Homesick Book 2. The Secrets of Blackthorn Manor

Blood Magic Binding

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Chapter Sixteen

Blood Magic Binding

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In the new silence of their room Adrian could actually hear Duchess as she snored from wherever she was curled up inside their walk-in wardrobe. Owethu loosened his coils so Adrian could sit up properly. He didn't seem to want to let go completely and Adrian didn't ask him to.

'As you know, naga cannot use magic. Similar to the dragons, we have decent resistance to it, but we cannot command or guide it. This leaves us with some... vulnerabilities,' Owethu began.

Adrian nodded. 'Okay. I'm following you so far.'

'A damu pendant is a thing of death and blood magic. It is created when a naga and witch doctor form a blood contract. The pendant will drain the magic of any victim who wears it, often killing the host. This magic can be wielded for a short time by any naga who collects it from the pendent. It is the only way a naga can wield magic.'

Adrian considered this. 'Well, that's... deeply unpleasant. It also explains why that thing feels so foul. What freaked me out was how... alive it felt. It's still carrying a powerful magical charge.'

Owethu frowned, brows creasing slightly. 'That should mean that the magic has not yet been used. Whoever the last victim was, their lifeforce and power is still trapped within that pendant.'

'I didn't know magic could be held like that for such a long time. That's so... wrong. It's not natural.' Magic was, in its own strange way, a living thing. It was balance and energy and spirit. At a very early age practitioners were taught that the magic they use was never theirs. It came and it went. To try and trap it or hold it forever was to go against the laws of nature itself.

'I do not understand the laws of magic, but I do understand that much,' Owethu said gravely. 'That pendant is incredibly powerful. Any naga to wear it would be strong enough to challenge the clan leader and likely win.'

'What if a non-naga were to wear it?'

The man considered this for a while, his frown deepening. 'I am unsure. If a practitioner were to wear it, there is a chance that the pendant would simply absorb their lifeforce and magic too. I do not know how much such an object can hold. It could drive them insane or simply kill them.'

'We should look up the pendant in the logs we found. We might be able to find who submitted it and when.'

'That sounds like a good plan,' Owethu rumbled.

Adrian settled himself against the man. 'Thank you for telling me.'

'Would you give the damu pendant back to me if I asked for it?'

The question caused an uncomfortable lump to settle in his stomach. Instead of trying to hide this, Adrian took a breath and let that quiet unease be felt across the link. 'I won't pretend that I wouldn't be nervous about the idea. I don't want that thing to hurt you and I don't want it to fall into the hands of someone who would use it to kill you or your family. But... if you were really sure it would be somewhere it couldn't be used to harm anyone, then yes.'

The naga didn't reply at first. He wrapped his arms tight around Adrian's chest, squeezing him almost too tight. 'Keep it here. For now. We can look at the logs tomorrow.'

'Okay.' They lapsed into silence again. Though there was more to be said and even more questions that had been raised by the conversations, they were both done for now. Adrian closed his eyes. At first, he wasn't sure he was going to be able to sleep. The whole night replayed itself in his mind again and again. Light sparkled off glittering jewels that turned into gold serpent eyes. He felt scales under his fingers, smooth and warm.