by L.H. Cosway
“Tegan Stolle,” he repeated, a flicker of a frown crossing his features. Perhaps he’d been hoping I’d have one of the magical family surnames, which would make my origins much easier to determine. “Do you know it’s been over twenty years since I last came across a female of the True Power bloodline? What a surprise to find you in this city that I used to call home.”
I swallowed down what felt like a hard lump of rock in my throat because it was around twenty years ago that my mother died. A memory of the vision from Rita’s spell surfaced, of the pale, long-fingered hand reaching out to grab her as she ran through the woods. “And what did you do to the last woman when you found her?” I asked though I could hardly bear to hear the answer.
Theodore studied me for a long moment, then said, “I hunted her down. She had been evading me for quite some time. I finally tracked her to some woods in a back-water town, a town not too far from here, in fact. She gave a good chase.” He paused, a reminiscent smile on his lips. “But I caught up to her in the end. I kept her for a while, and then, well, quite inevitably she died.”
My chest constricted. His story was hauntingly similar to the vision, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Theodore had been the one my mother ran from. He’d captured her and killed her, and now he was going to do the exact same thing to me.
“How did she die?” I whispered.
Theodore stared at the red wine in his glass before taking another sip. “The liquid that runs in your veins is a highly powerful magical substance, and when used in a spell it can achieve almost anything the caster wishes.”
I already knew this, but I didn’t interrupt, instead allowing him to talk. The longer he talked, the longer I had to figure out an escape.
“I hadn’t planned on killing her. In truth, she was far more valuable to me alive than dead. But I eventually drained her of too much blood and she expired. Quite tragic, really. We could’ve achieved so many more wonderful things together. But that doesn’t matter. Now that I have you, I will be far more careful.”
“What was her name?” I croaked. I needed to hear it. I needed to know for definite.
“Who’s name?”
“The woman you captured.”
“Oh.” He furrowed his brow as though trying to recall it. “Well, now, let me see. I think it was Doreen? Dorian? I’m sorry, I don’t quite remember.” Fury burned inside of me. He’d killed her and couldn’t even be bothered to remember her name.
Tears filled my eyes and my hands began to shake as I stared at him. “Dora,” I whispered angrily.
Theodore slapped his hand down on his thigh. “Why yes, I do believe that was her name.” He stopped and a sickening satisfaction filled his eyes. “She wasn’t any relation of yours, was she?” His nostrils flared like he was savouring my heartache.
I jumped up from my seat, grabbed a tray of drinks out of the waiter’s hands, and threw them directly at Theodore. “She was my fucking mother, you evil monster!” I screamed. My voice seemed to echo through the room. The spilled wine and smashed glass magically fell away from Theodore, not leaving a single stain or scratch. I let out an almighty wail, but none of the party-goers seemed to hear me. They continued to chat and enjoy themselves; the pianist over in the corner continued to play. Theodore stared me down, his expression empty.
Finally, he blinked and a faint smile returned to his lips. “You should think about where you direct your anger, my dear. The next time, I will not be inclined to overlook such behaviour.”
Then he called on the waiter to clean up the mess I’d made. No more than a minute later, Theodore tilted his head to the side, his ear sticking out as though listening for something far away. He rose and went to peer out the window. A quiet expletive escaped his lips before he turned back around.
“I’m afraid we must cut our enjoyment short tonight,” he said, addressing me pointedly. “We have some unwanted guests on the premises.” His eyes turned purple for a moment as he lifted his right hand, making some bizarre gestures. I immediately found myself outside in the freezing cold, sitting on a seat on the big ferris wheel as it made its rotation around and around. I looked down in time to see a group of people crowd around the front door of the mansion. One person used a gun to shoot open the lock before they disappeared inside.
I managed to spot Ethan and Gabriel, but I seriously hoped Rita was among them. She was the only one with a chance of outwitting Theodore. A yacht floated on the shore just off the island. I wondered who it belonged to, although the style had Antonia Herrington written all over it.
