Chapter 15 Diantha #2
“That’s how horrible the abuse became. There are years of my young vampire life I will never remember.
I let my soul abandon my body in order to survive.
I held on to nothing but the memories of my life as a child.
My mother’s cooking. My father’s laughter.
When Alfo and Paolo became business partners, I saw an opportunity. ”
“Because Alfo’s a money-hungry piece of shit,” Leo interjects.
“Exactly. I knew I could appeal to him, and we were desperate to be free. But he wouldn’t kill a vampire for free. He required one of us, of my coterie, to come back with him and work off the blood debt for the next one hundred years. I volunteered.”
Leo stays silent for a long moment—too long. All of my emotions are trapped in the air around us, vibrating alongside my spirit. Energy flickers and snaps; for the first time ever, I feel my physical body twitching to reconnect.
It’s all too much.
Speak, I want to scream. Speak.
“Man, you are the worst vampire I’ve ever met. You’re supposed to be a selfish carnal beast. Why the fuck would you do that?”
Orfeo snorts. “You’re right. I am not like other vampires.
I never have been. I still have a flicker of humanity inside me, and that is my downfall.
I agreed because I knew I could survive it.
This was my life before vampirism too. Men like Alfo.
Drugs. Parties. Violence. That could not be said for my brothers and sisters.
Some were too young to travel safely, their bloodlust would have made them a liability.
And Davìd was a diabetic as a human. Do you know what that looks like in a vampire? ”
Leo shakes his head. “I don’t.”
“Extreme sensitivity to blood. He must feed deliberately, or he risks death—banishment. Painful, quick banishment. And I…loved him too much, felt too much guilt over his death.”
Leo drops the extinguished cigarette from his hand and blows out a breath. “So, why are you telling me all of this?”
“Because we need to vanquish Alfo.”
What?
Leo mimics my reaction. “What? Why?”
“What do you mean why? Leo, he’s brought us to this town of a few thousand people, right in the center of these humans’ universe. Now he’s dragging every vampire from the tri-state into the mix. The humans are already suspicious. How many women have gone missing in the last week alone?”
Leo stays silent, eyes fixed on the concrete as he chews his lip.
“Alfo thinks that because he can control me, he can control all vampires. But he’s wrong. And if he keeps dragging more creatures to this town, he’s going to draw the attention of authorities and—worse yet—he may open a portal.”
That word triggers something in Leo. His shoulders tense, his brows dive into a frown. “Open a portal,” he repeats under his breath.
“What?” Orfeo snaps his eyes to Leo. “Have you heard something?”
“A vampire from Atlanta was here last night and he said there’s a known portal in Echidna. Sealed, for now. But with enough power in one place, it could open. Demons would take dominion, have free rein.”
“Kill more humans. Enslave more vampires.”
“I don’t know what he’s thinking. There’s never been a successful demon colony in this realm.” Leo shakes his head. “Sometimes it seems like his goal is to start a war and get us all fucking vanquished.”
“He’s not thinking, Leo. He does not know or care about the portal.
He does not care what humans think. That is the problem.
Yes, we exist in the shadows, but that does not mean it has to be like this.
” Orfeo steps toward him. “We could build something beautiful, build ourselves back to what we once were when sirens and vampires and demi-gods walked amongst people without fear. When our worlds intertwined.”
“If there is a blood debt, I cannot set you free. I am beholden to the code of Hades.”
Orfeo’s expression tightens. He holds Leo’s eyes. “I am fine with my debt transferring to you, even if you are unwilling to set me free.”
He nods and sucks down a breath. “Okay. How do we do it then?”
“Diantha.”
My spirit chills at the sound of my name. Diantha?
“The witch,” Leo says, his tone halfway between impressed and shocked. “That meeting was a ruse then, wasn’t it?”
Orfeo nods slowly. “That is my hope. He will allow Diantha into our world to cast the protection circle—but instead, she will end him. I believe she is powerful enough to do it. I am certain of it, actually. Right now, she has a soul trapped between the realms. Instead of a protection spell, she can cast a blood bargain spell, swapping her lost soul’s place in the ether with Alfo’s here on Earth. ”
Another wave of emotion passes through me at the invocation of my mother. The streetlights flicker.
“So, he’d be trapped—not sent back to the Underworld?”
What the fuck?
“Exactly. He would have to call on Hades.”
“And he’s too stupid and prideful to ever do that.” Leo smirks. “Genius. What about her payment? She seemed excited about the money.”
“I hope you will honor her commitment and promise her protection, as well.” Orfeo diverts his eyes. “If you were to become our leader, you could be with Kat, free her from her obligations. You could expel Nisos.”
Leo uncrosses his arms and drags a heavy hand back and forth across his jaw. Orfeo watches him, chewing his bottom lip. “I think we have a plan,” Leo finally says. Then, he extends his palm to Orfeo. “Does she know?”
I can’t hold on any longer. I can’t stay silent anymore.
How could Orfeo do this to me? How could he drag my mother’s soul into this?
The glass panes of the sconces begin to rattle with my rage.
Anger crackles inside of me, and as quickly as I found myself decoupled, I’m back in my body, gasping for air.
I don’t wait for him to find me.
