The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 33

Harmony and Val used to always complain about homework, but I thought it was fun. Maybe it was just because I had so many people to do it with. Everyone helped each other and had their own strengths. There was a playful undertone to the whole thing.

We were working for an hour before my alarm went off. I stood up and excused myself. Everyone went back to work.

I headed upstairs to start the blankets heating for Victor and Rosalynn. I went to Rosalynn's room first. She looked very peaceful while sleeping. I hoped that whatever was going on in her territory was able to be resolved.

Next, I went to Victor's room. I collected his clothes and turned on the blanket. I went to my room afterward to gather my clothes, too. It would make a small load of laundry.

Downstairs, I loaded up the washing machine and went back to the living room. There, I gathered the empty dishes and took them to the kitchen to load into the dishwasher after I made sure Victor had just loaded up the breakfast dishes, but not set them to wash. When I returned to the living room, it seemed like everyone was trying to be quiet about something. It made me a little nervous.

"Were you all still hungry? I can make some more snacks." I offered.

"I think we'd just forgotten that you work here too." Val said softly.

"Oh. I just wanted to do a little picking up. I need to keep to my schedule or I'll have work pile up. I'd rather get it done sooner than later." I smiled and turned back to the paper I'd been working on.

Everyone seemed to accept that. I was glad. My work was very little compared to taking care of a house with two teenagers and two careless parents. This was the most I would have to do today. Tomorrow I had more work planned. Dusting and sweeping.

We were just putting our books and papers away when Victor came into the room. I smiled at him. I didn't need to be in work mode. It was a relaxed sort of day.

Victor smiled tightly. He had that look on his face that he got when talking about werewolves. He might have entered into an agreement with them, but that didn't make him really like them all that much.

I hoped that would change. My family lived with them and I was hopeful that they would spend more time with me. That would mean having Cam over. I was pretty sure he wasn't going to let Harmony come over by herself for a while.

Rosalynn came out from the entry way and nodded to me. She had her little bag in her hand. I had a little apprehension, but I knew it would be a simple procedure.

"Victor, Rosalynn, you remember my brother Valor and our friend Gray. This is my sister Harmony and her boyfriend Cam." I said.

"Mate. I'm her mate." Cam told us with a slight growl.

Harmony rubbed his arm and he seemed to relax. I looked to Victor and Rosalynn. They raised an eyebrow and nodded to each other.

"Hello, I'm Rosalynn. I'll be taking your blood today. We'll take it to Victor's office for testing. I'll do Valor first so Cam will see the procedure. I don't want you concerned about what we'll be doing to your mate." "Why will you take it to Victor's office?" Gray asked.

"Because Echo is uncomfortable seeing us drink blood." Victor explained.

I was grateful for his observation. He knew I had a problem and was already planning for ways to make this easier on me. I knew my sister and brother wouldn't be as patient as I was for the results. They didn't like waiting.

"I just won't look. It will be faster if you can test here." I said.

"Are you sure, Echo?" Victor asked.

"Yes. It's best we handle this quickly." I answered.

Rosalynn crossed the room and worked at cleaning Val's arm and finding a vein. Cam watched as the needle went in and blood filled the first tube, then the second. She removed the needle and put a band-aid over the spot it had been in before she went to do the same thing to Harmony with a fresh needle.

When she had all the blood, Rosalynn returned to where Victor was standing. She handed him two of the vials after putting the needles into a bag. They opened one vial and I covered my eyes, so I wouldn't see it.

"That's odd." I heard Victor say. "Let's try the next."

"Yes. This will definitely be interesting to present." Rosalynn replied.

I could hear Cam growling a little. They must have been testing Harmony's blood. I waited for a moment longer before peeking out.

"You can uncover your eyes, Echo." Victor said softly.

"I have no idea how this is possible." Rosalynn murmured.

"It's not possible. There's no way this could have happened naturally. They're all definitely related, though. You can taste the relation in their blood." Victor responded. "What is it?" I asked.

"Your siblings are definitely half vampire. But, where you're more than half, they are not. Valor is half witch. Harmony.... Somehow... she's half werewolf." Victor answered.

I looked at Harmony. Her hand covered her mouth. Cam was looking at her with a happy, but worried expression.

"She doesn't have a wolf, though. She was supposed to get it when she turned seventeen. Even at half, she would have a wolf." Gray said.

"There's something. After having the blood of all three I could taste it. A spell. Maybe a suppression spell. I'll have to talk to my witch contacts." Rosalynn said.

