The Romanov's Pursuit (17 page)

Grigori smiled at his companion indulgently although in his mind he was counting down the days until he could get rid of her. He might have needed Anya in the beginning but now she was a liability. Besides, he’d amassed enough abilities to see the rest of his plot out on his own….including hers. “You needn’t worry your pretty little head because we will no
t only take care of the Romanov
s we’ll create our hierarchy with us being on top. And those who are with us can join and those
against
us can die.”

Anya smirked. “I like the sound of that.”

<><><><><>

Cutter was frantic. They couldn’t find Nya anywhere. She shouldn’t have been able to leave the estate without
he
or Blade sensing it because of how they’d cast the charms surrounding their home. To make matters worse their mother was somehow involve
d in all this mess but in the middle of hysterics. He wasn’t sure if it was an act or if she was really having a panic attack, but
either way
,
if she didn’t talk soon, he would finish the job Nya had started his damn self.

Blade rejoined him in the living room where their mother was mumbling something unintelligible under her breath. “Is she still the same?”

“Yes, but I’m going to get something out of her even if it kills me or her.”

“I won’t stop you if that’s what you need to do, Cutter.”

“Were you able to get in contact with Steel?”

“Yes, he’s on his way and he’s calling reinforcement. He’s also going to put a call into Dante who’ll probably send some local agents to our aide.”

“By the time help arrives it might be too late for Nya. I know that shadow creature we saw has something to do with her disappearance. I was thinking that perhaps it had been used as a distraction to get to Nya.”

Blade stroked his chin. “That’s quite possible but why would they take Nya?’

“To get to us. Wh
at else is more important to us than her? Think about it, whoever killed those servants chose the most loyal ones. And then there was Edmund. They’re targeting people we care about.”

“
For now
,
I know she’s alive because I’d feel if something happened to her,” Blade assured him although that didn’t help much. As long as their soulmate was away from them, she remained in danger.”

Losing all patience with his mother’s antics he strode over to the couch and grabbed her off by the forearms and begin to shake her. “Start talking, Mother because if something happens to Nya, this is
on
your head and
like I said before, you will be on
your own. And to add to that, I will free all your remaining servants from the debt, burn all your houses to the ground and take your powers.”

Her mouth gaped open into a perfect ‘o’ “You wouldn’t.”

“Just try me. All our lives you’ve been a selfish, unfeeling narcissist who has only ever thought of herself. For once in your self-centered life, think about someone other than yourself and help us.”

Elizabeth’s eyes glistened with the suspicious sheen of tears and for the first time since he’d known her they actually seemed real. Perhaps something he’d said had hit a nerve or maybe the threat of losing her material possession was enough to get her thinking. “Okay, I’ll tell you everything but please, you must protect me.”

Cutter glance
d
at his brother. Blade shrugged leaving the ultimate decision up to him. “Talk and I’ll consider it.”

“Please promise me that you won’t cast me aside. That isn’t what your father would have wanted.”

“You don’t get to evoke our dead father who by the way was just as lousy a parent as you are.”

His mother turned bright red, but Cutter was in no mood to spare her feelings. Because of her, they were losing precious time when they could have been out looking for Nya.

Elizabeth sniffled. “At least let me go. You’re making me dizzy.”

Cutter wanted to shake her even harder but decided to let her go before he caused her real harm and then they’d never know what was happening. “Start talking.”

Their mother took a seat on the couch and folded her hands in her lap. “I just want to say that I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“You’re not making any sense,” Blade censured.

“
Shortly after you father died, I met someone.”

“Ivan hasn’t been gone that long,” Cutter interjected. “I see you didn’t wait long before you found a bed warmer.”

She shook her head. “It wasn’t like that. We weren’t even lovers but he was good company.”

Cutter grew annoyed because Elizabeth was clearly stalling. “Who are you referring to?”

“His name is Grigori. He hails from an ancient family whom I thought no longer existed. He was quite charming. We’d have the loveliest
teas
and he was quite the gentleman.”

“Sounds
like you were hoping to be his lover
,” Blade ascertained.

Elizabeth blushed giving herself away. “Like I said, I found him charming.”

“I don’t get what any of this has to do with Nya’s disappearance.”

“I didn’t realize it at first but he was asking a lot of persona
l questions about our
family. I felt so comfortable in his presence that I told him whatever he wanted to know. It seemed harmless at firs
t
unti
l
…” She paused, placing her hand over her heart. “He told me that he could offer me a great power and restore me to the witch I once was. He spoke of a new world order where immortals would establish a hierarchy and he would make me his queen, but he needed something from me.”

Cutter was almost afraid to ask. “What?”

“All he wanted was some of my blood. I thought it was only a small price to pay for the unlimited
power he offered me in return
.”

“So you gave it to him. Then what?”

“And then the bodies.
I was beside myself at first. I didn’t want to g
et you or your brothers involved
so I reached out to Grigori. He told me that I had killed them because he used my blood to perform some kind soul-sucking ritual. He also told me that as long as he had my blood, he would make more of whatever it is that killed Magda and Edmund. He also threatened to kill me if I told any of you what he’d done. I didn’t realize what kind of person he was. I just thought…”

“That you had a new admirer?” Blade finished for her.

Cutter raked his fingers through his hair. “Now I understand how he was able to get into our homes. It was through you. The wards and charms around the house
recognizes
the blood of our family which gave him easy access to all of our estates.” He turned to his twin. “Do you know what this means?”

