Made of Scars

by Eden Wildblood

  “Or you could just send her out? She seems chatty?” Archie replied and was relieved when Brodie saw the funny side. He creased up laughing and then clapped him on the shoulder.

  “You know what? Maybe I'm beginning to like you after all…” he said, and then turned him back towards the darkness below. “Do as I ask and I’ll give you your lessons. If you can squeeze it in between movie marathons with Rafferty, of course?”

  Sixteen

  Marcus paced the room and stared down at the carnage on the floor of his office at Slave. Dead bodies littered the entire storey and yet he cared not one little bit. Regardless of his usual preference for the untouched vein, he’d drunk his fill of tainted blood over the past few months since Wynter had evaded him. Since she had let herself die and be reborn as a goddamn jinni. He hadn’t been able to stop himself, and yet nothing was quenching the desperate thirst he still had for her.

  The stupid girl. The foolish, insolent little bitch. If only she’d let him turn her himself they'd be together now, but instead she had chosen to merge her soul with that loathsome boy. The assassin. He couldn't even bring himself to think his name.

  In his rage he had lost all of his once precious humanity and had laid waste to almost the entire staff list in his employ at this club. Thanks to their cursed souls, not a single one had denied him his fill and it’d been so easy to drain each of them dry. His hordes had been fed well too, but now there were none left at Slave but his managers. Not Patrick, who had succumbed to his sickness a few days before and had offered himself to the alpha of his sired horde, but Jack and Joanna remained, and were the only two living humans in the entire building. Marcus would keep them, for now.

  He would, however, burn the place to the ground and blame it all on an arson attack, or faulty wiring. Whatever kept the insurance investigators sweet so he could make a claim and start over. All the bodies would remain inside, their deaths also put down to the tragic fire.

  And then he would be free to continue his search. To push his hordes to trace even the slightest scent of her. To close in on Brodie’s ties to the human world and find out where the hell that damn jinni had taken her. There had to be some clue they'd overlooked. A stone left unturned.

  The human girl Marcus had ensnared was no more, that was clear, but it didn’t mean this was over. Far from it. He wasn’t the sort of person to let any kind of wrongdoing slide. And he sure had been wronged. He might even be broken hearted—if he had one—and found he missed everything about her regardless of his repeatedly telling himself not to.

  He missed Wynter’s company and the emotions she had stirred in him. Even the way he’d wanted her so. It’d kept him going. Made him whole.

  Marcus also found himself wondering, how could he miss someone who’d made him so crazy? An infuriating counterpart who challenged instead of feared him? Resisted rather than obey? And yet he did.

  Regardless of her pertinence he wanted her still and would do whatever it took to have her back. Dead or alive.

  ***

  By the time Brodie made his reappearance by his cell, Jakob was clearly delirious after his extended isolation and seemed senseless with hunger. The moment he spotted the human standing by the jinni’s side he lunged for the bars, his hand outstretched in the hope he might get his hands on the much needed nourishment flowing through his veins, and Brodie flinched, along with poor Archie behind him.

  All games aside, it was clear he needed sustenance and that all niceties were completely out the window.

  “Not so fast,” Brodie teased, finding great satisfaction in watching Jakob squirm. He had to be starving. His eyes were wide and he actually seemed quite feverish, as though he were sweating out an infection or coming through the final stages of some kind of sickness. But he couldn’t be sick. Vampires didn’t get ill. They thrived even when starving. They were strong and endured, and would find a way to continue to walk this earth long after humanity was done with it. Just like the Jinn.

  Shit, there he went feeling sorry for the guy again, and he cursed the voice echoing in his head.

  Brodie turned away and walked back to the frightened human in his care. “I won’t let him hurt you,” he told him, but then plucked the knife from his pocket and reached for Archie’s palm. “However, he must feed otherwise his body will shut down. He’ll eventually go into a kind of stasis and if that happens he’ll lose all of his humanity. He’d become nothing more than a monster who wouldn’t hesitate to drain you dry.”

