Page 100 of Love Bleeds

I was completely useless.

I could use the flash grenades, sure, but then I'd blindeveryvampire in the room, not just our enemies.

Puck had told me tofocus on the flow of energy within myself, but there wasn’t anything flowing right now. No drop of magic whatsoever.

I glanced at the fridge again, trying to ignore the growling of the vampire-dog that made my blood want to freeze in my veins.

Maybe if I had just a sip? I knew that I had some magic in me, I could feel it. I'dusedit before. I was just never in control of it.

The dog pinned the leopard to the floor and snapped at him.

I looked away, but only to open the fridge and grab for one of the bottles inside. I uncapped it. Someone cried out, I wasn't sure who and I wasn't sure I wanted to know either. It wasn't Crimson, though. Not him. God, it could never be him, because I couldn't lose him again. Not now, not ever.

Without thinking any further about it, I lifted the bottle to my lips and took a long sip. It tasted...sweet? The flavor was so unexpected, I didn't know how to categorize it at first, and I didn't really have time to analyze it either, didn't have time to be disgusted at myself for thinking of blood as sweet. I took another sip, mostly just because I could, because I didn't know how much it would take for me to become useful.

I didn't know if I was ever going to be useful.

But I had to try, didn't I?

I had to dosomething.

Still hanging on to the bottle as if it was my lifeline, I turned around again, just in time to see Talon pin the bodybuilder vampire he'd been fighting with to the wall. There was a fox by his feet, and the fox's teeth dug into the bodybuilder's leg like he was trying to tear a chunk of meat out of him.

My stomach roiled. I didn't know if it was the blood or the sight.

I shouldn't have let myself get distracted, though, because there was another hostile vampire in the room. He must have managed to overpower Aldrich too, because now the dog was coming straight at me.

My heart stopped.

Focus, Luke, focus!

But all I managed to do was yelp and throw my arms up, hiding my face.

The dog growled, a sound so deep and furious I knew it was going to give me nightmares. I squeezed my eyes shut, but that didn't help. I could almost feel his teeth cut into me even before he'd reached me.

But then, the growl turned into a... whine?

Confused, I blinked my eyes open to figure out what was going on. My arms, still covering my face, were glowing. In fact, my whole body gave off a soft glow. Energy pulsed through me. I was shining like a beacon, and when I lowered my arms, all eyes in the room were on me.

Awesome.

I had no idea what I'd done, but it seemed to have stopped the dog cold in his tracks, at least. Distracted him too, long enough for Aldrich, still in his leopard form, to drag him away from me.

Aldrich didn't look good, though. One of his ears had been half-torn off his head and blood matted his fur in large patches.

I wanted to help him, to do more than just stand here and glow. I took another sip from the bottle, but I still didn't know how I'd activated my powers or what exactly they'd done... or how to direct them. Grasping at straws, I thought back to all those animes I'd watched. How did they do it there?

Focus on your chakra, I told myself, even as I felt a bit silly.

But then, it wasn’t that different from what Puck had told me, was it? I needed tofind the energyinside myself anddirect it outwards.

Biting my teeth together, I reached a hand out to Aldrich. I pictured the magic flowing through me. Soft, warm energy, running through my veins. I pictured it flowingoutof me. Toward the enemy.

Nothing happened.

I focused harder.

Because the dog was on top of the cat again, and I couldn't just stand here. I had to protect him. I had to protect my friends.