“Blood magic?” I said.
“Vampires have some magic,” said Viggo. “Not as much as witches, of course, but enough considering we are supernatural creatures. We can do some magic with blood.”
“No one has to die, right?” I said.
“Of course not,” said Viggo.
* * *
The blood magic ended up consisting of Viggo pouring blood from one of the werewolves and his own vampire blood into a bowl and speaking a bunch of strange foreign words over it. He said that if we grew close to a spell in the woods, the blood would begin to churn.
I was a little skeptical, but Viggo assured us it would work.
So, it was another night walking around the woods, only this time, instead of actively searching, we had to carry around a bowl of blood to see if we saw it start to churn.
It never did.
We kept walking even after the sun had come up. Viggo didn’t want to give up. Eventually, when the sun grew high in the sky in the midmorning, we returned to the place we were staying.
When we had arrived before, Viggo had compelled the werewolves there to feed us, not to give us rooms to stay in, so this was the first time we had been shown to bedrooms.
The room where Landon I were staying had a canopy bed with long, diaphanous bits of fabric flowing down to the floor. The bed wasn’t even a queen sized bed. It looked like a full. This was going to be an even tighter fit.
I guessed there was no reason for big beds, since the men who came here didn’t need to do much stretching out or sleeping.
I just gazed at the bed, shaking my head.
“What?” said Landon from behind me. “You don’t like it? You’re the one who wanted us in the same room.”
“I know,” I said.
“What was that all about?” he said.
I only shook my head. I didn’t say anything.
“I was going to say something back there, because it almost sounded like you were jealous or something and wanted to watch out for me, but that’s stupid, because you know that I can’t—”
“It’s not like you can’t,” I said. “I mean, if you do, werewolf girls get dead, so it’s not a great idea, but you’re capable—”
“You think I would do that?”
“Have you?”
He raised his eyebrows.
I turned to look at him pointedly. “You said you’d been to these places before.”
He rubbed his forehead. “Oh, blood and fangs, Camber.”
“I mean, maybe you didn’t know what would happen,” I said, repeating what I’d thought to myself before. “Maybe it was a horrible surprise to you, and—”
“No,” he said.
“No?” I said in a quiet voice.
“Never,” he said. “They brought me to these places, but I did know what would happen. We bloods aren’t stupid. We know all the rumors. So, I never wanted to tempt fate. But others did. Some bloods… the rage mode seems to infect them, like they’re bloodthirsty all the time. Some of them really seemed to enjoy killing.”
I thought of James, the bloodhound who I’d made a deal with to protect our village. He’d had that crazed look about him. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”
He crossed the room and sat down on the bed. “So, you wanted us in the same room to keep me from killing anyone?”
“I thought maybe it wouldn’t be your fault. Like what if one of them came in and tried to, I don’t know, tempt you, and then you lost control—”
“Come on, Camber, give me a little credit here.” He glared at me.
My shoulders slumped. “You said that we could never kiss again, and so I thought that—”
“But that’s because it’s you.” He sighed. “I’m perfectly capable of resisting anyone and everyone that isn’t you, okay? You are my mate. You’re Camber. You’re different.”
“I am?”
“Are you this insecure?” He looked annoyed. “Are you going to need me to reassure you of this kind of stuff constantly?”
“No,” I said. “Don’t be a dick.”
He flopped back on the bed. “Sorry. It’s only that it’s kind of insulting. It’s like you don’t trust me, and I don’t know where that comes from.”
“No, I trust you,” I said. “But the rage mode, I don’t trust that. That’s all.”
“And I guess I’m irritated,” he said, “because now we’re stuck in a bed together. And maybe I don’t trust myself.”
I bit down on my bottom lip.
He sat up. “That’s why I’m being a dick. I feel more out of control than I ever have before. When I’m around you… I don’t know what it is. The fact that I remember what it was like to be with you, or the mating bond, or just that you’re you? But whatever it is, it’s so much harder to keep myself in check than it ever used to be.”
I crossed the room to him. I reached out to touch him. I ran my fingers over the fur on his head.
He shut his eyes. “Camber…”
I pulled back. “Is that bad? I barely touched you.”
“It’s not bad,” he said, opening his eyes. “But don’t do it again, okay?”
I nodded.
He got up. “You can take the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.”
I wrinkled up my nose. “I don’t know about that bed. When I think about all the things that have been done on it, I’m just not sure I want to sleep there.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure they clean the sheets.”
“You sleep on the bed,” I said. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“No way,” he said. “I’m not letting you do that.”
I snatched a blanket and pillow off the bed and curled up on the floor, shutting my eyes.
“Come on, Camber,” he said.
I didn’t open my eyes. “You think that we’re going to find Desta this way? With that bowl of blood and Viggo biting whoever he wants and futilely searching the woods all night, every night?”
“I don’t know,” Landon said softly.
It was quiet.
“Hey, Camber, you can’t sleep on the floor,” came Landon’s voice.
“Mmm, I’m almost asleep as it is,” I said.
