“Because the blade he used on you was obsidian and infused with his power. I fear the mark will be difficult, if not impossible to remove. But I know of one who might be able to reverse the damage.”
Oh, no. Being fully immortal now I just assumed I would heal. Even in my shock I hadn’t considered the possibility of being permanently scarred.
His fingers digging into my flesh Leonardo nodded at the vampires to acknowledge them as he dragged me out from the foyer, onto the lawn and then back through the Dark Immortal’s gate. Once in the street we reassembled briefly before following Leonardo as he hurried across the river. We all did our best to keep up with him except for Millie. To my relief Stone was carrying her again.
When we reached the administration building, Leonardo turned left. I was breathing so hard by that time it was all I could do to keep from collapsing.
“How much further?” I complained. The vampires didn’t even seem winded. I had been avoiding looking at them after the way they had reacted when they had seen Phoebus’ handiwork. I didn’t need my stress level ratcheted any higher.
“We’re here.” Leonardo came to a halt in front of a two story white brick townhouse with a blue door. He rapped on it twice. “It’s Leonardo,” he said low near the hinges. “Open up.”
The door popped open. “Go away.” A tiny weathered satyr with leaves on the tuft of hair between his curved horns slid his wire rimmed spectacles down his nose and peered over them at the hybrid. “I paid my debt to you with the last one.”
Leonardo put his foot in the door preventing the creature from closing it, hauling me in front of him at the same time.
The satyr inhaled sharply.
“Carajo.” I wish everyone would stop doing that. “It can’t be that bad.” Could it?
“Sadistic is the son of Zeus.” The wizened being turned and retreated into the house waving a hand over his shoulder indicating that we should follow. “Come. Come. Don’t dally.” He led us down a brightly lit hall adorned with diplomas and certifications before stopping in front of a lone door at the end. “Leonardo and the girl with the burn will accompany me to the basement. The others must stay upstairs.”
“My sister is hurt, too.”
“So she is,” he agreed after briefly examining Millie. He gave his head a resigned shake. “I fear that anything I can offer her at this point will only be palliative. I know of no means to reverse such damage. Still, I will do what may be done.”
“Stone goes with Amelia,” the gargoyle protested.
“No, Stone. Not this time.” Millie touched his cheek. “Put me down now. It’ll be ok. We need you to guard the door with the vampires so that we’re safe while we are downstairs.”
“Very well, pretty one.” He set her on her feet but he didn’t look happy about the idea.
The three of us followed the satyr down a spiral staircase. The basement was unfinished, its floor earthen and its walls entwined with the underground roots of some large tree. The rows and rows of shelves reminded me of the room where my mother had stored her herbs back home. The home we didn’t have anymore. An ache that hurt worse than my cheek gripped my heart.
“Donar is a satyr and the best healer in the city. You can trust him. He hates Phoebus owing to the fact that his wife was sentenced to death by the Sun God for sympathizing with the Dark Immortals,” Leonardo explained as the satyr moved around the room opening various jars from shelves and inspecting their contents before selecting the components he wanted. Arms full, he shuffled back to a raised table in the middle of the room where he unceremoniously dumped his medicinal bounty.
“Sit. Sit,” Donar said to me pointing toward an empty spot on the table.
“But my sister…” I protested.
“What’s done is done,” Millie announced cryptically. “It begins.”
I felt a chill settle in my spine as I suddenly remembered the vision we had shared from the night before. She had mentioned a small sacrifice for her and a larger one for me. Was this burn what she had meant? Or was there worse to come?
Leonardo helped me up, and I gripped the edge of the table tightly while Donar used a foot pedal to lower it. I hissed under my breath as he began cleaning my wound without any advance warning.
“There. There,” he tutted after the fact, stroking my arm softly when he was done. He might have been the city’s best healer but his bedside manner kind of sucked. He tossed the swab he had used in a nearby receptacle. “That’s the worst of it. Now we’ll apply my special healing poultice and let it work its magic.”
