Bloodcraft

by Amalie Howard

He had no time to ponder Angie’s inventiveness as a group of witches converged upon him, muttering a variety of curses and hexes. Christian was a blur as he weaved his way through them, his vampire senses taking over. He could see the spells streaking toward him in slow motion and he dodged them with graceful ease. His newfound powers flexed within him, and after a few minutes, he came to a pause, looking at the pile of bodies. They weren’t dead—he’d made sure of that. Inasmuch as they’d attacked him, he did not want to start a war. Not now, when they had a new common enemy.

  Odette snarled her frustration as Aliya and the other two priestesses finished conjuring a shield spell over the temple. The air crackled with electricity as the rest of their offensive spells bounced harmlessly off its surface. Christian watched Odette carefully as she reconsidered her options. She stood with a handful of her remaining followers and they, too, looked uneasy as if they weren’t quite certain of their leader’s motives. She was acting on her own without the sanction of the high priestesses.

  “You cannot possibly believe a word that she has told you about the vampires. She’s only using you,” Aliya shouted, coming to the same conclusion. “She is going against all our laws and the truce we have with the vampires. Are you willing to put all of us at risk? I am the moon priestess of this coven. Lay down your arms and go, and I will take that into account when the time for reckoning comes.”

  “Don’t listen to her,” Odette snarled. “Stand your ground.”

  Angie’s eyes narrowed as she invoked her gift. “They’re not all bad,” she said. “You are right that they’ve been sold a good story by that one. She is consumed by her lust for power—it’s hovering all over her like a poisonous green stain.” She pointed to the headmistress, whose face had taken on an ugly scarlet hue at Angie’s words. “She wants the Cruentus Curse for herself.”

  “Are you certain?” Aliya asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Aliya, hand over the vampire.” Odette’s eyes flicked to Angie. “And the Aurus, too. And I promise no harm will come to you or the residents of this temple.”

  “I will not.” Aliya waved a hand. “And you can no longer penetrate this barrier, so we are at a stalemate. Until the others arrive, that is.” Aliya would have summoned reinforcements—those still loyal to her. Sure enough, Christian sensed their arrival as shadows appeared on the horizon beyond Odette in an ominous line. She glanced over her shoulder and gritted her teeth, her hands fisting at her sides. Within seconds, six of the remaining seven witches teleported for parts unknown, as if realizing the predicament of their situation, and Odette stood alone.

  “Surrender now, Odette, and face the consequences of your actions.”

  “This is your last chance, Aliya,” she countered with an icy smile. “Join me and live. Oppose me and die.”

  “You are outnumbered.”

  “Not for long.” She hiked her chin, her eyes glittering with cold madness. “Do you think it matters whether I am on my own? They are a means to an end—one that is almost in my grasp.” Her eyes slid to Christian, now that the pretense was over. “I wanted them to punish you, of course, for tainting one of ours with the stench of your touch. How dare you presume to come between a witch queen and this coven? You are beneath her—a bloodstain on the earth. What lies between the two of you is an abomination, and when I am finished, any memory of you will be nothing but an ember in the ashes. Victoria will see you for the scourge that you are, and soon she will be ready to take her rightful place with me at her side.”

  “She does mean to use the Cruentus Curse,” one of the other high priestesses gasped. “But how?”

  “You are mad,” Aliya said.

  “Not mad, just motivated. I was always meant to succeed you as the high priestess … as the moon leader of this coven. Now I will do so with more power at my fingertips than you could ever imagine.”

  “It doesn’t work that way,” Christian said. Every instinct inside him screamed that she knew where Victoria was. “The magic will not bend to you. It only serves one master.”

  Odette grinned. “But what if its master serves another? What then, oh all-knowing vampire?”

  Christian felt his rage consume him at the thought of Victoria being in danger and under this witch’s thumb. “Where is she?”

  “Safe. For now.”

  He watched the woman carefully. If she vanished, he would lose any chance he had of finding Victoria. He stepped swiftly past the boundary of the shield into the direct path of the witch.

