Of Witches and Warlocks: The Demon Kiss (29 page)

What had happened? Where was Vance? What had
he done to him? The thoughts raced frantically through my head, and
I felt my panic level begin to rise to the extreme.

“Don’t worry,” he said, reading my reaction
to his comments perfectly. “Your lover boy is safe and sound. As a
matter of fact, he’s still in residence with your sweet little
coven back in Mexico.” He looked at the contents of the glass
again. “No. This lovely blood was an early gift from my lately
departed wife, Krista. I believe you were acquainted with her?”

His eyes bore into mine as he questioned me,
but all I could feel was the rush of relief running through me. He
didn’t have Vance. Vance was safe. He was still with the coven.
They would protect him.

“I’ve been saving this particular bottle for
a special occasion, seeing how you destroyed the entire shipment
she was going to have sent to me,” Damien continued on. “That was
very disappointing.”

He gave me a look, like that of a father
disciplining his child, which I returned to him stare for
stare.

“I must say that I’m very interested in
finding out how you managed to stop his demon conversion, however.
It has been quite unheard of before now. Would you care to share?”
he asked me.

He lifted an eyebrow.

When I didn’t answer, he continued.

“No? Well, maybe later then,” he said, with a
nonchalant shrug, as he repeated his previous move of swirling,
sniffing and tasting the blood in his glass, making an obvious show
of his delight in the mixture.

It made me sick to my stomach to watch him,
to know he was devouring a part of Vance in that way. I tried not
to let it get to me, since I knew he was deliberately baiting me
with it.

He was quiet then for several moments while
he sat and watched me. Having nothing else better to do, I returned
his stare, not wanting to show any weakness. We sat that way for
what seemed like ages before he spoke again.

“Imagine my surprise when I was sitting in my
home the other night, having just performed a ritual on the most
stunning little witch from India, only to look out my window and
see the most magnificent surge of magical power rushing through the
air, one that put the India witch’s powers to shame,” he said,
never taking his eyes off my face.

I began to have a sinking feeling as he
spoke.

“You may not be aware of this, but after a
transfer of power is complete, one becomes extremely sensitive to
the magic running in the currents around one. It’s quite an
exhilarating feeling,” he explained as he watched me carefully.
“But I’m diverting from the subject.”

He paused to take another swallow from the
glass, and I watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat with
the action, feeling nauseous at the sight.

“I looked out my window to see a beautiful
burst of color in the sky over a small fishing boat out in the
bay,” he was saying, as he waved his arm in a circle over his head.
“It captured my interest instantly. I grabbed my telescope and
looked out only to discover this wonderful girl all lit up on the
deck of this particular tiny watercraft. Certainly you must imagine
my surprise as the vessel turned in the water and went out, not
only to rescue my earlier guest from certain death but to see my
own son crawl out of the water with her.”

I was going to vomit. It was entirely my
fault. My little magical display had alerted him to our
presence.

“I was very excited, of course!” he
continued, as a devious light began to dance over his face. “I
began to plan my family reunion immediately. Of course, it occurred
to me my boy might not come to me alone, of his own free will even
if I invited him, so I made a new plan. I decided I’d invite a
guest I knew he’d have to come see.”

I was bait. He was going to use me to draw
Vance to him.

He smiled then, and he looked positively
evil. I couldn’t help the little shiver of fear that danced down my
spine.

“I kept watch, looking for a time when I
might be able to catch you alone. I have to give a little credit to
that son of mine. He doesn’t let you wander too far away from his
side, does he?”

He looked me up and down then, as if he were
judging a piece of meat in a contest. His perusal revolted my
senses.

“Not that I blame him. You look like you
might be quite a tasty little treat. I’m sure he was enjoying you
quite regularly,” he said suggestively, cheapening our very
relationship with his words.

I looked away from him then, toward the
window, not wanting to give his lewd comments the dignity of my
response.

