“Not even to save your sister?”
That got Gio a hateful glare, “your witch doctor hasn’t been able to help her.”
Gio nodded with pursed lips, “true, Tiffany has fallen into a coma, and Sophie has been able to do little to help her at this point. But we’ve sent for another trained witch healer, and Sophie has gotten stronger every day.”
“You’ll save her if you can because it’s the right thing to do. Don’t get me wrong, I know vampires don’t give a crap about right and wrong, but witches do, and Sophie seems dedicated to the challenge because she wasn’t unable to save her mother. This is her second chance.” Christopher pointed out the obvious truth.
Gio didn’t want to admit it, but something about the knowledge the nephilim had about Sophie’s personal life and feelings bothered him. “I don’t care for you reading my girlfriend’s mind without her permission.”
Christopher laughed which opened the cut on his lip again. Fresh blood filled the room and tempted Gio’s appetite. What would one little bite hurt? He suddenly wished he’d had some blood before arriving. “I didn’t read her mind. She is a very honest and open person. Plus, she’s not your girlfriend.”
“She will be, and as for you, I’d be more careful about opening wounds in my presence. I’m a little hungry and blood is the only thing that appeases that hunger.” Giovanni walked over to the far side of the room to put space between them. “Now, let me tell you what I know and you can fill in the blanks.”
“Why should I? You’re just going to kill me.”
Gio nodded, he wouldn’t lie to the man. “Quite possibly, but we have a council we answer to. Killing you… or letting you live is up to them. Offering some helpful information on acts of war may help your case.”
Christopher didn’t speak, but he did level his one remaining open blue eye with Gio’s.
“What I’ve pieced together is that you, along with a few other strangers, possibly hunters, attacked Marianna and Marco. You killed Marco, but Marianna was able to fight back and get away. At first, it was believed your attack was random, but now I’m beginning to think it was planned. Why else would you attack the two most docile of our family? The two that were working on a synthetic blood source to feed vampires? It seems too calculating for me to believe it was random. Am I right?”
Christopher didn’t answer, he just stared him down which reconfirmed his suspicions.
“I see from your expression I am right. So you attacked them to make sure they didn’t finish the synthetic blood project – not very hunter-like, and it occurs to me that you may have an inside man… or woman. How else would you have known about the blood project? I don’t suppose you’d tell me who that inside person is?” Gio was met with a hard, cold, silent stare. “I didn’t think so.”
Gio decided to continue despite the stoic look from his prisoner. “Another peculiar thing happened last night which is why I was detained from seeing you until tonight.” If I had been here you may not have been hurt so badly, Gio thought regretfully. He wasn’t a sympathizer with his enemy. He just didn’t support extreme measures of torture. “An incident with my father and the vampire frat house. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that would you?” A slow smile crept across Christopher’s face and Gio fought the urge to smack the grin off and continued. “It would’ve seemed random, but it’s a coincidence that isn’t easily ignored. Did your people have anything to do with the attack at the frat house?”
Instead of denial, Christopher continued to stare him down which made him look more guilty than innocent. “I see. What I can’t understand is how you did it? I mean, did you poison the house with something that made them attack Gregor?” Giovanni started to pace as an idea began to form in his head, “or did you hire some dream weavers to aid you in attacking my father?”
Christopher’s silent answer was only the malicious smile that spread across his face, and amusement that lit his open eye. Gio stopped pacing and stood with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting.
“You really have no clue what’s happening here do you?” Christopher’s voice held a twinge of laughter.
The bastard was laughing at the idea of harming innocent humans. There was no way he was a hunter. “I think I have a pretty good idea. What I don’t understand is why? What did this town do to you? How many of you are there?” Giovanni felt the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle slip into place. He just needed more of a confirmation to help solidify his theory.
“You really don’t think I’d answer those questions do you?”
“Well, isn’t it typical for a villain to want to tell his master plan?” Gio didn’t mean for the sarcastic snap, but he was getting tired of all the games.
“You see, that’s your problem. What if I’m not the villain?” Christopher asked with a level of sarcasm that made Gio want to hit him. He was an annoying prisoner.
“That would imply we’re the villains.”
Christopher laughed. “Things aren’t so black and white in the real world, Giovanni.”
“They are in Mystery Springs. We’ve worked very hard to keep the lines from blurring. Protecting all the law abiding members of this town and keeping the peace. You and your group of villains have worked very hard at undermining that progress, and I won’t let you get away with it.” Gio stopped pacing the length of the room. This entire situation was getting out of control, and talking to Christopher was making Gio realize it was going to get worse before it got better.
“We don’t care either way. The wheels are already in motion, there’s nothing you can do to stop it.” Christopher’s eye sparked evil.
