“Agreed.” Andrei drops the book to the floor and kneels. His brow tugs in concentration as he carefully paints the rune in blood with his index finger.
Ash shifts uncomfortably in his chair and continues to squirm for several minutes. I look round and his face is now a colour to match Petrescu’s palest vampires.
“Ash? Are you okay? Don’t panic. We’ll find her.”
His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. “Yeah.”
Andrei looks down at his finger painting and tosses the letter opener to Ash. “What next, Jamie?”
I kneel on the floor and turn the book around. A verse in a mixture of Latin and English is written below the rune and I mouth the words to myself. Again, my obsessive studying helps.
“Add our blood to the circle too—probably our palms would be easiest?”
“Not a finger?” asks Ash hoarsely.
“Might not be enough,” I reply, not looking up from the book.
“Omigod!” exclaims Andrei. “You don’t like the sight of blood, do you, Ash?”
Ash swallows again. “I’ll be fine,” he says through gritted teeth. “Just do this quickly.”
“You won’t pass out, will you?” I ask.
"Ashen Ash," says Andrei with a chuckle.
Ash throws him a filthy look then kneels by the rune. He snatches the letter opener from me and slashes his palm before slamming his hand onto the rune. “Hurry up,” Ash says as beads of sweat spring up on his forehead.
I place myself away from Andrei, close to Ash. Am I worried Andrei will attack me? A little, but he must trust himself.
He senses my hesitation. “Jamie. This is for Maeve. I’ll focus on her in my mind and shut you out. Get on with this before Ash faints."
I blink at him reading my thoughts and Ash swears at him. As with the others, I cut my palm in a quick move and join them in placing my hand on Andrei's rune.
"Andrei. Picture where you were that day. Try and imagine yourself there."
He nods and with the book balanced on my knee, I begin the incantation.
“Teleportation,” mumbles Ash. “Crazy. I never knew this existed.”
“You wouldn’t believe the shit the Blackwoods can do,” says Andrei, voice muffled by his other arm across his nose and mouth.
Please let me contain residual Blackwood magic and this works.
The last word is barely from my lips when the room begins to spin. Did I expect a flash of light? A tunnel opening? None of that happens. Instead, excruciating pain roars through my body as if people either side of me are tearing my limbs away and punching a hole in my stomach. My heart judders and stops for a second.
Did we do something wrong? Has the spell backfired, and the magic is killing us?
The agony builds and I'm happy to succumb as darkness wipes me from the world.
Chapter Fourteen
ANDREI
I’m face down on soft grass, the earthy smell mingling with the scent of witch blood. Maeve?
I roll onto my back and squint at the stars through the willow tree branches. My body aches as if an attacker jumped up and down on me, but I can’t remember fighting anybody. Where the hell am I?
The witch blood scent lingers, and I sit to examine my clothes. Did I lose control and do something unthinkable? Please, no.
I move my heavy head to take in more of my surroundings. Jamie rests against the tree trunk clasping a black book to his chest, eyes closed. Nearby somebody retches—Ash stands at another tree, steadying himself as he vomits.
The spell.
Did this work? I struggle to my feet and stagger towards the edge of the copse we’re in. I’ve seen the Blackwood manor house once, but the unusual building sticks in my memory. My parents owned a large house, colder and emptier since my mother and sister left, but that seemed like a cottage compared to the house spanning the space of a terraced street. The white facade seems to glow in the night and windows on the ground floor are lit. From here, I can see half a dozen cars parked outside, but nobody around.
Somebody appears beside me and I instantly know who.
“Jamie. Move away.” I hold my breath, pissed off I’ve no gum in my pocket. "Blood."
He shuffles backwards and I take a deep breath, switching my focus to the countryside—the smell of wildflowers amongst the grass, the sap in the tree bark, the earth. I relax when the breeze blows Jamie’s scent away from me.
“Give me the grimoire,” I say and hold my hand out. Jamie clutches the book tighter to his chest. “Jamie. This is why we’re here.”
A shaky Ash steps forward and wipes his brow. “We. You’re not marching through those gates with the grimoire in your hands. We might never see you again.”
“Yeah, but Maeve would be free.” Why don’t they understand my priority here? I don’t know why my mother suddenly wants to see me, and expect I won’t like the reason, but if this works, I’m willing.
Or we could be walking into a trap.
“Nobody walks in there alone,” says Jamie. "You don't honestly believe they'll keep their word, do you?"
“Nobody walks in there, period,” says an unfamiliar voice.
A man around Tobias’s age, with brown curls reaching his ears, looks at us with amused curiosity. His lean legs end in heavy black boots and he wears a chequered shirt open across a dark-coloured T-shirt.
“Who are you?” asks Ash sharply.
“He's not a Blackwood.” Jamie narrows his eyes. “But you are a witch.”
“Correct. Now explain to me why you’re loitering outside their estate. Where the hell did you come from?” His scrutiny drops to Jamie’s fingers stained in blood and the grimoire in his hand. “Is that book what I think it is?”
Jamie holds the book behind his back and Ash moves shoulder to shoulder with him. “Who are you?” he repeats.
“Again, why are a bunch of kids hanging around out here? Have you been playing with magic you don’t understand and found yourself in a mess?”
“No, this was deliberate,” I say.
The man rubs a thumb across his lips. “You want to join the Blackwoods? That makes no sense—especially you.” He gestures at Ash. "They'd flay you alive."
"Nice," I mutter.
“You don’t understand, we—" begins Jamie.
“Don’t tell him anything,” I interrupt.
The man walks over to me and a strange odour of ash and earth interferes with me scanning his mind. “What’s your name?”
“What’s yours?" I retort as our eyes lock.
“Alaric.”
“Andrei.”
He cocks a brow. “Tepes?”
“There's more than one vampire called Andrei.”
Our gazes remain focused on each other.
“Yes, but you’re the right age and attitude.” He chuckles. “Your mother is visiting the Blackwoods, did you know?”
“Yes, but that’s not why we’re here. I’ve fuck-all interest in joining my mother.”
“Ah. So, you are Andrei Tepes. Which means you’re Jamie,” he says and nods at him. He turns to Ash. “Andy?”