Of Blood and Brooms - Chapter 16
Of Blood and Brooms
Chapter 16
With a snarl Minho flung the pieces of the creature he had been fighting with as far into the darkness as he could. The moment it was away from him, he spun, eyes frantically searching for Jinki. It only took a moment to find the witch, several meters to his right and finishing off the latest of the abominable vampires caught in his magic. Warmth filled him at the sight, and oddly enough, love. He had thought that vampires were completely without feeling, he certainly had been, yet Jinki had shown him differently. Jinki had begun freeing him from the prison that he had been forced upon him and he was pleased to discover that he didn’t love Jinki any less then he had when he had been human.
It was a different sort of love that now filled him, but no less powerful. He craved Jinki’s blood, body and soul in a way that terrified him. Worse, was the fact that he knew Jinki would grow to crave him in return and he would be powerless to stop it. Minho would have gladly found a way to end it all now that he was in control of himself again, but he didn’t think Jinki would survive that. He couldn’t bring himself to hurt the man, not again.
Jinki straightened and glanced at him as a smile spread over his face as they caught one another’s gaze. A gift from the drinking of his blood must be improved sight as well because Jinki showed no trouble at needing to see through the darkness and Minho was fairly certain he wasn’t using a spell to aid him in that.
Even from this far he could hear the heart beat of the man, a sound of temptation. It called to him for more reasons than one and although not all of them were bad, he knew he couldn’t give into it. They had bigger things to focus on than each other. With any luck they would have a very long time after this night to do just that, but for now Heechul needed all of the help he could get.
A growl drew his attention back to several more of the approaching creatures and he let himself fall back into instincts that he had never previously had. Never had he thought destruction and killing would come easy to him, but it came easily to the side of him that was no longer human. As much as the part of him that remembered what he had once been hated the incredible show of violence, he knew he couldn’t afford to stop. Stopping would mean destruction for himself and death for Jinki which he would never allow.
One of the creatures coming at him was still young enough to smell human and fell easily beneath his strength. The other, covered in the scent of death and blood, took one look at him and ran in a completely different direction. He was not certain what had inspired that action, but he took a moment to deal with another young vampire before turning to go after it.
When he turned to look for the creature, however, he found that it had not run past him towards the wolves or the mansion, but straight towards the one man he had never wanted it near. The vampire wasn’t running in fear from him, it was running towards his mate with a lust for blood in its eyes. Jinki’s back was to the creature and Minho instantly knew that he wouldn’t know what hit him until it was too late.
His throat that had never worked to produce sound as he had wanted it to since his transformation, released an angry growl as he sprang after the creature. It took him only a single shift of his body before he realized that he would never make it in time. The creature would reach Jinki unchallenged in another second and it would take only an instant for it to steal the life from even a witch.
Time seemed to slow for him, as he pushed his body as hard as it could possibly go. Of its own accord his hand stretched out in front of him, reaching, trying to do something, anything he could to protect the man. Jinki was his. His to love, his to guard, his to keep from harm, and he would let nothing and no one threaten that. “He is mine!” he snarled, the sound of his voice rough and angry, surprising even him.
The sound drew the attention of the witch whose eyes widened at the threat nearly upon him. Jinki would be powerless to do anything, Minho knew, his magic was stretched too thin already. It was up to Minho to protect him as it always had been. Minho pushed himself further, giving all of the strength he had to his body and willing it to move faster, to get there so he could protect the witch.
He didn’t make it to Jinki before the vampire.
The vampire was only a few centimeters from touching the witch when it slammed into something invisibly solid and crumpled there. Minho was behind it in the next instant, easily ripping the stunned creature into several pieces in his anger. When he was finished he turned back to Jinki who was watching him with wide eyes.
“Minho,” Jinki whispered. “Did you speak?”
Impatiently Minho rapped his knuckles against the clear shield, indicating his desire for Jinki to drop it. He had no idea how the witch had managed to cast a shielding spell and not loose hold of the binding one he still had on the creature but he didn’t care. He simply needed to feel Jinki beneath his hands, to know that he was alright.
“Minho,” Jinki repeated. “You spoke, didn’t you?”
He didn’t want to hurt Jinki by shattering his shield, but he couldn’t hold his patience any longer. Minho slammed his raised fist into the dome and was startled when it didn’t so much as crack. Jinki’s shields were powerful, but not enough to stand up to the full strength of a vampire.
The action drew the witch’s attention to the shield that encased him and a look of confusion crossed his face. “I didn’t cast a shielding spell,” he muttered. Minho frowned at him. He didn’t think that one of the other witches could have cast one for him without being much closer than they were but he wasn’t certain about that.
Jinki’s fingers reached out to lightly touch the shield. “This isn’t magic,” he murmured after a moment, “Or at least not witch’s magic.”
Startled, Minho peered closer at the shield. If a witch hadn’t created it then what had? That thought made him spin to look for any on coming danger. There were a few of the creatures ambling towards them, and the sounds of battle all around but nothing that seemed threatening. There wasn’t even anything that was altogether that focused on them.
“Minho,” Jinki’s voice sounded cautious behind him. “I think you made this shield.”
That statement confused him more than any other. He didn’t think he had the capabilities to make a shield of any sort, let alone one that would withstand so well. Yet when he focused within himself, he could feel something there within him, something that he had never noticed before.
“This might be your Talent,” Jinki marveled, the joy sounding misplaced in their current situation.
Minho’s frown deepened. If this was something he created then he could make it disappear as well. He focused on the shield willing it to move out of his way, and absolutely nothing happened. A small growl slipped passed his lips. At this rate Jinki would be stuck in the dome for the rest of his existence.
“Just let it go,” Jinki instructed. “If it is anything like my magic you should be able to feel it inside of you, just let it go.”
Returning his mind to the thing he had felt within him, Minho focused. He couldn’t name or even define what it was within him, but he tried his hardest to simply let it drift away. Nothing happened at his attempts and he felt his frustration rise. Jinki was safe for the moment, why couldn’t he simply drop the shield around the witch? At that thought there was a slight flutter of recognition within him. It had been his desire to protect, he realized, that had created the shield in the first place. Perhaps if he let his own mind feel that it had done its job, then it would disappear.
Instead of trying to let something float away, he simply reassured himself that Jinki was safe, he had done well to protect him. The warmth inside him fluttered and then faded quietly away. He could still feel it inside of him, there if he needed it, but sleeping somehow.
“You did it,” Jinki murmured, shifting forward and pressing against him. Minho’s arms immediately surrounded him as he breathed in the scent of the witch. His fangs scrapped at Jinki’s neck before he could stop himself, and Jinki tilted his head automatically in offer. As much as he wanted to, he knew now was not the time to give into the desire for Jinki’s blood. There were other things he had yet to do.
He wanted to speak for the man, but he found his throat once again wouldn’t allow the proper noises. It frustrated him so much that he released the witch and stormed to the bound creature that Jinki had been trying to take care of before the whole incident had happened and released his frustration upon it. When he was finished he found Jinki standing behind him smiling.
“Don’t worry, you’ll talk again, I know it.” The upbeat attitude from one who was covered in vampire blood seemed out of place and he scowled. His expression made Jinki laugh. “Go, we still have work to do. You’re too distracting here by me.”