I pull on my jacket and storm out into the night. Leo passes me in the entryway, not even noticing me, and I have to stop myself from shoving him into the wall. I slam my fist into the heavy door, pushing it open, relishing the sting of pain in my fist.
Orfeo’s eyes widen when he sees me. “Diantha.”
He warned you, a voice whispers inside my mind. But I ignore it. I storm toward him, winter air whipping my coat open and slicing against my bare thighs. I hear the glass from the exploded sconces crunching under the soles of my shoes. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Diantha, please.” He holds up his palms. His curls have come loose from their slicked-back style, frizzy and wild and so human. But he isn’t human. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you everything—”
“Tell me everything?” I spit. “You lied. You tricked me.”
“By omission, yes. I did lie. I didn’t want to, but I saw no other way—”
I skate past him, continuing my determined walk toward my apartment.
Even though I don’t want to go home. I want to stay here and scream at Orfeo until my throat is raw.
I trusted you, I want to scream at him. I fucking trusted you.
“No other way to ask me to fucking kill someone? Because that’s what you’re doing. You want me to kill him.”
“He’s a demon,” Orfeo bites out through gritted teeth, keeping pace with me.
“He is not an innocent human being. He is the most evil and corrupt creature to walk this planet, Diantha. You heard what we said. If he opens that portal, there is no hope for any of us. It’ll consume everything. You’ll never access your mother—”
“Enough!” I halt to a stop and drop to the ground, pressing my fingers into my temples.
My blood pressure is so high I feel like my eyes might actually explode out of my head.
“Do you know what you’re asking me to do?
Do you even get how fucking serious this is?
My mother visits me in my dreams. She has access to my mind and my life.
If I replace her with Alfo, he will be in my mind. Is that really what you want?”
I lift my eyes to meet Orfeo’s. They swim with fear, with anger. “No! Never. I would never ask you—”
“But you did! You just said he’s evil and corrupt.
And I’m just supposed to let that type of energy into my mind?
” Tears sting my eyes. I push myself back up to my feet and advance on him, rage cresting in my chest. “That’s not lifting the curse, Orfeo.
That’s swapping one problem for an even fucking bigger one. ”
He holds me with a fierce look, desperation twisting his brows and the knife in my chest. I feel horrible. I feel evil. “This is just a temporary solution. And you would have your mother back.”
“What if she doesn’t want to come back? What if she comes back and she’s different? I can’t do that to her. I am not a god!”
“Diantha, please. Please.” His eyes grow wider as he reaches for my hand. “This is my freedom we’re speaking of.”
I stumble as I yank my hand away from him. “And this is my life. My entire fucking life—”
“Once Alfo is gone we can figure out how to break the curse! You will have money, and I will have my time and freedom to help you!”
“How do I know that?” I shout back. “How do I know you won’t abandon me? Run off back to Italy, to your family?”
He rocks back on his heels and we stay silent for a moment, no noise around us but the buzz of our energy.
“Diantha…” He watches me through slitted eyes, darkness eclipsing the last of their sadness.
“I know that’s where you want to be.” I shake my head “Not here, not in Echidna. I already trusted you once, and look what you did with that.”
“I had to lie in order for you to get past Alfo! I had to. This is the only way for us to have our futures back. Think of the life I could give you, Diantha. No more part-time jobs, no more broken heater. You can come with me to Italy—”
“I am a human, Orfeo,” I interrupt him so fiercely my voice cracks. “Flesh and bone and blood. I know you think I’m something extra, but I’m not. What happens if I fuck up? What happens if we get caught? You’re asking me to put my one life at risk.”
“And my life is already gone. There’s nothing about me worth saving?”
“That is not what I’m saying. How can you not see what you’re asking me to do for you? God. Do you just see me as some sort of pawn in a big chess game?”
“Of course not,” he says darkly. “I showed you what you do to me—how you make me feel. But as long as I am stuck under Alfo, nothing can exist here, between us. Do you understand that? He owns me.”
“So, what?” My vision turns blurry from the tears threatening to spill over. “We can’t even be friends unless I agree to this?”
He stares at me, almost smiling, incredulity written all over his features. “Friends?”
“Jesus Christ.” I cringe. “Don’t say it like that. Like it’s dirty.”
“Diantha, there is no version of my current life where I can be anything to you.” He shakes his head. Moonlight cuts sideways across his beautiful features, reducing them to harsh shadows. “I have nothing. Nothing.”
We fall silent, exhausted and wrung out. I sink to the ground again, until the ice-cold stone of the curb touches the backs of my thighs. “I can’t just…kill someone, Orfeo. I can’t just take his life and hope it works.”
He nods, hands shoved in his pockets. His eyes are set on the horizon. He keeps his distance, and I feel none of his warmth. “This is pointless then. We will never agree.”
“I want to help—”
“No,” he cuts me off. “You want this all to be easy, and it never will be. This world, my world, is not easy. There is no simple answer. No quick solution. These are the decisions that have to be made. I’m not sure how you think you will dissolve your mother’s curse, but believe me—you will have to draw blood. ”
His words hang between us like a slow swinging guillotine, descending to its final destination.
“Do you think I’m a coward?” I ask eventually.
Orfeo doesn’t look at me. He can’t look at me. “I don’t know what I think anymore.”