by R. L. Perez
I hissed and backed away from him. “What the hell?”
Leo took my free hand in his and rubbed our blood together. “Nightcaster blood and demon blood,” he said in a low voice. “I have no doubt the Count used powerful ingredients when he cast the spell.” He pointed to the red sky. “This indicates demon blood used with light magic. Hopefully, the power in your blood will counteract the other ingredients he used.” He nodded toward me. “Go on.”
I took a deep breath and uttered the spell I’d written on the paper.
“Hoc vocat justo. Audi me voca.
Intende in adjutorium meum, et sana.
Circumdate civitatem hanc. Defendat.
Frange hoc augurium. Adiuva nos effugeret.
Quaerite de illo anathemate venefica eis.
Nos furore suo. Nos eramus servientes.
Fero quod ex urbe inlectus dimitte nobis.
Super spiritibus, voca me audies.”
My hands shook and glowed blue. Magic coursed within me, racing through me. Fire bubbled in my chest. I closed my eyes, waiting. Hoping.
Then, the magic within me died. I opened my eyes, and the blue glow on my hands was gone.
It didn’t work.
I looked at Leo in alarm.
He nodded again, but I could see the unease in his face. “Try again.”
I nodded and uttered another spell I’d written down. But like the first, it did nothing. I gritted my teeth and swore loudly.
“Here.” Leo drew close enough for his spicy scent to fill my nose. It mingled with sweat, blood, and dirt, filling my nostrils. I exhaled, trying to clear my head.
Leo pointed to the phrase venefica eis. “Try pythonissam instead. It means ‘witch.’ And this phrase here, try saying nos incantationem. So the words align.”
I nodded slowly. To make the spell rhyme. “Okay.” I opened my mouth and tried again.
This time, the blood on my hand burned when I spoke the words. I clenched my fist, trying to ward off the pain, but it spread through me like wildfire. I dropped the paper from my hands and closed my eyes. Magic swelled within me so rapidly it made me feel sick. I hunched over as blue magic poured from my fingertips and jetted toward the sky. Cracks formed in the red clouds above us.
Fire scorched my insides, and I fell to the ground.
“Brielle!” Leo was at my side, touching my arms and shoulders. “Brielle, can you hear me?”
My vision blurred. The redness in the sky faded, but everything swam before my eyes.
A soft voice hissed in my ear, “You are nothing.” But it wasn’t Leo’s voice.
A woman stood before me. I’d seen her before. Her all-black eyes stared at nothing, but her wide smile made me shudder.
It was Lilith.
I shook my head, trying to back away from her. But I was frozen in place. I glanced around. We were alone in the forest. Leo, the soldiers, and the demons had all vanished.
“You’re gone,” I said numbly. “I pushed you out when I bonded with Nix.”
Lilith’s grin widened, and she laughed. “It was a valiant effort, little one. But it was de Silva’s magic that kept me at bay—not yours.”
De Silva. The Count.
Lilith spread her arms wide and threw her head back in rapture.
No, I thought in horror. No, this couldn’t be happening. “Nix!” I shouted desperately.
Lilith sighed with contentment and lowered her head to look at me. “Your firebird is long gone. It sacrificed itself to save you.”
I shook my head, my throat filling with emotion. “No. You’re lying.”
Something in my chest resonated from my accusation. She’s lying. Lilith can’t survive without the phoenix’s energy.
I tried to calm my panicked breaths and cling to that knowledge within me. The knowledge that the only reason Lilith targeted me was because of the phoenix.
Nix had to be alive.
But where was she?
The ashes, said a voice in my head.
I blinked, glancing down. At my feet was a pile of ashes as small as an anthill.
A lump formed in my throat. Nix.
I looked up at Lilith, but her hands were pointed toward the sky. Words in Latin poured from her lips, and blood-red magic emanated from her fingers.
The red smoke in the sky. It had been her. Trying to break through.
And then I’d broken the Count’s curse and let her in.
I dropped to the ground and cupped my hands around Nix’s ashes. Closing my eyes, I thought desperately, What do I do? Nix, what do I do?
