Bloodspell (The Cruentus Curse, #1)(4)

"We need to keep you just a few more days for observation," Dr. Mills said, pressing the button for the floor nurse.

"Observation?"

Like she was some kind of freak.

A wave of anxiety overcame her. Heat flooded her limbs and she flung the blankets aside, clawing her hospital gown. "It's ... too hot in here!"

The day nurse came into the room bearing a tray, and Victoria stared warily as Doctor Mills prepped one of the syringes on it. A drop of pale liquid formed at the needle's tip.

Full-scale panic. "What's that for?"

"It's just something to help you rest," he said, emptying the syringe into the IV connected to her wrist. A cool sensation slithered along the hot veins of her forearm.

Victoria's eyes connected with his deep brown ones. What she saw there made her breath hitch. He looked at her with both fear and fascination, the way she'd once felt after seeing a two-headed snake on the Discovery Channel; an aberration of nature, fascinating yet obscene. Unnatural.

Her eyelids drooped as Doctor Mills faded into the background of the room.

"Aunt Holly?" she heard herself say thickly.

"It'll be okay, darling," Holly said, stroking Victoria's hand gently. "I'm here."

"I don't want to close my eyes. The monsters ..."

"I'm right here, sweetheart."

"They're coming ..."





THE NIGHTMARE'S TERRIBLE fingers touched everywhere, holding her prisoner in that space between dream and reality. Flashes of shiny, corrugated metal, the smell of fire and sulfur heavy in the air, and the blood, so much blood, it was everywhere—on the ground, on her clothes, on her hands. Oh God, her hands. What had she done? Their faces were gruesome in death, their bloodied arms grasping her, pulling her down into hell with them.

Her body jerked. She was older now, lying in a sterile hospital bed. Molten lava flooded into her body, drowning her. She was imploding, her skin splintering as something unimaginable inside her struggled to get out. She felt it tearing its way through her body, shredding tissue and bone and skin like paper until it was free. The creature turned slowly, agonizingly. Burning red eyes blazed into hers. The demon had her face.

She couldn't stop screaming.

"Tori, wake up," a worried voice said, shaking her. "Victoria! Wake up!"

Her screams dissolved into strangled gasps as she struggled to sit up. A kind, wrinkled face swam into focus. "It's okay, love. It's just a dream. You're safe now."

"Oh God, Aunt Holly, their faces!"

"It's okay, it's over now. It was only a dream. Take a deep breath, sweetheart."

"It wasn't just the car crash this time, it was something worse. Did you ever see The Omen? Well, in my dream, I was the baby ... I was the devil."

"No one could live through what you've been through and not have terrifying moments," Holly said kindly, stroking Victoria's back with a soothing motion. "Now try to get some sleep, it's early."

"Aunt Holly, I should have died with them. It's just not fair to be so lucky."

"Hush now, darling. You've been through a lot the past few days. Please just get some rest. Things will look better in the morning, I promise. I love you."

"Love you, too."

As Holly left the room, Victoria stared into the darkness. The clock on the nightstand said four a.m. Sleep was an elusive bedmate. Whenever she was able to fall asleep, she had terrible dreams, although none quite as bad as the one she'd just had. Most nights, she lay awake in bed thinking about anything and everything, afraid to close her eyes until the dawn's light chased away the monsters. Tonight was no exception.

Despite occasional flashes, she still couldn't remember everything that had happened in the parking lot, and when she tried to think about it, her head ached as if the memory was blocked by some obstruction. Under Dr. Mills' orders, she hadn't returned to St. Xavier's, and given the circumstances, she'd been excused from the rest of the school year. It'd been a relief not to have to face the Stepfords or anyone else at the exclusive high school that had for the past two years made her life a living hell.

St. Xavier's had been a special scholarship from their church—one which the benefactors had insisted would give Victoria an edge come college time. A loner by nature, making new friends had always been difficult at best, and after a few months, Victoria had given up, preferring to keep to herself. Then the Stepfords had taken everything to a whole new level as Brett had let it leak that she was his parents' charity case. It had been a nightmare from there on out, and a different Victoria had begun to emerge, one fluent in cynicism, distant and aloof. For the first time in her life, she had become a social outcast.

"I am officially a freak," Victoria murmured out loud. She hugged her middle, her fingers encountering a soft, furry head. Leto. She stroked him and he purred in response.

"Hey, how're you doing?" she whispered, fondling his soft velvet ears.

Leto had been a fixture in her life as long as she could remember. He was the only living memory she had of her parents, and whenever she confided in him, spilling out her secrets, everything always seemed better ... and less lonely. She pulled him unto her chest.

"I've missed you. I hate these nightmares so much ... mom, dad, school, the hospital. It's all so ugly." Leto watched her, unblinking, as Victoria thought of Brett, remembering the way he'd looked at her with such horror, blood covering his face. She shivered. "I wish I knew what happened, but it's like I don't want to remember or something inside of me doesn't want me to."