Page 68 of Enchant the Dawn

Ava paced the living-room floor, her concern for Dominic growing with every passing minute. Where was he? And why couldn’t she contact him? Had he blocked their bond? And if so, why now?

Determined to try one more time, she went into the den and picked up her scrying mirror. Peering into it, she chanted, “Powers of earth, wind, and fire, reveal to me what I desire. Show me my great-grandson.”

Nothing but her own worried face staring back at her.

“Show me Maddy.”

A ripple in the mirror’s surface, the blackness swirling, fading, until it revealed an image of Maddy moving like a sleepwalker down a rutted path in the middle of nowhere.

After jumping into her car, a location spell led Ava to an abandoned patch of land. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Maddy stumbling slowly along, her head down. Thank the good Lord, the girl was still alive.

Ava slowed and pulled up alongside the girl. “Maddy?” She frowned when Maddy kept walking. “Maddy!”

Worried now, Ava parked the car, jumped out, and darted around the front. Coming up behind Maddy, she laid a hand on her shoulder, bringing her to a stop. “Maddy!”

No response.

Ava frowned as she detected the faint, lingering signature of magic. Vampire magic. Maddy seemed to still be under the spell, but if that was true, how had she managed to escape?

Ava glanced around, her nerves suddenly on edge. Grabbing Maddy by the arm, she opened the passenger door and shoved her into the seat, then slammed the door and hurried around to the driver’s side. Pulling the door closed, she stomped on the gas and didn’t slow down until she reached civilization.

At home, she undressed Maddy, slipped a nightgown over her head, and tucked her into bed. After weaving a protective spell around her, Ava went into the den in search of answers.

* * *

Claret let out a string of epithets when she entered the dilapidated old house and found the girl gone. How had she escaped? And where had she gone?

Enraged, she sank her fangs into the first man and quickly drained the life from him, then tossed him aside and buried her fangs in the other one.

* * *

Dominic felt Claret’s rage before she entered the room.

She glared at him, her eyes red, her hands clenched, her mouth stained with fresh blood.

Dominic went cold all over. “You didn’t . . . tell me that’s not her blood.”

“We had a deal,” she said. “You broke it.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“She’s gone!”

“Gone?” Dominic stared at her. “I had nothing to do with it, I swear.”

Claret regarded him through narrowed eyes for several moments. “If you didn’t break your word, how do you explain the shadow of magic left behind? Was it left by your great-grandmother?”

Dominic frowned thoughtfully. “I don’t believe it,” he murmured. But it was the only explanation. “It wasn’t Ava,” he said with a grin. “It was Maddy.”

Claret looked at him in disgust. “Do I look like a fool? How could that puny mortal undo my magic?”

“Ava cast a spell on me when I was hurt. The spell she used was dark magic, and one of the ingredients was Maddy’s blood. The fact that I’ve consumed both Ava’s blood and Maddy’s must have altered the spell in some way. I don’t know how it happened, but I think some of Ava’s magic was transferred to Maddy.”

“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

Dominic shrugged. “It’s the only answer that makes sense.”

“Come here.”

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