CHAPTER 8
Isabel opened her eyes. Her arm was stretched out to her side and for a second her fingers felt numb. She was lying on the floor of Gavin’s library, her body feeling like a slab of dry clay against the cold marble. She tried to roll over but her whole body was aching; Presten must’ve done a pretty good job. She marveled at the events of last night, but she still couldn’t stop thinking about Oz. It was true she got what she wanted, but she couldn’t help but compare. Oz was gentle; Presten liked it rough. Images from the night before were zapping through her mind: images of Presten, images of herself. She couldn’t take her mind off it, but she was conflicted. If she were to tell Oz, would he get jealous? Would he be happy for her? Would he be indifferent?
Did she want him to be jealous?
All those questions were racing through her mind, but she knew she was being ridiculous. Even in her previous life, she was never a monogamous person. What changed? She rolled over to look at Presten, her eyes travelling up and down his naked body. He was spread out over the cold ground, and so was she, and they basked in the moderate chill of the night. Isabel tried to get up, but her back hurt like hell. “Holy shit,” she whispered, getting up on the balls of her feet. She sat up and looked around. There were books splayed out all around them and she wondered how many of those would actually come in handy sometime. Her eyes went straight to the one about mind control and when she realized Presten had tossed it aside last night, purely for the sake of making his advances on Isabel, she rolled her eyes, reaching for it again and making a mental note not to forget it.
“Good morning,” Presten said, rolling over to face her. He clenched his eyes in pain. “Holy fuck, I think I hurt myself.”
“Me, too,” Isabel said, smiling. “But it was worth it.”
“I’m glad,” he beamed. “I don’t know why I thought you’d be reluctant at first… it was probably all in my head.”
But it wasn’t. “I’m guessing it was,” she said.
“Well, I can go for another round, anytime,” he whispered, his eyes boring into hers. Isabel was starting to feel hungry again.
“We really need to control ourselves if we want to make it out of here alive,” she said, shaking her head. “I think we should go tell the rest about this place… they’ll be more than thrilled.”
Presten’s face drooped to a scowl. “Do you promise me, though, that this place will always stay our little safe haven… for whenever we need to get away from everything and everyone?” he asked, his head cocked to the side. Isabel couldn’t resist his eyes; they glimmered with his desire for her. The truth was, she was flattered, and she couldn’t help but feel attracted to him.
“I promise,” she said finally. “Listen, I had fun last night, I don’t want you to doubt that for one second. It’s just that I’ve been a bit… preoccupied lately, with all what’s been going on.”
“I know, I understand,” Presten nodded. “And I want you to know that I’ve been just as pressured as you have lately… but we’ll get through this, together.”
“I know we will,” Isabel said, reaching her hand out to him. “But for now, let’s just get out of here.” They made their way back; it felt weird having to crawl through that little cave again— it was making Isabel claustrophobic— but when they finally jumped out of the closet she felt a tide of relief wash over her. As soon as they both stepped out of Gavin’s master bedroom, they ran into Oz, who was waiting for them outside.
“Where have you been?” he asked, his head cocked to the side. “We looked everywhere for you.”
“Good news,” Isabel said, flashing Oz a smirk. “We’ve uncovered something, something big.”
“And what is that?” he asked, his eyes darting between them. There was something about the way he was gawking at them that made Presten uncomfortable. If he wasn’t mistaken, Oz was displaying some signs of jealousy. “Come on, you two, say something!”
“It’s Gavin’s secret book library,” Isabel blurted out. “He has hundreds, if not thousands of books in there and this is one of them,” she said, handed the book over to Oz. He narrowed his eyes at the title and then began skimming through it.
“This is a dangerous book,” he mumbled, rather to himself. “I think we can make use of this… good job keeping it with you,” he said, raising his eyebrows at Isabel. “We’ll go back and take a look at this place later… I have a feeling we will need to revisit it. But for now, I want to let you in on our plan.”
“Your plan?” Isabel asked, her eyebrows furrowed. It wasn’t long before Ava and the five strangers showed up at the doorway.
“We’re going to visit the council,” one of them said. “We’ll show up at the other mansion and demand that they hear us out in exchange for the hostages.”
Isabel thought about that for a second. “That sounds like a good plan… and now that there are more of us, we’re going to sound more convincing. They’re going to have to listen to us because they know we have the upper hand.”
“We do have the upper hand, but do you know why?” Oz asked, looking at Isabel through the corner of his eye. “It’s not because we’re a larger number, but because we’ve got Gavin.”
Isabel let that sink in for a second. She knew Oz was right. She knew Gavin was one of the most influential vampires in the council. “That makes total sense,” she breathed. “Now that they know that Gavin’s with us, they’re going to have to hear us out,” she said.
“Absolutely… or else we kill Gavin,” one of the angels said. Isabel locked eyes with Presten. He had been gawking at her all throughout the meeting, and the truth was, she was beginning to crave his attention all over again. Just the thought of him and Oz taking her at once made her feel all warm on the inside, but she knew she couldn’t think about that now.
“I think this is the perfect plan,” she said after a long pause. “But I do think we need to recruit more succubi before we head over there.”
