Once Bitten

by Tina Glasneck

  * * *

  Only my sister could make my being pushed overboard about her. “I'll call you back once I figure it all out.”

  “But where did you wash up at?”

  “I’m back in New York.”

  “How the heck did you wash up where we started?” I heard her yawn again, the sound followed by a knock on the door.

  “I'll let you know once I figure that part out, too.”

  “They’re here. I’m going to make sure they lock him up.”

  Placing the receiver back in the cradle, I knew Claudine was a true fool and probably had really stabbed Donovan with a fish fork. He should be happy she hadn’t grabbed the lobster cracker.

  The air around me twinkled and the sidewalk quickly filled with pedestrians. I turned, stepped back out onto the street, and raced away as fast as my feet could carry me.

  Maybe I should have just been relieved that I was able to find out the truth.

  Paranoia scratched until it clawed me.

  I could feel something or someone following my every move. What had I done?

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Leslie

  “You did what?” Alistair yelled.

  I’d returned to find him in a less content mood than before, but I did disobey his orders. It seemed like I had an issue with assholes being in positions of authority.

  Sure, I didn’t expect for him to be happy that I left, but when I’d arrived back at the compound, the guards escorted me straight to his office. I couldn’t expect him to figure out this mess for me, but I could provide him with the answers that he didn’t have.

  “I will not be blamed for something I didn’t do,” I said. “With the gods as my witness, if I’m going to go down, I will set this entire Order on fire and make it crumble along with me.”

  “You are threatening the Order?” He asked as more of a matter-of-fact statement rather than a question.

  I didn’t know what I wanted from him, from them, but I wasn’t going to allow myself to be framed.

  My thoughts were a muddled mess. A toss of the coin could mean hate or love. Pleasure or undeniable pain. My newly sharp teeth ached from the constant up and down. I felt that magnetic pull between us, and I pushed back against it. I stopped myself from yanking on his shirt, but just barely.

  “This has nothing to do with me, but with you. Being here will put me in more danger than I was when you rescued me.” I huffed, tossing my red hair back over my shoulder.

  “Leave us,” he ordered the guards. “What do you mean?”

  “Bridget worked at Charming Industries and found the apartment through their apartment board. She’s connected to the Order. If you expect me to choose you over me, it will not happen. You are my sire, but I am still me. No matter how magnetic you may be, I will not be silenced by your brooding.”

  “I am the master of this Order, and you are my subject to do as I compel you to,” he practically growled.

  He was so focused on ruling that he didn’t see what was standing before him. I’d just told him that someone had killed a woman connected to the Order, but instead of asking questions, he was butthurt about my disobeying him—as if it was okay to kill people, drain them, and then have tons of evidence of foul play stacked up against him.

  Men could be such idiots sometimes.

  “Shush, we shall discuss this later, as now I must try to clean up what you’ve done,” he said. “What you did was against the rules. You left without knowing them, but still, you left.”

  “What do you mean?” I caught my rage before it could snowball into something that could annihilate the entire room.

  “Simply put, you have given them an in to have me ousted by proving that I have no control over you.”

  A loud tap on the door, and in strutted Rose, as if on cue. She didn’t even throw me a glance.

  “If you wish to rule, then you need to learn how. It is more than just your being the largest beast.”

  “Taking sides?” Alistair countered.

  “No, not this time. Maybe I should take over, since evidently, I have a better understanding of the threat against us. You are too busy worrying about your reputation and sniffing your latest recruit than the actual murder of an innocent.”

  “I have been appointed by the gods, and there is nothing you can do about it.”

  “Nepotism will only get you so far. Remember, I can take it all away, Alistair. I could make you bend and bow.” She produced a magical orb, and it showed me walking around Bridget’s apartment from room to room. “Leslie was there.”

  “Yes, but only today,” I began.

  Alistair’s scathing glance shut me up.

  “Impossible. Our wards are too strong for a mewler to overcome. Only the true killer could have returned to the scene of the crime, and I think I know the truth even better than you do, Alistair. The question is: What will it cost you for me to remain mum about it?”

  Blackmail. That’s what it meant for Alistair now, and I watched it play out.

  You are not to say a word, as she is power-hungry. You will only make things worse.

  I nodded.

  Rose flashed a mischievous grin. “You should never have brought her here, and now she will pay the price for breaking the rules.”

  “I don’t have to say anything,” I said, as if prompted from the beyond. “I’ll show you.” Tossing down the henbane, the incorporeal figure of Bridget appeared.

  “You again?” Bridget asked. “Are you not going to let me rest?”

  “First, you just need to let us know something,” I encouraged.

  “You’re all foolish.” Her peaceful face suddenly crumbled as her lips quivered. “Why are you still here? He’s currently doing to someone else what he did to me, and you argue about rules, treaties, and politics. Instead, why not use all of that energy to potentially save another from my same fate?”

  “What heresy is this?” Rose demanded. “Alistair, I’m going to call the guards back in and then this will all be over. Do the right thing and turn over Leslie.”

