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  After losing sight of the scouts, she turned her attention to the group who would be lining the path from the village to the buses. Mary Ellen and Shar were part of that group and eager to lead the example for the rest of them.

  “Mary Ellen I would like you to be closest to the village, and Shar somewhere in the middle. I know that you both have experience with stones to a point, so it will be easier for the two of you to help the others if needed.” Rodelle held up an Iolite stone. “Once I give the signal to get into position, grasp the stone in your hand and concentrate. No special words needed, just relax your mind and think about no one being able to see you. We'll test it here and then you can walk to your spots.”

  Rodelle turned to the five witches that would be protecting the buses. Alayna was one of them and was practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

  Rodelle smiled at Alayna's enthusiasm. “Ok now the best way to protect the buses is to make it where no one can see them. The black onyx stones will cast an invisibility cloak over yourself and whatever item you are touching. In this case, the buses. Remember, to activate the spell in the onyx you say 'occulta oculos', then touch the object you want to hide.”

  Looking around at the group she had with her she could see their excitement at being included in something so incredible. She had their complete attention, however, and respected that they were all very serious about the tasks ahead of them.

  “Okay, let's all use those Iolites and disappear.”

  One by one the witches winked out of sight, then popped back into her field of vision. No one else would be able to see them, but since she had made the spellstones they would be visible to her. She could tell the difference because the use of magic left a fuzzy trace around them. A kind of a blur to their auras.

  After they all finished with their Iolites, Rodelle signaled to Mary Ellen, Shar and the rest of their group to take their positions along the pathway.

  “Okay now we make those buses invisible. 'Occulta Oculos'.”

  Alayna was the first to chant and reach out to touch the bus next to her. She let out a small squeal of surprise when it disappeared completely from view. The other four quickly followed suit and soon there was nothing to be seen in the area except for herself.

  “Great job! Okay now the trick is to hold steady until Dirk and his crew start bringing back the rescuees. Keep an eye out for hunters, but don't let go of your bus!”

  Feeling confident that her witches could handle things here just fine, she set out along the path to check on the other witches' positions. As she walked past each one she nodded at them reassuringly. Once she got to the end and had a clear view of the village she stopped next to Mary Ellen.

  “You heard anything from there at all?” Rodelle whispered.

  “Not a peep. Amazing how silent Dirk can be when he's not yelling.”

  Stifling a giggle, Rodelle grinned at her friend. “Well I am going to go completely invisible now and look around. I want to see if I can spot the scouts.”

  “Please be careful, Rodelle.” Mary Ellen's warning of caution rang in her ears as she blinked out of view and walked away.

  Rodelle was feeling confident in her spells' abilities to keep her safe. Her Iolite had her hidden and her packet of jaspers kept her from harm. The one stone she hadn't used yet she pulled out of her pocket. It was a cat's eye and it would brighten the area, so she could see like it was almost daylight. It also showed heat traces to help her track down people or other living things.

  As she crept through the village she could see some heat traces of people inside their homes quickly and quietly grabbing things to take with them. From what she could tell they were almost ready to move out.

  She walked out the other side of the village and spotted a couple of her scouts next to some very large trees. She walked over near them and looked around to make sure they weren't missing anything. But it was all clear.

  It was almost creepy how quiet it was. And for a throw together group of rescuers, they were all doing a phenomenal job. A not so small sense of pride swelled up within her and she felt confident they were going to pull this off just fine.

  She turned back towards the village and saw that Dirk was beginning to usher the werewolf families out of their homes and toward the path where her witches were. Mary Ellen, Shar and the rest had been instructed to show themselves before the groups got to them so as not to scare anyone.

  Rodelle kept a hawk's eye out on all the proceedings, watching as the witches blinked into view and the villagers streamed past them towards the buses. She watched as Dirk and the village elders gave whispered reassurances and touches of encouragement to the more scared wolves. The families may be scared, but they were all cautious and very quiet as they moved through the village to the path.

  A small rush of movement caught Rodelle's attention. Off to the right beyond the tree-line, something or someone had moved swiftly.

  She slowly began to make her way off to the right and around the houses, towards the tree-line. As she rounded the last dwelling she spied two hunters creeping out of the trees towards a house where a mother and her small child were waiting for guidance.

  No, no she couldn't let anything happen to these folks. And how did no one spot these hunters? Were there more of them? She couldn't worry about more, she had to do something about these ones right now.

  She hurried to get closer to the family without making any noise that would draw either theirs’ or the hunters' attention. If she could just get close enough her jaspers would protect all of them while she dealt with the hunters. She thought briefly about using her sleep spell, but if they hit the ground they would startle the family and cause a panic that could spread fast.

  She came up behind the woman and her little girl well before the hunters did and dropped her invisibility cloak. Before they could even shout an alarm, she had flung her hand out and chanted the incantation to the sleep spell.

  They dropped instantly, in a heap upon the ground. The woman gasped as she spun and saw both Rodelle and the hunters’ bodies lying prone only a few feet away.

