“Paranormals for Freedom helped me when I was in transition. They sold the group differently back then, saying that they were a support group for those of us who had been forced to join this side of the darkness.” Flicking her hair, she glanced between us. “You two were born into a life of middle class ease. My mother and I were thrown into this world, struggling.”
“So, you just joined with a group who want to take innocent lives? Our friendship was a lie all along.”
Sipping on the tea, Brianna closed her eyes briefly before looking over her shoulder at the men. They leant against the work surface, listening to her story. “Don't just stand there, make our guests one too. You better do an extra one, our other guest will be here soon.”
“Other guest?” Dave asked. “Who's that? Xvair Harvey?”
Raising her eyebrows, Brianna looked between the pair of us. “You do make a cute couple, especially now you're no longer wearing your book shirts. You look a lot more grown up, Chica.”
“Don’t call me that! What do you have against me and my books? What have I done to make you want to kidnap me?”
My foot tapped on the carpet, the pent up irritation and throb of my head starting to make me antsy. If I didn't get free soon, I would explode. Maybe that wouldn't be a bad thing, although, finding out their plans for the equinox might help us to prevent it.
Crossing her legs at the knee, Brianna tapped her long nails against her mug. The vampires were talking amongst themselves again, grumbling about something under their breath. Maybe they weren't as in line with Brianna as she thought. Could they be manipulated into helping us?
“You've been so wrapped up in your fantasy world, you've failed to see the importance of your mission. Guarding the ley line is an honour that shouldn't be taken lightly.” Waving the big guy over when he brought the two mugs of tea, she laughed heartily as he stood in front of us.
“Oops, you can't hold your drinks.” A smirk came to her face as she waved him away again. “Down the sink they go.”
Licking my lips, I tried to ignore the thirst that was slowly spreading through me. According to the clock on the wall, I had been unconscious for thirty minutes. Which meant it had only been an hour since we had arrived outside the pub. No one would look for us anytime soon.
“Anyway,” Brianna said as she regained composure. “Where was I?”
“You were about to tell us why you sound like a brainwashed twat,” Dave remarked.
Glancing at him, I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. We were professional agents, that wasn't the questioning technique we used. Although, it was a little hard to be professional when we were tied up in a dirty flat with a bunch of vampires.
“He's a little feisty, no? No wonder you like him,” Brianna said, winking at me. “When Lucien Harvey almost destroyed the ley line, we knew something had to be done. As you know, Joseph and Helen Cambridge are the leaders of PFF, their mission pretty clear. We deserve to live out in the open alongside humans. They have to accept that we're part of their world.”
“That's not the only goal of the PFF though, is it?” My fingers were gripped together tight, my senses on edge as I stared at my former friend. The words coming out of her mouth were treason to the human government.
“No,” she said, glancing at the clock. “Lucien almost drained the ley line of magic. Do you really think we're going to sit by and let any crazy Essex witch destroy our world? Why should one line of witches get to control the magic?”
“Because we were the original witches. Mother Earth forged our blood to the ley line to be sure that all magic is kept safe from those ready to abuse it. You really think the vampires can do anything with the line? You'll destroy it by destroying the witches that are connected to it.”
Tilting her head to the side, Brianna squeezed the mug in her hand so hard, it smashed into pieces, the hot tea running down the arm of her jacket. My heart pounded in my chest as footsteps sounded on the stairs outside the door. Had Xvair Harvey arrived?
“What's happening on the equinox?” I asked quickly.
A smile came to her lips as the footsteps stopped and the handle of the door started to move. A vampire shoved a man into the room when the door was open, laughing when he fell to the ground, his knees banging against the grubby carpet. His hair was shorn off, his eyes wide against his pale skin.
“Gemma,” Brianna cooed as she got to her feet. “Meet your husband to be.”
Dave stiffened beside me, his gaze narrowing on the man currently huddled over on the floor. He wore jeans and a ripped T-shirt, the latter covered in earth.
“He put up a good fight,” the vampire said, kissing Brianna when she went over to him. “Obviously, I won.”
”Of course you did, mi amor,” Brianna replied, stroking her man's face.
I had never seen the vampire before, which meant Brianna had kept a lot from me. Her acting skills were far better than I had realised. I might not have ever allowed her completely into my life, but I had trusted that she was my genuine friend. How wrong I had been.
Crouching in front of the new prisoner, Brianna smiled as she ran a nail across the pulse in his neck. “He smells yummy, all full of untamed magic.”
Swallowing, I looked between the man and Brianna. What had she meant when she said that he was my new husband to be?
“Do you know why you're here, Florian?” Her words were sweet, her tone laced with a false kindness.
Shaking his head, Florian glanced at us,
