Just like before.
Kneeling in the cold red mud, I stare at the space he vacated for a long time. Hours? Days? Again, time is lost on me. My eyes fixate on the Chalice, the bone a pale slash against the ruddy earth. I reach for it, but I don’t dare touch it.
I can’t. Not now. It’s his. It should’ve been his. I shouldn’t even be here.
We need to leave… We could end up trapped here…
The wind shifts, and a shadow falls over my face. A swath of bright red fabric caresses my hands, still hovering over the Chalice.
“Stevie,” I gasp, memories slamming into me, chasing away the confusion.
Dream realm. Twisted memories. We need to leave.
I look up, eager to see her smile, to see those wild curls blowing around her face.
But when I tilt my face up toward the moonlight, I don’t find the woman I love, standing in her red vampire princess gown.
It’s our enemy, Dark Judgment, towering over me in his blood-stained robes, the Wand burning like a smoldering branch in his hand.
“Did you and Xavier enjoy your visit?” he asks. “I know you must miss him terribly after all these years.”
My chest burns, the bare flesh over my heart glowing with his double-X brand. But this time, I don’t even flinch. I’m numb. Broken. Empty.
“There is no pain you can inflict that I haven’t already inflicted upon myself,” I say. “So do your worst, Dark Druid. I’m well beyond aching at your cruel command.”
He laughs, a sound as dark and bitter as a primordial wind. “Oh, Cassius. You make this too easy.”
He steps aside, revealing a silent figure kneeling obediently behind him.
She’s dressed in nothing but a sky-blue men’s dress shirt, matted curls hanging loose around her shoulders, blood leaking from her eyes. In her hands, the Chalice glows like the moon, the alchemical symbols blazing.
“The blood of the Unworthy is yours, child,” he says. “Drink.”
She lifts the vessel to her lips.
“Stevie, no!” I lunge for her, my hands wrapping around the edge of the bone, but it’s too late. Her mouth is stained red, the dark liquid running down her chin. I try to pull her close, try to kiss the blood from her mouth, but it’s too late.I’mtoo late.
She slides out of arms and tips into the water.
Without a second thought, I dive in after her, following the shape of her into the blood-red light.
Fifteen
KIRIN
My head is a ringing bell, the sound so all-encompassing it makes the room tilt sideways. Sparks of light dance before my eyes. I can’t catch my breath. Can’t see through the blinding flashes of magick igniting the air.
Out of the haze, rough hands grab my shirt, hauling me to my feet and shoving me behind a bookcase just as another blast descends.
All around us, glass shatters, books topple, magick explodes. The chaos finally breaks through the shock, snapping me to attention. Another blast rockets down the staircase, and Baz grabs my arm, portaling us out of there just before the room collapses.
We land hard in the middle of the main storage room above, just in time to see a half-dozen black-cloaked mages closing in on Casey at the other end of the room. Quintana is on his back beside her, blood leaking from his temple. My sister’s got her gun drawn, but she doesn’t know where to aim—the mages are too quick and elusive, like ants scurrying over spilled sugar.
“Casey!” I shout.
From across the room, her gaze locks on mine, her eyes widening with new fear.
“Get out of here!” she shouts.
