Blood Choice (Deathless Night Series Book 6) Page 18

  “Yes. And with good reason.”

  Good gods. “So, I still don’t understand what the demons have to do with it.”

  “The demons are the only creatures with power as completely evil as my father’s. Once they are in their original forms, and have all that power back, they’ve agreed to help me kill him.”

  “But he’s your father—”

  “And he’s completely insane. He needs to be removed from this dimension and back to his own. The demons will take him there. And in return, his power will become theirs.”

  “And your end of the deal is you’ve agreed to bring them back, and help them reclaim their place in this world.” Lines of worry creased her forehead. “And this is why you need to protect me and my family.”

  “Yes.”

  She shook her head. “But humanity won’t survive such an invasion, Jesse. And then how will the vampires survive?”

  “I don’t care about other vampires. I care about you. And Luukas and the others have all found their mates, as have you. I will protect my family, also.”

  “But how? If the demons can take out your father, what’s to stop them from taking you out?” She tried to keep the fear from her voice, and failed miserably.

  “I am not a pure blood djinn. I am also part Moss witch, the most powerful coven of white witches ever to exist. I am light and dark, good and evil. And as such, I am something for the demons to fear.”

  For the first time, Shea was beginning to understand the full magnitude of the male in front of her. “And every other creature that exists,” she whispered. “Oh, my gods.” She got it now, why fate had chosen him for her mate.

  Because they were the same. Good and evil. Both two sides of the same coin.

  “I can protect you, Shea. I will protect you. If you will let me. But please understand, this is something I must do. My father must be stopped.”

  Shea barely heard what he was saying. Her holy blood was drawn to his magical blood, and her vampire blood to his djinn. Light to light. Dark to dark. Together, they were much more powerful than on their own.

  It was how it was meant to be. Relief flooded through her, to finally know, finally understand why he had been chosen for her.

  Her attention was pulled back to him when he took her face between his hands. “Shea. Tell me. Out loud. You’ve decided.”

  Shea’s eyes traveled over his handsome face, from the dark waves of his hair falling over his forehead, to the slight unevenness of his nose, the sculpted lips, sharp edge of his jaw and back up to those amazing eyes. Even now, she felt the tug of desire between their physical forms, but she also felt the tug of her heart.

  Her thoughts jumped to Luukas. After what she had just learned, was she ready to cut ties with the vampire that had created her, and make a life together with the male that made her forget everything but him with nothing but the slightest touch? Because no matter what Jesse chose to believe, Shea knew that is what it would come down to.

  She felt pulled in two different directions, yet one was so much stronger than the other. “Yes. I’ve decided.”

  His lips parted, but for once, no words formed. However, Shea didn’t need to hear the words. She felt his wonder, his lust, and his overwhelming joy. Warmth glowed from his eyes like liquid gold, along with possessiveness and triumph. Her breath caught at the intensity of everything he was throwing at her.

  Suddenly, a wall was thrown up between them. Not physically, but emotionally. Jesse’s expression closed off and the heat faded swiftly from his eyes, until they became as cold as stone. Jesse was once again the enigma she had first met all those weeks ago in the altar room. Unemotional. Self-Contained. Frightening.

  She reached out to him with her thoughts, thinking perhaps they were in some sort of danger, only to find he’d blocked her completely. She couldn’t get past his defenses, no matter how hard she tried. She kept her voice down. “Jesse?”

  He stood and cocked his head to the side. “Is this a trick, Shea?” Cruthú let out a squawk from her cage, then flew across the room to land on his shoulder. She imitated his posture, staring at Shea with accusing black eyes.

  Confused, Shea stood as well. “What? Is what a trick?”

  Her eyes flew to the door just before a loud knock sounded, at the same time their visitor’s scent permeated the room. Shea looked at Jesse, but he stared at the closed door. “You had me completely fooled, love. You’re a much better actress than I ever could have guessed.”

  Her heart pounded. Not out of fear of him, but of fear for him. “Jesse, please. Don’t answer it. I had no idea he was coming.”

