Chapter 21

Twenty-One

" M idnight, that is enough," Blood said as she rolled her eyes.

"That is not my name." Midnight pouted and crossed her arms in childlike defiance.

Ignoring the pink-haired girl, Blood said, "The tattoo symbolizes the Blood Council." Blood glanced over her shoulder before continuing in a rush. Almost as if she didn't hurry, the other mirror might intervene. "The Council is designed to govern and hide the existence of vampires through the laws known as the Vampire Accords."

Hide the existence of vampires.

A spider of fear surged down Quinn's spine. She was right! Her suspicions, all of the fang markings on the bodies, all pointed to the irrevocable truth that vampires were still alive.

Midnight glared a river of daggers at Blood and crossed her arms. "Hmph, you're absolutely no fun. You give her all the stupid answers."

Blood rolled her shoulders back and faced the other girl—mirror. "Your deal didn't say I couldn't. Perhaps you should have been more specific."

Quinn's insides churned as she watched the showdown between the two powerful beings. As the truth about vampires stirred her insides and clamped her mouth tightly shut.

"Fine," Midnight said with a huff as she threw her hands up like a two-year-old having a tantrum. "You're technically correct. But next time, I'll muzzle you."

"Next time." Blood's smile was victorious poison.

Confusion raked through Quinn's blood. Why was Blood helping? But more importantly, could she trust the mirror? The mirror that she wore around her neck and seldom took off.

Quinn recoiled, and her muscles quivered with tension, and she tried to focus herself back on the moment. "I need to clarify: vampires are alive?"

"That was another question." Midnight wrinkled her nose with glee.

Shit, shit, shit. Quinn needed to be more careful, or she'd leave the mirror with absolutely no hair. Oh, and she really should've ensured her hair would grow back. It'd just be like a mirror bargain for it to be gone forever.

"I'll take your hair now." Midnight held out a hand.

"You never answered my question."

"You said every question asked. I never said I had to answer the question." Midnight's voice was a singsong soprano.

Blood cleared her throat, and she glared. "I thought you said you don't trick humans."

Midnight scoffed, clearly taking offense. "That wasn't a trick. I told her exactly what I would do. She failed to specify that I had to answer the question she asked."

"You're all the same." Blood shook her head.

"What are you like, nineteen?" Midnight's voice was suddenly older and as dark as a bottomless pit. "When you've been trapped in your cage for hundreds of years, you'll understand." Midnight's demeanor shifted again back to the joyous yet eccentric teen. "Plus, I am a nice mirror. I don't even ask for people's souls like most of the others. "

Blood's eyes grew stormy—like an overcast, never-ending rainy day. "I am sorry, Midnight."

The teen waved away the apology. "If you must insist on your answers, then yes, vampires exist."

Quinn's knees buckled, and her muscles grew weak and faint. She let her knees fall to the cloudy floor. Fear coiled around her throat like a snake suffocating its prey.

"Are you all right?" Blood stood up and reached for Quinn.

"Yes. I am fine." Quinn panted as if she ran a race and lost. Before Quinn could think it through, she asked, "What are the Blood Mirrors?" Quinn knew they somehow had to be connected. Her parents had the tattoos and were murdered protecting a mirror. And Jane was murdered because of the mirrors, too.

"That's three questions now." Midnight tallied them on her fingers.

"The three Blood Mirrors house the vampires' only mortal weakness," Blood said. "And they are protected by the Council."

Quinn desperately wanted to ask about the weakness, but she'd already bargained away three chunks of her hair, and she still didn't know if it would ever grow back—and she didn't even know what Midnight meant by a "small lock." And it wasn't that Quinn was vain, but she did like her hair. It was one of her best features.

If she asked one more question, she'd probably be fine, but she was unwilling to let go of that much more.

But what question would lead her to the most answers outside of the mirror?

Quinn finally settled on, "How can I get more answers about the Blood Council and vampires without asking a mirror?"

"A council meeting will be held at the castle tomorrow night. You should be able to get more answers then," Blood said.

"I am assuming that was your last question?" Midnight asked, playing with a cloud kitten she'd created.

"Yes," Quinn breathed .

"Wonderful." Midnight's complexion lit up. "I'll have my prize now."

She held out her hand. With a slight pinch at the back of Quinn's head, the bottom half-inch of her hair fell out and appeared in Midnight's hand.

The teen kissed the hair and rubbed it against her face before saying, "Goodbye, sweet Quinn. I did enjoy your company. Do come back for a visit!"

Quinn stiffened. That was the last thing she ever wanted to do.

Red metal climbed up Blood's body. "It was an honor to get to see you, Quinnevere." A tear dropped from her eye as the crimson metal captured her. Once fully covered, the woman melted into dancing liquid and flowed back into the necklace's cage.

Then Quinn fell through darkness.

She hit the asphalt road with a thud. The mirror had tossed her out back onto the street. "Ouch."

"How did it go?"

"At least she still looks the same."

"She doesn't look too tortured."

Quinn's mind whirled, and she didn't know which of her friends belonged to which voice. She laid her head back against the ground and sucked in a breath. So much happened, and she was unable to process it all. The tattoo and Blood Mirrors and vampires.

It was all too much. She needed to forget about it. But she couldn't, so after a long pause to collect her thoughts, she sat up and told her friends everything.