by E. S. Moore
As soon as he was close, I grabbed him and threw him up against the wall. If I was going to do this, I wanted to get it done so I could do a little searching tonight. Just because I needed to feed didn’t mean everything else could be ignored.
He grunted with the impact; his joint fell from his lips, but his grin never faltered. He already had his pants unbuttoned and they slid down his bony hips.
He wasn’t wearing anything underneath.
I had to fight a look of revulsion as I pressed up against him. From the little I had seen, everything on him was rotten. I jerked his head to the side, not bothering to test his blood for wolf or vamp taint. It was obvious by the decay of his body that he was neither.
Blood spurted from my gums, splashing his neck, as my fangs elongated. The dealer groaned and I noticed the other marks on his neck. This definitely wasn’t his first time. Unfortunately for him, it would be his last.
I sank my fangs into his neck and he gasped. He pressed hard against my thigh and I shifted in case there was any sort of leakage from below. I so didn’t want to have to get that sort of stain out of my leather pants, especially from this guy.
I fed on him, sucking down his blood in large gulps. He writhed against me in both pleasure and pain, doing everything he could to rub himself against me. He might have been getting off on it then, but after a few more moments, he wouldn’t be. I had no intention of stopping like the other vamps had.
I pulled harder at his neck, biting down as if I planned on tearing out his throat with my teeth. He grunted and pushed against me all the harder, pumping his hips even though I was doing my best to avoid his lower half.
I growled, not wanting any accidents, and jerked his head back a little. A scream escaped his lips.
It was that scream that covered the sound of the approaching footsteps.
A sharp sting in my neck caused me to jerk back, stunned. I had a heartbeat to wonder, What the fuck? before collapsing to the ground.
Nothing worked. I tried to move my arms, but they were totally useless to me. My legs were dead weights; even my head felt too heavy for my neck. I could only move my eyes from left to right, searching for whatever had poked me.
She stepped into view an instant later. The woman set down the metal case and held a syringe up for me to see before tossing it away. She smiled at me, her face upside down from my perspective. There was insanity there.
I couldn’t see the drug dealer, though I was sure he was dying. I had a chunk of his flesh in my mouth. I couldn’t even move my tongue enough to spit it out.
“Such a pretty thing,” the woman said. “Such a pity you chose this life.” She smiled at me, eyes gleaming.
My head swam and it was all I could do to stay conscious. I knew she had to have used silver of some sort to paralyze me, but there was more to it than that. I had no strength, worse than anything silver could do. My head was woozy, the entire world swam. That didn’t happen with just silver.
She vanished from view and I heard the case click open. She started humming as she moved things around inside. I could hear glass clinking and then something metallic being drawn through leather.
I immediately thought of my weapons, tucked away and useless to me.
Her face appeared again and she held up a serrated knife for me to see. “You chose the wrong night to hunt, my lovely little demon. It’s unfortunate your victim won’t see tomorrow. He might have liked to see the blood you took from him returned to the earth.”
I fought my body. I tried to scream, tried to even whimper, but nothing came out.
The woman sighed. Her green eyes were nearly twinkling in the gloom. “You should thank me too,” she said, leaning over me. “I will end your suffering, send you back to the hell you were spawned from. The Light will shine on you and perhaps you can still be saved. I will pray for you.”
She turned the blade over in her hand a few times. She seemed to be relishing the moment. It was almost like a ritual, something she had done over and over to the point it had become sacred.
“My hand is His hand,” she said. “I strike in love.” She lowered the blade to my throat.
Just as it touched my skin, it was suddenly yanked away. A blur of motion flew over me, striking the woman full on in the chest. I tried to turn my head to see who it was, but it was no use. My head swam even more and I started shuddering.
The scuffling was over quickly. The woman wasn’t screaming or cursing or crying. I wasn’t even sure if she was alive.
