“Well? You’ve been out for hours,” Isabella said, full of concern.
Standing up and strolling toward the fireplace, he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, glancing back at the duo. “Well, I didn’t see Ella. I’m not sure what you would call it, but I ended up inside a bar, having a shot of whiskey with the devil.”
Isabella laughed and grabbed her leather jacket hung up on the rail. “Oh, come on, Drayton. That’s not funny. All you had to say was it didn’t work. I’m glad you caught up on some shut-eye. I didn’t expect it to work and that’s fine. We will come up with something else. Nate is asleep. Come on, Zephra. Zephra…”
The witch stood, transfixed, with her green eyes wide, peering at the wooden coffee table. Following the witch’s gaze, he spotted the source of her curiosity. Ella’s wedding band lay there.
His stomach plummeted. Any question as to whether what had just happened was a dream evaporated. Marcus picked the ring up and peered at the witches. “So, explain this? I haven’t seen Ella’s ring since she went missing. The fact it’s here now is impossible.”
Isabella opened her mouth to reply, but her sister beat her to it.
“Izzie, go and make some coffee, would you? Drayton, sit down and tell me everything that happened.”
Studying Ella’s ring, a sense of futility gripped him. “I need something stronger than coffee.” He pinched his nose. Slipping the wedding band into his pocket, he headed for the crystal decanter in the corner.
“On second thought, coffee will be good, and lots of it. The devil wants her soul. I don’t think he has her, but he sure as hell is involved. He showed me this dark place. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Eerie, quiet, and misty, with wild mountains and streams. I didn’t recognize it at all, but he showed me this place for a purpose, even if to illustrate that Ella is out of reach. Or maybe I am just going crazy and it’s another trap. I don’t know anymore.”
Zephra tapped his shoulder and motioned for him to sit, but he shook his head. He couldn’t rest a moment longer. He needed to do something, before he gave in to the sinking sensation that Ella was farther away than he thought possible.
“Don’t lose hope. The fact this creature reached out to you means he hasn’t got what he wants…yet. He’s trying to bargain with you, which is intriguing because it makes me believe the Morrigan doesn’t have the power to give him what he wants either. All is not lost, Drayton. It may not seem like it, but a game is being played; now we know there is one more player—the soul-collector. And in my experience, there’s always meaning behind what is revealed to you, even if you cannot see it at first. Now, start from the beginning,” Zephra said.
Marcus sighed and sat down, relaying everything he could recall.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Isabella charged at Henry, hugging him tight and slapping her arms around his back.
He choked and shoved at her. “I...I…can’t…”
Hearing him struggle to speak, she let go and held his shoulders, appraising him. At times, she forgot the strength she possessed as a vampire. “Oops…sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
The once fresh-faced youth looked almost unrecognizable, standing there smirking at her with a trim beard and shadowy moustache. His brownish hair was longer than she remembered, and shadows creased his eyes. Thankfully, his yellow-green aura was unchanged, and she sniffed him, his sweet scent intriguing.
“God, it’s good to see you, Isabella. You look amazing. Jake brought me up to speed on everything, and I’m sorry.”
Sensing what he would say next, Isabella shrugged and stepped back, not wanting to scare her friend any further as she adjusted to his tempting scent. “It’s okay. I’m fine. Roman and I are bad for each other, end of story. It’s better this way.”
Henry gave a tentative smile, nodding at her. He slid his glance at Jake and leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “I meant the fact you’re a hot vampire.”
Isabella stifled a laugh. “Oh, that.” The fact she was a vampire no longer seemed an issue to her. In truth, she had adjusted to the transformation quicker than she imagined. For the most part, Isabella felt and behaved the same, with a few added perks.
“Well,” she spread her arms wide and darted across the operations room to stand next to Bear, smiling back at him, “I’m over that shift in gears. Although my thirst to kill the Morrigan hasn’t cooled. But I no longer see any ghosts, so there’s an upside. I never put on weight, which means I don’t have to diet. And my strength…well, you’ve seen for yourself what that’s like.”
Jake strode past her with his coffee. “Yeah, it’s great—we have to keep a constant stock of blood in the fridge to make sure Sparkles doesn’t sink her teeth into one of us because she’s always hungry. Always. So, I’d watch out, because if she fancies a snack, she may compel you to let her suck your blood.”
Isabella flashed her eyes at Henry, who studied her with his mouth open. His scent had shifted, no doubt due to the release of adrenaline coursing through his blood from the flight-or-fight reaction to Jake’s words, ramping up her hunger.
“I would never do that, Henry. He’s joking,” she said, deliberately digging her elbow into Jake, making him spill his coffee over his T-shirt.
“Shit.” He grabbed hold of her wrist, holding her there. “Well, I might have been, but it’s still early. Anyway, as you can see, some things haven’t changed.