Minho had half a mind to place a strong shield around Jinki and leave him there, protected but helpless. However he knew that would never work as they needed all of the assistance that they had to fight for them in this stupid battle. With a snarl of irritation, he turned and rush towards the nearest creature, thankful of something that he could take his aggression out on.
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He knew his fledgling was there a moment before he felt the rush that Taemin’s natural Talent always brought with it. It always made him feel as though his own Talent was a cup that had begun to over flow and it would only strengthen the closer the young vampire got. For the first time he found himself with enough power to actually take the offensive with the intruding vampire.
Heechul quick sent a sharp mental barb in the direction of Seungri’s mind and watched with some measure of satisfaction as the vampire staggered backwards, surprise flashing on his normally static features. Immediately Seungri schooled his face and Heechul felt the shields in the vampire’s mind strengthening so that the next attack barely hurt him.
Seungri was too far away for him to launch a physical attack against and Heechul needed it to stay that way. He was too close as it was. With an aggravated snarl and one last push with his mind, he leapt backwards increasing the distance between them. Even that would likely not be enough.
“Heechul,” he heard Taemin a moment before he felt the touch of his fledgling’s fingers against his skin increasing the effect of his Talent.
“My foolish Child,” Heechul snarled, slashing out with a hand at one of Seungri’s creatures that had strayed too close. “You were ordered away.”
“No,” Taemin corrected. “I was ordered to keep Jonghyun safe. He didn’t feel safe inside, not like he does now.” Hissing Heechul refrained from taking his anger out on his Child. Taemin was too young to understand his abilities, let alone anyone else’s. “I’m not a baby anymore. I can help.”
“No Taemin,” Heechul cursed. It was his own fault for not being specific enough in his own orders. After dealing with his other two disobedient and strong willed Children he would have thought he had learned something. Apparently he had not. “You won’t be able to help. In fact you pretty much just killed us all.”
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“Damn it,” Hankyung cursed, easily decapitating one of the creatures and adding its blood to the mess covering him, little of which was his. The creature was replaced by another, swarming to meet him and keep him from his goal of reaching Seungri. Thus far they had been able to do just that, leaving him irritated and itching for an opportunity to do something substantial, but it wasn’t the creatures that held his attention, it was the newest addition to the battle field that his magic had alerted him to that was the problem.
Taemin, like most of the young people he knew, seemed to have more eagerness to help than any sort of particular brains. Even he couldn’t deny that they needed some sort of assistance but not the kind that Taemin provided. While the young vampire would and could help Heechul, he would also help every vampire in the near vicinity. His particular Talent was of the uncontrolled variety. Taemin couldn’t turn it off or on or even control it and anyone close to him could receive a measure of the benefit, including Seungri. They might as well just hand the town to the vampire on a platter.
Even with the extra boost that Heechul would get from simply touching Taemin, Seungri would still over power them, possibly more so than he already was. The window of opportunity was incredibly small. He only had the time it would take for Seungri to realize that he had a boost to his Talent and begin managing the surge in power to act. There was no escaping it; he would need to use his last resort.
With a twisted smile that perhaps spoke to the state of his mind, the centuries old witch pulled a small silver dagger from his boot. He plunged the dagger quickly into his own leg and pulled it free glistening with blood. A quick flick of his wrist flipped the object in his hand so that his fingers were holding the blade in a fashion that would make it easier to throw.
‘Heechul!’ he projected, hoping the vampire wouldn’t be too distracted with his own desperate attack to hear him. Without waiting for a response he threw the dagger, knowing that Heechul would know what to do with it.
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He nearly missed the call but the flash of the metal handle of a small dagger caught his attention just before it would have imbedded itself in his chest. Heechul caught it deftly with two fingers and inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent. It was covered in Hangeng’s unmistakable flavor and he didn’t pause to think about what it meant. He couldn’t have stopped his own tongue flicking out to lick the object clean if he had wanted to.
Power hit his senses with just the faintest taste of what would await him if he could make the witch his. It would fade quickly as his body broke down the tiny bit of blood and did what it could with it, yet he wondered if perhaps Hangeng had a different motive for the blood.
Quickly he embedded the dagger in his own body, coating it with his own life bringing liquid. His body was already healing when he pulled it free and, ignoring Taemin’s startled exclamation, threw the dagger back towards the witch. He didn’t know if Hangeng would take the offer for what it was, but he couldn’t waste time worrying about it. Every second was precious and he used each one to strengthen his shields around those he was protecting before Seungri had a chance to discover his stronger abilities as well.
He was so busy focusing on that, that he nearly missed the trickle of power before his mind was pulled beneath shields that he had never been able to penetrate before. Gasping he staggered backwards, absently feeling Taemin holding him up as his mind plunged into a mind nearly as old as his own. ‘Find it,’ Hangeng urged, pushing him onward and irritated that he could not do what Heechul could.
The words clarified exactly what the witch’s plans were and Heechul immediately diverted his attention from the battle at hand to delve deep in the recesses of Hangeng’s mind to a place where even the witch couldn’t force himself to go. He had been surprised by the amount of information that Onew, such a young witch, had contained within him. Yet Onew seemed like a single bookshelf compared to the library that was Hangeng’s mind.
He knew that the older the witch, the more knowledge that they would have, even knowledge that they had no idea that they possessed. Knowledge, such as he was looking for, seemed to form from the witch’s magic itself and be inherently known and inaccessible except for in the rarest of times. Hangeng had amounted so much that Heechul thought he might drown in it. Even looking through the forbidden blood magic, the strongest of all magics, didn’t help him narrow the search at all. At this rate they would never be able to find anything useful before Seungri killed them all.
Then, as if something within Hangeng knew, Heechul found that he was being tugged towards a particular location. He let his mind go, following the pull that didn’t feel at all foreign and found, at the end of it, what he had been looking for. A spell powerful enough it could do what the rest of their combined efforts could not.
Heechul grabbed the spell with his mind and pushed it to the forefront as he had with Onew. He could feel the moment Hangeng began using his own blood to draw symbols in the air that he likely didn’t know or understand. As they formed, hanging red and glowing in front of the witch, Heechul could feel the spell’s demands beginning to surface. A spell of any sort of power needed something from the witch and this one demanded everything in return. This spell demanded life.
The moment he realized this, he knew that Hangeng knew. He hadn’t even paused to think about why the man who fiercely refused to so much as taste vampire blood again would do so. He had never stopped to think of what it could mean. Hangeng clearly had not intended to survive this fight. Heechul couldn’t let him die.
While the witch wove his complicated web of symbols, Heechul scrambled to find payment for the price. The spell demanded life, but it wasn’t specific about which life. If he could force it to accept life from another source as well, to halve the cost on Hangeng, that would be enough to save him. A shortened life was still a life eternal for a witch bound to a vampire.
Desperately he reached through the strands of magic connecting Hangeng to all those he knew and the spells he was performing. The barrier above them pulsed brightly in his mind, full of life and power, tying the magic of the coven together. Perhaps that would be enough to satisfy the spell without taking Hangeng’s life with it.
Using what little time he had, Heechul tied the strand of the barrier he found in Hangeng to the spell hoping that the meager connection that linked them would be enough for it. He felt the curiosity of the magic settle into acceptance, strange for something that was not supposed to have a conscious of its own, just before Hangeng finished the last line.
The diagram, written in the air with glowing blood, pulsed waiting for the last thing that it required. The more powerful a spell the more specific the castor had to be and this one require one of the strongest ways of specificity there was. It required a name, and Hangeng gave it one.
