WitchLove

WitchLove

By Emma Mills

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2012 Emma Mills

All Rights Reserved

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organisations is entirely coincidental.

WitchLove

Copyright © 2012 Emma Mills

www.witchbloodthenovel.com

www.twitter.com/EmmaMwriter

Cover Image : Laura Zalenga

www.laurazalenga.de

Acknowledgments

As with my last two books I would like to give big thanks to my mum who goes against all the writer’s rules of not having a family member as a proof reader and proves herself to be fantastic every time. She tirelessly reads my manuscripts after each edit and manages to find new errors each time! It seems I am blessed with an amazing family and would like to thank Tom for supporting me and being the daft, overly proud husband who dreams of movie deals and makes me laugh.

However this time I would also like to give a massive thank you to my Beta Readers who came up with some great queries and suggestions. So thank you to bloggers Kim Deister & Nancy Allen; with a special mention to the fabulous fellow author Aurelia B. Rowl who sent back my manuscript with comments on virtually every page! This final version would not be the same without you, so Thank You!

Dedication

To my children: You are

My world

My life

My love

French & Haitian Translation Notes: Chapter 14

Haitian / English

manzel? Miss

Es'ke mwen ka ede'w? Can I help you?

mwen me

Li twaser it’s 3 o’clock

selebrasion celebration

bonne chanse good luck

Gris Gris a Voodoo amulet

nwa majik black magic

konprann understand

vini come

French / English

oui yes

desolė sorry

mon amie my friend

Je ne parle pas Français I can’t speak French

Chapter One

I had expected the summons to come sooner, and presumed the high court would be held in London, but they surprised me on both counts. Three months had passed since my escape from London and Alex’s death; since I’d lost my new friend Eva, and with her Daniel, the man who had saved me from death six months previously by turning me into a vampire. He had accepted me for all my quirks, and I’d slowly but surely fallen in love with him.

Those three months had passed in a whirlwind of grief, pain and unexpected friendship. At first I’d simply refused to believe Sebastian – the vampire leader of the Northern district – when he had confirmed that Eva and Daniel hadn’t made it out of Cole’s club when the null bomb went off. The null bomb is an extremely efficient, but deadly way of instantly clearing up any magical or supernatural evidence. After all humans didn’t and mustn’t know of our existence, so if something went wrong the cleaners came in and destroyed the evidence before word leaked out. Its effectiveness lies in its ability to turn anything, or anyone remotely magical or supernatural to dust… We were given a ten second warning but somehow, and I still didn’t get how, Daniel and Eva never made it out. Cole, the depraved southern vampire leader and several of his cronies didn’t get out either, which in my eyes was excellent, but due to Cole’s royal standing decreed that the whole nasty thing be picked over in court.

I’d already given a full and way too lengthy statement, explaining my reasons for going to London, explaining who I’d met, who had kidnapped me and all the nasty little details that had followed, weeks ago. Luke had also given his statement, as had Sebastian and my new friend Brittany, who was now standing in the doorway to my room, hands on hips. Her evidence had been vital as she had witnessed the whole sordid plan come to fruition and was also able to vouch for Daniel’s innocence regarding several human murders in the weeks before.

‘Come on already, we’re going to be late. Luke is waiting downstairs... Jess, are you okay?’ she asked.

I nodded and smiled, levering myself off the bed and taking a glance around the room, before picking up my precious book of shadows and placing it under the loose floorboard beneath my bed. How long would Sebastian let me stay here, in Daniel’s house? What would happen to it… to me? Everybody wanted a piece of me, but Luke and Daniel were the only people I felt I could trust and now Daniel was gone.

‘Hey you, don’t you want to wear something a bit more…’ Luke said, as I made it downstairs.

‘A bit more what, Luke?’ I said.

‘Erm… no it’s fine, you just… Well you look a bit…’

‘What?’

‘Tough? A bit Matrix meets Underworld. It’s not you Jess and well, you want the Council to be lenient,’ Luke said, not quite meeting my eyes.

‘Yeah well, I want them to know that I can handle myself, and that I kicked that vampire rapist’s butt and set him ablaze. Well, that was before your mate came in and decapitated him,’ I said, feeling the involuntary pull of my lips as they curled upwards. He looked up, met my gaze and grinned back.

‘Fine, come on then, but I’m calling you Selene, the vampire warrior from now on,’ he said, walking past, intentionally bumping into me and knocking me sideways.

