Bloodspell (32 page)

Leto!

Victoria, what's wrong?
Leto's voice was alarmed.

Need ... help ... blood killing someone ... Please ...

Where are you?

No time ... please, Leto ... so weak ...

Invoke the amulet. Evoco. Do it now!

"Brigid, help me! Evoco Brigid! I summon you!" she cried, grasping the stone in her palm.

The amulet surged. Victoria's whole body jerked like a puppet on a string as Brigid's power lanced through her. She was so weak, she could barely hold her body upright and she collapsed on top of Christian's inert frame. The magic invaded every part of her. She felt Brigid's will subdue the blood roughly, forcing it to release Christian. Like a dog, it cowed before her, but still Victoria could feel its terrible power churning beneath its submission. Brigid's control was only temporary, she saw that now, but at least it had saved Christian. He was alive. Barely.

Blood was the only thing that would save him. Brigid's magic swirled, waiting.

"Transeo," Victoria said weakly, focusing on their destination. Heat saturated her body as each cell responded to her unspoken command, and she pulled Christian closer. Then there was a flash of nothingness and then they were lying on the floor in Christian's den. Victoria quelled her immediate nausea, checking to make sure everything had made the transition, and screamed for Anton, hoping that he was somewhere in the house.

The concern on Anton's face was unmistakable as he saw Christian lying prone, his face and clothes covered in blood. Wordlessly, he looked at Victoria and left the room, returning with an armful of disposable blood bags, several pints worth. Almost an hour later, Anton was done. Christian was a lot less pale than when she had brought him back, and even managed a weak smile for her as she sat down on the sofa next to him.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I almost killed you, you could have died ..." She trailed off. She'd failed. The amulet had saved them both. She shuddered at how close she'd been to losing him.

Christian held her chin in his hand, stroking the reddened welt on the side of her temple. She winced, she had forgotten about that. When Christian had slammed into her, she had hit her head on a rock but hadn't really thought about it at the time or much after it until now.

He watched as she healed it, the welt disappearing as the skin repaired itself at the area of impact. He was amazed at how easily the magic flowed through her, like a natural extension of her breathing. The rapidity with which her wound had healed before his eyes was a true testament to her skills. He glanced at her left arm, which seemed to be perfect. From the little he knew about healing magic, a broken arm would take hours, days even, to mend properly, but she had done it in minutes. A small part of him still felt a shudder of alarm as he remembered
exactly
what she could do. Again, he felt that same unfamiliar emotion at the base of his spine. It was one he hadn't felt in a very long time.

Fear.

"Are you okay?" she asked, noticing his expression.

"I will be fine. Bag blood gives me a headache," he said evasively. "I keep it around for emergencies because it does what it is supposed to."

"So you can't live on it?"

"It's possible I suppose," he said, "but our strength depends on real, live blood. It's as much to do with the energy of the life-force as much as it does with the blood itself. I think if we existed on essentially lifeless blood, we would be more like ... zombies, I guess."

Victoria studied his white face. Her blood had almost killed him. If anything, now more than ever she knew that she couldn't control it, and she couldn't risk putting him in danger again. She knew what she had to do.

"Christian," she began, "we can't ... I can't do this." He stared at her, silent. She dared not look at him or there was no way she'd be able to say what she had to. "More than ever, now I can appreciate how dangerous this is, not just you and me, but my power over the blood. I thought I could do it, but I can't. And I can't protect you ... from me."

"You don't need to protect me."

"But I do. You don't understand what happened out there. I failed, Christian. My blood nearly killed you and I couldn't do a single thing to stop it. It was Leto who saved you, he saved us both." Her eyes met his, pleading. "I have to protect you from it. And there's only one way I can do that. We need to stop."

"Stop what exactly?"

"This. Us."

"Is that what you want?" His voice was devoid of emotion.

"Yes." Victoria was proud of the strength of her voice because her insides felt like they were shattering into a million pieces. "I'm sorry I hurt you for nothing ... thank you for trying to help me even though you knew how risky it was. I couldn't bear it if anything happened ..." Her voice broke then and she drew a strangled breath. "Please understand. Goodbye, Christian."

Christian made no move to convince her to stay, watching as she walked out of the den and out of his life. What she was doing was for the best—he would only expose her to more danger than was necessary and despite the ache inside of him, he knew that she would be better off without him. She would be
safe.

As she drove away, Victoria didn't allow herself to feel anything. It was over. She felt the gentle touch on her consciousness and was grateful for the interruption.

Hi,
Leto.

Are you okay?

Yes,
it worked
...
what you said to do.

What happened
?
Victoria didn't really want to talk about what had taken place, but she knew that she owed Leto an explanation.

I'll be home soon. I'll explain then.

The minute she walked in the door, Leto pounced, his expression not allowing her any stalling. In a few succinct sentences, she told him about Christian and the events leading up to the fight, leaving the fact that he was a vampire for the end. She could feel a furious hiss ripple through Leto's body. His eyes were slits.

A vampire
?
Victoria,
that is forbidden!

"I know, Leto." Her voice was emotionless. "It was a mistake. It's over."

And you think he's just going to let you go
?
Just like that
?
Leto was almost screaming.

"Yes."

Why,
pray tell
?
He didn't bother to disguise his biting sarcasm.
They cannot be trusted.
You are a fool.

"Because I asked him to. And I am more of a fool for thinking I could control this curse than trusting a vampire, because that is what will kill me, not him!" Her voice shook as all the emotion she'd been suppressing burst free. She sank to the floor, her head in her hands, silent anguish shaking her body.
I am a monster.

Victoria ...

