The shop only opened in the evening to the public, something that kept me from having any crazy tourists who might wonder in looking for that fake shit you see on the internet.

My shop was for witches and witches only. I picked the cards up and put them in a neat stack to the side of me. My table faced the window so I could see anyone that might try to sneak in or out with something they shouldn’t, but with the amount of protections I had, it would be difficult for anyone to get anything past me.

The door pushed open and I glanced up. Standing there just inside my store was a man I didn’t recognize from my day to day, but I did from earlier tonight.

He glanced at me and half smiled. “Doing readings?”

I folded my arms and raised my eyebrows. “It’s not like you need one,” I said.

He turned and locked the door. “Nope. I’m here for something else.”

I didn’t move. There wouldn’t be a need. I was ready for him.

He stepped towards me and magick flared around him, trapping him inside. “What? You didn’t think someone who can see the future wouldn’t be ready for you?”

He smiled and shook his head. “Do you really think this little magick trick is going to hold me?” He grinned and I could clearly see something not even the vision I had earlier showed me. He was a Vampire.

Fucking awesome.

“It is right now,” I said without thinking. He was right, though. I would need to think of something fast to keep this asshole in check. I knew what he wanted. They all wanted it, my power.

When a vampire kills a witch they can take the power she holds. It’s been an ongoing issue with the vampires for decades. We had a truce once, but when the new leadership took over, that all changed.

They can’t take the warlocks just yet, but witches, especially the ones without coven support are easy targets for them to gain more power.

The vampire pushed on the edge of the magick wall keeping him held at bay. It bent slightly but didn’t buckle. If he pushed on it too much, the power would break and I’d be fucked.

“Looky, looky, it’s starting to bend already.” He laughed, but the way his eyes lingered on me made me not just feel small, but like he wasn’t planning on killing me slowly when he finally got out. No, he was going to take his time.

“Don’t worry that’s not my only trick,” I smarted off. His eyes followed me as I made my way to behind the counter and pulled one of my books from the shelf. It wasn’t one I ever let anyone else read because it was my family’s spells.

He pushed on the barrier again and it bent a little further while I thumbed through the book to the page with the portal spell. I could portal him right to the nice little cage I kept in my basement for special occasions.

I started the spell and directed it at him. He cocked his head for a moment and then pushed at the magick wall again. This time it started breaking so he put all his strength into it. I hurried through the spell just as the wall broke and he took a step towards me, those fangs of his on full display with that smile.

Then he was gone. I stood there for a moment in shock. There was only one other time I’d managed a spell out of that book and it wasn’t even close to this important. That vampire was going to kill me if he was just randomly free someplace.

I waited and listened for a minute before putting the book away and making my way through the back of my shop and down the stairs.

The basement was old and musty like most basements, but there was a veil of magick down here that kept it safe and out of sight of most people. The minute my feet hit the ground, I heard him slam into the metal bars of the cage. I sighed. It worked and I was safe for now.

He let his arms hang through the bars and watched me. “Nice play, witch.” I finally took him in. He was tall with short blonde hair and covered in tattoos. He didn’t bother to wear a shirt and as much as I hated to say it, the view was nice.

“You’ve seen a vampire before, haven’t you?” He said with a smirk.

My eyes shot to his. “Yes,” I lied. The truth was my family kept me pretty far from the magickal community for a long time. I don’t know if they were trying to protect my ability or what, but I only started really learning in the past five years. Most of that time was figuring out how to dodge the Warlocks. I didn’t even think about the vampires. Which I’ll admit was stupid. They were the more in your face danger. The warlocks didn’t give two shits about you if you stay out of their way.

“Why did you come here?” I started. “My powers?”

He shifted but kept his eyes on me. “Maybe,” he said.

Of course he wasn’t going to give me any information. “They aren’t very useful, you know.”

“What?”

I crinkle my nose as his question. “My power.”

“Sure, seeing the future isn’t going to help you at all,” he said with a sarcastic smile.

“Not when you can’t control it,” I admitted and then realized I probably should have kept that to myself. Instead of taking my powers and killing me, he’d probably do far worse. “Why would you want them anyway?”

“That’s my business,” he snapped.

“Well, enjoy spending the night in the cage,” I said with a quick smile. I turned and hurried up the stairs before he realized I how freaked out I really was. I mean I had a vampire in my basement and no idea what to do with him.

Today is going great.

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Chapter Two

I tossed and turned all night. The dreams were bad this time. Full of fangs and screams and blood. I didn’t know what the hell they meant, but the feeling was for sure not a great one.

I pulled my ass out of bed and got ready for the day of readings and trying to make sense of the weird dreams that seemed to be getting stronger and weirder as each day passed. First it was time to check on our little guest.

