Chapter 10 Raven
Raven
Alaric’s jaw dropped in shock and then snapped shut as he pulled himself together. For a moment, he looked almost…happy? Then the shutters dropped and his customary bored sneer returned.
“You must be fucking delusional if you think a vamp survived the virus, but whatever. Let’s get this spell cast so I can head back and get the fuck off campus.” He pointed to the metal bowl and smirked. “The first step is drawing blood.”
Having studied the spell a thousand times, I knew the steps by heart, but the thought of cutting myself still lacked appeal.
“Pathetic witch,” Kenji muttered from his perch on a chair, but I ignored his unwanted commentary. “Can we speed things up? I’m hungry.”
“You’re always hungry.”
He rolled his eyes at me before lying down and pretending to sleep.
“You can go if you like.”
“No. You might need to tap into my power.”
“Can’t I do that from a distance?”
“Stupid witch. No!”
I huffed at his obnoxious attitude. Why had the goddess gifted me with such a rude familiar? I must have been an evil witch in a previous life.
“Hello?” Alaric snapped, and I realized I’d been staring at Kenji for way too long, having forgotten the others weren’t party to my silent conversation with the little shit.
“Ignore the grumpy mage, pet. Like I said earlier, he needs to get laid.” Zane drew a wickedly sharp knife from a hidden pocket and zipped over to Alaric.
Before any of us could react, he had the blade pressed against the mage’s neck.
“The recipe calls for blood, right? Does the donor matter? If not, I’m happy to supply some on his behalf. ”
“It has to be the spellcaster’s blood, you moron,” Alaric gritted out. A small scarlet line opened up across his throat, and he hissed in anger.
“Call me a moron again and I’ll fucking gut you, mage,” Zane said in a singsong voice while grinning like a lunatic.
“Good luck with that, moron. We both know you can’t hurt me.”
Zane pretended to think for a moment. “I can’t hurt you physically, at least not too severely. But I’m willing to experiment in the hope of finding a loophole. I have a feeling mental torture could work.” His grin widened. “Had many bad dreams lately?”
“You think I’m not strong enough to keep you out of my head?” Alaric spat. “Try it. I guarantee you’ll fail.”
“Oh my goddess,” Glynda muttered. “I hope you brought a tape measure so we can put an end to this dick-measuring contest, or we’ll be here all day.” She handed me a small athame with a carved black handle. “Here, use this.”
Before I could talk myself out of it, I sliced across my left palm.
The sudden sharp burst of pain caused tears to well up in my eyes, but I blinked them away.
Spilling some blood was a small sacrifice.
If we found Rasmus in time, he’d need a lot more than a few drops of blood to heal, which was a concern.
There was a risk I’d end up a dried husk.
Blood dripped into the silver bowl. I wasn’t sure how much we needed, but I erred on the side of caution. When the wound clotted, Glynda handed me a scrap of cloth to wrap it with before Alaric tutted in annoyance, grabbed my hand, and murmured something under his breath.
A warm, soothing buzz of magic shimmered through me. The cut on my hand sealed and vanished. I stared up at him in surprise.
“Healing magic,” he said before shoving me away. My hand still tingled, and when I focused on his aura, I noticed how brightly it glowed. Strands of gold and silver swirled around in mesmerizing circles, spinning ever faster the more I stared. “What?” He frowned at me.
I shook my head and turned away. Was I the only person who saw auras? It sure felt like it. Not that it was an especially useful gift other than being able to sense a person’s intentions from the color. The blacker the aura, the more darkness in a being’s soul.
Zane’s aura was black with violet strands, but I couldn’t sense any true evil in his soul. Just layers of darkness with bright spots. Maybe that was down to his childhood. Or perhaps, like most magical beings, he was a complex mix of dark and light. Neither one nor the other.
Ignoring Alaric’s confused expression, I scanned the spell to make sure I knew the next steps.
“Read the spell while adding the ingredients in the correct order,” Alaric said, looming over me. Surely he didn’t need to stand quite that close.
Zane apparently agreed because he sidled over and shoved his large body between us.
“Hey, I’m happy to fuck off if someone gives me a ride,” Alaric snapped irritably.
“No, she needs you.” Zane curled his lip up in a fake smile. “Just not that close.”
I grumbled at their stupid posturing while Glynda smirked and Kenji yawned.
“There better be some bacon left when we get back,” he bitched. I rolled my eyes at him. Even if there wasn’t any left when Zane took us back to campus, he’d steal more from the kitchen.
Adding each ingredient to the bowl in the order listed took a few moments, but when nothing exciting happened, I looked up at Alaric to see him smirking.
“Recite the spell,” he said. “And you need the item connected to the vamp you’re trying to find.”
