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“Fresh air?” I repeated. “We can do that. Vance, help me get him outside.” Leo was a ton of bricks. There was no way I’d be able to carry him out the door by myself.
“That won’t be necessary,” an authoritative voice said.
The three of us looked up in unison and saw a woman standing in the doorway. She was also wearing a long gown but hers was dark blue with swirling gold trim. Her auburn hair was not tied back like the others we’d met. Instead, thick waves fell slightly past her shoulders. She carried herself with quite a bit of clout; I was pretty sure this was the head honcho of the abbey.
“Who are you?” Vance demanded. “And what’s happening to him?”
She waved her arm dismissively. “I am the High Priestess. You may call me Michaela. As for the vampire, he will be fine. He simply needs to stop fighting the loss of power. Once his mind accepts his weakened state, his body will comply.”
“No one said he’d get sick!” I shouted.
>
“He’s not sick; he’s weakened,” she said haughtily as she swept her gaze over the three of us. She cocked her head to the side, studying Leo. “He accepted the conditions. Now he must suffer the consequences.”
“And what exactly are those consequences?” I asked.
Leo could no longer support his weight and crumpled to the ground, despite our best efforts to hold him up. I joined him on the floor. His eyes were frantically scanning the room, searching for something.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Michaela exclaimed. “Leo, is it? Relax! You’ll be fine once you accept your limitations.”
“And what limitations are those?” he panted.
“While you’re within these walls, you are no longer a vampire.” What? She could do that? Just how powerful were these witches? Vance and I shared a troubled look.
“And what…exactly am I?”
“Human.”
“A what?” Leo stretched his arms out and slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position. I slid one of the chairs next to his and sat down.
Vance continued to stand. “I think we need to leave.”
Michaela walked into the room with a confidence that none of us could hope to match at the moment. These witches had a terrifying amount of magic at their disposal. She looked at Vance. “You’re the warlock, yes? But with Fae blood?”
“Yes,” Vance said defiantly. “Are you going to take away my powers too?”
“Don’t be an imbecile,” she scoffed. “You are one of us. Your powers may stay as long as you don’t try to use them against us. Besides, the vampire isn’t technically human. He just has the weaknesses of one.” She looked at Leo. “Think back to a time before you became immortal. Your abilities will be the same as they were back then, except you still cannot tolerate sun exposure. Once you stop panicking and accept that, you’ll be able to function normally.”
“So he has one of the only disadvantages of being of a vampire and all of the human ones?” I was incredulous. “Why would you do that?”
“I take no chances. My duty is to protect my coven and the entire Fae population. Your people, in case you have forgotten! You have such strange loyalty to a vampire. I do not understand it. Do you want my assistance or not?”
Leo squeezed my hand. “My love, it’s fine. I can handle this.”
Vance stared Michaela down. “I have no loyalty to the vampire and I don’t like this. No one should have this much power. It upsets the balance.”
“It is unnatural, yes, but not impossible. This woman has a great deal of power, does she not? Some might even say, too much?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Michaela smirked. “Do you take me for a fool? I would not allow you within these walls without doing my research. I know exactly who you are, what your lineage is, and what you’re capable of. That is the only reason the elders and I have agreed to this meeting...to have a vampire anywhere near our abbey! I have no idea how you’ve escaped notice up to this point. The elders all agree that you’re a danger to yourself and others without proper guidance. Besides, there are very few Omnipotent Fae left. You are needed in Faerie.”
“How could you possibly know that I’m omnipotent when I just figured that out? And what do you mean I’m ‘needed in Faerie’?”
“I need not reveal my sources to you.” She flicked her wrist. “As for why you’re needed, you will find the answer once you’re there. As far as I’m concerned, we are done here. We will leave for the portal tomorrow after sundown. For now, you should retire to your rooms. Talia will show you to the guest quarters.”
Talia led us down a flight of wooden stairs into a long corridor. She opened the first door on the right, revealing an eight by eight room with a single wrought iron bed and small night table. “There is another room identical to this, two doors down. You gentlemen can take your pick. The door in the middle leads to the facilities, shall you need them.”
