It had been four years since we had been rewarded for our contributions to creating the new anecdotal spell of extraction. Jewel reached adulthood, fell in love and moved out, but she still kept in touch. Ambrosia and I had both had our babies. Her daughter was a born vampire named Rose Vatore-Munch, and Caleb and I welcomed a born vampire son named Orion Hunter-Vatore. We often had play dates with the kids, but with Ambrosia and Wolf often being busy with their demanding jobs, Rose was often cared for by a live-in nanny named Jeanie. She became a part of our family, a total sweetheart who loved and appreciated all of us. She also brought Rose over for playdates, allowing Rose and Orion to become close.
Marco helped Morgyn a lot with his sage duties, even guest lecturing at times. There were many inquiries from curious children about dark magic, which took its toll on Marco. Even after so many years, he felt he was only known for dark magic. But he took it all in stride. He understood why that was happening. Even L and Simeon didn’t fully trust him, despite years going by without issue.
I sat at my desk, reading over a few potion recipes. Orion watched me, always intrigued with what Mommy was working on. I smiled at him and patted his head.
“Bored?” I asked.
“No!” He exclaimed happily. “It’s fun watch Mama.”
I giggled. “Well, alright. If you do get bored, I can have Daddy come get you, okay?”
He nodded.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Marco flop down into a chair beside me.
I smiled. “Everything alright?”
He also smiled. “Yeah, just tired.”
I gazed at him, curious. “Why?”
“Eh,” he shrugged again. “I just haven’t been sleeping well, y’know?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Why don’t you go home and rest?”
He shook his head. “Nah, I’ll be alright.”
I looked back at my documents. “Well, alright. If you say so.”
I didn’t get to say much else because a man approached us. He was tall and muscular, with red hair and brown eyes. He looked lost.
I stood up. “Hey! How can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Morgyn Ember,” he said quietly, his eyes shifting from side to side.
I smiled. “I’ll take you to him.” I held out my hand for Orion. “Come on, baby.”
He took my hand and we walked upstairs to greet Morgyn.
Morgyn turned around. “Oh, hey!” He smiled at us. I didn’t get to hear much of the conversation as Marco quickly grabbed my arm and led me away from them.
“Wh-jeez!” I yelped. “What was that for?”
“He is a necromancer,” he warned, his eyes wide.
I shrugged. “With ‘Dedeathify’, aren’t we all?”
He shook his head. “It’s more than that. He can summon the dead simply for power, manipulate their minds.”
I placed my hand on Marco’s shoulder. “Unless he gives us something to be worried about, I’m not going to worry about it.”
He sighed. “I’ll keep my eye on him.”
When we went back in, it seemed this mysterious man and Morgyn were having a pleasant conversation. Marco stood nearby, watching, analyzing. I couldn’t help but be amused. Marco, always trying to play the hero.
“Vlad Straud has been resurrected,” we heard the man say. All of my amusement was gone in a second. Marco and I approached them.
“I’m sorry, did I just hear that correctly?” I asked, nervous.
“You did,” he nodded. “I sensed it and went to Forgotten Hollow to see for myself. Sure enough, he is there, alive and well.”
I swallowed hard and looked at Marco, who looked down.
“Maybe I was wrong,” he said quietly.
“But how?” I asked. “Marco cast a spell that banished Vlad to his urn. He used dark magic. No one here knows how to do that, so it couldn’t be counteracted.”
“Well, there must be another dark magic spellcaster roaming around,” the man said. He stood up and held out his hand. “I apologize for my lack of formalities. This is a time sensitive issue. I’m Aidoneus. And Marco here is right. I am a Necromancer.” He gave Marco a cheeky grin. “No, I don’t use that power for evil.”
“You apparently also have excellent hearing,” I said, raising an eyebrow.
“I have my ways,” he smiled warmly.
Marco rolled his eyes and began to pace. “Back on topic here, what the hell are we going to do about Vlad?” He was clearly angry. “I’ll kill him with my bare hands if I need to!”
Aidoneus shook his head. “No, that wouldn’t be wise.”
“I know that!” Marco snapped.
I placed my hand on Marco’s chest. “Marco, please.”
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
Morgyn stood up. “Look, I know this is a stressful situation, but we all need a clear head to figure out how we are going to do this.” He turned to Aidoneus. “Will you help us?”
Aidoneus nodded. “Of course.”
Marco got in front of him. “Absolutely no dark magic,” he warned.
Aidoneus looked him up and down. “And you’re the one telling me this?” He scoffed. “Interesting…”
Marco glared at him. “I’m on the right side now,” he said. “I use my power for good.”
Aidoneus grinned. “Okay, well, I won’t be using any dark magic. I have no need. I’ll only be using my senses for this endeavor.”
