Four Centuries (Damned and Cursed Book 7) (50 page)

"You're supposed to be in Delaware," Victoria said.

"I didn't like your plan, so I changed it a little.
 
Don't worry, I sent a substitute.
 
I pulled up at Tony's place just in time, saw them taking you away."

"I'm a big girl," she said, although as always, was touched at his concern.
 
"I can take care of myself."

"I know, but using yourself as bait…I'm not a fan.
 
Is this the fuck-head in charge?"

"Yeah."

"You going to kill him?"

"Always in a rush to kill.
 
Did you kill everyone here?"

"Yeah."

"Damnit, Jack.
 
I didn't want to kill, if I didn't have to.
 
Killing is expensive."

"Send me a bill.
 
It was worth it."

Patrick nearly stumbled at the news.
 
He leaned his weight against the desk.

"My men?
 
You killed…all of them?"

"For a vampire, you have lousy hearing."

"Those men…they worked for me for years.
 
They had wives.
 
Families."

Jack pointed at him.

"Hey, I think that's what a few of them were trying to say when I cut their throats.
 
Can't be too sure, though, I didn't let them finish.
 
Maybe they should have picked a different career path.
 
Don't worry.
 
I actually own a flower shop.
 
I'll give you a discount on all the boo-hoo cards and flowers you want."

"Jack," Victoria said.
 
"Please."

He smiled and crossed his arms.
 
Victoria should have known he was going to show up, take matters in his own hands.
 
She wasn't sure if he was making a tenuous situation worse, or simplifying it.
 
Regardless, whether she was truly in danger or faking it, if Jack thought she was in trouble, nothing alive would stop him from getting to her.

"All those good men," Patrick said.
 
"Gone."

"You might not want to climb on the moral scale with us," Victoria said.
 
"You killed vampires that were trying to live their lives.
 
We killed armed men that knew what they were hired for."

"Is this…Jack Kursed?" Patrick asked.
 
"I thought you two had a falling out."

"We kissed and made up," Jack said.

Patrick scoffed in disgust.

"First a witch.
 
And now this madman.
 
Who else do you associate with?"

Victoria turned serious, matching Patrick's tone.
 
The tenderness between the two of them was gone.

"Well, I would have liked that to have been you.
 
But that's over with.
 
You don't have to worry about who I associate with.
 
No one else in New Delhi has to be concerned.
 
All they have to do is leave me alone.
 
Leave Kevin alone."

"I don't know if that's possible."

"They'd better make it possible."

Jack scowled.
 
"You're going to let him live.
 
Terrible."

"Quiet."

The unconscious man at Jack's feet stirred, letting out a moan of discomfort.
 
Jack stepped over him, almost forgetting he was there.

"Oh yeah, this guy," he said.
 
"He said he knew you, begged me not to kill him.
 
Try not to gag on the smell.
 
He shit himself."

Victoria squatted at the man's side and turned him over gently.
 
His features were almost unrecognizable.
 
His face was swollen, one eye couldn't open.
 
Two teeth were missing.
 
Through the stench of excrement, she recognized a scent.

"Amit," she said, tenderly touching his cheek.
 
"You…are a part of all this?"

"Victoria," he said, his voice barely audible.
 
"They said it was so you'd come back.
 
Come back to us next year."

"You bugged my house when you visited, didn't you?
 
Maybe even my phone?"

"I…did.
 
Then they told me you were friends with horrible people."
 
He looked up at Jack.
 
"They were right."

"You know what's horrible?" Jack said.
 
"A grown man shitting in his pants."

A voice spoke from Jack's pocket.

"Jack?
 
Hey, Jack?
 
Are you there?"

He retrieved the magical rock, holding it between Victoria and himself.
 
Patrick watched, astonished, as Amit slumped back to the floor.

"Glinda."

"Is Victoria with you?
 
I can't get a hold of her."

"I'm here," she said, leaning closer.
 
"Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah.
 
Everything's fine.
 
I just have a million questions."

"Can you make a portal?" Victoria asked.

"Sure.
 
I've got a computer here, and a printer.
 
Just take a picture and send it to my email.
 
You know what to do."

Jack stepped away to photograph the wall as Victoria approached Patrick.
 
She almost felt pity for him.
 
All his planning, all the work he'd done, was collapsing around him.
 
He truly believed he was doing the right thing for the good of the world.

"They won't stop coming after the witch," Patrick said.
 
"And I don't know what they'll do about you.
 
They'll come with everything they've got."

"That will be hard with no money."

He didn't expect Victoria's confidence.

"What…do you mean?"

"I knew it was either Walter, Terry, or Evelyn.
 
So, I've got a few friends of mine working.
 
It's amazing what you can do behind a computer now.
 
All their accounts, property, everything, will be mine soon."

Patrick's mouth hung open.
 
She could see it in his eyes.
 
It finally dawned on him that he'd taken on too much, tackled an opponent he couldn't hope to handle.

"Victoria, let's talk about this."

She couldn't stop the laugh that escaped.

"
Now
you want to talk?
 
I wanted to talk, remember?
 
You wanted to kill my friend and cut me up."

The familiar hum of an active portal emerged behind her.
 
She looked over her shoulder to see Kevin standing in an office, waiting patiently.

"You guys coming?" he asked, then threw up a palm.
 
"But I have to warn you.
 
