布蘭琪.溫特斯 Blanche Winters
此時,凱薩琳已經產生偷襲離開的打算。
「是由你受洗嗎?」
「怎麼可能?這麼重大的儀式會由主教幫妳正式入教,妳手上的徽章就會正式生效。」他的話雖然是這麼說,嘴角卻開始上揚,彷彿她的話正在褒揚他。
「那⋯⋯主教到了嗎?還有其他人嗎?」
「還要一段時間,主教跟諸位都很忙碌。」
「所以你會一直陪著我,對嗎?」凱薩琳打算套出伊凡的話,只得把自己裝做只是緊張,而不是懷疑組織。
「當然,我會一直在這。我們下去躲雨好嗎?」他按壓她的肩膀,她則僵硬地輕輕點頭。
兩人用最快速又平穩的速度降至地面,伊凡向天空的方向施展咒語,他們所在之處立刻停雨。
“Pluvia finem facito!”
「如果我成為偉大的巫師,我就可以對整片天空呼風喚雨。」儘管如此,他仍對自己現在的成果沾沾自喜。
凱薩琳無暇理會他的話,她眼睛直勾勾地看向地上的圖騰,聞到一陣一陣的血腥味,她知道自己無法直接觸摸圖騰,就像大雨無法沖刷它。
「這是用羊血染色的吧?」
「如果我說是妳認識的人的血呢?」
「少在那邊陰陽怪氣,就算你說是你媽的,我也不在乎。」
伊凡沒有回應,只是臉朝著天空沒心沒肺地咧嘴大笑,他玩弄他手上的紅寶石戒指,凱薩琳的心跳撲通撲通地狂跳。紅光映照他臉上的輪廓,少年已是男人,他的俊美形同虛幻,更加凌厲欺人。
「妳知道嗎?我就是喜歡妳這種直來直往的個性,多少女孩,喔不男孩也是,此時嚇得雙腿發軟,只有妳溫特斯,還有力氣裝作自己很勇敢,但其實妳現在很害怕吧?」他反手撫摸她滾燙的臉頰。
「你不把戲演完嗎?」
「何必呢?妳知道的太多了,妳也回不去了,學校裡佈滿我們的眼線,而妳只是一個輟學的少女,一但反悔,只有一條路可以走而已。」
他沒有把「消失」二字說出來,但那二字已經刻在他的瞳孔裡。
「學校裡還有誰是半島組織的人?」
「等妳正式成為組織的一員,妳就知道了。凱薩琳,親愛的,不要做傻事,為了妳自己也為了妳妹妹。」見凱薩琳雙瞳撐大、下頷緊繃,害怕恐懼的神情更讓伊凡露出稱心得意的笑容。
「不要害怕,妳的妹妹很快也會成為我們的一員,但願妳不要做傻事。」伊凡在她耳邊輕聲地笑道,雞皮疙瘩瞬間爬滿她的全身,但她很快就鎮定自己。
「你剛才說我只能走這條路嗎?」話音剛落,凱薩琳猛然一腳踹向伊凡的下腹,隨即揮動手中的掃帚狠狠砸向他的頭頂。這一踹一揮令他又是哀嚎又是飆淚,與方才胸有成足的模樣判若兩人。
「這是第二條路,混蛋。」
"Vites, velociter eum circumdate et tene!"
凱薩琳向附近的樹滕施咒,讓它們快速纏上伊凡,自己則抓緊時間逃離現場,因為她知道自己的魔法能力在他之下,況且萬一更厲害的成員前來,她真的只剩下一條路可以走了。
「妳會後悔的!我要把妳的妹妹生吞活剝!我要你看著她慢慢地被摧殘致死,凱薩琳溫特斯!」伊凡仍痛得沒有力氣解開咒語,只好咬牙切齒威脅凱薩琳。
一聽到學校佈滿半島組織的眼線,她唯恐連累單純的布蘭琪,又加上伊凡提到以她作為要脅,她心裡恨不得現在回去接妹妹走,但她打算反其道而行。
「去啊!反正我跟她感情也沒多好,至少你還懂得如何資源回收。」
她聰明絕頂,伶牙俐齒,甚至口無遮攔,也是讓布蘭琪在姊姊面前,永遠都壓低自己的聲音,壓到低去塵埃裡的原因。
At this moment, Catherine had already planned to make a sneak exit.
