by Sofia Daniel
“Let me taste your blood,” I whispered.
“What?”
“It’s going to push me over the edge.”
His lips spread into a wide grin. “Kiss me.”
I lowered myself onto his chest and lapped at the blood beading on his lip. Dante tasted like summer wine, fragrant and fruity and filling my heart with more joy than I’d felt since the arrival of the hunters.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Nearly there.”
He drew back and kissed the column of my neck, sending every nerve ending alight. I squeezed my eyes shut and moaned out my pleasure. Then a moment later, a pair of sharp scratches pierced my skin. Blood flowed from my veins into his mouth, and white light flared.
My stomach dropped, and my heart flip-flopped.
This marked the return of his soul-star chakra.
“I, Alicia Stephens,” I said, trying not to trip over my words. “Do by blood and magic accept Dante of the Noble House of Stryx to be my mate. Say your vows.”
Dante continued drinking my blood. Maybe it was catnip to vampires, but the blinding light of his soul-star chakra confirming that my blood was deadly.
He groaned. “I, Dante Striga of the Noble House of Stryx, do by blood and magic accept Alicia Stephens to be my mate.”
I bit into his neck and let his sweet blood slide down to the back of my throat. Swallowing, I completed our bond. The light of Dante’s soul-star dimmed to about the same brightness as his brothers, and I exhaled a relieved sigh.
“Quick,” he whispered. “I’ve got to heal your wound.”
He lapped at the skin on my neck, which itched as it knitted together. I let out a relieved sigh.
“It worked.” I gave him a peck on the lips. “Now, hold still while I connect our chakras.”
“What’s this for?”
“The final stage of our bonding,” I whispered.
The door flew open, and my heart jumped into my throat.
Six hunters stepped into the room accompanied by a Radite whose energy stretched beyond her physical body. The men’s faces widened into grins, and one of them snickered.
The Radite raised her brows at the tableau I must have made straddling Dante with blood around my mouth. “Step aside. Renée wants us to take him to the sun-cell.”
My heart plummeted. We hadn’t had the chance to finalize our bond, and probably wouldn’t until I could get away. But we’d achieved one thing: Dante would no longer get hurt by the sun while he slept in his cell.
I stepped back, not to look in Dante’s eyes. Until the onion woman had summoned the spirit capable of binding Radu, I couldn’t show my hand.
Chapter 16
I followed after the group of hunters taking Dante to his cell. We walked through the hallways in silence.
Dante shuffled his feet in the middle of the group, his head bowed, and his shoulders slumped with defeat. It was hard to tell if this was an act or if he was disappointed that I’d hadn’t saved him.
The hunters stepped into a darkened stairwell, and one of them turned on a flashlight to lead the way. When they reached the bottom of the stairs and turned left toward the dungeons, one of them glanced at me over his shoulder and frowned. I recognized him as a knocker who used to serve sangria.
“Why aren’t you in the dining room?” he asked. “Lord Radu is hosting a celebratory dinner.”
I raised my chin, acting like I was an entitled Radite. “The vampire should stay in my suite. There’s a dog crate—”
“We have our orders to take him to the sun cells,” he replied. “When Renée or Justine return, one of them might authorize a transfer.”
“What’s the point of taking him out there when he’s only going to get sent back?”
“Look,” snapped a hunter. “We have our orders. Until you reach an elevated rank within Lord Radu’s court, I suggest you go to dinner before you’re punished.”
My heart sank, and my gaze fell on Dante, whose golden hair shone in the illumination of the hunters’ flashlight. This situation was impossible. We were both outnumbered, and I’d get absorbed if I fought now and showed my loyalties.
I sent Dante a mental apology, hoping he could hold on for a little longer. He just bowed his head and didn’t make eye contact.
The hunters continued toward the sun cell down the hallway, pulling Dante along. I stood in the dark, feeling one-part a betrayer and two parts-impotent for failing to pull my mate out of what could be a perilous situation. A sigh eased out of my lungs. He’d be fine as a hostage as long as they didn’t work out that he was impervious to the sun.
A small hand grabbed my wrist and yanked me into an alcove. The tired eyes of the onion woman stared up into mine. “Where have you been?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” I whispered.
“Never mind all that.” Her gaze roved my form. “I see you’ve powered up since we last met. Are all of those boys of yours still alive?”
I bristled. “It’s not like I hunger for their blood anymore.”
She gave me an approving nod. “Come on, then. It’s time to go.”
My brows drew together. If she wanted me to follow her, it probably meant she had completed all the preparations needed to summon the spirit that had given Dracula and Radu their powers. I may have mated with all three brothers, but I still hadn’t joined chakras with Raphael and Dante.
“I’m not ready—”
“You’re strong enough.” She walked out of the alcove and into the opposite direction of Dante and the hunters, giving my wrist a hard tug to make sure I followed.
I gazed over my shoulder into the darkness. The group of hunters taking Dante to the cells had disappeared further into the hallway, their soul-star chakras as distant as black stars. Making a mental promise to do what I could to get Dante transferred to my room, I trudged after the onion woman.
