Darkling (Otherworld/Sisters of the Moon 3)

I thought about that for a moment. Dredge had sought to embrace the power, and to that end, tricked Jareth. He'd given in to the very soul of evil. I wouldn't follow in the footsteps of my sire, no matter what the cost. "I'm ready."

A pause, and then Jareth began the incantation again, sprinkling three more drops on my forehead.

Surrender your expectations. Surrender your doubts.

Surrender your fears. Surrender your strengths.

Surrender your anger. Surrender your control.

And then three drops on my lips and I reached out and sucked them in as I held on for the ride to come.

Creature of the night, demon of the blood,

Turn back the clock, turn back the minutes

and hours and years.

Return to the night you were born anew.

Return to the night of your siring.

Once again, I was back in the cavern, back in my now-dead body. But this time, I felt a golden glow cradling my head as I frantically tried to place myself. I was dead—I was dead and Dredge had turned me into a vampire. But wait, this was a dream, a vision I was walking through.

That's right, I thought, breaking through the fear. My name is Menolly and I've been a vampire for twelve Earthside years, and I'm really lying on a platform in the Temple of Reckoning. These are merely shades of the past.

I tried to focus, to find Jareth. Then, I realized he was the golden glow that was cushioning my head. He was here, watching over me. I instinctively tried to take a deep breath, but my lungs didn't want to work right.

Wait, I'm dead.

My thoughts began to sort themselves out, as memory kicked in. That's right, I thought. It had taken me over a year to learn how to take a breath. Meanwhile, I'd spent far too many days dreaming that I was suffocating.

Jareth's hands ran down my shoulders, reminding me that I wasn't trapped here with Dredge. I wouldn't have to go through the year of madness again, locked like an animal in a silver cage while the OIA tried to retrieve my soul from the shattered state Dredge left it in.

Now… time to find that cord. I forced myself to relax and sought out the tendrils of energy racing through my body. The blood and the rape and torture had created implings—parasitical creatures created from intense emotions. For the first time, I could see that they'd attached themselves to my aura and they were probably still with me after all these years. Shuddering, I tried to push them aside but Jareth patted me on the shoulder and I let it go for now.

I examined my body, searching for the cord that chained me to Dredge, seeking the ties that bind. My body was torn and scarred. When I'd died, the wounds were still fresh. As I woke to my new state, they would be faded, no longer raw, but the scars would be there forever, neck to ankle, branding me as one of his disciples.

Suddenly I stopped. There it was—emerging from the back of my neck. I blinked. Why hadn't I ever seen this before? Probably because I never bothered looking. But there it was, connecting me to Dredge, locked into his lowest chakra, the vortex of survival.

Resisting the urge to try something stupid like removing it myself, I did my best to let Jareth know I'd found what we were looking for.

The next moment, I found myself shooting out of the cavern, back into the present, and when I opened my eyes the blindfold was gone and the shackles had been removed from my wrists and ankles. Jareth helped me sit up and gave me a soft smile.

"It's connected from the back of my neck to the lowest chakra on Dredge," I said.

"Menolly!" Camille rushed over to my side, her face so wet it looked raw. Good thing she wore waterproof mascara, I thought. Morio stood back.

I looked at Jareth. "How much do they know?"

Camille spoke. "We saw it all. It was like watching a movie. We heard everything." She sank to her knees, her hands clutching the hem of her skirt as tears trickled down her face. "I didn't know it was that bad. I'm so sorry—I didn't know. I didn't know… forgive me, please…"

Sliding off the dais I discovered that I was a little seasick, but otherwise I felt normal. I knelt by her side and pulled her into my arms. "I didn't want you to know. Delilah, either. I still don't want her to know. She's not strong enough to handle it."

Camille pressed her lips against my face, kissing my cheeks, my eyes, my forehead. "My precious Menolly. Mother tried… she tried to help you."

"I know," I said, staring at the ground. "And I've always blamed her. I thought she wasn't strong enough and I blamed the fact that she was human for that. Now I understand. She wanted to help me but she couldn't fight Dredge's hold."

"You'd been turned into a vampire. Menolly, no mortal spirit can sever that transformation, not in the physical realm, not on the astral. But she tried—she loves you."