by Bella Klaus
“Who’s there?” I asked.
“Our Lord is concerned about your continued absence from training,” said the voice of Aurora.
My lips pressed into a thin line. “I’ve been a little tied up.”
Hades snickered, and I flicked my head to the side, indicating for him to hide before Aurora barged in. He got the hint and returned beneath the bed like a bogeyman.
The older woman didn’t say anything for several moments. I couldn’t tell if it was because she thought I was using a figure of speech or because she was scandalized at the bondage talk.
“Come to the door,” she said.
My eyes narrowed. What was she, a preternatural needing an invitation? “I literally can’t get off this bed.”
The door opened, and Aurora poked her head through the gap. Her gaze wandered to the fabric tied around my wrists, and her mouth fell open.
I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. Nothing Valentine and I could do could ever match what she did with Father Jude and Kresnik. “What is it?”
“Our Lord wishes you to participate in an urgent mission.”
Chapter Eight
I glowered at Aurora, who froze at the door, still wearing that scandalized expression of wide eyes and a slack mouth. With the thrall still affecting my vision, I couldn’t tell if her lips were moving, but the distant rasps of her breaths told me she was trying to process all fifty shades of what was taking place in Valentine’s bed.
Raising my chin, I stared back at her with blazing defiance. If Aunt Arianna had seen me like this, I’d probably crumble into a flurry of explanations, saying that Valentine had never tied me up before, etcetera, etcetera, but she needed to see this.
Maybe realizing what she was a part of might shake her faith in Kresnik, even a little.
Straightening, Aurora pushed open the door. “We can’t have you dawdling all day just because you’re the favorite of our preternatural general.”
“Favorite snack and sex toy,” I muttered.
Her nostrils flared, and I was sure a chuckle sounded from the malevolent spirit beneath the bed.
The older woman’s steps faltered. “We all must play our role in bringing about the new world order.”
A dozen retorts rose to my tongue, but Kresnik’s continued attempts to use Valentine as the instrument of my execution reached my mind first. I was supposed to be cooperating, not giving them more excuses to organize my demise.
“What’s this mission?” I asked. “It will be great to stretch my legs.”
The tension around Aurora’s body relaxed, making me narrow my eyes. Seeing me like this had affected her. I wasn’t sure if it had triggered a bout of prudishness, but I hoped it was guilt. Even if she felt nothing for me, I was still the person who had taken up two decades of Aunt Arianna’s life. She had to be thinking about the effect my subjugation might have on her sister.
Aurora raised a flaming hand and burned off the rope securing my right wrist to the bed. When the tension loosened, and my arm melted into the mattress, she stepped back. “Get dressed.”
“I can’t move my limbs.”
She exhaled a long breath through her nostrils. “What’s wrong with you now?”
“Can you get me the reaper cloak?” I asked. “There are some stabilizers in the pocket that might help dilute the thrall.”
The tiniest of flinches made her posture stiffen, but she turned in a circle to find the cloak. “Where?”
I dipped my head toward the space between the bed and the fireplace, and she followed my gaze.
After extracting the box Healer Calla gave me earlier, I flipped open the lid and stared at the identical marble-sized balls of red. I made a mental note to see if charcoal might absorb the thrall, and picked up four. Not because I particularly wanted to go on the mission, but I needed a clear head for my next conversation with Hades.
If I could get him to negotiate a truce with the Flame to stop persecuting the fire users, tell me the location of Valentine’s heart, and promise not to drag anyone but Kresnik into Hell, I would agree to reunite his ashes.
The stabilizers fizzled on my tongue, and the liquid slipped down my throat, making me feel like I’d overindulged in red wine. I bowed my head, resting my chin on my chest, and exhaled a long, weary breath. This was insanity. I couldn’t continue like this with Valentine drugging me and Kresnik wanting me to participate in his quest.
Aurora cleared her throat, making me raise my head. She stood at the foot of my bed with her arms folded over her chest.
“How long has passed since the last time?” I asked.
“Two days.” Her words were clipped.
“Did I miss anything?”
She didn’t answer, and I popped two more blood stabilizers into my mouth. That information was probably classified.
“Where’s Valentine?” I asked through the fizzing.
“On a mission,” she replied.
“What kind?”
Aurora sniffed. “If you’re well enough to barrage me with questions, then you’re well enough to get out of that bed and join your family for the mission.”
“Fine.” I swung my legs out of bed, stumbled one step across the mat, and fell onto my hands and knees.
My heart rate quickened from the effort, and my breaths came in shallow pants. At least this time, I didn’t break the fall with my face. It was no wonder the old vampires liked to inject their victims with thrall. It made sure they would stay put until the next feeding.
“Get up,” Aurora hissed.
Clinging to the bed’s wooden post, I pulled myself up to kneel and then to stand. As I held on to it for balance, Aurora turned her head from my nude form. Whatever.
With tentative steps, I walked around the bed and lowered myself onto the stool. It took nearly an hour of floundering for me to gather up a new outfit from the cupboard where someone had kindly laid out a uniform of jeans, a white t-shirt, and a pair of black boots. When I finished dressing, I placed the cloak over my shoulders.