Apprehension sat in my belly like an unmovable boulder. I had no idea what summoning a spirit would entail or whether I had enough magic to fix things if anything went wrong. I stared at the back of the onion woman’s head and chewed the inside of my cheek. What did I really know about her?
The onion woman was a frumosi who had spent her time here not interfering in the subjugation of her own kind within the Sanguine Academy of Vampires.
Guilt slithered under my boulder of apprehension, and I rubbed my stomach. It wasn’t fair to judge someone for lying low because they wanted to destroy the vampire corruption from the top.
“It’s this way.” She pulled me into the same storeroom she’d shown me earlier.
The books from the shelves now lay piled in one corner like a tower, and she’d cleared away all the dust and cobwebs.
My gaze dropped to the floor, where the gentle light of oil lamps illuminated the most complicated pattern of dried blood. A pentagram with symbols on each of its points lay in the middle. Surrounding it was a series of concentric circles with shapes and peculiar symbols in between.
“Have you done this before?” I whispered, pretty sure she’d once said she had.
The onion woman nodded. “Each time, I’ve summoned lesser spirits but never the one who gave Dracula his powers. This is where you come in. With your levels of magic, the higher spirits will understand you’re a big player and allow themselves to be summoned.”
“How do you know their level in the hierarchy of spirits?”
She tapped her third eye. “Everything that exists has energy, including the incorporeal. All the lesser spirits are no more powerful than the average knocker, but they like to talk themselves up.”
“Alright.” For some reason, hearing that gave me a little comfort that I wouldn’t help the onion woman unleash something terrible into the mortal world. “But how will you know when you find the right one?”
The onion woman picked up an Aladdin-style lamp. “It’ll be the one who knows Dracula and Radu.”
I leaned against the closed door, tongue darting out to lick my
dry lips. “What do we do? Summon the spirit and set it on Radu?”
“Only if you want another terror taking control of this castle.” She edged around the circle and drizzled oil around its perimeter.
I furrowed my brow. Couldn’t this woman ever give me a straight answer? “Alright then, will we ask it for information on how to defeat Radu?”
“Correct,” she replied.
Pride surged through my chest, but I tamped it down. I’d been through a lot, transformed my species, and according to Gates, become the leader of a pack. The time for acting like this woman’s student was over. I was a power in my own right.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” I said.
She shot me a withering look.
My brows rose. “Before I help you, I need guarantees that this spirit won’t break out of the summoning circle. It’s like you said, we don’t need another terror in control of the castle.”
Annoyance flickered across her features. I supposed it was a lack of control over the situation. Up until now, I had needed her more than she needed me. But because of the attachments I’d formed with the boys, it was me who held the power required to summon an important spirit, not her.
Eventually, she pointed at the third concentric circle. “This is a standard summoning circle with sigils that reinforce the lines between this realm and the next.”
I nodded.
She pointed at the sixth. “The next three circles are for protection. When you add your power to the perimeter, whoever I call into the star won’t be able to move beyond the first circle.”
My throat thickened. I had to take everything she told me on faith, as I knew nothing about ouija boards, dark magic, demonology, or whatever this was. But Radu and his group of hunters had transformed this academy into their stronghold. They would farm every vampire for their blood and transform every captured frumosi into a monster or absorb their life force. There didn’t seem to be much choice but to trust the onion woman.
She completed drizzling oil outside the ninth circle. “This is the final anchor. It acts as an impenetrable barrier. It doesn’t matter how powerful the spirit might be, it can’t cross. Unless one of us is stupid enough to pull it over and absorb it into our bodies.”
My shoulders relaxed. No amount of cajoling would convince me to let a spirit use me as its vessel.
The onion woman pointed at two additional circles in the far corner of the space. “You sit in the left one, and I’ll take the right. It’s an extra safeguard that stops anything from breaking through into possessing us.”
“But you said—”
“The ninth circle and the holy fire are absolute protection, but I’m not taking any chances.” She pressed a thick necklace into my hand. “Put this on.”
I frowned at the pendant woven from onion skin. A knot of three leaf-shaped loops with a circle interlaced through the pattern. “More protection?”
“The spiritual equivalent of a no-entry sign,” she fastened her own around her neck. “Anything tempted to sneak into your chakras will get stuck in this knot until you release it back into the spirit realm.”
My spine straightened with confidence, and I tied on my necklace. “Let’s get started.”
She gave me a half smile and walked around to the right circle. “Go on, get into your circle of protection. I need you to set the oil alight with your magic.”
With a nod, I walked around to my place and took my position, wondering if this summoning circle was the reason she had taught me to set a piece of paper on fire.
Once I had settled on the floor, she grabbed my hand. “We anchor each other. No matter what someone offers us, we won’t let any of the beings who tempt us roam free.”
My mouth dried, and I pictured a small flame on the closest patch of oil. Fire spread around the circumference of the ninth circle, releasing the scent of burning incense—frankincense, which I recognized from the few times we had gone to Christmas mass before Mom had married an atheist.
“We summon a messenger from the depths of the spirit world,” said the onion woman.
