Dominion 4 - Ascendance by Lissa Kasey Page A

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    Gabe and Sam led me out to a rental car. Sam got behind the wheel while Gabe and I sat in the back. I couldn’t focus my mind enough to even care where we went. Maybe they would just take me home to Minnesota. But what if whoever was in my dad’s house destroyed something? Maybe took something that would have led me to more information on my father? I blindly reached for the bag with the journals in it and found it in Gabe’s lap. The tremble in my limbs shook me like a seizure. I couldn’t breathe.
    “Sei, you need to focus on my voice, okay? Your mind is retreating to your cat form. Don’t let the panic force the change. We can fix this, but I need you functioning as a human, not a lynx.”
“Are there vampires who can change shape?” Sam asked from his seat behind the wheel.
    “No. Whoever is doing this is good at illusions. To fool an earth witch of Sei’s level, he’d have to be really damn powerful too.”
    The earth welled up around me, offering comfort and peace, rest. A sharp pain pierced my arm. I blinked away the stars and looked at Gabe, who’d pinched me really hard. That would bruise.
    “Stay with me, Sei.” He kissed my cheek, then the other, his lips like soft caresses. My right hand gripped his blond curls so hard it probably hurt, but he didn’t pull away or reprimand me. He tried to hold me still, keep the shaking down, but my teeth chattered. I was losing focus again. “Seiran Rou, you will stay with me,” his voice commanded. “Breathe, calm and slow. I’m here.”
    The fire of our mingled blood kicked at me, telling me to obey. He didn’t often use that power. Having become his focus had faded most of the ability. Yet I wanted to give myself over to his control. The tears that blurred my sight and the feelings of helplessness would pass eventually. If I could give him the reins, he would take away the fear, steer me back to a sound mind.
“We’ll have to put up new wards. I can’t do that. Even with his power,” Sam was saying.
     
“He can do a total revoke of all and recharge the wards pretty easily. I just need to get him calm andfocused.”
    “Jamie could do it.” Sam parked the car in front of the house. The lights were on upstairs, though I hadn’t left them that way. Was someone still in the house?
    “Jamie’s not here,” I heard myself say. “He hugged me and let me cry, but he’s not here.” I clung to Gabe as we headed through the manicured path toward the door. What a dumb idea to come here. Had I gotten complacent these past few weeks? Forgetting about the safety and necessity of wards, and how other people always wanted to hurt me, was stupid. Just because I’d graduated college didn’t mean the attacks would end. This was proof of it. No matter what job I took, they’d still come for me. Pretending to be my family was unforgivable.
    Gabe unlocked the door but didn’t try to open it. “I need you to go inside, Sei. Stand in the threshold and revoke the invite. Recharge the wards. Then you can invite us in.”
    I nodded, raising one shaky foot after another to mount the stairs and shove the door open. My mind kept flashing images of someone waiting on the other side of the door with a gun or some other horror movie image, but no one was there. I flicked on the light and stood in the doorway, tuning myself into the earth. The tree welcomed me home, told me the house was empty, and appreciated my strength renewing the wards. I whispered, “None but myself shall be welcome within this dwelling.”
    The magic coursed through the halls almost like a living being. I could feel it racing from door to door, window to window, removing all trace of anyone else from the house. After the tingling subsided, despite my exhaustion, I poured power into the threshold, rebonding with the wards and adding my will to them. The old magic recognized me, giving me a bit of a welcoming surge of warmth. Wards, unlike spells, were tied to objects, so if the castor passed,