Hellfire

Chapter Thirty-Six

The night was a long one, full of hacking and burning anything I could. The remaining Pendragon hunters put up a fight, especially without Lucius there to take control, but with me being allowed to run loose, armed to the teeth and dressed in my suit, I was a force to be reckoned with. Alistair would go from behind, I would take the bullets head on, my suit deflecting those that struck me and my flames burning those that got close to my head to ash. The moment I'd cut down a couple, Oliver would step in, his blood strings sinking into the fresh dead and puppeteering them into meat shields.

Actively doing something to find Ella appeared to help Alistair. He was in pain, that was clear. I'd never seen him so cold and rigid, worry thick in him that he'd lost and failed the woman he loved, and no doubt blaming himself for dragging her into this whole mess. I didn't know what to do to help him, other than making sure the hunters were focused on me and not on him. I could take bullets these. He couldn't.

We finally came to a stop when the last hunter was slain. We stood there in the midst of what had once been a bar, making sure the dead were dead. Blood was now sinking deep into the woodwork, bits of body scattered about and the gurgling of Oliver's zombies choking on the blood clogging their throats filled the silence.

I wiped Thorn over my thigh after wrenching her from the chest of the last hunter.

'Is that the last?' I asked Oliver as he sat heavily on the bar with a beer in hand, swiped from one of the surviving tables.

'I can't hear anymore heartbeats.' He said after tilting his head and inhaling the rank air into his lungs. 'Think that was the last of them.'

'We can't be sure.' Alistair said firmly as he whirled into existence beside me, his hands reaching for my face to place his cold palms against my cheeks and ensure I wasn't too warm.

I frowned up at him. 'Lucius said there were five pockets. This was the fifth.'

'He could be wrongly informed.' Alistair reminded me, and his teeth lengthened aggressively. 'Or he could be lying again.'

'Alistair...' I breathed out in frustration.

But Alistair wasn't going to listen to me. He was too hurt by Lucius' actions and utterly unaware that he was balancing between protecting Ella and Little One.

'Go home, Susan. See if he has any news or if he's still wasting time. I'll see if I can find Ella or anything useful.'

I wanted to point out dawn was coming, but I doubted he'd listen. Alistair was on a warpath and he'd stay out as long as he could.

'Don't do anything dumb.' I reminded him. 'And go to Tabitha's if you don't get to the manor before the sun's up. She'll shield you.'

He simply grunted and vanished, leaving behind an air of such fury and pain. He was going to run himself into the ground, either getting himself killed or stirring trouble and making things worse for Lucius. I looked to Oliver desperately who was mirroring the same concern.

'I'll watch him.' He agreed, downed his beer like it was air then slipped away.

I grit my teeth as I stared at the hunters we'd slain, thinking how they'd thought they were here to kill Lucius. They hadn't realised Pendle was puppeteering the whole thing, using them as fodder so she could do her job. And Lucius couldn't do much about her either. His hands were tied, all so Little One was safe. My stomach curled as Little One's face kept bobbing about in my mind, that child who had wanted to protect Lucius from himself and Morrigan, who trusted me instantly. But I also needed to keep Ella safe. I liked the girl. She was stupid, bull-headed, and an idiot, but she was our stupid, bull-headed idiot. She was family.

How was I going to protect both?

I rubbed my forehead, smearing blood over my face, and set off. I'd follow Lucius' lead. Trust him. He knew best and had all the information. Besides, he'd protected me for years despite it being detrimental to his House, so I couldn't judge.

I set off home, nicking the keys from a man whose head was now halfway across the bar, and found his car in the backlot. I passed a couple of Tabitha's guys coming up, nodding their heads in distant acknowledgement, and I noticed that white bats were now merging with Lucius'. She was involved now, acting as cleaner of the dead we'd burned and hacked up, and hunting down the families of those we'd killed. Not to inform them of their newly deceased, but to see if they needed killing too. Being a sorcerer hunter was usually a family business.

By the time I was home, I realised I was in desperate need of a shower. My hands were sticking to the steering wheel, all I could smell was blood, gore and sweat (and God knows what else), but my shower had to wait when Arnold and Mo met me at the doorway. Arnold clearly had news by how he was watching me tensely, while Mo was just standing there like a guardian to her clean home with her hand outstretched in silent demand for my clothes.

'Developments?' I asked as I pulled free my boots and clothes, letting her shove them with gloved hands into plastic bags. My suit at least wasn't that bad. Mo didn't demand it and slipped away, bag held slightly away as she sought to burn it all.

'Lucius wants your report.' He replied as he flicked his attention over me and the blood stiff in my hair. 'I'll go run you a bath.'

I made my way to Lucius' office, finding it wonderfully cold the moment I stepped in. It wasn't frosted, but the air was like a winter morning, crisp and refreshing as it rushed through my humming body still clogged with heat.

Sam was by Lucius' desk, obviously anxious by how she leapt at me. 'Did everything go okay?'

I nodded and let her drag me to Lucius. My attention snapped to him, the lazy way he was sitting in his chair, the bats clinging to his snug charcoal shirt that slid over his frame smoothly, but, while he wasn't coated in frost, there was a distinct danger to him when his gaze flicked to him, as frigid as a blizzard.

'Did you find anything?' I asked.

'Yes.' Lucius murmured as he trailed his knuckles along his jaw. 'The Whelans all but admitted that Ella Harris was with them and that they were behind the attack.'

I stiffened, relief bombarding me and making me desperate to leap to her rescue. 'Then why aren't we going to her?'

