‘Mia, run!’ Kizzy’s voice echoed stridently.
Everything seemed to be unfolding in such a blur that Mia barely registered what was happening.
‘Mia!’ Kizzy yelled again. ‘Run!’ She emerged into view several metres away, a wooden crossbow tucked under her arm.
‘Kizzy!’ Mia gasped. ‘You shot him!’
Colt let out a growl. ‘It’s a poisoned tip,’ he said through gritted teeth. In one swift motion, he ripped the arrow out of his body and tossed it aside.
‘Mia, get away from him!’ Kizzy cried. ‘We need to get out of here!’ She hovered at a safe distance from her immobilised victim.
‘I can’t leave him!’ Mia called back, her voice cracking with emotion.
Guardedly, Kizzy edged closer, still clinging to the crossbow. ‘He was trying to kill you! Get away from him!’
‘No,’ Mia explained, ‘he wasn’t going to hurt me. He’s my friend.’ She was racked with guilt. This was all her fault. If she’d been honest with Kizzy in the first place, none of this would be happening.
Kizzy gawped at her. ‘He’s your what?’
‘He’s the one who’s been helping me with my power,’ Mia revealed. She turned her attention back to Colt, who was lying wounded and in pain. His eyes seemed unfocused and beads of sweat glistened on his face.
‘What was on the tip?’ he rasped.
Kizzy took another cautious step forward. ‘Rosewood sap and oleander,’ she said in a shallow voice.
‘I knew it,’ Colt spat, ‘a poisoned tip. You did a ritual, Arcana?’
Kizzy’s face turned pale. ‘Yes.’
Mia’s brow furrowed. ‘A ritual? A ritual for what?’
‘I saw him. After you left the library I had a vision: the two of you were in the graveyard and I thought he was going to kill you. So I…’ she trailed off.
‘So you thought you’d kill me first,’ Colt finished.
‘I had to stop it,’ Kizzy murmured. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t know…’
Mia closed her eyes. ‘There was no way you could have known,’ she said quietly. ‘What was the ritual exactly? Can it be reversed?’
‘I…I think so,’ Kizzy stuttered. ‘I think there’s a potion that acts as an antidote to the poison.’
Colt snorted. ‘Oh, great! She thinks.’
Mia placed her hand on his brow, calming him. ‘Kizzy,’ she said. ‘Do you think you can do the reversal ritual?’
Kizzy nodded her head. ‘I need to find the book and the herbs, but I’ll go as quickly as I can.’
‘Thanks,’ Mia replied quickly. ‘I’ll wait here with Colt.’
Without missing a beat, Kizzy turned and sprinted across the graveyard, back towards the castle.
Colt’s eyelids drooped. ‘It’s starting to numb,’ he said, ‘which is pleasant.’
Mia shivered.
‘Actually,’ Colt went on, ‘I think it’s time you left me. The Hunters will sense what’s happened to me and track me down. I imagine they’ll be here soon.’
Mia traced her hand along his face, soothing him. ‘I don’t want to leave you,’ she said, unafraid.
Colt flinched. ‘Go!’ he barked. ‘When they find you here, they’ll kill you.’
‘I can’t,’ Mia choked. ‘I can’t leave you when you’re in pain!’
He summoned a weak smile. ‘I’m not in pain. I told you, I can’t feel a thing. I’m enjoying it in some ways.’
‘How can you make jokes at a time like this?’ she cried.
He blinked up at her, as though he couldn’t quite see her properly. ‘Please go,’ he said quietly. ‘You know how much I loathe to say please. And I did it, didn’t I? Just for you.’
Mia shook her head. Her eyes welled with hot tears. ‘I don’t want to go. I don’t want you to be alone.’
‘Don’t worry. It’ll be quick,’ he assured her. ‘And I wasn’t exaggerating – I really can’t feel a thing. Otherwise I’d throw you on your way.’
‘You’ll die?’ Mia whispered, fighting back a catch in her voice.
‘Yes. But quickly.’
‘No.’ Mia shook her head. ‘No. Kizzy will be back with the antidote soon and then…’
‘She won’t be back in time,’ Colt interrupted. ‘The poison is spreading. It’ll be a matter of minutes. The girl will barely have time to find the correct book, let alone execute the ritual.’
‘Well, then, you’ll have to hold on.’
