Magaestra: Loyalties: An urban fantasy series Page 13

  He felt his strength returning. His lungs stopped gurgling and his leg no longer screamed in agony: it just lay heavy with pressure from the boulder wedged on top of him. His head swam with power and he reveled in the flavor and the sensations.

  Faith made a noise, somewhere between a whimper and a groan, but it was enough to pierce the haze that had centered his thoughts only on his next pull. He gasped, forcing himself to open his jaws and release her arm. He licked the wound clean and almost bit down again as it closed, just to start the flow again.

  It was addictive, this taste, this feeling, and he had to be stronger than he had ever been to deny himself another mouthful.

  “Are you sure that’s enough? Do you need more?” Faith’s voice was worried and she hovered over him.

  “No!”

  Faith sat back and Aldric regretted how harsh the single word had sounded.

  “I… Faith…” He tried to put words around it. How it felt to taste her blood and why he must never, ever do it again. “Thank you. You have saved my life, again. But please. No more. Ever.”

  “Sorry if I didn’t taste as good as deer,” she grumbled, turning to look at the rock again.

  He reached out and grabbed her arm. “That isn’t it. You taste too good. I can’t even describe it. I…” his breath hitched. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Faith turned back and stared at him for a long moment before understanding showed in her eyes. She smiled then, and Aldric felt like he could breathe easier.

  “You would never hurt me. I trust you. So, let’s see if we can move this rock now. If I use my magic as a lever and you push with your fancy vampire super strength, maybe we can get you freed, then figure out our next step.” Faith turned back to the rock to glare at it for a moment. “Ready?”

  Aldric frowned at the stone pinning his leg, not sure that this would work, but he gamely agreed anyway. At least the pain was gone, an unexpected but welcome side effect. No blood had ever healed him so quickly before, but perhaps it was because it was fresh and human. He had only had fresh blood from prey animals before.

  “Okay,” Faith said. She took a deep breath and he could see her pull her focus to the task. “Three… Two… One… Push!”

  Aldric felt the rock start to shift and he dug deep and shoved against it with all his strength. It started to move further, but then it seemed to Aldric that his grip on the boulder slipped, like he was trying to hold water instead of stone. Faith gasped and jumped backward, stumbling on the uneven ground and starting to fall.

  Aldric rushed to catch her, his arms wrapping gently around her shoulders and pulling her to his chest.

  “Aldric!” His name was whispered with awe and Faith’s eyes were wide with shock.

  Aldric himself was more than a little startled. How had be moved from where he had been trapped, to stand several feet away in time to catch a fast-moving Faith? He was fast, as a vampire, but this seemed very different.

  “Aldric, are you… are you okay?” She asked. “Do you feel okay? Aldric? Please say something.”

  “How…” was all he could manage.

  “You… you fogged out. It was like you dematerialized or something!” She patted is chest and arms, then up to his face to run her palms over his cheeks and driver her fingers into his hair, convincing herself that he was, indeed, whole and standing there.

  “I… fogged out? What does that mean?” He frowned. It hit him a second later and he hissed a shocked breath in through his teeth. “I turned into a mist?”

  “Yeah. It was freaky! How did you do that? If you could do that why didn’t you just so that to begin with?” Faith smacked his chest. “Why did you have to go scare me like that?”

  “I have never been able to do that before. Faith, it was you,” he leaned back to make sure she could see his face in the flicker of her magic flame. “It was your blood, Magaestra. That is what healed me and gave me the power.”

  Aldric hadn’t thought it was possible for Faith’s eyes to get any bigger, but he was wrong.

  “My blood?” She repeated, then gasped. “My— Oh shit. I didn’t even think. I was just so terrified that you were dying and I never even considered…”

  Faith’s eyes were wide and startled, but Aldric was relieved beyond words not to see any fear there. But she should be afraid, now that he had tasted her especially. Instead she just blinked up at him in mild amazement.

  “So now you can turn into a mist? Like in all those vampire stories?” The awe in her eyes was reflected in her breathless questions. “How long does it last? Is it permanent? Can you turn into a bat, too? Oh! Or a wolf like the shifters in the clan? I've read that one, too, in the old books and movies.”