  Alistair bowed his head. “Guards, take Leslie away.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Leslie

  I hadn’t felt this awful since I’d had pneumonia, complicated by the flu. I’d been put into the adult version of time-out: locked in my warded room and unable to leave.

  Come to me. Alistair’s voice awakened me.

  Why should I be expected to carry this burden? My body warred with me. Death might have been better. It wasn't that I had so much to do here that my life couldn't have just ended. Dreams destroyed, loneliness—what did I have to live for besides my gran? Guess she might have felt the same way.

  Gran had betrayed me. I could either gnaw on that bone, suck out all of the marrow, allowing my rage to keep me warm while I push people away or I could be an adult about it and extend grace, forgiveness even.

  Anger could only get me so far. Gran knew this world, and surely knew who Alistair was from the start. We learn from our mistakes and they’d worked on my behalf for my greater good. I had to accept that, right?

  Gran reached out to me and touched my hand, then squeezed it tight. “Baby girl, I'd do anything to make it so that you didn't have to walk away into the light. I needed you to stay. To imagine not being here with you, well, I just couldn't. You can call me selfish—hell, I can't fathom what this is going to cause. But I'll be there with you every step of the way.”

  “The idea of feeding on someone repulses me,” I sobbed. “I've watched enough vampire movies to know how this ends—no more sunlight or garlic. What sort of existence will this be?”

  “That is what we shall find out. You're not in this alone. Just a baby, a mewler.”

  I nodded as if understanding, but I couldn't grasp this change so easily. There wasn't just heaven and hell after that final heartbeat, but a space in-between, and this seemed to be it.

  “I think I just need to rest some, Gran. This is taking a lot out of me.” I shimm
ied down back under the covers.

  Alone. I needed to be alone.

  Gran had never left me, and I wasn't sure if she knew how to just walk away, now that her body had substance again.

  She patted me on the head, and I heard the door close behind her.

  With my eyes closed, a scene formed in my mind that made little to no sense to me.

  I walked on dirt floors in a long narrow building of exposed timbers, and walls that appeared to be made of sod. Looking up, I stared at the thatched roof. Minimum light shone through, but a fire burned in the stone hearth. Built-in benches rested along the walls, and around the fire, those I recognized as family stood to their feet. I moved through the scene, following a young man.

  His mother tended to her cooking, a smile on her face, while his father, a burly man built like a boulder, bounced a young baby on his knee.

  “Alistair.” His father raised his hand and waved him over.

  “Yes, Father,” he said and took a seat.

  His father clapped his hand down on his shoulder. “You are no longer a child, and one day this will all belong to you. You might become Jarl one day, and you will be great, for those before you have done the same.”

  “Yes, Father.” Alistair pushed his mushed hair out of his face and stared down at his feet.

  “You were a surprise for this family, but a good one. Now, you must continue to practice with your sword, and till the land to grow your harvest. The gods will smile on you. Even now, Thor fights the giants on our behalf, keeping us safe.”

  Thunder loudly rolled in the background.

  “We must prepare the party to head east, for I have heard of great booty there,” the man continued.

  The door quickly opened, and therein rushed his older brother, Bjorn. His eyes were wide with fear. “Father, we're under attack!” he cried.

  “Alistair, take your sister and head to the hills.”

  “I will not leave your side,” he squeaked.

  I could feel his dread as his knees knocked together.

  “You must watch over your kin—your mother, your brother.” The man rose and rushed outside with his sword drawn.

  “Remember, the gods will watch over you.” The door slammed shut after him and Bjorn.

  “Mother, we must go to safety as Father has said.”

  She reached down and cupped his cheek. “Love will not abandon.” She handed him his sister. “You are to head to the caves with Evie, and not return until you receive the sign.” She leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on his forehead. “You are braver than you know, Alistair, my soft-hearted child.”

  She quickly picked up her shield and sword, then headed out the door where the sounds of the battle seeped through.

  Alistair gathered his baby sister to him in the cloth swaddle, strapped a sword to his side, and inched out of the door toward the caves, to whence his mother had ordered him.

  He raced away, leaving the sounds of the screams and metal hitting metal behind him, but he didn’t get far. Upon turning a corner, he came face-to-face with the largest Viking he’d ever seen. His chest was bare, and black makeup covered his thick neck and scarred face. He clenched a bloodied sword in his hand and stalked forward.

  Alistair looked around. No one could come to his aid. He’d never been tested.

  “Are you the village idiot or only its weakling?” the Viking asked.

  Alistair remained quiet.

  “You are the Jarl’s son, and this place should belong to you since he is dead, just like your mother.” He wiped the blood from his sword onto his pants leg. “So, let us make this easy for the both of us. Give me the baby so it can find its place on the rocks, and you, my boy, will serve as my servant. A castrated one; then not even the weakest of women will want you.”

  I felt a heat bubbling within as if scalding liquid had been poured over my hands and began to move upward.

  The Viking then ripped the baby from Alistair’s arms and tossed it to the side. It cried out!

  The heat grew all-consuming. The rumble I thought was distant thunder was me. A deadly scream rose from Alistair’s mouth, and he began to shift. His skin turned from its usual rosiness to an icy blue. Scales took shape, and within seconds, he transformed into a large dragon.

