by Nashoda Rose
“Get him to cover her face,” Waleron said.
I nodded. What we were doing was to save her life—if we could. Abby was dangerous right now. Starving and needing blood so badly that she’d kill anyone to get it. Luckily for us, she was also weak and confused.
“Cover her face, Simian.”
Simian grabbed the pillow, pulled off the pillowcase, and tossed the pillow aside. He went to lower it over Abby’s head when she rebelled, flinging against the chains, her screams piercing. Simian backed away, his eyes wide and filled with—fear. Fuck. My Ink didn’t have that emotion. What the fuck?
“Yes, it’s fear,” Waleron confirmed, “but it’s for her safety. Simian has been with you these past months and has grown close to her.”
“But that’s—”
“Nothing is always as it seems, Damien. You know that as well as I. You’ve been vulnerable—Simian has felt that. He can rise from sleep enough to know what is going on around him. Call him to you,” Waleron said.
It made me nervous about the connection he held with Abby. “Come to me, Simian. Rest. Sleep. Be one with me.” I raised my hand, palm upright, and felt the stirring of heat in my skin as Simian moved toward me obediently.
He almost made it, his form changing to the white light and shimmering for several seconds, as if uncertain. But when Abby thrashed against the chains and gave a high-pitched scream, Simian pulled back from the light and went into form again.
“Fuck.” Now what?
Simian leapt to Abby and she calmed.
Waleron raised his brows. “We either kill her or your Ink keeps her controlled. She needs to be taken back to the Talde house.”
ROARKE’S HEAD JERKED UP and he leapt to his feet. “We need to move. Now.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.
“Roarke. What is—?”
“Black licorice. Vampires are near.”
Oh, God. I knew how deadly they were and, despite Roarke being a Grit, if there were too many of them, they’d easily defeat us.
We jogged across the park, heading for the street. He pulled me out into traffic, ignoring the honking horns. “My car is around the corner. Run.” His hand tight in mine, we ran down the street to the next block and down an alley. “Shit, I can scent her. Jasmine. She’s close.” He yanked open the passenger door of a black SUV. “Get in.”
I had one leg in the car when my body was flung to the side and into the air. Roarke’s shout came at the same time as my scream. I landed on my hip on the pavement, my breath knocked out of me.
“Rayne, run. Get the fuck out of here. I’ll hold them off,” Roarke shouted. His loud growl echoed as what looked like five vampires moved in on him. One leapt and his razor-sharp nails raked down Roarke’s face, leaving a trail of blood.
Oh, God, Roarke. I scrambled to my feet, then hesitated as the vampires surrounded him. I heard them hissing and Roarke’s bellow as he tried to fight them off.
How could I leave him to die? But I couldn’t fight five vampires. Someone had to help him.
“Damn it, Rayne.” I saw him leap on a vampire and snap his neck. “Run.” Blood sprayed from his mouth as he yelled at me.
“Hold him still,” a female’s voice echoed in the alley. I backed away, my eyes now on the woman walking toward the fight. “Grab the girl.”
Three vampires left Roarke. He went wild, eyes blazing as he pulled a blade from his boot then slashed it across the neck of one of the vampire’s holding him down. The body went limp and collapsed to the ground.
“Roarke,” I screamed in warning as a vampire jumped from a garage rooftop and landed on top of him.
I had no choice. I had to run.
I ran.
Ragged breath came up behind me as hands clamped down on my shoulders and yanked me backward. I jerked my elbow back and hit something hard, hearing a sharp crack, but the hands remained locked on me.
“Serafina, rise to me,” I cried out.
“What the—?”
“Serafina, rise now,” I raised my voice.
Footsteps ran toward me. “She’s calling to her familiar. Her Ink. Stop her,” the female shouted.
I screamed Serafina’s name again, the burning expanded in my shoulder as she awakened.
“Kill it,” the female voice shouted. “Her right shoulder.”
