Page 10 of The Fang Arrangement (Celestial Witches #2)

A s soon as Ember is in her house, I tilt my head, listening for the sound I heard. It wasn't a vampire, dead silent, but it wasn’t a typical human heartbeat, either.

Ember lives far enough off the main road that there’s no reason a human would be roaming near her property at night. Plus, I would hear the whooshing of their blood, this is something wholly different.

Did I miss their presence when I was working on her door frame? Or are they just now purposefully making themselves known?

I muffle out the other sounds surrounding me, the fairies crying inside of the house, Ember’s breathing, along with the bugs and frogs outside. My head snaps to the left sharply as a wooden stake comes careening toward my chest.

I catch it in my hand with a growl. It doesn’t shatter in my palm and when I glance down; it has the same carvings in it that Baptiste’s did.

Is this slayer hunting my witch? Or worse, is he using her to get to me?

Fuck.

With unparalleled speed, I run around her property, searching for the piece of shit whose dared to step foot on Ember’s property, who had the fucking gall to try and kill me on her doorstep.

This bastard is tricky. They always are.

A branch snaps to my right, and I adjust quickly, moving my body, right before another stake comes whistling next to my head and embedding itself into a tree.

“Show your face, Slayer,” I growl.

“You’re braver than most,” a voice says, and I turn, trying to find his location. His voice is deep and otherworldly. “You’ll need to be taken care of so I can take what I want.”

“I’m going to rip your fucking heart out,” I bellow.

The Slayer laughs, deep and hearty.

“It will be hard for you to do that when you’re dead. I’m rather fond of this meat suit. So will she.”

She? My Ember?

It’s almost as if I see red. Every second of anger and sadness in my life has accumulated to this moment of rage. I nearly have the one thing I desire and he thinks he can steal it from me?

She isn’t his. She’s mine.

I run, searching, hunting, before I’m hunted myself. Wisps of green flashing around me as I find the being that thinks he can best me. There’s a flash of white, and I don’t hesitate as I tackle him to the ground, my hands wrapping around his neck.

His eyes are solid black, his sclera completely gone. A feral grin spreads across his face as the veins in his neck bulge. I realize then that he’s the man I saw Ember speaking with in town today. He asked her if she was married, but his eyes were different, he seemed more human.

None of that matters, all that matters is that Ember is safe.

He’s beyond human strength, we’re a near match in strength, holding him down is exerting every ounce of strength I have. I hit him repeatedly in the face as I hold him to the ground by his throat.

He might not be human, but the human he’s possessed is. He can be killed. The thought of what I’m about to do disgusts me, as I turn his head, sinking my teeth into his jugular. His blood tastes like shit, like charcoal against my tongue.

I can feel his odd heartbeat slowing, his fight leaving him.

Until the sharpest tinge of pain buries itself into my stomach, making me release his throat.

He rolls away clumsily, his hands covering his gushing wound, as he slowly stumbles out of the forest. He must be out of stakes, or worried he can’t win.

A frustrated roar escapes me when I can’t move right away, glancing at the stake in my stomach.

“This isn’t over, Slayer!” I scream.

“Never is,” he gargles back.

I lie there for a long minute, staring up at the branches above me. This can’t happen again. I can’t be cornered and unaware. I can’t leave Ember here in the daytime for that prick to just stroll up and take her.

With a blood-soaked hand, I shove it in my pocket, taking out my phone.

I call Samantha.

“Hey old man, how did fixing her door go?” she asks.

“The fucking Slayer attacked.”

“Where do you need me?”

“Prepare a room for Ember at the house, have the kitchen stocked by the human employees, and hire a chef. Tell everyone in the nest to be on guard. I want round-the-clock security detail on the house, humans during the day, vampires at night. I injured him, but I don’t know how fast he’ll heal or if he’ll heal. ”

“Why do you sound like you’re in pain?” she asks, as I try to muffle a wheeze.

“Fucker staked me in the stomach,” I groan.

“I’ll be right there,” she says, and I let the frustration flow through me.

“No. Do as you’re told. Send Achille with the car.”

“But—”

“But nothing. Do what I said. I’ll be home shortly,” I say, ending the call and groaning as I look down at the stake.

I grab it at the base, trying to pull it out of myself with no give.

“Fucking wonderful,” I mutter to myself.

That must be the inscriptions he has on the stakes. Some old magic that prevents vampires from being able to rip the wood out of their own flesh. Must be why he left me here and didn’t put up much of a fight even though I ripped out his throat.

I don’t feel pain like a human does, but as I roll on to my front, my hands and knees covered in dirt, it’s the most intense pain I’ve felt in decades.

With a ridiculous amount of effort I’m able to get on my knees and I rip my shirt down the front, watching where my skin is darkening around the stake.

If it was in the heart, I would have been dead immediately. Whatever magic is imbued in the stake is powerful. If I don’t get it out soon, it might actually kill me.

I can’t die now, not now that my witch needs me.

I’m glad no one is here to watch my embarrassing show of getting to my feet as I trudge my way back to Ember’s home. Walking up the four porch steps is nearly enough to make me fall over. I press my forehead against the wood of her door, using my foot to knock.

“Ember,” I rasp her name. “Open the door.”

“How do I know it’s you?”

“Open the fucking door,” I say too sharply.

“Yeah, that’s one way to know it’s you,” she says.

She’s slow with opening the door, my body leaning against an invisible barrier since I haven’t been invited in.

I need her to invite me in. More than anything, I need her to rip this stake out of my stomach.

She gasps as she takes in my appearance. Blood smeared on my chin, my shirt ripped in half, and a stake protruding out of my gut.

