by Kim Faulks
I leaned in close. “You’re okay. Everything is okay now.”
She opened her mouth, her thick tongue worked, a hiss of fetid air hit me with the hoarse sound. “Am…I…dead?”
“No.” I shook my head. “No you’re not. Do you remember your name?”
The slow, tiny shake of her head filled me with pain. What if she didn’t remember? What if she never understood how much she was loved, how much she was needed?
“Wait,” she whispered. “Sarah. My name’s Sarah.”
Her eyes fell behind me. Doubt crept into her gaze. “Where…where am I?”
I turned my head staring at the ground. “Clothes, she needs something to wear.”
“I’m on it.” Kol’s voice broke mid-sentence.
Footsteps filled the space, then faded behind me. I turned to her and forced a smile as she swung a leg over the side of the steel shelf. The descent was awkward. I dropped her hand to grab her by her waist. Her feet hit the floor with a thud and the words just poured from me. “You’re in the hospital. I want you to know everything’s okay now. The leukemia’s gone and you’re fine.”
She stilled, holding onto the edge. Her brows sank as she met my gaze. “What do you mean gone?”
Footsteps thundered along the hall. Kol was in my face before I could blink.
“This is the best I could find.” He shoved a green shirt into my hand. “And we have a problem. Cops, pulling up outside.”
He kept his gaze on me, circling enough to grasp Sarah’s wrist. “Heartbeat.” One step and he captured her face to peel back her top lip. “No fangs. She’s alive…mortal.”
“You need to put this on.” I shoved the shirt toward her. “Go, go out to meet them. They’ll…they’ll take you to your family.” I gave her arm one last squeeze, my voice trailing off to a whisper. “Have a happy life, Sarah. Kiss your little girl. She needs you…she needs her mom.”
Sarah nodded.
Plastic rustled around me as I took a step away. Body bags moved. Fingers speared the surface and parted the seam.
Kol stared at the shelves filled with moving bags. “They’re all alive, Nova. Christ, you’ve not just resurrected one, you’ve resurrected them all.”
I tried to smile, tried to feel the warmth. But a dark night stole my sun.
I wobbled. Kol’s arms were there to catch me.
I’d been on the highest of highs…and now I hit the downhill run for the lowest of lows.
Kol
Fate no longer turned the wheel for Nova.
She shattered the spokes, fractured the wood, and destroyed the cycle altogether.
And her power scared the hell out of me.
Energy sparked like the aftermath of a violent squall. Caustic threads still lingered, lashing my skin like a whip. I hated myself for the weak thoughts that raced through my head.
What animated me wasn’t the same that animated her.
It couldn’t be.
So if she wasn’t just a vampire—if she wasn’t just an undead, then what was she?
A tortured sound slipped from her lips. I held her close, forcing the doubts away and swept her into my arms. “Easy now…easy, I’ve got you.”
As I made for the door, something heavy hit the ground. I never stopped, not to glance over my shoulder, the resurrected climbed from their stainless beds and stood. The red and blue lights of the police cars splashed the hallway with wavering pools of color toward the front of the building. If I hurried, I might just make it.
“Kol.” Nova’s arms gripped my neck. I could almost feel her bones rattle. “Put me down.”
My stomach was a rock. I stared at the darkened windows and forced myself to move faster, heading for the stairs. “It’s okay, Nova. Hold on, just a little longer…just hold on.”
“Boston Police,” someone snapped. “We’re armed and we’re in the building!”
I climbed as the roar echoed through the hallway and I exited the first floor. The third office would bring me close to the exit. I grasped Nova with one arm and the door with the other and shoved. The lock snapped. I made for the window and looked down.
The bin was right below us. A soft landing, and we were gone.
“There’s someone in there. Mike. Mike! There’s someone in there!” The thick Boston accent drifted from below. “Jesus Christ what is that? Stop, put your hands up. I said, hands up in the air. Mike! Mike!”
I mapped the officer’s voice into the cold room filled with the resurrected.
