The Curse of Blood (Love Lines Book 4)

by Diana Nixon

  “And for that, they need the collection?”

  “Anything is possible.”

  “But they don’t have the original pieces. Can copies be as good as the originals?”

  “They can,” Melanie said. “If they are filled with the blood of the collection’s creator.”

  “The blood again? Seriously, Mel, why would you think that everything is connected by blood?” I asked.

  “Because I know it for sure. Name any dark magic potion, and I will tell you that it has blood among its ingredients. We all know that Dominic Murray was a dark magic user. I’m sure he was an expert in blood properties. He could charm his blood so that when transfused to any of his siblings it awakened even the darkest of his powers. Including masterminding.”

  “I think we shouldn’t jump to conclusions,” I said. “We are not sure about Dominic.”

  “But Elizabeth is,” Eileen said.

  “So that is why you want to find her?”

  “It’s one of the reasons.”

  “Okay, and why don’t you want to tell Evan about everything that we have discovered?”

  “Because just like in the case of magic, he needs to feel his powers, whatever they are.”

  “Don’t you think he will be a little pissed when he finds out that we all knew the truth but didn’t tell him anything?”

  “He’ll get over it.”

  I laughed, humorless. “I bet he will.”

  “Anyway, what’s our next step?” Melanie asked.

  “There’s one thing that Evan can help us with,” Eileen said. “Since he knows about the birthday memory, he can help us find the mysterious book.”

  “You want to send him into another illusion?” Will guessed.

  “Exactly. Would you like to accompany him?”

  “Why me?”

  “Because I don’t think my boyfriend will ever forgive me if I travel into another illusion without him.” She smiled at me.

  “Damn true,” I said, wrapping one arm around her waist.

  “Then I’m in too,” Melanie said. “I’m worried about my almost helpless boyfriend too, you know?” She said, looking at Will.

  “Almost helpless?” He repeated, offended.

  “Well, I’m still sure that the only privilege of masterminding is messing with the girls’ minds.”

  Darcy laughed. “So that is how he made you want to be his girlfriend?”

  “Well, I didn’t mind him messing with my head.”

  Will leaned towards Melanie and kissed her forehead, saying, “We are two freaks, so I think it’s a perfect match.”

  “Thanks for the compliment,” she replied, punching his chest playfully. I couldn’t help but smile at how they were playing around with each other. It took them less than two weeks to realize that they couldn’t live without each other. It wasn’t surprising, of course, considering that Eileen and I started dating after a few days of her staying in Dever.

  “One more thing,” Eileen said. “We don’t tell anyone about the conversation we had here, deal?”

  “What about Amanda?”

  “Evan can feel her, so I don’t think telling her is a good idea. She has enough to worry about right now.”

  So it was decided to keep the details a secret and only tell my sister about the book that we thought would help us find at least some of the answers. As always, the number of mysteries we needed to solve was even larger than the number of stars in the sky.

  “I have another lecture about the history of Dever in about a half-hour,” I said to Eileen. “Want to go with me?”

  “Sure. Since I have nothing else to do.”

  I liked it when Eileen was with me. No matter what we were doing, it was always better to have her by my side, rather than to keep worrying about other troubles that she could be trying to get out of at the moment. “I love you, you know?” I said, walking with her to the Academic building.

  She smiled. “I think I’ve heard that a couple of times. Love you too, Mr. Fairey.”

  “One day you will have to change your last name.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Well, first, because I’m sure your father wants you to have his name. And second, because being my wife, you won’t have another choice.”

  “Your wife? So you think I will accept a proposal that hasn’t even taken place yet?”

  “Why would I doubt that?”

  “Uh, you give yourself too much credit, Cutie.” She laughed. “But that is another quality I love about you, and it makes me love you even more.”

  Chapter 12

  Evan

  I needed to talk to Marion, the sooner the better. Something weird happened to me, and I didn’t know how to explain it. It was a regular training with my brother. We used different weapons, trying to fill them with magic. Then I accidentally cut my hand and it started bleeding. Cutting my hand wasn’t the most surprising part of the situation, but rather when I looked at the drops of blood on the floor and realized that they were not red but silver instead. The drops of blood were shining with thousands of colors, illuminating the entire space around me.

  “Can you see this?” I asked Kevin, who seemed to be totally uninterested in whatever was happening to me.

  “See what?” He asked, coming closer.

  “My blood. What color is it?”

  “Red,” he said, switching his eyes from the drops on the floor to my injured hand. “You okay? You look a little pale.”

  I nodded absently and rushed out of the classroom. Ripping a piece off of my shirt, I wrapped it tight around my hand and went to the Administration where I knew I would find Marion. More than anything, she loved spending time in the archives where she could read in silence.

  “Morning, Beatrice,” I greeted Patrick’s secretary. “Is Marion here?”

  “Yes. I wonder, does she ever get tired of reading?”

  I forced a smile, but didn’t say anything in response to her question. The pain in my hand was getting worse.

