Enigma

Chapter 49

Unexpectedly, Blazius' experiments have been tolerable.

Lillian had no idea what in the world they were doing. Minutes after Blazius' men and women finished their doodling and left the room, Blazius and Poline strode in and began a ritual of chanting.

Lillian was seated by then. She was bored out of her mind for the first few minutes.

Then magic began to flow along the lines of the symbols and gather around her. Lillian couldn't see it, but she could feel it, a strong current of energy against her senses. It smelled faintly like the air right after a thunderstorm.

It wasn't exactly unpleasant, but the more they chanted, their voices rising to a skin-crawling crescendo, the more Lillian wanted to strip out of her itchy skin. She stood and paced the cage. Her wolf howled inside her mind, wanting to be let out.

Lillian shook her head and pushed her wolf back. It wasn't the time to shift. Not yet. Still, her wolf pushed forward and whined, as if involuntarily, and Lillian understood that they were trying to force her to shift. She stopped pacing and glared at them. Blazius and Poline were watching her closely, their creepy chanting dying down to buzzing murmurs.

It continued for what Lillian guessed was an hour or so, and ended in an anticlimactic manner that made Lillian relieved.

Blazius peppered her with questions, like a researcher of some sort, which he was in a way. He noted down her answers in a tablet and had another witch come in to take a sample of her blood. Blazius looked very proud for some reason. Two witches came in, one with chairs for Poline and Blazius, and the other rolling a steel table in front of him, on top of which were different needles, and scalpels. Lillian didn't like that.

Poline and Blazius sat down, and the witch approached the cage with a syringe, his steps cautious.

"What's that?" Lillian asked, looking at the clear liquid in the syringe.

"That is vampire venom," Blazius said, crossing one leg over the other. "You do know how it affects werewolves, do you not?"

Lillian did. According to what she read in Anna's books, vampire venom wasn't deadly to werewolves unless in extremely large quantities. Paralysis is the worst that can happen from a vampire attack.

"Let us see how your body reacts to the venom," Blazius said. "I must say I'm very hopeful. After all, silver doesn't seem to have a strong effect on you."

Lillian frowned. Was he serious? She looked pointedly at the cage.

"I didn't say it doesn't have an effect on you," Blazius said, smiling. Lillian wanted to punch the smile away. "You aren't as affected by it as the average immortal, is what I meant. Now, hold your arm out."

Lillian hesitated. Blazius arched his brow. "Or would you rather we try it on the twins first? They are still asleep at the moment, but I'm sure we can find ways to wake them up."

Lillian stuck her arm through the bar. If she ever got out of here... No. When. When she got out of here, she would wipe the smug smile off Blazius' face.

The needle pricked her arm. Lillian snapped her teeth at the witch, and he jumped a little, glaring at her. It was petty, but she enjoyed it.

The venom burned her veins. It felt like liquid fire. Lillian stared at her arm, expecting it to be aflame. The fire traveled to her heart and all through her body. For the first few minutes, she thought her blood would melt off her body.

Hot and dizzy, Lillian sat down in the center of the cage, aware of Blazius' intense stare. Sweat beaded her forehead, and her heart rate turned sluggish. Voices garbled beneath the whistling in her ears. Sweat tickled her forehead and chilled her back, and she lost her balance and fell on the floor.