From Fear to Eternity: An Immortality Bites Mystery (23 page)

“I didn’t. Sebastien assumed it was him and I chose to let him believe the worst of his sire.”

So why had she released him now, after all these years?

I think I knew.

“You freed him because you found out he had an amulet stashed somewhere. Right? If he hadn’t had
the amulet, you would have let him stay in that tomb forever.”

Thierry hadn’t budged an inch. His gaze was fixed on the wall behind my shoulder, and I couldn’t even tell if he was paying attention. Melanie, Veronique, and Marcellus moved as little as possible, but they could hear every word spoken between us.

Her secrets were being revealed to a captive audience. Emphasis on the
captive
part.

Tasha’s condescending smile returned. “Some time ago, I came across letters that he’d left for me detailing that he possessed the amulet—the same amulet Thierry had wanted. When I’d first read those letters I had no idea what it meant, nor did I care. But in recent years, my interest in the subject has greatly increased.”

I remembered a conversation we’d had earlier tonight. “That movie you made—the first one. The lousy one. The screenwriter knew all about djinn.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Oh, Sarah, perhaps you’re more clever than I thought you were. That writer was a great asset to me, especially since he was obsessed with finding one of the legendary amulets. Yes, there are more than one. When we acquired one, together we killed the djinn with a special blade I purchased at an auction much like the one held earlier tonight, burned his body, and stole his magic. Or rather, I did. By then the writer was no longer a problem for me.”

“Gee, let me guess. You killed him, too.”

She shrugged. “Humans are greedy creatures, but very fragile. Jacob, for example, didn’t take very much effort at all. Just a little twist after I quenched my thirst.”

At this admission, Veronique attempted to stand, but didn’t get far. Smoke rose from her wrists as she fought against her bindings.

“You burned the djinn’s body,” I said.

“Of course. Cutting off the head wouldn’t be nearly enough to completely destroy a djinn.”

Aha! So now I knew why Jack was still alive and kicking. They’d missed a step.

“Thomas helped you,” I said. “You cut off the djinn’s head tonight before everyone arrived and you let him take care of burning the body.”

A blood spell had made him her yes-man. But tonight he’d started to say no.

Her gaze turned predatory. I knew there was no way she’d ever let me leave this room knowing what I did now about her and her nasty deeds. “Does it make you feel better to know all of this? Accomplished somehow?”

“Mostly it makes me sad that my favorite actress is a power-hungry, wannabe witch.”

“Most famous actresses are.”

I hadn’t felt bad for Thomas earlier when I thought he was helping Tasha of his own free will. Turned out, he had very little free will to spare. And what he did have, he’d used to try to thwart her.

I scanned the room again, trying to look as much at ease as possible given the situation. “I have a question. Why are we trapped here? If you managed to successfully steal the djinn’s magic, why are you still here with the rest of us?”

Tasha regarded me in silence for an uncomfortable moment, and I wasn’t sure if she was going to answer. Then again, I already knew Tasha Evans loved the sound of her own voice. “There have been a few
complications, but I’m patient enough to wait until dawn. We’re so close now. Can you feel the sun about to rise as I can?”

She closed her eyes and held her arms out to either side. As I watched her warily, her famous tattoos . . . multiplied.

Literally. The ones she already had expanded, tracing along her flesh as if someone had taken a Sharpie marker to her. It was writing in a foreign language, symbols twisting and flowing over her skin all the way down to her wrists and over her throat.

Now that I was paying attention, I realized that her tattoos looked exactly like Jack’s.

“The tattoos are the magic,” I whispered.

This earned me an unpleasant look. “Don’t be too clever, now, little fledgling. It’s not healthy.”

But I couldn’t stop just when more pieces were clicking into place for me. “You got the first ones when you killed the original djinn and stole his magic. It’s djinn magic you have, not witch magic. But it’s fading because you’re not a djinn. Now after all these years you need to recharge.”

“Yes, every twenty years like clockwork.” She flicked a glance toward Thierry. “I need you to do something very important for me, Thierry. Will you do whatever I ask of you?”

“Of course,” he said without hesitation, his familiar voice so cold it gave me chills.

She held out her wooden stake, the one she’d been about to use on Atticus. “Kill your wife.”

