Page 43 of Blood Illusions

“To be honest, I have no idea,” Damon revealed as he sat in a chair. “They chased us into the Garden of Eden and burst into flames.”

“Come again?” Tim put the container down.

I quickly caught him up to speed on everything we discovered when we fought the vampires.

He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it. “So you brats discovered two of these vampires’ Achilles heels.”

“Sort of,” I responded. “We know they can’t cross over salt, and something in that rock garden made them burn up like matchsticks. But we don’t know what.”

“Well, what was in the rock garden?”

“Sage, for one thing. There were other flowers and plants, too. I recognized a few but not all of them.”

Tim exhaled in frustration. “Sage doesn’t work on vampires. Do you eggheads remember what the other plants looked like?”

Damon furrowed his brow. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Tim flicked his hand. “Behind you are several ancient texts on plants. Grab two. One for you and one for your sister. Don’t worry, Damon. They’re picture books.”

Damon scowled. “I can read.”

“Really? When was the last time you read a book, Oprah?”

I bit back a laugh. Reading was way down on Damon’s to-do list. He could barely sit through a movie, let alone read a book.

I motioned toward the books on the table. “What were you researching?”

“Well, you’re not the only knuckleheads who stumbled onto those damn vampires making things cold like Jack Frost or shape-shifting into another human disguise. You’re just two of the lucky ones.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You survived. Some of the others weren’t so lucky.”

“What have you found?” Damon asked.

Tim slammed the leather-bound volume he had been studying shut and wiped a hand over his forehead. “So far, zilch. There’s nothing in the lore about vampires shifting into different people. According to the lore, vampires can change into a wolf, a bat, or even smoke, but not other people.” He shook his head in frustration. “It’s just not possible.”

I thought about it for a minute. “What about other creatures? Can anything else do what those vampires could? Maybe they mated.”

“Great.” Damon rolled his eyes and tossed a botany book at me. “Next thing you know, we’ll have SupernaturalMatch.com. Swipe right for your cross-species soulmate.”

Tim rubbed his temples with two fingers, the tension in his face clearly showing. “No, you’re wrong, Sawyer.”

I winced at his sharp voice.

He gave me an apologetic look. “Sorry, girl. I’ve been at this for literally days, and that’s one thing I know for sure. Supernaturals only mate with their own kind. I haven’t come across anything that says different.”

“I know,” I replied softly. “But we’ve been looking at the possible. Maybe we need to start looking at the impossible.”

Tim flipped his gaze over the books. “Where do you suggest I start looking next?”

Damon shrugged. “Pick a supernatural and start digging.”

“Fine. Get to flipping through the pages, Hermione,” Tim grumbled as he scooted away from the table. “I need to stretch my legs for a minute, so I’m going to examine these ashes.”

He picked up the ashes and headed back to the room. As soon as he did, Damon leaned back in his chair and put his feet on the table. I frowned at him, but he flashed me a teasing smile and winked. Damon only did this to annoy Tim.

Tim pressed a small, round button that looked like a doorbell. A wooden bookcase panel slid open and revealed a small laboratory filled with tables, microscopes, and glass beakers full of odd-looking liquids. The Grove had all kinds of hidden compartments.

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