  Another knock sounded on the door. Louder this time.

  Ignoring her pleas for caution, Jesse strode to the door, unlocked it, and flung it open.

  Chapter 26

  Jesse stared at the male on the other side of the threshold, and it came to him that he had been a complete fool.

  He felt Shea behind him, her warmth like that of the sun after a freezing winter, and he fought the urge to reach behind him and pull her up against him. She had fooled him utterly. With her body, her words, and even with her mind. She’d never planned to be with him. It had all been a trick to find out what he was about.

  Her voice came from behind him, still playing the part. He had to admit, she was an excellent actress.

  “What are you doing here? How did you find me?”

  However, she was a fool if she thought this one could stop him. But no more a fool than he had been to believe her. “Come now, Shea. Let’s invite our guest, or should I say ‘guests’, inside before we go throwing out questions that you already know the answer to.” Stepping back out of the way, he threw one arm out in welcome, ignoring Shea’s confused stare. “Please, come in.”

  Aiden stepped over the threshold, and went to go stand near Shea. Closing the door, Jesse observed the way he protected her with mild amusement. It was quite comical to him that the vampire believed he could keep him from her. Especially since there was no need. Not now. Not anymore.

  “What can I do for you?” He didn’t need to ask how they had been found. He assumed they’d been seen by one of Luukas’s minions who were also tracking the demons. A touch inside of the vampire’s head confirmed it. Mammot had given them away by coming here to the room.

  “Hallo, mate. Fancy meeting you here.” Aiden’s tone was light, but his grey eyes were glinting with hatred. He gave Shea a tight smile. It fell from his face, and he placed a hand over his chest. When he lifted his head, Jesse detected shadows ghosting about in his bright gray eyes. Then they were gone.

  “Excuse me, just a bit of indigestion there.”

  It wasn’t a stomach ailment, unless you considered a demon that currently possessed you as such. Jesse wondered if the vampire really was as “off” as he seemed, or if it was all an act. Maybe the entire colony was all a group of actors who used their talents to obtain more and more power for their Master.

  He couldn’t say that he blamed them. He, himself, had done a lot worse, for nothing but his own personal amusement.

  “What do you want?” Shea asked again. “What are you doing here, Aiden? The last time I saw you, you told me not to come back. And now you’re chasing me down? And where is Nikulas?”

  Playing the game through to the end, I see. She really was good.

  Linking his hands behind his back, the vampire strolled casually into their room. He appeared to be checking out the décor.

  “He’s off playing with demons. I told him I would stay in our room, as my inner demon tends to get his knickers in a twist when I’m around them.” He stopped in the middle of the room, looking around. “This room is quite lovely. A bit Americanized, though, with the color scheme and all, don’t you think?” He looked at Jesse. “No?” He began to walk around again.

  Cruthú flew from Jesse’s shoulder to land on the headboard nearest Aiden. She followed him around, jumping from object to object, watching him closely as he touched this and that, unti
l he’d gone full circle. Finally, the vampire plopped down on the edge of Shea’s bed and leaned back on his hands. “I’ve come to fetch you home. Luukas is in quite a state, to be honest, and we need you there. No matter my feelings about all of this.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. With a quick glance at Jesse, she told him, “I can’t. And I don’t want to. I belong here. With Jesse.”

  Aiden gave her a blank expression, blinking hard. Eventually Jesse, who leaned casually against the door as he watched the exchange, drew his attention. Understanding dawned. “Ohh, yes. Because of your lusty attraction to our dark witch here.” He shrugged. “I can see why you would fancy him, what with the whole sexy dark magic thing going on.” Then he leaned forward, confusion creasing his brow. “But, Shea, wouldn’t you be better suited to find a nice lady friend?” He held up his hand. “Now, we all know that you swing it both ways, and honestly, we couldn’t care less. My point is: you can touch a female, whereas you can’t have any physical contact with a male. And I don’t know about you, but I’m all about the touching.” He grinned, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  “Does he ever shut up?” Jesse asked idly.

