Cruel Stakes: Vampires & Vices No. 2, page 8
“Here you go,” I say, interrupting them. “The human you asked for.”
They stop and stare up at me. Adrian’s mouth thins. “Who’s this?”
“You told us to bring you a human for blood donations.” Poor Nurse Giggi stiffens at my side as I continue. “Well, that’s what she is, right? She’s trained in taking donations.”
The room is quiet, the waiting vampires watching our exchange, when Sebastian bursts into laughter. His energy is so different than Hugo’s had been, so open and charismatic. I can’t imagine Hugo ever had a sense of humor. Adrian doesn’t have much of one either, because his mouth is still thinned and his eyes are glued to me.
“Do you not need my services?” Giggi balks and steps back.
Adrian holds up a hand to stop her. “Actually, I think you should stay. We can always use more help.” He nods over to the corner of the room and tells her to wait over there.
“Your lady is something else.” Sebastian gives me a wink. “You sure you want to be with this guy? I could get you into my bloodline during my next prodigy cycle.”
Hmm, I’ve heard that one before.
“Very funny.” Adrian grabs me, pulling me down to sit in his lap. My heart rate speeds up, and he leans down to whisper against my cheek. “You like to push my buttons, don’t you?”
I elbow him in the chest, which does nothing but hurt my funny bone. I try not to wince but I do and he chuckles darkly. “You make it so easy. How is that my fault?”
He tightens his grip around my stomach but doesn’t say anything more. I could move. I could slide to his side or get up––anything––and I’m certain he’d let me. But I don’t. We have to appear like we want this to work. I’m more than a little grateful he didn’t kill me for skirting around his dumb assignment. I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep doing that.
“You’re quite clever,” Sebastian says, turning on me with his dark gaze. “Tell me, did you have the opportunity to meet my brother?”
I nod.
“Right answer,” he says. He must already know. Adrian said he was going to tell Brisa that I was there that night. I try to get the story straight in my mind, but it goes annoyingly blank. “Lying to a vampire is a terrible idea.”
I’m not going to let this guy get the best of me.
“I don’t have a death wish. Well, that’s unless it comes with a three night stay in a graveyard.” I wink playfully. “So ask me anything. I was there that night Hugo was killed by those hunters. I have nothing to hide.”
“So forthright,” Sebastian says. “Okay, how did it happen? I want every detail.”
“Now is not really the time,” Adrian says, “we can schedule an appointment for this if you’d like.”
“Now is the perfect time.” I elbow Adrian again. “Like I said, there’s nothing to hide. I was supposed to be Adrian’s fledgling, but Hugo took over and was going to be my master instead. They took me to the graveyard together, but hunters showed up, killing your brother before we could do anything. Adrian saved me and then stepped in to be my master once again. And that’s about it, Sebastian. I’m sorry about your twin. We tried to help, but we were ambushed.”
“Hmm,” Sebastian says, “I can see why you picked her, Adrian.”
“I didn’t pick her,” Adrian replies, “she picked me.”
“Well isn’t that adorable.”
“You know what I mean. I don’t believe in building our family lines. We’re more vulnerable when there’s too many of us. We’re too open to mistakes, especially our younger spawn. But it was time to add another to my line and this one asked for the role.”
The two men stare off like they’re either about to debate with words or with fists.
“Whatever.” I slip off Adrian’s lap and sit at the end of the couch. I’m not getting between those two. “I’m a woman who makes her own choices, and I wanted to become a vampire. What’s so wrong with that?”
“And as a woman who makes her own choices,” Sebastian’s tone shifts, turning slightly accusatory as he glares at me, “why would you choose to become a vampire? You’ll be beholden to Adrian, and through Adrian to Brisa, for the rest of your existence.”
That’s if they don’t die first. But I don’t add that thought. “Because I’d rather be immortal. I want to be able to feel and experience the world to its fullest, like you can.”