“Don’t let them see your power,” whispered Hades.
I gave him a sharp nod and rose, using the footboard for balance. It didn’t require a Demon King for me to realize that they would take it from me the moment I demonstrated having any magic.
“Do you need any assistance?” Aurora asked in a tight voice.
“Yes, please,” I murmured.
She crossed the room, took my hand, and wrapped it around her shoulders while encircling my back with her other arm. I reeled forward, but she caught me before I fell. I hobbled at her side through the upper level of Kenwood House, down its stairs, and into the stairwell that led to the Flame.
My head spun, and my breath became shallow. Valentine had given me enough thrall to last days, if not a week. I shuddered to think what would happen if he caught me gallivanting through the hallway with Aurora. Hopefully, he would understand that I was only following orders.
We reached a larger-than-average training room, where three other groups of people clung to the corners. I glanced at my teammates standing on the right and cast my gaze over the others. I didn’t recognize any of them, but from their slumped postures, forlorn faces, and scratching hands, I guessed they were like us—reaped of magic.
Aurora walked me to our corner and propped me against the wall before walking into the middle of the room and putting her hands together in four sharp claps.
“Brothers and sisters.” Her voice echoed through the room. “I expect you’re all wondering about your places within Our Lord’s new regime.”
Mutters broke out across the room. No one had ever mentioned that part of the upcoming war would involve donating my power to resurrect Kresnik, and it looked like the others were struggling to come to terms with the loss of their magic. Aurora’s features tightened. Perhaps she thought we were all being selfish. I didn’t understand why Kresnik was using her to explain his actions.
My mind skipped back to Hades. He was unlikely to agree to a truce with
the fire users, but if I couldn’t break Valentine out of Kresnik’s control, I might have to accept less.
Aurora blew a whistle, making everyone fall silent. “The Supernatural Council has been shaken by their recent defeat, and every day, we capture ward breakers testing our defenses.”
I placed a hand on my chest. They’d started counter-attacking already?
“Lord Kresnik wishes to put together a team of elites to retrieve every child and young adult within Logris who possesses fire magic. He will only consider those of you he deems strong enough to participate.”
Everyone around us straightened. Coral turned to me and raised a brow.
My shoulders twitched into a shrug. There were hundreds of fire users he hadn’t drained of power, yet he wanted to pick candidates from a barren pool? Something about this situation stank of rotten fish.
“Who will volunteer?” Aurora asked.
When everyone raised their hands, I let my arms flop to my hips. Even if I wanted to rescue those people, I was too big a liability in my current state.
Aurora blew her whistle again and ordered everyone to run counter-clockwise around the training room. I slumped further against the wall, watching most of the people break into sprints.
Coral scooped her arm beneath mine. “Come on.”
“You go without me,” I muttered.
“Trust me. You’ve got to be seen to make an effort.” Her arm tightened around mine, and she hauled me across the room.
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
We passed Aurora, who stared at us through narrowed eyes. Most of the others who had started from the corner behind us had already overtaken our slow stumble, and the group behind them brought up our rear. I glanced over my shoulder at Aurora, who walked to the door, trying to stop someone from coming inside.
Brother David shoved her aside and ran in the opposite direction, making a shudder trickle down my spine. He’d died during the battle with the demon enforcers, but Kresnik had left him dead for too long before bringing him back to life with my phoenix flames. Now, he was soulless but alive. It was no surprise Brother David was acting strange.
My feet slowed to a trot. “Did you see that?”
“Never mind him,” Coral muttered. “If you keep letting that vampire inject you with thrall, you’ll become addicted and never want to leave his side.”
“I think that’s what he wants,” I muttered back.
“You’ve got to stop it,” she said as we walked around a corner.
“If you’ve got an idea on how to stop a vampire from enthralling you, I’m listening.”
Coral remained silent for several moments. “He’s loyal to Kresnik, isn’t he? Just tell Aurora you can’t complete your missions or participate in anything while enthralled.”
“She already knows—”
“Spell it out,” she said. “Aurora isn’t that bad when you get to know her. If you phrase it right, she might talk to Kresnik about it, who might have a few words with the Vampire King.”
It was worth a try, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. “Alright.”
Aurora blew a whistle. “Everybody jog on the spot.”
Still holding on to my arm, Coral jogged while I marched on the spot, breathing hard to stave off an attack of nausea.
“Separately.” Aurora glowered in our direction.
As soon as Coral pulled her arm away from mine, a powerful spasm seized my stomach, making me drop to my knees. Red fluid spilled from my lips in a series of noisy convulsions that made everybody stop and watch. Even Brother David slowed to take a look at what appeared to be mouthfuls of blood splashing onto the floor.
“Coral,” Aurora snapped, sounding like I’d sabotaged her event on purpose. “Take her to the infirmary.”
A gentle hand rubbed my back as the spasms softened into ripples and the occasional hiccup, then the taller woman wrapped an arm around my waist and raised me to my feet. I placed a hand over my mouth, trying to keep my digestive system from expelling even more of its contents, and we continued out of the training room.
