Night World - Spellbinder Part 8

CHAPTER 7.

I've been looking everywhere for you," Blaise said. "I had to call Mrs. Ross to find out you were here."

Her black hair was wild and windblown, tumbling over her shoulders. She had taken off her red bow tie and unb.u.t.toned the top b.u.t.ton of her dress s.h.i.+rt . There was color in her cheeks and dark light in her gray eyes. She looked extremely beautiful and very, very witchy.

Thea and Eric had moved apart and Thea had the feeling they were both blu s.h.i.+ng.

"We were just . . ." Eric said. "Um. Heh." While Blaise scrutinized him, he picked up the blue blanket and started refolding it. "Uh, can I show you aro und?"

"I don't care much for animals unless they've been s.h.i.+sh-kebabed." Blaise surveyed the room with one hand on her hip.

Oh, she's in a terrific mood.

Thea's palms were getting damp. She wasn't sure what Blaise thought of the embrace she'd walked in on ... but Thea was supposed to be leading Eric o n, wasn't she?

Her eye fell on the Kleenex daubed with Eric's blood. Un.o.btrusively, she reached for it and crumpled it in her hand.

"So you left the dance," she said to Blaise. "Where's . . ." Who'd actually been Blaise's date tonight? Sergio? Kevin? Someone else?

"There is no dance," Blaise said. "They shut it down. Leave it to Randy-he was always a royal pain." Then her face changed; she blinked and put on a sweet smile. "And who are you, darling?"

In the doorway to the corridor, Rosamund backed up, Madame Curie clutched t o her chest. She didn't say a word, but her hostile green eyes never left B laise.

"Uh, sorry," Eric said. "That's my sister. She's- shy."

"So this is a family affair," Blaise said. "How nice."

Thea said, "I think it's time to be going home." She needed to talk to Eric, but alone, not with a disgruntled munchkin and a suspicious witch looking o n.

She glanced at Eric, feeling a little shy herself. He looked the same.

"Well-see you at school."

"Yeah." Suddenly he smiled. "You know, that's something else I was going t o mention. If you're even thinking about going to Davis, you might want to get into honors zoology. It 's a good cla.s.s."

"Um-we'll see." She was aware of Blaise watching her.

But outside, all Blaise said was, "Sorry if I was rude. But I've been lookin g all over for you, so I could tell you what a great time I wasn't having. A nd"-she shook her midnight hair out with a charming smile;-"it's so much fun to be a b.i.t.c.h when you want to be."

Thea sighed, then stopped in her tracks. "Blaise, the car!"

Kevin's silver-gray Porsche looked as if it had been through a war. The fr ont b.u.mper was caved in, the pa.s.senger door was mangled, and the winds.h.i.+el d was cracked.

"I had a little trouble," Blaise said coolly. "It's all right, though; I met a guy tonight named Luke Price, who's got a Maserati." She looked at Thea, then added, "You don't disapprove, do you? Of treating humans that way?"

"No-of course not. I just don't want to get expelled again."

"It's not illegal to have an accident. Here, you have to get in through the dri ver's side now."

She drove, not seeming to choose any particular direction. Thea sat quietly, acutely aware of the probing glances cast her way every so often.

"So," Blaise said at last in her silkiest voice, "did you get it?"

"What?"

"Don't be funny."

Thea held out her hand with the crumpled Kleenex on her palm. "I didn't fill the vial; that was ridiculous. But I used my ingenuity and got enough.""Hmm." Blaise's tapering fingers, tipped with blood-red nails, dosed delicat ely on the tissue. Startled, Thea s.n.a.t.c.hed it back and the Kleenex tore. She ended up with only a corner.

"Hey-"

"What's the problem? I just want it for safekeeping," Blaise said smoothly.

"And so how did everything else go?"

"Fine," Thea said. Her palms were getting damp, but she managed to keep her voice airy. "I think he's hooked," she added, trying to imitate Blaise's mos t languid and arrogant tones.

"Oh, really?" They had ended up on the strip, which meant the car was now c rawling through traffic. Neon highlighted the curious half-smile on Blaise'

s lips. "And what was that about Davis?"

