Page 110 of The Ghost and the Graveyard (Knight Games 1)
The good thing about having a mental connection with someone is that you feel the person smile before their expression actually changes. Rick smiled from the inside out and filled my brain with memories. I saw our first kiss and our second first kiss, along with the day we got married the first time. It was overwhelming and heartwarming all at once.
Even though I couldn't say for sure that I loved Rick in this life, I wanted to love him. I wanted to know if this supernova erupting in my chest was the product of the memories fed into my brain or my actual feelings. But more than anything, I wanted to become who I was supposed to be. Ready or not, becoming the witch was the only way to save Michelle and end Marcus.
The Proposal
I didn't know as much as I thought I did about vampires. For example, in books and movies they always use silver chains to restrain the vamps. Turns out that silver doesn't work when the vampire possesses your best friend. The silver can't soak through the human skin to get to the vampire, and because silver is relatively weak, it breaks too easily. Instead, a plain old rope soaked in holy water will do. The rope restrains, and the holy water keeps the vamp inside the human. As an added bonus, with Marcus' fangs trapped in Michelle's human mouth, a regular gag was all we needed to shut him up.
"I think it's best that we keep Marcus bound until after the ceremony. It will be dangerous," Rick said. He leaned over my best friend's body on the couch in his cottage and tested the bindings. "Marcus did this to force us to remove him from the enchantments of the cemetery boundary. He'll do anything in his power to free himself, and I warn you he'll be much harder to catch if he escapes on the outside."
"So, we don't let him escape."
"He'll try to take advantage of your inexperience." Rick shook his head like he was breaking bad news.
"Whoa. What? I thought this was wham, bam, memories back. Poof. I'm the witch."
"I'm afraid it won't be quite that easy, mi cielo. The power will come, but learning how to wield it will take some time."
I sighed. "And I thought I was done with school."
He brushed my bangs back and ran his fingers down my cheek to my chin. His gray eyes wrinkled at the corners with his smile. "You are more than capable of rising to this challenge."
His stare was too intense. I had to look away. Fidgeting, I dug my fingers into the holes in the afghan on the back of the sofa. "This is beautiful," I said.
"You knitted it over one hundred years ago."
I yanked my hand back and wiped it on my jeans. It didn't help. The weirdness stuck to me. "Where does the, er, ceremony have to take place?"
"The attic. It is your seat of power," he said.
"Can we move a mattress up there, or do we have to do it on the altar?"
He lifted an eyebrow, and a sultry smile stretched across his face. My blood accelerated to a frantic pace. Beast or not, he was incredibly attractive. "Didn't Prudence tell you? The attic adapts to whatever you need it to be. It is made of your magic. It can look any way you want it to look."
"You mean, like, I can change it with my mind? No furniture-moving necessary?"
"You might need Prudence's help at first, but yes."
"Let's do it." I tried not to think about the double entendre, but heat crept up my neck to my ears anyway.
Ever the gentleman, Rick pretended not to notice. "I think we should take my car. Even though it's the middle of the night, it would do us no good to have a citizen of Red Grove see us carrying a bound woman into your home."
"You have a car?" It sounded stupid, even to my own ears. "Sorry, that was silly of me. Of course you have a car. We live in the boondocks. You wouldn't be able to get groceries without one."
Rick frowned. "There are things about me you should know. Differences. I...I don't need groceries, unless I'm cooking for you."
I thought about the night I'd been over for dinner, how I'd never seen him eat. The liquid in his glass looked different from wine but somehow familiar. It was familiar. I worked with it every day. Blood.
"Logan said you feed off blood and other things. So that's all you need?"
"The magic that makes me immortal is tied to the evil I'm here to control. My strength is their strength, but I also inherited their hunger, their desires. It isn't always ideal."
My face was numb. I stood motionless behind our vampire captive, staring at Rick as if he had sprouted two heads. My thoughts immediately went to the practical. We would never share a bowl of ice cream. We could never go out for pizza.
"Oh, I can eat," he said, and I realized he was reading my thoughts. "I drank the wine at your house the night we met, remember?"
I nodded.
"But I don't have to. And sometimes, nothing but blood will do."
