Rain was pouring down from the grayscale sky lightly, misting the streets of London with a glooming mood. Magdalene walked through most of the rainstorm. By the time she arrived on the Potter's porch, she was drenched in her wet clothing. She knocked on the front door of the small house and, while she waited for someone to open the door, rung out the baggy cotton tee shirt she was wearing.
"Who is it?" a quiet female voice could be heard on the other side of the door. Magdalene looked up, pushed her wet hair out of her face, and stepped closer to the door.
"Magdalene Markus."
"Maggie," Lily sounded surprised. "When we were at Hogwarts, you had a dream about this man before he appeared in the dinning hall that same day."
"Demetrius," Magdalene replied without having to think. She frowned and bit her lips as her hand subconsciously clutched the pendent around her neck. She rolled the diamond made from Demetrius' ashes in between her fingers.
"Now you," Lily said.
Magdalene frowned. "Who is the godmother of your child?"
"I don't have one because you turned me down," Lily replied coldly. Magdalene didn't let the answer phase her, despite Lily's obviously perturbed tone.
"Correct," Magdalene said lowly.
The door opened instantly and Lily Evans Potter stared at Magdalene with dark green, angry, eyes. Her brownish red bushy hair was flying around her young pale face in vibrant curls. She looked relaxed in her comfortable black pants and tank top. Despite the comfy clothing she wore, there was no mistaking the lividness of her body and face. Not that Magdalene needed physical cues to notice Lily's irritation; she could feel every raging emotion Lily was feeling thanks to her empathic abilities.
Why could she feel Lily's emotions with no trouble, but Sirius was an emotionally blocked stronghold to her? There was a time when she could read even him…now he was a mystery and she didn't like that.
Magdalene stood up straight and tucked her wet hair behind her ear again.
"What are you doing here?" Lily questioned before Magdalene could speak. She sighed slightly and rung her dripping hair out on the Potter's porch. She did not ask to come in.
"Just wanted to say hi," she said slowly.
"You have a lot of nerve Magdalene!" Lily continued as if Magdalene hadn't said anything at all. "A lot of bloody cheek, showing up here now after you refused to be Harry's godmother and ran out of the room at the mere sight of him!"
Lily was standing boldly in the doorframe, her hands on her hips as she glared lividly at her best friend. Magdalene bit her bottom lip. She had anticipated this reaction from Lily. She had considered not coming to see her in hopes of avoiding such an aggressive confrontation. It took all of Magdalene's power to not let Lily's emotions get the best of her as she picked them up with her empathic radar. Her fist were clenched tightly while she looked her friend in the eye.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I was overcome with hunger. I thought I had enough blood in me before I left my flat, but when I got there….and young blood is the most potent, the most delicious. I had to leave. I had to for Harry's safety and everyone else's. This supports my decision to decline being Harry's godmother. It would be wise for you to choose someone else, Lily."
"Can I ever trust you around Harry then?" Lily questioned with alarm. "Can you be near him without hunger overcoming you?"
Magdalene smirked at her friend. She was pleased that Lily was starting to realize what everyone else seemed to want to ignore. Magdalene was a danger to them, even if she was well controlled and fed.
"Yes," she replied. "I was rash and weak when I came to the hospital yesterday. Today I am well fed and strong. I have learned that I cannot take my feedings lightly."
Lily frowned as she looked Magdalene, who was still ringing out her hair, over. "You look like bloody hell," Lily sighed. "Come in before you catch a cold."
The comment made Magdalene laugh. "I'm a vampire. I can't feel the cold and I can't get sick."
Lily nodded her head slowly, not eased by Magdalene's comment, as she shut the front door.
"I'm sorry for calling unexpectedly," Magdalene apologized. "And I appreciate you letting me in."
"Of course," Lily said motioning for Magdalene to follow her back into the kitchen at the back of the house. "Maggie, you're my best friend. I'm angry with you, but I understand where you're coming from. I will never close my door to you."
