“Hey,” I say reaching out to pat his arm, noticing the dried blood, and pulling back. “You’ll find him. Unlike me, you aren’t a monster.”
“Oh, Jack. You really need to knock off whatever doubts you’re having about yourself.”
“It’s not about me, it’s about what happens when people are around me.” I scoot to the other side of the bench. “People I care about keep dying.”
“Come on, Jack.” He takes hold of my chin and forces me to look at him.
My eyes moisten and fill. I pull away. “It’s true. Camden, Kara, my grandmother. It’s only a matter of time before she comes after my mom and dad. If you stick around she’ll come after you too.” Now that I’d started spilling I couldn’t stop. “I wished away my wings, my magic all for the chance to be someone I’m not. Now that I understand that, there isn’t a damn thing I can do to fix it because that bitch has what’s mine.”
I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my head against them.
“So, what? You’re just going to give up? Let the darkness take over. You’re going to let Maleficent win?” He sounded frustrated and I looked up. Determination lined his face. “You can do something about your problem. Are you going to face her or fail before you’ve given yourself the chance to try?”
“Troy. I don’t—”
“Jack!” He stood and rubbed his hands through his hair, making it messy. I thought he’d never looked better. “Stop being such a child. Stop blaming yourself for stuff that’s out of your control. Stop thinking you’re a victim and start doing what you know is right.” He knelt in front of me. “Jack. I believe in you. Whatever it takes, I know you can do it.”
I tried to fake a smile, but it wasn’t happening. “Thanks, Troy.”
His hungry lips crashed into mine immediately hungry and I reciprocated, grabbing hold of his shoulders and gripping him close. His tongue glided along my bottom lip and then my top before he plunged inside my mouth.
I moaned, wishing I could be closer to him. It was the kind of kiss I’d only ever dreamed of, the kind of kiss I’d always wished for, but figured I would never get. I panted eagerly, my breathing coming out in jagged gasps. And all sorts of feelings rushed to the surface, for him, for those who’d died, for my grandmother, for my mom, and for all that still needed to happen. They gurgled through me like molten lava.
And I knew what I needed to do.
Troy seemed to sense my change and pulled back.
“You ready?” His hazel eyes flashed back and forth, searching mine.
I nodded.
“If I knew all it would take to get you fired up was another of my awesome kisses, I would’ve done that first thing. Skipped all the apologies and headed straight for your lips.”
I grinned. “Never change, dragon boy.” I kissed him quick.
He got to his feet and pulled me up with him. “You’re done pouting?”
“Yes.”
“You gonna kick some Maleficent ass?”
“I am.”
“Good.” He pressed his lips to the palm of one of my hands and then made a face. “Shower first, would ya?”
I laughed. Couldn’t help it. “Okay, I will.”
He let go.
“What’s your plan? You going to keep searching for Cole?”
“Of course.”
“Good.” I laced his fingers between mine. “Thank you.”
He smirked. “It’s my pleasure.”
I walked past him, heading toward the cemetery entrance.
He swatted my butt. I gasped and turned. “Seriously?”
“Get it done, vampire girl. I’ll be around when you’re finished.”
Before I could say anymore, he ran along the side of the church and behind it. Then shot into the sky in his dragon form. For the briefest moment he blocked out the moon. It made me think of Batman… except Troy was better. His big, bronze wings shone in the moonlight. One eye glanced down at me.
“Race you home?”
“Deal.”
Nine
When I arrived back at the house, I waved to Troy and then went inside. My mom was gone, as was my grandmother’s body. The room that had been my mom’s once upon a time was clean and the bed had been made with fresh linens. A strong scent of disinfectants lingered, burning the inside of my nose and making my stomach turn.
Mixed emotions swirled through my heart. I was grateful my mom had taken Ariel with her, thankful I didn’t have to talk to my mom right now since I didn’t know what to say, and devastated that I hadn’t been able to say good-bye to my grandmother. But mostly I was angry. Frustrated beyond belief that Maleficent had killed my grandmother. Not hurt her, but ended her life.
It was time to make Maleficent pay.
I rapidly showered before dressing in jeans, black boots, and a black hoodie. Brushed my hair, braided it, and wrapped it in a bun. Then I took a deep breath and went down the hall to Laeddin’s room. Knocked softly. I didn’t know for sure whether he was still in the house, but it seemed likely since his door was closed. So I waited.
There was rustling and the sound of his throat clearing.
He opened the door wearing only navy blue pajama bottoms. I couldn’t help myself as I scanned his chest and torso. And the smell of his blood? It smelled divine. I almost couldn’t resist grabbing him and drinking without permission. The hunger. It had come on suddenly and without notice. I needed Christopher, his blood.
“Are you all right, Jasmine?”
I shook my head. “No. The only way I’m going to be able to stop Maleficent once and for all is by finding all the pieces of the crown and putting them together. So we need to get the ingredients and do the spell so that we can destroy the assassins.”
One side of his mouth lifted in a small curve. “Glad to hear it.” He opened his bedroom door and indicated the overflowing desk near the window. “Your mother gathered them already. She said the hardest item would’ve been getting a dragon scale, but Troy gave it to her before she left.”
