Blood Curse (Pulse #8) (9 page)

          And Kalina felt all of it. Her head was throbbing, aching, splitting like it was about to burst open like an overripe fruit; her heart was beating faster and faster; her whole body was in agony. The telepathic connection that had linked her to Nereti was stronger than ever now, flooding through her entire being. She could see, hear, feel, smell, taste all the evil that Nereti had ever wrought upon the world.

         
No, Kalina,
she whispered to herself, her breath shallow, her heart faster than ever,
you need to beat this. You need to stay calm. Focus. Focus.

           
But how could she focus? She could think of nothing but the faces of the dead, appearing one by one in so many multitudes before her; she could think of nothing but the pain that each one of them – men, women, and children – must have felt before dying by Nereti's hand.

          She had encountered evil before. She had stared down Mal, down so many vampires who had done terrible things, and she had done so clear-eyed, without fear. This was different. Looking at Nereti was like looking into a dark mirror of her soul: a version of herself that had chosen darkness instead of light, that had embraced the darkness, that threatened to consume her entirely.

          “Well, little girl?” Nereti's tongue slithered between her lips. “Not quite so brave now, are we? Not when you are faced with your Queen. Bow down, girl, before you die – perhaps it will buy you a second or two of life before I watch it slip so slowly out of your eyes. Bow down to your Queen, to your mistress, to she who commands you to die!”

          The words jolted Kalina back into life. Rage – pure, defensive anger – swept over her.
How dare she
? Kalina thought.
How dare she speak to me this way? How dare she try to make me her slave?
Defiance bubbled up like molten lava within her. Immediately her muscles tensed; her body and jaw hardened; her fear calcified and transformed into strength.

          No, Kalina thought. She would not be broken. She would not be beaten. She would not let this evil consume her. She would be strong – she would fight. She might die in the attempt, but she knew it was better to die fighting, than die on her knees like a miserable little coward. Nothing – not even Nereti – would make her sacrifice her dignity.

          “Come on, girl...” Nereti's voice was sickeningly lilting. “Give me the diamonds, little girl, and gain a few seconds more of that precious little mediocrity you call life.”

          “No!” The force of the words shook her. They sounded like they came from a stranger's lips, in a stranger's voice – hollow and echoing from a million miles away. “Never.”

          In an instant Kalina came to life. She could feel the blood boiling in her veins – the Life's Blood, defiant and strong; it seemed to know what to do even before the knowledge reached her consciousness. As quick as lightning, she was reaching inside the bag of diamonds, rushing towards Nereti, the sharp edge of the diamond glinting in the evening light.

          A voice seemed to echo inside her brain.
You must defeat Nereti. You must kill her. You are the chosen one. This is how you survive.

          It was the voice of the Life's Blood – delphic and oracular – an ancient power that seemed to call to her, to control her, to make her its own. Kalina succumbed to its call.

          But Nereti was quicker still. In a flash, she had dodged Kalina's attack, gliding smoothly to the other end of the room.

          “What's so special about these diamonds, huh?” The Life's Blood had made her bold, now; it had cast out all her fear. She was defiant; she was consumed by the adrenaline that coursed through her. “Why do you want them so badly?”

          “It is not for you to question me, little girl,” Nereti sneered. “I am your Queen; you are only a puny mortal before me.”

          “I'm just saying.” Kalina put her hands on her hips. “You're going to an awful lot of trouble for these diamonds.”

          “All precious metals and gems of the earth belong to me!” snapped Nereti. “They are my dominion. The whole world is my dominion, now, and this is my prize. All those who defy me shall perish...”

          “Are you so sure about that?” Kalina asked.

          She struck again, slicing at Nereti with the diamond, listening for the high whistling sound of the gemstone cutting through the empty air.

          But Nereti dodged her again – appearing and disappearing as she moved, faster than light itself, from corner to corner of the room.

          At last Kalina sliced one final, desperate time, putting all her strength into the action.