Just leave it,
Leto.
It's over,
and I'm tired.
The only thing I need from you is your help,
not your judgment.
I don't have anyone else to turn to.
If you can't do that,
then please leave me alone.

Leto stared at her, silent and shaken.

What do you need?

I need to know everything there is to know about the blood.
Victoria raised eyes that were like emerald chips to his.
And I need to know how to kill it.

"GABRIEL, I TOLD you fifty times, I am not going to Cancun with you guys!" Victoria said. Gabriel made a puppy-dog face as he leaned on the table across from her.

"Well, what are you going to do then?" he asked. "Sit around here and freeze?"

"I am going to finish my project," she said with finality. Then her face softened. Gabriel had been her saving grace the last few weeks, and life had finally started to feel a little less surreal. His feelings for her hadn't changed, but little by little, she'd let herself open up to him. He was the only thing in her life that felt stable, and she clung to that like a lifeline. She wanted to give him a chance, and also to give herself a chance at a normal friendship with someone who genuinely cared about her.

"Look Gabe, I really would love to go, but I just can't this time, okay?" Gabriel's eyes narrowed, he knew that look and that voice.

"You only call me Gabe when you want something, don't think I don't know it, I've caught on to your sneaky tricks!" he said.

Victoria rolled her eyes. She absolutely did not want to go to Mexico with Gabriel and his entourage. She wanted to spend time alone with Leto doing some more training. True to his word, he'd taught her what he knew about the blood curse, and the more she'd come to understand it and how intertwined it was with her magic, the more she realized how difficult it was to control it, far less exorcise it. But everything she learned gave her more confidence that one day, maybe, she'd have a chance.

"I'm not going.
Gabriel.
"

Suddenly his face broke out in a wicked smile. "Sure you don't want to see me in my skivvies?" he asked. "Most girls would go to Cancun just for that, you know."

"Whatever, I've seen better," she said. Gabriel grinned and pouted like Ben Stiller in
Zoolander.

"You know you want some of this blue steel," he said cockily, kissing his flexed arm. Shaking her head and embarrassed, she shot Gabriel a dismissive look.

"Stop it," she said. "I want no part of your blue ... steel." Collapsing in silent giggles, the tears leaked from her eyes and she grasped her stomach with both hands.

"Stop playing. You can't resist me and you know it."

"Resist this!" And she tossed a book at him. Watching the librarian walking over with a thunderous look on her face, Victoria hastily gathered her bag and coat, and fled. She heard Gabriel running behind her as he caught up with her on the top of the library steps. Victoria squealed as he lifted her into the air and like a lunatic raced down the rest of the stairs with her in his arms.

"Put me down!"

"You deserve punishment for leaving me back there with that demented librarian!" he said, spinning her around until she begged for mercy.

"Fine, fine, but put me down first." Gabriel deposited her into an ungainly heap on the snowy grass and collapsed next to her breathless. When she had recovered her breath, she started edging away, trying to make her escape.

"Oh no you don't," he said, his eyes mischievous, grabbing on to her arm as he started tickling her. "Say you'll go!"

"Stop it, Gabriel. I can't go ... stop!" She laughed uncontrollably as she felt for a handful of snow and stuck it down his neck. She bit her lips, her eyes alight as he sat back with a shocked look on his face. As she tried to scramble away, she felt him grab her leg and pull her back. She scrambled harder, giggling like a maniac. A few students sitting on a nearby bench watched the scene unfold.

Unprepared for the weight of him as he threw himself on top of her, the breath whooshed out of her in a surprised gurgle.

"Gerooff me!" she said, futilely trying to wiggle her way out from under him, the snow pressing wetly into the back of her neck. Gabriel shook his head and made a face, crossing his eyes and blowing out his cheeks, making her laugh again at his over-the-top silliness. As he stared into her flushed face, Victoria felt him start to move forward. Inches from her lips, he stopped as she stiffened, her eyes darting to the right.

Victoria froze as a dim shadow blocked the hazy light trying to pierce the overcast sky. Her eyes were wide, her laughter wedged in her throat. Gabriel turned to see who the distraction was, obviously annoyed that the moment had been interrupted. His dark eyes narrowed, registering who it was and then dismissed him as no one of importance as he continued to walk past with silent footsteps. But the moment had passed and Victoria rolled out quickly from under him, muttering something about getting to class and dusting the snow off her coat as she walked briskly in the opposite direction.

"What about Cancun?" he yelled.

She turned around, made a rude gesture with her fingers, and kept walking. She didn't miss Gabriel's cocky smile.

Victoria clutched her bag to her chest in complete shock. She hadn't seen Christian in weeks, and seeing him had been like a jolt to her system. Her heart was pounding as she remembered the freezing rage in his eyes as he'd walked by. He had barely slowed, but the minute his frigid silver eyes had met hers, it felt like time had stopped, the weight of his anger anchoring the two of them in an unmoving space. The unhidden pain in his eyes had floored her. Even though she'd ended it between them, she had never wanted to hurt him.

Christian
? She waited several long minutes, but there was nothing.
Please Christian,
I'm sorry.
Please talk to me.
She waited, the silence echoing across the hollow chasm between their minds.
Please
...

Not now,
Victoria.

His mind was cold, empty and closed. Victoria wasn't naive, she'd known that Gabriel had been about to try to kiss her. She had been about to stop him when she'd sensed Christian, and instead of pushing Gabriel off as she had intended to, her entire body had been frozen into guilty immobility, making the situation look far worse than it actually was. A part of her argued that she'd done nothing wrong anyway—she and Christian were over, and what she did with anyone else was her business. But she couldn't help the guilt she felt, knowing that she had hurt him so much that he couldn't even bear to talk to her.