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“Lee Seunghyun,” he murmured to the spell, giving it what it had greedily been waiting for and thankful that Heechul had known enough to provide him with the knowledge of that. Now complete, the spell raced away in a rush drawing his magic and strength with it. It would be an unstoppable force now having been fed a name, much like giving a target to a missile. The spell would never stop until it reached and completed its task on the one bearing the name it had been given.
He could tell the moment it hit the vampire, as surprise fell across its face followed by a dawning horror. Hangeng could see the spell, feel its triumph at finding its target, and watched as it began to take effect. It was a spell he had never seen before, a blood magic of Unmaking that was never used very likely due to its heavy cost. The caster of such a spell never lived to tell the tale.
Hangeng could feel the spell pulling at the energy of his own life as all spells did, however where most spells simply made him feel tired, he could feel this one draining him away slowly. None of that mattered. He would gladly give the spell his life for it to run its course. His life as worthless as it was, was easy to trade for those that remained.
The spell worked slowly at first, with increasing speed as it moved over Seungri’s body. In the daylight it might have been showy or incredibly impressive, but through the dimness of the night, the vampire seemed to be simply dissolving from the bottom up. As if realizing he couldn’t’ stop it, the creature began to scream in terror. The spell wasn’t killing him - that would have been too good for the monster that Seungri was - but erasing him. When it was finished there would be no trace of the vampire left, no chance of him coming back to haunt them.
The witch fell to the ground as the energy seeped from him leaving him feeling weak. It hardly mattered to him as long as he knew that the spell had worked. He watched it race upward, taking the vampire with it as it went until at last it had consumed all of him. Hangeng watched it with pride and then closed his eyes, waiting for the backlash of the spell that would claim his life.
The barrier above them shattered in a flash of brightly colored shards.
The call for his life never came.
Realization crashed down on him a moment later and he glared across the bloody battle field at the vampire watching him with glittering eyes. ‘You son of a bitch,’ he thought in Heechul’s general direction before he gave into the exhaustion of his body.
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With the mind control gone the creatures fell easily beneath their combined forces. It was much simpler to destroy them knowing that they wouldn't systematically reanimate and rise to fight again. Heechul, crouched protectively over Hangeng's unconscious form, allowed his seethe to help for several long minutes before ordering their return within. The wolf pack would easily be able to finish the remainder of the creatures between them and the last thing he wanted was for one of his own to get caught in their aggression. A battle eager werewolf was dangerous to all no matter if they had a Quieter with them or not.
When the last of his had retreated, he ordered Taemin away and was pleasantly surprised by how quietly the young vampire obeyed. Perhaps he understood what it was that he had nearly done. If he did that could easily save Heechul a rather lengthy lecture in the future, although he was tempted to give it anyway. His internal debate was interrupted by the feeling of being watched and he felt the eyes upon him before he saw their source. Their presence prompted him to lift the unconscious witch into the safety of his arms. It probably looked rather silly, a slim man such as him carrying the larger bulk of the witch but he was a far cry from a human and not at all limited by their strength.
A shape materialized out of the darkness taking the form of a large brown wolf. The creature moved silently even to his sharp hearing, a testament to the strange magic that a pack could work, and was likely only being seen because he wanted to be. Words didn't pass between them and Heechul knew better then to reach into the wolf's mind without permission. While the human side could do nothing in its own defense the Beast side did not typically take kindly to intrusions on its territory and Kangin's Beast was one of the nastiest he had ever had the pleasure of meeting.
Information filtered between them carried by the silence and read by their bodies. Heechul had always marveled at Yesung’s particular Talent to understand the language of the body as well as any spoken language, but it wasn’t a Talent that he needed in order to understand Kangin. They had created their own sort of communication through the years, born of their mutual relationships of dislike and trust all at the same time. Kangin and his pack would do what was needed, all that he asked was for Heechul and his to stay out of the way, a demand he could easily give into.
“When you are ready to burn them, one of mine can assist you,” he informed the wolf. An inclined of the creature’s head showed understanding and acceptance before it seemed to back up and simply dissolve in the shadows. Heechul would have been unnerved if he had thought there was a chance of the wolf coming after him, but all he felt was exhausted.
The witch in his arms seemed to be growing heavier with each passing moment and he could feel a tiredness that he hadn’t felt in a very long time settling over him. He had taxed his Talent to the limit in this night and he supposed he should be thankful he was still alive; however the verdict was out on his opinion on that point.
His movements to his seethe were slower than normal but still at an unnatural pace. There were things he needed to see to, people that he needed to assure himself were alright. His First Born was alive, that much he could feel, but he certainly needed to see in what state the vampire was. His seethe would likely be restless and hungry after the fight and he knew he should see to their needs. He had always been selfish.
Once within his home some of the tension drained from his form as he made his way to his chambers. It seemed ridiculous that a building could offer any sort of protection of its own but perhaps his Children had been correct when they had tried to convince him that a building could take on a life of its own. Whatever had caused the feeling he was grateful for it as he moved through its halls to his rooms. He really should be anywhere but where he was, taking care of any number of things, but for once in his role as Master of the seethe, he decided to act like most Masters did. Let someone else take care of the problems for a while, he had a witch that was newly his to focus on.
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Ryeowook winced as Henry’s gentle hands straightened his arm causing pain to flare up from the fractured bones. It was immediately soothed by the tingling cool of healing magic and his cry of pain turned into a sigh. He could almost feel his bones knitting and his skin pulling back together and sealing over the various cuts but it was painless, in its process.
“Sorry,” Henry murmured, for what seemed like the thousandth time moving from that arm to the other. Ryeowook inspected the work, flexing the now healed arm and noting the numerous nearly invisible scars that were reminders of the damage that had been.
“You should be,” he told the witch. “I was certain Yesung would have to change me in order to keep me alive.” Henry paused for a moment as if he was trying to decide what to say to that, before he went back to what he was doing.
“That would have been breaking our deal,” Yesung told him lightly. No one but he could likely read the tension or aggression in the vampire who was sitting nearby. Apparently Yesung hadn’t been pleased when more of Ryeowook’s blood was found outside his body rather than in it. Ryeowook hadn’t particularly cared one way or another. He had accomplished the task he had returned for, and he truly doubted that Yesung would ever let him die. Not, at least, without putting up a very good fight for his existence first.
Thankfully for the vampire, Henry turned out to be an excellent healer, boasting a peculiar sort of healing ability as his Gift. It didn’t exactly repair the body to what it had once been, but it did speed the healing so that what would take years to repair naturally was done in mere moments. Henry, self conscious of the extent of his abilities, had apologized profusely for not being able to do anything about the four raised scars across his chest. Ryeowook didn’t care. He rather liked the scars; they made him feel like a warrior.
“Well it would only be fair after you broke our trust,” he snapped. The words pulled a hurt look from the vampire as he knew they would and Ryeowook softened at it. “Good thing that I don’t care all that much about the things of the past.” It wasn’t entirely true, but Yesung would know that as well. He would understand that his actions were not forgotten, but they were forgiven.
In an unusual show of gentle affection, Yesung reached for his hand and squeezed his fingers tenderly. The vampire would likely feel guilty for a long while yet and Ryeowook decided that was punishment enough for his actions as he returned the gentle squeeze.
“There,” Henry murmured, straightening. “Is there anywhere else that is bothering you?”
