Supernatural Seduction (Book 2 of the Coffin Girls Series) (23 page)

With him leading, Sylvain started towards the
farmhouse. There were a number of buildings scattered around in
what seemed to be a haphazardly manner - tall, wide, metal, wood,
lop-sided, and straight. It was a picker’s haven. Sophie could just
imagine the antique hunters that would descend on this place like
mad in a bid to find hidden treasures among the heaps of junk.
Heaps was perhaps inadequate to describe the sheer amount of stuff
lying around, though junk seemed apt. Rusted pieces of metal, old
cars that looked as though they wished they’d been taken to the
scrap yard littered the yard along with fairground rides and an
honest-to-Goddess steam engine. The buildings themselves were
bursting at the seams.

“
Dieu
!” exclaimed Sophie. “I don’t
think we could find anything in this mess. Do you think that was
the plan?”

“Possibly,” Sylvain agreed. “Although, a bit
of the right magick can fix this. More likely this place was chosen
because it is eccentric - even madness to some. Humans tend to
steer clear of peculiarity. This offers a good cover for vamps that
don’t want to be stumbled upon.”

“Your Majesty,” a warrior approached them.
“The house is clear, but there’s something I think you should
see.”

Sylvain nodded and they followed him into the
farmhouse. They found what he had referred to in the upstairs
bedroom. Amidst thousands of stuffed animals, was the body of an
elderly woman. The evidence of her gender was the visibility of
one, torn breast that stuck out amongst the blood and tissue that
comprised the remains of her body. A shotgun was clutched in one
hand.

“She must have heard them and tried to defend
herself,” Sylvain said, gravely. He looked over to Sophie when she
didn’t respond. Cursing and calling himself all kinds of fool, he
gently spoke and probed until her eyes lost their glaze.

Sophie came out of the trance and found
Sylvain’s face etched with concern. “It’s okay,” she assured him.
“It caught me off guard and I forgot to put up my shield.” Sophie
shuddered.

Silly girl, thought Sylvain, while admiring
her bravery. It was precisely this type of reaction he feared. It
could lead to death. Sylvain gave her a way out, “I’ve had enough
of this room. Why don’t we go to the kitchen, Sophie? I could use a
drink.” He gave orders for the room to be magickally scanned then
cleaned of any signs of the murder. There was no point in drawing
the attention of human law enforcement.

“That was a really nice thing for you to do,”
Sophie said as she sat down at the pine table. Inwardly she was
grateful for the seat and the fiery spirits Sylvain handed to her.
Drinking in the pluck the whisky offered, even if it was false
bravado, she allowed herself a moment, and then faced him. “I saw
her death in there - every moment of it. She was a widow and had
just gone to bed after kissing her husband’s photograph goodnight.
They pretty much came straight in after that. Like they were
waiting for her to be at her calmest, her most relaxed before they
unleashed their horrors upon her. They meant for her to get as big
a fright as possible and they meant for her to fight back. They
ripped at her flesh, drinking from her as they did egging her on to
fight back so she wouldn’t die from shock and would see what they
did to her.” Sophie took a deep breath, unable to help the shudder
that went with it or the red-tinged tear that escaped her eyes, “I
could feel what she felt, and it was everything they wanted - fear,
rage, horror. But, what broke her was when one of the fuckers threw
the picture of her husband on the ground and urinated on it. That’s
when she gave up; she lost the will to live or fight.”

“And, I imagine she found that she wanted to
go to her husband too, Sophie,” Sylvain interrupted. “Perhaps her
death was horrific, but her last moment was one of peace and
fulfillment? A kind of acceptance?”

Sophie smiled poignantly, “Yes, you’re right.
It was fleeting, but I felt it. For a few seconds, she was
emotionally separated from her body. The pull to join her husband
was so strong that she no longer felt them feeding on her or what
was happening around her. That’s when she died. You’re right,”
Sophie repeated, sitting up a bit straighter, “we don’t see in her
mangled face, but I feel her smile in her last moments. That’s it.
I didn’t get much more than their original malice and her
reactions.” Her voice took on a deadly, determined calm. “We need
to find them before they do this to someone else.”

“And we will, Sophie,” Sylvain said, gently
taking her hand in his and squeezing. “I promise.”

