Colt continued, ‘To break the enticement hold, you need to drain the blood of your possessor. In other words, you need to slaughter him. Alternatively, you can feed off the blood of his coven. An eye for an eye, of sorts. It levels out the playing field.’
Grudgingly, Mia began to piece the information together. ‘And you’re part of his coven?’
‘Yes. Myself, Lotan, Roc and Siren.’
‘In other words, by drinking your blood, I’m now immune to Lotan’s enticement?’
‘Yes.’
Mia swallowed nervously. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Of course I’m sure!’
There was a long pause while Colt’s admission truly sank in.
Eventually Mia spoke again. ‘Why did you do it?’ she asked in a small voice.
‘I don’t know.’ Colt absent-mindedly licked at the wound on his arm. ‘I’m extremely ashamed of myself. I suppose I wanted to give you a fighting chance. After all, it was I who sought you to end the rain. Perhaps in doing so, I led you to believe that you were permitted to approach me.’ He frowned. ‘Which you’re not, by the way.’
‘Then go,’ she retorted, unable to hide the tremor in her words.
‘Besides,’ Colt added with a lazy smirk, ‘I like to think that if anyone gets to kill you, it’ll be me.’
‘Maybe I’ll kill you,’ Mia shot back, feigning courage.
The corner of Colt’s mouth curved upwards slowly. ‘I doubt that very much, darling.’ He lowered his voice to a murmur, ‘But I would love to see you try.’
His statement sent a chill down Mia’s spine.
‘And on that very exciting note,’ Colt announced brightly, ‘I will leave you. Sweet dreams,’ he added menacingly. In the blink of an eye, he vanished.
Mia lay in bed, her heart pounding wildly. Once she was certain that Colt was gone, she scrambled out of bed.
‘Dino!’ she cried, stumbling in the darkness.
She yanked his bed curtains apart, but her brother was still not there.
The call of an owl echoed throughout the night sky. Somewhere below it, Dino paced along the grass embankment. He paused at the new sound and stood like a statue, his dark hair painted with a silvery moonlit streak.
It was late. He wasn’t sure exactly how late, but it was safe to assume that the other residents would all be asleep. Not Dino, though. He hadn’t even been back to his bedroom yet. Not since that morning. In fact, after his dispute with Mia, his mind was fixed on one thing: finding Tol. And it was a mission he did not intend to back out of.
‘Tol!’ he hollered into the emptiness of the night.
There was no response.
Dino cursed under his breath. He had been there for hours now, waiting in the same spot. The reality was that he had no idea where to find Tol, but he figured his best chance would be to return to the place of their first encounter. So that’s where he waited, on the crest of the sloping embankment.
Rapidly losing hope, Dino scanned the blackened forest, searching the darkness for any sign of movement. But still there was nothing. It seemed as though a second encounter was not quite so easy to happen upon.
‘Tol!’ he shouted.
And then, the world began to stir. All around him, the leaves on the trees rustled. It was as though they were quaking, anticipating something terrible.
‘Tol!’ Dino bellowed again. His voice rasped with an aggression that even he was unfamiliar with.
At long last he got his response.
Before he saw or heard anything, he felt it. He felt the hot breath on the back of his neck, and he knew that the man was behind him. But this time Dino was prepared. He showed no fear. He simply turned until their eyes were level.
‘What a surprise,’ Tol hissed. ‘You calling me. How very unexpected.’ The repugnant man seemed even more grotesque the second time around. His beady eyes were void and soulless, and his face, though human, was the face of a serpent. Despite the sizeable distance between them, Tol’s body language was uncomfortably intrusive.
‘I called you,’ Dino agreed audaciously, ‘and you came.’ He hoped that fact would assert his supremacy, but regrettably his Sententia ability showed him that Tol was not intimidated. Not in the slightest.
‘To what do I owe the pleasure?’ Tol inquired with a touch of venom in his tone.
‘You know why I’m here.’
‘Is that so?’ The man’s voice dripped with predatory curiosity.
‘My sister.’
‘Your sister?’ Tol was momentarily stunned. Then smoothly his expression returned to a malicious leer. ‘What of her?’