  Aldric frowned down at her and her questions tapered off. He tried to speak, but the words stuck in his throat. Finally, he shook his head.

  “I have no idea. I only have rumors and thirdhand hearsay. It should last for some time at least, I think. But…”

  “Does it hurt to do? Are you okay?” Faith started patting his shoulders and chest again, checking for damage this time.

  “No, it didn’t hurt. It felt…. Slippery? It is difficult to describe. But I couldn’t hold anything. At least, I couldn’t keep hold of the rock.”

  “To hell with the rock. I don't care about it anymore. Can you do it on demand or is it like a reflex or something? Can you do just a part of your body or is it all or nothing?”

  Faith’s questions seemed to go on forever, and they made Aldric’s head spin worse than it was already. Each new question taking root in his own mind and producing a hundred more.

  “I don’t know!” He roared. Faith’s words stopped instantly, and she sucked in a breath as if she could draw the last question back into her mouth.

  Aldric stared down at her. He was whole and strong thanks to Faith’s blood. Powerful. God, he was more powerful than he had ever been, and he craved more. He could still taste her in his mouth, and it would be so easy to dip his head and bite again.

  She would even allow him to do it. Insist he bite, even, if he said he still hurt. And it was that thought that had him push her back gently and then stalk away to the wall of the cave.

  “Aldric?” Her voice was unsure now. Careful. He hated that.

  “I don’t know, Magaestra.” He said softly. “I can’t answer any of your questions.” He swallowed heavily around the sudden tightness in his throat.

  “Aldric? Are you okay?” She put a hand on his shoulder and it felt like a brand.

  “I don’t know that, either,” he whispered.

  A loud crash and rumble from above them had him swinging around and grabbing Faith to cradle her against the farthest wall from where the trap door had been. She stuck a hand over his shoulder as he hunched over her and his skin tingled into gooseflesh as her magic formed her shield.

  Dust and gravel and small bits of building clattered down through the opening, then quiet settled through the space again, but a new quiet. They could now hear faint noises above them. Their friends were digging.

  “Seems like we just have to sit tight and wait. We’ll be out in no time,” Faith said. She shivered and pressed closer to him and she let her shield drop as the dust finished settling around them.

  “Are you cold?”

  Faith nodded. “I’m going to enjoy the hell out of a hot shower when we get back to the clan house. And Madeline can lecture me for a change when she checks my injuries over.”

  Her nod caused the side of her head to brush against his chin and the blood that had dried in her hair flaked off, dusting him with flakes and making the scent of it swirl around him. His vision shifted and his teeth ached to bite. Aldric clenched his jaw.

  “You should allow Madeline to look over your injuries before the shower.” He gritted the words out. “Faith. I must tell you that I do not know how strong I can be. You… Your blood…” He swallowed. “I—”

  “You do what you need to do, Aldric. I trust you, like I have said sever
al times now.” Faith leaned back to look him directly win his eyes. “You are not a mindless monster, controlled by your hunger. You’re stronger than that. But if you need more, take it. Otherwise, you can repay me by just holding me and helping me not freeze. Madeline doesn’t need to treat hypothermia on top of whatever else I’ve done to myself.”

  With that, she snuggled into him, unconcerned with the internal fight he was waging. She pressed her body close, and he wrapped his arms around her more though instinct than any conscious thought. This was a fight Faith couldn’t help him with.

  It felt like days— months— before another rain of debris fell through the hole left by the trapdoor, but when it subsided, there was light above them and a rush of fresh air.

  “Hey! There’s a hole here!”

  “How deep is it, what kind of hole?”

  “Are they there?”

  “We are here!” Aldric called up to them. “There is a cavern below you, be careful!”

  “Aldric!” Marc sounded exhausted and strained, but the smiling face that appeared over the hole was entirely relieved.

  “We are here. I can’t say that we are fine, but I don’t think we sustained any permanent damage when we fell,” he called up. “The ladder is destroyed, though, and it appears to be a good twenty feet down.”

