Chapter 19
“Always desperate to save others, but not this time.” Dorian’s voice was soft, and I knew it was because he was bleeding out. Dying.
“Please,” I begged.
He shook his head, forcing a smile. “Can I kiss you?”
I closed my eyes, wishing this was all just a dream. “Anything,” I said. If only he would go. I couldn’t watch him die.
The blade went into his back. “I love you, Snow White. Always have and always will.” He gently pressed his lips to mine and moved them tenderly.
The blade went in again. And he caught his breath.
And I realized I could move my lips. With that, I kissed him back with all the gratitude and love in my heart. For all the years he cared for me without ever asking me to reciprocate. Images of each time he was there and loved me unconditionally flashed through my mind.
The night I told Professor Pops, the brothers, and Kenmei I never wanted to see them again. I awakened with my mother’s blanket over me. At the time I hadn’t realized who had done it. Now I saw Dorian. He brushed tendrils of hair from my face before covering me.
Or the night I got scared, right after I saw the vision of myself drinking the blood from the heart. Gabe came over, but Dorian stopped by as well. To make sure I was safe.
The night I was first bitten. Dorian demanded I stay in his room and he checked on me several times during the night.
There were so many images I couldn’t keep track. He was in the background, looking out for me, since the day we met.
And one thought filled me up. Every crevice, and cranny.
This is what it means to be loved.
In that moment something peculiar happened. Brilliant sparks burst from Dorian and into me, starting with my lips and moving through my neck, my arms, torso, legs, and feet. Right down to my toes. It moved like lightning.
Fireworks, I thought.
And I sucked in a breath at the strength of their heat.
Love. Astonishing love. All-consuming, glorious love.
In the background I heard the Unknowns shriek and groan, as though they were suffering a terrible pain.
“This is unexpected.”
“The plan has changed.”
The blade above Dorian and me vanished.
The glittering red of the Seal still swirled lightly, bathing Dorian’s peaceful face in an extraordinary glow.
I could move again, and I pushed at Dorian, moving his body. The hole in my chest near my heart healed instantly. “Dorian,” I said, shaking him. “You did it. They’re gone.” I patted his cheek with a hand. “Dorian.” He didn’t stir.
The room began to quake, and chunks of black rock fell around us.
I tried to move him, to get out from under him. His body slid to the side, but he didn’t wake. “Oh, please. Dorian. No. Don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead.” I felt for a pulse at his neck. He didn’t have one. I jumped off the altar.
Dorian’s body collapsed so he was on his stomach. His shirt was sticky with blood, a gaping hole in his back.
“No. Dorian. No.”
I had a flash of Gabe, when I thought I killed him. Briefly, my feet wanted to run, but I kept myself planted in place. I was different now. I wasn’t the girl I was with Gabe. I was a vampire. The Seal. And I could save Dorian. But only if I stayed. Sucking in a ragged breath I climbed on the altar, kneeling next to him. I placed both hands over the wound and poured all the love I had for him, all the love he gave me, into my desire to heal him. The colors of the seven magics rushed from my hands into him. They lit the room and beat slowly under my hands.
“Come back, Dorian. Come back. I need you,” I pleaded.
The colors grew stronger and surged through his body until he was bathed in them. “That’s it. You can do it. If your love saved me, then let mine save you.” I choked back my fear. “Please.”
His body glowed as the colors grew brighter and brighter, until I had to look away as an eruption of light flashed, and my hands fell onto the altar.
Dorian was gone.
I stared at my hands, covered in Dorian’s blood, and screamed, and screamed, and screamed. The sound vibrated through the crumbling rock. One rock struck me on the head, and I tumbled off the altar.
I tried to stand but kept slipping in the blood. There was so much blood. It streaked the altar and pooled around it. My shoes, jeans, and arms were covered in it, a mixture of my blood and Dorian’s. As I sobbed, desperate, unsure what to do next, something began to form on the altar. Frantic, I moved closer. To my astonishment a black gem appeared. It was spinning fast and grew bigger and bigger until suddenly it stopped, hovering above the flat stone surface.