Oh. Of course I did. Duh. I pulled the ring from my pocket and gripped it firmly.
Alaric unfolded the map and smoothed out the creased parchment.
I’d visited none of the places drawn in colored ink.
They all seemed so far away, but if this spell worked, I might get the chance to see some of them. Please be alive when we find you.
“This is the dangerous part,” Alaric reminded me. “Say the words while focusing on keeping your magic under control. If you struggle, take my hand.” He rested his palm next to the bowl. Close enough I could reach out and grab it if I needed.
“You should go stand at the back of the room,” he told Zane. “It would be truly tragic if she accidentally blew you up.”
“I’m magic-explosion-proof,” Zane replied. “But your concern for my safety is noted.”
“I’d rather you moved well away,” I said in a low voice. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Aww, pet, I’m pleased you’re finally admitting you like me.
” He tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear and feathered his lips across my neck.
“If you’re a good girl and don’t kill us all, I’ll reward you later.
” The unspoken promise in his words sent a shiver of lust through me.
I squirmed on the spot, instantly forgetting what I was supposed to be doing.
“Concentrate, witch!” Alaric gritted out while glaring at Zane. “This is not the time to fuck around!”
“I am concentrating!”
Glynda huffed out a laugh when I blushed. Sucking in a shaky breath, I pushed down all lustful thoughts of Zane, pretended Alaric didn’t exist, and picked up the spell.
After reading through it one last time, I gripped Rasmus’ ring and murmured the words.
With each incantation that tumbled past my lips, my magic welled from the source within my chest. The temperature in the cool crypt increased in direct correlation to the heat of the fire in the bowl in front of me.
Burning embers floated down from the ceiling as magic swirled around me.
The flames in the bowl transformed from red to violet and back to red.
I heard Alaric telling me to focus so my magic didn’t explode, but I was too busy watching as a small spark landed on the map, burning a tiny pinprick hole in a place far closer than I expected.
“Pull your magic back in, Raven!” I jumped in shock at the firestorm raging above my head, blanketed on all sides by obsidian shadows. The amulet around my neck glowed, but it felt cool against my overheated skin.
“FOCUS! PULL IT BACK!” Without thinking, I grabbed Alaric’s hand and almost immediately, my magic settled.
His magic and mine merged, dancing around in pretty spirals, fire and ice. Electricity thrummed, causing my hair to rise with static.
Zane hissed in pain when he got zapped, and I didn’t miss the way Alaric’s lips curled up in a faint smile. I had a feeling that zap of electricity was not accidental.
“Wind your magic back in, Raven.” Alaric’s calm voice helped me focus on the strands of violet magic dancing around us.
With each strand I pulled, the easier it got. After several minutes of great effort on my part, the magic and shadows vanished, leaving nothing but a whiff of smoke behind. When I looked around the crypt, Glynda stood with her back pressed against the stone wall, eyes wide.
“Raven, that was incredible!”
“Incredible?” Kenji grumbled. “It’s a miracle we weren’t all roasted alive!”
Zane coughed and rubbed a black scorch mark on his arm where the skin had blistered.
“Oh my stars, did I do that?” His lip quirked up in amusement.
“No, pet. You could never hurt me.” Leaning in, he whispered in my ear, “And it wouldn’t matter if you did because pain turns me on.”
I flushed bright red as his words sank in. The incubus had a pain kink? Oh my stars.
“We don’t give a shit what your disgusting kinks are,” Alaric muttered. “Fucking perverted incubus.”
“Better than being a vanilla smoothie, mage.”
Kenji cackled in my head while Glynda pretended to examine a crack in the floor.
“Um, moving on,” I croaked, deeply uncomfortable about discussing sexual kinks when I had no clue if I even had any beyond liking everything my bear did to me. Was enjoying him biting me an actual kink?
“It’s a kink,” Kenji snorted. “Look up Odaxelagnia. I can confirm it’s enjoyable.”
“Oh my stars, Kenji! Get out of my head!”
“Trust me, I’d love to. Frankly, it’s disgusting in your head, witch. I have layer upon layer of trauma to manage. I may need to take a week off for mental health purposes. Possibly around the time of the next Kitsune Convention in Las Vegas, but that’s coincidental.”
“So, um, let me check the map.” I slammed down the shields in my head, locking Kenji out before he could elaborate on his plans for Las Vegas.
Alaric and Zane looked over my shoulders as I smoothed out the paper. There was a small brown burn mark on a remote island north of Alaska. I couldn’t see any towns or villages on the island. None that were marked on the map anyway.
“Looks like we’re going on an adventure,” Zane announced. “I guess I’d better go pack some thermal underwear.” He paused, thinking. “Oh wait, I don’t wear underwear.”
My cheeks burst into flames.