Blood Magic: Witch’s Bite Series Book Three

by Foxe, Stephanie

  I pull on the shirt and realize a tag is still attached. I rip it off and toss it back on the bed. My wet hair leaves wet spots on the white blouse but I don’t have anything to tie it back with. The black slacks mostly fit, but they’re uncomfortably high waisted. I pull at them, but there’s no making them less tight.

  I glance at the full-length mirror next to the bed and sigh. I look like some kind of soccer mom on her first job interview since she had kids.

  There is a single knock at the door and Reilly walks in. His hair is also still wet, and he is dressed in one of his usual suits. It’s not awkward on him like it is on me.

  He stops near the end of the bed.

  “You look like an adult,” he says.

  “I look stuffy,” I retort, crossing my arms.

  He walks closer and brushes a strand of wet hair back behind my ear. I keep my eyes fixed on his chest, I’m too tired to play these games with him right now.

  “It would be wise for you to be able to hear and smell everything you can while we are here,” Reilly says, dropping his hand.

  “You make it sound like we’re walking into a raid or something,” I say.

  “This is more dangerous,” Reilly says, turning away.

  “Why do you not trust your sire?” I ask, my voice just above a whisper.

  Reilly stands still, his back to me and sighs. “You already know why. Let’s not keep him waiting.”

  I furrow my brows, not sure what he means unless he did hear everything Zachary and I talked about in our last conversation. Reilly glances back and holds out his arm. I step up beside him and slip my hand into the crook of his elbow.

  There is a familiar tattooed face waiting in the living room.

  “Ihaka,” Reilly says with a grin, removing my hand from his arm to greet his clanmate.

  “It’s good to see you again, brother,” Ihaka says with a grin.

  “And you,” Reilly says as they press their foreheads together briefly. “How is Leslie?”

  “Restless, but well,” Ihaka says before looking over at me.

  “Olivia, this is Ihaka, a long time friend,” Reilly says, waving me forward. “I’m sure you remember him from Javier’s.”

  “Nice to officially meet you,” I say as I shake Ihaka’s hand.

  “Our Sire waits impatiently for the two of you,” Ihaka says.

  Reilly nods. “We’ll talk after the meeting then.”

  “Yes, there is a lot to discuss,” Ihaka says seriously.

  “Soon,” Reilly says before turning back to me. “Let’s go.”

  I follow him back out into the winding hallways. We take so many turns there’s no way I’d be able to find my way back alone. This place is huge.

  The library has two guards standing outside. The one on the right knocks on the door once. I hear Cesare’s command to enter and the guard opens the door for us.

  The room is lit only by the fireplace and a tall lamp near the doorway. Cesare is sitting in a high back chair behind a desk, but he stands and walks around it as we enter. The door is shut, and locked, behind us.

  “You did good today, Olivia,” Cesare says. “I was not entirely convinced that allowing you and Reilly to work with JHAPI was the right call, but it has paid off quite nicely.”

  His voice is soft, almost pleasant. Goosebumps creep up my arms.

  “I’m glad it paid off,” I say hesitantly.

  “Yes, I have learned to be patient throughout my life. In fact, twenty-five years ago I bought a book. Much to my chagrin, the spell I thought was within it could not be performed again for many years,” he says, spreading his hands wide and shrugging. “How delightful it was to discover recently that the spell had already been cast by someone else. It was also quite interesting to discover what the witches left out of the book.”

  He walks closer, stopping right in front of me, the tips of his shoes only inches from mine.

  “I suppose they did not consider the death of the vampire involved in the spell important enough to mention. That wasn’t very polite of them, don’t you agree?”

  “It was kind of a dick move,” I say, my voice steady even though my heart is racing. “I doubt my father appreciated it.”

  Cesare laughs.

  “No, I doubt he did. I’m sure we can find a way around that eventually,” he says, placing his cold hand on my shoulder. “All magic requires balance, a price to be paid. Sometimes you can give the spell something of equal value to avoid paying too high a price.”

