A Dawn of Strength (A Shade of Vampire #14)(24)

I launched toward the forest and ran faster than I ever had before. I arrived at the Armory within minutes and spotted Corrine and Ibrahim in a corner with Mona.

“Corrine!” I screamed. A look of alarm spread across her face as she looked at me. “I need you now! And Ibrahim, you too!”

Ibrahim and Corrine ran toward me. “Vanish us to the Pit now,” I said.

I was relieved to see Derek sitting up as we approached.

“Good grief!” Corrine said.

“What happened?” Ibrahim asked, as the two witches bent down next to Derek and began examining him.

“The cure didn’t work,” Derek rasped.

“He took two vials of immune blood we found in your drawer,” I said.

“Lie back down, dear,” Corrine said to Derek. She looked up at me. “Let’s take him back to the Sanctuary.”

I gripped Ibrahim’s shoulder as we all vanished from the clearing and reappeared in Corrine’s potion room. Ibrahim cleared the table and I helped him lift Derek onto it.

I walked over to Corrine, who was standing over a cauldron, tipping in ingredients and stirring them vigorously. She looked at me. “From what I can tell, even the skin that wasn’t exposed to the sun is damaged. You’re going to need to strip your husband and pour this entire cauldron over him. The liquid should reach every part of him.”

“Okay.”

After she’d finished mixing in the ingredients together and brought it to a boil, she lifted the heavy cauldron off the stove and placed the handle in my hands.

“Ibrahim and I will wait outside, in case you need help.”

I stared down at the simmering liquid. “But this is boiling hot. I can’t possibly pour this over Derek.”

“It has to be hot, or it won’t work. Unless you want me to waste time explaining why, you need to just trust me on this, Sofia.”

I gulped, nodding.

They left Derek and me alone in the room.

I placed the cauldron down on the stone floor as I helped Derek sit up and remove the last of his clothes.

“Okay. You need to stand in the center of the room.”

I drew up a stool next to him so I would be high enough. Then, reaching down for the cauldron, I tipped the hot liquid over his head.

He shouted in pain as the potion hit his skin, and there was a disturbing hiss, but I was relieved that he remained rooted to the spot. Careful not to miss any part of him, I poured the potion until I’d emptied the last drop.

Once I was finished, he staggered toward the wall and, arching his back, leaned his palms against it.

“Christ,” he panted. “That hurt.”

I approached him cautiously, eyeing his body. I was relieved to see that, as the liquid dripped off him, his skin was beginning to become recognizable again. I leaned my shoulder against the wall, staring up at his face. Before my eyes, the fried loose flesh was vanishing and being replaced by smooth, pale skin.

“Thank God,” I murmured.

Once the potion appeared to have finished its work and every portion of skin had replaced itself, I picked up a clean white towel hanging over the back of one of the chairs and tied it around his waist.

“Does it hurt still when I touch you?” I asked anxiously.

He slowly placed his palms on either side of my face. “No,” he said. “It doesn’t.”

I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight. “You have no idea how terrifying that was, Derek.”

There was a banging at the door before he could answer.

“Are you finished in there?” Corrine called.

“Yes,” Derek said, his voice still hoarse. “You can come in.”

Corrine and Ibrahim reentered the room. Corrine walked up to my husband and circled him, examining his skin closely.

“Good,” she muttered. “I’m sorry it was painful. The potion had to be hot to stimulate your body’s natural healing capabilities into high gear.”

“That’s all right,” he said, stretching out his arms and eyeing them. “I’m just thankful you were able to sort me out… But why didn’t the cure work?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” she replied, shrugging.

“That immune blood in your drawer, it’s not diluted or anything?”

“Oh, no,” she said. “If anything, it’s a higher potency than the blood in the cooling chambers.”

“Then how could this have happened? The cure’s worked on me before.”

“Maybe that’s the reason,” Ibrahim said.

“What?” Derek asked.

“This was the second time you took the cure,” Ibrahim said. “It could be that you’ve developed a slight immunity to it. Perhaps a higher dosage of immune blood was required.”

We all stared at Ibrahim as we took in his words. Although I was curious, asking these questions was wasting time. We’d attempted the cure and it hadn’t worked. We couldn’t afford to waste more time. Our people needed us in the Armory.

“Then let’s try that,” Derek said, just as I was about to suggest we leave. “I’ll take ten times the dosage this time and see if that works.”

I gaped at my husband. “Are you insane?”

“Yes,” he said impatiently, “but that’s beside the point. If there’s a chance more immune blood will bring back my powers, this is a risk we should take.”