Nothing happened for several moments.
I gazed down at the intricate patterns on the floor, wondering if she had made a mistake. I was about to ask when a spirit flickered above the pentagram. It was a yellow flame with a red core with black eyes glaring out at us.
“Ladies,” it rasped. “Who would disturb our realm?”
My eyes bulged. I glanced at the onion woman, who pursed her lips. “We wish to have an audience with a powerful spirit.”
The flame flickered. “You are speaking with the King of Hell!”
“Where’s your crown?” the onion woman snapped. “Where’s the surge of power that should make my hairs stand on end? You’re the spiritual equivalent of a doorman, and don’t tell me any different.”
The flame dimmed. “What do you want?”
“I wish to speak with the spirit who offers beings power in exchange for their souls. Five centuries ago, it dwelled in the region between Belgrade and Transylvania.”
“Tell me your names and tell them true,” it said.
“Don’t waste time trying to form a connection with us. Fetch the higher being, or I’ll banish you so deep in the abyss, you won’t be able to rise for a millennium.”
The flame flickered around the edges, and its black eyes retreated into its red core. I shuddered in my circle. The onion woman’s abrasive attitude certainly worked in the spirit realm.
“Very well,” it said. “But I will take my payment.”
“Your master will pass on your share when you have completed your task.”
A tiny voice in the back of my head wondered if I was the payment — a fatted calf to hand over to the more powerful spirit in exchange for its help.
Centuries ago, it had offered Dracula and Radu power to defeat their enemies in exchange for their souls. Considering that Radu absorbed the souls of others, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine that the spirit wanted Dracula and Radu out in the word amassing power before it consumed them.
I blew out a breath. It was too late to raise my suspicions, and even if I did, the onion woman would deny that I was payment for services rendered.
“Very well,” said the flame. “I will fetch the one you seek.”
Moments later, a fully-formed man stood in the middle of the circle, clad in blood-soaked armor. His body seemed as solid as mine. Instead of chakras and meridians, a single red ball of energy glowed in the place of his solar plexus.
I gulped, wondering what on earth that meant.
“Who dares to call the great Ademenitor?” he boomed.
“Two descendants of Radu,” said the onion woman.
“Radu,” the spirit snarled. “That wretch and his brother owe me their souls!”
Excitement made my heart skip a beat, and I turned to the onion woman, who gave the spirit an approving nod.
“This is why we’ve called upon you,” she said. “The power you’ve unleashed is causing mayhem on innocents, and it’s time you reclaimed their souls.”
Ademenitor narrowed his eyes. “Why would I do that?”
“Because they are your property.” She pointed her finger at his chest.
The spirit paused as though thinking about the onion woman’s words. “Dracula hides his soul where I cannot find it, and Radu has not reached the end of his life, so I cannot yet claim his soul.”
I swallowed hard. “Radu’s been feeding on vampire blood to extend his life, and he’s also absorbed the souls of his own descendants to enhance his power.”
“Indeed?” the spirit purred. “Release me from these infernal circles, and I will allow Radu to absorb me. When he does, he will lose both life and body and soul.”
My gaze darted to the onion woman. She hadn’t told me to keep quiet, and I hoped I hadn’t ruined things by speaking up.
“We can’t do that,” she said.
He spread his hands wide. “I offer you power beyond your wildest
imaginations.”
“It’s not power we seek,” she said.
“Then what?” he growled.
“Justice.”
Ademenitor crouched and appeared to stare into the Onion woman’s eyes, but two black coals within the red core glowered at me. “Explain.”
The onion woman straightened. “Dracula has fulfilled his mission to defeat his enemies and reclaim his throne. Now he wanders the earth, ruining the lives of innocents. As does Radu.”
“I am listening,” he purred.
“Half a millennium later, they’re laughing at you for failing to collect on the bargain,” she snapped. “It’s time you claimed them and completed your deal.”
A biting wind swirled around the room. Tiny shards of ice sliced into my skin, reminding me of the time Micalla had attacked me with vampire bats. Panic lanced through my stomach, cooling my blood and making me run through my chakras for foreign influences.
Tendrils of my traitorous magic seeped out from my root chakra and snaked across the floor toward the black cores within the protective flames.
Revulsion rippled through my insides. I still didn’t have full control over my hunter abilities, and the spirit had probably tried mesmerizing me on a deep level. Closing my eyes, I blew out a long, cleansing breath and focussed on keeping my magic within my own protective circle.
I couldn’t blame anyone but myself. The onion woman hadn’t predicted that the spirit would succeed in making me enter the circle.
As the illusionary wind died, it shouted, “You would dare to order the Great Ademenitor?”
The onion woman snarled at the spirit. “How do you expect me to treat a being who turned two former captives into the scourges of all humans? The more powerful they become, the more they’ll evade you. If Radu drinks Dracula’s blood, he’ll live forever, and you’ll never get your precious souls.”
All the tiny hairs on the back of my head stood on end. It was no wonder that Dracula turned her into a knocker. The onion woman was as tough as hell.
“Fine,” it growled. “It is time to claim what is—”