“Still, we can’t drain all her blood,” Janine commented.
“We can give her more.” I spun to face the doctor. “You have her type, right?”
“I have everyone’s type.”
“Good, get it. Tyler, Grady, bring your bracelets. Maybe a stronger magnetic pull will draw the toxins faster.
Camille spun the stones on her arm. “Are my eyes light yet?”
I leaned down to look into her eyes. “Not yet, but this is going to work. It’s the best idea yet.”
“Let’s hope so.” Alena put her hand to her hip and paced away.
“Look.” Camille pulled the bracelet away from her skin. A black ring had appeared under where the stones touched her skin. “It’s working.” She flung her arms around me.
I could have held her forever, but with the room crowded with her mom, dad, and brother, Alena, Hunter, Chalondra, and Orm, I squeezed her shoulders and released her. Greta hooked up a bag of new blood to her right arm and another IV to her left arm to drain the toxic blood. When we fit the additional bracelets on her arm, the veins around them turned black. Minute by minute, the color spread up her arm.
“My hand feels numb.” Camille lifted her hand and curled and extended her fingers.
“The toxins are building up in her arm. What if it clogs her veins?” I asked.
“Perhaps we should use a couple different sites.” The doctor slid two bracelets from her arm and fit one around each ankle.
“Isn’t it dangerous to draw so much blood at one time?” Janine asked as she prepped two additional puncture sites on her legs.
“Not if we’re replacing it. At this point it’s like a blood transfusion.” The nurse hung the extra bags.
“Maybe we could filter her blood instead?” Tyler asked. “Run her blood between the stones.”
“We already did a transfusion. The toxins are in her cells,” I told him.
“Right. I forgot how many different medical procedures she’s had in the last three weeks.”
“It’s working. Give it time, Tyler,” Camille told him.
“Have you looked in the mirror? You’re wasting away.” He ran his fingers through his hair.
“When we’ve exhausted every possibility, I’ll stop. You guys should go. I’m fine here.”
One by one those gathered left until it was just Camille, Janine, me, Greta, and the doctor. They hooked her up to a heart and blood pressure monitor.
“We should keep studying.” She held up a spell book.
I forced a smile and took the book from her, opening to the page we left off on.
Camille wound her hand around mine. “I’m okay. I’m going to be okay.”
“I know you are.” I took a deep breath.
Camille sighed. “That was convincing.”
“I don’t like seeing you like this.”
She cupped her hand to my cheek. “When this is over, we’ll lay on the beach in the sun for a month.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
She reclined on the bed, and I read to her. One, two, three, four hours passed. The others came in one to two at a time to check on her. They hung a new blood bag as each one drained until they’d replaced her blood with six pints of donor blood.
“I think we should stop for the day,” the doctor announced mid-afternoon.
“How are my eyes?” Camille looked wide-eyed at me.
“I can see a little green.”
“Please keep going.” She batted her lids at Greta and the doctor.
“Fine, two more hours. After that I need a break.” The doctor spun and walked from the room.
“Let’s try to push her to six.” Camille winked at me.
By six they’d given her eight pints of blood. Deciding it would be a good idea to monitor her overnight, we stayed in the infirmary. Grady and Tyler brought us meals as the night staff trickled in.
“The red meat should be good for me,” Camille commented as she lifted a bite of steak to her mouth.
When we’d finished eating, she shoved me off the bed. “You should go work out.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“I think I’m safe with my mom, dad, and brother. You need to stay strong. I know you’ve been working out every night after I go to sleep, so go. That’s an order.” She pointed at me.
“Fine, but you’ll call me”—I looked to Janine—“if anything happens.”
“Yes, I will.” Janine held up her phone.
“Okay, I’m off.”
I jogged to my room, changed, and headed to the gym. After I warmed up, I started my run. About ten minutes in, Alena joined me.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without Hunter.”
“We do stuff apart.” Her nose shriveled up.
“Okay, just an observation.”
“How is Camille?”
“Good, the color is coming back to her eyes. They’re going to do another round tomorrow.”
She stopped, jutting her arm out to stop my progress. “You shouldn’t give her hope.”
“What do you mean?”
“She might not get her magic back even if they can siphon all of the toxins out.”
“So, I’m guessing you’re more of a glass-half-empty type?” I shook my head and jogged away from her. I wouldn’t believe that there wasn’t some way to get her magic back.
Alena caught up to me. “I’m a realist.”
“So, what if she doesn’t get her magic back? Then, no go on the sword thing?”
“Actually, we’re not sure. This is kind of a wing-it thing.”
“I’ve noticed. Why is that?”
“Supposedly somewhere the spells and directions for how to use the sword are written down, but we haven’t found them yet.”
“So, there’s another piece after getting the sword? What if it doesn’t happen? What if you can’t find it?”
“That’s the beauty of living a thousand years. We’ve got all our lives to look.”
“I wasn’t thinking of this as a lifetime commitment. You really think it’s worth it? I mean witches and vampires have been living for six thousand years this way. What if nothing exists? No God, heaven, hell, Sheol, no actual angels. What if witches are like vampires and we’re evolved humans?”