‘Very funny! Actually, that was a really cool film. Remember when we watched it?’ I said, glancing sideways at Luke, memories flicking through my mind. ‘Have you seen it Brit?’

‘Nah, we weren’t allowed to watch anything remotely supernatural at school, and I’d only been with Cole a couple of months before you turned up.’

‘We’ll have to watch it then,’ I said, following Luke through the door, Brittany linking her arm through mine as we walked in the dim moonlight to the back of the long Victorian garden.

‘Who wants a ley line race then?’ I said grinning, trying to mask my growing fear of the ordeal to come.

‘No way! Firstly you know angels can’t keep up with witches… especially witches boosted by vampire speed, and secondly the last time you flew the ley lines you broke your arm again and ended up with half a tree in your hair. We want to make a composed entrance… ah, here’s Caoimhe.’

‘Hey you three, I thought we could all go together?’ Caoimhe said, as she landed gracefully before them, her wings quickly slipping in behind her back and disappearing.

‘Sure,’ I said grinning sideways at Luke. She liked him, I knew she did, but I didn’t understand why they hadn’t got together. She had to know that Luke and I were no longer an item. A lot had changed in six months.

‘So, have you memorised the picture I gave you, just in case we spilt up in the lines?’ Luke asked, looking towards Brittany and myself. I removed a neatly folded print out from the back pocket of my black skinny jeans and unfolded it.

This had been the second surprise of the day. High Court wasn’t based in London as I’d expected, so instead we were going to Edinburgh.

‘So is it always based there, or does it move around?’ I asked, looking at the picture of the gorgeous stone manor house set in lush grounds.

‘Yes, the Council have several international bases. They have owned this property for a couple of hundred years now. It has a vast amount of private parkland surrounding it, so it’s ideal for our privacy and serves the whole of northern Europe.’

‘Come on, we’d better go; the sun will be up in thirty minutes,’ Caoimhe said, looking at Luke, but tilting her head towards me. We all knew why… I might be half witch, but I was half vampire too and the late summer sunshine wasn’t great for my complexion.

‘You remember how…?’ Brittany whispered in my ear. I nodded.

‘Ready,’ I said, trying not to gawp as the two angels unfolded their beautiful wings.

‘Sure you don’t want a ride?’ Luke asked, grinning at me.

I shook my head. I remembered only too well the first time he’d carried me into the air, the loss of breath, the g-force, the stomach churning speed. ‘No thanks.’

‘Okay, I’ll see you up there, after the count of 3. 1, 2…’

‘Damn it! I should have known. Come on Brit, let’s get them,’ I said.

I’d practiced a couple of times since my first go, when I was leaving London. I was quicker now, more fluid. I left my body, let my soul soar into the clouds, felt around until I found the magical pulsating ley line, grabbed a hold and pulled my body after me. The only experience I can liken it to is riding the newest, fastest ride at a theme park. The air gushed past me, snatching at my breath, stealing it and making my eyes water as I stared at the bright green and electric blue slivers of phosphorescence stretching ahead of me in every direction. I concentrated on the image of the grand hall and felt it suck me in.

‘Jess… jess… JESS!’ My name being yelled suddenly disrupted my thought and I turned my head slightly against the pull. Brittany was slightly behind me, struggling to keep up. The angels were nowhere in sight.

‘Jess, slow down, pull back,’ she yelled.

Reluctantly I pulled back, keeping the image in my mind as I slowed down, feeling the resistance of the lines around me, like a puppy pulling on his lead.

‘Where are they?’ I asked, as I pulled alongside Brittany.

‘Miles back,’ she said, grinning. ‘You overtook them almost as soon as you connected. You should have seen Luke’s face,’ she added, pulling her eyebrows down in mock indignation.

‘Well it’s not my fault I’m half vampire and they can’t keep up, ’ I said, ‘and anyway, I don’t know how to stop in these things.’

‘Here, take my hand,’ she said, holding her hand out to me. ‘Now, feel me pulling back and do the same.’

I felt her pulling backwards on my hand, our arms becoming stretched between us as she put the brakes on, and I began to be carried away with the tide of lights.

‘Pull back Jess. It’s just like slowing down, hurry,’ she shouted as her fingers started to pull away from my grasp. I strained backwards, tugging away from the hungry torrent, and finally came to an almost stop.

