Of Witches and Warlocks: The Complete Series

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

To say that I was as shocked as Krista when I suddenly rematerialized right next to her, would've been an understatement. Not having time to contemplate that I'd just evaporated over almost half the entire United States, I wrapped my arms around her. Slipping into her head long enough to control a thought, I wished myself back to the hotel.

The room had erupted into chaos in the few moments I had been gone, everyone yelling loudly at each other. They stopped instantly as soon as we returned.

"It's not possible," Hex muttered in awe. "You couldn't have evaporated that far and carried a passenger with you too!" I collapsed to the floor, shaking violently. I was freezing and couldn't stop my teeth from chattering.

"I need to go back," I said, standing. "I still have to get my dad."

"Portia, you can't go." Vance grabbed me by the arm. "Sean is in the cave. The crystals in there won't let you out again, and you'll be trapped."

"I have to try!" I snapped, yanking my arm from his grip. "He's going to turn him into a demon!"

Somewhere behind me I heard my mom gasp.

"It's too late," Krista spoke up.

"What do you mean?" A fearful dread ran cold through my veins.

"Damien gave the order to turn Sean before the three of you went to the airport. He's been fed demon blood since you left."

Glancing in horror at my mom, I watched seemingly in slow motion as she fainted. Everyone moved at once, rushing to her aide as I sank to the floor, unable to stay upright any longer.

Vance sat next to me, cradling me into his arms.

"He lied," I said numbly. "He made me promise, and then he lied to me."

"What did you expect, really?" Vance asked, not seeming surprised at all by this revelation.

"I still need to go get my dad." I tried to climb to my feet. "He may have been fed blood, but he's still alive at least. Damien will have him killed now because we escaped."

"He won't be the same person, Portia," Hex said, turning to look at me from where he knelt next to my mother.

"I don't care what he is," I argued. "He's still my dad, and I won't leave him to be slaughtered by Damien."

Again my body was racked with cold chills, and I shivered violently.

"I don't know that you could successfully even make the jump by yourself right now," Hex said, watching me closely. "You're showing signs of being depleted already. It's no wonder. I can't believe you successfully covered that distance as it was, let alone carrying Krista with you."

"How long will being depleted last?" I asked.

"I've no way to know for sure since your case is so unique. But you remember when I told you I'd get fatigued during training. It would sometimes take me a day or two to fully recover depending on how active I had been."

"We don't have days. Is there anything we can do to help me regenerate faster?" I asked, still shivering violently.

"Not that I'm aware of. When you use your powers to this extreme, you weaken the blood. It needs to rebuild."

"You need to drink, baby." His teeth elongated, and he bit into his wrist before I could stop him. "Here you go," he added, lifting his limb to me, and horrified gasps escaped from the others.