Blood & Magic (Book 1)

Chapter 7

"These last few days have been crazy and you weren't even here to help me through it. If you had just told me the truth!" I was yelling, fists clenched at my side on the couch; I could feel tears burning in my eyes and threatening to spill over.

"Calm down," Dad said cautiously, his eyes darting around the room. The lamps on the end tables had all turned on by themselves during my tantrum and were flickering. In hindsight, I realized this was probably one of those control things Charlie had mentioned, but in the moment I was too angry to really notice.

I took a deep breath, squeezing my eyes shut, willing the tears to go away and my anger to subside.

"You knew. You knew that I was a witch-vampire-hybrid-thing and you didn't do anything to prepare me." I spat the accusation as though it was venom.

"Vampire?" Mom looked confused. "That's not possible!" She quickly stood up and took a step back. I hoped it was out of surprise and not fear of me.

"You didn't know?" I felt some of my anger start to fizzle out as I looked back and forth between my parents, taking in their surprised expressions.

"Let's sit down," Dad said as he took a seat on the couch beside me. Mom anxiously perched on the chair nearby.

"Well?" I prompted.

"When you were a toddler, the witches approached us and said they had a child that needed protecting. They said they couldn't think of anyone more qualified than us," Dad explained.

"How did the witches know about you?"

Charlie jumped in here. "We make it our business to keep tabs on the supernatural. We knew that Rob and Stacey were responsible for keeping the areas undead vamps in check."

I nodded.

"We were told that you were special and needed to be hidden and protected," Mom continued the tale. "And you are special sweetheart."

I scoffed. "I'm a freak is what I am," I muttered under my breath.

Charlie shook his head and reached out, resting his hand on my knee. "No, you're not. You're going to be powerful and respected. You are destined to be our leader."

Dad cleared his throat and Charlie quickly removed his hand.

I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling and leaned back against the couch cushions. "I don't want to be a witch or vampire. I don't want to be your leader. I just want to graduate high school, go to college and stake some vampires along the way."

"If there was a way for me to make that happen, I would," Charlie said to me in earnest. The serious tone in his voice encouraged me to make eye contact. He looked genuine. "But," he continued, "now that the spell has broken and your powers are emerging, everyone will be looking for you. You can most likely defend yourself against one opponent, but we need to be able to protect you from Pierce's men. Chances are, if he sends them, he won't just send one, and even one will be very powerful. Magic can help you."

I shook my head. "I don't want to learn magic, I just want to be normal." I looked at my parents desperately, "You raised me to abhor the supernatural. How can I possibly use witchcraft?"

Charlie let out a deep sigh. "It's who you are, Kate. You're special. You can't deny what is a part of you." He gestured around the room, "You saw what happened when you were upset. The magic is in you, whether you want it or not. If you're a freak for having magic, then so am I."

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "If someone says special one more time, I swear, this is going to turn into an after school special."

"Kate, sweetheart," Mom said to me. "Charlie is right. This is who you are. Who you were born to be."