22. Chapter 22
22
K elly would have fallen if she wasn’t sitting already.
She’d always wondered how she could be related to such a hateful and low-functioning human being, and it turned out that she wasn’t. Relief washed through her, followed by hurt and sorrow at the realization that her real mother had never been around.
“Who was my real mom?”
Her dad put his hand on his face and let it slide down slowly as if it would wipe away whatever he was feeling.
“Your mom died before her time. She was the love of my life, kiddo, and she would have loved you so much.” He paused, waiting for comments, and continued when none came. “She and I dated for about a year, and it was the best year of my life. Three months in, she was pregnant with you, and we were ecstatic at the thought of having a child. Two weeks before you were due, she was attacked in an alley on her way home one night. Someone interrupted the attack and called the police. They stayed with her until the ambulance arrived and then disappeared. They never found the attacker or the person who stepped in. By the time they got you both to the hospital, your mom was gone, but they were able to save you.”
A tear slid down her dad’s cheek. She’d never seen him cry before.
“What was her name?”
His voice cracked. “Emma.”
She whispered it, feeling the sound of it in her soul. “Emma.” Her mom’s name felt like home.
“I don’t understand why you would marry someone else and let me call her mom. How could you replace her when she was the love of your life? How could you let that witch replace her?” What started as confusion turned to fury as Kelly processed the truth.
Leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, her dad stared at the floor and shook his head. “I honestly don’t know, Kiddo. I met her two days after everything happened. She said all the right things, convinced me she was the one for me if I couldn’t have Emma, and then managed to make me think you’d be better off believing she was your mom. She said you’d be healthier and happier growing up with a mom who was there instead of one who was murdered. By the time I realized something was a little off, you were a toddler, and we were living a normal life. A man doesn’t just stand up and leave all that because something is slightly strange. She loved you in her own way, and you were cared for.”
Emotions rattled Kelly, hitting her one after the other: hurt, sorrow, longing, anger, betrayal. She couldn’t speak.
“What was Emma’s last name?” Fabian asked.
“Katz.”
Connor’s face lit up at that.
“What, Connor?” Kade asked.
“There’s an old mage family with the name Katz. There are only one or two left now, but they do their best to stay off the radar.”
Kade was suddenly very interested. “How old are we talking?”
Connor shrugged like it was no big deal. “Back to the time of our creation, around 1300 B.C. I’d have to do more research, but there is evidence they were the original mage family.”
Shock hit Kelly. Her mother could be a descendant of the original mage family? Holy shit.
“Dave, can ye get us everything ye ken about Emma? Date of birth, city of birth, parents’ names, anything will help us.”
Her dad nodded. “Sure, I’ll dig some things up. I have a few letters with some information on them. I can get it all to you.”
Kade nodded in thanks.
“Do you have any photos of the woman you married? What name did she go by?” Connor asked.
“I have some at the apartment, yeah. Not many, though. She hated being in photos, and she did her best to stay as far away from people as she could. Her name was Mary Evans. After we married, it became Mary Evans-Hart.”
Fabian jumped back in. “What brought on your divorce?”
Her dad considered that for a minute. “You know, I’m not entirely sure. We just drifted apart more and more as Kelly grew. When Kelly turned eighteen and left, I think we both gave up.”
Fabian nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.
Silence followed for some time as everyone mulled over the new bits of information.
“Do you have a picture of her? Of my mom?” Kelly asked her dad.
He nodded. “I’ll bring it by tomorrow.”
Kelly gave him a small smile. It was all she could muster.
Asmund poured a much-needed round of Scotch for everyone.
Kade helped Kelly up long enough for him to sit in the chair. Then he pulled her to sit on his lap. She leaned back against his chest, thankful for his closeness. The energy it took to pull the water forth had left her drained as it was, and then the news about her mom took even more.
Her dad looked at her and Kade, suspicion in his eyes. “How long has this been going on?” he asked, knowing his question was clear.
A sigh left her, and she didn’t bother trying to stop it. “I’m old enough to have a relationship, Dad. I don’t have to justify it.”
“But he’s a—”
“A vampire, Dad. He’s a vampire. You’re absolutely right. I’m a mage—that’s just as scary. I won’t justify my relationship with him after tonight. What I will tell you is that he could have easily turned away and allowed me to be killed the night we met. He offered me shelter, a mentor, and safety without any strings attached. He accepted a great deal of risk by taking me in and has defended my life already. Kade is an honorable man, and his race means nothing.” She was almost yelling when she finished.
She hadn’t expected to defend Kade that much; he was perfectly capable of defending himself. Did she care for him that much, after such a short period of time? Shit.
Kade placed a hand on her leg in reassurance.
“I promise ye, Mr. Hart, I’ll take care of Kelly, no matter what happens between us. I’ve given her my word that she will be provided for and mentored under my care. Fabian has made his own promises to her as well. She is safer here with all of us than anywhere else.”
