Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Willow POV

I sit in the chair beside Prissy’s bed. She is sleeping peacefully. She is injured because she was protecting my siblings. I hope our life is not always like this. How could anyone hurt a woman so kind and gentle? Prissy would never hurt a soul.

She moves very little. Her skin is pale. She looks so frail lying here in the bed. Lazarus has to be losing his mind. I will care for his mother while he figures out how to save my siblings.

Lazarus comes to the door. “Willow, I need you to notify the council. I cannot. The duty is yours,” he says.

“I understand,” I say.

He hands me a phone to make the call. “I will leave you to make the call,” he says.

He turns to leave. “No, wait. I may need you,” I say.

He looks at his mother and then at me. “It hurts me to see her this way,” he says.

“I know. At least your mother is alive,” I say.

“You are right, Willow. I should not abandon her. She needs me. I will stay while you make the call,” he says.

“I will stay with her while you two handle the council,” Toby says.

“Thank you, Toby,” I say.

I leave Toby to care for Prissy while Lazarus and I call the council. I follow my husband back to the library. He waves for two security guards to accompany us. I am already tired of security. It gives him peace if I am protected.

Lazarus opens the door to the library. He stops one of the security to stay outside. The other comes with us.

I sit down behind his desk. I dial the number for the council. An operator picks up.

“This is Willow. I need to speak with Rudan. It is an emergency,” I say.

“Yes, my queen. One moment,” she says.

I wait patiently. It only takes a moment for Rudan to come to the phone.

“Willow, we already know. We are on our way,” Rudan says.

I hang up the phone. “The council is on their way here,” I say.

“I need you to be safe, Willow. That is the most important thing to me right now,” Lazarus says.

“The children and your mother are far more important than me,” I say.

“My queen, you will always come first,” he says.

“Not in my eyes,” I say.

We sit silently in the library, waiting for the council. Lazarus has to be worried sick about his mother. I wish he would go be with her. I do not need him to babysit me.

Rudan and the council arrive within the hour. They are ushered into the library to meet with Lazarus and me. Rudan shakes Lazarus's hand. The other council members come into the library, each stopping to speak with Lazarus as they come in.

“My queen, your mother has taken the children. Lester is helping her,” Rudan says.

“Why in the hell would she turn to Lester after he killed my father?” I ask,

“Because she is bitter,” Rudan says.

“We had an agreement with her,” I scream.

“We know. We are all aware of the agreement with Luanne. Are you willing to let it go? Let her keep the children, or should we proceed with collecting them,” he asks.

“We cannot let her slide. She hurt Lazarus’s mother,” I say.

“That was not her; that was Lester and his men,” Rudan says.

“But it is her fault,” I say.

“I understand completely that you are very emotionally involved with this incident. We will take it under advisement,” Rudan says.

“Of course, I am emotionally involved. Lester killed my father and kidnapped my siblings. He attacked my mother-in-law,” I say.

Before Rudan can speak, Toby comes through the door. “Lester came for Prissy,” he says.

The council members and security run out of the library to see if they can catch Lester trying to take Prissy. I try to run behind them, but Lazarus stops me. “This is not for you to meddle in; let us handle it. You must stay here with Toby,” he says.

“Lazarus, do not treat me as a child,” I say.

He stops. “You must understand your position; please stay here with Toby,” Lazarus says softly.

I nod in agreement. I will stay behind since I am so damn important. I do not like it one bit. If Toby could not protect Prissy, how will he save me? Why did Toby leave her with Lester? Why did they not question any of this?

“My queen, are you okay?” Toby asks.

“Yes, I am a little flustered,” I say.

“Why exactly are you so flustered,” Toby says.

“I am worried, that is all. Maybe flustered was the wrong word. I am worried about Prissy and the children,” I say.

“The children are with their mother,” he says.

“Not exactly; they do not all belong to her. She only wants them to extort money from us,” I say.

“Are you sure you are not a little bit of a bitch about the situation,” Toby says.

I knew it. Toby is involved with Luanne somehow. “Why would you say that?” I ask.

“Children need their mother,” Toby says.

“Yes, they do, Toby. They also need to be protected from evil bitches like her,” I say firmly.

Toby looks back to the door. Lazarus, come back, please hurry. Toby turns his attention to me. “We do not need hybrids brought into this world, and we do not need a fairy queen. You must die,” Toby says.

Toby begins running toward me. He pounces on me, throwing me to the ground. He straddles his legs around me, pinning me to the ground. His hands around my neck, choking the life out of me. “I want to feel the life leave your body,” he says.

Toby’s fangs make their appearance to feed on me as I die on the floor. He opens his mouth wide and starts toward my throat. He releases his hands so he can destroy my neck with his sharp fangs. He pierces the skin of my neck. He sinks his fangs deep into my neck. I feel faint. Everything is spinning.

I hear Lazarus pulling Toby off of me. I hear a shot. They shot him. I can feel blood gushing from my neck and onto the floor. Lazarus is at my side. I can feel him raising me from the ground. “You have to drink my blood, Willow. It will heal you,” he says.

He forces his wrist into my mouth. I begin drinking it. The taste is not what I expected. I start to feel better. The blood stops gushing from my neck.

“She is fine,” Lazarus says to everyone.

I raise my head. “Is Prissy okay?” I ask.

“Yes, no one was there. Lester was not here. Toby wanted to get you alone,” he says.

“Do you think he helped Luanne take the children?” I ask.

“Probably, but we will never know. He is dead. The bullet the council shot him with is lethal to vampires,” Lazarus says.

“I am happy Prissy is okay,” I say.

“I am going to take you upstairs to rest,” Lazarus says.

“No, I need to know what the council has decided,” I say.

“Rudan, has a decision been made?” Lazarus asks.

“Yes, obviously, the threat is greater than we thought. I will consult with the vampire council. We have to get Lester and Luanne under control. The wedding will go forward no matter what,” Rudan says.

“Good, then I expect everyone here tomorrow night,” I say.

Lazarus picks me up. He carries me out of the room. My head pressed against his chest, cradled in his arms, I feel safe. In his arms is the only place I feel safe. He opens the door to our bedroom. He carries me to bed. He slips my blood-soaked clothing off of me. I feel lifeless and worried.

“I will get you something else to sleep in,” Lazarus says.

“No, just let me be,” I say. I curl up under the covers in only my panties.

“I will not leave you again,” Lazarus says.

“You need to check on your mother,” I say.

“She is awake and sassy. Trust me; she does not want us fussing over her,” Lazarus says.

“Too bad, I plan to make a fuss over her even if she does not like it,” I say.

“Me too,” Lazarus says.

“Lay with me, so I know I am safe,” I say.

Lazarus removes his clothes. He climbs into bed with me. Lazarus wraps his arms around me. He kisses the back of my head and then my shoulder. He tucks the covers around me tightly. He holds me until I fall asleep.