Crimson Bond

by Amy Patrick

  “And become queen of the Crimson Court?” I said. “She’ll say no. She has no interest in that.”

  “Actually I was going to suggest someone else for the job. You.”

  My jaw unhinged, falling open. “What? No. That’s ridiculous. I may have queen DNA or whatever, but I have no idea what I’m doing. Plus, aren’t queens just as forbidden from taking a single mate as drones are? I remember that stuff you told me the night of the Inception Ball. I don’t want to mate with a never-ending succession of Bloodbound drones.”

  “For which I am eternally grateful,” Reece said. “But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now we can just take care of the first part of the equation, deposing the tyrannical leader. And who knows? Maybe Sadie will change her mind about the queen thing. She doesn’t have the VHC anymore. She’s in hiding. She might welcome the opportunity to live in safety and lead the vampire race.”

  “She would be a fantastic queen,” I conceded, starting to get into the idea. This was a plan I could get behind. “Sadie would be so much better for our people. She’s selfless, and she wouldn’t be constantly pressuring me to turn a human. I’d actually be happy to follow in Sadie’s footsteps.”

  “Either way, we can’t let Imogen stay on the throne—not if we ever want to be together.”

  “I do want to be with you, Reece. I hope Sadie will agree to it. What about the Bloodbound, though? Won’t they fight for Imogen?”

  “You leave that to me. I’ve been thinking about it. She isn’t exactly good to us. The Bloodbound are loyal to her because they have no choice—her queensblood keeps them bound to her. I’m an exception. I guess because she’s my maker. It must give me some immunity. But Sadie has queensblood, too, right?”

  “Right. She must have if they’re sisters. She told me a little about how they were turned—they had the same maker. Oh Reece, I think this could really work.”

  If Sadie agreed to our plan, Reece could help distribute her blood to the other Bloodbound and turn their loyalty from Imogen to Sadie. Then it would be a simple matter of taking Imogen out.

  Simple. Ha. But there had to be a way. And we still had time to think about it.

  “How long till sundown?” I asked.

  Reece checked the clock. “Two hours. Why?”

  “I want to get to Sadie as soon as possible. The sooner we get this plan in motion, the sooner our eternity together can begin.”

  19

  A Swarm of Drones

  Reece

  The weather had cleared by the time we left the hotel that night.

  What I saw when we emerged from the building’s front door surprised me. We were in Niagara Falls, and from up here on the bluff, the view was amazing.

  The view right next to me was even more spectacular. Abbi had put on another of Larkin’s provocative outfits, a skin-tight top and micro mini skirt she’d paired with ankle boots and thigh-high socks she said were for warmth.

  If she’d meant for my warmth, the ensemble was working beautifully. It was all I could do to pry my eyes away from the band of bare skin between the top of the socks and the hem of her skirt and force myself to look at the world-famous geological marvel below us.

  I wrapped my coat around her for her sake—and for mine.

  “Wow. It’s so pretty,” Abbi said, craning her neck to see around me. “Look at the lights. Do you think we have time to just walk down and see the falls for a few minutes before we get back on the road?”

  “Sure. We’re only about five hours from Sudbury now—we’ll easily make it there tonight.”

  Together we walked down the hill toward Queen Victoria Park and its viewing area on the brink of the falls. Standing at the railing, we watched the progression of colored lights dance over the powerful multiple cascades.

  The mist rising from them coated Abbi’s hair and face, making her look as if she was covered in a layer of tiny gemstones.

  She gazed around like a little girl at a Christmas light display. Her mouth was wide open, and she kept laughing and pointing in different directions as she noticed each new aspect of the natural wonder.

  She looked over at me with a happy smile, and I sort of lost my breath. “Isn’t it so beautiful?”

  I reached over and stroked her damp cheek with one finger. “You are so beautiful.”

  “So are you,” she said, wrapping her small hand around mine. “I wish I could kiss you right now. Right here in public.”

  “Soon. Let’s get going so we can make that as soon as possible.”

  We walked back to the car. As we drove away, we passed the falls one last time, and Abbi turned back for a final look.

  “I’m really glad I got to see that in person,” she said. “I saw it in a book once. Growing up in my community, the library was how I experienced the world. I sort of thought that was as close as I’d ever get.”

  “Your family didn’t travel?”

  “Short trips only. Horse drawn buggies aren’t meant for long distance.”

  “Right. My family had an SUV, but we never took any long car trips.”

  Our mutual longing to get away from home and explore the world was one of the first points of connection Abbi and I had shared, sitting on the hood of my car that night talking about the places we wanted to go.

  “You wanted to see Venice before it’s completely underwater,” she said. “And you wanted to live at the beach someday.”

  “You remember that?”

  “I remember everything about that night.” Her tone was faraway. “I’ve relived it so many times, it’s almost like a movie in my mind. Whenever I was lonely or sad or missing you—which was a lot—I played the movie and escaped into a happier time and place.”

  I reached over and captured her hand, squeezing it. “I hate to think about you being lonely or sad. But I’m glad you missed me. I missed you, too.”