“I’ve heard that the fae don’t make promises
lightly, but even if I didn’t know that, I’d believe you.
Merci
, Sylvain.” After all, a voice sneaked in, he couldn’t
promise to love you and didn’t. He is nothing if not honorable.

“I’m grateful, Sophie, that at least, in
that, you trust me.” Sylvain got up from the table and moved
towards the kitchen door. “There are a few hours of daylight still
left. We have to find the witches before dark. Are you okay to come
with? If you’re not, it is understandable, you know? You’ve
basically just relived someone’s death as though it were your
own.”

Sophie saw, heard, and felt the absence of
judgment and was glad for it. The smile she gave him was heartfelt,
“
Merci
again for your kindness, but I’ll be fine. I need to
do this.”

Sylvain nodded, comprehending her intentions,
and led the way out the door.

xxx

“Anais, there’s no one here - no sign of
vamps, humans or witches,” Sylvain had called her the human way,
via mobile. “Okay, we’ll do one more sweep, and then call it
quits.”

Dragging his hand through his hair in
frustration, he eyed the sky. Soon it would be dusk and time for
vampires to rise. Just because there was no sign of them now,
didn’t mean that they weren’t on their way. Vampires neither scared
him nor his warriors and Sophie, being one of them, would be okay.
But, they didn’t know what might be coming - one or fifty. The fae
were powerful and could hold their own, but the old adage of powers
in numbers held true for a reason. Another adage, ‘to fail to plan
is to plan to fail’ came to mind. He never went into battle without
a workable strategy. That they didn’t have one now worried him. He
couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to go horribly
wrong.

He looked at Sophie, who had compressed her
cherry reds into a thin line again, a habitual activity she
employed when anxious. He fought the instinct to kiss them until
they plumped up. “Sophie, Anais is adamant that we’re in the right
place.” At her look of bafflement, he tipped his head in
understanding, “I know. I don’t see how they could be here either.
We’ve literally ‘cleaned house’, and then put the mess back and
found nothing. Not even a sign that they'd even been here.”

“There is one more way,” Sophie stated. “We
can combine magick and use your sight and my empathy to see if we
can pick up anything. How about we use your empathy skills to see
if you can pick up on any emotions from them?”

Seeing no other way around it, Sylvain
conceded. Sophie nearly sighed in relief. She wanted to find the
witches as badly as she wanted to get out of here - though she’d
never let on. “Okay,” Sophie said eagerly, “let’s do this.”

Sophie quickly regretted her encouragement of
urgency when Sylvain swept her up and again took her into flight.
“Jeez - you ever gonna give me a warning when you do that?”

Sylvain’s lips curved devilishly. “Would it
make a difference?”

Sophie shook her head from side to side.

“I didn’t think so,” he replied, smugly.

Despite the elevated position, Sophie managed
a satisfying thump against his arm and was rewarded with a scowl.
“What did you do that for?” He demanded to know.

“You irritated me,” she glared back.

“You’re becoming feisty,” he teased. “It’s
only been a few days since you left the hollow.”

“Yeah, well, I learned more than I bargained
for while I was there.” Sophie shrugged, ignoring the flash of hurt
she saw in his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Sylvain said, gruffly. He went
quiet, ignoring her while circling the farmhouse and surrounding
area.

She’d touched a nerve, Sophie realized. Her
bitchy retort was unlike her, but then again, she had been showing
more of her emotions lately and whilst not ignoring those of
others, she did not feel the strong need to take responsibility for
them anymore.
Dieu
! This mission could not have come at a
worse time - throwing her and Sylvain together like this. Jotting
the latest issue on the list of items parked, she brought herself
back to their duty. Taking deep, calming breaths, she sent herself
to the place within her and opened up her third eye that enabled
her to see beyond the obvious. Then, using the core of magick
within some deep place inside, she again shielded against all, but
the intent to find the witches amongst the rubble-strewn grounds
below. Sylvain took her to each building, allowing her to
methodically search and dismiss.

Again, the agony hit her, making her lose her
grasp on Sylvain’s waist and she fell. Vertigo hit, nausea bubbled
in her throat, and then he caught her. She made to thank him, but
couldn’t speak. Before she knew it, Sylvain’s mouth was on hers.
What the heck?! But oddly enough, the kiss was mechanical, not
intimate in the least, and as quickly as his mouth descended it
left. Darn but she felt better - no nausea, no dizziness
remained.