'We will next dawn, but until then we wait. I vowed to Nora I'd give her time to move her children out and she's vowed not even a scratch will be on Ella when we find her. I trust her, even if I don't trust Murray, and I don't want children in the middle of this mess.' Lucius glanced at me, taking in the blood smeared over me and little too much attention to the way the witch-suit clung to my frame. 'Rest for now. This is going to turn into a battle.' He bared his teeth. 'And I need to figure out how to give him what he wants as well.'

'And what's that?'

Lucius stilled, tense and cold, and instead asked his own question.

'Are the hunters dead?'

I flexed my jaw, annoyed he wasn't answering me, but set it aside. 'Not too difficult. They weren't expecting us, and their morale scattered after the main group was killed here. Alistair has a couple of bullet holes I dealt with, but that was it.'

Lucius raised his brow. 'He's usually more careful.'

'He's hurting, Lucius. He's not thinking right.' Sam pointed out gently.

'I need him resting.' Lucius breathed out lazily. 'He won't be any use to Ella if he's worn himself out.'

'He'll rest when he's got a certain lead.'

But I understood why Lucius hadn't told Alistair. If he knew, his warpath would just aim for that household, either putting himself, Ella, or those children in danger.

'I'll tell him once I have a plan.' Lucius murmured and glanced at the window.

The sky was no longer that thick inky black, but beginning to pale with a baby blue shade and streaks of yellow. The sun was coming.

'Sleep for now, Susan. If Alistair is worn out, I'll need you at full strength. You too, Samantha.'

I didn't fight him. While I was feeling pumped up and ready to go, nothing was going to happen during the day. Nothing could.

'Don't stay up all day.' I commented, knowing full well Lucius was only going to half-sleep as he watched the Whelans during daylight hours.

He smiled lazily. 'If they make moves, it'll be when they think I can't watch them.'

A quiet no, then. I puffed flames, making his smile increasingly dangerous as amusement began to glitter in his gaze.

Samantha pulled me away when she felt me stiffen and a spark to fight flicker. I let her take me away before I did anything stupid and went into my room when she deposited me there. I peeled off my suit and scrubbed it down. I showered. I slept. And with dusk came the hunt of Ella again.

I drifted into Lucius' office, approaching him briefly to see his mind was gone. He was resting in his chair, a languid danger to his frame, his long legs stretched out, and his breath slow. I drank him in for a heartbeat, unable to help myself to observe the lazy danger heavy-set in him, until Arnold swept in with tea, toast and various jams.

'Lord Vortigern has been watching the Whelans all day. He's not spied anything, but they're suspiciously quiet.' He said as he set the tea out on the table. 'Alistair and Oliver haven't been back either.'

I pulled myself away from Lucius and drifted to my seat, pulling the cup into my hands gratefully and nibbled at the toast. I hadn't really eaten much since I hunted yesterday and my stomach was growling.

'I'm sure they're fine. Oliver isn't too stupid.' Sam said as she flourished beside me and glanced at Lucius. 'I just want to bring Ella home. It's been too long.'

I had those same worries, hating the though of Ella being in the hands of Whelan and within proximity of George Banks for hours, but I was determined to trust the big man lazily sprawled in his chair.

Our musings came to an abrupt end when the phone rang shrilly. When Lucius didn't move, his mind lost in whatever bat was tearing over Bath, Arnold chose to fetch it. With the newspaper tucked under his arm, he strode over to it and plucked it up smoothly, but I realised something was wrong when he didn't speak for a moment, not even asking after who it was. I glanced at Sam. She had stilled, her head cocked with curiosity.

'Give me a moment, I'll stir him.' Arnold said darkly and placed the phone against his chest, casting me a gave look, the feline eyes shining beneath his glasses. 'Susan, wake Lucius. He responds faster to you.'

I didn't question why and leapt up, hurrying to his side. I refused to drink in how lazily he sat in his chair, eyes closed and body full of languid male laziness, his clothes snug over his taut frosted frame. I reached for him and placed my palm over his firm chest, letting the heat of me sink into the iciness of him, and ducked my head to brush my lips by his ear. His scent tickled my nose, that smell of a wintry morning, man and cologne.

'Lucius. We need you back.' I breathed.

His chest moved as he breathed in deeply, his body flourishing with fluid strength and his fingers locked about my wrist like a vice, burning his cold touch against my hot skin and arcing a shiver of pleasure at how male his grip was. His head tilted towards me, his smooth cheek now brushing my lips, and a growl rumbled from the depths of his chest.

'What is it?' Lucius purred lazily as his mind slowly settled back into his body.

I rose and gestured with my free hand to Arnold standing on the other side of his vast desk, the phone still caged to his chest protectively. The frost thickened over his skin, turning his fingers into ice.

I stepped aside as Lucius finally released me and unfolded himself, his body looming over everyone, and held out his hand. Arnold handed the phone over without a word.

Lucius pressed the receiver to his ear and spoke with a rumbling purr. I stepped back, giving him space and observed his back and the snug way his stone-grey shirt frame him, full of male power, the way the frost glittered over the nape of his neck and turned the carefully shaved hair white. I pressed my lips into a thin line and looked downwards, trying to get myself to focus on something else.

But my thoughts came to a grinding halt when the world turned white. Hoarfrost snaked over everything, making me yelp when my feet burned from ice for a moment before my hellfire seared through me, heating me up to stop me from freezing over. I glanced up at Lucius. His nape was now thick with ice, his hair frosted entirely.

Just who was on the phone?

Gently, he deposited the phone in the cradle. Before anyone could speak, Lucius' attention was on Sam, who had meekly come forward to stand beside Arnold.

'Bring Oliver and Alistair home now.'

Sam frowned. 'Alistair won't come until Ella's been found.'

'Tell him I know what to do next then.'

