Page 33 of Potion of Deception (Potion of Deception #1)

HOPELESS ATTEMPTS

T he first thing Violette saw as her eyes opened was a beautifully painted ceiling. She blinked a few times, shaking off the last remnants of sleep and then got up.

She was sitting in a big soft bed surrounded by an emerald canopy with gold embroidery down its trim, ending with tassels.

The air was infused with begonias resting in a vase on a big fireplace opposite to the bed.

She looked around: the thick emerald curtains, matching the canopy of the bed, were almost shut, except for a small dark gap.

Violette lowered her foot from under the warm blanket onto the soft white carpet, its fluff tickled between her toes.

She found herself in the same clothes as before, in her deep amethyst dress with iris tracery from the heart-shaped neckline to the dark violet corset with lilac ribbons.

Only the cloak was missing, which she later noticed on the velvet green chair near the bed, her boots were at its legs.

She slowly circled the bed to the window.

It was dark outside, only stars were glimmering in the sky in the company of the forever-changing moon. She couldn't say how late the night was and how long she was sleeping. Was it only a few hours after she passed out or was it days since then?

She hurried to the chair. There was no time to explore where she was, she had to find Dante. Quickly pulling on her boots, she took her magic wand and ran out of the room .

Violette hovered for a second, gazing at the hallway.

It was a nice place with dark green walls lined with rich paintings.

Deciding to follow the bright light, she came right to the big hall with a wide mahogany staircase.

If it was an inn, it was much richer and more beautiful than the ones she was in before.

A crystal chandelier illuminated the hall as well as a few other lamps down the marble stairway.

Her eyes dropped to the stairs and there he was – Dante, pacing up. And as he raised his head, his gaze met hers.

“You finally woke up. Great,” his voice came out friendlier than usual. “Be ready to leave in thirty minutes.”

Violette froze in place until he finally reached the last stair and his eyes were higher than hers.

“To leave?” Her lashes fluttered.

“We're going back to the crypt, did you forget?”

“Where are we? How long did I sleep?” she worried.

“Why don't you get your stuff and meet me downstairs in a few minutes?” Dante said and without much explanation, went down the hallway Violette just came from.

His words made her go back to the room to grab the forgotten stuff, but unlike the cloak she found in a span of ten seconds, she couldn't find her dark purple bag with all things she took with her.

She searched under the bed, rummaged through the bed, beyond the curtains, between cushions in the chair but it wasn't there.

Then she let herself assume Dante took it, unless she lost it on the way here.

The last thing she remembered was that she tried to get up from the cold floor after a really tiring dream.

Then everything went dark. She didn't even remember if she'd seen the dreams after.

Violette was waiting for Dante at the staircase when he showed up.

“Come,” he waved his hand and went to another big hall, inviting her to follow him.

“Where are we?” she asked, carefully looking around.

“Some nice people were kind enough to invite us to stay overnight,” he simply aired but his words raised suspicion under Violette's skin.

“Some people?” She side-glanced at him.

The room they entered featured a long wooden table set with food, drinks and so much cutlery that Violette didn't even recognize half of it.

“Dante, where are we?” she asked again, taking in the splendid table and the equally luxurious room.

Then her eyes caught the presence of two people, and she honored them with a simple “Hello.” She tried to say something else but before the words escaped her mouth, she sensed something was off.

Their gaze was empty, like they weren't quite here, just two dolls, silently staying aside.

Though they were for sure living humans.

Violette felt a knot tying in her stomach. “Did you do something to them?” Her voice trembled. She was thankful she hadn't eaten today as a raspy sour taste crept in her throat.

“I didn't say they invited us by their own will,” Dante said calmly, taking a seat at the head of the table.

She was outraged by the way he said it, without a second thought, as if it were completely normal to make people into his own puppets.

“You can't make people do whatever you want, Dante.” Her fists clenched.

“Well, you are wrong. I definitely can.” He sounded light-hearted.

“It doesn't mean you should do that!”

“Why not?”

“Because it's wrong. They are humans, living creatures!” She pointed her hand in their direction, however, right now, they really didn't look like something alive. Just two toys waiting for the vampire's command.

