Page 6 of Voyage of Magic and Malice (The Vampires of Charleston #3)

SIX

family trees

I spend the next few hours reading through each spell in the grimoire, hoping to commit at least a few of them to memory. To be honest, I don’t know how witches are able to keep the spells separated. After a while, the words and spells all seem to run together.

Thorne’s been in the room with me but glued to a laptop the entire time. I haven’t asked what he’s researching, and he hasn’t volunteered any information.

Cam’s lycan energy is still nearby, but I have no idea what he’s doing. Do I care? No. However, from what I’ve learned about the lycanthrope, it could be anything.

Thorne closes the laptop and takes a deep breath. “I can’t find any information on her.”

“Who?”

“Serafina.” He slides the computer to the couch next to him and stretches his long legs. I thought maybe there’d be something about her ancestry online, but I haven’t found any helpful information. I can’t even find evidence of her birth.”

“You remember how it was in the 17 th century in Scotland. Unless she was born to a noble family, her birth may not have even been recorded.”

“Aye, but there’s nothing on her death, either. I’m assuming she died here in Charleston. It’s like she never existed.”

Thorne runs hands through his hair, making it stand on end. “Who never existed?” Cam asks, entering the room. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be eavesdropping. I just heard the last part.”

“Serafina,” Thorne answers.

“Where were you looking?” Cam asks. “Online?”

“Aye. There’s nothing.”

“That’s because you need to look in the right places. Most communities, vampire,” Cam motions toward Thorne and me, “lycan,” he touches his chest, “and witches, don’t allow information like that to be written down for just anyone to see.”

“Is there a secret library somewhere?” I ask, half joking, half serious.

Cam props his hands on his hips. “Of course.” The tone of his voice is almost comedic in its intention. “How did you not know that?”

Thorne and I share a look, neither of us sure how to answer. “Maybe it’s too secretive,” Thorne answers, making me laugh.

“As far as I know, every city with a large population of paranormal people has one.” Cam sits on an overstuffed chair.

“Can you take us there?” I ask the giant lycanthrope.

He shrugs. “If I knew where it was, yeah.”

“Seriously?”

Cam holds his hands up. “In my defense, you didn’t ask if I knew where it was, just if there was one.”

I send a burst of energy into Cam, not enough to hurt him, just enough to give him a tiny shock. I’m rewarded when he leaps from the chair, holding his backside. “What the hell was that?”

“What?” I play dumb.

“Something bit my ass.” I watch in silence as he pulls the cushion from the chair, searching for the invisible creature.

“I feel like a new woman,” Phyllis says, stopping on the bottom step and watching the spectacle in front of her. “What’s going on here?”

“Something bit Cam’s ass,” I answer, still refusing to divulge my secret.

“I’d like to bite?—”

“Phyllis,” Thorne interrupts with perfect timing. “Do you happen to know if there’s a place where we could study the ancestry of witches, lycan, and vampires in Charleston? A library, perhaps. A hidden library.”

“I don’t know where the library is at the moment.”

“Does it move?” I ask, confused.

“Yes,” she answers simply. “It’s moved for its own protection.”

“How do we find out where it is?” Cam asks, still rubbing his butt cheek.

Phyllis looks each of us in the eye. “It’s one of our coven’s most guarded secrets. Like my ancestors were tasked with the protection of Aaron’s grimoire, there is a family tasked with the library’s protection. They’re the ones responsible for its whereabouts and the only ones who know where it is.”

“Dumb question,” Cam interrupts. “If no one knows where it is, how do people add their information?”

“Not a dumb question, my wolf friend. There’s a ritual, a guard, and a whole process that I can’t divulge.” Phyllis winks with her words.

“Does anyone know who the family is?” Thorne asks.

“No one knows. Well, most don’t.” Phyllis smiles crookedly. “Lucky for you, I’m not most.”

“Can you take us there?” I ask.

“There are secrets in those records that have remained secrets for centuries. As far as I know, no witch, lycan, or vampire has been given access to them other than the family assigned to protect them. What are you looking for?”

“Serafina,” Thorne answers. “If she’s from Scotland, maybe our families knew each other. I don’t know what I’m looking for, but something tells me I need to look.”

Phyllis stares into Thorne’s soft blue eyes for a moment before answering. “Okay. I’ll contact the guardian.” She walks outside, pulling a cell phone from her back pocket.

“What do you think you’ll find?” Cam asks.

“I have no idea.”

The door opens, revealing the elderly witch. “Okay,” she answers. “There’s one condition.”

“What is it?” I ask.

“Cam has to sit in the front seat with me on the drive over.”

I can’t hide the smile covering my face. Whether Phyllis really has the hots for Cam or just enjoys making him uncomfortable, I’m here for it.

Ten minutes later, we’re pulling away from our Charleston home in the backseat of Phyllis’s SUV. Cam is in the front seat, leaving plenty of room between him and our driver. Our drive is short and takes us to a small house on the riverfront a few miles away. “This is it,” Phyllis announces, sliding out of her vehicle.

“The records are here?” Cam asks. “This looks like an ordinary house.”

“That’s the point.”

Energy floods me. It’s an energy I’ve become familiar with over the past months. “Do you feel that?” I ask Thorne.

“Aye. Lycan. Cam, do you recognize who is here?”

Cam turns his head toward us. “No. It’s not someone I’ve met before, and the energy feels…strange.”

“Get your asses out of the truck. She’s waiting,” Phyllis reprimands.

The three of us reluctantly follow the witch to the front door. She knocks in a sequence of three short knocks, followed by a fist hit.

“Is that a secret knock?” Cam whispers.

