by Gaja J. Kos
And knew just how difficult a task it would be to convince the local doctors to cooperate with Tim’s brother.
Rose gasped, the coffee in her hands forgotten. “I stopped it?”
The two immortal men had dragged her out of bed where she had spent the past sixteen hours or so, with Veles preparing breakfast while Sebastian filled her in. With her mind still groggy from using up too much of her power, they had to go over the events slowly.
She had managed to devour two croissants before the full realization of what she had done sank in at last.
“It should be impossible,” Veles purred from the side of the table where he had propped himself down on the chair, his legs sprawled wide as usual. “But since you are an improbability all on your own, we came to the conclusion that it would be wise to remain open-minded.
“The things we once believed true might not be accurate any longer. If they ever even were…”
Rose gazed between the deep olive color of Veles’s eyes and the soft green of Sebastian’s, half expecting it to be some macabre prank they pulled on her. But the men remained serious. She let out a long breath, carefully placing the mug on the table.
“We don’t know if you pulled Dragan from the grasp of death,” Sebastian began, noticing the light tremors in her hands, “or if you had merely witnessed the process unfold and alerted the pack in time for the paramedics to save him.”
“And we won’t know for certain until the doctors release the information,” Veles seethed, his voice dripping with poison. “Nathaniel had been working on a theory about just how much hawthorn is irreversibly lethal and which amounts can still be counteracted. The medical staff had taken the vampire’s blood and urine samples—so the information is there.
“Yet these humans are extremely rigid when it comes to their rules. I offered to hold their souls captive until they cooperated, but our blond friend over here thought it too brazen.”
The words were harsh, yet the tone showed no true irritation with the Kresnik. Rose almost whistled in surprise; the two truly seemed to have buried the hatchet. Temporarily, but well enough.
And it warmed her heart.
Despite the situation they were thrown in, she couldn’t keep the selfish satisfaction at bay.
She had known Sebastian her whole life; the Kresnik was not just her protector, but one of her closest friends. And Veles... The lord of the underworld with his perfect, chiseled features, the sleek black hair that brushed his chin, and the voice that seemed to caress each delicate nook of her body; he was the man who had given her a sense of home.
The two immortals were her life. And for once, Rose didn’t feel torn.
As if he could read her thoughts, Veles reached forward, his palm sliding gently over her hand, and offered her a smile. She fought back the tears that had begun to burn at the back of her eyes.
She took in the serene view of her company one final time, savoring every detail, and threw herself into the unnerving reality they had to face.
“Dragan has no family, no next of kin, yes?” she asked, and the two males nodded in reply. “But the hospital will be obliged to do their own search for possible relatives before releasing his information to a third party...”
She knew how the law worked. And just how slow its mechanisms were. If they were lucky, the administration would give them the green light in less than two weeks. But if they weren’t...
They had far better chances of Dragan leaving the hospital before they’d gain any useful data.
Rose looked up, holding Veles’s gaze first before moving on to Sebastian. A faint ray of sunlight ricocheted off the Kresnik’s hair, illuminating the dining room. Her head spun from the exhaustion and the overwhelming amount of information she tried to process, but she steadied herself, coaxing that one thought that had been knocking at the back of her mind to swim to the surface.
There was no guarantee it would work. But if they wanted to act quickly, there was no harm in asking.
Well, no harm of catastrophic proportions, at least.
“I might know someone who could help.”
Chapter 40
Rose shrugged off her coat, enjoying the quiet company and the unusual solitude it offered. She had been overwhelmed with thinking about what her power might have accomplished. Anxious whether her plans would even succeed. And, finally, nervous when they were thrown into motion.
But this—this serenity wasn’t false. It grounded her, lulling the roaring energy inside her.
They were sitting in the stone enclosure, the same one Rose had once seen as a refuge, yet hadn’t been to since the Gamayun dropped the severed White were’s head in front of the pack, effectively casting them down the path they were walking on even now.
A warm, mild breeze ruffled her hair as she pulled her feet underneath her body in a cross-legged pose, and turned to face the Koldunya who had been sitting idly by her side.
Rose hadn’t lied to Sander; Serafina was beautiful.
Long, voluminous red strands fell down her shoulders, the tips curling around her full breasts, stopping just above the witch’s narrow waist. She was wearing simple linen pants in an off-white color and a matching top that complimented her exposed bronze skin. A tattoo of intricately drawn flowers and vines climbed up her side and curled over her shoulder, the final vine touching the Koldunya’s collarbone.
She was sunset in the flesh. And Rose could feel the delicate hum of her earthly power fill the air around her.
Rose had sensed the resemblance between her energy and those of the Kolduny when the pack had visited them in their sacred circle. Yet that blend hadn’t called to her, hadn’t spoken to her as strangely as the one enveloping the redheaded witch. Perhaps if she had been closer to Serafina then, she might have realized…
Those whispers of Mokoš stirred beneath Rose’s skin, offering what once had been her people’s collective memory but was now forgotten.