“I’ll handle it,” Ava said. “They didn’t recognize me at the other mansion… they have no idea who I am. I’m going to sneak in there, maybe scope out some new members to join our clan.”
“This is a dangerous game you’re playing,” Oz said, shaking his head.
“Got any better ideas?” Ava asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “I don’t see you doing anything.”
“I’m just saying… you need to be very careful. Those people might not know you, but sooner or later, they’ll realize that some people went missing, and they’re going to pin it on us,” Oz said.
“He’s right,” Isabel said. “Be careful, Ava, and I do think you should take Presten with you like last time. You guys can protect each other.” Presten shot Isabel a worried look. Somehow, it made her feel guilty. Was she throwing him into the monster’s den?
She thought about it for a little while longer. “I have an idea,” she said. “Why don’t we all go?”
“Remember how the last time you suggested that we all shot you down, because, as I’d like to remind you, the vampire council already knows you?” Oz asked, agitated this time. “You’re risking our plans, Isabel, I don’t know why you’re being so stubborn about this.”
“I’m not stubborn,” she said, narrowing her eyes at Oz. “I just have a plan.”
“And what would that plan be?” he asked. Isabel wondered why he was being so critical towards her. She wondered if it had anything to do with Presten.
“You know how we’ve all come to master mind control?” she asked, searching Oz’s face for a reaction, and when she didn’t get one, she moved on to the rest of them. “Some of us haven’t exactly mastered it… but you know what I mean.” They nodded. “Alright, well, I was thinking we should all go to the mansion together, but I don’t think we should go inside.” There was a pause. “How about we all gather somewhere out in the forest… and try to lure the succubi, make them come to us?”
“And how will we do that?” Ava asked, staring at Isabel with heavy lidded eyes.
“Mind control,” she said. “If all of us go, we’ve got a better chance at getting through to them. That way, we can lure the succubi out of the mansion, and then all of us, as a collective group, can use our powers to bend the vampires.”
Oz thought about that for a second. “And then?”
“And then we all head out to the vampire council to make our case.”
“You do know where the council is, right?” Oz asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Isabel shook her head.
“I’m guessing it’s somewhere around here?” she asked.
“It’s in Nice. We’re going to have to take a train there,” he said, matter-of-factly. At that point, Isabel was just annoyed by him. The truth was, Oz was probably the most sensible person in the room, but there was something about the way he was dealing with Isabel that made her furious. She hated when someone talked down to her and at that point, Oz was making her feel like an idiot.
“Listen, we were going to pay the council a visit, anyway,” she said after a long pause. “So we might as well just do it now, all of us.”
“It’s a risk, you being there,” he said, his lips barely moving.
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
The silence poured into the room from all directions. Like a cloud, it descended on them and just lingered there; Isabel was suffocating. “Alright,” Oz said finally. “Do what you wish. I just don’t want you to get hurt in the process.”
“I won’t,” she said. “Now, what do the rest of you think about heading over to the mansion right now?”
“I think it’s a brilliant idea,” Presten said, his deep-set eyes boring into Isabel’s. “We just need to stick together and clear our minds from all the negative energy; if any one of us is distracted during the time of summoning, our entire plan will go to shit.”
“You’re right,” Isabel said, nodding. “I think we’ve all gotten the hang of this whole telepathy thing… it’s controlling the vampires that’s going to be tough.”
“You know what the best thing is?” Presten asked, his lips curving to a sly smile. “We’ve got an entire book dedicated to mind control on our hands. Don’t forget to use that, Isabel.”
“Oh I won’t,” she said. “I’ve read quite a big chunk of it so far… believe me, it’s going to come in handy.”
“Alright, should we get going?” Oz asked, already making his way for the door.
“And the prisoners? Who’s going to stay with them?” Ava asked.
“Presten, you can stay,” Oz said with a smile. “Seeing as though you’re probably the most powerful incubus in this room, I think you should keep an eye on the hostages.”
“Alright,” Presten said, his eyes darting from Oz, to Isabel, and then to Oz again. “I’ll take care of it.
“Okay, let’s go,” Isabel said, turning to leave. She eyed Oz as he swung the door open and stepped outside. “Boy, do you look pissed off,” she said, walking over and standing next to him. She just didn’t understand why he was acting the way he was. Something was off, but she knew that now wasn’t the time to confront him about it. Ava joined them and the three of them marched across the yard.
“Oh, hey,” Ava said, her eyes fixated somewhere over Isabel’s shoulder. She looked over and saw all five succubi— the “newbies”, as she liked to think of them- huddled at the far end of the field. “I don’t know why we keep forgetting about them,” Ava said, skipping across the yard.
“I didn’t forget about them,” Isabel said. “I keep an eye on them all the time… I knew we would find them out here.”
“They’re always in a group,” Oz said, looking at Isabel with glassy eyes. “I wonder if we should be worried.”
Isabel shook her head. “No, I’ve been watching them very closely lately… they seem alright,” she said.
