Left Behind (Snowbaz fic)

Chapter: 18

JAMIE
Amara circled Baz with a malicious expression on her face. She looked him up and down, admiring every inch of Baz's body. If I didn't see it for myself I wouldn't even have believed that this was the same Baz I knew. Everything about him had changed.
   "Look at him, Jamie!" Exclaimed Amara, "Isn't he perfect?"
   "Perfect?" I yelled. "You call this perfect?" I gestured to Baz who stood completely still and stared intently at nothing. "What did you do to him?" I asked.
   "I need him strong for what we're about to do. We're going into the realm where the other half of this is hidden." She held up the orb of magic and twisted it in her hand. Tiny wisps of black smoke escaped the orb and swirled lazily around her fingers. "The two orbs are like twins. One doesn't work as well without the other to balance everything out. Even though the magic I have is powerful, it's nothing compared to what it will be like having both. So if we go in there we're going to need someone to protect us, and by us I mean me. Also none of his stupid emotions will get in the way."
   I scoffed and took a step away from her. The sound of my feet scuffling against the ground caught the attention of Baz. His head snapped in my direction, his face turned up in a sneer. His eyes, blank and soulless, staring at me. He looked like he was ready to spring into action and attack me at any given second.
   "Easy, Baz," said Amara, putting her hand on his shoulder. The second she touched him his muscled relaxed, his head turned down to the floor. "Jamie isn't lunch today. You leave him alone."
   He grunted in response and slinked away into the corner.
   "But can't you feel everything he feels?" I asked. "If he gets hurt wouldn't you just feel all the pain?"
   "That's the beauty of this spell. He's practically invincible! Nothing can possibly hurt him."
   Amara crouched down to inspect the heap at Baz's feet. I took a few steps closer, cautious of Baz standing in the corner, who paid no attention to me. At first I didn't know what it was but as I got closer I realized that it was a body crumpled on the ground. Baz's body to be precise. The body I could actually recognize to be Baz. Then I realized that this was the good half of Baz. The human half. The half that loved his boyfriend and helps people like me.
   The body twitched slightly giving the slightest indication the he had the tiniest bit of life left in him.
   "Baz?" I whispered, "Can you hear me?"
   A small sound escaped his lips in response. I reached down and brushed the hair out of his eyes. His skin was ice cold.
   Amara made a huffing sound and steepled her fingers under her chin, lost in thought.
   "I wonder," She murmured under her breath. She stood up and brushed the dirt from her pants. "Come here, Baz." The monster version of Baz obeyed like a dog and took a few steps closer to Amara. The orb materialized in her hand and began to glow with power. The energy grew and grew in her hands until it finally shot out towards Baz. He didn't even flinch when the energy hit him square in the chest. But the version of Baz, unconscious on the ground, gasped in pain. His face was contorted in an expression of pure pain.
   "Baz!" I gasped taking a few steps closer to his crumpled body.
   "Don't you dare take another step, Jamie!" Yelled Amara.
   I turned around to face her. Her eyes stared intently at me with a scowl. She then had another thought. I could see it growing bigger and bigger in her eyes. To my surprise she tossed the magic orb into my hands. One of the most important and powerful piece of magic there is and she just gave it willingly to me.
   The second I touched it I could feel it's magic coursing it's way through my fingertips and sending energy throughout my entire body. I gave her a confused expression, clamping my fingers tightly around the orb. I was afraid I might drop it and release all the magic from it at once.
   "I want you to use it on me," she said.
   "What?" I was confused. Why on earth was she asking me to unleash power on her?
   "Just do it!" She yelled, clearly agitated.
   I twisted the orb around in my palm, feeling magic releasing into the air around me. All I had to do was tap into that magic and make it do what I wanted it to do. I wanted her to feel the same pain I felt when she dug her fangs into my neck and turned me into a monster. I wanted her to feel the same pain Baz felt being connected to her.
   The energy was growing bigger and bigger in my hands. White hot and ready to explode towards her. Just as the magic escaped my hands I realized what she was having me do. I tried to stop it but it was too late. Within a blink of an eye the energy hit Amara in the chest who was smiling and laughing at me.
   I looked to the Baz on the floor who just got another wave of pain thrown at him. I fell to my knees, letting the orb roll out of my hand and onto the floor.
   "I'm so sorry, Baz! I'm so, so, so sorry!" I sobbed into my hands. Tears streaming down my face. I prayed that Baz could hear me and know how ashamed of myself I was. How could I do something like that?
   "Come on, get up you pathetic excuse for a vampire. We can't waste any more time!" Sneered Amara who gripped me by the collar and pulled me to my feet.
"Why do you need me?" I asked in between sobs. "Clearly you have a guard dog to protect you. What use am I to you?"
   She chuckled and flipped her long hair over her shoulder. "You're the bait of corse." She smiled.
   My stomach lurched at her words. I closed my eyes and took a few shallow breaths. When I opened my eyes again I looked down at the Baz on the floor. I could see a single tear streaming down his cheek.
   I'm sorry, Baz, for all the pain I've caused you. I thought. And for all the pain that's to come. You don't deserve any of this. I promise I'm going to try to make things right.
Amara gripped me by the shoulder and pulled me down the corridor. Leaving Baz to lie there alone at the end of a tunnel in a maze of endless caves. The other, darker Baz followed closely behind.
Amara didn't let go until we reached a wooden door among the many that lined the cave walls. Unlike all the rest this door was old and warn, practically rotting away, with a rusted brass doorknob. I expected the door to snap off its hinges when Amara opened it but it remained in place. The three of us stepped into the dust filled, musty room. Dust hung in the air like snow making the walls look hazy and barely there. The only thing in the room was a mirror with a big crack running down the length of it.
I stepped in the mirrors wake and stared at my reflection. I looked ghostly. Or like a shell of the person I once was. I barely even remember the fifteen year old boy I once was before all this and I knew I could never be that boy ever again. The two puncture wounds left by Amara's fangs were still visible on the base of my neck. I remembered that it hasn't even been that long since she found me wandering outside of the Wavering Wood. It seemed like a lifetime ago but in reality it hasn't been more than a week.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" I saw Amara reflected in the mirror a few feet behind me. She had her arms crossed over her chest impatiently.
I took a few steps closer to the mirror and felt myself being pulled closer. Like there was something on the other side beckoning me to join it. I brought my hand up to touch the glass but it passed right through like there was nothing there. After a second my entire body was sucked into the mirror.
A wave of nausea washed over me for a few seconds. When I felt like I was going to topple over and puke the sensation stopped. When I opened my eyes all I saw was a dimly lit hallway of a house. It was so dark that I couldn't see the end.