He was sitting against the brick wall watching me as I came down the stairs. I crossed my arms when I got to the bottom.

“Are you ready to answer my questions now?” I said, raising my eyebrows. While I should be scared of this guy, I found myself watching him in interest.

“What are you going to do, keep me in this cage forever?” He laughed. “Eventually, you’ll have to let me out or watch me die. Are you ready for that?”

“You don’t know anything about me,” I snapped.

“I know by the way your heart picks up when I say the word die that you won’t let that happen,” he said.

I leaned against the banister of the stairs. “You think you know things, but you don’t.”

“Really?” He jumped to his feet and I flinched. He seemed to think that was funny. “You don’t have a coven. You’re alone in this little shop with an apartment in the back reading fortunes for people who don’t care if you live or die.” He paused. “For what, when you can see the future?”

“See that’s where it gets tricky. The future is a jumbled up noise fest you have to unravel.” I shrugged. “Not really worth my time.”

“But you saw me coming,” He challenged.

I didn’t say anything. He was right. This vampire was the only thing I saw clearly in a long time. I didn’t know the time or the day he was coming, but I knew he’d walk through my door someday.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he smirked and I wanted to punch him, but that would be a bad idea. He’d get a hold of me faster than I could cast a spell and I’d be dead.

“So you are here for my power.” I said, shaking my head. “All the more reason to keep you in that cage till you shrivel up and die.”

“I don’t think you have the guts to let someone die,” he said.

“You’re not a someone. You’re a vampire,” I said and headed up the stairs. Every step, I felt his eyes on me, silently staring me down. This was going to be a long wait.

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Draven

I watched that woman walk away and took a deep breath. It wouldn’t be long and we’d both be dead. The Vampire royalty didn’t like loose ends. When I came here, it wasn’t because I thought this witch would help, but now she might be the only help I have. I groaned at the thought.

Witches did nothing for my community. The wars were older than I was and that was saying something. Of course no one ever told the story of what started this damn thing. Only that the witches were alive to steal power from and the more power we had, the better we’d be at staying alive.

I heard the doorbell at the front of the store ding and shook my head. This witch had a power she didn’t understand, but was so rare. Of course I targeted other witches first, but why drain the blood of a common power witch when you could literally see any danger coming at you?

That was what I needed right now, to see it all so I could save myself and maybe stay alive long enough to get the hell out of here.

It was too bad she would have to die for it. She was beautiful and smart. I smiled slightly at the thought of her light auburn hair falling in her face when she was trying to be tough. It wouldn’t be easy to drain the life from her, but it was necessary if I wanted to stay ahead of the game.

What a waste.

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Maya

I leaned back in my chair to give myself a minute to breathe. My readings weren’t back to back, but they did get draining after doing them for hours on end. While I was sitting there trying to figure out what I should do next, somebody I didn’t recognize walked in. He was definitely I was a magickal community but I didn’t know exactly what creature he might be. The way he walked it was very clear. he had more magick than I did and knew how to use it.

“What do you want?” I asked. He just looked at me for a moment before glancing over his shoulder at the guy behind him. I waited not knowing if he was going to say anything or if they were planning to do something that I wouldn’t like. The man was well dressed. He seemed like he was a businessman of some kind, but you could still feel the magic rolling off of him. It was interesting and a little bit intoxicating. I shook off the feeling that his magick was causing and stood behind my table. The fact that he didn’t answer me made me want to ask again.

Before I could, he spoke. “Are you the owner of this place?”

I nodded. I wasn’t sure what else to say.

He glanced again at the guy behind him. And I watched as the other man just. nodded, Then he said, “this is the place.”

“What do you mean this is the place?” There was a bit of urgency starting to rise in me. I didn’t know what the hell they were doing here or why they thought this was where they were supposed to be. If they were who I thought they were, warlocks, they wouldn’t be here just to say, hey, they had other things on their mind.

“I asked you a question.”

I said again, “fine.”

The Warlock looked at me He had a hint of a smile on his face.

“So this is the witch that can see the future,” he said. Not taking his eyes off of me. I didn’t answer. I just watched him. How in the hell would he even know that? I decided to play it cool.

“It’s. not. It’s not that useful,” I said because really it wasn’t like I told a vampire before. I couldn’t even see anything important. All I saw was I jumbled up mass of what the future could be. That didn’t help very much Not when you needed it anyway.

“You have no idea how powerful that is,” the Warlock said before he took a step towards me. I found myself stepping backwards. There was just something about him that I didn’t like. I didn’t know if it was in the way he moved or the power that I was feeling coming off of him.

