Confidence turned into confusion. She frowned and looked up to us for an answer.
“We cannot produce our own blood,” Drew said matter-of-factly.
“But, without
his
blood, the spell will not work.
“I have
his
blood, as does Alyssa,” Nicholas said. “We are of his direct bloodline. Will that work?”
“There is no guarantee. As I said before, spells can be affected by not having the proper ingredients.”
“This is the best we can offer,” Nicholas said.
That caused my anxiety level to spike.
Why did everything have to be so complicated?
Ariana sighed and waved us forward. “It’s better than nothing.”
I offered my wrist first. She sliced it quickly and cleanly, but the sudden sting made me hiss. Ariana held my wrist over the cauldron and allowed the blood to flow into it until my wound healed over itself. As before, the stone seemed to soak up the blood like a sponge, but this time some remained, coating the herbs at the bottom of the cauldron.
Nicholas went second, and again Ariana repeated the process, holding his wrist over the cauldron until it healed. “Is that it?” he asked, rubbing the spot where his wound had healed.
“Yes, I think so.” She consulted her book again. “Please, everyone take a spot next to the five candles.”
We did as instructed. Ariana pulled a jar from her purse and sprinkled the contents into the cauldron; then she lit a match and tossed it inside. A small explosion shook the stone, but it remained upright. Smoke began to billow out from the cauldron and sink back down into the coffin.
Ariana took the tip of the knife and poked her index finger. “As the channel of this magic, my blood will help aid the connection.” She rubbed the small bead of blood on the tip of the crystal and started a chant. I couldn’t understand the words she was saying—they sounded foreign or old, with a bit of a Spanish flair.
Smoke from the incense surrounded us like a thick blanket, choking out any fresh air that might remain. Though I didn’t need to breathe, it bothered me to avoid it, but as I inhaled, my head began to swim. Whatever herbs she was burning had a drug-like effect. I could only imagine how the humans, Fallon and Ariana, must be reacting.
Something was definitely happening. The lights flickered and went out, leaving only the candles to illuminate the room. The gentle twinkling of each flame only added to the dreamy and drug-induced feeling that was taking over.
“Please work, please work, please work,” I mumbled to myself and crossed my fingers behind my back like a child does for good luck.
Ariana’s chanting grew louder and louder, echoing around the room. As she spoke, the air became electrified. My heart sped with anticipation. The crystal began to glow. It took on a hazy white halo. The deep red color inside lightened to an orangy-amber. Within the crystal, it looked like liquid was swirling into a mini tornado.
A smile crept across my face. “Come back to me, baby.”
Still chanting, Ariana picked up the crystal. She held it up in the air as she circled around the coffin toward Lysander’s head. The crystal’s glow reflected off the waxy skin of my unconscious mate.
Ariana lowered her arms and pointed the crystal tip down, between Lysander’s eyes. The swirling liquid inside of the crystal moved faster, spinning into a perfect funnel-shaped cyclone that pointed its energy toward the tip.
“Arise,” she commanded loudly.
Lysander’s whole body jolted as if hit by an electric shock.
I sucked in a breath and held it in anticipation. My eyes were glued to his body, hoping, praying…
“Lysander, arise,” she commanded, and again touched the crystal to his head. His body twitched, and this time with a loud moan erupting from his chest, his eyes fluttered open.
At first, his pale blue-gray eyes held shock and confusion. He looked around the room, finally setting on my face; then I felt his fear. “Help me,” Lysander rasped. “I’m not alone in here.” And just as quickly as he spoke, his eyes closed and his body went limp.
CHAPTER 16
The thick, enveloping smoke began to dissipate on its own, as if someone had opened a door and sucked it right out of the back of the room. But none of the doors had been opened.
I shook my head to help clear away the remaining haze. Lights flickered on around us. The crystal fell from Ariana’s hand, and I gasped as it tumbled into the coffin.
Ariana sank to the ground.
Lysander had again become motionless, looking as if he were sleeping. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought nothing had happened. But I’d seen him move, heard him speak. Something had definitely happened.
But why didn’t it work? What went wrong, and why did Lysander say he wasn’t alone?
