Forget Me Book Two: Forget Me, #2

By Odette C. Bell

I've been thrown off the deep end. Literally.
There's no messing with Stafford and his men. They're out to kill me. Or worse – trap me to use me for their foul desires.
I'll have to do everything to stay out of their way. That'll only lead me into Belford's arms. And that's far worse than it sounds.

…

Forget Me follows a witch with the power to make anyone forget her as she fights for freedom from any and all who'll use her. If you love urban fantasies that fight destiny with action and guts, grab Forget Me Book Two today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Odette C. Bell
• Release date: Apr 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393461913

Book preview

1

Just as my hair tumbled around me, my eyes opened wide, and my top fanned around my middle, a hand snaked out. It didn’t belong to the gargoyle. It locked around my arm and held me in place. I smashed against the side of the roof. But importantly, I did not plummet to my death.

I looked up. And there, above me, was Belford. His gaze was back – that endless quality, that heat, that power, that promise.

Belford, Stafford roared from behind him. Mark, stop him.

The gargoyle who’d thrown me off the roof grunted and threw himself forward. He smashed into Belford’s side, but Belford wasn’t about to take that lying down.

No. Belford was about to show the inherent power of one of the strongest vampires in the world. He did nothing but flick his hand to the side. He opened his fingers wide, and he collared Mark. Mark had a chance to splutter, then Belford threw him against the side of the railing. It was such a strong move, Mark cracked the concrete. He managed to scramble back before he inadvertently nosedived off the roof.

Belford, Stafford screamed with all his might. Get her in here – get her in here, he practically shrieked.

I had no idea who he was talking about. But whoever it was, it had to be something to do with how Stafford was controlling Belford. Because I was now certain of the fact that he was.

I couldn’t control my expression as I stared up at Belford. I knew exactly what my eyes conveyed. Hope, and this deep need for him to save me. But there was a limit to what he could do.

More gargoyles rushed onto the roof. Belford didn’t pull me up. Instead, in a moment that would be driven into my body and soul, he jumped off the roof with me.

I heard Stafford scream. The shriek pitched over the entire city. It was a surprise it didn’t take to the roots of this old Art Deco hotel and send it crumbling to the street below.

But who cared about the hotel? I’d just been thrown off the roof by a vampire.

By the time I screamed, we’d already fallen several floors. I let out a shriek, but Belford didn’t let go of my hand. He tightened his grip around it and pulled me in. As my clothes and hair fluttered around me, whipping my face and hips and cheeks, he locked a hand over my shoulder and whispered in my ear, Hold on.

Don’t get me wrong, Belford’s presence could do a lot to me, but you wouldn’t think it would be able to stop me from shrieking for my life as I was pushed into freefall off the side of a tall building. You’d be wrong. As soon as he whispered those words, I pressed my lips together. I closed my eyes. I waited for the end. I told myself this wouldn’t be such a bad way to go. With his warm, embracing grip around me, I could think of something worse.

We reached the street. I waited to be splattered like a pancake. But I wasn’t. Just before we smashed into it, Belford uttered some spell under his breath. I felt power surge from him. I knew it, because I had experienced it only earlier tonight. It was the indomitable force of his blood. It absolutely raged around him, the magic that was always within him catapulting high and causing this force field to surround us. As we smashed into the street, it cracked the pavement for several meters around and even blew the glass out of a nearby car, but it didn’t blow our brains out in the process.

I let out a delayed scream. It was half my vocal volume. It barely made it out of my throat.

He hadn’t removed his arms from around me. I could hear him breathing in my ear.

I finally pulled away. I stared at him. What?

It felt like I was staring at a different vampire. This wasn’t the kind, gentle Belford I was so used to. Neither was this the pushover who kept giving Stafford whatever he wanted. There was this look in Belford’s eyes. It was the look I kept seeing around town displayed on his posters. It was the look you got whenever you searched for him on the Internet. It was the look of a vampire who knew exactly what he was worth and what he could do.

