11. Oradea

I keep Natalia calm,watching intently while the cackling hag, Devora, says her piece, because if that screechy witch even turns her wrist slightly to get her wand, I will sear her back to ash. She looks at me, and those keen eyes know not to mess with me, that I'm waiting for her to do one thing to give me a reason. Just one, and Devora will be gone.

She seems to have a good understanding of her predicament and doesn't want to ruin her position of neutrality with Lucianna and Descallia, because that could be more trouble for her and her witches than she bargained for.

The electricity flowing from her fingertips begins to calm after a few minutes. She sighs and narrows her eyes, looking around the table. "The stones were weakened by someone who has the power to cast great spells. I can't tell you who, but you are on the right path. That's all that I can say without discussing it with the leaders of our coven."

My temper flares. "That's not enough, witch! We need details to thwart the enemies' plans, not you to tell us that you need to discuss it at leisure. We find out where they are from you tonight or we do it alone." The thought of the vendetta between the witches and vampires for the land rights is never far from either of our minds. "I wouldn't put it past the High Priestess to have done it all on her own. Look at all the horrific things she's done in the past in the name of witch fun at her Halloween events," I say.

Devora's eyes flare purple and then start to spin out of control. "Take it back!" she screeches. "Take it back or I will turn you into a toad."

I laugh. "Do your best, Devora, but remember—paybacks are hell. You've been warned about that before. Do you really want to see the wrath of a beast who would sooner send you to a fiery hell than to waste his time? If not, tell me what I want to know!" I demand.

She remains silent, contemplating. I don't give her long before giving her a nudge. "Do the right thing. The vampires have no beef with you except the land." Overmaster and Lucianna exchange a glance. Overmaster Descallia clears his throat. "The land, Devora, that can be handled amicably as well. If you know something that can help, now's the time."

Devora sucks in a breath. "You push me, Descallia! If destiny wants you to know, you will learn without me telling you. Open your eyes, vampire! Look around! You have a very strong band of witches loyal to your cause. But yet the doubt the vampires bring to the table about the witches diminishes their power to help you at all. You see, the spell is not draining the power; it is you and your masters who are draining the witches' power by not believing in their loyalty and desire to lead the way. I'll leave you with this, vampires," she says, pointing around the table. "There are more witches here than you know!" and with that, her image disappears from the stones, and the amber glow begins to fade.

Lucianna sighs heavily and nods as Elda comes round with a decanter filled with Descallia Red, offering some to each of us, as she makes her way around the table. Sardinia pours Madria a glass of white wine and passes the decanter and wine bottle for those who prefer the taste of it over blood. "This thing between the vampires and the witches. It could have great merit. I recall reading a passage in the Vade Mecum that said when beasts and enchantresses combine, the path of light will blind."

Willow's mouth gapes. "I've heard that. In one of Devora's classes. I can't remember which one, but in one of them she taught that very thing. I don't recall her saying it was from the vampire guide or the Vade Mecum, though."

Lucianna nods. "No doubt, she wouldn't with a younger class. Maybe with the seniors who are getting ready to go out in the world and make their way. They would need more in-depth information."

I look around the table, and it's true. "We say we believe in destiny, yet we seem to want to take matters into our own hands, give ourselves the credit when things go well, and blame others when it doesn't go our way. And, if you stop and think, every step of our journey in finding the rogues has led us to this very thing. Just look around the table. The very people who we in past centuries would have rather killed are now sitting among us, willing and wanting to help, yet have our hearts changed enough?" I gesture to Masters Campania and Romano. "I too have still harbored ill will toward the witches. Not fully believing in their loyalty. I have no doubt other masters may feel the same."

Sardinia twirls his glass. "We still don't fully know Madria's ancestry, or the extent of her witchery and abilities. What I do know is that whether it turns out that she is a witch or not, I love her, and it's not going to change anything between us. But what of the masters who do not love a witch? There are many. Take Tuscano and the atrocities to Delilah. Devora does not claim being a part of it, but that's what started the mistrust this time around. She was seen consorting with the enemy."

Lucianna takes a drink letting the blood calm her veins, and her eyes open wide. "That's exactly it. We don't all feel the same way. We must first come together as one, as beasts in order to come together with the witches. We can't be fighting amongst ourselves and expect others to join forces with us in solidarity. We need the entire group convened. We need to put it all on the table, every single piece of the puzzle, all of the distrust, and all of the things we know and feel." She takes a breath, laughs and turns to Overmaster Descallia. "We need to call a meeting of the consulate. But how do we trust that if we do that, it's not a trap to get us all in the same place at the same time." She sighs. "It's a dilemma."

I laugh. "Overmaster Descallia is always telling us to assimilate, try to do things the human way. Yet, when we meet, we transport halfway across to Rome so that we can all sit together in a conference room where any number of people could be plotting to take us out and overthrow us or hear our secrets as the warriors have obviously done. We should set up a virtual conference. Aren't two of the guys on the special forces teams communications experts? We'll have them set up a conference and we'll be face to face, just like we are in the boardrooms of Chicago or Wall Street when we're making deals with the syndicate. It's a much safer prospect given what happened the last time we were together."

Overmaster Descallia laughs. "So true. This has been a good talk. Tomorrow, let's arrange it. We'll step our game up in the world of technology. When we put our new group of warriors together, they will be fierce and loyal and competent enough to run the most powerful companies around the globe.

"In the meantime, nothing has changed about Lucas coming to Oradea. His old estate home is here; he's tied to the base of that mountain. Whether he's with us or has had another spell placed on him is to be seen, but right now, we take no chances. There is a reason we are all here in Oradea. Remember, we were told, ‘it's where all the rogues were going to meet when they ended the righteous purebloods for good.' They aren't going to be far. Until we find them, we need to make sure that we have everyone scouring the streets."

He looks to Lucianna. "Can you pull in some more of the special ops team? We'll need your powers of sight and Silver's to help Oradea with narrowing down the hunt areas for the syndicate and their men. He's been more than helpful with tracking people down. In the meantime, I'll talk to Sheba and see if he has any trusted shifter that we can use. It will take time for him to grow his pack again.

"Until then we try to figure out where they may be, see if our soldiers"—he gestures my and Natalia's way—"her brothers can help get some boots on the ground. Check every nook and cranny in town, and on the outskirts of towns in a five-hundred-mile radius. In the meantime, we'll work on getting that meeting and developing a plan to bring our group together, once and for all. No matter what, the witches we have around our table, each and every one of them, have proven their loyalty to us, and it's about damn time that we came to terms with the fact that vampires and witches, enchanting psychics, humans, and any faction really can be mated, as long as hearts are true."

Natalia's heart races. See, even your overmaster thinks it's okay for us to be together.

I smirk.That was not exactly the intent of the message. But it will more than have to do because I've waited longer than any red-blooded male can stand. Come with me, enchantress.