‘It’s not like I have a choice in the matter, darling.’ He shuddered under the mercy of the poison.
‘There has to be another way,’ she tried again.
‘There isn’t. Go!’ he told her. ‘Listen to me; there’s an instinct in a Hunter coven to go to a brother when he’s under threat. I’m trying to focus on blocking their senses, but I’m fading. I can’t carry on. It takes too much concentration, and I want to rest.’
Mia began to tremble. Not in fear of the Hunter coven, but in terror at the thought that she would helplessly watch Colt die.
‘Wait…’ she muddled on, mostly to herself. ‘The coven. Blood of the coven,’ she said out loud. ‘You said blood of the coven can be a loophole in all sorts of rituals.’
‘No,’ Colt denied her flatly, already predicting where her thoughts were heading.
‘Will it work?’
‘I’m not taking your blood,’ Colt snapped. ‘Now, be gone! You’re not wanted here.’
‘Why won’t you take my blood?’ Mia persisted.
He convulsed as a wave of pain flooded over him. ‘Don’t be ridiculous! You’re not even a coven!’
Mia shrugged her shoulders. ‘Kizzy’s the closest thing I have to a coven. If it’s got a chance of working, I think we should try it.’
‘No!’ Colt snarled warningly at her.
‘Why not?’
He closed his eyes. ‘Because I’ll bleed you dry,’ he muttered. ‘I’ll kill you.’
‘No, you won’t,’ Mia insisted. In truth, she couldn’t be sure of that, but she refused to let him die. Not when there was a chance of healing him.
‘Don’t be so careless with your life,’ Colt advised her. ‘If I start drinking from you, I won’t stop.’
‘I’ll stop you.’
Colt laughed sourly. ‘No one could stop me.’ The statement, though arrogant, was not said with pride.
But it didn’t deter Mia. Even with Colt’s harrowing warnings, she twisted her arm and picked at the graze on her elbow.
She grimaced as the cut reopened and glistened with fresh blood.
‘No,’ Colt groaned. With great effort he tipped his head away from her. ‘Don’t.’
Kneeling at his side, Mia gently guided his face back towards her. She noticed that his skin was hot and clammy to the touch. His eyes rested upon hers with a wistful intensity. All through the graveyard the wind chimes whistled softly on the breeze.
‘Go away,’ said Colt, pensively. ‘And just say goodbye. I’d like that to be the last thing I hear.’
‘No,’ she denied him.
‘Don’t make “no” the last thing I hear! I’m told it far too frequently as it is.’ He coughed and winced. ‘That word has been the bane of my life, and now my death, too!’
‘Now who’s being melodramatic?’ Mia remarked under her breath.
‘I’m allowed to be melodramatic. I’m soon to be dead!’
Mia straightened up her shoulders. She knew what she needed to do. ‘Open your mouth,’ she instructed.
Colt pressed his lips together obstinately. ‘Go away!’ he garbled, followed by a string of profanities which, as luck would have it, were mostly inaudible behind his sealed lips.
‘What a temper!’ Mia teased him. ‘I didn’t resort to such foul language when our roles were reversed last night.’
In spite of his suffering, Colt smirked. ‘Your memory is selective,’ he pointed out. But his mouth remained clamped shut.
Taking charge, Mia pressed her elbow to his lips.
&nbs
p; Colt let out a howl of protest and thrashed his head back and forth in an attempt to escape her.
But his efforts were in vain. A trickle of blood spilled over into his mouth, and with the taste on his tongue, it was impossible to resist. Reluctantly, his lips parted and the exchange began.
Mia clenched her fists. She could feel the sensation like tiny pinpricks. Contrary to what Colt had said, it wasn’t enjoyable in the least.
Before her very eyes, Mia watched Colt’s strength return. His limbs flexed and regained their movement and dynamism. Vigorously, he clamped his hands around her arm, securing her elbow to his mouth.
‘OK,’ Mia spoke shakily. ‘I think that’s enough.’
But Colt didn’t respond to her. He didn’t stop feeding, either. In fact, he seemed more rapt by the procedure than ever.
‘Stop!’ Mia cried. She squirmed to free herself, but his grip was ruthless.
The pinprick sensation developed into a deep sting. His fingers squeezed down upon her arm, as though he would crush her bones with his bare hands.
