Page 147 of Their Blood Rite

‘We can’t do that,’ he tells me, slowly shaking his head.

His eyes drift past me. Archie is up but doesn’t go to grab me. He’s hastily wiping blood from his hands onto his trousers.

He wants it gone, so I can’t use it. And there’s no dirt here. Inches of stone separate me from the magic of the earth.

I grab his hand, feeling the blood that remains there, and I take the power to hurl Dorian backwards, clearing my path. I do the same to Archie, knocking him so he tumbles down, swearing as he collides with each step.

I fall into the hallway and scream as Dorian grabs the back of my neck.

‘LET ME GO!’

The power of the blood still on my hands sends him soaring one way and me the other, tossing me clear across the hall.

I slam into the wall and fall winded to the floor.

Ears ringing and unable to catch a breath, I force myself up, clasping my side. Dorian and Archie stand together, their fists clenched and their chests rising and falling at speed.

Looking at him, I spit a mouthful of blood onto the floor as tears spill freely down my cheeks.

‘You killed them.’

‘We can explain,’ Archie tries. ‘Calm down and listen.’

Shaw steps out from the doorway and stands at their side. He’s slick with blood, but there’s no sign of the heart.

‘Don’t let her touch the blood, Shaw,’ Dorian says without looking away from me.

I hold my head high, clasping my side and struggling to hold my weight.

Shaw steps towards me.

‘STOP!’ I hold out my hand and step back.

‘We’re not going to hurt you,’ he tells me, trying to keep his anger in check. ‘Just calm down.’

‘That’s blood magic.’ I look at the door. ‘That’s evil magic, Shaw. What… why?’

More blood fills my mouth, and I spit it on the floor.

‘You’re hurt,’ Shaw says, making another attempt to step closer. ‘Please.’

The sound of laughter from the sombre party outside has them all looking even more on edge.

‘Just come with us, and we’ll explain.’ Archie’s words are quiet, and he keeps glancing at the door leading outside.

They don’t want the others to know.

Of course they don’t. They’re the last survivors of the Blood Coven’s war. They hate blood magic. Just as they should. It’s evil. Pure fucking evil. Any spell demanding a heart torn from a chest is as dark as they come.

‘Come down and we will-’

‘I’m not going back down there. Why have you done this?’ I ask, my throat so strangled that I can’t manage anything else.

‘We…’ Shaw looks from the other guys and back to me. ‘We need you to do a spell. A single spell and then-’

‘No.’

‘We need you to-’

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