Start | Chapter Twenty Two Part Four| Index | Chapter Twenty Three Part One

Leisa and Michael were sitting at the other side of the room with damp cloths tied across their noses as Tanya crushed the garlic and rose petals for the ritual. David watched her with interest – this had been mentioned briefly in his training but only as an example of dangerous superstitions that could have the opposite effect to what was intended. When he commented on that she gave an amused snort.

“They don’t know what it’s actually for only that it was supposed to be protective and holds a risk of becoming a vampire,” she said. “And it seems too close to magic for them to be comfortable with. I only know what it’s for because I learned about it from the pack.”

“What does it do exactly?” he asked.

Tanya chewed on her lip thoughtfully as she continued pounding the rose petals. “As I understand it when a vampire tastes the blood of a human it acts like a werewolf getting the scent which means they can always find the person. The ritual will break that link and stop him finding her. There’s similar rituals that work on werewolves unfortunately and I bet he knows them.” She looked over at the two vampires. “Are you two okay? The fumes aren’t too bad?”

“Not too bad, no,” Michael said. “But I hope you’re nearly done.”

“Yeah, I just need to get some of his blood from Anna’s shirt – it’s lucky it doesn’t matter that’s it dried and then some earth and we’ll be good to go.” She smiled at Caroline. “You’ll be okay, dear.”

Caroline stared down at her hands. “Why do I feel guilty about that?”

“Because he’s got inside your head,” Tanya replied gently. “It’ll take time but we’ll work together to get him out. She damped Anna’s bloody shirt and wrung some of the bloody water into the crushed rose and garlic before crumbling in some soil she’d collected from outside. She mixed the entire mess into a ball and handed half of it to Caroline. “Eat that. It won’t taste very good I’m afraid.”

“Thank you,” Caroline said. “Do I need to do anything apart from eating it?”

“Yes, we’ll need to smear it on where he bit you? Would that just be the neck?”

“Mostly, but sometimes my wrists,” she said. “Especially early on. Nowhere else.”

“That’s good,” Tanya said. “Now eat that up and I’ll smear this half on – unless you want to do it yourself.”

“No, it’s fine.” Caroline nibbled at the concoction and pulled a face. “Ugh!” She visibly set her jaw popped the whole ball into her mouth and swallowed. “How will we know it worked?”

“I’ll check once the fumes have cleared at bit,” Leisa said. “If you’re still bonded to him I’ll be able to sense it in your mind. Assuming you’re clear – which you should be – we’ll move somewhere more comfortable before Anna wakes up.”

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Start | Chapter Twenty Two Part Four| Index | Chapter Twenty Three Part One