Curse of Night

by T C Galinari

  “What are you trying to say?” Luke prods, moving toward Don to lean against the windows.

  “I think I want to travel. Dad had suggested once that I take a summer off from school and see the world, but I didn’t do it. Getting out of town so I don’t become a lab experiment––and learning how to be me with this occasional blood craving––might be the best option,” I explain, keeping eye contact with my friend as the feeling of a weight lifting off me brings a sense of peace to my troubled soul.

  “I guess you make a good point,” Luke replies reluctantly. “You’d better keep in touch. Otherwise, I’ll hunt you down and kick your ass.”

  “Deal,” I tell him in agreement, and it’s as if a collective sigh releases from the room.

  “With that settled, how are we going to remove Sebastian from this hospital?” Vlad questions.

  And just like that, the six of us put our heads together to come up with a plan to bust me out of this place.

  Chapter 12

  Giselle

  Since Sebastian’s going away party a few days ago, I’ve been in a funk. I have a few more days here before I catch up with Vlad and Sebastian, but I’m starting to realize I’m going to miss Sebastian’s little family. Family isn’t something I’ve ever really had. Sure, Vlad is basically my dad, and Alonso was, as well, but seeing a true family––whether that be by blood or one you choose to make––it’s not something to take for granted. And I’m genuinely going to miss it even though I’ve only been an interloper.

  “Freak!” calls a voice I’m not expecting or excited to hear.

  Nikolas saunters into Sebastian’s kitchen as I spin around, gripping a silver dagger in my hand and posed to throw it.

  “Whoa!” he calls out, holding up his hands in surrender. “I just came to talk.”

  Not saying a word, I gesture to a chair for him to sit in on the other side of the kitchen island.

  “Talk,” I grit out, lowering my arm but not putting the knife down.

  “Anthony knows Țepeș has the boy. He also knows you’re not traveling with them and is now planning an ambush,” Nikolas explains, shifting in his chair as his uneasiness gets the better of him. “If he takes out Țepeș, it’s going to be hell on Earth. You know that, right?”

  “Isn’t that what all you bloodsuckers want?” I retort, narrowing my gaze at him.

  “I get that you don’t like or trust me, but I’m really not as bad as you think. Honestly, I’d rather humans learn we exist slowly. If your uncle gets his way and takes out Țepeș––and you––there will be nothing slow about how he systematically enslaves all humans. You know he still uses them as food.”

  I do know, and it is just one of the many reasons I want him dead.

  “And how do I know you’re not setting me up as well?” I ask, but I also know that no matter what he says, I can’t completely trust him.

  Sure, he helped when it came to getting Sebastian out of the dream walk he was stuck in, but I think that was because Nikolas had more of a sense of loyalty to my parents than to me.

  There’s got to be another reason he’s playing turncoat. What is it? What was it that Vlad used to say? Vampires never do anything out of the goodness of their cold, dead hearts. There’s always a price.

  “What were you promised?” I demand, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end.

  Nikolas sits unnaturally still even for him as if debating what comes next.

  Shit! He’s a distraction.

  Our eyes lock.

  My breath stalls in my lungs.

  The moment draws out for a beat. Then for two.

  Suddenly, we’re both moving at an unnatural speed.

  He jumps up from the chair and places his hands on the island as if he’s going to vault over it. Without thought, I release the knife in my hand, and it almost hits its target, just slightly off to the right. Before Nikolas can jump over the counter, I’ve thrown another one, hitting him in the dead center of his heart.

  If Sebastian’s parents were still alive, I’d kiss them for putting in this counter. I send a quick thank you to them wherever they might be as I take out the next vampire that enters the kitchen.

  A rich, dark, and malicious chuckle fills the room as my uncle enters. He’s dressed in all black, the clichéd vampire attire, excluding the cape, of course.

  “There’s my wicked abomination of a niece. How are you, my child?” Anthony sneers at me.

