Chapter Eight – Sofia
Sofia gasped, her heart plummeting. This couldn't be happening. Her friend must just be trying to be funny like she did sometimes. She couldn’t really be saying she was going to kill the two of them… could she?
"Gloria, what are you talking about?"
But her old friend wasn't looking at her. Her gaze was fixed on Aaron. The king pointed his gun at her, expression blank. Sofia wanted to be sick. How could her friend, somebody she had always trusted, turn on her like this? Both Gloria and Aaron ignored her as they faced off. Bright yellow sparks began dancing at Gloria's fingertips.
"Gloria, you can't do this," Sofia said. "You can't—"
"I will do what I have to. Witches have been persecuted for far too long, and this so-called king only perpetuates our continued silence."
"I don't know what you think I'm doing, but you're wrong," Aaron said calmly. "I have made sure that witches have protected spaces—"
A flash of light cut Aaron off. He yelped and dodged the spell that Gloria threw at him. He fired the gun once, but the shot went wide and Gloria was on him. The weakness that seeped into his bones from turning human was painfully apparent as the witch slapped the gun from the king's hand. She thrust her hand into his chest, sending a spark through his body.
"Aaron!" Sofia lurched forward, reaching for him as he fell.
His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he went still.
"No!" Sofia scrambled over to him, cupping his face in her hands, tears blurring her vision. "No! No!"
"He's not dead yet," Gloria said. "He will die, but I wanted to give you one last chance to come out of this alive, Sofia. We used to be such good friends. All you have to do is walk away, and I can convince the others not to kill you or your child."
But Sofia didn't trust a single word coming from her former friend's mouth. She snatched up the gun that Aaron had dropped and pointed it at Gloria. Her hands shook, but her mouth tightened in determination. She wasn't going to walk away, letting Aaron die, and she certainly wasn't going to let this witch stab her in the back again!
"You are going to leave right now or I'll shoot you!" Sofia hissed.
Gloria held up her hands and backed away a step. "You're risking yourself and your child for nothing."
"Once Aaron is fully vampire again—"
"He can only become a vampire again if he drinks the potion through your blood. You have to drink it first, and then he drinks from you. Just like before. But if you drink that, it will kill your child."
As if hearing the words, there was a soft movement inside of Sofia's belly. She gasped, fighting the instinct to put a hand on her stomach. The movement was gone as fast as it had come. But it was enough for Sofia to waver. Could she really risk this child growing inside of her? What would Aaron want her to do?
Well, that was obvious. He'd want her to protect herself and their unborn child above all else. She lowered the gun, tears streaming down her face.
"Good choice," Gloria said softly. "Now just put down the gun and walk away. You won't hear anything, I promise."
Sofia hesitated. When was the last time Gloria had kept a promise? Hell, when was the last time she did anything for Sofia that didn't have layers on layers of self-interest in it? The book hadn't said that she needed to drink the potion first–there was something about blood, but it was too smudged to read, and two short for complicated instructions.
"Sofia, I'm telling you he's not worth it," Gloria said. "Come on, all you have to do is drop a few pounds, and every man in the country will be drooling for you."
A hiss escaped Sofia's clenched teeth. She leveled the gun again, pointing it at Gloria. Her eyes were narrowed as the witch backed up a step. Her heart continued to pound, but she was determined.
"You have always lied to me. Why should I believe you this time? I can't believe I ever called you my friend."
"Sofia—"
"Even if I walk away, my child, Aaron's child, wouldn't be safe. If you are after the king, then you want to destabilize the vampire government. Aaron having a child and heir—"
"Don't be an idiot," Gloria growled. "Just walk away! How is a vampire's spawn worth your life?"
Gloria stepped towards her. Sofia's fingers seemed to move on their own accord. The gunshot rang through the swamp, echoed back at her from all angles. A jolt reverberated up her arms. Gloria screamed and fell.
"Gloria!" Sofia gasped, dropping the gun. She started forward before stopping.
The witch clung to her hip, screaming and writhing in pain. In the bright moonlight, Sofia saw a well of blood coming through her fingers. Bile rose in her throat, but she grabbed the gun again and turned away from Gloria. She had to finish this potion!
She hurried back to the thermos and knife, cutting off the last of the toadstools she needed. Once she added it to the potion, she stirred it with her knife. The brew bubbled, changing from a sickly green-yellow to something far darker. Sofia couldn't tell if it was blue or black–but she couldn't waste time hesitating. With the thermos in hand, she returned to Aaron.
