The Entity Within (29 page)

Pat nodded. “It needed all three of us near for the book to appear.”

“From where?” Zoe demanded. “Where did it come from? Did Gram have it all along but didn’t know it because it was cloaked? Did my mother see it and use it in error? Where has the damn book been? In an alternative universe? Or in the demon stratosphere?”

“Hell, it could have been in the Doctor’s TARDIS for all we know,” Bella said. “Yes, I watch
Doctor Who
. But we can discuss that later. Right now we need to get rid of the book before it disappears again.”

“Right. Irma and I think we’ve come up with the way to destroy the Book of Darkness,” Pat said.

“We have to move fast,” Gram said. “Let’s go to the kitchen. I already have the big spaghetti pot out. It’s the largest container I have.”

Zoe pointed to the fireplace. “We can put a cast-iron cauldron in there.”

“Right,” Gram said. “I should have thought of that. I left our cauldron in storage back in Boston but I can get it in a sec. First let me get a fire going.”

Flames

Take aim

Into this fireplace

Please make haste.

The fire was lit.

“Good,” Gram said. “That worked. Now for the cauldron.”

Cauldron of mine

This is the time

To come forth onto the fire.

I said I could do it, don’t make me a liar.

Appear

Here.

The cauldron appeared, hanging on a stand over the fire.

“Quickly now,” Gram said. “First off, I need a strand of hair from you, Zoe, as well as Damon and Pat. And a cat whisker from Morticia.”

Gram put each item in the cauldron. “This last one is tricky. I need the urine of a Russian aristocrat.”

“Where the hell are we supposed to get that?” Damon said.

Bella raised one paw. “Hello? That would be
moi
. But I’m not peeing into a fire.”

Zoe produced an empty plastic bin large enough for Bella to jump into and take care of business. The bin was brand new and had yet to be used. It certainly wouldn’t be used after this little episode. Zoe poured the liquid into the cauldron.

“One final thing.” Gram nodded to Pat, who added a raven’s feather.

“I happened to have it from my Tower of London days,” Pat said. “Irma warned me I might need it.”

Gram turned to Zoe. “As the youngest witch in our line, you must throw the book into the cauldron. Don’t touch it until I point to you. Understood?”

Zoe nodded.

Gram held out her hands.

Book of Darkness, hear my call

Your time is done and that is all.

Hell-broth, boil and bubble

Begone this evil harmful trouble.

Be short be swift. Give hope a lift.

Close the door to hell

And destroy this evil book as well.

Gram pointed to her.

Zoe’s inner librarian still hated the idea of destroying a book, especially one as old and rare as this one. But her inner witch knew that it had to be done. So she quickly did it.

The contents of the cauldron went up in a burst of wild flames that were a strange inky black color.

“Are you sure we got it? What if it just went somewhere else?” Zoe said. “We don’t even know where it was while it was missing.”

“Do you feel different?” Pat asked Zoe.

“I’m sort of buzzing all over. Like when your hand falls asleep,” she said.

“Me too,” Gram said.

“Me too,” Bella agreed.

Morticia nodded as well.

“Then that is all the confirmation we need that the book was destroyed forever,” Pat said.

“What are you talking about?” Zoe said.

“It’s written here.” Pat showed her the illuminated manuscript he had on the coffee table.

“I’m not fluent in Theban,” Zoe reminded him.

“Whomsoever shall destroy the Book of Darkness shall enjoy immortality,” Damon translated.

“Holy Toledo,” Gram said.

“Holy shit,” Bella said.

“Sweet,” Morticia said.

Zoe stared at the calico cat in amazement. “You can talk!”

“Because all of you contributed to the ingredients to the spell that destroyed the book, you all became immortal. That’s what the buzzing is,” Pat said.

“Or it could be the flu or something,” Zoe said.

“You’re afraid to believe in the magic,” Damon said.

“Can you blame me?” she said.

“No,” Damon said. “The good news is that you will have an eternity to learn to believe.”

“Did you know about this immortality issue beforehand?” Zoe asked.

“I’d heard legends about the possibility. This is the first time I’ve seen it in writing,” Damon said.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Zoe demanded.

