Chapter 27 #2
“You weren’t supposed to be here,” she says when she comes to a stop in front of me. She places the sharp end of the dagger under my chin, the point digging into my skin but not piercing flesh. “But I see this as a nice little bonus.”
My hands reach out to grab her, but another pair of bones shoots up from the floor, piercing my hands and pinning them in place.
She tsks at me, disappointment written all over her face. “Given your reputation, this is a bit of a letdown. I honestly thought this would be harder.”
Before I can react in any way, she jabs the dagger into my side. I grind my teeth to hide the searing pain as the dagger splinters off inside me, rooting itself deep within my intestines.
“Sorry”—I cough, blood dripping from the corner of my mouth—“to disappoint.” I grin at her, refusing to back down.
The fight behind us is starting to die down, and the look in the woman’s eyes tells me she knows she needs to get out while she can. Meaning Alix still has the case and is probably still bludgeoning people with it.
What does she even want with it?
“Shit,” she curses, letting go of the dagger and making to turn and leave.
“Hey.”
She stops mid-turn to look back at me, and my grin widens.
I pull my right hand free, and the sound of my flesh ripping is sickeningly loud.
The brutal movement shreds the better part of my hand.
Blood drips freely to the floor while the wound begins to heal.
The pain is agonizing, but I manage to bite through it, eyes on the prize.
The woman freezes, her eyes wide with horror as I pull my second hand free as well. The wet squelching sound is stomach-turning. There’s disgust in her look, yet she can’t bring herself to leave. That’s all my magic needs to retaliate.
The flesh is fueled by the blood, and black magic wraps around her. With a single gesture, I snap those bones she holds so dear. Every single one. She collapses to the ground with a shriek as I rip my legs free. I approach her, the woman now a sobbing mess at my feet.
The closer I get, the more damage my magic inflicts upon her, freely taking from the sacrifice she made to make me give it.
Starting at her toes, I grind her bones to dust so fine that it’s immediately blown away—useless as fuel for her magic.
A different kind of horror fills her eyes now, the kind I revel in.
My hand reaches for the dagger embedded in my side, and I pull it out. A grimace crosses my face before this wound starts to heal itself, and I quickly school my expression. I toss the bone on the floor beside her while she tries to crawl away.
In that moment, her senses—so dulled by fear—regain a spark. She lifts her chin defiantly, a grin creeping onto her face. I catch my mistake, my eyes darting to the bone dagger I carelessly tossed aside. The next moment, it turns to dust, and she’s gone.
Not allowing myself to linger on my stupidity, I groan as I sink to my knees on the floor, desperately needing a breather. I close my eyes for a moment and focus on healing, sending some magic to assist my own healing abilities, even if it makes my head spin harder than it already was.
The wounds in my hands and shins smooth over, but the one in my chest is different. By ripping out the dagger, the splinters remained behind, meaning it’s going to take time before those are repelled and the wound itself can heal.
Carefully, I touch the wound with a finger, the blinding pain making me black out for a split second.
I manage to pry out a single shard of bone, my breathing strained by the time I hold it between my fingers.
Inspecting it, I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve encountered this magic before. I curse and crush the piece in my hand.
Alix crouches next to me, placing his arm around me to help me stand. In his other hand is the briefcase.
“See, just like I promised.” Blood drips from my mouth when I grin at him.
Alix lets out a cackle. “Sure is, and we got some great exercise to go with it. Didn’t we, Desi?”
Désirée is at his side in an instant, completely drenched in blood, looking like the goddess of death I know her to be. “It was truly wonderful.” She sighs, almost sounding dreamy.
Alix reaches out to her and kisses her tenderly, then groans at the taste of blood on her skin and deepens the kiss. They make quite the picture, both of them covered in blood and gore.
“Save it for later, okay? I’d like to get out of here first,” I intervene.
“Your room?” Alix inquires.
“Please,” I reply. “Anyone see the money?”
Désirée lifts the other briefcase. “Got you covered.”
I nod in approval, and Désirée moves to my other side to support me as well. Knowing what they’re about to do, I close my eyes, hating this part. There’s a rush of wind, a nauseating pull in my stomach, and then we stand in front of the door to my hotel room.
I sway on my feet despite being supported, my stomach turning as a warning that I’m this close to either collapsing or throwing up. Or both.