"Thank you," Magdalene couldn't help but smile. She could feel Lily's rage starting to diminish, which allowed her to relax as they entered the kitchen.
"I know you didn't just come out here to apologize," Lily said wisely, as she looked Magdalene over. She took a seat at the kitchen table where a dishtowel lay flat, covered in wet baby bottles, nipples, and screw tops. Lily picked up another towel and began to dry the baby feeding utensils as she looked up at Magdalene, waiting for her to join her and spill.
Magdalene gave in to Lily's piercing studying stare easily. She collapsed down into a kitchen chair across from the young, new mother and sighed loudly.
"Sirius and I had sex last night," she said instantly. Lily stopped drying the bottle in her hand for a moment to stare blankly at Magdalene. After a moment of silence and awkward staring, Lily reverted her eyes and continued to dry the bottle in the dishtowel.
"You're together," she shrugged, though Magdalene could feel her surprise across the table.
"Not really," Magdalene said quickly. "I mean, we were, but then he shouted he loved me in a crowded street after arguing because he thinks I'm messing around with Constantine and we didn't talk for weeks. He's a jealous bastard, just like he was in school, and I can't handle his back and forth—one day he likes me, the next he hates me because I went to Constantine, then out of the blue he shows up and screws me!"
Lily remained quite once Magdalene was done ranting. Magdalene could see the wheels of her brain turning through her eyes. Lily was going to be logical, rational, and that's exactly what Magdalene needed right then because she felt completely lost and confused. Never had she been so torn apart and throttled around by a man. Sirius made her absolutely crazy, not even Demetrius had managed to screw with her head and heart this badly.
"If you don't want to be with him, why'd you have sex with him?"
"It felt good," Magdalene shrugged with ease.
"Where is Sirius now?"
"He's still in bed, in my flat. But, Lily, what am I supposed to do? I don't think I want to be with him."
"You think or you know?"
Magdalene sat up straight while frowning. She didn't know. She was just as unsure as Sirius was. With aggravation, Magdalene released a loud sigh and laid her head on the kitchen table.
"I'm no better then him," she whispered.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to realize that."
Magdalene gave Lily a dirty look, which caused Lily to laugh and shake her head. There was a loud knock on the front door, causing both women to fall silent. Lily stood up from the table and picked up her wand as she moved down the hall towards the foyer. Magdalene followed carefully.
"Who is it?" Lily asked as her hand gripped the doorknob with white knuckles.
"Sirius Orion Black," Sirius' voice spoke from the other side of the front door. Magdalene's heart dropped into her stomach with embarrassment. Lily looked at Magdalene over her shoulder. Magdalene closed her eyes and lifted her hand, motioning for Lily to wait a moment.
Sirius' emotions were sporadic and difficult to get a hold on. Magdalene squinted her eyes tightly shut and tilted her head to the side. He was anxious, tired, confused, happy—she just couldn't tell anything. She opened her eyes wide with bewilderment.
Lily sighed, recognizing that Magdalene wasn't sure who was on the doorstep, and turned back to the door.
"Sirius, who's Covenant are you?"
"Magdalene Markus'," Sirius replied.
Lily opened the door quickly. "Sorry to keep you waiting," she said.
"It's alright," Sirius said as he moved into the house. His dark blue eyes fell on Magdalene in the foyer and he instantly frowned. "There you are. I assumed you went out to get blood."
"I don't hunt," Magdalene retorted.
"Yea," Sirius frowned. "I know that."
Lily closed the front door and crossed her arms over her chest. "Did you come to see James, Sirius?"
"Yea," Sirius said as he pulled his eyes away from Magdalene. "I just wanted to talk to him…and see my godson!" He added the last part quickly with excitement.
"They're upstairs," Lily motioned to the staircase.
"Thanks," Sirius clapped her shoulder gently. He looked back at Magdalene with intense, sexually hungry, eyes. He moved between the two women, coming especially close to Magdalene's body. His fingers traced against her flesh just above the waistband of her pants and he paused for a moment, leaning in close to her ear. "Good morning," he whispered huskily in her ear.
