Bound By Blood

by Amanda Ashley

  “I’m so sorry.” She couldn’t stay angry with her uncle for siding with her father, not now, when she knew how he felt. She couldn’t blame him for wanting to spare her the kind of pain he had known.

  When the song was over, he thanked her for the dance and left the ballroom.

  Kaitlyn stared after him. With a sigh, she started toward her mother, who stood in a corner of the room with several other women. She stopped abruptly, suddenly overcome with the feeling that Zack was nearby, searching for her.

  Zack stood on the steps of the Fortress. Earlier, he had gone hunting in the town located a few miles away. While there, he had bought a pair of black dress pants, a dark blue silk shirt, and a long black coat. It paid to look sharp when calling on your best girl.

  He stared at the large double doors. There were a few drawbacks to being a vampire, one of them being that he couldn’t enter a home without an invitation. With that in mind, he knocked on the door, heard the sound of it reverberate inside the building.

  A few minutes later, a tall, dark-haired woman opened the door. “Yes?”

  “I’m here to see Kaitlyn Sherrad.”

  “Is she expecting you?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Please wait,” the woman said, and closed the door in his face.

  Three minutes passed. Four. Five.

  “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Zack muttered. But he hadn’t come this far to turn back now, not until he’d seen Kaitlyn.

  When the door opened again, Drake Sherrad stood there. “You are not welcome here,” he said brusquely.

  “I’m not leaving until I see Kaitlyn.”

  “Very well. Follow me,” Sherrad said, his voice cool. “We need to talk in private.”

  Zack felt a rush of preternatural power as he crossed the threshold, but it didn’t repel him. His gaze moved from side to side as he followed Kaitlyn’s father up several flights of stairs that ended at a small wooden landing.

  Warning bells went off in Zack’s mind as Sherrad opened a squat wooden door. Zack was about to dissolve into mist when three men materialized behind him. Before he could react, one of them—a human male— dropped a thick silver collar around his neck. The silver burned through cloth and flesh, rendering Zack helpless. A long silver chain was attached to the collar.

  Zack glared at his captor as the man dragged him through the doorway and into the room beyond. Only, it wasn’t a room, but the ruins of what had once been a tower. Moonlight shone through a jagged hole in the roof.

  Zack struggled against his captor as the man shackled his feet with heavy silver chains, then secured the chain dangling from the collar to a thick bolt set deep into the wall.

  “The three of you may go,” Sherrad said. “I trust you will say nothing of this to anyone.”

  With a bow of acknowledgment, the three men left the tower.

  Zack glared at Sherrad. “Now what?” He glanced at the jagged opening in the roof. Come morning, moonlight would be replaced by sunlight. And while he wouldn’t burst into flame and disappear as some believed, if he remained in the sun too long, it would char his flesh down to his bones. Not a pleasant prospect. Or a pretty sight.

  “I am going to leave you here to think things over.”

  “I love your daughter,” Zack said. “Nothing will change that.”

  “You may feel differently by tomorrow night.”

  “Why are you doing this?” Zack frowned. “It’s more than just Kaitlyn, isn’t it? It’s what I am. One of the Others.”

  Sherrad folded his arms across his chest. “My people have sworn to destroy your kind.”

  “Why didn’t you do it back in Lake Tahoe?”

  “In front of my daughter? I think not.”

  “So, how are you gonna explain my absence?”

  “You will simply disappear.”

  “She knows I wouldn’t do that.”

  Sherrad glanced at the hole in the roof. “In a few days, it will no longer be your problem.”

  Zack swore. “You’ve really got your daughter fooled, don’t you? She thinks you’re wonderful.”

  A muscle twitched in Sherrad’s jaw.

  “What do you think she’ll say when she finds out about this?”

  “It does not matter. I will not have my daughter align herself with your kind.”

  “We’re not that different, you and I.”

  Sherrad didn’t answer. Instead, he stalked out of the tower.

