by Helen Bell
“It’s just me, Gideon.”
At his voice, flashes of memory flooded my mind: him feeding me, him bathing me, him changing my clothes. I pushed the embarrassment aside. You were sick, and he took care of you. Nothing sexual about it.
I touched the unfamiliar bed. “Where am I?”
“In Thomas’s guest room. Let me turn on the light.” A moment later, the modern ceiling lamp above the bed turned on, although Gideon didn’t seem to have moved an inch. God, I could never get used to his inhuman speed.
“What happened to me?” I asked, trying to make sense of the hazy, incoherent memories.
“Do you remember being at Wo Hop?”
I nodded. “Chinese restaurant by day, vampire brothel by night. We were there to speak with a guy who claimed to have information about Zoey. But before we found him, there was a commotion. And a room, and a woman in red.” Or was it green? I frowned as my memories after that jumbled together in a haze of green. What had happened?
Gideon’s voice was contemptuous as he said, “She was a demon. A royal, actually. Her minions were with her, and they attacked us. The one with the green eyes reached your soul and sucked half of it before I could stop him.” Anger tightened his features.
“Jesus! That thing ate half of my soul?” A cold shiver ran up my back. “I don’t get it; I built a wall around my soul. How did the green-eyed demon get past my protection?”
“He didn’t attempt to obtain control over your soul. He sucked out its energy. The wall doesn’t protect you against that.”
“So what can?” There was fear in my voice.
“Having BFB in your system. Ancient vampire blood makes the human soul inedible to them.”
“I see. And what kills them?” Knowledge is power, my father always used to say to Zoey and me.
Gideon replied, “They’re immortal and as strong as vampires, but a bullet—any bullet—to the heart, and they’re dead. They have another major weakness: once they start feeding on a soul, they must finish it up. If for some reason the victim dies or escapes before the demon finishes eating his or her soul, that demon will die.”
I smiled with satisfaction. “Good. Then the bastard who attacked me is dead. But how did I survive with only half a soul?”
“Most humans would have been left with permanent brain damage after such a demon attack, but the doctor who treated you is one of the best. He’s human but has extensive experience in healing supernatural beings and humans who are attacked by them.” He paused, then added, “Demons are forbidden to set foot on vampire territories and vice versa. If I had known there was a chance demons would be there, I wouldn’t have let you come near the brothel without taking BFB first.”
“God, what an odious species.” An image of scared vampires running away from the demons surfaced in my mind. “Even your kind were scared of them …”
“She was royal,” he said. “Those demons are really powerful, and most of the vampires in that hallway were Newborns. They were also surprised to see them in our territories. Even though we’re not at war, they’re still our enemy.”
I scooted back and leaned against the headboard. “So I guess that by being there, the royal chick and her minions risked starting a war with your kind. But over what? Why were they at Wo Hop?”
“The human who contacted Thomas had something in his possession she wanted,” he told me. “We don’t know what it is, or why a royal demon would seek it. She escaped before Thomas could touch her. The rest are dead, including the human. She sliced his throat open before running off.”
“What did the guy tell Thomas when he contacted him?”
“That he knew he was looking for Kyla and that he had something to show him. He didn’t specify what it was. Before he died, he gurgled some words to Thomas. They didn’t make sense. It was about visiting the mysterious world of the fae. Thomas has been searching for more leads in the past week.”
“Whoa. A week? I was out for a whole week?”
“Up until two nights ago, you had an IV attached to your arm, and the doctor thought you were gonna suffer permanent neurological damage. After he increased the dosage of the medicine he’d concocted for you, your body started to recover, and he said the worst was behind you. You’ll be fine, but you need to rest.”
“Couldn’t your saliva heal me, like with the cancer?”
“No, it was your soul that was gravely sick, not your body. Though the doctor did give you BFB a few hours ago to help your heart get stronger.”
He reached out and took my left hand to glance at the tattoo. I noticed his skin seemed whiter than usual. He felt colder to the touch too. Odd. Is he ill? No, he can’t be. Aside from the UV virus, vampires were resistant to diseases.
