Page 21 of Threads of Crimson 2

As frustrating as it had been to take him on and become his mentor, I found it worse that I couldn’t join and help him. But our plan was solid, and once he coaxed his Maker close enough to pull him out, we’d all be here waiting.

I gazed around at all who’d assembled and relief flooded me that Ego had such an amazing support system. All the magic users were gathered in white robes, and candles flickered around the room, giving them the ambiance they needed to do their things. Since I didn’t know who’d had the audacity to turn the fledgling, especially without his consent, a part of me worried that I wouldn’t be enough backup for Ego. A larger part of me than I cared to admit. There were very few older than me, and they were all bad news.

My thoughts went to Benji. I’d demanded he stay behind the wards at my home on Belflower Lane tonight, and as expected, he put up quite the fight. I’d finally gotten him to at least agree to stay at the library. Goddess help me, I hoped he listened. Worrying about the young fledgling was enough without putting Benji into the mix. Just the thought of some asshole vamp looking at my…whatever he was sideways made me want to burn the world to the ground.

We all held our positions as Ego, Sky, and King slept on. The magic users maintained their circle, sometimes chanting, sometimes singing, and other times perfectly quiet. Scotty stroked Ego’s hair back from his face, glancing at me every so often. I continued giving him nods of encouragement. Ego would be fine—I’d make sure of it.

As twilight approached, Scotty began trying to wake Ego. His attempts went unanswered for longer than I was comfortable with, when all of a sudden, his movements became jerky, like he was fighting. He’d succeeded. He had his Sire. Scotty held on to him for all he was worth, and I moved closer, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice.

The room exploded into action as Ego’s arms filled with another person, and he did indeed bring out another vampire. His Sire. The one who called himself Master.

Vesper.

“Brother,” he said with a smirk once he saw me.

“I should’ve known it was you,” I responded. I’d been right. Vesper was at least a century older than me, and he’d been stronger than most back in the day.

The taunts he threw at me rolled off my back. I didn’t care what he thought of me, never had. Our mother had let him stray too far and get away with too much while she was still with us. It was no surprise that he’d gotten even more rotten with her passing.

Our argument heated up, revealing more of my business to this group of people I’d grown to consider friends than I was comfortable with. It came as no surprise that he monologued at me. He’d always loved the sound of his own voice, and there was no other sound in the history of forever that grated on me more.

When he came at me with extended claws and grabbed me around the waist, there was no choice. Vesper would never listen to reason or repent. As much as I didn’t want to deal with the council, had this creature been even slightly reasonable, I’d have pursued the proper channels. But this…no. I should’ve put him down when our mother perished.

I gripped his shoulder hard enough for my nails to cut through his clothing, piercing his skin, and punched my other hand into his body. As much ick as he was, I couldn’t risk his body repairing itself, so with extended teeth, I ripped out his throat and then tore out his heart.

As his body fell, I spat the remnants of his throat onto the ground. “Maybe I’m not as soft as you thought,” I said with finality.

With the threat removed, all of the worry and anger and rage disappeared, and my legs gave out.

Then there was Benji, holding me up. I shouldn’t be shocked that he wasn’t where I told him to be, but the happiness I felt at his presence was overwhelming.

Chapter nine

Benji

Why was it so fuckin’ hot watching Lysandro kill someone? It sent shivers down my spine—and not the bad kind. He’d come dressed like he was headed to Velvet Vein tonight, not like the quirky librarian, and I was here for it.

As he swayed on his feet, I ran up to help support him. “You came after I told you not to,” he said, sounding fond and not at all surprised.

He turned back to Ego, informing him that with his Sire gone, he was now his. The pop star who’d been so sulky about his new status positively glowed.

“So should I call you…Master?” Ego asked.

“Absolutely not,” Lysandro snapped.

Ego looked crestfallen, and I pinched my grumpy vampire’s side. He was generally so good with people in this town—especially these people—but he got so bitchy when it came to anything from his own vampiric community.

Lysandro side-eyed me, then moved closer to Ego. “You may call me Father.” He paused. “If you wish.”

Ego fell into Lysandro’s arms, so I moved to anchor the ancient one from behind. He thought he was a real badass, but the interplay between him and his brother, with the killing afterward, had obviously taken it out of him. I didn’t think it was physical, but rather emotional.

Scotty grinned at me, and I returned it. Now that this menace was gone, maybe now we could all figure out where we went from here.

And I still needed to tell Lysandro about those damn letters.

“Why are we here?” Lysandro asked after King, one of the Scooby-Doo crew, dropped us off in front of the home on Belflower Lane.

“Because you need a good night’s sleep in your own bed.” Keeping one arm around him, even though he was less shaky now, I maneuvered him toward the front door.