Focus on my fire, she whispered. Remember my soul. My aura. You can bring me back, Brielle. Because we have bonded.
I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. My brows knitted together as I focused on the flames within me that I’d tried to ignore for so long. The heat in my body. The presence of another inside me. Nix’s soul. Her desire for peace. Her longing for safety.
Her love for me.
A loud screech pierced the air, and Lilith stopped her enchantment. I felt her gaze drilling into me, but I kept my hands pressed against the ashes.
An explosion of red magic slammed into my chest, and I tumbled backward.
“You are nothing without that firebird,” Lilith spat. She drew closer, standing over me with triumph etched in her face. “And you’re too late, little one. I’ve already taken over.”
With a grunt, I climbed to my feet to face her. My hands clenched into fists. “If I’m strong enough to let you in,” I growled, “then I’m strong enough to push you out.” I raised my hands, and fire burst from my palms, scorching Lilith’s face.
Lilith shrieked and stumbled backward. I dropped my hands in shock, and the fire vanished. Smoke rose from my hands.
Nix? I asked.
I’m here. But my body is not strong enough to take over. You must defeat her without me.
Terror gripped my body. How?
Use my fire. Use our magic.
Our magic.
Lilith roared in fury and shot more red magic toward me. I ducked, narrowly avoiding her spell. My hands shot forward, sending fire toward her, but she countered it with her own magic. Red and orange lights burst against my eyes as our magic collided.
I need more than just a few flames to defeat her, I thought angrily.
Focus, Brielle, Nix said. Use your entire body. Let the flames consume you.
I closed my eyes, remembering how it felt when Nix succumbed to the fire. When the flames built up inside her and poured from her mouth.
Heat churned in my stomach, escalating until they climbed up my throat. When I opened my mouth, fire exploded in front of me. I saw nothing but the whiteness of the fire. I felt nothing but the burning heat of the flames.
I screamed at Lilith, inching closer as the fire intensified. My entire body was burning. Every inch of me was covered in red-hot coals.
I could smell Lilith’s fear. I felt her rage. She shot her magic at me, but it glanced off my flames as if I wore a shield. She shrieked and shouted, but I couldn’t make out her words.
End her, Nix said.
With my firebird’s magic, I sprinted forward. Though I couldn’t see, my senses told me Lilith was right in front of me. I leapt for her, pinning her to the ground and pressing my flames against her. Suffocating her. She writhed and struggled under my weight, but I held her still, forcing my fire on her.
“We are fire,” I hissed, leaning closer to her. “And we will defeat you.”
Lilith screamed, and my ears throbbed from the shrillness of her voice. Her red magic burst against me, and my skin burned from the impact. Agony spread through my body, and I screamed along with her.
I will end her, I told Nix. Even if it kills me.
Then we are in agreement, Nix said. Do whatever it takes to finish her, Brielle.
Fire consumed me. I pressed the flames against Lilith, bringing myself further into the red magic pulsing from her in waves. Waves of pain erupted on my body. My chest burned. Her magic tore
through me like knives. I felt my body disintegrating, but still I pushed on.
Further and further until I became one with the fire.
45
Leo
“LEO.”
I looked up from my book of Latin spells. Exhaustion pulled at my body, and I marveled at the feeling. It felt so human. I ran a hand along my face and squinted at the interruption.
It was Jorge. His brows knitted together as he approached me. His eyes roved over the bedroom—the roaring fire in the fireplace, the stacks of papers and books on the table, and lastly, the body lying on the bed.
Brielle’s body.
She hadn’t woken since the battle two months ago. But I knew she was still alive. Just as surely as I’d known Lucia would return when she had her fits.
But perhaps if I could find a spell to awaken her—similar to the spell she’d cast—then I could bring her back sooner.
“You must feed,” Jorge said, crossing his arms.
“I am well, Jorge,” I said, dropping my gaze to the text again.
“Don’t lie to me. And this isn’t just about you. Estrella—”
“Don’t talk to me about Estrella.” I waved a hand. Every time I thought of her and the bond we shared, my blood was reminded of a new bond that had been forged. The bond between my blood and Brielle’s.