Ryeowook shifted experimentally waiting for a twinge and found nothing signaling further hurt. “Nope, I think that you got everything Medicine Man.”
Henry flushed and was about to offer his opinion on the comment when the door to the suite they had been using clattered open. Standing there in the doorway was a vampire that Ryeowook could only barely recognize and the sight of him nearly made him sick. All over the thin and dangerously underweight body, blackened skin was flaking off revealing new pink and likely very tender patches in its wake. It left the vampire looking like a starved creature in the midst of a rather painful molting process and the source of more than a few nightmares to come.
In his arms was a limp body, recognizable by its hair and clothing. “Donghae!” Ryeowook exclaimed, guilt flashing through him. Yesung’s hand on his tightened, keeping him where he was when he would have otherwise shifted to move. It was his fault that Donghae was like this; his own stupid decision to take the man with him into a fight that he knew would kill him.
“Please,” the vampire cradling the human rasped his voice rough from disuse. “Please save him.”
“I can’t do anything if he is dead,” Henry said softly, drawing the same conclusion as Ryeowook had from the sight of the body.
“Not dead,” Yesung murmured softly, “but close enough that it probably won’t matter. You could change him Brother you are old enough to do so.”
It was odd to see the flaking face create expressions, but somehow it managed to display an expression of horror. “He would never forgive me,” the vampire rasped and Ryeowook knew he was correct. Donghae truly would not ever be able to forgive Kibum for turning him into something that he was terrified of, especially without his coherent permission. “Please.”
“I’ll try,” Henry agreed and Kibum gently laid Donghae beside him before stepping back. The witch bent over the still form, hands spread, and the green glow that Ryeowook had began to associate with his healing touch spread over the body. He didn’t think that Henry could raise the dead, it wasn’t in good magic to do that, and it looked as though whatever had happened to Donghae wouldn’t be something his body could heal from.
“I didn’t mean to,” the vampire rasped. “I just couldn’t stop.” He wondered if the creature’s mind was truly all there. If it wasn’t then they were all in danger, even with Yesung present.
“You were starved Brother,” Yesung said gently, easily seeing more than Ryeowook could. “You still are. Come and eat, I have enough to spare.”
Kibum’s eyes focused on him, glowing with his hunger. “You are tired and hungry.”
“I have ways of feeding myself without hurting anyone. Right now you do not. The only reason you didn’t kill Donghae was because you love him, the same won’t be true for the next human you feed from,” Yesung told him.
“You’re Pet won’t like it,” Kibum murmured. “He won’t understand.”
“He will be fine,” Yesung reassured, releasing Ryeowook’s hand. “Come.” The tilt of Yesung’s head in offer was all that Kibum needed and the vampire moved to his kin with startling speed.
Kibum had been right, Ryeowook didn’t like it. He hated the way Yesung’s eyes flutter closed and a moan the likes of which Ryeowook had never heard fluttered past his lips. Yesung’s hands rose to pull the vampire closer to his body, unmindful of the blackened skin that flaked away under his fingers.
Ryeowook hated every moment of the intensely sexual display, but he hated more that he understood it. The two had been sharing blood and each other’s bodies for longer than he could accurately imagine and, as expected, that had created a connection between the two of them that he couldn’t ever hope to touch. They were Brothers, created by Heechul and drawn together in a way that he probably couldn’t ever understand. While he knew that he held a large piece of Yesung’s heart, Kibum did too. Nothing could ever change that.
Red glowing eyes opened to stare at him and he met them, letting Yesung look for what he would. He didn’t know if the vampire found what he was looking for, but he rose, gathering Kibum in his arms, and was gone before Ryeowook could form the question.
“I can’t,” Henry muttered, drawing him back to his fallen friend. The witch seemed devastated that he could do nothing, but even Ryeowook could see how his magic was hovering just over the man’s skin and not sinking in as it should.
“It’s not your fault. He is too far gone,” Ryeowook told him. “It happens occasionally. He likely won’t wake up before he slips away.”
“A shame,” a voice said from behind him, “he was interesting.”
Ryeowook whirled to see Sungmin, dressed in his favored black, perched high atop a shelf and watching them with a bored expression. “What do you want?” he hissed.
“Well I was going to congratulate you all on your victory but everyone seems somewhat distracted by something or another,” he sighed. “It makes for a rather boring time, even more so that this one is the only casualty of the whole thing and he was killed by the only vampire that loves him. A shame.”
“Go away Sungmin,” Ryeowook snarled.
“I could save him you know,” Sungmin offered, and Ryeowook didn’t need to look to know that Henry had perked up at the offer.
“We don’t want to owe you a life,” Ryeowook declared for the benefit of the witch that may have never dealt with a Fae before. Wisely Henry stayed silent.
Sungmin, disappointment flashing across his face, sighed again. “There is only a minute more before he slips away. His vampire truly doesn’t plan to turn him?”
“No, and you will not save him,” Ryeowook declared.
“Not even if I lay out the terms of the deal?” Sungmin offered.
“What are they?” Henry asked before Ryeowook could stop him. He turned to look at the witch who looked minimally embarrassed that he had spoken. “There is no harm in hearing them.”
“Yes there is,” Ryeowook muttered.
“The terms are this, I will save him and he will become a vampire before he reaches his natural time of death,” Sungmin said casually.
“We cannot promise you that,” Ryeowook snapped.
“You will do everything in your power to hold up your end of the deal,” Sungmin said flippantly.
“Why not?” Henry asked Ryeowook, looking eager. There was something they were missing, another side that Sungmin was after, an angle they couldn’t see. Nothing was ever straight forward with the Fae.
“He will be exactly as he is now?” Ryeowook pressed.
“I will not alter his humanity nor the things that make him who he is. I will simply bring life back into his body,” Sungmin swore.
“You know him best,” Henry murmured. “Would Donghae want it?”
“I don’t know,” Ryeowook cursed. He, in fact, didn’t actually know the man all that well. He wished that Kibum was in the state of mind to make a decision like this, but there was no way that they could ask the starved vampire.
“Tick tock,” Sungmin chimed.
“Damn it,” Ryeowook cursed, they were out of time. “The penalty falls on me not him if the deal is not kept.”
“Excellent,” Sungmin chimed, taking his statement as agreement for the deal. The Fae, assuming that he had permission, wasted no time in lifting his hand and blowing across it. Tendrils of shadows drifted from his palm and down onto Donghae. They settled on the man and disappeared within his body until they couldn’t be seen anymore.
For a moment Ryeowook thought nothing had happened and then the man’s chest rose and fell in a deep intake of breath. “Why would you save him, Fae?” Ryeowook asked, eyes narrowed.
Sungmin’s smile was dangerous. “I am interested to see what he will become,” the Fae replied simply. Then, in a theatrically flashy show of shadows, he vanished from the room.
“Did we do the right thing?” Henry whispered after a moment. Ryeowook studied the witch for a moment and supposed that even if a witch knew the difference between good and evil it was impossible to place which side most Fae fell on. `
“I hope so,” Ryeowook said finally, but as Donghae blinked into wakefulness he had to wonder if he had done what he had to simply ease his own consciousness.
