by Rye Brewer
“You sound like you resent me for that.”
“I don’t resent you, but if you want to know why it’s important for me to keep you out of things, that’s why. I care too much about you. You have a way of getting into trouble, and when I don’t know exactly what we’re facing in the first place—” He reached up to smooth his hands over his hair, like he was trying to calm himself down.
One of his sleeves slid up just a little as he did, and I saw red marks on the inside of his forearm.
“Freeze.” I held up my hands, eyes glued to him. “What is that? On your arm?”
“What?” He dropped his arms to his sides and his sleeve slid down again to cover what I’d seen.
“That mark. Like a brand. What is it?” I looked up at his face. “What happened to you?”
“It’s nothing.” Only he wouldn’t look me in the eye.
“Don’t lie to me. That’s a brand. Was that on your arm when you decided to dump me with my father? What does it mean?” I had never seen anything like it before.
He sighed, shoulders slumping. “I don’t know what it means. It just appeared out of nowhere.”
“Oh, Jonah.” I reached for his arm without thinking about it, and he pulled away.
“Don’t touch it, please. I don’t know what would happen to you—and it still hurts, too. This is why I’m with Fane. One of the reasons, that is. He said he could help me find out what it means.”
“Have you found out anything about it yet?”
He looked reluctant to tell me more, but finally said, “I’ve heard a name in connection with it. Valerius.”
I searched my memory, but came up blank. “Who’s that?”
“An Ancient. Nobody’s heard from him in ages. This is his, or so I’ve heard.”
“What does he have to do with you?”
His smile was grim. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
Would it ever end? All the mystery and danger? I didn’t want any of it. I wanted to live a normal life, though I was hardly normal.
It seemed like every time I turned around, there was some new challenge. And those challenges kept getting in between us.
“You shouldn’t have pushed me away like you did. You can’t just get rid of me like I don’t mean anything to you.”
“It was because you mean something to me that I left you with Gregor. I can’t make it any more plain than that. Look at this.” He showed me the brand again. It was angry, red, and it made me cringe just looking at it. “If this happened to me, what could happen to you? And how could I live with myself? I mean, I love you.”
He reached for me, and nothing could’ve kept me from his arms. My heart softened. “Jonah, did you forget what I used to do before you loved me? Remember the work I did for Marcus? It’s the reason we met.”
“I know. You don’t need to remind me.”
“I can take care of myself, in other words.”
“I know. I don’t have to deliberately put you in harm’s way, though, do I?” His lips were gentle on my forehead.
Something he said earlier came back to me.
“Hold on a second. You said the brand was one reason you were with Fane.” I looked up at him. “What’s the other reason?”
He frowned. “Gage.”
9
GAGE
The first thing I registered was the smell of blood.
Human blood.
My nostrils flared. Immediately, my nerves seemed to sizzle with need. The need for blood. Real blood, not the synthetic version we fed from. Something to make my senses sing, to make me feel alive. Just the thought of it was enough to make me crave it with every fiber of my being.
The second thing I registered was that I couldn’t move. I was weak? I pushed that thought aside as I wondered about my location.
Where am I?
I listened hard for the sound of breathing, but couldn’t hear any save my own. I stayed very still, eyes closed, so whoever had me wouldn’t know I was conscious. I wasn’t even sure what had happened, but it had been enough to knock me out.
When my ears didn’t reveal anything, I relied on my sense of smell. It revealed a lot more about my surroundings, even if it didn’t provide any definitive answers. I was out in nature, somewhere.
I took a deep breath through my nose. There was a dank, earthy smell. Moss? Leaves, for sure. They were damp, pungent.
I resisted the urge to wrinkle my nose. Clearly, the leaves had been rotting here for a long time. But where was here?
There was no light filtering in through my closed eyelids, so it was night—or I was inside somewhere. That didn’t explain the smells around me, however. I couldn’t be inside and smell so many outdoorsy nature smells. I concentrated harder and heard faint rustling noises in the distance. The woods?
I thought about my circumstances as hard as I could. What happened to me?
The longer I spent in my state of consciousness, the more aware I became of my injuries. I was definitely injured. Every inch of me ached or downright screamed in agony. I shifted a little, or tried to shift, just to measure what was happening in my limbs. I could barely move at all, like I had been drained of life.
Drained!
I had been drained of blood—my life source—to within an inch of my life. That was the only way to describe it.
I must be dying.
I had seen vampires after they’d been drained before. Once or twice, during the Great War. I was too young to understand much of what I saw then, but it came back to me and I understood a lot better.
The complete weakness. The foggy-headed sensation.
I was sure if a wild animal came upon me right now, I wouldn’t be able to defend myself. I’d have to let it kill me. It wouldn’t take long, given the shape I was in.
Somebody had beaten me, too. Badly.
My ribs ached, my face hurt. I was sure there would be bruises all over me if I could see myself. Even if I wasn’t afraid to open my eyes, could I if I tried? Could I even pry my eyes open? Did I have the strength? Could I move my head to look down at myself?
