Something Witchy This Way Comes: A Jolie Wilkins Novel (14 page)

Speaking of Sinjin, I found my thoughts frequently returning to him. When it was late at night and my sickness kept me awake, my thoughts were restless. I was plagued with memories of Sinjin, and all I could do was pray he was safe and that the Lurkers hadn’t found him, wherever he was.

“Thank you all for coming,” Mercedes started as she cleared her throat, signifying that everyone should be silent. She gave me a lingering look and smiled. She was excited to tell everyone about my engagement to Rand and our pregnancy. It would be the first
subject for discussion. “I would like to begin this meeting with some joyful news.”

I felt Rand squeeze my hand, and smiled at him reassuringly over my shoulder.

“We shall soon be celebrating a royal wedding,” she announced, beaming at us. There was total silence in the room for a few seconds.

Then Odran let out what I can best describe as a whooping laugh as he slapped his knee in apparent pleasure. “Aye und it ’tis boot bluudey time, man!” he exclaimed as he stood up from the armchair beside the fire to thump Rand on the back. “I woondered when ye would make the moove!”

“Congratulations,” Varick said with as little excitement as he could muster.

I noticed that Trent looked irritated and didn’t say anything at all. It made no sense. ’Course, he was probably kicking himself for ever treating me so poorly when we first dated. Yep, this was a good lesson for him—treat your girlfriends well because you never know if they might end up as Queen of the Underworld.

“And that is not the only joy we have to share,” Mercedes continued as she waited until everyone quieted down. “Soon there will be an heir to grace the halls of Kinloch Kirk,” she finished proudly. I heard a round of oohs and aahs and all eyes were suddenly trained on me.

“Aye, this be joyfa news, indeed,” Odran said in his deep brogue. He thumped Rand on the back for the second time before engulfing me in a bear hug. Rand frowned and looked like he was one second from pushing the Scottish oaf away from me.

“I canoot wait ta boonce the wee bugger on ma knee,” Odran said once he returned me to my spot on the sofa.

I didn’t really know what to make of that, so I smiled at him politely and hoped we could move on to news of the kingdom. I didn’t care to dwell on personal subjects. “Thank you,” I said, and watched as everyone in the room formed a single line in order to personally congratulate Rand and me. “Um …” I started, and looked up at Mercedes, who nodded.

“It is customary,” she said softly.

“My Queen,” Klaasje said as she strode toward me, then gave a slight curtsy. “I am so happy for you both.”

I smiled at her, pleased that Varick had appointed her to be my main guardian. She was a strong and able vampire, and seeing her reminded me of Sinjin, something that brought on a sort of melancholic contentedness. “Thank you,” I said softly.

“When will you know whether it’s a boy or girl?” she asked, black hair framing her beautiful face. Klaasje was classically pretty, with long hair that reached down her back and shining bright blue eyes.

“I don’t know,” I admitted as Rand cleared his throat.

“Perhaps we will not find out ahead of time,” he said with a smile.

“Congratulations to our Queen,” Trent said, but he refused to even look at me, turning to face Rand instead. “Congratulations are also in order for the father,” he finished, and extended his hand to Rand. He had such a cheese-ball smile, it made him seem like a
used-car salesman. Rand smiled courteously in return and shook the werewolf’s outstretched hand.

After everyone in the line congratulated us, which took another ten minutes, we were ready to move on to heftier subjects.

“My Queen asked that I orchestrate this meeting because she has agenda items she wishes to address,” Mercedes said as she turned to face me.

Recognizing my cue, I started to stand up, but Rand shook his head, indicating that I didn’t need to be standing to lead the meeting. Suddenly feeling another bout of nausea, I figured it was better not to argue. “The Lurker threat is growing,” I began, as everyone’s eyes returned to me. “I paid a visit to Bella a few days ago,” I continued. More than a few of them raised their eyebrows in astonishment. “She has been in communication with the Lurkers and has received dream visions from them.” I took a breath. “In exchange for Bella’s full cooperation and assistance in combating the Lurker threat,” I went on, bracing myself for the outpouring of disagreement sure to ensue, “I have granted her the freedom to live in my kingdom.”

