Bound to the Vampire Chapter 13

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CHAPTER 13

Kayla

Kayla dry-heaved when her father set them down, but the invisible force of Marnie’s magic tightened around her stomach, making it impossible to bend over.

“Let me out of thi—” Garrick began but was cut off. Marnie’s magic split from around his arms and traveled up his neck and over his mouth, rendering him unable to speak. He thrashed against his restraints. Each time, his binds cut deeper into her.

“Stop.” A pained yowl escaped from her throat. She clenched her jaw as the sides of her stomach caved in under the weight of the red magic constricting around Garrick. Their eyes connected, and he froze.

“What’s wrong with you, young one?” Marnie pulled a cigarette from the pocket of her caftan and lifted it to her lips.

“You’re hurting me,” she said through gasps.

Instantly, her father was at her side, then stared back at Marnie in befuddlement.

“It’s probably your magic coming back.” He rubbed her back. “It’ll settle down soon.”

“No. Her magic is hurting me.”

“I am not touching you,” Marnie barked, then moved to the front of the alley and craned her head west. “Come on, our opening is clear.”

Neither Marnie nor her father waited for her to explain that when Marnie’s magic constricted around Garrick, it did the same to her. Garrick understood. His gaze softened and he stopped fighting it. The pain settled.

The red magic constricting around Garrick reconfigured itself, sliding around his arms to bind them at his sides, then individually around his legs, forcing them both forward in awkward steps behind Marnie and her dad.

As with the night before, the entire city street was cleared of people and cars. Normies didn’t like the feel of magic and based on the radius they’d unconsciously formed by their cars, there was a heck of a lot of mage power in the vicinity. All centered around Sun City’s last remaining gothic-style cathedral in the heart of downtown.

Tall spires shot up into the sky, dark stained-glass windows peppered the heavy stoned gray facade. The cathedral was foreboding, but she tried to keep her thoughts positive. Deep down, Marnie was only trying to help, even if she was mistaken about Garrick.

At the entrance, the magic loosened Garrick’s legs but kept his hands bound and his voice muted. Before Marnie could knock, heavy mahogany doors five times her height swung open on their own.

There was no one there to greet them, and a creepy feeling crawled up Kayla’s neck even though there wasn’t all that much wrong with it. The cathedral was pretty standard as far as cathedrals went. From its gleaming pews and fresh carpet leading them to the altar to its soaring ceilings, stone archways cornering different sections together, and stained-glass windows letting colorful sprinkles of light through the nave. Yet something about it made her bristle. Her father seemed at ease as he waited for an opening large enough to step through.

Just the same, Marnie took several sure strides inside, her heels clicking on the stone in the entrance as she walked to the stretch of red carpet between the pews, before turning around to stare at Garrick.

Her father grabbed her suddenly, then moved her beside Marnie like they were clearing a blast radius.

Garrick’s eyes darkened, then darted around the hall, sneering in distrust as he pulled at his binds. Her wrists felt like they were on fire. He must have seen the pain flicker in her eyes because he stilled and stared at them from the threshold.

“Are you coming, vampire?” Marnie asked when their eyes met.

He didn’t move.

Marnie raised her hand and forced him forward. With each step, Kayla’s heart pounded. The gleam in Marnie’s eyes sparked as she watched Garrick like she was waiting for him to explode. Her father pulled her tighter, shielding her from the entrance. Garrick was forced forward into the body of the cathedral.

She flinched, but nothing happened.

Just like at Marnie’s house, Garrick crossed the threshold into the church without incident. Marnie’s jaw set, but there was no mistaking the fear in her eyes. Apparently, he’d passed another test he shouldn’t have. Her worried glance scoured him before a mask of confidence covered her face and she settled.

“They are waiting for us.” Marnie turned on her heel and focused her attention on the group sitting behind the altar.

“Are you alright?” she asked Garrick. He nodded but didn’t fidget like she did. She plucked at the hem of her shirt, then found her pockets and shoved her hands in them for something to do. Garrick, on the other hand, seemed perfectly at ease with being taken prisoner to a council of mages that probably wanted to kill him.

Silly her. Here she was, petrified, and he calmly looked at the exits and fiddled with the magic binding his hands together, careful not to pull at it too hard to make it hurt.

“Marina Brasili.” A teenager in a red skull cap, faded black t-shirt, and loose jeans stood at the altar, watching them approach.

“Pellan.” Marnie bowed deeply to the teenager.

“Why have you called a council gathering so late?”

“That’s the council?” she whispered in disbelief.

Her father shushed her. The harsh sound bounced off the tall archways as they walked the carpeted aisle.

