A Spell of Death

CHAPTER THREE-1

CHAPTER THREE

THE OLD CLOCK BESIDE Cam's bed ticked, boring like water drops into Mina's skull. Her gut twisted as another silent grimace played across her roommate's face. Former roommate, Mina reminded herself. A twitch of Cam's eyebrows hinted at pain though her injuries were already healed.

Mina wiped a stray strand of hair away from Cam's forehead, noting again the new tattoo on her neck — marking her indelibly as a vampire even without the song trilling in Mina's blood: cellos and windchimes. She traced the black lines with her thumb. None of the others, who stood gossiping in the living room, recognized the image, but it looked to her like an ankh with a pointed end. Except the top was too flat and filled with a blackened circle. It certainly was nothing like the only other tattoo Cam had, the one she'd asked Mina to do: a discreet, rainbow-hued dragonfly that masked a scar Cam never talked about.

A tremble passed through Cam, and Mina reached down to pick the afghan up off the floor, intent on wrapping it around Cam's sleeping form. At least, Mina hoped she was sleeping. "I'm sorry," she whispered, placing her lips on Cam's fevered forehead. Her lips pulled into a frown of worry, she clutched the afghan to her chest and turned at a sound behind her.

Brett came into the room, pausing just inside the doorway. "Sorry. I —" He glanced at the washcloth he held in his hand, then back at her. "I thought I could clean off some of the blood." He nodded towards Cam.

Her gaze flashed from him to her roommate. "Thanks." Looking back at Brett, she forced a small smile to her lips at the concern in his sad eyes and tight mouth. "You're already doing so much more than the others." She glanced down the hall at the meager gathering in their little living room, and the anger welled up again. They'd wanted to kill her friend. They probably still did though now they simply refused, oh so politely, to take Cam back to the Sanctuary and the healers there. Cam was tainted, they said. Glaring at them, her frown came back, more of a scowl this time, as Rhys walked down the hall towards her.

"How is she?" the Librarian asked, his pale blue eyes sliding to Cam, as he tucked his right hand into his left armpit.

"How should I know?" Mina savoured the tartness in her voice, hoping it would soothe the beast inside. Instead it soured in her stomach.

"No, I don't suppose you would know, having no experience with sacrifice, however unsuccessful." Rhys' sad gaze shifted from Cam to her. Even though she'd had her fill of riddles, she bit back the comment which formed in her throat and pressed her tongue to her fangs to quell the ever-simmering anger.

Rhys paused, mouth partly open. "I meant that literally," he said, as if he'd read her mind. "You have no experience with people who sacrifice others." He nodded at Cam. "Or those who've been set up as the lamb. Few do."

"Do you?" Her curiosity piqued despite her anger, Mina peered at Rhys. She saw the worry written around his eyes as well, and in the lines of his face. Or maybe it's sadness. She recalled with a guilty jolt that Dar's death was still fresh. She didn't know the entirety of their relationship but it was more than vampire and researcher. Tears welled up as a wave of hopelessness washed over her. "We've lost so much," she said, then startled as Rhys lay a hand on her shoulder. She flushed — she'd spoken aloud.

"And you don't want to lose her too."

Mina peered into his watery eyes. "Do you know what's wrong with her?"

Rhys tilted his head. "Not exactly. My best guess is she's caught in some kind of limbo she needs to find her way out of."

"You don't know how to get her out?"

Rhys shook his head slowly. "No. There's a lot I don't know. But sometimes, just sometimes, I know how to find out."

"Can you find a cure for her?"

"I can look." He sighed. "But I can't promise." He took his hand away and clapped it against his other one. "In the meantime, the conclave wants to...have a conclave to discuss things."

Mina waited for him to go on. "About what?" she asked when he didn't, an edge coming back into her voice as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Your friend, and what to do about Jack, and whether to worry about Night at all, given that the sacrifice didn't come off." He nodded towards Cam again. "I think you need to be in that discussion."

A hollow pit expanded in Mina's stomach, soon filled with guilt. In the cemetery, standing in the icy rain, surrounded by death and bloody muck, she'd been forced to choose: go after Jack or get Cam to safety. It had seemed the only choice at the time, but now worry about Jack's fate gnawed at her. She swallowed the tears that caught on the lump in her throat. "They can all crowd in here then."

"Bee and Seema believe the Sanctuary is a better location for a meeting of the conclave, even if it is greatly diminished." His voice faded to a whisper. "They say they'll start in an hour, with or without you." He clasped his hands in front of him. "But as I said, you should be there."

"Why? What difference will it make?" She turned back to Cam. Hearing Rhys' heavy sigh, she looked back.

He reached out, placing his hand on her shoulder, then dropped it. "We all know you're special."

"Don't you mean strange?"

"No, I don't."

His blue eyes pierced deep as he gazed at her. She looked away, towards the living room then at Cam. "You might be the only one."

"Not the only one." Brett rose from the bed and came to stand beside her. She saw Cam's face and arms were now clean. "It's okay. I can stay, watch over her." His lips formed a sad, crooked smile, before he leaned in to lay a light kiss on her temple. "I have your number, if anything changes."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"You didn't, I offered. I have nowhere else to be." His warm hand came to rest on her lower back, nudging her towards the door.

Mina glanced at Rhys, then gave Brett a small smile. With all that was going on, she'd seriously neglected him of late. She frowned; she had no idea about his life outside of his job and being a familiar. She'd have to fix that when she had a chance. Reaching out, she ran a thumb across his forehead — it hit her that the worry lines tracing across his brow weren't about Cam at all.

"Thank you." The words were barely audible, but he smiled before turning to Cam.

Sparing a final look at her friend, Mina turned to Rhys. "Fine then. Let's go discuss shit."

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