“Your mind games will not work on me, child,” Connor taunted.
Around me, I heard the protest and continued growls and grumbles of the others, but kept my focus on Connor.
“No game. I’ll do what it takes to make you let Santino go. He’s mine to judge,” I said, putting as much menace in my voice as I could.
I focused too hard on his eyes and didn’t see the swing of his arm as it came around and made contact with my cheek.
Flames of pain erupted across my face. The sting radiated through my bones. I jerked sideways and let out a hiss.
A foot swept my leg before I could recover and sent me crashing down to the floor.
I hit the ground and instinctively rolled up to my hands and knees.
“You want the vampire’s life. Earn it,” Connor said as he swung his foot forward, aiming for my ribs.
I caught him mid-kick and twisted his leg. He spun in time to avoid toppling over and ran into Drew, who caught him.
“Leave Alyssa alone. She’s young and rash.”
Connor pushed away from Drew and faced me again. “If she’s old enough to make a challenge, then she’s old enough to face the consequences.”
I stood and readied myself for his next attack. “You broke your word. Your pack offered sanctuary and protection to us all, Santino included. If you’re not willing to keep your word, then someone should challenge you. A leader should have honor and integrity.”
“What do you know of honor?” Connor lunged forward and tackled me. Together we both fell. I hit the ground with him on top, and all the air rushed out of my lungs. Before I could even think to fight back, he landed a hard punch across my cheek.
Spots appeared in my vision. Pain throbbed through my jaw. Loud ringing drowned out the sounds of the room, but through all of it, I could still make out the rage in Connor’s face above me. He pressed his knee into my chest and cocked back for another punch.
I struggled to get the words out. “I know when you make a promise, you follow through with it. That’s honor. Whether it was you or your son who said it, we were assured protection by the Olde Town pack.”
Before he could land the punch, I jerked sideways, throwing him off balance, and kicked up my leg, hooking it around his neck. With my thigh, I pushed his head down as I twisted and rolled away, bringing myself back to hands and knees. He tumbled aside, and we both scrambled at the same time to get to our feet and face each other again.
Our eyes locked, but I still wasn’t going to back down from his menacing stare. “I don’t want to fight you, Connor. I’m only asking that you do the right thing here.”
He sidestepped slowly and I did the same, matching his pace, anticipating his next move.
Around us, Drew, Crystal, Nicholas, Aiden, and Brady stood at opposing corners. They all looked ready to fight if called.
Tension in the room ran so thick you could choke on it.
Connor lunged again, and this time I was prepared. I stepped out of the way, but held my arm out and caught him in the neck. Tightening my grip, I clamped down on his windpipe and pushed with all my might, shoving him backwards. His arms swung violently. He raked at my face with one hand while trying to pry my hand free with the other.
I slammed him into the wall.
“Enough,” he choked out the word.
I immediately let go and backed away.
He massaged his neck with his right hand and caught his breath. “Do what you like with the vampire.”
Once he had regained composure, he smoothed back his hair, straightened his collar, and walked out of the room.
Confused, I looked to Nicholas, then Aiden, and back again. No one else seemed to understand what was happening either.
“Well, you heard the man. Let Santino go,” I said.
“Do it yourself,” Brady said and tossed a small ring of keys at me. Without another word he left the room.
Aiden looked at me with mixture of confusion and admiration. “This isn’t over, you know.”
“I wasn’t trying to start anything. I just wanted what was promised.”
“I understand, but every action has a consequence.” He clapped me on the shoulder and followed his brother out into the hallway.
“Little Warrior indeed,” Nicholas laughed. “When I asked you if you would challenge the Alpha earlier, I was only joking. You didn’t have to do it to prove anything.”
“I wasn’t doing it to prove anything to you either,” I said coldly. I took the keys, walked over to Santino, and began unlocking his chains. “I can’t believe you all are so willing to send him to his death after all he’s done for us.”
Crystal crossed her arms and turned away with a huff.
“Who said we would have actually done it?” Nicholas asked. “Sometimes it’s best to bargain for the moment and work out the other details later.”