Everyone seemed taken aback at the news, just as I’d imagined they would be.

“Was that the smartest thing to do?” Trent asked. “Last I heard, Bella definitely was no supporter of you or your kingdom.”

I nodded, ready for this. “Bella will never be a true supporter, but if she takes our loyalty oath and submits to the laws of the kingdom, she can help us in our quest to better understand the Lurkers. I see no reason to keep her here as my prisoner.”

“I believe she should remain imprisoned,” Varick said solemnly. “She is not trustworthy.”

“Nay,” Odran nodded. “I doona believe this was a good move, mah Queen.”

“I’m sorry to admit that I agree with Odran, Varick, and Trent,” Rand said, exhaling deeply.

I allowed the naysayers their chance to speak, but once it quieted down, I cleared my throat and addressed everyone in the room. “I have already made a pact with Bella, so none of this is up for discussion at this point,” I said resolutely. There were a few raised brows, but judging by the silence, I guessed I wouldn’t meet with any more dissidence—at least on this subject.

I took a deep breath, eager to move on to other topics. “The final news I wanted to discuss with you is my dream from the other night, or should I say vision?” I cleared my throat. “I believe it was sent to me by one of the Lurker elders.”

I heard surprised gasps from around the room and could feel the heat of Rand’s eyes on me.

Why didn’t you tell me?
His voice sounded in my head.

I wanted to share this news with everyone at the same time, Rand. It is something that threatens everyone
.

Jolie
—he started, but was interrupted by Mathilda.

“What happened in the dream, child?” she asked, her tone fretful.

“I don’t remember the specifics,” I started. “But I do know that the person in the dream, who took the embodiment of the sea and then appeared as the outline
of an old man in the sky, admitted he was a Lurker elder.”

“And what else?” Mercedes prodded.

I swallowed hard. “That was pretty much it.”

“That was it?” Trent demanded, a huge smile spreading across his face. “So you’re seriously concerned about a dream you had that just happened to be about an old man and the sea?” Then he snickered, apparently patting himself on the back for being so witty.

“It means the Lurkers are getting restless,” I snapped at him, before turning to face the others again. “I have been contacted by the Lurkers regularly and now that they have reached out to Bella …”

“What did they say to her?” Varick asked, leaning forward.

“She said they were rallying, that a battle between our forces and theirs was pending, and they could attack us at any moment,” I said as I felt my voice break with the effort.

“We need to understand why they insist on making contact with you, Jolie,” Mercedes said, and studied me. “Did you receive any indication about what their plans are? When they might attack and where?”

I shook my head. “No, I received nothing of the sort. The reason I brought up the dream is that I think it’s imperative that all of our forces rally together. I want all creatures of the Underworld stationed together here at Kinloch. I don’t think it’s safe for us to live separately anymore, not with the Lurkers planning something.”

“Where will everyone live?” Trent asked.

“I want you to organize a mass move to Kinloch,
where we’ll erect temporary housing on Kinloch’s grounds. If the Lurkers attack, we need to be ready for them, and we are much stronger en masse than we are on our own,” I answered. And yes, I had given plenty of thought to housing five hundred or so creatures on Kinloch property. I wasn’t worried about the issue of space.

Rand nodded and smiled at me with a proud expression. “I agree entirely.” Then he faced everyone in the room. “How quickly can each of you gather your factions?”

Odran pursed his lips as he considered it. “Ah will make haste, within ah few days’ time,” he answered.

“Yep, me too,” Trent said.

“I imagine it will take no more than two or three days to gather the vampires,” Varick finished.

I swallowed hard and nodded, realizing Kinloch Kirk was about to become a very busy place.