“Are you the one baptizing me?”
“How could I be? Such an important ceremony will be officiated by the Bishop himself, and only then will your emblem officially come into effect.” Despite his words, a smile began creeping up Ivan’s face, as if her question was somehow praising him.
“So... has the Bishop arrived? Anyone else?”
“It’ll take a while. The Bishop and the others are very busy.”
“So you’ll stay with me the whole time, right?” Catherine tried to coax the information out of Ivan, acting as if she were merely nervous, not suspicious of the organization.
“Of course, I’ll be here the whole time. Let’s go down to take shelter from the rain, shall we?” He pressed her shoulders down, and she stiffly nodded.
They descended to the ground swiftly but smoothly, and Ivan cast a spell toward the sky, immediately halting the rain above them.
“Pluvia finem facito!”
“If I were a great wizard, I could control the entire sky,” he boasted, still pleased with the spell’s result.
Catherine wasn’t paying attention to his words; her eyes were fixed on the ground, where a bloody totem lay. The stench of blood wafted into her nose. She knew she couldn’t touch the totem directly, just as the rain couldn’t wash it away.
“Is this stained with sheep’s blood?”
“What if I said it was someone you know?”
“Cut the crap. It wouldn’t make a difference even if you said it was your mom’s.”
Ivan didn’t respond. Instead, he tilted his face toward the sky and let out a loud, careless laugh, playing with the ruby ring on his finger. Catherine’s heart pounded in her chest. The red light of the gem illuminated his sharp features. He was no longer a boy but a man, his beauty almost too perfect, becoming more dangerously captivating.
“Do you know what I like about you? It’s how straightforward you are. Most girls—oh, boys too—would be trembling by now, legs turning to jelly. But not you, Winters. You still have the guts to act tough, though deep down, you’re terrified, aren’t you?” He stroked her burning cheek with the back of his hand.
“Aren’t you going to finish your act?” she shot back.
“Why bother? You know too much. You can’t go back now. The school is full of our people, and you’re just a dropout. If you try to turn back, there’s only one road left for you.”
He didn’t say the word “disappear,” but it was written in his eyes.
“Who else in the school is part of the Peninsula group?”
“When you officially join the organization, you’ll find out. Catherine, my dear, don’t do anything stupid—for your own sake and your sister’s.” Seeing her eyes widen and her jaw clench, the fear on her face only made Ivan’s smile grow more satisfied.
“Don’t be afraid. Your sister will soon be one of us too. Just don’t do anything you’ll regret,” he whispered in her ear, his breath sending a chill down her spine, though she quickly steadied herself.
“Did you say I only have one road to take?” With those words, Catherine swiftly kicked Ivan hard in the crotch, then swung her broom’s end at his head. He howled in pain, tears streaming from his eyes, a stark contrast to his earlier confidence.
“This is the second road, asshole.”
“Vites, velociter eum circumdate et tene!”
Catherine cast a spell on the nearby vines, causing them to wrap around Ivan, buying herself time to escape. She knew her magic wasn’t strong enough to fight him, and if stronger members showed up, she’d truly be left with only one option.
“You’ll regret this! I’ll tear your sister apart! I’ll make you watch as she’s destroyed, bit by bit, Catherine Winters!” Ivan, still in too much pain to break free from the spell, resorted to hurling threats through gritted teeth.
The mention of the school being infiltrated by the Peninsula group terrified her—she couldn’t bear to endanger her innocent sister, Blanche. And now, with Ivan using her as leverage, her instinct was to rush back and get her sister out. But Catherine had another plan in mind.
“Go ahead! It’s not like I care much about her anyway. At least you know how to recycle.”
Her sharp wit and no-filter mouth were exactly why Blanche always spoke so softly around her older sister, lowering her voice until it seemed to fade into the dust.
特別想在此表達我對餅乾的感謝,感謝你這段時間給予我的支持,還有聊聊故事發展(⁎⁍̴̛ᴗ⁍̴̛⁎)。
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