Come on, he hissed. He put me down.

I wanted to cling to his neck, but he shifted my grip. He grabbed me by the hand.

While it was relatively late-ish in the evening, and it was probably 10:30 already, there were still cars around. Not including the one that now had no windshield, several turned down the street. At the sight of the cracked pavement, they abruptly stopped.

But that just gave the gargoyles a clear view of us as they streamed out of the front of that hotel.

Come on, Belford snapped once more.

He yanked me all the way across the other side of the street. I knew he wasn’t moving as fast as he could. But I was having a little trouble running right now. I’d just been thrown off a building. But I’d survived in his arms. And his arms – and the man entirely – were completely different right now.

I caught sight of him – of the side of his face, of his shadow, heck, even of the effect he had on the world around him. As we ran down the opposite street and reached the laneway, I could see that he was larger than life.

What… is happening to you? Is this just your magic?

I won’t be manipulated again, he growled. There was a monotonous quality to it, especially as he repeated it once, twice, then three times. It was like he was trying to remember something.

What do you mean manipulated? What’s happening to you?

I must not be manipulated again. I mustn’t allow them to take more blood. His voice shook now.

… Blood? What are you talking about?

They’re harvesting from me. I don’t…. He stopped speaking. I thought he’d stop running, too, because he slowed down.

It was my turn to grab his hand harder and pull him along. Maybe there was something about the movement, because he started repeating his mantra again, and all too soon, he pushed into a steady sprint without my assistance.

What’s happening to you, Belford? I asked breathlessly.

I’m the one who should be asking the questions. Who are you? Why were you there? Did you follow me?

I opened my mouth to tell him to forget all that stuff, but something told me not to. It was Harry’s disembodied voice. He’d told me that if only I started trusting people, I wouldn’t have to manipulate them into telling me the truth.

Answer the question, Cynthia, he said. His voice was still hard. Make no mistake, he was still in full vampire mode, but there was no accusation or anger there.

Yeah, I followed you, I whispered.

Why?

Because I need to know what’s going on.

Who do you work for?

I don’t know what you mean.

Who do you work for? It can’t be Stafford. It must be one of my other enemies.

… Sorry, Stafford is your enemy? You spend most of your time telling me that he’s your trusted friend – that he’s one of the best people in town.

I’ve never spoken to you before about Stafford.

I held my tongue.

And he’s not the best man in town, he growled. He….

He what?

He, Belford tried again, but whatever he wanted to say, he couldn’t spit it out.

Belford?

I can’t force my way past the spell, he muttered, a note of disbelief in his voice.

What spell?

He scratched his head. His fingers were hard. He dragged red lines down the side of his temple.

I freaked out. Has someone made you forget? I managed to say someone instead of myself. But if Belford was good at reading emotions, he would realize this question was personal.

It’s not a forget spell. It’s a—

It’s what?

He suddenly roared. He sounded exactly like a vampire – one on the hunt. If he weren’t simultaneously holding my hand with a tight yet gentle grip, I would’ve freaked out.

I can’t force my way past the spell. I can’t even utter what it is.

Is it the harpoon curse?

As we made it down the end of the laneway, onto another street, then down another laneway, he stared at me. How do you know about the harpoon curse? His voice contorted in fear.

I found out about it, I whispered. You—

It is your turn to answer my questions. How do you know about the harpoon curse?

I’m…. The words I am the forget-me witch were on my lips. I was seconds away from saying them. I couldn’t push them out, though. Yet I had to. Harry’s warning blared louder in my ears. If only I found someone to trust, things would change. I would be able to use my powers less. It would be hard to trust. But….

What if I got it wrong? Belford had already proven himself untrustworthy. He was giving Stafford those USB sticks, for God’s sake.

Even as we ran, he turned to me and faced me. Notwithstanding his sharp gaze, I knew he was locking his formidable vampire senses on me, anyway. It would be hard as hell to lie to him.

