Chapter Twenty-Two - Part Two

I locked eyes with Tidus, who was still standing close by his seat. His face was impassive, but by now I knew him well enough to gauge when he was hiding his true feelings.

“I’m ready,” he said in a strong, unwavering voice.

“There’s the ring,” I said, nodding at it.

I watched with interest as Claudia used the corner of her afghan to pick up the ring, wondering if she was in love with someone as well, or simply executing a responsible measure of safety. But, in any case, the ring was now in her possession, and she knew exactly what needed to be done with it.

“First things first – you have to pick it up,” Claudia said to Tidus, holding out the ring to him.

“I dunno, Claudia… You think that’s a good idea?”

Tidus was unconvinced and it showed. He shot me an intimate look that was filled with his disquiet, and I felt my insides twist in concern for him.

“At this point, it really won’t matter if you end up being cursed by the ring,” Claudia said. “I’m gonna remove the spell anyway, so you’ll be safe. Kind of.”

With a sigh, Tidus picked up the ring, enclosing it within his hands, as Claudia dropped the afghan. We all observed as Claudia reached up and unclasped a golden chain that had been hanging from her neck. I couldn’t see what the pendant was that hung from it, but whatever it was, Claudia stepped forward and fastened it around Tidus’ neck instead.

“Just for luck,” she said, with a weak grin.

“I won’t need it,” he said with firm assurance, but nevertheless, he still kept it.

“Ready?” Claudia asked again, stepping back as Tidus moved further away from the rest of us. He stood, alone, in a patch of grass illuminated by the moonlight. “Remember, it’s just like we practiced…”

“I’m ready,” Tidus repeated, emotionless, with over-bright eyes.

I felt Addy’s hand tugging at my arm, and she pulled me back with her, closer to the trailer and away from Claudia and Tidus. She took my hand, and in return I gave her a hollow smile of comfort.

Claudia’s voice began to fill the backyard now, and with a resonance that was quiet, but strong. The Witch’s eyes were closed, and her hands were hanging limply down at her sides. Meanwhile, Tidus was standing still, like a statue, with a single hand stretched out before him. And the Countess’ ring lay in the center of his palm, glittering ominously in the moonlight.

The language Claudia spoke, I didn’t understand. I couldn’t have told anyone if it was Greek or Pig Latin. All I heard were strangely sounding words coming from the Witch in odd, guttural tones. Seconds passed as this went on, and nothing else seemed to happen. In some ugly, bitter corner of my heart, a secret part of me rejoiced that maybe, perhaps, it wouldn’t work after all. But that hope was dashed when I saw the beginnings of the black smoke.

It rose in small wafts at first, curling upwards from the ring, and growing thicker and swirling faster the more that Claudia spoke. Fear held my heart in its icy grip, and I watched with bated breath as a small, black cloud moved in an ominous circle now, churning above the ring.

Suddenly, there was a high-pitched humming that seemed to vibrate within my very eardrums. I clapped my hands to my ears, but kept my eyes trained on Tidus. The cloud was writhing ferociously now, a seemingly tangible mass that swarmed with unbridled fury.

I’m not sure what triggered it – probably Claudia finishing with her chanting, but something made the cloud begin to madly revolve, spinning like a tornado. And it did this for several seconds longer, before I witnessed with terror what would happen next.

The cloud entered Tidus using his eyes, ears, nose and throat for access points. He dropped his hand, and the ring fell to the ground, as his body began to convulse in stiff, violent spasms. I cried out his name, wanting to run to his aid, but my friend stopped me with cruel, protective arms.

Tidus absorbed the cloud, every last, awful bit, before collapsing to the ground, lifeless. There was silence as we all waited for him to rise, to show any signs that he was still alive. But seconds passed and he didn’t get up. Fear kicked in, and I began to panic.

I wrenched free of Addy’s grasp, kicking off my heels as I charged across the lawn. I dropped to my knees at his side, scared at how unresponsive he seemed, just lying there in the grass.

“Ti… Ti…” I said his name in earnest, grabbing his cold hand to check for a pulse, before remembering that he wouldn’t have one. His eyes were shut, his chest didn’t move, and for all the world he truly could have been dead.

Two shadows fell across us, and I looked up into Claudia’s anxious, frightened face.

“He’s not moving,” I said shakily, looking with helplessness back down at Tidus’ unresponsive form. “Vampires don’t breathe, they don’t have heartbeats… I just can’t tell if he’s ok…”

There was silence from Claudia and Addy both, as they looked at each other with a knowing pity that only succeeded in alarming me further.

“Ti.. Tidus…” I reached out and shook both of his shoulders with growing panic. “Ti, please…”

“Mimi,” Addy said, touching a hand to my shoulder. “Babe, that won’t help…”

“I have to do something!” I said wildly, jumping to my feet. I began to pace the backyard with my hands on the top of my head, looking like a mad woman as I racked my brains for a miracle that would fix this. And I imagined the sound of a horrible clock, ticking and tocking in the distance, counting down on the short amount time that I knew I had left to save him…

And then, a desperate, incredible idea sprang into mind, like a lifeline in the dark. Not a wasting a second, I sprinted back to Tidus, dropping to my knees again. Without sparing any thought to modesty, I unbuttoned his jacket and then, losing patience, ripped open his shirt. I rubbed my hands together, blew out a deep breath, and sent a quick prayer to the heavens.

I placed my hands against his pale, chiseled chest, with one palm covering a heart that had stopped beating long ago. I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated only on saving him. Not long ago, somehow, I had transferred some of my own emotions into Ethan, taking away his fear and anxiety at the hospital. And now my plan was more complicated and dangerous. But if I could transfer emotions, I figured it could be worth a shot to try and give Tidus some of my own life-force.

I was focused so deeply on giving Ti that life, that I hardly noticed the pain as I saw it flow upwards from me and then into him in light, golden waves. I hadn’t seen it happen with Ethan because my eyes had been shut, but they were wide open now, and I could see it happening.

As the golden light continued flowing between us, beneath my right hand I felt something impossible begin to happen. Faint, sluggish beats sprang to life beneath my touch. Color bloomed across Tidus’ features, causing me to finally notice just how grey his skin had always appeared before now. But as it seemed, in his Human life, his skin had once held a far more golden, sun-kissed tone.

For reasons I was too late in understanding, I began to sway to and fro with dizziness.

Without warning, Tidus’ lovely eyes snapped open, and he sucked in a powerful breath of air that felt like it was ripped directly from my own lungs. Suddenly, I could no longer breathe as I noticed the golden waves were severely diminished, but I kept my hands firmly planted, willing it all to him.

Tidus lay beneath my hands, wide-eyed with fear and confusion, as he took his first breaths since before his Human death. He drew in several more, raggedly, before grabbing my wrists with hands that were warm for the first time. And as if in sudden understanding of what I had just done, he shoved my hands violently away.

The link between us broke, and 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. But even as it occurred to me that I was dying, it didn’t really seem to matter as much as I had once thought it would. I saw Tidus’ face grow in and out of focus, and as much as I wanted to reach out and touch him, or answer the calls of his voice, I couldn’t. It was already too late.

I was just grateful to meet the silence of the dark while in the comfort of his arms.

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