Ryan doesn’t pause or slow down as he charges me again. I dart to the left, away from both Elise and Reilly. Ryan is almost as fast as Reilly though, and he’s not playing tag. He swipes at my back and his nails slash through the back of my shirt, drawing blood.
I hiss in pain and duck down before pivoting and running in another direction. I pull harder on the vampire magic for a moment, just long enough to put some space between us. When I turn around, I can’t see him anywhere.
My foot nudges against something damp and cold. I jerk away and swallow down a shriek. Whatever it is, it isn’t moving. I crouch down and in the dim lighting I can make out a face, eyes wide open, mouth frozen in a scream.
I scramble backward, landing on my butt in my hurry to get away. I had forgotten somehow about the necker they said had been killed in here. I hadn’t been expecting a body.
Elise growls and the sound makes all the hairs on my neck stand on end. My head jerks up and I look for any sign of movement. Her eyes are two bright points in the darkness across the room. Something drops from the ceiling and lands right on top of her.
I run towards her, but I can’t even tell who is who anymore. They tangle together, all teeth and shrieks and fur. Reilly is running from the other corner as well, but I beat him there this time.
Ryan is on top of Elise. He has her flipped on her back and is trying to swipe at her neck and belly, but she keeps him back with quick snaps of her jaw. I shove the injector against his back and pull the trigger. The brew rushes into him as the back of his hand connects with my shoulder. I hit the wall before I can react and fall hard on my side, the empty injector clattering to the floor.
I grit my teeth against the pain and scramble to my feet. Nothing is broken at least. Elise is off her back and both she and Reilly are circling around Ryan. She darts in every few seconds, snapping at his hands and his legs. Every time he tries to get away from her Reilly is there, blocking him. They’re driving him back toward me.
“We have to kill him,” Reilly shouts over the noise of Ryan’s incensed shrieks.
It makes my stomach twist, but he’s right. One dose of that brew should put anything to sleep. Two doses should have been enough to kill him on its own. There’s no other way to stop him.
Ryan finally realizes he is being backed toward me and decides I’m the weak link. He turns and lunges for me. I don’t try to dodge this time, there’s no room for it and he’s too fast. I lean just far enough to the side that he won’t hit me full on and throw a punch. My fist connects with his throat and it crumples under my knuckles.
Hunger and anger overwhelm me. I lunge forward and my teeth sink into the meat of his shoulder. I pull on his magic viciously, taking everything I can in one short rush. He is weak compared to the others I’ve fed on, there is barely anything to steal. His blood tastes bitter, I would spit it out if the magic inside of him wasn’t so sweet.
It’s over in a matter of seconds. As soon as l the last bit of his magic flows into me, Ryan crumbles into ash.
18
I stumble backward spitting and coughing, but I can’t get it all out of my mouth. I fall to my knees and vomit, then stay there trying to relearn how to breathe.
I wipe my hand across the back of my mouth and realize ashy bits of Ryan are still stuck to my face. I pull up the bottom of my shirt and frantically try to wipe it away. My hands are shaking and I feel like I might get sick all over again.
Reilly pauses next to me and brushes his hand across my shoulder. I move away from the gesture. I don’t want affection or comfort from him. I wouldn’t be here at all if it wasn’t for him.
“Are you hurt?” He asks.
“No,” I gasp out. “Is Elise hurt?”
She snorts from behind me.
I glance back. “I’ll take that as a no.”
Reilly walks to the door and knocks twice.
“Ryan is dead,” he shouts.
I can hear some discussion from outside, then the door is pulled back and light filters in. I squint at it and realize I still have the vampire magic coursing through me like I’m still under attack. I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment and let go of it. It makes me feel weak, and I don’t like being unable to hear what Reilly is saying to Agent Stocke, but I’m already at my limits.
“What the fuck did they do to him?” I mutter to myself.
“Good question,” Elise says.
I flinch. I hadn’t realized she had shifted.
She is standing naked, and now slightly ashy just like I am, her hands on her hips.
“Vaughan certainly seems pleased that Ryan is dead,” she says bitterly. “What a great sire.”
I snort. “Yeah, he seems like a real class act.”
The asshole can probably hear us. I hope he’s listening.
Elise extends her hand toward me. “Come on, stand up and pull yourself together.”
I accept her help and let her pull me up onto shaking legs. With the magic gone my muscles are exhausted. We head outside and I slip around the crowd. I need a shower and I don’t really want to talk to anyone right now.
I walk through the almost empty house and back out to the front of the property. The rest of the team is talking with someone from the local police.
My phone buzzes and I answer it without looking at the screen.
“This is Olivia,” I say tiredly.
A deep chuckle sends a chill down my spine.
“Hello,” he says.
My fingers tighten on the phone and I have to bite my tongue to keep from speaking before I get my thoughts together. I have no idea how he got this cell number. It’s a JHAPI issue phone. I haven’t given it to anyone. I didn’t think anyone outside of the team had it at all.
“Jason,” I say, my voice tight. “It’s been a while.”
“Not that long,” he says. “You went in after the vampire didn’t you?”
I hesitate, and he takes that as an answer.
