Passion In The Blood

by Margaret L. Carter

  The contempt in his voice had the desired effect. Josef walked out, slamming the door behind him.

  Cordelia dashed to her sister, who hugged her with stifled sobs. Tears streaming from her eyes, too, Cordelia whispered, "Shh. We can't let Josef suspect you know us."

  Karl strode to the bed and sat beside them to speak in a similar low tone. "He's gone only as far as the top of the stairs. We have to talk quietly."

  Miranda wiped her eyes and stared at him. "You're one, too." She gulped down a last sob. "A vampire."

  He nodded. "But we aren't all like our host there."

  "You know about our mother?" Cordelia asked.

  Miranda folded her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I was totally blown away when Josef told me. He's our uncle, can you believe it?"

  "I know." Cordelia smoothed her sister's disheveled, sweat-dampened hair. "You believed him about the whole vampire thing right off?"

  Miranda attempted a lopsided grin. "Well, it does explain a lot."

  "How did he get you here?"

  “When he rescued me from that Howard guy--you know about that?" After Cordelia nodded, she went on, “I was thrilled at first, especially when Josef said he was our uncle. But he turned nasty when I started asking questions, like how he found me and why he wasn't driving me straight home. He ordered me to go to sleep, and the next thing I knew, I woke up here."

  Karl put a finger to his lips, reminding her to whisper. "So you're not completely resistant to his hypnotic power."

  "After I realized he wasn't one of the good guys, I was on guard so he couldn't do it again. That made him mad."

  "I can imagine," Karl said with a grim smile.

  "That was when he told me about his sister, our mom, being a vampire. I think he got a real rush out of the way I freaked."

  Her throat and chest tightening, Cordelia clenched a fist in the bedspread. "Tell me how to kill him," she whispered to Karl.

  "I sympathize, but that's not what we've come for. We rescue Miranda and slip away without provoking a fight."

  Miranda frowned at Karl. "How do I know I can trust you? Josef sounded pretty believable at first, and look how that turned out."

  "You can trust Karl," Cordelia said, patting her hand. "He's been nothing but helpful."

  "Yeah? How do I know he doesn't have you hypnotized?"

  "He can't. You're partly immune to their mind tricks. I'm totally immune." When her sister still looked skeptical, she said, "Come on, Randy, we've known Karl all our lives. He was Dad's friend. If we can't trust him, we might as well give up. Now, are you all right? Josef hasn't hurt you yet, has he?"

  "No, except for locking me in. He threatened to tie me up if I tried to leave this room again. I did try to escape once, and he caught me before I got to the stairs. So I've behaved myself since then. He's too fast and strong."

  "But how did he find you in the first place?" Cordelia asked.

  "He said he was following our mother. When she mentioned she had an appointment, he picked up a sense that she was hiding something. He saw us together and caught on who I was right away. Something about my aura. How did he put it? Something like, 'Imagine my surprise when I saw Corinne with the child I believed she had either aborted or given up at birth.' So he followed me home and watched that Howard guy grab me."

  "And then he rescued you," Karl said, leaning over the bed to allow both women to hear his low murmur.

  "I wonder why he didn't leap in and save you right away," Cordelia said.

  "Oh, he explained that. He gave me time to get good and scared so I'd trust him without too many questions. He'd been lurking around, invisible, until what he thought was the right moment." She covered her eyes. “He said I was a disgrace to his bloodline, with my halfbreed taint--that's the word he used, taint--but my mixed blood would make a tasty feast." She scrubbed at her face as if trying to erase the memory.

  Cordelia gave her another hug, feeling a tremor course through her sister's body. "Well, it's over now. We're getting you out."

  "Yeah? How?"

  Karl explained their plan to buy her. "It's the most straightforward way to make sure Josef won't try to recapture you later and possibly threaten both of you. Now we have to leave you for a few minutes while we negotiate with him. Don't be afraid."

  Miranda trapped Cordelia's hand in a painful grip. "Can't you stay here?"

  Cordelia cast an appealing look at Karl.

  "Better not," he said. "Remember, so far he has no idea you aren't strangers to each other, and we mustn't give him grounds to suspect otherwise."

  "Okay." Sitting up straight, Miranda let go of Cordelia's hand. "Just hurry."

