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Chapter 22
"Damon!" I screamed out, diving arms out in an attempt to catch him but Xavier was already there. He gripped his brother under his arms and slapped him a couple of times but Damon remained unresponsive. I felt my chest began to ache as I anxiously waited for Damon to open his eyes again but he didn't. Xavier picked his brother up completely," we have to leave, Asia, can you walk on your own?"
Asia nodded," I'm alright."
"Holly, hold her," he instructed and I immediately nodded, wrapping my fingers around Asia's arm," the wolf can wake up at any second, we have to get back to the car."
We made our back as fast as we could. Xavier laid his brother down at the back seat of the car and lifted his head whilst looking at me," get under there."
I quickly obeyed and scrambled inside, laying Damon's head softly on my lap.
Asia got into the passenger seat and Xavier drove.
"We have to get him to a hospital, we can't go home-" I began but was quickly cut off by Asia.
"We can't take him to a human hospital, they wouldn't know what to do with him, he needs a witch, a healer."
"You're a witch," I replied," can you help him?"
Asia locked eyes with Xavier and looked back at me, disappointment lacing her gaze," I haven't practised in a long time, it would take someone experienced-"
"You can try!" I snapped," or you can teach me, I'll do it."
"It doesn't work like that Holly," she continued and I wanted to scream out if I heard that phrase again.
"Reach in the glove box," I demanded," Hand me my phone."
Asia did as I said and handed me the phone that Luna had given me. I dialled her number and held it to my ear.
"Hello?"
"Luna, it's me," she must have heard the panic in my voice because her tone grew concerned.
"Holly? Are you alright?"
"I have Damon but he's hurt-"
"What do you mean you have Damon?"
"I broke him out of prison, but he's hurt-"
"You did what?!" she exclaimed.
"I'll explain later, but he needs help right now."
"Holly I'm sorry, I-I can't help you, Dimitri is here and the last thing I need is to get on the Council's radar."
"The Council won't know, they won't find out-"
"Holly, this is the Council we're talking about."
"Please!" My voice began to tremble," he's here and he's dying, he needs a healer, I helped you out, you owe me-"
"I can't perform the Ritual of Obliteration and rescue Damon, Holly, I can't upset both the Gods and the Council-"
"So don't do it," I didn't think before I spoke the words but even if I had stopped to think about what I was asking her to do, I wouldn't have changed it," don't do the ritual, just help Damon..please."
Luna was silent for almost a minute before she finally said," alright, bring him to my place."
Xavier drove like a mad man trying to get to Luna's place," It would be faster if I took him and went on foot," he mentioned.
"Sure if you want to be on the news tomorrow," Asia began," don't worry, he'll be alright, it was one shock."
The couple locked eyes for a couple of seconds before Xavier turned his gaze back at the road. I looked down at Damon who was still unconscious, head on my lap. I felt a tear slide down my face and it landed right on his forehead. I was surprised I even had tears left. I stroked his peaceful looking face and thought;
Wake up, please.
The drive to Luna's only took a couple more minutes, it would have been faster had the streets of Brooklyn not been so busy even at four am.
Xavier hardly took a second to park the car properly before rushing to where Damon and I were.
He carried Damon up the flight of stairs, Asia and I trailing hot on his tail.
Luna was already standing there as if waiting for us, the door to her apartment flung wide open, a wide eyes Dimitri standing right behind her.
"What happened," she began, following Xavier to the couch where he placed his brother down.
"He was fine when Holly got him out," Xavier began," but then he walked through the Volati and he just passed out."
"Shit," Luna rushed to his side," Dimitri, close the door."
Dimitri rushed to do as she instructed and walked past Asia to do so. All six of us were now cramped inside of Luna's small living room which made it even harder to breathe than it already was.
"It shocked his immune system dead, I'm going to have to shock him again."
"How are you going to do that?" I asked.
"I have a crystal ball for that," she gestured towards Dimitri," can you grab the green one from my closet please, the healing one I was telling you about?"
He nodded and disappeared to the back of the apartment. He returned seconds later with the same ball that Luna had used the first time I was here, but this time it was a soothing light green colour.
She grabbed it from Dimitri and balanced it on Damon's chest.
