Bewitched, Bothered, and Bitten (22 page)

T
he drive to
Conner’s house would have been a great deal more hair-raising if I hadn’t been consumed with worry about my friends. Finn drove as though the hounds of hell were on his heels.

When he screeched to a halt in front of Conner’s home, I was out of the car before he had a chance to put it in park. I sprinted up the front steps and into the house. When I entered the foyer, I realized I didn’t know where to go, so I started yelling.

“Donna! Conner!”

Donna’s pale face appeared over the railing at the top of the stairs. “Oh, thank God you’re here. Ricki’s in the guest room. She’s lost a lot of blood and…and.” She didn’t have to finish the sentence for me to understand her meaning.

I dashed up the stairs and followed her into one of the spare bedrooms. I felt like I’d taken a punch to the gut when I saw the blood. So much blood.

Calder was kneeling on the bed next to Ricki, but he was staring Conner down as though he were moments away from trying to rip out his throat.

I moved to the bed, removing herbs, potions, and other things I would need to cast healing spells. “What’s are you two doing?” I asked.

“He wants to turn her into a vampire.” Calder growled the words.

“It will save her life,” Conner snapped. “Would you prefer that she died?”

I saw Ricki’s eyelids flutter and wondered if she could hear what was happening.

“Why don’t you two back up and let me look at her?” I suggested. “I may be able to help without resorting to changing her.”

Though they were still eyeing each other with thinly veiled hostility, Conner and Calder moved back enough for me to squeeze beside the bed. I looked down at Ricki. Her face was pale and there was a streak of blood on her jaw.

“Hey, Ricki. How you doin’?”

Her eyes opened slowly. “Kerry,” she rasped. “What happened?”

I gently pulled away the cloth that Conner had been using to apply pressure to her wounds in an attempt to stop the bleeding. I struggled to keep my face from showing what I was thinking when I answered her. “There was an attack at Conner’s house and you were hurt. I’m gonna help you out here, okay?”

She took a shallow breath. “Okay.”

I looked over at Conner and whispered, “Have you tried vampire blood and saliva to start the healing process?”

He nodded. “It’s the only reason she’s not dead now,” he answered, keeping his voice low enough that she wouldn’t hear.

I felt my heart plummet. There was very little I could do for such serious wounds. Even with my abilities, I couldn’t bring back someone so close to the brink without using forbidden spells. “Maybe we should call an ambulance.”

Conner moved closer. “We can’t. You know we can’t. Even if we managed to adjust the memories of all the humans involved, there would be records, both electronic and hard copies. It’s too risky.”

“So we just let her die?” I hissed. “Or you change her?”

His face said it all.

“No.” Calder crowded into the group. “If she changes, she will be a wolf. She’s my mate, it’s my decision.”

Donna saved me from stepping in when she snapped, “No, it’s not your decision, Calder.” Then she turned to Conner. “And it’s not yours either. It’s Ricki’s. We should ask her what she wants to do.”

Conner scowled. “She’s too weak to endure a werewolf bite right now. The transition would kill her.”

Donna didn’t respond, instead going back to keep an eye on Ricki.

Something tugged at my mind, like a memory that remained just out of reach. I focused on it, but it slipped away. Still, Conner’s words struck a chord with me in some way.

“Maybe not,” I murmured.

Calder’s intensity was instantly on me. “What do you mean?”

I dug in my bag. “There’s a spell. I found it in a book Belinda brought me. It might be useful.”

I found my notebook and pulled it out. The paper I’d copied the spell on was still tucked in the back. I read it carefully, because I wanted to be sure that I understood what I was doing. It might work. By connecting them, Calder’s strength would help Ricki survive the transition.

Looking at Calder, I asked, “Are you willing to tie your life force with Ricki’s?”

“If it will save her, I would give my own life, so, yes.”

I drew in a deep breath. “Okay, I want to ask her what she wants before we proceed.” Gesturing for them to remain across the room, I went to the bed and brushed my fingers over Ricki’s forehead. Her skin was clammy and her breathing was rapid and shallow. We were running out of time.

“Ricki,” I murmured. “I need you to wake up for a second, okay?”

She moaned softly but didn’t open her eyes.

“Ricki, you need to look at me,” I insisted, my voice firmer.

Her lids cracked and she gasped deeply, shuddering, but her eyes opened wide and fixed on me.

“You’re badly injured, Ricki, and I need you to make a choice for me.”

Her voice was nearly inaudible. “What do you mean?”

I stroked her forehead and wrapped my hand around hers gently. “If we don’t do something drastic, you’re going to die.”

Her body shivered again and she gasped, the pause between her next breath so long I was afraid she wasn’t going to take another. She stared at me, waiting for me to continue.

“Conner can turn you or-” I paused. “I can bind your life force with Calder’s. You’ll have to ingest his blood and you’ll become a wolf like him. If I do this, then you two would be irrevocably linked. If he is killed, you would die also. If you die, so does he.”

She tried to speak, but her voice cracked. When Ricki cleared her throat, it sounded painful. “And if Conner turns me, what then?”

“You live the rest of your very long life as a vampire.”

I watched as she processed what I said. Her eyes drifted over my shoulder and I knew she was looking at Calder.

So softly I almost didn’t hear it, she asked, “Did you mean what you said to me yesterday? About the mark and everything else?”

I could practically feel Calder’s intensity radiating at my back. “Every fucking word.”

Her eyes closed and something changed in her face. Ricki didn’t open them again, but said, “Do the spell.”

I watched as her chest barely rose and fell with every tiny breath and I knew I had to hurry. Quickly, I began to lay out everything I would need. The spell only required a few herbs and blood, but I wanted to be sure I did everything perfectly. I would only have one chance to perform this incantation. With a spell this important, I would have preferred the chance to practice mixing the herbs in the correct ratio and reciting the words several times before performing it. I didn’t have that option now.

