The Werewolf Dates The Deputy - Kristen Painter Page 0,47
it. Salt? Sugar? Something else? The second held a waxy yellow powder that smelled of eggs. Sulfur. The same thing he’d smelled at the house where they’d encountered the magic bomb.
Maybe she had to use the same ingredients to do the test? He didn’t know. Witchcraft was a foreign language to him.
She dipped one of the rods in Jenna’s blood first, then sprinkled a little of the white and yellow powders on the end. She ran it through the black candle’s flame. It sparked white and blue before turning the flame a brilliant green.
Alice set the rod aside. “The spell is surrounding you, Deputy. It’s influencing everything in your world. But that’s what I expected. That’s how a spell works.”
“So that’s…good news?”
“As good as can be expected.”
Jenna sighed as Alice prepared the second rod with Titus’s blood.
When she ran it through the flame, it sparked white and blue, but this time when the flame turned green, it wasn’t nearly as bright. As they watched, it darkened until it went black.
Titus had never seen a black flame before. “What does that mean?”
Alice stared at the flame for a moment longer before setting the rod aside. She looked at Titus. “It means…I cannot remove the spell from you.”
Jenna put her hands flat on the table, unwilling to accept what she’d heard. “Why not? How can that be?”
Alice shook her head as she peered at the rod now cooling on the table. “Blood. That’s how.”
Titus rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I.” Jenna twisted her hands together. “Please, Alice, explain what’s going on.”
Alice straightened the rod so that it lay parallel to the one she’d used for Jenna. “For you, Deputy, the spell has worked as it was built. It’s enveloped you in its magic. Like an unbreakable bubble. But for Chief Merrow…”
When she didn’t finish, Titus cleared his throat. “It’s okay. Just say it.”
Alice’s brows bent as though she was deep in thought. “This spell isn’t surrounding you. It’s in you. In your blood. It’s become one with you. That makes it impossible to separate you from the spell.”
“How is that possible? Why is it different for me than for Jenna?”
Alice’s expression changed to one of concern. “There are two possibilities. One is that this spell was built with you in mind, and whoever did it had access to your blood and included some in the spell. If that’s true, whoever built this spell is powerful. Or stupid. Or both. Blood magic is not for the uninitiated. It’s dangerous even to those who understand it.”
“What’s the second possibility?”
“That the spell wasn’t meant for you but got into your system by another means. But blood was still involved. And that’s what complicates things.”
He shook his head. “Why would someone target me? For a love spell?”
Jenna leaned her hip against the table. She could imagine all kinds of reasons someone would want to be part of a love spell with him. “We never considered you as the target, but I guess we should have. After all, that sulfur scent could very well have been about getting you there.”
“True. But it could have just been to get someone in the house. Not necessarily me.”
“Let’s say it was,” Jenna continued. “Do you have any secret admirers? Have you gotten any anonymous emails, letters, or texts from anyone recently? How about an ex-girlfriend who never really got over you?”
“No. Since Zoe, I’ve kept a pretty low profile dating-wise.”
Jenna wasn’t done. Her training as a law enforcement officer wouldn’t let her give up that easily. “Have you made any witches mad?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
Alice blew out the black candle before asking the next question on Jenna’s mind. “Who would have access to your blood?”
“Not many people,” Titus answered. “You know shifter blood has its uses, so as a community we’re pretty careful about who we see for our medical checkups and such.”
“Wait a second,” Jenna said, suddenly curious. “What do you mean shifter blood has its uses?”
Alice spoke before Titus could. “Supernatural blood, be it vampire, shifter, witch, valkyrie, whatever, is a powerful ingredient in certain types of magic. Mostly the worst kind. But that only adds to the price a vial of such blood can bring. Shifter blood is especially potent.” She looked at him. “It’s wise that you choose your doctors carefully.”
“Hold up.” Things clicked together in Jenna’s mind. “You mentioned something about the spell getting into his system by other means.”