““Alright” doesn’t necessarily mean dedicated,” Oz said. Isabel rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe how negative he was being. She wanted to scream her lungs out to him, to tell him that she couldn’t take it anymore. It was all so frustrating, given the fact that she needed to feed. And it’s not like she needed to feed on just about anybody, she needed to feed on Oz. She didn’t get why he was pushing her away, why he was shooting her down. She thought he would be more supportive of her by now, but it didn’t look to her like he was going to get over this anytime soon. Whatever “this” was.
“Well, I guess we’re going to have to find out,” she said, waving to the group of people standing at the far end of the field. They dispersed for a moment before they came together again, marching towards Isabel and the others.
“I really hope you prove me wrong,” Oz said, crossing both arms across his chest.
“Oh, I will.”
***
“Alright, I think we’re getting close,” Isabel said, catching a glimpse of the old mansion. They had been hiking for around an hour. When the tip of the tower came into view, Isabel crouched down amongst the weeds. “Let’s stop here,” she said. The rest of them crouched down next to her and eyed the mansion apprehensively.
“Do you think it’ll work if we try and tap into them from all the way over here?” Ava asked.
“It has to,” Isabel said. “I don’t think we can get any closer, it’s too risky.”
“There are a lot of us. I think this might work,” one of the succubi said, her eyes fixated on the mansion. She got down and hugged her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth repeatedly. Isabel clenched her eyes and tried to focus. She looked around once to make sure everyone else was doing the same and then she went back again, trying to immerse herself in her own little world. No one had taught her how to do this; it was all a matter of instinct. She took a deep breath. The wind caressed her face and she could feel every muscle in her body turn flaccid. It was like she was doing yoga. Alright, now, tell them to come out. Come out, come out, come out.
“Come out, come out, come out,” Oz said out loud.
“Come out, come out, come out,” all seven of them said in unison. “Come out, come out, come out.” The silence lingered in the air. Isabel tried to focus all her energy on that one thing, on luring the succubi out of the mansion. It was like her soul was leaving her body— or at least it felt that way— and she was watching herself from afar. She felt like she was floating around freely, that she was communicating with people and things she never thought she would be able to communicate with. Come out, come out, come out. Come out from the mansion, join us.
“Join us, join us,” Oz breathed. The rest followed. Isabel opened her eyes and stared out into the distance. She could see the trees swaying back and forth in the wind, but no people. She wondered if this was actually working. The air was so still, despite the wind. She had never felt so peaceful, yet so worried. A series of paradoxes, a chain reaction of impending events that were yet to come. Isabel felt connected, not only to the people in the mansion, but also to the circle of people around her. They were all crouched down on the ground, taking up different positions, positions that were quite peculiar in their nature. Oz stooped down next to Isabel and she could feel the heat radiating from his body. She basked in it, wishing she could let him know how much she loved him, but then decided to stay focused, clenching her eyes again and ducking her head down low. Suddenly, she heard rustling sounds. Her eyes shot open and she started scanning the place, trying to discern the source of the noise.
“Did you hear that?” Oz asked, turning to look at her. Isabel nodded.
“It’s coming from over there,” she said, looking somewhere over her shoulder. Suddenly a bunch of figures appeared from amongst the trees. They staggered towards Oz, Isabel and the rest of the gang, and when they spotted what seemed to be the source of the frequencies, they nodded at them, as if to acknowledge their presence. Isabel noticed that one incubus lead the pack.
“Hello,” he said, smiling at her. “We heard you from over there.”
“Welcome,” Isabel smiled, motioning for him to sit down.
“We can’t,” he said, seemingly distracted. “We need to get out of here as soon as possible, it’s not safe here.”
“How did you get past security?” Oz asked, rising to his feet.
“We fed off your energy and tapped into their consciousness,” he said, his hands balled up into fists. He wouldn’t stop looking around; Isabel thought the vampires would strike at any second. “For the first time, we evaded them, something we thought we would never be able to do. I’m Jared, by the way.” He reached his hand out to Isabel.
“Isabel,” she said. “Have you sedated the guards?”
Jared nodded. “Yes, we have. But not for long… we better get out of here before they wake up again,” he said. The rest rose to their feet, and in a matter of moments, they were back on the hiking trail again. “So, Isabel, what brought you to us?” he asked, glancing at her.
“I know you,” one of them said. “You’re Isabel, the chosen one.”
Jared paused. “Wait, you’re Isabel?” he asked, his eyes wide as a set of plates. “I don’t know why I never made the connection, this is awesome!”
Isabel didn’t really know what to say. She wasn’t used to people recognizing her. “Thanks,” she said after a long pause. “I’m sorry, I’ve just never been put in a situation like this before.”
“What, no one has ever recognized you before?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. “That’s strange. You see, I’m an old succubus. I’m quite old, actually and I’ve been imprisoned for quite a long time now. I hear things, things about impending battles and about the chosen ones. I know about you and Presten,” he said.
“Presten is at the other mansion,” Oz said. “You’ll get to meet him in a little while.”
Jared smiled. “I’d be honored to,” he said. Isabel started making her way downhill again, motioning for the rest to follow her. “Where are we headed now?” Jared asked, a cheesy smile plastered to his face.
“To the rebels’ mansion.”