I nodded and held it up, trying to picture the blade as an extension of my arm.
“Good.” He nodded. “Now try to stab me with it.”
The dagger dropped to my side, and I frowned. “What does that have to do with magic?”
His lips curled into a grin. “Nothing. But physical defense can be just as important as magical. This requires nothing but you and your blade. No bones, no blood, no rising sun. No shadows.”
Chills swept through me at the way he spoke the word shadows. A heavy emphasis that reflected in his eyes. Or was I just imagining it? It was impossible to tell.
“And most witches and warlocks won’t see that kind of attack coming.” He motioned for me to lift the blade. “When they don’t know what’s coming, they won’t be ready to stop you.”
“That makes sense,” I said warily, but I lifted the dagger all the same. Truth was, I felt a thrill in my gut at the idea of learning hand-to-hand combat. I’d struggled with spells for so long that the idea of slicing a blade through the air almost felt more natural. I’d been carrying this weapon with me for as long as I could remember. And, for as long as I could remember, casting magic had always been an effort that never paid off how I wanted.
I knew why now. And, with some practice, my shadow magic would get stronger and stronger over time.
I just wasn’t sure I wanted it to.
“Good.” He grinned again. “Do your best damage, Zoe.”
With a deep breath, I swung out my arm, and the blade soared through the air. Until a massive arm knocked me sideways. I landed on the floor with an oomph, my brain spinning.
“Ouch.” I glared up at him. “How is knocking me out going to help anything?”
“It’s going to teach you what to expect when you try certain dumbass moves.” He smirked but reached out a hand to help me up.
“Oh yeah?” I raised my eyebrows, ignoring his hand. “Was it a dumbass move when I fought that vampire at headquarters? If I recall correctly, I won that little skirmish.”
“I saw. It was a badass move, I’ll give you that.” He smiled as he watched me stand and lift my dagger once again. “But, I hate to say it, you got a little lucky. He underestimated you and didn’t expect the attack. Next time, that might not happen. Not everyone is going to think you’re a weak little thing.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not a weak little thing.”
“Damn straight.” He inched forward and lifted his hand, flicking his fingers in a welcoming move. “Now, try again.”
This time, I didn’t go at him as quickly as I had the first time. Instead, I waited, eyeing him up before I made my move. His feet were planted firmly on the floor in a wide stance that resembled a boxer’s pose. Both arms hovered by his sides, tense but ready to move at a moment’s notice. And his eyes. They were steady and unyielding but zeroed in on my wrist. He wasn’t looking at the rest of me. So, maybe I could catch him off guard by doing something he didn’t expect.
With a deep breath, I jumped to the side and swung my free hand right at his stomach. It landed with a crunch, cracking my fingers. Pain exploded in my bones and fire licked at my knuckles. I almost couldn’t breathe from how much it stung.
“Ouch, shit!” Gritting my teeth, I pulled my hand to my chest and hunched over. I squeezed my eyelids tight and tried to force down the pain, but it throbbed to the beat of my racing heart.
“Zoe?” Dorian came close, his warm hand heavy on my back. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m fucking not okay.” I tried to move my fingers and almost screamed when the pain shot through me once again. “I think my hand is broken.”
Gently, he pulled my hand away from my chest and lifted it up to his eyes. He frowned, lightly running a finger along the red skin. I flinched, but I wasn’t entirely sure whether it was because his touch caused a fresh wave of pain…or a fresh wave of something else.
“How does that feel?” he murmured, flicking up his eyes to see my reaction.
“I, ah…” My words faltered as my mind went blank. “I think it’s broken.”
“I’m so sorry, Zoe.” He rubbed his thumb along my skin, and this time I shuddered. Yes, it hurt, but more than that, his touch made my skin feel alive. “I should have warned you. My body is a lot different than my human form was.”
“You mean, it’s like a brick wall?” I laughed and shook my head. “No shit.”
“If you’d punched a brick wall, a hell of a lot more bones would be broken than this.” He lowered my arm carefully. “But yes, I think your middle knuckle is broken. You should let me heal it for you.”
