Blood Courtesan Hooked, page 19
The co-pilot was checking his instrumentation. Then he flicked a switch, and a camera feed showed the underbelly of the plane. Ulrich had been right—it showed two vampires clinging to the bottom of the plane as if their limbs were made of suction cups. There were more vampires on the ground below.
“Sonofabitch,” the pilot swore. “We can’t take off. Get on the radio—get security out here!”
“No! There’s no time.” Ulrich swore softly under his breath, grabbing the radio out of the co-pilot’s hand. “I knew waiting for Aron was a mistake.”
I squinted at the screen, looking at the vampire closest to the camera, and a shiver went through me. I knew that face—pitted and scarred, his white-blonde hair, almost as light as mine, pulled back into a slick ponytail. It was one of the men Alaric had allowed to drink from me, so long ago. My gaze moved to another vampire, then another. I recognized most of them. I’d tried to torch those memories over the years, but they wouldn’t be purged. I remembered every single man who sank their fangs into my neck.
And I understood, in that moment, just how dangerous what Alaric had been doing really was. His most loyal henchmen were here, trying to get on this plane, because they were impervious to sunlight. They could walk during the day, and that gave them immeasurable power.
“Where are you going?” I cried, as Ulrich turned and headed out of the cockpit, pushing past me.
“Don’t give up your place in line!” Ulrich yelled back at the pilot. “We need to take off as soon as possible!”
“He’s crazy,” the co-pilot murmured. “We can’t take off with those things on the plane.”
“Yes, you can,” I insisted, hearing Ulrich barking out orders to the flight crew and our few passengers. “And you will. Can’t you… I don’t know… cut in line or something?”
The pilot stared at me, blinking. “Uh… no, ma’am, I’m sorry. You wouldn’t want me to do that. We’d end up colliding with another plane.”
“I guess that wouldn’t be good.” The sight of those vampires prying on the underside of the plane, looking for a way in, made me nauseous.
The plane began to move, and I startled, grabbing onto the door frame.
“Are we going?” I asked, wishing the plane was smaller and lighter and could move much, much faster.
“Getting in line,” the pilot said, glancing back at me. “I think you should go, ma’am. Go sit down and tell the rest of the passengers to buckle up.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the camera feed. It looked as if the vampires were working together now, using all their strength—which was considerable—trying to pry the plane open like a can of sardines.
The co-pilot did something and the camera angle switched. “Shit, we’ve got some of them on the wing.”
“Ulrich,” I whispered, recognizing him immediately. “No.”
I bolted out of the cockpit, running through the first-class section toward the middle of the plane. Lily called after me and then followed, but I wasn’t paying attention to her.
Throwing open the window shade, I saw Ulrich wrestling with another vampire on the wing. They were locked into a near-embrace, fangs showing, and I screamed. I don’t know if he heard me, but Ulrich’s head came up, and suddenly the other vampire was being tossed off the wing, onto the pavement below. Not that it mattered—it didn’t kill him. It just waylaid the creature for a minute or two. And there were more of them, climbing up onto the wing, to take his place.
“Ulrich!” I called, pounding on the window. I was so mad at him I could have wrung his thick, bull neck. “Get inside! Hurry!”
Another vampire went over the edge. Ulrich planted his boot in the face of yet another vampire crawling over the side of the wing. That only knocked him back, though, not off, and when Ulrich turned to tackle an intruder on the other side, the vampire with the boot print on his forehead heaved himself up onto the wing.
“Behind you!” I screamed, pounding on the plane’s little window.
Thankfully, Ulrich turned and saw the vampire just getting to his feet.
“Poppy, come on,” Lily said, trying to pull me away. “The plane’s moving… I think we’re going to take off soon.”
“I know that!” I snapped, glancing back at her. “And Ulrich’s outside on the wing!”
“He would want you to be safe,” she said, tugging gently on my sleeve. “He’ll be fine. He got out there—he’ll get back on.”
But I knew he wouldn’t. The way he was fighting them, the rate the plane was moving, taxiing in position, I knew. He was going to sacrifice himself so that we could get off the ground safely.