"Nothing. It's where he's going to college, so of course he'd like me to be wi th him."

"He's already thinking about the future. Well, that was fast work. Congratula tions."

Thea didn't like the way she said it. More than ever, she wanted to protect Eric from Blaise-but she wasn't sure how. It depended on how much Blaise s uspected.

"You know, I think it's the pop that's the most fun," Blaise went on reminisc ently. "Human boys are all different-but in the end, they're all the same. An d when they give in completely, you can almost hear it. There's a 'pop.' Like a balloon breaking."

Thea swallowed, staring at the huge golden lion in front of the MGM Grand Hotel. Its green eyes reminded her of Eric. "Really? Sounds interesting."

"Oh, it is. And after the pop, they just kind of collapse, and everything they are, their whole self, just sort of pours out in this internal hemorrhage. And after that, of course, they're useless. Like a stag that's too old to mate. The y're just-over."

"How nice."

"You know, I think Eric's ready for that pop. He's already in love with you; I could see that. I think it's time."

Thea just sat. A vampire girl, wearing a dress with a black rose design, threa ded her way through stopped traffic. Finally, Thea said, "Blaise ..."

"What, is that a problem with you? Are you having difficulty with that? Are you a little soft on him, maybe? Are you a little too fond of him?" "Blaise- ".

"Are you in love with him?" Shock waves went through Thea, and the last q uestion seemed to vibrate in the air. At last she whispered, "Don't be ri diculous." "And don't you try to fool me. Remember who you're talking to.

I know that dopey look you get when you're mooning over some animal. I s aw the way you were holding him."Thea felt desperate. It wasn't just Blaise she was afraid of here. Night Worl d law couldn't be clearer about the penalty for loving a human. Death. Not on ly for her, but for Eric, too.

There was only one thing Thea could do. She turned and looked at her cousin directly.

"All right, Blaise, you do know me. We've always been like sisters, and I k now that however you act sometimes, you still love me-"

"Of course I do," Blaise said impatiently, and Thea realized that was part of the problem. In the changing light of the Bally hotel's neon pillars, she co uld see that Blaise's eyes were wet. She was frightened for Thea-and angry at being frightened.

Thea grabbed her cousin's hand. "Then you have to listen to me." It was a nak ed plea. "Blaise-when I first met Eric, something happened. I can't explain i t-I can't even really describe it. But there was a connection. And I know thi s is going to sound insane, and I know you're not going to like it, but. . ."

She had to stop to breathe. "Blaise, what if you found your soulmate, and th ey were something that everybody said you shouldn't love. . . ."

She stopped again, this time because Blaise had frozen. For a moment they b oth just sat, and then, very slowly, Blaise withdrew her hand from Thea's.

"Found . . . your . . . soulmate?" she said.

Warmth pooled in Thea's eyes. She had never felt so alone. "I think so," she whispered.

Blaise turned to face the winds.h.i.+eld. Purple light shone on her black hair. "

This is more serious than I thought."

The tears overflowed. "But will you help me?"

Blaise tapped her slender fingers on the steering wheel a few times. Finally s he said, "Of course I'll help you. I have to. We're like sisters-I would never abandon you when you'r e in trouble."

Thea was so relieved she felt dizzy. Paradoxically, it made her cry more. "I'

ve just been so scared.... Ever since it happened, I've been trying to figure things out." She hiccupped. Blaise was looking at her again, smiling, gray e yes glittering oddly. "Blaise?" "I'm going to help you," Blaise said, still s miling, "by getting him myself. And then I'm going to kill him for putting my sister in danger."

There was a moment when everything inside Thea seemed absolutely still-and the next instant it all exploded into chaos.

"Never," she said. "Do you hear me, sister? Never."

Blaise stayed calm, driving. "I know you don't think it's best-now. But one day you'll thank me."

"Blaise, listen to me. If you do anything to him-if you hurt him-it's me you're hurting.""You'll get over it." In the rainbow light of the Riviera, Blaise looked like so me ancient G.o.ddess of fate. "It's better to hurt a little now than to be execute d later."