What had transpired? I tried to push away the pain to focus on what I could remember. I had to try. Somebody—maybe several somebodies—had tried to kill me and had come extremely close. For all I knew, I might still die. It felt like I was teetering on the edge with every breath I took.
No matter how hard I tried, though, the thick fog surrounding my memory wouldn’t let me into my memories. There was no way I could’ve naturally forgotten something like what I’d gone through. I must’ve felt pain, extreme pain.
There were only two reasons I could think of as to why my memory would be so hard to access. Either another vampire was compelling me to forget, or a witch had cast a spell on me.
If my memory loss was the result of a vampire’s actions, it would mean breaking League laws that applied to what vampires were allowed to do to other vampires. Compelling was a weapon at its root, used to convince humans or other creatures to do our bidding. If a vampire was compelling me to forget, it had to be a very powerful vampire—and a very dangerous one, if they would break that law so brazenly.
Or maybe it was a witch, after all. They didn’t have the same laws we did. I didn’t know any witches personally, but whoever tried to kill me might be working with one.
I tried to move again. I had to try.
Not knowing the extent of my injuries gnawed at me until it was impossible to stay still. I was on my back—the ground was hard and cold under my back—so I rolled to the side. Or attempted to. I bit back a groan of pain as every part of my body screamed in protest, but I didn’t manage to hold it in. Not entirely.
The groan left my lips in a low moan.
“You’re awake.”
I froze in place. I even forgot the pain, I was so surprised.
“I wasn’t sure you’d make it.”
A female voice.
She was on my left, not far from where I was. I turned my head—even my neck hurt,
and my brain throbbed.
A human.
It was her blood I smelled, after all.
I could faintly hear it—through my own throbbing pain—as her blood was pumping through her veins, traveling through all of those vessels, keeping her alive. C
Her blood was crying out to me. Making me want it. Making me need it. I needed it desperately, needed it to heal. I couldn’t live without it. It was the only thing in the world, the only thing in existence.
That blood.
My mouth nearly watered with need. My body was on fire with need for that blood.
She gave me a tentative smile. “How are you?” Her voice was like honey, sweet and warm, and anyone could see she was deeply concerned about me.
“I’m… alive?” I whispered. My voice was nothing more than a croak. I tried to speak again, just a little louder, but I couldn’t.
She looked me over with eyes the color of the ocean. “Are you hungry? I’m sure you need something to help get your strength back.” She held up a wrapped bundle.
I forced myself to keep my eyes open—my lids wanted to slide shut again, the exhaustion was all-consuming—and watched as she unwrapped a small sandwich. My stomach turned at the thought.
Human food? I didn’t need that. I needed something much more primal.
“Here.” She crept toward me, slightly bent over.
I realized we were in a cave with a low ceiling.
She had to stoop to avoid hitting her head. She held out the sandwich and a half-full bottle of water. She couldn’t possibly know who I was, what I was. If she did, she wouldn’t dare be alone with me. Not even when I was on the line between life and death.
We might have forged a better relationship with humans and humankind, but there was still a long way to go before we could be considered friends.
I took a deep breath and gathered all of my strength. “I’m… not hungry. Thank you.”
She frowned. “Are you sure? Maybe it doesn’t matter if you’re hungry—I mean, not if you really, really need to get your strength back. I don’t know what happened to you, but it must’ve been pretty terrible. You need to recover.” She came a little closer, just an arm’s length from me.
If I had the strength, I would’ve reached for her.
“Please. Come closer.”
She hesitated.
I stared at her, silently willing her.
She had such innocence about her.
I could tell she wanted to help. She wouldn’t have dragged me wherever she’d dragged me if she didn’t have a good heart. But she was starting to get a feeling about me. Her eyes weren’t quite as wide or trusting. Her brows knitted together just a little as she turned over the questions she had about me.
Who was I, really? What had brought me there? She didn’t know, and she was starting to wonder whether she’d gotten herself into a situation she should’ve avoided. It was written all over her face.
I didn’t have a choice. It was either make her do something she didn’t want to do, or die. I had no doubt that I would die, soon—or it would take ages to heal. Much longer than I could afford to wait.
So I reached deep down inside and used the skills I had developed over the years, but had been forced to leave dormant ever since the treaty was signed by the League at the end of the War. I would use my innate skill to compel.
It was like flipping a switch, going from determining my own thoughts and actions to determining someone else’s.
The next time our eyes met, I held on. I let my consciousness reach out to touch hers. She was like a scared rabbit inside, sure she should leave, wishing she had never found me.
She flailed around in her head, wondering why she was losing control of her actions. This had never happened to her before. She wanted to fight me off, but it wasn’t possible. Even half-dead as I was, she was no match for me.
Come closer, I thought. Closer. Until you’re kneeling beside me.
I can’t, her thoughts said, and her eyes grew wider. I can’t do that.
