4-Ever Hidden: Vampire Hunter (4-Ever Hunted Book 3), page 27
The last part got Jersey’s attention and made his eyes sparkle at the possibilities. “What sort of weapon is it?” Jersey asked. “How do I use it?”
Jack hesitated. If he was too quick to give the key to Jersey, the werewolf would start to suspect. Jack reminded himself to play it cool. He shrugged and made a sour face. “Trick thinks he can get Oberon into the room with the dollhouse and use it on him. I think that’s a bad idea. The first person to grab the weapon will have a ridiculous amount of power. What happens if Oberon beats Trick to it?”
“You’re right to worry.” Jersey left the desk behind so he could roam around the classroom, hands clasped behind his back. “You don’t know your brother like I do. He is more arrogant than I am, always sure he can control every situation. Has he told you about his life goal yet?” After Jack shook his head, Jersey added, “Trick wants to be the world’s greatest hunter of vampires.”
Since Jersey had a loose relationship with the truth Jack wasn’t sure if he should believe anything he said about Trick. Still, the news disturbed Jack deep down in his gut. His brother Billy had been a hunter; he was dead now. The last thing Jack wanted to hear was that his only remaining brother was on the same path.
Jersey continued. “No offense to Trick, but he is a wild card. His arrogance and pride will lead to a fatal mistake, and Oberon will get the weapon. I guarantee it. We can’t allow that to happen.”
“The only thing we can do is send you instead of Trick.” Jack held his breath and waited for Jersey’s reaction. If he pushed too hard, the werewolf might suspect they had a plan for getting rid of him as well as Oberon. Patience was an important virtue when fishing. “I’m just not sure.”
“I am,” Jersey said. “I believe I am our only hope of winning. But how do we keep Trick from getting in my way?”
Jack shrugged as if he didn’t already have an answer ready. He drummed his fingers against the desk while Jersey paced near the windows. “Make a move first,” Jack said. “Trick isn’t planning to lure Oberon to the dollhouse until Friday night. That gives you two days.”
“How am I supposed to convince Oberon to join me in a strange house in Indiana?”
“Tell him about the dollhouse. Tell him we have a powerful weapon that can kill him. He’ll want to see it.”
“No, no, no.” Jersey slammed a fist against the desk. “Have you become a fool in your absence? Oberon needs to be kept in the dark or he’ll have a plan.”
“Then make him think you have something he wants hidden at the house.”
“The scepter.” Jersey grinned. “I will tell him the scepter is there, and I want to make a deal with him.”
Jack clapped his hands. “Perfect. You’ve got this.”
“The only thing that would make it better is if you joined me.”
Taken aback by the suggestion, Jack faltered. His gaze went to the clock hanging over the door. Silver would be getting home soon, and he needed to be there. He didn’t want her to know he’d agreed to talk to Jersey. Trick had promised to teleport him home as soon as he was done since he didn’t have that power anymore.
“Can’t,” Jack said. “I promised Silver to steer clear. It’s just when Trick told me his plan to use this powerful weapon against Oberon that I knew I needed to tell you.”
“I am glad you did.”
“Here.” Jack reluctantly handed him the key to the dollhouse and a scrawled floorplan of the house holding it. He prayed his brother was right, and the werewolf wouldn’t use it to do something wicked before their plan worked. “The dollhouse is in the office. Use the tiny key to open it.”
He purposely left the part out about ringing the doorbell.
Jersey’s eyes narrowed. “How do I use the dollhouse to my… to our advantage?”
“When you open it, make sure Oberon is standing behind you. Then just duck. It will make him disappear.” That was a lie, but it was the best Jack could come up with on such short notice. “Make sure you shut the office door before opening the dollhouse. That’s important. You are our best bet, our only hope.” Fear that he was laying it on too thick made him stop. He shrugged. “I should go now.”
