Page 14 of Finding Our Home

Remi shook his head. “No. He was already gone when I dropped off a glass of blood in his room.”

Dregan sighed, but cupped the back of Remi’s neck. “Thank you for caring for him.”

“My pleasure.” Remi smiled, but it looked a little sad.

Then Dregan was off again with me trailing behind him. We passed the small town we were rebuilding, then walked into the wooded area in the center of the island. No one ever really traveled deep inside the forest, so I was surprised Dregan was leading me there. We walked between huge oak trees, and a sudden icy fear wrapped around my whole body, making me freeze. A strange fog surrounded me, blocking out the moon and hurling me into total darkness. Even with my vampire eyes, I couldn’t see anything. Not one damn thing.Holy hell. I can’t go any farther. I need to turn around. I need to run and never come back here again.

A hand touched my arm, making me jump and try to scramble back, but the hand clutched me hard enough that I couldn't get away from it.

“Dorian, close your eyes.”

Trusting Dregan, I did so and listened to his voice.

“Nothing will harm you. This is simply one of my wards. They grow stronger every day, so I didn’t realize they’d grown this far out.” He said a few words under his breath, but I was toodistraught to understand them. “Take a breath and open your eyes. You should be immune to them now.”

I blinked my eyes open, and was relieved to see the forest around us.

“Are you okay?” Dregan asked.

“Yes.”

“There are more wards up ahead, but I’ll try to catch them before you cross them.”

“What about Neo? Will he be okay?”

“Christopher knows what to do and will make Neo immune. No harm will come to him.”

We walked for a few more minutes, stopping four more times so Dregan could mumble words with his hand on my arm making sure I could pass the wards. Whatever he was showing me must’ve been extremely important. Never in the time I’d known him had he compelled me or any of the vampires I knew like that, let alone have this many wards up except around our old home. I had no idea what could possibly need this much security.

Finally, he led me to the edge of a clearing, but he turned and blocked me from entering. “Do you know the story of the Holy Tree?”

“Of course.” When he didn’t say anything, I added, “It’s the magical tree in which vampires were born, but it was destroyed by the Dark Witch about twelve hundred years ago.”

“Correct. The Holy Tree was a place of honor, so when Jacqueline passed away, her village buried her body there because she was so beloved. They had no idea that she would emerge a week later as something else. The Holy Tree gave us eternal life. When it was still whole, any that we buried beneath Her would return to us as vampires. She was beautiful and strong, and we created many vampires in Her image. She blossomed at night, so we mirrored Her and became creatures ofthe night as well. She was light and magic and pure. But the Dark Witch took that from us. She burned Her down and destroyed our light. But the Holy Tree still found a way to fight back. Her ashes were so pure that they burned the evil witches. I collected Her ashes and had weapons forged. Did you know that I was there when She burned?”

I shook my head. “No, I didn’t know.”

He nodded and looked off to the side for a moment. “It’s something I still have nightmares about.” It surprised me that he admitted it, but I didn’t say anything. “I collected as much of the Holy Tree’s ashes as I could, this is no secret. When I did it, I didn’t know we’d make Holy Tree-infused weapons to protect us against the witches. I had only wanted to respect Her ashes.” He looked into my eyes. “But there’s something I never told anyone until a few months ago. It wasn’t only ash that I collected that terrible night; I found a root.”

“You did? Did you plant it?”

He shook his head. “Nowhere was safe. The Dark Witch found me no matter where I hid, and the Holy Tree needs moonlight to grow, so I couldn’t plant it when we were hiding underground. But I kept it safe. I protected it with my life in case one day, I found a place the witches couldn’t reach.”

“Like an island.”

He nodded and smiled. “They can’t cross large bodies of water.” He moved to the side. “But I’ve warded this place more heavily than any other in case the Dark Witch finds a way. But the time has come.” He waved his arm out to the clearing.

Right in the center, there was a tiny tree shining in the moonlight. It was completely white and almost looked like there was a glow coming off it.

“May I?” I whispered out of respect for Her.

“Of course.”

I stepped into the clearing, and closed my eyes as the rush of magic tickled my skin and raced through my veins. A small laugh bubbled out of me at the sensation. It was so pure and beautiful and strong and majestic. This all-encompassing feeling of love and joy filled me as Her magic radiated out and all around me, and I found my eyes filling with tears at the purity of it.

“She’s impressive, isn’t She?”

Another laugh bubbled out, and I turned to face him. “She’s magnificent.”

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