Pretty When She Kills (Pretty When She Dies #2)(88)

“Oh, c'mon. That's a bunch of bullshit,” Sergio griped.

Benchley snorted. “It makes sense! What if that date is significant for another reason? What if it has to do with these rings that used to be a sword?” Benchley stared intently at each person at the table in turn. “Think about it. What if the Mayans figured out that on that date if the sword is used properly, it could bring destruction down on us?”

“But why destroy the world? What does The Summoner get out of that?” Amaliya protested. “He seems real intent on living.”

“He has always been thwarted by the sun,” Cian spoke up. “Always. From the beginning of his existence as a vampire, he has always been confined to the night. Maybe he wants to eliminate his ultimate enemy. The sun.”

“Rip open the veil to the abyss and darkness consumes the earth,” Rachon whispered in a fearful voice.

“But he'll let out all the demons, the monsters of the pit...” Alexia's voice faded. “Of course, he'd love that.”

“So he wants to destroy the world,” Cassandra said, slightly shrugging. “Great.”

Aimee looked several shades paler and her hand clutched Cassandra's tightly. “So we stop him.”

“But how?” Sergio asked. “We're just a bunch of...uh...”

“Fuck ups? Rejects?” Amaliya offered.

“Speak for yourself. I'm pretty awesome,” Eduardo retorted.

“Some vampires will help him, you know,” Rachon said grimly.

“And you?” Cian stared into her eyes.

Rachon shook her head. “I love my family. He was right about that. And some members of my family aren't vampires. I don't want them to die.”

“What about you?” Sergio asked Cian. “Do you want an eternal night?”

Cian said simply, “No.”

“I say we send out what we know to the hunters and get a coalition going. We need to track down these rings and keep them from him,” Cassandra said, thumping the table with her fist.

“If we do that he'll know that we figured it what he's up to,” Amaliya said, her hands nervously combing through her long hair. “He'll come for us.”

“He's going to come for you anyway,” Samantha said, resting her hand lightly on Amaliya's shoulder. “At some point, he'll come for you, because it's obvious he tried to make you and Bianca for a reason. Now that he's in her body, he's going to be coming for you.”

Amaliya looked at Samantha worriedly. “What do you mean?”

“He must need another necromancer to help him pull off whatever he means to do,” Samantha answered.

“She's right. Why else would he have tried to make you and Bianca?” Jeff closed the book gently and sighed. “It makes perfect sense that he needs you.”

“So we have pieces of his puzzle that he will come for,” Cian said.

“Yeah,” Jeff answered.

“Then we'll be ready for him,” Cian said firmly.

“We create a coalition then.” Rachon’s jaw set with determination. “And we stop him.”

“We have no other choice,” Cian agreed.

“We fight,” Cassandra said firmly.

“Until we die,” Eduardo said with a flash of teeth.

“Or win,” Aimee amended.

“Like Buffy and the Scoobies,” Samantha said in a perky voice.

Jeff gave her an amused smile and she grinned at him.

Taking Amaliya's hand, Cian gazed into her eyes. “Nothing will take you from me.”

Pressing her lips to his fingers, Amaliya nodded. “I won't let him take me.”

“So let's get to planning...” Jeff said, and ignored his own wildly beating heart.





Epilogue


Amaliya stared across the treetops toward the sparkling Austin skyline. Safely ensconced in their new home in the Bouldin Creek area south of downtown, Cian and Amaliya were adjusting to their new digs. Amaliya rather liked the modern-style three-story home with its blocky exterior. The flat roof doubled as a deck that allowed her to gaze toward the building that had been her home for a brief, but lovely time.

Smoking a cigarette, she glanced down into the dark street below. Eduardo was somewhere down there patrolling. The streets were much quieter and darker than the busy downtown area and she was still adapting to the stillness.

Voices drifted up from downstairs. Aimee and Cassandra were doing dishes after their dinner. Amaliya hadn't been surprised when Cian had taken them in. The couple occupied one of the bedrooms on the second floor. Though the women seemed wary of the vampires at times, things were slowly warming between all of them. Amaliya had been amused to find Cassandra and Cian playing pool in their new game room earlier in the evening. They were both competitive, but their playful jibs had made her smile.

She heard the door open behind her and smelled Cian’s cologne. He had been on the phone for the last hour. Cian had attempted to warn Santos in hopes of recruiting him eventually to their cause, but the vampire master of San Antonio would not listen. Amaliya really didn’t care if Etzli ended up killing the jerk.

Cian slipped up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. She rested against him, relishing his touch. His soft kisses on her cheek made her smile.