‘I know what you’re doing,’ Dino confronted him. ‘Promising her power and tricking her into falling for your lies.’ He was so adamantly convinced that Tol was Mia’s mystery confidant that he had become blind to any other possible alternative.
‘I have no use for her,’ Tol scoffed. ‘It’s you I want, boy.’
‘Then leave her alone,’ Dino replied fiercely.
Tol bared his jagged teeth in a sinister smile.
‘What can you offer me for her life?’ he bargained.
Dino’s mouth went dry. ‘What do you want?’ he returned. All of a sudden, he didn’t feel quite so brave any more.
‘You know what I want,’ said Tol. He eyed Dino hungrily, his mouth watering at the very prospect.
‘You want me,’ Dino answered for him.
‘I want you to join my coven.’
Dino stiffened. ‘And do what?’ he asked. He couldn’t believe that he was actually considering this.
‘And become the fourth Hunter. The final piece needed to complete our coven.’ Tol’s breathing started to accelerate in sheer excitement.
Dino backed away involuntarily. Of course, he had presumed that Tol was a Hunter and he already knew what the man wanted from him. But to hear it said so openly was bloodcurdling.
‘I’m not a Hunter,’ Dino told him defiantly.
‘You were born to be a Hunter,’ Tol argued. ‘It’s inside of you. I can see it building, desperate to break free.’
‘The only thing building is my desire to rid the world of you,’ Dino fired back. As much as he hated to admit it, Tol’s remark had shaken him.
‘It’s your destiny,’ Tol persevered. He began to claw at his own skin in expectancy. ‘I am your destiny.’
‘Oh, well, if that’s the case then I suppose you should just kill me now,’ Dino jeered, ‘’cause that’s not a destiny I want to fulfil.’
Tol carried on, unfazed, ‘You’re a Hunter. I can taste it in the air that surrounds you.’ He closed his eyes to savour the aroma on the breeze.
Dino balled his hands into fists. ‘I’m not a Hunter,’ he repeated. But his self-belief was starting to falter.
‘Not yet,’ Tol admitted. ‘But I can change you.’ He salivated at the idea. ‘All you have to do is give yourself willingly and I will take care of the rest.’
‘No,’ Dino said in a firm yet quiet voice.
‘Then I’ll take the girl,’ Tol stated simply.
‘No!’ Dino exclaimed.
‘I’m losing my patience,’ Tol said, his face contorting into a snarl.
Dino opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
‘The girl will die,’ Tol declared finally, ‘and you will watch.’ He turned and began to walk away.
‘Wait!’ Dino stopped him.
Hidden from Dino’s eyes, Tol smiled triumphantly. He spun around to face his prey.
‘There must be another way,’ Dino pleaded. No longer was he the bold, confident boy who had summoned Tol to him. Now he was broken and begging for mercy.
Tol mulled it over, dragging out his decision with agonising torment. At last, he spoke. ‘There is no other way. It’s you or her.’
Dino’s heart plummeted. ‘What will happen to me if I join your coven?’
Tol’s snake eyes lit up in corrupt delight. ‘I will unshackle you from your humanity and transform you into th
e greatest warrior that ever lived. Others will tremble before you while you destroy them. And you will thrive off doing so.’
‘No,’ Dino stammered.
‘I have already seen it. It is written.’
‘No,’ Dino choked. ‘No! There has to be another way. I’ll find a way,’ he stuttered. ‘I can protect my sister from you.’
‘Can you?’ Tol baited him.
‘Yes,’ Dino spat, staring him down.
Tol directed his focus to a nearby tree, its trunk thicker than any other in sight. ‘Watch me,’ Tol barked. He raised his hand, and then, with an almighty tearing sound, the tree trunk cracked along its centre. The dense trunk shattered into two halves, which split and bowed away from each other.
Dino’s breath escaped in a pant.
‘The girl will be first,’ Tol warned. ‘But I won’t stop there. I’ll take all of them. I’ll work my way through them until you are left entirely alone. And by then you will beg me to take you.’
All of a sudden Dino couldn’t breathe. There was no way out. In the depths of his mind he heard the searing sound of Tol’s glory.