I had very rarely had any experience where with Warlocks. They were something that I tried to stay away from. My family made sure that I understood the danger that came with them. They ran. the magical community, but they also were one of the more dangerous people to have not in your corner.

The warlock noticed we stumble backwards just a bit, and a smile crept to his lips. It kind of creeped me out, but I held my composure as best I could. I crossed my arms and stood my ground, refusing to step back anymore. The first steps may have been unintentional, more of a reaction to the power that I was feeling off of this guy, but I refused to give up any more space to anyone in my shop.

I fought a smile. He probably clocked that it wasn’t exactly anything but fear. But I held it anyway. “Of course not,” I said, “I just haven’t been around many warlocks.” That statement was one of the truest things that I said today. He glanced back at the guy behind him again, who shrugged,and then back to me.

“It’s not very safe to be out here as a witch with your kind of power, knowing there are vampires that could just kill you and take it.” I stood there staring at him for a second. Did he happen to know that there was a vampire in my basement at this very moment while he was talking to me? I hoped he didn’t, because that would be a violation of every treaty that I had ever heard of between the witches and the Warlocks. The war had been going on for a long time, and if I violated that treaty by having a vampire that I didn’t disclose to the warlock community, I’d be in deep shit.

“I understand the problems that come with my power,” I said, stumbling just a little bit on the words. He took another step towards me and put his hand on my shoulder. I guessed it was probably a way he thought, to make me feel better. But it did the opposite. It sent a chill through me. That made me think. That made me think I shouldn’t be trusting him at all, and I didn’t.

“You know, there are other ways for protection,” he said

I I glanced up at him, knowing exactly what he meant. When you weren’t with a coven, the Warlocks kind of expected you as a witch to marry them. It solidified their power and also kept you from being killed by rogue vampires who just wanted a snack, or who were looking specifically for any power you might have, but I learned a long time ago that that was not going to be an option for me. I was not about to be some Warlocks play thing. I’d rather have a vampire bite my neck, suck all my blood out and kill me. “Thanks, but I do better on my own,” I said.

“That might change very soon”, he said, before letting me go. “I’ll be fine. I know how to take care of myself.”

“Sure you can think that all you want, but when the vampires come and they trap you and try to kill you, you might have another idea.” He raised an eyebrow, glanced around the shop before turning and starting to walk through the door with the other guy following him. “Just remember what I said, there are other ways to be safe.”

He walked out the door and left me standing there in my own shop feeling like I had been completely violated, even though he had only touched me the one time. and done nothing. But tell me, what horrible things could happen to me.

Fuck.

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Draven

The minute I felt the energy shift, I knew someone else was there, someone who had magic, someone who was way more powerful than that little witch who’d put me in this cage. There was not much I could do. I was stuck here, but since I sensed the power within the building, I knew it had to be one of two things, either an extremely powerful witch who was coming to help her out in getting rid of me, or a warlock that would do just about the same thing, but he would make it hurt.

The one good thing about the witches is that when they killed us vampires, they were at least merciful and made it fast, usually with some kind of fire or simply letting us starve to death, which sucked but was better than the alternative. Warlocks, they liked to see us in pain. I guessed it had something to do with whatever happened all those years ago between the vampires, the Warlocks and the witches. I still didn’t know the complete history. I’d only been a vampire for a little while. I mean, in vampire years anyway.

I didn’t have time to think about it before the witch was walking down the stairs. She was visibly shaken. A part of me felt just a little bit sorry that she was going through it, just a tiny bit after all, I did want to kill her and take her power. There couldn’t be any emotion involved none and I was a vampire. Where was this emotion even coming from?

“So was it a witch or a warlock?” I laid my hands through the bars. She glanced at me, and the look on her face told me everything I needed to know. “Warlock then.” She leaned on the edge of the steps just at the very bottom, still too far for me to grab, but close enough that I could feel a little bit of her apprehension and everything that was going on.

“Why did the warlock suddenly have an interest in me?” She watched me “Does it have something to do with you?”

I shrugged, “honestly, I have no idea.”

She kind of nodded at my reaction before she turned and looked the other direction again, deep in thought.

“What do you think they’re going to do to you if they find out you have me down here?” I already knew the answer. They would either capture her, make her marry one of their warlocks, or they’d kill her because she didn’t want to do it. That’s how they worked. They didn’t care if she wanted to do things or not. They were only interested in having power any way they could get it.

She turned back towards me, and shook her head. “They already offered to marry me, at least that’s what it sounded like,” She said, “I made it very clear I didn’t want to do that.”

Bananas. They won’t care. They’ll do whatever they want. Bananas, I said in response, her eyes looked at me, and there was something there that broke a lot of the tension I had against her. I didn’t understand it. I didn’t know why I felt like there was some part of me that gave a shit whether she lived or died.