My thoughts came to a stop as I looked at the ink on my hand. I inhaled sharply. The number on my palm was 650. It had dropped to 650!
At my look, he said, “You were sick, and your body was weak. Now you’re better, so let’s hope the sharp decrease stops.”
“God, yes.” I sighed, and with my head down, I scrubbed a hand over my face, tired of everything.
When I looked up, the fancy bedroom I’d been in for the past week caught my attention. All the furniture was gray, including the platform bed I’d slept on. A chaise lounge with two toss pillows sat in a corner near a large window covered with a gray blind. The closet was opposite the bed, and on the left, there was a door, which I assumed led to an en-suite bathroom. Beside the bed, I saw a high-back bedroom chair. Gideon had probably sat there while I slept.
“Thank you for taking care of me this week,” I said and then looked over at the covered window. “Are we still in New York?”
“Yes, in Thomas’s penthouse.”
Remembering the way he’d fought, I asked, “Is he really blind, or was it all an act?”
“Not an act. Illness took his eyesight when he was five. He’s completely blind. He doesn’t need the cane, though. He uses it sometimes to appear harmless.”
I crossed my legs under the covers. “But he fought like a ninja, and how can he be a hit man? He’s blind.”
“His other senses were amplified because of his blindness. After the Change, they became even more acute. In a way, he sees better than those who have their eyesight.”
“How old is he? Did he grow up in London?” I was curious.
“He’s two hundred years old. When he lost his eyesight, his aristocratic parents, powerful vampires, disowned him. They didn’t wish to raise a blind child and were ashamed of his disability. Not patient enough to wait until the Change would fix his eyes, they threw him out of their house when he was five. Forced to live in the slums of London, he fended for himself, learning how to fight and survive on the harsh streets by relying on his other senses.”
“Gee, parents of the year.” I was appalled. How could they abandon their own child? I felt sorry for Thomas. He grew up with no love, no family, all alone in the world. “Are there other blind vampires besides him?”
“As far as I know, no. His case is rare. The Change should’ve fixed his eyes. It’s a mystery that he himself has tried to solve.”
The door to the room opened, and a woman in a maid uniform entered. She set a tray with a soup bowl down on the nightstand.
She smiled politely at Gideon. “As you’ve requested. Warm soup for her.” Steam rose in a fragrant cloud as she took off the lid. “I’m very pleased you’re awake, miss,” she said to me.
Gideon thanked her. When she stepped out of the room, he took the tray and handed it over to me. “Eat. You need your strength.”
The smell of onion, carrot, and celery wafted to my nose. My stomach rumbled. I dipped my spoon into the bowl and gulped the soup down as he went to sit in the chair near the bed.
“Where’s Thomas now?” I asked.
“In Boston, chasing a new lead. He found out that in the past thirty years, there have been many reports of missing human girls in a few towns in Boston. They were all between the ages of ei
ghteen and twenty at the time of their disappearances. The human police didn’t take their cases seriously because, like Kyla and your sister, the girls called their parents and asked them not to look for them. Then they cut all contact with the people in their lives. Thomas’s theory is that Kyla, your sister, and all the other girls were forced to call their parents. He also thinks that their cases may be connected to your abduction.”
I scooped up a spoonful of soup. Could it be? No, wait, if it was, wouldn’t I be forced to call my parents too? “I don’t think it’s related to my abduction,” I said. “In their cases, there was a clear pattern. Unlike them, I didn’t call my parents and ask to be left alone.” I sipped at the soup. “I don’t know, it sounds to me like they were brainwashed into submission by a charismatic leader and joined some old, secret cult. The whole thing may not even have anything to do with the supernatural world.”
“It’s a possibility, but don’t forget the demons are now part of the equation,” he reminded me.
The image of that demon torturing the poor guy popped into my head. “Did Thomas ask the guy whose throat was slit how he was involved in all this?”
He nodded. “Last year, his sister abruptly decided to cut ties with everyone the same way Kyla and your sister did, and his search for her led him to Thomas.”
