Shadow's Grace, page 14
“What did the skull look like?” A male’s voice drew her attention. An older gentleman hovered around her, his clothes making her think he was at least a hundred years old. Ariel looked up and tried not to wince when she heard the door crack above. Angry voices and snarls echoed around the high ceilings.
Ariel quickly described the item and where they found it. “We think it has something to do with necromancy. Please, is there anything here? It would have arrived about a hundred years ago with Italian passengers.”
“We have two items like that,” the man said. He moved towards the bookshelves. Ariel followed, frantically looking back. The door cracked open and the first vampire burst through. Vio moved faster than her eyes could follow, and suddenly a vampire’s head fell to the floor. She stifled a scream. The older man looked up.
“You’re short on time,” he said over the sounds of battle. “I understand you’re a healer,” he added when they stopped about halfway down the rows of bookshelves.
“A healer?” she asked. He moved to the far end.
“Someone who heals broken souls.” Ariel didn’t think of it that way. She thought she was being attacked, not some kind of . . . ghost therapist.
“I don’t know. My aunt was the same.”
“It often runs in families. Here are some books that might help you.” He held his hand up. Two books rested on the dusty shelf. One had a black skull on the spine and looked very old. The other was smaller, the binding more recent though still over a hundred years old. She reached up but her fingertips only grazed them.
“Oh come on,” she said. Two screams sounded from above. Ariel didn’t allow herself to take her attention away from the books. She put one foot on the shelf and pushed herself up. She wrapped her trembling hand around the two books he had pointed out and dropped down, shoving them in the satchel.
“Do you have anything else, anything at all, connected to the skull and necromancy?”
“Only about spirit healing.”
“I don’t have time for . . . wait, what do you mean, are you saying spirit healing is connected to necromancy?”
“The laws of the dead are complex and there are many elements that play a role. Spirit healers are one of them.”
Ariel’s skin broke out in gooseflesh. Her abilities were connected to necromancy? Is that why Dennis had asked her to do this? She didn’t have time for that line of thought now. “Show me,” she said.
He nodded and led her two shelves down. Ariel cast a look up. Vio was wrestling with two vampires. He was pressed against the iron railing. “Here,” the librarian said, returning her attention to the shelf. Ariel looked at the three books he pointed at. She grabbed them.
“Ariel!” Vio called. Ariel ran from the stacks to see Vio was now three against one. But that’s not what he was calling about. Ariel’s bladder threatened to loosen when she looked at Royal, covered in blood, eyes narrowed in anger, standing only a few steps away from her. “Ariel, get out of here!” Vio called.
Ariel reached for her amulet. She could use it to get to the balcony, touch Vio, and maybe they could get out of here together. It wasn’t a horrible plan, but she didn’t have a chance to try. Royal was too fast.
Ariel’s head slammed against a bookshelf. She hadn’t even seen Royal move, and now the vampire dug her fingers into Ariel’s shoulders like claws. Ariel screamed and Royal grinned. “You’re going to die slowly, you bitch,” she said. Ariel whimpered.
“She’s weakened,” Rita said, floating to her. Royal slammed Ariel’s back into the shelf again. She hit it with so much force that the self rocked.
“She doesn’t feel weak!” Ariel said through gritted teeth. Royal opened her mouth, extending her fangs.
“You’re not defenceless!” Rita said. Ariel remembered the blades. She tore off her sleeves, which had been loosened for easy access. With her arms bare, she easily drew the daggers Death had gifted her. She sliced one across Royal’s stomach. Hot blood poured over Ariel’s hands. She hadn’t expected that and nearly gagged from the sensation.
The vampire screamed, the strength of her grip fading. Ariel braced herself against the bookshelf and kicked out at Royal, pushing the vampire back.
“Don’t hesitate!” Vio called. He sounded closer now, like he had joined them on the main floor of the library. Something behind the bookshelves crashed and she suspected it was probably him.