The Council of Elders was not exactly what Kayla expected. Old men in long robes came to mind; the group in front of her did not.

Pellan looked like he’d been skipping JV soccer practice to make it to this meeting. The rag-tag band of misfits loitering behind him looked like they’d spent their days in a skateboard park before heading to their parents’ house for a jam session in their basement; not deciding the fate of magekind in Sun City.

“I’m sorry to seek council so late,” Marnie started. “But it’s an important matter that can’t be delayed.”

The teen stood straighter, and pulled at his graphic tee, before his gaze zoned in onto the vampire beside her.

“How did you bring a vampire in here?” His eyes hardened. The rest of his rag-tag crew stood, and like what Marnie had done when she’d thought she’d been threatened, they pulled their magic to their palms.

“It’s not what you think.” Kayla was the first to Garrick’s defense, stepping in front of him. Their magic grew at the gesture, swirling in larger circles around their hands.

“And who might you be?”

“She’s my daughter,” her dad announced, then stepped forward with a shaky voice. “We come to seek asylum.”

The group shared glances at one another.

“You harbor a vampire, yet you seek our help?”

“That’s why we’re here.” Marnie stepped in, holding an arm out in an attempt to keep them from talking. It was clear from the soured looks in front of them that their current strategy was failing. “I think they’ve unintentionally found a way around the Blood Oath.”

“Speak quickly.” A boy with sandy hair and an alert expression shot Marnie an annoyed look. She bowed her head as if trying to skirt his scornful gaze.

“One of our own is in need. For decades, he has evaded a threat greater than any we’ve ever seen. We’ve come to seek your council on this matter—”

“Whose magic allows him entrance here?” he cut her off, mistrust blanketing his face. The swirl of his magic grew.

“Theo.” Marnie’s voice tipped before she respectfully nodded and continued in a softer tone, “As I’m trying to explain. He claims he was born with the gift to walk in the sunlight.”

The council erupted before Pellan’s sharp gaze bore into Garrick. “Bring him forward.”

The magic around him forced them both forward. Pellan eyed her curiously but kept his focus on Garrick. “What say you, vampire?”

Marnie’s magic slithered from his mouth so he could speak. “I am under no spell. I seek to be let loose of these binds so I can return home.”

Pellan bit the inside of his cheek. This was not going well.

“He helped free me from an abduction,” Kayla piped in.

“Quiet,” her father ordered her in a hushed tone. Again, the sound bounced off the walls.

“Where do you live, vampire?”

“I am called Garrick Shaw. Servant—”

“I don’t care what you’re called,” Pellan yelled. “I want to know why and how you’re here.”

“I was brought here by Kayla’s father.”

He looked over to her dad. “My house was being attacked. He hitched a ride. I haven’t been able to get rid of him since.”

Pellan’s stony face turned back to Garrick. “Then, why are you still here?”

“I was not given a choice.” His muscles tightened then lifted, displaying his current state.

Pellan’s gaze flickered down, catching his squirming. “You’ll forgive our caution, but perhaps you’d like to be more comfortable. Let them loose,” he told Marnie.

His binds loosened but did not drop fully.

“I wish to be made free so I can leave,” Garrick’s voice dipped.

“We can’t let you leave until we are satisfied you nor the rest of your kind bring us harm. Answer our questions and you may go.”

Garrick blinked twice, thinking through the mage’s proposal. Behind his dark eyes, Kayla saw he was weighing his options and making a calculated decision. Perhaps, biding his time before he could make his move.

“You’ve made me at your mercy even though I have brought no harm to you.”

Satisfied, Pellan turned back to his interrogation.

“Are there more of you?”

“I have not sought you out. I was brought here by the mage, Marnie and before that, the mage, Donovan. If they’d let me, I would have gone home. As I wish to do still. I wish to be made free,” he said instead.

Pellan crossed the pulpit, watching Garrick with frustration. “Do you know who we are, vampire? And what we do.”

“I am not interested in mage affairs. I am only interested in my freedom.” Garrick said, but checked for the exits. He was going to flee the first chance he got. Her heart became heavy.

“If you want to be let out of here, you will have to answer my questions.”

Garrick’s jaw flexed and he shifted indignantly. He wasn’t going to cooperate.

“It’ll be much less painful for you if you do as I ask,” Pellan said with a raised brow.

Garrick’s eyes narrowed, he settled on his feet and stared straight ahead as if Pellan hadn’t spoken.

Pellan’s lips tightened into a line. “Fine, have it your way.”

Then, his magic careened straight for Garrick.

Author’s Note: Mmm. I love Garrick’s defiance. He’s so damn yummy when he gets like this.