Page 88 of Depths of Desire
“So smart of you to figure that out, Esme,” my mother congratulates her as if Esme were her student. “The first thing I need is a bloodline conduit, which would be you, my son.”
Esme reaches over and squeezes my hand. “As her blood-born son, you represent legacy, raw vampire power, and thevessel of her original spell. Your blood is needed to complete the circle and unlock ancient Valdici abilities.”
“Great. Can’t wait,” I growl.
My mother continues. “A bowl of burning ashes as an elemental conduit for fire and destruction. I will light it up when it’s time.”
Esme frowns. “What are you burning for the ash?”
“An ancient spell book,” my mother replies.
“Right.” Esme turns to me. “It symbolizes the destruction of old power to make way for new.” She turns back to my mother. “What oils did you mix it with?”
My mother presses a hand over her heart. “Aren’t you clever? I mixed it with sacred oils and dragon’s blood for potency.” She moves around the altar and picks up a skull. “A vampire skull, which is the conduit for death and dominance. It’s the skull of Draven Korrin. You remember him, don’t you, darling?”
I blink in surprise. “Father killed him centuries ago. He was a traitor to us.”
“Yes, he was, which makes him perfect for the ritual. He was a rival elder vampire. I have bleached his skull and inscribed it with runes. This will give me dominion over death and the vampire dead.”
I inhale sharply, but Mother doesn’t notice. She’s too intent on staring at the skull. I glance at Esme, and she gives me a slight nod as if she knows what I’m thinking.
“If Mother does manage to complete this ritual, then she will end up challenging the current vampire kings and they no doubt will give way because she controls the vampire dead. Mother will not only become the strongest witch, but the strongest vampire. The one and true Queen. This is a nightmare of epic proportions.”
Esme nods again. “This is going to be life-altering for every vampire and magickal creature.”
Mother finally puts down the skull. “Moving on.” She holds up a mirror. “It’s framed in bone. It’s the conduit of time and reflection. I will be able to see through time, distort the truth, or manipulate memory.”
“It also reflects the true form of whoever looks into it,” Esme adds.
“Wonderful. This just keeps getting better and better.” I cannot believe this is happening.
“Black candles, the conduits for the vampire kingdoms. Each one contains blood from the royal lines.” My mother touches them reverently. “I will light them during the ritual to bind their powers to me. You could call it a symbolic takeover.”
“Where is your water?” Esme asks. “I don’t see it.”
My mother shifts again and holds up a stone bowl.
“What’s in that?” I’m almost afraid to ask.
“Esme, tell him.”
Esme sighs. “It’s filled with water from a sacred place in the magickal realm. It’s the conduit for the spirit from the magickal realm used to connect to spirit entities, ancestors, or the essence of magic itself.”
“Very good,” my mother says distractedly. She holds up a dagger. I recognize it immediately. It’s made of obsidian and silver with an emerald in the hilt. It’s the dagger my father had made for my mother to celebrate their marriage.
“Father gave you that.”
“Yes, I will use it to cut you and me when the time is right. It will also seal my connection to both bloodlines, mine and your father’s.” She continues. “The last two items are an ancient grimoire containing the ritual, and”—she picks up a jar—“the withered heart of a powerful witch, Morwenna’s long-dead great-grandmother. It will be the conduit for all the power of the witches to flow into me.”
I am speechless. This is so much worse than I ever imagined. She really thinks she can take over the magickal realm. It wouldn’t surprise me if she decided to take over the human world as well. Let humankind know we exist. It’s worse than a nightmare. I have to stop it from becoming a reality.
I try to lift my arms, but they still don’t work. I grunt with exertion, but still nothing.
“Save your strength,” my mother comments. “You will need it to survive the ritual.”
Like she was actually going to allow me to survive. I try one more time to move my arms, but all I can do is make my hands twitch.
“It’s the poison,” she says. “The one that you three were injected with right here in this very place. It’s more potent within you than your brothers.”
