Blood Kissed (Lizzie Grace 1)

“Is that her athame?” Aiden said.

I nodded. “The symbols on the hilt—which represent peace and harmony—are the ones traditionally used by the Kang line of witches.”

“Is there anything else on it? A spell remnant or something?”

“It’s been stained by whatever spell was behind the blast, but that’s it, I think. I’d still advise against anyone touching it with bare hands, just in case.”

“Given it’s silver, you can be sure none of us will.” He studied the knife for a second, his expression wary. “What are the chances of tracing the vampire through the staining?”

“None at all.”

I glanced around as a twig cracked and saw Hart step into the clearing. He looked as ragged and tired as I felt, and that inordinately cheered me up.

His gaze swept the scene then hit mine almost accusingly. “What the fuck was Anna doing up here?”

“Trying to trace the vampire.”

“She sent me a text

stating she intended to, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen tonight or in the middle of goddamn nowhere.” He thrust a hand through his hair. “Is she going to live?”

One of the medics glanced up. “Yes, but you may not be able to talk to her for a couple of days.”

Hart nodded, his expression gloomy. “This bastard certainly seems to have luck on his side.”

“Indeed,” Aiden agreed. “Did you uncover any information about Frieda Andersen or her family?”

“We tracked down her birth certificate. Her mother’s name was Jenny Andersen and her dad John.” He grimaced. “The former has apparently disappeared off the face of the earth, and the latter has retired and is living in the Adelaide hills.”

“Have you talked to him?” I asked. “Did you ask why he and his wife split?”

Hart’s gaze flicked to me in a somewhat dismissive manner. “There is no need to, given we’ve confirmation he was still there as of yesterday, and so cannot be our vampire.”

“Yes, but from what Marjorie told me, the man Jenny and Frieda were living with had a small stable of women. That suggests a pod, and John might at least be able to confirm that if indeed she left him for a vampire.”

His eyebrows rose. “No one else I’ve talked to made any mention of a pod existing within the reservation.”

“Did you actually ask anyone else about Frieda’s family?” Aiden asked.

“Of course I did. Everyone mentioned they were strange, but no one mentioned anything about a pod.”

“Well no, but it’s an easy enough conclusion to draw after the fact.” And it wasn’t like vamps went about advertising their presence—that was the surest way of getting booted out of a town.

Hart grunted, his expression even less pleased than usual. “I’ll request someone talk to him.”

I watched as the medics carefully slid Anna onto the stretcher, then said, “You’d also better contact Anna’s family. They’ll need to know about this.”

“I do know how to do my job,” Hart snapped, and followed the two medics from the clearing.

“If you’re not careful,” Aiden murmured, “you’ll join Tala and me on IIT’s most-hated list.”

“That warning comes about a day too late, I think.” I glanced up at him. “Can I ask you again about the previous witch?”

The amusement that had been teasing his expression quickly fled. “Why?”

“Because Anna said something really interesting when I was talking to her, and I’m just wondering if it was possible.”

“Can you seriously not talk in riddles right now? My brain isn’t up to handling it.”