“No.”

The door opens, revealing a woman who appears to be not much older than me. Her chestnut-colored hair, rich with tones of brown and red, flows in natural waves, framing her angular face. Piercing green eyes shine bright against her dark complexion, giving her incomparable beauty.

“Hello, witch.” She smiles at Phyllis before looking at Thorne and me. “Hello, bloodsuckers.” She turns to Cam. “Hello, wolf.”

“Um, hi.” Cam waves awkwardly. “I’m Cameron…St. James. I mean, Cam.”

“Nice to meet you, Cam. My name is Nyssa Jamison.” She turns back to Thorne and me. “You’re Captain Hawthorne Rex, and you’re,” she looks me in the eyes, sniffing the air around me, “you’re Elsbeth Abernathy.”

“I am,” I answer. “How do you know us?”

“I’ve done quite a bit of research over the years.”

Cam leans against the side of the house, propping an arm and foot. “I’ve done research through the years.” He clears his throat.

“Is that so?” Nyssa asks with a smile. “Won’t you all come in?” She steps aside, leaving room for the four of us to enter.

Thorne places a hand on Phyllis’s back, ushering her into the home, followed by me. The first thing I notice is the smell of food. Normally, smelling human food disgusts me, but this smells nothing short of amazing.

“Something smells like a piece of heaven,” Phyllis announces, taking the words from my mouth.

“I was making some soup,” Nyssa answers. “Would you care for any?”

“I would.” Cam raises his hand. “Please.” He clears his throat for the second time.

“That would be perfect,” Phyllis answers. “The thing about hanging out with vampires is they’re not interested in food.”

Nyssa excuses herself and returns moments later with two heaping bowls of soup topped with a thick piece of what looks like cornbread. “What brings you to me today?” she asks, setting the bowls in front of Cam and Phyllis.

“I’m looking for information on a witch named Serafina,” Thorne answers. “She was originally from Scotland…”

“I know who Serafina is. Why are you searching for information on her?”

“We’re from the same time period and the same country. I’m curious if there’s a possibility my family might have known hers or was related somehow. To be honest, I don’t know what I’m looking for. A connection, maybe.”

Nyssa sits on a chair in the corner of the room, facing the rest of us. “Please, have a seat.” She motions to a large couch opposite her. Cam and Phyllis immediately begin working on their soup while Thorne and I sit between them.

“This is the best soup I’ve ever eaten,” Cam announces, bringing the edge of the bowl to his lips and draining it in one gulp.

“Thank you,” Nyssa answers with a smile. She turns her attention back to Thorne. “Why don’t you tell me the real reason you’re looking for information on Serafina.”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” he answers.

“I feel the power inside you, Captain. There’s more than just a vampire in there.” She averts her eyes toward me. “Both of you.”

“Aye.”

“What are you really looking for?” Nyssa asks again.

“Serafina,” Thorne repeats.

“You’re looking for more than a name listed, aren’t you?”

“What’s she talking about?” I ask through our connection.

“Aye,” he answers the lycanthrope, ignoring me.

“Thorne?”

“You’re wondering if there’s a possibility you could be related.” Nyssa’s words are a statement, not a question.

“Aye,” Thorne whispers.

Nyssa slides forward in her chair. “What good would it do to know if you are or are not related?”

“It would answer…” he pauses, not finishing.

“Where your power comes from,” Nyssa finishes his statement.

“Aye.”

The lycanthrope slides out of her seat, disappearing into another room. “She’s intense,” Phyllis whispers just before Nyssa returns, carrying a large book. She sets it on the table at Thorne’s knees, opening it to a page titled “Rex.” Below the name is a perfectly drawn family crest and tree.

“I believe you’ll find the information you seek here.” Thorne slides forward, drawing the book closer. “You should know that the names in that book come from powerful magic.”

Thorne slowly traces his family name and crest. “Would you like some privacy?” I ask through our connection.

“No,” he answers out loud.

“You’ll find your name further down,” Nyssa says, watching him read through the names.

Thorne slowly rubs his fingers along the perfect script until landing on a familiar name. The name of the captain who brought my family to America. “Hawthorne Finley,” he reads. He traces the lines that connect to his siblings. “Mary Arabella and Joseph Arley. I was the oldest.” Thorne has never spoken of his family. Hearing their names for the first time sends a chill down my spine.

“Follow that line further,” Nyssa encourages.

Pulling the book closer, Thorne traces his fingers against a long-ago erased line. Even with vampire vision, the name is barely visible. “Serafina Elizabeth,” I whisper. “Could it be?”

Nyssa smiles. “Yes. Serafina was your half-sister. Your father had a short fling with the nursemaid. You and Serafina share the same blood.”

“Well, shit,” Phyllis says from his other side. “That explains your power.”

“How did you know about her name being erased?” I ask our lycanthrope host.

“It’s my job to know, as it has been those before me. I am a lycanthrope, yes, but my mother was descended from a powerful line of witches. Witches charged with keeping these records safe.” Nyssa shrugs. “My mother enjoyed the nightlife of New Orleans a little too much when she was younger. Hence, my sperm donor is like you, Cameron St. James— lycan.” Cam doesn’t respond. Awkwardness flows from him as he squirms in his seat.

“If Serafina is my half-sister, what does that mean?”

“It means you may be the only one capable of defeating Sable,” Nyssa answers with a smirk covering her face.

“You mean Sable,” I interrupt. “Serafina is dead.”

Nyssa’s laugh fills the room. “There is no Sable. The two are one and the same. The woman you know as Sable is in fact Serafina.”

“Fuck,” Phyllis whispers.