You're going to see some weird shit."

Coming from the mouth of a witch, those words carried meaning.

"Jack," Victoria said.
 
"Would you bring Amit, please?"

"Sure.
 
I love dragging shitty people around."

He grabbed Amit by the foot and again pulled him, this time through the portal.
 
Patrick took careful steps, approaching the magical gateway.

"What is this?"

"This is just a little of what Kevin can do."

"Yeah," Jack said sarcastically.
 
"Can't make a cure to a curse to save his ass, though."

"Are you both going to kill me?" Patrick asked.
 
"Speaking of cures, that wouldn't be smart.
 
Only I have the cure to what we gave the mortals."

She smiled.
 
"You really don't know the resources I have.
 
And we don't want to kill you.
 
I want you to see what I see."

Victoria took the hand of the man that at one time she thought would somehow be a part of her life.
 
They stepped through the portal together.
 
She could relate to the awe and wonder in his eyes, having experienced it herself many times before when it came to dealing with Kevin and his magic.

Kevin laughed as he hugged her.
 
He regarded Patrick, but said nothing.
 
The witch looked like he'd been through a war.
 
Dirt, blood, ripped clothes.
 
Still, he wore a smile, and gave Jack a nod.

For as bad as Kevin looked, Zoey was worse.
 
Victoria's eyes lit up at the sight of her.

"You sent Zoey?" she said, glaring at Jack.
 
She could barely contain her anger.
 
"That's your substitute?"

"Yeah.
 
And check it out, they're both alive.
 
Maybe you won't baby her like you do Glinda."

Zoey sat in a chair in the corner, her arms folded tightly across her chest.
 
Victoria took note of her injuries, the blood, and fought her protective instincts.
 
She could smell the mortals outside the office, and knew they were responsible.
 
She wanted to kill every one of them.

Their eyes met, and Zoey's face went through a range of emotions.
 
Elation, fear, apprehension.
 
Tears streamed down her face.
 
Victoria went through the same range, but managed to hold the tears inside.

Finally, Zoey stood and crossed the room.
 
Victoria didn't expect the hug, but welcomed it all the same.
 
The teen trembled in her arms as she pressed her head against her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," Victoria said, glaring at Jack once again.
 
"You shouldn't be here.
 
Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine.
 
And it's okay, I wanted to help Kevin.
 
And I'm the one who's sorry.
 
I'm sorry for running away, for taking your stuff.
 
I left to go…kill someone.
 
And I couldn't do it."

"I know.
 
It's okay."
 
She squeezed Zoey and kissed her forehead.
 
"Don't worry."

Jack laughed from the doorway.
 
He was peering out beyond the office and shaking his head.

"Shit, Glinda," he said.
 
"Just when I thought you couldn't outdo yourself."

Victoria released Zoey and joined Jack in the doorway, with Patrick a step behind.
 
The aisles of the tiny store were a mess.
 
Several shelves had been knocked over like dominoes.
 
Men and weapons were scattered about.
 
When a witch was involved, the scattering wasn't normal.
 
It took a moment for her mind to catch up.

Some rifles and men were pinned to the wall, held in place by whatever magic potion Kevin came up with.
 
Others were on the ceiling.
 
Most were unconscious, but there was a man upside-down against the wall who waved frantically.
 
His mouth moved, but he literally couldn't make a sound.
 
A silence potion.
 
Victoria thought Kevin was joking when he mentioned it before, during a fight he was having with Leese.
 
Several men were encased in ice.
 
Two others were trapped in the mirror that lined the corners between wall and ceiling.

"Don't worry, no one's hurt," Kevin said.
 
"And it's not what I'm used to, but the break room has a microwave.
 
I'm using it to cook up some memory potions.
 
Nothing too crazy, maybe a year or two."

Patrick eyed the witch, addressing him for the first time.

"You didn't kill anyone?"

Kevin laughed, not having any idea that the man he was smiling at was responsible for the chaos around him.

"Of course not.
 
I don't kill people."

Victoria studied Patrick, to see if there was anything behind his eyes at all.
 
Second doubts, remorse, anything.

He was a mystery.

Patrick left the group, walking down the main aisle of the store.
 
Victoria joined him, leaving the others behind.
 
They watched from the doorway.
 
Zoey didn't bother listening, content to simply lean her head against Kevin's shoulder.

"Unbelievable," he said.
 
"That young boy did all of this."

She kept to herself that he was capable of so much more.

"Kevin is special."

"Where are we?
 
Are we in Delaware?"

"You should know.
 
You're the one that hired these men and tracked Kevin down."

The pair were quiet.
 
Victoria hoped Patrick was absorbing everything.
 
Kevin was a good soul, and didn't deserve to be hunted and killed.

He was also very capable of defending himself.

"Such power," Patrick said.

Turning in place, he stared into the office with confusion and curiosity.
 
Victoria merely smiled.
 
Kevin was at Amit's side, gingerly helping him drink a cup of water.
 
Jack still leaned in the doorway, scolding the two of them.

"What's he doing?"

"Helping him.
 
Healing magic.
 
That's the kind of person Kevin is.
 
Doesn't even know Amit, but it doesn't matter.
 
Caring, kind."

"Kind…or naive."

Patrick continued to stare.
 
He took a deep breath, sighing.
 
Victoria didn't like his body language.