Gabby stared at the object. She squinted, searching.
Nothing changed.
“I don’t know. I don’t see anything.”
“Hmm, perhaps the vision will come to you with time. Go ahead and touch the figurine.”
Gabby licked her lips and rubbed her hands together. “Will it hurt?”
“I don’t think so.”
Gabby gave a nervous laugh. “Well, that’s reassuring.”
She reached out slowly, mentally preparing herself for anything. The tip of her finger touched the figurine’s forehead.
A quick spark caused Gabby to cry out and jump.
“Look!” said Victor.
The figurine turned from gray to light green and suddenly came alive. The frog croaked and leaped toward Gabby, who yipped and jumped back with a laugh. “That was amazing!” she said, staring at her hands in wonder. “I want to do it again!”
Victor laughed and scooped up the frog. “In time. First you must learn more about this power that you wield. Your power is not sentient; it needs your intention to give it life, to wake it up. Like you did with the werewolf. But that was quite by accident, wasn’t it?”
“It was a reflex, I guess. He was coming at me, and I screamed out ‘no.’ Then he shifted before my eyes.”
“Yes. But the frog, that surprised me. Did you intend for it to turn back to normal?” Victor asked.
“I hoped that it would.”
Victor nodded. “Then the power has truly awakened in you. This is good.”
“When can I help the children?”
“You need more practice before you try something like that.”
Gabby began to protest and reach for Victor’s hand. He pulled it back quickly, as one would from a flame.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, standing. She searched his eyes and saw . . . was that fear?
“You’re afraid that I might take your power?”
“I’m not afraid,” he said. “I’m just taking necessary precautions. Your power is growing, as I hoped it would, as I feared it would. I have been able to resist so far, but I feel it emanating from you even now. I felt it this morning, so much stronger than it was when last we met. There is a potential in you to strip me of my power. And I cannot take that chance.”
“I would never—”
“Accidents happen, Gabby.”
“Isn’t there a way?”
He turned from her and paced, staring at the floor. “There is a way,” he said, suddenly stopping. “But . . . no, I cannot let you do that.”
“What can I do?” Gabby pleaded, moving toward him. “I’ll do anything, please!”
He held up a staying hand. “I am sorry, Gabriella.”
“Victor . . .”
“We will speak more of this later. For now, you should find rest,” he said as he left.
Gabby watched him go. She wanted to run after him, to kiss him, to hold him. But she feared what she might do.
Chapter 37
The days passed without any sign of Victor.
Gabby trained vigorously every single day. She watched the cameras out on the grounds as she ran by, and the ones in the dojo and firing range. Victor was behind the camera watching her from somewhere in the castle—she knew it.
A week passed, and still there was no word from Victor. She asked the staff about him often, but neither Lilly nor Orchid or any of the instructors had anything to say besides “He is away on business.”
It was all bullshit, and Gabby knew it.
She took her frustrations out on her training. After three weeks, she was running ten miles before breakfast, she could bench-press more than her own weight, and she had lost twenty pounds. Objects were brought before her daily. An enchanted clock that ran backward until she touched it with intention, an animated doll that did not take batteries that died in her hands, and more stone animals were brought to her until she was turning statues of dogs back to life.
Her nights were spent thinking about Victor. She laughed to herself, thinking it ironic that the one man she loved she could not touch, for fear of killing him.
Victor came to her in her dreams. Gabby was often left panting and clutching the sheets in a cold sweat, wondering if the dream of intense lovemaking had been real. Each and every time, however, she woke to find that it wasn’t true. She could never make love to Victor again.
Gabby awoke one morning from yet another dream. Realizing once again that it wasn’t real, she leaped out of bed, pissed at the world. It had been a month since she had seen Victor, and she was furious.
During the morning run, Gabby went half her usual pace, lagging behind Ingrid and ignoring her taunts and teases to catch up. When Gabby refused to play along, Ingrid surprised her with a slap of the rod to the front of her thighs.