  “Not really, no,” Shea told him. Walking over to the bed, she sank down beside the other vampire.

  Jesse felt his spine stiffening at the sight of her so close to another male, despite his intentions not to care.

  “Aiden…” She paused, took a deep breath. “Aiden, Jesse is my mate.”

  He stared at her for a full minute. Finally, one eyebrow went up. “Ah, well. That’s a right mess then, isn’t it?”

  Jesse was surprised when she adamantly shook her head. “No. It’s not. It’s good.”

  Though she was speaking to Aiden, her eyes found and fixed on Jesse. He felt her pushing against his mental shields, but he refused to let her in. She’d already done enough damage.

  With a deep sigh, she continued. “I was with Jesse the entire time I was a prisoner at Leeha’s fortress. I was forced to stay there, yes, but only because he was protecting me.” She pleaded with Aiden to understand. “It was supposed to be me on that altar. Not you. Jesse refused to do it. He kept me in his room and magically sealed the door. No one could go in or out but him. I couldn’t leave, but it also kept Leeha out. Until the day he finally let me go.”

  Aiden waved a hand. “Yes, Shea. I know all this.” He rose from the bed and walked over to Jesse. “But you had no such qualms saddling me with the one demon who doesn’t want to be here.”

  Jesse met Aiden eye for eye, but stayed as he was. “No. You weren’t so lucky.”

  “No, I was not,” Aiden agreed. “Maybe if I’d had flowing dark hair and sparkling green eyes?” He smirked, then turned and strolled away.

  A smile threatened, but Jesse got it under control. The vampire had balls, he had to give him that.

  Shea expelled a breath of relief when Aiden moved away from him. She was tense, waiting for him to lose patience with her friend, and rightly so. However, he was more interested in seeing how this would play out. Not because he harbored any ill feelings for what he had done, but because if he killed the host body, the demon inside would be free to possess another now that it was unchained from the altar. And the closest body, other than himself, was Shea. He might be angry with her, but he did not wish that upon her.

  “Feel free to poke around in here if you wish,” Aiden told him, pointing to his head. “I assure you I came here of my own free will. Shea knew nothing of my plans. Her reasons for gallivanting about with you are, apparently, true.”

  Jesse was tempted, but a part of him held back, unsure he really wanted to know what he would find in the crazy Brit’s head. “Are you not afraid of me, vampire?”

  “Terrified,” Aiden said without humor. “But I think you’ve already done your worst with me as far as I’m concerned. Knowing what I know now, how you were only trying to protect our little Shea, I’m attempting to understand. You did what you felt you needed to do. There are worse things I would do for my Grace if she were threatened. Or even for Prickles.”

  Jesse frowned, glancing around Aiden to Shea, who remained sitting on the bed, watching them with her heart in her eyes. “Grace’s hedgehog,” she supplied.

  “Ah.” Somehow, that didn’t surprise him with this one.

  Aiden kicked his chin up a notch. “My Grace is arse over elbow for the silly thing. If anything happened to him, she’d be heartbroken.”

  “Of course.”

  “So, what do you say?” And this time Jesse found clear gray eyes glinting with intelligence staring back at him. “Truce? For Shea’s sake?” Gritting his teeth, Aiden stuck out his hand.

  Instead of shaking it, Jesse pushed himself away from the door and opened it wide. He paused. Looking at Shea, he said, “Don’t forget your bag when you go.”

  She was beside him in an instant, grabbing his arm. “Jesse? What are you doing? Why are you leaving?”

  He ignored Aiden’s shocked exclamation, his eyes on her hand on his arm.

  “I gave you what you came here for, Shea. But now, I’m doing what I need to do to correct the damage. Don’t worry. I won’t let you starve. I’ll find you come feeding time.” He sounded cold. He sounded like a complete ass. And he didn’t give a fuck.

  Her eyes filled with tears. “Jesse, I don’t want to go. I want to stay with you.”

