Chapter 44 Chapter Twenty-One Part Three - Orenda
Invidia stops in her tracks and looks at me. She takes a deep breath through her nose, composes herself and then turns to face me. “Yes, biologically speaking, Manon is my mother. It’s not something I advertise,” she says, rolling her eyes with disinterest.
I continue to stare at her wide-eyed. “But that means Isolde…”
“Oh, please,” she scoffs in disgust. “I was born centuries after she incinerated her animai and his lousy family. I am not related to that Glinda wannabe,” she sneers.
I actually find that to be a huge relief. Isolde has suffered enough. She doesn’t need to know she’s got a cousin out there who is potentially more deranged than her aunt was.
“So you weren’t lying when you said your parents were involved in the hunt for Isolde,” I remark with disgust.
She smirks. “To my mother’s credit, she did teach me a few valuable tricks. One of which, is how to lie by telling the truth.”
“But because of your mother’s actions, the delegation is more guarded than they used to be,” I say, getting her back on track.
Her nostrils flare and she resumes pacing, “Exactly. So, the next best targets were you and your brother. But you’re impossible to track down and not much is known about you since you both live in solitude. So, I had to do a little digging and then I came up with the perfect plan to lure you in,” she grins triumphantly.
“By throwing yourself at the mercy of the eyti?” I snort at the stupid risk she was willing to take just to lure me in.
She pouts thoughtfully, “Actually, that was more like plan D. See I knew you would be wherever there were eyti, but it had to be enough eyti to get your attention. So, step one was to hunt down some eyti.”
My eyes widen in greater shock. “You were behind the recent surges,” I accuse. “But how? Only Azadou can control the eyti.” Just saying his name is like shards of ice piercing my heart, and it takes everything in me not to wince.
Invidia sighs, “You really need to learn to think outside the box. Of course, I can’t control the eyti. But wherever the eyti go they leave behind very potent energy, which I’m sure you’re aware of. I merely began absorbing that residual energy within black tourmaline and once I had enough, I would move from place to place, releasing that energy until it lured one of you in.”
“That’s why we never saw any eyti…”
“The day you finally arrived; I was thrilled!” she exclaims enthusiastically. “You were right there, and I was ready to make my move, but then that stupid Goddess showed up and ruined everything,” she groans in frustration.
Gabriella couldn’t have seen Invidia because of Invidia’s pendant…but is it possible Gabriella saw something that prompted her to act and come to my aid that day? Or was it just a coincidence, and she was just trying to help regarding my animai? At this rate, anything is possible.
“So, then you tried again.”
“The next time it was your brother who arrived, but his arrival came with a whole new set of problems that would have ruined everything, so I had to let him go,” she reluctantly admits, her lips curled up in a disgusted sneer.
I frown in confusion, not sure what problems could have possibly arisen, but whatever it was, it was enough to deter her and for that I’m grateful. While I don’t want to be here, I don’t want my brother in my stead either.
“I tried one more time, but of all fucking people, it ended up being the God of Malice himself who rocked up. I got the hell out of there as fast as I could, but, before I did, one thing became gloriously clear,” she says brightly.
I push through the pain as I recall the day Azadou told me about how he encountered makkari magic. He described it as dark and deformed. I stare at Invidia as my mind begins to race. Manon may have been evil, but she was a normal makkari like any other. What is it about Invidia that makes her magic so different? Or maybe the better question is, what did Manon do to her daughter to create a child with such unnatural magic?
“And what’s that?” I ask, feigning interest even though I already know what she’s going to say.
“My wards work! I was standing right there and Azadou couldn’t even see me,” she giggles gleefully. “All of my hard work has paid off and I knew if I could just get my hands on you, it would all work out.”
Little does Invidia know that her pendant isn’t one hundred per cent foolproof. Her ward isn’t as powerful as she thinks it is. Yes, Azadou couldn’t see her and her magic was somewhat cloaked, but he could still sense it, and he could still hear her heartbeat. But I’m not going to be the one to tell her. Let her keep thinking she’s got the upper hand. It’ll make it all the more satisfying when it comes back to bite her in the ass.
“You must be so proud,” I comment acerbically.
She waves a dismissive hand at me, “Don’t be a buzzkill. Anyway, I realised my plan wasn’t working and then it clicked,” she says, smacking her hand to her forehead. “I was going about it all wrong. If I wanted to get you alone, I’d have to get close to you and the best way to do that would be to befriend you. After all, you catch more bees with honey than vinegar,” she smirks. “So I played into your nature. Your sole purpose in life is to save people from the eyti, so I gave you a person to save. Turned out to be way easier than the previous attempts,” she snorts in amusement, walking over and squatting in front of me. “I just had to find a way to keep tabs on you.”
She reaches out and clasps the pendant around my neck. I glance down at the gift she gave me, revulsion and humiliation washing over me and clinging to me like a bad smell. I played right into her hands. I was so touched by the sweet gesture that I’d been wearing this stupid pendant since she gave it to me. Had I known it was a magical low-jack I would have tossed the damn thing in the ocean.
“You really made it so easy,” she softly taunts, letting the pendant drop against my skin. “Then you went and rejected your animai and I knew I had to act. I couldn’t risk the rejection killing you before I had a chance to get some of your blood, and your stupid brother refused to leave your side. But I bided my time and now here you are; chained up in my cellar about to make all my dreams come true,” she grins, standing up.
I glare at her, pain, fatigue and heartache forgotten as they are replaced with white-hot rage. Never in my life have I wanted to hurt someone as much as I want to hurt her.
“So now what? You bleed me out and leave me for dead?” I spit bitterly.
She chuckles, “Now that would just be stupid.” She smiles down at me with such sadistic glee that it makes me shiver. “You’re immortal and I’ve got centuries ahead of me. I’m not going to kill you, Orenda. You’re going to be my very own celestial blood bank,” she declares. “Every few days I’m going to drain some of your blood and build up my supply. Then I’ll let you recover and just keep repeating the process. However, you’re far too weak for me to start the process. I can’t have you dying on me and ruining all my hard work just because you couldn’t suck up a lousy animai bond,” she says snidely.
Her eyes shift to pitch black, that golden pupil returning as her purple energy radiates around her hand. With a lazy flourish of her hand, a tray filled with food and water appears beside me and for the first time in days, I find my stomach snarling eagerly.
“Fill up,” she orders. “I need you strong. I’ll return tomorrow and we can see how you fair losing a little blood,” she promises, walking out of the cell and closing the door behind her.
I stare at the food, the fatigue returning full force. For once in my life, I don’t know how I’m going to get myself out of this. I am completely at Invidia’s mercy and there’s nothing I can do to stop her. All I can do is fight to regain my strength and stay alive long enough for my brother to find me – and he will find me. I know my brother. He won’t give up in his search for me. He’ll leave no stone unturned until he gets me back and I’m counting on it.
I weakly reach out towards the tray, the shackles hindering my movements as I pick up a piece of fruit. I arduously raise it to my mouth and proceed to eat the first piece of solid food I’ve had in days. It’s not much, but it’s a start. I glance down at the blistering wound on my ankle, the sight of it fuelling my determination. I can’t let this rejection kill me. I will not let it be my end and I will not become an unwilling blood donor. I will get out of here if it’s the last thing I do.