  “What do you want, Anthony?” I’m calculating whether or not I can get past him to get to my arsenal.

  Unfortunately, the odds aren’t looking so good. In all my training, I’ve only bested Vlad a handful of times and never when he was full-on pissed and off wanting to kill someone. No, the Vlad Țepeș, Dracula, never came out to train. The notorious impaler always remained hidden.

  It would figure Anthony would come out of hiding when he knows Vlad isn’t around to help me if I need it.

  “What I want is for my long-lost niece to be home,” he replies snarkily, before scanning me up and down with a disgusted expression on his face as if he’s finding me lacking. “Balthasar should’ve killed you as soon as he knew what you were,” he mutters.

  “And yet, my father didn’t, and neither did you. Dear Old Dad was supposed to be this vicious monster, yet he had a heart when it came to me.” My mouth widens in a fake shocked expression, and I cover it with a hand. “Did he not tell you what I was? Is that why he wasn’t with my mother when they were killed?”

  His jaw muscle tics at my line of questioning.

  “Don’t worry. You’ll soon find out how ruthless our bloodline is. Get the half-breed!” he calls to the vampires behind him with demented glee in his eyes. “I don’t care what you have to do to secure her.”

  Screw this.

  It’s as if time slows momentarily as Anthony turns to leave, and his vampires rush toward me. Shifting my weight, I lean into the stove, giving me just the right angle to pull my last remaining knife from my boot. Sucking in a deep breath, I close my eyes, feeling where I need it to go, and let the silver fly. An anguished screech sounds from across the room, and I open my eyes in time to see my uncle hunched over, reaching to pull the knife out of his back. As he struggles, the knife twists, causing even more damage. His horde of vampires jump me, and I lose sight of him.

  I lose track of time as pandemonium ensues. It’s not until I hear the cocking of a gun and Seth’s voice that I stop.

  “Giselle, stop! I don’t want to shoot, but I will. Luke, are they okay?”

  Blinking, I shake my head, pulling myself further out of the trance I always fall into when fighting. With a quick scan of the room, I find a few dozen shriveling bodies of indeterminate age, and––oh shit!––two humans wheezing on top of the heap.

  “Sorry, sorry,” I apologize, wincing as I spread my hands out and keeping them visible to Seth.

  No need for me to make him any jumpier than he already is and causing him to pull the trigger. Slowly, Seth lowers his weapon and holsters it on his hip.

  “What the hell, Giselle?” He gestures to the mess in the kitchen.

  “My uncle came calling. I got him in the back as he was trying to leave. I’m not sure if he’s in this mess or not. One of his goons told me Vlad and Sebastian were going to be ambushed. He was the first vamp to meet his end today when he decided to attack me.”

  “I’m okay! I’m okay. My pride hurts more than I do,” James, Luke’s oldest brother and the human he’s currently checking over, claims. “Christ, I’ve never been hit that hard before…let alone by a woman.” He rubs at his sternum.

  “I think she cracked a rib,” the youngest of Luke’s brothers, Marc, complains as Luke moves over to check him as well.

  “You’re such a baby,” James quips, getting to his feet.

  Marc flips him the bird before batting Luke away. “I don’t need any more of his shit. I’ll be fine.”

  “Fine. Be assholes, but don’t come crying to me for pain
meds later. I’m pretty sure you’re both going to have some pretty nasty bruises. But what’s new? Giselle, should I check you over?” Luke asks, not moving toward me.

  Snorting, I scan for a path between us and find none.

  How did James and Marc get close enough to me to get tossed?

  “How did I toss you two?” I question them.

  “Let’s not discuss that,” James remarks, grimacing.

  Nodding, I let it go.

  “We’d better get this place cleaned up before more people show up. I’m surprised the cops haven’t arrived yet. You could hear the fight all the way out on the street when we pulled up,” Seth tells me as the faint sound of sirens fills the quiet.

