Page 26 of Discovery of the Vampire
She nodded.
"What was he looking for?"
"A book."
Now it was my turn to be confused. "He murdered your family over a book?"
She stared down at our joined hands. “It's a very special book. An ancient tome that contains spells."
"Witch’s spells?"
"Yes. Apparently. I'm not exactly sure as none of us had ever seen any such book."
I mulled that over for a few seconds, trying to make sense of it. “Then why would a djinn think your grandmother would have a book of spells?" I finally asked, my brow furrowed in confusion. "That makes no sense. Did one of you collect artifacts or something?"
"Because…" She stopped speaking, closed her eyes, took a breath, then opened them and tried again. "Because I'm abruja—a witch, of sorts—as was my mother and my mother's mother and her mother before her. We have many books that have been handed down through the family. For some reason, he thought his was one of them."
She gripped my hand tighter as she told me this, like she expected me to pull away. And honestly, if she hadn’t been holding onto me so tight, I probably would have. I knew about the witches in Mexico. They practiced dark magic—the kind that even sent shivers down the spines of creatures like me. Kidnapped children and animals for their curses and hexes because they dealt in blood magic.
Something icy and evil slithered down my spine.
Her eyes met mine, and I could practically feel her trying to probe around my mind. “I can see it in your eyes," she said, and I didn't miss the sadness in her voice. "The fear of me."
I did try to pull my hand away then, but she held fast, her eyes pleading with me not to turn away from her. But…damn. I mean, we had voodoo priestesses and witches here in New Orleans. And over the years, we’d learned to live together in the same city, thanks to the agreement that allowed us to coexist. Some of them were even mated to members of my coven. And hell, we just found out that Kenya had voodoo blood in her.
But this was different.
Witches are the spawn of Satan.
And Esme was no normal witch. She was a blood witch.
What the fuck had I done, bringing her here? Asking the others to help her? I'd put them all in danger, and for what? Because I wanted to fuck her? Because I thought there was something special between us?
I was a damn fool. A fool who'd let his dick do the thinking instead of his brain. And now we would all pay the price.
Jesus Christ. Maybe Killian was right and she was working with the djinn. And I'd just invited her into ourfuckinghome.
I finally managed to yank my hand away from hers and stood up, backing away from the table, putting the island between us. I needed to get her the hell out of here. "I can't do this.” I shook my head. "I'm sorry. I can't help you. I won't put my coven at risk."
She stood also. "Brogan, please. I'm not what you think."
But I wouldn't let her near me. "I've been around a long time. I know exactly what you are."
She shook her head. "No, you don’t,” she insisted.
"Are you telling me you don't practice blood magic? You don't create curses? Hexes? Love spells?" My voice rose, edged with panic as the implications crashed through me. A seriously fucked up thought suddenly occurred to me, making my stomach drop like I'd just stepped off the edge of a cliff. "Is that what this is? Did you put a goddamn love spell on me? Is that why I can't stop thinking about you?" I practically vibrated with tension now, my hands clenched into fists at my sides to keep them from shaking.
"No!" she insisted. "I haven't done anything but try to get to know you."
"I don't believe you," I growled, shaking my head vehemently. Shehadlied before. "This...this thing between us," I waved my hand back and forth between us, "it's not natural. It's notreal."
Esme took a step towards me, her dark eyes pleading. "Brogan, please. I swear to you, I didn't cast any spell. What we feel for each other, it's very, very real."
But I couldn't believe her. The lust I felt, the pull toward her, it was too strong, too all-consuming to be anything but magic. "Stop lying to me!" I snapped, my fists clenching at my sides. "You've been manipulating me from the start, haven't you? From the moment you walked into our club! You’ve used your spells to make me want you, so you could trick me into feeling sorry for you and drag me into a war that isn’t mine.”
She shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "That's not true. I would never do that to you, or to anyone! Yes, the magic I practice is…different, but I've never used it to control someone's feelings." She took a small step toward me, her hands reaching for me. “You must believe me.”
I laughed bitterly. "And why should I? Hell, you've been keeping secrets from me this whole time."
