"Yes," Ash growled. He knew his powers were weak but he didn"t like being reminded of that fact. If he had been stronger he would have been able to prevent the slaughter of his coven.
Jezebel laughed. "No need to get defensive! I am merely repeated what you said back to you. I may have a theory or two but this is all speculation. I do not have nearly enough information about your fairy friend to do more than guess. Vampires practice blood magic but have you ever thought of the components of blood?"
The components of blood…a few members of his coven who specialized in testing the boundaries of blood magic and creating new spells did research into that but Ash had never been interested so it went in one ear and out the other. Why care about something he was terrible at?
Ruby had told him the other day that human blood had high salt content due to the nature of their diets. That was about the extent of his knowledge.
"…not my area of expertise."
Jezebel pulled the brim of her hat down on both sides of her head in agitation. "You really are hopeless! Let me spell it out for you: red blood cells make up 45%, white blood cells make up less than 1%, and the other 55% is made of plasma.
"Plasma is primarily made of water but also consists of other things including mineral ions. And red blood cells contain iron, yet another mineral. I suspect your friend has control over minerals since she is able to a.s.sist your blood magic and has some power over rocks, which are made of minerals."
Mineral control? Weren"t fairy powers supposed to be ridiculously specific? That wasn"t specific at all!
That explained one mystery but none of the others. Ash frowned and Jezebel leaned against the counter with a concerned expression on her face.
"You said she makes money seemingly out of thin air and has pearlescent wings. The applications of mineral control would be endless…including manipulating gemstones. If her power truly extends that far it"s no wonder she ran away.
"That is a dangerous gift to have indeed. My guess is that she hides her appearance so no one will guess her powers and be able to take advantage of them. Her ability to change her glamour at will may be a natural defense mechanism."
Jezebel gave him a sharp glare and put her hands on her hips, realizing she had said too much. "You aren"t going to take advantage of them, are you?"
Ash was insulted. He would never! Ruby trusted him and he had already betrayed her trust by accident. He hadn"t wanted to know everything but since it tied in to the most likely reason why she affected his magic it ended up happening anyway.
If her power truly was mineral control, this girl had the potential to take over the earth itself. It would perfectly explain why she lived in fear.
A strange hollow feeling settled in his chest. Based on everything he knew about her, Jezebel"s theory seemed highly likely. A fairy that powerful would absolutely feel left out among her peers.
Ruby hadn"t asked for this. All the things that were different about her had been the product of random chance.
Ash"s protectiveness toward her surged even though he had no right to want to take care of her. Even more so than before because he had breached her trust by speculating about all of this.
"No," he said firmly. "No one can know about this so she can remain safe."
Jezebel seemed relieved. "Good! I certainly won"t tell anyone. I enjoy figuring out the world"s mysteries but not at anyone else"s expense. Her secret is safe with me. But I am curious…did she come here with you by chance?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Oh, I just want to see a unique glamour at work. I"ll walk you out," she said with the eager glint of one who craves knowledge above all else.
The two of them headed out to the main area of the store and Ruby looked up from where she was reading labels on the back of a box of organic crackers. Her red eyes flashed with annoyance and her fangs dug into her pouting lips.
"What took you so long? Do you have any idea how long I"ve been reading these labels? I need to go to be—" She cut herself off when she realized she looked like a vampire to the two witches and saying she needed to go to bed before midnight would sound wrong.
Jezebel"s eyes gleamed as she drank in the sight of Ruby"s glamour. She circled around her examining it from all sides before clapping her hands together in delight.
"Perfect! You make a beautiful vampire!"
Ruby"s brow furrowed in confusion. "Uh…thanks?"
Ash wanted to get out of there before Jezebel gave him away. He looped his arm around hers and steered her out of the store after thanking the witch again for her help.
The fairy grumbled all the way back to the hotel about how tired she was and fell asleep almost the moment her head hit the pillow. All he could do was stare at her in the darkness trying to process everything he inadvertently learned about his ally today.
Panic nearly paralyzed him when he thought about the horrific irony that someone so dangerous was currently under his feeble protection. He didn"t think someone so kind would ever use her powers maliciously but the fact remained that she would be a fearsome weapon in the wrong hands.
Not only was she dangerous, her very nature put her IN danger. And she had fallen right into his lap.
Ash let out a small hysterical laugh and ran a hand through his hair. He could destroy the Cromwells completely with her power, no doubt about it. But he wouldn"t do that—couldn"t. Not when she trusted him.
Ruby wasn"t a tool. She had inexplicably become his friend.
He could never let her know that he was aware of her secret. She would be afraid of him using her and feel betrayed. His time with her had been a precious memory he would have to hold onto for the rest of his lonely existence once they parted. He could not allow it to be spoiled.
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