The Scroll of Osiris: An Eva & Lilura Novel

Chapter 4 Lilura

Chapter 4 Lilura 

I maybe had too much to drink. My head hurt as if someone had beat me with a baseball bat. I stumbled my way out to Eva’s living room where she was finishing a phone call.

“Please tell me you have actual human food in your fridge,” I asked as I meandered over to her refrigerator. She stood and followed me to her kitchen.

“There is probably enough to make some breakfast.” She said distractedly. Most witches actively avoided vampires, but I hadn’t been like most witches. I firmly believed in cultivating relationships among the supernaturals. More times than I could count I had been greatly appreciative of my friendship with Eva. 

I started pulling out eggs and some bread to throw together a quick breakfast.

“You seem distracted. What’s going on?” I inquired. Eva sat on a stool at the kitchen island and put her chin in her hands. If you didn’t know any better you couldn’t tell that she was fast approaching 800 years old. 

“I just received a call about the autopsy on that dead vampire. He was poisoned. Some sort of paralytic agent and belladonna.” She exhaled heavily. I stopped making my eggs to look at her.

“Belladonna? That’s unusual to use against a vampire. Any ideas as to who the murderer is?” I asked, resuming my cooking.

“Not yet. Everyone keeps blaming the werewolves, but the more I investigate the less I feel a supernatural is to blame.” Eva replied as she got down a plate for me to put my breakfast on.

“Really? You think a human could be to blame?” I questioned. Eva had a point though. The murder of the vampire and even the murder of Sadie weren’t the typical deaths for witches of vampires. I also didn’t know what type of human could do such things. There was something odd about all this. My stomach did a flip, but it wasn’t because of my hangover. I took a distracted bite of scrambled egg. 

“I honestly don’t know, but I have every intention of finding out.” Eva declared. At that moment I could almost see what no one else could. The determination of an 800-year-old vampire that had seen the rise and fall of dominions and dynasties. The type of vampire that may have been a part of those fallen kingdoms. 

“Well if you need my help let me know,” I said lamely, finishing my plate. Eva stared into the distance and tapped her chin with her finger obviously deep in thought and not completely listening to me. 

“Hey, I need to do a bit of shopping. How about you come along and help me pick something out and get your mind clear.” I suggested. Eva looked up as if finally remembering I was there. I gave her a warm understanding smile.

“Actually, that sounds wonderful. Plus I can pick something out for the club tonight and save you from wearing...whatever it is you were planning on wearing.” Eva said with a wry smile. I looked down at my ripped white tee and stained jeans. I smiled back and nodded in agreement.

“Yeah...that’s probably a good idea.” I laughed.

We went to several high-end stores. I was not poor by no means but I definitely did not have vampire money. I would have never thought to step foot in the stores we went to. However, Eva was an expert shopper and knew exactly the style that fit perfectly. We left three different stores with several bags. 

“Wow, Lilu, you look so amazing!” Eva exclaimed, her hands clapping together. It was not anything I would have picked out for myself, but looking in the mirror I had to admit, I looked pretty good. Eva had picked out a tight, short emerald green sequined dress. The dress looked almost black but when the light caught it just right the dark green shined bright. It definitely complimented my pale pink skin and my red curly hair that hung loose around my shoulders.  

Eva looked stunning as well. She was in a slinky tight black dress. The back was open and it came up short around the upper parts of her thighs. Her midnight black hair was pulled into a loose wrap atop her head with tendrils hanging about her face. She looked like the perfect vampire. She wouldn’t need her compulsion tonight to persuade any man. Just one wink with her big blue eyes would do the trick.

I had tried to do my own persuading and tried to talk Eva into letting me wear my dirty white sneakers. This was apparently appalling to Eva and she shoved a pair of strappy black stilettos into my hands. I begrudgingly strapped them on. Eva wore her own pair of blood-red stiletto pumps. 

