Once Scorched Always Safe

Demons, Black Magic Women, and Family Reunions. Text © 2024 NôvelDrama.Org.

Shadows Actorul

Rayne

Rayne sat on one of the four couches

es that are in a circle facing each other, a large coffee table sat in the middle of the circle of couches, Parker seated next to her. Morty and the two women sat on the couch directly opposite them. He looked slightly worried, which made her nervous. Morty had shown her many emotions over the years she had known him, but never worry. His eyes kept darting around the room as if he was looking for anywhere someone could hide.

Who was he hiding from?

Morty looked at Rayne, cleared his throat, then began his tale. “First let me introduce my two companions,” He turned to the older woman who seated on his left. “This is Astraca, she is the High Priestess of one of the original vampire clans of Europe, she is also my mother,”

Holy shit! That meant she was an ancient vampire, older than anyone in this bar. Heck, maybe even the entire country

He turned to the woman on his right, grabbed her hand, squeezing it once before letting gn, “This is Phandra, she was a priestess with my mother, untit a year ago, she is my sister.”

“Morty isn’t your original name, is it?” Parker asked after he had finished the introductions.

Morty nodded his head briefly, “No, when I came to this country ages ago, I felt it best to go by a more…… contemporary name. Something younger

than I am.”

“So, I have three Ancients sitting in my meeting room. Three Ancients that are running from something. That something being equally old if not older than the three of you?” Rayne swallowed hard.

“Yes, to the first part, and I am sorry that I never divulged that information to either of you on my true nature. As for the second and third points, no, we are not running from something as old or older than we are.” Morty sighed quietly, then stood to pace the room.

“Then what in the world could scare you to have you come here?” Parker watched Morty as he paced

*Demons and Dark Witches,” Astraea spoke quietly as she watched her son pace the room.

Well, fuck!

“Of all the places to hide from Demons and Dark Witches, why here? We are not even remotely strong enough to hide the three of you,” Rayne’s voice rose as she spoke, almost yelling at him as her fear level spiked at the thought of Dark Witches

“Because my dear, the witch who cast your wards, is older than you think she is.” Morty faced Rayne with a look that spoke of how little she knew of the supernatural world.

“Huh? How old is she exactly, and what does that mean for the wards?” Rayne stood and paced, and Morty sat again between his mother and sister,

“The older a witch is, the longer she has practiced her art, the stronger her spells will be. Arabella is one of the oldest White Witches in North America, coming here from Eastern Europe during the Civil War. She is far older than that, not as old as me and my family, but close. Her magic prostates all of what you think you know about witches. Her wards will protect you from far more than 1 hope you will ever come in contact with Morty locked to Rayne, “Sit please and I will explain why we have come here.”

“If you only need her magic, why come to me? Why not contact her directly Rayne sat once again next to Parker, who wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

“I know you, I trust you, and most of all 1 value your heart. You are innocent of hate, uncorrupted by greed, despite all you suffered, you are untouched. by darkness. Your soul is pure. You, Rae, give Arabella’s magic a boost like a pure white star.” He paused as her eyes went wide, her mouth dropped open, and a small, almost inaudible gasp left her speechless.

Woah.

“A year ago, near the temple that my mother and sister live at, a minor battle took place between demons. In the battles wake, the field they fought in was littered with camage. They disguised the demons as human as they fought, but when they died, they reverted to their natural forms, leaving the priests and priestess to shield and clean up their mess. As they cleaned the battlefield, une amongst the dead turned out to still be alive”

Demons, Black Magic Women, and Family Reunions

Parker looked like he wanted to say something, but stopped when Morty just looked at him. He shrugged his shoulders.

“There was a heated debate on whether to leave the demon to his fate or take him back to the temple to treat his wounds. They decided it to treat him then when he could leave on his own, they would send him on his way. Why did they not let him die of his wounds? Because the demons did nothing to the priestesses to harm them directly, so helping them could gain good favor. So, they took him in, cleaned his wounds, made him as comfortable as they could, then waited for him to heal. As time went on, my sister was one priestess that took care of him. They formed a hond of friendship, of trust, then it blossomed into more. As he healed, they talked, learned about each other,” He looked at his sister, gave her hand another gentle squeeze,

“We fell in love with each other, Trokis and 1, vampire and demon. Two species that are worlds apart.” Phaedra spoke for the first time, her voice quivering with unshed tears.

