Of Witches and Warlocks: The Complete Series

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

I got up early and spent the morning in the gym with Hex, working hard for several hours on the art of physical fighting. His style was a blend of many cultures that incorporated the things he liked best from all over the world.

My favorite was the kickboxing, and a couple of body slamming moves which I'd teased him about, saying he must've picked them up from watching world class wrestling.

He didn't think that was very funny and berated me for not taking things seriously enough, but I knew he was worried about my plans to place myself into the lion's den again. I'd informed him I still intended to go to Vance even after everything that had happened last night.

I actually wasn't too worried about it. I felt much more mentally prepared this time around. Who knew how Vance would react to everything, but I knew as long as he couldn't touch me, he couldn't hurt me. Of course, it was the not touching him part that always seemed to get me into trouble.

After lunch, Hex left to go pick up my family. I proceeded to shower and carefully groom myself, taking extra care with my hair and makeup. I promised Hex I would wear the fighting clothes he bought me, and he'd armed me to the teeth on my utility belt.

Not one ounce of nerves bothered me while I was getting ready, but now that it was time to go I began to feel jittery. With slow breaths, I concentrated on bringing my emotions under control.

"You are the empowered one today. Take control of the situation," I said to myself, repeating the words Hex was constantly saying to me during our training together.

Earlier, I decided to transport to Vance's bedroom again, instead of going directly to Vance. This could alleviate a potential problem of popping up somewhere less desirable, like in a public place or in the middle of a demon coven. There was no way of knowing where he could be, or what he could be out doing.

I didn't close my eyes, wanting to be completely aware of what was going on around me as I entered his space. Taking a deep breath, I envisioned sitting on the foot of his bed.

The weightlessness overtook me immediately, followed by a cool prickling of my skin and I found myself in the very place I'd asked to go. Glancing around furtively, my senses were on full alert.

He wasn't here.

Relaxing, I stood and went to the window, looking out to see if I could tell anything more about where I was located. This was definitely a private residence, not a hotel. The grounds looked vast, and I popped outside to observe the house.

The structure was a turn of the century southern mansion. It looked like the kind of home people would pay to tour. I saw no activity of any kind on the grounds, and while Vance was not here at the moment, I was positive he was on his way. He would have felt me immediately.

I popped back into the bedroom, and stealthily made my way out of the door. The place was deathly still and I was pretty sure no one was around. However, I was determined, I was not going to get caught off guard.

To my surprise, I found the rest of the furnishings in the house were all covered in dust cloths. Apparently, the house had been vacant for a while, if one was to judge from the amount of dust gathered. Vance must've decided to borrow the place while the owners were away.

I moved from room to room by evaporation so I could be as noiseless as possible. Each one appeared to be as undisturbed as the next, until I reached the kitchen.

The first thing I saw was a jar of peanut butter next to a bag of bread, and I smiled quietly to myself. He was still eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. That was my Vance.