Rolf raised a brow and looked at the elven warrior.
Meh. So Orion could have done without Onvyr. But hey, at least the elf was killing other fae and gods and not trying to kill vampires, his crazy for once directed away from the Night Bloode.
“But I want to discuss a certain sea witch having the gall to capture me, put a spell on me, steal my bloode, and possibly share information about the Bloode Stones.”
The room grew silent, all attention on him.
His anger rose at the memory, and he growled at Hecate, which had both Mormo and Onvyr getting tense. “How the hell could you not know I was trapped?”
“I knew, Orion. But you were where you needed to be, and you seem just fine now.” Hecate flicked a finger at him, and a wash of power coated him from head to toe. She nodded. “No lingering effects that I can tell.”
“Oh my fucking gods.”
“Hey. Don’t blaspheme,” Macy said, her worship of the witch-goddess evident.
Mormo nodded. “Thank you, Macy. Well said.”
Orion swore. “The sea witch nearly sacrificed me. She took my bloode.”
Varu stirred. “Hecate, this is serious. No one has leave to steal bloode from our kind. Especially not a witch.”
“Luv, I willingly give you my bloode,” Duncan said to Macy. “It’s not the same.”
Bella motioned to Onvyr. “This is a lot of vampire stuff I don’t want to know about. Let’s patch you up.”
He nodded, and the pair left.
“You’re damn right.” Orion seethed, careful not to smush the kitten snoozing in his arms despite all the noise. “I was at the White Sea Witch’s mercy for days. It took her daughter to come to my aid.” And didn’t that stick in his craw, that he’d been rescued.
Macy cringed. “Sabine Belyaev is bad news. She’s my sister’s—technically my stepsister’s—mom. Kaia’s the one who helped Orion. She also rescued a few lycans as well. We think the island acts as a trap to catch the unwary and lets Sabine sacrifice them to increase in power and for use in dark spells. I talked with my dad, and he said MEC has been looking into a lot of magir going missing in the waters south of Whidbey Island.”
“So your mission was a success,” Mormo said. “It just took a while to get you back to us.”
“I was under a spell,” Orion bit out.
Hecate looked interested. “She took your bloode, you say?”
“Not with the first spell, but with a dagger that smelled of brimstone.” He thought back, and a name came to him. “I think she talked to a guy named Pazuzu.”
Hecate and Mormo exchanged a glance.
Varu frowned. “Hecate, if the sea witch is using magic, can’t you talk to her? You’re the goddess of witchcraft, after all.”
“Yes, but not every witch prays to me.” She looked thoughtful. “Sabine prays to the dark gods. Pazuzu is one such being. His sire is another.”
Mormo swore. “Do you think she’s talking to Hanbi too?”
“I hope not.”
“Who’s Hanbi?” Varu asked.
“The king of all evil. Someone we really don’t want involved with Bloode Stones and the human plane. I—” Her energy scattered. Orion could feel it. “Well, hell. I need to go talk to Artemis again. Loki is annoying her.” She shot Rolf a look.
He raised his hands. “Hey, don’t blame me. I know the guy, but we’re not tight.”
“We’ll talk later,” she warned him. “Orion, let Varu have a look at you.” She stared into his eyes then laughed. “Ah, so it comes to be. Finally.” Then she vanished.
Mormo shot him a considering glance then vanished as well.
What the hell?
Kraft frowned. “What did that mean?”
“Nothing good, I’m sure.” Just once, Orion would like the goddess to be clear about things.
Varu shocked him by apologizing. “Orion, I’m sorry I didn’t look for you sooner. It took Kraft to bring attention to you being missing for so long. The Bloode Stones have been very vocal lately, and we know trouble is coming. We’re getting spread too thin, and we need to protect our own. From now on, when we go out, we go out in pairs.”
Orion nodded, bemused to have his patriarch admitting to a wrong and trying to correct it. Patriarchs didn’t do that. They commanded, made mistakes or not, and moved on. Vampires died. Vampires lived. It was what it was. But Varu had apologized to him in front of the others.
Fara looked pleased, which in turn pleased her mate.
But the others looked taken aback, Rolf thoughtful.
Varu assigned likely partners, since they normally teamed up as such. “From now on, Kraft and Orion, Rolf and Khent, and Duncan and I will go out on missions. If the Bloode Witch is needed, she’ll be with us, Duncan.”
Duncan nodded.
“But in the meantime,” Varu continued, “we need to do some research. Macy what can you tell us about Sabine Belyaev and her daughter? How is it a sea witch can control an entire pocket dimension herself? That implies a lot of power.”
“And a dagger connected to demons or Pazuzu is bad news,” Khent said.
“What do you mean ‘or’ Pazuzu? He’s a demon, right?” Kraft asked.
Khent replied, “Yes and no. He’s a demon in the Babylonian pantheon, but he’s also known to represent the wind, as the bearer of storms and drought, and as a protector of pregnant women. He’s had many different names and purposes. But it’s his role as a demon that’s most concerning.”
Varu scowled. “The only reason demons might want bloode or a Bloode Stone is to cause chaos.”
Orion frowned, doing his best to remember details. “She took my bloode. She asked questions about us, about the Bloode Stones.” That part was a little vague. He swore. “I think I told her you have one, Varu. And she had questions about our clan and Hecate’s purpose in gathering us.” To fight a great Darkness coming to obliterate all life.
Varu’s eyes blazed red. Back in Santorini, Orion’s patriarch would have cut out his tongue, though falling under a spell had not been his fault. Still, Orion should have known better than to get caught by a pretty woman on an enchanted island. But Varu didn’t attack or castigate him.
He shook his head. “We’ll learn what we can about the sea witch.”
“She’s the White Sea Witch,” Macy said. “Very powerful, very dark. Her daughter, who freed Orion, is my sister.”
Varu stared at Macy, and Orion saw her flinch.
Duncan stepped closer but didn’t interfere.
Varu’s voice was soft when he said, “You knew Orion was missing, that the witch had bespelled him. You said nothing of this.”
The tension grew thick. Duncan put himself in front of his mate. Which reminded Orion, for some odd reason, of Kaia and how upset she’d be if Macy took harm.
Damn nymph.
He cleared his throat. “Varu, I can answer that.” He planted himself next to Duncan, putting two vampires between her and his patriarch. “She thought I might be compromised and worried you might stake me because of it.”
Varu rubbed his chin. “Still might.”
Fara elbowed him. “Stop it.” She turned to Orion. “Of course he won’t stake you. You’re family.”