“Ulrich!” I screamed again, pounding hard, calling his name over and over.
He turned, giving me a dark look, and I realized why when the vampire he’d been fighting with turned and bolted toward the plane.
Heading straight for me.
I screamed, scrambling backward, and saw the plane’s window crack when the vampire hit it with his forehead. I could see the boot-print clearly there, jagged ridges etched in filth. His fangs were bared, his eyes wild. I felt Lily’s arms go around me, trying to pull me away, as the vampire smashed his head against the glass again, letting out an inhuman scream that sent shockwaves through my body.
“Come on! Hurry!” Lily was dragging me now, although I was fighting her with all my strength. “Poppy, let’s go!”
I saw the sudden surprise on the vampire’s face, his eyes widening, when he was jerked back away from the window, a big hand coming down on his shoulder. Then Lily reached over and snapped the window closed, insisting I follow.
“Nooooo!” I wailed, still reaching for the window shade, when someone picked me up by the waist, someone incredibly powerful, carrying me like a child down the aisle. “No! No! No! No!”
I kicked and screamed, but Aron didn’t stop, putting me in a seat up front and buckling me in.
“Let! Me! Go!” I struggled with the buckle, trying to undo it, unable to see much through my tears.
“Poppy, Poppy, little poppet, shhhhh.” It was Lily, her voice soothing, as she moved in to sit beside me. “Come here, come here. Shhhh. Don’t cry. I’m here.”
I was instantly a child again, sobbing in her arms. Lily cradled my head in her arms, rocking me, kissing the top of my head. She was singing something, a song from long ago, and that just made me cry harder. I let my sister hold me, a strange sense of deja-vu tingling my limbs. This had happened before. Except then, it was my twin who had been ripped from my side. Now, it was a man who felt closer to me than even my own twin. My whole body shook with the force of my emotion and I lifted my head, seeing everything through prisms, my stomach lurching.
The plane was picking up speed. We were taking off.
“Hold onto me,” Lily whispered, keeping my head tucked against her chest. “Hold on, Poppet. Hold on.”
“Nooo0o!” I wailed, memories flooding me, seeing Lily’s face for the last time as they dragged me toward the bus. I’d escaped Alaric, but I had left her behind, unable to do anything to save her. It couldn’t happen again. I wouldn’t let it. I wasn’t that little girl anymore. “I can’t leave you! I can’t!”
I tried to stand, but the seatbelt kept me in place. When I reached for it, Lily grabbed my hands. I felt the plane rising, my stomach jolting, feeling like it was floating for a moment.
“I left you,” I whispered, looking into my sister’s face. “I didn’t want to go.”
“Shhh.” I felt Lily’s body shaking, too, and when I looked at her, I saw she was crying. “It’s not your fault. It was never your fault, Poppet.”
The sobs that rose up in me came from somewhere deep inside, some dark place that hadn’t seen light in years. I put my head in her lap, unable to control the pain roaring through me, and I felt her sobbing, too, although she never stopped stroking my hair, my back, petting me like she used to when we were young, when we were the only people in the world we could count on.
“Poppy.” His voice. I was dreaming. He’d come back for me, in my dream. He was stroking my hair, different from Lily, but still soothing, comforting. I didn’t want to open my eyes and wake up. I wanted to stay here forever, in a world where Ulrich existed.
“Poppy.” Lily’s voice this time. “Poppet. Open your eyes.”
I couldn’t. If I did, I’d open them to a world without Ulrich. I couldn’t face that. Not now. Not ever.
“Moon flower…” I felt a hand in my hair again.
Slowly, I opened my eyes, and met his. “Ulrich? Are you real?”
He was squatting beside us in the aisle, his face battered, his clothing torn. He reached for me and I quickly unbuckled, moving into his arms, letting him envelop me. He tightened his grip on me as he moved into one of the seats, pulling me into his lap.
“How?” I asked, lifting my tear-stained face to his. But he was kissing me then, and I didn’t care how—I was just grateful he was here. But where were all the other vampires who’d been trying to get on the plane?