Sam flushed and hurried away, sitting down to dive into the bats she left trailing after her cousins, while I was firing into life.

'What's happened?' I asked, stepping forward to come to Lucius' side.

I observed his side profile, the knot in his brow, the savage display of his teeth and the darkness of his eyes. He was tense, gearing himself for a fight.

'I'll explain once everyone is here.' He said as he sat in his chair, twisting his ring slightly. 'Arnold, fetch Doc. Susan, get yourself prepared. I'm going to need your sword and fire.'

Arnold bowed and turned away, striding off and flexing his hands that flickered with tiger-fur, however I didn't immediately move. I remained by Lucius, gazing at him with the hellfire ripping through me.

'Lucius. What's happening?'

'Nothing yet.' He murmured sternly, and glanced at me, his gaze flicking over my face.

I realised I wasn't going to get anymore from him by the broodingly stern visage of his face and the way he sat, running his fingers through his hair to chase away the frost with tension rippling in him. I wiggled my nose, swallowing the hellfire heating up the urge to fight him and press, and turned to stalk out of his office. I didn't think about him as I slipped into my room and pulled on my suit, just Ella. I knew she was strong, but she must be frightened. I didn't know if she was taken care of or harmed, something I knew that tore at Alistair. The man was a mess. I needed to get her back for him too.

Just as I came tearing out, jeans and a long-sleeved shirt buttoned up to my throat to conceal my pitch-black suit, I found myself bumping into Yvette and Theresa; one looking concerned and the other pale. I set off with them trailing after me.

'Is everything okay? We saw Arnold fetching Doc.' Theresa asked.

'I'm not sure.' I said honestly. 'Lucius got a phone call and he's summoning everyone.'

'Will he need us? We'll help.' Yvette offered, baring her little teeth. 'If it's about getting Ella back, we can be useful.'

I paused at the top of the stairs, fixing my attention onto them sharply. Both of them shifted their weight, determination flourishing through them, but all I could see were two girls barely into adulthood, fragile with little magical strengths. Two girls who'd get killed quick if they got involved.

'Lucius has this under control. We'll get Ella back.'

'We can help.' Theresa repeated, echoing Yvette with a more pleading tone. 'We're not useless.'

'So, you'll be needed here, looking after the younger ones. Sam may not be able to guard you this time, Alistair definitely isn't in the right mind to and Oliver needs to be watching him to make sure he doesn't end up dead.'

Yvette nodded her head in acceptance, even if her body language screamed frustration with the way she folded her arms and turned to look away from me, lips thinned. Theresa though was looking miserable.

'It's our fault, isn't it?'

My brow rose. 'What do you mean?'

'Well, uncle warned us not to take Ella outside. He'd said no before. That it was too dangerous. Being surrounded by Vortigerns would mark her out and she was fragile.' Theresa twisted her hands, her brow furrowing with upset she couldn't hide anymore. 'But we did anyway. We wanted to help them grow close. And now she's been taken and Alistair's hurting.'

I sighed softly. This was very like Theresa, a girl who took everything on her shoulders. I grasped Theresa's arm firmly and shifted my weight.

'It's not your fault. Taking her out and her being taken aren't related.'

She pushed the heels of her palms over the tears slipping from her eyes unbidden. 'Yes, but-'

'Ella is our job, not yours. I didn't get to her in time, and Lucius...' I swallowed telling them that he'd let the witch go. They didn't need to know that. 'Lucius has limits, especially on hot summer days. So, don't blame yourself. Either of you.'

Theresa nodded, but clearly felt uncomfortable at the thought of blaming Lucius for anything by how she shifted.

'Are you sure there's nothing we can do?' Yevette pressed still.

'Yes. Keep the younger ones in line and safe.' I told them firmly. 'Now, I need to see what Lucius was told and what we do next.'

The girls nodded in acceptance, and, in Yvette's case, begrudgingly let me go. I left them whispering at the top of the stairs, Theresa still sullen, Yvette as keen as me to get involved, and I hurried back to Lucius' office.

Lucius was leaning against his desk, arms folded tensely over his chest, his eyes half-closed as his mind drifted with Arnold standing some steps away, hands held at his back and his feline-side making itself known behind the half-moon glasses. Doc was there, human now, dressed loosely with his bare feet coated in dirt. He waved in welcome as he lounged by Sam, who was jiggling her leg with worry. Mo was handing out teas to those who wanted any, while the Bullards hung back, watching apprehensively; Shaun still looking grey from his bullet wound. There was still no sign of Alistair and Oliver, instead there was Elliot, sitting upon Lucius desk and shimmering in and out of sight.

His ears flicked up and his body jolted into existence. 'Susan!'

I looked at him confused. 'Why're you here?'

'I brought Lord Vortigern news like he wanted.'

'That was?'

Elliot was about to say, but Arnold coughed in warning. His snout snapped shut and he looked at me apologetically.

'Are Alistair and Oliver coming?' I asked Sam as I hovered over her.

'Yes.' She smiled weakly. 'They're here now.'

With that, a rush of cold flooded in and Alistair whirled into existence; teeth bared in aggravation, his usual calm exterior wild and furious. Frost was thick over him, and not once had it melted these last couple of days. Anger and terror was knotted in him as he combed Bath and Bristol for any sign of Ella and finding none.

Arnold patted Lucius' shoulder, murmuring in his ear to bring him back from wherever he was. After a couple of calls, Lucius' eyes blinked, the blue shifting from a dark navy to a vibrant ice, and took a heavy breath.

Alistair strode up to Lucius, just as Oliver flourished into life, looking haggard and worn down after days of chasing down Alistair and stopping him from getting killed. Sam hurried to him, ushering him to sit and passing him a tea she had read, tainted with blood to rejuvenate him.

