Blue-Blooded Vamp (41 page)

The golden doors were warm under my hand. They creaked open to reveal a cavernous room with a high, domed ceiling. Statues of Hekate and other magical gods
littered the space. At the front of the room, a female and male waited for me. She wore a golden chiton and her long, black hair was tied back in a simple braid. He wore a silver chiton and had cropped black hair. However, their faces were so similar, I guessed they were probably siblings, if not twins.

Frowning, I approached carefully. I didn’t recognize them, but the power came off them in waves.

“Are you prepared,” the female said.

“To face your test?” finished the male.

I nodded. “Yes. But if I may? Who are you?”

She smiled kindly. “This is my brother, Museos.”

“And that is my sister, Circe.”

I blinked. Holy crap. I was standing in front of the first mages. Literally, the first. Circe and Museos were the twins born from the union of Hekate and Hermes that spawned the mage race.

“Before you may proceed into the other realms,” said Museos.

“You must make a sacrifice to demonstrate your devotion to your task,” said Circe.

I nodded quickly. Given my experience so far, I figured they’d either want a trinket or to ask a question. “Name it.”

“Because you have refused to heed the prophecy of the Oracle, you will now sacrifice your powers.”

My mouth dropped. “What?”

“You will now sacrifice your magic,” repeated Circe. “That is, unless you have changed your mind?”

I held up a hand. “Wait, all of my magic?”

They nodded in unison. “As well as the magical items you bear.” They pointed to the various amulets given to me by Adam and Zen.

The magical trinkets I could part with, but my magic?

For the first half century of my life, I got along just fine without any magic at all. But in the last six months, it had come to symbolize more than just my ability to destroy or heal. It symbolized a new side of myself. One free of the demands of the Dominae’s authoritarian demands. Coming into my magic had brought me closer to Adam and many other beings I considered my family. If I let the magic go, would they still want me around?

I glanced back at the closed doors. On the other side, Adam waited for me to dispense with this test. What would he say if he knew that the next time he saw me, I’d be powerless?

On the other hand, what would he say if I gave up just because I was afraid I couldn’t cast spells anymore?

I looked back at the twins. The truth was, this wasn’t up to Adam. I wanted to believe that he and everyone else would still accept me if I lost the part of me that made me a mage. But in the end, did the possibility they wouldn’t accept me outweigh the benefits of making sure they were all safe?

No. It did not.

Besides, if they had a problem with it, I’d just kick their asses until they accepted me again.

“Okay,” I said. “Take them.”

I lifted the necklace Zen gave me over my head and handed it over to Circe, along with the few protective amulets Adam had created for the mission. She nodded and set them on the floor. Museos lifted his foot and, with a mighty stomp, crushed them to powder. A puff of smoke lifted from the debris as they expended their energy.

Next, Circe stood in front of me and Museos fell in behind me. “This might sting,” she whispered.

I gritted my teeth and braced myself. “Just do it.”

They clasped hands on either side of me and started chanting in Hekatian. I closed my eyes and tried to will my heartbeat to slow. Tried to convince myself this wasn’t a big deal.

But then the pain started. It began as a hot cramp in my stomach. The heat spread quickly, exploding through my veins like fire. I gasped and trembled. My heart lurched and then beat triple time. Sweat broke out on every inch of my skin. My insides felt like they were boiling. I might have screamed, but I couldn’t hear anything over the pounding in my ears. A sucking sensation pulled me in two directions at once. The pull was so intense it felt like they were trying to rip the skin from my muscles and the muscles from my bones.

I started to sag but their joined hands caught me under my arms. Supported my weight even as they weakened me.

I don’t know how long the agonizing process took. But when they finally finished, I felt like a discarded burlap sack. Opening my eyes took more effort than it should have. Through the slits between my lids, Circe was glowing from inside. Heat at my back told me Museos probably was, too. They hadn’t just taken my magic; they’d absorbed it.