‘Stop!’ Mia commanded. Desperately, she used her free hand to push at his face. But he refused to relinquish his hold. As panic rose in her throat, a strong gust of air whipped over Colt, tousling through the strands of his dark hair. The breeze swirled around him and, in one solid blow, struck his face away from her, breaking the connection.
Mia quickly withdrew her arm, and Colt lay panting on the ground, his face cushioned by the moss of Spangles’ grave.
Neither spoke for a moment.
‘Thank you,’ Colt murmured at last. He paused and slanted his head to look up at her. ‘You see,’ he said puckishly, ‘that’s the suitable response for such self-sacrifice. Thank you. I believe your response to me was, “You evil, vile monster.” Or something to that effect.’
Mia smiled. ‘I see you’re back to your old self,’ she commented wryly, rubbing at her sore elbow. ‘My blood worked?’
He lay on the moss, placid but strong. ‘Apparently.’ He extended his arms, stretching them out around him and relishing in their restored strength. ‘I suppose we’re even now.’
‘I suppose we are. Although I think I drew the short straw!’
Colt grinned. He flexed his hands and idly knotted his fingers through the moss. ‘You didn’t enjoy it? Not even a little bit?’ he taunted her wickedly.
‘No!’
‘Suit yourself. But, on the plus side, you resorted to using your power.’
Mia beamed. ‘I did it? I charged the air to push you away?’
‘Yes, you did. And with quite good force, too,’ he admitted. ‘Not bad.’
‘So I’m as powerful as you?’
Colt chuckled throatily. ‘No.’
‘But one day I might be…’
‘No,’ he cut her off. ‘You’re delusional.’
Mia swatted at him in good-nature. ‘Maybe I’ll surprise you.’
‘You always do,’ he replied casually.
For some reason Mia blushed. She moved on swiftly, ‘Will the other Hunters still be tracking you?’
‘No. I’m not in pain anymore.’
Mia let out a sigh of relief. ‘So you’ll be OK?’
Colt closed his eyes. ‘Yes.’ The shimmer of the sunlight lit up his face and for a moment he looked almost ethereal. ‘I just need to rest for a moment.’
‘I should find Kizzy and tell her we don’t need the reversal potion,’ Mia mused out loud.
‘No,’ Colt said in a smooth tone.
Mia studied him curiously. ‘No?’
‘Not yet,’ he elaborated. ‘You’ve lost a lot of blood. You’re probably feeling light-headed.’
‘No. I think I’m OK.’
Colt opened one eye and peered at her. ‘No. You’re probably tired. Perhaps you should stay here.’
‘I’m fine!’ she insisted with a laugh.
‘All the same…’ He hesitated. ‘I think you should stay.’
‘Why?’
‘You know why. Don’t make me say it!’
‘Do you want me to stay?’ she asked tentatively.
He mulled it over for a second. ‘Yes, please,’ he said at last.
‘Well, seeing as though you asked so nicely…’
Colt patted the ground. ‘Would you like to rest for a while?’
A little unsure, Mia lay down on the moss beside him. She looked up into the clear blue sky.
‘Are you alright?’ Colt asked her.
She tilted her head to look at him. This close to him, she could see every detail of his face; the deep green of his eyes, his straight nose, and the flicker of a smirk on his lips. Lost for words, her cheeks flushed.
‘You can sleep if you want to,’ Colt told her. ‘I’ll make sure no harm comes to you.’
‘I won’t sleep,’ she said softly, ‘but I’ll shut my eyes. Just for a minute.’
Colt chuckled quietly. ‘OK, darling.’
The melody of wind chimes gently woke Mia from her slumber. She opened her eyes blearily to find that she was alone in the graveyard. The sun was still high, but there was a bite in the air.
Sitting upright, she glanced around for Colt. He was nowhere to be seen.
And then she heard the sound of footsteps approaching.
‘Colt?’ Mia called out.
As the footsteps neared, Kizzy came into view, pacing across the graveyard clutching a vial of translucent liquid.
‘I’ve got the remedy!’ Kizzy declared, beaming in triumph.
Mia groaned. ‘Kizzy, I’m so sorry,’ she said. ‘I should have gone to find you, but I guess I fell asleep. He’s OK. We didn’t need the potion.’
Kizzy came to a halt and dropped down beside Mia, leaning back against Spangles’ gravestone. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand; her cheeks rosy from running.