Marco stepped back and crossed his arms. “Fine.”
I took Orion’s hand and led him downstairs. I had heard enough. My heart raced. Vlad wanted to destroy the Vatores. Marco and I stopped him. He was probably angry at all of us now. Who knew what he would do?
“Mama?” Orion asked, his eyes big with concern “You okay?”
I nodded. “Yes, sweet baby, I’m alright.” I picked him up and put him on my lap. “I can always count on you to look out for me, huh?”
He smiled wide. “Like a superhero!”
I giggled. “Yes, my little superhero.” I nuzzled his head. “The best superhero in the history of superheroes.”
“Can we go home?” He asked.
I sighed. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” I picked him up and headed out, texting Morgyn and Marco to let them know I was leaving.
Once at home, and as Caleb took Orion to go play, I walked outside and called Kris and Lilith.
“Hello?” Lilith answered.
“Hey. Have you seen anyone out of the ordinary walking through town?”
“Um, no? Why?”
“It’s come to my attention that Vlad has been revived.”
“Oh my God, what?”
“Yeah. We don’t know by who, because it wasn’t Marco, Morgyn or I, and there’s no one else who knows dark magic.”
Lilith was silent for a moment.
“Just keep your eyes peeled, okay?” I asked, hearing Caleb coming. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
I hung up just as Caleb stepped out onto the terrace. “I don’t know what you two do in the realm, but he fell asleep on the dollhouse.”
I giggled. “He’s fallen asleep because the realm bores him, even if he won’t admit it.”
Caleb placed his hands on my waist and rested his head on mine, closing his eyes. “We both know he loves being the sage’s little helper.”
I sighed. “I’m going to miss him when he starts school.”
“Me too,” Caleb admitted. “But he can brag to his friends that he’s a vampire sage.”
“You know there are no hybrids, Caleb,” I laughed. “If he said that., he’d be lying.”
“Shhh, not lying,” Caleb shook his head. “Pretending.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Oh, right, right. Pretending.”
“So, what’s got you nervous?” He asked.
“Nervous?” I repeated. “I’m alright. Not nervous at all.”
“And still a bad liar,” he grinned, pulling away.
I gazed at him. “It’s nothing. Something came to our attention in the realm today and we just need to rectify it. I’ll let you know once I’ve confirmed the claims.”
He nodded. “Alright, that’s fair.” He leaned down and kissed my neck. “I could calm your nerves if you’d like. You know, since Orion is napping, and we’re alone.”
I giggled. “One track mind.”
“Hey!” He laughed. “I think about much more than that.”
I grinned. “Either way, I’ll take you up on your offer.”
“Mmm, good.” He kissed me.
We went up into the bedroom and laid down, kissing fiercely and needily. Having a young child, we didn’t often have alone time, so we took it when we could. Plus, I didn’t want him to worry about what was really on my mind. Given what Vlad had put him through, I didn’t want him to get angry and act on impulse.
We undressed and teased each other, our desires rising quickly. Of course, it didn’t take much for us to get this way. Our attraction was still very strong. I figured that would never change. After only a short while he entered me, cradling me in his arms as he kissed my neck. It was euphoric, more so than usual, given the amount of time we let pass since our last encounter. We were lost in each other, time standing still as we pushed each other closer and closer to release, our moans and cries growing louder and closer together.
It didn’t take long for us to reach our climaxes, and we laid under the covers in each other’s arms, catching our breath, completely satisfied.
“I miss that,” I said quietly.
He stroked my hair. “Me too.”
When Morgyn got home, we went to Marco’s to discuss the current events.
“Listen,” Marco said, pacing. “I’m going to go to Forgotten Hollow. I want to assess the situation, but from a distance. See if anyone of interest comes and goes.”
“I’ll call Aidoneus,” Morgyn said. “He could aid us if he has this sort of sixth sense.”
“No,” Marco protested. “I’m going alone.”
“Like hell you are!” Morgyn scowled. “This isn’t something you can take on yourself.”
Marco turned his back and sighed. “Fine. If you want to be as stupid as I know I am for even thinking of doing this, so be it.”
“Let’s go.” Morgyn commanded, walking out the door.
Marco looked at me and gestured toward the door. “Ladies first.” I could tell he was not happy about this.
Aidoneus met us in the Hollow, leading us away from the center of the town.
“If you don’t want to be noticed,” he said, exasperated, “then don’t stand in the most noticeable place.”
I grinned. He wasn’t wrong. We often didn’t think our ventures through, putting ourselves in harm’s way.
“Over here,” he said, leading us behind an abandoned red house. At least, it looked abandoned and I heard no sounds coming from inside.