  Her fingers returned the squeeze, and she gave me a smile so sweet I had to lean over and give her a quick against-the-rules kiss. She gave me a chiding glance but didn’t stop smiling.

  “I’d still love to live at the beach,” I said. “Or at least go there with you and stay for a long, long time.”

  “Oh my gosh, a hot sunny beach sounds like Heaven right now.” Shivering, Abbi pressed a button on the dashboard to turn up the temperature.

  “Ontario today, beach later,” I said.

  “What a tease.”

  “It’s not a tease—it’s a promise.” I gave her a wink and pulled the car onto the Trans-Canada highway, taking us north once again.

  It didn’t really matter to me how cold it was. Even if I had to drive another day in a whiteout, it wouldn’t have bothered me.

  I felt... good. I would have felt better had we been able to continue what we had started in that hotel room, but Abbi was right to stop it, of course. We had a do-able plan in place, and it would be stupid to screw it up by tipping Imogen off just before we could execute it.

  Abbi and I had waited this long, we could wait a little more. And as she’d said, we’d have eternity to spend together.

  It had thrilled me to hear the words coming out of her beautiful mouth. I would never, ever, get tired of hearing her say she loved me. And with Sadie on the Crimson throne, we could finally be together.

  I’d also be free of the threat of forced sexual servitude. Some of the guys hadn’t minded. They thought Imogen was hot, and some of them even vied for her attention.

  Kannon wasn’t one of them, but it didn’t seem to bother him much either. After what had happened with his human ex-girlfriend, he’d given up on the whole concept of love, so he said a meaningless tumble with Imogen every once in a while was no big deal.

  “Do you think with Sadie as the queen of the Crimson court, the Bloodbound will be necessary anymore?” Abbi asked as if reading my mind.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think it’s a bad idea to maintain a security force, but maybe an army wouldn’t be necessary anymore. I can’t see Sa
die suddenly deciding to lead an armed rebellion against the human government.”

  “No. Definitely not. She’ll still want to use diplomacy. A united front and greater numbers will be a good thing, though—if she can persuade the citizens of the Bastion that peace is a better solution. What about the Bloodbound’s other function?”

  “You mean as queen bee baby-daddies?” I joked. “I’m not sure. Sadie is as old as Imogen. As far as I know she’s never produced a biological child, has she?”

  “No.”

  “Right. So, I don’t know... I guess that’s always the goal, to be able to continue the species without biting humans. Which means Sadie will want an heir—someone younger and more fertile, someone with great queen DNA.”

  “You can stop right there. I’m not going to be summoning a different soldier to my chambers every night.”

  I grabbed her hand, squeezing it in mine. “Good. That was a test, by the way.”

  It was a few minutes before I could summon the guts to ask my next question. “I just wondered if maybe... you know, you were maybe hoping to have kids. Because if so, that’s your only chance of conceiving. Imogen said it works the same as it does with those killer bees. It takes a swarm of drones...”

  Abbi interrupted me. “The only swarm of drones I’d be interested in would be a yardful of little boys who looked just like you. Since that’s not in the cards, we’ll just have to settle for it being the two of us forever.”

  Lacing my fingers with hers, I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it. “Sounds good to me.”

  For a few minutes we were both quiet.

  “It would’ve been nice to have children, though, wouldn’t it?” I said. “Myself, I picture three little girls. All of them look exactly like you.”

  Abbi grinned ear to ear. “Three girls. I always knew you were brave. I didn’t think you were stupid.”

  20

  She Was Here

  Abbi

  We reached Sudbury with plenty of dark to spare.

  Imogen’s awareness of her sister’s life force had pointed us in the direction of Ontario. It had been intelligence from a network of her vampire sources that had narrowed our target to Sudbury—specifically to a research lab owned by the National Public Health Agency.

  After Canada had offered Sadie sanctuary, she’d apparently gotten right back to work. The report said some researchers there had been attempting to create a viable substitute for human blood and had gotten quite close.

  Sadie had reportedly brought an American vampire scientist with her, and they were trying to help speed the process.

  It was as good a place as any to start.

  “What are the chances she’ll actually be at the lab?” I asked Reece.

  “Slim. But someone there might know where Sadie is staying or if she’s set up a new VHC headquarters here in the local area. It’s our only lead, so I hope it pans out.”

  We parked in front of the dark building. A few cars were parked outside it, but there were no lights visible through the windows and glass front door.

  “Looks like it’s closed,” I said.

  “Yeah. Which is weird for a vampire facility at night. Today’s not a holiday in Canada, is it?”

  “I don’t think so. Maybe it’s not a vampire facility. Maybe the staff are humans.”

  “Humans working on a blood substitute? I guess it’s possible. It is in their best interests to find a viable alternate food source for vampires. Come on, let’s see if it’s locked.”

  The front door opened easily, and we stepped inside. Motion-activated lighting blinked on, illuminating the lobby area.

  “Okay, well that answers that then,” Reece said. “They’re open. Maybe they don’t staff the front desk at night. The overnight employees must be back in the lab area.”

  Together we walked down a hall lined with office doors. It was eerily quiet. My guess was this facility operated like many that had a mix of human and vampire employees. The humans worked during the day, and the vampires worked overnight.