My gaze shot to Thierry as he turned to take the stake.

“As you wish, Tasha,” he
said.

I
spun to face Thierry as he stepped toward me, stake in hand.

“What are you doing, Thierry?” I asked, my voice shaking. “You’re not going to resist at all?”

His jaw was so tight it looked painful.

I tried to get Thierry to look in my eyes, but he refused. Instead, he studied the sharp wooden stake in his hand.

“Kill her, Thierry,” Tasha commanded.
“Now
.
”

Thierry’s eyes finally snapped to mine.

I didn’t beg. I didn’t try to convince him that he could fight this. He’d already given me a clue that he
was
fighting—that he believed there might be a chance, even if this was a much stronger spell than we’d originally assumed.

Life had been so much easier when we thought the werewolf cocktail waitress might be the witch in residence.

Although the rest of him looked completely cold-blooded, a trickle of perspiration ran down Thierry’s left temple.

“Do what you have to do, Thierry,” I told him, standing my ground. “You know how I feel. That hasn’t changed. It will never change.”

“I didn’t believe in myself,” he said through clenched teeth. “It sounds ridiculous, given who I am. How long I’ve lived. But you changed everything for me.”

Thierry lunged at me and I staggered back. He grabbed my hand and placed the stake in it. “Defend yourself against me however you must.”

Maybe he meant for me to stake him, but, please. That wasn’t going to happen. Clutching the stake, I moved toward Tasha instead. Having a weapon made me feel a whole lot better about my odds against the murderous actress.

But then, out of nowhere, Sebastien was suddenly there and he stepped in front of me, yanking the stake out of my grip. He shoved me backward so forcefully that I stumbled and fell hard to the floor.

“Sebastien,” Tasha purred, “you didn’t have to worry. She wasn’t close enough to hurt me.”

“I know,” he said. “But I am.”

He turned and thrust the stake into her heart.

She shrieked and stumbled back, a mirror image of what I’d just done. She grasped the stake and pulled it out of her chest, letting it clatter to the floor.

Her wide-eyed gaze snapped to his. “Why would you do that?”

Sebastien’s hands were clenched at his sides. “I heard what you said. It was you all this time, all because of your stupid jealousies. I’d told you that Veronique meant nothing to me, but you refused to believe me. And you’d want to hurt me like that when I trusted you more than anyone else?”

I flicked a look at Thierry. His brow was shiny with perspiration. He was a master vampire, much
stronger than Thomas had been. He could fight this spell. I knew he could.

He already had, mostly. There was only a little left, trapping him in its magical grasp.

Tasha braced herself against the wall and glared at Sebastien, but the outrage and surprise swiftly faded from her eyes . . . just as the stake wound healed on her chest.

“What the hell?” Sebastien managed. “You should be dead!”

She grabbed his shirt and launched him backward. He hit the wall so hard he left a deep dent in it before he fell to the floor. “You think it’ll be that easy to kill me? I’m immortal, darling. For real. Forever.”

“Frederic’s dagger,” I whispered. “That’s why you killed him. The cut on his arm. You used it to drink his blood. The dagger can give extended life to humans—”

“—and true immortality to vampires,” she finished. “I wasn’t sure if it really worked, but I guess I’ve proven it now, haven’t I? I’m indestructible. I will live forever.”

I stared at her in shock. This beautiful actress I’d admired for longer than I could remember was the scariest thing I’d ever seen in my life.

“There are now only minutes until dawn,” she said, glancing at the grandfather clock in the corner of the parlor near Veronique, Marcellus, and Melanie. “And then this will finally be over.”

“You’ll have all the magic of the Jacquerra Amulet inside you,” Thierry said.

“The sun is a powerful entity. Its arrival, its absence, makes all the difference when it comes to magic like this.” She looked down at her arms and
the slightest edge of worry crossed her gaze. “This is a bit different than last time, though. The markings should all be solid by now.”

“That’s strange,” I said. “You didn’t miss a step anywhere along the line, did you?”

She looked at me, her eyes narrowing. “Of course I didn’t.”

“Don’t be so sure. You know what they say—if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.”

As if on cue, Jack walked into the room.

I looked at him with alarm. “What are you doing here?”