  I entered the archives and leaned back against the closed door. For a second, I thought I would faint. I could feel the drops of sweat rolling down my forehead and cheeks.

  “Evan? Oh, my God! What happened?” Marion ran up to me, helping me to the nearest chair.

  “I wish I knew,” I mumbled, showing her my hand.

  “You are bleeding!”

  “Tell me something I didn’t already know. It hurts like hell!”

  “Okay, let see.” Carefully, she removed my hand-made bandage and gasped quietly. “It’s happening.”

  “What is happening?” I asked, almost frantic now.

  “The transformation.” She rose to her feet and rushed out of the room, returning a few moments later with a pitcher of water and a silver knife.

  “What do you need that for?” I asked, cautious. I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of being cut up into pieces.

  “It won’t hurt. We need to stop it from bleeding, before you lose too much blood.”

  “And what makes you believe a knife will help with that?”

  Wordlessly, she rolled up one of her sweater sleeves and cut her arm over her veins.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, horrified, watching a thin red stream of blood that was now dropping to the floor.

  “Saving you,” she said, taking my bleeding hand in hers and letting her blood drip into my wound.

  The moment our blood mixed, I felt relief from the cut. The pain was fading away, making my breathing and heartbeat normal again. No less than a minute passed before I realized that the cut on my hand was gone. My skin was smooth again, there wasn’t even a scar or red mark where the wound had been.

  “Wow… That was the fastest healing ever,” I said, stunned by what had just happened.

  “Your father called it Lumini Morum, because of the light you see while you are bleeding.”

  “Why was my blood silver and why did I feel so much pain?”

  “Because the two parts of you are fi
ghting inside your body and mind. One of them keeps memories about the old powers you possessed. The other one — about the new things you are capable of now.”

  “What are those things?”

  Marion hesitated, watching me silently.

  “You know the answer, so why don’t you tell me the truth?” I said, a little irritated. More than anything, I hated being at sea. “Who or what am I turning into?”

  “I can’t tell you, Evan. You need to figure it out on your own.”

  That was ridiculous. “How am I supposed to figure it out if I don’t understand anything about what is happening to me?”

  “There is a time for everything. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about. If I say that it’s too early to find out the truth, then you should wait and let the time do its magical job.”

  “Tell me I’m not turning into a monster or a serial killer, or worse — a copy of my father,” I spilled the words as if they were poison.

  Marion laughed nervously.

  Were any of my assumptions correct?

  “You will understand it all when the time is right,” she said, taking the pitcher and the knife away.

  Her words didn’t help, but it looked like I had no choice but to follow her advice. Man, I hated waiting.

  “Shit,” I swore, looking down at my ruined shirt. I needed to get changed. But more than anything, I needed freaking answers.

  I thanked Marion for her help and went to my room, hoping I wouldn’t start bleeding in the middle of Dever again. I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of a damn transformation or whatever she called it making me the butt-end of a joke.

  The moment I entered my room, I knew I wouldn’t get a chance to rest. Eileen was there, sitting on my couch, with her arms crossed.

  “I should seriously think about changing the spells that unlock my room,” I said, taking off my shirt and dropping it into a trash can.

  “Well, I’m not here for a striptease, but if you prefer talking with your clothes off-”

  “You know what I prefer doing with my clothes off, but I bet you are not here for that either. So what did you want to talk about?” I reached for the zipper on my jeans and pulled them down.

  Eileen shook her head, turning to the window. “I hope that at the very least your boxers will stay where they are now, they will right?”

  “Of course they will stay where they are now. In the drawer.”

  “God, don’t tell me you are walking around Dever without your underwear.”

  “Relax, I’m decent. See?” I pointed to my boxers. “Now, can we get down to business?”

  She rolled her eyes, and said, “You are one hopelessly shameless businessman, Mr. Murray.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment, Darling.” I took out a fresh pair of jeans and a shirt and put them both on. “Better now?”

  “Much better. Thanks. So, I came here to talk to you about a few very important things.”

  “Go ahead, I’m all yours for the rest of the day.” After what happened, I doubted I could get back to practice.

  “I’ve found a few volunteers to accompany you into the illusion that will take you to Paris.”

  “You are not going with me?” I asked, surprised. It was hard to believe that Eileen would miss another chance to run away again and get into trouble.

  “I have a few things to do here. Will and Melanie will go with you.”

  I grimaced. “Couldn’t you at least find better company for me?”

  She laughed quietly, rising to her feet. “I hope you will enjoy your time in Paris.”

  “Very funny. Is that all you wanted to talk about?”

  “Not exactly.” She stopped a few feet away from me, watching me carefully. “Something very important is about to happen,” she said, taking my hand in hers. “Promise it won’t change you.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. “What makes you think that I’m going to be a different man?”

  “I know it for sure. The only question is, how bad will the new Evan be?”

  “Am I not bad enough?” I asked, forcing a smile.

  “We all know that you are a bad ass, but you are also a good man, Evan. And I don’t want it to change, ever.” She sounded so desperate, I couldn’t understand what made her start that strange conversation.

