WitchLove (24 page)

I looked at Susannah and we both frowned.

‘I was sure I’d got rid of the hex,’ she said quietly.

‘Have you dealt with hexes before?’ I asked.

‘No, I haven’t… why would I?’

‘So, we can’t be sure then, can we?’

Susannah didn’t answer, but her face said it all, as terror briefly flashed across her features.

‘Susannah, even if Brit decided to leave us and go to her grandmother of her own free will, she would have left me a note. Trust me, I’ve looked and there is no letter. Nothing,’ I said.

‘So she didn’t
choose
to leave then, meaning she’s either been kidnapped or the hex was dormant and has suddenly re-activated, and so she’s freaked out and jumped a ley line again.’

‘We have to go and get her,’ I said.

‘No way. You can’t, Jess. You can’t risk losing your license before you even get it, and for another, we know that Brittany’s grandmother has been in Brittany’s head already. She probably knows everything about you; and if she doesn’t
already
know who you are, she will once she gets her hands on Brittany again.’

‘I know, but I have to go. If Brittany had left me a letter then fine, but she hasn’t, which means she didn’t want to go. She saved me from Cole, Susannah. Brittany saved me from getting raped, then helped me escape. I owe her.’

‘No, you already brought her back once. Even if Brittany is with her grandmother, she’s not going to come to harm; but I reckon the old bag is using her granddaughter as the pawn… with you as the prize. It’s got to be you they’re after.’

The uneasy feeling in my gut told me Susannah was right, but I couldn’t leave my friend stuck in the swamp, as I was sure that was where Brit was. I sat back on my bed and thought. This time I would not go racing in and get myself and my friends into further trouble. I’d already learned the hard way that rushing into battle often ended badly. I needed a plan.

‘I can’t help thinking that we are going to need our own army and a battle plan,’ I said, a few minutes later.

‘A what?’

‘An army, and I don’t mean just me, you and India. No, I mean let’s do this the right way. We are going to have to risk getting in trouble and tell your mom…’

‘Ha! You’ve caved finally!’

‘Huh?’

‘You said mom instead of
mum
,’ she said, emphasising the u in a bad Manchester accent. ‘I knew it wouldn’t take long.’

I tutted and smiled. ‘Are you even listening?’

‘Go on… You want us to hang ourselves and make Saffy’s day in the process, by telling Mom that you’ve been drinking fresh blood when you’ve been to visit Noah, and that Brittany’s been hexed by her Hoodoo family and we need their help to save her,’ she said grimly.

‘Pretty much,’ I said, my grin fading as the realisation of what we had to admit dawned on me.

‘So Mom will involve the coven. We should have enough witches to protect ourselves against the Hoodoo, but that stuff can be pretty bad,’ she said.

‘What about the Council? Can’t they do something about the clan?’ I asked.

Susannah shook her head.

‘The problem is that Voodoo or Hoodoo - whichever, is a religion practised by humans. They aren’t witches. They aren’t supernatural, so the Council can’t govern them,’ she said.

‘Brittany’s grandmother is. She had green eyes like Brittany. The rest didn’t, but their priestess is definitely a witch,’ I said.

‘Hmmm, maybe then. Mom will know. If you’re sure you want to do it this way?’

I sighed. It was the right thing to do. We hadn’t done much wrong. The blood packs were never enough. I needed to be honest about my true nature. I was a vampire and I had fed responsibly. No one was harmed. Aunt Sarah needed to know that. Brittany was just a young girl desperate to find a loving family. She’d done what anyone else wanting to find their family would have done… and now we needed help.

I nodded.

‘Come on then. Let’s get it over with,’ Susannah said.

My aunt sat and listened, a variety of emotions flashing across her face as I told her about the events of the past month.

‘So let me get this straight… You can’t find Brittany anywhere, she hasn’t left a note and you think she’s been called back… or
taken
by this Voodoo clan of hers from Louisiana?’ Aunt Sarah said, once I’d finished.

I nodded, waiting for the lecture… or shouting, but it didn’t come. I could hear Aunt Sarah’s heart racing, as well as Susannah’s, who stood behind me at the kitchen table.

