The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 74

[Victor]

I made my way to my room to change into more appropriate attire. I needed to wash my face and brush my teeth. I couldn't face Master Marius with my breath smelling of Echo.

She was wonderful. I couldn't believe it was her decision to do that. Watching her pleasure Grayson was as enticing as watching her be pleasured by him. I couldn't get the image of her taking him into her mouth out of my head. It was as if my desire had taken over my mouth. She became even more aroused as I spoke and the scent of it drove me crazy. By the time I was able to put my mouth on her sweet sensitive parts, she was so wet.

I pulled her panties out of the pocket of my pants before I changed. They were delicate and lacy. When Grayson spun her and I saw them I was practically salivating. There were sides to my little Echo that I hadn't even realized existed. Carefully, I cleaned up and changed into my earlier clothes. I headed down to my office after peeking in on Echo and Grayson. They were cuddled up close and already sleeping. I smiled. It was a long day for both of them.

It had surprised me to hear that Grayson regarded me as a friend. As I thought of it, I could see that I thought of him in the same way. We'd bonded in our search for Echo and, aside from some slight bickering, we were fairly close. Ever since I came back to myself after my death, I'd hated werewolves. They were the reason I was forced to live the life of a vampire. I blamed all of them for the actions of one. The only reason I'd wanted the alliance with Trent's pack was to make it easier for my vampires to live in this territory.

Entering my office, I texted Master Marius to let him know that I was ready for him to bring Lila. I called out to Talia and Bellamy. They were a part of this as well. Bellamy wanted to rid the area of the curse.

I started arranging the office to make it a little easier to handle the questioning. I moved the two chairs from in front of my desk to the area across from the couch, then I moved my own chair over. Talia and Bellamy entered the room a few moments after I got everything settled.

"Victor. Did you have a good evening?" Talia asked.

"Quite a good one, thank you. How is your quest to read every book in my library?"

"I managed three today. I can do more, but I'm taking time with each of them." She chuckled.

"Thank you for allowing me to join you on this, Master Nightshade." Bellamy said.

"Of course, Queen Bellamy. As one of the other leaders in this region, I will gladly accept any insight you may have on this issue." I replied with a slight bow.

A few moments later, Master Marius appeared in the room with Lila. She was precisely as I remembered her, though a little pinker. Master Marius was a bit disheveled. I managed not to change my expression, but Talia snickered.

They sat on the couch and we took the chairs. Lila started rummaging through her bag. She pulled out a metal bowl, a knife, and an empty vial.

"I need my payment. Saliva from the rogue queen. While she's working on that, I need you to bleed into this bowl for me. I want to check how much of a hold the curse currently has on you." She said.

Bellamy grumbled and took the vial. "This won't have the hold on me that anything else like blood, hair, or nails would, right?"

"That's right. I've got this really cool spell, but it requires saliva from a powerful werewolf and those are hard to come by. The stronger you are, the better my spell will work." Lila grinned.

I cut my finger over the bowl and let it bleed until it healed. Lila took the bowl and started adding things to it. We watched as the blood took on a darker shade of red.

"Hmm. Well, it's started working on you, but it's not strong. You could renounce the territory and still be free to leave it." She said with a smile.

"I can't. My Solus Amor is here and she's lived here for sixteen years." I replied.

"What is she? Humans wouldn't be affected. Witches lose some power. She wouldn't be a fae, they never mate with vampires. Only werewolves and vampires are the most strongly affected." Lila explained.

"She's a dhampyr. If this makes vampires weak, it could kill her and I don't know that she would get her second life if it held her during the change." I told her.

"Yeah. I can see that. Well, looks like you're in a bit of a pickle. What did you need to know?" She asked.

"I need as much as you know, and can comfortably tell me, about the origin of the curse and its focus. I want to break it." I said.

Her eyes widened for a moment and she looked at Marius. He regarded her coolly. She started laughing.

"Well, the last guy who tried to break it died and it still didn't break. I hope you won't be as stupid when it comes to resolution. I'd like to go see more of the world, but I won't give up even a portion of my magic so I can leave here." "You know about the first Master to hold this territory? Do you have journals from an ancestor that might hold clues?" I asked urgently.

"I have journals from ancestors, but they won't help you. I've lived in this territory for over two hundred years. I was here when Fenton and his family disappeared. I'm as stuck as the vampires and wolves." Lila sighed.

"I thought witches only lived to be a little older than humans." Talia said.

"Fucking dark magic. She killed someone for that life." Bellamy snarled.

