*
“Don't drop her, we need her,” Brianna's voice came through my clogged mind as I woke up.
My body was moving, my limbs weightless as someone carried me. The drug they used to knock me out was slowly wearing off. Nausea rolled my stomach, making me heave. How long had I been out? Where was I?
“She's going to puke on me!”
My body was released, smashing onto a hard surface. Groaning, I opened my eyes, almost jumping back when Florian's frightened eyes came into view. We were laying side by side on the floor. Looking up, I blinked rapidly, trying to bring the flickering flame above my head into focus.
“A job well done,” came a familiar shaky voice.
Sitting up, I cringed as my head spun. Pressing my tied hands to my stomach, I fought the urge to throw up onto the cavern floor. We were in some kind of underground cave. The walls were made of solid rough stone forming an open area big enough for a living space. The magic in the cave was strong, the vibration humming through my limbs. No wonder I felt sick.
“Ah, she's awake,” Xvair Harvey announced, leaning on his walking stick as he watched me.
Standing in the centre of the room, Xvair glanced at Brianna and her vampire boyfriend. They had obviously managed to escape from Paranormal MI5's raid. Hopefully Kate and Jake had managed to rescue Dave. Would he worry about me?
“You have to let me go,” I muttered.
My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, the drug completely drying it out. Looking around instinctively for water, I frowned as I noted every inch of the cave. A bed was pushed into a corner, the cover pulled halfway up. A tin bath was sat on the opposite side, the water in it steaming. Xvair Harvey's hideaway was in the tunnels under London. Devon had told me about the underground network under the city, but it had never been in our jurisdiction.
Hobbling towards me, Xvair, whose wrinkled face was hanging, his chin almost dangling with loose skin, grinned at me. “It's good to see you again. I'll enjoy punishing you for killing Lucien in such a cruel fashion.”
“He deserved it,” I spat. “And, so do you.”
Trying to tug my hands free of the rope that bound them, I growled in frustration.
Xvair ignored me, moving to look down at his son.
Florian slowly sat up, wincing when his tied hands pulled against the movement. There was no expression of familiarity between the pair, and yet, Xvair stared, almost longingly.
“You look like me. Well, when I was a young strapping man.”
“Who are you?” Florian asked, a bite in his tone. “Why am I here?”
Shaking his head slowly, Xvair clicked his tongue. “You're my son. When your mother found out that she was pregnant, she was so full of joy. An enemy of mine informed her that I was a witch who had lived longer than any witch in history. I loved your mother, so I confessed everything to her. At first, she was fine with the idea that I would only need your first born child...”
“I doubt that somehow,” I muttered, pressing my arm against my jacket pocket to check if the glass shard was still there. It was.
Sneering at me, Xvair turned back to his son. “The bitch lied to me. She ran away in the night, taking you with her. I never saw you again.”
Florian swallowed hard, his eyes almost bulging. “She told me about you. You're sick in the head. No one should ever take another life in order to prolong theirs, it's against Mother Earth's nature.”
My ears perked up. Maybe I would have an ally in Xvair's son. Maybe he knew more about the witch world than he had let on. If his mother had been truthful with Florian, he could very well detest his father as much as I did. Working together might not be out of the question.
“You can judge me all you like, lad,” Xvair said slowly. “I don't actually care to bond with you. I just need your pure blood.”
Brianna and her friend called to Xvair, asking him for their payment. He laughed, his head thrown back before he turned to them. “So impatient. Vampires are such a weak species.”
“Excuse me?” Brianna's hands were on her hips, her gaze avoiding me.
“He's right...” I joined in. “You're the weakest creature of the underground. My respect for your kind has been completely lost.”
Her jaw tightened, but she still ignored me, which meant that I'd hit a nerve. She would have come back with a sarcastic remark if she truly believed that what she had done was worthy. My insides quivered, heat running through my whole body. The anger that pierced me every time I looked at her face would be enough to fuel my power to end them all.
“The PFF expects full participation in the ritual.” Brianna held her hand out to Xvair, offering a silver engraved stamp.
The corner of the old man's lip tried to quirk into his cheek, but the rolls of old skin prevented movement. I couldn’t tell if he was smiling or frowning.
Instead of replying to her, he indicated that she put the stamp on a small table, next to a jug of blood red liquid.
“Florian, my son,” Xvair said, turning back to us. “You know nothing of this world, but I will teach you its ways. Once you've been forged to the ley line, you can kill Gemma and have sole control.”
I went to speak, but he flicked his hand, silencing me with a spell. He couldn't have had much magic left, but as he held out his hand to Brianna, he smiled down at me. Trying to lunge to my feet, I tripped, toppling over. I would not let them get away with their evil plans.
“I'll carve these runes into you, enabling the spirits of Hell to rise with a ritual I found in my ancestors’ grimoire.”
Brianna went over to the flickering flame