"Drink this, darling," she whispered, pouring a little into his mouth. "Drink."
Aaron moaned, licking his lips. His eyes fluttered open, but rather than the clear gaze Sofia expected, he looked dazed and confused. He licked his lips again. "Thirsty."
The book did call for blood. Sofia's heart sank. What if Gloria was telling the truth? That the only way to save Aaron was to drink this foul brew? It would poison her child, she had no doubt about that. She felt sick, staring down at her husband as he continued to lick his lips, eyes not focused on anything.
"Like I said, he needs to drink it when it's imbued in your blood," Gloria gasped. Her face shone with slick sweat in the moonlight, but a grin lit her face and she laughed. It looked maniacal. "So? What's it going to be, Sofia? Are you going to let your vampire continue to be human, or are you going to kill your child?"
Sofia bit back bile. "There has to be another way."
"Another way. That's so like you. You can never accept truths. Always looking for another way, another explanation. You're a weak, simpering woman. The only reason the vampire chose you was because he knew he could mold you to think what he wanted."
Sofia tried to block her out, closing her eyes to think more clearly. Why did the potion have to be made by her? Probably because there was still something inside of her from the first potion, and this one counteracted it in her blood before taking those same properties to Aaron. And if that was the case, then he had to drink the potion from her blood.
And if Aaron had to drink blood imbued with the potion, then the only way was to drink it and have him drink from her.
Except there were plenty of ways to add the potion to blood without cycling it through a human body first. Sofia's hands clenched. She could add her blood to the potion. But without knowing the right dosage, that could end up as dangerous as straight poison.
I've already risked giving him part of the potion without blood, I have to do everything I can.
Steeling herself, Sofia wiped the remnants of toadstool off her knife. It was a toxic planet, but that didn't matter–it wasn't so poisonous that the little bit of juice transfer from it into her system would have any serious effects. She hesitated as she put the knife against her wrist.
"Going to kill yourself now?" Gloria panted. She dragged herself up, though she kept her weight from her still-bleeding hip. "Even I didn't think you were that weak."
Sofia closed her eyes and slashed herself. White-hot pain flared through her and she screamed, dropping the knife. Hot blood poured over her skin. Tears blinded her, but Sofia found the thermos again and drained the rest into Aaron's mouth before she pressed her wrist to his lips, her blood pumping down his throat.
Please let this work.
The dark potion and her slick blood spilled over Aaron's face. His eyes snapped open. She felt his tongue run along the cut in her wrist, then the scrape of his fangs.
A screech made Sofia jump. She whirled around to find Gloria glowing in the night. Her eyes glared a brilliant blue, her skin paling to a ghostly white shade. The sheer hatred on the witch's face made Sofia shrink back.
"I warned you," Gloria growled, the sound guttural. "I offered you a chance to escape. Now you will suffer the consequences!"
A flash of light blinded Sofia. She cried out, shielding her eyes. When the light was gone, so was Gloria. In her place was a monstrous beast.
Skin white as a corpse glowed in the moonlight, her body long and sinuous. Arms and legs multiplied, claws instead of hands and feet. Huge, black, multifaceted eyes shone from the deathly pale face. A mouth full of layer upon layer of razor-sharp teeth opened wide. What looked like armor made from knives burst out along the creature's back. A low hissing filled the air. To Sofia's horror, dozens of snakes pushed their way out of the creature's head, blood-red red gleaming against green scales. Sofia drew back, heedless of her still-bleeding wrist as she stared at the creature that had once been her friend.
"What are you?" she cried.
"Your death." The voice was not Gloria's. It was guttural, hissing, the voice of a snake.
The creature lunged for her, emitting a high-pitched rattling noise that shook Sofia's bones. She threw herself out of the way, screaming. The creature laughed. Pain erupted from her legs. Claws dug into her calves, pulling her closer.
"Gloria, please," Sofia begged. "I thought you were my friend!"
"Gloria is no longer here," the creature said.
It lunged for Sofia's throat, mouth open wide. Sofia swung her knife blindly. It bit across the creature's face. But even as it swung back, screaming, the snakes protruding from its head struck. Sofia screamed as their mouth latched onto her wrist. A fiery, burning pain shot through her. Everything swirled.
"Gloria wanted to save you," the creature hissed. "But it seems that she underestimated just how stupid you are."