Chapter 32: Empty Locket

Vance pulled the final stitch tight and tied it off. Black thread stood out against the paleness of Dorian's skin, and the edges of the wound were still dark from the venom. He cleaned his hands on a cloth and sat down on his heels. "The stitches will hold, but the venom is still in his blood. He needs rest, and he needs more human blood."

"I am not taking any more of your blood," Dorian mumbled. He lay on the bed, having thrown his arm over his face.

Jenna scrubbed the hallway with a scrub brush, washing away the dark liquid with bleach water. The smell stung my nose, and the water turned pink when it got in contact with the carpet.

Mira sat on the edge of the bed holding the silver locket in her hands. Metal sparkled from the light coming through the window, and the engraving of the symbols almost seemed like tiny scars. Brown flashed into black and then back to brown in her wide eyes, as if she wasn't even blinking.

Zoe's pipe in my hands was cold to the touch, and I cleaned dried blood on its surface with my thumb. The blood didn't seem to want to leave it, just flaking like rust.

"I am going to Cross's estate tomorrow night," I said. Holding the pipe, I touched its metal surface with my fingers. "And I am going alone."

"You are committing suicide," Jenna growled. Bleach water splashed to the floor after she dropped the scrub brush into the bucket. "He will kill you the second you step into the house."

Vance shook his head, closing his leather kit and pushing it under the desk. "He won't kill you, but he will imprison you. He needs your magic, and he won't let you die before he manages to take it away."

"He needs my magic, so he will not kill me," I clenched my teeth, tightening my fingers around the pipe. "That will give me enough time to find Zoe."

"That is worse than death," Dorian mumbled hoarsely, raising his arm and sitting up in bed. Sweat shone on his pale skin, which was getting greyer by the second. "You will be his prisoner forever."

"The locket took most of his power, and he is weak. Raze won't break free anymore," Mira closed her eyes, and black smoke began rising from her fingers to form serpents circling around her wrists. The smoke did not attack or hiss, it simply hovered and filled the air with the scent of burned sugar. "I can control him now. And if we hurry, the binding will hold for three days."

Vance took the locket and held it to the light. The symbols glowed blue for a few seconds, before their light slowly dissipated. "Yes, it will hold for a few days. That is enough time to get in and out of the estate."

\---

Jenna left to fill the salt canisters. Vance left to return to the grimoire and continue reading on his desk. Mira sat in a chair by the window and began practicing making smoke circle around her fingers.

Dorian held my wrist, and the coldness of his fingers made me shiver, but he didn't seem able to release his grasp on my hand. "Don't go."

"Why not?" I asked, moving towards the edge of the bed and sitting down. My weight made the mattress dip slightly. "She is my friend."

"But don't go alone!" he tightened his grip on my hand, his arm surrounding my waist. "I cannot loose you!"

"I will not leave you," my other hand touched his cheek, and his skin was cold with the remnants of sweat, while his chin grew covered with stubble. "I won't leave you."

He looked into my eyes with moistened ones. "Then come with me," he said, pressing his forehead to mine. His breath was hot and smelled of old blood.

"I cannot," I shook my head slowly, and his lips moved in line with mine. "I'm too heavy. I can barely stand up on my own."

"I'll come along, then. No matter what," his breath stopped coming as he pulled me into a kiss. My lips were cold, and his tasted salty with his own sweat.

We sat like that for some time. The only sounds in the room were the breathing of my ex and the ticking of the clock hanging on the wall.

\---

I helped Vance pack a leather travel bag, filling it with salt canisters, iron filings, and the silver locket. He zipped it and put by the door.

Next, Jenna took two iron rods, sharpening them on the whetstone. I had to bite on my tongue from pain as her hands created an awful noise. After she finished, she threw one rod to Mira.

"If Raze tries to take over again, use this," she tapped it lightly with her fingertips, and then hid the iron in the sleeve of her jacket. "Do not hesitate."

"He won't try to do that. He is too weak," Mira slid the rod in her sleeve with a click of the button on her cuff.

"Now listen carefully. Here," Vance laid the map with the estate on it by the floor, smoothing out the wrinkles of the paper and the holes along its edges. "Cross keeps all of his prisoners in the basement of the building. You should approach from the tunnel, while Arya distracts him."

"Got it," I traced the route with my fingers, moving along the drawn lines. "And then Mira finds Zoe and leads her out."

"And after that, you hit him with the binding spell," Jenna said, picking up the second iron rod and putting it in her jacket pocket as well. "I'll wait for you in the woods with the car. Once you finish, we leave the scene."

"The binding spell on Raze will wear off by midnight tomorrow," Vance looked up at the clock and counted. "You have twenty-four hours left to complete everything."

A knock on our door startled everyone.

Jenna went and opened it, allowing in the student with an envelope in his hands. His eyes were glassy, and his posture reminded me of someone drugged.

She took the cream envelope and closed the door behind the student.

Opening it, Vance unfolded the red-written paper inside. "Midnight tomorrow. The estate. Come alone, or the girl dies." Turning the paper, he saw the postscript. "And if you have someone else with you, I will cut out her tongue and send it to you in a box."

"Shit," Jenna whispered and then added harshly: "he means it."

"If that's the case, I go alone," Mira rose from her place by the window. "And Arya goes through the front gate. You will not see me if I use Raze's smoke."

Vance nodded at the locket, still lying on the map of the estate. "If you have to leave tomorrow night, the binding spell will wear off by midnight."

I looked up at the clock on the wall. The minute hand approached the twelve. Eleven o'clock.

Twenty-three hours left.

Dorian rose from the bed and came to sit next to me on the edge, grabbing my hand in his cool, rough ones.

"Come back," he whispered, looking deeply into my eyes.

"I will," I answered, tightening my fingers around his hand.

The clock continued ticking.

Snow fell outside of the window.