Witches & Werewolves: A Sacred Oath (26 page)

“Then I don’t have a vacancy.”

“Listen, we really need a room. Is there any way you can help us out?” I ask.

“Sorry, sweetheart. Just because you want to whore it up with your boyfriend doesn’t mean I need to help you.”

“I’m not whoring it up with my boyfriend,” I say, frustrated. “I’m a virgin.”

“Even worse,” she says. She stands up, looking me right in the eyes. “You kids come here and throw your parties and do your dirty business. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”

I’m enraged. My eyes narrow, blazing into her. “You are going to give me a room, right now. On the house.”

Her angry face relaxes. I’d almost go so far as to say she smiles. “I’ve got number six available. It’s the honeymoon suite,” she says, with a wink. She grabs the key from a pegboard and hands it to me.

I take it and snatch my drivers license from the counter.

“Enjoy your stay,” she says, as I leave.

I think I’m going to like this compulsion thing. I dash to the car, and we pull up to cabin number six. Inside, there are two double beds with orange comforters. The walls are lined with faux wood panelling that is warping out in areas. The carpet is, or at least was at one point in time, lime green.
 

I pull the door shut, twist the deadbolt, and latch the chain. I close the curtains tight. I don’t want any rays of morning light beaming in, singeing my flesh.
 

I plop onto the squeaky bed and grab the remote from the nightstand. After running through all ten channels, I realize there is nothing on TV.
 
The only channel that even comes in clearly is a shopping network. I toss the remote aside and let it drone on.

Ethan crawls onto the bed next to me. The rusty springs squawk.

“So, this is what it’s like to be on the run?” Ethan says.
 

“Bonnie and Clyde, eat your heart out,” I say.
 

Ethan’s seductive blue eyes pierce into me. He pushes on the bed, squeaking the springs with a naughty glint in his eyes. A suggestion that we use the bed for something other than sleeping.

“Oh, no, mister. Not here. My first time… we’re talking candle light, rose petals, chocolate covered strawberries, bubble bath—“

“—Whipped cream?”

“Whipped cream, yes,” I say, with a glimmer.

The guy on the TV is blathering on about a silver matching set of rings. There is only 19 items left, so order now. It trips a circuit in my brain.
 

“The rings,” I say.

“What rings?” Ethan asks.

“Cerise wears the rings around her neck.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I saw them. Two silver rings. She wears them on a necklace,” I say.

“So?”

“The rings she used to start the werewolf curse. The rings Ludolf and Valeria wore.”

“Who told you about that?”

“Vincent.”

 
“I’d take anything a vampire says with a grain of salt,” Ethan says. I glare at him, and he quickly changes his tune. “I mean, I’d take anything Vincent says with a grain of salt.”

 
I begin to put all the pieces together. “If Cerise forged the rings and bound the curse to them, then destroying the rings could break the curse.”

 
“Not every werewolf thinks of it as a curse,” Ethan says. “It’s an incredible amount of power to be a werewolf. That’s not something that most werewolves are anxious to give up.”

“Is it something that you would give up?” I ask.

Ethan sighs. “I don’t know. I like being a werewolf.”

“You like devouring human flesh?” My question hangs in the air a moment.

“I’ve learned to control the darker aspects of the beast within me,” he says. “Let’s see how long it takes for you to control your inner demons.”

“What do you mean?”

You should be in need of a feeding any time now. How, exactly, are you going to handle that?”

I glare at him. “I haven’t eaten you yet.”

“That’s part of the problem,” he says, lasciviously.

“Shut up.” I roll my eyes at him.

The TV guy hustles the set of rings. Only 15 sets remain.
Call now
.
 

“If you could lift the curse, would you?” I ask.
 

“Only Cerise can destroy the rings. And the werewolves are sworn to protect her,” Ethan says.
 

“Only Cerise?”

“Or someone that shares her bloodline,” Ethan says.