Jersey puffed out his chest and squared his shoulders. A smug grin visited his mouth. He nodded his head. “Yes. This is the perfect solution to our faerie problem. I will deal with the faerie king.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Dangerous
Nearing midnight and everyone was in position. Either they were on the threshold of destroying Oberon or themselves. Trick’s veins hummed with adrenaline, and his flesh itched for action. Hiding behind a bedroom door down the hall from the office, he bounced on the balls of his feet and clenched his hands. A million doubts pummeled him like invisible fists. He checked his watch again and again. Whatever was about to happen, he just wanted to get it over with.
“They’re here,” Scarlet said through the tiny device in his ear.
She was across the street on the roof of a vacant house with Matt. Since they were mortal, Trick wanted them out of harm’s way. They insisted on helping, but that didn’t mean they had to risk their lives. If something happened to them, either of them, Trick knew he wouldn’t be able to live with it.
Summer stood next to him, quiet for once, and Cowboy hid across the hall in another bedroom.
Trick adjusted the small ear-piece and winced when it crackled. The loud sound threatened to break his eardrum. He wanted to remove the tiny torture device, but he needed to keep in touch with his partners. Careful not to be seen in case their targets came through the front door and looked up, he leaned out and gave Cowboy the agreed-upon signal. With two fingers, Trick gestured to the staircase.
Cowboy nodded before backing up to hide behind his chosen door.
Trick turned to Summer. They locked gazes, and a knowing look passed between them. They were both ready for whatever was to come. He didn’t trust her, but she wouldn’t do anything to put Matt in danger.
The front door swung open below and banged against the interior wall. Two sets of feet ascended the stairs. Trick and Cowboy shrank further back into the shadows. As long as everything went according to plan, the only thing they had to do was wait for Jersey to lure Oberon into the office. The second they heard the tiny doorbell ring three times they’d remove the office door. Simple enough. Since neither Jersey nor Oberon knew anything about the dollhouse except for what Jack had shared, they’d be easy to trap.
A pair of voices floated up to the second floor, and Trick realized they were in big trouble. Jersey wasn’t with Oberon. He had sent Isobel in his place. The clever werewolf must have smelled a trap. Isobel led the way to the office, peeked inside, and then gestured for Oberon to enter ahead of her.
Cowboy peered out from his hiding place at Trick. Panic widened his eyes, and Trick had a bad feeling the other vampire was about to ruin everything. Trick shook his head at Cowboy in silent warning. His eyes pleaded with the other vampire to stick to the plan.
Covering his mouth, Cowboy whispered low enough so that only Isobel—and nearby vampires—could hear him. “It’s a trap. Run.”
Trick gaped at his alleged friend. Cowboy had just signed their death warrants by putting Isobel’s safety ahead of everything else. The two of them weren’t even a couple anymore. What was his problem? Trick had thought he could count on the anti-sentimental vampire.
And what if the faerie king had supernatural hearing too?
“Don’t go into the office,” Cowboy whispered. “Get out while you can.”
“How do I use the dollhouse?” Oberon asked Isobel.
Obviously, sending Isobel wasn’t the only change in plan. Jersey had told Oberon about the dollhouse instead of offering to trade his scepter for something else he wanted. Trick hung his head as his hopes dwindled. He couldn’t trust friends or enemies to follow through.
Isobel took a step back from the open doorway and glanced around. Her gaze swung from the empty hallway to Oberon in the office. She didn’t seem to know what to do. Oberon called her name, and she bit her lower lip. The tiny dollhouse key was in her hand. She held it up and glanced around in obvious confusion.
Cowboy rushed into the hallway, picked her up, and used his supernatural-speed to exit without being seen by the faerie king. The key landed on the carpeted floor just outside the office door. If Oberon noticed it, if he closed the door and used the key himself…
Trick couldn’t readily comprehend the situation. He blinked, stunned. Oberon was inside the office with the dollhouse. Alone. Their one opportunity to get rid of him was slipping away. Someone needed to close the door from the inside before opening the dollhouse.
Trick gestured for Summer to stay hidden. He walked to the office and stood in the doorway. Oberon was crouched in front of the dollhouse, studying it. Trick bent down and picked the key off the floor. “I want to make a deal with you.”