“That can’t be comfortable,” he said.
“Well…” I opened my eyes and sat up. “Don’t look.”
“What are you doing?” he said.
I quickly stripped out of my clothes and shifted into wolf form. Then, curling up on my paws and the pillow I’d brought, I was completely comfortable.
“Cheater,” said Landon.
I would have laughed if I could have in this form. I fell asleep right away.
Sometime later, I woke up because I felt Landon curling around me with another blanket. His hands burrowed into my fur, and I relaxed against him.
It wasn’t the same as us being together when I was in human form, of course, but it was still nice. We could be close this way, and there was no danger of his losing control. It was just warmth and love, no heat and passion. But it felt like a gift to know that we could still have this. Why hadn’t I thought of shifting before?
We slept on the floor together, fur against fur, and it was good.
CHAPTER FOUR
Night fell, and we joined Viggo for what passed for breakfast.
He told us that he thought that the blood magic hadn’t worked last night, because he’d used werewolf blood instead of human blood, and so he’d gone into the human town and stolen a blood bag, and he was sure we were going to have some luck finding Desta tonight.
I wished that I was as optimistic as he was. I was starting to feel as though we were on a fool’s errand. I didn’t say anything at that point, though. I ate the food, watched as he mixed his blood with the blood bag, and we set back off into the woods again.
After several hours of walking, though, I was sick of holding my tongue.
“When are we going to try something else?” I said. “She might not even be here. She could be anywhere. She could be badly hurt and we
could be wasting valuable time walking around in the woods with a bowl of blood.”
“You think I don’t know that?” said Viggo. “But what other options do we have?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “But there must be something. You’re not thinking of what it could be. We need to look elsewhere.”
“Where?” said Viggo.
I didn’t have an answer. “Maybe we should get a witch to do a spell for us to find her.”
“You know any witches?” said Viggo. “Witches tend not to like vampires.”
“Well, I wonder why,” I said.
“I’m doing everything in my power to find your sister,” said Viggo. “You know how I feel about her.”
“She amuses you,” I said. “She’s your favorite toy. But eventually, you’ll grow bored looking for her and find another toy, and my sister will be gone by then, and I won’t survive that.”
Viggo glared at me. “You underestimate me, Camber. I suggest you reconsider what you’ve said. I love your sister.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Would I be working with you if I did not care about her?” he said.
“I don’t know. Why are you working with me? What am I really bringing to this arrangement?”
He threw up his hands. “Well, fangs only know, actually. I had thought you would have some insight that might help, but I have done all the work, haven’t I?”
“What are you talking about?” I said.
“I have found us places to stay. I have compelled everyone necessary. I have done the blood magic—”
“Which doesn’t even work,” I said.
“Um, guys,” said Landon.
We both turned to him. “What?” I said, annoyed.
Landon pointed.
There was a figure approaching us, limping. Suddenly, it lunged for me, knocking me back to the ground and fitting its fangs to my neck. It was a vampire.
CHAPTER FIVE
I struggled, pushing at the thing’s shoulders, but it was too strong. I was going to have to shift, because that was the only way I would be able to fight the vampire. In human form, I simply wasn’t strong enough.
But before I could do anything, Viggo had plucked the vampire off of me and had propelled him backwards into a tree.
“King Viggo?” said the surprised vampire, who looked pretty worse for wear. He was dirty, wearing torn and ragged clothes, and he had a hollow, gaunt look to his face, which I had been told was how vampires looked after not feeding for a while. “W-we were looking for you. We came here to find you and bring you back to the city to reclaim your throne.”
“We?” said Viggo.
“The others are gone. We were set upon by a figure in a black hood,” said the vampire. “She took the others. She would have taken me too, but she must have thought I was dead. I was badly hurt in the fight.” He pointed at me. “Please. I need blood.”
“Take it in the town,” said Viggo. “This one is under my protection.”
The vampire peered around Viggo at me. “Oh, I’m sorry, Your Majesty. It is only that I was so hungry, and I did not know.”
“I’m not angry with you.” Viggo rolled his eyes, fed up. He let go of the vampire. “Honestly, this is why I don’t think I could have stood one more minute of being the king. All the quaking and the apologies and the ‘Your Majesties.’”
The vampire gave him a funny look. “What?”
“Yes, I was sick of being king,” said Viggo. “I wouldn’t go back and take the kingdom if you paid me. I’m done with all of it. So, go back to the city yourself. And don’t worry about your comrades. We’re going to find that dark figure and kill her, and then we’ll free them all.”
“You and… this human girl and this bloodhound?” The vampire was incredulous.
“Yes,” said Viggo. “Can you tell us where you saw the dark figure?”
“Well, it was in the woods,” said the vampire. “Somewhere close by. I’ve been wandering by myself for some time since, I suppose, but—”
“Never mind,” said Viggo. “Off with you.”
“But, Your—” He broke off. “But maybe I could help. You may be in need of some assistance.”
“From a half-starved vampire?” said Viggo. “No, don’t trouble yourself. Go and feed. Goodbye.”