I looked at them. Bellamy looked like she wanted to kill Lila. Master Marius didn't seem shocked or concerned at all. Lila looked exasperated.

"Yes. I killed a fae for his life. I don't kill children. He was already a couple hundred years old. I just got the last eight hundred or so of his years. When my time is nearly up, I'll hunt down another one. Don't look like that. He was a total fucking degenerate. I did the world a favor. I did you a favor. No one could have broken that hiding spell. When you use dark magic, spells become stronger. A normal concealment spell can be broken by knowledge of it existing. This spell could only be broken by another spell. I was the only one who could do that. We all kill for what we desire. Some of us see it as a chore, others see it as a pleasure. That's why Marius and I work so well together. We see it as a pleasure." Lila winked.

"Please, ladies. I know that this isn't the most palatable company for everyone to keep. Lila doesn't care for judgement and Bellamy doesn't care for dark witches. I would really like it if we could set that aside for the sake of the people who are being hurt by this. Wolves and vampires are unable to leave this region. The ones who do are getting weakened, becoming sickly, and even dying. I am in very real danger of dying in a truly embarrassing manner." I told them emphatically. Lila snorted. "So you heard about Aram. You should have seen it! I was there. I laughed so hard."

Marius' lips curved into a small smile while she laughingly described and acted out the demise of the young vampire. I had to admit, it was horrifyingly hilarious. Especially the way she flailed her arms like someone trying to fly.

"Oh, goddess. I haven't thought of that for years. I moved to my home two hundred years ago. I met Fenton's grandfather and promised him I wouldn't cause problems if he let me live here. I knew Fenton from the time he was able to toddle about. He was a powerful witch." She said.

"Tell me about him, none of the vampires could tell me much about that time without starting to feel sick. All of the information I have, came in very small pieces." I entreated.

"Well, all the witches here will tell you that the coven broke up after the disappearance of Fenton and his family. That's not true. He started doing things that made them think he was turning dark. I'm not privy to everything, because I wasn't in the coven, but I know enough because I was sleeping with Fenton toward the end. That boy was gorgeous. Dark mahogany hair, nearly golden eyes, muscles from all that work on the farm. We'd been secretly meeting from when he was seventeen until he married at nineteen. We hooked up again a few months before he disappeared.

Most witches only have one elemental affinity. Fenton had two, so his parents arranged a marriage to another witch with a solid family line in an element he didn't possess. It was more likely to produce children with two elements, but they didn't have the goddess' favor. Out of five kids, they only produced one with two affinities.

Their oldest, Fenton Jr., was as dumb as a box of rocks. He was handsome as his father, but ended up lighting himself on fire at least once a year since his magic came in. Then there was Mary Katherine. She was pretty and a damned sight smarter than her brother. She was able to hear things no one else could. No one knew where she'd inherited spirit magic. Their middle child was Grace. The one with two affinities. She was a fireball. I loved hanging out with her. The youngest two were twin boys. Their mother died in childbirth with them. Roger and Franklin. They were quiet and kept to themselves. Like they were trying not to hurt anyone else. Poor things.

When the new Master came to town, he approached all of the other leaders in the area. He wanted to create alliances and make this place powerful. The wolves wouldn't come on board until they knew the witches would. Grigori approached me as the most powerful dark witch. I told him that the coven wouldn't ally with him if he allied with me, but I promised to help for a price. Just like with you.

Negotiations seemed to be going well. Fenton was always telling me how excited he was for the peace he foresaw with the union. The Alpha at the time, William, said that he was excited too." She told us.

"You knew the Alpha back then?" Bellamy asked.

"Yes. I found him, lost in the woods, when he was a little pup. I took him back home and he would go wandering while I was collecting ingredients from time to time. Soon, his parents would ask me to take him with me. They paid pretty well, and would grant me access to the pack lands. I like kids. That's why I don't kill them. William was lucky, if it had been another dark witch, he would have ended up dead." Lila replied with a nod.

"Thank you for saving him. His great great-grandson is important to us. Please, go on." I urged.

"All I know, is that things got dicey. Fenton was dealing with the negotiations and the arranged marriage for Grace. Grace wasn't taking the arrangement well. She fell in love with a boy in town or something. She wanted to marry him, but Fenton wasn't having it. He didn't tell me much except that it would ruin him. I guess he invested a lot into finding a powerful, double affinity, family for her to marry into.

Grigori started asking for something that Fenton said was impossible to give... he didn't really give me the details. I guess William sided with Grigori. That was why the werewolves were pulled into it. Fenton used dark magic for the curse. When I say that his family disappeared, it was only him, Grace, and the boys. Fen Jr. died twenty years ago. Mary died a couple years after that.