“Ow! God damn it, Ingrid, knock it off.”
“You run like little bitch today. Move ass,” said Ingrid, cocking back the rod.
“Fuck off,” said Gabby, stopping and turning back toward the castle.
The rod came across the back of her legs suddenly, and Gabby let out a howl. She turned to find a grinning Ingrid cocking back for another whack. “You hit me with that thing one more time, and I’ll make you eat it.”
Ingrid swung from the side, and Master Mushito’s training kicked in. Gabby stepped into the blow to get in front of it and simultaneously head-butted Ingrid in the nose. The big woman stumbled back, but Gabby would not let her go. Instead, Gabby grabbed the hand holding the rod and twisted it up and in, finally ripping the rod free. But Ingrid struck with the other hand, punching Gabby square in the chin. Her legs buckled, and she wavered for a moment.
Ingrid pounced, slamming Gabby to the ground hard and pinning her arms with her knees. Gabby’s tormentor then punched her in the face. “Is that all you’ve got?” Ingrid asked, and punched her again. “Come on, spoiled little bitch, show me something!”
Gabby tried to pry her arms loose, but it was no use. Another punch found her face. Gabby teetered on the cusp of consciousness. In that moment between here and there, Gabby saw something. It was a ripple, a shimmer of distortion covering Ingrid like an aura. Seeing the magic for what it was, Gabby focused on her true power, letting it radiate from her every pore.
She pried an arm loose and touched Ingrid’s forehead.
Ingrid howled and reeled back from her.
Eyes blurry and nose bloody, Gabby picked herself off the ground and looked to Ingrid. What she saw took her breath away—before Gabby stood a seven-foot-tall troll.
“Ingrid?” she said with a shaky voice. Gabby wondered what effect her power would have now that she had apparently broken whatever spell was on the troll.
“Finally,” said the brown-haired, long-nosed troll. She turned her dark eyes on Gabby and smiled, showing rows of large molars. “Do you know how long I’ve been in that disgusting human body?”
“You’re . . . you’re a troll?”
“Mountain troll, actually,” she said in a voice similar, if more ragged and nasal, than Ingrid’s.
“Are you still Ingrid?”
“Of course I’m me, you twit. God, I would love to kick your ass for being so damn slow and stupid.”
“Hey! There’s no need to be a bitch. I did just free you from . . . from whatever the hell you had going on.”
“Wizard’s curse. Two hundred years old. Little asshole isn’t even alive anymore for to get my revenge.”
“You did that all on purpose,” said Gabby. “Pushing me like that.”
“You’re smart one, yes? Well, congratulations. We had bets, you know. On who you snap on first. Master Mushito was sure he would be first.”
Gabby thought about that. Mushito had been pushing her harder lately, even giving her a bloody nose a few days back.
“You mean . . . you are all . . . something not human?”
“You are bright one,” said Ingrid, rolling her big eyes.
“What is Mushito?” Gabby asked.
; “Why don’t you ask him?”
Gabby left Ingrid on the driveway and ran up the winding hills along the coast. She burst through the castle doors and bolted to the dojo.
Master Mushito was waiting for her.
He held his bo staff in his left hand. His right was outstretched to the side, palm up. Gabby ran to the wall and grabbed a staff of her own. She charged across the room and engaged him in a familiar routine that they had been working on, only this time Gabby averted from the usual dance. Mushito blocked the surprise blow and twirled away with a flourish.
She charged again, twirling her staff before her and coming in from the side. Mushito met the attack and disarmed her in a flurry of strikes that left her completely open for attack. The staff came swiftly, striking her in the shin and swiping her feet. Gabby landed on her back but instantly bridged her body and sprang to her feet. Mushito came at her with the staff raised high.
“No!” Gabby cried as she extended her arms.
A wave of energy hit Mushito, and he fell to the floor beside her.
