Heart of Ashes

The Connection

Caine opened the door to Evelyn's home. He was glad that she had given him a set of keys because all the windows were dark save for the lounge room window. He figured Evelyn might have fallen asleep reading but when he went inside, it was not Evelyn he sensed.

He went into the lounge and raised an eyebrow. Morwenna was sitting there in a black silk nightgown. She sipped tea from a green mug and she smiled a very pretty, red-lipped smile at him. The way she looked and sat reminded him of Lillith.

"Morwenna? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I was curious about something," she replied, "something you could answer. Evie told me I could stay here and, if I was willing to wait up for you, get my answer."

Caine nodded, "What is the question?"

"Last night, when Lord whatshisface was looking at that book you showed him, why did he want to destroy it? And why did he say you could be controlled? What did he mean?"

Caine smoothed his eyebrows with his thumb and forefinger, "Well, that's what I'm about to find out. I think he may have been onto something. Where's Evelyn?"

"She's gone to bed," Morwenna answered, "it is past one, you know."

Caine squinted at her and checked his watch, "So it is. Wait here."

Caine went upstairs to fetch the Book and when he returned Morwenna was waiting for him in the dining room. He say down and she handed him a large kitchen knife. He eyed the kitchen knife for a moment, wondering if she had some ulterior motive. Perhaps she wanted him dead.

"Well go on then," she said as she put the knife in his hand.

Caine smiled, "You seem eager to see my demise."

Morwenna laughed, "No, for you there is no demise so come on. I want to see what happens."

Caine ran his fingers through his hair and held the knife in position above the Book, "Well, here we go."

He drove it downwards, plunging it into the middle of the Book. At the exact moment he did it, pain erupted in his chest and he cried out. It felt like someone had quite literally stabbed him in the heart and, looking at the knife protruding from the Book, he realised that someone had. He had stabbed himself. He gripped the handle of the knife and pulled it out. Gasping as he felt the blade slide out of his heart.

Morwenna's eyes were wide as saucers, "Wh... woah, what the he'll was that?"

Caine looked up at her, "Lord Alexander was right. Anybody who has this book may be able to control me if they know what to do with it."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

Caine shook his head, "This is also for anyone who might incur the wrath of anyone who learns to use this."

"How did that get connected to your heart anyway?"

Caine did not feel like explaining how the blood seal worked to Morwenna because he knew it would go over her head, "That, my dear, is a long story and all I can, and wish to, say is that it was not a painless exercise. Especially considering someone else..." his eyes widened as realisation dawned, "oh."

"Oh?" Morwenna repeated, "Oh, what?"

"They weren't trying to read The Book of Blood, they were trying to utilise the seal to control me."

Morwenna raised an eyebrow, "What? Who's they? What are you talking about?"

Caine took a moment to study Morwenna. Really study her. She was a very striking young woman. Her hair had been dyed black but there were places that betrayed it's true colour; auburn and her eyes were a strange bright blue-green. Something about her tugged at a string in his mind; her reason for talking to him had nothing to do with an interest in what he had to say but an interest in him. He looked deep into her heart and saw that she feared her mortality, that she'd do anything to get to of it. That part of her pulled in the string in his head that he began to feel the whole thing unravelling. He felt his rational thought leaving him as some animalistic thing fought to take over. The wolfsbane was upstairs in his suitcase and he didn't want her to know. He didn't want to need it but a feeling kept breaking through the shields he threw up to block it out, a feeling he hadn't truly felt in a while. Pure lust. He pushed it away and focused on her question.

"A group of psychotic witches got hold of that book a few months ago," he said, "we thought they wanted to learn the secrets inside but all they wanted was the seal."

Morwenna tilted her head, "Sorry?"

"They wanted to..." the feeling caught it's way back into his being, "excuse me."

He stood up and went into the lounge where he sat down at the piano. He held his hands over the keys as he recalled the words music hath the charm to sooth the savage breast and he played. He tried his best to recall Faure's Pavane and to, his surprise, managed. He kept playing but his heart, his mind and his body were still at war with each other. He became aware of Morwenna standing behind him.

"You're really good," she said, "where did you learn."

He tried to ignore her. He just played on while she repeatedly spoke his name and her statement until he started hitting wrong notes. One wrong note came after another and his control slipped.

"Morwenna?" he said.

"Yes?"

"Run."