  "We will." Cordelia gave her a light kiss on the cheek.

  When Karl reached for the doorknob, Cordelia silently asked, ::Can't we do anything for those five other people?::

  ::Such as? If I offered to buy them all, Josef would certainly refuse and probably become suspicious of my motives.::

  Her stomach churned. ::You can live with leaving them like this, maybe to die?::

  Karl's telepathic voice turned icy. ::Understand, my dear, I am not human. You can't expect me to share your ethical scruples. I care for you and Miranda. That care doesn't extend to the other seven billion human inhabitants of this planet.::

  Until that moment, Cordelia hadn't stopped to consider how inhuman he was. He did such an expert job of playing the role of old family friend. On the way out he locked the bolt. Her heart clenched, although she knew they weren't abandoning her sister. Josef waited at the bottom of the stairs. He must have moved farther away when he heard the door opening.

  Karl strode downstairs with an arm around Cordelia's waist. She had to scurry to keep up. "Excellent specimen," he said. "I'll take her."

  "Not too feral for a companion to your pet?" Josef said, leading the way back to the lobby.

  "On the contrary, she was perfectly docile for me. I can't imagine why you had a problem."

  Josef's scowl demonstrated that he didn't miss the taunt in Karl's voice. He didn't answer, though, only stated a price that boggled Cordelia's mind.

  A serene mental comment from Karl calmed her. ::That's quite all right, not much worse than I expected.::

  "Well worth it," he said aloud, producing a checkbook from a pocket. "Do you have a pen handy?"

  "You expect me to take a personal check?"

  Karl folded his arms and glowered at the other vampire. "Do you doubt I'm good for it? If you're going to toss out random insults, I'll reconsider the deal."

  A bubble of panic welled in Cordelia's chest.

  ::Don't worry,:: Karl silently told her. ::He won't back out. He wants the money. I'm much older than he or his minions, so he expects arrogance from me.::

  "Never mind, that will do." Josef produced a pen from a rolltop desk against the wall next to the hearth.

  Karl dashed off a check, signing with a flourish. When Josef reached for it, Karl said, "Hand over the woman first."

  "Now who's flinging gratuitous insults?" With a thin smile, Josef called for Imogene, who appeared so quickly she must have been lingering in the front hall. "Fetch the new female down here."

  From the casual way he referred to Miranda, Cordelia suspected he hadn't told his associates about his relationship to the new victim. Maybe he knew they'd balk at his treating his own niece like a cow. Cordelia clutched Karl's hand and struggled to hide her anxiety from the other vampires. She could hardly believe the two of them were about to walk out unscathed with her sister.

  Josef froze and stared toward the hall, his head cocked as if listening.

  Karl glanced in the same direction. "What's that noise? Somebody's here."

  Just as Imogene appeared on the stairs, leading Miranda, a man burst in with Antonio right behind him. The intruder wore the same stained sweatshirt he'd had on the day before. Thomas Howard. He breathed in harsh pants. "Don't kill me!" He leaned over, gasping, hands on his knees. "You'll want to hear what
I've got to say."

  "What the devil is this?" Josef glared at Antonio. "Why did you let this creature in?"

  "He ran up to the front door, raving, demanding to speak to you." The other vampire clamped onto Howard's shoulder to stop him from charging Josef. "Insists he has important information about your two guests here. I sensed his sincerity, so it seemed reasonable to listen to him."

  Josef strode up to Howard, who trembled in Antonio's grip. "Very well, what is it?"

  "I know what you are. Vampires, all of you."

  Cordelia felt Karl's shock at that announcement. It puzzled her, too. Hadn't he erased that knowledge from Howard's memory?

  With a thin smile, Josef said, "So far, you're not saying anything to induce me to let you live."

  "When you broke into my house. I overheard you talking to Miranda. You mentioned your name. Afterward, I tracked you down online."

  "Online? Of course. Damn this modern technology." In a tone tinged with humor as well as impatience, Josef said, "How presumptuous of you. What information do you have that justifies your intrusion?"

  "When I saw Karl Robak's car outside, I knew I had to warn you that you're being tricked." Cordelia sensed his fear receding as he straightened up and his breathing calmed. "Robak's woman here isn't just some random victim. She's Miranda's twin sister."