Chapter Seventeen
Masterlist
AN: So here it is! The second to last chapter! I hope all of you are still enjoying it as much as I am. One more chapter and we are done. The good news is that I have it already written and off to the betas! (or it will be shortly... ^^;)
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Chapter 16
With a snarl Minho flung the pieces of the creature he had been fighting with as far into the darkness as he could. The moment it was away from him, he spun, eyes frantically searching for Jinki. It only took a moment to find the witch, several meters to his right and finishing off the latest of the abominable vampires caught in his magic. Warmth filled him at the sight, and oddly enough, love. He had thought that vampires were completely without feeling, he certainly had been, yet Jinki had shown him differently. Jinki had begun freeing him from the prison that he had been forced upon him and he was pleased to discover that he didn’t love Jinki any less then he had when he had been human.
It was a different sort of love that now filled him, but no less powerful. He craved Jinki’s blood, body and soul in a way that terrified him. Worse, was the fact that he knew Jinki would grow to crave him in return and he would be powerless to stop it. Minho would have gladly found a way to end it all now that he was in control of himself again, but he didn’t think Jinki would survive that. He couldn’t bring himself to hurt the man, not again.
Jinki straightened and glanced at him as a smile spread over his face as they caught one another’s gaze. A gift from the drinking of his blood must be improved sight as well because Jinki showed no trouble at needing to see through the darkness and Minho was fairly certain he wasn’t using a spell to aid him in that.
Even from this far he could hear the heart beat of the man, a sound of temptation. It called to him for more reasons than one and although not all of them were bad, he knew he couldn’t give into it. They had bigger things to focus on than each other. With any luck they would have a very long time after this night to do just that, but for now Heechul needed all of the help he could get.
A growl drew his attention back to several more of the approaching creatures and he let himself fall back into instincts that he had never previously had. Never had he thought destruction and killing would come easy to him, but it came easily to the side of him that was no longer human. As much as the part of him that remembered what he had once been hated the incredible show of violence, he knew he couldn’t afford to stop. Stopping would mean destruction for himself and death for Jinki which he would never allow.
One of the creatures coming at him was still young enough to smell human and fell easily beneath his strength. The other, covered in the scent of death and blood, took one look at him and ran in a completely different direction. He was not certain what had inspired that action, but he took a moment to deal with another young vampire before turning to go after it.
When he turned to look for the creature, however, he found that it had not run past him towards the wolves or the mansion, but straight towards the one man he had never wanted it near. The vampire wasn’t running in fear from him, it was running towards his mate with a lust for blood in its eyes. Jinki’s back was to the creature and Minho instantly knew that he wouldn’t know what hit him until it was too late.
His throat that had never worked to produce sound as he had wanted it to since his transformation, released an angry growl as he sprang after the creature. It took him only a single shift of his body before he realized that he would never make it in time. The creature would reach Jinki unchallenged in another second and it would take only an instant for it to steal the life from even a witch.
Time seemed to slow for him, as he pushed his body as hard as it could possibly go. Of its own accord his hand stretched out in front of him, reaching, trying to do something, anything he could to protect the man. Jinki was his. His to love, his to guard, his to keep from harm, and he would let nothing and no one threaten that. “He is mine!” he snarled, the sound of his voice rough and angry, surprising even him.
The sound drew the attention of the witch whose eyes widened at the threat nearly upon him. Jinki would be powerless to do anything, Minho knew, his magic was stretched too thin already. It was up to Minho to protect him as it always had been. Minho pushed himself further, giving all of the strength he had to his body and willing it to move faster, to get there so he could protect the witch.
He didn’t make it to Jinki before the vampire.
The vampire was only a few centimeters from touching the witch when it slammed into something invisibly solid and crumpled there. Minho was behind it in the next instant, easily ripping the stunned creature into several pieces in his anger. When he was finished he turned back to Jinki who was watching him with wide eyes.
“Minho,” Jinki whispered. “Did you speak?”
Impatiently Minho rapped his knuckles against the clear shield, indicating his desire for Jinki to drop it. He had no idea how the witch had managed to cast a shielding spell and not loose hold of the binding one he still had on the creature but he didn’t care. He simply needed to feel Jinki beneath his hands, to know that he was alright.
“Minho,” Jinki repeated. “You spoke, didn’t you?”
He didn’t want to hurt Jinki by shattering his shield, but he couldn’t hold his patience any longer. Minho slammed his raised fist into the dome and was startled when it didn’t so much as crack. Jinki’s shields were powerful, but not enough to stand up to the full strength of a vampire.
The action drew the witch’s attention to the shield that encased him and a look of confusion crossed his face. “I didn’t cast a shielding spell,” he muttered. Minho frowned at him. He didn’t think that one of the other witches could have cast one for him without being much closer than they were but he wasn’t certain about that.
Jinki’s fingers reached out to lightly touch the shield. “This isn’t magic,” he murmured after a moment, “Or at least not witch’s magic.”
Startled, Minho peered closer at the shield. If a witch hadn’t created it then what had? That thought made him spin to look for any on coming danger. There were a few of the creatures ambling towards them, and the sounds of battle all around but nothing that seemed threatening. There wasn’t even anything that was altogether that focused on them.
“Minho,” Jinki’s voice sounded cautious behind him. “I think you made this shield.”
That statement confused him more than any other. He didn’t think he had the capabilities to make a shield of any sort, let alone one that would withstand so well. Yet when he focused within himself, he could feel something there within him, something that he had never noticed before.
“This might be your Talent,” Jinki marveled, the joy sounding misplaced in their current situation.
Minho’s frown deepened. If this was something he created then he could make it disappear as well. He focused on the shield willing it to move out of his way, and absolutely nothing happened. A small growl slipped passed his lips. At this rate Jinki would be stuck in the dome for the rest of his existence.
“Just let it go,” Jinki instructed. “If it is anything like my magic you should be able to feel it inside of you, just let it go.”
Returning his mind to the thing he had felt within him, Minho focused. He couldn’t name or even define what it was within him, but he tried his hardest to simply let it drift away. Nothing happened at his attempts and he felt his frustration rise. Jinki was safe for the moment, why couldn’t he simply drop the shield around the witch? At that thought there was a slight flutter of recognition within him. It had been his desire to protect, he realized, that had created the shield in the first place. Perhaps if he let his own mind feel that it had done its job, then it would disappear.
Instead of trying to let something float away, he simply reassured himself that Jinki was safe, he had done well to protect him. The warmth inside him fluttered and then faded quietly away. He could still feel it inside of him, there if he needed it, but sleeping somehow.
“You did it,” Jinki murmured, shifting forward and pressing against him. Minho’s arms immediately surrounded him as he breathed in the scent of the witch. His fangs scrapped at Jinki’s neck before he could stop himself, and Jinki tilted his head automatically in offer. As much as he wanted to, he knew now was not the time to give into the desire for Jinki’s blood. There were other things he had yet to do.
He wanted to speak for the man, but he found his throat once again wouldn’t allow the proper noises. It frustrated him so much that he released the witch and stormed to the bound creature that Jinki had been trying to take care of before the whole incident had happened and released his frustration upon it. When he was finished he found Jinki standing behind him smiling.
“Don’t worry, you’ll talk again, I know it.” The upbeat attitude from one who was covered in vampire blood seemed out of place and he scowled. His expression made Jinki laugh. “Go, we still have work to do. You’re too distracting here by me.”
Minho had half a mind to place a strong shield around Jinki and leave him there, protected but helpless. However he knew that would never work as they needed all of the assistance that they had to fight for them in this stupid battle. With a snarl of irritation, he turned and rush towards the nearest creature, thankful of something that he could take his aggression out on.
