Chapter Ten: A Big Mistake

~ Marie ~

Marie put the new cleaning supplies she’d bought in the closet and threw out the old ones. It was better just to buy new than to have Mark keep using what was there. Since she didn’t clean using normal means, she had bought anything that looked like it was for cleaning. Whether or not he used it, was up to him.

With all of that put away, she followed up on a hunch and went to the attic to search for more books. After the previous Guardian passed away, she had stored some of them there for safekeeping. The attic access was located just outside her room. She took out a step stool and used it to reach the handle on the door and pull it down. As the ladder came down, Marie moved the stool to the side. She cast a quick light spell. A ball of light popped up and hovered just over her shoulder.

Entering the attic disturbed the thick layer of dust covering the entrance. Marie held on tight as she sneezed several times. Once her sneezing fit was over, she took a look around. There were quite a few boxes up here. Marie quickly cleaned the area of dust before she moved the boxes around. Since she wasn’t sure which box had what, she grabbed the ones closest to her and searched through those first. The first few boxes didn’t have what she was searching for. Just books on other magical races as well as some fiction books. She frowned as she looked around. Maybe there wasn’t anything up here on demons. She opened up the last box. Marie checked each of the books but nothing looked promising. At the very bottom of the pile, she flipped through the last book. Finally! This book was about blood rituals, demons and divinations. Marie took her prize with her as she carefully climbed back down. She closed the stairs back up and took her book back to the study to read.

Marie leaned back as her back ached in response. She had been bent over the table reading for far too long. Her stomach joined in, voicing its dissatisfaction. She had taken a brief break earlier to get coffee and a snack but she hadn’t really eaten a meal today. Another break was definitely in order. She pushed away from the table and stood up. She tried to stretch her back some more as she went into the living room but a soft splat interrupted her thoughts. Mark dropped to his knees as he quickly tried to pick up the blood pack he dropped. He lifted it up in triumph before trying to hide it behind his back again.

Only to drop it again.

Mark fumbled the bag for several moments before he had it firmly in his grasp.

“You don’t need to hide it. I bought the blood for you to drink.” Not to paint her floor and make it look like the aftermath of a murder.

“Sorry. I’ll clean it up right away.”

“It’s fine.” He gave the room a once-over as he held the blood pack with both hands. Mark finally put it to his mouth and drained it dry. He rushed to the kitchen, probably to throw the empty bag away, before coming back with a bucket of water and a mop. Marie went around the sofa and headed into the kitchen. When she came back out with a cup of coffee, he stuck the mop in the bucket.

“Sorry.” He moved the mop up and down in the water making splashing sounds as he did so. “It really doesn’t bother you?” Mark glanced at her before looking away.

“No.” She moved to the sofa and sat down as he stayed standing up.

“But I drink blood and that’s not normal.”

“Aren’t you considered normal for a vampire?”

“Yes but doesn’t it bother you?“ His shoulders were hunched as he stared at the ground.

“Why would it?” He swallowed before continuing.

“Well, it's because there’s a possibility I might...I might attack you.” The last part was said almost as a whisper. His grip tightened on the mop.

“That isn’t going to happen.” As long as she kept her emotions calm, he shouldn’t be affected by her and lose control. The best option would, of course, be to spend as little time in his presence as possible. Should be easy enough to do since she was spending most of her time researching. Mark stared at her for a moment before a small smile appeared. He played around with the mop for a moment more before speaking again.

“I’m going to clean upstairs. Do you want me to clean your room too?”

“That’s fine.” He nodded and grabbed the mop but when he passed the closet he stopped and put the mop to the side. Mark opened the closet and grabbed the broom but knocked the handle of the mop to the side. He caught it just before it slid sideways. His head moved left then right as he tried to find somewhere to put it. Instead of leaning the broom back against the wall, he put it against the arm holding the mop and closed the door with his free hand. After that he struggled to hold on to both of them as he carried everything into the hallway. She shook her head before she went back to her study. Marie sat down in front of her book and opened it up where she'd left her bookmark.