Blade nodded. “He’s practicing something far worse than black magic.”

“Yes, blood magic.”

Black magic was the dark arts that had many consequences for its use. Blood
magic
, however,
was far more dangerous a practice that
it
hadn’t been used since the time of the ancients.
Since it had been such a long time before it was actually practiced it was long thought to be a myth but witnessing some of the incidents of the past several days, he could come up with no other explanation.

It now made sense why they had had a hard time finding any informa
tion on the soul-sucking spell was because it was unnatural.
It had been said that the scrolls containing old blood spells had
been destroyed for the sake of
preserving all races because in the wrong hands it could
wre
a
k
mass destruction.
Only warlocks and witches were able to wield such powers and even then it would take an incredibly skilled individual.
It was said anyone who wasn’t a certain level who even attempted such spells risked instant death.

“Fuck!” Blade pounded his fist in his palm. “I don’t know a lot about blood magic but from what I understand
of it is the conjurer
can take someone’s blood and use it to track them and everyone who shares that bloodline. If whoever has Nya practices this art, she’s in grave danger.”

Cutter felt like a dagger had been shoved into his heart.
If anything happened to Nya he didn’t know how he’d be able to function. He’d been so sure that she was on the verge of confessing her feeling
s
for him and Blade when that shadow creature found its way
into
their home. He turned an angry glare toward his mother. “I swear to my life that if anything happens to her I will kill you myself.”

“I didn’t know this would
happen
. I’m the victim too. He used me and killed my servants and sent that dark spirit after me,” Elizabeth cried.

Even now in a moment of crisis, his mother could only think of
herself. Not once did she
say sorry for being partially responsible for Nya’s
disappearance
.
Cutter would have grabbed her and shook her until her brain rattled but Blade must have sensed the direction of his thoughts but he caught Cutter by the arm and shook his head. “No. She’s not worth it. What we need to do right now is find some backup. We’ll need to find out everything we can about this Grigori character and like it or not the only one who seems to know anything about him is Mother.”

Cutter kept his glare focused on his mother who stood as far away from them as possible. It took several calming breaths before he cooled down sufficiently. When Cutter trusted himself to speak again without spewing obscenities, he demanded, “Tell us what you know and what his plans are.”

“Yes, Mother, I’
d like to be a part of this discussion, especially after you told me you didn’t know what was going on.” Steel appeared in the room, looking every bit of pissed off as Cutter.

Elizabeth placed her hand over her heart. “So all three of you are going to gang up on me? I suppose the only person missing is Sasha.”

Steel twisted his lips derisively. “Oh, don’t worry, Mother, she’s on her way with reinforcements.”

“When will she arrive?” Cutter asked his older brother.

“They should arrive within the hour?”

Blade raised a brow in surprise. “So soon?”

“When I initially told her about it, she was concerned enough to round up some backup and fly over here,” Steel explained.

“Did she say who’s with her?”

“Her mate Niccolo of course, Jagger, Dante, Giovanni, Romeo and Christine. The rest of the Grimaldi clan stayed behind to take care of the little ones.”

Cutter nodded. He appreciated that his allies were willing to readily assist them, especially since things had finally settled down in their chaotic lives. “Good. We’ll need all the reinforcement we can get.”
He then turned to his mother who
had
taken a seat on the sofa. “No more stalling. What else aren’t you telling us?”

She was perched on the edges, her arms wrapped tightly around her body.
“The Kozlov family were
The
family. They were said to be one of
the
originals
and the most powerful warlocks and witches that ever was.”

Cutter frowned. “I’ve heard of them. When we were taught our history they were frequently mention. They were responsible for compiling many of the spell books that we use today. If they were still around today they would be ancients.”

“Yes. But t
hey were killed by a group of witches and warlocks from five
famil
ies
who joined together for the common purpose of stealing their powers. Those five families were the Pavlovs,
Chathams
, Colons, Aidoo and the Romanov
s.”

“The Chathams were your family before you mated with our father,” Blade said in an accusing tone.

Elizabeth nodded. “Yes, it means my grandparents were involved in that massacre as was Ivan’s. As you know, the Pavlovs,
Colons
and Aidoo have since been wiped out and I’m the last of the Chathams. I’ve never talked about it but shortly after I took residence with your father my family was killed almost in the same manner as the
Kozlovs
had. I wasn’t there of course but my grandfather would mention it from time to time.
What they did to the
Kozlovs
was one of the reasons why my family was so powerful. We thought it was rogues responsible for what happened to them, but Ivan assured me that he would get to the bottom of it. He never did.”

For the first time since Cutter had known his mother, there was actually real emotion in her voice. She looked to be on the verge of tears.
He might have even felt sorry for her if she wasn’t the reason Nya was gone. She sniffed before continuing. “
Whether you believe it or not, there was a time I used to care about things, about people, but then when I lost everyone, my grandparents, parents, siblings it
broke something inside of me and the man with whom I was supposed to spend eternity offered me nothing but empty promises. So yes I always went along with his schemes because I just didn’t care as long as he kept me in the comfort I was accustomed to it didn’t matter. The same thing that happened to my family happened to the Pavlovs and then the
Aidoos
and finally the Colons. I figured it would only be a matter of time before it happened to us as a penance for the past. When Grigori came to me, I didn’t know who he was until after he took my blood under false pretenses.”