Bloodspell (The Cruentus Curse, #1)(7)

She opened it carefully and, with a gasp, removed a delicate amulet on a thin chain. The amulet held a shimmering rose-tinted diamond suspended between the golden threads edging its perimeter in the same triangular design—crest?—the one engraved on the music box. It was breathtaking.

Victoria gently traced the outside of the delicate crest and winced as the sharp bottom edge almost sliced her finger—it was very sharp when held just so, although seemed to be quite safe when flat on her palm. How strange.

"Aunt Holly, did you ever see my grandmother wear this amulet?" Holly walked back into the kitchen and examined the necklace.

"Many times. She told me that it was a family heirloom. Your grandmother was convinced that this amulet kept her out of trouble. She called it her lucky charm. And it did too! She always said she had the devil's own luck. You wouldn't believe her escapades and how many times she got away with murder!" She laughed at the memory and fastened the necklace to Victoria's slim neck. "There, it's lovely. Go have a look."

Victoria went to the bathroom mirror and peered at her reflection. Her dark, blue-black hair hung in the same tangled mass as always, but the necklace lent a warm glow to her face. The amulet lay on her chest like it belonged there, its weight heavy and profound. Leto, who had followed her into the bathroom, scratched his front paws against her knees and she bent to pick him up.

"What do you think, Leto? Beautiful, isn't it?"

Leto's green eyes met hers in the mirror. She suddenly felt breathless, unable to look away from the cat's bright gaze.

"Isn't it odd that our eyes are exactly the same color? I don't think I ever noticed," she heard herself say.

The amulet was so bright and so hot that she could feel it nearly burning her chest. Her blood raced beneath it, her breath coming in rapid, shallow pants. Leto's body trembled in her arms, his green eyes blazing.

Embrace it.

She almost dropped him as the words echoed unbidden in her head.

"Leto?" she said. She was going crazy. But Leto mewed softly, still holding her gaze. Victoria was so spellbound by the pull of the amulet that her mind felt drunk, her instincts leaden. She was burning hot just like in her nightmares, exploding from the inside out. Underneath the murkiness, she felt something awaken inside of her. Terrified, she grasped Leto so tightly that his claws dug into her forearms.

The more frightened she became, the more her blood seemed to be feasting on her fear. The amulet scorched her chest, and the light she'd felt not ten seconds before disappeared into a thick, suffocating darkness. Dark into light, light into dark. Victoria stared at the mirror.

The demon had her face.

Her nightmare had become reality. Everything suddenly felt as if it were spinning out of control, the floor beneath her feet tilted and bile coated the back of her tongue. Victoria flung Leto aside and ripped the amulet off her chest.

She didn't want it! She didn't want any of it! She thought about her grandmother who'd spent the last years of her life in some sort of psychiatric hospital because she'd been so weird, if not insane. Victoria was already an orphan and an outcast. And after what had happened at school, being anything like her grandmother was exactly what she didn't want or need.

Leto looked up at her and made a sound that was halfway between a hiss and a growl.

Victoria avoided the cat's penetrating gaze. She threw the amulet into the music box and slammed the lid.

"Everything all right, Tori?" asked Holly, coming back into the room and noticing Victoria's wild expression. "You're bleeding!"

Victoria stared blankly at the long, nearly black scratches on the backs of her hands. A strange rusty-sweet odor filled her nostrils. "Just Leto," she said, wiping the blood with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. "It's nothing."

"You're sure everything's okay?"

"I'm fine. I just need some fresh air." Victoria forced a smile to her face and kissed Holly's cheek. "Thank you for a wonderful birthday present, it's exactly what I wanted. I can't wait to set up my laptop."

"What about the necklace?" Holly asked, looking at the music box on the table.

"I don't want it. I'm sorry."

"What happened?" Holly said cautiously. "Was there something in the box?"

"No, nothing important," said Victoria. "I'll see you later, Aunt Holly."

"Do you want me to put it in your room?"

Victoria glanced at the box, and the heat surged in her chest. Her palms tingled painfully and she dug her nails into the soft flesh, looking away with effort.

"I don't care what you do with it. Really. Just give it away."

Leto's sharp hiss was cut off by the door slamming behind her. She stared down in surprise at her throbbing hands and the new streaks of fresh blood seeping from her scratches. They bled, hot and angry.

Something inside her smiled.





VICTORIA CHEWED HER bottom lip as she drove to the registration building. She didn't know why she was nervous but she was. She had enrolled at Windsor Academy, a private preparatory school about three and a half hours south of Millinocket, where she'd been accepted with a partial scholarship to finish her senior year of high school. Money-wise, it would be hard even with the financial aid, but she'd preferred to scrimp and save, rather than go back to St. Xavier's. The local high school had been an option but the gossip would only follow her there.