Vampires & Vinca (Hawthorn Witches Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

there were a family secret that was meant to be passed on until there were no more Hawthorns to carry the legacy. When that happened, the book would have been given to a carefully selected and trustworthy individual who would have honored all of these generations by devoting their life to the sacred use and perfection of these spells. The spells have been growing in power with each generation, and in the wrong hands, some of them have destructive potential I don’t even want to imagine.”
    Gates had glanced up from the book to stare, unblinking, at Kendra.
    “And you gave it to Gates,” Lyssa said with a weak flourish of her hand.
    Gates’ eyes shifted from Kendra to me. “Yeah…you screwed up.”
    “ She left a precious family heirloom hidden in a wall and didn’t warn anyone about it,” I said, pointing at Kendra. “And you were the one who decided to go poking around in there. I wouldn’t have found it if it hadn’t been left in that wall without a warning.” I looked at Lyssa. “Did you know about it?”
    Lyssa shifted uncomfortably. “No. She didn’t tell me.”
    “I’m not blaming you,” Kendra said quietly. When I looked at her, I believed it. “But I’m telling you, that’s the reason Gates doesn’t have a choice here. She has to stay and help me rebuild that grimoire, because the second you gave it to her most of those spells became unusable to anyone who isn’t Gates or one of her descendants.”
    “Wow,” Gates snorted. “Annie, you really screwed up.”
    “ We screwed up,” I corrected. “Fine. So Gates is stuck. Why am I here?”
    Lyssa rolled her eyes and looked away, and I knew.
    “Because of the demon thing?” I asked.
    Kendra pursed her lips. “Annie, I’m sure Charlie told you about the ecosystem of terror that keeps most people mum on any magical ability they possess.”
    I took a deep breath. Charlie had told me a lot of stories about the various parts of magical beings that warlocks needed in order to cast spells, and I distantly recalled that Kendra’s first meeting with Stark involved him needing a witch’s heart. I braced myself, wondering what I now possessed that could make someone rich on the black market.
    “It’s nothing like that, Thorn,” Charlie said quietly. “Quite the opposite. You’re unfit to be butchered, now.”
    “You’ve been touched by the darkness,” Kendra said. “There’s an old belief that people like you are bad luck, and you’ll bring misfortune with you wherever you go. It’s likely to get you killed, because anyone who has a bad enough day when you happen to be close by is going to look for a cause. And…” She sighed, shaking her head as she looked at me. “You’ve drawn some unfortunate attention. Martha came here looking for me because of some old business between me and her brother, and necromancers and vampires are serious business. They are a superstitious group, and Draven has a fickle personality. I am very afraid of what he might do to you when he arrives.”
    Kendra watched me and waited. I slowly looked around at each of them. After just freeing myself from Charlie and all of the drama that he had brought into my life, I couldn’t believe that I was getting sucked back in on pain of death.
    “I’ve always kept a personal apartment here, tucked away behind the office,” Kendra said encouragingly. “And I haven’t lived with other witches since I was a little girl. I think it will be fun if you give it a try. Charlie found a few places to expand the living arrangements and give you each your own space, and I know he’d be happy to help you customize—”
    Gates snapped the book shut. “Show me my room.”
    My mouth fell open. Kendra gave her a winning smile.
    She had immediately adored the room that Charlie had made for her at my apartment, but I didn’t think her loyalties would be swayed so easily. “Gates!”
    “Annie,” she said frankly. “I get that your family are a bunch of freaks capable of