“You don’t seem surprised,” I said, wondering how she could hear the news she just had without revealing an ounce of surprise. She smiled sweetly at me, as if I were a child who just learned Santa Claus didn’t really exist. I wasn’t exactly sure how old Ms. Ozland was, since witches don’t age the same way humans do. Once the magic chooses someone, your biological makeup also changes. If I had to guess, I’d say she was close to one hundred and fifty years old, even though she only looked sixty. She had definitely seen and learned a lot more than I had in my twenty-six years.

“There are many secrets to our world that we wish to keep to ourselves but every so often one gets out and, as you know, it’s our duty to retrieve it,” she said, giving me a look I didn’t fully understand. I nodded my head as if I understood, but mentally I was as confused as a person with Alzheimer’s.

“Well…um, it seems witches’ blood is addictive and causes the younger vamps to feel high while it allows the older vampires utilize its magic.” Ms. Ozland nodded her head and frustration grew deep within me. Was I the only one new to this information?

“And your vampire friend here is one of the addicts?” she asked as she stared at Aiden. I nodded my head. “And you want to know how to help him?”

“Yes. Is there a way to break this?”

“There is, but it’s going to be painful.”

“I can handle pain, I just want to stop this,” Aiden finally chimed in. I wondered if he was having second thoughts and would run out of the house. I really didn’t want to see him in pain but if it would end his addiction, then I’d suck it up and do whatever I had to.

“Not for you,” Ms. Ozland said to Aiden. “It’ll be very painful for you,” she said looking at me. My eyes widened as I wondered just how painful it’d be and why it had anything to do with me, I wasn’t the addict.

“Forget it, I can beat this on my own. I won’t see Gwen suffer for my sins,” Aiden said.

Ms. Ozland smiled sweetly at him and shook her head. “I’m afraid once our magic intertwines itself in your system; this is the only way to get rid of it.” Aiden looked at me like he was tortured at the thought of me being in pain. I tried to act like I wasn’t scared and that this would be a walk in the park, but the truth was, I was terrified. There was no point in trying to hide it from Aiden. He could feel my emotions ever since feeding from me. I was a bit depressed that I wouldn’t be able to experience his bite anymore. It had been one of the most amazing sexual experiences of my life. Aiden chuckled and I shot him a look, crimson coloring my cheeks. He may not have been able to tell what I was thinking exactly, but he must have known I was thinking about sex. He winked at me and I quickly looked away. I didn’t like him knowing what I was feeling.

“So, what do we do?” I asked Ms. Ozland, getting my mind back on more important things.

“You don’t have to do this, Gwen,” Aiden said.

“You heard her, this is the only way. If it’ll help you, I’m doing it.” I said, my voice saying that this wasn’t up for debate.

The small coffee table that had been sitting in the middle of the floor, instantly levitated and slowly moved to the other side of the room.

“Both of you sit,” Ms. Ozland said, pointing to the empty space. I sat Indian-style on the floor and waited for Aiden to join me. I didn’t know if he was being stubborn because he really didn’t want to see me in pain or because he didn’t want to give up how the magic made him feel; probably a little bit of both. Aiden reluctantly sat on the floor in front of me, a look of chagrin coloring his face. He sat with his knees propped up while his arms circled them, causing his shirt to press tightly against his bicep. I admired his body while a heat stirred in my southern region. Aiden’s eyes found mine and a devilishly handsome grin made itself known on his kissable lips. It had been a year since I’d slept with anyone, but Aiden had ignited a fire, I thought was doomed to go out, courtesy of my crappy love life. Like a real life Casanova, Aiden swooped in and rescued my forgotten libido.

I realized we were staring hungrily into each other’s eyes when Ms. Ozland’s tiny hand snapped in front of me. The heat that had been building in my stomach quickly rushed to my cheeks and showed my embarrassment.

“Give me your hand,” she said to Aiden. He held his arm out, palm side up but his eyes were still fastened on me.

“What the hell?” Aiden snarled, his fangs descending and his eyes black. We looked down at his hand. Ms. Ozland held a small dagger; with a red tip Aiden’s pointer finger dripped a deep crimson where she had stuck him with it.

“Suck on his finger,” she said, thrusting Aiden’s hand towards me. I looked at her like she’d lost her marbles and hesitated too long. Aiden’s finger healed as if he’d never been stabbed. Ms. Ozland let out an annoyed sigh and held the dagger towards Aiden’s finger again but he snatched his hand away.