“What’s wrong?” Coral whispered on the way to the infirmary.
I kept my gaze to the floor, avoiding the glances of the denim-clad warriors. “Too many blood stabilizers?”
“Too much thrall?” she asked.
“Does it make you sick?” I asked through ragged breaths, hoping not to spew even more of that liquid on my boots.
“No,” she said with a long sigh. “Just immensely euphoric and craving more.”
“Oh.” I clutched at my stomach, trying not to retch. Maybe if I’d been bitten somewhere I felt safe, the thrall might have been pleasant, but I couldn’t enjoy much in Kenwood House. Not with that undercurrent of danger.
Coral slowed and opened the door to the infirmary, where Healer Calla stood behind the counter. My gaze darted to the shelves on the left of the room, which were now devoid of both crystals and Tibetan singing bowls.
I gulped. This was the kind of clue I would have wanted to share with Valentine, but his soul had been spirited away, and his body was keeping me in this enfeebled state. I made a note to ask Hades a guarded question the next time he slithered back.
The healer closed her leather book with a gentle thump. “What happened to you, dear?”
“Either too many stabilizers or too much thrall,” I said with a grimace.
After throwing her pigtails over her shoulder, the old woman strode around the counter and opened the door that led to Father Jude’s old room. “Hop on the table and let’s take a look at you.”
Coral guided me into the darkened room and helped me onto the treatment table. I lay flat on the surface, inhaled a deep breath, and exhaustion overtook my senses.
After what felt like hours, a hand shook me awake. It was Coral, staring down at me through stricken eyes. All the nausea had gone, replaced by the invigoration of a good night of sleep.
“What’s happened?” I pulled myself up to sitting and yawned.
“Healer Calla needs your help.” Her voice shook. “Some of the others returned from the mission in a terrible state.”
My mouth dropped open, every remnant of sleep vanishing from my mind. I jumped down from the bed, holding out my arms for balance. “Let’s go.”
Coral pushed open the door, letting in groans and coughs and cries of pain. A dozen injured bodies lay on the floor of the reception area, each looking on the verge of death. The nearest man bled so much from a chest wound that his denim jacket and sweater had turned red, and the man next to him had his throat cut but still managed to rasp for help.
I clapped a hand over my mouth to suppress a gasp. Standing around the walls were others with less life-threatening wounds. A woman with cropped hair as red as mine clutched a bloody stump and leaned against a man holding a hand over his eye.
“What on earth happened?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
They’d been sent unprepared into Logris to retrieve their targets, and they’d faced the wrath of trained enforcers with magic.
Healer Calla glanced up from the other side of the room where she knelt in front of a slender young woman, holding both hands over her heart chakra. “Mera, check for pulses and any other vital signs. Call me immediately if someone is fading.”
Coral hurried to the middle of the room, indicating with a sweep of her hand that she would work toward me.
I dropped to my knees, still trying to puzzle out the point of sending these people to their deaths, only to bring them back injured. Despair hovered above us in a cloud thick enough to make me choke and the sounds of pain continued to fill my ears.
My gaze skipped over the first two men, whose situation was dire but who were still alive. The third man lay with his ebony eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling. I placed my fingers over his pulse and nothing resounded back.
“Healer Calla,” I yelled. “He’s faded.”
The old woman scrambled to her feet and hurried to my side, panting hard. �
�Is he still alive?”
I placed my hand over his crown and heart chakra and concentrated. “His heart isn’t beating, but his magic is still there.”
“Alright,” she said with a sigh. “Push your awareness into his heart chakra.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the empty shelf. “But I need quartz to channel magic.”
“Healer Calla,” Coral shouted from the middle.
The old woman rose to her feet and hurried to Coral, leaving me not knowing what the hell to do next. I was back to being a Neutral, and nowhere near as powerful as before. It was one thing to shift the power of a crystal into a person’s body, but I didn’t have enough to bring a dead person back to life.
Despair curled around me like smoke, but I shook off those thoughts. No patient ever got better if a healer gave up on them before they’d even started. I tried pushing my magic into my hands, but a jagged power approached, making every muscle in my body stiffen.
“Stand aside,” said a sharp voice.
My head snapped up, and I met the blazing eyes of Kresnik. I rose to my feet and backed away from the man, waiting to see if he could help.
Kresnik flicked out his hand and produced a blazing sword, making all the injured people around the infirmary gasp. He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth and plunged the sword in the man’s heart. After leaving it there, he strode along the line of casualties to where Healer Calla crouched beside Coral.
Smoke curled around my senses, making my spine tingle. A large hand wrapped around my bicep and pulled me into the corner.
Valentine’s larger body formed a barrier around mine, and he stared down at me with flashing eyes. “I told you to stay in our room.”
“Then you should ask your lord to stop sending his henchwoman to drag me out of bed.” I yanked my arm out of his grip, but it tightened. “Let go of me.”
Valentine leaned into me, filling my sinuses with the mingled scents of woodsmoke and red wine. I backed into the corner, trying to put as much distance between us as I could, but he drifted closer, filling my senses with his presence.