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He knew his fledgling was there a moment before he felt the rush that Taemin’s natural Talent always brought with it. It always made him feel as though his own Talent was a cup that had begun to over flow and it would only strengthen the closer the young vampire got. For the first time he found himself with enough power to actually take the offensive with the intruding vampire.
Heechul quick sent a sharp mental barb in the direction of Seungri’s mind and watched with some measure of satisfaction as the vampire staggered backwards, surprise flashing on his normally static features. Immediately Seungri schooled his face and Heechul felt the shields in the vampire’s mind strengthening so that the next attack barely hurt him.
Seungri was too far away for him to launch a physical attack against and Heechul needed it to stay that way. He was too close as it was. With an aggravated snarl and one last push with his mind, he leapt backwards increasing the distance between them. Even that would likely not be enough.
“Heechul,” he heard Taemin a moment before he felt the touch of his fledgling’s fingers against his skin increasing the effect of his Talent.
“My foolish Child,” Heechul snarled, slashing out with a hand at one of Seungri’s creatures that had strayed too close. “You were ordered away.”
“No,” Taemin corrected. “I was ordered to keep Jonghyun safe. He didn’t feel safe inside, not like he does now.” Hissing Heechul refrained from taking his anger out on his Child. Taemin was too young to understand his abilities, let alone anyone else’s. “I’m not a baby anymore. I can help.”
“No Taemin,” Heechul cursed. It was his own fault for not being specific enough in his own orders. After dealing with his other two disobedient and strong willed Children he would have thought he had learned something. Apparently he had not. “You won’t be able to help. In fact you pretty much just killed us all.”
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“Damn it,” Hankyung cursed, easily decapitating one of the creatures and adding its blood to the mess covering him, little of which was his. The creature was replaced by another, swarming to meet him and keep him from his goal of reaching Seungri. Thus far they had been able to do just that, leaving him irritated and itching for an opportunity to do something substantial, but it wasn’t the creatures that held his attention, it was the newest addition to the battle field that his magic had alerted him to that was the problem.
Taemin, like most of the young people he knew, seemed to have more eagerness to help than any sort of particular brains. Even he couldn’t deny that they needed some sort of assistance but not the kind that Taemin provided. While the young vampire would and could help Heechul, he would also help every vampire in the near vicinity. His particular Talent was of the uncontrolled variety. Taemin couldn’t turn it off or on or even control it and anyone close to him could receive a measure of the benefit, including Seungri. They might as well just hand the town to the vampire on a platter.
Even with the extra boost that Heechul would get from simply touching Taemin, Seungri would still over power them, possibly more so than he already was. The window of opportunity was incredibly small. He only had the time it would take for Seungri to realize that he had a boost to his Talent and begin managing the surge in power to act. There was no escaping it; he would need to use his last resort.
With a twisted smile that perhaps spoke to the state of his mind, the centuries old witch pulled a small silver dagger from his boot. He plunged the dagger quickly into his own leg and pulled it free glistening with blood. A quick flick of his wrist flipped the object in his hand so that his fingers were holding the blade in a fashion that would make it easier to throw.
‘Heechul!’ he projected, hoping the vampire wouldn’t be too distracted with his own desperate attack to hear him. Without waiting for a response he threw the dagger, knowing that Heechul would know what to do with it.
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He nearly missed the call but the flash of the metal handle of a small dagger caught his attention just before it would have imbedded itself in his chest. Heechul caught it deftly with two fingers and inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent. It was covered in Hangeng’s unmistakable flavor and he didn’t pause to think about what it meant. He couldn’t have stopped his own tongue flicking out to lick the object clean if he had wanted to.
Power hit his senses with just the faintest taste of what would await him if he could make the witch his. It would fade quickly as his body broke down the tiny bit of blood and did what it could with it, yet he wondered if perhaps Hangeng had a different motive for the blood.
Quickly he embedded the dagger in his own body, coating it with his own life bringing liquid. His body was already healing when he pulled it free and, ignoring Taemin’s startled exclamation, threw the dagger back towards the witch. He didn’t know if Hangeng would take the offer for what it was, but he couldn’t waste time worrying about it. Every second was precious and he used each one to strengthen his shields around those he was protecting before Seungri had a chance to discover his stronger abilities as well.
He was so busy focusing on that, that he nearly missed the trickle of power before his mind was pulled beneath shields that he had never been able to penetrate before. Gasping he staggered backwards, absently feeling Taemin holding him up as his mind plunged into a mind nearly as old as his own. ‘Find it,’ Hangeng urged, pushing him onward and irritated that he could not do what Heechul could.
The words clarified exactly what the witch’s plans were and Heechul immediately diverted his attention from the battle at hand to delve deep in the recesses of Hangeng’s mind to a place where even the witch couldn’t force himself to go. He had been surprised by the amount of information that Onew, such a young witch, had contained within him. Yet Onew seemed like a single bookshelf compared to the library that was Hangeng’s mind.
He knew that the older the witch, the more knowledge that they would have, even knowledge that they had no idea that they possessed. Knowledge, such as he was looking for, seemed to form from the witch’s magic itself and be inherently known and inaccessible except for in the rarest of times. Hangeng had amounted so much that Heechul thought he might drown in it. Even looking through the forbidden blood magic, the strongest of all magics, didn’t help him narrow the search at all. At this rate they would never be able to find anything useful before Seungri killed them all.
Then, as if something within Hangeng knew, Heechul found that he was being tugged towards a particular location. He let his mind go, following the pull that didn’t feel at all foreign and found, at the end of it, what he had been looking for. A spell powerful enough it could do what the rest of their combined efforts could not.
Heechul grabbed the spell with his mind and pushed it to the forefront as he had with Onew. He could feel the moment Hangeng began using his own blood to draw symbols in the air that he likely didn’t know or understand. As they formed, hanging red and glowing in front of the witch, Heechul could feel the spell’s demands beginning to surface. A spell of any sort of power needed something from the witch and this one demanded everything in return. This spell demanded life.
The moment he realized this, he knew that Hangeng knew. He hadn’t even paused to think about why the man who fiercely refused to so much as taste vampire blood again would do so. He had never stopped to think of what it could mean. Hangeng clearly had not intended to survive this fight. Heechul couldn’t let him die.
While the witch wove his complicated web of symbols, Heechul scrambled to find payment for the price. The spell demanded life, but it wasn’t specific about which life. If he could force it to accept life from another source as well, to halve the cost on Hangeng, that would be enough to save him. A shortened life was still a life eternal for a witch bound to a vampire.
Desperately he reached through the strands of magic connecting Hangeng to all those he knew and the spells he was performing. The barrier above them pulsed brightly in his mind, full of life and power, tying the magic of the coven together. Perhaps that would be enough to satisfy the spell without taking Hangeng’s life with it.
Using what little time he had, Heechul tied the strand of the barrier he found in Hangeng to the spell hoping that the meager connection that linked them would be enough for it. He felt the curiosity of the magic settle into acceptance, strange for something that was not supposed to have a conscious of its own, just before Hangeng finished the last line.
The diagram, written in the air with glowing blood, pulsed waiting for the last thing that it required. The more powerful a spell the more specific the castor had to be and this one require one of the strongest ways of specificity there was. It required a name, and Hangeng gave it one.