I ponder this a moment. “If that’s true, how am I involved in all of this? How am I the one? I mean, I’m not related to Cerise.”
 

“That’s why I think this whole thing is ridiculous,” Ethan says.

“If it came down to it, would you protect Cerise?”

“We are creatures of instinct. It’s in my nature to protect her,” he says, almost ashamed. “That’s why we need to get as far away from her as possible.”

He looks sad and tormented. “You have no idea of the conflict I feel inside. Every fiber of my being wants to protect you. But every instinct I have says you are a threat to my way of life, and my kind.”

“Should I be worried?”

“We are no good for each other,” he says. “You know that?”

“Yeah, but we’re stuck together,” I say, with a hopeful smile.

“Yeah, stuck together,” he says, smiling.

I lean in and kiss his perfect lips. “I need to call Jake and let them know I’m okay.”

“What are you going to tell them?”

“I don’t know.”

 
I roll over and grab the phone from the nightstand. I dial nine to get an outside line, then call Jake. A strange voice answers the line.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I think I dialed the wrong number,” I say.

“Madison?” the woman’s voice asks.

“Yes. Who is this?”

“If you want Jake and Noah to live, you’ll do exactly what I say,” the voice says. The voice belongs to Cerise.

CHAPTER 36

“MEET ME AT the Haven Hill cemetery. Come alone,” Cerise says.

The line goes dead, and I hang up the phone.

Ethan and I drive back to town. His foot mashed against the floor. The tachometer almost redlining. The engine growls as we race back to Haven Hill.

In a few hours the sun will be up. In a few hours, I’ll most likely be dead. We twist and turn through the mountain roads, eventually finding ourselves a few blocks from the cemetery. Ethan pulls to the side of the road.

“I’m coming with you,” Ethan says.

“No, you’re not,” I say. “Cerise said to come alone.”

“She’s going to be waiting for you with a pack of werewolves.”

“Exactly. So why get two of us killed?”

“I’m not letting you go alone.” Ethan’s eyes are full of worry and concern.

I lean into him and kiss his lips. “You want to make me happy? Get as far away from here as possible. My life isn’t about what I want anymore. It’s about what’s best for the people I love. If sacrificing myself will save Noah and Uncle Jake. Then I’m happy to do it. The best thing for you is to drive away an never look back after I step out of this door.”

“I’m not leaving you,” he says.

My eyes are faucets.
 

“You’re going to have to.” I kiss him once more and step out of the door. I march to the cemetery gates. Moonlight cascades down through the looming oak trees. A fine mist hangs in the air. My vampire ears hear a faint whisper, “Madison.”

I pinpoint the direction of the sound—it’s coming from the center of the cemetery. I hear Ethan’s car rumble away behind me as I enter through the gates. My eyes scan the cemetery. Cerise waits for me past rows and rows of ornate monuments and statues. I notice some thing else lurking behind the hedges and monuments—werewolves. Hundreds of them. Their eyes glowing in the darkness.
 

 
I remember Lucas’s admonition to me to stay away from churches and cemeteries. Hallowed ground. I begin to wonder how much of my vampire powers I will lose here.

 
Cerise stands near a grave with fresh dirt. She is flanked by several werewolves in human form. Including Olivia.

“So glad you could join us,” Cerise says.

“Where are Noah and Jake?” I ask.

“They are in a very, very safe place.”

I see one of the werewolves resting against a shovel with the blade dug into the ground. I listen carefully. The night has an eerie stillness to it. I strain to hear the muffled sounds of Jake and Noah screaming and pounding inside coffins, buried underground.

“How much time do you think they have in there before they run out of air?” Cerise asks.

“You said you would let them go,” I say.

“I did. They are free to go whenever they want,” Cerise says.

“Dig them up, now!” I say.

Cerise smiles. “First, you and I have other business to take care of.” Cerise looks to Olivia. “What time is sunrise?”