Luna placed both hands on the ball and closed her eyes. For a couple of minutes, nothing was happening. Asia, Xavier and I all stole secret glances at each other. The tension was thick as we were all anxious. I didn't have a doubt that Damon would heal from this but it didn't help with the nerves. I almost couldn't keep waiting, I wanted to do something or scream out but all I could do was stand there, patiently waiting.
If he doesn't wake up, if he dies, it would have all been for nothing.
It would truly be a cosmic joke of a world that we live in if I had just given up the Ritual of Obliteration, risked both Asia's and Xavier's life and had them kill a wolf that belonged to the Council all so that Damon could still die on Luna's couch.
The ball on Damon's chest began to glow the longer Luna stared at it and the mossy colour was beginning to reflect in her eyes.
Rural jolts shot from the ball digging themselves deep into Damon's chest and I found myself wincing at the sight. It looked painful and almost wanted to stop Luna but I had to remind myself that she had his best intention at heart.
The ball was beginning to vibrate until it released a shock strong enough to cause Damon's entire body to shake.
"What's happening," I couldn't refrain from asking," Is he alright?"
"Don't," Asia gripped my arm and looked at me with apprehension," she can't lose focus, she's close."
I nodded and turned away, silently observing. Damon's body jolted up again as another green shot electrocuted him but this time, his eyes flickered open. I quickly ran to his side, careful not to get into Luna's way.
"Damon," I whispered staring down at his eyes. His eyes scanned the room before landing on mines.
He quivered his lips in an attempt to speak but I quickly shook my head at him," don't talk, not right now."
The ball on Damon's shoulders had stopped moving and went back to its original green colour. Luna's eyes were now closed and her hands fell by her side.
Asia began to take hesitant steps her way," Luna? Are you alright?"
Luna remained still.
"She's not moving, is she okay?" I asked, staring up at a concerned Asia.
"It takes a lot of her energy to heal someone especially someone who hurt this bad, she might need to lay down for a bit."
We stared at Luna who was inhaling and exhaling quietly. I looked up at a concerned Dimitri who looked like he had no idea what to do.
"Dimitri, can you grab her a cup of water?" Asia asked. He quickly nodded and ran off to the back again.
Xavier lifted Luna off of the ground," I'm going to take her to her room."
Asia nodded," I'll come with you."
They all left the room until it was just Damon and I left. I looked down at him and felt guilty that all I really cared about was the fact that he was alright.
His eyes locked with mines again. He tried to move his lips but it was clear that he was struggling.
"Damon," I breathed out," are you in pain, where does it hurt?"
It was clear that he was trying to tell me something but I couldn't tell what. His fangs were beginning to extend and his eyes darkened in colour again.
His teeth dug into his lips, now cutting them.
It finally clicked in my head that the Council had probably starved him and he needed blood.
He needs to feed.
"Blood," I tried to tell him, to let him know that I understood but his eyes couldn't seem to focus. He was too weak to do anything about the fact that he was starving. He was too weak to get up and so I knew I had to do something to get him to bite me.
I looked around in a frantic for an object that I could use to cut myself with. I caught sight of a knife on the dining room table and quickly ran up to grab it. I rushed back to Damon's side and held the knife up to the nape of my skin.
I tried not to think about how much it will hurt, instead, I poisoned the knife on a previous cut and ran the blade lightly against it, reopening it. I winced at the harsh pain and felt my blood began to drip. I brought my neck closer to where Damon was and his eyes were now locked with my neck.
He didn't take much time to find his strength before grabbing me abruptly and pulling me down. The sudden impact of his fangs slicing through my neck was painful enough to send me screaming.
I grabbed on to the sofa trying not to claw at him. My vision quickly began to blur the harder he bit and it felt as if he was sucking the life out of me. This bite didn't lead to pleasure as it has in the past. This bite continued to hurt and burn and drain at me until my vision turned completely black. I felt hands grabbing at me, pulling me away from his grip.
The screams in the background sounded more like distant echoes. I couldn't tell whether Damon was still biting me or not because all I could really feel was numbness.
I gasped out loud and opened my eyes wide, the burst of light flooding my vision. I was now lying on the ground, Asia and Luna were staring down at me in concern. Asia had an empty glass cup in her hands and I felt my hair to realize it was drenched.