She must have seen it in my eyes.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she shifted.

“Like what?” I quickly, pulled it back. There was no way I was going to let this witch see any emotion from me. I’m a fucking vampire after all.

“It looked like you felt sorry for me,” she said. “Don’t. You’re a fucking vampire. I have you in this cage,not you have me in this cage,” she said.

I couldn’t help but smirk. There was a fire in her that was very entertaining. At the least, I kind of wondered if that was something that she kept in the front for people to see so they wouldn’t bother her, or if it was really who she was, there was also a tender part of her. I could see it in the way that she didn’t kill me right away, like most witches, and it was interesting to say the least.

“You can’t stay here now,” I said. “They’re going to come back, and when they do, they won’t give you a choice. They’ll do what they want to do, and you’ll either be a part of their little war or you’ll die.”

“And if I let you out, you’ll kill me,” She said.

I shrugged. “Better a quick death than a short one or a marriage you’re forced into.”

She shook her head. “There’s no way I’m letting you out. I can’t take that chance. I don’t want to die today.”

bananas, at least there’s a little bit of honesty there. Bananas, I said, this was the first time I think she ever gave me a straight answer. Bananas, I’ll tell you, what? If you let me out of here, I’ll help you get away.bananas.

“And then what? You’ll rip my throat out,”she said, crossing her arms as she spoke.

I smirked. “I Pinky promise I won’t kill you.”

“Right? Like I would believe that,” she said.

I gave her my best smile, but she wasn’t buying it. There was no way she was going to let me out of this cage, at least not unless she figured something else out.

I sighed. “Well, I guess we’re both dead then. She turned and walked back up the stairs and closed the door behind her, leaving me in the cage.

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Maya

I closed the door behind me thinking about what he said. There was something about a spell that could find the ability of someone to hurt you in one of my books, but I just couldn’t remember which one.

I hurried over to my bookshelf and shifted. I hurried over to my bookshelf and sifted through the different books, looking for the one that had the spell in it. I remember the cover was purple, but I didn’t remember what else. It had been a long time since I had looked at these books.

My mother gave them to me, and when I was old enough, she showed me a few, but I still didn’t know exactly what was in each of these things, just that some of them were more powerful than I cared to deal with.

Finally, I ran across the purple book that I was looking for, and I fingered through the pages looking for the one page I’d needed. If he was right about the Warlocks, which it seemed like he could be, Then I was in deep shit.

After searching through the book what seemed like forever, there it was. A spell to protect your soul from someone who wants to hurt you. Perfect.

I checked for any ingredients and it didn’t look like there was any. This was simply an energy spell. When I skimmed the words, it talked about bringing your soul together to protect it from any outside forces. I wondered if that meant this might protect me from the Warlocks too. That would be a plus I hadn’t considered.

At least this Vampire in my basement wouldn’t be able to kill me like he wanted. He’d be forced to help me or die trying. I paused for a moment thinking about that. It would be kind of cool to have a Vampire protector and I had to admit he was pretty good looking.

What am I saying? He’s a vampire. Get it together.

I glanced back at the spell and sighed. This was the only way I was going to get away and maybe have a chance. I could leverage the hate the Warlocks had for the vampires and vice versa. Maybe that would be enough to get me out of this mess and actually survive.

I hurried up and grabbed some chalk I kept at the counter for circle making and made my spell circle. It was a small thing, but protected me while I was doing my spell work. I didn’t know what this spell might do since it was new to me.

With everything drawn and the circle made, I sat in the center with the book in front of me. I closed my eyes and concentrated on protection from anyone that could or would hurt me and said the spell. I felt the energy around me rise and fall but something was different. I opened my eyes and the vampire was staring back at me with a cocky smile and his arms crossed.

“I’m guessing that didn’t go the way you thought,” he said and lunged at me, pinning me to the ground. “Now we’re both stuck in this cage.”

I pushed at him to get off, but it was like trying to move stone.

He smelled my hair before pushing himself up and away from me. “I mean I can’t kill you while we’re both in here. The spell would never lift and I’d just die in here, so you got that part right, but I also can feed on you whenever I’m hungry soo,” He smiled and I got a good look at his fangs.

“This is not what was supposed to happen,” I sighed.

“That’s the thing about spell work, you never know what’s going to happen. It kind of does it’s own thing,” he said, taking a seat on the other side of the cage.

“What would you know about spells?” I smarted off.

He shook his head. “You would be surprised.”

I crinkled my forehead. God, was I stupid for letting him tell me about a spell he probably knew was going to end like this.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you, yet anyway.” He crossed his arms. “So, are we just going to sit in here all night?”

“I’ll find a way out of here and you’ll stay right here,” I countered.