“Well, you might be right, Little Witch. But I wouldn't lure them if you didn't pass out. We needed somewhere to stay.” His face was imperturbable, only a ghost of frolic danced in his almost black eyes.

“Oh don't make it about me!” Violette protested. It was so arrogant of him to blame it on her when she'd never wanted to hurt someone.

“As you might notice I do not lure people on a daily basis. So yes, I did it because of you.” That time his voice sounded much more serious as if he really believed in his own words.

“Don't pretend like you care about me,” she snapped back.

“Oh, I might not care, but I still need you to solve my little problem.” He grinned, tilting his head to the side, his finger trailing along his masked jaw.

“Anyway, you have to break the spell. Disenchant them or whatever you need to do,” Violette demanded, the pinch between her brows twitched.

He frowned. “Disenchant them? What am I to you, some kind of enchantress?”

“You understood what I meant,” she grumbled.

“Why should I? I like them this way.” He swayed the wine in a cup with a clueless look on his face.

“You are unbearable! Why couldn't you just ask them to stay for one night? It’s not that hard to be nice. At least, one time.”

“They are not the kind of people who would shelter someone out of goodwill. And actually I didn't have time and energy to explain to them why I am traveling at night with a passed out young lady.”

“Then unlure them and we'll explain it…somehow,” she stood her ground.

“You won't like it, Little Witch.”

“Just do it.” She was determined to fight him if she had to, even if it wouldn't be as effective as she imagined in her head.

“If you wish so,” he waved and leaned to the back of his chair, completely restful.

The woman's gaze who stood near the table turned unclouded, however the indifference on her face immediately changed into madness. Her eyes grew wider, soft features got lost into sharpness. Not a sign of the calm beautiful lady she was a moment ago, just peacefully standing near the table.

“Who are you?!” Her yell flushed through the room. “What are you doing in our house?!”

Violette had to admit – when she asked Dante to break the spell she didn't think about what to say and how it would look. And she clearly didn't expect to see a mad woman, however, she completely understood her point of view.

“Oh, um…” Violette started, it seemed much easier in her head. “I didn't actually think about this…Well…We–”

“How did you get in our house?!” the woman screamed again and Violette winced from her high squeak.

“Um…Well, let's start again. I apologize for the inconvenience we might have caused you,” she stumbled, trying to gather the words into a logical sentence. It turned out to be quite a challenge as the woman went hysterical in a split second.

“Burglars!”

Violette had never seen someone who would get wound up so quickly, despite the fact that she worked with people everyday. Some of them could be beyond belief dramatic. But this woman, well, she had a reason to be so.

“No, we're–” Violette didn't have time to finish as the angry lady swung a silver plate in the air. “No, wait! Let me explain, please.”

“Get out of my house!” The shout, sharp and grating like the creak of a door, echoed off the walls.

“We're not burglars, I'm sorry…We just needed a pla–” She didn't finish as a crystal wineglass flew towards her. “We're not here to harm you.” Violette took a few nervous steps back, her head spun in Dante's direction. “You are not going to help me?”

The vampire restlessly was watching the show from his seat.

“No,” he said and his smile grew even wider than before.

“Really?!”

“I thought you knew how to deal with it.” He got up with his wine glass, retreating in the opposite direction of the fight.

Another piece of dishes flew at Violette, though she awkwardly dodged it.

“I said get out!” The woman stepped closer, her nostrils flaring.

Violette still tried to reason with her, though she clearly didn't want to hear a word from her mouth. “Please, stop this, we are not here to hurt you…”

“I don't think she shares your intentions,” said Dante with an indifferent voice, leaning towards the wall.

“Fine, you were right. It wasn't the best idea. Lure her back!” Violette shot back.

It was hard to admit, but she couldn't control the situation and protect herself at the same time. She was not in a position to use her magic wand against the person who was just defending herself, but keeping it up like it was wasn't an option as well.

“Oh, no…” A dramatic expression crossed Dante's face. “I thought it's a bad thing to make people follow my orders.”

“Dante! Lure her!”

He didn’t make a move.

“Please, Dante!” Violette screamed as the angry lady was close enough to hit her with a big silver plate.

Snap!

The sharp sound of two fingers cut the air. Violette opened her eyes – the woman with the tray above her head froze in place.

“It brings you fun, doesn't it?” She bent her brows.