Of Blood and Passion (32 page)

“We have no way of knowing,” Amanda said. “All I can tell you is that
you
are safe, Lily.”

“Are Zack and Quinn…were they okay? The last time you saw them?”

Dr. Morris’s expression turned professional as she launched into a description of magic sickness and high fevers and Zack’s unaccountable muscle gain. “You’ll barely recognize him when…when you see him again.”

“If I see him again.”

Dr. Morris nodded. “Yes.”

How was it possible he’d survived? It wasn’t fair. For the past weeks, she’d been mourning his death. But he’d been alive all this time, only to go missing hours before she arrived. Hours!

“Why did he leave?” she asked. Had he hated it here?

“Word came about you,” Dr. Morris said gently. “He went to find you, Lily. From the day he arrived here, he’s been frantic to find you.”

Oh, Zack.

“Amanda!” A man’s deep voice echoed from somewhere in the building.

“Back here, Sam,” Dr. Morris called.

A moment later, a man appeared in the doorway, a nice-looking Slava. “It’s happened. Word just came. Cristoff Gonzaga has killed the sorceress.”

Lily gaped at him. “Quinn? He killed
Quinn
?”

Sam looked at her with apology. “I shouldn’t have blurted that out.”

Amanda turned into his arms and buried her face against his shoulder. “No, you shouldn’t have.”

Mukdalla’s hand rose to cover her mouth. “This is a terrible, terrible day.”

Sam let out a sorrowful sigh. “I’m afraid it’s only going to get worse. There had to have been a hundred sunbeams with the last breakthrough. Blue cracks are erupting all over the sky. It’s not going to last much longer.”

“Do you think Cristoff will save Vamp City?” Amanda asked. “Do you think he can?”

Sam frowned. “That’s the question, isn’t it?”

Mukdalla rose suddenly and held out her hand to Lily. “Well, I’m not going to sit around and watch this world and everyone I love die. I can’t do anything to stop any of this, but I can take this young woman home.” Mukdalla met Lily’s gaze. “I can take you back to the real world. Zack will be able to find you there, yes?”

Lily’s hands remained in her lap. “I’m not leaving. Not until I know what’s happened to Zack.” She looked at the three of them. “And even if he’s…” She couldn’t finish that particular sentence. Her breath caught in her throat, her heart all but shattering at the thought that she’d almost found him only to lose him again, for good this time. “I’ve heard there’s a war coming. A war against Cristoff Gonzaga. I was told that I might be needed to help fight it.” The words sounded ridiculous coming out of her mouth, given her petite size and complete lack of fighting skills. But she was only repeating what Octavia had told her. “I’m staying.”

Sam and Amanda looked at one another, then turned to her with admiration in their eyes.

Mukdalla’s smile bloomed wide, despite the depth of sadness in her eyes. “I like you, Lily Wang. But given how much Quinn and Zack think of you, I knew I would. You’re right. There is undeniably a war coming. And if I can’t take you home, then I’ll be fighting at your side.”

Chapter 36

“H
ave you bitten her?” Arturo demanded. His heart was breaking, his hand stroking Quinn’s lovely face, as still and pale as death.

“Twice. Both Kassius and I tried to initiate healing through our bites,” Bram said. “Both times her body went into cardiac arrest. I’ve tried everything, Ax. I think the shock of what was done to her—not just the stabbing, but the ripping away of her magic—was too much. Decide now if you want to try to turn her. She doesn’t have much time.”

“No. She wouldn’t want that.” Not if it meant risking her humanity.

Arturo turned to Kassius. “Did you find Zack?”

“No. There was sign of a struggle. A pool of Jason’s blood. Too much for him to have lived.” Kassius’s usually stoic demeanor shattered. “We were ambushed by Gonzaga mercenaries. More than two dozen of them. By the time I could fight my way through, Rinaldo and Quinn were gone.”

“Rinaldo, too.” Arturo bent his head, his heart shattering for Mukdalla.