“Oh, but you see you can’t. The minute you break the spell to get out of this thing, I’m going to go right behind you.” He smiled and cocked his head. “What a problem for you.”

“Why would the spell put me in this cage with you,” I said to myself.

“Probably because I’m safer to be around than those warlocks,” he said eyeing me.

“I don’t think you’re any safer,” I mumbled.

“Looks like you have a real problem on your hands,” He raised an eyebrow. “So, what are you going to do?”

That was the question. What the hell am I going to do?

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Draven

I watched her as she spiraled into what was the better choice here. It seemed like that little spell was forcing her into something she wasn’t completely okay with. The idea of letting me out was eating her alive. Time to give it a little push and see id she’d faulter.

“You know if they come back and find you in this cage with me, they’ll have you where they want you.”

Her gaze shot to me. “They’d just kill you.”

“I’m sure, but they’d also be able to use it as justification to force you into marriage.”

“Why do you care?”

“I want to stay alive,” I snapped.

“So self preservation is your only motivation?” She watched me.

I forced a laugh. “Of course it is.” I shook my head. “What? Do you actually think I give a fuck about you?”

“No,” She said as she dropped her gaze.

“You’re useful to me,” I said even though part of it was true, there was something more there I wasn’t ready to admit. “You can see them coming and you can set me free from this cage.”

“Of course you only want that,” she said shaking her head.

“So, I guess what is the better choice?” I said, watching her. “Stay here and know you’re dead or worse. Or-” He shrugged. “-Trust a vampire.”

“One who already made it clear he wants to kill me,” She answered.

I shrugged. “Would it help if I tell you my name?”

She raised an eyebrow and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Draven,” I said simply.

She nodded, “Okay, Draven. Now tell me why you want to kill me so bad.”

The way she said my name made something in me stir and it took all I had to not throw her on the ground and fuck her till the sun came up. I couldn’t explain why.

“I wanted to protect myself,” it was a simple answer and all I could manage at the moment.

“From the warlocks or something else?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “What do you know?” The way she was pressing there was something she wasn’t telling me. Maybe a vision she didn’t want to share.

She looked away and I pressed. “What do you know?” I repeated a little harsher.

She shook here head. “Nothing much. Just scrambles of visions.”

“Of me?”

“Of us.”

Now I was intrigued. “Of us?”

She glanced back to me. “If my visions are right, we get out of this cage and both of us die.”

Well fuck.

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Maya

“What the fuck do you mean we both die?” He almost yelled.

I blinked at him. How the hell could I explain the weirdness of my visions.

“You can’t just drop a bomb like that and not say anything else,” he jumped to his feet and walked to me. I scurried to my feet so at least he wouldn’t be standing over me freaking out. He stopped right in front of me almost glaring at me.

“It’s hard to explain,” I stuttered.

“Try.”

“It’s mostly just flashes,” I said.

He kept his eyes on me, waiting for me to explain further.

“Vampires and you and me and lots of blood,” I said with a shrug.

“So, you don’t know that we die. It might just be you or them.” He didn’t move and my back was pushed up against the bars. “Either way, you know we can’t stay here.”

“I don’t trust you,” I said plainly.

“Good. You shouldn’t.” He sighed. “But trust I want to stay alive and you may be the best way to do that.”

“You’ll kill me and take my powers the moment I let you out. We’ve been over this,” I said. He was still so close to me. Too close.

“What good will it do me if I can’t figure out what the visions mean. At least you have an idea.” He paused and his gaze dropped to my lips and back to my eyes. “Plus you have me to help you figure it out.”

“I still don’t trust you,” I said without thinking.

He sighed and took a step back. “Have you done a Witches pact before?”

“A witches pact?” I repeated. “No.”

He turned and shook his head. “What in the hell did they teach you?”

“Not much, honestly. The idea was to blend in and not get noticed,” I said honestly.

“It’s easy enough. But you have to accept it or it doesn’t work.” He turned back to me and held out his hand. “We hold hands, I vow not to kill you and you vow to let me out of this cage. Win, win.”

“That’s it?” I glanced at his hand and then to his face. I couldn’t see any evidence he was lying to me, but that didn’t mean much.

“That’s it. But like I said, you have to believe it or it doesn’t work.” He waited. “I’m also told you’ll feel it take hold. I wouldn’t know being a vampire and all.”

“Somehow I doubt that.” I bit my lip and thought about it. How did he know so much about magick?

He extended his hand again. “Tick, tock, princess.”

I glared at the weird pet name. He was right, though. We didn’t have a lot of time and I didn’t know when that vision would happen. Maybe tonight, maybe a year from now. There was just no way of knowing.