  The Viking started to back up, sword still pointed upward. “What in the name of Odin is this?”

  “I’ve not been sent by Odin.” Alistair’s beast roared and advanced on the enemy. The earth shook beneath him.

  The Viking raised his sword and struck, yet the blade did not pierce Alistair’s thick dragon hide. It did nothing but anger him more.

  With one terrifying roar, Alistair released a stream of blue alkaline fire, burning the Viking down to his boots.

  The sound of the baby’s cries caught his attention. He could either save his village, and risk the life of his sibling, or abandon his sister in hopes of saving their father.

  He took flight. Save the Jarl. Save his mother.

  He flew overhead, burning those beneath him, but the bodies of his kin had already grown cold, just as the Viking had said. When he returned to get his sister, the baby was already gone.

  He’d risked it all, and the gods had gifted him nothing, but snipped his wings so he could no longer fly.

  I quickly kicked off the bedcovers.

  Outside. It was the one thing my mind kept shouting over and over, along with chanting I couldn't understand. Feeling a pull yanking me away from the safety of my room, I followed the tug of the unknown through the compound’s walls until I stood before a thick wooden door. The stars twinkled overhead, and I breathed in the fresh air. I pulled it back and stepped across the threshold, descending the stairs into what gave out into a cave.

  There was a whole other world underground. At first, I thought I’d entered an abandoned mine shaft, but the walls glowed highlighted with the green glowworms. The cave’s ceiling resembled stars strewn across a night sky.

  And there he stood. Alistair. His body glistened under the light. He moved without hesitation, thrusting his sword as if fighting an imaginary enemy—or only one that his memory made real. Each move was made with precision.

  The closer I got, the more I could feel his rage which mirrored my own.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Leslie

  “I can’t fight,” I began. It seemed that as soon as someone turned into a supernatural creature, they were supposed to have all of these amazing skills—magnificent lover, overachiever, and the ability to leap buildings in one bound. “Lest we forget that up until a few days ago, I was a romance writer. My most active appendages were my fingers, and the most celebrated was my mind, along with all of the craziness that I could come up with.”

  “Yes, I am well aware of this. I sent out the wolves to follow up with Bridget’s tip, but they didn’t find anything.” He expelled air with a loud grunt. “I don’t know why I am to waste time teaching you a survivable skill, but the truth of the matter is men will come after you, and you will need to know how to protect yourself.”

  I didn’t like that thought. My imagination ran wild, and suddenly, this nice compound became a prison; the outside world would come barreling down the street with pitchforks, torches, and crowds marching because of their hatred for me.

  “Oh, my gosh, I’m Frankenstein’s monster,” I whispered.

  Alistair chuckled. “Don’t be ridiculous. The wolves have lived here long enough to be able to vouch for your safety. However, that being said, things can change. Follow me.”

  He led me through the armory that housed tons of swords, automatic weapons I couldn’t identify, and even something that looked like a canon. “I didn’t think we were about to fight the British again.” I snickered in turn and pointed, referencing the Revolutionary War.

  “We try to stay out of the political maneuvering of man.” He placed his hand on a digital keypad and pushed open a thick metal door. Therein, everything sparkled. It seemed more like a jewelry showcase room, wit
h everything in glass cases and recessed lighting than an extension of the armory.

  “Close your eyes, dear Leslie. Hold out your hand and whisper, ‘Come to me.’” I rolled my eyes at that and ground my teeth. Everyone deserved a chance to be trusted, and trusting him was my only option. “I am your sire. I have no reason to do you harm, or I would have already done so.”

  * * *

  “True,” I said, “but for all I know, you’re building a vampire army to take over the world.”

  “No, dear, we are here to protect it.”

  I closed my eyes and did as he asked, and suddenly, something cool rested on my upturned palms. Cracking my eyes open, I stared in awe at the gleaming sword. Its ornately hollowed blade with Viking knotwork glowed. In its pommel rested a yellow jasper stone where a magnificent dragon was carved. I palmed the grip, and electricity raced up my arm, setting off my nerve endings.

  The sword fit in my hand like a key, and I was the lock. Holding it opened something within. It zinged me like I’d rubbed my feet too many times on the carpet. I could hear my blood humming in my veins, whooshing as it flowed.

  From all that I knew, the Vikings had never made it to the Highlands. Instead, they’d remained pirates on the Scottish islands. How had a Viking, dragon-shifter, no less, come all the way to me in New York? Ha, the only dragon I knew about in Scotland was Nessie, and what was the likeliness of Alistair and Nessie being one and the same?

  “Don’t be afraid. Your sword dates back to the age of Boudicca, the warrior queen. It is connecting with you so that you will be the only one who can use its talents. You are the only one who can wield it.”

  Sweet, I thought. It seemed like I was now going to become someone akin to the female Thor! Duh, duh, doon!

  My vision blurred, and as if on fast-forward, blips of battle scenes formed in front of my eyes, where this sword gleamed and clanged. I watched as faceless warriors did flips and kicks, all while holding its magnificent grip. The dragon’s image within the jeweled pommel sprung to life.