Footsteps approached, but I didn’t see who had saved me. The world did a loop and I felt everything I had consumed from the dealer come back up, though I couldn’t open my mouth to spew it out.
I couldn’t even choke. I tried hard not to breathe, did everything I could to keep from drowning in my own vomit. I wouldn’t die from suffocation, but I sure as hell could suffer for a very long time if I couldn’t clear my airway.
It was too much. Blood and bile oozed from between my lips. My head fell to the side, my eyes glazed over. A hand touched my face, the skin rough and calloused.
The world went blissfully dark.
12
Everything came back into focus in a rush. I shot up and my head immediately went woozy. It felt like a dark fog was rolling through my brain. My eyes wouldn’t focus and they burned as if someone had dumped salt in them. I lowered my head, closed my eyes, and then took a few deep breaths before things started to clear.
“Easy.” Nathan’s deep voice came from across the room.
I didn’t look up at him. I wasn’t so sure I’d be able to see much of anything just yet.
“What happened?” It felt like my skull was filled with cement. It hurt to think.
“Adrian brought you in,” Nathan said. I could hear the disdain in his voice. “He said you were attacked and he saved your life.”
I opened my eyes, wincing in the dim light. There was only a single lamp on to my right and yet it felt too bright. Of course, right then, even the glow of the moon would have been too bright.
I looked around the room, blinking rapidly to clear my vision. Everything was fuzzy around the edges, but at least I could see.
Nathan was sitting in the corner on a wooden chair that looked far too small to support his weight. Curtains hung over the windows framing him. They were drawn closed, so I wasn’t sure if it was night or day. I was so weak I couldn’t even tell.
It took me a moment to realize I was sitting on a soft, comfortable bed. The sheets were pooled in my lap, and my coat was gone. At least I was still wearing my clothes.
I slid to the edge of the bed and put my hands to my head as another burst of dizziness came over me. I hadn’t felt this bad since I was a Pureblood. Not even silver screwed me up like that.
“Where am I?”
“Where else?” Nathan said. “The Den.”
I looked around again. There was a dresser across the room that looked to be an antique. Beside the bed was a nightstand holding a glass of water. I started to reach for it, stopped, and gave Nathan a sideways glance. He nodded and I grabbed the glass and downed the water in one gulp. It burned as it went down.
If I was in the Den, I was in a part of the old library I’d never seen before. I knew most of the Cultists, if not all of them, lived in the Den, but it really hadn’t occurred to me they would have bedrooms like this. Of course, Nathan’s bedroom might be special, since he was a werewolf. The Purebloods might only have cots in overly crowded rooms for all I knew.
I groaned and tried to stand. I staggered back and sat down heavily. My head was pounding and I was sick to my stomach.
“Where’s Jonathan?”
“Downstairs with Adrian and our ... guest.” He didn’t sound too thrilled with the last. “I’m to take you down as soon as you are able to walk.”
I tried to rise again but fell back. My legs just wouldn’t work. “What did she do to me?”
Nathan rose and crossed the room to stand over me, fingers flexing at his side. I wasn’t
sure if he was concerned about my health or if he was upset about something else. It wouldn’t have surprised me if he’d considered killing me while I was unconscious. If I had been him, I might have considered the same.
“Thanks,” I said. I licked my lips. Even after the water, both my tongue and lips were dry.
Nathan gave me a funny look, his ever-present frown deepening.
“For not killing me while I was out.” I rubbed my temples. “And for letting me use your room to sleep it off.” Whatever “it” was.
A bitter smile rose to his lips. “It’s not my room. It’s Jonathan’s.”
Looking around once more, I realized that made much more sense. The room was a little too flamboyant for Nathan. The sheets were silky smooth, the lamp subdued and artful. Nathan’s room was probably militaristic and bland.
“Ready?”
I nodded and stood. My legs were wobbly, but I didn’t fall down this time. Points for me.