‘Excellent! Now, where are they?’ she said, looking behind her.

‘Look… the sun,’ I said a couple of minutes later. ‘We need to move.’

I wasn’t too bothered about the sun’s appearance. I knew I’d be fine as it was still cool and very early. A vampire doesn’t burn up at the first sight of dawn, that’s all fairy tale; but let the sun get too high, too hot and I would burn, slowly and excruciatingly for several hours until I was begging to die. And I knew how that felt, I knew what it felt like to burn, and I wasn’t going to let it happen again! Today the sky was cloudless and I was nervous.

‘Here they are,’ Brittany said, interrupting my thoughts and pulling me out of my nightmares.

‘Jess, remember that quote from The Lost Boys, that you kept repeating to me whenever you got in my car?’ Luke said smiling, raising an eyebrow. ‘Well now I can say it back to you.’

‘Burn rubber does not mean warp speed,’ we both shouted together.

‘At least Brittany showed me how to stop,’ I added.

‘Come on, you guys,’ Caoimhe said.

We set off together this time, cruising through the ley lines at angel pace. What seemed like ten minutes later, Luke tugged my arm and motioned to the right, before both he and Caoimhe suddenly disappeared, dive bombing through the clouds and out of sight, wings outstretched behind them.

‘This is it then,’ Brittany said. ‘Try and do it slowly this time, hey? Aim feet first, rather than face first,’ she added, grinning.

‘Thanks, I’ll try,’ I grimaced. I wasn’t good at landings. Twice I had broken bones, and the other times I’d ended up covered in bruises and foliage.

Brittany left the ley line and I followed, feeling the uncomfortable flip in my stomach as I soared out of the clouds in a whirlwind of my own making and headed at breakneck speed towards the ground. I wondered if this was what it felt like to sky dive, and if so why the hell did they choose to do it… for fun! This was not fun. As the ground raced up to greet me, I quickly made out the hall and its grounds; no prickly hawthorn bushes to be seen, great!

I stuck my feet out and thought calming thoughts, visualized landing softly, gracefully… just like everyone else had managed, before they turned their faces upwards to watch me. In the split second before I landed I watched as their faces went from smiling, to concerned, to horrified before they split and ran several paces backwards, scattering like marbles.

Thwack! For the first time ever I’d managed to land on my feet. This was good. What was not so good was the fact that due to me landing on the lawn, which was possibly softer than usual due to the summer rains, and added to the speed, which I still hadn’t managed to lessen, I found myself buried up to my knees. A long crack snaked its way from my hole across the manicured lawn, where it fizzled out somewhere in its perfect centre. Damn!

‘Oh.My.God!’ Brittany shouted, as she stood laughing at me.

‘Jess, are you okay?’ Caoimhe’s eyes were at least showing some concern, as both she and Luke jogged over.

‘What’s broken this time?’ Luke asked, failing to conceal the grin slapped across his face.

‘Nothing. I’m fine. Brittany, you said to aim feet first. Well, I did and this is what happens, so do you think you could get me out? I’m kinda wedged in here,’ I said. My pride had taken yet another bashing, but even I could see the funny side, and as I caught her eye we both dissolved into giggles.

‘Girls, you might want to speed things up. I don’t think Balthazar and Co will be too impressed with you trashing their lawn,’ Luke said, motioning behind him to the imposing stone turrets casting shadows across the lawns.

‘Who’s Balthazar?’ I asked.

‘Angelic Council member of the highest order. I’ll explain inside, hurry.’

‘Okay Jess, try a levitation spell first. I think that will work best,’ Brittany said, as all eyes turned to me.

‘Um hello, I haven’t learnt that yet. In fact, what exactly have you taught me these last few weeks, apart from how to make my hair colour match my outfit?’ I said, arching one eyebrow.

‘You liked that!’

‘Yeah, but it probably wasn’t very practical.’

‘Girls, come on! We need to be inside and cleaned up. Court starts in less than an hour,’ Luke said, interrupting our bickering.

‘Right, so all you do is…’

‘Look, teach me another time. Just get me out of here!’ I yelled.

‘Fine,’ she said, suddenly raising her hands palms upwards, closing her eyes and muttering something quickly.