She slowed to a stop and looked me in the eyes. “Who can do magic? After becoming a full witch, you still doubt?”
I shrugged. “I’m a realist.”
“Funny.” She jogged away from me, and I forced all my energy into my legs and arms to match her stride.
“We didn’t do religion in my family.”
Her eyes bore into mine. “A woman I knew all my life, who was like a mother to me, is gone. I will never see her again. How is that right? Vampire souls should be just as eternal as humans. Think about your mother. We don’t know if half vampires have souls or not. Can you live with her ceasing to exist?”
I cut my eyes to the track and back to her. “I don’t know.”
“This prophecy will finally end the feud between our peoples. I’m going to do everything in my power to see it fulfilled. So, you are either with us or against us.”
I blinked, and she was gone. Wondering if I could be satisfied spending my life in search of a prophecy that might be a huge farce, I channeled the angst into my run. A puff of air made the hairs on my neck stand up, and Alena appeared beside me again.
“You need to let this thing with your dad go.”
“What? If your dad was being held, you would be doing the same thing.”
“I wasn’t given the choice to know my father. Do you see me searching for him? No.” She made bug eyes at me.
“Are you sure you don’t believe that if you complete the prophecy he will come?”
She didn’t answer, and I let her stew with her thoughts for a lap. Then, proceeded with my questions. “So, who created this loophole in the curses? God?”
“I don’t know.”
“How do we know it w
ill work?”
“Faith. Obviously, the sword has some power. Sonia is immortal.” She shrugged. “You know we could rescue your father when we go in for the dagger.”
“We don’t know the sword will be in the castle. Plus, having two missions at once will jeopardize both. We need all hands on deck when we go for the sword.”
“And you are willing to go in when we extract the sword?”
“I go wherever Camille goes.”
“What if Camille doesn’t get her magic back? Will you still be on the team?”
I took a quarter lap to think about it. “Yes, I would help you.”
Alena cut her eyes to me and back to the track three times. “You can use Marcus.” A gust of wind caused my skin to form chill bumps, and Alena disappeared as fast as she had appeared. Wishing I had her speed, I called to the wind and tested my power.
Tyler found me in the weight room two hours later.
“Exercise much?”
“Like you don’t work out three hours a day.”
“True. Mom, or Janine, I guess, is ready to turn in, she wanted me to tell you.”
“Okay.” I set the bar on the ground. “Let me shower, and I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Camille’s smile was all I needed to realize that I wouldn’t leave her. If she committed to this quest, then I would too. Sitting on the bed, I took her hand. “You didn’t have to wait up for me.”
“I wanted to see you before I went to sleep.”
I glanced around the room. Seeing we were alone, I shed my shoes and lay down beside her. “I love you.” I kissed her nose and then her lips.
“Someone could walk in at any time,” she whispered when the kiss ended.
“I don’t care.” I gave her another quick kiss. “But you should sleep.”
“Will you stay with me?”
“I never want to be away from you.”
She closed her eyes, but they popped open again. “Do you think this is going to work, that my magic will return?”
I took her hand. “I think that one way or another, we are going to get your magic back.”
“Well, aren’t you two cozy.” Greta’s voice woke me, and I jumped from the bed, realizing it was the first night I hadn’t had a nightmare about my dad in nearly two weeks.
“Ha, ha, couldn’t resist. I have breakfast.” She rolled a cart towards us.
After the meal, the doctor drew blood and did the lab tests for kidney function. All of Camille’s vitals looked good, so we fixed the bracelets to her wrist and ankle again. Greta hooked her up to a blood bag and connected the lines to draw out the poisoned blood.
The doctor checked all the lines and measured her vitals by hand. “Can never be too careful with automation. I’m guessing by your hair and eyes we pulled half the metals from your system yesterday. Hopefully we can get the rest today.”
As the day went on, Camille’s hair continued to lighten, and her eyes returned to the brilliant green I remembered. The process drained her physically, and I hated seeing her so weak.
“Stop worrying,” she told me as I set her lunch tray on the table.
“I’m not worried.”
“You are. You’re getting wrinkles on your forehead.”
“I’m not getting wrinkles.” I stood and checked my reflection in the glass.
“You’ll be an old man soon. Don’t fret, this is working.” She squeezed my hand.
“I’m the one who’s supposed to be pepping you up.”
“You should get a workout in.”
Even with Janine there, I hated leaving Camille. But my body and powers needed to be stronger. I bent down to speak to Janine.
She put her hand up. “I know the drill, go.”
“Thanks.” I jogged out the door. I didn’t plan on being gone long, but I needed to contact Marcus. Finding Orm, we walked to the communications room. All our calls were re-routed so they couldn’t be traced. Even though Hunter and Alena had given me the green light to contact Marcus, I still needed to run it by Anne. Since we hadn’t briefed her on my desire to rescue Dad, the conversation started with an explanation of the goal and plan to use Marcus to get Dad a message.
“It could be as simple as Gabrielle’s rescue.” I finished my pitch.
Anne tapped a pen on her desk. “Do we even know that your father wants out? What if he is on their side? He’s been branded. We can’t trust him.”