Nathan led the way out of the room and into the sitting room where we had our meeting with Adrian a few nights before. The room was empty of people. I glanced back as the door closed behind us, hiding the entrance. I knew it had been there, but I’d never imagined a bedroom was tucked away behind the hidden door.
We crossed the sitting room as fast as my legs would allow. Nathan opened the gilded doors for me, staring at me with as much disdain as he could muster. Pablo was standing outside, guarding the entrance. He glowered at me as we stepped through but didn’t say anything. I could tell he wanted to. The tattoo on his forehead nearly burned with his desire to say something nasty.
I did my best to smile at him, though I wasn’t so sure it reached my face. I felt numb all over. As far as I knew, I was glowering just as hard as he was.
Nathan headed for the stairs and I followed him. There were a few other Cultists milling about as we headed toward the office. None of them really paid me much mind. I had a feeling Jonathan had told them not to bother me when they saw me. He probably figured I wouldn’t take well to sympathy of any kind.
We entered the office. I immediately leaned against the wall as Nathan shut the door and headed across the room to press the button behind the desk. The secret door opened and he headed for the yawning darkness.
“Come on,” he said.
I hesitated. I really didn’t want to go down there. I knew what was behind bars down in the Cult’s basement. I didn’t want to see the mixed-blood creature again. Once was enough.
Nathan stared at me, seemingly indifferent to my discomfort. He motioned toward the opening and I finally started forward. I hated feeling so weak. I shouldn’t be afraid of anything, yet here I was tentative about going downstairs where everything dangerous was behind bars.
That thought straightened my back. I was fooling myself if I thought the only thing dangerous down there was locked away. I kept forgetting Jonathan and Nathan were wolves. I couldn’t make that mistake too often or one of them would end up taking advantage of it.
Nathan led the way down into the basement. I used the wall for support, taking each step carefully. I still wasn’t steady, but getting up and moving around had helped. A few more minutes and I might be able to walk without assistance.
I’d forgotten how big the basement was. It was as big as the entire building above us, making it seem almost cavernous. It might not have been so bad if there had been more than a bunch of cells, a table, and a few lights in the room.
Jonathan and Adrian were both waiting at the bottom of the stairs. They stood apart from each other, and I had a feeling they hadn’t been talking much. I’d kind of hoped Adrian would have left by now, though I still wasn’t quite sure how long I’d actually been out.
“I’m glad you are up and about,” Jonathan said. He wasn’t smiling.
My eyes immediately went past him to the cell where the poor mixed-blood creature had been. The beast had once been a werewolf, second in command behind the old Denmaster, Simon. Count Tremaine had mixed his blood with vampire blood, turning him into a mindless, raving beast.
His cell was now empty.
Jonathan followed my gaze and lowered his eyes. “We had to put him down,” he said. “I couldn’t let him suffer anymore.”
I nodded, somewhat relieved. I didn’t need that sort of reminder of my brother right then. I had enough on my plate than to be forced to think about Thomas, who had suffered the same fate as the Cult’s creature. He was still out there somewhere, either dead or crazy. It amounted to the same thing in the end.
“Fill me in,” I said, putting as much strength into my voice as I could. Nathan moved off to the side to stand close to Jonathan. “What the fuck happened?”
Adrian gave me a flat stare. “You were careless and she got the slip on you.” He waved his hand toward a cell in the far corner. The woman who attacked me was standing behind the bars, glaring at us. “She injected you with something. I saved you.”
I ground my teeth. “You were following me.”
Adrian’s shoulders did a little hop. I think it was supposed to be a shrug. “I was out looking for our killer. I happened to notice you and decided to see what you were up to. It was nothing more than simple curiosity.”
“We haven’t been able to get anything out of her,” Jonathan said, moving to put himself between Adrian and me. I think he could tell I was getting pissed. “Not anything useful anyway.”
The corner where the woman was kept was in gloom, much like the rest of the basement. Only a few lights were on and they barely gave enough light for a normal person to see by. Thankfully, I wasn’t a normal person.