The Kolduny worshiped different gods. Gods that fueled their power.
And the one that was caressing Rose’s senses like she was some long-lost child…
It came from Mokoš.
The familiarity, the serenity—it was all because of those whispers of Mokoš both women carried.
“Thank you again for meeting me, Serafina,” Rose finally said and offered a smile.
The Koldunya bowed her head, mirroring the warm expression. “You were resourceful. I couldn’t refuse.”
The sincere amusement Serafina’s features displayed turned Rose’s smile into a grin. She had been resourceful.
It might have been luck—but thinking about it now, considering how pleased her energy was in the presence of her kin, luck seemed like a weak attempt of throwing sand into her eyes.
Not wanting the attention of the other Kolduny, Rose turned to exploring the boundaries of her power; she borrowed the amulet of Mokoš from Evelin, casting a thin sheen of golden light over its surface and willed it to taste the magic that had been woven into the pendant’s structure.
The power spoke back, revealing a signature trace of each member of the coven.
Surprisingly, Rose found the process of decoding to whom the impressions belonged far easier than individualizing the energy of different souls. They had opened up to her freely, giving her the knowledge she needed.
With Serafina’s signature locked in her mind, Rose sent a gentle tug of power in the Koldunya’s direction, hoping the redhead would hear her call and answer.
Serafina gazed at Rose, her expression calm. “You have Vedmak ancestors.”
It wasn’t a question.
But it wasn’t an accusation either.
Still, Rose tensed, the urge to balk building up in her muscles.
“My late father,” she found herself answering instead.
The Koldunya nodded knowingly, her gaze meeting Rose’s. “I know of Bogdan’s story. I know of the example the warlocks made of him. But I wasn’t certain...”
And now she was.
“Nobody else is aware of who you truly are. And I won’t tell,” Serafina offered, likely noticing Rose’s uneasiness. “You may have Vedmak blood, but I sense goodness in you, Rose. The same kind of goodness your father possessed. And although my kin sadly does not share my regard, I believe nobody should be condemned based solely on their lineage.”
Rose swallowed the lump that had formed at the back her throat, the tension in her tendons lessening.
“Besides,” the Koldunya continued, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks. “I like you.”
Rose’s eyes widened in surprise, causing Serafina’s blush to deepen. It made the witch appear even lovelier than she had been before. Although Rose wasn’t sure how that was even possible.
“With our magic combined, we could avert many crises,” the Koldunya added hastily, sneaking a smile between her words.
A wolfish giggle spilled from Rose’s lips before she could stop it; she was afraid Serafina might get the wrong impression, might think Rose was mocking her admission—but the witch merely echoed her laugh as she shook her head. Like she couldn’t believe that she had let her fondness for Rose slip.
“I know you’re with Veles. I’m not going to try anything funny.” Serafina chuckled, lifting one hand to her lips to stifle the sound. “But I will help you with whatever you need, Rose.”
By the time Rose filled her in on Vaclav’s dying promises and the unsettling condition Dragan was in, Serafina’s face was a mask of determination and solemnity. Even with Rose omitting the details of what she feared was her power’s role in the unusual developments, the situation was grave enough for the Koldunya’s response to chill the otherwise warm bubble of air they were wrapped in.
“So the Upir might truly have set a revolt in motion,” Serafina said in a quiet voice.
Rose exhaled, biting her lower lip absentmindedly as she glared into the distance. “Although I’m still not certain whether he envisioned more twentyfourhourlies dying as his plan progressed. I understand he viewed them as sacrifices, but still…”
Vaclav’s ambitions should have led to a massacre of humans, not vampires. Those the Upir had slaughtered were a footstep meant to cause an avalanche. Not the pebbles and rocks themselves.
Vaclav’s work was supposed to evolve; it wasn’t meant to be replicated. And that’s why Dragan’s role in the scheme was still a mystery to Rose.
“You need to know what happened to Dragan,” the Koldunya said, understanding shining in her eyes. They couldn’t make any progress while being kept in the dark. “How many doctors are in the vicinity?”
Rose knitted her eyebrows together, rummaging through her mind for the information that simply wasn’t there. She sighed, puckering her lips. She should have come better prepared—but the sheer excitement she felt when the Koldunya accepted her invitation made her sloppy.
Or maybe it had been the—useless, meaningless—fear of meeting with someone who could sniff out her forbidden blend of blood. Someone who could expose her to the world.
“Give me a minute,” Rose said and opened the bond, finding the vine that would lead her to Mark.
She followed the ethereal path, the question gaining an existence of its own as it flowed effortlessly through space, before coming to a stop in front of the barrier Mark had set up. During the past few months, the pack had gotten not only better at opening and closing the link at their will, but they had learned how to gain someone’s attention when they needed it. Without brute force tearing down the walls.
Rose rapped on the gates, the werewolf answering immediately.
The silent exchange pulsed between them, with Serafina observing her with something that came close to awe. Whatever magic constructed the bond between the werewolves, the Koldunya could sense it. And was clearly intrigued.