“I had the brand removed. He can too.”
“If he wants it removed.”
“Grady told me my Dad probably joined them to help me.”
“I’m not sure how far we can push Marcus’s goodwill. We may need him for other projects.”
“All he has to do is tell my dad when and where to meet us.”
After Orm explained there was a possibility my dad could be helpful in deciphering the prophecy, she approved my request to speak with Marcus as well as use their resources.
Since Orm was more familiar with Marcus, he made the call. After he’d sent Anne’s greetings and discussed Gabrielle’s wellbeing, he handed me the phone. Marcus agreed to speak with my dad once the plan had been formalized. With a renewed sense of purpose, I made my way to the gym and ran a fast three miles on the treadmill.
Showering quickly, I shot back to the infirmary.
“Look!” Camille picked up a strand of her hair as I entered the room. “It’s all blond again. Look at my wrist.” She turned over her arm. Where the blood vessels were stained black, they had returned to their normal state. “My ankle looks normal too.” She lifted a foot.
“This is great!” I hugged her.
The doctor hung a new blood bag on the IV pole. “We’re going give her one more pint to make sure her system is clear.”
“Go get Alena and Hunter,” Camille instructed. “I want to try some magic.”
Tyler pointed at her. “Remember, it’s a muscle. Maybe you want to take it easy for a day or so.”
“No, I want everyone here.”
“Okay, I’ll go get everyone.” He jogged out the door.
I sat beside Camille. “This is the best day we’ve had in a long time.”
“California was great,” she reminded me.
“That seems like a lifetime ago.”
Her hand wrapped around mine. “Now we can start planning how to rescue your dad.”
“You’re on strategy, not on the extraction team, remember?”
“If I get my magic back, I can help.” She turned my face, forcing me to look into her eyes.
I blinked to clear my thoughts. “I told you. You’re not getting anywhere near that castle. Alena is coming on the boat, and you and Hunter are staying here.”
“I thought Alena needed Hunter as a guide. Isn’t that how you found the shore?”
“Maybe Hunter can be on point, but you’re staying here.”
“But I could help.” Her voice rose as she spoke.
“If you come, then I’d be worried about you.”
“What about leaving our me unguarded?”
“There’ll be plenty of people here with you.” I almost added she’d have her magic back, but didn’t want to give her false hope. We had no idea if her powers would return.
I heard her voice in my head. You’re shifting your eyes. What aren’t you saying?
“You have your magic.” I wanted to pick her up and spin her around. I took her hands and pushed a message to her. I love you.
Seems almost too easy.
After six chelation tries and two days of draining your blood?
Well, if you don’t count that.
“What’s going on? You guys just going to sit there staring at each other?” Tyler’s voice came from behind me.
As I stood, Camille lifted her arms and a breeze started.
“You got your magic back.” Alena hopped to Camille’s side and hugged her. “We’re going to have a party, with cake and everything. I’m going to tell the kitchen. She grabbed Hunter’s hand, and they ran fro
m the room.
Over the next hour, Camille hosted a parade of visitors, all lined up to congratulate her. Alena’s party decree set off a chain event, and the day became a holiday.
“I think the full moon helped pull the toxins from her cells,” Alena asserted over dessert.
“Could be,” Orm agreed.
“Wait.” I checked my watch. “It’s the twenty-sixth? That means there are only five days till Imbolc.”
“I wonder who Theron roped into being his goddess?” Hunter rolled his eyes.
I set my fork down, ready to start planning Dad’s rescue. “I have to get to work.”
A hand grabbed my arm. “Stay.” Camille’s eyes pleaded with me. “Can you leave it till tomorrow? One night of no missions?”
Exhaling a breath, I released the tension building in my chest. “Of course, sorry. Now it’s your turn to reel me in.”
“Finish your cake.” She held the plate out to me.
Returning to my seat, I tried to stay focused on Camille and her joy.
“I’m going to Italy with you,” Camille insisted the next day as we discussed strategies.
“She’s right. The trinity must stay as close together as possible,” Hunter confirmed.
“Fine. To Italy, but you’re staying in the safe house.”
“I don’t think any of them should be going on this mission,” Tyler asserted.
Hunter stood and rubbed his hands down his pants. “Alena might be the only one able to get you back to the shore.”
“And I need Hunter as a beacon.” Alena wrapped her arm through his.
We planned to use three boats as we had with Gabrielle’s extraction. Dimitri, Aaron, Grady, Tyler, Alena, and I would be on the lead boat and stage the rescue attempt. After we’d hashed out the details, I put a call into Marcus. He agreed to get a message to my dad the next evening when he traveled to the castle for the Saturday night meal.
“Will you be at the Imbolc celebration with Michael’s coven?” I asked.
“No, Theron has chosen a bride from another coven.”
Hunter crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t you mean someone has chosen for him?”
“I am not privy to Michael’s coven’s political strategies. I know that the coven that agreed to send a maiden has sold their souls.”
“So, is there bad blood between your coven and Michael’s?” Alena asked.
Kingdom of Honor (Kingdom Journals Book 3) Page 21