'What's the news?' Alistair asked stiffly, his distrust in Lucius still as strong.

'I went to the Whelans a night ago.' Lucius announced.

A rippled of surprise echoed through the room. Only Arnold, me and Sam remained unsurprised.

'The Whelans.' Doc echoed. 'But they'd never do something like this. Nora keeps Murray in line, stopping him from starting a war with us.'

'It seems her influence ran out. It doesn't surprise me entierly. I've noticed he'd made more werewolves, more than he'd recently lost, his eyes were milky and his voice was badly slurred - worse than I last spoke to him.'

But Alistair didn't care about that. He'd latched onto hearing about the Whelans and the knowledge of Ella, his teeth snapping in impatience.

'Do they have her?'

'Yes.' Lucius replied, his attention flicking to Alistair.

'Then what're we waiting for?' Alistair demanded. 'Why haven't you just gone down to get her?'

'If you let me finish, you'll find out why.' Lucius replied with icy calm. 'The Whelans' aim wasn't to take Ella. She was collateral - a means to bargain. Ella was the weakest thing she could grab with the biggest emotional impact. She's safe under Nora's watch.'

Alistair rumbled threateningly, his whole body flexing dangerously. 'Why haven't you gone to collect her?'

'I did.' Lucius said and waved his hand toward Elliot. 'But I was waiting for word we could move. Elliot brought it to me.'

Elliot shined with pride that he'd been helpful. 'Nora and the puppies have left.'

'Now the way is clear, we can figure out how to give what they want.'

'And what is that?'

Lucius' skin crystallised harder, his cold beginning to thicken maliciously.

'Morrigan.' Lucius hissed out between his teeth. 'In return for Ella, they want Morrigan.'

Suddenly, I understood why Lucius had been so careful. I'd only experienced her in dreams, and that was more than enough to know she wasn't a vampire to threaten.

'Do they want her dead?' I asked.

'Yes. The blood-queen had ravaged the Whelans every time she woke, to the point she'd broken Whelan's mind. All he wants his her head.'

I tilted my chin, my hellfire beginning to flicking beneath the lock as I remembered what she'd done to Lucius, the sheer strength of her, the blood-lust and desire to kill, the pain she inflicted on him and the threat she posed. I wanted her dead.

'Why not? It's not like anyone likes her in this house and the Whelans are owed her blood.'

Lucius attention snapped to me, his temper cracking out like a snowstorm. 'I could if they intended her no harm. However, they want her so they can take her head. Murray wants to kill her himself after the culling his pack has suffered since she arrived here.'

'So?'

Arnold spoke up when Lucius remained deathly silent, his eyes fixed on me intently, hard and furious.

'Lucius is under a blood command to never harm or bring harm to Morrigan. The same for Alistair, for Samantha and Oliver, for the youngster in this household and every Branch holding Vortigern blood. No one can hurt her. They must protect her with their lives.' Arnold explained with thinly veiled contempt.

I was bolt up-right, the words ringing in my ears. A blood command - an impulsive order the victim had no choice but to obey. I'd seen Lucius cast them, he'd inflicted one on the witch to keep her from speaking about me, but I'd never heard of Lucius having one. I'd never heard of his own mother inflicting one on her entire fucking house. I knew she was a monster, I'd experienced only a sliver of her in my dreams, but I hadn't known Morrigan had locked every Vortigern into being her guard. It was a sign of distrust and manic control and, as Lucius' strength surrounded the room and thickened within his frame, it was also a sign Lucius wasn't even strong enough to face her himself.

Clearly, this was as much news to Sam and Oliver as it was to me. Their heads jerked up, latching onto Lucius with clear confusion.

'Since when?'

'She cast it long ago.' Lucius explained to them dismissively.

'But she's asleep, has been for decades. A blood command needs active concentration.' Oliver said, rubbing his jaw with bewilderment. 'I don't get how she can command her entire House that spans the entire British Isles while she's slept for the last forty years.'

'Morrigan is powerful.' Lucius said icily. 'She is old and she is vicious. Her willpower rivals nothing I've seen before.' He smiled savagely, baring his teeth. 'Trust me, I've tried killing her in her sleep several times over my lifetime. I've no love for her, but I've never so much as pricked her. I've also prevented Arnold from doing it himself.'

I shifted my weight, my gaze locked with Lucius cold stare as my hellfire stirred, spitting with my outrage and forcing me to fold my arms to keep myself under control.

'So, handing over Morrigan over to the Whelans so they can kill Morrigan can't happen.' Arnold informed everyone and peered at me hard. 'The vampires here will either be physically incapable of moving her, or will kill anyone who tries,' He cast me a hard, knowing look. 'So don't even try do it, Susan.'

That shot down my instant thought. I was strong, but I didn't want to bring any harm to the ones I cared for nor could I fight off every vampire, even with Doc and Arnold helping.

'What do we do then?' I asked hotly, frustration bubbling.

'We don't just barge in and take Ella.' Lucius informed us, his attention now sliding to Alistair's impatient form. 'I want to do this cleanly, and I don't know if Ella will be at risk now Nora has fled.'

Alistair flexed. 'I need her safe, Lucius.'

'I know. It's why I'm getting outside help.'

'What for?' Doc asked.

'I need to present Morrigan to Murray in some form. In that time, Alistair can hopefully get to Ella and take her to safety before Murray realises I've lied. With her out, I can handle the old wolf.'

A little light bulb went off as I caught scent of his plan. 'Cynthia. You're planning to get Cynthia to be Morrigan.'