“Well, we look absolutely incredible! Ready to go kill it at Aura?” Eva asked, placing her cellphone in a shiny red clutch purse. I took one last glance in the mirror. Eva had forced makeup on my face, but with expert skill. My eyes were a glowing blue like indigo or violets. 

We drove Eva’s vehicle to the club for obvious reasons. My truck, as beaten and dirty as it was, would be reason enough alone to keep us from getting into the club. 

The word Aura was written in neon cursive at the entrance of what appeared to be an ordinary brick building.

“Wow, look at that line! We'll never get in before dawn.” I groaned. A long line of young and scantily clad men and women snaked around the building. 

“Oh my darling Lilu, I do not wait in lines. We do not wait in lines. Plus my clan owns this club.” Eva said haughty. She slid out of her car with the grace only capable of a vampire. I followed in a much less graceful fashion. 

“So is there some super-secret vampire password, or a secret entrance?” I asked excitedly. I gave Eva a wide smile. She shook her head.

“Your idea of my world is so misguided and based on some very old stereotypes.” Eva chuckled. 

“Way to ruin my fun,” I muttered with fake annoyance. We both were laughing as we walked up to the bouncer at the front. He was a vampire, a very large one at that. He was dressed in a stereotypical black shirt and pants.

“And you said my stereotypes were outdated,” I whispered to Eva as we walked toward the vampire.

“Good evening Klaus.” Eva chimed in a musical soft voice. He silently stepped aside and Eva and I walked passed into the club.

“He totally looks like a Klaus,” I whispered into Eva’s ear. She giggled.

As we moved farther into the dark hallway the room opened up to a larger two-s********m lit with moving lights of red and purple. The music was so loud you could feel it pulsing through the bottom of your shoes and ringing in your ears. 

“If this doesn’t clear your head I don’t know what will,” Eva yelled into my ear over the music. I nodded in agreement.

We made our way to the ground floor to the mass of moving and dancing bodies. We shoved our way into the middle of the horde. The crowd was a collection of humans, vampires, werewolves, witches, and surprisingly a few Fae. 

Eva was an expert dancer. She moved with a grace and style that had been cultivated over centuries. I had only worked on my dance moves over twenty-six years, so there was an obvious difference. However, Eva never made me feel awkward or idiotic. I danced with my whole heart and let go of the prospect of any eyes that may have been on me. 

The sweat was beginning to run down my forehead and into my eyes. I tapped Eva’s shoulder. She was dancing with a handsome and young human with short blue hair. She turned to me. I pointed to the tables tucked away into the corners of the club. She nodded and returned to dancing with the man.

I slipped through the crowd as easily as possible. I found an empty booth and slid in. A waiter walked by and I ordered water. 

“You’re prettier than he described. Maybe it’s makeup?” said a smooth deep voice. I looked up to the face of a Fae man. He was glamoured I could tell by the shimmering edges of his body. As a witch, you could easily see past the glamour and I saw that his skin was a light green and his hair was a long black tangled mess of vines. He was a massive man and as he sat next to me the booth groaned against his weight.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” I inquired, as I scooted a little further away from him. 

“My apologies, I’m Aeden, of the Seelie court. I have heard many things about you.” He explained. His eyes glinted mischievously. The heat in my hands warned me of danger. I should tread carefully around this Fae.

“How exactly have you heard about me?” I asked. A wicked smile appeared on his lips. 

“You may know him? Another such as myself, by the name Tyr. He has spoken of you.” He leaned closer and winked. 

“Oh yes, I am familiar,” I said simply. I did not want to give a strange Fae any more information. His green eyes twinkled.

“You are a wise one Lilura. I wish you all the luck. There’s nothing more dangerous than the affections of a Fae.” Aeden winked and before I could respond he slid out of the booth and disappeared into the mix of people. I was half tempted to follow the Fae and demand answers but as I was getting out of the booth the sounds of a fight reached my ears. 

I pushed my way back through the melee of humans and supernaturals. As I drew closer I heard the distinct snarling of a wolf. 

