“What…” I swallowed the dry lump in my throat before I continued. “What would I have to do?”
***
“It wasn’t a good idea. It would never be a good idea.” ~Caius
Chapter 14
Alaric produced a vial of liquid so dark it was nearly black. “All you have to do is drink Caius’s blood. This is not pure. This is diluted. There are only a few drops mixed in here. Once you drink it, the two of you will be partially bloodbound.”
“Partially?”
He nodded. “It was the most the Sinmar would agree to. Caius has no desire to be fully bound. Actually, Caius originally refused this course of action altogether. It took both Sinmar and me to persuade him this was the best thing, but even Sinmar would only agree to a partial bond. Sinmar is more concerned about losing Caius.”
Of course, who cared what happened to me as long as his precious demonborn was safe. Wait, why wouldn’t he be safe if he was fully bound to me? Not that I wanted to be any more than Caius did. Who knew we would have anything in common? “What will happen to him if we were fully bound?”
Alaric finally laid the papers in his other hand down. “According to what I have read, when partially bound, if you die, it will cause considerable pain to Caius. It will likely put him out of commission for a while, though he would eventually recover. There is no literature anywhere on a full bond between immortals. We have no idea what that would do to either of you. Sinmar’s exact words were, ‘I’m not taking any chances with Caius just to keep your reaper safe.’ ”
“Nice attitude,” I said unable to keep the sour note out of my voice. “So Caius could still suck out all of my blood, devour my soul, or chuck me in the River—or all three—he if decided to.”
“I am hoping the partial bond will be enough of a deterrent,” Alaric said. “It is the best I can do at any rate to ensure your safety with him. There is also the possibility, given the nature of your parentage, that a full bloodbond would kill one or both of you.”
There it was again, my half-angel curse. “How would it only kill one of us?”
“Normally a bloodbond is formed between a demonborn and his or her servant for the benefit of the demonborn. Though it is called a full bond, it is not truly. For one, injury to the servant does not result in injury to the demonborn. For another, it can be severed by the demonborn at his or her discretion, though it rarely happens due to the pain involved. Much easier to just consume the blood and soul of the servant which effectively ends the bond—that method doesn’t cause the pain of a broken bond. And last, it does not require the human that is bonded to agree.” Alaric paused, massaging his forehead with his fingers before continuing.
“However, with your half-angel blood and soul, you have to willingly enter the bond, partial or otherwise. Only a brief mention was made in everything I could find on full bonds between immortals and it was obscurely written. Best I could make out, if for some reason one of you completed the bond, the one to do so would likely die. Angels and demons are not meant to mix. And, if for some reason it did not kill, it cannot be severed.”
“Well, no worries there. I’m not about to be a demonborn blood bank and there is no way in the nine hells I’m drinking his.” Technically, I would be doing just that, but at least it would only be a few drops. I shuddered then pointed at the vial. “So all I have to do is drink that?”
Alaric nodded. “Yes. He has already taken a small amount of highly diluted blood from you. From the sample you gave during training.”
I stared at the blood in his hand. “Why me? Why not an older reaper? One with more experience or something.”
He ran a hand through his hair, looking tired. “You may be a young reaper, but your dedication to your duties is unquestionable.”
“And?” That couldn’t be all.
“And because of your parentage,” Alaric said with a sigh as if he hoped I wouldn’t pry that far. “As a half-angel, your soul will be less appealing due to the concentration of it. Quite frankly, I do not feel comfortable sending someone who only has a faint trace of angel in them when you have the blood of your father flowing in your veins.”
I knew it. Damn Elijah. Now, not only did I have to prove I deserved to be in Midtween, I was also the first to be selected for a crazy mission with a demonborn.
He turned the vial in his fingers. “This truly is the best thing for your safety.”
“And what exactly will it do? Is he going to feel everything I feel? Be able to read my mind? What?” It was entirely possible I was starting to panic.
“No.” Alaric shook his head. “He will not be able to feel everything you feel or read your mind. The partial bond is a physical connection. If you hurt, he will know. If he hurts, you will know. Though you will not share every injury, if you bleed, he will bleed and vice versa. Unless the wound is self-inflicted. So stabbing yourself, or something like that, is not going to affect him. Same with you, if he harms himself for some reason, it will not hurt you.”
I nodded, trying to sort it all out in my mind. It made sense I guess and it sounded like Caius wasn’t any happier about this than I was, which was why he was hoping I would disagree with it. Since he’d already provided his blood and drank some of mine no matter how diluted, the only way out of it now was if I refused to drink his.
Alaric’s face softened. “You may be young, but you are becoming one of my best reapers, Josephine. Right now you seem to be forgetting that while you will not age, you are still flesh and blood. You can still die. I for one do not want you killed.”
Before I could think about what I was doing too closely or too much, I reached out and snatched the vial from his hand. A quick twist and pull removed the stopper. I tossed the contents down my throat. It burned with a taste so foul I shuddered involuntarily. Almost like I swallowed a mixture of copper and tar. My stomach convulsed and I gagged though nothing came up. Alaric handed me a cup of water. I took a mouthful, swishing and swallowing in an effort to remove the taste.