  The door clicked shut behind him with dreadful finality.

  Chapter 21

  Kaitlyn walked through a long black tunnel. Vampires lined both sides, their eyes red and glowing, their fangs gleaming brightly in the darkness. They hissed at her as she passed, their expressions cold, their voices angry as they shouted that she was a traitor, an outcast. She turned to her father for help, but found no succor there, only disappointment when he looked at her. Tears stung her eyes when he turned his back on her. She looked at her mother, certain her mother wouldn’t reject her for loving Zack.

  “I’m sorry,” her mother murmured. “So sorry.” And then she, too, turned away.

  Tears ran down Kaitlyn’s cheeks as one by one, her aunts and uncles disowned her for loving Zack.

  Zack, who stood at the far end of the tunnel, his dark gray eyes filled with pain and sorrow.

  All she had to do was deny her love for him and she could go back to her own people. They would forgive her. They would welcome her with open arms.

  She paused, torn by conflicting emotions. She loved her parents, but she was a grown woman now. She had a right to love anyone she wished. Didn’t she?

  “Katy. Katy, come to me.” Zack’s voice, filled with grief.

  How could she deny him?

  “Katy . . . Katy.” The agony in his voice tore at her heart.

  He needed her.

  How was she to decide between her parents and the man she loved? It wasn’t fair. But Zack needed her. She could hear it in his voice.

  “Ka-ty . . .” His voice, weaker now, threaded with pain. “Katy!”

  She bolted upright in bed, the sound of his voice ringing in her ears. “Zack, where are you?” She glanced around the room. She hadn’t imagined his voice, or the underlying agony.

  Throwing back the covers, she hurried out of her bedroom and into the hallway. She paused there, listening. And then she heard it again, Zack’s voice, echoing in the back of her mind. He was in pain. He needed her.

  She glanced up and down the hallway, then shook her head. He couldn’t be here.

  Katy.

  She turned toward the sound of his voice, followed it down the corridor to the small door that led up to the ballroom, then stopped. This was ridiculous. What would he be doing in the ballroom, of all places?

  She opened the door and peered into the darkness, her feet climbing the stairs seemingly of their own volition. Up, up, up, until she came to the ballroom.

  She tiptoed inside, and looked around, then moved toward the windows on the far wall. She had never been up here this early in the morning. The scene before her was breathtaking. A few scattered clouds hung low, drifting puffs of white against the lightening sky. The rising sun painted broad strokes of ochre and crimson across the horizon and splashed the clouds with glowing shades of pink.

  Katy.

  She turned away from the window as his voice sounded in her mind once again. “Where are you?” she cried in exasperation.

  This was the highest room in the Fortress. If he wasn’t here . . . Turning on her heel, she ran out of the ballroom and hurried up the short flight of stairs that ended on a small landing. She had never been in the room beyond. Her father had warned her to keep out, saying that the tower was in ruins, the walls crumbling, the floor unsafe.

  She stared at the squat door. There was no latch. Placing her hand on the wood, she pushed, but nothing happened.

  “Zack?” She pressed her ear to the door. “Are you in there?”

  “Katy
.” Her name was a sigh on his lips.

  A well-placed kick broke the barrier between them. Scrambling over the broken bits of wood, she stared at Zack, momentarily too stunned by what she saw to speak.

  With a groan, he shifted his weight. The sound spurred her to action and she hurried toward him. “Are you all right?” She dropped down on her knees beside him.

  It had been a foolish question. His neck was raw and blistered from the thick silver chain around it. His ankles, too.

  “Who did this to you?” she demanded.

  “Your father.”

  Kaitlyn shook her head, unwilling to believe that her father, the man she had idolized all her life, was capable of such wanton cruelty. “Why? Why would he do this?”

  “I’m the enemy.”

  “You’re not my enemy,” she said, biting back her anger. She glanced at the patch of blue visible through the hole in the roof. When the sun was overhead . . . She refused to think of what would happen then. Instead, she grabbed hold of the chain that bound his ankle and pulled with all her might.