Lucius nodded sharply and smiled thinly. 'Tabitha doesn't know about this. She'd already denied me, but Cynthia is agreeing anyway. It won't last long. Murray at least doesn't know Morrigan's scent too well, but Cynthia can only do so much. She'll be found out and then a war will start.' He ran his knuckles along his smooth jaw, a rumbling hiss slipping free. 'We can't avoid the fight, however I have certain rules.' He raised a finger. 'Firstly, the aim is to get Ella out. That's it. Alistair will be in charge of that.' A second was raised. 'Secondly, leave Murray Whelan to me and eradicate all werewolves. I want to see if his mind is salvageable and that won't happen if his mind is still split.' A third finger raised. 'Thirdly, I want no harm to come the Pendle witch and her companions.'

Alistair snapped his teeth and stepped forward, ice snaking from beneath his boot. 'Lucius, I'm not going to avoid hurting her. I want her dead for what she's done.'

'The witch isn't at fault, but a tool. I want her left alone.' His gaze swept to me. 'Susan, you'll be dealing with her while Arnold deals with her bear and wolf. I want you to keep her occupied for as long as you can, give her a wall to fight against. The moment Murray is soothed and I've convinced him to back down, the witch will leave. She's no ties to him and no reason to keep attacking us.' When Alistair shifted his weight, his temper raising and words beginning to rush out in fury, Lucius became dangerously rigid. 'This isn't up for discussion. You leave the Pendle witch alone. She's to come out of this alive. I need you to obey this rule, Alistair.'

Alistair clearly wasn't sure whether he could by the cold scowl touching his features, but he shut up, backing down for the argument.

'Sam, I'll need you with us to heal. Oliver, you'll stay with Doc to guard the youngsters.'

Oliver stirred from the depths of his thoughts with a glare that clearly told everyone he took this as an affront. 'Like shit I am. I'm not staying here with Doc.'

Doc didn't seem to care as he continued to lounge on the sofa, unfussed with the tense and frigid atmosphere drowning the office.

'Doc can't come. He's a stray and the Whelans see him as a traitor to their kind for protecting this house and, in turn, Morrigan. I don't want them riled before I've even approached them. But Doc can't protect the youngsters and the Bullards alone. I need someone to stay put.'

'Why the fuck does it have to be me?'

'I need Sam's healing capabilities on hand, not your aggression. Any hurt done to Ella, she'll heal within moments, and any wounds we receive she can heal faster than any of us. I don't want deaths. I want to corner Murray, hopefully carve away some werewolves and see if it heals his mind, and get Ella out. That's it.'

I cottoned onto to something wrong with his plan though, one that made my heart squeeze with fear.

'And while Arnold and Susan are off fighting the witch and her shifters and Alistair and Sam are getting Ella out, you're going to facing Murray, the wulver who's going to be pissed off with you, and his circus of werewolves, alone?'

'Yes.' Lucius replied with terrifying calm.

I stiffened, my hellfire heating my belly with a crack of hot fearful flames. It didn't matter that I couldn't have him or that he'd eat me, it mattered very much if he came home in one piece. I couldn't stand the thought if he didn't.

'No.' I snapped out.

Lucius cool eyes shifted to me, his brow raising.

'No, I'll stay with you. You can't take him and his werewolves on alone. You need someone with you.'

'I'll be fine, Susan.'

But I wasn't letting him brush aside my concern. My fire rattled, roaring savagely in my ears. I stepped forward, Thorn bumping my hips and my feet leaving behind dusting of ash. 'No, Lucius. You need someone with you.'

'I need you to keep the witch occupied.' He said meaningfully, pressing me to remember my promise to keep the witch safe and, by proxy, keeping Little One safe.

I gripped Thorn tightly, my body becoming as tense as a wire as we locked gazes, wills of ice and fire barrelling into one another.

Mo, after whispering with her uncle and cousins in the corner, stepped forward, her hand raised slightly.

'We can keep the house safe.' Mo announced. 'And if the witch is fighting Susan, she won't be here to let the werewolves in. We can pick them off through the bats.'

Oliver leaned forward, muscles bunched as he gazed at Lucius intensely. 'So, I'm not needed here. I can watch your back, Lucius.'

Lucius said nothing.

'You take him, or I stay with you.' I pressed with fire rolling over me. 'I'm not leaving you vulnerable.'

He gazed at me sternly, those wintry blue pooling dangerous, and I swore flecks of heat sparked as his phantom grip slid to the back of my neck suggestively, a whisper of want echoing, but he was blinking and turning away before I could tell.

'Oliver, you'll come with me. Doc will stay with the Bullards to protect the youngsters.' Oliver grinned in relief. 'But I want you leaving a bat here. The moment anything happens, you're to come straight here and back them up. I've no idea what Murray intends and if he'll predict this and intends to distract me and pull our main strength from the house. If they try to sneak werewolves in to get to Morrigan, the youngsters will have no choice but to fight. They'll do it, even when their minds tell them not to, and will do so until they're dead. It'll be compulsive.'

I tightened my grip on Thorn as rage seared, hot and ugly, at the thought of our youngsters flinging themselves at wolves with no choice, no thought to their own safety, like sheep to slaughter. All because Morrigan demanded them to.

Oliver nodded, his expression darkening as the same thoughts drifted through his mind. 'Yeah, I can do that.'

Alistair stepped forward imposingly, impatience thick in him. 'When do we go?'

'Once Cynthia has arrived and she's taken Morrigan's face, not a moment before. Prepare yourselves. Once there, we have,' Lucius flicked his wrist out, eyeing the watch hard. 'Six hours before dawn. We're to have resolved this and returned home by then.'

'And if we haven't?'