“When he was well enough to leave, I had to ask him to leave. For the safety of my temple, for the safety of my daughter, Trokis agreed to go, but he promised to come back one day.” Astraca looked up with red tears slipping from her eyes.

“Trokis came back months later, but he was followed by another demon, one who had watched them in secret while he healed. This demon coveted Phaedra wanted her for his own. He took her back to the demonic plane while Trokis was with my mother. Before we could get her back, she was forcefully married to the demon. Trokis was mortally injured when he rescued Phaedra from the demonic plane, dying at the temple.” Morty looked to his mother, handed her a handkerchief for her tears.

“This other demon did not let her go willingly, wants her back, I assume,” Rayne spoke quietly.

Yes. W

we are only asking for enough time to rest, meet Arabella, see if she can do what we need. Then we will leave and go somewhere safe.”

“She was coming here in a few days anyway I can see if she will come sooner.” Parker stood, pulled his phone out of his back pocket to make the call.

“This will be a good time to put the basement sanctuaries to good use. We finished the one here months ago, but have yet to need it. It is soundproof, warded, has its bathroom, and two small bedrooms. We hid the door in the kitchen downstairs. Only Parker and I know it is there.” Rayne stood, “Come let’s get you all down there and comfortable.”

She led them to the kitchen, sent Malcolm in his break, then led them to a blank space on the wall between two shelves. Rayne lifted her hand to one brick in the wall, pressed hard, then the wall popped open inwards, slinging to the right of the interior of the wall. It revealed a set of stone stairs that curved halfway down to the left. The basement was older than the building above and was one of the selling points when she and Parker bought it.

Rayne led them down the stairs, opened the thick metal door at the bottom of the stairs, the lights came on as she entered the primary room. The room held a small seating area with a couch, a love seat, a small table, and a wall–mounted tv. Bookshelves lined the walls, a small bar fully stocked, and on the wall next to the door was a security system. In the wall opposite the main door were two wooden doors that led to the small bedrooms Behind the small bar was the door to the full bathroom.

Parker and Rayne set this sanctuary up like a mini–hotel, having cost them a hefty sum to create. The walls were steel reinforced, soundproofed, and had wards embedded in all the materials other than the original foundation of the building. They wanted this place impenetrable, neither knew to what extent that they had truly succeeded until now.

Rayne turned to face her guests, watched their faces as they took in the room. “There are clothes of all sizes for both men and women in the small closet in the first bedroom. Food and water are in the mini–fridge below the bar. Parker has a delivery of synthetic blood coming in the moming, but there are a few packets already in there.”

“You have done more with this place than you described in our emails. I am very impressed.” Morty moved around to the bar to look over the stock while his mother and sister walked to one of the bedrooms door.

“Thank you for your help, Rayne,” Astraea whispered before she ushered Phaedra into the room, leaving Rayne and Morty alone, the soft click of the door closing the only sound in the room.

“You have put me at substantial risk Morty, but this is something Parker and I built this business for, so we shall see how well it works.”

“If Arabella can do what I believe she can, then we will leave as soon as she can cast her spell.”

What is it you want her to do?“–

“A permanent hiding spell for my mother, sister, and her unborn child.” Morty looked briefly to the closed room where his family was, then back to Rayne.

“She is pregnant? Trokis or the demon who took her?”

“Trokin’s. They ywed in secret before he left the temple. This marriage is void, but Mezzo, the demon who took her, will not accept

that

Demons, Black Magic Women, and Family Reunions

“So, does he think the child is his?”

“No, but he will make it his if he gets her back.”

“Alright, I am going to go check on Parker, then leave you for the night. If you need anything at all, call my office phone. If you want upstairs after we close for the morning, the panel by the door will open the upper door. I need to go back now before Malcolm comes back from his break.”