‘Meanwhile, when I thought you’d been going to New York to visit Noah, you’ve actually been going to a nightclub that
my son
introduced you to
and
feeding from humans… Oh dear! Mike warned me about things like this. I’ve done such a bad job,’ my aunt said finally, wringing her hands and chewing her lips. ‘I thought it would be okay, that I was up to the job. Mike told me that a half-vampire and an untrained teenage witch would be too much for the coven to handle, but I thought I could do it. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought Laurie…’

‘Look, I’ve not hurt anyone,’ I interrupted hastily, ‘and the couple of times I did feed was in New York. The coven doesn’t need to know, if that’s what you’re worried about,’ I said, feeling strangely like I was the adult.

‘But how can you be a part of our coven when you’re a vampire? You drink our blood,’ she whispered. ‘I knew it was too good to be true to expect you to live off those packs.’

‘I don’t drink
your
blood. I drink blood from consenting humans… and they like it actually.’

I watched as Susannah sat down next to me, her face betraying both her impatience and her disgust at the topic of conversation.

‘Look Mom, it’s not that bad. Jess is a vampire… and what they do is pretty revolting, but it’s not the end of the world. She’s also a pretty powerful witch, she’s an asset to this coven, and if the coven doesn’t like it, they can stick it! She learns quicker than me and I suspect she has more power than me,’ Susannah said. ‘From what I saw of the hex Brittany was under, it was a pretty powerful one. I’m sorry Mom, but I thought I could handle it. I obviously didn’t.’

‘I should have noticed… that poor girl. I just thought she was coming down with something,’ Aunt Sarah said, shaking her head sadly.

‘Look Mom, it’s not your fault. There’s no way you could have suspected that Brittany had been to Louisiana and been hexed. But now you have to help get her back,’ Susannah said. ‘I’ll go make you a cup of camomile tea, and then we have to come up with a plan.’

‘You’ll make a good priestess one day, Susannah. I’m going to call Franny and inform the Council, but I won’t involve the rest of the coven unless it becomes necessary,’ my aunt said, bursting out of her seat and hurrying from the room.

‘The Council?’ I squeaked, acutely aware of my eyes bugging out as I became suddenly afraid of the Council’s take on the situation.

Susannah shrugged. ‘I doubt they’ll do anything, but they should know what’s happening, in case something goes wrong. You wanted to involve them anyhow.’

I frowned. I didn’t like how this was going. I knew that the Voodoo clan were dangerous, but surely against me, Susannah, Aunt Sarah and Franny they wouldn’t even bother fighting over Brittany. As Susannah had said, apart from Brittany’s grandmother, the rest of the clan were all non-magical humans. Surely they couldn’t pose a threat to us? I’d anticipated the most dangerous part of the entire twenty four hours would be the actual ‘telling my aunt’ part. I presumed we’d then just fly down south, knock on the door with the back-up team and Brittany would be handed over. Why all the sudden concern?

Ten minutes later my aunt came back into the room, her previously fragile attitude gone and replaced with a fierceness I hadn’t seen in her before.

‘Right, Franny will be here shortly. We’ll leave around four o’clock. Jess I want you to go and drink as many packs as you can stomach, and fill a backpack with some more. From what I’ve heard you are the strongest ley line flyer, so you will be carrying the only bag. Make it small, as you don’t want it sapping your energy; and in addition to your blood packs, can you pack these please?’ she asked, handing me several small spell bags filled with herbs, several white candles, a salt shaker and some string.

I raised an eyebrow. It didn’t seem the best arsenal an army could carry.

‘Did you talk to the Council?’ I asked.

‘Yes,’ she nodded. ‘They cannot interfere until they are sure that Brittany’s aunt is both a supernatural and also holding Brittany against her will. The plan is for you girls to knock on the door and ask to see Brittany first. If you run into trouble, Franny and I will get you out. They won’t be expecting us and I can then update Adaryn, who will send reinforcements as necessary.

‘Right,’ I said, before leaving the room to find a bag. There was just one other person I wanted to find. Someone I needed to talk to before we left. I hadn’t seen him since he’d last appeared in the tree circle ten days ago. I’d desperately wanted to see him and several times I thought I’d spotted him high up in the trees, watching over my spell progress, but I’d resisted. Once again I suppressed my feelings for him and ignored my instincts, but it could only last so long.

‘Daniel?’ I shouted from the circle in the woods.

It took less than a minute before I heard him, the trees swishing as he sprang between them.

