linked in again and felt the girl’s relief.

“Help us, please. We won’t last long,” the girl said.

“Where are you?” Anais sent back.

“I don’t know. They kidnapped us then gagged and
blind-folded us so we couldn’t see. We travelled for what felt like days, so I
don’t know.” A sob escaped the girl. 

“Hush,” responded Anais gently, “I’ll help but I need some
more information. Who kidnapped you? What are they doing with you?”

“Vampires. Draining us. Torture.” Struggling to speak, the
girl sent images to Anais instead. It made her want to gag. The women were
being raped, tortured and fed on by vampires. She didn’t recognize any of them.
The girls had the pale complexion of humans that did not go out into the sun
very often. 

Anais felt the girl weaken and slip away. “Hang on!” She
sent a mental shout. “I need more information so I can help you!”

“Can’t talk. Connection…making…too weak.”

“Okay. Take a break. I’m going to speak to some friends and
then I’ll connect with you later. We’ll figure something on. Just hang on,
okay?” Anais felt a slight mental nod come through and then nothing. The
connection was gone.

Bile rose up in her throat and she fought the urge to throw
up. She thought hard and fast then got moving. She needed magick to help her
and she needed to find out how. Careful to act the part of a woman returning to
her lover, she used that as an excuse for the rushed behavior. Reaching the
table, she leaned over to whisper to Conall, “Act lover-like. Something’s
happened. We need to get out now and reconvene at the plantation.”

Conall acted his part, broadcasting a message to Sylvain and
Niul to relay what Anais requested.

“We’re heading back,” Conall got out in between kissing
Anais’ neck. “You coming?”

“Sure, we’ll have more fun at home, hey?” Sylvain draped an
arm over Sophie, smacking a kiss on her lips.

Anais stopped the alarm from showing on Sophie’s face just
in time by linking with all of her sisters, glad for the maker’s ability and
quickly sent them the images of what had happened. Maintaining the façade, they
all made their way to the exit, the picture of a group of friends and lovers.

“Leaving so soon?”

Drat! Anais mentally cursed when Akeldonna’s question
stopped them in their tracks. Another Oscar performance required, she thought –
at this rate, she’d give Charlize Theron a run for her money - and plastered a
smile as she turned to her least favorite member of the Vampire Council.

Anais was saved from responding by Conall acting like a
drunken and besotted idiot. Words slurring slightly, he dragged Anais in for a
breath-taking kiss then turned to face Akeldonna, “Your place is great but I’ve
got plans for Anais.”

Akeldonna, ever the reigning bitch of vile, raised a
grotesque eyebrow. Anais fought against the automatic need to take a step back.
Generally, vampires were beautiful. As predators their beauty helped lure prey.
Anais liked to think of it as karma’s way of making her outside look like her
inside. Akeldonna’s looks only seemed to bother Anais and the one’s she turned,
and now, with the recent unbinding of her powers, she was starting to think
that it acted as a shield against whatever charm Akeldonna exerted over others.
The mystery lay not in her looks, though. It lay in the undeniable fact that
outside of Yves she was one of the most influential vampires and a powerful
member of the Vampire Council. It did not bode well for anyone who upset her.
She was known to have vampires decapitated or locked away, old-school style in
coffins cemented in ground, at offense she’s taken for the smallest presumed
offense.

Anais was still trying to find an appropriate response that
would not offend when Conall saved her yet again.

He continued to play the part of a drunken lover, “It’s glad
I am that I listened to Yves. Now, if you’ll excuse us from your esteemed
establishment, my guards and I have to attend to learning as much as we can
about vampires. Tell Yves that I say thanks.” He turned Anais around and pushed
her through the exit, slapping her backside like a sex-starved fool. 

Akeldonna could say little in objection and continued to
stare as Anais shrugged as if to say, ‘whatever Yves wants’. There was no
mistaking Conall’s intended innuendo and name-dropping had helped secure their
begrudging release from Akeldonna’s clutches.

“Y’all make sure t’ drink it all!” Miss Suzette gave the
foul concoction a stir with a wooden spoon. Ladling the brew into enormous
mugs, she waved the wooden spoon at them, concern etched in the lines of her
face. “T’will clear the liquor out of your heads and give you strength to face
whatever it is that’s come up now. Then y’all can talk business and strategy.
Until then, not one word. What y’all think barging into my kitchen and acting
like it was on fire is known only to your liquor-soaked heads.” The wooden
spoon was being waved about again. Funny how the sight of a grown woman and a
spoon made the strong men blanch – memories of childhood spankings making them
down the drink. 

“I’m sorry, Miss Suzette, it seems drama is my middle name
lately. I got them riled up and running into the kitchen like that,” Anais said
apologetically. No point in addressing the alcohol part of Miss Suzette’s
scolding; they were all a bit tipsy and saying that would only get her into
more trouble.

“Drama is part of life. Barging into my kitchen like the
hounds of hell are after yah, ain’t. Especially when y’all have been drinking.
So, now you drink up, sober up and then I’ll be fine.” Miss Suzette’s heart
strings were being pulled to grab Anais into her arms but her nerves would
crumble if she softened towards her girls now. “And you, Anais Marie de
Beauvieu, you know better than to get them into a het. Didn’t I teach you
better?! You’re the oldest and it’s time you act like it.”

