On a Razor's Edge (Darkness #3)(13)

“No.” I hesitated. “Well, it hasn’t killed anyone else, so I don’t think so.”

Dominicous stepped forward, hands waving, right under the T-Rex.

“What are you—?ˮ I stared as the huge mouth chomped down on his body, his head completely in the mouth. We heard a muffled scream before the beast straightened up, mouth still closed, leaving Dominicous on the ground.

He looked down at himself and patted his stomach, his face pale. “That was incredibly painful. I am intrigued. How is this possible?”

I pointed, aghast. “Careful, you’re going to—ˮ

The T-Rex went for a side-hold this time, its teeth clamping down on Dominicous’s whole middle half. It ripped its head away, again, as if Dominicous was in his grasp. Being that it wasn’t more than an illusion, he stayed put, painfully.

Toa touched my cheek with his long finger, peered into my eyes, and then looked back at the T-Rex. Taking the opposite direction of most cowards, he felt the bite next.

“Ooouueeee,” he squealed. It wasn’t possible for him to get any paler, but he gave it a try.

“Well, I can’t be the only one left out.” Stefan let go of my hand, next in line for pain.

“A bunch of idiots,” I mumbled, sitting down.

Usually it was an hour of pain. Charles, Adnan, and I took turns, but sometimes, when I snuck out in the middle of the day and tried on my own, I just sat in one place, feeling the bite over and over until the magic dwindled enough that I could get out.

Toa held up both hands, palms toward the sky. I watched in rapture as his eyebrows dipped down his nose.

“What is it?” Dominicous asked, stepping closer.

“It won’t let me unravel and disintegrate it. There is flux in power at work here. A strange inverse. A crossing in delivery, maybe.”

“Like a frozen computer,” I said, nodding. “Yeah, I’m doing something tragically wrong, but I have no idea what. I can feel the wrongness, too. It makes my heart hurt. But…” I shrugged.

The dinosaur chomped down toward me, distracted at the last minute by Stefan. Stefan took another bite to keep it from me. I wanted to tell him I loved him. To apologize to him for ruining his chance to have a working mate. I wanted him to cure this weird hurt inside me that the magic had caused. I could do none of those things, because the science experiment wasn’t over.

“What happens if nobody moves?” Dominicous asked, analyzing Stefan’s resolute face.

“I get bit a lot,” I explained.

“May I see?”

“No,” Stefan interjected reflexively.

“It’s fine.” I winked at Stefan. “This isn’t my first dance. Clear away and let the miracle that is my suckery happen.”

Just like when I was alone, the mystical dinosaur bent to me in a rush, jagged teeth bared. All went dark as its head engulfed me, its teeth clamping down on my waist. Like knives digging into my sides, chest and back simultaneously, I gritted my teeth against the sharp, dizzying pain. When it lifted away, I took a steadying breath. Automatically, I said, “One.”

“How many have you taken?”

“Between fifty and sixty in a sitting. About one a minute for an hour. It helps keep time.”

“You’ve endured that pain for—ˮ Stefan cut off as the image cleared away, Toa having disbanded the spell.

“Yeah, but, let’s be honest, guys—there is no way that hurts more than childbirth, and it’s only an hour. Right?”

Toa wavered, reaching for Dominicous to brace him. “I will need to think on that. That severely taxed my energy levels. I had not realized it was so dangerous.”

“Bet your magic tests never went like this before.” I jumped up and rubbed my hands together. “I’m a professional at strange paranoia. Okay, on to black, finally.”

I drew once again, sucking in deep, curing the failure of white with the bliss and glory of black. I sighed in relief and eased a protective box into existence, the only spell I’d tried in black lately, knowing that it actually worked. As I’d hoped, a large black box, almost solid, materialized in front of me, capturing air.

“Alas, the one I can do right.”

The spectators gasped, leaning forward to look at a square.

“It isn’t much, but at least it won’t try to kill me.” I was tired. I wanted to go lie down, mocking smirk from Toa or no.

Toa and Dominicous approached the box slowly, probably terrified it would grow arms and bite. Dominicous walked around the outside, his arms crossed over his chest. I used the stare-free time to lean against Stefan, closing my eyes when his arms came around my waist. He kissed me on the head and squeezed.

Dominicous reached out a hand to touch the box.

“Don’t,” I warned. “The shock is worse than when Toa touched me earlier.”

He continued reaching.

Like a bug zapper, a life-sized buzzing blared, flinging Dominicous flat on his back. He lay with his arms out, eyes open in shock. Charles wheezed out a laugh he couldn’t stop in time.

“Can you get rid of this?” Toa asked, still analyzing the box, easing a dagger from his pocket.

“I think so. Or I can blow it up.”

Toa pushed the very tip of a glowing white blade toward the box. As soon as it touched a lesser buzz sounded, having Toa flinching back with a, “Eeeeah!”