The latch sprang free. I yanked the sill, shoving the pane high, and I looked out. Cardboard boxes and Styrofoam filled the industrial compartment. I cradled Nova close and eased one leg out—
The nip at my neck was soft.
Her lick followed, finding the groove of my vein. A purr vibrated as she nuzzled and teased. Dark desire followed. She seduced me, luring me closer, like a spider to the fly. I turned my head, catching her mouth with mine. Urgency filled me. I needed to be alone with her, needed to have her at my neck biting, sucking.
I shook my head, casting aside the magic she wove. “I need to get you home. Just a little longer, love. Hold on.”
“Hungry,” she purred. “So hungry.”
I gripped her tight and swung my other leg from the window. One look at the night, and I leapt. We hit the stacked boxes with a thud. I lowered her over the side and followed. The night seemed to settle in her eyes. Black orbs pierced me with a look of despair. She gripped hold of the steel edge of the bin as though her world would fall through the cracks.
She’d used too much power, more than I thought was possible for one vampire to possess.
“I’ve got you, love.” I grasped her waist and lifted. “Come on, let’s get you home.”
I kept an eye on the street and took the long way around. Cutting through the hospital with a woman in my arms was bound to raise questions.
“I’m so cold,” she whimpered. “So cold.”
She was a block of ice in my arms, and yet I was the one who melted. I pulled her close, giving her what little warmth an undead had and hurried. “You’ve pushed yourself beyond anything I’d ever seen before. I still can’t believe it, can’t wrap my mind around what you can do.”
“Nothing special,” she whispered and buried her face harder against me.
I rounded the last corner and caught sight of my car. “That’s where you’re wrong, love. That’s where you’re so very wrong.”
I fumbled my fingers into my pants pocket, and dragged my keys free. The blinkers lit up as the locks released. I grabbed the handle and yanked the door open. Nova held tight as I slid her inside.
“You have to let me go sweetheart.”
Her grip was unrelenting. “Don’t leave me. Don’t…”
“I’m not going anywhere…never again. I’m here, by your side for better or for worse.”
Her hands slipped to hit her lap.
“Hang on. I’ll have you warmer in a second.”
The door thumped shut. I flew around the front and climbed in. The car started with a roar and I slapped the dials, pushing the heat as high as it would go and praying we’d make it home in time.
Silence filled the car. Only the chattering of her teeth told me she was still with me. I glanced to her huddled form. “Talk to me, keep your mind active. Tell me what was it like?”
“G-good. A-alive…felt so a-alive.”
“You’re getting strong, so much stronger than you were in the alley. You healed all of them, didn’t you?”
I caught her nod.
“Can you feel it, their sickness?”
A moan slipped from her chattering teeth. “Y-yes.”
I rammed the accelerator, pushing the car harder. Trees and cars whipped past at a blur.
“Photos, that’s what I saw. Her memories were like photos, filling my head. She has a little girl…a beautiful little—”
Nova hugged the edge of the seat as I swung the car. Almost there...the suburban area flew by at a bl
ur. Most time I enjoyed the drive, I enjoyed catching a glimpse of the humans’ lives. But not tonight. I gunned the engine and caught the rise of the hill. The red sensor blinked on. The gate rolled open. “Come on. Come on.”
She was still now. There was no chatter, no sounds, not even a twitch under the full blast of the heater. “Nova, love, talk to me.”
The wheels rolled, piercing my head with a squeal. I nosed the car through. The edge scraped the Camaro’s paintwork as I rolled. I swallowed a wince and reached for her hand. “We’re here, love. We’re home.”
I shouldered the door open. Panic drove my steps as I raced around the car for her. “Nova…Nova.”
She slumped to the side as I wrenched her door open. My fingers tangled in her hair, gripping her shoulders.
“Come on, Nova. Please. Don’t do this to me.”
I cradled her to my chest as I made for the door. I fumbled with the lock. I stepped inside, stopping long enough to twist the lock before I made for the stairs. “You made it, Nova. Did you hear me? You made it.”
