“I know…it’s a spell…and whoever cast it used black magic. Until I know what spell it was, I don’t dare try to remove it.”
“The blood isn’t doing much more than barely keeping him alive,” Kieran murmured.
“Yes…the general consensus is the spell is interfering with his ability to absorb it,” Remy said, laying the back of his hand on the vampire’s forehead. Realizing the futility of what he was doing, he removed it; vampires didn’t develop fevers according to Carson’s brother, Colton.
“Have you ever seen Lucius before?” asked Kieran.
Shaking his head, Remy said, “No and as far as the records show, he never worked at the vineyard…I wonder where he’s from?”
“Is there a coven nearby?”
“Nope…there’s one in Paris but no one’s missing. The Elder of the coven suggested we kill him quickly if we want to save him from a painful death, but just so you know, that’s not gonna happen.” Brushing back a few strands of hair that had fallen over the young vampire’s eyes, Remy gazed at the innocent face, wondering what the story behind it was.
Seeing flashes of sorrow skittering across Remy’s face, Kieran murmured, “The one thing he wants more than anything is the thing he can never have.”
Puzzled by the statement, Remy asked, “What do you mean?”
“Lucius wants to be human again,” Kieran said, softly.
“How do you know?” asked Remy.
“It’s the only thing that’s kept him going since he was turned.”
“But that’s impossible.”
“I know,” Kieran murmured, sadly.
“Have you found out anything else? Like where he came from, who his family is?”
“I think the spell is also blocking that part of him because I can’t access it.”
“Are you usually able to do that?” asked Remy, curious about the Shaman’s powers.
“Yes, normally it’s not a problem.”
“Do you think it’s possible he lost those memories when he was turned?”
“Maybe…” Kieran murmured, “but even if he has, there’s always a residual memory deep in someone I can find. In this case, there’s nothing…his memory is totally missing.”
“Hmm…sounds like someone wanted total control over him,” Remy mused. “Without a memory, he’d be forced to rely on someone else to provide answers about who he was.”
“The vampire who turned him wanted Lucius to follow his orders without question…no matter what they were,” Kieran said.
“I agree…and that worries me,” Remy said. “Since there isn’t a coven near us, why is he here? To do harm to me because of my new position? Or does Fionn have more enemies out there who want to kill him?” Sighing, he picked up the next bag of blood, switching it out for the depleted one hanging on a hook over the vampire.
“I don’t know,” Kieran answered. “I can’t tell you what he did in the past, but I know Lucius has suffered pain that most of us will never know.”
Looking over his shoulder after hearing a soft knock on the door, Remy smiled at the man standing in the doorway. “Carsy, any news about Mystia?”
“Nope…Jackson called Jimmy but Mystia’s gone and didn’t tell him where she was going,” Carson murmured, walking over to his mate. “How’s Lucius?”
“Hanging on,” answered Remy.
“Maybe Oracle can help…she called and said she was on her way. According to Logan, she sounded worried,” Carson said.
“Worried? Do you mean worried for us or for the vampire?” asked Remy.
Frowning, Carson replied, “Don’t know…she hung up before Logan could ask her and when he called back, it went straight to voicemail. Babe, maybe we should send the boys over to the chateau with Mrs. Beasley after they’ve finished dinner. Hunter and Fionn have already agreed to go with them.”