‘What’s the matter?’ he asked, landing gracefully before me.

‘Have you seen Brittany at all?

‘No. Why?’

‘She’s gone,’ I said, before quickly explaining the day’s events.

‘Are you sure it’s the hex?’ he asked. ‘I assumed Susannah had broken it.’

‘So did we, but there is no other explanation, plus she’d been starting to phase out and act strange again. I had to tell my aunt, and she’s told the Council. We’re leaving as soon as Franny arrives… it should be fine, but… well, I just wanted to let you know where I’m going,’ I said.

Daniel paused, his eyes softening as he reached out and cupped his hands round my face. I looked into his dark, shimmering eyes and knew without doubt that I’d never find anyone to replace him. I had to forgive… I had to move on. He seemed to need me as much as I needed him.

‘You’ve changed,’ he whispered. ‘It’s like you’ve grown up…

‘Don’t be a condescending arse,’ I said, cutting him off and swatting his shoulder.

His eyes sparkled and he grabbed me, pulling me closer.

‘I want to come with you,’ he said. ‘Can you carry me?’

I shook my head, remembering how much my supporting Brittany had exhausted me.

‘I’d be out of action when we arrived. It took me forty-eight hours and about ten blood packs before I was back up to full strength, after carrying Brittany home,’ I said wriggling out of his arms.

‘Then I’ll find you. I’ll fly to New Orleans. Vincent owes me a favour and I believe he has a private jet. Just tell me where you’ll be,’ he said.

‘I don’t even know the address,’ I said. ‘It was in a town south of New Orleans called Estelle. I veered right I think, along the swamp line. It was right out at the edge of the town, hidden and overgrown. But Daniel you can’t come. It’s too hot down there,’ I said, remembering the suffocating humidity.

‘I presume you’re not leaving here till dusk anyway?’ he asked. ‘I’ll do likewise.’

I nodded.

‘We’re leaving here around four I think.’

He stroked my hair slowly.

‘That gives me time to get back to New York and find Vincent. I think I could be in New Orleans for eightish…’

‘Daniel, there’s no point. By eight, we should be out of there and on our way home.’

‘I just need to know you’re okay. I’d rather fly all that way and find out you’re fine and on your way home, than sit here waiting for a call to say you’re not, when I’m too far away to do anything about it,’ he said quietly.

I looked at him and evaluated his changes. He’d transformed, and he’d done it for me. He had done exactly as I asked and backed off. He let me leave Manchester without a fight and even though he had eventually followed me to America, there was something about him that had relaxed. I knew the one thing he would be thinking about. The one thing that would give him peace of mind… but he hadn’t even mentioned it. I smiled. Instead I was the one that was going to suggest it.

I reached down and took his hand in mine. I pulled him to me. Today I was going to do everything right. There would be no regrets. I snuggled against his chest and pulled his cotton top to one side, inhaling his deep, musky scent. I traced my lips against his collarbone and heard his sharp intake of breath.

‘Jess?’ he whispered.

‘May I?’ I said tracing my lips against his collarbone.

‘Yes,’ he said, his answer turning into a moan as I bit down into his lower neck and closed my eyes, once again my body burning white hot with desire. After a couple of seconds of pure ecstasy, his blood burning in my veins, his hands pulling me tighter, squeezing, kneading and tugging at my hair, I let go.

‘Jess?’ he repeated.

‘This is on the condition that if you get jealous or freaky possessive again, I’ll go and find another vampire and get them to drain every last drop of your blood out of my system. I could never forgive you a second time, Daniel; there’ll be no more chances. Okay?’ I said, trying to ignore the ache between my legs and the desperate urge to jump him.

He nodded and even though I knew he couldn’t cry, his eyes shone with such hope, such love that I cried for him. He backed up against a tree, lifting me up and pulling me into him with such need that I let go and pressed my lips hard against his mouth, our moans a jumbled mix of emotions. Once my lips were sore and tingling from his kiss, I drew back and let him guide my mouth back to his neck. As I sunk my teeth back into his flesh again, I lifted my wrist up and pushed it against his teeth, my invitation obvious, and he didn’t wait to be asked again.

I felt his teeth break through my skin, each sharp puncture sending electric waves of desire round my body. I ground my hips against his and felt him, his need matching my own as we swapped blood and forged our bond.