The fiancé and his family headed back east that night, according to the witches who would talk to me. They had been staying with the family and made it clear that they weren't amused by Grace's refusal. Everything just piled up on Fenton. He was under so much pressure. Maybe if I hadn't made him mad, I could have saved them.

Grace really was an amazing girl. Adventurous, brave, loving, kind. She had water magic and plant magic, like Fenton did. She would help during droughts, revive plants that had withered, refresh plants that had rotted. I watched her plant some strawberry seeds in a bucket and urge them into producing full grown strawberries in a matter of minutes, just because her little brothers wanted some and they weren't in season." Lila looked away.

For a moment, I thought that I may have seen a tear. I wouldn't mention it. Marius put his hand on hers gently. Talia was watching him intently. He picked up Lila's hand and kissed it tenderly.

"You couldn't have known." He murmured.

"How did you make him mad?" I asked.

"I told him that he should let Grace marry who she wants. Turning her into some broodmare for powerful witches was inhumane. She was so sad, she loved the other boy so much. I told him he needed to focus on the future of his people, not marrying his daughter off to the most pedigreed stud in the field." She growled. "I hate the arranged marriage thing. They still do it. Even today. 'This is the person we've decided will breed you, now be a good little bitch. How can they pull someone away from the person they love just because of something that stupid!? It's half the reason I went dark. I watched my own sister forced into a marriage with someone she actually hated. He beat her. He was the first person I killed on my way to being dark. She never forgave me. He'd already broken her by the time I was strong enough."

Marius pulled Lila into his arms and held her tightly. I looked away. This was a private moment between lovers.

"The nature of the curse is laid on the Master of the territory and the Alpha of the Hallowed Moon Pack. When Grigori met the sun, the curse hadn't cemented. It was Fenton's first time using dark magic and he started big. It backfired.

I've looked at the curse. It started as two and blended into one with Grigori's death. It seeped into the land and started affecting all supernaturals, but is stronger with wolves and vampires. I have no idea how to break it. Fenton's house burned. It took the book he used with it.

Trust me, I don't want to spend the next five hundred years here. I've tried to break the curse. You aren't even the first vampire to think he can break it. If you want to live, renounce the territory and leave." Lila warned.

"I won't leave Echo. Thank you for your help. Maybe one of Fenton's grandchildren might have more information or a journal from their parent. Someone has to know why negotiations turned sour. There had to be a big disagreement if sides were chosen." I said. "I can't force you to do anything. I'll help where I can, but I don't think this is going to have the ending you were hoping for." She shrugged.

"Come, Lila, I'll take you home." Marius said.

"Will you tuck me in, daddy?" Lila giggled.

"Don't call me that in front of other people, Lila." He quietly growled.

"Yes... Master." She purred.

They disappeared almost as soon as the words left her mouth. Talia's hand covered her mouth. I didn't know if it was the shock of Master Marius' interaction with Lila, or if it was the curse.

"Victor. I don't like how this sounds." Bellamy said. "You should heed her warning. She's been alive for a while. She saw all these things go down. Maybe renouncing it and coming to stay with my pack while we sort through the spell. We can take Gray and Echo with us. Just to get you away from any danger of being killed."

"I won't give up my territory. I've already worked too hard on it. I'll stay away from picket fences. My death will not be like Aram's. I have too much depending on me. I can't give it all up over a curse. This will be my primary focus." I vowed. "What about Echo?" Talia asked.

"I can focus on her when I have time. She told me she understands. She loves how hard I work for my people. She loves the kind of leader I am." I replied.

"Time will tell. She may think that now, but her needs may change as she does." Talia said.

"I want to be here for every change. I can't marry her like a human would, but she's already my bride. I will live long enough to seal my bond to her as my Solus Amor. No curse will stop me from keeping my Echo forever." I told her. She sighed and stood. Talia looked at me for a moment before shaking her head and leaving the room without another word.

"I will do what I can. I disagree with your decision too, Victor. I'll back you up, though, for Echo's sake. She's a sweet girl and she deserves to be happy for as long as possible. Don't let this be the reason she is unhappy. Don't let your stubbornness break her heart." Bellamy said softly before following Talia out.

I sat alone in my office thinking about everything I'd learned. True, there wasn't a lot about the curse, but knowing more about the man who laid the curse helped. I knew I could start piecing the puzzle together. I returned to my desk and began typing everything into my computer. If something did happen, I wanted my successor to be as far ahead as possible.