by Jayce Carter
“Proud papa, I’m sure.” I yanked again at the manacle, my wrist aching.
“Let us see how much it likes your blood.”
“Let’s not.”
Even as I spoke, he snatched my bleeding hand and held it above the plant. Fat droplets of red fell from my palm and over the grayish leaves, the long, stalk-like trunk.
When he let go, I pulled away, cradling my hand to my stomach, swallowing to keep my food down. Something about feeding that plant felt wrong in a way few things did to me, sickening, like something that twisted nature in a way that should never happen.
“See, the blood mist, made by the creatures that live in hell, will nourish them to grow, to stay alive, but we need living material to create new plants. You could be mother to so many new ones.”
“Not really the mothering type.”
“You don’t have a say. You shouldn’t have come here, and a hellhound of all people should have known better. That one was a fool who should have known better.”
Hunter. That gave me another idea… “Lucifer summoned me. I bet he’d be pretty angry if you killed me before he got to talk to me…”
Sure, name dropping the devil wasn’t my normal go-to plan, but one worked with what they had.
Which for me, right then, was fuck-all.
The man laughed, something that sounded like spiders skittering across a tile floor. “Well, in that case, it’d be best if I made sure I buried you deep, wouldn’t it? If Lucifer cares at all about you, I’d imagine he’d already be angry with me. Besides, you’re worth the risk. I haven’t grown my crop in years.” His eyes took on a red tint, one that reminded me of Kase’s, but where I didn’t fear Kase, I feared this man.
A high-pitched sound filled the shed, something I wasn’t sure I even heard rather than felt.
The man turned toward his plant, rising to his full height. The plant moved, shivering, and more of that sound came again. Leaves curled in on themselves, like a bug sprayed with poison.
“What did you do to it?” the man roared.
“Nothing,” I swore, again trying the chains.
The plant continued, and from outside the shed, a similar sound echoed up, as if the rest of the crops felt the pain of that one.
The sound died down just as the plant wilted, collapsing on itself, until crumbled, dried pieces were caught on a breeze from outside and blown into the air like crushed leaves.
Which was probably not something the man was going to be happy about.
He turned toward me, his face not even remotely human anymore. His lips curled up showing that all his teeth were sharp, not just the two fangs. “You killed it! What are you?”
He gave me no chance to answer—not that I had an answer—before he charged.
Fear like I’d never felt before went through me, consumed me. I was going to die. Sure, he was going to kill me before, it had been a necessity in the man’s eyes. Now?
Now it would be painful—now he would make sure it lasted.
His huge, claw tipped hand swung for me, but instead of making contact…
A coldness went through me that sank right to my bones, something terrifying and familiar and instinctual.
It consumed me, and the man’s hand went through my body.
His eyes widened, and I look down to find the manacle had fallen free, that my hands were almost invisible.
I was pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to see through my own body.
When he reached again, his hand again passed through me, like I wasn’t there.
It was the sort of thing that probably deserved some study. Going incorporeal wasn’t normal. However, since it meant I wasn’t being torn apart by this psychotic resident of hell who wanted to use me as some sort of plant fertilizer, well, I wasn’t going to question it.
Instead, I took off, out through the doorway, through the plants. As I ran through the field, I couldn’t feel the ground beneath my feet or the plants exactly. A small current skirted over my skin, like touching the surface of water, but I could pass through without issue.
Plants moved around me, telling me I wasn’t the only thing running through the field. Sure enough, one of those creatures sailed through my body, snapping its teeth but unable to actually get hold of me.
The edge of the fence line was ahead. The man could follow me—he’d been on the road the first time—but I didn’t think the beasts could.
A flickering sensation in my hand—like when an arm falls asleep and it starts to wake up—came a moment before it spread through me.
Which, I had to assume, was not a good thing.
My foot caught a root and I pitched forward, into the dirt, into the red mist. I dug my fingers into the ground to shove myself to my feet, but they encountered something warm.
When I shifted, it moved dirt from the base of a plant and down there—the roots the man had said—was a hand… It shifted, the fingers twitching as if still alive, the plant growing right from its palm.
Sickness swamped me, but I relegated that for later. I could find a good therapist when I got back home, could spend years pouring this all out to her and unpack it then.
For now, escaping was all that mattered. I didn’t want to become another root in that farm.
“You ruined everything,” spat the voice of the man.
I rolled to my back, finding him towering above me, the machete in his hand and murder in his gaze.
A flash of something too quick for me to track slammed into him.
When they paused, however, I recognized the other person.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever been so happy to see Kase.
Kase was far smaller than the man, but that hadn’t stopped him from plowing into him as if the man weighed nothing.
I’d seen Kase take on a shifted Troy, yet it still shocked me to witness his speed and strength. Maybe it was because he acted so civilized the rest time, because he hid that side of himself in a way no one else did, because he was unfailingly careful around me. Even Troy, with all his hang-ups, had the look of a rough country boy.
Kase looked like an aristocrat who never got his hands dirty.