  “You just had to say it, didn’t you?” James quips. “You’d better call Dad and tell him what happened, ask him to have the cops stand down, and find someone to haul all these bodies away. Giselle, you’ve gotten rid of bodies before. What would you suggest?” He’s eyeing the carnage all around us.

  “Cremation always works, but I don’t know anyone around these parts,” I reply and get to moving bodies out of my way.

  Two hours pass before Sebastian’s family home is put back to rights. Between the calls Seth made, and I guess Don as well, the police never even stepped foot in the front door. Sometimes having friends in high places really pays off, and now, this place is as good as new. As we sifted through all the vampires, I wasn’t able to find Anthony––or a body that could be considered my uncle’s. But I had managed to take out a good portion of his vampire crew, even without all of my weapons. I guess my uncle shouldn’t have told his men to attack me.

  His bad.

  Now, however, I need to let Vlad know what had happened and that he and Sebastian should be on the lookout. With a scan of the kitchen, I spot my phone right where I’d left it before Nikolas so rudely decided to visit without an invitation. And to my even greater surprise, it isn’t damaged.

  How did you survive?

  Grabbing the phone, I open the messaging app and send a message.

  Me: Had a bit of an issue here, but everything’s good. I’ll be late meeting up with you, though.

  His response comes immediately.

  Drac: What issue?

  Me: Anthony and a few dozen of his men paid me a visit. It was so nice to see him again after all these years. He’ll be going back into hiding, I’m sure.

  Drac: Your uncle is a pussy. Is that the word all of the kids are using these days?

  I snort out a laugh, and everyone turns to look at me.

  “Sorry, Vlad said something funny,” I explain as my fingers fly over the keyboard in response.

  “Vlad––the vampire that’s like your father––said something funny?” The question comes from the other side of the room where Luke and his brothers are gathered, but I’m not sure which one asked it.

  “Yeah. Let me finish this, and I’ll tell you what he said,” I reply.

  Me: You’d have to ask Sebastian that. Anthony did get a knife to the back for his trouble, and Nikolas has seen his last sunrise.

  Drac: Fair enough. We will stay alert. You may want to remain where you are for an extra day or so to watch over the family. They are good people and important.

  Me: Yep. I’ll ring you later.

  Placing my phone down, I focus on the four men staring at me. Chuckling again, I relay Vlad’s comment, grinning not only at Vlad’s use of the word pussy but also at the flabbergasted expressions on the guys’ faces.

  Yep. Leave it to Vlad to stun everyone into silence even when he’s not in the room.

  Chapter 13

  Sebastian

  Training with Vlad has been interesting and life-affirming, to say the least. After the text messages from Giselle and Luke, things settled down back home, but they heated up for us. That ambush Giselle warned Vlad about happened a few days ago. If I’d been alone, I’d have had my ass handed to me. So, here we are in the Grand Canyon sparring, and Vlad is still kicking my ass.

  Since sneaking out of the hospital, my blood cravings are almost non-existent. It made its presence known after the ambush, and it rears its ugly head when we spar, but other than that, I’m perfectly human. Well…not quite, but close enough. I definitely don’t have all the cool abilities Vlad has or the ones Hollywood gives vampires, but you won’t catch me complaining.

  “Nice kick, although you need more power behind it,” Vlad calls out. “Attempt it once more.”

  More power. Where am I supposed to get more power from?

  While Giselle hasn’t caught up with us yet, one of Vlad’s men has. Christopher has been helping Vlad train me. From the stories the two men have been telling me every night, they’ve trained Giselle since she first came to live with Vlad. Though I doubt they ever told her she hit like a girl.

  Lining up my kick, the sound of approaching vehicles grabs Vlad’s and Christopher’s attention, and I land my kick perfectly, knocking Christopher to the ground with a grunt.

  “Better. I am not convinced you would have had Christopher on the ground if not for Giselle and Luke. However, you took advantage of the opportunity that presented itself, and it worked in your favor. Good job,” Vlad praises before turning his attention to the vehicles pulling to a stop not far from us.