Nothing happened for several minutes. The icy cold cut through me, the fabric of the evening gown I wore far too thin. I needed to get off this ride and find Rita because I knew she still needed my blood for her spell. I pulled my legs up through the bars and kneeled in a crouch as I neared the platform. Then, when I was closest to the ground, I jumped. It wasn’t a graceful jump, given my outfit, and it hurt when I hit the platform, but at least I was off the dizzying ride.
A second later, every window in the mansion shattered outward, glass shards flying everywhere. A blinding, multi-coloured light poured out of them like a dazzling rainbow. Then a stream of people came running out. The rainbow vanished and was replaced with a horde of flying, rabid crows that cawed and snapped at those they were chasing. Was the crow Theodore’s totem animal? These small ones were even more frightening than the giant one. They seem crazed and ravenous.
I spotted Ethan, Lucas, and Delilah first, then Rita, Gabriel, and Finn. Antonia and her guards, along with some of the other nameless vampires who had been present in the club last night, followed.
“Rita!” I shouted as she ran toward the big wheel. She looked over at me, clearly relieved. It was the relief of a person who feared you were dead. She carried a heavy-looking bag over her shoulder as she ran to me while the others used whatever weapons they had to fight off the crows.
Finn was crouched over by the chair-o-planes, a bow and arrow stretched out in front of him as he shot at the small flying monsters. I watched as one of his projectiles darted straight into the centre of a crow’s chest, his aim perfect. Dru and Antonia’s other guards shot at the birds with their guns as they maintained a protective circle around the evil bitch of a governess they were paid to keep alive.
I wouldn’t forget what she’d done to Matthew, but now wasn’t the time for my revenge.
Ethan and Lucas swung swords at the crows, their vampire speed allowing them to slice the birds with startling efficiency. Delilah’s method of defending herself was perhaps the most ingenious and strange. She sat on a horse on the merry go round, her swift arms swinging out and grabbing the birds as they flew by, and quite plainly snapping their necks. I shuddered at the violence of it.
“What on earth are you wearing?” Rita asked breathlessly when she reached me.
“Never mind that. Do you have what you need for your spell?” I asked.
“Yes,” she answered, still trying to catch her breath. “Everything except for your blood.”
“Okay. Good. Let’s get down underneath the platform and make a start.”
I hadn’t noticed until that moment, but Gabriel, with a look of confusion, stood right behind Rita. I knew exactly what he was wondering. Why did Rita need my blood to perform her spell? He didn’t voice the question though, instead dutifully following Rita as she crawled into the shallow space beneath the big wheel.
When I joined them, Rita withdrew a wooden board from her bag, on which she placed a variety of intricate looking spell ingredients, and not just the herbal kind I’d seen her use before. Gabriel clicked on a torch to illuminate the space, and my gaze scanned the items laid out before me. There was a small container of what appeared to be dead spiders and another containing slimy earthworms. They wriggled in the bowl, still alive. Another container held a mixture of maggots and dead cockroaches. There was also a dead rat and a sharp blade made of silver.
“Don’t be alarmed,” Rita said, gauging
my reaction. “I know this looks a little sinister, but opening up a portal into a hell dimension requires slightly darker magic than what I’m used to.”
“I thought you didn’t practice dark magic?” I said in concern.
“I don’t, but dire circumstances call for dire actions. I can make an allowance just this once.”
“Thank you,” I said, truly grateful. She was making a sacrifice by being here, and she had no clue how much I needed Theodore gone. I could run to the other side of the planet, but he was so powerful he was sure to find me no matter where I hid.
Rita handed me the blade. It looked almost exactly like the one my mother had used to cut herself when she cast the spell to protect me. “Is this silver?” I asked, my eyes tracing the carvings on the handle.
“Yes,” Rita nodded. “It needs to be silver for the spell to work.”
I turned it over in my hand, the light of Gabriel’s torch glinting off it and transfixing me.
“Are you okay, Tegan?” Gabriel asked gently, speaking for the first time.