I reluctantly took his hand and felt a strange tingle shook through me. It wasn’t magick I was used to. This was something else.

“I swear I won’t kill you,” He said.

I watched him and there was no sense of anything more than sincerity in his words. I believed it. “I swear I’ll let you out of this cage,” I said and the energy pushed through my hand and down my arm, acting as a layer of some kind of magick I wasn’t used to. Something older than the magick I took my mothers books.

He let go and leaned back. “So, let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Chapter Nine

It wasn’t hard to break the spell on the cage even if I was still a bit worried he was going to take me out the moment the barrier came down. I opened the door and stepped out, holding my breath as he followed.

“You know you can just go, right?” I said, hoping he’d just take off and I could continue on with my life.

“I could, but we’re kind of bonded now,” he said and I stared at him.

“Not really. I did my part, you’re doing your part by getting out of here and not killing me.”

“True, but if the warlocks get you, then I’m fucked anyway. Sooo, we’re better together,” he said with a cocky smile.

“I can take care of myself,”I said.

“I don’t doubt that, but not against an entire council of warlocks who’ve been destroying witches and vampires for centuries.” He leaned against the open cage door. “Not even a pretty little divination witch can stop that.”

Divination witch?

“How do you know so much about witches?” I asked without thinking.

He shrugged. “Time to go,” he said and it took me only a second longer to realize there was someone else in the shop. The wards I put up pushed energy through the entire basement and I almost gasped. But there were hands on my mouth. Draven’s hands.

“Stay quiet,” he whispered so low, I barely heard it.

I pointed at a small door on the other side of the basement. It was so little we’d have to crawl, but at least we could get out before they got to us.

He let me go and slowly walked to little door and pulled it open silently and motioned for me to go. I didn’t hesitate and crawled into the open space.

It was small and cramped and smelled like dirt and death. The first was easy to figure out as it was literally going through the back ground of the shop, but I never understood the smell of death that lingered in that space. Probably why I never opened the passage. I just knew it was there if I needed it.

The end of the tunnel was just in front of me, but the door was closed as always. I glanced back to Draven who was right behind me and he raised his eyebrows.

“Do you want to open the door or stay in this cave of death forever?” He joked.

The sarcasm was getting old.

I pushed on the door hard and it flew open. I hesitated for a minute. What if one of the warlocks are back here?

Draven, apparently tired of waiting pushed past me and stepped out into the night air. I watched him draw in a breath and hold his arms out before I stepped out beside him.

“See, we’re good.” He glanced at me. “I have a place we can lay low for a bit, but you can’t use any of your magick.”

“Not sure that’s a great idea,” I said.

“You can stay here with these assholes if you want. I’m sure they’d love to get their hands on you,” he said with a cocky grin.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Fine.”

“Say it,” he insisted.

“I won’t use any magick while we’re there. Happy?”

He chuckled and started walking down the alley at the back of the shop. “Come on, princess.”

“Stop calling me princess,” I snapped.

“Careful how loud you chastise me. They’ll hear you.”

I hurried to catch up with him. “Then don’t call me pet names,” I said.

“I’ll call you whatever I want, princess.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re a dick.”

He laughed and glanced at me. “I mean yeah.” He smiled bigger and I could see his fangs. They weren’t what I expected in a vampire. They were set back a bit and not as large as they make them seem with the movies on television. He could almost pass as human.

I took in the tattoos as we walked. Now that I was closer I could make out the snake that slinked around his arm and up his shoulder. It was an interesting tattoo. I studied it further trying to make out what kind of snake it was and why the hell he’d even put that on his body. But the Celtic on on his chest drew my eyes from the snake. It was an intricate knot I’d seen before. Not on vampires though. That was a witches knot.

He glanced at me and I quickly looked away. We walked in since for awhile until he abruptly stopped and turned down a second alley.

“It’s this way,” he said.

“Where is this place?”

“Not far now, but I took the long way just in case,” he said.

I didn’t say anything else, but stayed beside him. The last thing I needed was to get lost in the middle of the city and be hunted by warlocks at the same time.

He finally stopped and climbed a set of concrete stairs. The area was trashy and nowhere I’d want to be if I was on my own. I stood there for a moment taking in the trash covered alley and yelling not far from where I stood.

He turned and looked at me for a minute. “You coming?”

I sighed and followed him up the stairs and into the building. It was by all accounts abandoned. The walls were covered in graffiti and most of the doors were boarded up.

“This is where you live?” I said surprised.

“What did you expect, a mansion?” He chuckled.

“Kind of,” I muttered.

He shook his head. “I’m just a lowly vampire,” he teased. He stopped at a door that had “Stay the fuck out” spray painted on it and opened the door.

I pointed at the warning and said, “Lovely.”