Somewhere, deep down, I feared we might have just lost our shot at saving him. Whatever was with him in that crystal might never let him go. A tear welled in the corner of my eye. I fought back against the feelings of despair, unwilling to give up just yet.
Ariana clutched her head in her hands and let out a groggy moan on the floor. I rushed to her aid along with Fallon.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
Her head shot up, and her eyes, filled with an unusual fire, locked onto mine. A wave of pure hatred rolled off her. It crashed into me with such force I felt my own anger surging to meet it.
“Get away from me, death bringer!” she spat the words out. Then, her voice deepened. Ariana said something else. I couldn’t quite make out the words. She sounded strange, as if someone else were speaking through her. The next thing I knew, a shock like a bolt of electricity hit me. Suddenly, I was on the other side of the room, my head colliding with the wall.
“What the fuck?” Stars danced in my vision. My ears rang and the back of my head throbbed where it had struck the wall.
Across the room, Ariana sat up and scowled as she looked around at the other vampires surrounding her.
Fallon was still at her side. “Why did you do that?” she asked.
“Vampires. Death bringers. You have no power over me. I am the true master of death.” Ariana turned her head toward Fallon. “Get behind me. I’ll protect you from these murderers.”
The rest of the clan froze in their spots and exchanged confused glances as if trying to determine the best way to handle the situation.
“They’re our friends.” Worry tinged Fallon’s voice. “Don’t you remember?”
“You’re friends with these leeches?” Ariana eyed Fallon suspiciously.
“So are you,” she replied back.
Confusion played across Ariana’s face. Her lips quivered, and for a brief moment her eyes rolled backwards in their sockets.
Nicholas must have caught her momentary lapse. He bent down to Fallon and Ariana. “She doesn’t remember.” He reached out a hand toward the fallen witch. Instantly, the confusion on her face turned to a scowl.
“Do you know who I am?” Nicholas asked.
Ariana’s eyebrow quirked. She lifted her hand and pointed a finger at Nicholas.
“You might want to back away.” Fallon warned. “She’s not in her right mind.” Fallon held tight to Ariana’s arm, pulled her hand down, and whispered in her ear. “It’s okay. Take it easy. We’re all friends here.”
Ariana refused to take her eyes off Nicholas. She looked dangerous, as if she were a frightened animal, backed into a corner, ready to fight for its life.
Nicholas stood and backed away slowly, around to the other side of the coffin. He hunted for the book. “Something went wrong with that spell. We need to know what’s going on. Necromancy is dark magic. There is no telling what effect using it has had on our witch.”
“What does a death bringer know of magic?” Ariana spat out the words.
Nicholas returned her anger with his own. “My mate was once a witch before she joined me in this life. I know plenty.” He turned to me and I saw the pain etched on his face as he mentioned Rozaline. “She should have never messed with this dark magic. Just once was enough to poison her mind.”
Fallon helped Ariana to her feet and guided her to a bench along the wall. “Come sit down over here.”
“My necklace,” Ariana moaned, and for that brief moment, she sounded like herself again. “I need it. Protection… from evil.”
“I got it,” I said, and grabbed both hers and the one she’d lent to me and hurried toward her.
Ariana’s eyes focused on me as I approached. The confusion returned as well as the anger. She opened her mouth and uttered another curse. I winced, expecting more pain and another trip across the room to crash into the wall, but this time it had no effect. I looked down at my hands, seeing the goddess pendants there on their silver chains, and it hit me.
“These things really do help. Quick, have her put this on.” I tossed the necklace to Fallon and then clasped the other around my neck again.
As soon as the necklace was around Ariana’s neck, fear left her eyes. Her hand fell from her head, and she gazed around the room as if seeing it for the first time. “What are you all sitting around here for? Let’s get on with the spell.”
“The spell didn’t work, and you lost it.” I continued my approach toward her, safe now in the knowledge she wasn’t going to curse me again. “Don’t you remember?”
“Lost it?” She shot me a curious look. “We haven’t done anything yet.”