  “Your Grace,” Aliya said. “I cannot protect you beyond the walls of this temple.”

  “I understand.”

  Angie frowned, stepping forward to catch his sleeve and standing halfway out of the protective barrier. “Christian, what are you doing? She’s more powerful than you think. I can see it.”

  “I know,” he said, pushing her firmly back inside the protected sphere. “But so am I.”

  Malevolent energy arced from Odette’s fingers, jetting toward him in blue streaks. He dodged the attack easily. Several more spells spun his way with blistering precision, forcing him to duck and weave to escape their paths. But with each evasive maneuver, Christian edged closer.

  “You think your puny actions can save her?” Odette taunted. “By the time I’m finished, she won’t even remember your name. She will ascend to the place she belongs as queen of all supernatural creatures.”

  “She doesn’t want that.”

  “What do you know of what she wants, vampire? This is what she was born for. She was born to rule.” Her eyes glittered with knowledge, and Christian’s heart sank as her next words confirmed his suspicions. “Her blood has whispered its desires to me and I am but its lowly servant.”

  “What have you done to her?” he snarled, lurching forward, but Odette was too quick and teleported out of his reach. She appeared a few feet away. They circled each other like two predators.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not hurting her,” she said. “I’m only allowing her to remove her limits, allowing her to experience the true power of the Cruentus Curse.”

  Christian’s fists clenched at his sides. He knew too well the corrosive will of the blood magic. Victoria had grown stronger, that was for certain, but that didn’t mean that her blood didn’t have a live will of its own. If this witch had done something to Victoria, causing her to lessen her control over her blood, that would only invite disaster—Victoria and every living thing would be at its mercy. And it was ruthless, Christian knew.

  “You think it will spare you? Is that what you think? The blood magic only cares for itself—it’s a curse, surely you can see that.”

  “On the contrary, I see it as a gift.”

  Aliya shook her head, her mouth falling open. “Then you are a fool and you invite destruction upon all of us. Don’t you remember what happened to the Duchess of Lancaster? The blood controlled her and annihilated tens of thousands.”

  “Out of the ashes, as they say,” Odette returned. “The phoenix will rise.”

  Aliya exhaled slowly. “Then you are even more of a fool if you think that’s you.”

  “No more treaties, no more truces, no more rules. Anything that remains after the purge will bend to our will. It will be a whole new world.”

  “You are insane,” Aliya whispered.

  “Again, not insane,” she replied. “We have different visions for the future of our race, that is all. You’ve never been able to appreciate the bigger picture, Aliya. Why do you think witches were blessed with magic from the Goddess? Because we are a superior race—superior to the mortals and immortals alike.” She waved a hand. “We shouldn’t exist in secret, slinking around in the shadows like the rest of these monsters. We are the masters and they are the slaves.” She gestured to the sleeping bodies scattered around her. “You think these are my only supporters? I have an army at my disposal—hundreds of students who will follow me to their deaths, who know the value of sacrifice for the gre
ater good.”

  “The greater good?” Aliya scoffed. “You speak only for your own greed. And you are wrong. The humans have their gifts as we do, as do the vampires and any other supernatural being. We share this world as we have always done. We do not want a war that will end all wars.”

  “You are blind, Aliya, because the end is already upon us.”

  Taking advantage of Odette’s distracted attention, Christian seized the opportunity to fly toward her, moving as David had done with incredible speed so that she did not have time to teleport away. But Odette was not to be underestimated and a dozen attack spells hurtled his way. He could not avoid them all and took the brunt of a poison hex in the shoulder, but still he kept coming. Odette’s eyes widened as he stopped in front of her, his fingers closing around her throat. It would take considerable effort for her to teleport without taking him with her. Christian gritted his teeth and held his ground as a second poison spell blasted into him at point blank range.

  He could feel the venom eating through his blood and followed the witch’s triumphant stare as she watched the acid green trails creep up his neck and into his jaw. It infected his face, his chest, and his arm with relentless purpose. Angie was right—she was powerful and her spells even more so. It took every ounce of his newfound healing powers to battle the infection, but bit-by-bit, the spread retreated.