At least, he normally did. When going toe-to-toe with a resident of hell, he lost that pristine image.
Kase was faster, but the man hit harder. Worse, the claws that tipped the man’s fingers tore into Kase’s body despite his hardened skin.
The fight was bloody in a way I wasn’t used to, and all I could do was scoot backward.
I wasn’t any help here, couldn’t do a damn thing but stay out of their way.
To my left, the plants parted and one of those guard creatures lumbered through. It was my first good look at it, and I wished it had stayed hidden.
They looked less like dogs than I’d thought and more like a cross between a Komodo dragon and a spider. Eight legs came from its body, flames sparking from its eyes, and large, sharp teeth lined its jaws. The thing was from a nightmare, and in that moment, I swore I’d seen it before, like some memory from something I’d spotted in a vision.
It crept forward, slowly, which seemed rude. I’d seen how fast they were, so this one approached slowly for the fun of it…
It ignored its master, didn’t try to intervene in the fight. Then again, I doubted it gave a damn about its master. This wasn’t a beloved pet—it was a guard, and it had no care for the one who imprisoned it.
It leapt forward, and I rolled to avoid it. Teeth dug in, but caught the ankle of my shoe so I didn’t lose my foot. I used my other to kick it—hard.
It let go, and I got to my feet. The fence line was only about ten feet away…
“Go,” Kase snapped, as if he’d known what I was thinking.
The beast leapt, but Kase was faster. Somehow, he got between the thing and me, took the hit himself, let it dig its teeth into his shoulder instead of mine. He grabbed its throat and threw it to the side.
Worse, the distraction let the man close in land another vicious slash to Kase’s ribs.
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My feet wouldn’t move. I couldn’t run…Kase was obviously overwhelmed, and I couldn’t leave him like that.
A thought came to me, one that made little sense, but then again, I was in hell. Things hadn’t made sense since I’d arrived.
I opened my hand, the one still smeared in blood, and let it drip on the plants to my side.
That same high-pitched scream from before came again, but I didn’t stop. I bled on the ones close by, and the man jerked his gaze toward me.
Suddenly, Kase didn’t matter as much to him.
Though, I didn’t care for having his attention, either.
The beast left Kase alone, as well. While it might not love its master, it had been trained to protect the plants.
Kase didn’t move, collapsing to the ground as his opponents moved away.
The beast jumped toward me, and I flung my hand out to try and catch it before it got its jaws around my face. The action sent drops of my blood flying toward it.
When they landed, the thing yelped as if my blood burned it. The beast shook its head and bolted in the other direction, a whimper following as if it had just realized to hell with this.
“What are you?” the man repeated, his hands open, his claws spread, his voice low and furious.
He walked toward me, each step slow and lumbering. It was then I realized all the wounds that covered him.
It seemed Kase had done his share of damage, even if it didn’t show as openly…
I brought my arms together, a last-ditch effort, but nothing happened, just as Grant had said.
The man was so close, I could see the glistening of that slime-like substance on his skin. I could smell the rot on his breath.
However, before he could do anything else, a familiar roar filled the space, one that had terrified me before.
Troy—fully shifted and looking every bit as large and monstrous as the man—flew past me, and with one swing of his claw-tipped hand, decapitated him.
I charged forward, past the still falling body, past Troy, and dropped to my knees beside Kase.
Please let him be okay…
I hadn’t thought about losing him before. Vampires were immortal, so it wasn’t the sort of thing I had to worry about.
Fear gripped my chest, made it hard to pull in air, especially when I stared down at Kase’s battered form, his chest not rising since he didn’t need to breathe.
Finally, he blinked, eyes that same red that I used to hate, and I drew in a shaky breath.
Thank fuck.
Chapter Eight
Filth covered the house, but I lacked the energy to complain about the accommodations.
Staying in the home of the man who had been ready to carve me up and plant me wasn’t my idea of a good time, but one good look at Kase had reminded me that there were bigger issues than my comfort.
He looked…horrible. His skin was even more pale, dark red blood covering so much of him, his shirt in tatters that helped expose his damaged body.
It made the fight with Troy seem like nothing, and I couldn’t shake the memory of him taking blows meant for me.
Troy had reminded me that the creatures that guarded the fields hadn’t been interested in coming anywhere near me after the whole flinging-blood thing, and with the master himself dead…the house was probably the safest place around.
So Troy had helped Kase inside and gotten him settled in a bed upstairs, before heading down to check the rest of the house, and probably to shift back to human.
“Are you going to be okay?” My voice wavered at the question.
Kase leaned against the headboard, red covering so much of his clothing. “I’ll be fine.”
“But—”
“I will be fine,” he repeated. “I just need to rest.”
“And feed?” I held my arm out. “I know my blood isn’t to your liking, but if it keeps you alive, maybe your delicate sensibilities can deal with it.”
He shook his head. “After seeing what it did to the things here, I’m going to guess that the taste is the only warning I would get. I don’t want to know what it might do to me if I swallowed it.”
I opened my mouth, but he held up his hand to end the conversation.