  Rodelle placed her finger over her lips hoping that the woman would stay silent. Nodding her understanding, the mother reached out to put her hand over the little girl's mouth, but her hand never quite got there.

  A muffled bang sounded, and time slowed to a crawl. Rodelle could only watch when the little girl looked up towards her mother as she fell ever so slowly backwards onto the ground, blood spreading across her chest and seeping into the bright yellow dress she was wearing.

  As she hit the ground time sped back up and Rodelle pushed back the shock that threatened to overcome her. She scanned the tree-line to catch sight of the shooter, looking high and low. Another shot rang out and whizzed by her, pushed aside by the barrier her jaspers had created around her.

  “Dreven!” She whispered loudly, needing his help but not wanting to create a cacophony that could quickly become disastrous.

  She felt him rush up beside her as she spotted the hunter with the rifle. The man was buried under leaves and pine branches on the ground behind a tree. No wonder she couldn't spot his heat signature before.

  Dreven quickly assessed the situation around them. “Let me take the hunter out.” He hissed.

  “No. I need you to get the woman to the bus and help her relax. She needs away from here quickly.”

  Dreven nodded and did as she asked, picking up the woman and lulling her to sleep before she could protest. Then he whooshed her away, leaving Rodelle alone facing the hunter.

  And she was angry.

  This time it wasn't a group where she could mistakenly take out the wrong person. This time it was one guy, a cold-blooded murderer, who had shot at her and killed a little girl.

  An innocent life! Rodelle's emotions whipped around in her head as the wind picked up to whip around her body. A barrier of twigs, leaves and dirt formed, very similar to the one she had worn before. When she had lost Laren.

 
Teetering on the edge of righteous fury, she reached out with her mind and seized onto the man's aura. He managed to squeeze off another harmless shot before her power paralyzed him completely.

  “Vitam tuam mea!” She yelled at him, and his life force, his very essence, ripped itself from his body, channeling into her through the link she had made with his aura.

  Once fully separated from the man, he fell limp upon the ground and Rodelle fell to her knees, the debris barrier dropping to the ground in a sacred circle around her. She had no choice but to stay put, panting, trying desperately to catch her breath. It seemed as though she would never be able to. Her whole body was on fire from the inside out, trying to force her to absorb the life force of the hunter she had just killed.

  Her mind began to shut out her surroundings, and her sight began to dim. Panicking she fought against the darkness that was slowly overcoming her. She had just reached the brink of complete desperation when she felt his hands on her shoulders.

  Dreven. Unable to speak, she rolled his name around in her mind, opening herself up to him. Suddenly she felt his lips crush against hers, in a passionate yet frenzied attempt to ground her to him. As his lips moved against hers she began to feel herself coming back out of the overwhelming darkness. The life force she had taken from the hunter was being slowly drawn back out of her, and into Dreven.

  When he released her from their kiss she felt much better, much more herself. He had saved her once again. As he stared silently into her eyes she thought to herself that she could never love him more than she did right there in that moment.

  Dreven's eyes were now lit from behind, making him look dangerous yet strong and fierce. She cupped his cheeks with her hands and drew his face down to rest his forehead against hers.

  “Thank you. I don't know what I would do without you, Dreven.”

  “Get yourself killed, most likely. But I do not want to wait another several hundred years to be with you again. So, I guess I must stay near you to protect you.”

  There was a serious note in his voice, yet she felt him smile against her hands. “I guess I have no choice but to let you.”

  “None at all, my dear. Obicham te, Rodelle. You cannot get rid of me now.”

  She drew back and looked at him. “What does that mean? You've said it before, but I never thought to ask.”

  “It means I love you. Now come on, the last of the pack are being loaded onto the buses and the witches are probably worried about you.” Before she could protest he had reached around her and swung her up into his arms.

  She could feel the warm darkness closing in around her, and she was too tired to fight it.

  “I love you, too, Dreven.” She managed to speak before her eyes closed.

  Chapter 16

  Dreven was sitting in the main office with Alarin, supposedly debriefing and analyzing the wolf village rescue. He knew it was about more than that, or else all the leaders would be in the same room. But since it was just himself and the Master Vampire, he knew there was more on the agenda.

  So far, he had been paying just enough attention to nod or give short answers as needed. Most of what they were discussing had to do with the tactics the scouts had used and the usefulness of the spellstones in hiding the buses. But Dreven’s attention kept wandering back to the events of the night before. Hoping that the loss of the little girl would not break Rodelle, especially so soon after losing her best friend.

  “Rodelle has proved to be incredibly useful, don't you think?”

  There it was.

  “Yes, I do.” Dreven knew that his short answer wouldn't be enough to satisfy Alarin. And eventually he would have to make it known to the master that he and Rodelle had a connection beyond mere attraction. He just found it annoying that he had to explain himself to anyone.

  It was none of their business.

  “Just yes? Do you care to elaborate some? Give me your honest take on the girl.” Alarin was openly pushing now.