I’d figured the hardest object for my mom to obtain would’ve been the Hunter’s blood. I wondered if she had it on hand, if he was still giving her a supply, and it’d been in our storeroom. That was probably the case.
But I only thought about that for a moment and instead let my mind travel to Troy. He was always looking out for me, even when I didn’t realize it. “Cool. Let’s get started then.”
Laeddin glanced at his bedside clock. “It’s late. Don’t you want to get some rest? You look tired.”
I shook my head. “Every second I waste with mundane things like sleep only gives Maleficent more time to make her plans. I don’t want to wait.”
“Okay, let’s get started then.” In the blink of an eye, everything except the desk and the things on it were gone, leaving the wooden floor bare. He snapped his fingers and a black seven-point star surrounded by a circle appeared in the center of the room. “Place an ingredient on each of the points, keeping them inside the circle.” He took the eyeball between his thumb and middle finger and gently set in on one of the points. I picked up Troy’s dragon scale and hugged it to me slightly, sending out a silent “thank you”.
For the next several minutes, Laeddin and I worked quietly together, placing the ingredients until all seven were at the points, but within the circle.
When we finished, he said, “You must stand inside the star, in the center.”
I carefully stepped inside and without touching the lines moved until I stood in the middle. “Here?” I asked, looking around me to make sure I wasn’t on any of the lines.
“Perfect.” He picked up a black book and turned the pages until he reached the one he wanted. Then he looked at me. “Stay still. Don’t move.”
His words didn’t exactly fill me with courage, but I was in this until the end, no matter what. “I won’t.”
He cleared his throat. “Jasmine, before I start I just want you to know that I think you’re amazing. In every way.”
; “Thank you, Laeddin.” It was easy to see he meant his words and I really appreciated them, him, all that he’d done for me. None of what had happened was his fault.
His eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Ready?”
“Yes.” I squeezed my hands into fists, unsure about what was going to happen, but trying to prepare myself.
Laeddin began speaking. His words were soft and foreign. I didn’t understand what he was saying, but I immediately felt as if I was being tugged in seven directions, as though I was being pulled into the points. I felt my eyes grow wide with fear. What was happening? But I didn’t move, staying still just as Laeddin had asked.
The longer he went on, the stronger the pulling became, until I believed I would be ripped into pieces. Part of me wanted to run away, but that was the old me. I wasn’t moving until Laeddin told me it was safe to do so.
After several minutes, I realized whatever he was saying, it was the same thing over and over, like a chant. I began to recognize the words and I focused on them, on the sound of his voice. It was soft and deep, like water. I closed my eyes, sinking into the sounds…
Ten
The Unknowns
“I can’t believe it. Perhaps the vampire child does care after all.” He glided himself into a more relaxed position. For the last few months he and his other half had been in a state somewhere between awake and asleep.
She produced an orb of light and smiled at him, showing all of her sharp, pointy teeth. “Do not get your hopes up. Her destiny requires so much more than becoming the weapon required to destroy the assassins. She’ll be required to wish death upon those she cares for and make choices she isn’t strong enough to make.”
“Not yet, but I do see hope in the child.” He slithered around her, enjoying the way the inkiness around them expanded and contracted. They were everywhere and nowhere, the beings who created the magics and the realms. Occasionally they interfered, but mostly they preferred to watch from a distance.
“She has a spark, but I believe she will still fail.”
“I am sure you are right, but her choice has given me reason enough to fully awaken. And the genie. What shall we do about him? Should we go down and intervene? Throw a wrench or two in the proverbial chain. The best outcomes are always the ones where we meddle.”
She giggled. “You are so bad, but I like the way you think. Let’s leave them be. For now. Her grandmother recently died and the genie is in love with the vampire girl. Let us wait and see what they do.”
He nodded solemnly. “Perhaps a little longer then.”
Eleven
“Hang on, Princess.”
I heard him speak, but couldn’t answer, not even if I’d wanted to. The pulling from the seven ingredients seemed to have stopped. I no longer felt separated from them, but as though I’d become part of each object. I was still in the center of the star, but within them as well.
As I shifted and worked to grow comfortable as my new self, something strange happened. Like a rubber band, the pieces seemed to pull away, stretching further and further, until I could see the ends of the world, the infinite expanse that was the heavens, including all of the planets and stars, as well as Earth’s innermost core. I saw everything, felt everything, tasted, smelled, and became everything. It was darkness and light, and so many things in between, things I couldn’t explain, but somehow had become a part of me, until the portion of myself I recognized was tiny in comparison to everything else.
Then as abruptly as it started, it was gone.
“Princess?”
I opened my eyes at the sound of Laeddin’s voice.
He gasped.
“What?” I asked, crossing my arms nervously.
“See for yourself.”
“I can come out of the circle?”
“Yes, as far as I can tell, the enchantment is complete.”
Tentative, I glanced around, noticing that the seven objects were gone. Except that wasn’t right. They weren’t gone, just moved inside of me. I stepped from the circle and went to the full-length mirror.