Tasha began to laugh. “Oh, this is quite a twist, but it doesn’t matter. Look at him. He’s barely holding himself together. Burning his body won’t be necessary. I already feel myself powering up.”

Sebastien had risen to his feet and began to approach her. With a flick of her wrist, she sent him sailing backward again.

“Stay down,” she told him. “Or you’ll be begging to go back into your tomb.”

“You’re the one.” Any humor or confusion had left Jack’s face. “You tried to kill me.”

“Thought I did a pretty good job, actually. One slice. Off with your head. It reminded me of a miniseries I did, playing a French revolutionary.”

“The Affairs of Madame Baudin
,
”
I said, nodding. “I still think you’re evil incarnate, but I’ve seen that miniseries, like, eight times.
So
good.”

“Thank you.” She then swept her gaze over Jack’s torso. “Your marks have faded to nearly nothing. You
have no magic left within you. Do you think you have any chance to defeat me?”

“That I still exist is enough to defeat a thief and a murderer like you.” He straightened his back, standing tall, his chin raised. “Do it, Sarah. Send me back.”

Did he realize what he was asking for? “Jack, no . . .”

“My magic will leave her and fully return to me once I go back to my prison. It’s the only way we can fix this.”

Wild guess here—he finally had his memories back, if not all his magic. He knew what he was asking for. It was the exact opposite of what he’d wanted.

He was willing to sacrifice himself to stop Tasha. To save all of us.

Tasha gasped with surprise as I pulled the amulet out of the handy pocket of my dress.

“Oh, did I forget to mention I found it earlier?” I swung it from its chain. “Sorry about that.”

“Where was it?” she demanded.

“Let’s just say . . .” I paused for emphasis. “The butler hid it.”

“Thierry, take it away from her,” Tasha snarled. “Now.”

Thierry took a step toward me, but not another one. His entire frame shook with the effort it took to resist her spell.

“Thierry!” she shouted. “Do as I say!”

“To quote a favorite phrase of my beautiful wife, who believed in me when no one else would,” he growled, “bite me.”

“Fine. You’re dead, too. You will all die”—she looked at the clock—“in twenty seconds . . .”

“Sarah.” Jack’s tone held both pain and courage. “Do it now. There’s no time to waste.”

He drew closer to me and his eyes turned green to match the amulet.

Proximity seemed to make all the difference. The closer he was to it, the more it controlled him.

Everything in life came down to control. Who controls what. And who. And why.

But control was a fleeting thing. You might have it one moment, but lose it the next. While you had it, you had to use it.

Or choose not to.

I took a step back from Jack.

“Not yet,” I said, shaking my head. I had to wait just a little longer and hope another solution would present itself. It always did, right? I couldn’t put Jack back in that prison; I couldn’t do it. There had to be another answer.

Tasha could be wrong about what she believed would happen.

Theme of the night. What we believe in and what we’re willing to sacrifice to defend those beliefs. Our lives, our freedom . . . but not someone else’s.

“Sarah, what are you doing?” Jack demanded. “It’s now or—”

“Three, two, one.” Tasha counted down and sighed with relief. “It’s dawn.”

“—never,” Jack finished.

Her tattoos darkened and solidified before my eyes as the remainder of Jack’s faded away to nothing.

“The power is mine. All the magic of the Jacquerra Amulet belongs to me. Thank you all for your help.”
Tasha sounded like she was giving another rehearsed Oscar speech.

She’d won and we’d lost.

I’d made the wrong choice. Instead of damning Jack by putting him back into the amulet, I’d just put everyone at risk—here in the mansion and beyond. I’d failed because I’d clung to my beliefs. Whatever happened now was entirely my fault, and I had no idea what to do next . . .

A glass of water appeared out of thin air in my hand. I looked at it, frowning.

“Sarah, your dress . . .” Thierry said.

I glanced down at myself. My previously red dress was now a lovely forest green.

“What the . . . ?”

From the ceiling, or what seemed like the ceiling, Veronique’s book fell and landed hard on the floor right in front of Tasha.

“The magic was delayed,” I whispered.

The wishes I’d made earlier had just been granted. One for water, one for the color of my dress.

Two out of three.

I exchanged a tense look with Thierry.

“What is going on?” Tasha demanded.