I hadn’t really considered that option. But still, if that was his plan, he should have let us know. “With that attitude, how is anyone to know what side you’re on?” I grumbled.
“Who cares about sides as long as you know how to play the game. We had the wolves ready to fight along with us. Now, after your Little Warrior act, they might not be so friendly. You just made their leader look like a pussy.” He snickered as he said the last word.
“That wasn’t my intention.”
“Intention or not, that’s what you did. We got Santino back, but it’s going to take some major ass kissing to put the wolves back in our good graces. I hope you’re up for the challenge.”
CHAPTER 15
I left Nicholas and Drew to attend to Santino’s wounds and sought solace with Fallon. She’d been keeping Ariana company and also helping her to go through the ancient book we’d recovered from the Acta Sanctorum’s repository.
Word of the fight with Connor must have traveled fast because the moment I entered the cabin, I was met with an icy stare that rivaled the cold winds blowing outside.
“I guess you’ve heard.” I shrugged my coat off and tossed it on the rack next to the door.
Fallon shook her head and chewed on her lip as if she was biting back the words she so desperately wanted to say.
I didn’t need to be able to read her mind to know what she was thinking. She was pissed that I’d made her boyfriend and his father look bad. I couldn’t understand why everyone was so mad at me. Sure Santino was a monster, but so were we all, in our own way. And since we’d worked with him back in Vegas, he’d been our ally. It wasn’t right to let him be beaten and abused by the wolves.
Anger flared up again inside of me as Fallon watched my every move like a lioness waiting to pounce. How dare she judge too! She was supposed to be my best friend. She was supposed to support me. “If you’re expecting any kind of apology, you can kiss my ass.”
Ariana, it seemed, was too preoccupied to pay attention to my entrance or the anger in my voice.
Fallon, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes at me. “You can be so selfish at times, you know that, Lyssa?”
Rage had me balling my hands into fists, ready to fight. “Oh? So that was me being selfish, standing up for another member of our group?”
“Technically, he’s not a member of
our
group,” she said with emphasis. “But you, however, are a member… of this pack.”
My heart pounded in my ears. “So I’m supposed to just let a friend die because that’s what the pack demands?” I threw my hands up in frustration and paced the small cabin, walking circles around Fallon and Ariana who were sitting on the couch.
Ariana was ignoring my angry huffing and puffing. She had buried herself nose-deep in the book, staring at it like a child who’d found a favorite cartoon and would not be moved.
“No. That’s not what anyone is saying,” Fallon lowered her voice. I sensed fear in the room, and it was coming from Fallon’s direction. “It’s just how you went about it. There might have been a better way to save Santino.”
Angry or not, I would never hurt Fallon. The fact that I smelled her fear made me pause and take a calming breath. “Well, now you sound like the others.” I stopped in front of her and put my hands on my hips. “Look, I’m not going to be the bad guy here for trying to do the right thing.”
“That’s not what I’m saying—”
“I get it. You have to defend the pack now that you’re officially Aiden’s girl. Fine. But don’t lecture me on my methods. You’ve known me for long enough to know—”
“I think I found the answer,” Ariana said, effectively shutting me up. She looked up from her book and confusion washed across her face. “Hey, Alyssa, you okay?”
“Fine, just fine!” I said with a sigh. “What answer?”
Ariana shook her head at me and set the book down on her lap. “There’s mention here of a soulstone. It was said this stone could safely contain a spirit, reanimate corpses, or bind someone’s soul to it.”
“Why would anyone want to do that?” I asked.
Ariana bit her lip, hesitating before she spoke. “Necromancy, bodysnatching, creating minions, that sort of thing.”
“What?” The thought of those things repulsed me. “You mean there were people who actually did that sort of thing?”
She let out a heavy breath. “Not all magic is used for good. Necromancy isn’t a common practice, but to some, that branch of magic is very enticing. Think about it—to be able to control life and death. That’s a lot of power to wield.”
I shuddered. The thought of controlling death brought up images of animated corpses. Even as a vampire, that stuff gave me the creeps.