That was just the beginning of my problems though. My stomach cramped hard, fire burst in my middle and ran through my veins in a burning rush. It felt like I just drank a vial of napalm. What in the nine hells? The room wobbled and wavered. I gagged again. Every muscle in my body convulsed, throwing me from the chair as agony ripped through me. A scream lodged in my throat, unable to pass through my constricted airway. The room grew dark.
Blinking, I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling of Alaric’s office. Everything ached slightly but the fire was gone and I could breathe. When I moved to sit up, Alaric was there to assist me, his face grim, eyes worried. Taking stock of my body showed that I wasn’t a piece of charred flesh.
“Are you all right now?” Alaric asked in a strained voice.
“Yeah—” I cleared my throat and stood with his help. “Yeah, I guess so. What happened?”
He shook his head. “I have no idea. I was unaware it would do this to you. If I had…”
“You would have known I would survive it and still asked me to drink his blood.” I shuddered. At least the taste was gone from my mouth now and my stomach no longer rebelled.
“Yes.” Alaric sighed and stepped away from me. “I suppose I would have.”
Nodding, I continued my mental evaluation of myself. Balance? Check. Movement? Check. “So, when this is over, will it hurt as bad to undo the binding?”
Alaric blinked at me. “Undo it? I am not sure.”
“Wait.” I held up a hand. “You do know how to reverse it, right?”
“The bond should dissipate over time since it is only partial.”
“Should? You mean you don’t know?” What did I get myself into? “Why didn’t you tell me that before I drank his blood?”
“We are fairly certain it will dissipate. Another reason Sinmar and Caius did not agree to a full bonding. As far as we know, there is no way to undo that.” He said soothingly. “Get some sleep and replenish your energy, Josephine. Come in at the beginnin
g of your shift as usual to collect your things. When you turn your supplies in at end of shift, come speak with me.”
“Whatever.” I glared at him and left before I could punch him for calling me, Josephine. And for getting me to agree to a binding he wasn’t sure how to undo.
I weaved my way through the crowded room beyond his door to the elevators and stepped into a full car just before the doors closed. When the elevator asked where I wanted to go, I gave it my apartment number.
***
“Damn her.” ~Caius
Chapter 15
Weariness pulled at me as I shoved the door of my apartment open. I could tell by the silence Bethany wasn’t back from shift yet which was fine with me. She was my best friend, but right then I was glad to have the privacy.
The coming meeting with Caius tied my nerves in knots. Bethany would have picked up on that and likely questioned me until she wore me down. Then would have done everything in her power to talk me out of it. Since I couldn’t tell her what was going on, it would only make things difficult.
I told the empty kitchen what I wanted to eat and then went into my room to shed my cloak. I kept my mind from thinking about the bloodbond because I was pretty sure I would go crazy if I dwelled on it. After pulling on a clean cloak, I went back to the tiny kitchen and grabbed my meatball sub and iced tea off the counter.
Flopping down on the sofa, I set my plate on the coffee table and picked up the sub while I tried to think of who might be causing the Lost. Or why they would want to. It would hurt everyone in Midtween as well as the mortal world if it continued or got worse. It would even have implications in the Hells and the Heavens.
If souls didn’t make it across the river, either by ferry or demon, they couldn’t one day find their way back to the Hall of Souls. If the Hall became empty, the human race would end. Usually, that only happened when a species was meant to go extinct and the Hall for those souls was intentionally closed by powers higher than any in the Between.
But the human Hall of Souls was still open. No one was closing the doors. Someone was trying to keep anyone from passing through them. The desperate face of the young woman’s soul, as she stepped into the river, intruded on my thoughts. The meatballs and sauce turned to dust in my mouth. I forced it down with several gulps of tea.
How many more had there been? How many Lost were being claimed by the river’s water? Even Mary Anderson, whatever she’d done, didn’t deserve that. After forcing a few more bites down my throat and finishing my tea, I set my dishes and what was left of the food on the counter. I ran my hands through my hair and left the apartment.
Walking down the path toward Demonborn Bridge, I tried to quell the nervous twisting in my stomach. Oh gods, I was bloodbound to a damn demonborn. Partially bonded, I corrected myself. My attempts to stop thinking about it became increasingly unsuccessful the closer I got to the bridge. The trees and underbrush seemed to close in, making the narrow path feel ominous. Something told me Caius was going to be pissed when he realized I’d bound us. Yes, technically, he started the process by drinking mine to begin with, but I finished it.
At least I didn’t have to worry about him killing me. Unless…he would rather be writhing in pain than bound. I hadn’t even considered that. What if that was what he wanted to tell me? Maybe he planned to say if I completed it, he would happily kill me as an alternative to living bound to me. Great. Just freaking great. Why hadn’t I thought of that before I drank the stupid blood? In fact, there were a lot of things I should have thought of before doing that.
A soft breeze brushed over me and my skin goose pimpled though it wasn’t from cold. In many ways, living in Midtween was comfortable. The temp was always pleasant, it never rained or snowed; the flowers always bloomed and scented the air. The goose pimples were a reaction to the realization that even a partial bond may not be enough to save me.