  Cordelia's chest tightened in panic. Karl murmured in her head, ::Take courage. We haven't lost yet.::

  “So--my sister had twins. Yes, that is important information." Josef darted to the bottom of the stairs, where Imogene stood with Miranda. He grabbed Miranda and dragged her into the lobby. “Excellent, now I'll have two prize specimens for my clients." He curled his fingers like claws around her neck.

  ::Do something!:: Cordelia silently begged.

  ::I don't dare,:: Karl replied. ::If I attacked, his nails or teeth could rip out an artery before I got close.::

  Following the direction of Karl's gaze, Josef said, "Don't even think of assaulting me. And if either of you tries to leave, she dies." He shifted his eyes to Howard. "Now, you. Listen carefully. You will forget everything you know about this place and me. I'll allow you to go home unharmed, and you'll forget you ever believed in such nonsense as vampires."

  Cordelia's head pounded with the overflow of the pressure the vampire was exerting on the captive. To her surprise, Howard only shook his head like a man irritated by a buzzing mosquito. He pulled a silver chain with a cross attached out of his shirt and brandished it at Josef. "You can't control me. My faith protects me."

  Karl's hand tightened on Cordelia's. ::Hellfire. That's why he didn't forget the whole matter when I commanded him to. He was relying on that cross all the time.:: The thought simmered with indignation. ::I can hardly believe he tricked me into thinking I'd wiped his memory. Damn careless of me.::

  Laughing, Josef casually ripped the chain off the intruder's neck and tossed it away. Howard staggered, and the vampire grabbed him by one arm. Unfortunately, Josef didn't forget to keep a tight grip on Miranda at the same time. Her eyes met Cordelia's with silent desperation.

  “But you can't--how can you?" Howard groped at his collar with his free hand, as if he couldn't fathom that the cross didn't still hang there.

  Josef smirked. "Your faith may protect you from mesmerism, but that symbol has no other effect on me. Now, since you can't be reliably silenced, I'll have to eliminate you."

  "Don't kill me." Howard's voice shook. "Don't you owe me something for this information? Turn me."

  "What?"

  "Change me, make me like you. I'll be your willing servant forever."

  Teeth still bared, Josef released the man. "You want to become a vampire."

  At Howard's eager nod, Cordelia waited for Josef to tell him that transformation was impossible. Instead, he asked, "Why would you desire such a thing?"

  "I'm doomed to die young. Why wouldn't I want to live for eternity and have superhuman powers?"

  "Very well, I suppose you do merit a reward." He beckoned to Imogene. "Get this ephemeral out of my sight. Take him outside and start the conversion process."

  She faced him with a blank stare. At an impatient jerk of his head, she took Howard by the hand and led him away. As they headed for the exit, an exultant smile spread over the man's face.

  Despite what he'd done to Miranda, Cordelia felt a spasm of pity for him. The vampires would either weaken him enough that their hypnotic powers could obliterate his memories of the past few days--or kill him outright.

  Josef, clearly not wasting another thought on the new prisoner, ordered Karl and Cordelia to follow him upstairs. "Antonio, come along and keep an eye on them." With his grip still locked on Miranda's wrist, Josef led the way to the third floor. In the hall he shoved her at Antonio. "Take this one back to her room."

  Cordelia kept her eyes on her sister's terrified face until Antonio slammed and locked the door of the bedroom that served as Miranda's cell.

  "Now you." Josef seized Cordelia's free arm. He didn't bother ordering Karl to let go of her other hand, just led both of them down the corridor to a room secured with a larger, sturdier bolt than the others. Flinging the door open, he said, "Karl, you'll stay here until I decide what to do with you. As you've doubtless already noticed, the lock is designed to resist vampire strength. The window and door panel are also reinforced. I anticipated sometimes having to restrain an overeager client."

  Karl's fist flexed. "What's the point of this? You'll only cause trouble for yourself, abusing members of your own race, not to mention your own kin."

  "I don't regard halfbreeds as my kind or kin. Inside, before I lose patience and damage your pet."

  Waves of anger and fear emanated from Karl, washing over Cordelia like surf breaking on rocks. "What do you want from me?" he asked. "Let them go, and I'll pay whatever price you demand."

