Vampires & Vinca (Hawthorn Witches Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

didn’t think it mattered. I didn’t think Kendra was coming back. And a lot of the time, I thought I would kill her if she did. Gates wasn’t qualified, and I had the book, so it was a moot point.”
    I grumbled. “You should have just killed her…”
    He stopped. I immediately felt the guilt wash over me, because the words were careless, and I knew better. Charlie was my demon, and words between witches and demons carried a lot of weight, and I had just wished my aunt dead. When he turned to face me, I started to stumble over an apology.
    “Annie Hawthorn,” he said gravely. “Kendra was talking about life and death back there, and not just for herself. This is all of us, because vampires have been known to kill entire families for the insult of one person. Are you really so short-sighted that you would trade the lives of your family for college and your boyfriend?”
    “No,” I said, shaking my head. “But you know what this means to me. This is my life. It’s everything I’ve ever worked for.”
    “I know,” he said. “This isn’t going to be easy for you. But if you’re going to blame someone, then blame me. I’ve had ample opportunities to let Kendra die over the years, and several times, I intervened. An objective party might say that I did so unwisely, and against my own self-interest, because she has caused a lot of trouble and I would still be on top of the world with Stark now if I hadn’t. Blame me, because right now, you need to cooperate with her.”

Chapter 3
     
    I continued to fume over Kendra’s presumptive attitude and the general state of my life until Charlie pulled open the door to the shed. Stepping through, I frowned.
    I was back in my apartment off of campus.
    Turning to him, I felt a fresh dispute blossom inside me. “Charlie, please tell me this is a replica, and you didn’t build a wormhole direct from my crazy aunt’s place into mine so that she can harass me whenever she feels like it.”
    He had replaced the door behind the tapestry in the kitchen; it had previously led to spare bedrooms.
    Following me through and bringing Gates as well, he shut the door and pointed.
    “And, I gave you a lock,” he said with a sarcastic grin. “It’s like you don’t know me at all, Thorn.”
    “Give me my own room back at the greenhouse. I like to keep things compartmentalized, and I don’t want that bleeding into this. ”
    “If I did that, you’d never use the room at the greenhouse,” he accused with a wink. “I know you too well.”
    “Does Gates’ room go back to her mother’s house?” I asked, feeling a little childish as I did so.
    “Gates’ family aren’t capable of fighting off vampires, as she has aptly noted. Her room is just a room.”
    “Ocean view?” Gates asked hopefully.
    “Of course,” Charlie replied.
    I threw up my hands in exhaustion and frustration, and turned to crash on the couch. I had less than an hour left before I needed to start walking to class, and it wasn’t enough time to get over any of the recent demands that had been dropped on me.
    Gates called after me. “Annie, did you want me to stay, or…?”
    “Go,” I said, trying not to be too irritated at her. “Just go.”
    I lay on the couch and listened to the shows that Gates and I usually watched together. I was angry that magic had managed to find its way back into my life, but there was some wisdom in what Gates had said.
    If I had known about magic to begin with, I wouldn’t be in half of the mess I was now, and neither would all of the people I knew. And in my mind, I knew what I wanted to do with those powers the moment I learned to command them.
    I wanted to fix things.
    Gates was happy now, but I couldn’t help but think the situation was temporary, because magic was like a malignant cancer. It spread and infected every part of your life until you were forced to chop off anything that it touched; then you started to cut off anything you cared too much to see destroyed.