Witches Be Burned: A Magic & Mayhem Novel Read Free

Instant awareness settled deep into Kyden. “He’s newly awakened,” he offered.
    “Appears so,” Myles agreed gruffly.
    A vampire suffering bloodlust from rebirth was clear-cut—so crazed for blood the new vamp acted more animalistic than human. Typically when vampires awakened, their sires would give them the bagged blood in the amounts they needed to regain control. This vampire had been left alone with no idea of how to feed properly.
    Kyden’s jaw tightened as the vamp bit the victim, trying to locate a vein, and missed many times in the process. Thrashing out in agony and fighting for her life, the woman shrieked, reflecting both shock and pain. Her attempt to free herself was useless. A hungry, uneducated vampire was the most dangerous of all.
    Done with the disgusting scene, Kyden broke away from the mortal and scanned the room, noticing a witch standing near the staircase. She frowned at the vampire killing the woman, and then not a second later she exited the house.
    “Alazar, track the witch,” Kyden ordered, snapping his focus back to the vampire. He didn’t know who the witch was, or if she had any involvement in this killing, but she needed to be questioned.
    Kyden heard Alazar’s deep sniff behind him, as he was clearly catching the scents in the room, and then the front door opened. Kyden stayed focused on the killer brutally ending this poor woman’s life.
    And soon the victim’s eyes went black and lifeless.
    Then the vision froze.
    Haven opened her eyes but didn’t look to the dead woman as she gestured toward the vamp with a flick of her hand. “He’s all yours.”
    Kyden moved closer and studied the rabid vampire. This ability was why the Council cherished Haven, and why the secret of her gifts was highly protected. While the werewolf trackers could locate scents and follow them, identifying the killer right away made the investigation part of the job quicker. There weren’t any mistaken identities or long interrogations anymore.
    He stared into the vampire’s young brown eyes, his adrenaline evaporating—nothing about hunting this kid appealed to him. Whoever sired him had abandoned him, leaving him with no understanding of how to control his bloodlust. Pushing away his disdain, Kyden memorized the vamp’s features for later and then said to Haven, “Done.”
    She gave a tight smile and headed for the front door, and the vision instantly faded, returning to the quiet living room with the mortal still lying dead on the floor. “Be safe,” she called, right before the door slammed shut behind her.
    The sword at Kyden’s back rested heavy against his skin, nearly calling for the blood of the vampire who had killed an innocent.
Not yet.
“Why would a vampire turn a kid this young?” he asked Myles. “Then leave him to fend for himself?”
    “Offering immortality is a gift,” Myles replied in a disgusted voice. “A vampire is proud of those who share his bloodline. Turning a mortal, then walking away”—he shook his head slowly—“something isn’t right about all this.”
    Kyden’s instincts agreed.
    Before he could say as much, Alazar reentered the room and said, “The witch’s scent vanished.”
    Puzzled by what he saw here tonight, and now even more perplexed by Alazar’s statement, Kyden asked, “What do you mean ‘vanished’?”
    Alazar shrugged, his raised brows reflecting his deep-rooted surprise. “The second I hit outside, the scent was just
gone.
But I’ve caught the vamp’s trail.”
    Scents didn’t simply vanish—there had to be more behind that—but Kyden also knew that without knowing who the witch was or being able to track her, she would be impossible to find.
    He ran a hand across the back of his neck, easing the tension in his taut muscles, and replied, “Not much we can do there, so let’s go with what we’ve got.” He drew his sword from his back, slamming the blade down into the woman’s stomach.
    The magic conjured on his sword by the