“That’s on me,” Pat said. “I couldn’t risk the chance that you might not want to be immortal and therefore not do the spell to destroy the book.”

“Who doesn’t want to be immortal?” Gram said.

“You’d be surprised,” Pat said.

“Does this mean I’m stuck in a cat’s body forever?” Bella grumbled.

Zoe was having a hard time processing what she was being told. She’d already been abducted by a demon, held captive in a tunnel filled with spiders, and had a vampire Demon Hunter kiss her after telling her he loved her. Now she got the news that she was immortal and it wasn’t even noon yet.

She needed to be logical about this. She needed to fill in the blanks, although there were some she didn’t want reviewed. She didn’t want to know how Silas had gotten her into that red dress. She was going to pretend it had happened in the blink of an eye.

Which reminded her, she was standing in her bare feet and nightgown. “I need a shower,” she said.

But before she could reach the stairs, the front door burst open and Daniella ran in with Nick and Bruce close behind her.

“You poor thing,” Daniella said. “Nick just told us what happened. That the demons are gone and the book, too.”

“And Dr. Powers back in Boston has been compelled by a vampire friend of mine to forget and forgive everything regarding Irma. So, everybody okay now?” Nick said.

“Obviously not.” Bruce pointed to Zoe. “The poor girl is still in her nightgown.”

“I need a shower,” Zoe said.

“I brought a box of a dozen cupcakes.” Daniella waited for Pat to remove the illuminated manuscript and set it inside the Victorian armoire for temporary safekeeping before setting the goodies on the coffee table. “I brought a lemon ginger and a salted caramel as well as your fave red velvet. Oh, and a couple of maple bacon ones, too.”

“Bacon?” Bella’s ears perked up. “I love bacon almost as much as caviar!”

Daniella handed Bella a piece of bacon from the top of the cupcake and gave one to Morticia as well.

“Thank you,” Morticia said politely.

Daniella’s eyes widened in surprise. “Both your cats talk now?”

“And we’re immortal,” Bella added.

“I’m taking that shower now,” Zoe said and headed upstairs. She did not want to try to explain anything. It was beyond her. Gram and Pat would have to do that, accompanied by Bella no doubt. Too bad. Zoe was done for the moment.

Once locked in her bathroom, she tore off the nightgown and cursed it so it dissolved. She never wanted to see it again as long as she lived. But wait, that would be …
forever.

She turned the water on full tilt and stepped in for her shower. She used the strongest soap she had but still kept washing, trying to scrape the memory of Silas touching her from her skin, not to mention those damn spiders. It was a very, very long shower. She only stepped out when the hot water ran out.

She’d washed her hair as well. Reaching out, she wiped the steam from the old-fashioned mirror above the sink. She didn’t look any different. One eye was still green, one still blue. But everything had changed. She’d had sex with a vampire and, well … that part had been awesome. The trauma came after that. She’d gone from having no magic to being immortal. Talk about a change in circumstances.

Zoe wrapped a big bath towel around herself and stepped from the bathroom into her bedroom.

Damon was sitting on her bed, waiting for her.

She hadn’t expected that.

“What are you doing here?” she said.

“Waiting for you. We need to talk.”

“Right.” She tightened the towel around her body. “I have questions.”

A smile lifted the edges of his lips. “You always do.”

“How did you know to add those last two words in Latin to get rid of Silas?”

“
Ad finum.
To the end. They were on that weird chair with the words on it you have downstairs. They were on the seat where the cats usually sit, and the words were glowing.”

“What about the images on the tunnel wall of you being tortured? Were you really in hell?”

“Only the first level.”

“What happened?”

“You remember I told you about Eve?”

Zoe nodded. “The witch you killed because she betrayed you.”

“Her betrayal resulted in my being ambushed. I ended up in hell. Silas hated that I was the one who got away. No one gets away from hell.”

“He did.”

“And the two goons that were his Guys. But only because of the book.”

