Page 23 of Tryst or Treat (Season’s Readings #3)
V lad and his men raced across town, anxiety thick in their midst. Vlad’s body pulsed with adrenaline as concern consumed his brain. All this violence and unrest, yet he hadn’t the faintest clue what was causing it, and as he readied to plunge headlong into the fray, his mind turned to his wife. Was she making him weak? Was his obsession with her blinding him? For decades, he’d ruled with an iron fist and brutal laws, yet suddenly his reign was threatened. Had he lost his edge? Was his sudden desire for peace a death sentence? Was the witch consuming both his house and soul destroying him?
Only Belladonna wasn’t an obsession. She wasn’t a weakness. He’d felt it the moment he first saw her at the church, and it had become crystal clear when he left her with a kiss barely an hour ago. Belladonna was his mate.
“Where is everyone?” Vlad asked as their cars skidded to a stop. He launched out of the vehicle, expecting to plunge headlong into battle, but there was… nothing. No fighting, no vampires, no blood. There wasn’t even a decent streetlamp present.
“Where the hell are we?” He whirled on the guards who’d escorted him to this supposed battlefield. “What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry, sir,” the vampire from earlier said, cowering before Vlad’s intimidating height. “We had no choice.”
“No choice?” Vlad stormed for him, grabbing him harshly by the throat. “I suggest you start talking, otherwise I’ll begin at your ankles and peel your skin off your body inch by inch while you watch.”
“It’s for your own good!” The vampire could barely speak as Vlad’s fist crushed his vocal cords. “We had to! We’re doing this for you.”
“What are you doing for me?”
“Please, sir,” the vampire said. “Just stay here. It’s for your own good.”
“What’s for my own good?” Vlad’s body went still with icy fear. He didn’t like this. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. “Answer me!”
“Please don’t make me,” the vampire begged as the other guards closed in around them, boxing him in on all sides. “We had no choice. This is how it must be, but it’s for the best.”
“You have five seconds before I break your neck,” Vlad growled.
“We had to get you out of the mansion, but you’ll thank us in the end.”
Vlad stilled. Even his breathing stopped as his body became still as stone. He’d been wary about this report of unrest, but the vampire’s words about getting him out of his house instilled fresh fear inside him. Bartholomew was missing. The older guards he normally trusted were absent in favor of these younger vampires. He’s been so consumed by the rumor of bloodshed that he hadn’t seen the wrongness of the situation until it was too late.
Vlad leaned forward, increasing the pressure on the vampire’s throat. The guards closed in around him, but he didn’t see their movements. He didn’t register that he was outnumbered. He couldn’t process anything but that one horrible realization.
“Where is my wife?”
Belladonna sipped a hot apple cider as she examined the remaining treats on the counter. Between her homemade goods, the expert décor, and the production of their house, the neighborhood families were already salivating over what she might do next year. Normally the high praise, the thrill of the trick-or-treaters, the increased magic Halloween brought her, and the sweetness of the left-over snacks left her blissfully hazy, but instead, she kept watching the clock. Vlad still hadn’t returned. She hadn’t heard from him or Bartholomew, and as she finished her drink surrounded by her cats, she contemplated calling her mother. With all this unrest, maybe Rowena’s contacts could offer some insights.
Ding-Dong.
The doorbell interrupted her thoughts, and she glanced up at the clock. It was a little late for trick-or-treaters, but her Halloween display had been a smash hit. Perhaps some adults were coming back to see the scary side after putting their children to bed, or maybe it was older teens choosing to gather candy rather than get into trouble. Either way, she was thankful for the distraction.
“Happy Hallo—” Her smile froze when she saw the horde of vampires waiting at the door for her. She didn’t recognize a single face in the crowd, and the wicked expressions painted on their youthful faces electrocuted her heart with pure fear.
Belladonna’s fingers instinctively curled, readying to cast a protection spell on the front entrance, but her magic slammed against the wards, unable to escape her body. Panic consumed her at the realization that she was powerless in this home, and she grabbed the door, trying to slam it shut in the intruders’ faces. She just needed to get the guards. Vlad’s men would protect her.
“No, no, witch.” The frontmost vampire caught the door, and his strength ripped it free of her grasp. “We’re here to trick-or-treat… actually, more like we’re here to trick while you’re the treat.”
Belladonna spun around, gracefully leaped out of her heels, and raced down the hallway. “Help!” she shouted, desperately searching for the guards. They had been here just seconds ago. “Help me, please!”
Two older vampires lunged out of the kitchen, their mouths stuffed with leftover treats, and when the taller one registered the horde of young vampires chasing her, he seized her by the arm and yanked her behind them.
“We have a breach on the main floor,” he shouted into his radio, and then he shoved her deeper into the mansion as the intruders gained on them. “Get upstairs and lock yourself in Vlad’s room. We’ll hold them off.”
“No!” Belladonna shrieked. “They’ll kill you. Come with me.”
“And Vlad will kill us if we let anything happen to you. Now run!”
The older vampires whirled around and bared their fangs, readying for the fight, and Belladonna darted down a side hallway, aiming for the back staircase. Tears pricked her eyes, but she didn’t slow. Without her magic, she couldn’t help the guards. Her only hope was to reach her husband’s laptop and call her mother. Rowena would save her.
“Belladonna, here!” another guard called, beckoning her to follow him, and she bolted toward the man. “What’s going on?”
“A group of hostile vampires broke in,” she gasped, thankful she’d found help. “I need to get upstairs.”
“Okay, this way.” He seized her arm and led her through the house. They arrived at the back stairwell undetected, and together they scrambled up the steps. They made it to the top in record time, and Belladonna raced into Vlad’s personal office. Her fingers hit the keyboard, waking the screen up, and she clicked on the secure phone app when a prick stung her neck.
“What the…?” She stumbled backward, grabbing her stinging skin, and she stared at the vampire with horrified understanding. He smirked at her, all traces of the concerned guard gone as he strode for her with malicious intent.
“What are you doing?” Belladonna slurred as the drug raced through her bloodstream. Panic pulsed in her chest at the familiar feeling. It was the same narcotic from the club. Wards were currently flowing through her veins, ensuring she wouldn’t be able to perform magic, and judging by the intensity, the vampires had upped the dosage. “Vlad will kill you for this.”
“Vlad’s obsession with your tight young body has blinded him,” the vampire snarled. “He’s ruining our legacy. It was bad enough that he signed a peace treaty with the coven, but then marrying you and bringing you into this home? No witch has set foot inside this fortress in thousands of years, and suddenly he marries you. Not only are you running around free to do whatever the fuck you want, but he welcomed your mother onto the property. Vlad is no longer capable of leading us.” He grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. Belladonna tried to fight him, but her limbs refused to obey. Her vision blurred, and her magic suffocated within her.
“My mom will kill you for this,” she could barely speak as he carried her downstairs to the waiting horde, and although her vision was blurry, she didn’t need clear sight to recognize blood on the tile. These intruders had killed the older vampires, and the image of such powerful creatures dead on the floor made her cry. If two ancient vampires weren’t strong enough to fight, she had no hope of surviving the night.
“No, she won’t,” the traitor said as he carried her out the door. “But she will die for you.”
But Belladonna didn’t hear him. She’d passed out.