Blood of the White Witch (23 page)

“I guess we could always take the kissing
someplace less magical,” I suggested to him.

“Kissing you is always magical, Portia, no
matter where we are. And what tends to follow it is even more
so.”

“You know what I mean,” I said, shoving at
his shoulder slightly with my free hand.

He just laughed, swinging me up into his
arms. He proceeded to carry me, electrical storm and all, to the
edge of the circle.

As it turned out, while we easily concluded
that Stonehenge definitely had a magical influence, none of us had
any luck with our assignments. We found nothing that indicated
whether any of the stone circles we had looked into was the one the
white witch had been speaking about.

We had gone on numerous amounts of the
so-called “field trips” to visit some of the stone circle sites we
had not been able to research from London. For weeks we toured
properties and listened to lectures from informed sources on the
histories of said places.

After a while the information we were
hearing began to run together. No one knew why these circles were
constructed, when they were constructed, or what they were used
for.

Several had theories about their being used
as astrological calendars, ritual places, or even something that
marked the passing of someone into death. No one was really sure
what they were all about.

The only thing we could consider as marked
progress on the subject was a reference that Grandma had found in
the book she had continued to study. It had said the high priestess
of the white witch coven had never left Scotland during her
immortality. We had concluded from that little tidbit of
information that the stone circle spoken of must be one that was
found in Scotland.

We had decided then, together as a group,
that we should probably relocate back to the area. Dad had done a
lot of research on places in Scotland, and with the help of
Crispin, we finally located on old Scottish keep currently under
reconstruction to be made into a hotel.

They had one wing that was finished but not
yet opened to the public. We were able to get permission to stay
there in the keep, thus removing ourselves from a place Douglas and
Fiona might continually be searching for us.

Dad had been in touch with the rest of our
coven who were still back home in Sedona, and they had informed him
that there had been some foreign people who had been asking after
our whereabouts. We were certain they came from Douglas and
Fiona.

“I’ll give them credit for being
persistent,” Vance grumbled when he heard the news. “Is everyone in
Sedona all right?”

“They said everything has been going along
as it normally would,” Dad replied nonchalantly, though I could see
a small flicker of worry cross over his face which he hurriedly
disguised.

I sighed, knowing he was feeling concern
over several issues and wanting to keep everyone safe.

Later that evening, when Vance and I were
lying in bed together, I asked him a question.

“Why do you think Douglas and Fiona want
this power so badly? History says the power has always been used
for good.”

He shrugged for a moment, considering before
answering.

“I just assumed it was because of how much
it would enhance their powers,” he replied. “Plus the longevity
will help them to rule with those powers over their followers.”

“There’s one problem with this, though,” I
said while I trailed my fingers up and down his arm.

“What’s that?” he asked, watching me through
half-lidded eyes.

“They can’t both receive the power. It would
only go to one of them, whoever had the most of the blood source in
them.”

“You’re right,” he said, and the emotions
danced over his face while he pondered my comment. “Either they’ve
designated one or the other to be the recipient, or they’d have to
betray each other when the time comes.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” I replied with
a smile. “That would make them divided against one another. Which
one would the rest of their coven follow, or would they be divided
also?”

“You’re thinking that they could be easier
to fight if they were fighting against each other, aren’t you?” His
eyes flashed over me in appreciation.

I nodded my head.

“If they have to fight each other and us,
how could they possibly win?” I said with a shrug.

“That’s a really good point. Now we just
have to hope this is the course they’re on. If they’ve chosen one
to receive it, then it’ll have the opposite effect, uniting them
even stronger.”

“You’re right,” I replied as I climbed off
the bed to walk over to look out the window in the keep. “Is there
some way we could try to figure out which way things are
leaning?”

“You mean start spying on them?” he asked
with a slight frown. “I don’t know how safe that would be.”

“What about Crispin’s coven? They’ve been
spying on them for years. Douglas and Fiona are completely aware of
it, too. It wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary,” I said, and
I turned to look at him.

He got off the bed and came to join me at
the window, wrapping his arms around my waist.

“I think that’s a good idea. I’ll talk to
your dad about it in the morning,” he said, bending to kiss my
lightly scarred neck.

I enjoyed his touch while I watched the
moonlight wash over the landscape outside. It really was beautiful
here. Too bad everything was so shrouded in mystery right now; we
would have actually been able to enjoy our stay completely.

As it was, Dad hardly let Vance and me out
of the keep for fear that someone we had met at the reception would
see us and tell Douglas and Fiona about it. He made it very clear
we were not to stray from the grounds.

We had spent several days entertaining
ourselves by exploring around the ancient place and some of the
outbuildings. On many occasions I would find Vance sitting alone in
the crumbling old Kirk, silently contemplating things.

I could tell that he was slipping back into
some of his old habits where I was concerned. Often his mind would
be fettered in front of me as if he were trying to protect me from
something.

Though it was frustrating to me, I also knew
he was a lot more worried than he was really letting on. I didn’t
bring it up again since I didn’t want to add to his burdens, but I
was disappointed.

Still, I knew it was hard for him to let me
in anyway, since he had been so practiced at shutting himself down
completely before we had met. It was his way of protecting himself,
too.

I had seen the richly intricate person he
really was, though. His emotions sometimes threatened to completely
overwhelm him. He considered that the ultimate sign of weakness. He
had to be in control.

I looked forward to the day when he would
realize it was those emotions that I loved so much about him. It
was all of his little imperfections that made him real to me in a
way I wished I could make him understand.