“Alaric’s men,” I said, my voice shaking. “Are they—?”
“Gone. We’re going home,” he said, tucking my head under his chin. “Where you’ll be safe.”
“But…” I swallowed, remembering all the vampires on the wing, trying to get into the plane. “They know… do they know where we’re going?”
“Probably. But we’ve got a head-start. And once we’re in the caverns, we’ll be safe. No vampire can enter them without my permission. “
I breathed a sigh of relief, and when I opened my eyes, I saw Lily across the aisle. She was watching us, tears still on her face. She took my hand when I reached for it, and my heart swelled at her touch.
I fell asleep that way, in Ulrich’s arms, holding my sister’s hand.
Despite the turmoil, the possibility if imminent danger, knowing Alaric’s henchmen and, eventually, Alaric himself, would follow, I closed my eyes and slept.
I’d never felt more content.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“I’m scared,” I confessed, reaching for Ulrich’s hand.
“Just because she decided to do it, doesn’t mean you have to.” He squeezed my hand gently, pulling me toward him on the settee. It wasn’t the most comfortable furniture in the world, although Nadia didn’t seem to have any problems on it at night. I much preferred our big, canopied bed. Aron and Lily had taken the other room—and the other bed—but they wouldn’t stay, not forever. Eventually, Nadia would move into that room next to ours.
Was it weird that we’d have my vampire mother-in-law living with us for all eternity? Maybe. But I’d grown to like her, and I thought she liked me too, despite the fact that I was still human—a state of being that my sister, Lily, at this very moment, was changing. With Aron’s help.
“She’s going to be so hungry.” I shivered, pressing myself against his side. “I’ve never been fed on by a new vampire.”
“I won’t let her hurt you.” He frowned, stroking my hair. “Just enough to slack her thirst. And hopefully, give her the ability to walk during the day.”
I nodded, swallowing, remembering the night I’d allowed both Nadia and Aron to feed from me. Ulrich had been right there, holding my hand, looking into my eyes, and instead of feeling horrible and ashamed, I’d felt light and actually happy. It truly felt like giving them both a gift, offering something precious and valuable. Part of myself, given freely. It was an entirely new experience, more empowering than I ever could have imagined.
Glancing into the hallway, wondering when they would appear. I knew how it worked, turning someone into a vampire, but I didn’t know how long the process would take. I had no firsthand experience with it. Although I was considering it for myself, letting Ulrich turn me. I very much liked the idea of being with him forever, instead of just being with him for the rest of my little mortal life. That alone was a great incentive, but it wasn’t just that. It was the possibility that it would free me, not just from my mortality, but from being a vampire-target.
Nadia had been the first one to suggest it, back in the catacombs. Paris felt like forever ago, but it was merely weeks. She brought it up again, once we’d been down in the ice cavern for a few days. The question was, if we were to be turned, would Lily’s blood, and mine, lose its power? No one knew how it would affect us, once we were turned into vampires, but at least, then, no vampire could feed on our blood to become all-powerful. We wouldn’t be so sought after anymore, and we’d lose our human vulnerability altogether.
So it was Lily who decided to go first. She said she’d been thinking about it, anyway, since she’d met and fallen in love withAron. This way, they could be together forever. She’d asked me if I would let her feed from me—her first taste of blood as a vampire—and of course, I’d agreed.
I hadn’t told her how afraid I was, how unsure. I’d grown to love Ulrich, and I cared about Nadia and Aron, after having lived with them for several weeks. But they were still vampires—and their hunger scared me. Letting them feed from me had been both exciting and terrifying. Once Lily was turned, I would be the only food source down in the caverns, surrounded by four vampires.
At least, until I decided to let Ulrich turn me, too.
“Where’s my poppet?” Lily called.
I heard her voice coming from down the hall and shivered. It was my sister’s voice—but it was different somehow. And it was my twin who came toward me, Aron following behind, but she was different, too. There was a light in her eyes that hadn’t been there before, something strange and supernatural.
