With a wave of his hand, the solid door became transparent, and Christian could see Victoria's worried face as she stood in the doorway, her hands up against the now invisible door. Their eyes connected for a split second just as Gabriel started laughing horribly, drawing their stares. He wiped mock tears from his eyes.
"You're no Romeo, Devereux," he said. "And she's definitely not your Juliet. Not by the time I've finished with her anyway." Despite his control, a muscle began to tick in Christian's jaw. "Enjoy the show, Tori. I'm certainly going to," Gabriel said to Victoria, just as he did the hot knife trick in her belly. She leaned against the door gasping. Her eyes were glued to Christian's, and Gabriel's rage erupted at their shared look. He twisted his hand again viciously and she fell, clutching her stomach but still not making a sound, defiant to the end. Christian restrained his fury.
"Do you know what I am, Devereux?" Gabriel said, making conversation as they slowly circled each other. "Do you have any idea what you're up against? No, of course you don't. You can't win, you know. She belongs to me now. So I ask you, is she worth it? Is she worth losing everything? Is she worth your life?"
Christian ignored his taunts and his unruffled silence irritated Gabriel more than anything. Gabriel's face contorted.
"Malus cremo!" A ball of black fire flew from Gabriel's outstretched hand. Christian who had been expecting it, dodged with unexpected speed to the right as it exploded into the side of the wall. Gabriel raised an eyebrow, his face registering surprise at Christian's lucky guess.
"Know what that is, Devereux? That's magic. Like I said, you can't win. She's a witch too, did you know? Or did she lie to you just like she lies to everyone else?"
Christian forced himself not to look at Victoria. He'd wanted to tear Gabriel apart with his bare hands when he saw what he had so viciously done to her. He did not want to show any weakness for her because he knew that Gabriel would use that against him without hesitation.
She, for her part, had not even made a sound watching them circle each other like two lions as if she'd come to the same realization. Christian spared her a glance. Her eyes widened, alerting him to the danger just as Gabriel teleported, appearing behind him and lunging for him with a long curving knife. Christian swung out of the way just before the blade sliced through where his chest had been. Gabriel teleported again, and once more, Christian eluded his attack.
Gabriel was breathing heavily. "You're either born under a lucky star, Devereux, or tonight's just your night." Christian stayed silent. "So much for this physical stuff!" Gabriel cried and parried with a stunning spell that blasted a hole in the wall as Christian leapt out of the way. Gabriel screamed in thwarted fury.
"Corpus discidium!" he shouted. But like its counterparts before, the death spell missed its intended target as Christian vaulted out of the way, moving so quickly that he was a blur. Christian watched as the powerful spell pulverized an armchair, and his gaze moved to Gabriel, who was panting heavily.
Christian smiled with provoking mockery as if to say "bad luck mate," and Gabriel gnashed his teeth in frustration. For the first time, Gabriel looked confused and furious as if he couldn't fathom how his opponent kept getting the best of him. In aggravated rage, his gaze locked on Victoria and something ugly kindled in his eyes.
He teleported again, but this time it was into Victoria's cell. He grasped her by her hair and kissed her wetly on the mouth. She fought him, clumps of hair coming loose in his hand and scratching at his face with her nails. His mouth curled. He backhanded her across the face, and she stumbled back, her head colliding with the wall. Victoria slid to the floor, barely conscious. Gabriel regarded Christian through the transparent door and smirked before teleporting back into the main room.
Game on.
Christian was livid. The fury drove through his muscles but despite its intensity, he knew that he had to be careful. Gabriel was a warlock, a powerful warlock if his offensive magic was any indication. Christian waited, his fury simmering.
"I'm going to have to teach her how to do that correctly," Gabriel said, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.
"What? Have her scratch your face off properly you mean?" Christian said, unable to resist the jibe. Gabriel's fingers went automatically to his face where he felt the slight sting where she had scratched him. Little hellcat. He lunged toward Christian with the knife and at the same time summoned his energy, blasting a ball of energy exactly to where Christian leapt.
"Noceo!"