“You killed him you f*****g dog! You killed my mate!” A woman was screaming. I could see the altercation now. A circle of people had surrounded them. A vampire woman dressed in a tattered black shirt and jeans. Her brown hair was loose and a tangled mess as if she hadn’t brushed it in a while. Her lips were drawn back in a snarl, and her eyes were murderous. The werewolf she was confronting was young, no more than twenty years old. He was a skinny bronze haired boy, but if he was a werewolf then I knew he was stronger than he looked. He looked stunned at the vampire woman, as if he wasn’t quite comprehending what was going on.

“I didn’t kill Sergio! I didn’t, I swear! He was my friend and I wouldn’t have hurt him!” The werewolf boy cried. He looked around hoping someone would step in and help. The vampire snarled again.

“Vampires and werewolves are not friends!” She screamed.

“You killed him I know it! I smelt you all over him!” She yelled and then lunged for the werewolf. Eva was there like a lightning bolt standing between the two. She grabbed the woman firmly by the shoulders. I pushed my way to the werewolf boy who was already starting to shift. I placed a hand tightly on his shoulder. 

“Adrianna! You have to stop this. You’re making a scene. There are humans here.” Eva scolded her voice low and authoritative. Adrianna wasn’t ready to back down and tried to shove past Eva but Eva was stronger and held her grip. I turned my attention to the werewolf.

“You’re changing, you need to get out of here,” I ordered already trying to push him through the crowd. As we turned our backs, I wasn’t sure what happened but the boy was tackled to the ground. Adrianna was on top of the boy tearing at his arms as they blocked his face. The boy was mid-shift and he reached out a clawed hand and raked it across the vampire's face. She screamed and clutched her face as dark red blood started to seep from the lacerations of her face. With her distracted, the boy threw her off with enough force to send her across the dance floor. 

“Everyone out!” Eva yelled to the crowd. Vampires and werewolves were surging toward the doors. A few vampires had the sense to grab some of the humans and start using their compulsion to remove their memories. The boy was on his feet now, dark brown fur had erupted from his skin and eyes were large and luminous yellow. He was crouched and ready to pounce on the vampire as she still was trying to cover her bleeding face. 

I grabbed the werewolf’s arm but in this form, he was too strong. He threw me off with nothing more than a shrug and I went flying across the room into a table. My feet went over my head and I landed awkwardly on the ground. In the next second, the vampire and werewolf had collided in the middle of the dance floor. They were tearing and biting like wild animals. They were wild animals, and if they weren’t stopped they would kill each other. 

I got to my feet and saw Eva launching herself at the fighting beasts. She grabbed a fistful of Adrianna’s hair and wrapped a pale strong arm around her neck, yanking her off the werewolf. They lost their balance and stumbled to the floor but Eva kept her grip. The werewolf was now fully changed and blood dripped from his jowls. He was ready to lunge again. This time though, Eva would be right in the middle of the brawl. 

I wasn’t physically strong enough to stop a fully changed werewolf, but I did have magic on my side. I didn’t know what I was going to do exactly but I knew it was going to take all the energy I had. The feeling started in my toes and then I felt my whole body was surging with energy, white-hot, and painful. I raised my hands palms up and blue flames erupted. I didn’t want to kill the werewolf but he needed to be stopped. I manipulated the flames into a short spear. My whole body was on fire and I knew I couldn’t keep this going for much longer. I threw the spear aiming for the hind leg of the werewolf, I needed only to stop him not kill him. The spear flew with fiery precision and landed on my target. The wolf gave out a pained howl as the spear began to burn his hide. He spun his head toward the spear trying to tear it out. While focused on that I ran to Eva who had knocked out Adrianna who was now unconscious on the floor. 

“Are you alright?” Eva asked a worried expression on her face.

“Yeah, I’m fine…” I started but then exhaustion hit me like a wave and I collapsed into blackness. 