I wondered if this was how Erron felt when the Hekate Council removed his healing powers. No, I decided. This was worse. Erron was a Recreant, but he still had power. He was still a mage. But I was…

What was I now, exactly?

“It is done,” they said in unison. “Go in peace, vampire.”

A vampire? I blinked because that was all the physical reaction I could muster. I knew they’d taken my magic, but it hadn’t occurred to me that the loss would leave me fully Lilim. The irony was I’d spent so much of my life wishing to be a full-blooded vampire. Prayed so many nights to
Lilith to take away the curse of my mage blood. But now that it was gone, I felt… hollow.

The golden doors opened behind me. Running footsteps echoed, but I couldn’t turn to look. I was barely able to hold myself upright. Adam came around and put his hands on my shoulders. His eyes searched my face for a moment and then he froze.

“Jesus, Red, what did they do to you?”

A male curse sounded behind me. Tristan. “Gods protect you.”

“What?” I rasped.

“Your hair,” Nyx whispered.

With effort, I raised my hands to my head. I don’t know what I expected to feel exactly, but it still felt like hair. But then it hit me. They’d removed all traces of magehood from me. “It’s all red now, isn’t it?”

Adam nodded, his eyes wide.

“You may pass through the gate,” the twins said.

Adam rounded on them. “What did you do?” he shouted.

I swallowed hard. “Adam… I’m okay.”

“Like hell you are,” Tristan said, coming closer. “You look like shit.”

“Thanks.” My tone, weak as it was, dripped with sarcasm.

“We did not harm her, Adam Lazarus,” the twins said. “She sacrificed her magic willingly.”

Adam turned slowly toward me. His face was pale and his eyes were frightened. “Sacrificed your magic?”

I nodded. “It was the only way.”

Ameritat and Orpheus joined us then, their movements hurried. “You must go!” my grandmother shouted.

Something in her voice told me this wasn’t an idle suggestion. “What’s wrong?”

“Asclepius opened his portal into Irkalla,” Orpheus said.

“What?” Adam said.

I’d totally forgotten to tell them about Hekate’s warning.

“He dares not enter the Infernal Lands himself, but he has granted entrance to a malevolent energy.”

“Cain?” Tristan asked, his tone dark.

Ameritat leveled her son with a withering glare. “Yes.”

“Shit!” Nyx gasped. She had just as much reason as me to be worried. After all, Asclepius only helped Cain to get to her. That meant Nyx was also on Cain’s hit list.

“Where is he?” Adam asked.

“Nearing the Adamantine Gate as we speak. Hurry and we will try to delay him as long as possible.”

“Wait, can’t you just close the portal behind us?”

Orpheus shook his head. “Not if you want to be able to escape later.”

I turned to the others. “Move!”

The twins chanted an incantation. The far wall of the temple shimmered and swirled, opening the gate into the Fae Realm. Adam put my arm over his shoulder and helped me run. At the opening, I stopped to make sure everyone got through. When I did, I saw Tristan speaking with his mother and friend. “Tristan, let’s go!”

He tried to hug Ameritat, but his arms moved through her spectral from.

“Good-bye, my son,” she said wistfully. “I hope we do not meet again for many years. Now, go!”

Tristan cast one last regretful glance at his mother and took off running. He grabbed my hand and together we jumped through the portal.

T
he Fae Realm resembled the Blue Ridge Mountains area where Queen Maeve had established the Seelie Court in the earthly realm. We ran through lush forests filled with both conifers and hardwood trees, sparkling brooks and deep pools, medicinal plants and flowers of every variety and color. For a long time, we didn’t see any beings. But occasionally, a flash of wing would show behind a bracken-covered log, or the top of a blond head would peek around a giant toadstool.

Eventually, the forest gave way to a clearing with a pool in the center. The water sparkled with iridescent light and tiny sprites buzzed over the surface like dragonflies. Tall redwood trees circled the clearing and a thick carpet of moss covered the shore of the pool.