A thought occurred to me. “Could the royal demon be behind Philippe’s murder?”
“It’s one thing to enter our territory; it’s another to murder a vampire who is not an Outsider. I doubt a royal demon would do that. Damon doesn’t need a war with vampires right now.”
I sighed. “Zoey, Kyla, and the other girls are out there somewhere. If they joined a cult tied somehow to demons, we gotta get them out of there.” I leaned over to put the tray on the nightstand.
“We will,” he said, getting to his feet. The ceiling light flooded over him. His skin was paler and thinner, almost transparent. I hadn’t imagined it before.
“Are you feeling okay?” I asked.
“I’m fine. There are clean clothes for you in the closet in case you wish to take a shower, but then get some rest. Your body is still recovering. I have my phone if you need anything,” he said and headed for the door.
“Are you leaving?” I grimaced at the disappointment in my voice.
He stilled, then turned to look at me, a question in his eyes.
“Uh, I-I mean I don’t mind you leaving, but, um … where are you off to?” I hoped my tone conveyed indifference this time.
“To a vampire bar offering Donors.”
“Doesn’t Thomas keep blood in his fridge, like you do?”
“He does, but I finished the last bottle three nights ago.”
And you haven’t fed since then?”
He shook his head.
It explained his sick appearance. A spike of worry and alarm passed through me. “Why didn’t you buy more blood?”
“You were unwell and barley conscious. Leaving you was not an option. And it’s been only three nights. I may be a bit weak, but I’m in full control of myself. I’m nowhere near starvation. I wouldn’t have put you in danger,” he told me.
“I know that. My point was that I don’t think it’s healthy for your body.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m all right. I’ll be back in a few hours to check in on you,” he said and then he left.
Would he be drinking from a female Donor? Would his lips touch more than just her neck? I threw back the covers and swung my legs over the bed. The floor felt cold to my bare feet as I rushed after him in sweatpants and a T-shirt.
I caught up to him in the hall. “Wait.” Standing in front of him, I blurted the first thing that was on my mind. “Has a Donor ever offered to pay you to give ’em, um, a Euphoric Bite?”
The smug smile spreading across his face made me want to smack myself for the stupid question.
“Yes,” he replied.
“And?” Did he agree to do it? Who was she? Or maybe it was a he? I felt like I was going to explode with curiosity. Judging by his satisfied expression, this was exactly what he’d aimed to achieve with the lack of details. Damn him. “Oh, never mind. Don’t answer, I don’t care,” I said but three seconds later changed my mind. “You know what? No, I do care ’cause I just don’t get what the fuss is all about. Why would a bite cost freakin’ seven hundred bucks?”
His fangs slid down as he bared his teeth. “Want me to show you why it costs seven hundred dollars?” His tone was husky.
I opened my mouth and closed it several times, then mumbled, “Y-you’re weak from not feeding … a-and I’m … I …”
“Your blood will restore my energy while I give you a Euphoric Bite, and my saliva, which will pass into your body while I drink from you, will speed your healing processes.”
My eyes dropped to his fangs. I stared at their razor-sharp edges long enough that I heard the ticking of the wall clock. I opened my mouth to tell him no, but gasped instead when he moved, suddenly a few inches away from me. One hand at the back of my head, the other on my waist, he bent his head, and his fangs hovered over my neck, his breath touching my skin. Goosebumps raced down my body. His fingers knotted in my hair and tilted my head to the side, exposing the jugular vein. My heart raced as he slowly dragged his fangs along my neck, and then his mouth found my earlobe, his lips caressing it. My breathing quickened.
“All you have to do is tell me yes, and I’ll show you.” His voice was a low rasp in my ear. Mine, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found. Questions swamped my mind. Would it hurt? Would it be addictive? Would things between us change?
A quiet moment passed, and he released me. His fangs retracted as he stroked my cheek with his knuckles. “Whenever you’re ready, just say the word.” And with that, he turned and left. This time, I let him go.
