Bound by Blood (The Garner Witch Series) (12 page)

I rolled my eyes. “No. Continue.”

“Have you ever heard of the Wiccan Rede?”

“No, I haven’t. What is it?”              

“The Wiccan Rede is a code of ethics to which all witches are bound. It states: ‘An it harm none, Do what ye will’.”

I cocked my head in intrigue. He must have noticed the gesture, because he went on to explain.

“It means that while utilizing magic, one should cause no harm. Akychi descendants have the ability to manipulate energy, but the Universe has its own way of rebalancing itself. You see there is a Law of Three; a universal law that maintains balance. It ensures that whatever energy you put into the universe, whether it good or bad, shall come back to you threefold.”

“I’ve heard of that.”

“You have?”

I shrugged. “Sure, I watched The Craft.

Shaking his head, he chuckled.

“Yes, well, the witch who cast the spell for immortal life apparently did not. The spell came back onto him threefold in the form of a curse. Now, as a penance for killing and drinking blood to enact the spell, vampires are required to drink human blood in order to survive. If a vampire ceases to consume human blood, he or she will die painfully and whither to ash. This is one of the legends that are accurate; vampires turn to dust when they die.”

“So, how is it that the spell was cast to grant one witch immortal life, but there are more vampires? Did others perform spells too?”

“The spell was successful and the witch was granted immortality, along with superior strength, speed, and smell, among other things. The power of the spell lies in the blood, and it can be passed along in two ways. One is through a ritual where blood is exchanged with another witch. The blood is drained completely and replaced with the vampire’s blood, which is how I was changed. The other is through birth. The witch who cast the spell discovered his children were born vampires. However, no matter how one becomes a vampire, the curse of drinking blood is still in effect.” He said the last part somberly.

“Wait a minute. A vampire can be born? But how is that possible? I thought vampires were dead, or undead, I suppose they call it.”

He laughed aloud. “Do I feel dead to you?” he asked, rhetorically. “That is most assuredly a myth. The blood carrying the spell flows through my body. It is warm and keeps me alive, strong, and in my body’s peak physical condition. If a child is born a vampire, they will grow just like any other baby until their body has fully matured. Once the body reaches its peak, the spell will keep them in that condition forever.”

“Wow. So, aside from being born a vampire, a person can be changed by exchanging blood with another witch? Does that mean only a witch can be changed?” Enthralled, I couldn’t stop asking questions.

“That is a complicated question. It is possible to change a human with no Wiccan power, but difficult. The human experiences a great deal of pain, and some cannot handle the influx of power. They do not always survive the transformation. For this reason, it is rare for a vampire to attempt the change on a human.”

“Oh, my god!” I blurted.

“What is it?”

“The ashes we found in Morganna and Leslie’s apartments—they were vampires.” It was finally beginning to make sense. With the information Nathan was supplying, the pieces of a puzzle fit together.

“Yes, they were.” He sighed. “They were the bodyguards I had assigned, and also, dear friends. Somehow he managed to get past them to get to the girls. They died protecting the women. That is why Colin Lafferty has not been seen since Leslie’s death. He died that night, but there is no body.”

The grief suddenly overtaking me was palpable, but the pain was coming from him—mourning for his friends. I placed my hand over his. “I am truly sorry.”

He smiled gratefully, and my heart skipped a beat. “Thank you. Even after everything I have revealed—including what I am—and yet you still offer me comfort for the loss of my friends. It means a lot to me.”

Contemplatively, I stared at him for a long moment. “Yes, I know exactly what you are Nathan. You’re a caring, honest man, and a protector of the innocent. As for being a vampire... do you...kill people?”