I was thrown into this world, okay? I said honestly. Heck, it was the realist statement I’d made in a long time. A part of me was still reeling. Only last week, I’d been a normal woman – with a normal life ahead of her. Now I couldn’t plan more than several hours ahead. Everything kept changing. It was like I was standing on wet sand that was sinking underneath my feet.

I need specifics. How did you find out about the harpoon curse?

You… I learned it from you. That was not a lie, and hopefully it would pass his lie detection net.

Sure enough, as he sniffed, it didn’t immediately look as if he was picking anything up.

But he was obviously also a consummate interrogator. I need the full story. How did you find out from me? Have you been spying on me?

I closed my eyes, even though I was still running. Yeah, I guess you can say I’ve been spying on you.

Why?

I’m not your enemy, I muttered.

His sharp gaze was still on me. Heck, I thought it was even harder than I’d ever seen it – and that was saying something. Ever since he’d snapped in Stafford’s presence and become this hard-core vampire, every one of his looks could’ve cut through steel. I don’t think you’re my enemy, Cynthia, but I know you’re holding back something. Now what is it?

I looked at him again. Could I utter what I had to? I’m the forget-me witch. I’ve been lying to you. I’ve been driving holes through your head.

I opened my mouth, but that’s when a car suddenly cut in front of us. We’d reached the main road. We’d been running across it, but now an SUV barreled toward us.

Belford wasted no time in putting himself between me and it. He also didn’t dart out of the way of the car’s erratic path. Instead, he thrust toward it, not away.

Belford? I shrieked with all my heart.

The car struck him. I saw the front smash up. I thought Belford would be thrown high into the air or pulled under the wheels. My heart exploded.

Belford, I shrieked again.

But the car didn’t move the vampire – the vampire moved the car. Sorry, the correct descriptor there was that the vampire destroyed the car. The whole front end of it smashed in as if it had just played chicken with a semi. The sound of the crash blasted through the street. I jolted back and fell to my knees.

I shoved up.

Belford was still standing there. He pulled himself out of the wreckage. He staggered a little. He was cut down his side. Belford, I screamed. I went to grab his arm.

He pulled away from me. A few splatters of his blood had gotten on the front of the car. He wiped them off. One dashed onto his shoe, and he cleaned it with his thumb.

Then, without a word, without an acknowledgment of what had just happened, he grabbed my arm again. He pulled me to the side toward the dark, small laneway. It was narrow enough that a large car like that wouldn’t be able to fit through.

As we ran, I turned my head around and stared at him, my hair bouncing around with every frantic step. How… how the hell was that possible? You just got hit by a speeding vehicle, I spluttered through every single word.

I am an ancestral Belford. I am one of the strongest vampires in the world. I thought that was a well-known fact?

I stared at him, completely flabbergasted. I just couldn’t make sense of the man I’d met earlier – the kind but weak Belford – compared to this vampire. Belford right now looked like he could take on an army.

Why are you looking at me like that? he snapped.

Because you’ve changed. You seem like a completely different person.

I barely know you. How would you know I seem like a completely different person?

Every time I came up against the question of whether to tell him the truth, my defenses became weakened.

I didn’t know what to do. It was clear something was going on with him. He’d changed. And Stafford had lost control over him. If I told Belford the truth….

We reached a dumpster. He shoved on top of it. He turned around and offered me a hand.

What are you doing? I spluttered.

Time to take this fight up onto the rooftops. It’ll be easier to run there.

It will? I stammered. I’m not agile.

You’re a witch. I can feel your power. You clearly have magic. You can use it to assist your body—

I’m not like that.

But I am.

He grabbed my hand. He pulled me up onto the dumpster. I came right up against his chest. I stared into his eyes. I caught that same enduring look, but the power behind it was so different. The Belford I usually spoke to was like a trickle of water. This guy was like a raging torrent.

I had a chance to appreciate his chiseled abs before he pressed me against his chest with one arm, then launched up the wall. It was brick, and he managed to somehow climb it, just with his feet and one