I took off running as fast as I could, wishing I had even half Teresa’s speed. Pure terror clawed at my gut. This wasn’t happening. I couldn’t let this happen.
When I got close enough to make sure I wouldn’t hit any wolves, a spell formed on my lips and I flung it at the two standing figures. Girls. Sadie and Antonia.
The spell hit its mark and they stumbled back.
Daniel was on the ground. Not moving.
He was dead. He should’ve stayed dead. Not been corrupted by Luciana’s evil magic.
“Come back with us,” Sadie said as she pulled herself to her feet. “Luciana can fix your wound.”
“Never!” Raphael struggled to get up, cradling his arm against his chest.
Relief made my limbs shake. He was okay. He wasn’t dead. He was going to be fine.
“None of us are ever going back there,” Raphael said.
The wolves howled, and I noticed the quiet that had fallen over the rest of campus. The vampires must all be taken care of because the wolves moved to form a tight circle around us.
“Take them to the feral cages,” Mr. Dawson said. He wore only a pair of gray sweatpants as he stood among the wolves. Two more men came running, wearing the same clothes.
“That’s not a good idea,” I said. I didn’t know what these feral cages were, but I wasn’t sure they were strong enough to hold a witch. “They’ll be able to—”
“No. I’ll sedate them,” Dr. Gonzales said, appearing at Mr. Dawson’s shoulder with a black messenger bag slung over her shoulder. “They won’t be able to use their magic if they’re unconscious.”
The two girls gripped each other as they were led away by the two men, six wolves, and Dr. Gonzales. They headed toward the building where classes were held. It seemed odd, but a groan from Raphael and I forgot all about them.
“Let me see it,” I said as I knelt next to him.
“Daniel… He…”
“I saw.” No magic that animated the dead was good news. But this… This was beyond bad.
Green oozed out with my brother’s blood.
“Let’s get him to the infirmary,” Mr. Dawson said. “Dr. Gonzales can look at the arm when she’s done with the others, and we can see what we can do.”
I swallowed down my fear. “Okay.” I didn’t say what I was thinking, because I wanted to hope and not scare Raphael any more, but if the bite was infected, it was infected with something that medicine wouldn’t fix.
A hand came down on my shoulder and I looked up to see Yvonne. “One step at a time.”
“What should we do with the body?” Mr. Dawson said as he motioned down to Daniel.
I looked at what was left of my friend. We’d grown up together. Played together. Studied together. But this… This wasn’t my friend.
This was an abomination.
His skin had turned gray with patches of black. His mouth foamed white. Blisters covered his arms. And that was just what was visible. I stepped closer and choked at the foul stench of sulfur.
He held no aura. No soul. Whatever had been animating him was gone now.
“Burn it,” I said, and then I turned my back on him.
I had to focus on what I could do. I’d been too late to help Daniel, but if my brother was hurt, there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to save him.
Chapter Five
“You should get some sleep,” Dr. Gonzales said and I nearly laughed. I’d used magic tonight—sending my already depleted energy reserves so deep into the red that my body literally ached all over from exhaustion, but sleep was not an option. Especially not now.
“I’ll be fine,” I said. I was sitting in the only chair in the tiny room. The hospital bed took up most of the space. A small table sat beside it with the lamp on dim, providing the only light. There was a small bathroom behind me, and a wall of cabinets took up what room was left.
Raphael quietly snored as the pain meds worked their way through his body. It had taken twenty stitches to fix up the mess that z-Daniel had made. Meredith liked to call him that. Z for zombie.
Only it wasn’t zombie so much as demon. I’d made that known but according to Meredith, d-Daniel sounded more like a stutter and way less cool. If he had to be brought back like that, the least we could give him was a worthy nickname. Again, according to Meredith.
What we called the abomination that Luciana had created didn’t matter to me. What really counted was that Raphael was all right.
“Well, if you’re going to stay in that chair the rest of the night, there are blankets in the cabinets.” Dr. Gonzales moved toward the door. “I’ll be just down the hall. Shout if you need anything.”
I nodded, not looking away from my brother. “Thank you.” I sat there, as still as I could be, until she left. Then, I scooted the chair closer, until I could rest my forehead on the bed.
The wolves had to sense what was wrong with him. I could only smell it when I was this close, but the scent of sulfur surrounded my brother now, and it didn’t take a genius to guess what would happen next. My brother would be just like Daniel. Luciana wouldn’t be satisfied until her twisted magic took everything from me.