Magdalene couldn't help but smile. "Hi," she said in response. Sirius smiled a crooked half smile and kissed her neck gently before moving away completely to the stairs. Magdalene released a heavy sigh as he walked away. Once Sirius had disappeared up the stairs, she looked at Lily who was staring at her like she was a stupid disobedient child. Lily eyebrows were high over her emerald eyes and her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Her weight was shifted on one hip.
"Yea," Lily said with a laugh. "You definitely don't know." Lily passed Magdalene, heading back to the kitchen and the bottles that were waiting to be dried.
"Shut up," Magdalene said turning on her heel to follow her best friend.
Once she was sitting again, Magdalene uneasily tapped her fingers against the table. Lily looked at her with curious eyes.
"What is it now?"
"I should be able to read him easily because he's my Covenant," Magdalene whispered. "The fact that I can't read Sirius is concerning to me."
"Maybe he's just gotten strong enough to block you," Lily shrugged.
"I don't think you can block a covenant bond, but I don't know for sure."
"Who would?"
Magdalene frowned and bit her bottom lip. "Constantine probably. Or there might be some information in the library at Palazzo del Te."
"Do you think it wise to ask Constantine?"
"He's the only vampire I can really trust for anything right now."
"Doesn't he want you dead?"
"Not yet," Magdalene said weakly. She looked up at Lily with a sad expression.
"I don't trust him," Lily said strongly to contrast Magdalene's tone. Magdalene rolled her eyes.
"Rightfully so," she agreed. "But when it comes to vampire and blood laws I can trust that he'll know them."
"So, you're going to go see him?"
Magdalene looked up at the ceiling over her head, as if she could see through it to Sirius. She frowned and looked back at Lily.
"Yes," she whispered. "I'm going to go now."
"Don't you think you should talk to Sirius first? Maybe he'll be able to tell you why you can't read him as well as you'd like."
Magdalene rolled her eyes as she stood up. "He wouldn't know."
"I don't know," Lily whispered matter-of-factly. "He knows more then you give him credit for."
"I just want to do some research first," Magdalene said sharply. "Then I'll talk to him. Don't tell him where I went."
"What?" Lily questioned quickly. "What am I supposed to say?"
Sirius, Magdalene thought as she shut her eyes.
Within a moment the sound of a door opening and closing upstairs could be heard, then the sound of people descending the stairs and male voices talking echoed.
"You called?" Sirius smiled as he came into the kitchen. James followed in behind him, carrying a sleeping Harry. Magdalene's green eyes looked at James and his son for only a moment as they walked by her. She immediately turned her gaze back to Sirius who had stopped to stand in front of her.
Magdalene looked him over with curious dark eyes. He was wearing jeans and a black cotton tee shirt, much like Magdalene was that morning. He came to her, putting his rough hands on her hips and smiling down at her. She took hold of his muscular forearms and arched her back away from him, looking up at him with raised eyebrows.
"I'm going to see Constantine," she said easily. "And then to Palazzo del Te to get some blood."
It was half a lie. Magdalene hadn't told anyone that the blood, stored in the basement of Palazzo del Te, had been stolen. But, Sirius didn't need to know that now.
Sirius nodded and leaned in to her, kissing her forehead.
"You don't have to lie, you know," he whispered. Magdalene pulled away sharply and looked up at Sirius with surprise.
"What the hell is going on?" she questioned sharply. Sirius laughed.
"I can tell when you're lying, Maggie," he shrugged.
"Most of us can," Lily said quietly as she held out her arms and James passed Harry to her. Her face brightened as her eyes fell on her son.
"Your voice changes," James chimed in.
"It does not," Magdalene said confidently.
"Sure," Sirius smiled. "Go. See Constantine. Go to Palazzo del Te."
Magdalene looked up at his pleasant, even loving face, with deep bewilderment. It was like Sirius was two different people. Yesterday, when she had first seen him at the hospital he had been hostile and now he was charming.