For some reason, though, he was determined
to be the savior and champion in this relationship. It was a role I
knew he could execute because I had seen him do it on several
occasions. But I wanted to be his partner, his lover, his friend,
not his damsel in distress.

I sighed heavily. Maybe it was just a man
thing. He had said to me once before that it was his job to take
care of me. That comment had resulted in our largest argument
to-date and was one of the major reasons I hesitated to bring up
the fact that he was shutting me out again.

“You’re upset with me,” he said, and he
pulled away from me, turning me from the window to face him.

“No, not really,” I replied, feeling a bit
angry with myself for letting him read me so easily.

“Tell me what’s on your mind,” he
encouraged, and he led me over to sit on the loveseat near the
fireplace in our suite.

“It’s nothing.” I smiled trying to dismiss
the subject with a wave of my hand, wishing he would just let it
drop.

“Portia, talk to me. If something is
bothering you, then I want to know what it is,” he said softly as
he squeezed my hands in a quiet gesture.

I waited for moment before I spoke, trying
to compose my emotions so I wouldn’t upset him.

“I just noticed that you’re worried about
something and the walls are starting to go up again, that’s all,” I
said, looking down to where our hands were intertwined together and
resting in my lap.

When he didn’t respond to me I risked a
glance up to look into his eyes, to gauge his reaction, feeling a
little bit nervous. I was surprised by the love and the hurt that I
saw there.

“I’m not doing it intentionally,” he
responded while he looked at me, his eyes staring straight into
mine.

“I know you aren’t. That’s why I hadn’t said
anything about it,” I explained to him.

“I don’t like to hurt you in any way,” he
said remorsefully. “That makes this a tricky road for me. If I tell
you about things that worry me, I risk hurting you, and if I don’t,
then I hurt you, too. How can I change that?” he asked me,
seemingly anxious for my opinion on the subject.

“You’re going to have to start understanding
that you can trust me with what you have to say. We’ve been through
a lot together. I haven’t run off yet,” I smiled so he would know I
was teasing.

“You’ve been a trouper,” he agreed, and he
squeezed my hand tighter in response.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I feel
you have this need to be the super macho protector guy in this
relationship. While I love everything about you that is so totally
‘guy’ about you, I tend to view this relationship more in the terms
of a partnership.” I looked at him seriously.

“Well, I hope you’ll understand this,” he
began. “I want to be your protector. You’re my wife, and I love
everything about you. I completely consider you an equal partner in
this relationship, but I won’t lie. If it came down to you or me,
I’d put my life on the line to save you.”

“That’s what scares me,” I replied honestly.
“I know you’d do exactly that. I don’t want a life without you. I’d
rather die with you.”

“And I don’t wish to deprive the world of
the most beautiful creature it has ever known,” he said, and he
released my hand so he could place both of his on the sides of my
face.

“Whatever,” I said, and I rolled my eyes,
thinking he was completely delirious. “Are you going to tell me
what’s bothering you or not?”

He let his hands drop away from my face then
and just sat there looking at me for a moment before giving a large
sigh.

“It’s about the Awakening,” he replied, and
he stared off into the distance as if he were searching for
something there.

“What about it?” I asked curiously, not
knowing where he was going with this.

He stood then and started his pacing, the
way he always did when something big was weighing on his mind.

“I’m assuming that we’ll have to actually go
to the ritual to stop whichever of my grandparents from receiving
it,” he said.

“That seems logical,” I replied.

“Well, in order for them to not receive it,
then someone else has to, right?” he asked me.

“If the ritual has already been started,
then yes, I’d suppose so,” I said trying to follow his train of
thought.

“So the person with the purest blood in the
circle would be you, correct?” he asked as he turned to stare at
me.

I instantly understood what had him so
upset. If I accepted the Awakening, then I’d become nearly
immortal, subject to live for a very long time. He would not be,
thus forcing our eventual separation by death.

My eyes widened in fear.

“I don’t want it. I won’t live without you,”
I said, wrapping my arms around him.

“That’s the problem. If you refuse it, then
it’ll pass to me,” he replied, and I realized then he would be the
one living a hundred lifetimes without me.

“No!” I whispered in angst. “There has to be
another way! Surely fate wouldn’t let us go through all these
things just to be together for a few short years before ripping us
apart again?”

My head was spinning while he held me, and I
felt the tears threatening to come. His grip tightened protectively
around me.

“There’s only one other way I can think of
to change all this,” he said, and he lifted a hand to stroke my
long hair.

“Which is what?” I asked him.

“We need to end this before the Awakening
can happen,” he stated flatly.

“How can we do that?” I asked.

“I’m thinking we’re going to need to find a
way into Bell Tower Hall,” he said. “I need to take a look
around.”

“No! It’s too dangerous! That’s their
domain, the place where they’ll be the strongest,” I argued.

“I know that!” he said in frustration. “But
unless we can find some way to draw them and their entire coven out
of there, I see no other way.”

“What about the box?” I asked him.

“I don’t follow,” he replied with a slightly
confused look crossing his features while he watched me.

“They have it hidden away somewhere. What if
someone else is aware of the location? We’ll still have the exact
same problem. If that box falls into any other demon hands, they
can try to enforce the ritual upon themselves … same results,
different people!”

He stood, digging his hand through his hair
like he always did when he was frustrated about something.

“You’re right as usual,” he said, and he
turned from me with another sigh to start pacing. “We have to
figure out where they’re keeping it.”

“I’m assuming they’ve had it in a very safe
place for a very long time. This ritual was put into motion before
you were born. They must feel very secure about its
whereabouts.”

He didn’t reply this time, only nodding his
head in agreement.