          It was a mistake.

          She had misjudged her target; she had lunged too quickly; she lost control of her balance and stumbled, letting the diamond fall to the floor.

          In an instant both Nereti and Kalina were rushing for the diamond.

          But something stopped them – a force of light that flashed gold and sent them both reeling backwards.

          “What the...”

          The light from the window was streaming onto the diamond. But the refracted light was pouring onto the side of the wall, reflecting an image there, like a picture in a projector slide. It was a map – a map of Egypt Kalina realized – a map of a desert and a series of caves, labyrinthine like the combs of a beehive, each one leading into the last. The layout looked uncannily familiar.     

            I must get the rest of the diamonds to show me where...

           
Kalina's head snapped up. For a moment, she thought Nereti had been speaking aloud. But Nereti's beautiful face remained unmoving, implacable. Her lips had not parted.

          With surprise, Kalina realized what she had heard. Here, in this proximity, she was privy to Nereti's inner thoughts. She could hear inside Nereti's mind, as surely as if it had been her own. But Nereti showed no sign of realizing this. Her gaze was fixed on Kalina with hideous hatred in her eyes.

          More images appeared, unbidden, in Kalina's mind – images from Nereti. She saw the cave in her mind's eye, and with a shock realized where it was. It was the cave where the ancient vampires, slaughtered on Octavius’ watch, had all been on their guard. But surely Nereti's vampires had already searched the cave thoroughly – why would they have been unable to find what they sought....

         
No...no...

           
“Unfortunately...” Now Nereti was turning to her, her fanged teeth glinting in the light of the evening. Her voice was silky smooth. “I don't have any time to waste on killing you at the moment. I have bigger plans, far bigger plans, that don't allow me to waste my time fighting a puny mortal like you. I'll have to let someone else finish you off.” She let loose a cackle that chilled Kalina's bones.

          With that, Nereti flew from the room, leaving Kalina in shock.

          What had happened to make Nereti flee so suddenly? What did she want? Where was she going?

          Kalina was tempted to run – to make her way back to Jaegar and Justin, to Max and Samson and safety. But a terrible curiosity was burning in her breast. If she let Nereti get away now, she'd never know the reason for her mysterious exit – and she'd never know what it was Nereti was after. What was it about those caves – reflected in the diamond – that held the secret: to ultimate power, or ultimate destruction she did not know.    

          She had to make a choice. Safety – or another brush with darkness?

          Her blood prickled within her veins, and she knew that her choice was already made. It was a match to the death with them now. She would pursue Nereti until one of them was destroyed – there was no other way out. The two of them were linked, now. By blood, by hatred, by the ancient power that bound them as one.

          She flew swiftly from the window, hot on Nereti's heels. Her heart was pounding so loudly within her chest that it sounded like thunder. In the distance, she could see Nereti, getting smaller and smaller on the horizon; her muscles burned as she forced herself to fly faster and faster towards that shimmering dot.

         
Jaegar, Justin, Max, Samson...

          She sent telepathic messages to everyone she could think of, trying to let them know where she was, where she was going. They had to follow her, now – wherever they were – she hoped they got the message. There was no time to find them and tell them where she was going. She had to pursue Nereti, now, or lose the chance forever.

          “You bitch...” Kalina whispered under her breath.

          The rage that she felt was overwhelming, all-consuming, as powerful as her lust had been. All at once she wanted nothing more than to kill Nereti – as slowly and as cruelly as Nereti had killed so many others – to make her suffer, to make her write in agony, to make her scream as loudly as her victims had screamed.

          She cared for nothing, now, but vengeance. Vengeance for Octavius. Vengeance for all those who had died and been tortured in her name.

          Nereti may be evil – but she had not counted on Kalina's will being as iron, as implacable as her own. Kalina would make her suffer the same fate her victims had suffered. Kalina would make her sink to her knees. Kalina would make her bow down before her.