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“Lee Seunghyun,” he murmured to the spell, giving it what it had greedily been waiting for and thankful that Heechul had known enough to provide him with the knowledge of that. Now complete, the spell raced away in a rush drawing his magic and strength with it. It would be an unstoppable force now having been fed a name, much like giving a target to a missile. The spell would never stop until it reached and completed its task on the one bearing the name it had been given.
He could tell the moment it hit the vampire, as surprise fell across its face followed by a dawning horror. Hangeng could see the spell, feel its triumph at finding its target, and watched as it began to take effect. It was a spell he had never seen before, a blood magic of Unmaking that was never used very likely due to its heavy cost. The caster of such a spell never lived to tell the tale.
Hangeng could feel the spell pulling at the energy of his own life as all spells did, however where most spells simply made him feel tired, he could feel this one draining him away slowly. None of that mattered. He would gladly give the spell his life for it to run its course. His life as worthless as it was, was easy to trade for those that remained.
The spell worked slowly at first, with increasing speed as it moved over Seungri’s body. In the daylight it might have been showy or incredibly impressive, but through the dimness of the night, the vampire seemed to be simply dissolving from the bottom up. As if realizing he couldn’t’ stop it, the creature began to scream in terror. The spell wasn’t killing him - that would have been too good for the monster that Seungri was - but erasing him. When it was finished there would be no trace of the vampire left, no chance of him coming back to haunt them.
The witch fell to the ground as the energy seeped from him leaving him feeling weak. It hardly mattered to him as long as he knew that the spell had worked. He watched it race upward, taking the vampire with it as it went until at last it had consumed all of him. Hangeng watched it with pride and then closed his eyes, waiting for the backlash of the spell that would claim his life.
The barrier above them shattered in a flash of brightly colored shards.
The call for his life never came.
Realization crashed down on him a moment later and he glared across the bloody battle field at the vampire watching him with glittering eyes. ‘You son of a bitch,’ he thought in Heechul’s general direction before he gave into the exhaustion of his body.
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With the mind control gone the creatures fell easily beneath their combined forces. It was much simpler to destroy them knowing that they wouldn't systematically reanimate and rise to fight again. Heechul, crouched protectively over Hangeng's unconscious form, allowed his seethe to help for several long minutes before ordering their return within. The wolf pack would easily be able to finish the remainder of the creatures between them and the last thing he wanted was for one of his own to get caught in their aggression. A battle eager werewolf was dangerous to all no matter if they had a Quieter with them or not.
When the last of his had retreated, he ordered Taemin away and was pleasantly surprised by how quietly the young vampire obeyed. Perhaps he understood what it was that he had nearly done. If he did that could easily save Heechul a rather lengthy lecture in the future, although he was tempted to give it anyway. His internal debate was interrupted by the feeling of being watched and he felt the eyes upon him before he saw their source. Their presence prompted him to lift the unconscious witch into the safety of his arms. It probably looked rather silly, a slim man such as him carrying the larger bulk of the witch but he was a far cry from a human and not at all limited by their strength.
A shape materialized out of the darkness taking the form of a large brown wolf. The creature moved silently even to his sharp hearing, a testament to the strange magic that a pack could work, and was likely only being seen because he wanted to be. Words didn't pass between them and Heechul knew better then to reach into the wolf's mind without permission. While the human side could do nothing in its own defense the Beast side did not typically take kindly to intrusions on its territory and Kangin's Beast was one of the nastiest he had ever had the pleasure of meeting.
Information filtered between them carried by the silence and read by their bodies. Heechul had always marveled at Yesung’s particular Talent to understand the language of the body as well as any spoken language, but it wasn’t a Talent that he needed in order to understand Kangin. They had created their own sort of communication through the years, born of their mutual relationships of dislike and trust all at the same time. Kangin and his pack would do what was needed, all that he asked was for Heechul and his to stay out of the way, a demand he could easily give into.
“When you are ready to burn them, one of mine can assist you,” he informed the wolf. An inclined of the creature’s head showed understanding and acceptance before it seemed to back up and simply dissolve in the shadows. Heechul would have been unnerved if he had thought there was a chance of the wolf coming after him, but all he felt was exhausted.
The witch in his arms seemed to be growing heavier with each passing moment and he could feel a tiredness that he hadn’t felt in a very long time settling over him. He had taxed his Talent to the limit in this night and he supposed he should be thankful he was still alive; however the verdict was out on his opinion on that point.
His movements to his seethe were slower than normal but still at an unnatural pace. There were things he needed to see to, people that he needed to assure himself were alright. His First Born was alive, that much he could feel, but he certainly needed to see in what state the vampire was. His seethe would likely be restless and hungry after the fight and he knew he should see to their needs. He had always been selfish.
Once within his home some of the tension drained from his form as he made his way to his chambers. It seemed ridiculous that a building could offer any sort of protection of its own but perhaps his Children had been correct when they had tried to convince him that a building could take on a life of its own. Whatever had caused the feeling he was grateful for it as he moved through its halls to his rooms. He really should be anywhere but where he was, taking care of any number of things, but for once in his role as Master of the seethe, he decided to act like most Masters did. Let someone else take care of the problems for a while, he had a witch that was newly his to focus on.
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Ryeowook winced as Henry’s gentle hands straightened his arm causing pain to flare up from the fractured bones. It was immediately soothed by the tingling cool of healing magic and his cry of pain turned into a sigh. He could almost feel his bones knitting and his skin pulling back together and sealing over the various cuts but it was painless, in its process.
“Sorry,” Henry murmured, for what seemed like the thousandth time moving from that arm to the other. Ryeowook inspected the work, flexing the now healed arm and noting the numerous nearly invisible scars that were reminders of the damage that had been.
“You should be,” he told the witch. “I was certain Yesung would have to change me in order to keep me alive.” Henry paused for a moment as if he was trying to decide what to say to that, before he went back to what he was doing.
“That would have been breaking our deal,” Yesung told him lightly. No one but he could likely read the tension or aggression in the vampire who was sitting nearby. Apparently Yesung hadn’t been pleased when more of Ryeowook’s blood was found outside his body rather than in it. Ryeowook hadn’t particularly cared one way or another. He had accomplished the task he had returned for, and he truly doubted that Yesung would ever let him die. Not, at least, without putting up a very good fight for his existence first.
Thankfully for the vampire, Henry turned out to be an excellent healer, boasting a peculiar sort of healing ability as his Gift. It didn’t exactly repair the body to what it had once been, but it did speed the healing so that what would take years to repair naturally was done in mere moments. Henry, self conscious of the extent of his abilities, had apologized profusely for not being able to do anything about the four raised scars across his chest. Ryeowook didn’t care. He rather liked the scars; they made him feel like a warrior.
“Well it would only be fair after you broke our trust,” he snapped. The words pulled a hurt look from the vampire as he knew they would and Ryeowook softened at it. “Good thing that I don’t care all that much about the things of the past.” It wasn’t entirely true, but Yesung would know that as well. He would understand that his actions were not forgotten, but they were forgiven.
In an unusual show of gentle affection, Yesung reached for his hand and squeezed his fingers tenderly. The vampire would likely feel guilty for a long while yet and Ryeowook decided that was punishment enough for his actions as he returned the gentle squeeze.
“There,” Henry murmured, straightening. “Is there anywhere else that is bothering you?”