My skin buzzed when I looked up to meet his eyes. “Heal? Do you mean…”
Because there were no spells, that I knew of, for healing. They would certainly come in handy, but if they did exist, they were hidden in the lost grimoires, perhaps never to be seen again. So, he could only mean one thing. He wanted to heal me with his vampire blood. And I would have to drink it.
“It’s a minor injury,” he said quietly. “You would only need a few drops.”
Shivering, I backed away and clutched my hand to my chest. It still hurt, horribly. The pain was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. I’d been lucky enough in life that I’d never had a broken bone or anything worse than a scrape on my knee, and this was ten times worse than that.
Still, I didn’t know if I could drink a vampire’s blood, especially since I still wasn’t one hundred percent convinced he was someone I could trust. Maybe he had ulterior motives. Maybe he wanted to make me just like him.
“Can Unbound vampires turn people?” I asked in a whisper.
He flinched, stepping back as if I’d tried to punch him again. “After all this, you still think I’d do something like that? I can’t believe it. Why am I even fucking trying with you? It’s like talking to a brick wall.”
“Put yourself in my shoes,” I said in a rush of words. “Imagine if you found out I was a vampire. Wouldn’t you be the slightest bit worried that I might have something terrible in mind, especially with everything going on right now? There’s a clan of them trying to hunt us down.”
“If I found out you were hiding something from me, sure. I might question why that was.” His gaze flickered with a hint of understanding. “But I would assume you had good reason for it.”
“Or maybe,” I said in a voice as low as a whisper, “the reason wouldn’t be a good one. Not really. Maybe the reason would have something to do with the fact a vampire’s true nature is too terrible for most people to accept.”
“Well, I’m not most people, Zoe.” His hand found my arm again, and he drew it up to his lips. His skin whispered across mine, and I couldn’t help but shiver. “Let me heal you. You can’t fight if you’re injured, and I won’t be able to live with myself if you get hurt because of me.”
“Okay,” I heard myself saying, even though I hadn’t realized I’d even agreed in my head. “On one condition.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “I’m doing you a favor by healing you, and you’re trying to get a better deal.” For a moment, I thought he would back off and rescind his offer, but instead, he let out a deep-throated laugh. “I should have guessed. What’s the condition, Zoe?”
“You take me to the Enforcer’s house, and we see what we can find.” I held up a hand when he opened his mouth to argue. “Like you said, we don’t have much time to save Grams. I can’t waste these few midnight hours.”
He regarded me for a moment before finally giving a nod. “He won’t be there, but if you’re dead set on going, it’s probably better to do it now than in the daylight.”
Relief whooshed through me, an emotion that caught me off guard. Because by getting him to agree to my terms, I’d put myself into a position where a vampire was about to feed me his blood. Swallowing hard, I stepped back, but Dorian kept a tight hold of my wrist. He shook his head and smiled.
“Come on, Zoe. You’re a fearless girl. This won’t even hurt you at all.” He smiled, a wicke
d dangerous smile that sent a flood of delicious fear through my veins. “I’d say I’m the one who’s going to get hurt here, but I don’t feel much pain these days.”
Slowly, Dorian took my blade in his hands and sliced a small cut into his finger. A slow stream of blood poured through the gap, spilling bright liquid onto his skin. It looked like normal blood, but I knew it held far too much power to be that. It healed. It cursed. And for those vampires who were Nosferatu, the power of demons swirled in their blood.
Dorian said he wasn’t Nosferatu, but should I believe him? Could I let myself give in and trust him, despite knowing what his true nature was? He’d given me no reason to believe he was anything other than what he said—a man cursed to be a vampire for as long as eternity continued on. It was time to decide. Was I in or was I out?
“Drink it,” he said in a low, gruff voice, holding his finger to my lips. My tongue darted out and tasted the tangy blood. I wrinkled my nose at the bitterness, but continued to lick every last drop until I tasted nothing but his salty skin. He might have been rock hard when I hit him in his chest, but the flesh of his finger was soft, warm, and tender. Dorian smiled and dragged his finger down my lip, letting it hover there for just a second too long. Heat flickered in his eyes, reflected by the warmth that was growing in my gut.