I woke with a dizziness and headache worse than the morning before. 

“Ouch.” I moaned. I rolled to my stomach and buried my face in pillows. Pillows? I suddenly had no idea where I was. My head popped up to examine the room. A stabbing pain shot up through the back of my head. I blinked to get used to the light. I recognized the room as Eva’s. Somehow she had dragged me back to her apartment.

“Hey, you should be resting. You did a number on yourself draining all your energy like that.” Eva chided as she walked into the room. She sat on the edge of the bed and gave me a reproving look.

“Yeah, not my smartest idea ever,” I mumbled and sat up still rubbing my aching head. 

“Well, it worked. If you hadn’t that wolf would have tried to tear our throats out.” Eva explained. She handed me hot tea. I took it and wrapped my hands around the cup to warm them. I felt as if all the heat had left my body.

“ I hope he wasn’t hurt too bad. I was just trying to stop him. I didn’t even know I could do that.” I said astonished now that I thought back. Eva gave me a quizzical look.

“You haven’t don’t that before? Eva inquired.

“No, never. I haven’t seen another witch do that come to think of it.” I explained. Eva nodded but her blue eyes were deep in thought. She stayed silent.

“So what happened after I passed out?” I asked, taking a sip of tea. Eva turned toward me, her secret thoughts distant.

“Well after you passed out, I ordered Klaus to take Adrianna back to the clan to speak with Marcus. Then the werewolves took the boy home and fixed him up there.” Eva described. 

“At least it was handled without anyone dying. So did her mate really die? What happened?” I asked. It was devastating for a vampire to lose their mates. From what I understood it was like its own death to suffer that loss. I had never asked Eva if she had experienced such a loss, but sometimes I caught her staring off with a sad look on her face. 800 years boasted many opportunities for heartbreak and I was sure Eva had her fair share. 

“Her mate was killed. Sergio. It was like Andrew’s murder. The fangs were missing. This time though, his throat had been cut and he had bled out before they were removed. His body was already taken for autopsy.” Eva explained. Her eyes were sad as if remembering something.

“The same motive then as the last one. This means there is one killer right?” I ventured. Eva shook her head.

“Not necessarily. Could be a group. Either way, the body count is racking up.” Eva said, her lips thinning into a hard line. I finished my cup of tea in silence, both of us deep in thought. 

“I’m sorry this is going on right now. You must be so overwhelmed. If I can do anything please let me know.” I reassured Eva. She pulled me into a hug.

“Thanks, Lilu, but no need to burden you with this sad vampire business.” She said, pulling away. 

“Okay well if you change your mind let me know. In the meantime, I should probably head home. Someone needs to feed the feral cats.” I said grinning. 

“Of course,” Eva said simply and left the room to let me get dressed.

As much as I enjoyed spending time in the city with Eva, I always enjoyed coming home. I had just thrown off my shoes and plopped on the couch when my cell phone rang. That same pinching in my stomach as before returned. I hesitated to answer it for fear of more bad news.

“Hello,” I said.

“Lilura, it’s Jess.” Jess paused.

“There’s been another witch murdered,” Jess muttered. My body turned cold again, a feeling of being frozen.

“Who was it,” I asked, although that whisper from before had already told me Mary-Beth. 

“Mary-Beth,” Jess answered. I took in a sharp breath.

“Same thing as Sadie,” I asked coldly. 

“Yes. Sort of. Only her right hand was missing, and her throat had been slit.” Jess added. So the witches had a killer. My heartfelt heavy and I suddenly felt the exhausting weight of these events. 

“Jess, send her body to the headquarters. I’ll meet you there.” I commanded. I begrudgingly stuffed my feet back into my sneakers and headed back to my truck. It had been a whirlwind these last few days and I had begun to feel the toll on my body and soul. As I threw open my door small flowers fluttered to my feet. Tears pricked at my eyes. Even in the midst of all this madness, they were still there. A constant reassurance in all this unknown.