Of Witches and Warlocks: The Complete Series

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

I pretended I wasn't eavesdropping, but I doubted I fooled anyone. I was certain Vance knew I was in his head since he hadn't done anything to raise his privacy barriers to keep me out.

He'd been repairing a rotted wall on the corner of the pump house when Hex showed up. I watched them walk around the building together as I continued to polish some of Earl's ritual silver on the back porch.

For some reason, I found it difficult to keep the smile from creeping across my face when I heard companionable laughter rise up from the two. My heart pounded in my chest, and I realized I was happy—really happy.

Earlier, when Vance noticed Hex by the tree, he stopped what he was doing and walked over. I held my breath in anticipation of the confrontation.

"Hello, Hex. Good to see you here," he said, and I don't know who he shocked more, me or Hex. "I've wanted to talk to you about some things."

Hex studied him suspiciously. "Then speak," he finally grunted.

"I wanted to tell you thanks for all you've done to take care of Portia. I may be a little slow to catch on with everything that's gone on lately, but it suddenly occurred to me she wouldn't even be a part of my life right now if you hadn't stepped in to protect her. I'm truly grateful for that."

Hex stared back at Vance unspeaking, his gaze narrowing slightly.

Vance continued when he didn't say anything. "This has been a tough time for me. I know you've seen me out here working a lot. I've been trying to overcome some of these demon tendencies—namely the bloodlust. I'm tired of hurting Portia all the time. I love her, and she shouldn't have to be going through all of this." He cast a glance over to where I was polishing on the porch, and I hurriedly looked back at my task, rubbing the silver chalice I was holding furiously.

Laughter sounded in my head before he spoke again. "Portia and I had a long talk, and she reminded me to look for the things I really want in my life and what is truly important. The fact of the matter is I never wanted to be a demon. It's been something I've tried to avoid my whole life. Yes, I've been swayed by the power and the bloodlust since then. I allowed myself to get distracted from my true desires and instead became wrapped up in seeking revenge against my father."

Turning, Vance walked away from Hex, picking up his hammer and nails, but he kept talking so Hex followed dutifully after him.

"I know you think I'm greedy for wanting to keep her in my life, and you're right. But what you don't understand, Hex, is that I love her. I love her more than anything. I've always loved her, practically from the first moment I saw her. Had I any idea what I would put her through in that moment, I'd like to think I would've walked away and spared her the horror of knowing me."

My hands trembled at his words, and I had to stop what I was doing. Just the thought of never knowing him made me queasy, sick. I gripped the chalice so hard my knuckles turned white.

"That's not what happened, though. So now I'm left trying to do my best to make amends to her for what I've drawn her and her family into. When Portia reminded me to reevaluate the things in my life, I realized I needed to make a choice. I could choose to be the man she fell in love with, or the demon that's made her life miserable. It was a no contest decision, easily made. But no matter how easily decided, executing that is much more difficult.

"I addressed the bloodlust issue first, cutting myself off from it completely. That's why you've found me out here so many times, working hard to stay occupied." Vance grabbed a board and measured it against the wall were the rotted damaged area was, marking it with a pencil before going over to a saw horse he had set up nearby.