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“It was the sword,” she gazed down at the weapon, caressing the ruby. “I imbued this ruby with the power to pull my soul from another dimension should the moonlight ever touch it without me wielding it. It was like a beacon drawing me home, offering me another chance at life. For others this blade has meant death, but for me it’s been something else entirely.”
I felt sick. I thought back to the sword I had left on the throne in full view of the moonlight pouring in through a window. If I had just left it where it had been…
Amara laughed, pouring salt into my wounds. “You see Cassius? I am always one step ahead of you, which just goes to prove that I am the superior vampire, that I am your queen. I am the only one deserving of this title and you may have tricked me for a time, but the simple truth of the matter is that I shall always return, and I shall always emerge triumphant. Soon enough the whole universe is going to know this fact as well, and we shall begin with your little wolf friends.”
“No, no you said that you were going to leave them alone. That was the agreement we had.”
“A Queen does not make agreements,” Amara stepped off her throne and came towards me. I backed away, holding up my hands, but her strides were long and she loomed before me, exposing the full horror of her vampiric features as her eyes became black and her teeth extended to sharp daggers. Her voice hissed as though a snake was leaping from her throat. “I shall tear them limb from limb and hold their beating hearts in my hand, squeezing them until there is nothing left. I will rid the world of them, the only question is whether I will start with your little bitch or end with her. Perhaps I will steal that pendent from her throat and leave her in a cage, after all, that was my property to begin with.”
“Leave her out of this.”
“No Cassius, I won’t. You need to be taught a lesson after your betrayal. Did you truly think you were going to get away with this with some mere punishment? I am not even going to be so easy on you and just make you watch. I am going to make you take part in this. You are going to stand by me once again and you are going to become the vampire you once were. You are going to be just as devoted to me as you always were. I don’t care about all this time we have missed out on. You are still mine. You have always been mine, it just seems like you need a reminder of this.”
The words dripped from her mouth as she advanced towards me, the darkness threatening to swallow me up. I raised my hands to try and defend myself, even though it wouldn’t do any good. The first time she had found me I had been desolate and desperate. I had wanted to find any way out of life, and I had clung to the branch that Amara offered me. I had taken her gift willingly, not knowing any better. But now I did. Now I knew to fight it off with everything I had. I tried to hit her, but she caught my wrists and pinned my arms back. Her grip was like a vice, her fingers digging into my skin. I shook as I put all my strength into fighting her away, but still it wasn’t enough. I arched my neck back. Saliva dripped from her fangs and her hot breath washed over my neck. I closed my eyes, wishing for something to take me away, wishing for someone to save me. I really wanted to open my eyes again and see Willow standing there, thrusting Amara’s sword into her back, but there was nothing to stop Amara from getting what she wanted.
I howled in pain as I felt her fangs pierce my skin. I shuddered as she sucked, knowing that all I had worked for had been taken from me. She was making me hers again. She was taking away all that I had become, and as I felt her dark poison coursing through my veins I thought to myself that this answered the question as to whether the potion would protect me from becoming a vampire again. I felt it all being pulled away from me, all of this joy and freedom that I felt with Willow. I was being pushed back towards a fate that I had tried to escape, but perhaps there had never been any escaping from it. Perhaps Amara had been right and this was the only direction for my life. Maybe I always had been hers…
I closed my eyes and let the pain wash through me. I could feel myself changing inside. It was as though spiders were dancing in my blood. I coughed and choked, the strength being drained from me as she continued sucking my blood, giving me back something that only she could, and I was just as I had been when I was first changed, helpless and powerless, with everything stripped from me.
And I wondered if Willow would ever find it in her heart to love me again.
Chapter Sixteen
Willow
“No… no! No we must find him. Where are they? Where has he gone!” I was in a rage. I beat the ground with my fists. My tears dripped down, and saliva trickled from my lips as sorrow welled within me. It twisted along with the rage and I felt as though I was going to explode. I clawed at the mud and the grass, somehow expecting to find them, even though they were gone. The scent of ash and brimstone was beginning to fade now, but the aching pain in my heart was always going to be there. My eyes stung and I felt so impotent. Even if I had changed into a wolf I wouldn’t have been able to do anything. Amara had taken him, and I hadn’t been able to do a thing about it.
Dad eventually dragged me away, as the other wolves looked at me with pity. I was sitting in his home when Brandon came to see us.
“Is she any better?” he asked my father. I glared at him with sharp eyes.
“I’m right here Brandon. I’m not an invalid,” I snapped.
“I’m sorry,” he said in a halting tone. “Listen, this isn’t what any of us wanted to happen, but it was his choice.”
“No, it wasn’t. He was doing this because he thought he had to, because he feels guilty about all the things he’s done over the years. He’s just trying to be a hero, but he didn’t have to be a hero. I would have protected him. I would have made sure that she wouldn’t have hurt him.”
“And how many wolves would have died in the process Willow? He did what he did because he wanted to save us all. He was a good man.”
It was scant comfort to hear Brandon admit this. “You’re speaking like he’s dead.”
There was a moment of awkward silence that hung in the air. “Willow…” Dad began in a soft tone, the kind of tone you always used to break bad news to someone.
“He’s not dead Dad. She wouldn’t just kill him like that. You don’t know what she’s like. She’s vindictive. After everything Cassius did to her she’ll want to make him pay. He’s going to suffer, and I can’t stand by and let that happen,” I said, rising up and heading towards the door. Dad and Brandon turned towards me.
“What are you doing?” Dad asked.
“I’m going to get him. I’m going to get the book and I’m going to head back to the castle. That’s where she would have taken him. I love him. I’m not just going to leave him there, and after what he did for you, you should come with me as well,” I said. A fire had been lit within my heart and I wasn’t about to let it die. I felt light headed and nauseous, and in truth I probably could have done with a good sleep, but when Cassius was in danger I couldn’t afford to waste any time. I didn’t even want to hear what Brandon and Dad had to say to try and dissuade me. I turned away from them and marched out of the house, but as I did I felt a lurching sensation within me and the world seemed to spin. The stars weren’t where they were supposed to be, but then I realized that it wasn’t the world that was all askew, it was me. Somehow I had fallen without realizing it and my head spun. Was this Amara’s doing as well? Had she found some insidious way to bring me to my knees? I needed to save Cassius. I needed…
My strength faltered as Dad and Brandon rushed out to help me. But the starless darkness closed in on me and there was nothing I could do to fight it. My eyelids grew heavy, as though they were weighed by anchors, and they shut out the world. Was this what death was like?
*
I opened my bleary, tired eyes. There was a sharp ache in my mind, as though someone was scraping a dagger through my skull. I was hungry and thirsty, and I ached all over. I blinked frantically in an effort to regain my vision, and when I did I saw that I was in bed. The mattress was soft underneath me. Sunlight drifted in through the window. My tongue felt swollen, but I thought this might have just been from the thirst. I made a small whimpering sound, and as soon as this happened Dad came bursting into the room.
“Oh Willow you’re awake,” the words rushed out of him in a frantic breath. “I was so worried. We all were. Here, you must be thirsty. I’ll go and get you some food.”
He poured a glass of water for me from a jug that sat upon the bedside table. I sipped it slowly, resisting the urge to gulp it down eagerly. The water trickled down my throat and soothed me. Dad came in with some bread and cheese, which I thought was about all I could muster. I nibbled on these things, continuing to sip water, and my strength slowly came back to me.
