The Witch's Thirst. Deborah LeBlanc

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СКАЧАТЬ need to snap out of it,” Ronan said. “I know things may seem hopeless to you right now, but if the Nosferatu continue fighting this way, I’m concerned it will weaken the electric dome over the catacombs again.”

      “What makes you think that?” Lucien asked.

      Ronan pointed to the dome. “Look.”

      Sure enough, the sparks of electricity that came from the four bloodstone-attached steel rods in four different directions had begun to flicker.

      “We must calm them down,” Ronan said.

      Evee studied him for a moment. His collar-length black hair combed just so, his five o’clock shadow that accented a square jaw. His black eyes held such an intensity in them he could have melted a gold bar simply by staring at it and concentrating. Although he appeared a few years younger than Lucien, his height and build were similar to his cousin’s. The biggest difference between the two men was Ronan’s serious nature and the ease with which Lucien smiled.

      Because there had been four cousins and three of the Triad, Evee had been paired with two Benders. Although they were two of the most handsome men she’d ever had the pleasure to meet, her initial intention had been to not allow attraction to enter into the serious business at hand. She’d never wanted to be drawn to either of the two men, although their good looks were second to none and each possessed unique qualities. But slowly and surely something other than the electric dome they’d created with their scabiors had begun to pulsate. Every time she looked at Lucien, she felt a jolt of electricity flow through her. When she studied Ronan, she felt sparks flutter through her, but not with the same intensity as she felt with Lucien.

      Not that either mattered. They were men. They were human. She had no choice but to stay at arm’s length.

      Lucien pulled Evee away from the pillar she’d been leaning against and stood her upright, facing him.

      “Please do something now, Evee,” Lucien said.

      Evee shook her head slightly as if just waking from a deep sleep. “I don’t even know if my spells will work. Even my sisters seem to have problems with theirs.”

      “You have to at least try,” Ronan said. “It’s the only thing I can think of that’s causing the dome to fade.”

      “What thing are you talking about?” Evee asked.

      “The energy coming from the fighting Nosferatu.”

      “That can affect the dome?” she asked.

      Ronan pointed to the arcs over the catacombs. “What else could it be?”

      With a sigh of resignation, Evee went to the gates of the catacombs, pressed her body against it and raised her arms up by her sides and began to chant.

      “Quiet now, ye creatures’ mind,

      Let thy actions turn from rage to kind.

      See thy angst, fear and pain in vain,

      So it is said.

      So shall it be.”

      No sooner had Evee finished speaking the words than the Nosferatu that had been ripping into one another broke apart. They looked about, seemingly confused, as if unable to comprehend what they had just been doing. Each shuffled off to a corner and sat licking wounds, which immediately healed. A quiet hum soon filled the catacombs, except for an occasional impatient grumble from one of the Nosferatu.

      At least the fighting had stopped.

      “Why didn’t you do that earlier?” Lucien asked.

      “I—I don’t know,” Evee said. “I guess I was afraid it wouldn’t work. Just another failure.”

      Lucien took hold of her chin with a thumb and forefinger and turned her head so she faced him. She had no choice but to look into his eyes.

      “None of this is your fault. Whatever is causing the sporadic instabilities of your spells is not your fault. The Cartesians are powerful creatures, and their intention is to create havoc, to destroy the Originals and the Triad. Don’t give up on your powers. Don’t let the Cartesians see or feel your weakness, because that’s what they’ll focus on. We need to make sure you and your sisters stay safe, and the way you can help make that happen is to remain strong.”

      Evee nodded, reprimanding herself silently for having succumbed to complacency. There was no room for it when it came to protecting her Nosferatu, for it was her job to keep them safe.

      Ronan nudged Lucien. “We need to strengthen the canopy again, then go hunting for more Nosferatu before it gets any later. It’ll be feeding time before we know it, and the ones that are missing are going to be looking for food. That could mean attacks on humans if we don’t find them and bring them into the fold.”

      Without a word, Lucien pulled his scabior from its sheath, which was attached to his belt, and Ronan followed suit. Together they did a quick flick of their wrists, twirled their scabiors around their fingers with lightning speed, then aimed them at the opposing poles. From the bloodstones that sat atop their scabiors shot a fierce bolt of lightning into the poles. They did the same with the remaining two poles, setting them alight until the catacombs lit up like a football field at game time.

      Nosferatu scattered from the brilliance of the light, hiding behind crypts or crawling onto death shelves.

      “Looks like that should hold them for now,” Lucien said.

      Evee nodded and then motioned Pierre, her overseer, to the catacomb gates. She told him what they had in mind, and that he was to keep tabs on all the Nosferatu within the catacombs just as he had been doing prior to them getting out of control.

      Although Evee trusted Pierre with her life, she feared that if they didn’t hurry and collect the missing Nosferatu and get all of them to the North Compound for feeding time, more fights would break out. Then they might lose the protection of the scabior canopy, and the Cartesians would find her Originals and annihilate them. Then it wouldn’t be long before humans throughout the city would die senseless, useless deaths.

      Evee feared that might be going on even now with her Nosferatu. She felt in her gut that somewhere in the city more deaths had already taken place. She could only hope she and her sisters wouldn’t be next.

      The Benders seemed very confident in their abilities and seemed to have a solid plan in place, or as solid as one might have in such a situation.

      Evee, on the other hand, had not known this much fear—ever.

       Chapter 2

      Lucien didn’t like the idea of leaving the catacombs to hunt for the missing Nosferatu. Although he knew that finding them was a task that had to be taken care of, he worried about the scabior dome flickering out again. If it happened once, it might happen again. Despite what he had told Evee about the energy generated by the squabbling Nosferatu making the dome less effective, Lucien wasn’t convinced of that. That was just an assumption. He had no idea what had really caused the dome to weaken. The truth was that no Bender ever before had created a large-scale electrical barrier that locked in any creature. Having run out of options when so many Originals СКАЧАТЬ