Everything froze, the wind quelling, and the candles flaring once more.
The caster’s head hung over, flame red hair hanging loosely around her.
Then, to Lucidia’s horror, Calliope laughed softly.
It sent a wave of nausea through Lucidia, who set her feet and prepared a counterattack.
Calliope brought her face up, just so that those coal black eyes could drill into Lucidia. An icy smile broke out on her face, and her voice was dripping in triumph. “You’re too late.”
Lucidia lunged, but the witch staggered back with alarming speed, sprinting head on for the balcony and leaping off of it.
Lucidia screamed in rage, catching herself on the end of the banister and watching as the caster streamed down, robes fluttering in the wind, finally smashing against the rocks below.
“No!” Lucidia shrieked, her chest heaving. Ivan called her name, and she whipped around, eyes searching for Robin.
Reykon had gathered her up in his arms, weeping and rocking her back and forth. Lucidia rushed over to the pair and saw the result of Calliope’s evil magic.
Robin was covered in blood. It was streaming from her ears, eyes, nose. Her birthmarks seemed to flame, to glow with a molten fire. Reykon was gripping her so hard that his knuckles were white. Lucidia pressed a hand to her own mouth, the sorrow welling up inside of her at the sight of her sister’s limp, unconscious body.
You’re too late, Calliope’s sinister voice echoed in Lucidia’s mind.
After an agonizing moment, the glowing on Robin’s birthmarks faded, smoldering, and then returning at last to the deep red that they were before.
Reykon’s sobs filled the room, and Lucidia joined, slipping her hand around Robin’s, which hung out to the side. Her skin was freezing cold.
Ivan stumbled over to them. “Stop,” he whispered.
The strongbloods continued weeping, clutching Robin tightly.
“Stop!” Ivan roared.
Reykon and Lucidia looked to him in rage, searching his face for the meaning of his words.
His eyes were wide in shock. “They’re alive.”
“What?”
Reykon let Robin’s body slip onto the floor, and he pressed his ear against her chest. Lucidia watched his face carefully, looking for any sign of confirmation.
His eyes widened and he took in a ragged gasp of air. “She’s alive.”
“So is he,” Ivan said, inspecting the remains that used to be the great Master Magnus Demonte.
“No,” Lucidia whispered. “How?”
Magnus was covered in blood and surrounded by a pool of dark black sludge. His face and mouth were streaked with it, just as Robin’s. Scattered around him were teeth, like a pearl necklace that had snapped.
Ivan knelt down, slowly bringing a hand towards Magnus’s face. He lifted the vampire’s lips and inspected cautiously. Blood coated the inside of Magnus’s mouth, but without a doubt, he still had teeth.
Human teeth.
“Where are his fangs?” Lucidia asked in shock.
Ivan picked up a sharp incisor from the ground. “Here.”
Reykon was still leaning protectively over Robin. “What does that mean?” he hissed.
Ivan leaned close to Magnus, and picked up his wrist, taking a long inhale. He immediately shook his head and let the hand fall to the ground. “No…”
“What?” Lucidia demanded.
Ivan’s terrified face turned to her. “He’s human.”
“That’s impossible,” Reykon countered.
Ivan’s voice was a hoarse whisper. “He’s a human, and he’s alive.”
“What does that mean?” Lucidia asked sharply.
All of their eyes turned to Robin, who was still unconscious in Reykon’s arms, blood streaming from her face.
Lucidia was the first to speak. “Did she do this?”
“Calliope did this,” Reykon spat, venom thick in his words.
Lucidia now understood the weapon that Calliope had referred to. A weapon against vampires, used to slay their enemies.
A weapon that could turn even the most powerful of vampires into a weak, soft, fleshy mortal.
As the dominos of understanding fell, one by one in her mind, she realized that the witches would come for Robin at all costs. “We have to get them out of here.”
“Where?” Reykon asked.
“I’ve got a place,” Lucidia said. “It’s hidden. Safe.”
Reykon shook his head in a panic. “But how do we get out?” he hissed. “There are witches mowing everybody down.”
“There’s a secret passage,” Ivan whispered, looking at the wall by the piano.
Steps echoed out from the hallway, and Lucidia snapped into action. She pointed at Ivan. “You get him.”
Reykon had already picked Robin up, her white gown shimmering loosely around her. Ivan hoisted Magnus’s remains on his shoulder, and moved quickly to the wall, pushing open the panel and revealing a secret hand elevator, likely made for this exact purpose.
They squeezed in, listening as the iron chains creaked. The noises from outside were louder and louder, nearing the room, just as Lucidia closed the wall panel and cranked the elevator. It shuddered, the pulley system shaking off rust and jerking them down a slim cylinder. There was barely any light, save for the brief glimpses coming out of the secret doors that led to passageways.
When one sliver illuminated Robin’s limp form, Lucidia gasped softly and touched a fingertip to her sister’s neck.
“Reykon…”
“What?” he asked, looking down.
“The marks,” Lucidia whispered. “They’re growing.”
Tendrils of red lightning crept up the pale skin of Robin’s neck, which was marred by a vicious bite.
Reykon’s brow furrowed deeply. “What does that mean?”
Lucidia’s purple eyes connected with his, and she shook her head in fear and uncertainty. “I have no idea.”
They continued down the narrow passageway, shrouded in the darkness and dropped lower by the clink of iron elevator chains, stealing away with both Magnus and Robin’s unconscious forms, praying that they made it to the tunnel before they were discovered. The distant, muffled sounds of massacre accompanied them on the journey down into the deepest parts of the castle, bringing them closer and closer to their only chance of escape.
Acknowledgement
This book was made possible by the love and support of my family, the encouragement of my friends, and the undying devotion of my two biggest fans. This is just the beginning of The Bloodborn Series, and one of many adventures in