Thank you, my dear, I hope to leave before there is any blowback to you at all.”

Rayne nodded her head, then left to go back to her office. This night kept getting weirder and weirder. As she walked into her office the smell of French fries, melted cheese, and greasy meat hit her senses. Parker sat in the chair in front of her desk, chewing on his cheeseburger. He pointed to a plate that held the same meal as his. She walked to her chair, picked up the plate, and ate with a gusto of a hungry wolf. They ate in silence, neither having words to say about their current situation, both deep in their thoughts.

What additional troubles the rest of the night would hold neither wanted to know.

Hours passed as they both sat in her office, Parker working on his laptop he retrieved from his own office, while she went over their payroll. The bar was a fully legal business; they followed human law for ninety percent, the other ten percent was not on the books at all. She paid her employees in cash, more than what most humans made in a similar establishment like a bar. Rayne paid them well, all of them aware of the other part of the business

She was so engrossed in her task she didn’t notice that Parker had stood from his chair to come to stand behind her until she felt his hands rubbed the tense muscles of her neck. She let out a low moan as he dug in with his knuckles, closed her tired eyes as he leaned down and placed kissed along the side of her neck as he continued his massage. A break was a good idea, one he seemed to sense she needed and was determined to make her take.

Parker turned her chair around, pulled her up flush against him, then fused his mouth to hers in a searing kiss that had her gripping his arms to hold herself up. His hands went behind her to grip her ass, kneading each perfectly round cheek as he kisses her senseless. “I have been thinking for the last twenty minutes of peeling you out of these pants” He said as he broke the kiss, nibbling his way down her throat

Rayne let out a throaty chuckle, then a low moan as he nibbles her earlobe. She wrapped her arms around his neck, gave a small hop, then wrapped her legs around his waist. Parker wasted no time at all, walking them to the long L–shaped couch in the comer of her office, he lowered them both down on it as he resumed his kisses.

He slid one hand between their bodies to the snap of her jeans, unzipped them slowly, then peeled them from her as he kissed and nibbled his way down her body. They were interrupted before he had her jeans fully removed by the sound of a throat being cleared in the open doorway to her office. They both looked towards the door to glare at the person who stood there.

“I uh, hate to interrupt you guys, but there is a man downstairs that says he needs to talk to the Rayne,” Argyle said from the doorway.

“What now?” Parker growled as he stood to let Rayne pull her jeans back up.

“He looks homeless, skinny as fuck, and stinks to like three–day–old garbage, but boss, he has your eyes.”

Rayne jerked up from the couch, yanked her pants back into place, “That is not possible. I am the last of my immediate family.”

“He is a werewolf boss, but he didn’t ask for you by name, he asked for y off a meal or something. Jazmine went all blank–eyed as he came in, but refused to say what she saw. That pissed me right off. That woman just comes you as the owner. I think he is looking for work or something. Maybe to work in here and…..” He broke off when he realized he was ranting about his newly found second chance mate. “Sorry. Lwill get back outside I left the guy at the end of the bar near the door to the kitchen.”

“Thank you, Argyle.” Parker turned to Rayneas Argyle left them alone. “Well, who do you think he could be?

“I have no clue. I have an uncle from my mother’s side, but he wanted nothing to do with me when my parents died, so I very much doubt it would be him. I guess there is only one way to find out.” She took his hand for support, then made her way down to the main floor.

When she walked through the door to the bar, Rayne felt like the room was spinning as the man at the end of the bar turned to face her. His pale green eyes a minor image of her own, set–in a thin, age lined face. A thick scar running down from his temple to his chin on the left side of his face. He was wearing a dark cloth hoodie with the hood laid back to reveal his grimy brown hair. In her mind images flashed of how he looked the last day, she saw him fourteen years ago.

“Papa?” Her voice squeaked out of her as she felt the ground beneath her tilt, then the darkness swallowed her up as she passed out from the shock of seeing her father alive.