Page 125 of Eternal Devotion

“You know what? I give up. You’re right. I saw it too. Do what you want. I don’t care. Poet’s a grown adult, and who am I to stand in your way?”

“Exactly.” Cristofer rose to leave, but Mordecai lanced daggers in his direction. With an indignant huff, his ass hit the chair again. “You wound me, brother. All work and no play. You never did know how to have fun.”

“I didn’t ask you here so you could bugger off for a shag. At least wait until this is behind us.” To me, Mordecai said, “Do you need to rest, love? It’s late for you. We have things to discuss, but it can wait until tomorrow.”

“Things to discuss? With me?”

“Yes. Unfortunately.”

I glanced between Mordecai and Cristofer as a tingle raced up my spine. “I’m fine. I don’t have a showing until eleven, and Dany can do without me at the office. What’s up?”

“You should probably sit down.” Mordecai indicated an empty chair.

The three of us took up one end of the high-top table. Mordecai at the head, Cristofer and I caddy corner and across from one another. Cristofer deferred to Mordecai, who stared at his hands for a long time before explaining the situation.

“We can’t get at Iulian. Valerius’s men have erected wards that are impassable for the likes of us. We thought we might be able to manipulate the guards into dismantling them, but it can’t be done.”

He explained the complications of overriding another vampire’s implanted suggestions and how they had suspected Valerius of manipulating his hunters. After testing their theory, they discovered it was indeed impossible to force their hand.

“The only way for us to free our elder is to secure the assistance of a human,” Cristofer explained. “It’s your lucky day. You’re our human.”

“For the record,” Mordecai interrupted, “I don’t agree with this. It’s dangerous.”

“But necessary,” Cristofer added with finality.

I shifted my gaze between them. “You need me to free Iulian?”

“You can’t free Iulian, love.” Mordecai’s voice was thin and strained. “Only I can do that. What we need is for the wards to be removed so we can access him. As it stands, too many barriers stand in our way.”

“Wards? Like magic?”

I felt stupid asking because believing in vampires with superhuman powers was one thing, but acknowledging the existence of magic was another. The only wards I could think of related to gaming, and they were often enchantments or spells used by mages or shamans.

“Not like that.” Mordecai explained about his sneaky excursion into the underground chamber where he’d discovered his uncle and all the barriers in the way. The garlic mist, the blanket of blossoms, the consecrated circle of white powder, the UV lights, and the heavy wooden cross hanging over a stone sarcophagus. “Harmless to a human, but impossible obstacles for the likes of us.”

“You want me to remove them so you can set your uncle free.”

“Yes, but it won’t be a stroll in the park,” Cristofer said. “The chamber is guarded. Six men on the surface tonight. We don’t know how many are underground.”

“It was three last time,” Mordecai said. “It could be six now, or more. It’s hard to say how many guards Valerius can pull at once. We don’t know how big a pool he’s drawing from.”

“Any more than twelve and we’re in trouble,” Cristofer said.

“Why is that?” I asked.

Cristofer explained their limitations when it came to manipulating humans. “No more than six at a time.”

“And six is pushing it,” Mordecai added. “Six often fails.”

“Not if you’re well-fed.”

The pointed remark made Mordecai stiffen.

I considered their proposal but hit my own barrier immediately. “How am I getting past a team of hunters to disrupt the wards?”

Mordecai glanced at Cristofer, who grinned. “With a carefully constructed plan. Buckle up, mate, your life is about to get interesting.”

“You mean more interesting? I’m colluding with vampires, remember. Up until a month ago, you were fictitious.”