I needed Brielle. In more ways than one.
“She can find another vampire,” I went on. “She has my blessing to become a Donor for another. Guadalupe perhaps.”
“Leo,” Jorge said again, drawing closer to me until I was forced to look up at him. “You can’t keep doing this. Our coven needs a leader.”
“And so you have one. But Brielle is part of this coven. She sacrificed herself to save us. To break the Count’s enchantment. I owe it to her to bring her back.”
Jorge sighed and sank in the chair across from me. “What does her father say about it?”
“Her parents have tried to revive her. Her mother even brought in some strange instrument to inspect her soul.” I frowned, still confused by the strangeness of it. “Desi says both souls are still there—but she can’t tell if it’s Brielle and her firebird, or Brielle and . . .” I trailed off, unable to say the words.
“Lilith,” Jorge said grimly.
“Yes.”
Jorge leaned forward. “You can’t abandon your people for this girl, Leo.”
I gritted my teeth. “My people wouldn’t be here without her.”
“You’re right. But spending your days drowning in books and notes won’t bring her back. If you keep this up, you’ll lose your coven. You’ll starve.”
I threw my hands in the air. “Then I’ll starve!” I roared.
Jorge fell silent. He dropped his gaze and shifted his weight. Then, he said softly, “Lucia’s death isn’t your fault.”
I went very still. I hadn’t told anyone about Lucia. Ronaldo and I had been the only ones to know about her condition. And her fate.
I raised my gaze to Jorge’s. His face crumpled in grief. “Ronaldo told me,” Jorge said. “Before he left for the Castillo de Coca.” He paused. “But Leo, why didn’t you tell me?”
I didn’t have an answer for that. I stared at the floor, my blood thundering with anxiety and shock. Finally, I said quietly, “I feared losing my coven.”
“They wouldn’t have cared. Leo, you’re family.”
I shook my head, slamming the book shut. “I know that. But I’d just lost Ronaldo. Lucia was gone. I had to appear strong. And this was a weakness. When I speak of her, I am weak, Jorge. I—I couldn’t relive that again. Not in front of my men.”
Jorge sat back and raised his eyebrows at me. “So, it seems I know all of your weaknesses now.”
I frowned at him until I found his gaze had moved to Brielle lying on the bed.
Anger surged within me, and I rose to my feet. “Don’t,” I growled.
Jorge said nothing as I approached Brielle. Her eyes were closed, and her expression was filled with peace. I touched her wrist again—as I had every time I’d seen her—and it still felt hot to the touch.
“Brielle,” I whispered.
Her eyes flew open. She sucked in a rattling gasp, her chest rising.
I dropped her hand and stumbled backward in shock. Jorge was on his feet, his eyes wide.
Brielle took several deep, shaky breaths and blinked, looking around in confusion. “Where—where am I?”
I couldn’t speak. I could barely move. All I could do was stare at her, wondering if I was dreaming.
“Villeguillo,” Jorge answered for me. “Just north of the Castillo de Coca.”
Brielle sat up and raised a hand to her head, her expression crumpling in agony.
I overcame my shock and rushed to her side, crouching down to her level. “Are you hurt?”
Brielle looked at me in confusion. “Leo. You’re here.”
“Yes.”
“No, I’m not hurt.”
“What happened?”
Brielle scooted forward, but I pushed her back down. She glared at me. “I’m fine.” She stood and scrutinized her body, no doubt taking in her fresh clothes and healed injuries. “Oh, hell.” She grimaced and met my gaze. “I traveled, didn’t I?”
I nodded and took her hand. “Brielle, tell me what happened.”
She took a breath. “It was Lilith. I fought her with the phoenix’s power. Then . . . she vanished.”
“Vanished?”
Brielle nodded. “Nix and I were prepared to die in order to defeat her. I think Lilith knew this, so she gave up. But Nix says she still senses her. Lilith’s presence is faint, but she’s still there. She’ll return again, looking for another host.” Brielle met my gaze, and determination blazed in her eyes. “I’ll be ready for her when she does.”
