We all grimaced as we recalled Ludvik and the CrimsonAscension ritual.
“Does that mean the Thornwicks had attempted something similar to what Ludvik was trying to do?” Samuel said warily.
“Similar in principle. Different in execution.” Barney pursued his lips. “The book they got their hands on was said to contain ancient knowledge about combining witch magic with vampiric abilities.”
Gavin puffed out smoke nervously.
“The theory was that such a merger would create power beyond anything the covens had seen. Power they could use in any way they wanted.” Barney’s voice hardened. “They were fools though. That kind of magic doesn’t just corrupt the user. It corrupts everything it touches.”
I thought about the dark, wounded feeling at the Lincoln sisters’ clinic and shivered.
“Could whoever took the Lincoln sisters have used the same magic?” I asked weakly.
Barney shook his head. “The specific text the Thornwicks used was destroyed. The covens all personally witnessed its destruction.”
“But it’s possible a copy exists, right?” Didi insisted.
“What she said,” I murmured.
The vampire rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“It’s not impossible,” he finally admitted.
A tense silence followed.
Bo broke it by licking his chops noisily after inhaling his fifth cookie.
“Humans sure go to a lot of trouble to show who’s the big boss.” The Husky scratched behind his ear. “Everyone could just share the kibble.”
“A refreshingly simple perspective,” Barney said solemnly while Didi rolled her eyes. “However, Amberford isn’t just any supernatural community. The families here hold considerable influence.”
I stared. “Why? It’s a small town.”
This earned me a collective ‘Look’, Gavin’s tinged with pity.
“Because of who founded it,” Didi said slowly, like she was talking to an idiot.
“Oh.” I blinked. “You mean Victoria’s great-great-grandmother? Elizabeth?”
Barney, Didi, and Gavin appeared distinctively uncomfortable at the mention of the Hawthorne matriarch. Theirs was a relationship built on mutual tolerance and the unspoken agreement to never be in the same room longer than absolutely necessary.
As for Elizabeth Rochester Hawthorne, she was the white luna who had united the supernatural factions during the Shadow War.
“The most powerful warriors who fought alongside Elizabeth settled in and around Amberford after the war,” Barney explained. “They became the founding families, essentially. The Hawthornes. The Holts. The Tremaines. Others.” His lip curled. “Their descendants carry influential bloodlines, though I must say many of them have become rather diluted over the generations.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Diluted how?”
“Not everyone inherited their ancestors’ intelligence along with their power,” Barney replied coldly. “Some of them are barely competentenough to dress themselves in the morning, although this can be said of a few of the original forefathers.”
Bo wagged his tail. “That’s savage. I like it.”
I grimaced. There was some decidedly unresolved ancient history there and I suspected Count de Vile and some of the vampires we’d met at Lord Chudwell’s disastrous funeral had something to do with it.
Samuel steered us back on topic.
“The point is, anyone who controls Amberford’s covens has significant influence over the supernatural community on the entire East Coast.” My alpha frowned. “The Lincoln sisters understood this. After all, their family spent generations building alliances and maintaining a careful balance of powers.”
“And now, it seems somebody wants to upset that balance,” Didi said sourly.