“How quickly does it work?” I asked, hating the way my voice came out in a breathless sigh.
“I need to grab some supplies before we head to Vincent’s home.” Dorian backed away, leaving nothing but a cloud of cool air in his wake. “By the time I’m ready to go, your hand will be fully healed.” He flashed me a dangerous smile. “Just make sure to wipe the blood off your lips.”
Chapter 23
Dorian was right. Within moments, my hand completely healed, but I couldn’t get the salty taste of his blood off my tongue. He felt inside of me now, like his blood flowed through my veins and his breath whispered in my lungs. Not to mention my mind. It felt flooded with thoughts I didn’t want to have.
Images of blood. Images of power. Images of sharp stakes flashing in the dead of night.
And images of skin brushing against skin.
“Dorian?” I asked as he shifted gears, powering the car down the silent city streets. A full moon peeked out from behind a sky full of murky clouds, casting an eerie glow on the rain-slicked pavement. “Have you ever given someone your blood before?”
“I have.” He ground his teeth together and frowned. “But it’s not a subject I have the slightest interest in discussing, least of all with someone who thinks I’m the devil.”
Not the devil. Just…maybe a demon.
“Well, tough. We’re going to talk about it, because honestly? I feel a little…weird.” I held my hand up before my eyes as streetlights strobed into the car, trying to find evidence of my injury. There wasn’t even so much as a faint bruise on my knuckle. “A little bit…” I didn’t know how to explain.
“Vampy?” Dorian asked with a smirk. “That happens. It’s nothing to worry about. You had a very small amount of my blood, so you’ll feel some of my emotions. It holds powers just like yours does. Don’t worry. You won’t be tainted by me for much longer.”
“Good. Wouldn’t want to be tainted, now would I?” I said with a snap. For some reason, his jabs were starting to get to me, like I was the one in the wrong here instead of him. But he was the vampire, and he’d practically forced me to drink his blood. Speaking of… “You say my blood holds powers. Does that mean you feel this way when you drink witch’s blood? Like something is a little bit off?”
“I’ve never had witch’s blood.” He gripped the steering wheel tighter and twisted it sideways, spinning the car onto a road lined with glowing lamp posts. “I don’t believe in drinking blood from one of my own. And my own isn’t vampires, as much as you like to think. I’m a warlock. Always have been, and always will be. Just turns out it’ll be for a hell of a lot longer than I originally thought.”
That was interesting. Even though he’d showed me the bags of animal blood, I assumed that he drank from humans and witches when he couldn’t manage to get ahold of an alternative. And in all the years he’d been alive, he must have run out of options at least a few times. Did they even have animal blood bags back in the olden days?
There was so much I didn’t know about Dorian, so much I wanted to know. But I could tell by the tense clench of his jaw and the way he gripped the wheel that this wasn’t a conversation he liked to have. In fact, I was pretty sure I was pissing him off.
Time to turn the conversation onto something else, even though I wanted to get to the bottom of his nature eventually.
“Do you think Grams will be okay?” I asked, shifting sideways to face him. We’d left her with Laura in his apartment while we headed out on our mission to find a murderous warlock. Laura had valiantly pretended she wanted to come along until we told her someone needed to stay behind and watch Grams. Relieved, she’d plopped back on the floor for another power nap. I wished I could do the same.
“To be honest, Zoe. I don’t know.” Dorian frowned before letting out a heavy sigh that shook me to my very bones. “Vincent set up this elaborate plan for a reason, and he’s too smart to get caught. I don’t want to scare you, but I think it’s important to understand that if we can’t find him, I don’t know how we can save her.”
Well, he might not know how to save her, but I did. If we didn’t find any information at Vincent’s house, I was going to track him down with that shadow magic spell, as soon as I could figure out how it worked. It would tell me exactly where he was, and I could formulate a plan from that. Find a way to catch him by surprise or go in with guns blazing if necessary. Still, hearing Dorian’s doubt sent a new flood of dread through my veins, mixing with the vampire magic. Combined, it left my head reeling and my body tense and taut.