  “I thought we still had a few days until Giselle met up with us. Do you think everything’s okay?” I ask, moving toward Christopher and offering him a hand.

  He takes it but pulls me down as he gets to his feet.

  “Never let your opponent get the upper hand,” Christopher admonishes as he helps me back to my feet.

  “You just couldn’t let me have the win, could you?” I complain, shaking my head at him.

  With an eerie grin, complete with fangs descending, Christopher quips, “Not on your life.”

  Rolling my eyes at him, I dust myself off as I move toward a laughing Luke and Giselle.

  "Screw you, asshole," I grumble, glaring at Luke. "Christopher has been kicking my ass for days. Maybe you should take a turn and see how it feels to be hit by a freight train."

  "I'm good. Besides, I saw this one,"––Luke gestures at Giselle standing next to him––"toss James and Marc across a room when she was completely focused on protecting herself. Both of them were still giving her shit when we left."

  A sheepish expression crosses her gorgeous face as she mumbles, “Sorry,” for probably the millionth time, knowing how my friends can’t let anything go.

  "Trust me, it serves them right. And I wish I could've seen it," I offer, trying to comfort her.

  "This is a surprise. Did something happen?" Vlad speaks up.

  "You know me. I like keeping you guessing," she grins then laughs before continuing. "Luke wanted to check on Sebastian."

  "It is probably a good idea that he came with you. Sebastian will have a friend with him when I make my offer," Vlad states.

  "Offer?" I question, my brows pulling together, as does Luke’s.

  "Yeah, what offer?" Giselle eyes Vlad speculatively.

  "Let us grab some food before we have this discussion. I know I am growing hungry, and Sebastian is like a bottomless pit," Vlad suggests and gestures to the vehicles.

  "Why not just get some tacos from the taco truck up the way? I have a feeling I'm not going to welcome this conversation," I remark pointedly.

  "That would probably be prudent. Christopher, will you take our orders and bring us the food, please?" Vlad requests, and we quickly give our orders with Christopher saying he'd text us the menu as well.

  "Spill it," Giselle orders as soon as Christopher is off.

  "I am concerned that Anthony will attempt another ambush, and we will not be able to protect Sebastian. Or he will be caught without us. I cannot imagine that Sebastian will want a bodyguard with him at all times. Therefore, I am willing to offer him the same option as we gave his family before you received your mother’s grimoire," Vlad explains, speaking to Giselle rather than to me.

  "I'm stan
ding right here," I remind them, interrupting the staring match going on between Vlad and Giselle.

  "I am offering to turn you,” Vlad tells me. “You would then have the benefit of having the full strength of a vampire."

  "But then I'd have to drink blood, and even in the daylight, I wouldn't have my full power. Right now, I don't think I'm ready to make that leap. I appreciate the offer, and if I change my mind, I'd prefer that you be the one to change me. But I'm just not ready to take that plunge. I'm still getting used to my new life and the existence of supernatural creatures. Adding that change is just too much right now," I assert, working my thoughts out as I decline Vlad's offer.

  There's a pensive expression on Vlad's face as I finish, and before he's able to respond, Luke interjects his thoughts.

  "Ian, while I get your point––and I can't say I wouldn't make the same one––you're forgetting one thing. You've always known about the supernatural. Dream walkers aren't normal, and while you haven't had to drink blood all of your life, you have popped in and out of others’ dreams…including mine." He blushes, reminding me of one particular dream I walked in on recently.

  Awkward!

  "Your point, please, because I really need that sex dream out of my head," I quip, shuddering.

  "My point, asshole, is that you're already different and always have been. And while I know you’re not weak by human standards, you are when it comes to the…undead? Lifeless? Pulse-impaired? Vlad, what's a term I can use that won't get me killed but will still be accurate?" Luke asks, his attention turning to Vlad before paling at the glare Vlad shoots him in return.

  "I believe you covered them all," Vlad replies in a steely tone.