  I look at Reilly, unable to reply. Reilly doesn’t meet my eyes though, his gaze is focused on his sire’s hand on my shoulder. His heart is beating faster than normal, almost like he’s afraid.

  “So you want to create more like me?” I ask, finding my voice again. “Half witch, half vampire?”

  “Perhaps,” Cesare says. “It’s interesting what you can do. We still haven’t found your limits I think.”

  “I don’t know about that, I seem to be able to exhaust myself pretty easily,” I say, struggling to not lean away.

  “Reilly said he thought your injury was limiting you, and that is gone now,” he says, dragging his fingers down the outside of my arm.

  “That was holding me back,” I agree. “I still need to work on control though. The electric magic is new and hard to use. It’s not like the rest.”

  “Another way JHAPI is going to be useful. Learn what you can from that fire witch,” Cesare says, as he lifts his hand away, finally, and strolls toward the table. “The witch council has been angling to steal you away from us, of course, we won’t let them.”

  “Of course,” I say.

  “JHAPI will eventually outgrow its usefulness as an organization, but I think it best that we continue to work with them while we still can. They not only trust us right now, they rely on us.”

  “We made them look good,” Reilly comments.

  “And we need to keep it that way,” Cesare agrees. “I don’t want to hear any more rumors that the team lead is attempting to have either of you removed.”

  “I will make sure that doesn’t happen again, Sire,” Reilly says, walking up to stand next to me.

  Cesare sits down behind his desk and looks at the two of us over his clasped hands.

  “Learn everything you can, Olivia. There will come a time when you will have to use it, and failing me will not be an option.”

  “Yes—sire,” I say, not sure how to address him.

  “Go and rejoin your team tomorrow,” Cesare says, sitting down and crossing his legs. “I’ll call you back when I need you, but until then we can keep picking away at the NWR. They’ll be desperate after the failure here.”

  Reilly tugs on my arm and I follow him out of the room. He is silent as we walk through the clanhouse. We pass dozens of other vampires, but no one stops us.

  It’s not as quiet as it was when we arrived. I can hear conversations floating up from downstairs. The quiet moans of feedings as we pass by closed doors. I can even smell someone cooking, so they must house some of the neckers here.

  Reilly pauses in a quiet alcove halfway back to his rooms but doesn’t look directly at me.

  “I’m sorry.”

  I stare at him, confused. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect an apology, and I’m not sure what he’s apologizing for anyhow. He’s not lying either. His heartbeat is still fast, but it’s also steady. He means it.

  “For what?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder to make sure no one is approaching.

  “He touched you because he knows I want you,” Reilly whispers, staring straight ahead. “He was toying with me, not you.”

  I open my mouth to try to respond, but I don’t know what to say. I can’t deny that Reilly and I have chemistry, but I didn’t think it meant anything to him other than the thrill of the chase. Reilly had seemed bothered in the room, but I hadn’t understood why.

  “Let’s not linger,” Reilly says.

  I shut my mouth and follow him, my head spinning from e
verything that has happened. The rest of the walk is silent and uncomfortable.

  When we arrive back at his rooms, Reilly opens the door and ushers me in ahead of him. As the door shuts behind us all the sounds from the rest of the house go silent. These rooms must be sound-proofed.

  The Viking, whose name I still don’t know, Ihaka, and a person I’ve been both dreading and waiting to see are in the living area. Leslie is sitting on the couch, her legs curled up underneath her, looking bustier than ever. She smiles when she sees me.

  “Olivia Carter,” she says. “This is some crazy shit, huh?”

  I laugh, I can’t help it.

  “I’m glad to see you somewhat alive,” I say with a smile.

  “How is Javier doing without me?” She asks, tilting her head to the side.

  “I’m not sure,” I say, the smile slipping off my face. “I haven’t spoken to him since I left a couple of weeks ago.”