The vampire hesitated, but he did as Viggo said, wandering off.
“And tell others that I don’t wish to be king,” Viggo called after him. “Tell them to make peace with Ondine and follow her orders.”
The vampire looked back at that, but then nodded and plodded away.
We all watched him go.
When he was gone, I arched an eyebrow at Viggo. “So, you really mean that? You’re done being the king.”
“Quite done,” said Viggo. He turned and picked up the bowl of blood. He must have set it down before he tore the vampire off me, but I hadn’t noticed that, being preoccupied as I had been. Viggo eyed me. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
“For what?”
“For saving your life. That vampire was very hungry. He would have had no qualms about sucking you dry.”
“Thank you,” said Landon quietly.
I glared at him.
“What?” said Landon. “I don’t want you dead. I was two seconds from ripping that vampire apart myself.”
“Oh, there’s no need for bloodshed,” said Viggo. “I handled it all easily.”
“What are you going to do if you’re not king?” I said. “Wander the woods in exile?”
“I shall save Desta,” said Viggo. “Once she is safe, all will be well. Anywhere she is will not be exile, but a paradise.”
“And what if Desta wants nothing to do with you?”
Viggo’s jaw twitched. “Let’s just find your sister, first, shall we? What comes next doesn’t matter if we can’t rescue her.”
He was right. And there was Sinead and Ewan to worry about as well. I was terrified for my best friend. I needed to save them all.
* * *
It was nearly dawn and we’d covered almost all the ground we’d covered the nights before. But I was too exhausted to rail at Viggo anymore. I walked along behind him, glowering at the same trees and foliage we had walked by time and time again, and I felt helpless.
I thought of Desta, of Sinead, and I was sick with worry.
The truth was, we had no idea where they were.
And then, suddenly, the blood began to move.
We all stopped moving, gaping at it, because I don’t think any of us—Viggo included—really thought that the blood would really react.
“What’s that mean?” I said.
“It means there’s a magical protective spell here,” said Viggo.
“Right here?” said Landon.
“Yes,” said Viggo. “Now, to break it—”
“I know a thing or two about breaking through those things,” said Landon.
I squinted at him. “Yeah, I remember you saying something to Vivia about how you were going to break through her new spell. How do you know that stuff?”
“When I was in the city, there was a witch who was a fellow blood slave. She taught me some tricks,” said Landon.
“A witch as a blood slave?” said Viggo. “That sounds disastrous.”
“Yeah, well, she disappeared one day,” said Landon. “I asked about her, and Desta compelled me to forget she ever existed. She’s probably dead now, I figure.”
“Oh, let’s get on with it,” said Viggo.
Landon glared at him. “Step aside, then.”
Viggo sneered back, but he did as he was told.
Landon touched the trunk of a tree, his fingers moving over the bark in a sort of pattern, and then the air shimmered and twisted and suddenly, we could see a house in front of us.
It was a strange sort of tree house, held up on the twisted trunks of two ancient-looking trees. The trees looked like legs, and the house like a body of some kind of odd creature. The house was made of dark wood, pa
tched here and there with different colors of wood and other materials. The windows and the door seemed to resemble a face, one that was glaring out at us, warning us to stay out.
“Cheery,” commented Landon.
“How do we get up there?” I said, peering up at the door. There were no steps. “Fly?”
“Climb,” said Viggo grimly.
“Well, that’ll be easy,” said Landon.
I swallowed.
Viggo led the way, and we went to the trunks of the two trees. They were huge and gnarled, and they didn’t have branches. If we wanted to climb them, we’d have to use spots in the bark for footholds. It wasn’t going to be easy.
Viggo nimbly began to scale the tree.
I blinked. I hadn’t realized vampires could do that.
Landon brandished his claws. “Climb on my back, Camber.”
“I can climb this,” I said, but my voice was so high-pitched, I didn’t even convince myself.
He smirked.
I climbed onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck and locking my feet around his waist.
He grunted.
“Am I too heavy?”
“No, you’re just close.”
“You okay?”
“Yup,” he said in a strained voice. “Fine.” He stuck his claws into the wood and began to climb up behind Viggo.
Viggo was quicker than Landon, and he had a head start, but Landon made good time, climbing using his claws in his fingers and toes.
We were about two-thirds of the way up the tree trunks when the door at the top opened and a woman with long ebony curls, wearing a black robe, peered out. She looked down and saw us and her mouth began moving.
I couldn’t make out what she was saying, but her hands began to glow, gathering up sparks of electricity, like lightning.
Okay, that didn’t look good.
She gestured at Viggo and lightning flowed from her hands into Viggo’s chest.
Viggo cried out and fell backwards off the trunk. He flailed as he hurtled through the air to land on the ground.
“Camber!” cried Landon, as the woman turned her gaze onto us.
Lightning sprang from her fingertips to Landon.
He screamed, and we fell.
As we were free-falling through space, I steeled myself for the impact. I was going to have to shift right away to heal the damage.
Canticle to the Midnight Moon Page 3
