Page 80 of Destined to Fight

Kade caught her up on everything that had happened between him and Kelly until this point.

The assistant’s face lit up. “This reminds me of a story my mum used to tell me when I was a kid. It was about a vampire and a mage who roamed the world together saving Arcane one bad guy at a time.”

Connor jumped in. “Was there a mention of any bond between them?”

Asta thought on that for a moment. “I don’t recall, but they had special powers between them. I can call my mum and ask her where the story came from. She never read it from a book, always told it from memory.”

“I found some old writings about a bond between vampires and mages, but it was vague. There wasn’t anything about the vampire’s eyes changing or different abilities. I might be able to find more, though, if your mom can tell us where that story came from.”

“I’ll call her after lunch.”

Connor nodded in thanks.

“Rookie, how in the heck did you shut his thoughts out?”

Kelly shrugged at Ginna. “I’m not really sure. I just meditated and pictured shutting a window in my mind. I can’t really explain it better than that.”

A whistle left Ginna’s lips. “You’re going to be one hell of a mage.” She turned to Kade. “Can you hear her thoughts?”

He just shook his head.

“You know, I’d be curious to see if you can hear them after drinking her blood.”

Fabian switched to Guardian mode in a flash. “Absolutely not!”

Running a hand through his hair, Kade sighed. “I dinnae think that’s a good idea. With the bloodlust that hit me the other night, and the way Kelly reacted to my blood yesterday, I have a feeling we would rip each other to shreds.”

Silence followed as they all mulled over the situation.

“What if you took some of her blood indirectly?” Asmund suggested. “We could draw some, you could drink it far away from her.”

Fabian shook his head. “I do not think that would work the same way. What they are experiencing is similar to the old blood bonds between vampires, but those did not manifest any new abilities, only enhanced what was already there. When master vampires exchanged blood directly, it caused a temporary increase in their abilities. It had to be a direct exchange, though.”

“Aye, I hadnae thought of that. Those were outlawed centuries ago.”

Ginna took the opportunity to add another smart comment. “So we’ve got a possible blood bond between a potential timekeeper and a vampire that may or may not give both of them additional abilities. The Council is going to love this.”

Kade’s fist slammed down on the table, denting it and making the plates and glasses clatter. “None of this leaves the house, not even a vague discussion of it outside these walls. No one outside of this group kens about these things, and that’s the way it will stay. If the Council finds out, they’re likely to imprison or kill Kelly out of fear.”

“Kade’s right,” Connor said. “I have a feeling the Council has known about Kelly from the day she was born, if not before. Her mother’s death was too closely followed by Mary’s appearance; I would bet Mary is connected to or works for the Council. It’s only a matter of time before we hear from them.”

“Aye, that follows the information Luther gave us. I was just waiting for photos of the woman to confirm. We went to visit Luther the other night, and he said there were rumors about someone from the Council being placed to raise a potential timekeeper. Mary’s convenient arrival into Dave’s life fits perfectly. It appears the Council was watching ye more closely than we thought.”

“All right, we need a plan to gather information,” Asta announced. “I’ll call my mum to find out more about the story, then I’ll research it from there. Connor, you take the photo of this Mary Evans and find out what her connection to the Council is and what her role is now. Kelly, Kade, Fabian, and Ginna, you all go to the Arcane library and gather all the information you can on vampire blood bonds and the Katz family history. I think you should take Asmund too, for extra protection.”

Kelly sat and stared at her plate as thoughts and emotions raced through her head. The woman who claimed to be her mother, who she’d hated for years, wasn’t related to her. Relief. The person Luther had talked about, who had watched her and possibly reported her to the Council, was likely Mary. Betrayal, fury. What was happening between her and Kade was similar to blood bonds between vampires, which were now illegal. Shock, frustration. Her real mom held ties to the oldest known mage family. Curiosity, pride. All of these people, her friends, her new family, were willing to help her find answers. Gratitude, love.

“Are ye all right, lass?”

Kelly jerked her head up to find everyone staring at her.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a lot to take in.”

Ginna reached over and took her hand. “We’re all here with you, Rookie. We’re going to find answers together, about all of it.”

Managing a smile, Kelly nodded in agreement.

“I guess I’ll call my dad to see if he’s bringing the picture over.”

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