Page 27 of Accidental Blood Lust
I’ve never been particularly good at the location spell, but I’m hoping the connection I have with Roman will help boost it since they’re together.
Sitting in my courtyard, the moon shining bright in the sky and providing enough light for me to see, I mix my components into the mortar and pestle—a bit of lavender, mixed herbs from my garden, the dried tea leaves from the cup Roman drank from, and Lochlan’s hair. At the last minute, I feel compelled to sprinkle cinnamon into the mixture, so I do that before lighting my candle; purple, to help strengthen my psychic connection to Loch.
Then I sit back and whisper the words I’ve been studying all day. The mixture begins to spark and hum with energy, and as it does, my body warms. It’s working. I close my eyes and reallyfocus on Lochlan’s gorgeous face, his strong body, the joyful smile I was lucky enough to see every day for so long.
His face is so clear I can almost smell him, but then the vision shifts. His smile turns deadly, his fangs protruding dangerously from his lips as he attacks someone, tearing their flesh from their bones and covering himself in their blood. He sneers at me, licking his lips before returning to his morbid meal.
I flip the bowl over, immediately losing my connection to him, and my shoulders slump. He wouldn’t do that, I know in my heart he wouldn’t be a heartless killer, but it’s impossible to think of him without remembering what was done to me. What if his vampiric nature takes over and he can’t help it? What if he hurts people? Or worse?
Unshed tears sting my eyes as I lean my head back to let the moonlight fall on my face. Gods, I would give anything to turn back the clock and show him how important he is to me before he made such an epically bad decision.
Deciding to clean up my mess, I flip the bowl over again, but I gasp as I see how the tea leaves fell. Oh gods. A message.
I run my fingers over the leaves, jumping slightly when they fizzle and snap. Oh. Oh no.
Lochlan is in trouble. I read the leaves intently, looking for subtleties. I don’t feel Roman’s energy with him, which leads me to believe he’s done exactly what he did to me and pulled a disappearing act; a feat I bet is much easier now that he’s a vampire.
Fuck. I need to find Roman. He’s told me how to get to him before but I’ve never done it. No time like the present though. I’m used to waiting for him to decide to visit, but this feels urgent.
Lochlan’s life may depend on it.
LOCHLAN
Creepingthrough the darkness of the compound, I wonder for a moment how I’m going to get out of here without Roman’s help, but I have to. I’m screwing everything up and now the only sort-of friend I have is uncomfortable with me too.
I need help, and not the kind Cassius, Roman, or even Jareth can give me. I need to reverse what’s happened to me. Maybe then I can try to salvage my relationship.
As I walk, I try to ignore the warm tingle still dancing on my lips from Roman’s kiss, but it’s useless. Why did it feel so good? So right? And his blood… It was delicious. It was like feeding from Jareth—warm, filling, sustaining. It tasted sweet and cinnamony, like my favorite breakfast pastries I used to eat before my change. My stomach growls with want, but I keep walking until I find a door that leads outside.
The underworld is dark, as expected, but the terrain isn’t what I thought it would be. I guess I pictured it looking like a Gothic haven, but except for the lack of sunlight and cars, it reminds me of a moderately sized city. The major difference is the inhabitants. With so many faceless beings floating around, it’s immediately clear that this isn’t the mortal world. Some of the beings who pass me have more fully formed bodies, with horns and tails, and I assume they’re demons. Everyone ignores me though.
I step out beyond the gates, taking in the craggy rocks surrounding the compound, then look around. One of these beings has to know how to get out of here.
A small figure bounces by me as if skipping, and there’s an air of lightness and innocence surrounding it.
“Excuse me.” I hurry behind it and when it turns to face me, my breath catches. It appears to be a young person, not quite ateenager. Half her face is scarred with horrific burns while the other half is unblemished.
She smiles at me. “Hello.”
“Hi. Um, can you tell me how to get out of here? I mean back up where the mortals live?”
She pokes my chest several times. “You are not dead.” Her voice sounds strange, disconnected somehow.
“No,” I answer. “Well… kind of, but I don’t belong here.” I correct. “I’m a vampire.”
“You don’t belong here,” she singsongs. “I will find the guards.”
“No, please. I just want to go home.”
“Guards will help.” She skips off before I can stop her, disappearing into a mist.
I panic, looking around. I don’t want to find out what underworld guards do if they find a non-dead entity among them. I tear off in the opposite direction from the girl, hiding behind a column of stone and breathing hard while I try to collect my thoughts.
I probably need an escort, but where am I gonna get one of those without telling Roman? I peer around the stones, noting a group gathering. Demons, I’m guessing from their looks. Their skins are all different colors, ranging from white to a deep purple, but the tails and horns give them away. A couple of them even have wings.
As I watch them, they start to look translucent, so I make a hasty decision and run over to grab someone’s legs. A sense of crushing pressure and pure darkness comes over me, and seconds later, I’m on the ground in the middle of a busy sidewalk.
The demon whose legs I’m holding looks down at me with a snarl on his lips. Time to go.