Gabby scrambled to her feet and watched with horrified anticipation of what he might become now that she had broken the spell. To her surprise, he remained the old man that she had come to know.
He groaned and began to move.
Gabby stood there, biting her lip. “M-master Mushito. Are you all right?”
“Yes, yes,” he grumbled, getting to his feet.
“I’m sorry, I thought that you would change like Ingrid.”
“That troll? What an insult. I have always been human.”
“Then what curse did I lift?” Gabby asked.
Mushito felt his chest with his hand. He searched his face with the other. “I was cursed three hundred years ago with immortality. I believe that you have successfully lifted it.”
Gabby took in a sharp breath and covered her mouth. “But why would you want to die?”
Mushito offered her a fatherly smile. “Dear foolish girl, why would you want to live forever?”
“Excuse me, Master Mushito,” said Lilly from the door. She bowed to them both. “The master of the house would like to speak with Gabriella.”
Chapter 38
Gabby stormed into the dining room with Lilly and Orchid in tow. The two had been urging her to follow them upstairs so that she could be properly dressed.
“Did I pass your little test?” she yelled as soon as she saw Victor standing there beside the fire.
When he didn’t answer, she stormed across the room toward him.
“Please,” he said with an outstretched hand. “Come no closer.”
Gabby staggered to a stop, eyes blurring with tears. “You son of a bitch. You couldn’t even talk to me?”
“Look,” he said, “this hasn’t been easy on me either.”
“Bullshit! You could give a damn about me. How much money are you making on my cures?”
“This isn’t about money, Gabriella.”
“You don’t get to call me that!”
“Please, listen to me. There is a way for us to be together.”
Victor said it with a strain in his voice, and Gabby realized that she had been projecting her power. She relaxed and took a step back.
“How?”
“My blood. If you drink my blood, it will make me and me alone immune to your powers.”
“Then I’ll do it.”
“No,” said Victor. “Listen before you jump in so boldly. You can never become a vampire or a werewolf. Neither can you be cursed or harmed by magic. But your power was created through blood magic, therefore you will be affected by drinking my blood. I believe that you will gain my innate powers for a short time.”
“I’ll do it,” Gabby repeated.
Victor shook his head and let out a long sigh. “Gabriella, are you sure that you want to do this? Once you get a taste for vampire blood . . .”
“I can handle it,” she assured him.
“Very well. I need you to relax. Clear your mind.”
Lilly brought in a wineglass and set it on the table beside Victor. She helped him out of his jacket and rolled up his sleeve. Victor put his wrist to his mouth and bit down hard. Blood instantly began to pour into the cup he held below the wound.
He walked toward Gabby slowly and weakly.
“Victor . . .”
“Your power weakens me even now. Quickly, drink from the cup.”
He held it out to her, and she crossed the distance in a heartbeat, grabbing the glass and drinking the blood quickly.
Fire hit her gut and dropped her to her knees.
Gabby gasped, fighting for breath. The pain increased until she cried out.
Then, suddenly, it was gone.
Victor stood over her, lending a hand. She took it, and he pulled her in for a long kiss.
***
Victor led her by the hand outside. They stood beneath the moon overlooking the ocean, and Gabby was awed by what she saw. The night was more alive than she could have ever imagined. Under the effects of the vampire blood, the night sky became like day. It was as though the green of camera night vision had been exchanged for red, though she could switch in and out from her normal vision at will. Her ears picked up the smallest of rustles in the nearby woods. She could clearly hear her own heartbeat. Beside her, Victor’s beat in unison.
“Look up,” said Victor with a grin.
She did so, switching to the red vision of vampires. Stars exploded to life before her eyes. She saw planets and galaxies that she never knew were there.
“Come.” Victor laughed. “Run with me.”
He released her hand and sped off along the cliff overlooking the rocky coast. Gabby’s heart fluttered with excitement as she followed at a pace that she could not have kept for long even recently. Victor’s blood coursed through her veins, lending her supernatural speed and strength. Her balance was perfect, her movements sure. She flawlessly leaped ten feet from one outcropping of rock to another, landing sure-footed and continuing on at breakneck speeds.