I was sick again. So sick I couldn’t sleep.

I imagined my magic cleansing the nausea from my body and suddenly felt relief. But I still couldn’t get back to sleep. I rolled over and listened to Rand’s gentle snoring, trying to figure out whether there was a pattern to his inhaling and exhaling … raspy inhale for three counts, chain-saw-meeting-glass exhale for three seconds. Realizing sleep would continue to elude me, I stood up and reached for the robe, or dressing gown, as Rand called it, beside my bed. I wrapped myself up and padded across the wood floor, pausing at the large rectangular windows that revealed the crashing moonlit waves below Kinloch Kirk.

Sinjin is somewhere out there
, I thought to myself.
Somewhere out in the cold of the night. He’s alone, but I hope he’s okay
.

God, I hope he’s okay. Please let him be okay
.

Shivering in the cold air, I wrapped my robe tighter around myself and thought about how much everything was going to change over the next several days. Soon all of the creatures in my kingdom would be
assembled at Kinloch—men, women, and children. Although I still thought it was a good idea—we would be stronger as a collective force and more capable of defending ourselves—I also had to wonder if I’d just signed the death sentences of all the creatures of the Underworld. I mean, if we were all gathered in one area and the Lurkers decided to attack, they could completely wipe us out.

Stop second-guessing yourself
, my inner voice said.
There will always be a “what-if” to every decision you make as Queen. The decision-making is the important part
.

“Are you ill?” It was Rand’s voice and I turned, surprised to find him awake. Stepping out of bed, he stood up and stretched, walking over to pull me into the warmth of his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and we both stared down at the tumultuous sea.

“Yes,” I said, and rested my head against his shoulder as we both watched the ocean wrestle with the rocks that punctuated its depths of blue.

“Kinloch is a beautiful place,” Rand said softly. He lifted my chin with his fingers as he smiled. “And this is all your doing, Jolie. You never cease to amaze me.” He shook his head in wonder. “You have come such a far distance from the girl I first met in your store two years ago.”

I returned his grin. “And yet, sometimes I feel I haven’t changed much at all—that I’m still just as awkward as ever.”

“I hope you never lose that part of yourself,” he said with a smile.

I didn’t respond—I just continued to gaze out at the ocean, wondering what would become of us, and
the Underworld in general. Were we strong enough to stand against the Lurkers? Could we really defeat them? I sighed and figured there was no use in thinking like this—I was just running myself ragged. Instead, I focused on tickling Rand’s arm.

“Come back to bed, Jolie,” he whispered, and then smiled secretively. “It’s chilly out here, and what’s more … I want you.”

I laughed, but shook my head, feeling stressed from head to toe. I couldn’t even comprehend sex at the moment. “You seemed very happy in the land of dreams—I’m sorry I woke you up.”

“Was I snoring? Is that what woke you up?”

I nodded. “Yep.”

“I apologize.” He kissed the top of my head. “I was dreaming of Pelham,” he said, and his voice took on a nostalgic tone. Pelham had been Rand’s best friend and the original owner and namesake of Pelham Manor. When I traveled back to 1878, I met not only Pelham, but also his sister, Christine, and we became fast friends. Thinking of them now left a hollow void in my stomach.

“Whatever became of Christine?” I asked.

Rand held me closer and was quiet for a few seconds. “She lived a long and happy life, married and had children. Of course, I had to move away quite early on, lest Pelham or Christine question me regarding why I didn’t age as quickly as they did.”

“Where did you tell them you were moving?”

“Ireland, to one of my father’s estates.” Then he cleared his throat. “Pelham died quite soon after you left in 1878, and Christine moved to northern Scotland
with her husband, so I didn’t have to maintain the charade for too long.”

I nodded and felt my mind slipping back to a time when things were much simpler—a time before I’d had any involvement with the Lurkers, and before Sinjin had time-traveled.

“Do you ever miss those days?” I asked, thinking of how much I missed them.