Grasping a handful of her hair at the top, I lowered my head until we were eye to eye, nose to nose. “Before I kill you, I want you to know something. I’m going to go back, and when I do, I’m going to do the same thing I’m about to do to you to your brother. Afterward, I’m coming for you. We will meet again.”
Before she could respond, I yanked on her hair, presenting her neck, and buried the blade into her throat. There was no blood, as the blade did as I was told it would. It drank from her, feasted on the lifeforce she provided. I continued applying pressure until the knife broke through bone and met the ground below. It was only then that a pool of red stained the floor.
“I now honor our bargain, Rhiannon Murphy.”
I heard the odd sounds that indicated Nemnoc was, in fact, leaving. As I lifted my head, I saw the bewildered stares of the vampires who had just lost their primary source of power.
Accepting the look of horror on Paine’s face was just another price I was forced to pay.
I lifted onto my knees, tucked the blade into the back of my pants, and reached for my butterfly knife. I had to mingle my blood and Victoria’s before I could finish what I’d started. I cut into the fatty portion of my hand—over the healing tissue from exorcising Sonja earlier—and reached into the dark, red pool, gathering as much of Victoria’s blood as I could. Then I crawled to the edge of salt, scooped some up, and stood.
“What are you doing, Rhiannon?”
I turned when I heard Goose who was being held back by his daughter. His revulsion mirrored Paine’s. The few humans in the room were too fucking petrified to move, their mouths gaping, eyes wide.
The sadness in my voice was very real. “What I have to.”
Turning in a circle, I released the salt as I opened my hand, creating a very skimpy circle of my blood, Victoria’s and the salt that would bind the two together.
“Marigold Vesta, I summon you to bargain. Heed my call and appear before me.”
The mirror distorted, but it was not the same. The glass cracked, as if it was going to shatter. The walls vibrated, causing several of the light fixtures to topple from the walls. Then a white light brighter than the sun blinded me. Everyone gasped and cried out. Blinking rapidly, I shook my head. When I was able to see clearly, I stared at the woman standing before me.
Her hair was the blond of a child, streaked naturally from the sun, and her skin was as pale and fair as the most beautiful and cherished of China. Her bright violet eyes took in the scene before her, and oddly enough, the cries and voices around us vanished, as if she and I were the only people in the room. Then her gaze turned to me. As our gazes met, she smiled so vibrantly her features created their own brand of light.
“I see the amulet made its way back to you as I intended.”
“I want to strike a bargain.”
“I already know what you desire, Rhiannon Murphy. I’ve known since you arrived here. That’s why I ensured the amulet returned to you. Zagan was stupid in forgetting you’d obtained it through a blood rite—a slight on his part. Not that he deserved the power the amulet bestows.”
I didn’t give a shit about Zagan, or the blood rite, in that moment. “If you know what I want, then name your price.”
“I desire to be revived, something that is easily within your power to do.”
It sounded easy enough, but I remembered all too well how ignorance had nailed me in the ass before. “I need to know the conditions, requirements, timeframe allotted, as well as the penalty I will incur should I not do as you’ve asked.”
“Good, you’re learning.” Her smile was as breathtaking as the sun breaking the evening tide. “That will serve both our purposes.”
“Don’t forget your mistakes,” I said, another one of my Laws, “or you’re prone to repeat them.”
“My body is in a location I am unaware of. You have to locate it and perform a ritual to return the shell that once contained my soul to life. Considering it will take time to locate, I’m willing to negotiate the contract for the term of one year.”