How did she know where my Ink was? “Serafina! Rise. Now.” I struggled against the vampire who had his arms locked around my chest as he dragged me toward the woman I now knew was called Jasmine.
“No,” Roarke bellowed as he shoved a vampire off him as he stabbed his knife into the chest of another and ran for me.
White strands of what looked like string, shot through the air from the woman’s fingertips and wrapped around Roarke’s body like a spider’s web. He tried to shove them off, but every time he moved, the thin strands tightened.
“Fuck,” he shouted.
He was paralyzed. Roarke fell to the ground, blood seeping from his wounds to soak into the fibers of the webs.
“Roarke. No, Roarke.” I fought against the steel hands holding me prisoner, but it was useless. “Let him go.”
“He should have listened to me,” the woman said as she came toward me. “I thought his little reminders were enough.” She stopped in front of me then grabbed my shoulder.
“No,” I screamed kicking out, knowing what she was about to do. “Serafina, move. Now.”
The woman pulled out a knife from beneath her leather coat. My eyes widened as she sliced the blade across the sleeve of my shirt. I flailed against the vampire’s hold, knowing Serafina’s life was in the balance.
“No. Please. You can’t.”
The woman ignored me, fingers gripping me tight as she cut across the ink on my shoulder.
“Nooo,” I cried. Serafina. No, don’t let her die. Please.
Warm blood trickled down my arm. The wound wasn’t deep, but it was enough because I no longer felt Serafina’s movements. My body sagged and struggling became moot as the burning heat in my body vanished.
I looked up at the woman. “Why?” But I knew why.
“It should have been done long ago,” she said.
“Rayne,” Roarke said in a ragged voice. He tried to slice the webs off him, but there were too many and he could barely move. “Jasmine, don’t do this.”
“Put her in the car,” she ordered. The vampire holding me yanked me back and pulled me to a black SUV. It looked like one of the SUVs from Keir’s house. He opened the back door and shoved me into the backseat.
The vampire suddenly screamed a horrid shrill and fell to his knees, clutching his neck where a two-foot, thin metal rod embedded.
“Let her the fuck go.”
Kilter?
I dove for the door on the opposite side of the car, but a vampire was already there and blocked my escape. He climbed in and grabbed my wrist. I screamed as shooting pain went through my shoulder.
Jasmine jumped into the front seat and started the engine while two vampires fended off what looked like flying metal rods whirling toward them.
The car slammed into reverse.
The open passenger door hit the alley wall, bent, and then snapped under the pressure.
A rod went through the front windshield, narrowly missing Jasmine’s face, and went straight into the skull of the vampire holding my wrist.
Jasmine made a horrid screech and the car lurched backward faster.
I looked down the alley and my heart stopped. Kilter stood with his feet braced, knife in one hand and a metal rod in the other.
“Kilter, watch out. Her webs,” Roarke shouted.
Webs shot out the side window and went straight for Kilter. I threw my body over the seat, hooking my arms around the Lilac’s neck. The webs shot off in all directions then dissipated.
“Bitch,” she shrieked, jamming her elbow back into my cheek, breaking my hold.
I dove for the open door, but something had hold of my ankle. I looked down and discovered w
ebs crawling up my leg.
The car veered to the right as another rod pierced the windshield and the SUV slammed into a brick wall. The Lilac cursed as she looked over her shoulder at me, glaring. “Enough of this. He dies.”
She jumped out of the car.
My mind spun in a hazy dark abyss, not knowing who I was or what was happening to me as confusion swirled. It was like being torn apart then jammed back together again. But I was different. I wasn’t the same.
One thought remained clear—the need for blood.
With each new breath, it was an awakening from my existence of dull grey into a kaleidoscope of scents, sounds, and colors. I smelled the old walnut hardwood floors, the cotton sheets washed in lavender and honey with a hint of rose, the bathroom had mango soap and coconut shampoo. But there was one scent that overpowered all others—Damien. I’d recognize him anywhere, and yet when I tried to focus on him, I couldn’t.