"Are you bipolar?"
Sirius laughed loudly.
"I'm being serious," Magdalene insisted.
"Nope," he said. "Just torn apart and throttled around by a woman who drives me absolutely crazy."
Magdalene couldn't help but smile. "You really are getting good at that," she said referring to his ability to read her mind.
"We share a strong connection, Maggie," Sirius whispered as he leaned in and kissed her lips delicately. She kissed him in return, despite the confusing emotions she felt towards him. Once, Magdalene was clear and collected, but with Sirius she was confused and lost. She needed to figure out how to be clear and collected again…perhaps that is why she felt she need to not be with Sirius. She was better off alone.
She pulled out of Sirius' arms and gave him a reassuring smile. He seemed to know that she was trying to reassure herself more then anything else because he kissed her forehead again and told her to be safe quietly in her ear. She thanked him and moved away, bidding good-bye to Lily and James.
Outside on the Potter's front porch, which was protected from the slow falling rain, Magdalene merely thought of Constantine's penthouse flat and she was gone with the blink of an eye. She teleported to his front door, figuring it would be rude of her to bust in and possibly break his coffee table again. She knocked gently on the dark wooden door and waited patiently for someone to answer. When the door flew open she was surprised to see a half naked young woman in the doorframe.
"Can I help you?" the woman asked. She was a blonde-bombshell, with pouting cranberry red lips and white porcelain skin. She was wearing a skin tight, white tank top and hot pink lace underwear. Magdalene tried not to stare, instead she looked up at the door to see what number she had knocked on.
"This is Constantine's place, right?" she questioned. "I didn't get the wrong door…"
"This is his place," the woman responded, as she stood up straighter, her almond shaped brown eyes looking Magdalene over. "Who are you?"
"Maggie," said Constantine's voice with mild amusement as he approached the door, coming to standing behind the young woman. Magdalene looked at him with raised eyebrows, wide eyes and a forced smile. He was only wearing black cotton pajama bottoms. His handsome muscular figure looked tenses and tanned. Magdalene tried with all her might to not stare at his chiseled physic, or attractive face. She focused on his eyes. His masterful, dark, warming brown eyes, which made her just as hot as his body and face. She bit her bottom lip, trying to stay focused on what she had come to see him about.
Constantine placed his hands on the back of the woman's hips as he peered at Magdalene with chocolate brown, debonair eyes. The young woman seemed to forget that Magdalene was standing in front of her and looked up at Constantine with batting, desire filled eyes.
"Maggie and I work together," Constantine said to the woman. "Why don't you go lay down…I'll only be a moment."
"Promise?" the woman asked as she turned to Constantine. She stood on her toes while pressing her body against his and kissed his neck playfully. Magdalene looked away awkwardly, and tried not to make a gagging sound because of the woman's comment. Not only was it uncomfortable to see Constantine in such an intimate manner with another woman, but the hot pink panties barely covered her bottom, leaving Magdalene to see the curve where her cheeks met her thighs.
"If it takes longer then a moment, I'll let you tie me up," Constantine replied.
The woman beamed and moved around him quickly, disappearing from sight. Magdalene shuttered and turned to glare at Constantine, who was looking pleased with himself.
"I didn't realize you liked it that way," Magdalene said.
"There are many things you don't realize about me, Maggie," he said softly as he leaned forward in the doorframe of the flat. "What brings you here?"
"Is she a mortal?"
"That's none of your business."
"I know she's not a vampire," Magdalene replied. "Couldn't smell her long enough to tell if she was magical or not."
"It's none of your business," Constantine repeated. "What do you want, Magdalene?"
"I need your help with something."
"I assumed that much. I doubt you'd come here because you wanted to see me."
"I have questions about covenant bonds."
Constantine smirked as he leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his muscular chest. "Sirius giving you trouble? Trying to get out of it?"
"No," Magdalene snipped with aggression. "Can I pull you away from your…" Magdalene didn't know what to call the woman who was now lying in Constantine's bed.