“He did that deliberately. They weren’t two Guys, they were really just a part of him. He just did that so that I might take pity on them. Their story about my mother sending them to hell was a lie.” She took a deep breath. “That dark magic my mother was working on when she died? She was directing it at Silas. Somehow she knew and was afraid of what would happen. So did our coven. They cast the spell that was the reason all those books in the library talked to me. They were trying to keep me away from books although they never told me that. I’m not sure why. Perhaps they were forbidden by the rules of magic. They didn’t tell me. They didn’t give me a choice. Just like you didn’t give me a choice. Didn’t the vampire Demon Hunter who turned you give you a choice? Weren’t you asked if you wanted to be turned?”

“You weren’t turned. You’re not a vampire. You’re still a witch.”

“Forever.”

“What, you were hoping to come back in your next life as a cat?”

“No. But I was hoping I’d be reunited with my mother on the other side someday,” Zoe admitted quietly. “She’s the one who charmed my bangle so we’d find the Latin chant to destroy Silas. I know she was.”

“You could be right. At least you’ve got your grandmother forever. I didn’t have any of my family. In fact, my brother died on the same battlefield I did.”

“You never told me that before.”

“I know, and I realize we’ve only known each other a few days.” He stood and came close to brush her damp bangs away from her eyes. “But we’ve got forever now.”

“Did you really kiss me and say you love me?” she whispered.

“I did.”

“Were you telling the truth?”

“I was.”

“Do you still love me now that I may be immortal?”

“I’ll have forever to prove it to you.”

“Or you could do a vampire pinkie swear,” Zoe said.

“How about an immortal pinkie swear?” Damon murmured against her mouth.

He linked his pinkie with hers.

“Are you swearing to be mine?” she asked.

“Are you swearing to be mine?” he asked in return.

“Yes.”

“Then there’s only one more thing left to be done.” He whipped the towel from her body.

Grinning, Zoe shoved Damon back so he landed on her bed. She lowered herself onto him. He’d removed his clothes in that millisecond.

“I showered. Downstairs,” he said.

She straddled his thighs and propped her hands on his chest before leaning in to lick droplets of water from his collarbone. “I’ve got you now, vampire.”

“Yes, you do.” He lifted her hips and brought her down on his erection. “And I’ve got you.”

His tumescence filled her. She rocked forward and then back before pausing. “Is this going to rob me of my magic again?”

“No, that was a onetime thing. This…” He reached down to thumb her clitoris. “This is not a onetime thing.”

His caress was direct and forceful yet tender and tantalizing as well. He was so erotically skillful, introducing her to new avenues of bliss.

Her earlier fears and misgivings scattered, blown away by the intensity of her increasing pleasure. She rode him and he guided her so that his long steady strokes created maximum ecstasy.

Her vagina clenched around him as she climaxed. He made her come again as his hips surged up, driving ever deeper into her welcoming depths.

This wasn’t just awesome hot sex. Damon loved her. He didn’t just drive her mad with his stubbornness, he drove her mad with his lovemaking. He’d saved her. They’d saved each other.

There was no holding back. She shattered in his arms, wild pulses of bliss oscillating through her.

She collapsed, unable to speak for a long time. “I love you, Damon,” she whispered against his throat.

“It sure took you long enough to say the words.”

“There’s no rush.” She ran her fingers down his chest past his navel to his vampire privates. “We’ve got forever.”

He grinned. “True enough, little witch.”

“Admit it.” She held him in her hand, her fingers gently caressing him. “You’re glad I came to Vamptown, aren’t you?”

“Damn right!” He flipped her onto her back and slid his fingers into her moistness. “And you’re glad you’re here, aren’t you?”

“I’m more than glad. I’m over the moon.” She ran her fingers over his tattoo so close to her own talisman. “A shooting star is only in the sky for a brief period of time.” She touched the talisman around her neck. “A star is there until the end of time. Just like us.”

Her eyes flickered from the fiery joy he was creating with his caresses—but before they closed, she saw his tattoo shift so that the shooting star became a star. Magic. Pure magic.

“Just like us,” Damon murmured. “Just like us.”

Read on for an excerpt from Cat Devon’s next book

LOVE YOUR ENTITY

Coming soon from St. Martin’s Paperbacks