There wasn’t a hint of surprise on Oberon’s face as he looked up from the dollhouse. “Why would I make a deal with you?” Oberon grinned. “I have everything I want.”
“Do you?” Trick stepped into the room, cautious steps. “I know what the dollhouse does and how to use it.”
“It won’t take me long to discover its secrets.”
“Let me and my friends live, and I will show you everything it does. I guarantee you won’t figure it out on your own. I’ll tell you the biggest secret of all.”
Oberon stood, a grimace on his face. “Very well. If I deem the secret worthy, I will grant your request.”
“Step one,” Trick said. He returned to the doorway and closed the door. The lock clicked into place beneath his eager fingers. Just in case Matt or Scarlet put together what he was doing too soon. He needed to keep them from interfering. “We have to close the door. Step two, the person who shuts the door has to open the dollhouse.”
Oberon folded his arms.
Trick slipped the key into the tiny keyhole without a problem like a hot knife through butter. “Step three, we ring the doorbell three times.”
“Back away from the magical object,” Oberon demanded. “I will be the one to use it. Tell me all the steps. Then get out of the way while I test it out.”
“And if I refuse?”
Oberon raised his hands and threw them in Trick’s direction, no doubt sending powerful magic his way. Nothing happened. Surprise finally registered on his face.
“Magic doesn’t work in here,” Trick said with a slight smirk.
Without saying another word, Trick rang the tiny doorbell three times and ran to the office door. He jerked it open while concentrating on a future point two weeks from that very moment. He stepped into the hallway. Oberon chased after him. Trick slammed the door before the faerie king made it halfway across the room. Trick called out his friend’s names. Dead silence met his ears. Since he shut the door Oberon was trapped between realms. Oberon hadn’t used the dollhouse, so it wouldn’t work for him now. Plus, Trick had the key. He slipped it into his pocket.
Still, he wanted to be positive the faerie king couldn’t leave the office. Ever. Rubbing his chin, he went over the dollhouse’s rules in his head. Removing the office door should seal the deal.
The tools he and Cowboy had planned to use were on the floor where Cowboy dropped them when saving Isobel. Trick grabbed the screwdriver. He used it to jimmy off the hinges. Then he pulled the door loose and tossed it onto the floor. Now if he was right about the dollhouse and how it worked, Oberon would be stuck forever. They’d never see the faerie king again.
Trick teleported to a gas station he knew well and filled two large cans with gasoline. He poured the flammable liquid on the hardwood floors in the house. It took him four trips to saturate the place. After he was finished he reached for the matches in his back pocket.
Behind him, he heard the office door open. That wasn’t possible. Oberon? The hair stood on the back of his neck. He spun around, ready to defend himself. Instead of the faerie king, a little girl came out of the office with a doll wrapped in her arms. A fading image of the door shimmered beside her even though the real door remained on the floor. A ghost door? Her pale face held two wide eyes that refused to blink as she stared at the mess that used to be her home. He could only imagine how much the house had changed.
She screamed.
Trick stepped into the light, catching her attention.
“Who are you?” she asked as she took a tentative step into the hallway. “Where is my mommy?”
Her lower lip trembled, and he instantly knew her identity. A horrible truth hit him like an avalanche, and he realized it was him that scared the little girl. Not Jack. He was the one who traumatized a child to seal the fate of the world.
“If you want to see your mommy again, you have to do what I tell you. Understand?”
She nodded.
“That dollhouse is special,” Trick said. “It’s magic. Do you believe in magic?”
Again the child nodded.
She turned to go back inside the office, but he grabbed her. Following the story Cowboy had given him, he took her by the arms in a bruising grip, and he lied to her. “My name is Jackpot,” he said, giving his brother’s name because that was how the story went. “On your twenty-first birthday, I want you to go to a bar in town called Hustlers. Sit next to a dark-haired man named Cowboy. It’s important for you to remember. I’m Jackpot, and you need to tell Cowboy about the dollhouse. He’ll be at Hustlers on your twenty-first birthday, the day you can drink grown-up drinks.”