Their gazes locked, and Rose gifted her a smile as the conversation continued to flow freely within her mind. Serafina’s curiosity wasn’t intrusive—Rose gladly gave her the chance to see, to sense the ancient energy as it worked, carrying the silent words back and forth.
Finally, Rose repositioned herself on the stone wall she was sitting on, her body angled towards the gently smiling Koldunya.
“Three nurses, two doctors,” she said, putting up the mental barrier after saying goodbye to Mark.
Serafina grinned, her green eyes sparkling in the ray of sun her bubble of spring conjured. “Piece of cake.”
Chapter 41
Rose stood between Jens and Jürgen while the rest of the pack waited on the other end of the small hospital wing, hidden out of sight by a sharp turn that separated the addition from the main building. They had been lucky the staff had isolated Dragan. Despite not having many vampiric patients—aside from a few pregnant ones and even fewer of those who were faint from not ingesting enough blood—the hospital didn’t dare take the risk of the infections spreading. If it indeed wasn’t poisoning that had nearly taken his life but a yet-unknown disease, it was better to be on the safe side.
The quarantined area was an improvised one, created especially for Dragan. The staff simply closed off the half-built hospital addition, fixing it up into something that could pass as workable and sanitary. Barely.
But what truly mattered was the area’s seclusion. The two doctors rushed in and out of the wing, their duties often taking them elsewhere; the situation wasn’t that much different with the nurses. Only one of the three assigned to Dragan was permanently stationed out in the hallway, with the others arriving only when they were needed.
If Rose hadn’t been aware of the Kolduny’s general aversion towards public displays of magic, she might have believed Serafina was disappointed with the lack of people she would have to spell.
Well, in all honesty, coming to know the charming witch in the past few hours, Serafina probably was disappointed.
Rose watched the redhead walk down the corridor with the warm breeze following her footsteps. She didn’t mute her power. Didn’t have to. After Serafina was done with them, they would forget her completely—or she’d become just one of those many foggy faces the humans had passed during the day and grayed out in their memories later.
The Koldunya had already shielded both entrances to the area, smiling smugly as she explained the playfulness of her magic.
As a daughter of Nature, she could manipulate it. Even when it came to humans. And if one wanted to pass through the doors and into the hallway leading to Dragan’s room, they would find themselves squeezing their thighs together with a sudden, overwhelming urge to pee.
Which would send them running in the opposite direction.
Rose snickered quietly, remembering the mischief in Serafina’s eyes once she had finished casting her spells. All that was left was the nurse.
The Koldunya’s hips swayed as she turned the corner and out of Rose’s view. And the waiting began.
Serafina spotted the nurse’s station ahead; a rough square of tables and computers, with a coffee maker tucked in the back corner. The small female with mousy blonde hair hadn’t noticed her yet, giving Serafina the perfect opportunity to spell her from a distance.
But she preferred the original plan.
The days when she left the sacred circle, the spring enclosure where she resided with the rest of the Kolduny, were few; opportunities when she could exercise her power for something that would actually make a difference were even fewer.
Serafina was determined not to miss out on the rush of a field operation.
She snickered at herself. Field operation.
It truly had been too long.
She donned her best innocent expression, going for a lie that had been used a thousand times but always seemed to work. A lost, confused female, looking for the bathroom. With the endless turns and corri
dors she had seen so far, the lie didn’t even seem that improbable.
“Excuse me,” she chirped, catching the nurse’s attention.
The middle-aged female gave her a not particularly welcoming gaze, but nonetheless tilted her head in reply.
Serafina felt the magic rise inside her in an array of delicate currents, begging her to let it play with the nurse. Hiding her true smile underneath a fake one, she fidgeted in front of the wide desk, her gaze darting around.
“I’m looking for the bathroom.” She sighed. “They told me to go past the x-ray rooms and take the first corridor left...”
The corners of the nurse’s lips stayed down, only the wrinkles around them deepening with displeasure. “You should have taken the second corridor left,” she said in a voice that practically dripped with boredom and irritation. She lowered her gaze back to the computer in front of her, effectively dismissing Serafina.
Serafina smiled at her and thanked the nurse for her so warmly offered help.
Not that being brisk would help the jaded crone.
The vines of Serafina’s magic had already slipped from her body, planting their seed in the woman’s mind.
No, being brisk wouldn’t help at all.
But the appalling attitude had granted Serafina more menace as she decided just which particular urge would plague the rude nurse in the hour to come.
A small, middle-aged woman with hair an unappealing shade of blonde and an almost manic expression on her face rushed past the three werewolves like a whirlwind, completely oblivious to their presence in the wing.
The nurse, Rose thought, observing the figure dash down the hallway like the soles of her feet were on fire.
Well, something certainly was on fire.
Just before the woman turned around the corner and out of the secluded area, the unmistakable sound of buttons hitting the floor rushed through Rose’s ears.