  Josef shook his head in mock pity. "Sorry, you're distressing yourself for nothing. Why do you want to get attached to a human paramour? They always die on you." His expression hardened. "Now, if you don't want that to happen sooner than later, get in there."

  After a final squeeze of Cordelia's hand, Karl released her and stepped into the room. His gaze remained locked on hers until the closed, bolted door cut off the contact. She still felt his mental embrace enfolding her, though. A cyclone of rage and barely leashed panic swirled in his thoughts.

  He was afraid for her life. Maybe he'd spoken the truth when he claimed to care about her as more than a prized possession or an object of lust.

  Chapter 10

  * * *

  Glowering at the barrier that shut him away from her, Karl followed Cordelia with his mind as Josef marched her to a room almost identical to Miranda's and locked her in. "After I check on that idiot who barged in a minute ago, I'll come back for my first taste of that unique blood of yours. I look forward to many weeks of feasting on you and your sister before you get too drained to serve me."

  Trembling, Cordelia rubbed the arm he'd touched as if trying to scour away dirt and curled up on the bed.

  Karl clamped down on his own roiling emotions to reach out and calm hers. ::We'll find a way out of this.:: He almost believed the claim. He must be getting proficient in the human skill of lying to himself as well as others.

  ::Yeah? How?:: Without waiting for a response, she went on, ::Has Josef gone crazy? How does he expect to get away with this? Is he planning to kill all three of us or what? That's forbidden by your laws, right? Corinne knows where we are. If we disappear, she'll report him to your elders, won't she?::

  That outcome seemed likely, although too late to save any of the captives, a fact of which he took care not to remind Cordelia.:: I don't think he's literally mad, only overconfident. We may be able to use that tendency against him.::

  ::He may think he can hypnotize me, but he shouldn't be able to, not if you can't.:: Her mental voice quavered, though. ::Except you don't terrify me out of my wits. He does. I don't know if I can keep from breaking if he
puts on the pressure.::

  ::I'll lend you strength, the way we practiced.:: He visualized clasping her hand, and she reflected the image by imagining herself returning his touch. He had trouble holding the visualization steady. It threatened to shatter under the impact of his anger at himself as well as Josef.

  Karl wasn't surprised when Cordelia sensed that emotion and questioned it.

  ::If I'd been more alert, perhaps you and your sister wouldn't have been captured.::

  ::What could you have done about it? There's no telling what Josef would have done to Randy if you'd resisted. You did promise to protect us.::

  Her words felt like a stake rammed into his chest. ::Yes, and I failed.::

  ::You didn't force me to come here with you. I wanted to. I'm as responsible as you are.:: Her next coherent thought held undertones of queasiness. ::Enough of the blaming. Got any ideas about escaping? I can't stand the thought of him touching me again, much less drinking my blood.::

  The pulse pounded in Karl's temples at that maddening image. ::You're mine. Your blood belongs to me.:: He slammed clenched fists against the door panel and struggled to project a calm that evaded him. ::His threat might be a bluff, meant to frighten both of us. If a vampire feeds from a single donor as often as he said he planned to feed from you, there's a danger of addiction.::

  ::Addiction? To blood?:: Through her senses, he saw her sit up, frowning in concentration.

  ::To a particular donor if used too many times in a row. Josef ought to know that. He had a "pet" of his own once.::

  ::Him? Sounds like the last thing he'd do is get attached to one of us inferior beings.::

  ::Oh, he didn't care for her as I do for you. She was only a convenience to him. But from what I've heard, he went through a minor hell of withdrawal after she died. When he said ephemerals always die on us, he knew whereof he spoke.::

  She folded her arms across her chest like a shield. ::Then I'm surprised you'd take that risk with me. Why not cut your losses?::

  Karl flinched at the bitter edge in those words. ::It's too late for me. We're bonded. I've often heard it claimed that a blood bond with a donor is the ultimate fulfillment, the way our kind are meant to live. I never believed it. Now I know better. Addiction or not, I don't want to taste anyone else now.:: He cut off that thought and returned to the practical issue. ::Which is why Josef would never take such a risk. Maybe he thinks if he alternates between you and Miranda, interspersing the encounters with a variety of other victims, he won't get habituated to either of you. If so, he may be right.::