‘That’s a relief,’ she admitted. ‘I’m not sure how well this would have worked.’ She held up the vial for closer inspection. ‘It’s not so easy to do the reversal ritual. But how did you manage it without the potion?’
Mia cringed at the memory. ‘Do you really want to know?’
‘I doubt it. But go ahead and tell me anyway.’
Mia touched her tender elbow. There was a high chance that Kizzy would be appalled by what she had done, but she didn’t want to lie to her again.
‘I had to give him blood,’ she confessed. ‘My blood.’ Her gaze wandered down to the ground, avoiding Kizzy’s eyes.
‘Eww!’ Kizzy shrieked.
‘Yeah. It was gross.’
‘Eww!’ Kizzy wailed again. ‘This is totally my fault, Mia! If I hadn’t shot him, you never would have had to do that.’
Mia looked up at her. ‘It’s not your fault. It’s my fault for not being honest with you.’
Kizzy gave her a quick hug. ‘Don’t sweat it. You don’t have to tell me everything, you know. Although I’m surprised you didn’t tell me about Colt.’
‘I wanted to.’
‘What stopped you?’
‘I don’t know.’ Mia gazed distantly at the wind chimes as they swayed in the afternoon breeze. ‘I was embarrassed. He’s a Hunter and…’
‘You don’t need to be embarrassed – I’m not going to judge you!’
‘I know,’ Mia smiled. ‘Thanks.’
‘You must really like him,’ Kizzy guessed.
‘Maybe. Not at first,’ Mia mulled it over, ‘but now I think I do. I know I do.’
Kizzy chewed on her thumbnail. ‘Good. Well, kind of good. I mean, I’m glad you’ve met someone you like. It’s just unfortunate that that someone is Colt!’
‘Believe me – I was as shocked as you are!’ Mia laughed. ‘But I know him. He’s not who we thought he was.’
‘He’s still a Hunter though, Mia,’ Kizzy pointed out gently.
‘I don’t care. I’m not afraid of him. They say Hunters are heartless and inhumane, but he isn’t. I know he isn’t those things.’
Kizzy exhaled in submission. ‘L
isten, I’m on your side, whatever happens. Just be careful, OK?’ Her blue eyes clouded. ‘I don’t want to see you get hurt.’
‘Thanks,’ Mia said again. ‘And thanks for today. You know, for coming to my rescue and all.’
Kizzy grinned. ‘Any time.’ She paused. ‘Sorry I shot your boyfriend.’
Mia held up her hands. ‘It happens.’
‘So, does anyone else know? About you and Colt, I mean.’
Mia shook her head. ‘No way. You think I’d tell Dino? He’d have a fit!’
‘Good point,’ Kizzy agreed. ‘Well, your secret’s safe with me. Just promise to watch out. I know you’ve got close to Colt, but there might be another side to him. One you haven’t seen yet.’
A hazy cloud drifted overhead, blocking out the sun and shading the graveyard. The girls fell silent as they contemplated the dull shadows loom grimly over the graves.
That evening Dino and Blue retreated to the library. Alone in the musty room, Blue worked on his power while Dino leafed through a stack of aged books.
‘What exactly are you looking for?’ Blue asked, frowning at his friend.
Dino kept his eyes fixed on the yellowed pages of his current book. ‘Anything I can find on Hunter covens.’
‘Why?’ Blue pressed.
Dino flipped through a few more pages and then slammed the book shut in frustration. ‘Damn it!’ he cursed.
‘OK, what’s g-going on?’ Blue demanded. ‘You’ve been acting w-weird all day. And you still haven’t explained about that c-cut on your face. I covered for you, remember? You at l-least owe me an explanation.’
‘I can’t explain,’ Dino replied vaguely.
‘Does this have to do with that guy you met? Tol?’
Dino’s coffee-brown eyes darted anxiously around the poorly lit library. ‘Shh!’ he hissed, despite the fact that the room was completely empty.
Blue lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘Either you’re insanely p-paranoid, or something else has happened.’
Dino groaned inwardly. Tol had warned him not to speak of their arrangement, so how could he possibly share his worries? More than anything he wanted to talk to Blue about his predicament, but it was far too risky.
‘I can’t tell you,’ he said after a suspenseful pause.
Blue frowned. Waves of sandy blond hair fell forward over his furrowed brow. ‘Why can’t you t-tell me?’