“Let me talk to her.” I started walking toward her without waiting for an answer. Jonathan put his hand on my arm to stop me. I glared at him and he jerked his hand back.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine.” I did my best not to wobble when I said it.
“You don’t look fine.”
I clenched my fists and nearly hit him. I so didn’t need that pointed out to me. “I said I was fine.”
He nodded and stepped aside. Adrian had moved to stand in the way. He refused to budge, forcing me to go around him. I think he got some sort of perverse satisfaction out of it.
The woman watched me approach with wary eyes. She was still wearing the same clothes I’d last seen her in, though now they were dirty and her hair was mussed. Her metal case wasn’t with her, and I wondered if Adrian had brought it in with him or if he decided to keep it for himself. I would have to ask about that later.
“The Hand will fall upon those of darkness,” the woman said as I stopped in front of her cell. “He will see to it.”
“That’s nice,” I said. “Why did you attack me?”
She smiled. “Your blood is poisoned. It must be returned to the earth so that you may be free of your curse.”
I frowned. I wasn’t sure if she was as crazy as she sounded or if it was all an act. She kept smiling while she talked, seemingly unconcerned about her surroundings.
“You do know you’ll die if you don’t cooperate,” I said.
The woman kept on smiling. “Death will set me free. I do not fear it. I will go to Him willingly if that is His wish.”
I glanced back at Jonathan, who shrugged.
“What did you do to me?” I don’t know why I kept trying. It was obvious the woman wasn’t going to answer anything in a sane way.
Jonathan stepped forward. “It was a combination of silver, blood thinners, and something we cannot identify. I have someone looking into it.”
The woman grinned at us. “It will set you free if you let His Hand guide you as it has me.”
Adrian approached and held up the knife for me to see. Its edges were serrated and it looked dreadfully sharp. It wouldn’t have taken much effort to saw my throat open with that. I managed not to cringe. More points for me.
“She was going to cut your throat with this,” he said. “Until I stopped her.”
“The bl
ood thinner would have kept your blood flowing. You would have bled out pretty quickly.” Jonathan looked uncomfortable at that.
I stared at the knife, my stomach doing a few tumbles. With the silver keeping me paralyzed, I wouldn’t have been able to do a damn thing to stop her. My blood would have spilled freely, pumping in gushes, and I wouldn’t have been able to cry out for help. It would have been a horrible way to die. To be so helpless ... it was almost unimaginable.
“Who are you?” I asked, tearing my gaze away from the wicked-looking blade to stare at the woman.
She stepped back from the bars and crossed herself. She looked up as if she could see the sky even though we were well belowground. “Deliver me from these demons. Take me into Your arms where I shall be protected from their taint.”
I kept a tight rein on my emotions. This woman was seriously getting on my nerves, and if I were to lose control now and kill her, we wouldn’t be able to get anything out of her. I could feel my teeth wanting to push through. This woman had nearly killed me. That was something I couldn’t forgive.
“Did you kill the others? Why?”
The woman kept on praying or whatever it was she was doing. I don’t think she was listening to me anymore.
“I don’t think she is our murderer,” Jonathan said.
“She attacked me.”
“But she is not were. From what I can tell, she wouldn’t have anything to do with a werewolf.”
“And the blade is wrong,” Adrian said. The knife was gone. He had probably tucked it away somewhere to keep. “I’ve seen the wounds on my men. They do not match.”
I turned away from the cell. I couldn’t stand to watch the woman anymore. I really wanted her to be responsible, but I knew they were right. My attack had been a coincidence. There was no way this one woman could be responsible for so many deaths.
I started to walk toward the stairs, but my legs gave out. I staggered a few steps and Jonathan grabbed me by the arm to support me. I glared at him and he let me go. I didn’t need his help.
“We need to find out if she is alone,” I said. “Maybe there are others who she works with. Perhaps they are who we are looking for.”