Alix tightens his hold on me, his hand going to my pocket for the keycard. Opening the door, he hurriedly lets us in.
“Okay if I use the shower?” Désirée asks as she steps away from me and dumps the briefcase on the floor.
“Knock yourself out,” I gesture to the adjacent bathroom.
She doesn’t need to be told twice, eager to wash up despite her love for blood. Alix helps me sit down on the sofa in the living room that the suite comes with, and I let out a pained groan.
“Looks nasty,” he comments, poking the gaping hole in my side.
I swat his hand away. “Shouldn’t you get cleaned up yourself? You don’t look much better.”
“Oh, I will, just not right now.” He takes a seat in the armchair, placing the briefcase in his lap and carefully opening it. He stares at the jewelry inside, falling completely silent. I know he aches to touch it, to wear it.
“I have the spell to make it safe,” I say. Alix looks up at me, hope shining bright in his eyes. “It was going to be a gift for your next wedding anniversary.”
Désirée stands behind him, wearing the complimentary white hotel dressing robe. Her eyes tear up again at the sight of the jewelry, and her hand reaches out to touch it over Alix’s shoulder. She holds back at the last minute, her face twisting in disappointment.
“Will it work?” she asks, that same hopefulness in her voice.
“It will,” I confirm. “Just… not right now.”
She glances at the still-healing wound in my side and nods in understanding. “Is it… Is it okay if I already take it back with me?”
“Of course.”
Alix closes the case again and hands it to her. “I’ll see you at home.”
Désirée accepts the case and approaches me. “Thank you,” she says, leaning in to place a chaste kiss on my cheek. She’s gone the next moment.
Alix aims his attention at me. “What the hell was that?”
I let out a groan of pain, at both his question and the painful way in which my magic is trying to patch me up. Healing shouldn’t be this painful, I think, tipping my head back over the back of the sofa and closing my eyes. “Bone magic.”
“What the fuck is bone magic?” I can practically hear the frown in his voice. “Same as blood magic,” I explain with a wave of my hand. “Takes bones as payment. Pretty powerful when well controlled. It’s quite rare for someone to actually have.”
“How does she have it?”
“Hell if I know.” My eyes open when I remember something, and I slowly raise myself up to look at Alix. “I think some ancestor in my family used to have bone magic.”
“Used to?” Alix inquires, his eyebrows knitting together.
“They had it until they gave up the wrong bone and broke their own neck.” Alix grimaces. “Which means she could be related, in one way or another.”
“Your brother?” the vampire goes on to ask. “You know, because of the hair?”
I shake my head. “No, not his. But his first wife could have gotten pregnant by someone else in our family and passed it on that way.”
With a pained groan, I run my hands over my face—this is such a mess, and I really don’t have the energy to deal with it right now. Alix clearly understands, holding back any questions he might have. I drop my hands in my lap, and we sit in silence as I slowly heal.
“Go clean up already,” I eventually tell him as he continues to sit there.
Why the hell is he still here? He should be back home with Désirée.
“I’m pretty sure you only had one dressing robe,” he retorts. “Unless you want me to walk around naked?”
“Please, don’t,” I murmur, leaning my head against the back of the sofa to look up at the ceiling. After a few moments of silence, I add, “If you’re not going to shower, then I am. And don’t,” I snap, catching on to Alix’s train of thought, “even think about joining me.”
The vampire chuckles but wisely remains seated while I limp to the closet for a clean pair of clothes and then to the bathroom.
Désirée’s ruined clothes lie discarded in a corner, and I throw mine on the pile.
I gently touch the wound in my side and hiss at the sharp pain that shoots through me.
At least it seems the bone shards are gone as the wound begins to weave itself shut.
By the time I step out of the shower, the wound is completely gone, though the skin in that spot still feels sore. I get dressed in clean clothes and return to the room, finding Alix exactly where I left him, picking at his nails.
“I thought you would have gone home already,” I say, raising an eyebrow.
“I wanted to make sure you weren’t going to die on me in the shower. That would be a sad way to go,” the vampire jokes.
“Thanks for your concern.”
I take a seat and silently regard him for a few heartbeats, feeling slightly uncertain. I hesitate before saying, “About earlier...”
Alix doesn’t look up at me, choosing to keep his attention on his nails. “It’s okay,” he replies with a halfhearted shrug. “It’s been a lot.”