Ariana continued, “It says here the elements needed to create the soulstone are blood, fire, a willing sacrifice, and the full moon.”
“And that’s just what we had the night you sealed the Pandora’s Box,” Fallon said, with a hint of amazement in her voice.
“Exactly. When I threw the stone into the blaze, I must have inadvertently made it a soulstone. When Lysander’s spirit left his body, it was pulled into the stone.”
“But you said the stone should safely be able to hold the spirit. Why then is his stone getting weaker?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe ours isn’t a true soulstone. Or maybe because it’s a vampire’s soul, it has a different effect. Magic is variable. Sometimes the slightest change in ingredients or words can have drastic effects. Either way, this is the best lead we’ve gotten in weeks.”
Fallon and I both nodded. I smiled, feeling that little spark of hope return. If she was right, we might be able to get him back.
“So, does that book tell you how to get the soul out?” I asked.
“There’s a spell in here. It doesn’t look too difficult.” She flipped forward a few pages. “We might even attempt it tonight if you’d like. I was able to pick up some general items at home during the day.” Before I could say anything, she jumped in. “Brady escorted me.”
I was too happy to care about the details of how or where she got her supplies. I just wanted my Lysander back. “What are we waiting for then? Let’s do it.”
“Where is the crystal?” she asked.
“Tucked safe and sound in my cabin.”
“Go get it and meet me in the lobby with the others.”
***
“While the wolves are out on their final hunt of the full moon revelry, we can set up space in the open lobby,” Ariana said, as she consulted her book for the necessary supplies.
I set the crystal inside my coat and laid it safely on the reception desk while I went about helping to set up.
Crystal pushed chairs away from the center of the room, creating a wide open space. She’d found two sawhorses in the store room and set them up in the center.
Ariana drew a pentagram in white chalk on the ground.
When all had been set in place, Ariana directed Nicholas and Drew to bring out Lysander’s coffin and lay it across the sawhorses.
Ariana then handed Fallon and me five inch-long black pillar candles and told us to place them at each of the five points of the star. She followed us placing smaller purple and gold candles at various points within the pentagram.
Crystal followed behind Ariana and lit each of the candles.
With the help of Nicholas and Drew, Ariana opened the lid of the coffin and turned it sideways so she could set items on it like a table.
I couldn’t help but stop and take a peek inside the coffin. Lysander looked like death. I had to stop myself from tearing up, and took a deep calming breath. This would work. It had to work. I couldn’t bear to see Lysander like this any longer. Before the emotions overwhelmed me, I returned to my task of arranging the candles for the ceremony.
On top of the makeshift table Ariana placed herbs inside a medium-sized black cauldron. Next to the cauldron she drew a circle in salt. Then she reached around her neck and removed her goddess pendant. “You’ll want to take off any protective talismans if you have any.” She set the pendant inside the circle of salt and began to dig around in the bag she’d brought for other supplies. In separate dishes she laid out various herbs and incense, and then lit them.
Instantly, the cavernous room was filled with pungent smoke. I did not recognize any of the herbs or their smells, but they reminded me of death.
“I’ll need the crystal,” Ariana said to me after she’d finished setting up her altar.
I unwrapped it from my coat and hugged it tightly to my chest. “See you very soon, honey,” I whispered to the crystal, and then handed it to her.
“You’re still wearing the pendant I gave you,” she said to me. “That’s a protective talisman. You’ll need to take it off for now. We don’t want anything inhibiting the magic from working.”
“Sorry.” I’d completely forgotten about it. I reached around, unclasped it, and handed it to her.
She placed the pendant in the circle of salt with hers and took Lysander’s crystal from me. Gingerly, as if she feared breaking it, Ariana set the crystal down, with its point facing the ceiling, inside the cauldron.
She consulted her book once more and then laid it on the makeshift table. “I’ll also need some of his blood.” Ariana looked into the coffin and scratched her head. “Does he have any left?” She pulled out the same ceremonial knife I’d seen used before and picked up Lysander’s wrist. She made a quick slice across, but nothing came out.