Ryeowook shifted experimentally waiting for a twinge and found nothing signaling further hurt. “Nope, I think that you got everything Medicine Man.”
Henry flushed and was about to offer his opinion on the comment when the door to the suite they had been using clattered open. Standing there in the doorway was a vampire that Ryeowook could only barely recognize and the sight of him nearly made him sick. All over the thin and dangerously underweight body, blackened skin was flaking off revealing new pink and likely very tender patches in its wake. It left the vampire looking like a starved creature in the midst of a rather painful molting process and the source of more than a few nightmares to come.
In his arms was a limp body, recognizable by its hair and clothing. “Donghae!” Ryeowook exclaimed, guilt flashing through him. Yesung’s hand on his tightened, keeping him where he was when he would have otherwise shifted to move. It was his fault that Donghae was like this; his own stupid decision to take the man with him into a fight that he knew would kill him.
“Please,” the vampire cradling the human rasped his voice rough from disuse. “Please save him.”
“I can’t do anything if he is dead,” Henry said softly, drawing the same conclusion as Ryeowook had from the sight of the body.
“Not dead,” Yesung murmured softly, “but close enough that it probably won’t matter. You could change him Brother you are old enough to do so.”
It was odd to see the flaking face create expressions, but somehow it managed to display an expression of horror. “He would never forgive me,” the vampire rasped and Ryeowook knew he was correct. Donghae truly would not ever be able to forgive Kibum for turning him into something that he was terrified of, especially without his coherent permission. “Please.”
“I’ll try,” Henry agreed and Kibum gently laid Donghae beside him before stepping back. The witch bent over the still form, hands spread, and the green glow that Ryeowook had began to associate with his healing touch spread over the body. He didn’t think that Henry could raise the dead, it wasn’t in good magic to do that, and it looked as though whatever had happened to Donghae wouldn’t be something his body could heal from.
“I didn’t mean to,” the vampire rasped. “I just couldn’t stop.” He wondered if the creature’s mind was truly all there. If it wasn’t then they were all in danger, even with Yesung present.
“You were starved Brother,” Yesung said gently, easily seeing more than Ryeowook could. “You still are. Come and eat, I have enough to spare.”
Kibum’s eyes focused on him, glowing with his hunger. “You are tired and hungry.”
“I have ways of feeding myself without hurting anyone. Right now you do not. The only reason you didn’t kill Donghae was because you love him, the same won’t be true for the next human you feed from,” Yesung told him.
“You’re Pet won’t like it,” Kibum murmured. “He won’t understand.”
“He will be fine,” Yesung reassured, releasing Ryeowook’s hand. “Come.” The tilt of Yesung’s head in offer was all that Kibum needed and the vampire moved to his kin with startling speed.
Kibum had been right, Ryeowook didn’t like it. He hated the way Yesung’s eyes flutter closed and a moan the likes of which Ryeowook had never heard fluttered past his lips. Yesung’s hands rose to pull the vampire closer to his body, unmindful of the blackened skin that flaked away under his fingers.
Ryeowook hated every moment of the intensely sexual display, but he hated more that he understood it. The two had been sharing blood and each other’s bodies for longer than he could accurately imagine and, as expected, that had created a connection between the two of them that he couldn’t ever hope to touch. They were Brothers, created by Heechul and drawn together in a way that he probably couldn’t ever understand. While he knew that he held a large piece of Yesung’s heart, Kibum did too. Nothing could ever change that.
Red glowing eyes opened to stare at him and he met them, letting Yesung look for what he would. He didn’t know if the vampire found what he was looking for, but he rose, gathering Kibum in his arms, and was gone before Ryeowook could form the question.
“I can’t,” Henry muttered, drawing him back to his fallen friend. The witch seemed devastated that he could do nothing, but even Ryeowook could see how his magic was hovering just over the man’s skin and not sinking in as it should.
“It’s not your fault. He is too far gone,” Ryeowook told him. “It happens occasionally. He likely won’t wake up before he slips away.”
“A shame,” a voice said from behind him, “he was interesting.”
Ryeowook whirled to see Sungmin, dressed in his favored black, perched high atop a shelf and watching them with a bored expression. “What do you want?” he hissed.
“Well I was going to congratulate you all on your victory but everyone seems somewhat distracted by something or another,” he sighed. “It makes for a rather boring time, even more so that this one is the only casualty of the whole thing and he was killed by the only vampire that loves him. A shame.”
“Go away Sungmin,” Ryeowook snarled.
“I could save him you know,” Sungmin offered, and Ryeowook didn’t need to look to know that Henry had perked up at the offer.
“We don’t want to owe you a life,” Ryeowook declared for the benefit of the witch that may have never dealt with a Fae before. Wisely Henry stayed silent.
Sungmin, disappointment flashing across his face, sighed again. “There is only a minute more before he slips away. His vampire truly doesn’t plan to turn him?”
“No, and you will not save him,” Ryeowook declared.
“Not even if I lay out the terms of the deal?” Sungmin offered.
“What are they?” Henry asked before Ryeowook could stop him. He turned to look at the witch who looked minimally embarrassed that he had spoken. “There is no harm in hearing them.”
“Yes there is,” Ryeowook muttered.
“The terms are this, I will save him and he will become a vampire before he reaches his natural time of death,” Sungmin said casually.
“We cannot promise you that,” Ryeowook snapped.
“You will do everything in your power to hold up your end of the deal,” Sungmin said flippantly.
“Why not?” Henry asked Ryeowook, looking eager. There was something they were missing, another side that Sungmin was after, an angle they couldn’t see. Nothing was ever straight forward with the Fae.
“He will be exactly as he is now?” Ryeowook pressed.
“I will not alter his humanity nor the things that make him who he is. I will simply bring life back into his body,” Sungmin swore.
“You know him best,” Henry murmured. “Would Donghae want it?”
“I don’t know,” Ryeowook cursed. He, in fact, didn’t actually know the man all that well. He wished that Kibum was in the state of mind to make a decision like this, but there was no way that they could ask the starved vampire.
“Tick tock,” Sungmin chimed.
“Damn it,” Ryeowook cursed, they were out of time. “The penalty falls on me not him if the deal is not kept.”
“Excellent,” Sungmin chimed, taking his statement as agreement for the deal. The Fae, assuming that he had permission, wasted no time in lifting his hand and blowing across it. Tendrils of shadows drifted from his palm and down onto Donghae. They settled on the man and disappeared within his body until they couldn’t be seen anymore.
For a moment Ryeowook thought nothing had happened and then the man’s chest rose and fell in a deep intake of breath. “Why would you save him, Fae?” Ryeowook asked, eyes narrowed.
Sungmin’s smile was dangerous. “I am interested to see what he will become,” the Fae replied simply. Then, in a theatrically flashy show of shadows, he vanished from the room.
“Did we do the right thing?” Henry whispered after a moment. Ryeowook studied the witch for a moment and supposed that even if a witch knew the difference between good and evil it was impossible to place which side most Fae fell on. `
“I hope so,” Ryeowook said finally, but as Donghae blinked into wakefulness he had to wonder if he had done what he had to simply ease his own consciousness.
Chapter Seventeen
Masterlist
AN: So here it is! The second to last chapter! I hope all of you are still enjoying it as much as I am. One more chapter and we are done. The good news is that I have it already written and off to the betas! (or it will be shortly... ^^;)
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