Dominion 4 - Ascendance by Lissa Kasey Page B

the ward remained instead of dying. I wondered if any of this power was my father’s. It held me for a moment in a soft embrace before racing to the edges of the property to renew the fences and thick overgrowth of trees.
    “Gabriel Santini, I invite in you and your spirit, may you come and go in peace.” I watched his face while he recognized the invite for what it was. Anyone pretending to be him would not be able to pass, but he would have total power and will to come and go. He stepped through the threshold, set his bag down, and kissed me.
“Sam Mueller, I invite in you and your spirit, may you come and go in peace,” I said when Gabe let go.
    Sam looked a little shell-shocked, but entered the house too. We shut the door. I locked it and wondered what was next to come. The night had already given me several unwelcome adventures. I’d be smart to just pack it all up and take the history home with me, sell the house, and forget about the fairy ring of evil.
    Sadly, Max’s words were true. I couldn’t leave knowing that thing was still in use. I couldn’t let young witches continue to be abused. And I couldn’t let more people die for power. It just wasn’t right.
    I showed Gabe and Sam the closet in my bedroom, still more than wary of whoever had been in the house. They’d known about this space, yet the earth magic had obviously taken over this part of the house. The real Gabe looked around the study, but didn’t touch the journals. He’d more likely hack into the computer for details. The room was small, and I had no desire to leave Gabe, but the two vampires had to stay here out of the sunlight.
“Does that look like a ladder to anyone else? Or just me?” Sam asked, pointing toward a wall of vines.
    “Ladder to where?” Gabe approached it and climbed carefully until he reached the top. He touched the wall, which just looked like a mash of branches. “This part is painted, not real.”
“Looks real from here,” Sam said.
    Gabe felt around the wall a bit and then there was a soft schnick sound. A panel shifted, opening to a passageway. Gabe glanced back at us but climbed inside. I worried every second I didn’t see him. Then he popped his head out. “You have some clean sheets somewhere, Sei? There’s a bed up here, and the windows are covered.”
    I raced back through the main tunnel, grabbed a sheet set and a couple of pillows, and then handed them to Gabe. He vanished again. Sam looked at the cot and then around the room.
“I’ll stay down here. Looks secure enough. You go on up.” He didn’t look at me at all while he spoke.
    I followed Gabe up into the space. An old lamp lit the room with a soft glow, casting shadows on the walls, which were covered in vines. The bed took up one entire end of the space, below a window and the peaked ceiling, but looked comfortable enough. Gabe patted the sheets and covers down, then threw the pillows toward the head of the bed.
    “The room will need some cleaning, but there’s a private bath and it’s secure from sunlight.” He pointed to a small door on the other end of the room.
    The bathroom was pretty small, but had a toilet, a tiny sink, and a huge wooden bathtub. I tested the water. It ran clear and, after a moment, warm. This would do. The little door to the hidden space had a steel-gauge lock and made another sort of mini threshold.
    I sent a quick text to Timothy and set my phone to wake me up at noon. Tomorrow, more obstacles could be conquered. For tonight I just needed sleep, hopefully in Gabe’s arms. Sam handed us some towels and a jar of dirt and said goodnight. While Gabe opened the jar, I stripped out of everything except my briefs and waited for Gabe, who did the same, grabbed up the blankets, and pulled us both down onto the bed. He wrapped his arms around me but didn’t bother turning off the lamp. I fell asleep within minutes of listening to his heartbeat.

Chapter 11
    I
DREAMT again of being in Wonderland, as I thought to call