I was the owner of the amulet. I hadn’t meant to win it in the auction, but it was mine in a universal sense. My wishes were finally coming true.

And I had one more to go.

“Here, catch.” I tossed the amulet at Tasha. She caught it automatically.

“Giving up?” She clutched it, smiling, as if she’d just won a valuable prize at the state fair. “I think that’s a very good idea.”

I shook my head. “Obviously, you don’t know me
very well. I don’t give up. Not even when I probably should.”

“Too bad for you, then.”

“Too bad for me. Too bad for you.”

Tasha didn’t realize her eyes had turned a bright emerald green. She was full of djinn magic, therefore she reacted to the amulet the same way a real djinn would.

I hoped like hell this worked. “I wish for Jack to be free of the Jacquerra Amulet and for Tasha Evans to take his place, since she obviously wants to be a djinn so much she’d try to steal its magic.”

She gasped and dropped the amulet, scrambling back from it as if it had suddenly burst into flame. “You can’t wish for that!”

“I think I can. I get three wishes and that was number three.” I stepped back from her until I felt Thierry behind me. “Be careful what you wish for, Tasha. You just might get it.”

Already, her feet clad in the open-toed silver stilettos had turned to swirling green smoke. “No! Sebastien, do something. Help me!”

“Help you?” Sebastien repeated. “Why? Isn’t this what you wanted? All the magic you can handle and true immortality? Got to say, it won’t be as much fun as you thought it would be, trapped inside a tiny place for all of eternity. I should know.”

She stared down at herself with horror, now smoke from the waist down. “No, I don’t want this. Take it back! Take the wish back!”

There wasn’t fear or sadness on her face, something that might have tweaked my sympathy a little, despite all the horrible things she was responsible for. There was only rage. Blame. Hate.

Proof that she wasn’t that great of an actress after all.

“I’ll be back and I will destroy you!” It was the last thing she screamed before turning fully to swirling green smoke. A moment later, all the smoke disappeared into the amulet.

Thierry moved toward the amulet, snatched it up from the floor, and slipped it into his inner jacket pocket. “No, Tasha, you won’t be back.”

I wasn’t quite ready to celebrate yet. “Thierry, you’re feeling . . . ?”

He met my eyes. “Much better now, thank you.”

My heart lifted. “So glad to hear that.”

I grabbed his face and kissed him hard. He pulled me closer and kissed me back, and I felt him smile against my lips.

“What would I do without you?” he asked.

“Let’s find out the answer to that . . . never.”

“A truly brilliant plan.”

Veronique cleared her throat. I glanced at her over my shoulder and she gave me a pointed look. A “please stop kissing and untie us now” look.

So we did just that. Using Frederic’s enchanted dagger that Thierry retrieved from his other pocket, but trying very hard not to cut anyone with it, he sliced through the bindings to free Veronique, Marcellus, and Melanie. They rubbed their raw wrists as the silver-infused ropes dropped away.

Sebastien and Jack stayed off to the side, giving us space to move.

“You all right?” I asked Melanie.

She nodded, looking at Thierry with trepidation. “He grabbed me and tied me up. You sure he’s okay now?”

I studied Thierry for a moment. “Still a five-point-five?”

He considered this for a moment. “I’m down to a four. So, back at my normal level.”

I cringed. “Your normal level is a four?”

“A very manageable four, believe me.”

I glanced at Melanie. “He’s fine.”

“She wanted me to kill you,” Thierry told the three of them. “But she didn’t make it an order. I believe she wanted to do it herself once she came fully into her djinn powers. Let’s be grateful she’s now safely contained.”

“You fooled her well,” Marcellus said to Thierry. “I’m very impressed.”

“Don’t be. The spell worked. It was nearly impossible to resist her command.”

“Then how did you manage it?”

He gave me a sidelong look. “Someone convinced me tonight that I needed to believe in myself as fully as she did. And she was right. I assumed I had no true control over my thirst at its worst, but I always have. And to harm someone I care about was not acceptable to me on any level. Once I realized that and fought past the first part of the spell, it was possible to resist the second part.”

“In other words”—I looked up at Thierry with pride—“she didn’t know who she was dealing with. A total badass master vampire.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Badass?”