more awkward when Finn entered the room. He and Ethan didn’t breathe a word to one another; however, I did notice a few cutting looks thrown back and forth. I made some tea and sat on the kitchen counter since there were no seats left. Sensing someone’s attention, I found Ethan watching me closely.
“Has Marcel’s potion worn off yet?” he asked quietly over the conversation of the others. Finn was describing Pamphrock’s idea for modifying the fire extinguishers.
“Yes,” I answered, a half-lie. I wasn’t sure whether the tingles I felt when he looked at me now were from the potion or just the usual Ethan effect.
“Good,” he replied, voice low. “I’m sorry for how I spoke to you earlier.”
I lifted my hands. “Hey, I was a bitch, too. I shouldn’t have called you old. It was a low blow.”
His lips twitched ever so slightly. A beat of silence fell between us, and his eyes wandered to my lips before darkening when they reached my neck. Crap, I’d forgotten to cover my bruises.
“Who did that to you?” he questioned, voice tight.
“They’re from yesterday when Finn was possessed by the mist.”
“He tried to strangle you?”
“He didn’t try anything. It was the mist.”
Ethan nodded, though it looked like it took all his willpower not to confront Finn right then. He lowered his voice instead, asking, “Do you want some blood to heal the bruises?”
His question sent tingles all down my spine. I remembered the last time I drank his blood, how passion had almost overwhelmed us. “No, thank you,” I replied, because although I’d love to relive the experience, it was too risky. Drinking Ethan’s blood too often could lead to an addiction, which was something I very much wanted to avoid.
“If you change your mind, let me know,” he said just as the front door opened and Noreen, Gabriel, and Alvie spilled into the kitchen. Warm greetings and hugs were exchanged, cups of tea were offered, and then everyone settled down to hear the news they had to share.
Gabriel placed both hands around his mug, but he seemed a little hesitant to talk.
“Out with it,” Rita said impatiently. I felt the same way, realising I’d taken the blade Finn gave me from my pocket and was absently flicking it open and shut out of anxiety.
Gabriel glanced around the room. “I take it you all know about the spells Neil can do,” he said finally.
“Neil’s your warlock friend?” Delilah asked.
“That’s right.”
“Yeah, we know. Rita told us.” I interjected.
“Okay,” Gabriel swallowed tightly. “Well, after Rita called to let us know that she’d figured out how to kill the mist, we decided to make use of the trip by getting Neil to perform one of his spells. This was with the intention of projecting himself into Theodore’s mind.”
There was an audible communal intake of breath during Gabriel’s brief pause.
“He managed to successfully connect with the sorcerer, and he discovered that Theodore has an active affiliation with hell and can now bring small entities over to this side whenever he likes. That’s what he’s been doing with the mist.”
“The bastard!” Rita exclaimed.
“That’s what I said when Neil told us,” Alvie commented with a quirky grin.
“But that’s not all,” Gabriel went on. “He’s been bringing the mist over here with a precise purpose.”
“And what’s that?” Ethan questioned.
Gabriel levelled his half-brother with a serious look. “He wants to drive the humans insane so that their numbers will dwindle. If the humans start to die out, there’ll be fewer and fewer blood sources for vampires, forcing them to leave the city. The ones who stay will end up fighting amongst themselves for the remaining humans to feed off. In other words, things on the south side will be left wide open for Theodore to step in and take control.”
Ethan rose from his chair at this piece of information and started to pace back and forth across the small room.
“Well, I can’t say I find the thing about the vamps very upsetting,” Finn said. “But I can certainly see the disadvantages of Theodore having the run of the city. The DOH is still recovering its numbers, so if he gets rid of Whitfield and sets his sights on Pamphrock, it’ll be lights out for us.”
I couldn’t help watching Ethan as he paced. “Why are you so on edge?” I asked. “The vampires exiled you. Do you really care if they’re forced to leave the city? It’s not like they’d stay just to prove a point. They’d starve if they did