"She's my girlfriend," he said softly.
This caught Magdalene off guard. "What?"
Constantine laughed while shaking his head and stood up straight. "I'll tell her we have to go into the office. Just give me a second…"
He stood up straight and closed the door in Magdalene's face before she could say another word. His words were still ringing in her ears because she could not believe them. She never thought that Constantine would be the type to settle down with a girlfriend. He struck her more as the womanizing, different flavor each week, type of man. It was unfair of her to think such things, though. She obviously did not know Constantine well, and she should have been more mature to not prejudge him and his capacity to have personal intimate relationships.
Magdalene paced up and down the hallway outside the penthouse, wondering what could possibly be taking so long. She waited at least twenty minutes before Constantine came out of the flat, swaggering in his fine clothing and charming smile.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," he said lightly as he shut the door. "She just won't let me leave sometimes."
"I don't want to know," Magdalene retorted as she made a beeline for the elevator. Constantine laughed behind her. Apparently, seeing Magdalene uncomfortable was amusing to him.
"It is possible for me to have relationships Maggie," he said as they boarded the elevator. "I know that may shock you."
"It only shocks me because I didn't think vampires could love."
"Who said anything about love?" Constantine questioned while pushing the button for the first floor. "Although, wouldn't you describing your relationship with Sirius as a loving one?"
"No. It's volatile."
"Does he see it that way?"
"I think we both have the common consciences that our relationship, whatever it is, is not a committed one with lovey-dovey feelings."
"And yet he says he loves you."
"He's mortal," Magdalene whispered lightly. "He can feel such things."
Constantine looked Magdalene over slowly. She was staring at the lift doors in front of her, trying to ignore the fact that his chocolate brown eyes were taking her in. She knew he was reading her like an open book. It didn't matter how hard she tried to block him; Constantine didn't need to use any mental powers on Magdalene. She felt his concern for her, which was enough to make her sick. She didn't want his worry. And she most certainly didn't think he had anything to worry about in regards to her ability to love someone.
"We can love," Constantine said. "Whoever told you otherwise was just trying to write something off."
Magdalene took a long slow breath. All those years Demetrius had loved her he often said that love was not possible for his kind. In the bottom of her heart, Magdalene always believed it was possible. It had to be because Demetrius loved her. Constantine was right. A vampire saying they were not capable of love was just a way for them to take the easy way out. It was certainly easier to say you're not capable of love then to face the fear of getting hurt by loving someone.
"Why are you afraid of loving him?"
The lift doors opened and Magdalene marched straight forward into the lobby of the penthouse building without saying a word. She left Constantine in the dust as she exited the building.
"Care to tell me where we're going?" he asked as he caught up to her on the sidewalk. She appreciated the fact that he was leaving the subject of loving Sirius in the elevator.
"Palazzo del Te," Magdalene responded turning down into a side alleyway. She paused against some of the trash bins decorating the alley, waiting for Constantine to join her. He turned into the alley and came close to her. Magdalene raised her hand, pressing it against his chest, to stop him from invading her personal space. Her eyes met his, which were looking at her with lustful patients, before she teleported in front of him.
The yard outside Palazzo del Te looked over-grown. Magdalene looked over her shoulder at the broken gate metal gate that stood in the distances. At Palazzo del Te's high point, that gate had gleamed like a bitter prison wall, locking Magdalene onto the grounds from four sides. It was not until she killed her father that she ever went past that gate. To see it broken, destroyed and opened brought mild satisfaction to Magdalene's heart.
The sound of shuffling gravel announced Constantine's arrival. Magdalene turned to look at him as he came to stand next to her. They both stared up at the mansion for a few moments in silence, taking in the busted windows, peeling paint, and moldering brick.
"Why did your Father call this mansion Palazzo del Te?"
Magdalene looked at Constantine. His hands were folded behind his back as he studied her childhood home, not that Magdalene considered it much of a home. That was the last question she was expecting at that moment. She was anticipating him to ask what she needed his help for. She frowned slightly and looked back at the abandoned building before her.