The most noticeable difference was my eyes. The irises kept changing color. One second they were gold, the next they were green. The longer I stared in the mirror the more colors I saw, including blue, brown, red, silver, and indigo. “The seven magics,” I whispered, understanding dawning on me.
“That’s right.” He stood so I could see his reflection in the mirror. “Not only that, but look.” He turned me around so that I had to look over my shoulder to see my back.
“What?” At first I didn’t see anything, but then my eyes adjusted and I was seeing with my vampire vision. And there they were, the transparent outline of a new pair of wings! “How is this possible?” They weren’t feathery like my original pair, but more webbed, like that of a dragons. And then they were gone. “Where did they go?”
“I’m not sure. I’m guessing them appearing has to do with the way the incantation infused you with the seven magics. Even though Maleficent took your wings and your magics, they are still a part of you.” He gave me a big smile. “I mean you were created by the seven magics. You were already a part of them, and the spell just reawakened them within you… at least that’s what I’m thinking.”
I nodded. “That makes sense, I guess. But what about the weapon needed to kill the assassins. Did that part not work? Is it because I didn’t have my magics?”
“I don’t think so, but I don’t know. Maybe you have become the weapon.” He shrugged. “The spell did say the user and the weapon would be bound.”
“Was there anything else?” I was worried. Had my choices once again created a problem that couldn’t be fixed?
Laeddin rested his middle finger on my forehead. “Close your eyes.”
I watched as he did, so I went along with it.
A light green light seemed to dig its way around my mind, looking for something. I guessed the weapon.
After several long seconds, I noticed the light come upon something dark and powerful. It didn’t seem to have a shape, but was just a great expanse of nothingness.
Laeddin pulled back, dropping his hand to his side. “The weapon is in there, without a doubt, but it’s being protected by a power not even my magic can penetrate.”
“I saw it too.” I crossed my arms, trying not to be afraid of whatever it was I’d seen. “Let’s go back to the tunnels, find the box and the piece of the crown, and test the theory, see if the weapon will work.
“Now?” His face contorted in worry. “I really think you should rest.”
I shook my head. “There isn’t time. Let’s go.”
Twelve
We popped into the tunnel immediately and even without a light I knew we were in the room where we’d left the container. Laeddin produced a light as I knelt and then turned back the lid. As before, I pushed past the jade petals that felt like pea pods and produced a sickly sweet smell.
And as before, the fairy assassin appeared. He stood until the top of his head nearly reached the ceiling and opened his eyes. They were the same color as the flower petals. “Who dares awaken me from my slumber?”
“It is I, Jasmine. I’m here to take the piece of crown you guard.”
His jade green eyes flashed in anger. “I cannot allow that.” He crossed his arms over his shoulders and removed the swords. “Prepare yourself for destruction.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. Laeddin had seen that a weapon was being protected inside of me. So had I. Whatever it was, I hoped it would appear when I needed it. “I will not die. I can’t. It’s my destiny to destroy you.” As I spoke the words, twin blades exactly like the assassin’s appeared in my hands. Red lightning crackled all along them. Their presence seemed to surprise the assassin. They surprised me too. And Laeddin. I could tell by the expression on his face.
“Where did you get those?” The assassin jumped forward, sending his swords down as though he would destroy me with one blow.
I hadn’t been prepared. Thankfully the swor
ds seemed to know exactly what to do. They brought my hands up and crossed their blades so that the assassins came down on them. He didn’t stop, but spun and attacked again.
The swords in my hands parried, blocked, and then struck him in the thigh and across the stomach.
For the briefest second the assassin glanced down. The swords in my hands took advantage of his moment of weakness and went in for the kill, crossing and slicing across his neck.
I stepped back in time to see his head fall from his body and hit the dirt and then roll twice before stopping so his now fully fleshed face stared in shock out of empty eyes.
No sooner had the assassin’s head struck the ground than the electrified swords vaporized from my hands as though they knew they were no longer needed.
“Did that seriously just happen?” I stood up straight and looked down at my empty hands.
“If I hadn’t been here to witness it I wouldn’t have believed it.” Laeddin came around and took my hands. They were warm, and I instantly relaxed. “You did it,” he said shaking my fingers lightly.
“I did it,” I repeated.
Laeddin released my hands and picked up the box. “Take it, Princess. It’s yours.”
My hands shook in shock, but also hope. I reached out to touch the white and red diamond-encrusted piece of crown. Before I picked it up, a white electric current jumped from the crown and grabbed hold of my finger.
I tried to pull away, but it held me fast. And the crown piece came out of the box on its own and floated above it a moment before falling into my palm. “Whoa,” I said, glancing at Laeddin.
His eyes were as big as mine felt. “Look.”
The piece of crown burrowed into my skin.
I screamed and tried to dig at it, afraid of what was happening. “What’s it doing?”
Laeddin joined in helping me, but it was no use. Red and white electric currents bubbled and gurgled under my skin as the crown crawled like a burrowing alien bug up my arm.
Vampire Nights (Vampire Wishes Book 3) Page 4