“What are you saying, son?”
“That I don’t know who it belongs to.” Riley flashed a wicked grin. “I—” he air quoted the next word “—borrowed it.”
Aaannd…that’s when the cop pulled his gun.
WHERE WERE THEY? Victoria wondered for the thousandth time. The allotted half hour had come and gone, yet Riley and Mary Ann never made an appearance, never texted, and never answered her texts or calls.
“Maybe we should go look for them,” she suggested to Aden. “Then, you can teleport us where we need to go.”
She’d had to work for years to move even a yard, and even then, she’d always winded herself. Yet he had jetted them miles across the city, without having to stop and rest or check his surroundings to ensure he’d hit the right spot. She was baffled, impressed and, yes, jealous.
The jealousy made her feel guilty. He’d given up a lot to be with her. She could deal with the loss of her vampire abilities.
“They’re probably arguing and lost track of time,” Aden replied. “Come on. We don’t need them for this.”
“You’re probably right.” Riley had never had to work for a girl, so a resisting Mary Ann was good for him. Seeing them together, seeing the need Riley tossed her way when he thought no one was watching, Victoria had stopped blaming Mary Ann for what had happened to her friend. Clearly, they needed each other.
Aden gave her a quick kiss and dragged her up the porch steps. Hard and sharp, he knocked on the front door.
Several seconds ticked by. Victoria didn’t see or hear anything, but Aden must have because he said, “You will open the door, Tonya, and welcome us inside.” The polished cherrywood swung open, Tonya’s eyes already glazed as she stepped aside.
Aden led Victoria into the living room. The furnishings were clean, yet clearly aged, the floral fabric on the couch faded in spots, the coffee table scuffed. In fact… Victoria studied the few magazines resting on top of that table. They were yellowed, a little brittle and dated seventeen years ago.
Grimacing as he made himself comfortable on the couch, Aden muttered, “Julian is going crazy. He recognizes the furnishings. He clearly spent more time inside than out.”
“Well, there’s a possibility the inside looks the exact same as it did before he died.” She motioned to the magazines.
“Huh. Interesting.”
Tonya sat across from them. “What do you want?” The words lashed, as if she were fighting the forced desire to welcome them. And those shadows…they were in her eyes and undulating madly.
“First, I want you to know that I will not hurt you,” Aden said. “Do you understand?”
A frown. “Yes, but I don’t believe you.”
“That’s all right. I’ll prove it.”
“What do you want?” she asked again, and wonder of wonders, she was less hostile.
“Answers. The truth about your husband and his brother. Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll leave you alone.”
“I don’t like to talk about my darling Daniel and that rat Robert.” Adoration mixed with revulsion. Her frown returned, and the shadows picked up speed. “I always call them by those names. And I feel that way, I do. I loved my husband and hated his brother, but…”
“But?” Victoria prompted.
“But I didn’t always feel that way. I mean, I never loved Robert, but I liked him. And I remember wanting to divorce Daniel.” Her brow furrowed with confusion. “Or maybe I only dreamed that, because I love him so much. I will always love him.”
Aden massaged his temple. Was Julian shouting? “Tell me about them.”
“They…were…twins.” Tonya acted as if she were having to push each word through a too-thin pipe. “Daniel worked at the hospital morgue…Robert was a good-for-nothing con artist. Yes. That’s right.” Flowing more easily now. “My Daniel was not jealous of his brother.”
And yet, the words seemed so rehearsed, as if she were repeating something she’d been told over and over. Maybe she was. Those spell books…the shadows in her eyes…the faded black aura Riley had mentioned.
Perhaps Tonya’s emotions and her unwavering loyalty were magic-driven.
Yes. That was it, Victoria realized with shock.
In unison, she and Aden sat up straighter. “I think I know what happened,” they said.
THIRTY
MEMORIES FLOODED ADEN. None of them his own, all of them Julian’s, and all of them devastating. His name was Robert Smart. Yes, he’d had thinning hair and had worn glasses. Daniel had been the good-looking one, the strong one, the smart one, but he’d never been the beloved one, and so he’d always been jealous of Robert’s talent for the supernatural.
So Daniel had turned to spell books. Black magic, deeper and deeper into the occult, until finally delving into human sacrifice.
Robert’s sacrifice.
Normal people would not have known to go that route, but Daniel hadn’t been normal. His human parents had loved all things mystical, believing whole heartedly in psychics, Ouija boards and enchantment of any kind.
Maybe that’s why they had loved Robert so much more. Maybe that’s why Daniel had finally struck at him—fatally.
On the night of December twelfth, Daniel had called Robert and asked him to come to the hospital. Robert had gone because he’d wanted to talk some sense into his twin. But there had been no talking. Daniel had stabbed him over and over, trying to draw Robert’s ability into his own body as Robert lay dying.
Only, Robert had been absorbed by Aden—his past buried, his mind reborn—before his twin could succeed.
Something else Robert had done to defeat his brother during those final minutes alive? Over the years he’d learned to control his ability to raise the dead, and he’d raised the corpses in the morgue. Several had disposed of Robert, eating him completely, and the rest had killed Daniel before help arrived.
Before all of that, however, Daniel had cast a spell over Tonya to gain her eternal devotion.
“Uh, Aden,” Victoria said at the same time Julian said, I loved her, his tone sad, so sad and heavy with his memories, but she never loved me back. She loved him, and she paid for it. Too late she realized Daniel’s craziness and tried to leave him. That’s when he cursed her to love him always. All I wanted, there at the end, was to set her free. And I could have done it, if my own brother hadn’t betrayed me.
“Then we’ll set her free now,” Aden said. A wave of sadness moved through him. Doing this would set Julian free, as well. Smart-mouthed, fun-loving Julian, whom he adored. Whom he wanted to keep forever. Losing Eve had devastated him. Losing Julian would be even worse. Julian was like his brother, closer than blood.
“Aden?” Victoria tried again.
How, though? Julian asked. I need to know what spell Danny used, and I don’t know. I wasn’t there. That’s the real reason I went to the hospital. To see if I could trick him into telling me.
“Aden, please.”
What if you traveled back through her life? We could listen to the spell he cast.
“Aden!”
Wait, wait, wait, Elijah said before Aden could turn his attention to Victoria. He travels back, he looks through Tonya’s eyes, hears through her ears, and HE—WE—could become bespelled to love Daniel, too. I don’t think any of us want that.
And he, we, could not become bespelled. It’s worth the risk, Julian replied with a huff and a puff.
They always thought the risks Aden took on their behalves were worth it. For them, they were. For everyone else, no.
He didn’t go back for my witches, he’s not going back for your human, Caleb said.
He told us he’d do anything to help us, Julian snapped. Correct me if I’m wrong, but time traveling falls into the category of anything.