It was the size of an egg. Specks of silver, green, blue, red, brown, gold, and indigo covered it. The colors of the seven magics.
“I see her.” Cindy’s voice cut through my anguish and the falling rocks.
I snatched up the gem and shoved it in my pocket. I didn’t know what the jewel meant, but I wasn’t leaving it behind.
A large boulder fell from the ceiling and struck me on the shoulder, sending me to the ground.
“Come on,” I heard someone shout, and I turned toward it.
Rocks continued to fall from the ceiling, but Cindy was there. So was Gabe. I wanted to tell them to leave me. I didn’t want to face them. Because that meant I’d have to tell them about Dorian. That he died. Because of me.
“I can see her,” Cindy said.
I tried to stand, but another rock struck my leg and I stayed down. Greif overwhelmed me. The Seal was supposed to be all-powerful and should’ve saved Dorian. But it didn’t.
“Snow!” Cindy shouted, tossing rocks out of her path with magic as she made her way over. She knelt down and I saw Gabe move to the other side of me.
I looked at Cindy and then at Gabe before closing my eyes. “I couldn’t save him,” I said in a voice that wasn’t my own. “I tried. I did. Kenmei said use love. I swear I tried.”
Gabe knelt on the other side. “Who?”
“Dorian,” I whispered. “He protected me, all of us, but he’s gone. I don’t know where.” The words came out choppy and garbled, but I couldn’t make myself stop crying.
“It’s okay. You’re okay,” he said, but I heard the anguish in his voice.
Cindy pulled me into a hug. “It isn’t your fault, Snow.”
But that wasn’t true. It was my fault.
In that moment, I thought of dying. Would there be rest? Could I shut out the agony? The way Dorian looked at me. His kiss… What he did. Saved me. Saved us all. Abernathy’s words to Dorian rang in my mind: “Very few have the capacity to love like you.”
“Dorian,” I wailed.
“Let’s get her out of here,” Gabe said to Cindy, and I felt his hands pull me into his arms.
Chapter 20
“My mom?” I asked, as they pulled me from the rubble.
“She’s alive. They brought her to the infirmary while I was there.”
The weight on my spirit lifted a tiny bit. At least my mother hadn’t died. “We need to help her. She’s in danger.” I tried to climb out of Gabe’s arms, but he held on tight.
“Right now, we need to leave. This is our one shot.”
Cindy grabbed hold of my hand. “Eradicus seemungus.” There was a rustle of wind and the three of us went from the rocky debris to the colorful streets of Mizu Atlantica.
In the distance was the rushing sound of giant wings beating against the night sky. Gabe set me on the ground, but I leaned against him. I breathed in deeply, trying to pull in some clean air, hoping it would sustain my devastated soul. The air was wet and smelled of brine, but there was also a hint of fragrance—honeysuckle. My mother.
Gabe held me steady. “Abernathy’s coming,” he said. “We need to go right away, before Devoran realizes we’re missing.”
I wasn’t leaving without my mother, but Gabe was right about one thing. He and Cindy needed to escape Mizu Atlanti
ca. With them out of the way, I wouldn’t worry. I shuddered. Another death would end me, I felt sure.
Abernathy landed. “Where’s the human?” he asked, searching my grief-stricken face.
I placed a shaky hand on one of his golden scales, near his mouth. He was so warm.
“He’s gone. Something happened. I’m not sure what.”
I knew, but I couldn’t make my lips say the words.
The dragon grunted. “It’s just for now,” he said without a trace of grief.
I wanted to punch him. Light him on fire. Not that it would do any good.
He went on, his voice urgent. “Climb on. I can hear Devoran and his guards preparing to come against us. They know you’ve escaped.”
Gabe lifted Cindy onto the dragon’s back, then he reached for my hand. “I’ll help you,” he said kindly.
I shook my head, and his jaw flexed in frustration. “I can’t leave my mother. You guys go. I’ll find another way to get her out.”
