Page 70 of Twisted

“I don’t know,” I say honestly.“I really do think there are enough people open and accepting of magic they’d be curious and impressed, but then maybe scared once they realize we can’t be controlled.”

“You’re right on that.People fear what they can’t control.”

“That’s the whole reason witches were burned all those years ago.Men couldn’t stand the idea of women having power.”We keep shopping, and I leave the store with two full bags of magical supplies.Then we get lunch, sitting outside and enjoying the sun as we eat.

“You can’t sit outside like this in Europe and enjoy food if you’re a vampire,” Devon notes, dipping a piece of bread in oil.

“You’ve really been thinking about this?”

“Yeah.”He nods.“I have.Maybe someday I’ll change my mind…but not now.”He looks out at the passing cars for a moment.“Do vampires have souls?”

“I don’t know,” I reply honestly.“They died and came back.”I twirl pasta around my fork.“You have some time.I’m still a virgin.”

He lets out a snort of laughter.“Sure.Me, too.”

“Okay, fine, you know what I mean.We haven’t made a baby yet.”

“You’re his wife now.That wasn’t part of the plan.”

“Oh,” I say, taken aback.It’s such an awkward subject to bring up, and the waitress comes over to refill my iced tea.Does the fact that I’m married to Xavier change everything?Our couple status has been made public.If I get pregnant, it will definitely be something people talk about.Vampires can’t reproduce, though there were rumors going through the Order about a vampire in the midwest who had a biological child.

“We need maps,” Devon says, changing the subject.

“Where do you even buy paper maps anymore?”

“I don’t know,” he says with a laugh and pulls out his phone.“Where did you get them before?”

I shrug.“They were always just there.”

He leans back, looking at me curiously.

“What?”I ask after a few seconds tick by.

“Nothing.”

“Liar,” I say and take a big bite of my pasta.We finish lunch and then stop at a bookstore on the way home to get maps.I grab a few, just to cover my bases.Then we get back to the house and go right back into the garden.

I spread a map of Europe on the table and put one hematite on each corner.I put three lodestones in between and sit quietly for a minute, grounding myself before working the actual spell.The next step is to crush the rosemary and yarrow in a mortar and pestle and sprinkle it on the map.

Then I take a bay leaf, writemy parentson it, and prick my finger with a pin, smearing the blood over the leaf.

“You don’t have a lighter,” Devon says softly when I hold the leaf up.

“I don’t need one,” I tell him and close my eyes.“Ignis,” I whisper and the leaf catches on fire.I hold it until the fire reaches my fingers and then I let it fall into a little cast iron cauldron.I pinch my finger, getting a few more drops of blood mixed in with the ash.I look at the spell one more time before dumping the ash and blood mixture into my left hand.

Extending my right hand over the map, I start to chant.“Sanguis sanguinis mei, ad te clamo.Te ipsum revela et mihi videam,” I say.“Sanguis sanguinis mei, ad te clamo.Te ipsum revela et mihi videam.”

The rosemary and yarrow start to move, as if someone is shaking the map.My eyes widen and I hold my breath, too scared to breathe as I watch.

And then nothing happens.

“I don’t get it,” I say, disappointment washing over me.

“Maybe you need a different map,” Devon suggests.“Can you try the world map or is that too broad?”

I shrug, still holding the blood and herbs in my hand.“Let’s try it.”

He helps me swap the maps and reset the stones.I sprinkle new herbs and repeat the incantation.This time, the blood and ashes in my hand start to swirl, I tip my hand and they magically spill onto the map, moving along the grid lines and settle into a circle.