Did she throw cold water on me?
"Is he alright, is Damon-" I couldn't talk without gasping in between. My neck was beginning to burn again and I clutched it with my fingers.
"He's alright, Xavier took him outside for a walk, " Luna replied.
"How are you feeling?" I asked, directing my question at Luna but Asia didn't give her time to answer before she suddenly snapped at me.
"Are you an idiot," she exclaimed," he could have killed you!"
I couldn't help but roll my eyes and began to sit up.
"He's bitten me before," I replied. Both girls grabbed my arms and helped me up onto the couch.
"You can't let him bite you when he's starving, he may not be able to control himself," Asia continued.
"Don't tell me you've never let Xavier bite you," I snapped.
Asia remained staring at me but kept silent.
Luna handed me a new glass that was filled with water and I chugged it.
"Where's Dimitri?" I asked, immediately feeling better. The burning from my neck was beginning to decrease.
"He's sleeping," Luna replied. I nodded.
"We need to talk," I said, staring at both girls.
"About?" Luna replied.
"About my mother," I said.
Both girls remained silent waiting for me to further ask.
"Did you know that I was half-witch?" I asked Luna who merely nodded.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
"It wasn't my place, I never met your mother but from what I was able to see, she wouldn't have wanted you to know, I-I understand what that's like."
"What else do you know," I continued.
Both girls glanced at each other before Asia started," when your mother was a witch, she fell in love with your father, her family shunned her for it, as did the rest of the Underworld. She even spent some time in the Council's prison."
"The prison that I found Damon in?" I asked and they nodded.
"She was in there for a little bit before the Council gave her an ultimatum. She can either give up all powers that made her a witch and stop practising completely."
"Meaning she would be just like your father, a human," said Luna.
I nodded for them to continue.
"Or she could never see him again, and rejoin with her race. She couldn't have both."
"Your mother couldn't stay away from your father and they caught her, and almost killed her, so in the end, she gave up all ties to The Underworld."
"It would be the last thing she'd want, for you to find out, but-"
"But I'm marked," I spoke softly looking down at my hands.
How ironic is it that my mother spent her entire life running away from this life only to be cursed with a marked daughter?
I looked back up at the girls who were still staring at me," how do I get rid of it, the mark, I don't want it, I'd rather get back to my normal life-"
"You can't Holly," said Asia," it's not something you can just give back-"
"Can I ignore it? Or just forget all about it?"
"If we perform the ritual, it would only be a temporary fix, once you're marked by the gods of The Underworld, fate is bound to bring you back-"
"You're saying if I choose to forget, there's no guarantee that I won't get kidnapped by vampires again?"
Both girls remained silent.
The door suddenly burst open and barged in both Xavier and Damon.
Damon's eyes automatically caught mine and it became hard to breathe again. He looked guilty but healthy. The colour had returned to his golden eyes, his skin had gone back to its bright pale colour instead of the greyish tint it had before.
"Seth is getting crowned," Xavier said, breaking the silence that felt as it held the entire room hostage although it may have been just Damon and I.
I looked away from him breaking eye contact and looked at Xavier.
"What?" I asked," how do you know?"
"Someone from the castle just called," he continued.
"There's going to a ball," Damon said, still looking at me," tomorrow night, where it will be announced."
I stood up, mainly because I couldn't stand not being able to move, and also because I couldn't believe the words that I was hearing," they can't do that," I said," you're next to take the throne-"
"They dethroned him as they did me," said Xavier.
"Because they thought he was going to die, but you didn't-"
"It doesn't matter," said Damon," right now, I'm an outlaw, they wouldn't want anything to do with me."
"You can't let them throne Seth and Isabelle, do you realize the mayhem they will cause," this time is was Asia. Her voice was panicked and she was almost pleading.
Xavier and Damon glanced at each other before turning their gaze back at us.
"What did you do with the castle car?" Xavier asked Luna.
"It's still in Oakridge, assuming the guards didn't find it," she answered.
Xavier nodded and turned to look at Damon," well?"
Damon merely nodded and the three of us looked at the brothers in confusion.
"We're going to crash the ball," said Damon, eyes locked on mines," and we're going to kill Seth."