Ariel sliced again, this time across Royal’s chest. And again, across the vampire’s legs. Royal withered under Ariel’s attack. Ariel advanced on the wounded vampire. She had to get to Vio. Had to get them out of here before what luck they had disappeared. But Royal, wounded and desperate, and at least a thousand times stronger than Ariel on a good day, launched herself forward with all her strength. Ariel screamed in panic at the sudden attack and raised her blades. They sliced into Royal so deep that Ariel’s fingers were sucked into the gaping stomach wounds. But still Royal’s momentum pushed them forward.
Ariel’s shoulders screamed in pain when she slammed into the bookshelf. This time, it didn’t just teeter. The entire shelf swayed back, then forth, then back again, until it toppled over. The noise from the bookshelf crashing backwards echoed over the whole room.
Ariel was certain everyone stopped while the shelf toppled, smashing into the one beside it, and then taking down the other, and the other, until most of the dozen bookshelves were in a heap on the floor. Glass shattered. No one had put out the fire above, and smoke now poured into the room. Something screamed, and Ariel realized it was fire alarms. They shrieked, replacing the sound of the destruction, and suddenly Ariel was soaked. Water rained down, trying to protect the room. Books, paintings and artefacts withered under the downpour.
“You!” Royal cried, turning to Ariel with more than rage in her eyes. This was something darker, something beyond murder that Royal wanted for her. Ariel suspected the vampire wanted to destroy her soul.
Royal raised a fist and slammed it into Ariel’s stomach, the power of the blow stealing Ariel’s breath. Ariel screamed silently. Her knees weakened. Another familiar pain decided to join in, and what felt like iron fists clenched around her pelvis. Blood ran down her legs. She gasped for air as her body weakened. In what felt like another world away, she thought she heard Vio calling her name.
“Get us home,” his familiar voice said. He grabbed her hand and shoved something hot and metal into it. Ariel vaguely recognized the amulet. “Now!” he screamed. She couldn’t see, her eyes were watery with pain, but she didn’t need to. She squeezed her eyes and thought of her bathroom.
Chapter 18
Vio
Vio landed hard on the tile floor of Ariel’s bathroom. His knees, already tired and weakened from the fight, groaned in pain. Straining against his multiple other aches, he raised his arms to brace her landing. She fell against his chest, her hand still clutching her side where Royal had stabbed her.
“Ariel,” he breathed, fear licking his throat. When he saw the blood running down her legs, he had lost sight of everything else. He had quickly dispatched the two vampires that separated him and Ariel and grabbed her amulet, thrusting it into her hands, praying she had enough strength to make their escape.
She had, and they kneeled on the bathroom floor that was now smeared with their blood. Vio’s hands reached for her dress. “It’s all right, little witch, it’s going to be all right,” he said, mostly to himself. If the wound was too severe, he could get her to take them to a hospital. Which is where, he realized as he started to rip at her dress, he should have told her to take them. But he hadn’t been able to think straight when he saw her blood.
“Vio, I’m . . . it’s . . . not . . .”
“Hush,” he said, and tore her dress open. The fabric yielded under his force. Her body jerked and she gasped, trying to get air after the force of Royal’s blow had left her breathless.
“No, you don’t understand,” she said, her voice steadying. Vio frowned. His hands ran over her stomach, searching for the wound, but all he saw was soft, smooth skin, and a violet bruise forming. He looked lower, wondering if Royal’s blade had gone into the pelvis area. But there was no wound, only black panties, soaked in blood that poured freely down her legs.
“Oh,” he breathed. He grinned, and chuckled, his relief that she hadn’t been stabbed so deep he couldn’t help from smiling.
“You’re laughing?” she rasped. Her hand gripped his shoulder, her fingers digging in deeper with each inhale.
“Shit, little witch, you scared me. I thought she stabbed you. But it’s just . . . ah, nature,” he said.
“Yea it’s fucking awesome,” she cursed. Vio winced. He guided the satchel from her shoulder and pried her fingers away. He unbuttoned his shirt and stripped it off his body to wrap around her, closing it over her exposed chest. It went down to her knees, longer than the dress he had shredded.
“Let me get you a bath,” he said, remembering her telling him how painful her periods had been. I was in so much pain I thought I was hallucinating, she had said.