He shrugged and walked to the other side of the living room area and plopped on the couch. “Sometimes direct is better,” he said, motioning for me to close the door.

“So, this is you’re great hiding place?” I turned to my left and took in the kitchen. It was messy and obviously unused but there were bottles lining the counter and herbs sitting in piles on the counter. I crossed my arms and glanced back to him.

“Why do you have witch stuff here?”

He didn’t answer. “Take a seat and relax. It’s going to be a long few days.”

“Not until you answer some questions,” I demanded.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “The herbs are here for a friend.”

“A witch?” I pushed. If he wanted me to trust him, he was going to have to tell me something.

He jumped up and was pushing me against the wall with his body before I could register he moved. “Is that really what you want to know?” His blue eyes burned into mine.

I dropped my gaze to the witch knot tattoo and back up. “Why do you have that?”

He smiled and bit his lip, letting one of his fangs show. “Because I do.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“That’s not the question you want to ask,” He countered.

I opened my mouth to say some smart ass remark, but before I could, his lips were on mine. It wasn’t like anything I’d experienced before. There was something different in the energy between us. Something that went further than just the way his lips claimed mine.

He pulled back, but kept his eyes on me. “You didn’t see that coming, did you?”

I stuttered and he smiled bigger. What the fuck?

He stepped back and motioned towards another room. “You can get some sleep in there. I promise I will leave you alone.” He stepped to the side but the smirk stayed. “Unless you don’t want to be alone.”

“I’m good,” I lied. There were still so many questions on my mind, but he wasn’t going to answer any of them and maybe it was better that way. The closer I got to him, the more dangerous it would be. And the closer to my vision we’d get.

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Draven

I watched her close the bedroom door and it took everything in me not to follow her in there. She was so close to figuring out what I was before my life changed. She wouldn’t believe it if I told her, but god all I wanted was to tell her everything.

I grabbed a jar of blood I kept for when I couldn’t hunt for some reason. It was stale and cold which made me madder, but it was better than starving. Falling into the couch again, all I could think of was Maya. The way she moved. The way she would tell me to fuck off in her own way. I laughed slightly at the thought. She was a fighter and there was no way I could let those fucking warlocks get their hands on her.

I felt the energy shift and almost dropped my blood. Fuck.

She’s having a vision.

I sat it down and flew into the bedroom. She was sleeping but her face was contorting and the energy coming off of her was overwhelming. There was no way the warlocks wouldn’t feel it. I leaned over her and put my hand on her arm to shake her.

Before I could even react, I was pulled into her vision. I was watching everything she was seeing. The warlocks closing in. Busting down my door and hands reaching.

Then I was violently thrown out of the thing as fast as I went into it.

“What the fuck was that?” I snapped as she opened her eyes, her chest heaving in fear.

“How did you do that?” She said, scooting away. “Vampires can’t do that.”

“I guess we can,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “Is that what you’ve been seeing?”

“Not that clearly,” she said, but she was still looking at me like I was going to go back on my pact.

“I’m not going to hurt you. Pact remember?” I kept my eyes on her.

“Nothing is the way it should be. You know too much about magick. You’re friend’s a witch, isn’t she?”

I opened my mouth to explain, but it was so complicated. Most vampires were made from humans. I didn’t know how to tell her what I was before and how it bled into what I am now.

“Just tell me the truth,” she said.

I dropped my gaze and sighed. “I was a witch.”

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Maya

“That’s not possible,” I said, keeping my eyes on him. “There are no male witches, only warlocks.”

He shook his head. “It’s rare, but it happens.”

I stared at him and he just watched me. “When?”

“I was turned in the eighties when I was twenty seven.” He watched me as he spoke.

I shook my head. “Why didn’t I know?”

“How could you. You’re family didn’t exactly teach you much. Why would they add in something that happens so rarely,” He said cocking a smile.

“But you were going to kill me,” I said.

“Right, that. I don’t have any powers. Not anymore. Killing a witch still gives a vampire powers,” he said. “Sorry about that.”

The fact he was living like this made a lot more sense now. If they expected him to keep powers when he was turned and didn’t, they’d more than likely discard him or hunt him.

“Why me?” I said, quietly.

“I told you. The visions are useful. I never expected to…” He trailed off.

“To what?”

Again with that vampire speed, he was on top of me, pinning me to the bed. “To want you so badly. To crave your lips against mine every minute of every day.” He slid his hand down my side under my shirt. “To want to have you naked in my bed screaming my name.” His hand traveled up my body against my skin. “To want to keep you, to own you even when you had me in a cage.” He kissed my neck and I felt my breath catch. “You want that too, don’t you?”