Yes, you can, and you must. I’ll die if you don’t. Come.
She still tried to fight.
I had to give her credit—even though my existence hung on who won out in our battle of wills, I could admire her strength.
Come. Now. Kneel beside me.
The last bit of her will drained away, and her hands released the sandwich and water bottle. She knelt at my side, hands in her lap.
Pull back your hair.
She was wearing a tank top under a short-sleeved shirt.
Release the top button on your shirt and open it.
Her eyes were blank as she moved, her fingers working the buttons. She opened the collar before pulling her long, thick hair to the other side of her neck.
I looked at the smooth expanse of skin and could just make out the sight of her pulse throbbing there. It was rapid.
She was so afraid.
I won’t hurt you. I need to feed from you, but you’ll be all right when I’m finished. Now lean over me.
She moved robotically, leaning until her throat was just in front of my mouth.
The smell was overwhelming. It was all I could think about, the scent of her blood. Like the most intoxicating perfume imaginable.
I bared my fangs and savored the last moment of anticipation before sinking them into her skin.
She gasped sharply, arching her back, then letting out a hissing breath through her teeth.
Oh, the sweetness.
I drank and drank, reminding myself every time more sweet, thick blood pumped out of her and into me that I had to stop myself before it was too late.
I wouldn’t let her die.
Still, the taste of her and the way her blood set me on fire was too much to pull away from. Everything was sharper, more fully defined.
I couldn’t believe the difference between the synthetic blood we’d been feeding on for years and the real thing. I could do anything—scale tall buildings, race a speeding train, pull a tree out by the roots. Anything. I was beyond super.
My brain raced in all directions, my head spun out of control.
Stop now. You have to stop. She’s getting close.
Her pulse started to weaken. The blood didn’t flow so freely. She was struggling to stay alive.
Just one more drink… so good…
Enough!
Something stronger than my need screamed out in my head and was enough to force me to cease.
I pulled my fangs from her and hoped I hadn’t waited too long.
She sank down beside me, her back to the wall of the cave. A thin trickle of blood ran from the wound in her neck. Her chest rose and fell—slowly, shallowly, but it did rise and fall.
It wasn’t too late.
10
GAGE
I gave her a minute to recover, leaning against the rocks, while I took the opportunity to look myself over.
The pain was a distant memory, erased almost completely.
I looked down at myself for the first time since waking up in the cave.
My shirt was torn down the middle of my chest, hanging open. It was the same with my sleeves. They had been carefully torn to expose my skin—probably right before the silver had been placed against my exposed flesh.
The burns stood out, red and angry looking, the mark of a torturer.
Who would do that? And why? I still couldn’t remember—the human’s blood wasn’t enough to break through the spell or compulsion that had been placed on me.
The human was watching me, eyes open—but blank. It would’ve felt eerie if there was any consciousness behind them. She was still in my thrall, and too weak to do much of anything.
I glanced around.
There was a sleeping bag underneath my body and a backpack under my head. The cave went on behind me, on and on in the darkness.
In the other direction was the mouth of the cave. It was fairly dark out there, but there was a hint of light over the trees. It was nearly dawn. She had s
at with me all night, it seemed, or else what was she doing out in the woods in the middle of the night?
I took in her appearance. She was wearing hiking boots and long shorts with big pockets. She’d been hiking, maybe planning on camping. That would explain the sleeping bag. What were the odds that she happened to come across me?
“Where are we?” I asked, hoping she had the strength to speak.
She took a deep breath and her brow creased, like she was concentrating on the answer to my questions.
It would be a while before her thoughts cleared and she didn’t have to consciously search for answers.
“I had been hiking all day, but it was starting to cloud up and I decided to go back to the car before the weather turned. I found you at the bottom of a gorge. At first, I was sure you were dead. I thought maybe you fell or rolled down the incline, something like that. But you didn’t have any broken bones. It hit me. Somebody must have left you there. And you were still breathing—just a little, but enough. I couldn’t keep going when I knew you were there, all alone.”
It was as simple as that for her. I had needed help and she had provided it. I didn’t know there were people like that in the world—especially not humans, whom I had never had much time or patience for.
“There was a storm coming, too,” she whispered. “I dragged you to the cave. It wasn’t too far. We made it just in time.”
“I am in your debt,” I said. She had saved me twice—bringing me to the cave, then letting me feed on her. Not that she had much choice with the latter.
“The sun is rising now. The storm has passed.” She looked out toward the cave mouth. “When it’s full light, I’ll get you to my car. We can go to the hospital.”
That couldn’t be allowed to happen.
If either of us needed a hospital, it was her—and I couldn’t let her go, either. It would not be a lot of fun, trying to explain the wounds on her neck.
If it weren’t for her, I would’ve died overnight—or definitely once the sun rose, when I wouldn’t have the strength to get myself away from the sun, to the cave I hadn’t even known existed. I would’ve burned to death in minutes, no question.