“We knew they’d bring Quinn here, but Cristoff wasted no time. By the time we arrived, it was too late.”

“Talk to her, Ax,” Bram said. “She’s a fighter—I can feel her trying to hang on—but she’s losing the battle. Help her.”

Arturo met his friend’s gaze, then turned to cradle Quinn’s cold hand between his. That her hand felt cold to his touch was a very bad sign. “Fight,
amore.
Zack is missing. We must find him. He needs you,
cara mia
.” His voice broke. “I need you.”

He switched to telepathic communication.
You are everything to me, Quinn Lennox. You’ve given me back my soul, my heart, my purpose. You’ve given me back the sunshine. Do not leave me,
amore mio
. I beg of you. Do not leave Zack. He needs you. We all do.

Bram cursed under his breath. “The bastard did everything but twist the knife inside of her.”

“Ax, I think you need to bite her,” Micah urged. “Or kiss her.
Something
.”

“Not bite,” Bram said quickly. “She won’t survive it.”

“Maybe, maybe not. They’re connected, Bram, in ways I can’t even begin to understand.”

“They’re connected…” Lukas stepped forward suddenly, turning to Kassius. “What was it Sakamoto’s werecat told Quinn? Something about a soul cord.”

Kassius nodded, his expression growing suddenly intent. “Do you remember when you threw the wizard, Ax, then again when you touched Tassard and he fell? The werecats believe Quinn did both of those through you. They believe you’ve become so connected that she can actually work through you.”

Arturo’s eyes narrowed. “Tassard? All I did was touch him.”

“He said you stole his strength.”

His strength. His life? Had Quinn somehow used her death touch through him, enough to weaken Tassard?

His mind leaped. If she could use it through him to attack, maybe he could help her use it to save her own life.

Turning to her, he gripped her hand tightly. “I’m going to try something,” he told his friends.

“You can’t do any worse than I’m doing,” Bram said unhappily.

Arturo stared at her fragile hand in his, wondering how to proceed, where to start. He had no idea what he was doing, all he knew was he had little time.

Releasing Quinn’s hand, he proceeded to grip her cold cheeks between his palms. She’d pushed her power through him. Now he needed to coax her power to him. Specifically, her death touch. He needed to share with her his own life force if she was going to continue to live.

The question was how?

Closing his eyes, he found her in his mind, her quiet presence, her silent emotions. A soul cord, his friends had called it. A soul cord. But how to coax her to use her power on him?

He thought of his own gift of
persuasion
, his ability to use low-level mind control on others. He was certain it wouldn’t work on Quinn. Not with her sorcerer’s gifts. But, then again, it was possible that her magic was gone. Perhaps, if he tried, he could reach her and gain her cooperation even in her unconscious state.

I share my strength with you,
amore mio
, but you must take it. You will take it now, Quinn. Feel it flowing into you, strengthening you. Feel the life I would share with you seeping into your body, into your blood and your bones. You will pull that force to you, Quinn. You wish to, for you are hungry for sustenance and it will feed you well.

He felt nothing. No change, no pull on his energy.

Opening his eyes, he peered at her, desperate for some sign that she was hearing him, that his words were beginning to reach her. But she remained as still as ever. And a quick glance at Bram’s closed face confirmed he was making no progress.

Draw, Quinn. Draw on me! You must take what I have to offer. I beg of you,
tesoro
. I plead with you to do so.

But still nothing happened. Crushing despair swept through him, the desolation of certainty that he had no way to save her. His sunshine. For centuries he’d lived without her, believing himself alive, but without being able to see that his existence was cold, bleak. Now that he’d experienced the unbridled joy of love, how was he ever to return to that bleakness? How was he to live without her?

He leaned forward, pressing his mouth to her cool lips, his forehead to her still flesh.

Live for me, Quinn. Take what I offer. Let me share my life with you. My life force.