  Nothing happened.

  She tried again, frowning as the silver grew warm in her hands, and then began to burn. Silver had never burned her before.

  Ignoring the pain, she tugged on the chain again and yet again, but to no avail.

  “Katy, stop,” Zack said. “Your hands . . .”

  “I don’t care. I have to get you out of here.”

  “Stop.” He took her hands in his. Her palms were red and blistering. “I think your father has infused some vampire mojo in the silver.”

  With a sigh, Kaitlyn sat beside him, her legs stretched out in front of her, her thigh brushing his. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “I didn’t think he’d do anything like this. What will happen when the sun is overhead? Will you . . . ?”

  “Burst into flame? No. Only the dead do that.”

  “But it will burn you, won’t it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ll go get some towels and blankets to cover you with. And an umbrella, if I can find one. And something to drink . . .”

  “A negative, if you’ve got it,” he said with a tight smile.

  “This is no time for jokes.”

  He caught her by the hand. “Stay, Katy.”

  “But . . .”

  “Just for a little while.”

  She sank back down beside him, her gaze searching his face. “Do you need to feed?”

  “Are you offering?”

  She nodded.

  Zack swore softly. It was one thing to take a taste while they were snuggling together, another to feed off of her, as if she was no more than prey. And yet, he could feel the heat of the rising sun, knew it would leech his strength as it seared his flesh.

  Kaitlyn brushed the hair away from her neck and tilted her head to the side. “You need it, Zack. Just do it.”

  He slid his arm around her shoulders and kissed her, his lips moving over hers, trailing kisses over her cheek, down the side of her neck, back up to the soft tender place beneath her ear. He didn’t want to feed off her, but the change in her breathing, the sudden thundering of her heartbeat, wiped away all thought of resisting. She moaned softly as his fangs pierced her flesh, not a sound of pain, but of pleasure.

  Her blood was warm and sweet and it took every ounce of willpower he possessed to pull back. To let her go.

  She smiled at him.

  “Katy. Dammit . . .”

  She pressed her fingertips to his lips. “Don’t.”

  “It isn’t right.”

  “Stop it. If I needed blood, you’d give me yours, wouldn’t you?”

  “Okay,” he conceded. “Point taken.”

  “Good.” She glanced at the hole in the roof. “I’d better go get those blankets.”

  Zack nodded. He hated to see her go, even for a short time, but blocking the sun was the only way to keep it from burning him to a crisp. He had been burned once before and it wasn’t something he wanted to experience again.

  Leaning his head back against the side of the tower, he closed his eyes. He had been a young vampire then, still cocky enough to think he was invincible. He had been idling in one of the pubs, flirting with one of the doxies. He could have compelled her to go with him, but that took all the fun out of it. Finally, she agreed to let him take her home. She had been a lusty wench and they had made love far into the night. Drunk on her blood, amused by her stamina, he had paid little attention to the time until it was too late, until he felt the first sharp pain skate over his skin when the morning sun filtered through the open window of her bedroom.

  When he tried to leave, she grabbed hold of him with both hands, begging him to stay. Each second in the sun’s light had been torture. Finally, not caring what she would think, he threw her across the room, his movements hampered by the sheets tangled around his legs.

  Muttering an oath, he had dissolved into mist and fled the house.

  If not for the heavy chains that bound him to the tower wall, he would have done the same thing now. But the silver negated his preternatural power, leaving him weak and vulnerable to the sun’s light.

  It took Kaitlyn only moments to return to her bedroom, where she gathered up an armful of blankets and quilts. Hurrying into the kitchen, she grabbed a few bags of blood from the refrigerator.

  She glanced at the clock as she made her way back to the tower. The mortals who lived within the Fortress would be waking soon. Even as she ducked through the doorway that led to the tower stairs, she heard the hum of voices drifting up from the kitchen below.

  Muttering, “That was close,” she raced up the stairs.