“This is our town, we’ve handled far worse attacks than this. You may want to reconsider your position. If not for your sister then for your survival because I promise you, if you don’t help us and things continue to get worse the council won’t blink an eye with sentencing you to death.”
Giovanni’s phone rang. Perfect timing! Let the miserable fool stew on that for a few moments, Gio thought coldly as he opened his phone and answered. “Yes, captain Logan?”
“There’s been another attack, this one at the wolf house. It resulted in the making of eleven new wolves. That is, if they survive the transformation.”
“Well, another coincidence. At least this proves my father may not be as guilty as he looks”, Giovanni said with a small level of satisfaction. Maybe his sanity hadn’t snapped. Not that it did much to calm the unease building in his mind and body. The wolves and the vampires, who were already on shaky ground for peace between them, had now grown in numbers far more than was acceptable for a town the size of Mystery Springs. It would make hiding the supernatural more difficult, especially since the new creatures weren’t fully vetted. The best they could hope for was no human death. Explaining that type of massacre would be difficult. If they all accepted the change they’d deal with the consequences later. “So no human has died?”
“None to report at this moment, however, I think your coincidence theory may be far more substantial as the toll rises. The question is, if it really is on purpose, than who will be next, and why are they attacking our town?”
“I’ll send Nicolai and Dani to question the new vampires, maybe somebody remembers something as to why they would’ve attacked Gregor for no reason.” Giovanni didn’t think it was a good idea to discuss the dream weaver theory yet, not until he had more evidence. “Maybe you can work with Luke to see if his house mates remember anything. Dante and I’ll continue to work on the nephilim, and we can all meet up a couple hours before sunrise to compare notes.”
“Sounds like as good a plan as any.” Logan hung up the phone, and Gio turned his attention back to Christopher.
“I really didn’t want to hurt you, but if you’re not going to help me get to the bottom of this then you leave me no choice.” Peace in their town had always been precarious, and the actions that happened over the last two nights made that shaky truce vulnerable. The other supernatural races were going to
get nervous with the jump in numbers of vampires and werewolves. He had no other option than to get answers. Sophie would understand.
Chapter Ten
Sophie loved hiking. She enjoyed the challenge the earth gave her as she trucked up the side of a mountain and reveled in the natural gifts she was rewarded when she reached her destination. Her favorite hiking spot was the falls and hot spring pools located just north of town. It was a breathtaking sight. Warm water fell from the side of the mountain draining into the hot mineral pools below. Today the pools were empty, void of people which was odd since she’d never seen the place quiet. The springs were Mystery’s best known secret. She decided to take advantage of the peace and jump right in. She quickly tore off her shirt and shorts so only her bathing suit remained. Her hiking shoes slipped right off after untying them, and she stuffed her socks into the shoes in an attempt to keep them dry. Then she jumped into the biggest pool. The water was like stepping into a healing bath. The minerals of the springs soaked into her skin and revitalized her. The scent of sulfur mixed with pine and sunshine was surprisingly relaxing. She leaned her head back against a rock and allowed her eyes to close as her body was enveloped in the warmth of milky liquid and sun. There was a slightly chilly breeze which cooled her skin when the buoyancy of the water allowed her to float upward.
The warmth and cold reminded her of Gio’s touch. She could close her eyes and imagine his hands on her body. Caressing her skin like the water and sun did. But he’d never do this in the daylight, a hazard of being a vampire. His world was cold which made her want to be his warmth and sunlight. The image of Gio faded, melted slowly away, and she sank deeper into the healing water, scrunching her toes into the fine soft sand at the bottom of the pool. She felt completely embraced by the earth’s love.
She dunked her head under water and took a few moments under the surface to allow the minerals to soak into her skin. When she broke through the surface she heard. “Hello, Sophie.” It took another moment for her to recognize her mother’s voice. Her heart sped up and hope blossomed in her chest as she spun in the water and came face to face with her dead mother, Regina.
This was one of those moments where hope didn’t disappoint. Sophie sprung up out of the water to stare at a younger, healthier image of her mother sitting beside her pool’s edge. “Mother?” In the back of her mind she knew this wasn’t possible. The last few years of Regina’s life took a toll on her body. Her mother had lost her hair, her eyes were sunken in and constantly red-rimmed, and her body was so slender the bones looked like they could easily poke through her thinning skin. This woman looked healthy and full of life. A smile brightened her face and the image brought tears to Sophie’s eyes. “How? You’re dead! Are you a … ghost?”
Regina smiled softly, her blue eyes held a peace Sophie hadn’t seen in her mother for a very long time. The illness robbed her of that tranquility, and now, in death, she found it again. It was bittersweet in so many ways. She wanted her mother alive, but not if that meant she’d be in pain.