But still nothing happened. Devastated, he released her precious face and sat back on his heels, taking hold of her hand once more. He looked at his friends and shook his head.

“I don’t know how to save her,” he said brokenly. But even as he said the words, a strange sensation traveled across his chest. An odd sensation of weakening.

His pulse lifted with hope. A wave of exhaustion swept through him. She was doing it!

“Bella! That’s is,
amore
. Drink from me.”
Swiftly, fill your depleted body with the sustenance I freely share.

“Something’s happening, Ax,” Bram said excitedly. “Her color’s coming back. Whatever you’re doing, don’t stop.”

He wouldn’t dream of it.
That’s it,
bella,
that’s it. Drink from me.

A tingling sensation swept down his torso and limbs. A wave of dizziness washed through his head.

“Ax?”

Drink,
tesoro
. That’s it,
cara
. That’s it, Quinn. Drink from me.

It was becoming a struggle to hold his head up. Vaguely, he was aware that he was beginning to shake.

“Ax, that’s enough.” He felt hands on his shoulders. Micah’s voice in his ear. “She’s looking better by the moment. You’re looking worse.”

But when those same hands tried to pull him away, he fought like a madman.

Suddenly, his head began to float free of his body. His thoughts disconnected. And black rushed in.

F
or the second time in one day, Quinn awakened screaming, voices darting all around her.

“She’s coming to without anesthesia. Enthrall her!”

“She can’t be enthralled.”

Still she screamed, the fire in her belly ungodly.

“Kass,” Bram said. “Quiet her before she has the whole castle down here. Micah, bite her!”

A belt was gently shoved into her mouth. “Bite down, sorceress.” Kassius’s face swam in front of hers, indistinct through the raw, slashing pain.

Micah briefly entered her field of vision.

“Dammit, Ax, what did you do?” Bram’s voice. “That’s it, Micah. She’s starting to heal on her own. Shit, I’ve got to get my clamps out of there before she heals around them.”

“Lukas?”

“Arturo’s still alive. But barely.”

Quinn bit down on the leather until she thought her teeth would crack, the scream strangled, but still pouring up out of her throat.

Slowly, the terrible pain began to drop to a level she could almost survive.

“Uro.” The T got trapped by the belt. “Uro!”

Micah reappeared in her field of vision, his countenance clear this time, his eyes terrified as he removed the belt from her mouth. “He’s passed out. Quinn, what happened? Something happened. He held your hand and told you to drink from him. Then he collapsed.”

The fire in her gut continued to recede, little by little. Her mind was still spinning in a blaze of pain. But she searched for the answer, and a memory whispered.

“My death touch. He called it.”

“He gave you his own life force,” Micah breathed.

“And I can’t give it back! Dammit, Turo.” She tried to roll over, to reach him, and screamed.

Micah pressed her back. “You’ve been badly injured Quinn. You’re healing, but it’s going to take a little while. Tell us what to do to help him.”

“I don’t know.” Oh my God, he’d given her his life force, his
life. Oh, Turo. Forgive me for ever doubting you.

“Quinn.” Micah stared at her, his brows hard together. “At Sakamoto’s, when Tassard collapsed, you stole his strength through Ax, but not Ax’s. Could you do that again, but give it to Ax, instead?”

She frowned at him. “I don’t understand.”

“I want you to steal my strength and give it to Ax. Could you do that?”

Kassius moved into her line of vision beside Micah. “Just a little from him, a little from me.”

“And me,” someone else said. Lukas.

She stared up at Micah through eyes blurred with pain. “I could kill you all.”

“No. We won’t let you do that. Will you try?”

If it might save Turo? “Yes, of course.”

Micah nodded. “Take all you need. Just tell me what to do.”

She had no idea. “Give me his hand, then take his other.”

Micah looked away, reached for something, and a moment later, Arturo’s cold hand pressed against hers. Quinn grabbed hold of his lifeless fingers, her heart squeezing.

Turo, what were you thinking?