  When she entered the tower, Zack was pressed up against the wall as far as he could go. His eyes were closed against the sun’s light. Was he already asleep?

  She whispered his name, but there was no response. It was probably for the best, she thought. If he was asleep, maybe the pain wouldn’t be so bad.

  She quickly spread the quilts and blankets over him, making sure he was covered from head to foot. When that was done, she tucked the bagged blood under the blankets where he would be sure to find it.

  “I’ll get you out of here as soon as I can,” she promised, her anger at her father sparking to life with renewed fury.

  She was about to leave the tower when her gaze fell on the broken door. Lifting the largest piece, she angled it over Zack so that one end rested on the floor and the other rested against the wall, providing added protection from the sun.

  With a satisfied nod, she left the tower.

  And went directly to her parents’ apartment. She knocked softly, and when there was no response, she knocked again, harder. “Mom?”

  Elena opened the door and peered into the hallway. “Kaitlyn, what is it?”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “Now?”

  “Yes, right now. It’s important.”

  “Come on in.”

  “Not here. In my room.”

  “All right, give me a few minutes.”

  True to her word, Elena arrived shortly thereafter. “Is something wrong, sweetie?”

  Kaitlyn closed and locked the door. “Zack is here.”

  “What?”

  “Zack, he’s here. You didn’t know?”

  Elena shook her head. “No. Where is he?”

  “Dad locked him in the tower. I’ve got to get him out of there.” She blinked back her tears. “Before it’s too late.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be fine. A little uncomfortable, perhaps. I can’t imagine why your father put him up there.”

  “Mom, Zack’s a vampire. One of... of the Others.”

  “Oh, dear.” Elena sank down on the edge of the mattress, and then frowned. “Where’s your bedding?”

  “I used it to cover Zack. Mom, you have to help me! I love Zack.”

  “I don’t know what I can do. You know how your father feels about the Others, and from what I’ve heard, I can’t say as I blame him.”

&
nbsp; Kaitlyn stared at her mother. “You don’t even know Zack. He’s wonderful.” She clenched her hands, her anger and frustration growing. She had been so sure she could count on her mother for help. “If you won’t help me free Zack, I’ll find someone who will!”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Help me get him out of the tower before it’s too late.”

  Elena shook her head. “I can’t believe your father didn’t tell me about this.”

  Kaitlyn sat beside her mother. “He’s a monster.”

  “Kaitlyn, what a terrible thing to say about your father!”

  “How can you defend him? Zack could die up there! He never did anything to anyone here. Dad has no right to . . .”

  “Your father has every right to do what he thinks is best for us.”

  “And killing Zack is best?” Kaitlyn sprang to her feet and began to pace the floor. “He has no right to judge Zack. He doesn’t even know him. And neither do you!”

  “Kaitlyn, calm down. I’ll speak to your father as soon as he wakes up.”

  “I can’t wait that long. Will you help me?”

  “I assume you tried to free Zack and failed?”

  Kaitlyn nodded.

  “That’s what I thought. What do you think I can do that you couldn’t? I don’t have any superpowers.”

  “Maybe between the two of us, we can free him,” Kaitlyn said. She didn’t wait for an answer. Unlocking the door, she turned to face her mother. “Are you coming?”

  “Your father won’t be happy about this,” Elena said. “Not happy at all . . . oh,” she murmured as the door swung open and she saw her husband standing on the other side.

  “What is it I will not be happy about?” he asked, glancing from his wife to his daughter and back again.

  “I want you to let Zack go,” Kaitlyn said angrily. “Right now.”

  He didn’t waste time pretending he didn’t know what she was talking about. “This is between me and him.”

  “No, it isn’t.”

  “Drake,” Elena said, taking a place between her husband and her daughter. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

  “Two against one,” he muttered. “That is hardly fair.”

  “This isn’t like you,” Elena said. “If Kaitlyn loves him . . . we have to trust her judgment.”