  “Ihaka won’t let me contact him at all,” Leslie says with a pout. “He won’t let me see anyone really.”

  “So I’ve heard,” I say, walking over to sit on the couch opposite her.

  “Does she know now?” Ihaka asks.

  Reilly nods. “She knows enough.”

  “Knows enough about what?” I ask, looking at everyone in turn.

  “You know about the Bound God,” Reilly says. “And the coven that Zachary has been investigating, off the record.”

  I tense, so he had overheard at least part of our conversation. “Yes, so what?”

  “Cesare believes he is real,” Reilly says, walking around the back of the couch to stand behind Leslie. “And he thinks that this god is the key to overthrowing the council and propelling vampires back into a place of power in the world.”

  “I’m sorry,” I say, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees. “He what?”

  “Whether you believe this thing is a god or not, there is something that has been held back by a spell for several centuries. The thing that Aris and Izul stopped,” Reilly says.

  I look at Ihaka, then at the Viking, and at Leslie, but no one is laughing.

  “That’s not just a myth?” I ask.

  “No,” Ihaka says. “Though most have forgotten that it is true, except for the coven that still guards it.”

  “The one that killed my mother.” I lean back and cross my arms. “What is this thing going to do if it breaks free anyhow?”

  “It wants to destroy paranormals. Anything that has or uses magic,” Reilly says.

  “Then why does Cesare think it can help him?”

  “He wants the vampires to go into hiding once it is released. After the witches, goblins, and weres are decimated, he intends to have you kill it,” Reilly explains. “After that, he believes his rise to power will be fairly easy.”

  I bust out laughing, but it’s clear that no one else thinks it’s a joke.

  “He thinks I can kill this thing? Aris and Izul had an army behind them if the stories are true. I’m one person, and I barely know how to use half the magic I have.”

  “That’s why I’ve pushed you. If you’re going to stop this thing before it wipes out half the paranormal population, you need to be stronger,” Reilly says.

  “Why you’ve pushed me?” I ask, getting angry. “You threatened me and manipulated me. You destroyed my entire life.”

  “This is more important than your life,” Reilly says, snapping back.

  “You could have told me why you wanted my help!” I shout, jumping up to my feet. “You threatened everyone I care about. You destroyed my friendships!”

  “I did what I had to do to get you to a point where you would understand what we’re facing. Neither of us has any choice here. Cesare ordered me to find you and prepare you for this,” Reilly says, skirting around the couch and advancing on me. His eyes are flashing with anger.

  “You didn’t have to do what you did. You used me. You’re still using me,” I say through gritted teeth.

  “I found out early on that I had to use people if I was going to survive, much less succeed. Grow up,” Reilly snaps.

  Leslie leans around from behind Reilly’s back.

  “Just for the record, he wasn’t going to actually follow through on his threat to wipe out the clan. If that makes you feel any better,” she says with a shrug.

  “What?” I ask, anger being replaced with confusion.

  Reilly rubs his hands over his face. “If you find the right leverage, and you're just scary enough to be convincing, you don't ever have to follow through on your threats.”

  I stare at Reilly for a moment, and he stares back, jaw clenched tight. Ihaka is smiling behind him.

  “Leslie makes Reilly sound like a soft-hearted man,” Ihaka chuckles. “He is not, but he tries to not kill people unnecessarily.”

  I plop back down on the couch and put my head in my hands. “Say I trust you lunatics. What exactly are you planning?”

  “We have to get to contact the coven without Cesare finding out, and figure out how to stop this thing from being released,” Reilly says, his voice tired.

  I stare at the floor, the vision of my mother replaying in my mind.

  “I think we might also need to steal that spellbook Cesare has,” I say, looking up at Reilly.

  “Why?” He asks, brows pinching together.

  I lean back against the couch.

  “It turns out what I thought were hallucinations were something more,” I say. “I don’t know exactly what she meant, but I think my mother knew this was coming.”

  “Your mother?” Reilly asks.