Reaching this spot, we all slowed. Even though losing my magic had temporarily weakened me, my vampire side had stepped up and renewed my strength quickly. But I was thirsty, thirstier than I’d ever been. I needed blood, but I knew I wouldn’t find any here and Adam needed all his strength, too, so feeding from him wasn’t an option. So I
settled on approaching the pool. I knelt down and cupped my hands to lift the water to my lips. The water sparkled in my hands like liquid moonbeams.

“Red, I’m not sure that’s a good—” Adam began.

“Stop!” a female voice squeaked.

I looked up quickly. On the opposite side of the pool, a female in a green hooded robe stood. She was short—not a surprise since she was probably a fae—and two delicate hands jutted from the wide sleeves of the robe.

Behind me, Horus’s sword sang as it exited its scabbard. Calyx aimed her deadly bow at the intruder. Nyx, Adam, and Tristan fell in behind me protectively.

“Anyone who drinks from the sacred scrying pool will die instantly.”

The water trickled between my fingers. “Thanks,” I said. I wiped my hands on my jeans. “Who are you?”

Only her mouth was visible through the hood’s opening and it spread into a smile. “Have you forgotten me so soon, Sabina?” She pushed back the hood.

I gasped and stumbled back. Adam caught me and steadied me. “Vinca?” I whispered.

She dropped the dire tone and waggled her fingers at us. “Hey, guys!”

My heart clenched. The last time I’d seen the nymph was when Adam and I delivered her body to her family for burial. She’d died at the hands of a vampire named Frank back in the winery the Dominae used as a cover for a mage bloodletting operation. We’d won that night but had paid huge personal costs to gain the victory.

Vinca’s death had hit me hard. She was the first female friend I’d ever had and the first person whose death I gave a shit about. I suppose I should have expected that I might run into her spirit in Irkalla, but with all of Tristan’s talk
about running into people who wanted me dead, it never occurred to me I’d see old friends, too.

Adam and I stood in shocked silence for a few moments. Vinca’s smile faltered the longer the silence drew out. “Guys?”

I shook myself. “I’m sorry. I just… didn’t expect to see you.”

She shrugged. “I know. But when I heard you were coming, I volunteered to be the one to lead you through the Fae Realm.”

“You did?”

“Of course,” she said. “Why wouldn’t I?”

I glanced away. “Because it’s my fault you died.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw her hands slam down on her hips. “No, it was not, Sabina Kane. You know damned well I begged you to be on that mission. I knew the risks. I just didn’t watch my back.”

“I should have been watching it,” I argued.

“How? If I recall, you had your hands full fighting Clovis,” she said, referring to the half vampire, half demon who’d double-crossed us. “Now stop feeling guilty and come give me a hug!”

I rounded the pool in a flash and threw myself at her. Only instead of touching her, my arms passed through her. So did my body, except for an odd sort of catching sensation, like a thread snagging on a splinter, before I stumbled toward the tree line. She giggled. “Whoops. Sorry, I keep forgetting I’m totally dead now.”

I shook myself. The cold sensation of passing through Vinca’s spirit clung to me like frost. “What was that weird little friction there?”

She shrugged. “Spirits are naturally attracted to corporeal forms. I’m afraid that was my soul trying to hitch a ride in your body. Sorry about that.”

I waved a hand. “No worries. It just caught me off guard.”

Adam and the others had come around the water now, too. I waved off Vinca’s apology. “It’s just good to see you.”

She smiled. “Ditto, sexy hexy.” She noticed Adam’s hand on the small of my back. “Hey! Are you guys finally together?”

Adam and I exchanged rueful smiles. When she’d been alive, Vinca fancied herself a soothsayer, but her predictions usually were about as accurate as those of late-night TV psychics. Except, apparently, in the case of her predicting a love connection between the mancy and me. “Yes, ma’am,” Adam drawled. “She couldn’t resist my charms.”

Vinca pumped a tiny fist in the air. “I knew it!”

Nyx cleared her throat, bringing the nymph’s attention to the rest of our group.