“I need to put this over his chest,” he said to Hacinda, who pulled the covers down and unbuttoned the front of Mario's shirt. Mario still did not stir.
She nodded and gripped Mario's hand.
Lucius took the bright yellow stone and placed it on Mario's chest.
At first, nothing happened, but then it pulsed.
Mario stirred and then began convulsing.
“Hold him,” he said to Tavia.
Tavia went around him and pressed on Mario's chest, with Hacinda on the other side. Mario's eyes opened, the natural color replaced by red and milky eyes.
He yelled, and the scream tore through the bedroom, causing Hacinda to scream, “Stop it. Stop it. It's hurting him more.”
“Wait,” Tavia said. “Look.”
Starting from Mario's hands, the black veins started retreating.
“It's working,” Tavia added, stunned by the sight.
She looked over at Hacinda, who started crying. Lucius continued to hold the gem on to Mario's chest as he convulsed and yelled. But as the dark veins retreated, color began returning to the human's face, his pale skin shifting to a warm peachy tone. His milky white eyes were replaced with brilliant blue. The ashy tone of his blonde hair returned, as blonde as the yellow in this gem.
His screams subsided as the gem began darkening.
It felt hot in Lucius' hand, but once all the black veins had disappeared, Lucius pulled the gem away. Then, in his palm, he created fire so bright and blue that it melted away the stone, removing any darkness the gem had collected.
Mario breathed heavily, and Hacinda leaned over him.
“Mario?” She blinked.
“What... I feel?” He licked his lips. “I'm healed.”
He looked over at Lucius, and Tavia stepped back, her eyes misty as she smiled.
Hacinda threw herself over Mario as he hugged her back.
“I think our work here is done,” Lucius leaned overto Tavia.
Hacinda looked over and smiled.
“Thank you,” she whispered, crying, as the human sat up and, probably for the first time in decades, hugged his wife back.
Lucius grabbed Tavia's hand, and they excused themselves from the home, gripping each other's hands as they walked down the street.
“I can't believe that worked,” Tavia said.
“But Lucius . . .” she stopped. “This whole heist was to get that for you. Why would you waste it?”
“How could I not?” he said, brushing her cheek with the back of his fingers. “Once, Hacinda was a dear friend of mine, and I never understood how she could have betrayed me. But I do now, and I'm not angry. I should be, but I'm not.”
“But the gem . . . and what about the Brotherhood? The ones who she betrayed you to? Won’t they come? What if she tells them?”
“Don't you worry, pretty dove,” he said, leaning over and grabbing her face. “I know what was in there, and now we know it works. I don't know if he's still a vampyre, but it healed him. And we never knew if itwas going to take away the fact that I was turned. It did what most light crystals do, and maybe that's all it was meant to.”
Lucius sighed. “And as far as the Brotherhood is concerned, well, we will have to wait and see, but I’m not worried about Hacinda. If what she said is true, she’ll be gone from the Golden City by morning.”
“But we should celebrate.” He slid his hands down to her waist, a smile returning to his face. “We went to a magnificent ball that I thoroughly enjoyed—most of it. Our heist was successful. I have my beloved pocket watch back, and we saved someone’s life.”