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Chapter Twelve

After I had come down from my sex high, it was time to come back to reality. The warlocks were coming and it wasn’t going to end well. I guess I at least got some good sex before I was going to die.

“We still have a chance to get out of here before they come,” Draven said, throwing me my shirt.

I absently ran my fingers over the bite marks on my neck. He didn’t know it, but my visions always came true. Always. They would come and everything I saw would happen.

“What kind of magick did you know?” I asked, curious.

“What. Why?” He said, looking annoyed I was asking questions at a time like this.

“You knew stuff I didn’t,” I said.

He sighed. “Male witches don’t have access to the same magick you do. I had to go old school.”

“Old school?” I was still confused.

“Like nature magick. Living magick.” He glanced at my confused face. “That’s why I can’t do it anymore. I’m dead.”

“Oh,” I said. That made more sense. “Why don’t they teach it.”

He smiled. “Why teach an old dead magick when you can use the stuff that’s right on the surface.”

I let it drop but I was still curious. If I got out of this alive, I’d make sure to research this magick more. It could be useful if warlocks and others didn’t use it. They wouldn’t expect it.

I felt the energy drop and sucked in a breath. “It’s too late, they’re here,” I glanced at Draven who pointed at the window. “Run. I’ll give you time to get out of here.”

“Not a chance,” I snapped. “They’ll kill you.”

“They will anyway,” He protested.

“I’m not going.” I stared him down and he made a frustrated face.

“Fuck. You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that.”

I shrugged.

The door flew backwards off the hinges and that same warlock from before stepped through.

“Finally, I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he said. His gaze moved to Draven and he shook his head. “Why would you take up with a vampire?”

“Because you’re worse,” Draven said. “Plus I’m better in bed so that’s a plus.”

I gave him a look and he smirked.

The warlock looked at each of us and shook his head. “What a waste,” he said.

“You’re going to kill me after all that?” I said.

“You’re not worth it if you were with him.” His eyes slid to the bite mark on my neck. “And you let him mark you.”

“What can I say, I was hungry,”Draven said with a laugh. “And she was a great meal.”

The warlock closed his hand and Draven fell forward. “I’m tired of hearing you talk.”

I took a step towards Draven before the warlock shot me a look of warning. “I wouldn’t move if I were you.”

“You already told me I’m dead so I’ll do what the fuck I want,” I snapped and dropped down beside him. I grabbed his arm and he gasped for air. “Let him live.”

“Why would I do that?” The warlock said.

“I’ll do what you wanted. I’ll do this marriage thing,” I said and a shot of electricity went through me. It was painful like I’d broken a promise.

He stopped and considered my words for a moment. “You don’t know do you?”

“Know what?” I felt like the stupidest person in the room. I didn’t know magick well. I didn’t know male witches were a thing and here was something else I wasn’t going to know.

“You were marked by a vampire. That’s a pact.” He shook his head. “You’re as good as dead.” He turned his gaze back to Draven. “But first, him.” Whatever he was doing before, He started again and Draven curled into a ball on the floor. “It won’t take long. Then it’s your turn.”

I shook my head and grabbed his hand and power shot through me. It caught me off guard, but Draven seemed to recognize it. He pulled me to him and whatever power it was acted as a barrier between the warlock’s magick and Draven.

“Don’t let go,” Draven said. “You must have been thinking of something else when you cast that original protection pact.”

I stared at him confused for a moment. Then it hit me, the spell that landed me in the cage with him in the first place. I didn’t cast it to protect me from Draven, I cast it to protect me from the warlocks and somehow it was moving through me to him as well.

I didn’t know how to use a lot of magick, but I knew how to push my energy. I stepped forward still holding his hand and pushed my energy out towards the warlock. He stepped back clearly off his game now.

“Leave, or I’ll make you,” I said with as much authority as I could find in myself.

He took a breath. “You might have protection now, but it won’t last forever. We’ll find you and we’ll kill you.”

“Maybe, but not today,” I said.

He cocked his head and smiled. “What a waste. You would have been so powerful with us.”

I held my gaze on him as he turned and walked away. As soon as he was gone, I let the energy fall and sat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t know where that came from.”

“Sure you do,” he smirked and leaned against the wall.

I shook my head in confusion. “That magick wasn’t anything I’ve ever felt before.”

“I have,” he said. “Before I was turned. Somehow you tapped into what was once ,y connection with living magick.”

“How is that possible?”

“I don’t know, but we have a long time to figure that out.” He held out his hand. “Let’s get out of here before they come back with reinforcements.”

I took his hand and glanced around the room. “Where are we going to go?”

“I know a place. It’s far enough they won’t find us for awhile,” He pulled me to him. “You in?”

“Do I have a choice?” I teased.

“Not a chance.”

The End…

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