“No?” He laughed out loud as he continued to
look me over provocatively. “I must admit I’m surprised. The kid
must have morals of steel. Of course, he probably got those from
his mother. You know, before she woke up and realized what I really
had to offer her.”

“You’re a very sick man,” I said quietly,
wondering why I suddenly was wishing I could reason with him
somehow.

“Really?” he replied, perking right up at my
response. “Please, my dear. Enlighten me.”

“You had everything in your life that’s worth
anything. A beautiful, loving wife, a wonderful son, and still you
threw it all away.” I paused. “Vance is the most perfect individual
I’ve ever known. He’s good to the very center of his being. Why
would you want to destroy all that?” I asked him, at that moment
truly wishing I could understand his sense of reasoning and what
was driving him.

He laughed out loud.

“Don’t worry, my dear Portia. You’ll come to
understand. I’m glad to see you love him so much, because I have
plans for both of you. All these warm and fuzzy feelings the two of
you have for each other will make things work out even better.” he
replied.

“Please leave him alone!” I begged him. “Do
whatever you want with me; just please let him live his life.”

He placed the glass down then and started
clapping his hands together in slow rhythm.

“Bravo, Portia! Acting as the martyr!” He
laughed at my pain, as his cynical smile moved across his face.
“You never cease to surprise me this morning! Here I thought I’d
end up with a crying, cowardly girl and have instead found you to
be a delightful little witch. And, of course, I mean that with the
deepest respect. I may even think some more of my son at the
moment. Apparently he’s pretty smart, falling for someone like you.
He does have some taste for the finer things in life.” He smiled as
he reached out and picked up his glass, holding it out toward
me.

I looked at him in disgust.

“Cheers!” he said, before he downed the
entire contents, drinking every last drop in the cup.

It made me sick to watch him. I turned to
look out the window as we flew over the desert landscape below.

“Where are we going?” I asked, deciding to
try to get some more information out of him.

He shook his finger back and forth at me
then. “No, no,” he replied as he looked at me with a patronizing
expression. “That is a surprise for later.”

“Whatever.” I closed my eyes, silently
wishing I would never have to look at him again.

“Don’t worry. You won’t be disappointed. I
promise,” he added, his voice thick with amusement.

I opened my eyes then, allowing them to flash
angrily over at him. “I don’t care where it is, I won’t be there
long. I’m positive Vance and the other members of the coven are on
their way to find me right now!”

“Oh touché,” he replied, watching me
curiously. “But I wouldn’t count on seeing your family any time
soon.”

“What have you done?” Fear rose into my
throat, tasting just like bile, as a million maniacal plans he
could have implemented began dancing in my head.

He laughed again.

“Me?” he asked innocently, lifting a hand and
placing it upon his chest. “I haven’t done anything to anyone. I
just happened to leave Vance a little message behind, where I was
sure he’d find it.”

“What message?” I asked, a nervous feeling
beginning to float through my body.

“When he goes to storm my house looking for
you, he’ll find a little note from daddy explaining that if he
doesn’t come to me alone, he’ll never see you alive again. I was
very careful to tell him that if I see one person from the
disgusting, measly, little coven of yours in the same city we’re
in, I’ll kill you on the spot. Trust me, I’m positive he’ll be
coming by himself.” His eyes flashed at me.

I knew he was right. There was no way Vance
would risk putting me in any more danger than I already was. If he
had to magically contain the entire coven to keep them from
following him, he would.

I felt a sick, sinking feeling in the pit of
my stomach. It was going to be just the two of us against him
now.

“He might not come,” I bluffed, with a very
slight shrug. “He doesn’t know where we are.”

“Don’t worry about that.” He smiled at me.
“I’ve been sure to leave an appropriate trail of bread crumbs for
him to follow. It may take him a while to get to us, but he’ll find
his way. I promise.”

I tried changing my tactics then, needing to
throw him off his game somehow. Plus I just wanted to knock some of
the self assuredness off his face.

