Page 76 of Transfiguration

“Great. More meditating. I’m the least Zen guy I know. Why me? I didn’t ask for any of this.”

Con snagged Sam around his waist and pulled him in for a sideways hug. Sam immediately relaxed in his arms. The heat eased when they were touching, Con’s wind ability adding a cool breeze to calm the rippling warmth. He sucked in a deep breath and let his long experience with meditation and control trickle through his bond with Sam.

“Con’s got it already,” Gabe remarked.

“Fuck,” Sam cursed, but there was no anger in his tone. He basked in their embrace for another minute before pulling free, only grabbing Con’s hand and turning back to Seiran. “I have lots of questions, Ronnie. Like what the hell happened to Hart, and what those shadow things were, and why Luca or I could help with that?”

“Karmic energy,” Gabe offered. “It’s blood magic, not unlike the stuff they did through the Ascendance to power up male witches born with no power. It’s mostly an unnatural type of magic. The same sort that making sacrifices of witches and vampires creates.”

“Like the demon magic you guys have been chasing?” Con asked. “Was Hart part of this all along?” Did that mean Hart killed Luca?

“No,” Page spoke up. “The Ascendance cursed Hart with power decades ago, but they found adding power to a vampire only turned it into something dark that they couldn’t control. Hart spends most of his time trying to suppress what they did to him. It’s why he talks about not being able to feel much anymore. He’s buried under a thousand spells and runes to keep it from unleashing—”

“Except it wasn’t working,” Con said. “He was going nuts when we arrived at the Fellowship. How did Luca and Sam help with that?”

“Luca is a weaver of karmic energy,” Page said.

“Luca wasn’t a witch,” Sam said.

“Like you’re not a witch?” Page asked. “Luca’s power is just as natural to him as the child you brought to Hart’s office. He absorbs from the world around him, using that karmic energy for everyday things, like his long life, added strength and speed. I suspect once he transitions, he’ll be able to use the power more directly.”

“And Sam’s power? Did he borrow this ability from Luca?” Con asked.

“Not really. He was blood bound to Luca, lots of exchanges tying them together. Luca could pull the energy Sam absorbs without even being near him,” Page said.

“And when he’s a vampire?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know. Hart didn’t know. We were worried he’d come back like Hart, tainted with the darkness. That’s why Hart encouraged Constantine to research runes. It would have been easy enough for Con to learn the ones needed to suppress the energy if it went bad once Luca crossed.”

“But we put Hart in the ground where Luca is,” Sam said, sounding really pissed. “Knowing he might become tainted by this thing.” Con tightened his grip on Sam. He’d beat Page to a pulp too if it helped, but he was only the bearer of bad news. “Fucking Hart. He couldn’t have given us a clue?”

“No one knew when or even if Luca would transition. There is no record of a dhampir living a mortal life as long as he has.” Page crossed the room to a pile of books and sorted through the stack, pulling out one that looked really old and brittle. “This is a book on Weavers. Not all of them could spin karmic energy, but there are records of a few in here.”

Con put his hand out for the book. Page kept his distance but handed it over.

“It’s not a how-to. Unfortunately, any records like that have been lost. It’s more an overview of witches who could Weave, throughout a couple hundred years. We might benefit from searching for their journals. It’s a light ability.”

“The ability to spin darkness is a light ability?” Sam asked as Con flipped through the book. It was in a half-dozen languages, only a few of which Con could read at all. Old English was not one of his strengths.

“It is,” Page said. “Hart surrounded himself with light witches because they were less likely to gather the taint of blood magic that would cling to him. There is even a rumor that Ruffman gave Hart his power when the Dominion murdered him, but Hart never confirmed that.”

“Would the earth magic turn to this blood magic if given to a non-earth witch?” Seiran asked. “Is there a book on this?”

Page shrugged. “Sorry. I’m not sure anyone knows. Other than maybe Hart himself?”

“Who is in the ground stewing with Luca,” Sam said, more than a little irritated.

“What about Matthew?” Con asked. “Would he know? This whole blood magic mess all leads back to him, right? What if we fix the soul so we can ask it questions?”

“A bit of a problem with that,” Seiran said, his gaze going to the unknown man who still sat in the corner and hadn’t uttered a word. “The urn with his soul in it is gone.”

“What?” Sam demanded.

That was when Con noticed the man had a faint glowing overlay. Not a man. The golem. Holy fuck. This was the golem now? It looked so real.

“Steve’s soul is pretty strong,” Page said. “I’d like to release it before it takes too much damage. I know you all think he should suffer…”

“Will the golem fall apart without a human soul?” Seiran asked.