“Do you think Josiah was being controlled by a witch?” Blake asked.
I thought back and tried to remember if there was anyone he was close to, that could have possibly been more than a mere human. “There was a young girl who traveled with Josiah. She was a few years younger than him, but even though I saw them together when I watched him from a distance, he never mentioned her. At the time I thought it was his sister or another relative he was traveling with, but now I wonder if that were true why he never mentioned her.”
“Could someone so young have so much power?” Blake asked.
“Apparently with witches it depends not only on how much power or ability you’re born with, but also how you’re able to wield that power. I have heard those that used the black arts were stronger in some ways, but they often destroyed each other in their quest for power. It seems once they use dark powers, they no longer wanted to share their abilities with others of their own kind.” I told him what I knew, which wasn’t much, but at least we’d both have the information.
“What if Josiah was a victim the same as Elias? They may have tricked him into draining you for your blood while offering him powers,” Blake asked.
I considered his words but the hate I had for Josiah boiled hot and strong, and I was unwilling to accept what he did was not something he wanted to do. “He was no victim,” I growled.
“But what if he was?” Blake whispered and unclenched my hand. “You need to find out the truth. The whole truth, and then you do whatever you decide with those facts. But we don’t know anything yet, and we won’t until we either find Josiah, or help Elias.Since we don’t know exactly where Josiah is, Elias is our best option.”
He was right, he knew it, and I knew it. But a stubborn part of me refused to believe Josiah could somehow be a victim. “He tried to murder you,” I whispered back. Finally pushing out the words that hurt me the most.
“I know, but he didn’t. And you and I are together and always will be. Now you need to set aside your feelings for him and we need to help Elias. Maybe we can help him once they think they’ve taken all his blood,” Blake said, and I was thankful for his ability to work past the hate and get on with the facts.
“What are you saying?” I asked and narrowed my eyes. The same threats that made him nervous as a human had no effect on him now he was a vampire, and my mate.
“I’m not willing to let Elias suffer the way you did. If they leave him tied up there the sun will destroy him, and if they bury him, he’ll stay there until someone happens to find him. Who knows how long that would take. We’re going to circle around and watch what they do, and when we get a chance, we’ll grab him.”
“Then what? If they’re human, they have the advantage on us during the day, and if they figure out where we’re staying, they’ll use that advantage. Plus, if they’re all as fast as the one I destroyed, we’ll both have to fight them. I can’t risk you being destroyed,” I said and tried to control the rush of emotions that washed over me. “I cannot lose you.”
Blake gripped my chin with his hand and forced me to meet his eyes. “The one in the truck burned up in the sun. They’re vulnerable too. You won’t lose me. But we have to do something. If Josiah’s involved, we need to know. This might be the reason you were buried, and it might be the only chance we have at answers,” he said. The tone of his voice and the steely glint in his eyes were powerful, and I would have walked straight into the sun at that moment if he suggested it. He was my mate, and our bond grew stronger daily.
“We’ll need to be careful, and not do anything until they’re far enough away we can grab him. Once we’re deeper in the woods, they won’t be able to find us and if they catch up to us I’ll destroy them,” I said and knew he would never leave me to fend for myself.
“That’s not—”
“I know, love. But I hoped I could convince you to let me protect you.” I reached for his hand and covered his fingers with my hand. “I love you. More than anything.”
“Don’t ever doubt the level of my commitment to you. We’re in this together and I will protect you and fight with you.” He believed every word he said, and his confidence made me believe maybe we could do this.
“Let’s go, we still have lots of night left and I won’t risk either of us burning up.” We ran silently through the night and circled around to be closer to Elias, but where we could see the witches too. There were three of them. Two females and one male and they all looked like they’d been living in the woods for a while. Their clothes were shredded, and their hair was full of sticks and who knew what. I sprung up into a tree to get a better idea of what we were dealing with while Blake waited below.
It was just the three of them, and a few jars of what looked like blood. There was a bag nearby that one of the women kept picking up and setting down as though to reassure herself it was close. My senses told me it held herbs, oils, and other ingredients that did not seem to be of any importance. But I knew it was this type of bag that held the items a witch would use to cast their spells.
“He’s done,” the male said. “What do we do with him now?”
“We’ll leave him for the sun. Once it rises there will be nothing left of him,” one of the females said.
“Why don’t we let him feed so we can keep him longer,” the other female asked and walked over to where Elias was.
“Too risky. Even though he’s small he’s very strong, if we let him feed at all I couldn’t control him,” the other female said. “The spell only works to weaken a vampire long enough for us to drain them. You know this.”
“Yeah, I guess. It’s just, he’s small. Couldn’t we just pack him in a suitcase and keep him a while longer? Maybe give him a very small amount of blood?” she asked as she knelt in front of him. Not a shred of empathy or shame for what they’d done. My lips pulled back exposing my fangs and I calculated how fast I could snap their necks. But then I looked to where Blake was hidden still watching Elias.
“Let’s go, I want to get out here and get some sleep before we cast the spell,” the other woman said.
“Don’t we have enough blood to last a while?” the man asked.
“No, we’ll need to use some of what we have to find another bloodsucker,” the woman who now held the bag said as she put the jars of blood in the bag. “Once we have enough, we can complete the spell that will make the powers we get from their blood permanent. But it will take a lot of their blood and even more of my powers.”
“What about the other two?” the woman who was below me asked as she stood and walked over where the other two started to walk away.
“Those two might give us enough as long as we don’t have to use any of their blood to power up,” the woman with the bag said. “We’ll finally harness their power while being immune to the sun.”
Neither of us moved as we listened for them to move far enough away they wouldn’t hear us. I dropped down in front of Elias as Blake rushed to my side. After breaking his bonds, Blake lifted him into his arms. He was so small and frail looking. “He needs blood,” Blake whispered and tore at his wrist with his teeth. Blood covered Elias’s mouth and at first, he didn’t react but then his hands gripped Blake’s arm and held it to him as he drank.