Frowning, Millie leaned in as he worked on my face dabbing some of this and spreading some of that. The different scents and textures made my head spin. When he was finished, he took a warm wet cloth and wiped away the material he had just applied. Taking a step back he studied me. His mouth flattened.
It wasn’t an encouraging reaction.
Leonardo shook his head.
Millie’s lip trembled.
“How long does it take to work?” I asked, feeling panic bubbles rising from the acid in my stomach as everyone continued to stare.
“It usually works immediately.” Donar looked defeated.
“It’s not any better, is it?” I asked Millie trusting she wouldn’t lie to me.
“No, Cici.” She shook her head.
“Ok.” I managed a swallow. “But at least it doesn’t hurt anymore.” I was trying to put on a brave front, trying to look on the bright side, trying to hold my shit together.
“It has left a scar, Cici. A big one.” Tears brimmed brightly in Millie’s eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
“Someone give me a mirror, please,” I pleaded.
Donar opened a drawer in the table and passed one with a handle to me. “I wish I could have done more. I don’t understand it. It usually works. Maybe if you had gotten here sooner…”
He might have said something after that but I didn’t hear it. A roaring had filled my ears and tears had flooded my eyes. The left side of my face was completely red. It looked like a terrible sunburn except for the addition of a white image of the sun, identical to the one on the obsidian dagger. Phoebus had essentially branded me with his mark.
Had he known what he had done would be permanent? I hated him in that moment. Complete and utter loathing. This was too steep a price to pay.
“No. No. No,” I cried.
Millie shifted closer and gently brushed the tears from my face. My cheek didn’t hurt anymore but inside I felt sick and shaky. As if she knew just what I needed Millie wrapped her arms around me and held me tight.
“There is another,” Donar stated thoughtfully. “A pupil I have taken on who is as caring as her mother and whose natural talents for healing far surpasses my own. But she trains with me in secret. I hesitate to mention her at all. I’m not sure she will even come.”
“What are you waiting for,” Leonardo growled. “Send for her right now.”
“I am here already,” a soft feminine voice chimed.
“Fiori!” Leonardo exclaimed as Phoebus’ daughter stepped off the last stair and peeled back the hood of her cloak.
“What the hell are you doing here? Did anyone see you?” Leonardo’s tawny mane bristled his agitation. “Does your father know where you have gone?”
“Of course not. No one saw me.” She cocked her head inquisitively at him. “No one ever sees me unless I want them to. Not even you.” She turned her attention to me and her expression became troubled. “Your special concoction didn’t work, Master Donar?”
“No, child. I’m sad to say that it did not.”
“A pity. It usually helps those Daddy hurts.” She sounded sincere. As she came closer her taffeta skirt rustled softly, a fresh spring scent following her. “I can undo most of the damage,” she concluded after skimming her fingers gently across my cheek. “But,” her brows pulled together, “the mark of my father’s house will remain, since stronger magic than I possess created it.”
A creaking of t
he floorboards upstairs drew my notice. I pinned Fiori with a look. “How did you get past our friends?” They hadn’t even alerted us to her presence.
“Catonia and Evercy are…” She paused in consideration as if there were something between the vamps and her that she did not want known. “They are not strangers to me,” she continued. “They vouched for me to the gargoyle. I told them I could be of aid.”
“Ok, I guess. But I don’t understand why you want to help.”
Leonardo snorted. “Nice to have your suspicions directed toward someone else for a change, Cecilia.”
“My reasons are my own.” Fiori smoothed her hands over her dress. “We all have secrets in this place.” She shot Leonardo a telling look. “Knowing when to reveal them and when to keep them is the challenging part. My guardian taught me that.”
Leonardo’s lips flattened as he straightened. “Now wait a minute, Fi.”
“Don’t Fi me, Leo.” She mumbled something under her breath. “Timing is crucial. Duality Demons might heal by going into hibernation, but I need to get started if I’m going to do her any good. And I need privacy. I must insist that the room be emptied except for me and the seer.”