I heard voices, deep male tones speaking, but it wasn’t aloud. It was in my head, but I couldn’t decipher what was being said.
I glanced up at the odd-looking animal that held me. His heartbeat was calm and steady like Damien’s had been when I rested my head on his chest. It was soothing, and the buzzing voices eased.
I tried to say Damien’s name, but no words emerged. Instead, a raw dry hiss escaped. I tried to focus on the shadows in the room, but unlike the enhanced sounds and smells, my vision was muddled and everything blended together in shades of red.
I fought the truth, but I knew what it was. Everything in my body had changed. My senses changed. My mind changed and my craving for blood was no longer for just any blood, but Liam’s.
Oh, God. No. No.
I didn’t want this.
I’d rather be dead.
I screamed.
Screamed for death to take me.
Screamed to escape my body.
I was trapped to Liam. Trapped to bloodthirst. A slave to my body’s needs over any morals. It was going to destroy me. I didn’t want this.
“Abbs, Simian is going to pick you up.”
My eyes darted to the red shadow a few feet from the bed. Damien. I couldn’t make out his form, but his voice and scent I knew.
I jerked as warm, soft, paw-like hands slid underneath me, and for a second, I rebelled until I breathed in the scent of Damien wafting from the animal’s coat. It wasn’t Damien, but a part of him, a piece of his own entity.
I calmed and let the animal pick me up in his arms then curled into his massive strength. The soft fur warmed my chilled flesh and I laid my head on its chest as he carried me from the room.
The buzzing began again, and I covered my ears and gritted my teeth in pain. A hand calmly caressed my hair and I closed my eyes. Soothing. Warm. Keep me warm.
I knew the second we were outside as millions of smells and sensations riddled me all at once—the wind ruffling my hair, bringing the scent of pine, moss, and wet soil. It bombarded me. It was too strong. The wind felt like hands smothering my skin, and with so many scents, it burned my nostrils.
I couldn’t take it. I had to go back. Back inside where it was safe.
I struggled against the massive arms, pushing on the chest, legs kicking, body flailing.
“She has no control over the magnified senses yet,” a voice said.
“When does it get better for her?”
Damien. He was close to me, and the urge to escape lessened.
“We’ll give her blood when she is contained at the house. It’ll ease the pain and strengthen her, but it isn’t Liam’s blood. She will crave his.”
I heard Damien swear under his breath and it echoed in my ears as if I was in a hollow cave. But what scared me was, when they mentioned Liam’s name, my body reacted. It hungered for him.
Oh, God, how could I fight this? But somewhere in my fucked-up mind, I knew there was no fighting it. I’d Transitioned into a vampire. I was one of them, and there was no escape.
A loud bang and click sounded then another before the engine of the car purred.
I kept my head pressed into the soft coat of the animal who held me, breathing in Damien and being comforted by it. I closed my eyes as a tear slipped from the rim and slid down my cold skin.
“Abbs. Christ, I’m sorry.” His words wrapped around me like a warm blanket, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted his arms. His touch.
But that would never happen again.
I no longer existed.
“RAYNE, STAY IN THE car. Head down,” I shouted.
I didn’t make my move on the Lilac until Rayne slid back into the SUV. I needed her out of here, but it was too dangerous to tell her to run with the Lilac bitch’s webs.
When I’d seen Rayne’s text then her missed call, the fear was real. So fuckin’ real I was motionless for several seconds as I stood in the middle of Liam’s club. Then it kicked in, the rage as I got into my car and raced to the west end of the city. I’d parked illegally in front of the park then used my enhanced vision to search for her. But it was the distinct sound of vampire hisses that drew me to the next block in the alley.
What I took in when I got there wasn’t heated rage; it was a cold, lethal calm.
And now it was time to fuckin’ dance.
I liked challenges. I thrived when odds were against me. But not this time. This time I cared who lived and who died. This time I had something to lose.
“Walk away and I’ll let you live, Scar,” the Lilac shouted from behind the cover of the SUV.
