Chapter 33: That Stubborn

Jenna had driven me to the place where she had first met Cross in the rusty old sedan, the engine rattling as though it was ready to give out completely. The heater in the car blew freezing cold air and I fumbled with the silver locket in my pocket, the cold metal warm from my touch.

Mira sat in the back seat, her eyes closed. A dark black smoke floated out of her fingertips and dissipated into the air.

Jenna parked the car on a fork in the road and killed the engine. On one side there was a road that would lead to the front gates of the estate, while on the other there was a road leading to the woods in the back of the property.

I opened the door, then felt the chill wind rush into the car.

"I will go from here alone," I muttered.

Mira grabbed my wrist in her cold fingers. "Wait ten minutes, then I will follow you through the tunnel."

Jenna placed a small earpiece in my hand. "Vance modified this one too. It should work for a mile. In case you run into any trouble, just say my name. I will come for you."

I stuffed the earpiece into my ear, then left the car. Snow crunched under my boots, my breath fogging in the cold air.

\---

The iron gates were hanging open, rusty and broken. At the end of the long driveway stood a looming mansion. The windows were dark, no lights lit inside. There was no movement in those windows either. Only the wind blowing and carrying the snowflakes around.

Cross stood on the front steps, his red eyes glimmering in the darkness. Clasping his hands behind his back, he looked at me with interest as if he knew I was coming. His breath didn't create any fog either, just like mine and the snow.

"You came?" Cross smiled, revealing his sharp teeth. "I knew you would."

"Why did you bring me here?" I stepped forward, walking into the snow. "Where is Zoe?"

Cross stepped into the mansion, clicking his boots onto the stone. "She is safe for now." He turned to look at me. "Follow me."

I followed him into the house, where candles flickering everywhere on the walls cast dancing shadows in the dark. Dust hung in the air with a smell of old blood.

The man led me down to a staircase that descended into the basement. The steps were made of stone and each one lowered the temperature as I descended. I pressed myself even more against the jacket, trying to keep warm.

\---

There was Zoe sitting on a chair, bound in rope. Her head was hanging down, while her hair hid her face.

"Zoe? Wake up!" I exclaimed, rushing to the girl and touching her shoulder.

Zoe lifted her head, her eyes black. They were not the same eyes that I saw on Mira, which meant that...

Raze was inside of her. "Hello, little witch."

"No..." I took several steps backwards until my back pressed against the stone wall. "Raze is in Mira... I put him in the locket."

Cross appeared next to the chair, folding his hands in front of his chest. "You trapped a piece of him, but only a small one. The rest was always here." He pointed at Mira. "While Mira was sleeping I pulled that bit out of her blood."

"Cross and I made a new deal," he laughed through her mouth. "I will help him steal your magic, then he gives me a body. A very beautiful body... Yours."

My fingers fumbled inside my pocket for the locket. Warm. I pulled it out and found the locket to be empty. How could this happen?

The vampire descended the stairs behind me. "The locket is empty. You tricked us."

Mira appeared from the tunnel entrance, black smoke swirling from her fingers, hissing as snakes. "I heard everything."

"Indeed..." Cross snapped his fingers, six vampires emerging from the darkness behind the stairs. His red eyes shone with glee. "I have known about the tunnel from the beginning, it was never hidden."

Raze lifted Zoe's hand, sending the smoke through the room to wrap itself around Mira's throat. "Choke!"

She coughed loudly, trying to pry the black smoke off her throat with her bare hands. "Arya, run!"

The smoke tightened, choking the life out of Mira as her eyes changed colors: brown, black and then brown again.

"Empty locket!" I threw it at Cross, the metal clanging when it hit him and fell on the ground. "It is empty, Cross! You already know that!"

Cross picked it up off the floor and examined it briefly, then tossed the empty piece of jewelry. "I know. You have nothing left to trade."

"She said 'give him our magic'." Raze tilted Zoe's head to look at me. "Give it to me now, or..."

"Or else?" I glared at him. "What are you going to do?"

"Your little friends will die. First her, and then you," he pointed at Mira who was still struggling to breathe. "And then all of the vampires living in the Hostel."

I watched the struggling of the girl, then looked at Zoe with her black eyes and finally at the red eyes of Cross standing in front of me. I pressed my palm against the cold wall. "What do you want?"

"All of your magic, of course." Cross held his hands up in the sign of surrender. "Give me the magic or I let her live."

"First me, then all of you," Zoe threatened. "And after you are done, you can enjoy yourself by killing all the others."

Cross shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not, but this way they won't die painfully, as if cut into pieces."

Black smoke tightened its grip, choking Mira who struggled even more now, making noises as if she was trying to scream. "Raze..."

Raze pressed her forward until their lips were brushing his. "Last chance."

I closed my eyes.

The earpiece clicked in my ear, Jenna's voice whispering on the other side of it. "I am coming, hold on."

I opened my eyes and pushed myself off the wall. "Not yet... I need more time," I whispered.

"What did you say?" Cross's red eyes narrowed.

I walked towards him, holding my hands in the air. "You heard me. I will give you my magic if you kill me first."

"So be it."

He raised his hand, the vampires leaped forward.