Free Love Your Entity by Cat Devon

eighty-eight.
    But the moment his years of slavery were done, Voz told him the truth. That Adele had died from the Spanish influenza of 1918 that had killed millions and that Voz had been holding her soul in limbo until now.
    Ronan had nearly torn Voz’s throat open, not caring that doing so would kill him and all the others that Voz had turned, not caring that he probably had no chance of killing him because the Master’s powers were so strong. Indeed, upon hearing Ronan’s feral growl, Voz had waved his hand and sent Ronan crashing into the stone wall of his castle in Romania.
    “You can’t hurt me,” Voz had said, “but even if you could, doing so would insure your sister’s soul will never be saved. I’m the only one who can save her. And I will if you just do one little favor for me.”
    Ronan had wiped away the blood trickling from his temple. “What do you want?”
    “A key.”
    “What kind of key? To what?”
    “It’s in that family house of yours. That’s all you need to know. Oh, and the fact that you have until midnight on Valentine’s Day to find it. If you do, then I will free your sister’s soul.”
    “And if not?”
    “Then you will return to being an indentured vampire.”
    “For another hundred years?”
    Voz had laughed. “No, for all eternity.”
    “How do I know you will keep your end of the bargain?”
    Voz put his hand on the family coat of arms carved into the stone wall of his castle, the crest right above Ronan’s head. “I swear it on my family’s honor.”
    Voz might be devious and evil at times, but he did value his family’s honor. He’d been turned during the Crusades and valued loyalty. He didn’t care whether it was given willingly or not.
    “Remember, I let you end your indenture early because of good behavior,” Voz had said.
    “Big deal. You freed me three years early.”
    “It is a big deal,” Voz said. “Do you accept my offer?”
    Ronan had no choice but to agree. Their conversation had taken place a few weeks ago, yet the emotions still roiled deeply within his gut. Hatred, betrayal, guilt.
    At that time he’d been so sure of his ability to save his sister’s soul. Now desperation was setting in. Which was precisely what Voz wanted.
    He supposed he should be grateful that Voz hadn’t tortured him about Adele’s soul earlier in his indenture. But Ronan suspected that was because Voz wanted Ronan to remain loyal. Had Ronan known the truth, he would have been harder to control.
    As it was, Ronan had to fight the rage that threatened to unbalance him.
    Returning to the present, Ronan stared at the hardwood floor. Could the key be hidden beneath one of the floorboards?
    He knocked on the floor, using his vamp superhearing to try and detect any differences that would indicate a storage space. If the key was only a few inches long then this was a useless test. Perhaps he should get a metal detector.
    “Stop that pounding,” Sierra shouted from downstairs. “Do not make me come up there!”
    Since he’d just ripped up several floorboards, he didn’t want her returning, so he left things as they were and went down to confront her. He could hear her banging around in the kitchen.
    This arrangement was not going to work as long as Sierra kept hassling him. He had enough issues to deal with at the moment. He didn’t need some paranormal author who apparently wrote hot sex scenes getting in his way.
    Voz was right. Ronan couldn’t afford to allow Sierra to distract him. He needed to try and compel her again.
    As Ronan entered the kitchen from the hallway entrance, three dinner plates came flying through the air. They were headed straight for his head.

Chapter Seven
    Ronan instantly caught all three plates. His hands moved faster than a mortal could see.
    Sierra stared at him in amazement. “How did you do that?”
    “I’m good with my hands.”
    “You moved so fast. It’s like the plates were in the air one second and in your hands the next. Are you a