  “Yeah, I can see that.” Marc peered around the space.

  “Did you find my sister?” Faith called up. She stayed huddled into Aldric’s chest, but the air pouring in from above was fresh and sweeping the scent of blood away from them, easing Aldric’s struggle.

  “I’m sorry, Faith. It wasn’t Crissy. It was Greg Honeyford, and he’s in bad shape.” His head popped out of view for a moment and they heard scrambling, then Marc returned. “Sit tight just a bit longer. We’re going to get a ladder or something.”

  “Faith is badly injured, so be aware it may be difficult getting out.”

  “How badly?”

  “My ribs hurt like hell and I banged my head really good,” she answered. “I don’t think I broke anything, though, miraculously enough.”

  Marc grunted. “Okay. Aldric? You?”

  “I…” Aldric swallowed and looked down at Faith who smiled slightly and nodded. “I am fine. I can help from down here.”

  There must have been something in his voice that gave him away because he could tell Marc’s attention was narrowed to him while silence hung between them for a moment.

  “Okay then. Hang on a bit longer and we’ll get you two out of there. We can talk about what happened later.”

  And with that, Marc’s head disappeared entirely.

  “Not going to tell him?” Faith asked, tipping her head to the side.

  “I have to tell him, but…” Aldric grimaced, feeling his fangs brush against his lip. “I don’t want to announce anything to the world at large.”

  “You think Marc will throw you out of the clan for letting me force feed you?” Faith’s indignant question was accompanied by a snarl worthy of any wolf shifter.

  “It was the bargain my parents made with Marc’s father,” Aldric shrugged. “I do not know how he will react.”

  Faith’s eyes narrowed. “Well, I know how I will react if he does. If you go, I go.”

  Aldric had no answer for that.

  19

  Faith stood in the doorway and peered into the dim room. The man lying on the bed looked horrible: his face puffy and purple, his left arm wrapped in a temporary cast and the right covered in mottled bruises with an IV running into it. It all contrasted horribly with the mint green and brown hair that hung slightly limp across his forehead. There was a bandage taped to his right cheek that was just the injuries she could see. A sheet and a cozy looking quilt covered the rest of his body.

  He looked more like he had been in a bad car accident than kidnapped for a few days. Her own ribs-- bruised and one cracked, but none broken-- twinged in sympathy.

  “He will heal, but it may take some time. They really worked him over, poor guy.” Madeline grimaced and kept her voice low. “You know him?”

  Faith shook her head. “Not really. Kaylee does, though. Crissy, too, of course. I met him once for about ten seconds at an open house night.”

  “It might help him to see a familiar face, however slight. Detective Lincoln was in there a bit ago and his bedside manner could use some work.” Madeline scowled at some memory.

  Faith nodded and stepped into the room. She moved around the bed, hoping that Greg Honeyford’s right eye wasn’t swollen shut as hard as the one she’d seen from the door.

  “Mr. Greg?” She kept her voice soft, but tried to make sure she spoke clearly. “Mr. Greg? I’m Kaylee’s aunt Faith.”

  His eyelid flickered and cracked open.

  “I’m not going to ask if you’re okay, since I’m not that stupid, but…” Her jaw worked on its own for a moment, no words coming out.

  “Is she safe?” His voice came rough, not at all like the warm, laughing man she remembered from the school event.

  “She’s safe. She’s a Frostwalker now, and Marc and Aldric both take her safety very seriously. You’re safe now, too, I promise.”

  His eye closed again.

  “Alpha Keller told me what happened. I’m so sorry. My fault.” Talking clearly hurt him.

  “No. Don’t you dare. I’ve had enough of that nonsense from other people, including myself.” Faith held her hand up when his eyelid cracked open again and he looked like he was going to argue. “You were merely having a conversation with your brother. He’s more than a bit of a jerk, but I sort of understand. You had no idea that all this would spin so badly out of control. So, she scented a little familiar. So, what? That does not automatically mean kidnappings, pack wars, and maybe a third world war are logical results from mentioning it. Jesse’s actions are his responsibility, not yours. Molin's actions and the vampires he's hooked up with are not your responsibility either.”