‘OK,’ Dino relented, holding his hands up in defeat. ‘Just please, give me some time.’
‘Time?’
‘Just some time to think. You said I had to come willingly, right?’
‘I will give you time,’ Tol mused, allowing Dino a solitary lifeline. ‘Time to think about my offer. On the condition that you tell no one of our deal. If you try to run, or if you speak of our arrangement, then your time will be up. Do you accept my demands?’
Dino nodded his head.
Tol went on, ‘And you agree that you’re willing to join my coven? Maybe not immediately, but you are willing to consider my offer?’
Dino nodded his head again, unable to speak.
‘Then say it,’ Tol urged. Although Tol continued to stand at a distance from Dino, his presence was overwhelming.
‘I’ll consider joining your coven,’ Dino murmured, his voice quivering.
Tol let out a hollow, delirious cackle. ‘Your words have unbound me,’ he declared. And for the first time since their meeting, he stepped closer to Dino. So close that Dino could smell the rank odour of his rotting skin. ‘You see, boy,’ Tol said, now clutching Dino’s face in a crooked hand, ‘a long time ago, a witch’s spell prevented me from approaching anyone like you. But there’s always a loophole, and you just invited me in. I’ve waited many years to do this…’
‘To do what?’ Dino rasped in alarm. Tol held his face so tightly that it felt as though he was clamped in an iron vice.
‘This,’ Tol whispered. In one rapid motion, he trailed his serrated yellow fingernail along Dino’s jaw line.
Dino winced as the skin split and blood dripped over on to Tol’s hand.
Satisfied, Tol relinquished his grip and stood back. ‘Now run away and think, boy. Because the next time you see me, it’ll be on my terms.’
Stumbling over his own feet, Dino raced along the embankment, his heart beating at an impossible rate. He didn’t dare look back, just in case Tol was in pursuit.
But Tol didn’t attempt to follow him. Instead, he remained on the embankment, triumphantly licking the blood from his fingers.
Chapter Nine
Lies
Mia awoke in a bleary haze. The memories of her late-night visitor came back to her in a blur.
Was that a dream? she wondered, in a state of disbelief. But the spatters of dried blood staining her white bed sheets confirmed it to be true.
‘Dino!’ she called out.
From across the room, Dino groaned. ‘What?’ His voice was muffled and slurred, not quite awake yet.
‘Where were you last night?’ Mia demanded.
Dino hesitated. When he spoke again, his tone was much more coherent, as though he too had been hit with an abrupt reminder of the previous night. ‘Out,’ he answered.
Mia sat up in bed. ‘Out? In the middle of the night?’
‘Yes.’
What was he doing out so late at night? she mused, naturally suspicious.
Dino sensed her feelings of doubt. ‘It’s not a crime.’
‘I didn’t say it was,’ Mia shot back, defensively. She listened to the scuffling sound of Dino getting out of bed. Moments later, the bedroom door creaked open and then slammed shut.
‘Dino?’ Mia peered out from behind her bed curtains.
He was gone.
Baffled by his prompt exit, Mia climbed out of bed and inspected the deserted room. It was hard to believe that he had actually left. He barely would have had time to get dressed.
Venturing over to his side of the room, she noticed that the curtains canopying his bed were ajar. She peeled them back and peeked inside. The bed was a complete mess. The sheets were twisted and tangled from what must have been a restless night’s sleep.
Mia pulled the curtains apart and set to work making his bed. She figured he’d probably appreciate it. But as she straightened out the jumbled sheets, she spotted a large patch of dried blood on one of the pillowcases.
The sight was shocking. Instantly, Mia dropped the sheet she was holding and drew the bed curtains closed. For a moment she wasn’t sure how to react. Why was there blood on his bedding? Had Colt been to see Dino, too? She had to talk to her brother.
She hurried to her wardrobe and yanked out a butter-coloured dress. She threw it on and quickly dragged a brush through her hair before darting out of the bedchamber.
A few Arcana boys were loitering at the bottom of the stairwell. Mia raced past them without a word.
‘Looking for me?’ one of the boys commented sleazily. The others sniggered as though he had made a fantastically witty joke.