“Has anyone ever told you it’s very dangerous taking blood from a vampire without their permission,” Aiden said, his tone deadly calm. I shot Ms. Ozland a worried look, afraid Aiden might attack her. She seemed unfazed by Aiden’s unspoken threat and grabbed his hand again.

“It’s dangerous to take a witches’ blood as well,” she warned.

“Maybe you should explain what we’re doing,” I said to her, hoping that would calm the tension that suddenly intruded into the small space.

“You will need to drink his blood in order to reconnect with the magic you gave away. When the blood hits your tongue, withdraw the magic from it and take it back into yourself.”

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. “Exactly how do I withdraw the magic?” I was a young grasshopper next to Ms. Ozland and I could see the smile in her eyes as she observed the ignorance of my magical knowledge.

“When the blood hits your tongue, your body will recognize the magic that’s in it. Claim the magic as your own.” Ms. Ozland explained. She held the dagger towards Aiden’s hand and, with the nod from Aiden, pierced the tip of his finger again. She didn’t need to throw his hand at me this time because Aiden willingly held it to my lips. I reluctantly plunged his finger into my mouth and sucked the blood that spilled from his wound. It seemed a little too intimate to have witnesses and I’m sure my cheeks were the color of the very blood I was drinking.

“Now, do you feel the hum of magic in his blood?” Ms. Ozland asked. I concentrated on the metallic, slightly salty taste and tried to pick out the magic that lay somewhere beneath the normal tang. It was subtle at best; Aiden definitely hadn’t been drinking brew for very long. My tongue became tingly, almost numb as I connected with the familiar hum of my magic.

Come back to me. I’m willing you to return to my body. I thought over and over, feeling absolutely ridiculous. Luckily, Ms. Ozland and Aiden couldn’t hear my lame attempts at reconnecting with my magic. When I thought all hope was lost and that this wasn’t going to work, I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through my entire body. I fell back onto the floor and withered under the intense pain that seemed to be coursing through every inch of my body. My body shook with convulsions as a war raged within it, like my magic was a virus my body was trying to fight off.

“Make….it…stop,” I begged through clenched teeth. I was sure that if someone didn’t save me, I’d be dead within the next couple of minutes. It felt like my body was going to explode all over Ms. Ozland’s quaint little living room.

“What’s happening to her?” I heard Aiden ask harshly. If he decided to attack Ms. Ozland, I couldn’t do a damn thing but watch her die. Tears streamed down face and my heart beat like a drum against my chest. My skin felt hot like my magic was sizzling me from the inside out and my muscles cramped as I fought against the pain.

“She’ll be fine in a couple of seconds,” Ms. Ozland said.

“She better be,” Aiden warned.

“If not for you, she wouldn’t be in this pain, vampire.”

Aiden didn’t comment on Ms. Ozland’s words but knelt down beside me and brushed my hair out of my face. His eyes were terrified as he watched me.

Suddenly I was levitated in the air four feet and a strong burst of energy blasted into my stomach. I let out a bloodcurdling scream that I was sure the whole town heard. I felt weightless and at peace as soon as the energy settled itself within me.

Great, I’m dead. I thought. I didn’t feel any of the pain I’d been subjected to just moments before and a strange calm washed through the entirety of my body. My hair flowed out from around my head like it was floating in an invisible pool of water I couldn’t see. I stared up at the ceiling and wondered when the bright light would make itself known. I wasn’t sure if supernatural creatures experienced the same death experiences as humans, but I had hope, and felt too curious not to see what lay behind the bright light.

I started to turn so that I was now hovering vertically rather than horizontally and I wondered if I looked like Bridget did to me, all gray and ghostly. At least I was wearing a cute outfit for eternity and not my rubber ducky flannel pajamas. Aiden was kneeling on the floor with hands bracing him and Ms. Ozland was sitting in her favorite floral chair, watching me. I arched my eyebrows at the thought that Ms. Ozland could see me.

When my feet hit the floor, I decided to try out my new ghostly advantages. I walked over to the nearest wall and started to go through it, only to run face first into it instead.

“Son of a bitch!” I yelled as I cupped my nose. Ms. Ozland’s laughter made me turn my head and I saw that Aiden was now looking at me too.

“You guys can see me?” I asked with disbelief.

“Why wouldn’t we be able to see you?” Aiden asked. I looked down to where I had been lying, and then back at my audience. “I thought…” I started but had to suck in a deep breath as realization set in that I wasn’t dead at all, somehow I’d survived through the torment. “I thought I was dead,” I told them, visibly relieved that I was wrong.