Of Witches and Warlocks: The Complete Series

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"You have to run!" I insisted, sitting straight up on the bed so I could face him directly.

He shook his head. "I won't leave you."

"Vance. It'll mean nothing if he finds you and makes you like him. You have to go," I pleaded.

"No!" he shouted, his answer firm.

I knelt in front of him, placing my hands on either side of his face and stared straight into his eyes. "Vance, please! I'll even come with you. We can run away together! We'll get married and go somewhere he'll never find us," I begged him in earnest.

He pondered this for a moment, looking deeply at me, before he spoke again.

"Portia, I'd love nothing more than to run away and take you as my wife, but we'd always be running. I want to have a life with you—a real life—one full of love, laughter, and someday children too. If I don't face him, we'll never be able to have that. He's always been able to find me somehow. Sometimes faster than others, but I'm always looking over my shoulder, waiting for him to reappear. It's time for me to make a stand now."

"And if you lose?" I asked, the possibility scaring me.

"I don't plan on losing," he said stubbornly.

"Things don't always go the way we plan, Vance! I'd rather live a life on the run than have you gone completely!"

"You're going to have to trust me, Portia," he said quietly, searching my eyes.

I dropped my hands and flopped back onto the pillow in defeat.

"I don't like this," I sighed. "I've had the tiniest exposure to dark magic today, and it almost consumed me. I can't allow that to happen to you."

He reached and took my hand in his, massaging my fingers with his own.

"I love that you care so much," he said with a small smile. "But I managed to escape his influence once before. I'm banking on being able to do that again. I'm stronger than I was then."

"Well, I hope you're right, Vance." I knew I was going to have to trust him, because I couldn't force him. "I can't live without you. You know that, don't you?"

He stretched alongside me and gathered me into his arms.

"I'll never leave you, Portia, and that's a promise. Please try to understand me."

We eventually agreed to disagree on the subject, tabling our discussion until the meeting with the coven that evening. Grandma called another get-together due to my experiences of the afternoon and previous night.

After much discussion, everyone was certain unusual things were definitely happening. Since no one had actually spotted Damien Cummings, or any of his followers, Grandma cautioned us to be extra careful and alert for anything that might seem unusual. She reminded us that there was safety in numbers and, whenever possible, to travel with companions from the coven when we were out. My dad said he would also alert some of the neighboring covens to the possibility of a demon cult.

When we adjourned the meeting, I rode back to my house with Vance. He stayed silent until we were safely behind closed doors in my bedroom, steering me to the bed.

"Sit down," he said with a sigh. "I have something I need to tell you."

"All right," I replied, feeling nervous butterflies in the pit of my stomach. "What's up?"