“And the other option?”
“The other is so very simple, Nessa, you tell us where you are, give me back the dagger, and I will introduce you to a witch who will prove to you that you are exactly who we say you are,” Victor said, making me suck back a quick breath.
“And me? What would happen then?” I braved to ask.
“What do you mean?”
“Would you hurt me for stealing from you?” I questioned, making him sigh before admitting,
“You will be punished, yes, but not in the way you fear.”
“Well at least now you’re honest,” I muttered wryly.
“A Vampire King would kill you for far less had you not been fated to one. Lucky for you, you are fated to two,” he told me, making me tremble and, this time, in utter fear because it was exactly how I thought. Which is when I caught him out, and asked,
“And this witch, does she work for you?”
“That is irrelevant,” he stated firmly, and again it had me shaking my head.
“Answer the question.”
“Yes, she does, but I don’t…” It was at this point I interrupted him and said,
“Thank you for not lying to me, Victor. I will never forget how you both made me feel, I will never forget your love, even if…even if it wasn’t real… goodbye,”I said, my voice shaky through my tears. Then I ended the call to the sound of him calling my name for the last time. After this, I tossed my cell to the couch, shrugged on my jacket, and grabbed my satchel bag with everything I needed in it for my visit to the witch before leaving my apartment.
Then I made my broken-hearted way to Yonkers.
Something vastly easier to do now that I knew I could just jump in a cab and get the driver to take me there without needing to pay. Of course, I felt guilty about it because it was essentially stealing, but I wasn’t hurting anyone and right now, I knew I had to beat the sun. Because if I couldn’t get the witch to drop this curse before nightfall, then I was screwed.
Not only would I feel compelled to search them out, but I would also be forced to do whatever they asked of me. And after this, then I didn’t really want to find out what that would be.
Especially since last night was the first time they had realized this fact. When I had been forced to walk back to them and had done so without question, even after the horror I had seen in that warehouse. I would have liked to have said that my ex haddeserved it but I wasn’t that type of person. I also believed a man like my ex would find Karma one day, but I didn’t want it with my name attached. I didn’t need that tainting my soul.
My soul was already tainted enough, thanks to my past. And as for my own Karma, well the second I stood in front of the hardware shop, I looked up and said bitterly,
“Let’s fucking do this, Karma.”
Then I walked inside and toward the back room, when I paused as I heard the witch talking on the phone.
“Yes, I understand, My Lord. I know what to do when the girl arrives. I have the amulet ready.”
I frowned, knowing she was most likely talking about me. And what was this about an amulet? I squeezed my bag closer to me, hoping this was enough to get me out of this curse and that I was doing the right thing here. So, I opened the flap to my bag, looked down at the dagger sitting there, and hoped doing this wasn’t going to just get me killed.
“Hello?” I shouted, making the woman say,
“She is here… yes… soon, My Lord.” After that, she appeared from the back room, her appearance almost the same as I had seen her last, looking like she had just stepped from a board meeting discussing the yearly profits. Her red hair pulled back in a tight bun, giving her a far harsher appearance than when Stacey and I had first met her. Her dark eyes quickly went to the bag at my side making her grin, as if she feared that I would have come empty handed begging for more time.
“Come, come, let us go into the back so as I can lift the curse.”
“I would prefer to stay out here,” I said, not trusting whatever she had back there.
“I can’t lift the curse out here, I have everything I need prepared in my room, come on now, you’re wasting time, girl, or are you stalling for time and want one more night with your vampires, is that it?” she mocked, making me sneer at her.
“Now hurry, before night falls and we miss our opportunity,” she said, turning and giving me no choice but to follow her.
I had no reason to trust her, but I had something she wanted and knew that she would have to lift the curse to get it. But then again, it did make me wonder why she didn’t just attack me and try stealing it? The thought prompted me enough to ask,
“Why didn’t you just take it from me? You’re obviously powerful enough of a witch to do it.”