  Brodie then sliced a small cut in Archie’s skin to open his vein, and then he placed the mug he’d also taken from the kitchen beneath to collect the small amount of blood trickling from the wound. To his credit, the young man didn’t flinch or try to stop him. Archie understood what was needed and readily gave it. He simply watched the blood flow and fill just a quarter of the cup, but when Brodie released his grip there was a clear sigh of relief as he pulled his hand back and applied pressure to the cut. “You can go back to the house if you’d like,” Brodie offered, but Archie shook his head.

  “If this is really happening, I need to see. I need to know what I'm dealing with.”

  “Very well,” Brodie answered, and was impressed by his strength. He then handed the cup to Jak, who swiftly drank down the blood within and licked the mug clean. He then sunk back and onto the ground, watching Archie with a determined look on his face. He wanted more, it was clear, and now that he’d tasted him they were connected in ways no one could possibly explain.

  Brodie found the interaction intriguing. A cold-blooded killer was staring up at the one source of satisfaction he knew was available to him. He was desperate for more and could easily begin begging for it or plotting a way to escape so he could drain him dry, and yet something else seemed to be going through his head.

  Jak wasn’t soulless. Brodie knew that more than anyone now that he’d lived through watching him merge with his host, and a thought occurred to him. He perhaps wasn’t the monster Brodie had always thought.

  It appeared he didn’t want to scare Archie, even though he had to be eager for more of his blood. Instead of using his predatory nature, he was instead remaining calm and seemingly at peace with the small offering Archie had given. Was he grateful? It appeared so.

  He had more self-control than Brodie would’ve ever imagined.

  “Thank you,” he then whispered to Archie gruffly before staring up into his captor’s eyes pleadingly. “Please tell me, is she okay?”

  The jinni was taken aback once more.

  “Why wouldn’t she be?” he demanded, stepping away from the bars in surprise. Wynter was growing stronger every day thanks to Brodie, and Jakob knew that. He had seen her materialise with his own eyes. Felt her touch. Heard her speak.

  The young jinni was a marvellous creature who would be ready to reveal herself to her lover again before long. He could feel it. The white bead on his bracelet was growing denser too, as if he needed any proof.

  “You know why…” Jakob ground, and his eyes flashed with rage.

  Brodie turned and stalked away, dragging Archie with him. Yeah, he knew why.

  In spite of her strengthening body, he could hear Wynter’s wailing and feel her despair. She was not okay. He’d hurt her by hurting Jakob. By denying her his company while staying away, and it felt awful, but the guilt was just going to be something he knew he’d have to live with.

  It didn’t mean he was sorry, or that he wouldn’t do it again should he feel the need to punish Jakob further for what he had done.

  He didn’t even care, or so he kept telling himself.

  By the time the two of them had reached the house, Archie was swaying and it was easy to tell why. Blood was dripping from the cut on his hand, leaving thick droplets that led all the way back through the dark cave. Strangely, denying Jakob those drops of sustenance and making him smell them from his cell didn’t bring Brodie the satisfaction he’d anticipated. He kept wanting to go back and let the vampire have some more, but ign
ored those foolish impulses, putting them down—once again—to the feminine sensibilities he was now forced to endure.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up,” Brodie told the human as they crossed the threshold and Archie lost his balance, falling directly into the path of the oncoming goblin whose job it was to take care of the island and all its inhabitants.

  Rafferty wasn’t just in charge of their home there, but every inch of their little hideaway, and Brodie watched with a frown as he laid Archie out over the nearby sofa to rest while he tended to his wound and then set him up with an IV. Had he really lost that much blood? He sat down by the boy and could see he was indeed pale, but seemed well enough. Just squeamish, perhaps.