“I think I need ice . . . forever everything.”
“I’ll get you an icepack while the tub fills,” he said, turning on the hot water. He hesitated at the door, uncomfortable with leaving her alone. “I’ll just be a minute,” he said. He motioned for the chair, and she nodded before she sank down on trembling legs.
Vio dashed down the stairs and into the kitchen. He grabbed three icepacks from the freezer and rushed back upstairs. Ariel was still on the chair, her boots cast aside, her chest bowed to her knees, her fingers intertwined and the knuckles white. Steam coiled from the tub as it filled with hot water.
“Here,” he said, dropping to his knees before her. He pressed one of the ice packs against her stomach.
“Thanks,” she whispered, and winced when the cold seeped through his shirt.
“Anywhere else?”
Ariel shook her head. “What about you? You’re . . . oh,” she said, her eyes raking over his naked chest and the patchwork of wounds from the battle. She settled her gaze on the stab wound, where fresh blood still seeped down his skin. Her free hand moved to him, her fingers grazing the raw opening. “Vio . . .” she looked up, eyes wide with fear.
“I’ll be all right,” he said, taking her hand in his and moving it away. Though he didn’t release her.
“But you were stabbed!”
“I’ll heal. I always do.”
She opened then closed her mouth, deciding on a frown. “Okay,” she conceded. She looked closely at his exposed chest. “You don’t scar,” she observed.
Vio shook his head. “I only have three,” he said, and her eyes fell to the scars that Klassen had given him, which he had tattooed with the gold and black roses and thorns. “He won’t even permit my body to have a history.”
“We’ll find him,” she said.
Vio nodded and looked at the tub. “Looks full. You should get in. I’ll go have a shower.” Her grip on him tightened.
“You’re leaving?” She couldn’t hide the tremor of fear from her voice. “Right, of course you are,” she said, reluctantly releasing him. She winced when she did and curled in on herself.
“Ariel –”
“It’s fine, I’m fine,” she cut him off. “Really. I’m not as weak as you think.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have made you feel like that. I shouldn’t have told you that your gift was a weakness, therefore a liability. I shouldn’t have made you feel that you were a burden. Dennis is right, your gift is invaluable. In just two days, you’ve been able to do what I couldn’t in ten years. I can’t do this without you, and I don’t want to do it alone.”
“Really? Even though I’m just –”
“Stop,” Vio said, taking her face in his hands. He shifted her head so she met his gaze. In the steamy room, her hair curled around her pale skin. “You’re not a just anything. And I shouldn’t have made you think you were.”
“Thank you,” she said, smiling.
“Let me help you into the tub. I’ll shower in here.” He swept her into his arms. She winced and leaned her head against his shoulder. His shirt strained against her chest, exposing most of her breasts. He swallowed down his desire, which wasn’t just physical this time. She was hurt and terrified, yet her vulnerability drew him in. He forced himself to focus on less desirable thoughts. It gave him the strength to ask, “do you need help with undressing?”
She hesitated. He wondered if it was only her period that stopped her from agreeing. “No, I’ll be okay,” she said.
“Do you have everything you need here, or should I make a run to the store?”
Ariel met his eyes. “You’d do that?”
Vio frowned. “Of course.”
“Oh, it’s just that most men, ah, don’t like this stuff.”
“Men who don’t like this stuff are cowards. If you can’t handle that a woman bleeds, you can’t handle a woman.”
Ariel laughed, the lightness in her voice sending a reassuring shiver through his body. He was worried that maybe tonight had been too much. That maybe she would decide this wasn’t worth the pain, and walk away. Especially since they were just getting started.
“I’ll get in the shower,” he said, and hated doing it but forced himself to let her go. He steadied her on her feet before the tub. As he slipped away, her fingers grazed his stomach, making him inhale slowly as he thought of those fingers going lower. Vio stepped into the shower unit behind the tub and yanked the curtain closed on him, the force breaking off three of the plastic rings.
“You okay?” she asked, and he could practically see the twitch of a smile on her lips from the other side of the curtain.