“Of course you did. I had no doubt you would. You always charge in, even when you shouldn’t. You’re not very good at listening to friendly advice,” he says, his voice growing more heated at the end.
“You wanted me to leave my friend to be tortured and killed in your fucking basement,” I snap, my fingers squeezing my phone until it creaks. The strength of the vampire magic is still coursing through me, and the anger is only making it worse.
“I wanted you to stay out of my way. I have a mission. A calling. I thought you might understand that eventually, but you are close-minded.”
“You want to destroy me and everyone like me,” I growl at him.
“I want to destroy the parasites and the murderers,” he says, his voice shifting back into the calm tone he had always used when I thought he was just another police officer. “Witches face a great and terrible temptation, but they can be redeemed if they just reject the magic. I gave you a chance.”
I hear someone walk up behind me and turn around to see Corinne. She stops at the expression on my face.
“You didn’t give me shit,” I say while trying to gesture at Corinne to do something, though I don’t know what. “You had me arrested and you would have thrown me in jail to stop me.”
“To protect you!” He shouts.
“You tried to kill me that night.”
Understanding dawns on Corinne’s face and she pulls out her phone and beings furiously texting someone. She twirls her finger in the air, telling me to keep talking.
“You gave me no choice. You brought those parasites to us. The dogs as well. And all for what? To save a vampire that would suck you dry if ever given the chance,” Jason snaps.
“You’re wrong about that. You didn’t break him.”
“He killed Novak. I watched him.” His voice is almost gleeful. I don’t understand how I missed this madness. He’s completely insane.
“The man who shot Novak killed him,” I say quietly. The truth is that I killed Novak in the end. He wouldn’t have survived the wound and Patrick
draining him, but when his soul left his body, it was because I had drained him of his magic.
“You would have been an excellent warrior, Olivia,” he says softly. “You walked out of that building just now without even a scratch. Not many can face a creature like that and survive, much less without being injured.”
“What?” I ask, my hand shaking as I spin in a circle. Can he see me right now? Is he somewhere in the crowd gathered along the street.
“You always were so graceful. Maybe you learned that when you were dancing. I wanted to see you dance for me.”
He sounds wistful and almost hopeful. When we had been in that diner the look he had given me was pure want. My stomach twists. He still wants me. This sick fuck still wants me even though he tried to kill me.
“Where are you?”
He laughs. “Already gone, Olivia. We’ll meet again, but not yet. Not quite yet.”
The line goes dead. I stare at Corinne, horrified, and slowly lower the phone from my ear. My heart is racing and I feel like I need to chase after him, but I can’t. I don’t know where he is.
“He saw me, Corinne. He was watching when I walked outside,” I say shakily.
“Is he still here?” She asks, looking around.
“He said he is already gone, but there’s no way he’s out of the city yet. It’s been less than ten minutes.” I text Reilly, my fingers shaking as I type out the message. “I have to try to Find him. Now. While we know he’s still close.”
“You can’t, you’re still injured,” Corinne objects.
“I don’t care. It’s not going to kill me,” I say, running my hands through my hair. “I have to do this. I can’t let him get away again. He’s going to kill people Corinne. Every day he is free he is hurting paranormals and helping the NWR.”
She straightens her shoulders. “You can’t Find him, but I can.”
“We don’t have a map—”
“I don’t need one,” she says simply.
I hesitate. “That’s risky. We have time to get you a map, right? To get something.”
Corinne wraps her hand around her necklace. “No, we need to Find him before he has a chance to prepare for it.”
She closes her eyes and I can feel the magic lifting off of her. It laps against me in waves, burning every welt on my body as it passes by me. This is so much more raw than what I felt when she was using the map in the office that day. Her hair moves around her face in an invisible wind. The crystal is glowing in her hand, the amber light slipping out between her fingers.
I see Ivy running up behind her, Zachary close behind. They’re still about ten yards away when Corinne gasps. Her eyes fly open and I see a glimpse of fear contort her face before she screams.
The light in the crystal goes dark. Black tendrils appear on her hand and they rush up her arm. I move without thinking and catch her before she hits the ground. Her hand is clenched tightly around the crystal. I rip each finger away one at a time. I think I break one, but I don’t care. I rip the necklace off and throw the crystal away from her.
Magic is still rolling off her in waves. It’s like it’s being sucked out of her. I press my hands to her cheeks and pull. As soon as I do, I know it’s the right choice. It’s like pulling against a tidal wave. Something is trying to suck her dry, and I don’t know if I can stop it.
19
I shut my eyes, blocking out the hands tugging at me and the questions being shouted over and over. I reach inside and pull on her magic, letting it flow into me like a river. It’s deeper than anything I’ve seen before. Not even Reilly has power like this. I can only hope it will be enough to save her.
Her heartbeat begins to slow and beat in an odd rhythm. I press healing magic into her. It’s difficult while I’m still draining her and fighting the tug of whatever is hurting her, but I push through. It’s not just her heart that’s slowing down. Every organ in her body seems to be dying.