Lucius said nothing, but, by the teeth sliding free and the hard line in his brow, I knew it meant blood. He'd slay every werewolf and rip Murray apart. There was no way we could return home with the sun in the sky and Murray still wanting to murder us all with the witch that could rip a hole through Lucius' wall of bats at his side. We'd be vulnerable and bearing our throat to their teeth.

'Go.' Lucius said dismissively. 'Be ready. Cynthia won't be long.'

Swiftly, the office emptied. Oliver dragged Sam off, muttering to her about things she needed to be aware of and not to forget, the Bullards filed out as they planned the defences that our already damaged home needed with Doc, and Arnold slipped away under Lucius' instructions to inform the youngsters to what was happening, urging Elliot to follow when he hung back. Little Elliot's nose was going to be the first alarm of the house, something he was seemingly proud of.

Then Alistair and I were the only ones who remained.

'Get blood in yourself, Alistair.' Lucius advised. 'You need to be strong for Ella.'

Something of the resistance eased out of him, the anger he held, the sense of betrayal, and a little of the Alistair I knew touched his features; a gentle smile and softer eyes.

'We have to get her out safely.' Alistair murmured.

'And we will. It's my first priority, but not the only important factor here. You're too upset to see that.' Lucius pointed out with icy calm. 'Just follow my rules and everything will be fine.'

Without a word, Alistair nodded and left.

Now only I was left.

I turned my attention to Lucius. He hadn't moved an inch, his expression broodingly pensive and his snow-white skin still dusted in frost. He was statue-like, muscles taut beneath his smoky grey shirt and his mind lost. I swallowed back the fear beginning to creep, making my flames flutter and my throat close up. He needed me and my support to get through this. If he was intending to face Murray, an old mad wulver who was on par with him, then he needed the strength.

'What about you?' I asked.

He didn't move. 'What about me?'

I shifted my weight, placing my hands on my hips and tilting my head in quiet indication of what I meant, lengthening my neck. 'You need blood as well.'

Now Lucius was moving. A ripple of life breathing through his body, his eyes sliding to my face and becoming fixed there, drinking me in lazily.

'No. I shouldn't need it.'

But I saw the little flecks in his eyes that made the little rabbit in me acutely aware of him and my throat hurt from the old pain of his teeth shredding at me.

'Liar.'

Lucius didn't deny it, but he slipped his attention away from me reluctantly, his thumb brushing along the line of his frosted neck. I inwardly kicked myself and wiggled my nose with frustration, hating how fear was blocking me from helping him and making me meek. He needed blood. He needed mine, the blood that bolstered his strength. He needed to be as powerful as possible when facing Murray Whelan.

I ignored the way my throat closed, making my breathing hard, and tightened my hands into fist to stop myself from shielding my neck and tried to offer again.

'You need to feed. You haven't in weeks, and we need to keep you strong so we can bring Ella back safe.'

And so Whelan doesn't murder you.

He hesitated, his body stilling as if he'd lost his breath, his teeth sliding as his icy eyes flickered over my frame hungrily.

'I can feed once this is all done.' Lucius murmured huskily.

I wasn't having it though. I didn't care about the terror beginning to choke me, the memories pressing down on me full of blood and death. I just tossed aside my shirt as I approached him stiffly, keeping my eyes on the floor as I undid the suit about my throat, letting the stiff leather flower into satin. I came before him, heart hammering so hard it hurt, and my suit shifted from liquid to stone from the hellfire rippling over my skin. I tried to focus on something else. I tried not to grip my throat protectively, set myself on fire to protect myself, nor take away what Lucius needed. I needed to trust him.

I reached for him, replaying what I'd done countless times to calm myself when the fear was becoming too much. I breathed in his heartbeat, matching every breath he took, absorbing everything that made him a man; his chest hard and tight with muscle, the way he shifted his weight ever so slightly, that height I knew.

But I found I wasn't calming this time.

His attention slid over me with lazy, sensual interest, his mind brushing sensually against mine, whispering carnal thoughts and flashing images of his mounting lust. He didn't hide how his sex was beginning to swell fiercely, an ache in his teeth and wildfire in his blood, making him want to kiss me, taste me, bite me. I flinched ever so slightly, my heart jerking, when he gripped my hips and gently guided me to mould against him. My hands curled into fists against his hard chest as his frame swallowed me. I couldn't feel the masculinity of him, not like I usually did. I couldn't inhale his scent, melt into him, eager to feel his strength against me, male and strong. I felt caged, unable to breathe. Terrified. No matter what I did, I couldn't calm, not while I knew his teeth were going to sink into my throat, tearing and ripping and devouring.

I squeezed my eyes shut tighter. I tried to focus on breathing. I tried to focus on my hellfire, coaxing it to calm. I tried to remember how much I loved being bitten by him before, the kisses, the way his teeth teased and the pinpricks used to burn, desperate to be filled. I tried to remember the dances with him, how his soul shined to me, and that not once had Lucius tried to hurt me since. Not once.

Then Lucius' head ducked and his mouth brushed my ear.

'It's too soon for me to be biting you.' He breathed lazily. 'I'd much rather you be excited at the thought of me taking your blood, not terrified.'

'Then seduce me or something.' I snipped, coughing out ash.

Lucius' chest thundered and his head dipped lower, his mind breathing with how much he wanted to heatedly. He wanted to drown in me. The moment his teeth slid over my bared throat, my soft skin slicing apart, I broke. Fear screamed. Fire erupted from me, forcing the breath from me as I lashed out; shoving me from him and sending my fist to his face.

Lucius closed down the fright though. My fist was swallowed by his hand, his ice encasing him and his mind crashing into mine, breathing calm through me until I was sputtering embers and frantically breathing.

He gazed at me icily with golden flecks ruling, his body tense and dangerous and his teeth bared with swollen need, but he had that knowing stance. He knew I'd react like this and just wanted to prove me wrong. It made me glower.