It was up to me to save Grams. And I’d do whatever it took to get her back.
Dorian eased his car to a stop outside of a three-story, red-brick building that was sandwiched between two long rows of identical houses. The sidewalk was shaded by the thick branches of towering oak trees, leaves carpeting the sidewalks. It was a very homey kind of street, the total opposite of what I’d expected. Something you’d find in the pages of a magazine, not in the middle of a hunt for a murderous warlock. For some reason, I had pictured the Enforcer living in an evil lair type of warehouse in the darkest parts of the city, not in this suburbia on the outskirts of Boston.
“Number Twelve,” Dorian said, cutting the engine. “He lives here with his wife and two sons.”
“Hold up a minute,” I said, raising my eyebrows. “He has a family? And they live here? Shit, Dorian. You didn’t tell me that. We can’t get some innocent kids caught up in this thing.”
“Hence my hesitation when you first brought this up,” Dorian said. “Makes things a little more difficult on us.”
“You don’t say?” Rolling my eyes, I turned back toward the house. Everything was dark and quiet, heavy drapes pulled across every window. Cars lined the streets, but that was standard in this kind of neighborhood. There was nothing to suggest they were home, but there was also nothing to suggest they were gone on a trip. The only way to find out was to sneak inside and hope we didn’t get caught.
“Here’s the plan,” Dorian said with a start before I held up a hand to interrupt him.
“Hold up. Why do you get to decide on the plan? Don’t I get to have a say in this ridiculous mission?”
He shifted sideways and leveled his eyes at me. “Zoe. You’re the one who wanted to come here tonight. I said we should wait until daylight, but you were dead set on coming.”
“Well, that was before I knew he had a wife and kids. Maybe if you’d told me the whole story, I would have felt differently about it. I know hiding important details is your thing and all, but you’re going to have to start cluing me in more if we’re going to survive this thing.”
A low growl emitted from his throat, sending a
swarm of goosebumps across my skin. Electricity rippled in the air from his power, and it felt like no other magic I’d ever seen before. It was darker, more dangerous, causing the street lamps to flicker in response. I tensed, and my breath stilled in my lungs, uncertainty and fear flickering through me.
Had I made a massive mistake in coming here with Dorian? Did I need to run? Flee to the nearest safe space?
The problem was, there were no safe spaces. Not anymore.
The steering wheel cracked in his strong grip. “How many times are we going to have to have this same argument? Either you trust me or you don’t. Make a decision and stick with it. If you want out, then get out, by all means. But if you’re going to stay then you have to stop bringing this shit up every five minutes.”
“I want to trust you,” I heard myself say before I fully processed the words. Did I really want that? Yes, I did. I felt it in my gut. Even though he was a vampire, and even though he’d kept that from me, I wanted nothing more than to trust him with every fiber of my being. There was something about him that drew my soul to his, but I didn’t want to be that girl. You know the one. The dumb idiot in movies who trusted the bad guy just because he had a pretty face and perfect body.
Not that I thought Dorian had a nice body…
“But what?” His gaze was sharp when he turned toward me, the bond between us tightening with a snap. My chest heaved as I drew in heavy breaths, my gaze caught on the intensity in his eyes. It felt as if he could see inside my very soul and read every thought churning through my brain. His blood sung in my ears, drowning out every objection and fear I had. Nothing else in the world existed in that moment but us and the tension punctuating the shadow-filled air.
“It would be easier,” I said as I swallowed hard, feeling my cheeks flame, “if you’d be a little more forthcoming about important details. I only feel doubt because you’ve hidden things from me.”
“Okay.” His voice was deep and low, and the sound of it snaked across my skin. Every cell in my body felt on the brink of a cliff. At any moment, I might topple off the edge and fall to pieces. “Then, let’s make a pact, shall we? I will swear to be open with you, about everything, if you will do the same. In return, you have to swear to stop questioning me at every turn. Stop assuming the worst. Deal?”
The Bone Coven Chronicles: The Complete Series Page 18