Victor leaped twenty feet to clear an outcropping of jagged rock, and Gabby copied him, landing next to him, beaming. He grabbed her and kissed her passionately. She melted in his arms. Her searching hands found his shirt and ripped it off. He in return tore free her breasts and bit her left nipple. Gabby moaned in ecstasy and ripped at his pants. The vampire blood, along with her frantic need for him, gave her the strength to tear free his pants with ease.
Finally, free of the burdens of modesty, Gabby climbed onto Victor, who easily held her in his strong arms. Without guidance, he was inside her. She cried out into the night, thrashing and gyrating against him. Victor spun around and lowered her onto the soft rock moss at the edge of the cliff. Immense waves pulled by the full moon pounded the shore, and Victor slowed his thrusts to match the rhythm of the ocean.
Gabby could barely take it. Victor thrust into her deeply, pressing her shoulders down as the waves crashed in the distance. The water pulled back, slowly gaining momentum as the next large wave gathered strength. Likewise, Victor pulled back from her slowly, leaving her to claw at his back, feebly trying to pull him into her. Then the wave would strike once more, and again Victor would thrust, filling her with the most incredible pleasure. He cradled the back of her neck and stared deeply into her eyes as he teased her with the rhythm of the waters. Gabby lost herself in his gaze, feeling her heart swell with love so strong it hurt.
“I love you,” she said, voice shuddering with emotion and pleasure.
Victor arched his back and thrust into her harder than before. She cried out in surprise, and he held her there, pressed firmly against his pelvis. The slightest of movements left Gabby convulsing beneath him. He looked to her with such lust and such hunger. His teeth were fully erect now, gleaming white in the light of the moon. His eyes had turned bestial.
“I love you, Gabriella.”
Tears blurred her vision, melting Victor with the moon behind him. He pulled her up into a sitting position, an
d she clung to him, gyrating her hips urgently, finally free to do to him what she wished.
She rode him to the ground and pinned his arms out wide, teasingly grinding in circles and biting his bottom lip. He snapped at her playfully, his fangs coming within inches of her. She wanted him to bite her and to suckle from her the red-hot blood coursing through her veins. She wanted him to take from her, even as he filled her with such a thick, throbbing . . .
The first orgasm flared inside of her, threatening to build forever, leaving her unable to breathe and quivering. She felt the change in Victor as well. He tensed and swelled inside of her, which pushed her over the top instantly. When finally her voice escaped her, it was joined by Victor’s cry of pleasure.
Victor held her long after the last shudder of pleasure had passed between them. She had been crying all the while and had left the side of his face glistening with tears that mingled with the glowing sheen of sweat and salt water covering them both.
“I love you,” he whispered.
She tried to answer but found that she could not speak. Instead, she let her burning lips tell him what she could not.
Chapter 39
Gabby awoke in Victor’s arms feeling safe and warm. Her sleep had been restful and deep. She felt refreshed and alert, ready to conquer the day. Instinctively, she looked around the room for a clock to find the time.
“Good morning,” said Victor.
She looked up at him, and he smiled, pulling her closer and kissing her tenderly on the lips.
“Good morning to you too.” She giggled.
To her surprise and delight, Victor disappeared beneath the sheets. She laughed and protested weakly, saying that she hadn’t even showered. He seemed not to care, for his mouth found her and silenced her instantly.
She clutched the sheets as he parted her folds with his skilled tongue. He made slow circles, nearly pausing at the top before continuing on down one side and up the other. She clutched the sheets and writhed beneath him, quickly coming to climax. He pressed his tongue hard when he felt her tense. Faster and faster came the swirling tongue. His head shook like a beast devouring its prey. She grabbed two handfuls of hair and cried out, pressing him against her.
A Cross to Bear Page 14