"I do not know," she replied. "Why?"
"I've been to the Palazzo del Te in Italy, and it puts your mansion to shame," he said with a shrug.
"Well, my Father did like tea, so maybe that is why."
Constantine gave her a smile before walking towards the building.
"You know," Magdalene said following him. "I tried to burn it down three years ago. It doesn't even look like I tortured it with my magic."
"That is because Melanie and Janson stopped the fire," Constantine said as he opened the door. He didn't step into the threshold right away; he leaned in and peered around the elegant foyer of the mansion to see if there were any scavengers roaming freely. "I was told they arrived shortly after you left to see their Mother. That is how they found out about your new rise to power so quickly. Pure coincidence."
"Right, coincidence," Magdalene said as Constantine entered the house.
Her eyes glided over the destroy entrance hall. When she had been changed by her grandmother, she had went on a wild rampage and destroyed half of her father's old belongings. At the base of the grand staircase was a large portrait, lying disheveled on the ground, as if it meant nothing. The portrait was of Marius Markus, Magdalene's father. She had pulled the portrait from the wall where it hung over the stairs and threw it down, ripping the handsome face painted on the canvas and cracking the frame.
"What are we doing here?" Constantine asked stopping in the middle of the lavished hall to look at her.
"I wanted to go to the library," she whispered. "I need help with covenant bonds, what you can't tell me, I thought I would find in my father's library."
"What makes you think I can tell you anything?"
Together, they started to ascend the red-carpeted staircase that lead into the depths of Palazzo del Te's twisting hallways.
"Why else would you have come with me? I'm sure you'd rather be in bed with your girlfriend all day."
"She has to work," Constantine said casually.
"Do you mean to tell me you don't know anything about covenant bonds, and you're just here, tagging along?"
"No," Constantine said while Magdalene turned down a wood panel hallway, leading him through towards Markus' old library. When Magdalene reached the library door she hesitated for a moment, gripping the door handle. Her other hand immediately jumped to the diamond hanging around her neck. She twisted Demetrius' preserved remains between her fingers as she took a long breath.
Images of the last time she had stood in the library danced in her head.
Demetrius jumping in front of her to take a stake through the heart from Ariana Donovan—Demetrius' body falling, convulsing and turning to ash before her eyes—Ariana attacking and changing her—killing Ariana in a newborn-vampiric rage—her grandmother's body convulsing and bursting into flame under her own—compressing Demetrius' ashes into the small rock that now hung around her neck.
"Maggie? Are you alright?"
She looked up at Constantine with silver eyes. He gave her a concerned look, much like the one in the lift, and a half smile.
"If you call me Maggie again, I'll rip your face off," she retorted. She turned the knob and pushed open the library door. As she walked in her mind and emotions were over run with sorrow. The smell of ash lingered in the air and a small pile remained in the center of the room, where Ariana's body had burned.
Constantine walked in like he was familiar with the room. He looked at the pile of ash for a moment before looking to Magdalene, who was staring at it.
"I'm surprised they didn't clean it up," she said softly.
"Most vampires don't clean up ash," he said approaching her slowly. "Very few honor the dead."
He touched the stone around her neck gently, causing her to look up at him with blinking silver eyes.
"Is this why you cannot love Sirius?"
Magdalene rolled her eyes and stepped away from Constantine, heading for a bookshelf. The library walls were lined with books, it was going to take Magdalene a long time to find any sort of book concerning covenants, if there even was one.
"Tell me what you know about covenants," she said moving a step laddered to the farthest cornered and climbing it to the top.
"You should probably look for a book of vampiric law," Constantine advised. Magdalene nodded as she scanned over the books on the top shelf. She looked at Constantine who was looking at Markus' desk. "Is there something specific you want to know?"
"Just tell me everything," Magdalene said. When Constantine didn't answer, Magdalene looked sharply at him. He was standing behind the desk, inspecting the detailed woodwork. "Well?"
He looked up at her and frowned. "Right, sorry."