I saw a bright flash, and when I looked, I saw everyone had turned their attention to it. But there was nothing there.
Marco gasped. “Wait, did you see that?”
“Yeah, it was just some lightning,” Morgyn replied.
It began to rain, and I sighed. “Great.”
“No…” Marco straightened. “I swear I saw…” he trailed off. “Never mind.”
After awhile of being in the storm, getting drenched, Morgyn got frustrated. “It’s getting dark, I’m soaked, we are in vampire territory, and I think we should just-“
“Shh, shh, shh,” Aidoneus stopped him. “Over there.”
We followed him up to Vlad’s house and hid in the trees that I had hidden in when Vlad, Kris and Caleb fought.
“I don’t like this,” I whispered.
“No,” Aidoneus sighed, frustrated. “I lost it.”
Morgyn put his hands up. “Okay, you know what? I’m going home. We can come here another time.” He stood up and teleported away. Marco, Aidoneus and I followed close behind.
“Whoever it was,” Aidoneus turned toward Marco, “they have a strong connection to you.”
Marco swallowed hard. “Who?”
“I don’t know that,” Aidoneus shrugged. “But try to think. I’m sure you’ll find your answer. Meet me in the realm tomorrow.”
And with that, he was gone.
Marco furrowed his brow, pacing my living room. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Who? I didn’t have a close connection with anyone but Damien, and he’s dead. The only people who know how to revive anyone are you and Morgyn!” He gazed at me. After a pause, he narrowed his eyes. “Aidoneus.”
“No, Marco,” I shook my head. “If he did it, why would he help us?”
“To claim innocence,” Marco growled. “Nothing else makes sense.”
“Listen, Marco,” I sighed. “I don’t know what kind of history you have with Aidoneus, but you need to set it aside. Stop making baseless claims without proof. Aidoneus is helping us. If you can’t accept that, then you can’t be a part of this.”
“Huh,” Marco stepped back. “Just like that, you’ll drop me.”
“Only if you keep this up. Let him help.” I said the last three words slowly, emphasizing each one.
Marco sighed and started pacing again. “Fine.”
After Marco left, Morgyn approached me.
“I have something I need to tell you.”
I gazed at him. “What is it?”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but after you left the realm earlier, I lost a good few hours of time. I can’t remember anything that happened in that time. I keep trying to think back, do anything to recall, but I can’t. It’s gone. It’s making me angry.”
I just stared at him. “Are you sure?”
“Mommy!” Orion ran over to me.
I smiled and picked him up. “Sweet boy. Were you good for Daddy?”
“Nope! I was mean! Rawr! Rawr!”
I giggled. “Inheriting my sarcasm, huh? Good boy.” I hugged him close.
Morgyn walked away.
“No, wait, Morgyn!” I followed him. “What can I do to help you?”
“I don’t know,” he sighed. “Nothing. Nothing can be done. But I have no doubt some outside force was the cause of this. It wasn’t Aidoneus. He had left. So, don’t tell Marco. He will immediately blame Aidoneus.”
I nodded, holding Orion closer for comfort. “I understand. I won’t.”
Morgyn smiled and patted Orion’s head. “Thanks, Jade.” He walked away.
“Morgy is mad?” Orion asked, his voice high and curious.
“Baby, you can’t understand right now. He’s not mad at anyone. He’s mad at something that happened.”
“Oh,” he looked away. “Hug?”
I smiled and placed him down. “Sure, go give him a hug.”
He ran over to Morgyn, hugging his legs.
Morgyn laughed and crouched down, pulling him into a hug. “Thanks, buddy. You make everything better.”
Caleb came over to me. “Everything okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Orion said he was rawr rawr for you.”
He laughed softly. “Absolutely rawr rawr. Nah, he was an angel, as always.”
I smiled and rested my head on him. “Good.”
That night, I stared at the ceiling as Morgyn slept beside me. I couldn’t sleep. My head swirled with thoughts. What happened to Morgyn? What was this tension between Marco and Aidoneus? Who exactly was Aidoneus? Did Marco have a reason to be concerned? And what was going on with Vlad? Who revived him? What was even going on?
“Why can’t we have a normal life?” I sighed as I thought aloud. “It’s never ending. There’s always something.”
“Jade, calm yourself. You’ll figure it all out. You always do.”
I turned around and was in darkness again, a dream I remembered too well.
“Ruby,” I smiled. “It’s been awhile, huh?”
She smiled as well. “It has. But I’m not staying, my dear. You need rest. I’m merely here to calm your mind. Worry about all of those tomorrow. You don’t need the stress. Think about the good things in your life, like your family and friends.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
She took my hands. “Now sleep.”
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