“Fine.” He said the word like a curse and dropped his hands to his belt. As he yanked the leather free, he heard her clothes drop to the floor. And a few winces and inhales as she maneuvered herself into the tub.
“Oh,” she moaned, sinking into the hot water. Vio shucked off his trousers and socks and turned on the shower. With the water running, he risked a peek out of the curtain. Ariel’s arms were above her head, twisting her dark hair into a bun. He couldn’t see below the surface of the water, but one of her knees broke through, exposing her glistening skin. Vio’s groin twitched. A sudden image of joining her, while she took his hardness in her mouth, flashed through him like a surge of electricity.
Gritting his teeth, he stepped fully under the hot water, hissing as it stung his open wounds. But it achieved his goal of damping his spiraling desire. Pain was always grounding. With her period, there was a chance they had a few days of respite from lusting after one another. Maybe he would even be dead before she finished. For the first time since wanting to die, the thought of being dead brought him little joy.
With his desire pushed to the back of his mind where it belonged, Vio turned off the water. He grabbed a towel and dried off, wrapping it around his waist before stepping out. The room was thick with steam; all the mirrors and surfaces covered in condensation. Ariel’s dark hair was a beacon through the mist. He crossed the room slowly and took a seat on the chair.
“Feeling better?” he asked. Ariel’s dark lashes fluttered open. She smiled at him, and it nearly undid the wall of painful distraction the shower had built.
“Much better,” she said. “Thank you.” Her eyes traced over his body, in nothing but a towel. Did she just arch her back? “Heat always helps. And nothing helps like a hot bath.” Vio watched a bead of sweat roll down her collar bone and into the water. “It takes all the pain away.” She frowned, clearly in thought. “Can I ask you something personal?”
“You can ask anything you want, but I might not answer,” he said, the dread rising forward. Was he about to turn into a parlor trick?
“Never mind,” she said. He wanted to let her drop it, but a flush ran up her rosy cheeks, and he wanted confirmation that she was like all the others.
“Tell me,” he said, his voice stern.
“No, it was stupid. Just a thought that popped into my head that I shouldn’t have voiced.”
“Tell me,” he said again.
Ariel sighed, but nodded. “We seem to be heavy on water moments. I’m sure it’s not surprising that my aunt was big into Astrology. It made me think maybe you’re also a water sign, like me. I was wondering when your birthday is. But then, God, what a stupid, insensitive thing to think. I’m sorry.”
Vio’s lips parted in surprise. “No one has ever asked me that,” he whispered. “Especially no one who knew what I am.” She had asked another question that made him human, not a specimen. She thought of him as a human.
“I thought you’d be a Scorpio,” she said in the heavy silence.
Vio cleared his throat. “And you?”
“Pisces,” she said.
“My little witch is also a little fish,” he said, trying to defuse the shame she clearly felt. “Don’t feel bad about your question, Ariel. Honestly. I’d rather you ask something . . .” he closed his eyes, his hands clenching into fists as he sought the strength to continue, “that makes me seem like a human, and not a parlor trick.”
Ariel gasped. Vio looked at her. When their eyes met, her understanding of his pain reached his core. “I’m so sorry that’s happened to you.” She inhaled a shaking breath. “It’s happened to me, too. It’s why I haven’t told others about my abilities in a long time,” she confessed. “I’m sure you can imagine all the ways it went horribly. I learned quickly, even before I was out of my teens, to stop sharing that I could see ghosts.”
Vio nodded. Without her elaborating, he could imagine the ways she would have been asked to either prove her ability, or for others to want to exploit it. And when she couldn’t give them what they wanted, they would have abandoned her, or worse.
“It’s lonely,” she said. She brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around them.
“I know.” He wanted to reach for her, wanted to sink down beside her and embrace her and tell her she wasn’t alone. But it wouldn’t be fair to give that to her for such a short time. He had already made his deal with Death. And there was no ending for them. If he stayed alive for another fifty or even hundred years to keep her from being alone, he eventually would be again. Their story only ended one way, and that was with one of them dead while the other was left to mourn for far too long. But would it be so horrible to offer a moment of comfort before then?