White. She hated it. Hated the way the blood showed up against the floor, as it splattered and spread. Marie stepped back as the blood flowed in her direction. She continued to move backwards, all while keeping her eyes on the blood in front of her. She didn’t want it to touch her. Didn’t like the way it felt on her skin. Marie was forced to stop when her back hit the bars of the cell behind her. Still she tried to push herself back as if she could force her body through the narrow bars. The blood was relentless. It continued to flow towards her. Just a little more and it would touch her. She woke up with a start as her head fell forward.

Marie leaned back and checked her watch. She sighed. Midnight. More coffee and maybe a change in scenery would help keep her awake. Marie went back to the kitchen with her book and refilled her cup before sitting down on the sofa in the living room. Mark was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he was reading in his room. She leaned back but she wasn’t comfortable. Marie shifted her body so she was laying down with her head against the arm of the sofa. That felt better. Her back didn’t ache as much in this position. Now to find her place again. Where did she leave off?

The blood flowed around her feet. It flowed past her and she was rooted to the spot. She wanted to go back. She hated it there too but it was better than where she was going. A man wearing a malicious grin swaggered over. He stopped about a foot away before he grabbed her arm and yanked her forward. She tried to regain her balance but she didn’t make it in time and fell down hard. Her knees landed in the blood and now the bottom of her dress was soaked.

“Be a good girl or I will have to punish you.” Marie stumbled to her feet as quickly as she could but she wasn’t fast enough. The man grabbed her hair and pulled on it. He always did things like this when she wasn’t fast enough. She should have been quicker but she was trying hard not to see. Last time she did, it made it harder to sleep. The man jerked her forward and let go again. Marie was better at not falling this time and only stumbled a little. Now that her hair was no longer being pulled, she noticed how much her wrist hurt. Did she twist it when she fell? Her brow furrowed. No, that’s not right. This wasn’t part of her dream.

Marie awoke with a jolt. The pain she was feeling was real. Tsk. She made a big mistake. The emotions she experienced while she slept never crossed her mind. And now she had a problem on her hands. Mark’s nails dug into her shoulder while her wrist was firmly gripped in his other hand. He tightened his grip around her hand when she shifted her body slightly. If his hold on her was any tighter, her wrist would snap like a twig. His eyes were intense as he stared at her throat but he wasn’t moving. Mark might not be as out of control as she’d feared but she shouldn’t test it any further. First things first, she slowly moved her free hand up and touched his elbow. He growled at her as he leaned forward. His head landed on her shoulder but he was already unconscious. This spell was getting a lot of use lately.

Next, she teleported the both of them to the bed in his room. Marie struggled for a moment to get him off of her. He might look thin but he was heavy. She wiggled her body out from under him until she was able to roll off the bed. Mark was already snoring as he laid face down on the bed. A quick check with magic told her he had no injuries. Her frown deepened. Once Adrian learned about this, he would use it to try to take Mark home. Even if he didn’t she couldn’t leave things like this. She went over to the bedroom door and closed it. Marie placed the same spell on his bedroom that was on hers. A spell that would block emotions. No emotions would go in or out as long as the door was closed.

With that done, She teleported back to the living room and sat down with a sigh. Her wrist was throbbing. A bruise marked her skin where Mark had grabbed her. She flexed her wrist but it didn’t seem to be broken. Marie closed her eyes in order to concentrate and, slowly, she sent the magic towards her shoulder. The bruise there hadn’t hurt as much as her wrist so it wouldn’t take much to heal. Once that was healed, she started to send magic to her wrist. The healing was interrupted by a knock at the back door.

A very insistent knock.

So insistent, in fact, that her door wouldn’t last very long, if it continued. Marie stood in front of the back door and wondered if not opening it was an option.

“Open this door.” Apparently not. She opened the door to find Adrian standing there, expressionless. “Where‘s Mark?” Marie stepped to the side and held the door open but Adrian didn’t move.

“In his room.” Once she answered, he entered the house.

“What happened?”

“I fell asleep. When I woke up, he had lost control.”

“I warned you about this.”

“He’s fine.”

“How can you say that?” Adrian moved closer and stared her down. Marie stared back at him.