  He then watched Rafferty fuss and tend to him, and could see his old friend with ease as he went about his business. Goblins were truly curious creatures. They weren’t captured and put to service like some humans often fictionalised, but were beings born with an innate need to have order and tranquillity in spite of whatever chaos arose around them. Some liked serving humans because they could remain out of sight and live solitary lives, as their kind often preferred to be, while others served the many other creatures of myth and legend that roamed the Earth for the very opposite of reasons. Rafferty was one such goblin. He wanted to be seen and was flamboyant and creative. He was a free spirit, which was unusual amongst their kind but not unheard of. He liked music and movies, as well as books and art, and had great taste too.

  Whether alone or with company, Brodie had found Rafferty watching others with intrigue. He always wanted to hear their stories and see the world through their eyes, while never once seeming to want to visit it for himself. Like he was born and bred to do, he simply stayed in one place and took great care of it.

  “He’ll be fine,” Rafferty said, breaking Brodie’s musings, “but next time, take a bandage with you!” he scalded, and then took off towards the bedroom Archie had chosen for himself. He returned with a pillow and the blankets from his bed, which he then tucked up around him like a father might his son.

  “I should’ve known better. Sorry,” Brodie croaked, and he went to walk away, but Rafferty stopped him. He stood and quickly blocked his path and, contrary to the myth, glared down at Brodie from his towering height.

  “Yes, you should have,” he echoed, “but more than that. You should’ve listened sooner. Should’ve tried harder not to be such a dick.”

  “All right, jeez!” he cried, but then couldn't help looking down at the poor lad who was now completely out of it on the sofa.

  Brodie did feel bad. He hadn’t wanted Archie to get hurt but had lost his focus. He’d zoned in on Jakob and forgotten about the human he’d basically ignored since he’d persuaded him to leave on that chopper.

  He knew he owed Archie more. He vowed to be better. To finally do right by all those in his care, not just Wynter, and knew that also included Jakob, whether he liked it or not.

  Seventeen

  Archie woke with a pounding headache, remembering with ease just what was the cause. He opened his eyes and looked down at his hand, which had been cleaned and dressed, presumably by the invisible goblin he lived with. Jeez, he had to laugh at how that could possibly make sense, and yet he knew that all of this was indeed true.

  Brodie was a jinni and had taken him to this island to be a vampire’s breakfast, lunch and dinner. Or however much he decided to give him, which hadn’t been much more than half a cup full so far. He was his prisoner and it’d been hard to watch the poor guy fighting his feral side, but Archie was glad he’d stayed. Glad he’d listened to the story of how the vampire, Jak, had been in love with a human. He hadn’t once hurt her. In fact, they'd fallen in love, and so Archie had to hope he had been sincere when trying not to frighten him the night before.

  All he had to give was a few drops here and there. He could do that. Sure… He just had to get over his fear of needles and knives first. And, well, the sight of blood, which always seemed to make him faint.

  Urgh, great. Now he felt nauseous again.

  Something stung his other arm and Archie reopened his eyes to find a small plaster on the inside of his elbow there. He frowned and went to pull it free, when a deep voice halted him.

  “Please leave it. I had to put a drip in so you could replenish your fluids, but it’s finished now. That plaster is just helping stem the fresh bleeding.” It was that strange ownerless sound again, but at least now Archie knew who it’d come from.

  “Thank you, Rafferty,” he croaked and sat up, “I owe you one, mate.”

  “Think nothing of it, sir,” he answered politely, his nonchalance making him laugh.

  “Saving my life? Yeah, that was nothing,” he joked, “and please, call me Archie.”

  “Of course,” Rafferty’s invisible form replied, and then things began moving across the room where the open plan kitchen was. It appeared he was doing it on purpose so as to be seen when he was otherwise invisible, and Archie appreciated the gesture. He then laughed when two eggs floated into mid-air and wiggled. “Breakfast?”

  “I thought you’d never ask,” he told him, and climbed to his feet with a yawn and a good stretch. “Where’s Brodie?” Archie then asked as he gathered up his duvet.

  “He’s taking some fresh air,” Rafferty answered, and from his tone he got the impression they'd had some crossed words. He thought about asking what’d happened, but didn’t want to pry. The three of them were finally getting somewhere and the silent house thankfully wasn’t quite as quiet as it’d been before. He didn’t want to ruin it.