  “So they can track you, and therefore, me? How idiotic do you think I am?” Turning to Aiden, he said, “Take her. She’s all yours.” Then he walked out of the room, whistling for Cruthú. She swooped through the room, landing on his shoulder. With a quick look up and down the hall to make sure there were no humans about, he disappeared.

  Chapter 27

  Shea stared at the door, waiting for her heart to start beating again. “What just happened?” She looked back at the vampire who was again lounging on her bed. “Aiden? What the hell just happened?” Running out into the hall, she ran to the stairs, even though she’d seen Jesse disappear into thin air with her own eyes. Aiden appeared behind her with her bag in hand. Shea swatted at it. “Put that down! I’m not going anywhere without Jesse.” Leaning over the railing, she stared down the center of the stairwell and listened. The only thing she heard was a couple of young girls giggling a few floors down.

  “Okay,” she said to no one in particular. Shea forced herself to calm. She’d had his blood. And he’d had hers. She could track him if he wasn’t too far away. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and listened—not with her ears, but with her blood. She listened for the tiniest familiarity, the smallest pull.

  There was nothing. Absolutely nothing. “Where the hell did he go?”

  “Look, poppet. Why don’t you just come back with me? The warlock said he would come to you when you needed to feed. He’ll pop up when you least expect it, and then you two can hash things out if you still wish it. Right now, Luukas needs you back home.”

  She swung toward Aiden, unreasonably angry. None of this would have happened if he hadn’t shown up there at that exact moment. “If he wants me back so badly, why doesn’t he just call me back? His blood to mine. I would have to obey him.”

  “He wants you back, Shea. But he also wants it to be your choice. You’re no good to him if you harbor a grudge.”

  Shea backed off. She could see Luukas doing that. He was an intimidating leader at times, but he was smart, and he was fair. “What about you and Nik? Do you want me back home?”

  Aiden’s mouth thinned, and he glanced away. But after a moment, he heaved a great sigh and turned back to her. “Of course, we do.”

  With a sound of disbelief, she shoved past him. The space was small, and her shoulder slammed into his chest as she passed. Pain shot up and down her arm, curling her hand into something resembling one of Cruthú’s claws. Shea jumped away with a hiss of agony. “Dammit!” The curse wasn’t gone.

  The implications of that fact didn’t escape her. However, it only solidified her deci
sion to be with Jesse.

  “Sorry, poppet. But you need to warn a bloke before you up and switch directions like that.” Aiden stuck to her like glue as she picked up her bag, careful to keep an eye on him this time, and marched back to the hotel room. “What are you doing? The exit is this way.”

  “I told you I’m not coming with you. I’m staying here.” Dropping her bag on the floor, she sat down at the end of the bed so she faced the door, and prepared to wait as long as it took. She would wait there forever, if need be. “I’m not leaving, Aiden. So, though I appreciate what you’re doing here, you can go ahead and go without me. Find Nik and go home. I’m sure Luukas will survive without me until I can straighten all this out.”

  He sat down beside her, but not too close. “Truly, then? You want to stay here and keep pissing around with him?”

  Shea glared at him out of the corner of her eye. “Aiden…” she warned.

  He leaned back against the headboard and swung his legs up onto the bed. “Before you make a decision you’ll regret, don’t you want to hear our plan?”

  No. She didn’t want to hear their plan. She didn’t want to hear anything except the sound of Jesse’s boots coming down the hall. “No. I really don’t.”

  “But it’s a good plan. I came up with it with a little help from my friend here.” He waved his hand over his gut. “He pops his head up every now and again just to order me about. It’s worse than living with my mum, and scares the knickers off Grace. I don’t know why she stays with me. I truly don’t.” He perked up again. “Oh! But the plan. I was about to tell you.”

  Shea jumped up from the bed and began to pace. “Aiden! Please, just go.” She couldn’t take anymore of his blathering. She had other things to worry about. Like how she was going to fix what was going on with her and Jesse, and how she was going to talk him out of his foolish plan. There had to be another way to dethrone his father and take back control of the coven.

  And how the hell she was going to find him so she could do all of that.