“Please don’t be angry with her. It was my fault.” Mark staggered into the room and leaned against the kitchen doorway. The boy had probably forced himself to wake up before the spell was gone. The drawback would be he would be tired for the next couple of minutes. “I dropped the last blood pack earlier. It was because I was still hungry that this happened.” He straightened up then bowed low with his hands at his sides. “I’m really very sorry.”

“I understand how you feel but she’s supposed to be taking care of you.” Adrian ran a hand through his hair as he stepped back.

“He’s unharmed.”

“And your injury?” Mark’s eyes looked her over frantically as Adrian grabbed her arm. He lifted it up so the bruise around her wrist could be seen. Mark stared at it for a moment before dropping his eyes.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered the words as he hung his head.

“It's fine.”

“This is fine?” Adrian was still clearly furious but he turned her wrist gently. It was a clear imprint of Mark's hand.

“Yes, it’s fine.” She closed her eyes briefly to heal it.

“How’s it fine? He attacked you.” Mark hunched his shoulders and clenched his fists.

“And I handled it. He wasn’t injured.”

“This isn’t something that should be taken lightly. Odds are he will do it again. And next time might be worse.” Mark turned pale as Adrian’s expression darkened. He crossed his arms as his jaw tightened.

“There won’t be a next time.”

“Why are you being so flippant about this?”

“It isn’t as bad as you’re making it out to be.”

“Mark, go upstairs.” Mark looked between the both of them, clearly worried but he obeyed without a word. Adrian didn’t say a word until they heard his door shut. “What did you do to him?”

“He woke up before the sleep spell had fully worn off. He’s fine. He’ll just be a little tired for a couple of minutes.” Adrian shook his head.

“I can’t leave him here any longer. Clearly, you do not have his best interests at heart.”

“I’m trying to clear his name.” His eyes narrowed.

“Are you?”

“What does that mean?”

“I had you investigated. Your mentor specialized in demons. He must have taught you everything he knew. And yet you still haven’t deciphered more than two symbols. I can only think you are dragging this out on purpose.”

“I am not dragging this out. Yes, he was a specialist in demons and yes, he taught me all he knew. Most of the books in this house are on demons. You will not find anyone in this state, perhaps even in this country, that has as much knowledge on demons as I do. But that does not mean I know the meaning of all two thousand script or the name and characteristics of more than one thousand demons by heart.” He didn’t trust her. That had been clear a long time ago. If he wasn’t determined to meddle in her investigation, she wouldn’t have cared but now he was insulting her work as a Guardian. Every mission she took on, she completed. The one that wasn’t done, would be completed soon.

“Even if all that is true, I still don’t think you can protect him. You can’t even protect yourself from him. How can I leave him in your hands?”

“I said I would protect him and I did. I didn’t let any harm come to him.” They stared at each other. Adrian was the first to look away. He exhaled in frustration as he ran a hand through his hair. He was going to take Mark if she couldn’t come up with something to stall him. There must be something she could do to keep Mark here. But what?

“Yes, physical harm. But what about his mental health? The stress isn't good for his control. It’s better if he just comes home.” Dammit. She had only one thing to bargain with. This wasn’t something she had been planning to use anytime soon but there was nothing she could do about it now. Since this was her mistake, she would need to use it.

“Fine.”

“Fine?” He crossed his arms as he narrowed his eyes at her.

“He can go home in three days.” His eyes widened for a moment before they narrowed again.

“One.” What?! She was already shortening the time considerably.

“Three.”

“Two and that’s even if you don’t clear his name.” Tsk. Less time than she wanted but he could end negotiations right now by taking Mark home.

“No matter what happens. He can go home in two days. I will continue to work on his case, if I haven’t finished it by then but I will release him to you.” He stared into her eyes trying to gauge how serious she was.

“Unharmed? No spells on him either.”

“Unharmed and no spells. I promise.” Adrian averted his gaze. His body was stiff as he clenched his jaw. Finally, he sighed before turning back to her.

“Should anything else happen…” He trailed off but it didn’t need to be said. She nodded. If there wasn’t a time limit before, there was one now. This case needed to be solved in two days. One way or another.