          She whispered like one possessed, in a voice that was not her own. “Just you wait, Nereti. You'll see who's Queen now...”

Chapter 11

         
W
hat was happening to her? As she flew through the air, the breeze slicing like a knife against her alabaster skin, Kalina tried to make sense of the feelings, the thoughts, the raging emotions that were coming down like a thunderstorm into her brain. She had never felt like this before. She'd feared her enemies – she'd longed to defeat them – she had felt such abject horror and abhorrence for Mal and his men. But such hatred – such intense, ferocious desire to cause pain – this was new to her. This she had never experienced before. When she thought of Nereti, she thought only of her own anger: her own desire to have her revenge. She didn't just want to defeat Nereti. No – worse – she wanted to make her
suffer
. She wanted to make her feel pain.

          Kalina swallowed, feeling a shiver run up and down her spine. What was making her feel this way? These emotions – like the lust that had just a few hours earlier prompted her to savagely throw herself at Jaegar – weren't normal, weren't
hers.
They seemed to come from an outside force: a kind of dark possession she could neither understand nor control.

         
Was this Nereti's plan?
The thought made her throat dry up with horror. Ever since Nereti's thoughts had begun to meld with her own, ever since the telepathy had started to bind them, ever since she had been able to dream of Octavius’ body twined in hers, and feel the palpable power of his skin against her own, she had been – not quite herself. Her soul had been invaded by another, the evil seeping into her like spilled ink. Was this Nereti's presence, in her, making her feel this way? Was this hatred, this anger, just another way that Nereti was getting under her skin, getting that much closer to defeating her?

          “No...” Kalina whispered under her breath. “No, it can't be.”

          She couldn't let Nereti win. Not like this. She couldn't let this anger, this hatred overtake her, make her start to question her own judgment, her own decisions, even her own sanity. She couldn't let her...

         
You can't let her escape.

           
The voice in her head was louder now.

         
You can't let her get away. You must find her – find – chase – kill.
It was her own voice, magnified and distorted, as if coming from a million miles away.
You must defeat her.

           
“No...” Kalina breathed again. She had to fight this force, this power that was overtaking her. She had to keep a cool head, keep control over the thoughts that threatened to lead her down the path of darkness.

          A sharp whizzing through the air interrupted her thoughts as she flew. All her muscles tensed at once – coiled like those of a panther, ready to spring. Someone was following her.

          She turned only slightly, but her vampire eyes took in all that she needed to see, her peripheral vision sharper than it had ever been. Five of Nereti's vampire generals were following after her, hot upon her heels.

          “Damn...” she muttered, and sped up. She was barely able to keep up with Nereti, even as she flew as fast as she could; her heart ricocheted within her chest; she dodged and feinted her vampire pursuers as best she could.

          Nereti meant business. For whatever reason, she didn't want to kill Kalina herself, but that was hardly a reprieve. Taking on four or five vampire assassins was one thing when she was with the others. But fighting one to five would be no easy matter. Her best chance was to outstrip them, to deal with Nereti directly. If she could only take Nereti down, if she could only slay her – with the diamonds, perhaps – she knew the rest of the vampires would immediately bow down before her. They were like sheep, she thought – for all their purported fearsomeness – they cared only about following a strong leader, whoever that was.

          Kalina looked around for any sign of the others – Jaegar, Justin, Samson, Max – anyone who could help her. But nobody was to be found.

          They must not have gotten the message. Or else they were otherwise engaged – fighting off more of Nereti's men. Kalina shuddered to think of the danger they might be in. But she couldn't focus on that now. She had to follow Nereti to the caves – had to find the source of the mystery, of Nereti's enigmatic obsession...

          The words Uzo had spoken to her echoed in her ears.
You are the chosen one. You one the one destined to bring Nereti down.
This was where she was meant to be. Succeed or fail, live or die, this was what she had to do. This was the destiny she was promised to fulfill. There was not enough room in the whole world for the two of them. One of them had to die.