“God, no!” he shouted. “It is only necessary I consume small amounts of blood, which I only take from willing donors. I have never taken a life in order to feed. Which brings me back to the first question you asked: How can some vampires go into the sun and other cannot? As witches and vampires, whatever energy we put into the universe will come back to us threefold. Vampires who kill do so only to gain power; it is unnecessary for survival. In effect, they are stealing their victims’ life force, and it is evil. This is precisely why some of us can live in the light while others cannot. As it is unnecessary for survival, the ones who kill while feeding are choosing a path of darkness, and therefore, are forever expelled from the light. Again, it is the universes way of rebalancing—The Law of Three.”

In a strange way, what he was saying made sense. I knew I felt evil in the killer, but not in Nathan, yet they were both vampires. I’d seen the dust in Morganna and Leslie’s apartments, and the inexplicable way they were killed accounted for everything. “But why is he targeting my family? I don’t understand.”

He exhaled heavily before answering. “Some vampires—the most evil of our kind—seek out powerful witches. They steal their powers through rituals that can only be completed when they consume all of the witch’s blood. I told you before that our families were close—I am a descendant from the Donovan Coven, and you are from the Garner Coven. Our families are known in the Wiccan world as the two most powerful covens in existence. Our power has grown substantially with each generation. Unfortunately, this makes our blood rare. I am the only one left of my family.”

“I’m so sorry.” And here I felt sorry for myself for only having my father growing up. Nathan had no one. “Why has no one stopped these killers?”

“We try.” His tone carried a note of frustration. “The elders have established a group of the most powerful good vampires. We are the enforcers for our race, tracking the evil of our kind and attempting to stop them. However, we are severely outnumbered. Evil vampires also have the advantage of no conscience. They steal power from other witches, which enhances their strength considerably. In addition, they use dark magic that is difficult to combat—especially since we never use dark magic in return. That is a line enforcers will never cross.”

“I still don’t understand.” My brow furrowed with confusion. “My father said the potency of my blood was severely diluted over the generations—we can’t really be all that powerful. I mean, all I can do is sense emotion. That’s not very compelling.”

“I regret having to be the one to tell you, but your father … misled you.”

“You mean, he lied.” I stated, angrily.

“I am guessing he did it in order to protect you.” Nathan’s tone was sympathetic.

I huffed a doubtful breath. “Sure.”

He ignored that and continued. “Your empathic abilities are merely an inherent gift you possess. As I said before, it is incredibly rare. The Garner clan is
exceptionally
powerful. You are the only coven who inherits your Akychi bloodline from
both
your grandmother and your grandfathers’ lineage. In fact, because of the double heritage, you are the first generation to possess these inherent psychic gifts. Unfortunately, these additional abilities make your blood all the more desirable to the killer.” He paused to assess my reaction.

“Really?”

“Yes. Your actual powers have been bound in order to hide you from the killer and keep you safe. That is why I was looking for you. I think it was a mistake to separate your family. Apart, you are weaker. He has managed to locate three women from your family in the past month. They were more vulnerable because they were ignorant to their heritage, and deprived of their powers. Like a declawed house cat, without your powers, you are defenseless to fight this man if he attacks. Since the second murder, I have been trying to track down your remaining relatives. I feel strongly that you should reunite your coven and unbind your powers. You will fare better together than apart.”

“But if you unbind our powers, won’t he be able to find us easier?” I asked, nervously.

“Before I unbind your powers, I will train you. I can teach you how to use it when you need, and how to hide it so no one will be able to sense your capabilities.”

“Is that what you do around me? Sometimes, when you’re not aware, I’ve felt a current in the air surrounding you—kind of like electricity. And then it’s like you pull it back, and I can’t feel it anymore.”

He grinned. “Most witches are unable to hide their power, and I can usually sense them coming. That first day I met you, I could not sense you were a witch because your powers are bound. However, I did feel you probing at my emotions and I was shocked. Once I was aware that there was something...more to you, I put my guard up.”

It allayed a lot of my suspicions to look back and finally understand what was happening.

“How can we locate the rest of my family? Especially since you’ve been looking already with no luck. It could take us years to find them.”