A soft gasp slipped free from her mouth as I climbed toward our bedroom. A shudder followed. I lowered her to the mattress and brushed aside her hair. Her eyes opened, a weak smile broke free, but I knew we weren’t safe yet.
My fingers combed her hair as I cradled her head, bringing it to my neck. “Feed Nova. Feed.”
I closed my eyes, my senses alight, waiting for the sting of her teeth and the deep pulls on my blood.
A loud chime echoed once, and then again. I groaned and raised my head. The door bell was relentless, filling the house one hideous sound after another. “Enough! I’ll be there in a minute…Christ…of all the damn times.” I turned to her as the blasted noise cut through the night one last time and fell silent. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Wait for me…can you do that?”
“Hurry.” Her whisper ignited my resolve like fuel.
I stumbled from the room, hitting every third step on my way down. My damn fingers couldn’t work the lock. I grasped the handle and twisted, wrenching the door free. Wood fractured around the frame as I snarled, “What the hell do you want?”
Rurik stood on the step, leaning against the facade. Angelique was beside him, her arms entwined around a mortal. Then I glanced to the human woman beside my maker, fresh bite marks seeped at her neck.
“You haven’t replied to my texts,” Angelique drawled, shifting her gaze to the shards of wood that hang from the doorway.
I swallowed hard. Get rid of them…get rid of them now…
“You going to invite us in?” Rurik murmured. The devil danced in his tone. “Or would you prefer we partied out here? I’m sure the neighbors would enjoy the show.”
My grip tightened. I considered slamming the door in his face. I licked my lips and turned my head, searching for sounds upstairs. “This isn’t a good time. Come back later.”
Rurik took a step forward, crowding the entrance, and searched my face. “Don’t tell me you’re going to be rude after we’ve driven all this way? Besides…” He motioned to the humans at his side. “We brought dinner, male and female. I’ve heard you’ve been rather hungry of late.”
The threat hung in the air. I tightened my fist. He knew. Somehow he knew.
The madam. She told him everything.
I was drowning, slipping under the dark water of desperation and the scent of stagnant water filled me. I tried to swallow as Angelique took a step, brushing past Rurik, and shouldered her way inside, towing the male in her wake. “What’s the problem with you, Kol? You know we don’t bite.”
I turned, following her as she scanned the foyer and raised her head. Panic filled me. I clenched my fist ready to make a move if she neared the stairs. One more step and I’d kill her…I’d kill the woman I considered the closest thing to a friend and be damned the consequences.
“So where is the lovely Nova?” Rurik called, glancing into the barren lounge room.
“Out…” I muttered. “She’s out, hunting.”
Angelique spun and raised her head toward my bedroom, her nostrils flared as she scented the air and caught my lie. “That’s a pity, Kol. I bought this one especially for her.”
The mortal male gave a killer smile and scraped his bangs backwards.
“Oh well,” She turned, pulling her meal nice and close. “I guess—” Her croon ended. She snapped her gaze upwards and a smile broke out across blood red lips. “There you are, Nova. Come, see what we brought for you.”
I followed her focus. Nova took a step closer, grasping the bannister, and stared down at our visitors. She looked at them with a soulless gaze. The same look I’d witnessed moments before. Her sallow skin looked sickly under the overhead lights. Harsh gasps grated like sandpaper. She licked her lips and took a slow step down the stairs toward us.
I mounted the first step before Rurik’s hand landed on my arm. “Relax, Kol. She’s amongst friends here. Let her feed.”
Nova took another step.
Her blank stare gave me chills.
They didn’t understand…they had no idea. The first lick of her power singed the air as she descended the stairs. I realized with blinding clarity that I could protect myself from many things…but not from her.
Nova
The redolence of blood stoked my hunger. Cold, dark, feral hunger.
I couldn’t fight, couldn’t turn away—even if I wanted to—and that dark part of my soul didn’t want to.
“Nova, wait…I think you should...”