The words were harsh but had no bite. Conall knew from his
own ma that it was worry that was driving it. He also remembered that owning up
helped ease things a bit . “I should’ve known better too, Miss Suzette. It
won’t happen again.”

“You bet your behind it won’t or I’ll be turning it a nice
raw red for you.” The spoon was still in action and in the hefty arms of Miss
Suzette, after having seen her beat choux pasty into smoothness in a jiffy, it
was a weapon to be noted.

Raulf entered the kitchen oozing sensuality and the kind of
confidence that came from being a leader. The cocky grin he sported was soon
replaced by a frown as he took in the atmosphere, his aunt a bundles of nerves
commandeering them all. When she acted like that and the rest sat meek and mild
then things were bad.

“What’s going on?” Raulf addressed them all.

Miss Suzette aimed the spoon at Raulf this time. “You!” She
pointed first at him and then the chair, earning an appreciative grin from
Conall and a scowl from Raulf. Raulf knew what was coming. He should’ve come
in, shut up and sat down. Miss Suzette was on a roll, “sit down boy and drink.
Maybe it’ll make you start acting like the alpha that you’re supposed to be.
It’s not what the drinks meant for but I have hope.” She huffed as she plonked
a glass of the vile liquid in front of Raulf. 

“Why do I have to drink this stuff?” He sipped and grimaced.
“And why am I being shouted at? I didn’t do a damn thing!”

“Did I hear you cuss, boy?”

“No ma’am,” came Raulf’s automatic response. “I was enjoying
the drink.” He should’ve known better than to say anything; she’d just pour
more of it down his throat. It’d been her favorite punishment when he’d been up
to mischief as a boy running through this kitchen and it seemed like she hadn’t
lost the touch to make him cower.

Miss Suzette smiled. The boy has sass and a mouth on him but
she’d let it slip. Her nerves were calming down and she was nearly ready to
hear the latest story.

“What is in this stuff, err…drink, Miss Suzette?” Sylvain
ventured to ask while the wiser people in the room remained silent,
concentrating on finish every last drop (because Miss Suzette would check).

“Just a bit of kitchen magick but you don’t need to concern
yourself with that now. Y’all just finish up then we’ll talk.”

After they’d complied with Miss Suzette’s orders, Anais
began recounting the episode with the girl. The atmosphere had turned from
concerned anxiousness to grim silence by the time she’d finished.

Conall was the first to speak, “I think you’re right; they
must be the missing witches. It is too big a coincidence for it not to be. And
this confirms our theory about you being part of the key.” He looked at Anais.
“The girl you saw must have been trying to reach someone for a while and she
finally got through to you.”

Eager to find a solution, Anais looked enquiringly at
Conall, Sylvain and Niul, “So now what I need to know is how to maintain a link
with her long enough to find out where they are and get them out.”

“Hold up,” interjected Raulf, “It could be a trap. We can’t
rush into this with the little information that we have.”

“Raulf is right. So when we link with her, we’ll get that,”
agreed Conall.

Raulf sprung in, looking at Conall, he asked, “Is there no
way we can find out more with magick and protect Anais at the same time? And
even though we won’t be linked,” he looked at the other women, “with their
blood and emotional link to her I’d be more comfortable if we can ensure
everyone’s safety.”

Marie was on the verge of protesting the need for protection
when Miss Suzette stopped her with a held up hand. “No, boo, he’s right. It
would be foolish to refuse any means of ensuring our safety when we don’t know
what we’re up against.”

“Yes,” supported Sophie, “we can’t risk leaving one of us
open to use as leverage.”

“I agree,” added Rose.

“Ok, I cave,” grumbled Marie.

Conall acquiesced with a nod of his head. “Syl, Niul, would
you two go through to the library and do a quick cleansing and set up two
protection circles. One for Anais, Sophie and I and one for the rest of you.
You get started and I’ll fill them in.” 

Conall turned his full attention to the rest of them, outlining
the magick they’d be performing. “We don’t have time for me to take you through
various scenarios, Anais. You’ll have to trust me to step in and take care of
things should anything happen. Sophie, the same applies to you. We’ll be in the
inner-circle. Because you’re new to this, I’ll control the circle. Anais, all I
need you to do is focus on linking with her and holding it. Sophie, I need you
to link to Anais and try to pick up any emotions. Be careful to remain covert;
we don’t want her to sense you. I’ll link with Anais through our royal
connection. If the girl’s a witch, I’ll pick up on it and we can use that to
track her psychically.”

“What do the rest of us do?” Raulf inquired.

“You’ll be part of the outer circle,” Conall explained.
“Through our links, we’ll feed magick to Anais and to the girl to maintain her
strength and the connection.”

“Sounds like a plan,” nodded Raulf.

--------

Anais and Conall let their inner magick shine and the room
glowed with magickal light as they stepped into the inner circle with the
Sophie. Sophie linked with Anais and began to glow too. Then, when the rest of
them were stationed in the outer circle, he asked them all to focus first on
his words and then on what Anais, Sophie and he were going to do. Their main
objective was to feed magick to the protection they would cast and to Anais.
That they all agreed without question was testament to the trust they laid
before him and the love they had for Anais and Sophie. With pure hearts such as
theirs, the magick performed would have to go very wrong for them to fail.
Unfortunately, there was much that could go wrong. Conall took a deep breath,
despite having performed countless tricky rituals and cast many dangerous
spells, he was nervous – he had a lot more to lose now. He looked around at the
faces as eager to get this done as he was and began: