Dangerous, Diabolical

Leofstan already looked as if he’d be expiring where he sat, and now with a growing wariness that if he did, it might cause him to accidentally kill me; I started to hold my breath each time he took too long to inhale. Working on the knowledge that embedded in my hand was an untapped link into more power and a potential death sentence, I mentally kicked myself for ever having tampered with it.

Worst of all, if he almost died first, but then killed me instead, how was I meant to eat him? If I were to try and pull his energy through the link would I manage to kill him first? He was having a hard time replenishing his magic stores to heal. Fidgeting on the spot it occurred that maybe if I snuck him a smidgeon to test that it was some kind of link, surely he wouldn’t notice? Staring at my hand, I rubbed the gem.

Maybe, just maybe...

Biting my bottom lip I tried to emulate a gentle touch of a feather as I pushed in the softest trickle of magic. Sparing a glance, Leo didn’t offer so much as a twitch. Drawing my knees into my chest I assumed it hadn’t worked, so trying again I sent a stronger wave.

It was the weirdest sensation as I continued to leak power. Anything pushed into the gem just vanished. It didn’t convert like when casting, and I couldn’t find it again to pull it back.

Next to me, Leofstan’s breathing finally eased as he fell into sleep. Remaining undisturbed I kept going, after all, if I did manage to get my reserves low enough again, maybe I’d figure out where I took my power from before Leofstan died and killed me instead. Closing my eyes, I concentrated.

A stone skittering across the floor jolted me up from a slouch, only to reveal a very sooty Grahame; blinking at him rapidly the world suddenly returned to spinning. My body felt drunk. My reserves weren’t low, but they weren’t exactly sparkly. Each leg tingled with pins and needles, hands a tremor of movement.

“Can you stand?” The vampire asked Lefostan. On cue, his eyelids fluttered open, cheeks were full of colour and the cracks on his lips were now scabbed. Cricking his neck, he rolled his shoulders causing the coat to slip slightly, revealing where injuries that had been actively bleeding before, were already in the slow process of healing. Stretching his long legs out, the calf which had been so visibly broken before now sat straighter.

“Your healing is becoming remarkable,” Grahame remarked to Leofstan. “You’re almost on my level.” Shakily Leo stood, using the wall as a crutch, fighting to place the jacket around him properly. I also tried to stand and fared far worse. Black spots danced across my vision and my centre of gravity was unable to pinpoint space or time. With a groan, I held my head to check it wasn’t spinning as fast as everything else. Only when I looked up did I meet Leofstans eyes staring into mine, and time seemed to fall out of sync.

He looked as if he’d seen a ghost. His heartbeat stuttered as he did not look away, his mouth beginning to quiver. We both came to an understanding at the same time, the jolt of realisation passing between us.

The magic he’d used to heal was mine.

We both reached for the link in the gem at the same time, but I was too slow. In that instant time pounded back into keeping with an explosion that seemed to exacerbate from the energy being stolen through my palm.

My knees collapsed unbidden as muscles seized. Entering full panic mode, my main priority was to stop the link. It was akin to trying to grasp liquid in a stream. Energy fled each muscle it powered, sending me sprawling across the floor.

“Oh.” I softly gasped, unable to do anything else. No longer having the strength to attempt to summon magic. Leofstan’s words echoed in my head; slavery may be worse. No wonder he’d been terrified that I’d done this on purpose to use his magic. He stood glowering down at me, face drawn and brows shadowed. Behind him darkness stretched infinitely as storm clouds gathered, the thundering of the sky shattering the silence.

A thrumming of drums vibrated in my bones as I met his gaze. My hands and feet grew numb as I shivered with cold. As each drop of rain began to fall, if I could focus it was as if it were possible to count each one. I was unable to stop the shaking as everything grew blurred. There wasn’t even enough energy left to transform.

He was going kill me.

Every centimetre within me started to panic, grasping at anything, and everything they could find. The only thing left in me was my link to him. I grabbed hold of it, the core of his magic, as my control slipped. If the connection couldn’t be severed, I knew I’d instantly begin to drain every remaining drop of his power.

I reached out a fingertip, stretching with every last muscle I could muster, and unbelievably, with a final gasp, I managed to reach.

My finger brushed his toe.

He jumped backwards half a mile, pulling his foot from the floor. Arms splayed he fell into a bewildered-looking Grahame, who just about caught him before he crashed against the floor.

We both greedily gasped air, throats hoarse as the link drifted apart. Sunshine filtered lazily between the disappearing rain clouds. Windswept, and damp, he blinked rapidly as the last of the droplets touched the earth. My cheek cradled the ground as I tried to regulate the shape of my bipedal form. My instincts were screaming to retreat to the safety of my true shape.

If I had enough power to, I was sure I’d be rampaging already. Simply the fact that I couldn’t stop shaking and the floor felt comfortable, the line keeping things under control was thin. A few seconds longer, and it would’ve switched to me draining him. “Guess we’re both fools,” I murmured.

“What just happened?” Grahame asked. I ignored him. Leofstan likewise said nothing, he just stared off to the side, fists clenched.

* * *

Once we’d caught our breaths, a begrudging Grahame limped me into a reception of a building a few doors down. Leofstan stumbled awkwardly with his still-healing leg, in his borrowed coat with my jumper tied ungracefully about his waist. I thought he’d looked better before putting clothes on, but we were attracting a rather large crowd that Grahame was getting extra snarly at.

I couldn’t stop shivering, the chill and damp leeched into me and I started to understand what it would feel like to be frozen alive. Without the ability to warm myself, the cold spasms began wracking viciously and I longed to be basking in the desert sun. Undecided if my toes remained attached in my shoes, Grahame was gradually forced to take more of my weight and began to feel warm next to me.

From within the building, high ceilings echoed chattering and door slamming. A lone receptionist looked panicked by our appearance but still managed to maintain a professional smile behind the growing tang of anxiety entering her area.

“Welcome back Master Ortwin, Councillor O’Lowry. How may I be of assistance?”

Grahame merely grunted and continued to lead me through a turnstile towards the lifts. Leofstan paused, but his answer was lost as my consciousness teetered on anything but functioning. The lift smelt thoroughly cleansed of lemon cleaning products, and an undertone of old blood, almost too faint to detect. Many different species had passed into the box contraption.

The room he led me into was at the end of an offensively long floral carpet that had seen better days. Auto-lights were activated as we migrated through the corridor. The room was a spacious double, with a TV and a small table. It carried through the decorator’s fascination with patterns. Leo’s scent lingered faintly in here. Whilst he’d been in and out, this was Grahame’s room. From the layered smell, I’d estimate he’d only been here for about three days.

Unable to stand any longer I collapsed onto the bed in front of me, face first, eyes fighting to stay open. They could have left me in the lobby for all I cared.

“Sorry about getting your sheets smelly,” I mumbled, wrapping around the pillow the vamp hadn’t used and rolling into the blanket.

“Hmpf.” He acknowledged, and to my utter surprise, he threw an extra blanket over. Clothes still damp I snuggled into that blanket to try and regain warmth.

My dreams were full of fires, ashes and dragon roars.

Disturbed by a knock at the door, I groggily opened my eyes as Leofstan walked in, dressed back in his favourite suit. I pulled the pillow up to cover the fresh light emanating in with a groan, their muffled conversation flittering away as I fell into a dream of chasing hares. The field was full of long-limbed creatures sprinting across the meadow. A herd of stags thundered past. The wind whistled past as I tracked them, my tongue lolling. Soon I’d feel their warm hearts pumping down my throat.

“Ms Doukas?” I jostled awake, glaring at Grahame and hoping the next time I was dreaming, it was about him dying.

“What?” I snapped.

“It’s dinner time so Stan’s ordering food. I have to go out.”

Dinner? Out? Yes! I wanted to hunt too!

“I’m going to walk you down the hall, and we will reconvene later.”

I began to dislodge limbs from blankets. ”That’s okay thanks, I’ll just see myself home.” Finally managing to sit up, I smiled sweetly.

“Not a chance.” He crossed his arms and my smile fell. “I don’t know how you got away, but you’ve been near this spell-caster twice now.” His mouth was a stern line.

“You know the saying. Third time lucky!”

Grahame’s mouth opened, started a sentence, stopped, then tried again. “Do you have a death wish?” He hissed, “Or are you just that moronic?”

Moronic? Well, I didn’t appreciate that comment at all.

The door knocked and saved him from any retaliation. Leo poked his head in, who apart from the odd bruise, looked like he’d never felt better. Worst of all though, he was yet again dressed.

And he’d almost killed me.

I couldn’t help but wonder when our eyes met each other whether he shared the same thought. He clutched the door a little tighter, a forced smile pushed into his cheeks that didn’t meet his cheeks, and he quickly looked away.

“I am glad you have awoken Celandine.” Was he? “I’ve had some extra towels delivered so you can use the shower, Gray, someone’s going to bring new sheets up in five.”

Well, if I couldn’t head home, I’d settle for a shower at least. Shakily I followed Leo before the vamp could protest, feeling ready to hibernate for a year. A smidgeon of magic power had returned to my stores, but I still couldn’t detect where it was replenishing from.