Alaric led me to the left side of the space, placing his satchel and jacket on the bottom row of the bleachers. I followed suit, putting my jacket and bag to the side. I pulled at my sweater, trying to cover my new gold tattoos that still itched a little bit. When he turned around, gone was his smug expression. His face fell, his eyes narrowing where the tattoo crept up my neck towards my ear. He took two large steps, his hands pulling my collar down so he could get a better look at the extent of the tattoo. I tried and failed not to shiver as his fingertips brushed against my skin, his breath so close I could feel it against my ear.
“Oh, yeah.” I tried to joke. “This happened earlier today. Normal Bloodwright thing, right?”
Alaric didn’t speak, his eyes full of horror and what looked like worry as he gingerly pushed my sleeve up to see how much further the tattoo went. He glanced to my right hand, pulling it up for him to inspect, a quick sigh of relief when he saw the ring still firmly in place. But then his eyes grew dark, looking up to meet mine.Oh no. I was in trouble.
“Did you take this ring off, Mari?” His voice was pure venom, animalistic in the accusation.
My mouth dried at the intense way he was looking at me. I felt trapped, my limbs numb as he towered over me, his firm grip on my hand lockingme in place.
“I didn’t mean to,” I whispered, afraid of what he would do in response. At that moment, I was scared of Alaric for the first time. He looked capable of anything.
His grip on me loosened slightly. “What do you mean you didn’t mean to?”
“There was a memorial service for Ashe Gilmore.” I rambled, the words pouring out quickly. “It was at the Presbyterian church down the street. When I walked in, I started to feel really cold, and then there were voices, and my ring got really hot, like really painful, and I just wanted the pain to stop so I took the ring off. But then the voices got so much louder, and my head felt like it was going to explode, but I think I heard Ashe talking to me, specifically. But then I saw my ring on the floor, so I put it back on.”
My voice faded as I finished my explanation. His dark eyes never left mine; his expression was impossible to read.
“Did it ever occur to you that the ring was trying to warn you to leave?” His voice was sharp, biting.
I nodded. “Yeah, but I didn’t know for sure. I was just trying to be a good friend and be there for Sara-Kate.”
“I guess I have only myself to blame for not spelling this out for you,” he replied, the cold rage shimmering just below the surface. “But when I said Bloodwrights are essentially a key to the veil between life and death, what made you think a centuries-old church, let alone afuckingfuneral, would be a good idea for you to go to?”
I stood mute, my cheeks heating with embarrassment.
He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. “You areneverto take this ring off without me present.Ever. Do you understand?”
I nodded silently. He took a step back, running his hand through his hair that hung around his shoulders instead of its usual bun at the nape of his neck. He pulled his hair back, and I fought the urge to reach over and run my fingers through it.
I shook my head, trying to clear my mind of completely stupid thoughts. He was pissed at me, and I didnotlike him. I just needed his knowledge.That’s it.
“What does it mean?” I finally found my voice as I pushed my sweater down, covering the gold tattoo that snaked down my arm.
He glanced over at me as he pulled out another ancient book and what looked like an obsidian stone amulet in the shape of an arrowhead, hanging from a leather necklace.
His voice echoed off the walls. “It’s the mark of death. When you allow a death echo to take control without a protective barrier, it will leave a mark. A mark designed to make it easier for the Stonebound to find you.”
“Is there a way to make it go away? Like a spell or something?”
His eyes narrowed. “No, Mari. Once you’ve been marked, there is nothing that can be done.”
My mouth fell open. “But it doesn’t mean I’m going to die, right? Not like Ashe and that man in the park?”
Alaric shook his head, confused. “What are you talking about? What about Ashe and what man in the park?”
After I explained that I had noticed the same golden sigils on both Ashe and the Bosnian man before they had died and how I was pretty sure they both must have been mentor-less emerging Bloodwrights, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. And to his credit, Alaric didn’t interrupt once, letting me explain everything before responding, his voice tight with apprehension.
“You’ve been emerging for two weeks and managed to stay out of the Stonebound's radar. Untrained and emerging Bloodwrights lose their minds, making it obvious for the Stonebound to find them, usually within days of the headaches starting.”
I nodded, trying to take in what this meant for me. “So, they definitely know who I am now, right? What do we do?”
“We train,” he said simply, moving to the edge of the pool and opening the book to a specific page, the obsidian arrowhead acting as a bookmark of sorts. He sat on his knees, patting the ground next to him. I sat near him, putting several inches between us. He rolled his eyes as he pulled me close, our shoulders brushing and knees squeezing together.
“We’re going to need to power share for this to work,” he said as a form of explanation.
I nodded, keeping my eyes on the book versus risking a look into his face, my hands clenching into tight fists in my lap, as the ring thrummed happily, and the urge to reach out and touch Alaric threatened to overtake my common sense.
“Water is an excellent conduit for lingering energy, and seeing as the original building is only around 50 years old, there will not be as many death echoes to wade through. Plus, I’m here to bring you back if you go too far or too deep.” His face, though serious, held kindness and understanding. “You can do this. You just have to stay centered in your own body, your own presence. Don’t let the death echo take control of you; you stay in control of it.”