With my gaze on the smooth, sandy path, I barely noticed where I was until I looked up. The bridge loomed ahead, a massive wrought iron affair with wooden walking boards.
And there was Caius. His tall, lean form rested against the ornate railing on my side of the bridge. Wearing no cloak, it was easy to see the way the snug black t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders. His crossed arms showed off well-defined muscles and the black lines of his ink that I remembered from the night before.
His black hair curled slightly at the nape of his neck and his molten gold eyes watched my approach. Crap. I shouldn’t have come. I shouldn’t have finished the bond. I should’ve told Alaric to stick it when he told me of the assignment.
The image of the young woman reared up in my memory. I couldn’t just stand back and do nothing though while more souls were becoming Lost. And the bond was already done now. With a quiet sigh of resignation, I stepped onto the bridge and walked the few paces to where he stood.
Caius glared down at me with a cold expression. “You don’t listen well, do you?”
“It’s not really one of my traits.” Good, I’d kept my voice devoid of the fear that was trying claw its way up my spine. He couldn’t kill me without harming himself. I just hoped he would rather be pain free.
“I told you not to agree to anything until we had a chance to speak. Next thing I know, the bloodbond is complete.”
“Partial bond,” I corrected and cleared my throat. “I wasn’t sure if you would know I completed it yet or not.”
“You hurt, I know it. Remember? It caused you a great deal of pain when the bond took hold. And you’ve been chewing on your lower lip for the past several minutes. I’m surprised you haven’t drawn blood yet, which I would recommend you not do right now.” He hadn’t moved and his eyes were filled with repressed anger. The tats on his upper arms flared golden-red on his bronze skin and died back.
That was good at least. If he was holding his anger back then he probably wasn’t planning to drain me dry and deal with whatever pain visited him. I quit worrying my lip with my teeth. “Sorry about that. I didn’t know the bond would do that to me.”
“Next time try to think before you do something stupid. I assume you can think before you act? Or is that not one of your traits either?”
I ground my teeth. “Was there something specific you wanted to talk to me about? Or did you just want to meet so you could insult my intelligence?”
Caius growled something under his breath, and it was a growl. “I wanted to talk you out of the bloodbond if you were considering it. Since you decided to ignore me when I told you not to agree to anything, this meeting is rather pointless.”
“If you didn’t want it, you could have refrained from donating your blood for it, you know. Or refrained from drinking mine.” Why was he taking this out on me when he started it?
Caius suddenly stood straight, towering over me. I had to tip my head back to look at his face or be left staring at his chest, but I would be damned if I backed down. He leaned closer. “I gave my blood because there was no other choice.”
He stepped back and ran a hand through his inky hair. “You, on the other hand, were given a choice. I thought you would be sensible enough to at least think about it. To talk to me first. You didn’t have to drink the blood. You could have refused.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it. What could I say? I’d dragged him into this bloodbond with my choice. One it sounded like he didn’t have. “Did I really have a choice? Demonborn aren’t known for their self-control. This offers me some protection.”
“Young demonborn have little self-control. I’m the oldest surviving son of Eisheth. I, like the rest of her older children, can control my desires.” He shot me another molten glare. “Which you would have known if you had spoken with me before you did something stupid.”
“Well, excuse me for thinking of my own safety before worrying about your feelings on the subject,” I shot back. “And you can talk about your amazing self-control all you want, I’ve heard and seen enough about demonborn to take the ‘believe it when I see it’
approach.”
I swear I could still feel the brush of the blonde demonborn’s teeth on my neck. Granted, Caius stopped her, but I still wasn’t convinced.
Caius stared at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Hopefully, he wasn’t debating whether or not to kill me and end the issue with the whole thing.
“This is going to be impossible,” he finally said, his cold gaze never leaving my face.
“What’s impossible?” I folded my arms, prepared to bring my power to bear. It wouldn’t make a difference with a demonborn as powerful as Caius, but I would at least go down fighting.
“You are too headstrong.”
Headstrong? “And what am I supposed to be? The little Reaper woman who just does as the big strong demonborn man says? Sorry, I was born in the wrong century for that.”
“Like I said, impossible.”
“Guess you should have thought of that before you drank my blood, Mr. ‘I’m the perfectly controlled son of Eisheth.’ Now you’re stuck with me.” I turned and walked away calling over my shoulder, “See you tomorrow.”
I managed to resist the urge to look over my shoulder as I walked back to my apartment. Though I didn’t think Caius would actually follow me onto reaper grounds and eat my soul or suck my veins dry, or both, it didn’t stop the hairs on the back of my neck from standing on end the entire time. Mocking a demonborn like Caius probably hadn’t been the best idea. As usual, my mouth spoke ahead of my brain. Oh well, he would get over it. Hopefully.
***
“Though her mouth was going to get her into trouble one day, her refusal to back down impressed me again. Even so, I contemplated killing her myself despite the cost.” ~Caius
Unveiled (Raven Daughter Book 1) Page 10
