61 You Would Do Well Not To Cross Me

"You—!" She couldn't even come up with anything horrible enough to say to this monster.

"Now, now. I would advise against saying anything that would anger me," Dorian chided. "I do hold the life of the sweet sleeping child on the bed in my hands. And yours, to be perfectly honest though it would be a tragic waste to kill someone with such interesting powers.

"I imagine that worthless excuse for a vampire Ash Mayhew told you about the fate of his pathetic little coven for you to have such a reaction. You already know what I am capable of so you would do well not to cross me."

Ruby seethed silently. He had a point. Doing anything to piss him off would be asking for instant death. She would have to go along with what he wanted but there had to be some room for negotiation here.

"What do you want from me?" she demanded. "I'll have you know that I won't cooperate unless you accept my terms."

The vampire let out a dry laugh. "You think you have any bargaining power here at all? You are sorely mistaken."

"I don't want much. All I ask is that I am allowed to raise Flora in as normal an environment as possible and that you adhere to the original hundred years of the contract you proposed with my uncle."

Dorian raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is that all? What do you constitute as 'normal' to raise a child?"

Was he actually listening to her? This might be Ruby's only chance to get any leeway; she couldn't say the wrong thing here and lose the opportunity to have any degree of control over the situation.

"As similar to her home as possible," she said calmly. "She would need toys, books, children's television programming, and be allowed to go outside in nature so she can practice her powers."

The vampire scowled. "Asking for her to go outside is too much. What if she escapes?"

"Have guards and use ankle weights so she can't fly away! Earth fairies have to be able to access nature or they wither away. She's just a baby; if you hinder her growth I won't cooperate with you."

Ruby was quick to add, "But if you do as I request I will summon all the jewels you want in the next hundred years without a single complaint. Your coven will be able to live off those riches for decades after you let us go."

"I never said anything about allowing you to leave after a hundred years. That deal was with your traitorous snake of an uncle who thought he could steal money from me, breach a promise, and run away," Dorian said sharply. "I have not extended the same courtesy to you."

She wanted to scream. She should have expected as much from someone who would kill an entire coven out of the blue.

"If you do not agree to my terms, I will kill her and then myself because it would be better for an earth fairy to die than be locked inside all the time. Then you won't get anything that you want at all. I said before I will do as you wish without complaint if you agree to my rather simple terms.

"I am signing away my life and the life of an innocent baby here so I suggest you do not take my involvement in the matter lightly. I will not be your slave but I will make a contract with you personally."

Dorian gave her a wicked grin where his fangs glinted dangerously. "You have an awful lot of nerve for someone in your position. However, I am feeling generous today so I will do as you ask."

He cast a spell and a glowing red piece of parchment appeared. He held it out for Ruby to read and she saw that it included all of the terms she gave in exchange for her services.

She and Flora would not be harmed (though ankle weights would be required at all times so they couldn't fly away). In return, she would use her powers whenever Dorian told her to during the next hundred years.

It was fairly straightforward and there were no hidden clauses. Ruby looked up and grimly said she would sign.

There were two circles at the bottom of the parchment labeled Party A and Party B. Dorian pricked his thumb with his fang and let a single droplet of blood fall in the circle marked Party A.

He snatched her hand and did the same thing with her thumb so a drop fell in Party B's circle. The entire contract glowed red before the parchment rolled itself up and vanished in a flash of light.

"There. You work exclusively for me for the next century, Ruby Gardner. Lael! Bring in the ankle weights! We need to leave," Dorian said with authority.

Another vampire snapped the ankle weights on and they felt even worse than when she had to walk for a couple weeks instead of hover. Would she and Flora really not be able to fly at all for the next century? What had she gotten herself into?

Ruby picked up the sleeping little fairy and her heart ached when she saw the bruises already forming on her ankles around the weights. There had to be some sort of bruise paste she could make out of plants once they got settled to help with this problem.

She knew plants like the back of her hand. All it would take was finding the right ones.

She got into a black van that already held a small group of vampires and allowed herself to be driven to a small airfield nearby. That private plane would take them back to the Cromwells' lair.

As the ground below them got progressively smaller, her heart twisted into knots. She wished she could tell Ash how sorry she was to sell herself to his enemy in order to save her cousin and how much she wished they could have spent more time together. Unfortunately, she wouldn't get the chance.