  Greg blinked. She guessed that it hurt like hell for his eyebrows to be raising like that, and the smile that was trying to spread over his split and swollen mouth.

  “Thanks.”

  “Your job right now, Mr. Greg, is to rest and heal. You hear me?” Faith was on a roll and was apparently not about to take off her temporary-mom hat. She realized that she was glaring at him with her hands on her hips and tried to find something else to do with them. “I’ll bring Kaylee by when you’re a bit less of a mess. She's had a lot to deal with already, she doesn't need to see her favorite teacher all beat up like this. Madeline said the swelling and bruises will heal up in a few days. And if Kaylee comes, that means you'll get to meet Jake, too.”

  “You trust me?” He asked, clearly surprised. "Around Kaylee? Still?"

  Faith sighed and sat down. “I don’t know if that’s quite the right way to put it, Greg. I don’t distrust you, but I also know that we’re safe here in the clan house, and Kaylee doesn’t go anywhere without guards these days, anyway. There’s more going on here than your old alpha’s greed and your brother’s general sliminess. I trust the Frostwalkers will keep us all safe. Beyond that? I think you’re as much a victim as we are.”

  Greg sighed.

  “Listen. I’m going to go check on some of the others. You need your rest, and frankly I do too. I’m supposed to be lying down myself. Something about a concussion and bruised ribs and giving myself time to heal from a nasty fall and whatever. Madeline gave up yelling at me after she found me visiting someone for the fifth time.” Faith grinned. “Apparently, I am the worst patient she’s had in a while, and that's saying something. She treats her own family.”

  Greg’s smile tried to reappear, but he winced and Faith shook her head. “You rest. I’ll come back again after a while.”

  “Thanks.” He closed his eye again and Faith made her way to the door as quietly as she could.

  Madeline met her there and sent her a grateful look. “He’s been blaming himself for everything that’s happened. Marc tried to reassure h
im, but I think he didn’t believe him. Poor guy hasn’t had a lot of good experience with packs or alphas, I'd guess. And Detective Lincoln was very… gruff with him. Not rude or anything. Just… brusque.”

  Faith grimaced. “Kaylee loves him. Even I’ve heard plenty of stories about Mr. Greg. That hair? I’d bet it was ice cream flavor day or something, and he picked mint chocolate chip. He’s that kind of teacher.”

  Madeline glanced at the door to Greg’s room. “I’m glad he knows now that he has some friendly faces to look forward to. That will help a lot, giving him a reason to heal.” She turned to Faith and raised an eyebrow. “And speaking of healing…”

  “Okay, okay, I’ll go back to bed," Faith laughed. "When will be I allowed to wander around without being chased down and lectured?”

  “I'll check in on you tomorrow morning, if you actually go get some rest of your own, lady. And I want you to eat everything on the meal tray we send up, you hear me? Including all the juice.” Madeline fixed her with a glare that made Faith think that maybe the doctor had guessed a bit of what happened in the cave.

  Aldric had asked her not to say anything. He was afraid of people’s reactions if they learned that he had given in and fed from a human. He didn’t want them to be afraid of him, or hate him for crossing that line.

  Faith thought he was overreacting, but she promised him anyway. She sighed as she climbed back onto her bed, propped up with pillows and the lunch tray over her lap. She did pull a blanket over her feet, as a slight concession to Madeline’s insistence that she ‘get into bed, not onto it.’

  She ate more out of habit than any deliberate effort, thinking about the last twelve hours. It had taken a little over an hour to clear enough debris and get a ladder tall enough for them to climb out of the hole. Tamika had tossed down some of those crinkly silver blankets since Faith had started to shiver, even in Aldric’s arms, and he had wrapped them up together to make the most of their shared warmth.

  But since they had gotten out— Aldric climbing close enough behind Faith that he could catch her if she fell— he had been very obviously avoiding her, and she hated it.