"Does this mean my abilities won't come once I'm healthy?" I asked.

"No. Most spells don't work on vampires. Valor is the true oddity in this particular test. Witches don't get involved with vampires. There has never been record of a witch/vampire hybrid. There have been werewolf/vampire hybrids before. Werewolves can breed with vampires more easily than humans, but not as easily as dhampyrs." Victor explained.

"I knew I was a witch." Val said softly.

I looked at him in surprise. He blushed a little. He'd kept this from us.

"I didn't know about the vampire part. I was hanging out with my friends at the mall and a girl came up to me. She told me I was part witch and that I needed to use my abilities to strengthen them. I thought it was some weird pick up, but she just wandered away like someone was calling her. A couple months ago, I came home early on a Saturday...." Val told us.

Tears started forming in my eyes. He knew. I never wanted them to know, at least, not enough to know everything they did to me.

"I saw a vampire with Echo in the study. When I tried to go in and stop him, mom and dad stopped me. They threatened to sell her to the nastiest vampire client she had if I said anything or even told her I knew. They told me they'd make sure every vampire in the city knew she was unprotected if I called the police. I... I couldn't do anything. So I looked into witchcraft. A book said there were different types of witches beyond light and dark. I didn't know what kind I was, so I tried every protection spell, every seeing spell, every spell to call for help. Something had to work. I needed to find someone to save her, because I couldn't." His voice was strained with emotion.

I got up and hugged him tightly. Val squeezed me and apologized over and over about not being able to save me. I stroked his hair and held him. I never wanted them to see me like that, because I didn't want them to hurt. I needed to protect my family. "It worked. I'm guessing this spell session was about a month ago?" Victor said. "I was visiting a donor. She was a witch. She told me where to find my wayward childe and that he was hurting someone. I made the connection when I found out about Echo, but not that you were putting out spells to save her. You're the reason why I was brought here when I was. They were already fielding offers to buy Echo. I knew they were charging for certain... services." He looked disgusted. "I was compelled to buy her and take care of her. Normally, we would have given the warning without removing the child. I couldn't leave her after meeting her. Something in me wouldn't let her be unprotected."

"So... my spells worked. I called you to save her."

||

"It appears that way. I'll make sure your sister has the best possible life. She said she wants to stay with me. I want that too. I hope you'll both understand. This is why I refuse to give her up and why she refuses to leave." Victor said.

Val looked at Harmony. She nodded. I looked down at him and he smiled.

"If you're really happy, we'll stop fighting this. As long as you're safe and taken care of, we can relax."

"Yes. Please let me stay here. I hate having to tell you no and see you be sad. I love Victor. He's my friend and he'll never hurt me. I'm safe and I'm happy." I swore.

"Then, as long as we can see you and talk to you, we'll leave it alone. What does the suppression spell mean for us?" Harmony asked.

"It might need to be removed before you can get your wolf. Val's abilities will be better controlled and he'll feel the connection with his magical types when he's no longer bespelled. The feedings and starving were how your parents were suppressing Echo when the spell didn't work on her. It makes a lot more sense if you consider how many foods could have kept her just healthy enough to be stronger than them." Victor told her.

I let go of Val and stood away from him a little. I wanted to hug Victor, but it didn't seem like a great idea with so many people around, especially not Gray. I would have to wait until Rosalynn was gone. When I had Victor all to myself again.

"We'll see about getting a witch here to help train Valor. I'm sure that the pack would be willing to accept Harmony, since her mate is a member. I'll start training Echo in the ways of vampires. I'd like to be able to have you all trained to fight." Victor said. "We can get Valor into training with the pack. Most females don't train." Cam replied.

"Don't be mistaken, a vampire/werewolf hybrid is valuable. All three of them are in danger if they can't protect themselves. It would be best to have Harmony train with the children if she has to. Your pack will have to get over the protective urges they feel around females." Rosalynn explained.

"We'll do whatever we have to in order to keep my mate safe. Does she need to change her name?" Cam asked.

"It might be best if she took Master Marius' name. It would be an extra safety in having it. Valor should change his. Having a dhampyr witch as a warrior will make him more sought after than most males. It can probably wait until they're eighteen. Until then introduce yourselves to any vampires as Valor and Harmony Aconitum." Rosalynn said.

They nodded. We were still chatting when Marius walked in. He looked around the room and sneered at the werewolves. I couldn't wait to see what he thought of my sister and brother.