After that, Kelly drifted off as conversation carried on around her. She drifted in and out of sleep and caught mention of Guardianship, secrecy around Arcane, and bits about different races.
Her dad left sometime late in the night. She hugged him goodnight, thankful he hadn’t died of a heart attack after learning that vampires were real.
The next morning was completely normal, which was weird considering the prior day.
Kade was nowhere to be found, which meant he was in his office working. Clyde was with her when she woke and followed her around until she joined Fabian in the training room.
Training consisted of meditation that focused on her magic instead of breathing, followed by work with martial arts and the karambits.
As she downed a bottle of water after training, Fabian came over to her with a serious look on his face. He was usually so easygoing, a serious look meant he was concerned about something, and he knew she wouldn’t like it.
“You did well today, Warrior. You’re making great progress.”
“Thanks, Fabian. What’s on your mind?”
He smiled. “Am I that easy to read?”
She nodded.
“You have not mentioned what happened with Kade yesterday. We should talk about it.”
“Yeah, we do need to talk about it, but can we do it after I shower, and can we involve Kade? Actually, can we get everyone together? I really don’t want to go over everything multiple times. Let’s all put our heads together and figure this shit out.”
He gave a slight nod. “Good idea. I will gather everyone for lunch, and we can talk then. One hour.”
“Thanks, Fabian.” She jabbed him in the shoulder as she left the room. “Better stay on your toes. I think I have a shot at winning at least one match tomorrow.”
His chuckle followed her as she walked away.
Asta was putting lunch on the table when Kelly came down after her shower. Lunch meats, cheeses, breads, and everything one could dream of putting on a sandwich was on the table.
“Asta, you’re my hero. This looks amazing.”
Asta beamed at her. “I’m glad it’s okay. I didn’t want to cook, and this seemed easy enough.”
“Way more than okay!”
Kelly helped her put the final items on the table and poured glasses of blood for the vampires. The blood made her stomach turn. She’d never get used to seeing it in glasses and watching people drink it. Then again, she’d gone cavewoman over a small amount of Kade’s blood yesterday. She wondered if that was what blood tasted like to a vampire.
Shrugging off the thought, she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and sat at the table.
Everyone else trickled into the kitchen and sat down.
There was an awkward silence while those who ate food made their plates.
“So, Rookie, tell us all about what happened when you sucked on Kade yesterday.”
Fabian coughed, and the knife Kelly had been using to spread mayonnaise on her bread dropped to the table with a loud clang.
“Jesus, Ginna, leave it to you to break the silence,” Kelly said, quickly recovering.
Her mentor answered with a confident smile and a shrug.
Kade saved her from having to explain more. “Kelly took some of my blood yesterday so she could heal from training and be ready for her da’s visit. It caused a bit of an aggressive reaction, and I had to hold her back while the wound on my wrist healed. Right after taking my blood, she was able to hear my thoughts.”
There were a couple of gasps and a “holy shit” from those at the table. Apparently, the news hadn’t spread to everyone, which seemed weird because she knew Kade had told Fabian, and the vampires should have heard the conversation.
“Can you still hear his thoughts?” Fabian asked.
“I haven’t tried today. I figured out how to shut them out yesterday.”
Hesitantly, she cracked open the window to her mind.
Well?
She slammed it shut.
“Yep, still works.”
Connor spoke, seeming to think out loud. “I wonder if this is connected to his eyes and his reaction to you.”
“I have a feeling it is,” Fabian said.
Asta held up her hand. “Wait, what about your eyes?”
Kade caught her up on everything that had happened between him and Kelly until this point.
The assistant’s face lit up. “This reminds me of a story my mum used to tell me when I was a kid. It was about a vampire and a mage who roamed the world together saving Arcane one bad guy at a time.”
Connor jumped in. “Was there a mention of any bond between them?”
Asta thought on that for a moment. “I don’t recall, but they had special powers between them. I can call my mum and ask her where the story came from. She never read it from a book, always told it from memory.”
“I found some old writings about a bond between vampires and mages, but it was vague. There wasn’t anything about the vampire’s eyes changing or different abilities. I might be able to find more, though, if your mom can tell us where that story came from.”
“I’ll call her after lunch.”
Connor nodded in thanks.
“Rookie, how in the heck did you shut his thoughts out?”
Kelly shrugged at Ginna. “I’m not really sure. I just meditated and pictured shutting a window in my mind. I can’t really explain it better than that.”
A whistle left Ginna’s lips. “You’re going to be one hell of a mage.” She turned to Kade. “Can you hear her thoughts?”
He just shook his head.
“You know, I’d be curious to see if you can hear them after drinking her blood.”
Fabian switched to Guardian mode in a flash. “Absolutely not!”
