Jaret Bachmann left his family home in small town of Fremont, Nebraska. He comes from a long line of witches and warlocks that have been murdered by his great-great-grandfather, spirit Henrik. Jaret keeps a ruby necklace with him at all times for protection. All the Bachmann jewels empowered witchcraft and safety. Jaret being a warlock did the brave thing with his powers. He captured the spirit Henrik and locked it away forever. He moved to the Chicago with his long time boyfriend, Steve. Someone he thought he would be with forever. But Steve has changed, as he is closeted and even more now, want’s to drag Jaret back into the closet. Steve only cares about football and the team and only spends time with Jaret when it’s to his benefit. Jaret is tired of being humiliated and is ready to be done with Steve. For Jaret being in the big city helps him feel free as a gay man, he may have to be careful but it was better than living in a small town. He still has fears of dark corners and alleys and most of all gay bashing. He’s attending college with a History major and plans on going to graduate school. He’s very close to his sister Jenn and keeps in touch with her constantly. His lovable companion is Darth, who keeps a smile on his face through thick and thin. Brady is his best friend and they care about each other. They go clubbing together and have fun. They both have a long time dream to attend a Mika concert, Jaret is one of the biggest fans of Mika.On his way to meet Brady for a night of fun, Jaret walks through the park. He spots a group of guys wearing Northwestern shirts and he’s sure they are members of the football team. He’s sure to steer clear of them. Fiddling with his iPod he accidentally bumps into someone and from there things don’t go so well. He is attacked by the group of football players. The attack happens so fast that Jaret can’t get a handle on his magic. When one of them is about to do the most disgusting thing to him, he hears a voice. What he sees in the tree is unbelievable and he takes off running.The voice has no problem finding the exhausted Jaret. Anthony is absolutely stunning and he has come to check that Jaret is all right. He returns his iPod, wallet and helps Jaret to get cleaned up. They talk for a long time about the attack and Jaret states it was because he’s gay. Anthony admits he’s gay also. Even though Jaret likes Anthony he and his ruby are very suspicious. But Jaret can’t resist spending time with Anthony.As a relationship grows between Anthony and Jaret everything seems right. But then Anthony with old baggage and his belief in the Vampire Counsel rules devastate Jaret. Even with the support of Xavier and Thomas, Jaret’s life get’s turned upside again. With the breakup, Steve became cruel, a stalker and stole a very dangerous iron box from Jaret. If it couldn’t get any worse for Jaret, he faces the most heinous nightmare of all. How much more can Jaret take before he reaches the point of no return?Damian Serbu does some very nice world building for vampires, witches and spirits, who live in a human world. The author brings out the feelings and how vampires think about the old laws of the Vampire Counsel. Anthony interprets the belief, that vampires and witches could not be coupled, as the power would be to dangerous. He lives in the past and never sees the gray areas. So many heart breaking moments for Jaret to the point he will protect his heart by not caring about anyone anymore. He never want’s to feel the hurt again. The devastation has him dealing with depression.I really liked Jaret he always tried to be positive and it was sad when things went bad for him. I loved his dog Darth, he was just what Jaret needed for support. Brady was a good friend to Jaret too. They had so much in common and had fun together. I had issues with Anthony and I loved how Thomas and Xavier weren’t afraid to address the issues that Anthony kept defending. Thomas, Xavier, Catherine and Henrietta had the smarts to reform the Council and it took the total responsibility away from Anthony. As hard as Xavier and Thomas tried they barely got Anthony out of the past. Michel and Anne were interesting characters, too.On the whole, I liked this story. It gave a new look to vampires living in the year 2010 to 2013 and they have just the same problems humans do. All the characters have their own identifying personalities and issues which makes the novel even more interesting.“The Vampires Witch” is the third book of the “Realm of the Vampire Council” series and I highly suggest starting from the beginning with: “The Vampire’s Angel” and “The Vampire’s Quest”. For me, I’m going to read book five, “The Vampire’s War” and see what Damian Serbu has all planned out for Anthony and Jaret as they move forward in time.