I sat on the bed beside him, hunching forward. “I wish I could have helped more.”
His eyebrows drew toward each other like I wasn’t making any sense. “Ava, even after I told you to run, you stayed there. I’d be dead—more dead than normal, as you would say—if you hadn’t come up with that blood trick. Also, I did happen to see you running through the field like a ghost,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to mention that or not.”
“What does that mean?”
He shifted, a grimace before he stilled as if realizing no amount of moving around was going to resolve his pain. “I don’t know.”
“You’re old as shit,” I pointed out. “How can you not know?”
His laugh was strained and rare. In fact, I’d bet it was only his horrible condition that meant he laughed at all instead of suppressing it. “Because I suspect whatever you are isn’t supposed to happen.”
“Why now, though? I’ve been whatever I am for thirty-five years, and all I’ve had to show for it before was bad dreams and talking ghosts. Why am I changing now? Why am I finding all these new skills?”
“Probably because you hadn’t needed them before.” He gestured for me to come closer, to sit beside him.
I moved slowly, trying not to jostle the bed. Though I was sure I did, he didn’t react.
Once I leaned against the headboard, he went on. “We do things when we need to. The saying, necessity is the mother of invention comes into play, here. You stayed in your safe little world for a long time, Ava, and in doing that you never needed these skills. They atrophied, perhaps, but now that you’ve needed them, that instinct has kicked in and you aren’t suppressing them. I wonder what else you may be hiding.”
“I’ve recently learned my blood is toxic, I can rip invading spirits from bodies and occasionally turn into some sort of ghost. I feel like I’ve reached the end of my ability to deal with new things.”
Kase made a soft sound, one that said what he didn’t need to. Whether I wanted to know more about me or not, it would probably happen.
“How did you even find me?” Another question struck me. “Also, where am I?”
“That thing that took you”—thing was clearly a far worse word he was substituting for—“created a portal. He also decided to pull in a few of those creatures you scared off when he took you.”
My mouth went dry. “Is everyone okay?”
“I assume so. They aren’t anything Hunter and Grant couldn’t handle. However, other than Hunter, I’m the fastest since Troy has to shift, so Grant gave me the tracker to follow you while they dealt with the creatures.”
Which explained why Kase had shown up before Troy.
“How will they find us now, though?” The thought of them chasing nothing and getting lost in hell made me frown. It was true, Hunter and Grant tended to have plenty of fun on their own, but I suspected even they’d get sick of each other eventually.
“Hunter is an exceptional tracker. Don’t worry, he can find you without Grant’s spell. I’d guess they’ll be here in a few hours. You were transported a very long way from where we were, and they can only move as fast as Grant can walk.”
“Please tell me it was at least in the direction we were going. I really don’t want to add any more time to this ordeal.”
“You are always one to find those silver linings, aren’t you? Yes, it was in the direction of Styx. In fact, we are only a few miles away.”
That let me breathe in, until I took another look at him. “You can’t walk a few miles, Kase. You can barely move…”
“There isn’t much of a choice. Don’t worry, Ava, I’m tougher than my current state would suggest.”
I recalled how he’d fought that man, how he’d taken the beast on, how he’d accepted
the wounds meant for me. I had no doubts of his toughness…
“There is one choice.” Troy leaned against the doorframe, having approached so quietly that I hadn’t noticed him.
Kase shook his head, his voice hard. “No.”
“What choice?”
Troy lifted an eyebrow as if it were obvious. It took a moment for me to catch up.
“Wait, you can drink from werewolves? I thought they had to be human?”
“Ideally, yes, human is the best source. There are…complications when it comes to feeding from werewolves.”
I shook my head. “You said you needed a mortal because it is the life force you drink. He isn’t mortal.”
“I’m not mortal, but I’m as close as we can get. Grant gives up his immortality to turn into a mage, and it corrupts all his cells. Werewolves, on the other hand, are largely human when in their human form. My blood will work.”
I sat up, crossing my legs. “You both seem like this is a bad idea…why?”
Neither answered at first, but eventually Kase spoke. “Werewolf blood is forbidden because it can cause addiction for vampires. Should a vampire become reliant enough on werewolf blood, withdrawal could kill it.”
“How much does it take to become addicted?”
Kase shrugged. “There is no exact answer to that. The older the vampire, the stronger the werewolf, the quicker it could happen. It could occur in as little as one feeding.”
Troy had his gaze down, and the tension didn’t break. I doubt he cared much about Kase becoming addicted, so what was it?
Then I remembered my reaction to being fed from…
That all-consuming lust, that need. Troy didn’t even like Kase let alone have any attraction to him.
“And the other thing you don’t want to say is that the reaction to being fed from would be less than ideal…”
Troy huffed, an unhappy sound. “That’s putting it mildly. Werewolves respond even more strongly than humans.”
“Which is yet another reason it is a horrible idea. Believe what you want of me, I’ve done my share of horrible things, but I’m not a rapist who would put someone in that position.” Kase’s voice had dropped, an undercurrent of anger there.