“Yes, I’m just a little out of sorts,” I answered nervously. “It’s only to be expected.”
“Yes, it is,” Rita agreed as she handed me a small glass vial. “Here,” she said. “I need you to fill this with your blood. Cutting down the centre of your palm will probably be easiest.” I nodded and braced myself for pain.
Gabriel coughed to clear his throat. “Um, why do we need Tegan’s blood?” he asked, looking slightly worried. Rita and I shared a glance.
“You might as well tell him,” she said. “We might not survive the night anyway. If we do, well, we’ll figure something out when the time comes.”
I glanced at Gabriel, but no words formed. I was terrified of telling him, of having anyone else know the truth about me. “I have True Power blood,” I finally managed to whisper. “That’s why Rita needs it for the spell. It’s what you and Marcel and all the rest of them have been so eager to find out about me. You were right. It was my mother who cast the spell when I was a baby. She made it so that my blood would be hidden from everyone.”
I expected Gabriel to exclaim his shock, or be angry at me for going behind everyone’s back to find out what I was on my own. But he didn’t. Instead, he looked ashamed. “I’m sorry I allowed Marcel to convince me to help him unravel the spell. Your bloodline, well, it’s not something people should know about you. For your safety.”
I swallowed down a thick ball of emotion at Gabriel’s sincerity. Rita had been right about him. He could be trusted more than Marcel. I brought my attention back to the blade in my hand. We were running out of time, and I needed to do this before Theodore had a chance to send more crazed crows our way. Without further ado, I sliced down the centre of my palm like Rita instructed, sucking in a sharp breath at the pain. Then I squeezed my hand tight and allowed several drops of blood to drip into the glass vial before handing it over to Rita.
She took it from me, and I tore a strip of fabric off the end of my gown and wrapped it around my hand to stem the bleeding. Glancing up, I found Gabriel staring at me with marked hunger in his eyes. A chill crept over me. Then he blinked, looking embarrassed.
“Sorry, it’s just … your blood smells …”
“Delicious, yes, she knows,” Rita finished for him just as a violent scream cut through the air.
“I’ll go check what’s happening. You two start the spell,” I said, needing the excuse to get away. Gabriel was the least aggressive of the blood drinkers I was acquainted with, and if my blood could make him look so ravenous, I shuddered to think about how a full-blooded vampire would react.
I crawled out from under the platform, making sure to stay hidden. Theodore stood atop the steps leading up to his mansion. He had Delilah’s red hair twisted around his fisted hand, and I knew instantly she was the one who’d screamed. He violently pulled her down each time she struggled to get away from him.
I watched as Ethan stepped forward, addressing Theodore. “Let her go and we will leave. It’s clear we are no match for you.”
“I’ll let her go as soon as you return my human to me,” Theodore replied, his eyes going to the vacant seat on the big wheel. “I can see she has been taken.”
“What human?” Ethan asked. “We didn’t find any human.”
“You know exactly who I am talking about,” Theodore went on. “Tegan is her name, and she is of great value to me. I had transported her to a safe place, and now she is gone. Return her and I will return this one,” he finished, pulling down hard on Delilah’s hair. She let out another scream.
A look of grim anger and determination crossed Ethan’s features. “Tegan does not belong to you, and if you have harmed her, I will make sure you suffer.” His bravery on my behalf was touching. My heart gave a swift, emotional thud.
“Ah, so you’re aware of her value,” Theodore said. “I have always found that True Power blood tended to evade those of the vampire species. It’s ironic, really, since it is vampires who have the most to gain from finding it.”
“That’s what she is?” Ethan whispered in awe, a stunned look in his eyes as the puzzle pieces finally fit together.
“Excuse me,” Antonia interjected. “Did I just hear you correctly? Am I to believe that this girl is one of the power-blooded females?”
“True indeed,” Theodore answered with false sincerity and an even falser smile. “But you can wipe that hungry expression off your greedy face. I discovered her first, therefore she belongs to me.”