  His eyes met hers as the triumph faded into a look of confusion and then fear. “How is that possible?” she whispered. “Since when are vampires immune to magic?”

  “Since me. I will ask you one more time before I take it from you by force. Where is she?”

  Odette smirked without a care in the world, as if she wasn’t at the threshold of her own death. “You’ll have to kill me, vampire, and then where will that leave you? Unable to reach her in time, I expect. Toxins are useful things, are they not? They can force the mind to believe whatever you want it to. Suffice it to say that if you kill me, you kill her.”

  “What kind of toxin?” Christian’s mind raced. The only toxin that would be able to inhibit Victoria’s power would be something neural. She’d be immune to magical attacks, which meant that it had to be something tangible.

  “Tick tock, vampire.”

  Christian snapped her neck to the side and sank his fangs deep. The taste of her blood was heady, drenched in magic. Flashes crashed into him as he drank—Victoria’s face, the boy Pan, a forest. He drew back with a gasp. Such visions had never happened to him before. He’d felt emotions in the past, but he had never seen anything like obvious flashback memories. Oblivious to the stares from the witches, he set his lips to the wound and pulled deeply, focusing on the images. As the witch’s body grew limp, Christian released her.

  He turned to Aliya, ignoring the terrified, shocked looks from the other two. What he had done was unforgiveable and broke one of the terms of the tenuous treaty between them. Then again, Odette Starke had attacked him, so he’d been well within his rights to defend himself. His eyes met Aliya’s. “I know where Victoria is. This one is yours—I’ve left her alive to face her fate with your people. You need to mobilize the Clans. There’s no time to explain, but there’s a corporeal rogue demon lord here, one responsible for all the deaths.”

  “A demon lord?” she whispered.

  “Yes, a powerful one. It killed a dozen warlocks in minutes.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Angie, take my car. Meet me back at the château. If I do not return, find Lucian.”

  Angie’s eyes widened into giant orbs as Christian thrust a heavy signet ring toward her. “Lucian? As in your evil twin brother who tried to kill us all last year?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we are going to need all the help we can get. And my brother is aligned with the warlocks. Give him the ring and ask him to take you to the warlock Freyja. Tell her everything.” He eyed the crossbow dangling at her side. “Take that with you and don’t hesitate to use it if you have to.”

  “W—will I have to?”

  He shook his head, worried about the position he was putting a mortal in, but he had no choice. “I honestly don’t know. Use your power. It will warn you before of whether they intend you harm.” He eyed her. “And, Angie, be careful.”

  NINETEEN

  Keep Your Enemies Closer

  Victoria had never felt so at peace in her life. She pulled the strap of her backpack over her shoulder and crossed the quad toward her classes. She waved at a few of her friends sitting on the library steps and enjoying the warm Maine spring sunshine—Angie, Charla, and Gabriel. They smiled and waved back as she walked toward them.

  “You guys aren’t going to class?” she asked.

  “Free period,” Charla said. “You have one, too. Gabe convinced the teacher that we needed the afternoon off.”

  “He did?” Her gaze shifted from Charla to Gabriel, Angie’s brother. Angie looked sullen and sour, her stringy dark hair falling into her face. The girl stared at her with unconcealed loathing, and a flicker of something unfamiliar pushed at her awareness. Victoria eyed Gabriel. “How did you manage to do that?”

  “Magic.” Gabriel nodded at the spot beside him. “Cop a squat. Call it mind suggestion—I suggested, he listened.”

  Charla grinned. “He’s being modest. Gabe totally screwed with his mind. And so we have the entire day off. Want to head up to the lake?”

  A person crossing the lawn distracted her, catching her attention. She recognized his lithe body easily. Christian. She flushed as his eyes met hers, feeling Gabriel tense beside her, as he, too, followed the direction of her gaze. The enmity between them was tangible even across the distance.

  “Filthy bloodsucker.”

