Page 22 of Forty Deaths Till Us Part
Rene nodded, and she touched his skin lightly. I had no idea what spell she used, but I felt the power emanating from her, and she was expending a lot of it.
She swayed slightly when she opened her eyes and several wrinkles formed around her mouth. “I have halted the progression of the compound, but it is not a cure. You must find one soon.”
Cassara’s eye flickered red as her fangs lengthened. “Who did this?”
“Brigid. She is the witch behind the dark faction. We had it wrong, and Rene paid the price.”
Ursula dropped her hand and stared at Cassara. “If he dies, it is war. The humans will side with the vampires under these circumstances. Brigid broke the conclave, and every witch will pay the price for her treachery.” I wanted to mention that Ursula was okay with killing me at one time, but I was technically a witch then and a member of the coven, so she had some claim to me then.
Cassara’s chest heaved. “Where is she, Ursula? I want her location and just so we are clear, you are giving me autonomy to kill her.”
Ursula nodded sadly, but the pain in her eyes was real. Brigid had been like a daughter to her. “I don’t know where she is. I doubt she will return to her residence, but her shroud is almost impenetrable. Brigid’s actions warrant a death sentence. She and any who follow her are no longer under coven protection. I will inform William of this development and we will all work on a cure for Rene. She has no concept of what she has done.”
Rene touched my shoulder gently. “Let’s return to the mansion. We need to regroup.”
Cass pointed at Ursula. “If you helped Brigid in any way, you are dead.”
I shook my head. “She didn’t Cass. Brigid told her she plans to kill her, too. The dark faction has declared war on basically everybody. I have no idea what they think they can gain under the circumstances.”
Cass moved to the door and opened it. “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER 8
My heart beat an uneven staccato as I tried to calm my raging emotions. Cass and I glanced nervously at one another as Rene settled into the back seat of the limo and she closed the door. The vehicle jerked forward, and our tires spit gravel behind us as the tension in the air pressed down on my chest like a vise. The soft glow of the moon cast an eerie shadow on his mottled cheek, making his pale skin appear even more ethereal. But tonight, it wasn’t his otherworldly beauty that held my attention; it was the devastating transformation unfolding before me.
As the limo rallied through the coven forest, my eyes remained glued on his skin. The effects of the vicious compound that was turning his body to stone were painfully apparent. Ursula had slowed the process, but it continued to spread like a smoldering fire consuming its power source. His perfect, handsome features were now frozen in a partial state of paralysis. The cold, gray surface of his skin looked like it had been carved from marble, each feature permanently etched in place.
Icy fingers squeezed my heart, and my breath caught in my throat. The vampire overseer, the man who ignited a fire withinme that I had given up on, was fading before my eyes. The pain hit me like a freight train, and I could feel the tears welling in my eyes.
I reached out with a trembling hand before my fingers brushed against his rigid cheek. The unyielding, smooth surface sent a shiver down my spine and panic surged within me. A meltdown would not help Rene, and I took a stuttered breath to calm myself. For all my new magic, my inexperience left Rene vulnerable, and the guilt crashed over me like a tidal wave.
In that agonizing moment, I realized the depth of my feelings. He wasn’t just a powerful vampire, or a creature of the night. While I wasn’t ready to admit to those feelings, they were very real, and I couldn’t imagine being in any clan without him. The devastation on Cassara’s face informed me she felt the same. My world was slipping away and taking him with it.
As the limo bounced down the dirt road, every second felt like an eternity. I squeezed Rene’s hand, desperate to retain our connection. “Don’t leave us, Rene.”
He stared at me with a mixture of regret and wonder. “I will be able to withstand the infection for a couple of days. I have slowed blood flow to my body and am in the process of redirecting the damaged tissue to non-imperative organs.”
Cass hissed. “This is a cluster fuck of epic proportions. I failed you and I promise that if you die and we go to war, that I will take a thousand of those bitches down before they get me.”
My hand trembled over Rene’s. There was a reason that everyone feared Cassara. She had given me her trust and friendship and I had enjoyed her fun sense of humor, but this was the vengeful killer that the rest of the world saw. The monster that slipped from the shadows to relinquish those who preyed on the innocent of their lives. “He isn’t going to die. We will find the antidote.”
Cass huffed. “There is no way to hide this from the clan, Raven.”
“We don’t need to. In fact, we should enlist their help.”
Cass shook her head. “You don’t understand. I wish our world was like that, but it isn’t.”
I stared at her tortured face and huddled close to Rene until we reached the mansion. We exited quietly and there was an audible gasp from the older vampire standing by the door when we entered.
The chatter in the foyer ceased instantly, and every vampire in the large room stared in shock at Rene. While he had been able to halt the progression of the stone patches on his face, his hands were gray and his fingers appeared to be carved from stone.
Val approached Cassara with a face like a thundercloud. “What the fuck happened? How is this possible?”
Cass blinked slowly. “Brigid attacked while I was outside. She used her shroud to get past me or she was already inside, but she used the compound on Rene. If he dies, it’s open season on the witches, but Ursula has a death order on Brigid and has excommunicated her from the coven. If anyone gets any information on her location, you tell me immediately.” She had raised her voice so every vampire in the room heard her, though she hadn’t needed to with their extra-sensory hearing; she was emphasizing her anger, and nobody moved until Dimitri, threaded his way through the crowd with a look of disbelief, when he saw Rene.
“How is he alive? Can he fight the compound killing him?” He spoke to Cassara as if Rene were no longer able to speak for himself.
Cassara’s lips pursed. “He is fighting it, and we will look for the antidote. Ursula inferred there was one. She attempted to halt the progression of the disease.”