I exchanged a look with Jorge. “Brielle, I need to take you to your parents,” I said.
Brielle’s eyes widened as if she’d forgotten her family was here. “Are they okay?”
“Yes. Your sister is fine too. But . . . they were talking of bringing you back. To your time.”
Brielle’s face slackened in surprise. “What?”
“Your mother believed that medicine and spells from your time might help you.”
Brielle shook her head. “No, they can’t. They’re criminals. And Angel, her seizures—”
“They have told me all of this,” I said. “But they thought you might want to return. Since you did not choose to be here.”
Brielle remained silent. Her eyes grew distant as she considered this. Then, she looked at me with clarity burning in her gaze. “I want to stay.”
Something within me swelled with relief and joy, and I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading on my face. “Really?”
Brielle rolled her eyes and shoved my arm. “Don’t flatter yourself, Leo. You’re the only one who has answers about my . . . condition.” Her gaze flitted to Jorge.
Jorge crossed his arms, his nostrils flaring.
“He knows,” I said quickly.
Brielle looked at me again. “Besides, my family is safer here. As long as it’s what they want, then I’m staying.” She paused. “That is, if you’ll allow me to remain with your coven.”
I wanted to laugh, but my instinct was to remain composed. I smirked at her, and I felt her blood boil with irritation. In response, my own blood sang with satisfaction. She’s staying.
“I suppose,” I said slowly, stroking my chin. “But you will have to contribute to our coven if you are to live among us.”
Brielle nodded. “That’s fine.” Suddenly, her face paled. “I—what happened? In the battle? My friends, they—”
I raised my hands to stop her. “They are fine. Only four perished in the battle, but your friend Izzy tells me you didn’t know them well.”
“Which four?” Brielle asked.
“I don’t know their names. Three of them Izzy referred to as ‘douchebags.’”
Brielle’s head reared back. H
er lips twitched, but then her face sagged. Conflict warred in her eyes. I could tell she was deliberating between relief that these douchebags were dead and sorrow that lives had been lost. She blinked and said, “What about Izzy? How is she?”
“She’s fine. She asks after you constantly. My coven and I were able to reverse the Count’s spell on them using our blood. We’ve agreed to let them stay here as long as they abide by our rules.”
Brielle gaped at me. “Really?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Don’t sound so shocked. I can be civil. Occasionally.”
Brielle grinned, and it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. “And your coven? How many were lost?”
“Fifty.” The reality of it settled in my chest like a weight, reminding me of why I’d so eagerly dived into my research. Part of me wanted to forget the loss I’d suffered. To immerse myself in something else.
Brielle touched my shoulder, and I looked at her in surprise. “I’m sorry, Leo,” she said quietly.
Jorge cleared his throat from across the room. “I’ll go fetch your family, Brielle.” He inclined his head stiffly before he left.
Brielle stared at the door after Jorge exited. She rubbed her arms and stepped away from me. “The mages?”
“We killed them all. No one is left who worked for the Count.”
Brielle nodded, her eyes briefly clouding over with darkness. Then, she blinked and glanced around the room. “What about the caves?”
“Gone,” I said. “For a moment, we’d thought you—” I stopped, knowing if I kept speaking, my voice would betray my feelings.
Brielle’s eyes softened. “Nix got us out just in time.”
“Nix is your . . . firebird?”
“Yes.”
I looked around as if the phoenix would show itself. “Where is she?”
“She’s dormant right now, but I can still feel her. We share magic. We both can’t be awakened at once. If I give over to her, then my body is useless while hers comes to life. Then, she sleeps when I return.”
I nodded, my head spinning from this information. “Fascinating. You won’t . . . unleash her on me, will you?”
Brielle’s eyes danced with amusement. “Only if you provoke me.”
I laughed and stepped closer to her. My fingertips brushed against her palm, and her breath hitched. I laced my fingers through hers and raised her hand to my lips, pressing a kiss against her skin. I felt her blood thrumming in response, and her cheeks reddened.
