WitchLove by Emma Mills Page B

That’s how I knew it was the one. I went in and that’s when I met Liz. She knew your aunt and was expecting us,’ Luke said.
    ‘And there’s this really weird force-field or something in a room in the back. I left it alone and came back to you and that’s when…’ Brittany said, smiling at me.
    ‘That’s when I arrived on the scene and got you out of this nasty mess,’ Liz said smiling. She bent down and looked into my eyes. ‘Here child, drink this,’ she said, passing me a mug of sweet-smelling tea.
    ‘I can’t drink tea,’ I said.
    ‘This will help. Try it.’
    I sipped it and instantly felt worse. My emotions became sharp daggers stabbing at my soul, hungry and needing a release. I sobbed as my throat began to swell, swallowed and let the tears fall.
    ‘I thought you said it would make her feel better?’ Brittany said, darting over to me and kneeling by side as I cried, my body jerking with the emotion pouring out.
    ‘She will feel better once she’s let it out.’ Liz said. ‘Morgan filled her with so much negative emotion, the only way she can recover from it is to let it escape.’
    I don’t know how much time passed whist I sipped my tea and sobbed. I cried for my mum, cried for my dad, for myself and for the mother I never knew. I cried for the others who had been attacked, who I felt responsible for, and I cried for Daniel. By the time I emptied the mug my sobs had subsided and I curled up in the chair exhausted, Luke perched on the arm and Brittany curled up at my feet.
    ‘That’s better, now drink this. I believe it will help,’ Liz said, passing me yet another mug. This one was filled with something else; its scent pulled at my heart and awoke my senses.
    ‘Ugh! Time for me to retreat to the other side of the room,’ Luke said, his nose creased in disgust.
    ‘Me too,’ Brittany said grinning.
    The blood sucked me in and its rich chocolatey scent revived me like nothing else. Three gulps later and it was gone. I looked up and smiled.
    ‘Where did you get that?’ I asked.
    ‘I always carry a very limited supply, seeing as any supernatural may enter my shop and I never know who might be a little too hungry or desperate,’ she said laughing.
    ‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘I have a list from my aunt. Just a minute… here you go,’ I said, handing it over.
    ‘Okay, I’ll get these together for you. You just rest, you’ve been through a lot, and please girls don’t go entering any interesting -looking shops again!’

    ‘So, are you going to forgive him?’ Luke asked me, a couple of hours later as we sat under a tree in a local park, on a rug Brittany had manifested for us. She had wandered off to do some shopping with the promise to stick to the human owned shops on Essex Street, so Luke and I could have one final chat before I returned to the house and Luke to England.
    ‘Who? Daniel?’ I asked, even though I knew who he meant immediately.
    ‘Who else. Jess? How many other men do you have desperately waiting for your forgiveness?’ he said with a sad smile.
    I shrugged and pulled at the tassels on the rug.
    ‘I don’t know what to suggest, Jess. I don’t like the guy, as you’re well aware, but then I don’t like vampires either… apart from you,’ he paused and grinned. ‘And I don’t like how jealous he gets.’
    ‘Neither do I,’ I said. ‘I’m not going back to him. Let him stew.’
    ‘You’ll find someone else you know,’ he said, reaching forward and tilting my chin upwards so I wasn’t staring down at the ground anymore. His eyes shone turquoise like the Mediterranean Sea, eyes I had once readily dived into and lost myself.
    ‘Here, I want you to have this,’ he said, as he reached behind his neck and untied the black crystal angel he had always worn on a thong around his neck.
    ‘Your dark angel,’ I said with a smile.
    ‘It’s not a dark angel. It’s snowflake obsidian. Obsidian is protective and the white flecks remind us of our lineage; we