“That’s a clichéanswer.” He gets up and comes to stand above me, leaning in close. His pupils dilate, and his fangs peek through his lips. “What’s the truth?”
I dig deep, searching for a better answer. The truth? I hate vampires. I want them eradicated from the planet. But why? So I can feel safe. So I can live without looking over my shoulder. So I can have all the things I deserved to have that were stolen from me when my mother became an addict.
“Tell me,” he demands, inching closer.
Adrian holds him back. “Leave her.”
“Because I want to feel safe,” I grind out. “Because I want to be taken care of. Because I want a real family.”
Both men relax. Pity creeps into Adrian’s eyes, and I have to look away.
Sebastian points at me as he steps away. “The truth will set you free.”
Okay, lame. Who does this guy think he is? Jerry Maguire?
“That’s enough,” Adrian says. “We need to move this along.” He motions to the room, which has filled up with people. They’re mingling among each other, the humans easy to pick out in the crowd. Some seem nervous, their eyes darting from sucker to sucker, and some seem excited. Cameron is there, a young woman in club attire at his side. They chat casually, but his body language is stiff and uncertain.
The vampires stand and circle the humans, their eyes growing hungry. This might not be what I thought it was. What if this is a bloodbath? What if they kill all these humans and dispose of the bodies discreetly? There’s got to be at least twenty humans who aren’t fledglings. Surely they can’t cover up twenty deaths. The Vampire Enforcement Coalition wouldn’t allow it.
Or would they?
I’m starting to suspect the VEC is nothing but a farce and a way for them to pretend like they’re behaving, and another way to assert power over each other––big egos versus even bigger egos. Because if a human gets bit, they’re as good as dead. Vampires don’t want humans to have the senses that I have and I can see why, now that it’s burning through me. It would make us all excellent fighters, able to track them, able to kill them easier. What if every human in the world was able to get the venom injected into them, kind of like a vaccine? We’d become strong enough to fight them, maybe even end them all.
If I could somehow get the word out, somehow find a way . . .
“Well done,” Adrian says, “now let’s eat.”
I expect the vampires to pounce, for blood to fly and bodies to hit the floor.
Nurses appear with all the necessary supplies and begin taking blood. They even have little handheld devices to see who’s eligible to give and how much. The entire thing is completely legal and anticlimactic. Nurse Giggi is among them and she gives me a little wave when we make eye contact.
I don’t think I’ve ever been more grateful for an anticlimactic moment.
This was a test. Would we risk another’s life for the vampires? We passed, but I don’t feel any better than I did before.
Just as I start to relax, start to think that everyone is going to get out of here alive, everything changes. Cameron dives on Kelly with a guttural scream, a silver stake firm in his hand. It sinks right through her center. She screams.
Chapter 13
Kelly evaporates into dust.
I scream.
It’s not like those other times I saw vampires die. There’s no joy in this. I feel her loss immediately, like the stake went through my own heart. Kelly wasn’t a friend, per se, but I liked her and thought maybe . . .
I don’t know what I thought.
But she’s gone, and my senses burst to life once again. Cameron stands against the railing, stakes in both hands, ready to fight. He sneers, looking right at me. “That vile sucker showed up last night and insisted that I was hers and told me to come here. And so I do and here you are––”
He never finishes his sentence. Adrian flies at him, ripping the stakes from his hands as if they’re children’s toys. He tosses them to the ground with a clatter.
Cameron opens his arms wide, accepting his fate. But his eyes are frantic––death isn’t what he wants. It’s too late. Adrian pushes Cameron over the railing. Cameron doesn’t even scream on his way down. He disappears from view, followed by a quick dull thump. Adrian growls savagely and jumps down after him.
Sebastian follows.
As do several others.
I stand frozen, unwilling to look over the railing and see for myself. A few of the humans run over to watch, while most of us crowd to the back of the room. We can all hear what’s happening. Personally, I don’t need to see it, too.