“I need a sharp knife and a bowl,” I commanded over my shoulder. “Quickly.”

Conner disappeared from the room in a blur of motion.

To Donna, I said, “I need a candle. White if you have it.”

She nodded and left the room as well.

Calder moved back to his original position of kneeling on the bed next to Ricki, cradling one of her hands in both of his. I tried not to let panic overwhelm me as the pauses between her breaths grew longer.

Conner returned with the bowl and the knife.

“Sterilize them with alcohol and add just enough water to cover the bottom of the bowl,” I ordered and he carried them into the connecting bathroom.

When he returned, I took the bowl and placed it on the night stand, laying the knife neatly across the top of the bowl. Murmuring the first set of words in the spell, I began to add the dried herbs into the water.

Donna returned with the candle, which I took from her and set it to the left of the bowl.

Glancing at Calder, I asked, “Ready?”

“Yes.”

His voice was clear and filled with resolve, which was excellent. Ricki would need that resolve to help her come back from the precipice.

I began the chant and lifted the knife, a spark of power flaring in my belly. In my other hand, I extended the bowl to Calder, who cupped it in one hand. I took his other hand, extending his index finger over the bowl. As I recited the second part of the spell, I pierced his skin with the knife and squeezed a few drops of his blood into the herb and water mixture. When the blood hit the mixture, I felt a surge of power. As I lifted Ricki’s hand and repeated the process, the magic began to grow.

Normally, I would have cringed at using the knife on both of them, but they were about to drink a few drops of the other’s blood in a moment, so it didn’t matter.

I took the bowl back from Calder and set it back on the table. Then, I lifted the candle. With a small amount of their mingled blood on the tip of the knife, I began to carve symbols of unity and healing on the candle, beginning the third part of the spell. The building magic pressed in around the bed, creating a connection between the three of us. As I placed the base of the candle on Ricki’s chest, I recited the passage that brought the flame to life on the wick. I brought one of Calder’s hands to clasp it in place, then did the same with Ricki’s.

Her eyes were glazed, but focused on me as I worked. For a moment, I felt panic trying to creep up my spine, but I forced it back.

Repeating the third and final paragraph in the spell, I put aside the knife and lifted the bowl to Calder’s lips. He sipped it, but I gestured for him to drink a bit more until he took half. Grimacing, he helped me lift Ricki’s head enough to get most of the liquid in her mouth. She winced as she swallowed what had to be a bitter mix of dried herbs, water, and blood.

“As I will it, so mote it be.”

When I uttered the closing words of the spell, the power increased until I felt as though I would be crushed beneath it. Calder and Ricki both gasped, their bodies becoming rigid as one, and the final link between them snapped into place. It was done.

As the magic receded, I heard Ricki make a sound, part cough, part moan. Then she stopped breathing. In horror, I watched as Calder collapsed on the bed next to her, clutching his chest. I couldn’t allow this to happen. I couldn’t sit back and watch someone I loved die, not again.

I felt for a pulse in her neck and found nothing. Then, I realized that if I could muster enough energy to stop someone’s heart, then I could use it to restart one as well. Praying to the Goddess that it would work, I placed my hand over Ricki’s heart, focusing on what I wanted to happen. If I could visualize the spark forcing the organ to begin pumping again, it would be more effective.

Sucking in a deep breath, I let the power flow down my arm, forming a ball of energy just behind my palm. As I released the air, I released the energy in the form of electricity. Ricki’s body jerked. I checked her neck for a pulse. Nothing.

Once more, I laid my hand on her chest, refusing to let a shred of doubt enter my mind. I would save her. I repeated the process, watching as Ricki’s body arched again.

When I put my fingertips to her neck, I felt a weak, steady pulse. I started to position her head for mouth-to-mouth, but she took a loud, gasping breath on her own. Terrified that she would stop again, I stood by the bed, trying to ascertain her condition.

Within a few minutes, her chest began to rise and fall more steadily and her face was no longer as pale. Calder seemed to be fine as well, although still unconscious.

Hesitantly, I lifted the blood-soaked cloth that had covered her wounds. Already, the accelerated healing process had begun, a sign that Calder’s blood had worked and she would begin her first change sometime in the next thirty-six hours or so. Unfortunately, it wasn’t an exact science, so I couldn’t be sure.

Suddenly, exhausted, my ass hit the bed beside Ricki and tears of relief trickled down my face. A light touch on my shoulder startled me and I looked over my shoulder to find Finn staring down at me.

“I’m glad you were able to save her,” he murmured, using his thumbs to gently wipe my tears away.

“Me too.”

Unfortunately, it was time to focus on the other woman who needed my help; Belinda.

T
wenty minutes later,
we were all in the library except for Calder, Ricki, and Donna. Donna was upstairs, removing Ricki’s bloody clothes and washing her skin. Conner and Finn were speaking softly in the corner, while Shannon and I sat on the couch.

One of Conner’s men, I wasn’t sure of his name, was attempting to clean and dress Shannon’s injuries. Mostly she was bruised, but her forehead was bleeding and there were several lacerations on her arms and hands. Unfortunately, Shannon wasn’t impressed with his fawning.

“I’m fine,” she snapped, trying to dodge his hand. “I’ll wash up in a few minutes.”

“Sit still and let me clean your wounds,” he insisted.

Her eyes narrowed. “I’ve already killed one vampire tonight, let’s not make it two.”

The vampire’s hands froze, hovering over her skin. I had to stifle a laugh at the shocked expression on his face. I doubted any other human woman he knew would have had the gumption to speak to him like that. I reached out and took the cloth from him.

“She doesn’t mean it. Blood always makes her a little snippy, especially if it’s her own. I’ll take care of her.”