“6:21 AM,” Olivia says, looking at her smart phone.

“What time is it now?” Cerise asks.

“5:52 AM,” Olivia says.

“I think it’s going to take you at least a half an hour to dig them out,” Cerise says. “If you get the chance.”

“Why are you doing this?” I ask.

“Because you have the ability to lift the curse. And I can’t take a chance on that happening. And nobody here wants to lose their special abilities. Am I right?”

The night air is suddenly filled with discordant howls. Werewolves across the cemetery sound off in agreement with Cerise. It’s almost deafening. It takes a few moments for the howling to subside.

“I don’t understand. Only you can destroy the rings,” I say.

“Or someone in my bloodline,” Cerise says. “I have foreseen it.”

I squint my eyes and furrow my brow, utterly confused. “But we’re not… related?”

“My daughter thought she could hide you from me,” Cerise says.

“Your daughter?” I say.

“Yes. Let’s say we didn’t always see eye to eye,” Cerise says.

 
At this moment, my head is spinning.

“You’re full of it,” I say.

“You can deny it all you want, but it doesn’t change the facts,” Cerise says.
 

I have a sinking feeling in my stomach. Suddenly, I know what the letter in my keepsake box says. Without having to read it, I know what my mother was apologizing for.
 

“How can you do this to your own flesh and blood?” I ask.

“It’s a matter of practicality really. With each heir, my power diminishes. Siphoning off bits of my strength here and there. Had I known, I never would have had my daughter. They steal more than your beauty, I tell you,” Cerise says. “I warned her not to have any offspring. She defied me.”

“You’re disgusting,” I say.

“We all have our priorities in life,” Cerise says. “Right now, my priority is to eliminate you.”
 

“I think you are a coward. You have your little pets do your dirty work,” I say.

 
The werewolves snarl.
 

 
“Unfortunately, I can’t kill you myself. I would lose all of my power. And we can’t have that, now can we?” Cerise says. “But I can leave you to die in the sunlight. Or suffer the deadly effects of a werewolf bite. Or both.” Cerise smiles.
 

The sky is growing lighter. Dawn will break soon.

“Olivia, prove your loyalty to the pack,” Cerise says. “Bite that vampire.”

Olivia’s eyes narrow, blazing at me. She flashes her fangs and hisses, then launches toward me. In a flash, she is at my throat, her fangs piercing into my neck. It stings like a thousand wasps. The fiery pain rushes up my neck and down my shoulder to my arm. Searing, scorching heat.
 

Suddenly, Olivia is ripped away from me. I see Ethan tackling her to the ground as I collapse. Several werewolves rush in, pulling Ethan and Olivia apart. Hundreds of werewolves circle around, snarling and howling.

CHAPTER 37

“I’M SORRY, SWEETIE. Sometimes life just isn’t fair, is it?” Cerise says, huddling over me. “I’m going to leave you to die of natural causes. Enjoy your last sunrise.”
 

Cerise stands and commands the werewolves to leave. I watch, helpless, as they drag Ethan away. Within moments, the cemetery is empty. The sun looms just below the horizon, casting a grayish-purple tint across the sky.

I can still hear Jake and Noah gasping for air, pounding away on the coffins. The venom floods through my veins. Every nerve ending on fire. I gasp for air. My heart feels like it’s going to explode. I feel paralyzed, the venom seizing up my muscles.

The sky is turning shades of orange and magenta.

I claw at the ground, pulling my way toward the shovel. If I don’t get up on my feet and start digging, Noah and Jake will die. I keep crawling until I reach the shovel. I grab the gray, wooden handle and pull it close. I muster all of my strength and drive the broad steel blade into the dirt. Then I pull myself up by the handle. I stomp my heal on the blade, driving it into the dirt. I fight through the burning muscle spasms and scoop the dirt aside. I plow the blade back into the ground, shoveling out another heap of dirt. Shovel and scoop. Shovel and scoop. Over and over again.