When Jan’s boss asks her and her best friend and co-worker, Tessa, to go to Arizona to pick up an ancient, dangerous book to bring back to the museum for safe-keeping, she never dreamed how that book would change her life. She also never dreamed she would finally find the owner of the soul in the bottle that she had been fascinated with for so long. She longs to return the soul to the vampire it belongs to, but things are never that easy.
Jude has been a vampire for quite some time, and he likes his life just the way it is. No guilt, no remorse. But when a pretty witch comes to him with his soul, it changes the game. He doesn’t want to have anything to do with his soul, but the witch has other ideas.
Will Jude ever get his soul back, or will he reject it? Will the Book of Forbidden Knowledge help or hinder Jan in her quest to help Jude? And will Jan be able to control the book, or will it control her?
Chapter One
Jan entered the paranormal artifact room of the museum where she worked. When she had been here with her best friend, Tessa, she’d realized the relics spoke to her in a powerful way. It wasn’t long after that discovery that her grandmother, who was a witch, told Jan she was one, too. She wasn’t shocked by the news, probably because she’d known for a while there was some kind of power inside her. She had asked to be reassigned to this area because of this. She had enjoyed working with the mummies, but she had discovered the artifacts were what she loved.
Another perk of working in this section of the museum was that she would be working with her best friend, Tessa. A lot had happened six months ago, and part of it had to do with one of the artifacts in this room.
Jan was here early, so Tessa hadn’t yet come in. She wanted this short time to herself to absorb the atmosphere. Jan was a natural witch, so she was attuned to some of the vibrations the artifacts produced.
She walked over to the shelves where the unusual items were stored and took out the one that fascinated her the most. It was a blue bottle with a light inside…a light that was alive. Tessa had discovered what was in this bottle after she had met her husband, Nik. Nik’s soul had been stolen from him when he had become a vampire, and the light in this bottle had given him hope until he had realized this wasn’t his soul, but someone else’s. Nik and Tessa had found his soul through great peril, but Nik’s humanity had been restored. Now, Jan wondered who this soul belonged to. Who had stolen it from the Cave of the Lights and how had it ended up here?
Jan trailed her fingers down the bottle and watched as the light inside followed her touch. The soul always seemed to crave human interaction, and the light always got brighter when she touched the bottle. Where was the man whom this soul belonged to? Was he a vampire like Nik had been? From what they had all learned, chances were, he was.
“Who are you?” Jan asked softly. “I wish I could meet you, touch you.” Her face grew warm at the thought of meeting this soul whom she felt so close to.
“Hey, Jan!” said Tessa as she walked into the room. “I hope the director knows what he’s gotten himself into letting us work together.”
Jan started at her friend’s sudden appearance, but then she composed herself and grinned. “There’s no telling how much trouble we’ll be able to get into. You, me, paranormal artifacts. What a combination.”
“I see you’re still pining over that soul.”
“I’m not pining,” Jan protested as she carefully placed the jar back on the shelf. “I just can’t help wondering who it belongs to. What he’s doing.”
“First of all, what he’s doing is biting people. You know, vampire? Second, what if it belongs to a she instead of a he?”
Jan shook her head. “No, I know this soul is male. I can feel it.”
“Who am I to argue with a witch?”
“Seriously, Tessa, I know this soul. I can feel an…affinity with it.”
Tessa frowned. “Jan, I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to get obsessed with that soul. You know how Nik was before he got his soul back. He almost lost his humanity for good. His dark side almost took over. Who knows how long that soul has been gone from the one it belongs to? I hate to think what he would be like.”
“There’s always hope.”
“How would you ever find him?”
“I don’t know. I hope someday I can try, though.”
“Jan, you could be putting yourself in danger. Please don’t pursue this, okay? Look, we’ve got all these artifacts to document. This will be so much more fun for you than working with those old moldy mummies.”
Jan laughed, and they got to work cataloging the paranormal relics.
One particular artifact seemed to respond to Jan’s touch. It looked like a wand, about two feet long with a blue crystal at the end.
“What’s this?” asked Jan.
“I don’t know. Here’s the paperwork.”
They both pored over the documentation, and then they looked at each other. Tessa said, “This says the wand belonged to a powerful wizard. I wonder if you could make it do something.”
Jan smiled. “I knew the two of us could get in trouble working together.”
She closed her eyes and concentrated. Then she opened them and waved the wand toward Tessa’s coffee cup. Tessa watched in fascination as the cup rose from its spot on the table, moved through the air, and landed safely on the other side of the long table.