“She belongs to nobody but herself,” Ethan countered grimly and again my heart pounded. He was defending me and my personal sovereignty. He didn’t claim I was his, didn’t talk like I was a piece of property to be owned. Whatever fondness I already had for him grew in intensity, and it pained me because, if by some miracle we managed to defeat Theodore tonight, I would most certainly have to run away. The sorcerer just announced what I was to a group of vampires, and the news would spread fast. I could practically see their eyes glowing with want.
“What is this now?” Theodore asked in wry amusement. “A parasite defending a human? I thought they were all just blood banks to you.”
I didn’t have time to hear Ethan’s response because Rita was whispering my name. “Tegan, come quick,” she urged. “We need you to complete the circle.”
I crawled back under and sat down in between Rita and Gabriel before taking a deep breath. I looked between the two of them. “Okay, let’s do this.”
Rita nodded, an air of calm confidence about her as she instructed Gabriel to pour the vial of my blood into the spell bowl only when she told him to. He agreed, and we joined hands, forming a circle.
Rita began the spell speaking in what sounded like Latin. I remembered Marcel speaking a similar language when I’d watched him do magic. I had no idea what she was saying, but I did make out Theodore’s name here and there. The spell was nothing like the one she’d cast before. Instead of swirling, the concoction in the bowl began to pop and crackle.
Rita raised her head, looking first at Gabriel, then at me. There was a fire in her eyes, and at that moment, I saw just how powerful a witch she would one day become. “Aperiesque ostium inferni dimensionem. And you shall open the door to the dimension of hell.”
Then she gave the signal for Gabriel to pour my blood into the bowl. He lifted up the vial and tipped it in. Nothing happened. The three of us sat and stared at each other for several moments. No change in the air. It certainly didn’t feel like the door to a hell dimension had been opened. The three of us crawled out from under the big wheel.
Theodore still had Delilah in his grip. He spoke with Antonia now, who had taken several steps closer, standing only a few yards away from him. The gravel crunched under my feet and Theodore’s eyes flashed to me. A slow, satisfied smile spread across his lips when he saw me. Rita looked up into the sky, probably wondering where her hell door had gotten to. My chest deflated. For whatever reason, the spell hadn’t worked. Theodore was
very much present and accounted for.
“Ah, my human was not taken after all,” Theodore declared. “Come here, Tegan, so that I may return this wench to her rightful owners.” Everybody’s attention came to me. I didn’t fail to notice the eager gleam in the vampires’ eyes. Well, all except for Ethan. He simply looked relieved to see me alive and well, and my heart didn’t know what to do with that information.
“Don’t go near him,” Ethan warned, holding my gaze. I thought of how he’d defended me, and my chest warmed. A moment passed between us, some kind of silent communication.
Let me protect you, his eyes said.
He didn’t need to ask twice. I had absolutely no intention of going anywhere near Theodore. I stepped back to stand behind Gabriel. Theodore’s eyes flashed purple and I braced myself, anticipating being transported to some other place again like the last time they turned that unnatural colour. It was only when I saw everyone’s eyes go wide in shock as they stared behind me that I realised someone, or something, was there.
I tensed, really, really not wanting to turn around.
Some sixth sense told me Theodore had summoned that monstrous crow again. It was waiting to lift me up and fly away with me clutched in its enormous talons. I felt its wings wrap around me, readying for flight, when Ethan suddenly appeared. With lightning speed, he raised his sword and chopped the crow’s head clean off. Blood spattered everywhere. I stared in horror as its giant head rolled on the ground, my mouth agape.
“Are you hurt?” Ethan asked, pulling me to him and enveloping me in his strong arms. I sank into the embrace, absorbing his strength. I was about to answer him when I spotted something big and gaping form several feet above Theodore’s head. At first I thought, Oh please no, not another of his monsters. But then I realised that Theodore had no clue there was a giant hole hovering above him.
Rita’s doorway finally came through.