I felt a tingling sensation creep all over my body, not unlike the soft shiver that races up your spine for no known reason. Someone’s walking over your grave, we used to say. Then I felt myself being pulled at. I wriggled and struggled, feeling the soil crumble around my feet and ankles before finally giving way, so I could soar into the air like a champagne cork.

‘Pop!’ Brittany laughed as she lowered me to the ground gently.

‘Thanks.’

‘We’re going to have to work on your landings, Jess.’

‘Definitely!’

‘We also might need to clean your jeans,’ Luke said. ‘Come on.’

Chapter Two

‘So, Jess, you need to remember their names and how to address them, Luke explained. Currently there are five high council members. They govern the entire International Supernatural Council. The founder, Balthazar, is the only surviving member. He is one of the original fallen angels. He set up this council with two high witches and a druid priest sometime in the Celtic period, pre-Romans.’

‘And what you’re telling me is that he is still alive?’ I said.

‘Very much so. The original angels… or demons for that matter... don’t age like we do, in fact they don’t age at all.’

Ri-i-ight! But the witches and the druid guy would have been human and therefore have long since died?’ I clarified.

‘Correct!’

‘So who is on the Council now, apart from the old guy?’ Brittany asked.

‘Now there are five leaders. Along with Balthazar, who I suggest you don’t call the old guy, there is Ariel…’

‘The mermaid?’ I interjected, my eyebrows shooting upwards, as Brittany and Caoimhe burst out laughing.

‘No, idiot! Ariel is originally an angel name. She was the angel of protection. Our Ariel is a human-born angel like me, named after the original.’

‘Oh!’ I felt more than a little stupid, and felt a blush rising across my pale cheeks. ‘Who else?’

‘Adaryn Glyn represents the witches. Seth is the vampire representative and Tomas Pathon represents the shifters,’ Luke said.

‘Shifters, as in werewolves?’ I asked.

‘No, were-wolves and were-cats are different. They refuse to abide by our laws and are therefore cast out. Shifters are humans, similar to witches, who are able to connect to the nature spirit and change their shape to that of an animal.’

‘Wow! That would be so cool,’ I said.

‘Some witches can also change their shape Jess, if you’re powerful enough…’ Caoimhe said.

‘Yeah right! I can’t even land properly.’

‘Jessica James and all concerned parties. You may enter now.’ A tall, thin, virtually scentless and therefore probable vampire had emerged from behind the heavy wooden door to our left. Her eyes looked bored until they alighted upon me, when they paused and glittered with interest.

‘Jess, call Balthazar Your Highness, the others you may call by their names… only if required,’ Luke whispered in my ear as we were motioned through the door and into a vast, ornate room.

‘What do…’

‘Shhh!’ the vampire girl reprimanded us. It looked like I’d have to work out what only if required meant on my own then!

The room seemed initially the same as any human court would be, with a single bench at the top, behind which a blonde man with chiselled features, looking somewhat like an uber-successful European businessman sat. Slightly ahead of him and to his right and left four more council members sat. A middle-aged African man sat with a friendly-looking, elderly woman. The left bench seated a stunning woman with pale blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair, and a drop dead gorgeous Native American man in his late twenties. I guessed these were all the leaders.

‘Phewwww!’ In my ear Brittany let out an appreciative half-whispered whistle. ‘Now that is one damn fine shifter,’ she murmured.

The vampire girl showing us to our seats paused and glared at us, and as she did I noticed a slight smile flicker around the features of the African man at the other end of the room. So he was the vampire, as only a vampire could have heard what Brittany had whispered. Therefore the caramel-coloured hunk of loveliness must be the shifter.

As I followed the vampire girl further into the room and towards the front, I found my eyes drawn to him again, and watched him as he quietly chatted to the woman next to him. He was so gorgeous, but as I looked closer I started to suspect I was wrong about his Native American origins. He had an oriental look about the eyes and a western body shape, yet his eyes were dark chocolate pools you could easily get lost in and his hair was like black silk, short and shiny. He turned his face slightly, as if feeling my gaze and stared back at me.

‘Jess, you will sit here.’ The girl interrupted my thoughts and I broke his gaze to find myself being guided into a small wooden dock. I panicked when I saw her lead the others away to separate stalls. I was on my own. Luke glanced over from his dock and smiled.

‘It’s okay,’ he murmured.

I knew I hadn’t done much wrong. It wasn’t my fault I’d been lured away and that Cole, the Southern vampire leader had been a psychopath. He was the one with an