Black Blood - 28. Chapter 28

28

All the vampires were dead. The humans were either safe in their basement, or gathered in the temple. Pandra’s dragon rested by her side. She had her hand on his scaly neck, with a tired look on her face. She seemed calm and content though, with the expression of someone who had accomplished her duty.

She had done more than that. Skylar admired her. Pandra didn’t have any magical skills, yet she wasn’t afraid of anything. Her entire people had burned in flames tonight, and yet she remained strong, her dark slanted eyes unwavering.

Kalan stood between Skylar and Airi. They needed to drown all this fire now, to try and save what was left of Payan. It wouldn’t be easy; the flames had caught well with all those trees and wooden houses. Mayrin had finished helping all the frightened people into the windowless temple. She couldn’t help them with the fire; there was something else she needed to do.

“I’m going to the castle,” she said, a dark shadow crossing her eyes. Her clothes were ripped like they had been clawed at. Her silvery hair was messy as it danced in a wind that carried smoke and ashes. She had the face of someone who’d had a long night. Her pale skin and dirty clothes were stained with vampire blood all over.

Airi, whose appearance was similar, gave her a slight nod, and she went. She looked like she lacked the energy, but she ran anyway. As Skylar looked at Mayrin’s silhouette darting across the burning town and toward the stone castle, she got the sinking feeling that her friend wouldn’t find anything there. That Charisma was most likely already gone. But she didn’t word her thoughts.

The three of them brought their magic together, holding hands as they stood in a line on the blood strewn dry-packed road, in front of the gloomy temple. Kalan stood in the middle, closing his eyes. The irises were moving beneath the lids, like he was in some sort of trance. Skylar transmitted what was left of her magical energy to him, so he could use his expert skills at controlling water. She knew Airi was doing the same. She could feel all of their respective energy, coming together as one through Kalan.

Skylar shivered as a cold wind blew strong. It started raining. At first it was only a few drops falling scarcely. But Kalan was aiming for more than that. She felt him drawing out her power and linking it to his, frowning in concentration and squeezing her palm in his hand.

She wasn’t feeling so well. She had been feeling strange since leaving that restaurant earlier. But there had been more pressing matters to take care of. With Kalan they had been too busy slaying the vampires. And now they really needed to stop those flames. The rain intensified. The water was cold as it trickled down her hair, seeping into her ragged clothing. She closed her eyes, too. Kalan needed more power, and she was giving him all she had. Their hands were joined so tightly that it hurt.

The rain got even stronger, like a deluge. The ground was muddy and the puddles were water mixing in with blood and dirt. It rained so hard that she couldn’t hear the rasp of her own breathing anymore.

She wouldn’t be able to do this much longer. Her chest heaved painfully, and she felt nauseous and dizzy. There was an odd feeling in her every nerve, and every muscle ached. It felt like her blood was boiling and contorting wildly in her veins. It started hurting so much that she was sure her veins would pop out of her skin. Everything hurt. It was so sudden, like the adrenaline of the battle had repressed it for this long, but now it was all coming out at once.

Her knees buckled, and she fell in the mud, fingers sliding from Kalan’s grip. Her arm clasped around her waist. The timing wasn’t bad; the fire had died. It was over. She had given away all of her magic. In a haze, Skylar gazed across the town with its truncated, burned houses and establishments. It was all blurry because of the rain, which had calmed, but kept on falling steadily even though it wasn’t magic triggering it anymore. Kalan and Airi loomed over her, asking her what was wrong urgently. She couldn’t talk. She could barely breathe. Her body hurt like someone was slicing open each and every one of her veins all at the same time. She twisted and curled on her side.

Kalan kneeled down next to her, splashing muddy water a bit. He leaned closer and brushed aside a lock of her hair so he could look at her face properly. Airi stood next to him, bent over slightly. He seemed confused.

“What’s happening to her?” asked Kalan.

Airi summoned a tiny white light in his hand, like a firefly. They were both looking at Skylar’s arms.

“Oh my god,” she choked out.

Her veins were dark blue, almost gleaming through her skin. It hurt so bad that her vision became flecked with black. She felt feverish, so the spots of black looked to her like menacing darting shapes in the dark, rainy night. A chill ran down her spine. Was this a nightmare? Had she fallen asleep?

But the pain was too real and sharp to be part of a dream. She moaned and writhed in Kalan’s arms. She hadn’t even realized he was holding her. His pale eyes looked so worried.

“What’s going on? Did you overuse your magic?”

“I… I don’t know.” Another flash of pain blinded her for a moment.

When he spoke again, Kalan’s urgent voice felt very distant to her, like she was hearing him from underwater. Every fiber of her being ached. She honestly thought she was going to die, and she was terrified.

“Do something, Airi!”

“I can’t,” he said bemusedly, “this is… this is some kind of poison. I don’t know how—”

Skylar’s eyes opened wide. Cold despair seeped into her bones. She was completely frozen. Poison.

“Are you sure you can’t do anything?” Kalan insisted, fear in his hushed voice.

“Kalan, this is…” Airi was hesitant to say it. His tone was dark.

Stronger than the physical pain, dread curdled at the pit of her stomach in dawning horror.

“Kalan,” she breathed, closing her eyes. Her heart ached like she was having an attack. The blood in her veins wanted to explode and shatter her like broken glass.

“What? I’m right here.” He held her tight, resting her head against his shoulder but she barely felt it. The pain was numbing everything else.

She must have passed out for a moment, because when she opened her eyes again, Mayrin was just showing up, out of breath and drenched.

“It’s no use,” she said, “Charisma’s already gone.” Frustration was blatantly obvious in her voice. “I didn’t even reach the castle and I felt the magic from the portal. It’s too late.”

“Forget about that,” said Kalan, almost shouting, “Skylar’s… she’s… I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”

Mayrin stepped closer, her shoes splashing the muddy puddles. She looked at Skylar in the white light emanating from Airi’s hand. Almost immediately, she made a hiss of disapproval.

Skylar heard a scream before realizing it was hers, slicing through the dull sound of the pouring rain like a sharp blade. Kalan flinched. Her veins pulsated, and her heart throbbed. Her chest hurt like her ribcage was closing in on her lungs. She felt like she was going to burst from the inside. She saw black everywhere, and there was a buzzing in her ears.

“Can’t you help her?” asked Kalan pleadingly. “We were doing magic, she helped me drown the fire, and she was fine, and then suddenly—”

Mayrin cut him with a gesture.

“Skylar, what did you do?” She sounded so horrified and devastated, as though she had just found out Skylar had murdered every living being in every existing world.

“I…” she choked on blood. It was stuck in her throat.

For a moment she blinked and she could see again, but she regretted it. The blood she had coughed out stained Kalan’s arm. It was red, but flecked and striped with a thick liquid as black as ink.

She thought of that second glass of wine Blake had brought to her, of how thick and sickly sweet it had tasted, and how lightheaded it had made her feel. She recalled Blake’s smirk and the glint in his eyes, and the way he had danced with her, leaned closer and kissed her neck like he wanted to mark her as his. She breathed out something like a sob.

“Did you drink his blood?” asked Mayrin sharply.

Her voice was a whisper. “Yes.”