'Don't force yourself. The more you do it, the more likely you'll detonate. The lock won't take too much more until Eva fixes it and I need you in control for the Pendle.' He repeated dangerously.

'I trust you.' I simply repeated with hot stubbornness, as if that would force my body to obey my head.

'I know. It's why my office isn't on fire.' Lucius pointed out and gently parted my curled fingers to let his thumb brushed against my palm soothingly. 'You don't need to provide me blood when I can get it elsewhere. Yes, my addiction is worsening and yes, my teeth are hurting constantly, but I can cope for a while longer.' He pressed my knuckles against his mouth. 'I'll dance with you again once this is over and we'll introduce my bites in time.' His mouth sought my wrist, nipping softly. 'I'll just have to accept a wrist and learn to find what I need in it.'

Impatience filled me as I stared at his sharpened teeth, his eyes golden and predatory, forcing a rush of hot embers to explode from my mouth. I wanted to be over my fear now. He could say it was fine as much as he wanted, but he needed to feed. I could feel that hunger in his mind, that addiction beginning to creep up again. If he didn't bite me, he'd slip down that route to atrophy and the chances of him remaining in control would grow slimmer and slimmer. He'd weaken, when he needed to be strong.

With a tight jaw, I tangled my fingers with the zip of my suit and yanked it downwards to my naval, exposing my pale skin beneath and the swells of my breasts with a rough tug. He didn't just need my throat. My breast or thigh would be fine, he'd said so before. Maybe I'd be fine with that.

But Lucius' large hand enveloped mine swiftly, grasping me firmly as a raw, male growl thundered from him.

'No.'

'You need blood.' I gushed out with sheer frustration. 'So have it. If I can't cope with the throat, take it from anywhere you want.'

A low, male groan echoed from Lucius' throat, his fingers becoming vices about my wrists as he snapped his teeth, trying to shed how full they were. Those eyes of his drank me in fiercely, full of want and hunger, his mind breathing sexually against mine as they danced over my throat, to my full breasts clasped in my suit.

'What I need is for you to stop tempting me.' Lucius uttered icily, his attention sliding to my face and lingering over my lips with flickering heat. 'Stop encouraging me to see you as a vampiress.' He warned dangerously, his voice lower to a heavy murmur as his mouth brushed against mine. 'And stop reminding me of what I desperately want but can't have.'

My fear was dead now beneath those darkly spoken words, strained and lustful, my mind letting his in deeper and deeper. My breath was hitched, my heart hammering from the white fire melting me, my mind no longer thinking of blood but instead of pleasure, his frosted hands gliding over my hot skin, his mouth seeking and wanting, his tongue tasting me. I couldn't see where my thoughts ended and his began. It was a whirlpool of heat, aching lust, bodies bereft of wants and needs.

His mind then left mine, yanking himself away mentally, but his remained there, his mouth brushing mine, his breath husky with low, starved growls.

Then a bat came sweeping in through the rafters, clutching at Lucius' shoulder and chattering softly. Lucius expression stilled and slowly released me, taking a wide, purposeful step from me.

'Cynthia's here.' He informed me as he plucked the bat into his hands, letting it tangle its hooks around his long fingers. 'Be ready.'

I stared at him, aware of the cold slipping over my bared skin, aware of him, the wants obvious in his taut body and his swollen teeth, the heat in the ice of his eyes.

Then the bat screamed again, demanding his attention, and Lucius drank me in one last time, hesitating as if he wanted to say something, the hardness in his melting slightly, but a ripple of stubbornness passed though him and he looked away, crumbling into mist and taking away that calming cold of his.

I finally found I could move. I yanked up my suit, pressing my legs together as I kept myself still. The wanting remained, a ghost of white heat that slipped through my mind and hitched my breath, and seeing his mind, the raw lust in him, just made it so much worse. For just a moment, I wondered if it was me that made him ache like that, not my blood.

I set my jaw and scrubbed my face. This was stupid. I needed to stop thinking if Lucius actually wanted me. Things would be so much harder if he did. So much harder to let him go.

There was no time to ask him about those thoughts though. No point in asking either.

Ella needed us.

I prowled into main hall to keep my attention on the problem at hand and not on Lucius and that ferocity in his mind. There, I found Alistair dressed neatly now, a fresh set of jeans, a snug top that bared his arms for his claws, and a face that was dark with impatience to get to Ella. Arnold was wearing loose clothes, his smart old-man tweed gone and replaced by a white shirt and joggers with his feet bare, a very odd sight to behold, but also a threatening one. Arnold only wore things like this when he was expecting a fight; clothes he was happy to destroy and would easily tear when he shifted. He smiled with fatherly kindness at the sight of me and reached for me, a strong hand gripping my shoulder tightly.

'Stay as calm as you can. Don't burn through your fire too fast. Take it slow.' He advised. 'I'll be there with you, so rely on me.'

'I'll do my best.' I said, knowing that when I start burning it was difficult stop.

Arnold squeezed, smiling in soft understanding, and turned to Lucius who loomed by my side, his attention fixed on the door with frigid intent.

'Has she done a good job?'

Lucius' body tightened dangerously and frost thickened. 'You can judge for yourself.'

I took that as a yes.

Soon, Oliver and Sam were joining, both dressed in harder clothes, arms bared with Sam's hair tied back rigidly. She latched onto me, clutching at my arm to anchor her nerves. She wasn't used to being sent out like this. She'd defend quite happily, rip apart an enemy as easy as Oliver, but there was something different in seeking the fight to her that made her uneasy. I pat her hand, the best I could awkwardly manage.