Sylvain leaned down and whispered, “Don’t be
disappointed, Sophie. That kiss was only meant to heal, not entice.
Ever wondered where the saying, ‘kiss it better’ came from?”

Sophie cleared her throat, ignoring the hot
feeling in her cheeks. “
Merci
,” she mumbled.

Sylvain cleared his throat. “I gather you’ve
located them.”

“Yes,” Sophie replied, “they’re in the
house.”

Sylvain raised a brow in surprise, “We’ve
swept through the entire house, a number of times.”

“Yes,” Sophie reiterated, “If it is Ayden’s
magick then even digging up the entire place won’t reveal them.
We’ll need to fight magick with magick.”

Sylvain nodded. “Time to combine our
magick.”

Sophie prepared to cast a circle of
protection. Sylvain stopped her. “No need for that. All we need
with fae magick is intent. Think of what it is you want and when I
link my hands with yours, I’ll send some magick to you.”

Placing her hands in Sylvain’s, she focused
on the young witches and the need to find them. At her nod, she
felt a frisson of energy warm her hands. Looking at Sylvain, she
noted that he was watching her closely, testing to see if she'd
received it well. She nodded again to indicate that he could allow
more. And then she got the shock of her life! Literally.

Sophie was grateful that he held her hands
because the magick shot through her system like an electric shock.
Only Sophie doubted that an electric shock could feel so pleasant.
She felt euphoric; happier than she’d ever been in her life. It
made their ‘shocks’ of when they touched seem like the poorer
cousin to this.

Blue eyes met bluer as they both regarded
each other in surprise. The magick connecting them progressed from
splendid to intimate. Sophie felt as though a thousand hands were
sweeping over her body in whisper-soft caresses; touching and
teasing. Response to it was futile to resist as an unknown force
drew her closer towards Sylvain. Gently, tentatively, their lips
met, cementing the ecstasy that was forming in the pit of her
belly. Sophie sighed into his mouth and pulled his head closer, the
satin threads of his hair erotically tickling her fingers. Heady
desire replaced all thought of their break up. They forgot where
they were and even their purpose for being there. With his hands
framing her face and hers still in his hair, they gave up
everything to that kiss.

The presence of one of the fae warriors
clearing his throat a breath away from their faces had the same
effect as a bucket of icy water being dumped over them. Jumping
apart, Sophie blushed furiously while Sylvain scowled at the
offender.

The warrior cast his eyes down, although
Sophie could swear she saw his lips twitch. “Apologies, your
majesty, we tried to call you, but you were oblivious to everything
but…” The warrior flicked his eyes towards Sophie who was blushing
furiously.

“Don’t say a word of this to anyone,” he
ordered them, purposefully ignoring their smirks as they obediently
nodded. Regarding Sophie gently, he took her hand in his again,
“
Ma chérie
,” the endearment came automatically, “my
apologies. I’ve also never sent magick to non-fae before so had no
idea that that would happen. I think I sent too much. Shall we try
again?”

“You’re sure that’s what happened?” Sophie
regarded him skeptically, “You sent too much magick?”

“Upon my honor,” Sylvain said gravely. He was
glad he could maintain a façade of calm. Inside he was a shaking
mess. It was more than combined magick that he'd felt. It was a
bond - of the fae kind. He looked for the love that should
accompany such a bond and couldn’t find it. The bond had
undoubtedly been there though.

“You okay?” Sophie asked, interrupting his
thoughts.

His eyes darted to his guards, then her.
“Yes, I was surprised. That’s all.”

Sophie seriously doubted his nonchalance.
She’d felt it too and feeling it made her heart ache all the more
for the man. Fucking bonds and supernatural mates. Really, humans
had it easy, they didn’t have any of this crap to contend with -
just their own choices or stupidity - whatever shoe fit best.

Another warrior cleared his throat. This time
it elicited chuckles and knowing grins all around. Not in the mood
to be the butt of anyone’s joke, Sophie turned vamp red eyes on
them. She wasn’t sure if it was because they perceived her as
Sylvain’s girl or because she actually did scare them. Either way,
she didn’t give a flying fuck at the moment. She was pissed off,
wanted to find the girls, and then get the hell back to the
plantation.