Magdalene rolled her eyes as he took a seat at the desk, leaned back and put his feet up.
"Covenant bonds are exceptionally rare because a mortal is the one who initiates the ritual. A mortal must willingly give a vampire blood, then they have to mix their blood."
"Yes, I know that."
"How did Sirius become your Covenant when you know nothing of vampiric rituals?"
"It was an accident," Magdalene replied glancing at Constantine. She noticed he was opening the drawers to her father's desk and searching through them. "Sirius gave me blood after finding me at the bottom of a staircase bleeding out. In the hospital wing, he pulled out his IV to hold me in bed. I pulled on my arm, accidentally pulling out my IV and our blood mixed from the opened wounds."
"To achieve such a strong bond on accident," Constantine gave a low whistle. "It's astonishing. Most of the time covenant bonds don't fully work because the vampire tricks the mortal into them. You and Sirius probably have the most pure of covenant bonds then."
"Why do you say that? I was a half breed when the bond was created, how can that be pure?"
"The bond was created out of love," Constantine said honestly. "Sirius willingly gave his blood to save you, and he comforted you after the trauma. There is no purer form of the covenant bond."
Magdalene sighed and looked back at the books in front of her, at least they weren't telling her that Sirius did love her.
"What else?" Magdalene asked to keep Constantine on track.
"The only way to break a covenant bond on the mortal plane is for the vampire to kill the Covenant, but in death they will reunite. This bond is to be cherished and keep sacred, otherwise it does not survive and can become detrimental to both parties involved."
This caught Magdalene's attention. She had overheard all of the facts years ago as Demetrius and Dumbledore spoke in her ward at St. Mungo's, but she had never that the bond could become detrimental. She stepped down off the ladder and moved towards Constantine.
"What do you mean detrimental?"
"I mean that the bond becomes more of a burden."
"It's been a burden from the start," Magdalene muttered. "How should covenant bonds be cherished?"
"They should be celebrated and honored," Constantine continued. "Both parties should be close and honor each other. It is comparable to the mortal notion of marriage."
"Demetrius said it wasn't—"
"Is that who's ashes are hanging around your neck?"
Magdalene's eyes had relaxed from being silver as she looked at the books on the shelf, but when Constantine mentioned Demetrius' remains again, they changed drastically. Constantine sat back in the chair, smirking at her because he knew he touched a nerve.
"Alright, we don't have to talk about that."
"I wasn't going to talk about that," she snipped. "You're not my therapist, Constantine."
"Sometimes it feels like it."
Magdalene growled in frustration and moved away from the desk, heading back to the bookshelf just to get away from Constantine.
"What happens when the bond is neglected?"
"The relationship becomes ambiguous, confusing," Constantine shrugged. "The mortal can gain more mental and physical powers and drain the vampire of their own. Overtime the bond can be destroyed because the mortal is literally sucking the life and power out of the vampire."
Magdalene stopped dead at the base of the ladder and turned sharply to Constantine.
"What?"
Constantine stood up from his chair as Magdalene moved back to the desk.
"Has this been happening?" he questioned approaching her. Magdalene didn't answer right away, or look at him. Her mind was racing with his words connecting the dots. She hadn't been able to read Sirius at all, but he was always able to read her and find her. She had even started requiring more blood recently and losing control of her physical powers.
Constantine lifted her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye.
"It's been happening over the last few weeks," she whispered. "Since Sirius came to get me at your flat and we had our falling out."
Constantine frowned deeply as he nodded his head. There was deeper worry in his eyes that alarmed Magdalene.
"How do I fix it?" He didn't answer right away, causing Magdalene to grab the collar of his fine coat. "Constantine?"
"The only way to save your powers and life is to kill your Covenant," he replied. "Killing the Covenant destroys the bond."
Magdalene released Constantine's coat and stepped away in shock. Her stomach rolled and she felt the sudden desire to vomit.
"Magdalene, you have to kill Sirius Black," Constantine whispered sadly.