I inhaled and exhaled several times to regain my senses, then trailed my fingers where his fangs had touched. No, don’t think about Euphoric Bites. Don’t think about his mouth, his lips, his fangs. Just don’t think about him. But I did—oh, I did—and it took several long moments before other things finally occupied my mind. One of them was the guy who had been killed by the royal demon.
What had he whispered before he died? Fae exist? No. Fae are mysterious? No. Come on, what was it? Fae something … fae … mysterious … the mysterious world of the fae! Yes, it was the mysterious world of the fae. It sounded familiar. Why? I massaged my temples with my fingers, and the answer came to me. It was the name of that website I’d visited.
I searched for my cell phone. Finding it in the first drawer of the nightstand, I unlocked the device and went through the internet history, then pulled up that site. I navigated to the About Me page. Even though I hadn’t gotten a good look at the guy the demon had killed, I still recognized him in the picture displayed on the phone. His name was Lucas Smith. Why had he wanted Thomas to go to his website? I tapped on the Contact Me page, which provided a cell phone number and an email address.
“If you witness a supernatural event, contact me,” it read at the top of the page. Lucas was dead, but I dialed the number anyway.
Four rings in a hesitant female voice picked up. “Yes?”
“Oh, uh, hi.” I was surprised someone answered me. “Um, who am I speaking with?”
“You’re the one who called me, lady. Who the hell are you?”
Whoa, what was up with the hostility? I checked the time. Six p.m. It certainly was a decent hour to call someone.
“My name is Sydney. I got your number from The Mysterious World of the Fae. It was on the Contact Me page. You know, as in you are welcome to call me.” I was being rude, but hey, so was she. A long silence. Was she still on the line? “Hello?”
A heavy sigh. “Sorry, can’t help you. Don’t call this number again.”
“Wait! Don’t hang up. Please. I’m looking for Lucas.”
A lengthy pause, then she broke the silence with, “He’s dead.” Her voice quaked, and I heard a sniff. “A word of advi
ce? Stay the fuck away from all the supernatural shit. It’s not a game. This crap is real.”
“No—it’s not a game. I’m so sorry for your lost. I was there when Lucas died, and I wish I could’ve saved him,” I told her.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “It’s you, isn’t it? The red-headed chick, but your appearance changed when that demon stared at you. You transformed into a different person. What are you?”
My jaw dropped in disbelief. She’d been there, witnessing everything? “I’m human. What you saw is magic, but not mine. A witch cast a spell on me because I needed to look different. What were you doing in Wo Hop?”
“I was …” She faltered.
“You were …” I prompted.
“I don’t know if I can trust you,” she said at last. “You claim you got Lucas’s number from his site, but did you really? He warned me to be careful. Those demons scared me shitless and could be after me.”
“He was right to warn you, but I’m not working for her, nor any other demon. They tried to kill me too. One of them sucked my soul. You witnessed it yourself, didn’t you?” I reminded her.
“Yeah, it was weird the way he stared at you, and that vampire fought them while holding you in one arm. He was with another undead.”
“Yes, Thomas,” I told her. “We were all there to meet with Lucas. Listen, I know you’re terrified. I wanna help you, but you’re gonna have to trust me and give me your address, so I can come over. We should talk in person.”
For the next few seconds, all I heard was her breathing. Please, please, please, don’t hang up. She might know what Lucas had been about to show Thomas, and maybe more.
“Okay,” she finally said. I looked upward and mouthed, “Thank you.”
She gave me Lucas’s address, where she was staying at the moment, and her name, which was Natalie. Then she told me she was heading to the bus station in forty minutes whether or not I made it.
I swiftly went to the closet and changed into the clothes I had on me the day the demon attacked me. The money I’d kept in the pocket of my jeans was still there. I shoved Gideon’s dagger under my waistband and picked up the cell phone from the bed. I was about to tap on Gideon’s name when my finger paused over the screen. If I talked to him, he’d probably order me to stay in bed and then tell me that he would go to Natalie while I rested. I didn’t have time to argue with him, so I closed the cell phone, put it in my pocket, and strode out of the room.