Thea was so angry she was shaking. So angry that she made a mistake. If she'd kept on arguing the same points, she thought later, Blaise might eventually have started to listen. But she was furious and terrified and she blurted out , "Well, I don't think you can do it. I don't think you could take him from m e if you tried."

Blaise stared, as if caught for once at a loss for words. Then she threw back her head and laughed.

"Thea," she said. "I can take any boy from anybody.

Any time, any place, any way I want to. That's what I do."

"Not this time. Eric loves me, and you can't change that. You can't take him.

Blaise was wearing a secret smile. But she said only two words as she turned off the strip and onto darkened streets again.

"Watch me."

Thea didn't sleep well. She kept seeing Randy Marik's face, and when she dr eamed, it turned into Eric's face, blood-streaked and vacant-eyed.

She woke up to see suns.h.i.+ne streaming in the room.

It was a bedroom with a split personality. One side was fairly neat and deco rated in pale blues and spring greens. The other side was messy and was deco rated in the color, the primal color, the one that roused emotions, that mea nt pa.s.sion and hatred both. Red.

And usually Blaise was lying on that side underneath her red velvet Ralph Lauren bedspread, but this morning she was gone already. A bad omen. Blais e only got up early for a reason.

Thea got dressed and went downstairs warily.

The shop was empty except for Tobias sitting gloomily in his usual place be side the cash register. He grunted when Thea said h.e.l.lo and went on staring at the wall, one hand clutching his curly brown hair. Wis.h.i.+ng, undoubtedly , to be outside on the weekend like other nineteen-year-old guys.

Thea went into the workshop.

Blaise was sitting at the long table, wearing earphones and humming to herse lf. A project was spread in front of her. Thea stalked up close.

She could see right away that it was beautiful. Blaise was a genius at creati ng jewelry, most of it based on ancient designs. She made necklaces of bees a nd b.u.t.terflies, spiraling flowers, serpents, leaping dolphins. It was all ali ve, all joyous ... all magical. That was where the real genius came in. Blais e put each element of the piece together with a purpose in mind. The gems wer e chosen to enhance each other: ruby for desire, black opal for obsession, to paz for yearning, garnet for heat. And asteria, the smoke-gray form of sapphire with a six-pointed star. Blaise's stone, just the color of her eyes.

Blaise had them all laid out loose. But her magic wasn't just in the gems. I nterwoven into every piece were herb caches, tiny compartments that could be filled with potions or powders. She could literally drench the jewelry in s orcery.

Even the design itself could be a spell. Every line, every curve, every flo wer stem could have a meaning, could make the eye follow a pattern that was as powerful as any symbol traced on the floor in chalk. Just looking at th e piece could be enough to charm you.

Right now Blaise was working on a necklace to knock you dead.

Thea could see it taking shape. Blaise used the lost wax method of jewelry- making, which meant that she carved out her pieces in stiff blue wax before casting them in silver or copper or gold. What she was carving now was bre athtaking. Heart-stopping. An intricate masterpiece that was going to have roughly the same effect as Aphrodite's magic girdle- which meant no male wa s going to be able to look at it without falling under the spell.

And she had some of Eric's blood. The vital ingredient that meant she'd be ab le to personalize this spell for him.

The one good thing was that it would take Blaise a few days to finish this pie ce. But once it was done. . . .

Eric didn't have a chance in Hades.

Thea backed up, not knowing-and not caring- whether Blaise had noticed he r. She headed blindly for her bedroom.

She and Eric were soulmates. But Blaise was, in some ways, Aphrodite herse lf. And who could resist that?

What am I going to do?

She had a little of Eric's blood herself on the corner of the tissue. But she c ould never outmatch Blaise in creating love spells. Blaise had years of experie nce and a natural talent that left everyone else in the dust.

So I have to think of something else. Something to keep her from getting to hi m in the first place. To protect him . . .

Thea straightened up.

I can't. It's too dangerous. The summoning spells aren't for maidens. Even th e Inner Circle has to be careful with those.

But Grandma has the materials. I know she does. I've seen the box.