Duella Book 3: The Witch and the Vampire Series (5 page)

Miriam crossed her arms over her chest and shivered. “This might sound odd, since I’m already dead, but I feel a chill.” She searched the library, glancing quickly from side to side. “I think I’ll leave now,
Duella
. You can stay if you want to.”

Duella
turned his gaze on her as she returned to the window ledge where they had entered the building. In a second, she had materialized and vanished beneath the sill. He raked one hand through his hair. He hadn’t seen the woman Miriam claimed to have seen, or sensed any presence, but every instinct he had told him that
Drucella
had paid him another visit.

Chapter Seven

Duella
stood beyond the window of the home office and stared at the squat man seated at the large desk. He was intent on his work, bending his head and scribbling frantically with a pen. He studied him, sensed his fatigue. His body was failing. His heart was weak. He owned the largest corporation in the city,
Glasco
Enterprises, a manufacturing and distributing giant that branched into
England
and
France
. His holdings were vast. And he intended to have them.

Duella
transformed, vaporized into a wispy mist and seeped beneath the glass patio doors leading into the room. He materialized into his vampire state in one dark corner of the office, his host none the wiser as he appeared absorbed in pages of figures splayed across his desk. He had taken the liberty of entering his name in the business records of the corporation, making himself
CEO
and assuming ownership upon Fred
Glasco’s
death. He would inherit the house he presently occupied, and the two homes he owned in
England
and
France
, along with the yacht he kept for his cruises along the Rivera. Fred
Glasco
had no living relatives, aside from a distant nephew that he hadn’t seen in almost twenty years.
Duella
deemed him no threat should he turn up wanting a share of the old man’s assets.

Duella
stepped up to the desk, drawing Fred’s attention from the scattering of papers. He gasped, blinked his eyes at
Duella
as though he couldn’t believe he was looking at a vampire with bared fangs and glowing red eyes, and fell over dead, knocking his head against his desk.
Duella
listened to his heart beat its final thud, quiver a moment as though trying to strike another beat, then cease altogether.

Well, that’s done.
Duella
turned on his heel and strolled from the room. Finding himself in a wide foyer, he turned his feet toward the lighted portion of the spacious home. He would be moving in once Fred’s body was moved out of the premises. He clasped his hands behind his back and strolled amid the beautiful rooms. Each seemed more lavish then the last, with expensive paintings decorating the walls and exquisite furnishings.

I’m going to like it here.
He would keep the house staff, of course. He would need people to keep the place clean and the gardening crew. The lawn spanned almost five acres, with plants too numerous to count. He would assume a life as normal as possible, given his vampire state. With his powers of persuasion, he could maintain a reasonable existence and have people to do his biding.

With his plan set in motion, he left the estate, deciding to look up Miriam. Last he had seen of the she vampire, she was distraught over the incident in the library. His brows furrowed as he thought about
Drucella
and the reason she had sought him out.

She cannot have the amulet.
Convinced that the gem was the reason he was adjusting so quickly to his new era, he would fight to the death to keep it. He clutched it in one hand, vowing to never take it off his neck. It would remain with him forever.

He began his search for Miriam at her house, but found no traces of her. Returning to a more crowded part of the city, he materialized into his male form so he could walk among the people on the sidewalk. He paid close attention to their mode of dress, realizing that he would have to imitate the mass so as not to call undue attention to himself. Noting that most of the males were clad in denim jeans and long sleeve shirts, he soon came upon the retail section of the city and went in search of his own clothing.

A few minutes later, he returned, casually dressed, and resumed his mingling with the people of the city, an eye out for Miriam. He didn’t think he would find her in any of the nightspots he had seen those on the streets frequenting. From his evaluation of the she vampire, he didn’t think she was very likely to have established herself in the city, either professionally or socially. And the long black dress she wore was hardly fit to be seen in.

He felt a shard of sadness grip his insides with the thought. Miriam seemed nice enough—as vampires went. She hadn’t tried to bite him while they were together and he had only seen her long talons once, that being when she was returning to her vampire self after having fed.

He stepped through the door of a nightclub and paused, having decided that it would be in his best interest to see what went on in one of the rowdy bars. He moved to the side of the door and turned his gaze out over the crowd. There wasn’t a vacant seat in the room. Loud music blared into the space and at the back of the room, a six-piece band performed on a small stage. Dancers filled the space before the stage, their bodies gyrating to the tune of the music. A long bar spanned the length of the room with a row of pedestal stools flanking it. Every stool was occupied and several people stood between the stools. The din was almost deafening. One voice couldn’t be discerned from the other. Turning his gaze on one couple seated along the edge of the room, he tuned his hearing specifically to their conversation.

“Let’s go back to your place.”

“We just got here, you horny son-of-a-bitch.”

Duella
turned his head away. The couple was discussing sex. He turned his attention on another couple and tuned his keen hearing toward their conversation.

“Sex was good last night.”

“Yes. It was. Buy me another drink and maybe I’ll let you fuck me again tonight.”

Duella
shook his head and smiled slightly. Apparently, sex was the favored topic among young people of the day. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his new jeans and stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of the bar.

