Once Burned

Chapter 26

I didn’t bother to put on a coat, but marched around to the side of the house that was secluded by a tall line of trees. Now I knew the reason why. Any poor tourist who happened to stumble across Castle Dracula would get alarmed at the sight of several long poles stuck in the earth, some of them with remains still hanging from them.

Vlad must have known that I was coming, either from my thoughts or the crunching noises my boots made with my furious stride. The long piece of timber he’d had in his hand when I first glimpsed him through the window was now on the ground. Maximus stood next to him, shirtless, seemingly oblivious to the cold that made my whole body ache, a grim yet resigned expression on his face.

“Leila,” Vlad said, voice as casual as if I’d stumbled upon them sharing a beer. “It’s too cold for you to be out dressed like that. Go back inside. I’ll join you in a moment.”

“What, after you finish shish-kebobbing Maximus for no good reason?” I snapped.

He actually had the nerve to look at me as if I were the one overreacting.

“No good reason? I ordered him to protect you. Instead, his actions resulted in you nearly burning to death. Did you think I’d let him off with a tongue-lashing?”

“I didn’t think you’d go pole-happy on him,” I countered, trying to keep my teeth from chattering because that would take away from my hard tone. “He’d been fighting off three vampires at the time, which was pretty damn impressive. No wonder he didn’t notice what Silver Hair did to me.”

Vlad’s hands sparked. Maximus muttered, “Stop helping.”

“I am the Master of my line.” Vlad enunciated each word as though I suddenly had difficulty understanding English. “No matter how Maximus’s fighting skills may have impressed you, how I punish one of my people for failing me doesn’t concern you.”

My temper snapped. I was supposed to be his girlfriend, not a lackey so he did not just pull the Big Bad Vampire card on me!

“Ooh, you told me,” I mocked, sketching a bow. “You’re right, I should’ve have dreamed of interfering. In fact, however long you sentence Maximus to that pole, I’ll be sure to think about how wrong I was while sleeping alone!”

“Don’t use abstinence as blackmail,” he said curtly. “It won’t work, and we agreed not to play games with each other.”

I marched over, feeling my hand tingle with angry currents.

“This isn’t blackmail. It’s me being seriously pissed over you torturing Maximus for something that wasn’t his fault. You do what you have to do, Vlad, I can’t stop you. But then I’ll do what I have to do.”

Vlad glanced down, his expression changing from irritated obstinacy to concern.

“Leila, your hand.”

I looked and saw a sliver of electricity extending from it like a glittering icicle. I fisted my hand, taking a deep breath as I attempted to stuff my power back inside.

“It’s fine,” I muttered. “It happened before; I whipped a current across Silver Hair’s back when I wasn’t close enough to grab him. Maybe drinking your blood amped up my voltage.”

Vlad stared at my hand before casting a speculative look at Maximus. Then he returned his attention to me. And smiled.

“What?” I asked warily, recognizing his charming “I’m going to do something awful” expression.

“Congratulations, Maximus. Leila has won you a reprieve from impalement.” His smile widened. “And I know just the way you can thank her for it.”

Maximus stood across from me in the huge hallway, fully dressed now. His features were stoic, but if I were him, I’d be cursing me up one side and down the other. I hoped this hurt less than a pole through the torso, but since Vlad had thought of it, probably not.

“Sorry,” I said for the dozenth time. Then I focused on the knife he held and aimed as much electricity toward it as I could. A pure white current shot out of my hand, whipping across his wrist and leaving an ugly burn. His whole body stiffened, which had been his usual reaction, but this time, Maximus also took a step backward. Still, he didn’t drop the knife.

“Better,” Vlad said in an approving tone. “With more practice, you’ll be able to do this.”

Then he snapped the whip he held. It flashed out too fast for me to follow with my gaze, but the knife in Maximus’s hand was suddenly several feet away on the floor.

Vlad turned to me. “I could take his hand off if I wanted to, and this is an ordinary leather whip. You have the ability to channel one made of pure electrical energy. Wielded properly, you could cut someone in half, human or vampire.”

I doubted that. Vampires healed too fast for my abilities to be lethal unless I maintained contact with my right hand for at least an hour. Case in point: The burn on Maximus’s wrist had already vanished, and his posture was now as straight as ever.

Vlad strode over, scowling. “If you don’t believe you can do it, then you won’t do it. Do you think my control over fire appeared the first time I manifested a flame? No. I honed my abilities until I turned them into the weapon they are today.”

“Do you two need a minute alone?” Maximus grumbled.

Vlad ignored him, grasping my hand and holding it up as if I’d never seen it before.

“This could be a formidable weapon. You’ve only ever practiced suppressing your power, but where has that gotten you? Stop trying to get rid of it and bend it to your will instead.”

“What if I don’t want my power to get any stronger?” Exhaustion from continually manifesting currents made my voice harsh. “Power might be the ultimate status symbol for vampires, but I never wanted these abilities to begin with. They’ve shattered my life more than once and without drinking vampire blood, they’d kill me. I want less power, not more.”

“You want to survive, don’t you?” he countered mercilessly. “As you are, most vampires could overcome you. Right now you hope that whoever ordered your kidnapping hasn’t spread word of your psychic abilities, but if he has, you’ll be very popular in the undead world. If that happens, you can stay helpless, relying on my protection forever, or learn how to defend yourself. Your choice.”

Damn him for knowing the right buttons to push. Growing my abilities might have emotional and physical drawbacks, but they beat being helpless against another kidnapping attempt.

“Fine,” I said after a long pause. “I’ll hone my power into the best weapon it can be.”

Vlad traced the path of my scar from my hand all the way up to my face. His voice lowered. “First you need to let go of your guilt over your mother’s death. It’s crippling you.”

The words hit me like a slap. “You have no right,” I gasped, knocking his hand away. “I never told you about that, so you stole it from my mind! Do I bring up that day by the river to you? No, because you didn’t share it with me of your own free will, so I leave it alone. Leave this alone, Vlad. I mean it.”

“I’m gonna go,” Maximus muttered, slinking away from us.

I ignored him, focused on the vampire in front of me. Vlad stared back, impenitent and uncompromising.

“You don’t need to bring up that day by the river because I dealt with my guilt a long time ago. But you’re right. You didn’t share this with me of your own free will, so I won’t mention it again . . . unless you continue to let it handicap you.”

Something boiled over in me at that. I could actually feel the current pulsing under my skin as if begging to be freed.

“I’ll show you handicapped,” I spat, and snapped my right hand at the nearest statue—a life-sized male warrior. A long, white current rocketed from my skin, lashing the statue’s neck. Some part of me must’ve held back with Maximus before, because this time, the current cut all the way through. The marble head smashed onto the floor, breaking into several pieces.

Maximus ran back down the hall and stared at the remains in horror. “That was fifth-century Grecian!”

My surge of fury vanished as I looked at the wreckage. Surprise at what I’d done competed with shame. My sister Gretchen used to break things when she was upset, and I’d sworn never to be that way. Now I’d broken that vow—and a priceless statue along with it.

“I’m so sorry,” I began, looking over at Vlad, but his expression stopped me from saying anything else.

“You see?” he said with supreme satisfaction. “A formidable weapon, just as I told you. Now that you know what you’re capable of, we’ll keep working to improve on it.”