“Once I train you to use your powers, we can locate them through a divination spell. I could not perform it myself because we need some of your blood to trace them. We can find each of them, train them, and unbind their powers. Hopefully we can stop this killer and finally reunite your coven.”

I was excited about his plan. Not just because of the powers, but because I would have something I’d been longing for my entire life—a family. “How do you unbind our powers?”

“Since your grandmother performed the bindings, we need her blood to unbind them. And then it is just the matter of a simple spell.”

“How do you plan to get my grandmother’s blood if she’s dead?”

The corner of his mouth tipped into a smug grin. “She stored vials of her blood in case she was not around to unbind your powers herself.”

I admired her foresight, but his answer left me with one very important question. “How is the killer stealing our power if it is bound? Wouldn’t
he
need my grandmother’s blood to unbind the spell?”

His jaw clenched and I felt the outrage billowing off him. “Because he has your grandmother’s blood too.”

“How—?” And then the answer hit me. “He killed her.”

Nathan simply nodded. “I do not know how he is locating his victims. It is not possible to sense them without their powers, and he is not able to unbind the powers until they are present. He must be unbinding their power before he kills them. But I do not want you to worry. We will find him, and I will kill this monster.”

He was so optimistic I wanted to believe it was possible. I had to admit, my reasons for wanting to agree to his plans were purely selfish. The prospect of finding my family was too great an incentive to pass up.

The second reason for wanting to agree was that I wanted to spend as much time as possible with Nathan. This was a revelation considering I now knew what he was, but strangely, it didn’t change my feelings for him one bit. In fact, they were even stronger than before.

“Okay, when do we get started?” I asked trying to hide my impatience.

He laughed. It was so light–hearted, my spirits lifted. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had truly connected with another person, as if I could share anything with Nathan.

I stood up and tentatively walked to where he sat. I placed my hands on either side of his face and looked into his eyes. “Nathan, I want you to know I am genuinely sorry for the loss of your family and friends. I wish you’d had someone who could’ve given you the help you’re offering me. I appreciate what you’re doing for me...and for my family.” I leaned down and kissed him quickly, but tenderly. “I also wanted you to know that I can sense your fear. You’re afraid I will reject you now that I know what you are.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep shuddering breath.

“Nathan, I accept you the way you are. You don’t harm people. In fact, you’ve made a career out of protecting them. You are a good man, and I am grateful for everything you’ve done for me.”

“Brianna—”

“Shhh. You have no idea how grateful I am to know the truth.”

A sudden pulse of shock coursed through him at my statement. Almost as though he didn’t believe I could accept him for what he really was.

When I was younger, I was able to project emotions onto another person. I hadn’t done it in a long time, but I wanted to try it again. Nathan had to know, without a doubt, that I accepted the man he was. His being a vampire changed nothing for me. I trusted him.

I closed my eyes and reached down to grab hold of my feelings for Nathan and I pushed it into him. He gasped in surprise. Staring at me in awe for what felt like an eternity, I felt a myriad of emotions pass through him.

“Thank you,” he whispered before taking my mouth in a passionate kiss. My heart felt like it would burst as I put my arms around his neck and returned his kiss.

Chapter 9

Shortly after our discussion, Nathan announced he was cooking us dinner.

“Where did you learn to cook?” I asked, stepping closer to have a peek. It was some kind of pasta dish, and it really looked and smelled delicious.

“I have had many years to practice.” He winked at me conspiratorially.

“You know, you’ve never actually told me how old you are, and now that I know
what
you are...” I looked at him hesitantly, not wanting to offend. He was smiling. “I have a feeling you’re much older than I originally suspected.”

He put his hand to his chest in mock insult. “Is it the wrinkles?”

I grinned, sheepishly. “Well, if you must know, it’s the way you talk. You always speak so formally. It’s a little weird. But don’t get me wrong—I like it.”

“Why do you want to know my age? Would it bother you to be dating someone much older than yourself?” He asked with curious amusement.

I felt heat spread through my body as I responded to his question with another. “Is that what we’re doing? Dating?”