“So what’s so great about this demon kiss?” I
asked, trying to appear nonchalant while completely switching
gears.

He grinned widely at my question.

“You surprise me again, Portia! Now you’re
changing tactics to gain information. I’m impressed!”

“Well?” I replied, not bothering to deny
it.

He stared at me for a moment as if weighing
whether or not to tell me what I was asking for.

“First of all, I prefer to call it an
exchange, not a demon kiss,” he said, making a face as if the very
words put some sort of distaste into his mouth. “The exchange is a
most exhilarating experience. The power moves into you and
heightens your senses to an unheard of extreme. Magic flows in the
very currents around you, and everything twists together into
something like this great soup of power. It flows through your
being, racing as it sings. The only problem is it doesn’t last more
than a few hours. Sure, you get to retain most of the individual
witch or warlock’s powers permanently, but the rush leaves much too
quickly.”

I laughed out loud as I stared at him.

“So you’re just a glorified junkie! You’re
destroying all these people so you can get high!” I exclaimed.

He lost his cool demeanor at that remark,
leaning forward to grab me at the collar of my shirt. He yanked me
toward him; his eyes turned the all too familiar bloodshot red as
his teeth sharpened into fangs in front of me.

“Watch your mouth, you little witch, or I’ll
kill you right here, right now,” he threatened in a menacing voice,
and I knew he meant it.

“Go right ahead,” I spat back at him
vehemently, not backing down one inch from him.

He let go of me suddenly then and leaned back
in his chair looking at me, while pointing a finger slowly at me.
He smiled then as if he had just figured out something that he had
missed before.

“You’re linked to him, aren’t you?” he said,
suddenly making the connection. “What did he do? A binding spell
perhaps?”

I closed my eyes, knowing he had gained too
much information, mentally kicking myself for giving too much
away.

“You want me to kill you so he’ll know that
you’re dead. You don’t want him to come, but you know he’s
following that link,” he added.

He laughed then, and I opened my eyes to
watch him again.

“It’s priceless really,” he said. “No matter
where I could take you in the world, he’d eventually find his way
there. I guess you’ll just have to live, at least for the time
being, until he shows up.”

“I hate you!” I spewed out at him in
frustration, wanting to attack him somehow but only having words to
do it with.

“Hate, now there’s an emotion I can work
with.” He smiled, as his features cooled and morphed back into his
human look.

“Screw you,” I said as I looked away from
him.

“Come on now, Portia. Don’t be that way,” he
replied, toying with me. “It’ll be fun. You’ll see.”

He left me alone after that, choosing not to
speak, instead just staring at me with his unnerving gaze.

I turned to glance back out the window,
watching the terrain moving below as we flew quickly overhead.

The flight attendant returned with more blood
for him after a little while, and I watched him as he tasted
it.

“Not as good as Vance’s, but nice,” he said,
taking another swallow as he tested it out.

I shook my head at him, not rising to take
the bait this time, and turned back toward the window.

I needed to start looking for an opportunity
to escape. If I could get away and back to Vance, everything would
work better for us. I started to run possible scenarios through my
head, trying to figure something out.

We would have to land at an airport
somewhere. If I could keep him from drugging me again, maybe I
could get away from him there. Maybe I could somehow get someone’s
attention.

I sighed in frustration.

Who was I kidding? There was no way Damien
was going to allow any kind of opportunity like that to present
itself, and even if it did, he had the magic capacity to stop
anyone who could try to help. I had to think of something else.

I tried pushing against the magical barrier
that was restraining me to my seat. When I saw that I couldn’t move
physically, I tried using magic to break through. My powers,
however, just arced back at me, which resulted in me shocking
myself with a very hard jolt.

I cried out a little, in pain.

Damien chuckled to himself as he watched
me.

“Trying to escape right in front of me?” he
asked, lifting an eyebrow in question. “You aren’t afraid of
anything, are you?”