Running a hand through his hair, Kade sighed. “I dinnae think that’s a good idea. With the bloodlust that hit me the other night, and the way Kelly reacted to my blood yesterday, I have a feeling we would rip each other to shreds.”
Silence followed as they all mulled over the situation.
“What if you took some of her blood indirectly?” Asmund suggested. “We could draw some, you could drink it far away from her.”
Fabian shook his head. “I do not think that would work the same way. What they are experiencing is similar to the old blood bonds between vampires, but those did not manifest any new abilities, only enhanced what was already there. When master vampires exchanged blood directly, it caused a temporary increase in their abilities. It had to be a direct exchange, though.”
“Aye, I hadnae thought of that. Those were outlawed centuries ago.”
Ginna took the opportunity to add another smart comment. “So we’ve got a possible blood bond between a potential timekeeper and a vampire that may or may not give both of them additional abilities. The Council is going to love this.”
Kade’s fist slammed down on the table, denting it and making the plates and glasses clatter. “None of this leaves the house, not even a vague discussion of it outside these walls. No one outside of this group kens about these things, and that’s the way it will stay. If the Council finds out, they’re likely to imprison or kill Kelly out of fear.”
“Kade’s right,” Connor said. “I have a feeling the Council has known about Kelly from the day she was born, if not before. Her mother’s death was too closely followed by Mary’s appearance; I would bet Mary is connected to or works for the Council. It’s only a matter of time before we hear from them.”
“Aye, that follows the information Luther gave us. I was just waiting for photos of the woman to confirm. We went to visit Luther the other night, and he said there were rumors about someone from the Council being placed to raise a potential timekeeper. Mary’s convenient arrival into Dave’s life fits perfectly. It appears the Council was watching ye more closely than we thought.”
“All right, we need a plan to gather information,” Asta announced. “I’ll call my mum to find out more about the story, then I’ll research it from there. Connor, you take the photo of this Mary Evans and find out what her connection to the Council is and what her role is now. Kelly, Kade, Fabian, and Ginna, you all go to the Arcane library and gather all the information you can on vampire blood bonds and the Katz family history. I think you should take Asmund too, for extra protection.”
Kelly sat and stared at her plate as thoughts and emotions raced through her head. The woman who claimed to be her mother, who she’d hated for years, wasn’t related to her. Relief. The person Luther had talked about, who had watched her and possibly reported her to the Council, was likely Mary. Betrayal, fury. What was happening between her and Kade was similar to blood bonds between vampires, which were now illegal. Shock, frustration. Her real mom held ties to the oldest known mage family. Curiosity, pride. All of these people, her friends, her new family, were willing to help her find answers. Gratitude, love.
“Are ye all right, lass?”
Kelly jerked her head up to find everyone staring at her.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a lot to take in.”
Ginna reached over and took her hand. “We’re all here with you, Rookie. We’re going to find answers together, about all of it.”
Managing a smile, Kelly nodded in agreement.
“I guess I’ll call my dad to see if he’s bringing the picture over.”
“Sounds good. We’ll leave in fifteen,” Kade announced.
Kelly hadn’t realized everyone was done. She must have been lost inside her head longer than she realized.
Fifteen minutes later, the five of them were on their way to the Arcane library. Her dad had confirmed he was bringing the picture over within the hour for Connor, and Asta was already on the phone with her mom.
Fabian handed Kelly a belt. “Put this on. It is meant to sit high on your waist, above your jeans or leggings. It is custom made for your karambits and fits both of them snugly. You need to carry them on you any time you leave the house.”
She nodded and secured the belt above her leggings, under her sweatshirt. He handed her karambits over, and she carefully fitted them in the belt. They mounted in the small of her back so that she could fit her pinkies in the finger loops and pull them out easily.
The library was beautiful. The walls were filled with gleaming shelves from floor to ceiling. A neat row of tables lined the center of the long room.
Kelly wanted to set up camp and get lost, just—forget about the world and bury herself in books and utter silence. She was certain you could hear a pin drop in there.
Kade and Ginna went to the section on vampire history while Kelly and Fabian combed through mage history and Arcane genealogy.
Hours passed as they combed through book after book. The sun set outside at one point and Kelly vaguely noted the change from natural to artificial light.
At one point, she whispered to Fabian, asking when the library closed. He told her it never closed and went back to work, so she happily did the same.
They ended up leaving shortly after midnight. Everyone was excited about what they’d found, but they all agreed to wait until the entire group was together to share everything.
The SUV was cozy on the way home, with Kade and Asmund up front and Kelly, Ginna, and Fabian in the back seat. Ginna was recalling times when she’d played jokes on human men in the sixties to make them believe they were being haunted by ghosts. Everyone was rolling with laughter when Asmund shouted two words.
“Oh shit!”