“It enhances telekinesis,” Jan said.
“That’s pretty cool.”
Tessa made some notes about the artifact and placed it on the shelf with the documentation. Then she turned to Jan, hesitating a moment before speaking.
“Jan, can we talk about this witch thing?”
“Witch thing?” Jan asked with raised eyebrows.
“Yeah. We haven’t really talked about it, and I have some questions. Do you mind?”
“No, go ahead, ask away.”
“Well…are you Wiccan?”
“No. I’m Christian.”
“I don’t understand. I thought all witches were Wiccan. I thought that’s what Wicca was all about, being a witch.”
“Wicca is a religion. Those who practice the Wiccan religion are usually called witches. But I’m a natural witch, someone who has power. That’s not a religion, it’s who I am. That’s one of the reasons I don’t tell people about my abilities. They just don’t understand. It’s like how some people have a talent for art, and some people have a talent for acting. This is my talent. It’s natural, just a part of me. That doesn’t mean I can’t choose the Christian religion.”
Tessa looked sheepish. “I never really thought of it that way. But it does make sense. I’m sorry I wasn’t very enlightened.”
“Hey, you’ve had a lot to deal with this year. You found out about vampires and witches almost at the same time. It’s a lot to take in.”
“You know, I’ve always thought these artifacts had real power. I’m glad to know all the paranormal stuff is true and that I wasn’t crazy.”
“Well, not all of it’s true, you know. Surely, you know there’s no such things as werewolves. Right?” Jan said with a wink.
Jan and Tessa worked for hours cataloging artifacts. Some relics had very dark magic, and they were careful not to do anything to cause those to react. Most of the scarier ones were placed in a wooden box and sealed with a label on the outside detailing what was inside.
That afternoon, Jan sat back and sighed. “This is more tiring than working with mummies.”
“Maybe it’s because you can feel the artifacts. It could be that it drains you because it’s so intense for you,” said Tessa.
“You might be right. Do you think the boss will ever let us have that paranormal artifact display you’ve been asking for?”
Tessa sighed. “I don’t know. I think he’s afraid to have them around the public. I’ve told him we could just display the less dangerous ones.”
“They could be protected. All under shatterproof glass or something.”
“I’ve suggested that. Maybe I’ll wear him down. He’s really fascinated by the relics and loves to have them here, but he’s afraid to expose them to the public.”
The subject of their conversation chose that moment to walk into the room.
“Hi, Gerald,” Jan greeted the director.
“Hi, Jan. Tessa. So, Jan, are you enjoying your new assignment?” he asked.
“Yep. I don’t really miss the mummies that much.”
He sat down at the table and looked around at the artifacts they had spread out. “You are taking the proper precautions, aren’t you?”
Tessa said, “Of course. These on the table are harmless. We worked on the others this morning.”
He rose and walked over to the shelves. There was a look of fascination on his face as he touched the relics. Gerald turned back to the two women.
“I have a job for you.”
“I don’t understand,” said Tessa with a frown. “Aren’t we doing a job here?”
“This is something much different from what you’re used to doing. Well, Tessa, maybe it’s not so different, considering what happened last year with your husband.”
The events surrounding Tessa and Nik’s quest for his soul had made a firm believer out of the director.
“Do you want us to go somewhere?” Tessa asked.
“Actually, I do. There’s an artifact that’s been found in Arizona, and the person who has it wants rid of it as quickly as possible. He wants it here where it can be protected.”
Jan listened in fascination as the director explained it to them. She let Tessa do the talking since she was the senior researcher of this department. It sounded like there might be an adventure in store for them.
“Why is he in such a hurry to get rid of the artifact? What is it?”
The director hesitated for just a moment, then said, “It’s called the Book of Forbidden Knowledge. It’s rumored to be very dangerous.”
“How so?” asked Tessa.
“Anyone who reads from it can obtain knowledge that could make them very powerful. Dangerously powerful. If one is in close proximity of the book for too long, that person is drawn to it, and it’s hard to resist. Eventually, they will read the book.”
“Where’s the book been all this time? You would think someone would have read it by now.”
Gerald said, “It was buried deep in the earth. The man who has the book is an archaeologist, and he found it at a dig. When he felt the pull of the book, he knew it was something he didn’t want. He did some research and found his suspicions were correct about what it was. The book has a very powerful spell on it, and you two need to be very careful.”
“I appreciate you trusting us with the job,” said Tessa.
“You’ll do it?”
“You better believe it,” she said with a smile.