We didn’t have time to go back and get Apep’s other fang.
Idris wailed on me with his fists and showed no signs of letting me up. My ribs cracked as my torso got pulverized by his onslaught. I remembered how he tried to trick me into drinking his blood so I’d be bound to him, but Grim just said I was free. Grabbing the back of his neck, I hauled him down and bit into him. He yelped as I sucked his blood. Like Grim said, no bond formed. I was my own vampire, and I was quickly downing the god’s blood, absorbing his power and energy.
Idiris cried out in pain, ripping away from me. He covered his neck with a hand, trying to staunch the bleeding. Stumbling back, he regarded me with new wariness. Blood spattered his white attire from Miranda’s shots and my bite.
I rose to my feet, squaring off against him. Energy thrummed through me. Grim had brought me from the brink and Idris’s blood served as jet fuel. I’d be happy to give him a taste of his own medicine.
A beat passed between us.
Then Idris turned and ran away with his tail tucked between his legs.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Miranda hovering over Aaron. He lay on the ground, his face pale. I could hear his heart beating, but it was too slow. They got caught in the crossfire and I didn’t see how it happened. Too much was happening too fast.
I felt a tingle at the base of my neck. Sekhmet was trying to take over my mind even as she fought Grim. She wanted to send me after him, too.
But I was fueled up on not one but two gods, and I wasn’t ready to be put in time-out. I pushed back on the invisible force, easily brushing it off. Then I went for her mind. Perhaps I could control her the way she controlled me now that I was a super vampire.
Next to the Original, I could feel the drop of blood that connected us. The one I’d drunk that turned me into a vampire. I tumbled inside her head and right into hell.
To be this close to her was to be dropped into madness. I felt her rage, her restlessness, her thirst. Always thirsty, she never had a moment of peace.
But Sekhmet had found tranquility in her slumber. I felt the part of her that longed to return to slumber. She knew she didn’t belong here in this new world. She didn’t want to look after her children; she wanted to dream of sunshine and flowers.
Grim and Sekhmet traded blows that made the building shake. But I’d weakened him, and she was pounding him down steadily.
So much energy, stored over too long of time. It would take an ocean of blood to calm her. Always seeking the next fix exhausted her, but she could never stop.
Reaching out again, I met Sekhmet on her level. “Bite him,” I urged. Closing my eyes, I pressed into Sekhmet’s mind and worked to suppress the beast inside. It wasn’t as hard as I thought. She wanted to submit too badly that I helped guide her past the violent madness.
Sekhmet’s fangs sunk into Grim’s arm. Blood gushed from where she punctured his flesh. Surprise shone from his glowing eyes. The blood bond formed instantly, and he wasted no time.
Grim’s death mask flickered as he accessed his power.
“Sleep,” he commanded in a layered voice.
Sekhmet’s face cleared of the bloodthirsty rage long enough to send me a look of gratitude. Grim caught her before she could hit the ground. Once again, her face reverted to a peaceful expression, as I knew she’d returned to the slumber she truly desired.
26
Vivien
Galina cried out as she reached for her sister. But she was too late.
Sekhmet bit Grim, and the only way to free her sister was to kill Grim again.
Everything quieted now. Galina’s fingers slowly curled into her palm as I watched something in her break. I discovered Miranda at my side, holding the Blade of Bane out at Galina, in warning.
“She didn’t want to be awake. I saw into her mind,” I said to Galina. “She slept most of her life away and in that place she’d found peace. Here she was hungry. Always hungry. Nothing was ever enough, and she wished for peace.”
Galina straightened, her expression emptying. “I would have given her whatever she wanted.”
I opened my mouth to say the price was too high, but I closed it when I looked at Grim.
I’d do anything to bring him back, and I did. My heart felt her pain. We really weren’t that different. I could tell myself that this world needed Grim. But the truth was, I did.
“You can’t change the beginning, but you can change the ending,” I reminded Galina of her own message. Even if the new course didn’t include her sister, there was a way forward. Granted, she’d have to pay for all the damage she’d done, but I sensed no fear in her.
“You’re right,” she said, eyes turning down in thought. Then, with lightning quickness, she reached out and yanked Miranda’s elbow up before impaling herself on the Blade of Bane.