  He then left for a moment to deposit his bedding in his room and returned to find freshly made scrambled eggs and buttered toast waiting for him.

  “Thanks,” Archie said as he took his seat, but he got no answer and so presumed Rafferty had left to tend to his chores.

  He ate with a great deal of haste, his body crying out for the nourishment, and let his mind go back over the events of the last two days. His still lingering hunger made him think of Jakob again too. Brodie was keeping him prisoner for some reason, even though they were linked to one another because of the female jinni he’d told him was there with them. It was complicated to wrap his head around, but at the same time he was intrigued by it all. By the creatures he’d once thought were nothing but fabled myths made up by their ancestors millennia before.

  While he was deep in thought, Archie stared down at his empty plate, and when it started to move away, he jumped and reached for it on instinct. He felt the resistance from what had to be Rafferty’s hold, but somehow he didn’t sense the goblin himself. He didn’t know why, but he’d presumed that should they touch he would be able to feel him, but instead, there was nothing.

  “I didn’t mean to make you jump, Archie. Sorry,” Rafferty’s deep voice chimed.

  “Nah it was me,” he answered and let go, “it’s easy to forget you're here and when shit starts moving on its own it takes me a second to register.”

  “No need to explain.”

  “I want to,” Archie insisted, looking up to where he was so sure the voice was coming from. “You and me can be friends. I want to be, and part of being friends is not letting the other fret unnecessarily. Explaining what’s wrong and when. If I’m being truly honest, I was shocked to not feel your hand on the plate. You guys really are invisible to humans aren’t you, even to the touch?”

  “Absolutely. I can tend to your needs as required, like when I placed the cannula in your arm, but if you consciously reached for me, you’d feel nothing,” Rafferty replied, and Archie watched as he finished removing the plate and then put it in the sink to wash.

  It was then that the front door to the house behind them opened and he turned to look as Brodie came in through it. He was muttering to himself, or at least seemed to be at first, but when his mumblings turned into a fully blown argument, Archie knew otherwise.

  It was the woman.

  “What’s her name?” he asked, and walked the short length of corridor
towards where Brodie was just kicking off his muddy boots. His black hair was dishevelled, as though he’d just been out in a storm, but he didn’t appear to be feeling the cold at all. His black skin wasn’t marred with goosebumps and his perfect white teeth weren’t chattering. In fact, Brodie seemed his usual perfectly turned out self.

  “Wynter,” he answered, and Archie smiled.

  He’d known a girl at uni called Wynter. They had used to frequent the local nightclubs together and people had always taken them for a couple, when in fact he’d still been in the closet and she had been a raging lesbian. Archie had been her wingman, while she had helped coax him to indulge in some of the urges he’d felt towards men over the years. Urges he’d always fought, but not any more.

  Archie was a ‘guys guy’. He played sports and watched Formula-One on the TV. He drank beer and joined his friends whenever the Jäeger Train came rolling out, never having hit on any of them or made things awkward thanks to his sexual orientation. He went fishing with his Dad, and listened to rock music. Not once had he acted camp or pretended to be sassy. In fact, he didn’t think he knew how to be sassy!

  In his youth, he’d thought that was what gay men had to act like. He’d figured therefore he couldn't be gay after all, maybe just figuring himself out, but now he knew better. He’d lived in the real world, and had tried the dating scene. It wasn’t so bad. He was sadly completely off the market now thanks to his new job, but that didn’t matter. He’d take a break from it all and go back rich and ready to find love. No problem at all.

  “Nice name. Does she like rom-coms?” he finally replied, and then realised he was staring at Brodie a little too intently. He didn’t know what he’d expected to see, perhaps another soul behind his stare, but all he’d got was those frowning green eyes of his glowering back. “I was thinking of putting on a movie, that’s all. Figured she might like a break from the crazy, plus you're looking a bit frazzled. Might be nice to take a load off?”