Abernathy huffed and smoke swirled from his nostrils, sending the smell of sulfur into the air.
Gabe shook his head, angry. “Dorian is dead. You nearly died. We need to regroup, figure out our next move. We can’t do that if we’re trapped here, fighting for our lives.”
“Snow,” Cindy began, crossing her arms. “We don’t know anything about this place. Staying behind is crazy.”
“I know,” I said, absently patting Abernathy’s cheek. “That’s why you need to go.” I swallowed. “I’ll be better off alone.”
Abernathy shook his mane. “You need your friends, your family. Without them you’ll lose.”
I cleared the emotion from my throat. “Dorian is dead because of me. I can’t be responsible for any more.”
The dragon snorted. “You’re alive because of that boy. Don’t destroy Dorian’s selfless gift by going into battle without preparation.”
Tears stung my cheeks. “I can’t leave my mom.”
The screeching of metal on metal rang through the night. I turned toward the sound. The green circle Abernathy landed on when we first arrived slid open. At least a hundred armed guards slowly exited. Each held bizarre guns similar to the one my mom had worn on her back. All of them were aimed in our direction. Devoran stood in the guards’ midst, an arrogant ferocity on his face.
“On my life, I swear we’ll come back for your mother, young vampire. But now is not the time.” Abernathy growled, sending a stream of fire in the direction of the guards. I got the feeling it was less about fighting and more about frustration over my unwillingness to cooperate.
Gabe reached out for my hand. “Come on,” he said.
A shot ripped at the skin on my forearm. The bullet appeared to be made of pure light. I stared at it, mesmerized, as it sizzled and turned to ash, momentarily leaving a burn mark until my skin recovered.
More of them hissed past me. Several hit Abernathy, and he roared.
“Get on my back, you stubborn girl!”
Another bullet struck my thigh. I looked up and noticed Cindy was bleeding from a wound in her shoulder. Gabe’s chest was bleeding, his arm, his thigh.
They weren’t going to leave without me.
“Fine!” I yelled and jumped on. “Go!”
Abernathy shot into the air. He swung his head at the guards who were running toward us and let out his fiery breath. I thought for sure they would all burn, but at the last second a rectangular door of light appeared, and the guards vanished into it. Abernathy growled and flew toward the bubble suspended over the city.
I kept my gaze on the street, on Devoran. He stood on the pearlized road, his hands on his hips, his feet wide apart, his chest heaving in anger.
“I’m coming back,” I whispered.
Chapter 21
“Home is where your heart can flourish.” My mom used to say those words to me when I was a child. As Abernathy circled Professor Pops’ sprawling mansion, my heart clenched. After I told Professor Pops and the brothers what happened with Dorian, would they continue to let this be my home?
From the air I made out the little cottage-type house I lived in with my mom and dad, and then my dad and stepmother. Happy memories sprang to mind. Like the times my mom would bake cookies while she hummed the latest popular song. Or when she would let me help her plant flowers in the spring and fall.
The house where I grew up was minuscule compared to Professor Pops’ extensive grounds and house. Through the dark, I was able to distinguish the tennis court and putting green. Behind the mansion, which seemed somehow larger from the sky, lay a sculpted, manicured lawn, and a rectangular pool—lit and giving off a cyan glow.
If I hadn’t left my mother in captivity in Mizu and Dorian dead, I would be excited to be home. But I wasn’t. I was sick inside. My heart broken.
I leaned against Cindy. She, Gabe, and Abernathy were melancholy as well. None of us spoke. Too much had happened.
On the flight back, I healed their wounds with the Seal and told them what Dorian had done. That I tried to save him, but he vanished. I told them all of it without an ounce of feeling, as though I was relating events that happened to someone else. When I finished, it was obvious Gabe and Cindy were fractured. Broken like me.
Abernathy kept mostly quiet. “The Unknowns are strange creatures. They see things much differently than we do,” he said.
And that was it.
We flew the rest of the way home in silence.
Honestly, I was grateful. Soon enough I’d have to tell Professor Pops and the remainder of the brothers about Dorian. That because of me, they would never see him again.