“There she is.” Lily stretched a hand out to me, her fingers long and delicate, and I took it, letting her move in beside me on the settee. I stiffened when she leaned in to nuzzle my ear, breathing in deep. She was scenting me, just like any vampire would.
“Did it hurt?” I asked, hearing the tremble in my voice. On my other side, Ulrich’s hand tightened in mine.
“No.” Lily moved back to meet my eyes. I could see her in there, still, my sister, the one who had drawn hopscotch grids for me in sidewalk chalk and meticulously sewed the arms back on my rag dolls. She slowly stroked her hand down my bare arm—I was wearing only a tank top and a pair of yoga pants—sending little sparks flying all through my body. She had a vampire’s way about her now, though, seductive and compelling. I wondered if she could read my mind.
“I can.” Her eyes lit up as she answered my unasked question, and I gulped. “Don’t be afraid, Poppet. I would never hurt you. Never-ever-ever.” That phrase was a holdover from our childhood.
“Promise?” I bit my lip as she leaned in closer, her eyes dark, swirling with her hunger.
“Promise,” she breathed.
I saw her fangs for the first time, felt the blood rushing through my veins, and despite my fear, I tilted my head, leaning against Ulrich and offering myself as my sister lowered her head to my throat to feed for the first time as a new vampire.
Closing my eyes, I drifted, the sound of our hearts beating loud in my ears. Lily’s hands moved to my throat, kneading gently, like a kitten trying to ease out more milk. I heard the soft sounds of her drinking, swallowing, and shuddered involuntarily. We were connected again, like we had been in the womb, hearts beating in tandem. I felt warm and safe, sleepily floating away.
“Enough!” I heard Ulrich’s voice, but it sounded so far away. Aron’s voice mixed in, and I heard Nadia, too, the tone of her voice high, concerned. None of those things mattered. The world had shrunk to include just me and my sister, linked together as we always had been, forever connected.
When Lily’s fangs retracted, I felt her go, and the loss of her was almost too much to bear. I cried out, but my voice was small and weak.
“I’m sorry!” Lily gasped. I heard her crying. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Poppy, are you okay?”
“Let her go,” Ulrich growled, and he was lifting me, carrying me in his arms. I was too weak to even wrap my arms around his neck.
When he laid me on the bed, I managed to open my eyes and I saw him hovering over me, his eyes full of concern.
“Lily?” I tried to lift my head and got a swimmy feeling, my stomach turning over.
“She’s fine.” Ulrich’s hand smoothed my hair. “She fed from you. A little too much.”
His face darkened and I reached up to touch his cheek.
“It’s okay.” I smiled, taking a deep, shuddery breath. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” He reached over me to the nightstand, grabbing a bottle of water. “Drink this.”
I let him lift my head and put the bottle to my lips, drinking greedily. I was so thirsty, thirstier than I’d ever been after a vampire had been at my neck.
“Easy,” he said as I gulped and gulped, sucking the bottle dry—it crinkled as I emptied it—with a satisfied sigh. “You’ll probably be dehydrated for quite a while.”
“I could feel her,” I said, still wondering at the sensation. “It was like seeing inside her. Being her. It was so strange. So amazing.”
“A new vampire doesn’t know how to control themselves.” Ulrich flashed me a smile that included his fangs. “They can overwhelm their first feed. Usually, they end up draining them. That’s why I said we’d have to protect you. Lily’s thirst would have just overtaken both of you.”
“I have to tell her I’m not mad.” I started to rise, but Ulrich held me down with a hand planted in the middle of my chest.
“She knows,” he said with a shake of his head. “She’s with Aron. He’ll guide her through.”
I nodded, biting my lip, looking at him in the low light.
“Ulrich…” I reached up to run a hand through his unruly hair. He had four days’ stubble on his cheek and I rubbed it, liking the scratchy sensation on my fingers. “I want to do it, too.”
His eyebrows went up. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I nodded, sliding a hand behind his head, pulling him closer. “I want to be like you. And Nadia, and Aron… and Lily. I want to be with you.”