Mia grimaced. ‘No,’ she replied flatly. Paying them no attention, she began flinging open the doors to the ground-floor rooms. ‘I’m looking for my brother. Have you seen him?’
‘What, you mean the psycho?’ another boy called out to her. ‘Yeah, he passed us. We told him to keep walking!’ The gathering of boys burst into hysterics like a pack of hyenas.
Mia glared at them. ‘Is that so?’ she challenged. ‘Well, I’m betting you didn’t say it loud enough for him to hear.’
They looked between one another, evidently maddened that she was testing their masculinity.
‘We’d say it to his face,’ one of the other boys spoke up. ‘He thinks he’s tough, but he’s just a wannabe Hunter.’
‘He is not!’ Mia glared at them. How dare they speak about her brother in this way!
‘I’d take him on,’ a heavy-set boy added, sneering brashly.
Mia stared at him through narrowed eyes. ‘OK. I’ll tell him to meet you in the courtyard in, say, ten minutes?’
The boy shifted uncomfortably. ‘Nah. I’m busy.’
Mia smiled sweetly. ‘I thought so.’ Content with the outcome, she trotted away and returned to her search. She hated to hear people slander Dino like that. She was the only one allowed to talk trash about him.
Eventually she found Dino in the drawing room. He was standing at the refreshment table, pouring himself a cup of witches’ brew. Several other Arcana were dotted casually around.
‘There’s blood on your pillow!’ Mia blurted out. A few of the Arcana turned to look at her.
‘Shh! Keep your voice down.’ Dino gripped her elbow and steered her towards an unoccupied corner.
‘Why is there blood on your pillow?’ Mia asked again, this time in a hushed voice.
‘I cut myself,’ Dino replied without batting an eyelid.
Mia eyed him cynically. ‘Must have been a pretty severe cut. Your pillowcase was drenched.’
‘What are you doing snooping around in my side of the room?’
‘How did you cut yourself?’ Mia pressed.
‘Shaving,’ he said.
‘Show me.’
Dino pulled down the collar of his polo shirt and tilted his head to expose his jaw line.
Mia cringed at t
he sight of the jagged gash that trailed along her brother’s face. ‘That’s a strange kind of shaving cut. What were you using, a chainsaw?’
Dino flipped his collar back up. ‘How would you know what a shaving cut looks like? It’s not like you’re an expert.’
‘Does it hurt?’ she asked.
‘No,’ he said with an offhanded shrug.
But Mia saw through his lie.
She decided to give him one last chance to confide in her. ‘Swear to me,’ she said, searching his eyes for the truth. ‘Swear to me that you got that cut from shaving.’ At times like this, she wished that she had his power. It definitely would have come in handy.
Dino didn’t respond. He raised an eyebrow at her, effectively ending their conversation.
‘Fine,’ Mia submitted. ‘But if that’s what happens when you shave, maybe you should think about growing a beard,’ she uttered quietly. Something about this didn’t feel right to her.
Their discussion was cut short as Kizzy and Blue strolled into the drawing room.
Dino called them over, glad to put an end to his sister’s questioning.
‘Blue,’ Mia said abruptly, ‘do you shave?’
Blue took a seat in an armchair and ran his hand along his face. Despite being the same age as Dino, Blue’s skin had a more youthful appearance. ‘Shave? Yes,’ he said. ‘Well, sometimes,’ he added sheepishly. ‘At least three times.’
Mia deliberated. ‘And do you ever cut yourself?’
‘Every time,’ Blue admitted.
‘Drop it, Mia,’ Dino scowled.
She carried on regardless. ‘Ever cut yourself this bad?’ She yanked Dino’s collar down before he had a chance to pull away.
‘Ooh,’ Kizzy winced sympathetically. ‘That looks sore.’
‘It does look bad,’ Mia agreed. ‘A little worse than your average shaving nick, wouldn’t you think?’
In the split second that Mia’s eyes were on Kizzy, Dino looked at Blue, signalling for him to play along.
Blue twitched nervously. ‘Well, I-I’ve had s-some bad cuts.’
Mia frowned. ‘That bad?’