Ruler [Blood Magic, Book 3]

Chapter 18: Careful What You Wish For

Keel didn't drink his power back before expelling me from his chambers, so the second Boras dropped me off downstairs I went straight for the exercise area and moved through all the different warm-ups Bruce had taught me. My body leaned and coiled and flowed, and when I wanted it to, it held sculpture still, poised and ready to lash out. Fifteen minutes into my workout, I dashed into the bathroom and ripped the mirror off the wall with my bare hands, sending chunks of paint, plaster and drywall down behind the porcelain sink. I carried it into the gym and propped it against the wall, so I could watch myself as I progressed into more challenging stances and attacks. I was fast. So fast. And steady and sure and able. It was like watching a CGI effects sequence in a movie, but it was all me. Well, except for the parts that were Keel and the bond, but still, it was 100% amazing. I fought and danced and leapt and spun until my movements slowed and limbs ached. Amazing. Simply amazing.

I fell back on the gym mat, happy and spent.

But is it worth the cost? I wondered. When I drank Keel's blood he became magnetic, larger than life, the sun around which my every cell revolved, and I could think of nothing more dangerous. It was one of the things that did tinge on my memories of human folklore, though like all things Nosferatu which did or didn't have root in the topside world, our stories had gotten it mostly wrong. I didn't eat bugs, or do most of the other icky things that vampire's familiars did, but the thrall, there was some truth in that. Keel's blood enthralled me.

And like all things magic, it was power with a price.

How long it would take for Keel to decide if it was a price we should be paying?

The next day was spent waiting for someone, anyone to show up. I knew I'd catch some grief for the business with the mirror, but after I'd finished exercising I'd tidied up the debris as best I could and decided I would declare it a victim of scientific research. That wasn't a lie.

As the clock ticked onward, it became clear that the events of the previous evening had made an impression, but Keel couldn't be that pissed off, could he? He had to see the value in what I had to offer. Hell, I'd never drink his blood again, if that's what he wanted. I'd be fine with that. It'd be a lot less trouble.

Every time I heard the elevator climb, my gaze drifted to the double metal doors, waiting for them to slide open and reveal...

Would it be Keel or Boras who would come looking for answers first?

As it turned out, it was neither. The only vampire who showed up was the nervous one that brought my meals, slipping in and out like a pale, black-clad ghost.

As I waited, I tried to temper my impatience by picking my way through more of Keel's books, looking for anything that might connect with the notes in his journal and reveal more of the bond's inner workings. But if any secrets remained, they were hidden in the Vamphyrric texts, which I couldn't read. I moved the books from the floor back to the bookshelf, but not before setting a small pile aside for bedtime reading.