  Her eyes snapped to Gabriel’s. “What?”

  “Devereux is a vampire, didn’t you know?” he snarled, the rage on his face like a dark angry thundercloud. “Stay away from him.”

  “A vampire?” Victoria whispered in disbelief. “What do you mean?”

  “He’s not like us, Tori. He’ll kill you.”

  A sensation of foreboding crept up her spine. Vampires didn’t exist. They were the stuff of stories, of horror movies and books. They weren’t real. Christian’s silver eyes met hers across the distance and something deep within her belly shifted. She knew exactly what he was and it meant nothing. Nothing mattered but him and the way he was looking at her. Her breath caught as a wave of longing overtook her body.

  Tori.

  Gabriel’s warning faded into the distance as she held on to the look in Christian’s eyes and the sound of his voice. The quad fell away. The steps disappeared. Her friends dissipated into fragments. Gaping nothingness surrounded her and the truth came back in thick surges. She was no longer in Maine. Or at Windsor Academy.

  And Gabriel was dead.

  She had killed him in the underground tunnels in New York City, which meant that none of this was real.

  Reality clawed through the fantasy and Victoria found herself in her earthy prison once more. She wondered how long she’d been asleep this time. Minutes? Hours? Days? She felt disoriented and confused. Pan’s second dose had been far more powerful than the first. She felt their effects swimming through her, twisting her mind into tiny knots—to the point that she couldn’t discern truth from lies.

  Tori.

  She frowned as the mental voice projected into her mind. Was she still dreaming? Christian?

  I’m here.

  She was surely dreaming. There was no way Christian would have found wherever Pan had hidden her. But the ground around her started to tremble and then a fist broke through the top layer of dirt. It grasped onto her arm and dragged her out into the open. Victoria blinked against the sharp sunlight as Christian gathered her into his arms, shaking the dirt from her hair and her clothes. His hands felt real, but then again, they’d felt real in the dream, too. Perhaps this was Pan’s way of torturing her—by making her believe that Christian had come to save h
er, even after everything she’d done to him.

  She closed her eyes, shame and regret filling her. She had chosen the witches over him, but they, too, had only coveted her power. At least she knew where she stood with Christian… where she had stood. No, she had thrown that all away when she had broken up with him. And now he couldn’t be real, finding her beneath layers of dirt and rock. It had to be a trick.

  “Tori, wake up,” an urgent voice said. “You need to fight this.”

  She blinked again, focusing her wits, even as Pan’s poison slithered through her veins and her consciousness. The voice’s face was fuzzy, but she wanted it to be him so badly that it started to take shape.

  “Christian,” she breathed.

  Her fingers reached upward, brushing the familiar square outline of his jaw and the soft curve of his lips. His eyes shone down on her with so much love that she could live in this fantasy forever.

  Gentle hands pulled her close, and she could smell his scent surrounding her like a fresh summer rain. She snuggled into him. “I’m so glad you’re here. When I saw you in the quad, I knew that you wouldn’t leave me.”

  “The quad?” he asked. Careful fingers inspected her eyes, forcing her eyelids open. Christian’s face swam into view again, but now he looked worried. “Victoria, you need to wake up. Where is Pan?”

  Her mind clawed through the fog threatening to drown it and truth eclipsed fantasy for a moment. She felt the sun on her face and Christian’s solid body at her back. Her mouth struggled to shape the words, breaking past her parched, cracked lips. “Is it really you?”

  “Yes.”

  She swallowed, a wave of fatigue sweeping through her as if the effort of staying alert was too much to bear. The moments of lucidity were brief, and Victoria knew she had to hold on or she’d be sucked right back into Pan’s toxin. “How did you find me?”

  “Odette Starke.”

  Victoria frowned, making a sharp pain riddle her brain. The headmistress of Belles Fontaines? Perhaps she’d known about Pan and had told Christian. But why would she ask the vampires for help? The questions made her head ache and long for the quiet solitude of her daydreams. She closed her eyes, desperate to succumb to the peace they promised.