I dig my nails into her skin and push and push and push. I won’t let her die. I refuse. Her magic pours into me like a battery and I push the healing magic back into her in return. The force that has been draining her is weakening.
The welts on my body are burning. It feels like fire is wrapping around my arms and creeping across my shoulders. I push the healing magic into her, doing everything I can to stall what’s happening. Just enough to keep her alive.
If I wasn’t taking her magic, I’d already have passed out from trying to push my healing magic like this. I need more. Her magic is deep, but everything has its limits, and she is reaching hers just as fast as I am reaching mine.
I open my eyes and see Reilly kneeling across from me.
“I need to feed. She’s dying. I can’t keep healing her and she’s dying,” I gasp out.
“Why is she dying?” Ivy demands, her hand on her gun like she can fight whatever is happening.
“Reilly, please,” I beg.
He stares at me jaw clenched.
“I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you everything,” I say, tears slipping down my cheeks.
His face shifts, satisfaction and sadness passing through his eyes. He holds out his wrist. I bite down and moan at the sweet taste of blood pouring down my throat. His magic leaps into me. Cold. Powerful. Intoxicating.
I push it all into Corinne. There’s something else inside of her that is all curled up in what’s left of her magic and in her skin. It’s something strange, and I can’t draw it out or heal it. It’s trying to eat at her magic, but I’m getting to it first. Her magic isn’t completely gone, but only the barest remnants are left. The dark thing stills and curls up. Her heartbeat steadies. It is still slow, but it isn’t fading anymore.
I search and search inside of her for the source of this darkness. It’s oily and malevolent like it’s somehow alive. My control is slipping. I’ve pushed too hard for too long and I just can’t keep going, not even with Reilly’s magic. I tug my teeth out of his wrist and feel the ground spinning underneath me.
Ivy is alternately shouting for an ambulance and demanding to know what’s happened. I look down at Corinne. Her face is slack, her lips parted. The black veins are still on her hands. I shove her sleeve up and see that they stop just above her elbow. I don’t know what would have happened if they had made it to her heart, but my gut tells me it would have killed her.
I collapse back onto my butt and wrap my arms around myself. I don’t understand. This isn’t anything like what happened when I tried to Find my mother. It can’t be that he was just too far away. The NWR has always had their ways of hurting paranormals. But this—this feels like magic. Like a curse.
Stocke kneels in front of me and puts her hands gently on either side of my face, turning it until I’m looking her in the eye.
“Olivia, we need to know what happened,” she says using the same tone you might to talk someone out of jumping off a bridge.
“Martinez,” I gasp out. “He called me. He was here. He—he saw me.”
“He did this?” Stocke asks, glancing at the person beside her and nodding.
“I don’t know. She tried to Find him.” I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from crying. I can’t break down right now. Not in front of all of these people. Not while I still have information they need.
“She tried to Find him? Out here without a map?” Stocke asks.
I nod once. “I was going to try, but she stopped me. She said she would do it and that she didn’t need a map. I shouldn’t have let her—”
“You’re damn right you shouldn’t have let her!” Ivy shouts. “That’s against policy for a reason. It’s common fucking sense!”
I keep staring at Stocke. Ivy is right to hate me. If I hadn’t insisted on trying to Find him right then, maybe Corinne wouldn’t have tried what she did. If I had just been patient, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.
“Enough, Agent Andreas,” Stocke snaps at Ivy. She turns back to me. There are sirens in the distance. I hope it’s the ambulance. My vision is fading and I co
uldn’t heal Corinne any more right now. She needs something, and I’m terrified the black thing inside of her might start growing again.
“There’s something attacking her. Something magical,” I say desperately. “It’s like a darkness trying to steal her light. It’s hateful. I couldn’t get it out.”
“Magical? Like a curse?” Stocke asks, her eyes scanning my face. She shakes me gently when I don’t respond right away and I realize my eyes were slipping shut.
“I think so,” I say. “It’s bad. I stopped it for now, but I can’t get it out.”
The ambulance screeches to a stop next to us and the paramedics run over with a stretcher.
“Anything else, Olivia? Is there anything they need to know?” Stocke asks.
I swallow, wracking my brain for anything that might make it worse. “No potions of any kind. Nothing magical until we know what’s hurting her. Anything could trigger it.”
Stocke stands, hurrying over to the paramedics, and I fall forward onto my hands. Zachary is comforting Ivy, and I think keeping her away from me. Reilly walks over to stand between me and everyone else and extends his hand down to me.
“Stand up,” he says.
I put my hand in his and let him pull me to my feet. Everything spins and my vision narrows to two small points, but I stay on my feet. I feel like shit, but I’m not going to pass out.
Reilly steps in close and whispers in my ear.
“We need to go, now. You aren’t going to be wanted at the hospital, and if Martinez is still in this city, I don’t want you exposed like this.”
I nod. I don’t care where I am or what I’m doing. All I can think about is the sick, dark thing that’s inside of her. And that Martinez did this somehow. He taunted me, making me think he was close by. I don’t know if he knows I can use Finding magic, but it feels like, maybe, this trap was meant for me.
* * *
Blood Magic: Witch’s Bite Series Book Three Page 14