  Unfortunately, it was the front office workers who were more likely to be able to give us Sadie’s contact information.

  “Doesn’t it seem strange that there’s no security?” I asked.

  “Yes. It does.” Reece drew a dagger from beneath his jacket and held it in a ready position.

  At the end of the hall, we finally spotted a light. It was coming from beneath a closed door with a sign that read Hematology Lab.

  Reece tapped on the door with the tip of his knife, and we waited.

  “Hello? Enrique?” a female voice called. “I thought you weren’t coming in tonight.”

  The sound of footsteps was followed by the door opening. On the other side stood a very surprised looking female vampire. My own jaw dropped open, mirroring hers.

  “Larkin?”

  “Abigail?” she asked, wide-eyed.

  Larkin looked from me to Reece and back to me again. Her lips split into a wide smile.

  “What on earth are you doing here? Where have you been?” Her gaze dropped to my outfit. “Are those my Fangers clothes?”

  I laughed out loud, and we hugged. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you everything. But first, what are you doing here? This is Reece by the way.”

  “Hi Reece. Larkin Spurling.” She shook his hand then turned back to me. “I’ve been working here since the bombing at the VHC. Some people helped me and Sadie get out of the country, and we came up here to continue our work. She set me up in a lab in LA working on a special project, but after the explosion, we didn’t think it was safe to keep using it. I would have told you, but I haven’t been able to reach you.”

  “I was in prison—the Safety Center in Merced. I escaped and went to your apartment in San Francisco, which is why I’m wearing your clothes, and then to the Bastion and—well like I said, it’s a long story. So Sadie is here then? We came here looking for her.”

  Larkin’s smile crumpled. “She was here. Abbi... Sadie’s dead.”

  21

  Masterpiece

  Abbi

  It was like a bear trap snapped closed around my heart. The spasm of pain was so intense I nearly doubled over.

  “Dead?”

  Though Larkin had spoken clearly, the word made no sense to me. Sadie Aldritch couldn’t be dead. It was impossible.

  Reece reached out to steady me as I swayed on my feet. My brain felt like a shaken snow globe, the thoughts and feelings a dizzying whirl.

  Unable to manage a full sentence, I whispered, “How?”

  “She was killed two days ago,” Larkin said. “House fire. I’m so sorry.”

  “Do they know if it was arson?” Reece demanded.

  “Are you sure she was in the house?” I asked, hanging on to a sliver of hope.

  Larkin nodded her head sadly. “The fire department found the body. It was a lake house on Lake Wanapitei—the owners didn’t use it in the winter and let Sadie stay there rent-free. The fire investigator said it might have been caused by a faulty wood stove, but I don’t think so. Earlier this week, Sadie said she thought she was being followed. Two nights ago when she didn’t answer her phone, I was worried about her. I drove out there to check on her and saw the firetrucks. The place was an inferno.”

  The mental image was too much for me. I broke down in sobs and turned toward Reece, who wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest.

  Larkin’s hand rested on my back. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated. “I know you two were close. I’m devastated, too. She was looking for you, you know? She was very worried about you when you stopped coming into work at the VHC. I wish she could see that you’re okay. She’d be so relieved.”

  “I just can’t believe it. She was so good, so kind. What are we going to do without her?” I said.

  Larkin’s voice quavered. “I honestly don’t know. I haven’t been able to think of anything else, but I came in to work tonight because I know that’s what Sadie would have wanted me t
o do. We’re so close to a cure. I can’t stop now. I want to finish the work—for her.”

  Reece’s voice rumbled against my cheek as he spoke to Larkin over my head. “A cure? For what?”

  “For vampirism,” she said as if it should have been obvious. “That’s what Sadie had me working on in LA and then continuing at the lab here.”

  “Wow,” he said. “A vampirism cure. I never thought it was possible.”

  “As it turns out, it’s more possible than creating artificial human blood,” Larkin said. “Or, at least, it’s a bit easier. They’ve been trying to create a viable blood substitute since the 1970s, and still, scientists can’t come up with one that really works. But the cure... we’ve actually got a formula ready for testing on live vampires.”

  We all went to the laboratory’s lounge and took seats, Reece and I sitting together on a low vinyl couch and Larkin selecting the club chair opposite it. I tried to focus on the conversation, though snippets of memories about Sadie and conversations we’d shared kept stealing into my brain and pulling me out of the moment.

  “We listened to news radio just yesterday and heard no mention of her death,” Reece was saying when I tuned back in.

  “There are some pretty high-ranking vampires in the government here. They agreed to help keep it quiet for a few more days until it’s determined whether the fire was truly accidental or if it was intentionally set,” Larkin explained.

  “Sadie was a hero to many vampires here as well as in America,” she said. “When word gets out there will be a lot of grieving. But if it’s learned she was murdered, there could be uprisings, violence. Vampires could get killed. We have to make sure we have all the facts and put together a plan for how the information is released.”

  “Yes,” Reece said in a thoughtful voice. “If someone wanted to spark a revolt, the assassination of a beloved vampire leader would be one way to go about it. The VHC bombing didn’t get the job done, so maybe they decided to try again.”