“You are not the authority here, princess.” Looking extremely irritated Leonardo planted his feet intransigently and crossed his arms over his chest. It appeared he was staying.
“Maybe not,” she allowed, turning her back to him as if she didn’t care what he did. She untied her grey cloak and set it atop the pile of rejects that Donar had discarded. “But you are more my father, and I am more your daughter than his. You will grant me this.” She looked at me for a moment before turning back to him. “I know you, Leo. Better than you think. You would not have this girl permanently disfigured simply to make your point with me.” She spoke with confidence and more maturity than she had with her father. But for all her bravado I had seen the flicker of uncertainty in her eyes before she had turned away.
“You are correct, Fiori,” Leonardo decided after a moment. “Donar and Millie attend. We will wait for them at the top of the stairs with the others.”
“Thank you,” Fiori said softly, her eyes fixed on him as he moved away.
One hand on the railing, Millie hesitated, glancing back at me. “We could try another transfusion. It might work better than what Fiori has in mind.”
“A transfusion?” Fiori asked. “How do you mean?”
“Our mother was a remarkable healer. Her blood possessed restorative properties. We inherited some of that power. When I was beaten on the ship Millie gave me some of her blood. I doubt I would have survived if not for her sacrifice.”
“Oh, my.” Fiori paled. “That’s terrible. No one should be beaten. I had heard rumors that some of those captured had been mistreated.” She frowned.
“And no, Millie,” I told my sister. “No transfusions. You’re still too weak from the last one. Besides, this injury isn’t life threatening. It’s just vanity.” My voice hitched. “In the end it doesn’t really matter.” No one would have me anyway scarred face or not. Even if someone did, what was the point? There were no love affairs much less happy ever after endings in a place like this. But I kept my thoughts to myself because I knew Millie still had hope for those things, and I didn’t really know Fiori well enough to share. She didn’t seem to like having her suspicions confirmed about the mistreatment of slaves on the ship. She appeared to be empathetic. But was she really? Did she have any idea how poor the conditions were in the La Ville Sombre? Would she do anything about it if she did? Could she? She was so young. She had seemed shocked by what her father had done to me. But could she really not know how merciless he was in his court? I only had questions and more questions where she was concerned.
“We must get started.” Fiori cast me a glance that seemed apologetic and sad as if she had discerned how conflicted my thoughts were about her. “Leo gets me so mad and flustered.” She undid her cuffs. “He is a typical male, blinded by his denial. To him I will always be that little girl he tutored.” She rolled her sleeves up to her elbows and started opening and closing drawers. “Dammit. Where is that scalpel?”
“Why do you need a scalpel?” I squeaked. She had avoided my questions about motivation. No matter what Leo said I truly believed the reasons behind people’s actions were important.
“Found it.” She set it on the table beside my leg. The wickedly sharp metal gleamed ominously in the basement lights. Her bottom lip went between her teeth as she studied me. “I wish you would trust me.”
“Um, no offense, but why should I?”
“Hmm. I guess I’m used to most people succumbing to my charm more readily.”
“Liking someone and placing your confidence in them are two separate things.”
“Just so.” She nodded. “Delphi said you would be smart.”
“Who’s that?”
“The seer before you. My father won her after he defeated the Python with a crossbow. Delphi was with him for a long time before I was even born.”
“Where is she now?” Maybe I could get her to come back so I could leave.
“She was executed,” Fiori announced dispassionately.
Santa mierda. Holy shit. “Why?”
“Well, you’ve seen how my father is. He’s actually better now. Back then he really had a short fuse. Before his silent period. He blamed Delphi for Aunt Hemera’s death. He thought she should have foreseen it and warned him. And he blamed my mom for introducing Hemera to Nyx. He treated her… badly, too. Now he’s transferred his hatred to all Dark Immortals.” She seemed much less naïve than she had seemed during our first meeting.
