Betrayal (Blood Haze: Book Three) A Paranormal Romance by Tara Shuler Page B

could…
torture you?”
    “Or worse,” Alexi added.
    “Oh, my God,” I groaned. “But what if you
just gave it back to him? He said he would return me if Barnabas
gave him what he wanted.”
    “That was before he realized how powerful you
are,” Alexi said. “He now wants you more than he wants the
talisman, or at least as much.”
    “What? Why?”
    “Because you are more useful to him,” Alexi
answered.
    “I want to help,” I told Alexi. “Please, let
me try.”
    “Absolutely not!” Alexi’s voice boomed
through the dining hall. “I will not risk such a thing.”
    “What if you can’t do it?” I asked. “If none
of you has the ability, will you let me try?”
    “No,” Alexi said. “Not even then.”
    “But…”
    “This discussion is over,” Alexi said,
standing up quickly. “Liam, Kai, let us go downstairs and get
started.”
    “I’m coming,” I said, jumping to my feet and
rushing to Alexi’s side.
    “No, you are not!” Alexi demanded.
    “Now look here!” I shouted, stomping my foot
angrily and shoving my wagging finger in his face. “You may be able
to keep me from learning how to use this dark magic stuff, but I’m
going to be there to watch you, and you can’t stop me!”
    Alexi stared at me for a moment, and then
relented.
    “Fine, you may come to watch,” Alexi
grumbled. “But you are not to attempt anything you see. Is that
understood?”
    “Yes, fine,” I lied.
    I hated lying to Alexi. I hated lying to
anyone I cared about, but it especially hurt me to do it to Alexi.
He was always looking out for my best interests, but I needed to
learn this stuff somehow.
    I followed him downstairs, and we entered one
of the classrooms. I’d never been in this one, before. In the
center of the dark room, there was a huge stone altar surrounded by
several candelabra. Alexi waved his hand, and all of them were
instantly lit. I gasped.
    “What?” Alexi asked, suddenly at high
alert.
    “I’ve never seen you do that,” I
admitted.
    “Oh, that,” Alexi sighed, clearly relieved.
“It is nothing.”
    “Well, I thought it was impressive,” I
shrugged.
    Alexi chuckled.
    In the back of the room, a very old looking
table stood, and an even older book sat atop it. The book was
covered with a thick layer of dust and cobwebs. It was clear this
book had not been touched in a very long time.
    Alexi blew the dust away from the cover and
opened it carefully. The binding creaked slightly as it opened, and
the pages rustled as Alexi flipped through them.
    “We will start with something simple,” Alexi
said. “Kai, Liam, approach the altar. We are going to try to summon
a flame onto the altar.”
    “Like what you just did?” I asked.
    “No, it is not the same thing,” Alexi
answered. “My ability is my own. It does not come from dark
magic.”
    Kai and Liam both stepped over to the altar.
Kai stood across from Liam, and the two of them looked to Alexi for
guidance.
    “Place your hands on the altar, and repeat
after me,” Alexi instructed.
    Both Kai and Liam placed their hands on the
altar.
    “In the name of the Dark Father, I invoke the
spirit of the flame,” Alexi said.
    Kai and Liam both repeated the phrase as
instructed. Alexi watched carefully for something, and when it did
not occur, his mouth twisted into a frustrated frown.
    “Let me try,” Alexi said, and Liam stepped
aside.
    Alexi placed his hands on the altar, and
repeated the phrase he’d asked Liam and Kai to say. Nothing
happened. He tried three more times, but still, nothing happened.
He slammed his fists onto the altar with rage.
    “Again!” Alexi commanded, his voice echoing
through the small room.
    He stepped aside, and Kai and Liam both tried
once more to summon a flame onto the altar. Nothing happened.
    I stepped closer.
    “Forget it,” Alexi snarled, clearly sensing
what was on my mind.
    “Alexi, please,” I begged. “Just let me
try.”
    “No!” Alexi shouted. “I will not relent!”
    “Please,” I