Page 58 of Dark Reckoning
I snorted. “And just what the hell is he planning on doing to help them from these monsters?”
“He wanted to know If I could cast a spell to make him stronger.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Being human must suck.”
“Sage—”
I held my hand up. “I'm sorry. I'm sure Salino would turn him into a vampire if he really wanted to be stronger. But the fact of the matter is, even supernals are sitting this one out.”
“Not because you're afraid. You're only sitting it out because you don't want to risk being turned. If a supernal is turned... they're even deadlier than one that was turned from a human... right?” Adrian asked.
“Oh, I don't doubt some supernal are just fine sitting idle because they are afraid. Not one of us want to become one of those mindless beasts. But for the majority, we protect our territory from threats, so it's not easy allowing intruders to run amok. I want to fight these things. I want to rip them apart with my teeth and claws. But I have a job to do. So yeah, you're right.”
“You think Xavier would allow himself to become a vampire?” Shi asked Adrian.
He shook his head. “He just wants to be useful. I think that's where it's coming from. He was in the military before we met. Fighting is in his blood.”
“Well, maybe when all of this is over, if things can go back to normal, we'll look in the grimoire to see what we can do for your brittle friend,” I said with a smile.
Adrian gave me a small laugh and nodded. “Yeah, I think that can work. He's my partner and I've got this boost now.”
“He's feeling left out?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Maybe. I don't know. Maybe he just wants to be able to help me when I need it and not be sidelined.”
“Well, he's not alone. Unless he can cast spells, he needs to just deal.”
“He has Jewel to keep him company. I'm sure he's not too idle,” Shi said.
“Well, if he continues to pursue her, he'll need to figure out what he wants. She's a shifter, she'll outlive him,” I said.
“Let's deal with Xavier later. It's time to look at the grimoire,” Adrian said, and I agreed. We finished our meal and got to work.
***
“Hey, babe, let’s stop because we're not finding shit in this book that can either help us defeat the Dark God, or find him, or even kill him,” I said. We'd been reading the book for hours and had gotten nowhere.
“Yeah, I agree. At least nothing on my end. But I think we do know how to kill all of his demons he's unleashed.”
I cocked my eyebrow at that. “Really? How?”
“What about the spell you used to kill that entire clan of mages? They were all linked by the same magic and you took them out completely,” Adrian reminded me.
Oh shit, I had, hadn’t I? That was badass. “You might have a point. It's not in the book anymore, but I remember it.” It was no longer in the book, because I'd learned the spell and it was now a part of my memory. That was how the grimoire worked, like even its magic was engrained in us. The spell did kill any who were all linked and I wondered if it would even kill the Dark God? Even though Kakashi had said that vampires were no longer linked to El-Kazir anymore, so we didn't have to fear his death or return to wherever the hell he came from, I had my reservations. Salino still had the seal of El-Kazir hidden under the flesh on his chest. It flared up when we did the spell. I needed why that mark remained.
“Before even attempting to do that spell again on these things out there, I have to make sure we won't be affected. Vampires may still have a link to El-Kazir in some way.”
“Ahh.,” Adrian nodded absently. “Yeah, I see your point. We need to see if the Council has anything,” he said. “I'm wondering if we'll get other spells if we're together? You know, since our magic is linked in a way where we can draw on each other.”
My baby made an excellent point. I agreed with him because the grimoire had a mind of its own. Sometimes, a spell wouldn’t appear until both Adrian and I were looking at it, or at least together. I turned to the page that featured my teleportation spell, as Adrian had his own. “Now would be a good time to learn how to teleport. You and me. It's way faster than having to travel by conventional means.”
“Would you believe me if I said I was kind of afraid to do that?”
I smirked. “Why?”
He shrugged. “What if I don't land where I intended?”
“Then maybe you can teleport away.”