He heard the siren, screaming through the night, its high-pitched wail growing louder as it approached the intersection. He looked in the direction it came, thinking perhaps the housekeeping staff had discovered Fred
Glasco’s
body. The ambulance passed through the crossroads and continued toward the outskirts of the city. He smiled. This time tomorrow night he would be residing in the mansion across town. Perhaps he’d sit at Fred’s desk and go over his assets.

He refused to allow the feeling that he had done anything wrong to rise up inside him. He had been a vampire long enough to know that he could take what he wanted—if he went about it with a bit of finesse. He puffed out his chest. He had handled the
Glasco
deal with as much finesse as he could muster. He would soon be a wealthy man and a vampire that resided in one of the oldest cities in the
United States
.

“Hand over the amulet.”

He turned and spied
Drucella
within arm’s reach. Glancing to either side, he observed the mass of people that he stood amid on the sidewalk.

Drucella
smiled at him, a cunning grin that dimpled her cheeks and narrowed her eyes—pure evil shown from the clear blue depths as she let him know she had caught him at an awkward moment. He couldn’t possibly destroy her with others looking on.

“Perhaps you’d care to join me for a little stroll in the park.” He knew she would refuse him, but caught surrounded by so many patrons from the bar, he had little choice but to be polite. Gall rose up inside him at the prospect of continuing the charade for much longer. He moved to step from the gathering that formed around him when he left the nightclub, and lead
Drucella
into the shadows, a half smile on his lips.

“I would not. Give me the amulet.”

He shook his head. The amulet hung against his chest, safely inside his new modern-day shirt, out of sight of prying eyes.

“I’ll destroy you,
Duella
Sutherland.”

“I’m not afraid of your threats,
Drucella
. You’re wasting your time.”

“Perhaps your new whore should pay for your lack of obedience.”

Duella
frowned.
“Obedience?
To you?”

“You wear the amulet belonging to one of my
coven,
therefore you are obedient to me.”

“Your coven is no longer. The witches are dead. We’ve discussed this already,
Drucella
. Be on your way. We have no business.”

She smiled. “I know what you did tonight.”

He glanced around, wondering if the others overheard. It would be his undoing should
Drucella
reveal anything pertaining to Fred
Glasco
and his sudden demise. He waved a hand, placing everyone nearby in a trance while he grabbed hold of
Drucella’s
arm and lifted into the air.

The witch screeched and kicked her feet, trying to free herself.

Duella
held her arm in a vice-like grip and soared upward into the darkness. “I’ll be damned if I let you destroy my plan,
Drucella
!” He flew to the edge of the city, spied a graveyard and lowered their bodies beside a stone mausoleum.
Drucella
wrenched free once he set her feet on the ground.

She backed away from him and sneered angrily. “You are a fool,
Duella
. You cannot live here, among the living. You are a creature of the night. You belong with the dead.”

He pulled in a long breath. Upon
Drucella’s
demise, he would be free to do whatever he desired. He lunged at her, the thought of ending her existence that very moment filling his head. He had allowed her to dictate to him far too long. He caught her around the throat, hauled her against his chest, with all intentions of ripping her neck open and drinking every drop of her blood.

Drucella
screeched and vanished into thin air the second his fingers clasped around her neck.

He berated himself for letting her get away again. Why hadn’t he tried a different tactic to annihilate the witch? He combed one hand through his hair,
then
massaged the back of his neck as he searched the area for signs of
Drucella
. As before, she had vanished without leaving any trace behind.

Dammit! I’ve just prolonged the agony of not knowing when she will pop up again.
He leaned against the stone grave marker and considered
Drucella’s
quest. Since he had no intention of handing over the amulet to her, he was faced with coming up with another plan to deter her efforts. He thought about the incident at the library earlier that evening. Miriam had been frightened, and he had pushed the matter aside in lieu of finding the business information he had come to collect. Then once Miriam had calmed a bit, she chose to leave altogether. He hadn’t questioned her wanting to leave, assuming that she was still scared by what had happened.

What happened to make Miriam so scared?
He loathed the idea of involving Miriam in his dealings with
Drucella
. The witch was aware of their acquaintance and had issued a threat against Miriam already. He would be wise to warn Miriam to be on the lookout for
Drucella
if he did nothing else. He considered his options. He only had two. He could
either tell Miriam about
Drucella
and
hope she took his warning seriously, or he could leave
New Orleans
and hope
Drucella
followed him, perhaps ending the danger to Miriam forever.

“Damn!” He returned his thinking to the incident at the library. Miriam had sensed something strange in one section of the room. Had she ventured to that area while he went about appeasing his curiosity for his visit? If so, did she find something—or was something waiting for her and luring her to her fate?

He suspected that
Drucella
was something more than merely a witch—but he had no idea what that might be. He thought of the amulet. Its power came from the dark one. He was certain of that. But he didn’t dispute the fact that it was available to him for use. In fact, he relished the idea. He was a stranger in a new era and needed the guidance. He debated whether to return to the library and investigate the bookcase Miriam had called his attention to—or continue his search for Miriam so he could question her about the frightening episode.

He gazed overhead. The night would soon be over. Daylight hovered on the horizon. The choice had been made for him. He would have to seek safety for now.