46. Bella - Taking Down the Monster
Chapter forty-six
Bella - Taking Down the Monster
The fog rolls around us.
“You’re absolutely certain about this plan?” I ask quietly for the fourth time.
Lucy snorts. “No. But it’s our best shot, Bella. Our only shot for now.”
Finn looks pale beneath the clinic lights.
“That answer should probably concern us more.”
Darius steps farther into the room, dark coat long and heavy.
Every eye turns toward him automatically. Even now. Even frightened. The vampires trust him. The humans know him as a founder and council member and trust him. That responsibility sits visibly heavier on him tonight.
“We don’t have much time,” Lucy says quietly. “The fog thickens when the Calling strengthens.”
She pauses.
“Tonight it’s hungry, this monster. Arthur, that is.”
Charlie presses against my leg. I dislike this evening, Bella. Can you stay with me?
“I dislike the evening, too, Charlie. But I have to go.”
Lucy points at the old maps across the table, tapping one long finger near the northern edge of The Wilds.
“We are going there, the old bell ruins.”
I realize Dr. Mercer mentioned those once in the journal. The original bells from the 1800’s. Before the current tower was built by Darius.
“They were built as ward points,” Lucy explains while gathering herbs into small bundles. “The island originally used silver bells and blood wards together.”
Finn blinks. “That sounds medieval.”
“It was horrifyingly medieval,” Lucy replies.
Darius folds his arms tightly. “The ruins sit too close to the northern boundary.”
“Exactly,” Lucy says. “That’s why the ritual might work there.”
Finn looks toward Darius.
“You think this is too dangerous.”
“I know it is.”
“And yet we’re still doing it.”
His eyes lock onto mine. “Only because the alternative is worse. I will not leave Bella’s side, no matter what the witch says.”
Desperate times. We all understand now. If the Calling spreads further:
More humans will be lost and called to him, perhaps killed or turned.
More vampires will lose control, and that alone could end all humans on the island. Bloodhaven Cove would collapse.
Lucy begins repacking her supplies. Silver powder.
Chalk. Salt. Candles. Herbs. Bellflower tinctures.
Bones. Sticks. Some ancient stones. She hands me the hypodermic with her magical concoction.
I’m not sure how I’m going to do this, but I keep running it over and over in my head.
Stab with right hand, inject with the left hand.
“Finn stays here,” Darius says firmly.
Finn immediately objects.
“The clinic needs someone with medical expertise. The mayor and his assistant will be protection.”
“But I should be there for Bella.”
“Finn, I need someone alive when this ends.” That shuts Finn up briefly. Charlie trots toward him and presses against his leg.
Lucy wraps black thread carefully around small bundles of herbs.
“These go around your wrists,” she says. “Protection charms. Even for the vampires.”
Darius steps closer while Lucy works. Too close. My pulse notices immediately.
“You stay beside me tonight,” he says quietly. “Every second, Bella.”
“I agree, this is …” I can’t find the words. I’m terrified.
“I mean it, darling.”
I love when he calls me darling. His voice lowers slightly on the last words. Something ancient flickers beneath the calm. Fear. Not for himself. For me. It hits me unexpectedly hard.
I look at him. And suddenly the room fades slightly around the edges. I don’t notice the fog or the clinic or everyone gathered here.
All I see is him.
The impossible man who somehow feels like fate. My fate. We are in this together.
Charlie groans softly. The yearning remains catastrophic.
Lucy glances between us both slowly. Before she can speak, the lights flicker violently. Every window in the clinic rattles. Then far off in the distance a scream echoes through the fog. Everyone freezes.
Darius’s expression changes instantly. My blood turns cold.
That scream is vampire. Hunger. Predatory. Focused.
“What was that?” Finn whispers.
Darius goes very still. “The Calling.”
Lucy’s face drains of color.
Charlie’s fur rises sharply along his back. The forest is calling them.