A couple minutes later, Adrian flies up, hovering midair. His appearance causes a ripple of gasps from almost everyone in the room. Not me. His eyes are bloodshot. I didn’t know that happened to vampires. Does it have something to do with anger rather than bloodlust? Or maybe it’s because he just fed from human flesh, not a blood bag. Whatever it is, the sight sends a chill right through me. Blood drips from his mouth and stains the top of his crisp white shirt.
“Go home.” His voice is eerily calm, but I can trace the grief there. Kelly was his only prodigy, and now she’s nothing but dust. “Go home and tell everyone what you saw here. Tell them how a hunter tried to take us out when we were obeying the law. We did nothing wrong. He murdered one of our own in cold blood and would’ve killed more if he had the chance. Tell them exactly what happened.” His eyes land on me. “And let them know we will root out anyone who hurts us. And when we do, we will kill them. No hunter in this city is safe.”
He zooms away, practically disappearing into thin air.
I leave with everyone else, guilt wracking me as I do. I want to go to Adrian and explain what I think happened here, to make sure he doesn’t blame me. But maybe he should blame me. I failed to protect Kelly, didn’t I? I should’ve known this could happen. The moment I saw Cameron in here, I should’ve stopped him. In his mind, all he knew was that vampires were bad and he should kill them. Tate made him forget the rest. So Kelly showing up and telling him he’s her fledgling last night must have freaked him out. But he did come, and then he acted on his training. And now they’re both dead.
And here you are . . .
What was he going to say? Was he going to reveal who I am to everyone? Was he expecting me to help him? I’ll never know. Maybe it’s better that I don’t.
I go to the casino. I want to head up to Adrian’s office so we can talk about this but the elevator won’t open. I try the penthouse elevator, which does work, and I head up to his room instead. I knock on the door, but he doesn’t answer. I’m sure he’s probably in there, but he won’t come to the door. I don’t have his number either. My only contact is calling The Alabaster when I need to relay a message through Kelly. I’m not sure what to do now.
“Listen,” I call through the door, “I’m sorry about what happened. Do you have my number?” He doesn’t reply and maybe I’m talking to thin air. I tell him the number anyway, assuming he can memorize it. And then I leave.
When I locate my Porsche in the parking garage, Sebastian appears next to me; I nearly jump out of my skin.
“Geez! Do you have manners? You shouldn’t sneak up on someone like that.” My heart beats wildly and my senses grow.
“It comes with the territory.” That’s true. I don’t think vampires know how to be loud.
I fold my arms over my chest. “How can I help you, Sebastian?”
“You can explain what happened back there.”
None of your business.
We stop and stare off. This is the part where I lie and tell him I have no idea. But I don’t. I know I can’t be compelled, and I know I can’t trust this guy, but something inside of me spills the truth.
“I’m a hunter, too. Adrian knows.” I hold up my hands before he rips my head off. “I’m working for Adrian. How do you think I got the guy who insists he doesn’t want a family line to agree to take me on as his fledgling?”
Sebastian looks me up and down. “If you’re lying, I will find out, and I will kill you.”
I laugh. “Believe me, I know.”
“So is this how my brother died?”
“No, he died as we said he did. Hunters ambushed us and killed him.”
He studies me for a long while. “You know, someone is going around and killing off the princes. Brisa has lost almost all her direct prodigies, Hugo included. It’s my job to find out who’s doing it and deliver them to her.”
My mouth falls open a little. “I’ve not heard anything about this.”
“There will be dire consequences for the humans if the bloodlines are severed,” he goes on. “Brisa is the best thing that’s ever happened to humankind.”
It takes everything in me not to snort because this guy has got to be delusional. She’s the reason vampires are out in public, the mastermind behind this system of trading blood for addictions. I hate her with everything in me. Killing her would be my dream come true. “And how do you figure that?”
“Because without her, our one strong vampire bloodline would splinter off into several independent lines. Do you know how many vampires would love nothing more than to feed and kill whoever they wanted? And they would be free to do that because nobody would be able to tell them not to.”
