46. Owen

Chapter forty-six

Owen

T hings went from bad to much, much worse. Eric had bitten me twice more before he'd gotten to wherever he was taking me. With each bite, he got stronger, and I got weaker—stupid Eric. And there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop him.

It was pitch-black out, and the clouds covered the moon. I kept thinking I might freeze to death, provided Eric didn't kill me first. I only had so much blood, after all.

Eric had run the entire way from my house to wherever we were now. It, well, it was strange. He was able to run way too quickly for human legs. Almost as fast, if not faster, than a car could drive. How I'd managed to date a fucking vampire that had that ability was beyond me.

I wondered suddenly if he'd been biting me when we dated. Something inside me told me that wasn't the case. If he had, I probably would've been dead, considering Eric got a little crazier every time he bit me .

By the time we arrived and he stopped running, I was exhausted. I doubted I'd even be able to stand. As it turned out, I didn't need to. Eric threw me roughly onto a slab of what felt like rock. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, enough to see there were entities all around me.

"Ah, finally, the Re'em has come," a man, I could barely make out, said. From what I could see, he appeared to be made of stone, tall, and with hard edges to his features. I'd run the other way if I saw him on the street. Hell, I'd run now if I had the energy.

The man leaned over me and sniffed, then turned my head to look at my neck. His hands were so cold it hurt when he touched me. "You!" he yelled at Eric. "You took from him?"

Eric shied away. I couldn't see him in the dark, but I heard him yell as the man attacked him. It was still too dark to make out what happened, but the scream that was abruptly cut off told me Eric didn't survive the attack. I shuddered. Did he just kill Eric right here in front of me?" I hated Eric, but I didn't want him to die.

I tried to move, to get out of there, but I was too weak. Eric had taken too much blood. The man came back and checked me over. Something dark was streaked across his face, and my stomach turned as I realized it must be Eric's blood.

"Get him something for sustenance. The spell won't work if he's this weak. That damned vampire!" he said and walked away. I heard feet scurrying, and a woman, who looked like she couldn't be older than fifteen, came over and lifted me, then waved her hand, and a glass appeared in it.

"This is juice. It'll help you regain your strength."

I thought the man had left, but I heard him barking orders a second after I gulped the orange juice, thankful for it, even if I now knew my life teetered on the edge.

"Get me the Karkadann," he yelled from somewhere to my right.

I was so exhausted, and despite my circumstances, I fell asleep on the cold slab of whatever I was lying on. Dreams of dark shadows played around me. I could barely move, but when I did, my body felt too big and lethargic, different from my normal self.

I flicked a glance down at my feet and realized, maybe, just maybe, Eric hadn't been wrong in showing me the image of a unicorn, but how the hell was that possible? How, if I was, had the witches and Damian not known?"

In the dream, I could see much better than when I was awake. The dark creatures around me were menacing, to say the least, and I could see the man now. He was exactly as I'd seen him in the dark earlier. He was like a walking statue. His skin was intensely pale and almost transparent. I glanced toward where I'd heard Eric scream, and even though he wasn't there, a pool of blood marked the spot. I seriously doubted he'd survived.

I could hear words, and although it was like listening through water, I knew the creepy, murdering man had begun to chant. Then, magically, a group of people appeared in front of him. Shadow, Molly's friend, appeared with them.

She immediately turned toward me, and concern flickered across her face before she schooled her expression and looked toward the man.

I focused until their words became clearer. "We must perform the spell before the morning breaks. It's just luck the stupid vampire stumbled on the Re'em on the new moon."

He turned toward where I lay and shook his head. "It's not ideal that he's lost so much blood. He should be fitter to undergo the transformation, but needs must. I won't have that wizard interfering again."

I knew he meant Damian, and hope sprang up inside me. The creepy man was afraid of Damian.

"What should we do with the golem?" one of the men who'd appeared with Shadow asked the statue guy.

"Aah, that could be useful. Bring him to me."

Just then, my human form appeared in front of the statue man. I watched as my doppelganger struggled against the arms that held him, and then he froze when he saw me. "Please, let me go. Please," he said.

The statue man lifted his hand, and I watched in shock as it turned into a massive knifelike thing. Then, without hesitation, he decapitated…well…me. He decapitated me!

I sucked in a breath, causing the statue man to turn toward me. "Aah, you have regained some of your strength. Good, that's very good," he said .

He turned away from me, reached down, and pulled a parchment out of the mouth of the thing that had been me but was now just a pile of clay. This was the weirdest dream I'd ever had.

The statue guy took the paper and smelled it. "Yes, this is perfect, the blood of the wizard!"

He squeezed the paper, and I watched, terrified, as blood dripped from it into a vial that magically appeared in the statue guy's hand.

"Dungun," he called, and a creepy, dark antlike creature came over. "Get the witches to bind the blood to my dagger," he said, handing over the vial and a huge knife he'd pulled out of a holster on his side.

"Now, Karkadann, you can embed your little Re'em friend here with some energy, can you not? We need him ready for the spell that comes."

Shadow nodded, and it appeared as if she smiled slightly. She came toward me, transforming as she did into some bizarre antelope thing with black scales. She looked more like a dragon but for the long, inky black horn that protruded from her head.

The moment she got to where I was lying, she lowered the horn and stuck me in the belly. I felt the pain first, then warmth flowed into me. With it, I heard the words, "Don't worry, I'm on your side, but don't let anyone know!"

She pulled back, and even in my dream state, the world went dark.