“Some said they felt the mark’s thorns digging into their skin. Others had nightmares so vivid they were afraid to fall asleep—and finally, those who left their soon-to-be masters would start hallucinating. But they could only run until the full moon. Then they’d all come crawling back as loyal servants.”
“What am I supposed to do?” I ask, not letting my voice crack.
“Considering that the symptoms worsen if you are apart, you’ll have to stay as close as you can.”
He hangs up shortly after this. I stare across the room at the coffin, unable to shake off the dread weighing down my chest. I still have time to take another allicin pill. Reverse this. But as soon as I think it, the ending of my nightmare flashes in my mind, Aliz clawing at her neck, unable to breathe.
If I can’t move rooms, at the very least I need to find something to keep me safe while I sleep.
Maybe it won’t be so bad. Julia responded quite well, all things considered, to the scent of my blood. But I can’t expect the same from Aliz. Even when my blood had no smell, she still craved it. We can’t risk her being in that state again, especially when I don’t know if I’ll keep my own senses in check.
I glance at some of the books on Aliz’s desk, amongst them is one of the grimoires I found in Kinsnet’s archive,Beiteag’s Book of Spells.When I was a kid, my dad and I watchedHocus Pocusevery Halloween, and I remember one of the characters using salt to ward off the witches. So, I leaf through the book, searching for that word in particular, and a hundred pages in, I findit.
Saltward for All Creatures: Vampires, Wolves, Goblins, the Fae, and More.
I steal a saltshaker from the dining hall, and then set the book open on the ground, reading the instructions twice, to make sure I don’t skip anything. The trick is to call whatever is inside the perimeter yourhouse,because vampires would then require an invitation to step inside. And seemingly, according to the grimoire, so do wolves, goblins, the fae, andmore.Whatevermoreis.
Carefully, I draw my barrier around the bed. I glance back down at the book and say “This is my house.” I step back and gasp when a soft blue light emanates from the powder. I don’t know how or why, but it might just work. “Wow,” I say.
I inspect every inch of the line just to make sure there are no open spots that will nullify its effects. Then, once I’ve bitten my nails down to the quick, I unlock my new phone. Aliz hasn’t texted me. It’s nearing onea.m.Hopefully she won’t come back until five. We’ll only be in the same room for an hour.
I get into bed, close the curtains, and finally send a text.
I have to tell you something.
i’m listening
Aliz’s reply is instant. She must have been holding her phone.
I’ve stopped taking my garlic supplements.
I wait for her to reply. Instead, her display picture pops up on my screen, a picture of her with slightly longer hair and a pair of sunglasses resting on the tip of her nose as she stares at the camera.Fuck, she’s gorgeous.The phone vibrates, and I answer the call, expecting to hear anger.
Instead, she says, “I know why you’ve stopped.”
I sigh, lying back on my bed. “You do?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea, Cassie,” she says. “I mean—thanks for not wanting to kill me, but your blood, smelling the way it did before, was already hard to resist.”
“The full moon is still three weeks away,” I say, and she falls silent. “We don’t know what’s going to change. If I stay on the garlic, the mark will trick you into thinking my blood smells good, anyway.” I look down at my nails, uneven now that I’ve started biting them again. “I can’t risk you getting hurt.”
“Faust said that if I bit you, we’d seal the contract. I can’t risk you becoming my Familiar.”
“I’m not going to,” I say, swallowing hard. “I won’t let you bite me. No matter what.”
“What if I compel you?”
“You won’t.” If I tell her I’m immune, all her panic would disappear. But I would be giving myself away if I did that. “I trust you.”
“I’ll move to a different room,” she says. “I can stay in my sister’s house.”
My throat tightens, and I tell her about the conversation I just had with Nocth. About the proximity we must keep.
“I’ve left an air freshener next to the door, so you can spray the room as soon as you walk in. Oh, and wear a mask. Did you find any remedies for your thirst?”
“One book said to drink as much blood as possible,” she says. “So, that’s what I’m doing. Have you had any luck in the tunnels?”
I tell her about the flat tunnels, and the Gaelic words which appeared upon the wall. With the phone still pressed to my ear, keeping it in place with my shoulder, I read the translation in my notebook. “ ‘Dear sister, you have my blood.’ The rest of the words vanished before I could write them.”