I have no response to that and feel stupid that I’d never thought of it. But it makes sense, and it flips my entire world upside down. I should get out of this. Return the fancy car, refuse to be a fledgling anymore, drop the hunters, everything. Just be done.
I should, but I won’t. I’m not sure I even can at this point.
“Adrian is going to be grieving his child,” Sebastian continues, his voice growing cold. “So it’s a good thing he has you to tend to his broken heart. Can you imagine how he’d feel if you had died tonight as well? If someone wanted to get back at him, say someone who lost his twin recently for no good reason, well, I think your death would be the perfect move.”
I widen my stance, my mind racing to the thin stake under my shirt. Could I get to it in time?
“But don’t worry,” Sebastian continues, “I’d never do such a thing to my own brother.” He strolls off, whistling as he does, as if he didn’t just threaten my life to get back at Adrian. He rounds the corner, disappearing, but his nasally tune echoes through the parking garage for another full minute.
I don’t hear from Adrian. September crawls into October, and life continues as if I weren’t a vampire’s fledgling at all. Felix and I go back to being friends without benefits, even though it’s hard. So many times I catch him staring at me in a way that sends my heart fluttering. I want to kiss him––to do more than kiss him––but I don’t. Things have gotten too complicated. Between his past with my roommate, Ayla refusing to talk to me, Seth telling me to back off, and mostly because I’m not a very safe person to date right now, it’s better that I go back to waiting.
Waiting for Felix is something I’m used to, even though it’s killing me.
I keep expecting the venom to wear off, but it doesn’t. I’ve quickly become the top member on my team, able to fight faster than anyone else. Even the simulations are easy for me now. And the more I grow in my abilities, the more I can sense things I never could before. And the more I can see things. But I know the simulations aren’t the real thing, and I’m eager to hunt.
Too bad I’m in an impossible situation. Being a double agent sucks.
One day, I’m driving back from a dayshift at Pops, marveling at the swirls of colors surrounding all the people as they walk down the sidewalks. It’s crowded today, and the auras remind me of misty clouds bouncing into each other. There’s roadwork on my usual route, so I follow the GPS down a curvy side street. It’s narrow with tall buildings that cast cool shadows down below. There are shops here I haven’t seen before, so I drive a little slow and look at the pretty storefronts. There’s an eclectic gift shop, a clothing boutique, an independent bookstore, a little bakery, and a voodoo shop.
A lot of the businesses down in this part of town say they deal in voodoo as a way to bring tourists in. I don’t know how much of it is authentic, but either way, it’s something I’ve chosen to stay away from. Growing up in New Orleans, a lot of the parents and grandparents teach their kids that voodoo is dangerous. I’m not sure what parts of voodoo are considered a closed-practice and what aren’t, what’s safe or even real. I’m not going to judge anyone who practices religion, but it’s not my thing. Never has been. Never will be.
Never say never, right?
Because something catches my eye, a bright flash of golden reflective light in my peripheral vision. The window display of the voodoo shop is filled to the brim with little dolls and trinkets, nothing unusual. Except there’s also a golden metal decoration. It’s two crossing feathers in the same shape as the little stamp on the back of the silver cross I wear around my neck. It seems far-fetched, especially since a cross is typically a Christian symbol, but maybe my grandmother bought the necklace there.
The same grandmother who made me promise to stay away from voodoo. So why do I have the feeling she was hiding something?
I parallel park like a pro. It was the one thing I spent hours practicing for the driver’s exam and aced with flying colors, which is important living in a busy city. I climb out of the car and head into the shop before my sweet gran’s voice in my head can stop me. The bell chimes as I enter, but nobody comes to check on me. It doesn’t seem like anyone’s even in here. The shop is tiny and packed. Skull candles, jewelry, herbs, crystals, loads more of the dolls, and a bunch of other things that I’m not sure how to identify. I go to the window display and crane my neck to try to get a better look at the golden feathers.