The child frowned. He couldn’t tell if she was getting it or not, but he plowed ahead anyway. It had to work because it already had. He was just making sure he did his part to ensure her future and his present didn’t disappear.
“If you don’t go to Hustlers on your twenty-first birthday and tell Cowboy what Jackpot told you, I will come back for you. I will gobble you up.” He went into total beast-mode then. His eyes turned black, and he flashed sharp fangs at her. He repeated with a throaty growl, “I will gobble you up.”
She screamed and tried to run.
His fingers dug into her flesh. “Listen to me! You memorize what I tell you. Don’t you dare forget! Promise me you’ll remember.”
Tears filled her eyes, and she sobbed. “I’ll remember. I promise.”
Remorse and guilt at scaring the kid weighed on him like a heavy cement block. He wanted to tell her it would be okay, but the fact was she lived in the same world he did. If Oberon wasn’t trapped forever, he would destroy them all, even her and her family.
“Number one, you tell Cowboy about the dollhouse, and then you show it to him. He has to see it. Number two, tell your mom not to sell this house. If she sells it, I will gobble you both up. I want her to give it to her granddaughter.” He showed his fangs again and growled. “The dollhouse is the key. Say it! The dollhouse is the key.”
“The dollhouse is the key,” she cried.
He wanted to smile and tell her what a good girl she was and that she was saving people including her own family by memorizing the facts. But he couldn’t afford to be nice. He needed her to be terrified enough to remember forever.
“Number three, tell Cowboy he’s going to meet a girl with a silver charm bracelet. When he sees the tiny dollhouse charm, he needs to remember the dollhouse is here. Got it?” He took a deep breath and repeated, “The dollhouse is the key.”
She mumbled, “The dollhouse is the key.”
“Good.” He nodded. “And what kind of bracelet will the girl be wearing?”
“Charm bracelet.”
“A silver dollhouse charm.” He eased up on her arms. Almost done. “You stay away from the dollhouse now. Never use it again, and tell Cowboy not to play with it until he sees the silver charm bracelet.”
“Uh-huh.”
Over and over he made the girl repeat what he’d told her until he was sure she had it down. Then he escorted her to the office doorway, hand on her back. “One more thing. Tell Cowboy he needs to visit the house after he sees the dollhouse charm. Make sure your mom knows that. She can’t sell this house. Not ever. She needs to give it to you someday.”
The little girl nodded.
“And tell your mom to leave the dollhouse here in the office. That’s important.” He shook a finger at the girl and tried to look stern. “Don’t make me come after you.”
He pushed her into the office and backed into the hallway. “Remember everything I just told you or I will gobble you up.”
“Okay!” the girl yelled.
“Now shut this door and close up the dollhouse. Then you can come back out to the hallway. I’ll be gone, but your mommy will be here waiting for you. I promise. Tell her everything as soon as you see her. That way if you forget, she can remind you later. Tell her to write it down for you.”
Wide-eyed, the girl backed her way into the office.
“Do what I told you, and everything will be okay.”
For a moment, she and the door both shimmered like ghostly apparitions. She only hesitated for a second. Then she shut the door in his face.
He turned away and lit a match. When he turned back around, the office was empty. Things were as they should be, and he was about to make sure Oberon stayed gone. He threw the match. It ignited and spread far quicker than he had thought it would. Flames ate the floor and licked the walls. He watched the house burn, feeling relieved but not victorious.
He didn’t feel good about what he’d done, scaring a child.
Then he teleported home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Go Ahead and Break My Heart
By the time Trick reached the mansion he was exhausted. The smell of smoke clung to his clothing and the inside of his nostrils. He stumbled across the threshold, relieved to be home. Silence greeted him. Where was everybody? He’d been gone for two weeks. It was possible they’d left. Scarlet moved out before they set the trap for Oberon, and Cowboy made it clear on several occasions that he wanted to hit the road.