Dorian, I thought, wiping at fresh tears.
Abernathy’s wings pounded against the night sky several times before he landed gracefully on the back lawn. It was winter, so the yellow grass crunched and crackled under his weight and enormous size of his paws.
Gabe slid off first and helped Cindy down. He didn’t bother with me. Probably too upset about what happened. That I took one of his brothers from him.
“I have to speak with the other chayot,” he said, giving Cindy a quick hug. “Let Professor Pops know I’m back and safe. Please?” He glanced at me then, and I nodded.
Without the slightest noise or even a flicker in the wind, he was gone.
That was new. Apparently, Gabe and his chayot skills were getting stronger.
“I should get home. My parents are probably freaking out,” Cindy said.
“Okay,” I whispered as I slid down.
Cindy patted my arm. “I’ll see you tomorrow. We’ll figure out a way to get your mom back.” Though I sensed her trepidation, her exhaustion, I knew without a doubt she would help.
“Tomorrow,” I repeated and tried to smile, but my lips wouldn’t cooperate. She jogged toward the house and skirted it. I knew she was headed for her car, parked in front. As I watched her go, I wondered if it was wise to be close to the people I loved. Being near me seemed to cause them pain.
Abernathy let out a gust of smoke through his nostrils. “You mustn’t worry so much, vampire. Yes, your friends may suffer, and sometimes it’ll be your fault. But you should ask yourself, would they be happier knowing you went into danger alone? Would they feel safer?” He shook his head, making his golden mane swirl around his face.
I didn’t know how to respond. He was right, of course. But it didn’t make me feel any better. Accept that you’re going to cause people pain. That’s what it felt like he was saying. How could I consent to that? The answer was simple. I couldn’t.
“There are a hundred questions swimming around in your head. Ask them so I may return to my home and get some sleep.” He lay down, resting his chin against his front paws. Somber eyes studied me.
Had I not wanted to put off talking to Pops and the brothers, I would’ve found an excuse to leave. “I do have questions,” I began. “Like why would you take me to Mizu when you damn well knew Devoran wanted to kill—” I stopped. At the edge of the woods, between my house and Pro
fessor Pops’, stood Christopher. But that wasn’t what gave me pause. For the briefest moment, I thought he was Dorian.
My heart shattered all over again.
Gulping down my pain, I leaned against Abernathy, my question forgotten.
A rumble, like a purr, came from deep within his body. “Stay strong. You still have much ahead of you.”
His words made me ill. It was true. I still needed to find a way to save the seven magics, preferably without losing my life as the Unknowns intended. I needed to rescue my mother, tell Pops and the brothers about Dorian, and figure out whether I was meant to be the next vampire queen. Each thought weighed more heavily than the one before, until I wished I could disappear, vanish into nothingness.
“He’s waiting. You should talk to him,” Abernathy said. I sensed a hitch in the dragon’s words. He knew way more than he shared. And there was something he wasn’t saying.
I studied my hunter. The man I decided to go all the way with. He was handsome, excessively so. And before that moment it hadn’t dawned on me how much Christopher and Dorian looked alike. They both had hazel eyes—at least, had before the Seal changed Christopher’s to a silvery violet. Both had sandy colored hair. They were tall and tan, with well-defined bodies. They could’ve been fraternal twins. Brothers, at least.
Maybe it was because their personalities were so different that I hadn’t noticed their physical similarities before now. Where Christopher was serious, Dorian was more laid back, playful.
“How long were we gone?” I asked Abernathy.
“A few days. They’ve all been worried. I sent word to the professor you were visiting your mom after I left you with her. So, he knows a little, but that only increased his concern.”
“Great.” And I missed more school. Would I ever graduate?
“Agreed. The hunter is the most upset.” A question lay behind his words, but he went on and I forgot to be worried. “He wanted me to fly him to you, but I told him no. He isn’t too fond of me at the moment.” A soft chuckle escaped the dragon’s throat. “Go on. I’ll rest my eyes while I’m waiting.”
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