“What else do you see?” she asked softly, her voice finally holding the panic I felt standing in the shattered mess of my mother’s home.
“Someone or something breached the salt line, and the windows are all broken, blown out of the house instead of inward. Rotten food was on the counter, along with a half pot of coffee that smells like shit.” I walked to the pot, tilting it as my nose turned up, and the sludge within it made a sickening noise as it moved. “I can’t smell anything else over the potions shattered on the floor.” I moved toward the bedroom, pushing the door open to survey the room. “The power is off, and the pictures on the walls are broken, missing the frames’ photos.” I stopped in front of my mother’s desk and balled my hand into a fist at the spot where I should have seen the family bible. “The bible is gone, and all the desk drawers ransacked. Someone was in here looking for something unless all they wanted was our bible.” Some asshole had taken our family bible, which didn’t actually contain our real names.
“You need to leave, now, Remi. You need to get into your car and go home to Seattle.”
“I’m not leaving until we find mom,” I groaned at her tone. “I’m not a child anymore, Winnie. I’m the weapons master at E.V.I.E., and I have assisted on countless missions.”
“You’re twenty-one years old, Remington Alaina Silversmith!”
“And you’re two-hundred and seventy-five. Yes, I get it. I’m a child in your world, but I am not a little girl anymore. I hunt bad guys, and they’re some pretty big bad guys, sis!” My tone was childish, but she was being an asshole.
“You hunt unclaimed vampires without houses to back them. If someone came for Elizabeth, they did so under the backing of a house or houses. You need to go back to E.V.I.E. where you’re safe and out of their reach. Now! That’s an order.”
“I don’t follow your orders anymore, Winnie. You’re in Paris, Colt is in Ireland, Sig is in Russia, and the others, well, honestly, I don’t even remember where they escaped. I’m here, and you’re not is my point, in case you missed it.” I bristled, uncertain why she thought she could boss me around from her current location.
“Remi, you need to get somewhere safe. For once in your life, listen to me, please. If they took our mother, it means something big is happening. There are things we hadn’t told you. Things that you weren’t ready to learn when you ran away,” she muttered.
“I’m ready now, Winnie.” I placed my hand on my hip, waiting for the line to go dead as it normally did when I asked her questions. When it didn’t, my jaw almost dislocated.
“Do you remember mother telling you about the Van Helsings?” she asked guardedly, her voice lowering as if she feared they’d appear like Bloody Mary if she said it too loudly. At my affirmative reply, she continued. “They promised to eradicate all Silversmiths, which is why we don’t stay together. We keep ahead of them, or we did until you ran away. Mother refused to leave because you were in Seattle. A newborn Silversmith in the hands of a Van Helsing would be a catastrophe. Now go home!”
“You’re saying this is my fault?” I snapped harshly, running my fingers over the bullets in the wall, feeling the call of silver that hummed as I touched them.
“No, but if the Van Helsings have our mother, they won’t let her go easily. If one house has a Silversmith on their side, they’re damn near invincible to the other houses. The Van Helsings lost their footing when we cursed them, but also because we no longer had the alliance to create their weapons. Once upon a time, Silversmiths were bonded to them and only them. Silversmith marriages were arranged with the Van Helsings because they fought to protect us from the other beings, and we created their weapons. There’s a lot more to it than that, but it isn’t something to discuss over an open-line. Just trust me—you need to run and let us handle this.”
I frowned, considering doing as she asked while I moved into the kitchen. Shining the light onto the counter, I scanned a piece of paper lying across it. I lifted a flyer from the stack of mail and studied the logo on it carefully.
“Did you know there’s a bar in this town called Hunter’s Sanctuary?”
“You’re not leaving, are you?” Winnie exhaled, and I didn’t need to see her to know she was pinching her nose with exasperation straining her face.
“Nope, but I’ll call in a team for protection if that will make you stop demanding that I do.”
“Your little hunter’s club can’t protect you from this one, Remington. You’re out of your league here. If there’s a sanctuary there, that means there’s also a Van Helsing.”
“If mom feared these alpha houses so much, why stay here?”
“Because leaving Washington State would mean leaving her youngest daughter behind, and until your twenty-fifth birthday, you’re mortal. Add in the fact that should you fall into the wrong hands, you could do something very stupid,” she sighed heavily. “Where are you staying tonight?”
“I booked a hotel in town,” I admitted.
“Under what name?”
“Remi Cordova, duh,” I chuckled.
“Get there. I’ll call in some people to come protect you.”
The line went dead before I could argue. I pushed the phone into my pocket as suddenly the lights came on and music started playing from my mother’s room. Now that that I could see inside the cabin clearly, the entire scene became real. Things were smashed and destroyed, indicating there was a struggle. My heart clenched while I took in the blood spatters, and then I exhaled slowly.
My heart thundered in my chest when I noticed the corpse hidden by the broken table. More blood spattered the kitchen walls, and I noted the black sulfur that ran from the bedroom to the front door. Silently, I moved toward the corpse, using my foot to open his bottom lip to reveal fangs.
Vampire corpse.
Black sulfur.
Broken salt line.
Missing mother!
Vampires, demons, and witches, oh my.
Chapter Two
Once I’d checked into the hotel, I made the call to E.V.I.E., listening as they explained politics in this region of Washington. Help wasn’t coming, which figured since they played by a rule of conduct and the local police hadn’t invited them. No bodies were piling up, and one missing witch didn’t scream foul play on a supernatural level. Not even the vampire corpse had gotten their attention.
My phone rang, and I slid my finger over the screen, listening.
“You do know I can hear your creepy breathing over the phone, right, Remi?” Nyx snorted, chuckling as if she’d amused herself.
“Not a good time, Nyx,” I admitted, thumbing through the phone book for the club’s address.
“Considering that you called the elders before calling me, I should be offended. However, as your official best friend, I’m going to let it slide this once. I’m currently getting on a plane and coming to you. You’re welcome.” The boarding announcement for Spokane echoed through the phone, and my lips jerked into a smile. “No, that’s mine, it does not go below! What if I need to get off while on the plane? I can’t just grab a male and take him to the bathroom with me. That isn’t sanitary!” she whined to the man, arguing that she needed to check her bags.