  “What do you know?” I asked, trying to see a trace of lies in her aura.

  “Nothing,” she said, disappointed. “I wish I knew something, anything that would help us realize what is going on, but for now, I can only feel that whatever is about to happen, will change everything.

  “Not true,” I said, rubbing her cheek with the back of my palm. “I will never stop being your guardian angel, as well as you will never stop being mine.”

  “Don’t you ever forget that,” she said, hugging me.

  “I won’t. I swear.”

  I hated moments like that, because they always meant something very bad was coming, and I knew that Eileen would never tell me to be careful if she wasn’t sure about the things her intuition was telling her.

  “Hey, do you think Amanda would agree to go the imaginary Paris with me?” I asked. “I would like to have at least one person who is not afraid of me or my sudden newly awakened powers.”

  “Well, if she agrees to go with you, then I don’t see why not.”

  Eileen avoided looking at me, and I guess I knew why.

  “What did she tell you about … us?”

  “Not much. But I want you to be careful with what you tell her or do. Because we all know that Amanda is a very emotional person, and I’m sure neither you nor I want to deal with the consequences from your leaving-much-to-be-desired behavior.”

  I smirked. “Is that your way of telling me to keep my hands off of her?”

  “You get my point, Evan. And don’t forget to keep your pants on as well.”

  “Uh, why do you always ruin the fun that hasn’t even started yet?”

  “Because I know how your ‘fun’ usually ends.” She kissed me on the cheek and headed for the door. “Good luck with the illusion and behave!”

  “Sure, sure, Sweetie.”

  I waited for Eileen to leave and called Amanda.

  “Hey, where are you?”

  “On my way back to Dever, why?”

  “I need your help with something. How soon will you be here?”

  “In about ten minutes. Is everything all right?”

  “Yes, it’s just an experiment that I want you to help me with.” In reality, I was dying to dive into another illusion with Amanda. Not only to find the damn book that I didn’t even know where to start looking for, but also because the magical reality made every small part of our feelings so much stronger. And I couldn’t wait to get lost in my feelings for Amanda. For the first time in years, I wasn’t afraid of falling in love again.

  Even with Darcy everything was different. We had a great time together, but it was not even close to what I felt whenever Amanda was around. The most surprising part was that I was a little afraid of losing that exciting feeling. Somehow, it felt so much better and stronger than any magic could ever feel.

  ***

  Creating illusions has never been easy. It needed concentration and a lot of energy.

  Will, Melanie and Amanda were with me now. We were standing in the middle of my room, making a small circle around the coffee table with different herbs and flowers that Marion once told Eileen and me to use to create an illusion. Of course, I could use someone’s mind to escape reality, but this time, that was not an option. There should be only the four of us involved.

  “Now, let’s join our hands and close our eyes,” I said, looking at my companions. It was Melanie’s first time of traveling into an illusion, so I could see that she was a little nervous. “Relax,” I said, taking her by the hand. “The ‘flight’ will last no more than a few seconds. After we find what we need, I will bring you all back here.”

  “Just don’t screw up anything,” Will said. “I don�
�t want to get stuck in your imaginary house forever.”

  “Thanks for your support, man. You always know just what to say.”

  He smirked. “You are welcome.”

  “Now, take a deep breath and think about the gates, opening to the front yard of Rose Hellebore.” It was the French name of my house that my parents gave it. No matter how many bad memories were connected to the place, I still didn’t want to sell it. Somehow, it always felt like the only thing still binding me to my past and family that was far from being perfect, but still felt like a family.

  Inhaling deeply, I closed my eyes and started pronouncing the spell that was supposed to take us to Paris. It didn’t take long to realize that the spell worked. The moment we opened our eyes, we found ourselves standing near the gates that had my family emblem on them.

  “Welcome to my home,” I said, mentally pronouncing another spell that opened the gates.

  The weather left much to be desired, but since our present was not quite real, we didn’t feel the rain drops falling from the sky.

  Entering the house, I first made sure that we were alone there. Even though it was protected by the spells that only I knew how to cast, I was still a little afraid of meeting unwelcome guests there. After all, I was the only person able to bring everyone back to reality, which meant I was responsible for everything happening in the illusion.

  “Okay, so what shall we start with?” Melanie said, looking around the massive living room. It looked exactly the same as it used to look years ago. I didn’t change a thing about it, except for one small detail — the picture over the fireplace. When my father was alive, it looked like dragon’s wings, but after Eileen came up with a new idea for my family emblem, it was changed to letter ‘M’, symbolizing magic and the fist letter of my last name, with the rose flowers and some intricate patterns around them.

  “I think we should start with the library,” I said, waving for a hall that led to one of the biggest rooms in the house.

  “Do you know if there are any hidden shelves in the library?” Amanda asked, following me.

  “There’s only one that I can remember.” I opened the heavy wooden doors and turned the lights on, illuminating endless rows of books, both old and new.