Bloodspell (The Cruentus Curse, #1)(14)

Leto ...

Victoria.

Curious, she slid alongside his consciousness, exploring it gently. Although he felt catlike, warm and comforting and like family, he didn't quite feel like a cat. She sensed great intelligence, sensitivity, and even humor. In a way, he reminded her of her English teacher in second grade, a twinkly-eyed but bar-no-nonsense kind of person. As an onslaught of memories flooded her mind, she felt Leto cringe and block her out completely.

Shape your thoughts, Leto thought to her. Then give them form with words. Guard your mind always, even against me.

Mindful of not hurling a barrage of thoughts and feelings his way, Victoria formed her mental words carefully, releasing them one by one. It felt strange, enunciating each thought as if she were learning to speak a foreign language.

How do I do that? Guard, I mean.

Imagine an impenetrable wall around you, encasing your entire mind. Good. Do you feel me pushing against you? That wall you just imagined is real.

Victoria frowned. It feels like I have a headache.

Over time it will become effortless. She met Leto's green eyes.

Was the voice always you?

Yes.

So does this mean I am telepathic?

You are so much more, Victoria. Surely you know that. Leto's look spoke volumes. She considered his words.

I ... made those things happen by thinking about them, like Brett ... and Chri ... the boy from today. It felt different earlier though.

She thought about Brett and remembered how the energy had raced along her veins, rampant. Wild. She'd cowered from it then, running away from it and burying it so deeply that it was no wonder she'd been caught off guard by its reemergence.

Yes, the energy felt different. Now it was responsive, less raw. With Brett, she had reacted to a threat and her unconscious reaction had been explosive, uncontrolled. It had terrified her. But now, the energy felt compliant—she was directing its flow, projecting it with purpose and shaping its response. Even with Christian earlier, her action had been more deliberate. She was controlling it instead of it controlling her. Victoria could feel Leto's approval.

Why couldn't I control it then?

Perhaps you were not yet ready.

And I am now?

Only you know the answer to that question. She eyed him curiously.

So what are you?

I'm ... your friend. Leto settled back onto his haunches, his brilliant green eyes twinkled. Technically, a familiar, he clarified.

Victoria swallowed. A flicker of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch flashed through her head. Like Salem in Sabrina? She thought the words aloud before she could think twice.

His immediate disdain was eloquent. Victoria, that is a television show. But yes, if you must make the comparison, although this form is just a shape, a vessel.

Her mouth hung open. If he was a familiar, then that would make her ...

And ... me? Am I ... a ... witch?She almost choked on the last word, feeling stranger with each passing second. She could swear that Leto was laughing at her. His thoughts felt distinctly amused.

You already know the answer to that, Victoria. Of course you are, he said. Although not in the way you're thinking. You don't use a wand or fly on a broom. Victoria's face fell. The amused sensation she'd felt earlier from Leto returned. He was laughing at her! But your mind can command energy, you will foresee events, and you can heal yourself.

Wait. Heal myself?

Yes. If you are hurt, you can call upon your energy to heal yourself, and others too if you will it. However, for most it is finite. At her questioning look, Leto explained. There's only so much magical energy one can wield at any given time, but there are ways around these limits.

"What else can I do?" she asked, her normal voice hoarse.

As you have already discovered, you are capable of enhanced strength and you can cure yourself and others at will, but you can also unleash powerful energy blasts. You can teleport, exert powerful levels of telekinesis and telepathy, and you can invoke powerful spells.

Leto stopped as Victoria's mouth formed a small "o" of astonishment. Even as her brain incorporated what he was saying, she was stunned. She was a witch! How was that even possible? Her family had been normal. Hadn't they?

My grandmother was a witch. The ponderous thought was not a question.

Yes, Leto agreed, but not like you. His tone was enigmatic and he had an expectant expression on his face. It made Victoria feel peculiar, tingly again.

And my father? Did he know about me? Was he like ... us?

Your father was human. Sometimes the magic skips a generation. It happens with mixed witch and human bloodlines.

But it didn't skip me?

No. Leto's eyes were intense.

Doesn't that make me half-witch, >half-normal then?

No. You are a Warrick witch. Magic remains undiluted from generation to generation. You are as powerful as the very first.

The amulet and her grandmother's words flashed through her memory, "Embrace it. Don't fear it." She grasped the amulet, feeling its familiar warmth in her palm.

Why did the diamond turn red?

Leto paused, seeming to search for words. It is a part of the amulet's magic but it only reveals its full power when a true descendant of Warrick claims it. The answers you seek are in there. His glance indicated the open music box, but Victoria wasn't quite finished. She hesitated. There was one more question she needed to ask, one that had haunted her for years.