“How about I let you keep your head on your fuckin’ shoulders if you walk away right now.”
I dove to the right as the Lilac expelled webs from the tips of her fingers. The substance flew through the air and attached itself to the condo wall behind me. I threw one of the iron rods I’d picked up from the construction site next to the alley. It pierced through a vampire’s forehead and out the back of his skull.
He dropped to the ground.
I ran for cover behind a parked van, and the back windshield cracked then crinkled as a shuriken embedded into the glass inches from my head.
Footsteps approached.
Without looking, using only my senses, I raised my hand and shot my gun toward the movement on the other side of the car. The steps faltered then stopped, but no thump of a body.
Fuck.
“Get out of there,” the Grit shouted.
I didn’t think. I reacted. I dove to the other side of the car. White webs skimmed my leg. Fuck, she was fast. Being snared by her was not an option. I’d seen the Grit, Roarke, caught in her webs, which were stained pink with his blood.
A Grit who warned me. A Grit who was obviously on the same side when he was supposed to be an enemy of the Scars.
I slowly drew my dagger from my boot. Breathe calm. Listening.
A faint heartbeat to the left.
I jumped to my feet.
“Jasmine,” Roarke shouted. The distraction worked and the Lilac glanced at Roarke for a split second.
I threw the dagger as my head reeled at the name. Jasmine? Fuck, where did I know that name?
She dodged the blade, but not fast enough, and it pierced her shoulder. Her body staggered back from the impact. Then she yanked out the knife and tossed it to the ground.
This bitch was not going to hide or make a run for it. She wanted me dead.
“Roarke.” I tossed him one of my blades. Didn’t trust the guy. Didn’t like him. But Rayne did, and if he could get out of the webs, then maybe we’d have a chance.
“What the fuck do you want with her?” I called out while crouched behind a blue dumpster.
Jasmine’s voice purred. “Simple. She belongs to me.”
What the fuck did that mean? Possessive, grave-robbing bitch. I glanced around the side of the bin at Roarke. He had the knife and sawed at the webs around his wrists. But it would take too fuckin’ long.
Shit.
“You think I wouldn’t have back-up, Scar?” Oh, I knew she’d have back u
p. I sensed them all around me. Jasmine laughed, the sound echoing in the alley. “Put down the gun, Kilter.”
She knew who I was? Interesting and disturbing. Who the hell was this Lilac? “Not happening, bitch.”
I glanced up at the rooftop of the mechanic shop and saw four Long Necks and three vampires. What the hell was going on here? Since when did vampires and CWOs run together?
A scream wrenched through the air.
Rayne’s scream.
Fuck.
I darted out from behind the dumpster, shot off several rounds toward the Lilac, and ran for the SUV. A Long Neck dragged her from the backseat by the ankle, and she landed on her abdomen on the ground.
“Rayne. Fuck.” Fury exploded. I was too fuckin’ far away. There were several thumps behind me. I knew what it was, the vampires and Long Necks from the rooftop. “Roarke, damn it. I can’t hold them.” “Delara. Jedrik. Where the fuck are you?” No response, meaning they weren’t close enough.
I grunted as a shuriken embedded into the back of my right hand.
The gun dropped.
I kept running for Rayne.
I silently called to my Ink. It was dangerous using it without others to back me up since it made me weak. Shit, I hadn’t called to it in over two decades because I always worked alone. But I had no choice.
I was tackled from behind and crashed to the pavement. I jerked my elbow back into the culprit and heard a crack.
I did it again.
His weight was off me, so I rolled right. When I bent my leg to reach my knife strapped to my thigh, burning pain shot into my abdomen.
Jesus. Fuck.
My eyes and hand went to my stomach. A knife protruded and blood seeped into my T-shirt. I clenched my jaw and yanked the blade out. Then I leapt to my feet.
When I straightened, the Lilac’s followers surrounded me. My Ink was useless to try and call with a fuckin’ gaping stab wound, and there were no other Scars close enough to contact by telepathy. But no way in hell was surrendering an option.