A Dawn of Strength

Backing up on the branch, I sped up and, with one giant leap, jumped from the tree and hurled myself at the warlock. I landed on top of him, sending his head crashing down against the trunk of a fallen tree. Gripping his neck with one burning hand, I flipped out a gun from my belt and aimed it at his left palm. Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting such a bold move on my part, but his surprise didn’t last long.

Before I could pull my trigger, his hand closed around my arm. An agonizing pain spread through my body and I was forced to loosen my grip on him. He kneed me hard in the stomach and rolled over on the ground, his palms now around my neck. He screamed as I shot fire directly against his face, forcing him to loosen his grip on me. I staggered to my feet, keeping the blaze going as I stumbled back. His face was red raw as I caught sight of it through the smoke, just before he extinguished my flames once again.

I grabbed the second gun I had in my belt and fired it. He dodged it narrowly. A hiss escaped his lips as a cold blue ball of burning fire came shooting toward me. I shot out more flames, expecting his fire to merge with my own, but it didn’t. It pierced right through my wall of flames, shooting toward my chest.

“Derek!” Sofia screamed.

I threw myself down flat against the sand, but I wasn’t fast enough. The ball grazed my shoulder, and as soon as it did, my body became rigid. My chest was suddenly so tight I could no longer breathe. The shock was the first thing to hit me. The agony followed shortly afterward. The area of my shoulder where his curse had touched felt like it was on fire, and the sensation soon spread toward the rest of my body.

Two pairs of hands gripped my arms, forcing me to lie flat on my back. My vision was hazy, but I could just about make out Sofia hovering over me with Corrine and Mona.

Mona’s hands closed around my shoulder—and as soon as she did, the agony intensified tenfold. I couldn’t help but cry out. Her hand felt piercingly cold—as though she were burning my flesh with dry ice. When she finally let go, although still in fierce pain, I was able to gasp for air.

“Take him away, Corrine,” Mona hissed.

My head was reeling as Corrine gripped my hand. The scene around me disappeared in a blur of colors. Opening my eyes again once the rushing air stopped, I found myself lying on the table in Corrine’s potion room.

Sofia’s cool hands pressed against either side of my face. “What are you going to do, Corrine?” she asked anxiously.

The witch didn’t answer. My vision was becoming more blurred by the minute.

“He’s fading,” Sofia choked.

More ice-cold pressure was applied to my shoulder.

“He’s still breathing, at least,” Corrine murmured. “We have Mona to thank for that. Thank God she was nearby. Had she got to him even a few moments later, that touch of Rhys’ curse would have been fatal…”

I groaned as she pressed harder against the wound.

“He’ll be okay,” the witch said. “His body is just in shock right now. Mona arrested the curse before it could spread too far.”

There was a running of water in the sink nearby.

“Open your mouth, Derek,” Sofia said a moment later.

I did as she requested, and I felt cool water trickling into my mouth. My throat was so parched, it hurt just to swallow, but when I did manage it, I felt less dizzy.

“Do you want more?” Sofia asked.

I nodded. She poured me mouthful after mouthful until I realized—despite the pain I was still enduring beneath Corrine’s icy pressure—my vision was coming back.

Finally, I attempted to sit up. Corrine pushed me back down.

“Not yet,” she scolded.

“Let go of me,” I said through gritted teeth. “I need to return now.” I sat up more forcefully this time and brushed the cold compress aside.

“Oh, yeah?” Corrine glared at me, placing her hands on her hips. “Why don’t you take a look at yourself in the mirror before you go gallivanting off.”

Swinging my legs off the table, I planted my feet on the floor and walked toward the mirror fixed on the wall on the other side of the room. I swore beneath my breath as I caught sight of my reflection. The skin on my upper right shoulder was so badly burnt, it was charcoal black. It was thin and flaky, resembling scorched pastry more than skin.

Sofia stood in front of me, worry creasing her forehead. She gripped my ear and tugged my head downward. “What is wrong with you, Novak?” she hissed. “This is the second time in twenty-four hours that you’ve almost gotten yourself burnt to death.”

Extending a claw, she slit her wrist and pressed it against my mouth. Watching the mirror for any sign of improvement, I drank her blood. Vampire blood really did taste revolting compared to human blood. It was all I could do to not vomit.

Finally, my body started responding to her blood. The black skin began to peel away and flake off as new skin grew in its place.

“Okay, that’s enough,” I said, once there was almost no trace of black left and the pain had subsided. I lowered her wrist and pulled on the fresh shirt Corrine had laid out for me.

“Where is Mona now?” I asked, shooting a look at the witch. As I’d lain there on the beach, I’d been half-in, half out of consciousness. I couldn’t recall all that had happened around me.

Anxiety filled the witch’s eyes. “She’s facing off with Rhys.”

Chapter 24: Mona

My hands were trembling as I locked eyes with the tall dark-haired warlock. As soon as I’d found out that he was still alive, I should have guessed that sooner or later I’d find myself standing before him again.