A familiar voice tried to pierce the void, tried to stop the inevitable. I turned my head. Terrified blue eyes met mine. Kol held out a hand, lips moved…pleading.
He understood what I wanted. The others didn’t. Not yet.
I heard nothing. I knew nothing but the longing in my veins and that cold, dark whisper urging me to feed.
My fangs punched out, cleaving my lips. Stairs faded, everything faded—everything but the animal inside and that slick, pungent scent of blood.
I licked my lips and sank lower.
My hunger was in the driving seat. My power had hold of the reins. Desire licked between my thighs. My nipples hardened, rasping against the lace of my bra as I moved.
He was strong…stronger than I’d ever had before.
But the hunter in me was ready.
“Here, come, enjoy what we bought. This is a celebration, after all, isn’t it?” Rurik grinned and yanked the human from Angelique’s arms. Blood dribbled from twin puncture wounds at the man’s throat.
I gripped the balustrade, numb feet moved, taking one step after another…lower…lower. That glimmer inside me dimmed as dark power waged against it. This was no star, no sun…this was need…
Movement drew my focus. I whipped my head toward the shift. Blond curls danced as Kol moved from the stairs. “Rurik, there’s something I should’ve told you.”
A hiss tore from my lips, vibrating through my chest and down to that empty hollow inside. A warning sliced through the air like a blade…mine…
Night was the color of blood…ancient, aged blood slipping down my throat to coat my hunger. I could already taste him…already feel him coating the burn inside my chest.
“God, what is that?” Angelique scanned the room and looked out the window. Her hand fluttered to her arm, rubbing cloth on skin…the sound of her fear ratcheting that infernal need to hunt higher. She backed away as I sank to the last step. “Does anyone else feel that?”
Rurik lifted his head from the mortal’s neck. His eyes glistened like black pools. Tiny crimson drops lingered at the edge of his lips as he found my gaze and grinned. “Come,” his breathy words filled my head.
I crossed the foyer, dragging in the rancid stench of fear. Rurik turned his head, following my gaze. He slid his hand along the nape of the mortal’s neck and craned his head to the side. “There’s no need to hunt, my dear. He’s ready for you.”
A whimper echoed from Kol and bounced around the room. “It’s not him she�
��s stalking.”
I shifted my gaze to Kol. A cold, vengeful sound echoed from my chest, stilling his sound.
The vampire whipped his head around, but it was too late. I was already moving, already barreling toward him with cold hunger roaring in my ears.
Hair whipped my eyes as I lunged. The brunt cracked something in my chest as I took the vampire to the ground. My legs wrapped around his waist, constricting him while I pinned his shoulders to the ground.
There was a spark of desire, of elation…of life. I captured that glimmer, and echoed with a smile of my own. My fangs ached with ravenous hunger. There was that moment, in the space between one breath and the next that he understood…that he truly understood.
He wasn’t the apex predator anymore.
“No—” The vampire’s wide brown eyes implored me.
There was no going back as I lowered my lips toward his neck and struck.
Fists battered the back of my head. Something sharp raked my skin. My hair was pulled taut as fire lashed my scalp. None of that mattered…nothing but the food in my mouth as I sank my fangs deeper, tapping into that well.
Cold, thick blood slipped down the back of my throat. The blood of old filled me. He was the sweetest wine, the clearest day…he was mine. I dragged harder, taking him in deeper. His fist came from nowhere. The blow brutal, thundering into the side of my head. My mouth tore from his neck.
A savage sound tore from the center of my chest. Panting breath blew into my eyes. My tongue sneaked out, swiping the corner of my mouth as Rurik screamed, “Jesus Christ, what the fuck is this?”
A hand was shoved into my view. The wrist torn and jagged, fresh bite marks on either side of the vein. Blood trickled from the wound, and I leaned over, making a move as he pulled away.
“That’s it, come on, Nova. Take my blood,” Kol murmured, taking one slow step away.
I dragged my leg over the vampire underneath me. Hunger burned like hate, searing the insides of my throat…and there was only one relief. More blood.