And then Cynthia came.

She crept up behind us with absolute silence, wearing the face I found eerily familiar and alien. The woman was impossibly tall, maybe fifty, her hair pitched black and cascading in thick, curling waves with strings of grey and white. She was slight framed but powerful, muscles dancing in her arms, her face sharp and her eyes an impossible ice blue. The exact face of the unknown woman in the paintings when Morrigan haunted me.

There was no mistaking this woman was Lucius' mother. She had the Vortigern traits; snow-white skin, fierce blue eyes and satin dark hair, but it was the sharp expression, stern and cold, that reminded me of the man I wanted. It was odd to think this woman had existed within this house for as long as I'd been here, and I'd never seen her. She was like a ghost, one that haunted her family from the depths of her endless sleep.

Cynthia stepped closer, coming to stand silently by Lucius, watching him intently. Not a sign of Cynthia was visible within this fake Morrigan, not a flicker of silver scales or chestnut skin, the hair pitch-black rather than the deepest brown, the eyes a still blue rather than chestnut. Only her silence and dead-pan expression rang of Cynthia.

Lucius didn't cast her a look as fury cracked up his neck and he shifted his weight, purposefully blocking me from view. Clearly, he found even Cynthia pretending to be Morrigan a little too much. It made me want to take his hand in mine and burn away that angry ice, but instead I clenched my hand into fist, knowing I couldn't.

'Sam, Oliver and Arnold, you're to hang back when we get there. Come only when I call. When I do; Arnold, you'll go straight to Susan, Oliver, come to me, and Sam, go to Alistair and Ella.' Lucius informed us all rigidly. 'Susan, Alistair and I will take Cynthia in. She'll be pretending to sleep and will continue to until Whelan realises we're duping him. He will figure it out. Remember, I don't want him dead. Whelan is scared and he's, for whatever reason, whether madness has finally taken him entirely or something's propelled him to act, decided now is the time to try strong-arming me into killing Morrigan. I want to corner him and I want to talk with him, but not kill. That'll only happen if there's no other option and he continues to be a threat to the house.' There was a murmur of agreement. 'Alistair, once you have Ella, you're free to bring her to whatever safe place you feel is best for her. Take her back home or bring her here. Her comfort is best, and you'll know what she'll need to recover, just inform me of where you'll be going so I can protect you.'

Alistair nodded, but said nothing in response, just flexed his hands with cuts flourishing and fading in his impatience.

'Does anyone have questions?'

Silence reigned.

'Then go.'

Oliver, Sam and Alistair vanished in an instant, crumbling into wealth's of mist and slipped beneath the doorframe.

Arnold snatched up the keys. 'I'll get the car going. Come, Cynthia. I'll get you settled.'

He strode ahead with the strange guise of Morrigan trailing after him silently beyond the threshold. A growl slipped free, his teeth baring in fury that choked him, making his eyes glow like a blizzard and his body tense up dangerously, his muscles taut through every inch of him. I couldn't help it. I just reached for his hand, and loosely gripped his frigid index finger as I stared ahead, watching the dark summer night beyond the open door.

'She's not real.' I said.

Lucius' attention slipped to me, his hand not responding but not pulling away either. 'Not this one, no, but she is. She's very real.' He uttered frigidly and his mind brushed mine. I could feel the way he wanted to pull me close, inhale my scent and take a kiss. He wanted to touch the heat of me, taste me, his teeth aching terribly and his male need to protect rising, something that was responded with want in my own body. But he kept himself rigid, refusing to indulge in that way he craved, and I, in turn, didn't either.

'Remember Little One.' Lucius murmured lowly, the wintry gaze sliding over my face. 'And remember your lock is fragile. Protect it.' He ordered, his mind beginning to roar in my mind, so fiercely possessive as heat poured through my blood. 'Protect yourself.'

I said nothing and took in his icy features before lingering on his mouth. My lips burned. I wanted to kiss him, devour him. I had a feeling this could the last time I could.

But Lucius released me before I could stupidly act on it and stepped for the door. 'Let's go bring Ella home, then.'

And then he was gone, melting out into the darkness of the night with wide, stern steps, taking the chance to kiss him away from me. I flexed my hand, my fingers oddly burning from his cold touch, and paused to look back at Annabella, Theresa and Yvette watching.

'Come home safe.' Theresa said as the other two waved or saluted.

I smiled at them with quiet soothing, yanked my cap on and set off after Lucius. I passed Mo sitting on the steps, shotgun in hand and a cigarette glowing lazily in the other. She slapped the back of my thigh as I went by, and shot me a hard glare when I turned to swat her hand away.

'Fuck them up, Susan, not yourself please. No returning home beaten up and charred.'

I gave her the middle-finger and hurried off, bundling into the car and settling myself beside Lucius with Arnold and Cynthia behind. Before I'd even locked the door in place, he surged the car forward, tearing off down the long road to the borders of his domain.

I glanced at the rear-view mirror, noticing Doc prowling by, his massive bulk rippling as he patrolled attentively and his eyes and vicious teeth glowing, and the lights of the Vortigern house glittering in the dark. I had little doubt the youngsters, Bullards and Doc would be safe. They'd get through the night without a scratch and we'd return home to find it as we'd left it.

As I looked to Lucius, the way his eyes shined in the dark in that attractive way I liked, his big body tense and his teeth unsheathed, it was us I was concerned about. Alistair and his fury. Whelan and his madness. Lucius and his determination to not have a drop of blood shed. Me and my out-of-control hellfire and rattling lock.

In my gut, I knew this was going to go south. Bad.

All I could do was make sure Ella go out of this safe. That my family did. That the witch survived so Little One was safe.

It didn't matter what would happen to me.