“I guess you weren’t lying about killing Baptiste, sunshine. Slayer said he’s after you,” I tell her.

“What? Oh shit. Are you going to die?” she asks, looking me up and down as her hand goes to her mouth.

“Invite me in. The Slayer is injured and I need to be at full strength if he comes back.”

This stake in my stomach makes me feel nauseous as I hope she lets me in. I can’t decide if it’s because the Slayer is out there or because I get a thrill from the idea of her inviting me into her home.

I can tell her raccoon is mouthing off, but I don’t really have time for this shit.

“I’ll protect you. I already vowed it. I promise not to harm your raccoon or the annoying fucking fairies either. Just invite me in and I’ll keep you safe.”

A truth, the most honest thing I’ve ever said.

She bites her lip, her eyes wide as she grapples over her decision. The witch is too caring, too sweet for her own good as the words, “Warin, won’t you come in?” spill from her lips.

I stumble into the house. The raccoon is tugging on his fur, pacing in the small kitchen as I fall to the floor on my hands and knees and roll onto my back.

“Gus. Shut up. What was I supposed to do?” she shouts at her familiar.

My hands tremble, gripping the stake, as I attempt to tug again with no movement.

“Fuck,” I groan as Ember comes to sit on her knees next to me.

No matter how much the wound aches, I can’t help but notice the way her overabundant breasts spill out of the top she’s wearing.

“Really? You’re injured and staring at my boobs?”

“One last spectacular view before I perish,” I say, attempting a smile that turns into a wince.

Ember’s eyes are wide as she stares at my chest and examines where I’m impaled with the stake.

“Can’t you just rip it out?”

“There are runes engraved in the wood. I don’t think a vampire can remove it,” I say, blinking at her, hoping with everything I have, this witch will take pity on me, and that I’m right about the runes.

She brings her wand over my abdomen and stops, turning to face her familiar.

“I can’t just let him die,” she says, and I nod in agreement.

The raccoon doesn’t agree, making me glare at the small beast and he bares his teeth at me.

“What if I let him die and he’s right? It’s too many coincidences, plus what if the vampire council thinks I did this too?”

“You’re a clever witch. You should take it out.”

She tries to flick her wrist, using magic to remove the stake, and it doesn’t work.

“I suppose the runes on the wood prevent magic as well,” I surmise, and a pained sort of whine leaves her.

“You mean, I have to physically pull it out?” she says, her complexion paling, showcasing a broad constellation of freckles on her face.

“Afraid so, sunshine.”

“There’s no one else?”

Not in this world or the next.

“No one else. See those pesky little black lines taking over my torso? I’d guess I have only a matter of minutes.” I don’t know anyone who’s survived a slayer stake, the runes would be why. Who knows how much time I have?

“This is so gross.” She sharply turns to her familiar and then glances back at me. “If I save you, I want out of the deal.”

Ah. Too fucking smart for her own good.

“No.”

She inhales sharply, like it almost pains her to negotiate and not help me on the spot. Her hands are shaking as they hover over my body.

“Then…then I can’t help you,” she says, though it doesn’t hold as much bravado as she thinks.

The deal doesn’t completely matter; it was a way to get her close, to protect her and maybe hope that she somehow found some sort of affection toward me.

It appears that I’ll just have to be more conniving to get what I want.

“You’ll let me die then? Just when things were getting interesting? I meant it Ember, I will protect you from the Slayer, from vampires. I’ll even give you the tools you need to protect yourself,” I tell her.

She makes a small huffing noise, glancing down at the ring I gave her and then back over at her familiar, and then she sighs with defeat.

“You better not make me regret this,” she says quickly, her familiar making screeches of protest as her warm hand flattens on my chest.

A life altering set of shivers rip through my body as her skin touches mine. The pain momentarily gone as I take in her gentle touch.

Her other hand holds the stake close to my wound, and with a loud grunt, she tugs it out. I groan as it leaves my body. The wound is disgusting and takes far longer than normal to knit back together, the black lines slithering away from my veins.

Ember’s skin looks green as she stares at the area, before she promptly passes out.

I catch her, holding her close to me, loving the way her hair smells like roses and sunshine.

A car door slams in the distance, and I sigh. Standing with Ember in my arms, the raccoon immediately comes up to me, biting my ankle.

“Little beast, do you wish to come with your mistress or should I leave you here? She’s safe with me, and so will you be.”

The vermin makes a hissing noise at me, before grabbing Ember’s wand, and following me out the house.

Achille waits for us there, his dark eyebrow raised as he takes in Ember’s lulled head.

“Poor thing passed out when she removed the stake from my gut. She’ll be staying with us from now on. Alert the others that she’s mine and if they value their life, they won’t harm her in any way. It’s probably best that they don’t even look at her.”

“The Slayer?” he asks, not even questioning my orders.

“Injured or dead, hopefully dead.”

Achille opens the back door and I place Ember in the back. Her familiar scurries up the back, guarding her. I’d send Achille in to gather her things so I don’t have to leave her, but I don’t like the idea of another vampire touching her belongings, plus he hasn’t been invited in.

“I’ll be back with her things shortly,” I say, using my speed to rush into her home, collecting her clothes and things of importance.

The fairies are quivering somewhere near the floorboards. Maybe they’ll learn how to treat their gracious host better now that she’s gone.

Once the vehicle is filled with her things, I take the passenger’s seat and hope she doesn’t wake until she’s safely nestled away in her new home.

A ridiculous grin spreads across my face. As big of a menace as this Slayer may be, he sure has helped me exponentially with pushing Ember right into my desperate, immortal arms.