“Yes, yes and you’re dreaming.” Regina placed her bare feet in the water. She wore a white sun dress, and her golden hair was perfectly curled. The sun shone off her head like a halo, Sophie briefly wondered if it was a halo, and found herself looking for wings. She shook her head at her silly line of thought and refocused back on her mother, grateful for the visitation even though she didn’t understand it.
“But father said you already crossed over.” Sophie placed a hand to her racing chest. Even though she was beginning to understand there were things about this world which couldn’t be explained she was having a hard time coming to accept her mother sitting beside her, even if it was a dream.
“I’ve chosen to let your father find peace in my passing.”
“And me?”
“You’re creating turmoil in your life over my passing, I couldn’t stay silent any longer. You need my guidance, and I need to explain to you why I made the choices I made. This seemed the best place to help you.” Her hand ran through the mirrored surface of the cloudy water. Sophie was fascinated with watching the way the water slid through her mother’s fingers, and found herself wondering why she could manipulate matter of any kind. The answer had to be in the fact they were dreaming.
“So you haven’t crossed over?”
“I needed to make sure you were safe and on track for your destiny. Demeter visited you in my place and she decided to give me the strength to see you myself, to visit you in your dreams and help you get things settled.”
“Demeter?” Sophie remembered Chelsea mentioning Demeter was the mother of all witches, but she’d never met anyone by that name. The confusion must have been clear on her face as her mother went on.
“She visited you while you were working with Tiffany. Delivering flowers to both of you.”
“Dee? Oh, my gosh! She was a goddess?” I met and spoke to a goddess? She brought me flowers? The mere idea of the notion was ridiculous, fantastical, humbling, and completely unbelievable. She looked like a human. Her mother had to be mistaken. There was no way Dee was some ancient deity.
“She doesn’t like to take the title of goddess anymore.”
A light breeze ran over Sophie, chilling her skin. She sank back into the warmth of the water. She wanted to hug her mother, but some unknown force made her keep her distance. She was afraid if she touched Regina the illusion would shatter, and she’d disappear forever. So instead, she asked the question that had been raging in her mind ever since she learned she was a witch. “Why didn’t you let me help you?”
Regina shook her head. “Chelsea already told you that you couldn’t help me. It was my time to go, simple as that.”
Sophie found a little comfort in the idea her mother was watching over her. “But…”
“You need to hear me, Sophie. There was nothing you could do.” Her face was stern driving the message home. “My time is short with you, and we shouldn’t waste it discussing something that can’t be changed.”
Sophie felt like she was seven years old being reprimanded for doing something wrong around the greenhouse. It was her mother’s warm smile that brought her back. “But you may still be able to save Tiffany with my help.”
“Okay, how?” Sophie asked pushing down the briefest amount of anger that her mother didn’t allow her to help her when she was alive. There was little she could do about that now. At least Regina was here now, for however long, and she was thankful for the gift. Thankful that Regina might be able to help her save someone else. Sophie was tired of death and needed something good to happen.
“You’ve connected to Tiffany in her mind. You need to foster that connection. It will open a link between you both that will give the girl hope. While you’re helping her there I’ll continue to help her here.”
Sophie seemed shocked at that. “She’s with you?”
“She’s in limbo while her soul decides which direction it wants to take. The girl is ready to move on, but she is also frightened that she’ll become a vampire. It’s the only thing really keeping her in a coma. Sooner or later the vampire blood will leave her system. If she recognizes that the magic in the blood is gone, she’ll let go. We have only a small window of time to bring her back before she lets go completely. At that point, even the most talented witch doctor couldn’t save her.”
Sophie nodded, “okay so you’re the reason she is still in a coma and not dead?”
Regina offered a smile of pride. “We both are. As well as her knowledge of the supernatural.”
“Why is her body not healing itself? I would’ve thought the vampire blood would heal her?”
“The vampire blood won’t go into effect until after she has been reborn. Her body is in a kind of stalemate right now against her mind. Her injuries are being maintained by her immune system, but the actual healing needs to take place in both her mind and body. Right now, her mind is in shock. As I’ve always told you, most of the body’s healing happens in the mind. She isn’t w
illing to accept what happened, or forgive her brother.”
Suddenly the wind picked up around them, dark, angry clouds rolled in overhead. With the sudden change of the environment came a sense of dread. “They’re coming.” Fear crossed through her mother’s blue eyes.
“Who?” Panic began to seize Sophie as she noted the fear that held steady with her mother. Regina was a strong woman. If she was frightened, Sophie would be smart to feel the same.
“The weavers. Sophie you need to tell the witches that Mystery Springs is under attack by the nephilim hunters and dream weavers. I want to tell you more, but there isn’t time.”
“Why?”
“Because they want access to this spring. Whoever has control of this spring has great power in their hands.”
Sophie wondered how true that was. There were hot springs all over Colorado. It was a magical, special place, but it wasn’t that powerful. If it had been, it would’ve healed her mother. “I don’t understand.”