The Rules of the Red - 2nd Edition |✓|

Chapter Twenty-Two, Part Two - To Die For

Claudia finished her chanting, which prompted the cloud to revolve madly, spinning on the air like a tornado. It entered Tidus using his eyes, ears, nose and throat for access. He dropped his hand and the ring fell to the ground, as his body convulsed in stiff, violent spasms. I called his name, desperate to run to his aid, but my friend stopped me with cruel, protective arms.

Tidus absorbed the cloud–every last, awful bit–then collapsed to the ground, lifeless. Silence reigned as waited for him to rise, to show any sign that he was still conscious. Seconds passed and he didn't move. Terror kicked in, and I began to panic.

I wrenched free of Addy's grasp and kicked off my heels before charging across the lawn. I dropped to my knees at Tidus' side, distressed by his unresponsiveness.

"Ti... Ti..." His eyes were shut and his chest didn't rise. I grabbed his freezing hand to check for a pulse before remembering he wouldn't have one. Two shadows fell across us, and I looked up into Claudia's anxious, frightened face. "He's not moving," I said, looking with helplessness at Tidus' prone form. "Vampires don't breathe, they don't have heartbeats... I can't tell if he's ok..."

Claudia and Addy exchanged dark, knowing looks that only succeeded in alarming me further. "Ti.. Tidus..." I shook both of his shoulders. "Ti, please..."

"Mimi," Addy gently touched my shoulder. "Babe, that won't help..."

"I have to do something!" I jumped to my feet and began to pace the backyard. I must've looked like a mad woman with my hands on top of my head, striding to and fro as I racked my brains for a miracle. In my fear and paranoia I imagined the sound of a horrible clock, ticking and tocking in the distance, counting down the short amount of time I knew I had left to save him...

And then, a desperate, incredible idea sprang into mind, like a lifeline in the dark. "I can save him," I said, spinning around to face Claudia. "I can save him, but there'll be a cost."

"What cost?" Addy demanded.

"Hold her back," I said to Claudia. "Whatever happens, you don't let Addy stop me. You got it? You want Tidus to live, you don't let her go."

"Naomi, what are saying?" Addy strode forward... right into an invisible barrier. She struck it hard, bouncing back with a loud, harsh sound like that of a gong being struck. The only indication the barrier even existed was a yellow tint to the air where her body came into contact with the Magic. "Naomi! Naomi!"

As Addy pounded her fists against the barrier, Claudia met my gaze and gave me a single nod. "Thank you," I said. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

Not so long ago, Shira the Sphynx looked inside my very soul. I recalled her words– something else hovers about your aura--something other--but what it is, and whether it is good or bad, is not for me to say. That is something you must discover, on your own terms... Then I'd used something inside me, my life force, to cure Ethan of his nausea. After that, Chandler, the Incubus, attempted to use his power on me and failed, and Claudia's potion had been just as unsuccessful. I hadn't realized it before, but now I knew what it was Shira had referred to–the "otherness" inside me. It was Magic, the same Magic that I knew could allow a white Werewolf to transform into a Human. Now, I didn't know how and I didn't know why, but this Magic was inside me all the same... and now I was going to use it to save the man I loved.

I let out a slow breath, recalling the river of red that I had once used to fix Ethan. "No more hiding. Time for you to come out," I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut and imagining this with all my strength. I opened my eyes and looked down to see my hands on fire, engulfed with a bright-red, flickering Magic that licked my skin with flames that didn't burn. The Magic spread across my body like an inferno in a forest. I was transformed. I was the girl on fire.

Not a wasting a second, I sprinted back to Tidus, and dropped to my knees again. Without sparing any thought to modesty, I unbuttoned his jacket and, losing patience, ripped open his shirt. I sent a quick prayer to the heavens, then placed my burning hands upon his pale, chiseled chest.

Little by little, the fire left me and flowed into Tidus, siphoning away like the sands within an hour glass. I was so deeply focused on saving Ti that I hardly noticed the dull, swallowing pain that comes with giving up your life force.

As the fire continued to flow between us, leaving my body to enter his, beneath my right hand I felt something even more impossible begin to happen. Faint, sluggish heartbeats sprang to life beneath my touch as color bloomed across Tidus' features. Until now I had never noticed just how grey Vampirism left him. Now his skin had a golden tone, as if he'd swallowed the sun. It was like he was alive, like he was... Human.

Just as the last few currents of Magic disappeared, I swayed to and fro, struck by exhaustion and dizziness. Without warning, Tidus' lovely eyes snapped open and he sucked in a powerful, noisy breath that felt like it was ripped directly from my own lungs.

Tidus lay beneath my hands, staring into my eyes with confusion as he took his first, ragged, breaths since before his Human death. He drew in several more before realization hit, then grabbed my wrists with hands that were warm for the first time. Recognizing my sacrifice, he shoved my hands violently away.

The link between us was severed. As Tidus sat up, I looked down at my own, trembling hands with pride. Weak, I fell over into the grass, fading fast to the sound of poor Addy's screams. Even as it occurred to me that I was dying and my short life was over, I didn't care. I had saved him, and that was all that mattered.

He gathered me into his arms and brushed the hair from my face. "No! No-no-no-no-no! Stay with me! I love you, Naomi--stay with me!"

I caressed his face, desperate to remember these last moments, hoping that I could somehow carry the memory of his perfect, beautiful face away with me to the afterlife.

"You... were right," I gasped. "Dying... in your arms... It's better." The world went in and out of focus and the last of my strength faded. I couldn't answer his calls; already it was too late. I was just grateful to meet the silence of the dark while enveloped in the comfort of his arms.

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