“Your mom.” I gulped. “Is she…did he…”
“Oh, no. She’s alive.” She said everything about her father so matter of factly. Had she developed a skewed sense of what was normal after living for so long around a man who was so obviously deranged? “But she’s hidden now. I don’t know where. Leo says it’s better if I don’t know. Otherwise…” She trailed off worrying her pink lip some more before her expression turned inward. “Dammit. I’ve said too much. You’re too easy to talk to and I haven’t had anyone to share confidences with for a long, long time.” She blew out a breath. “Delphi said I would have to be patient and let things develop organically between us, but that’s hard to do.” She touched my hand and stared at me a long moment her light brown eyes sparkling with what seemed to be guileless sincerity, but I just didn’t have it in me to take that leap of faith especially with Phoebus’ daughter. Her brow creased and she looked offended when she removed her hand. “I don’t intend to hurt you. Honestly, if I did I wouldn’t have interfered with Daddy at the court.”
She had a point. “What are you going to do with that knife then?”
“I’m a Century. We’re rare. There’s only one born every hundred years. I’m like my mother, my grandmother and my great grandmother before me. We are born to tantalize with our beauty, to charm with our grace, and to nurture with our life giving essence.” She sounded like she was reciting something from an ancient tome by rote.
“Meaning what exactly?”
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Sorry I guess the old brainwashing from Mom and my grandma kind of kicked in, huh?”
I nodded. She was charming and cute. It was hard not to like her. Leo trusted her and I wanted to trust him. I wondered if everything she had told me had been the truth. Much of it would be easy enough to verify…eventually.
“I hate this part. It’s gross. But then life is in the blood, right? But you already know that since your mother was a healer.” She sliced a gash in her finger and began coating my skin with the blood that welled to the surface. The entire left side of my face got warm first, then icy cold. The fragrance of her that drifted to my nose reminded me of fresh mint from the garden and oranges warmed in the sun. It soothed me like some surreal spa treatment.
“It’s working,” she whispered her eyes fizzy with excitement. “My blood is very potent. Once I
turn fully immortal it will only be this strong when all three aspects of my personality align, and I dance for my beloved.” She giggled, and it was truly a delightful sound. “It’s almost completely gone.” She tore open a bandage with her teeth and wrapped it around her finger. “You will probably be able to perceive the brand in direct sunlight, but that can’t be helped.”
Relief like an inflated balloon expanded inside me. But then I felt something else. A buzzing awareness. My vision blurred. I blinked but couldn’t clear it. Liquid warmth like a current swept me away.
“What’s going on?” Fiori cried. “You’re shaking so hard you’re rattling the table.
“Help me.” I grabbed her forearms. “I can’t stop it.” I felt ill. I knew it was a premonition but it wasn’t like all of the others. I could still see Fiori and the basement.
Vaguely I heard her shout for Donar and Leo, but I could see another place and another time, too. One reality overlaying another. Disorienting and disconcerting.
I was in a bedroom awash in moonlight. Someone lay on the bed that I desperately needed to see. My heart raced as I moved closer. I was excited and afraid at the same time.
Suddenly the shadow of a pair of wings as massive as my papá’s blocked out all the light. My own wings tingled wanting to unfurl in some kind of basic instinctive response. A single ebony feather with a slight iridescent sheen floated down in front of my nose. I reached for it. I couldn’t tell if it belonged to my reality or the dream. I shuddered violently as I clasped it to my chest. Then I passed out.
“She is waking.” Stone’s gravelly voice announced very close to my ear.
“What’s going on?” The ground seemed to sway beneath me as if I were back on the ship again. I cracked open my eyes but reclosed them immediately. The light assailed me, and my head pounded miserably.
“You fainted, Cici.” Millie squeezed my arm and I realized belatedly that Stone was carrying me. I could feel the cool marble of his skin and his solid arms. My stomach rose and fell with his strides. I laid my cheek against his chest taking slow shallow sips of arid air and wishing the bright light would go away. Even with my eyes closed the sun seemed to exacerbate my headache.
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