  “Listen.” Dreven sat forward and steepled his fingers. “You know damned well what I think of Rodelle. At least enough to know that I care for her. But understand that my affections go deeper than the purely physical. That woman is my soulmate, she is the soul of the woman I once loved and lost. And I will do Anything to protect her.”

  Alarin's eyes got wide for a split second. “Do you mean the woman from when you served Vlad?”

  Dreven almost spit at that name. Alarin had some glorified type of respect for Vlad Dracula. He felt that the history of the man was important as all current day vampires were of his bloodline. Dreven had been there, in that time, and knew the man as a disgusting, sadistic creature who deserved no celebration of his history.

  “Yes. Him.” Dreven sat back in the chair, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

  Thankfully Alarin took the hint and rose to leave the room.

  “Dreven, you need to know that Rodelle is much more than what you know her as in this lifetime. There are reasons why I questioned your interests in her so many times. She is important to this House and to our ultimate mission.”

  Dreven's eyes popped back open and focused on Alarin.

  “Listen in to the conversation that your lady love and Morgain are having now. I believe they are just getting to the good parts.” Alarin turned and left the room, leaving him in silence.

  But the silence slipped away as he tuned into the conversation behind Morgain's private office door.

  ---

  Morgain sat a hot cup of lavender and chamomile tea down in front of her, next to a tray holding milk and sugar. Rodelle splashed a couple of sugar cubes into it and sat quietly, stirring the cup, lost in her troubled thoughts of having lost another person’s life. The death of the young girl weighed on her heavily. As they sat here in comfort, the wolves were preparing for a morning funeral rite to lay the poor thing to rest. A lone tear slipped down her cheek to splash into her tea.

  “My dear, I know you have been through so much since arriving here, and even before. It may have seemed like we just let you fall into the House without giving you a place here. And I apologize for that. But it was necessary.” Morgain sat back down and picked up her cup of tea.

  “Necessary?” Rodelle wiped at her eyes. Even through her sadness, her curiosity was piqued. She had felt a bit adrift here at the House, having never started classes but being allowed to participate in rescues.

  “Yes. I have to admit that I was testing you. I know quite a bit about your powers and knew when you came in that you had not reached your full potential yet. Lack of guidance, I suppose.”

  “Testing me. And you knew about my powers? I've felt so lost for years, and you couldn't tell me that you knew?” Rodelle sat her cup of tea down. Her hands were shaking now between feelings of grief and shock and she didn't trust them to hold the hot liquid.

  “Please let me explain. I knew your mother long ago. She was married to a witch from the New Orleans Quarter, who was very powerful in soul magic. Your mother had an incredible talent with gemstones and dabbled in healing as well.”

  Rodelle was stunned silent. Morgain was the first person she had ever met that had known her mother. Her mother had died when Rodelle was only a few years old, and she had been bounced around orphanages for several years after that. Until her powers started to show. Then she was kicked out and not too long after that the hunters began to follow her.

  “Your mother used to live here until she became pregnant with you. She was so happy.” Morgain smiled. “She then married your father and moved away from the House to be with him. They wanted privacy to raise you in, they said. This was back when I was just a novice myself and had no idea how numerous the hunters had become.”

  Morgain took a slow sip of tea. After setting it down she closed her eyes and began speaking again.

  “Within only a couple of years of them moving away, they were on the run from hunters. Unfortunate events took them from you and made you an orphan. I did not hear about their deaths unt
il years later and I then began to search for you. Without knowing your name, it was a difficult search, but once we spotted you I knew who you were. You look so much like your mother.”

  The Head Witch paused briefly, then went on.

  “After your parents' deaths, I scaled up the search and rescue attempts here. They were good people, powerful, and did not deserve what happened to them. I fully embraced the Hartman's Mission, becoming the next Master of Witchcraft in the House. The first of which that was not a Hartman themselves. It was supposed to be your mother sitting here in this office, running this House.”

  Rodelle gasped. “What do you mean? She was a Hartman?”

  “Yes, she was. The last of them, too. Well. Until we found you.”

  Silence surrounded them and Morgain went back to sipping her tea. Rodelle's mind was spinning. She was having a hard time processing how until this very moment she had been some backwoods nobody and running for her life constantly, to being part of such an incredible legacy.

  She wished she would have known her mother long enough to have heard the story from her. They hadn't even had enough time together for her mother to teach her much of anything. She had always known she had powers but had lost her mother long before they manifested.

  The only thing her mother had taught her was how to catch energy from power nodes.

  “She knew about the spell on the House, didn't she?” Rodelle asked.

  “Yes, she did. She was the last person to have learned how it worked, since she was in line to lead here. The rest of us knew just enough to maintain it. But the secret of the spell's construction went with her when she left.”

  “I know how the spell works.” Rodelle said quietly, to herself.

  “What was that, dear?” Morgain was looking at her curiously.

  “I know how the spell works. My mother had taught me about power nodes when I was young. It was something she would talk about all the time, so it has always stayed with me.” Rodelle said.