  “Yeah,” I say. “It turns out you can Find the dead.”

  Reilly sits down next to Leslie and I take a deep breath, then start at the beginning.

  30

  Corinne is sitting up in the hospital bed reading a book when I walk in. She looks up with a smile, and while she’s still a little too pale, her eyes are bright.

  “Olivia, I’m so glad you finally came to visit,” she says, putting her book down.

  I walk over and sit down in the chair next to her bed.

  “It has been a long week,” I say. “And I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see me.”

  Corinne twists her mouth up ruefully. “Everyone has been just as angry at me as they have at you. We both know you’re not to blame though.”

  I look down at my hands, twisting them together. “If I had been calmer we might have waited.”

  “And then the same thing would have happened,” Corinne says, leaning over to put her hand on my shoulder. “The trap was set and we had no way of knowing that Martinez would be using magic against us like that. It’s completely unheard of. No amount of safety measures could have prevented it.”

  I sigh. She’s right, but I still feel guilty about the whole thing.

  “Honestly, if it had happened in any other way I think I’d be dead because you might not have been there to drain my magic and stop the curse,” she says.

  “I’m glad you didn’t die.”

  “Me too.” She pats me on the shoulder and leans back into the pillows. “The welts on your arms are gone.”

  I brush my thumb over my forearm. It’s almost weird to be able to wear short sleeve shirts again.

  “Yeah, I let go, like you said, but—” I hesitate.

  “But what?” She prompts.

  “I spoke to her. She didn’t seem like a memory. She talked about things I didn’t know, and she asked me to do something. It wasn’t just an echo or whatever you called it,” I say quietly.

  “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been wrong,” Corinne says with a shrug. “It should be impossible, but you should be too. I believe, for what it’s worth, that you Found her ghost somehow.”

  “It does make me feel a little less crazy to hear you say that,” I say with a laugh.

  “Magic never follows the rules we try to set on it,” she says.

  “No, it really doesn’t.”

  “Are you staying with the
team?” Corinne asks.

  “Yes,” I nod. “The vampire council still wants Reilly and me on this assignment, especially after the Summit attack.”

  “That was insane. Ivy came and filled me in on it, we’re lucky there weren’t more casualties,” Corinne says, shaking her head.

  “Just over a hundred neckers were killed. Dozens of paranormals. It feels like we lost,” I put my head in my hands. “It doesn’t feel like we stopped anything.”

  “You stopped a war,” Corinne says, placing her hand on the back of my head. “If the councils had been wiped out, and the vampires had been made to look like monsters, this country would have been thrown into chaos. Thousands would have died instead of hundreds. It may not feel like enough, but you did everything you could.”

  “Sure,” I say, staring at my hands. I clear my throat and sit up. “I shouldn’t stay long, but I wanted to see how you were.”

  “I’ll be out of here tomorrow,” Corinne says as I stand. “I’m glad you came by though.”

  “Me too,” I say with a smile. “I’ll see you again soon.”

  “See you soon,” Corinne agrees.

  I leave and close the door quietly behind me. Zachary is waiting outside.

  “Did it go alright?” He asks.

  “Yeah,” I nod.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  I take a deep breath. “I want to find the people that killed my mother.”

  “And you’re sure about Reilly?” He asks.

  “As sure as I can be. He wants to stop Cesare, and I’m willing to help him do that if it gets me what I want,” I say.

  “I still don’t think this god is real,” Zachary says.

  “I hope he isn’t,” I say, shaking my head. “But whatever this coven is trying to stop, Cesare is trying to release. Maybe we can take them both down at once.”

  Zachary nods and I follow him down the hall. Reilly is waiting for me in the car, perhaps as an ally, perhaps still as my enemy. I’m willing to risk it if it means finally tracking down the people responsible for my mother’s death. I had given up on finding them, and on finding out why she died.

  I dig my nails into my palm. I know where the book is. I can get it, somehow, and I can figure out what I’m meant to do. I’ll do it for her.