Start | Chapter Twenty Two Part Two| Index | Chapter Twenty Two Part Five

A/N: Sorry this is so late. I swear I’ll get next Tuesday’s up in time.

“You can break the link between mas- between Ragnar and me?” Caroline hugged her knees as she looked up at Leisa. “He said that breaking the bond that his feeding on me had forged between us was impossible.”

“He lied to you,” Leisa said gently. “There are actually several ways to do it as he knows full well.” She laid a hand on Caroline’s arm. “I won’t lie to you – most of them aren’t easy and the simplest one has drawbacks.”

“What sort of drawbacks?” Caroline asked.

“It’s sort of gross.” It was Tanya who replied. “And approximately a quarter of people who use it become a vampire themselves when they eventually die. It also requires a sample of the vampire’s blood – but thanks to him bleeding all over Anna we already have that.”

“Ugh!” David shuddered violently. “You’re planning to use that ritual? But we don’t have any of his grave soil.”

“We don’t need it,” Leisa said. “In fact his grave soil probably wouldn’t help – I don’t think he was buried on consecrated ground. It’s actually soil with a certain supernatural energy that’s needed and it just so happens that soil from many old churchyards works. The soil from this place feels right.”

“I see,” Caroline said softly. “I don’t know. I don’t want to die, but if I do this he’ll be angry with me. I don’t want him to be angry with me.”

“He won’t you know,” Leisa said. “Odd as that is to say. He doesn’t waste his anger on those he considers inferior. It’ll be us that he’s mad at. But he will kill you if he can find you, sweetie. Let’s make sure he can’t.”

Caroline looked down. “I know he will,” she whispered. “He really doesn’t trust humans.” She swallowed visibly and looked up at Leisa. “So what does this ritual involve?”

“You have to eat a concoction of the supernaturally energised earth I mentioned and his blood mixed with garlic and rose petals,” Lisa replied. “It’ll actually work with just the blood and earth but without the other things it’s one hundred percent certain you’ll become a vampire when you die and with the bond between you severed by the earth you won’t have a blood master to help you.”

“I see.” Caroline frowned thoughtfully. “But doing it this way there’s still a one in four chance that I’ll become vampire?”

“Less than that is we do it right,” Leisa said. “The trick is to mix in enough of the ward components to prevent the blood taking root but not so much it poisons you. Still if we had a choice I’d do it another way but I don’t think we can gather the ingredients for the other rituals and they take days rather than an hour or so. Are you in?”

Caroline chewed her lip and then nodded. “Yes, let’s do it quickly before I change my mind.”

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Start | Chapter Twenty Two Part Two| Index | Chapter Twenty Two Part Five