“Look around. The candles have been lit for a while now. There’s smoke in the cauldron. The incense is almost out. Don’t you remember anything that happened?”
She shook her head.
“You called me a death bringer. Sent me flying across the room. You snarled at Nicholas. Should I continue?”
“I don’t remember any of that. Last thing I did was…” She peered around the room curiously. “You might be right. I do remember something. I pricked my finger and touched the crystal.”
“Do you remember anything else? You were pretty out of it until I gave you back your necklace.”
Her hand shot up to her neck. “The necklace gives protection from evil.”
“But you said magic is not good or evil, it’s how it is used that makes the difference.”
“Power over death is not a good thing, I don’t care who says otherwise,” Nicholas responded before Ariana could say another word. “Be careful the magic does not poison your mind to the point you can’t recover.”
“That is not the only thing we need to worry about,” Crystal said.
“I’ll say. What did Lysander mean by ‘I’m not alone’?” I asked.
“Is that what he said?” Ariana asked. “From what you describe, there must have been some other presence here. I wish I knew what happened.”
“At this point, ’not alone’ could mean anything.” Drew bent over the coffin as if inspecting the contents. He reached out and took hold of the crystal. “But, at the very least, there is good news. The crystal appears undamaged.”
I joined them around the coffin. “Yes, at least it looks okay. When Ariana dropped it, I was worried.”
“Lysander said
he
, not
we
, were not alone. That makes me think the crystal holds another secret or soul. What else would be in there with him? And if that is the case, is that why he can’t get out?” Crystal asked.
I had a suspicion of what else might be in there, but I didn’t dare mention it. There had been only one other entity around when Lysander had been pulled into the crystal. And if he was the thing trapped inside with Lysander, there was nothing, save for the Pandora ’s Box, to keep him at bay.
Aniketos, the first vampire. Unconquerable and uncontrollable. All of our problems had started when we accidentally opened his prison and set him loose on the world.
“Soulstones were only meant to hold one spirit at a time. I doubt another would fit,” Ariana said.
Nicholas thumbed through the pages of the book. “But, you yourself admit to not being familiar with this kind of magic. Let’s say something else is in there with him. Could that be why the crystal keeps fading?”
“It’s entirely possible, yes,” Ariana responded, her tone hinting at worry.
“Whatever is inside, we have to isolate it from Lysander and get him out safely,” I said, hoping to push the others away from the same conclusion I had drawn. “He can’t last forever in there, and he needs our help. You heard him.”
“What if we are not able to isolate Lysander from the thing inside the crystal with him?” Nicholas looked at Lysander’s unconscious form and let out a deep sigh.
“We just have to keep trying,” I said, with determination.
“Not here, you won’t,” Connor’s voice boomed from the open front door. His sudden appearance startled me. I had assumed we had more time. They were supposed to be out hunting.
The last remnants of smoke billowed out behind him as he held open the glass doors. Clothed in only a pair of pants and thick coat that appeared to have been hastily buttoned, he stared at us with contempt. “You’ve ruined yet another full moon for us.”
Behind him, Aiden and Brady looked in on us and shook their heads. Connor, though in his human form, bared his teeth menacingly at us. He eyed the room and the mess we’d made. A rumbling growl vibrated in his chest. The veins in his forearm protruded, and I could see his thundering pulse underneath. He was mad, to say the least.
Connor stepped inside and let the door swing behind him. “This is the final straw. I’ve been as patient with you as I can be. But you.” He jabbed an accusatory finger at me. “You bring nothing but trouble wherever you go. You’ve disrespected me among my kind. And now, while we are out celebrating the full moon, I hear you dare to defile our home with dark magic. I want you all off my land. Tonight!”
Who had told him what we were up to? We’d only just come up with this plan. And why was I the one being blamed for it all?
I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could utter a word, a hand wrapped around my mouth.
“If that is your wish, we’ll be gone before dawn,” Nicholas said calmly.
“If you’re not, you will be destroyed.” Connor turned on his heel and headed toward his office, down the hallway.
“Live to fight another day.” Nicholas released his hand from my mouth. “We have no time to argue with him tonight. Let’s go now and make peace another time.”