Page 41 of Secret of the Vampire
“This will work fine,” she told him, taking the necklace.
I saw Jamal’s eyes flick past Judy and stay there. I looked over my shoulder to see who or what had stolen his attention, only to find Angel standing in front of the curtain that separated the two rooms, looking like she’d just stepped off the pages of a magazine with her white skin, green eyes, bright red hair, and matching lips. Not to mention the beaded designer sweater, perfectly fitted pants, and heeled boots that probably cost more than my rent. “Are we doing this?” she asked our aunt.
“Lizzy, we’re going to need your help,” Judy told her.
“But I don’t know what I’m doing,” she protested. “What if I mess it up?”
But my aunt just grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind her. “Doesn’t matter,” Judy said. “Alex. You, too.”
I followed them into the storage room and back to the secret door that was normally hidden behind a rack of metal shelves, my mind racing and Jamal on my heels. I saw him breathe a sigh of relief as we entered the windowless room and had to give him props for being ballsy enough to show up here in Lizzy’s shop with no one but her to protect him from being tossed out into the sun. Not that Judy would do that for no reason, but from my experience, vampires were distrustful creatures.
Without being told, my coven sisters and I formed a circle around the map spread out on the dirt floor, careful not to knock over the candles, and linked hands. Judy placed the necklace in the center of the circle and pulled Lizzy in between her and Talin. Jamal stood near the closed door, out of the way, one hand in his front pocket and the other rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous gesture.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to run out of the room and search every inch of the city until I found her, on foot if I had to. I couldn’t stop thinking—what if she’d gotten caught in the sun?
Or worse, what if Marcus had changed his mind about her.
“Alex,” Judy said, holding out her hand.
I looked over at her. Without a word, I put my hand in hers, noticing how it shook. Holding our arms out until our joined hands were over the map, she nicked my finger with a small knife, dripping a few drops of blood on the location of the Lee Monument on the map. I received a few looks from the others, but no one questioned Judy’s decision to use my blood. If they didn’t know about my connection to before, they sure as hell did now.
Judy handed me a bandage from her pocket, and I wrapped up my finger then took my place in the circle.
Hands linked and eyes closed, we began to chant the locator spell as one, repeating it over and over as we gave our magic over to the spell, feeding it into the blood on the map. The air moved around us, stirring my hair and my clothes, and goose bumps rose up all over my skin. When I felt the blood begin to move, I opened my eyes and saw the others do the same. We continued chanting the spell, watching it move west across the map out of the city.
As it entered the swampland, it slowed down. I exchanged glances with Alice and as one, the coven began to chant louder, our voices strong and insistent. The drop of blood shuttered, moved a fraction of an inch, and exploded, splattering all over the map.
It was finished.
I stared at the blood covered paper. No.No. She couldn’t be lost to me.
Jamal took a few steps toward us, his eyes shifting nervously around the room. “What happened? Where is she? Did you see?”
“The spell was blocked,” Judy told him.
“What does that mean?” he asked her.
“It means it’s finished. There’s nothing more we can do here,” I told him as I stared down at the map.
Jamal stomped forward as we all unlinked our hands, breaking the circle. He looked down at the map, then at me, then at Judy. “There’s got to be something else. What if we brought you something else? I can find you some of her hair or something.”
“Jamal, it’s the middle of the day,” Lizzy reminded him.
“Okay,” he said. “Then you can run home and find it.”
But Judy just shook her head. “It won’t do any good, Jamal. The spell is blocked. There’s nothing we can do.”
His head whipped around. Wide eyes locking on each of us in turn. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? You’re witches. You have to find her.”
“So, we’re done?” Angel left the circle and started to leave.
As I stood, frozen and numb, Jamal flew across the room, blocking the door. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” he asked her in a low voice.
She took a step back and turned her head away. I noticed she wouldn’t meet my eyes, or anyone’s. “Tell him to let me pass,” she said in Lizzy’s direction.
“You’re not going anywhere, Leeloo,” he told her.
Angel finally looked up at him. “What did you call me?”
