Bloodspell (The Cruentus Curse, #1)(91)

Angie. She saw the frail shoulders shake and realized that Angie could somehow hear her words even in the warded room. I know you can hear me. Please don't let anything happen to Holly. Please ...

Charla chose that moment to re-enter the room even as Gabriel shot her a look of displeasure. She sat on a chair staring pointedly until he sighed and walked over to her. Victoria seized on the opportunity that had presented itself.

Angie, I know he forced you. I know you are my friend, and that you are good. Please help me. Don't be ruled by Gabriel. Please don't have Holly's death and my death on your conscience. Help me. You're not like them. I know you're not. Victoria was going all out, she had nothing to lose.

Angie raised tear-filled eyes to Victoria, and her mouth moved soundlessly. Victoria struggled to understand the words and as she saw Gabriel turn and start walking back, she grew desperate.

Please, Angie. Find Christian. His number is in my phone. Get the SIM card. Please, you have to try.

Gabriel wasn't stupid, he had picked up on something, a sensation maybe, but he was far too arrogant to even consider that his magic-less sister could hear thoughts from another witch. Still, he kicked Angie roughly, his blow sending her flying.

"Stop your sniveling, I can hear you from here. Get out of my sight!"

Victoria suddenly realized what irked Gabriel. He despised Angie because he feared that Angie's gift made her more powerful than he was, and he hated that. He hated needing her, and knowing that everything he had accomplished had been because of her, because of her gift. Victoria saw his intent clearly. As soon as he was sure of the blood curse, he was going to kill Angie. He wouldn't need her anymore once he had Victoria's power. Gabriel gritted his teeth and half raised his hand like he was going to do it right then and there, and Victoria's stomach dropped.

"Gabriel, why couldn't I tell what you were?" she said, trying to distract from Angie. He turned slowly, an arrogant smile spreading across his face.

"I know you tried. I felt it the last time. But it's like painting a picture that you want someone to see. Easy enough to convince anyone, if you know how to do it."

"And Angie? How did you do it with her?"

"She's weak. It was easy to remove any thoughts about us other than the usual mundane things," he said, as Charla walked over and draped herself around him.

"I'm hungry, Gabriel," she whined. "You promised to take me out for sushi." She stared at Victoria. "Not so scary after all are you Tori, all trussed up like a pig." Victoria's urge to inflict pain hadn't gone away.

"What do you get out of this Charla? He doesn't want you, you know. You're not like him, like us." She spat the word like a dart, and it found its target easily. "You're human, nothing but a means to an end, so enjoy it while you can because it's not going to last." Charla's face had turned a hideous splotchy red color, and her eyes blazed with hatred.

"It's going to last because you're going to die. Painfully!" She raised a hand to hit Victoria, and Gabriel caught her arm in mid-flight.

"Stop," he said. Charla's face grew even redder, but she tossed her head, giving him a look of disgust and stalked off.

"You're right, you know," he said almost lovingly to Victoria. Her skin crawled. "It is about us, and you'll come to your senses soon enough. Think long and hard about whether you want Holly's death on your conscience because her life is in your hands, Tori." Gabriel hauled her by the arm to one of the small rooms at the end of the big hall and shoved her into it. With an enigmatic expression, he stroked her face and the bile rose in her throat. "Would it be so bad? You and me? We were a couple, weren't we? We could be so good together."

"I trusted you, Gabriel," she said. "How could you do that to Leto? To Holly? She's a person, not some pawn in whatever game you're playing. You can't just hurt people to get what you want."

"Why not? My power gives me the right to take whatever I want. If you appreciated yours more, you'd agree with me. We're the same, you and I."

"I'm nothing like you," Victoria hissed. "I would never hurt my friends."

A cold, calculating smile. "Wouldn't you? What about your friend, the one you told me about? Brian? Brett?" The smile widened into something that no longer resembled a smile. "Or your parents ..."

Victoria's eyes flashed fire. "Don't you dare—"

"Don't I dare what? You know exactly what happened in that car and why you survived and they died. They died because of you and you know it. You did what you had to do, just as I did."

"It was an accident!"

"Was it, Tori?" he taunted. "Didn't you want to punish your parents for putting your grandmother in that place? Didn't you? You killed them when you made the car run off the road."

"No, that's not what happened!" she said, backing away her hands outstretched as if warding off something horrifying.

"Yes. It. Is." He snapped the words through his teeth. "Face it. We are the same, Tori. You know why?" He leaned in. "I set the fire." Victoria's eyes widened. "I set the fire because they were going to send me away, and they weren't exactly talking Hogwarts." His mouth twisted into an inhuman grin, a rictus grin. "So I killed them."