by Lexi C. Foss
“Great, now let me do the talking.”
And by talking, I mean kick some ass.
I fling open the glass door and scan the space filled with people, looking for the taller ones. The stronger ones. The ones who thrum with power and salivate with their never-ending thirst.
Leroy and Mikey are apparently smart because no one fits the bill. I walk right up to the bar and slap my hand on the surface.
“Where are the Castlerocks?”
The bartender laughs. “Get out of here, kid. You’re not old enough to be in here.”
James grabs my shoulders, moving me out of the way, and leans forward. His wrath ripples from him. “We have a meeting. Take us to the basement, chap, or I’ll send all your patrons home with missing teeth. Don’t try me, fucker.”
Whatever creepy-ass vibe James puts off, it clearly freaks out the bartender. It’s annoying, but it gets the job done. I do wonder, though, about my recruiter partner for the evening. Are his terrifying vibes another version of glamour? Could this massive guy be a vampire disguised as an asshole?
I’m tempted to poke him with my stake, but think better of it.
Jude would whip my ass if I killed his grumpy recruiter. Besides, it’s not unheard of to have vampires who slay their own kind. In fact, we have quite a few of those sprinkled amongst our ranks, though not everyone is privy to that information. Not every vampire is evil.
He’s not.
Pain squeezes my heart. Terrible timing. I can’t afford to hope that somehow Laurent is a friendly vampire. Hell, no vampire is exactly friendly. The ones I have to work with are tolerable at best. Loey’s the only one I consider a real friend, but that girl’s on a death mission. She’s definitely different than most.
However, Laurent is just like them.
The pale-haired siblings.
Cruel, unknown woman and her brother Weston.
They left Laurent there to complete the change alone, with me as a living, breathing bloody temptation just beyond his reach. His growls and howls and demands haunt me to this day.
He wanted to eat me alive.
They came back for him—those evil bastards—and probably blew through every town from here to Los Angeles, devouring people like they were snacks.
I have to kill him.
He’d want that.
Mercy be thy way.
“Follow me,” the bartender grunts, shaking me out of my head.
If I don’t get my head out of my ass, I’m going to get myself killed. I reach under my poncho, removing one of my stakes. The powerful rune magic it’s infused with buzzes against my skin, eager to aid in my mission.
The bartender guides James and me down a long hallway, through a supply room, and through a door that leads to a dank basement. It’s dark and smells musty, but I can sense the malevolence lurking below.
James shoots me a warning look over his shoulder—one I interpret easily. Be careful. I always am. Mercy commands that I am.
We reach the bottom and an older guy with a receding hairline, bulging belly, and a cigarette hanging from his lip glares at us.
“Eddie, why the fuck are the police—”
“Leroy,” Eddie snaps. “They’re not the police.”
Leroy stubs his cigarette into the ashtray and stands up, his stomach jiggling behind his stained shirt. “Get the fuck outta here.”
James prowls his way, his fury damn near clouding the air around us. It makes me wonder if magic is cloaking his true self. This one is a mystery to me.
“I’m here to have a chat with your baby brother,” James spits out. “You can find him and let us speak in peace, or we can do shit the hard way.”
Leroy sneers at him. “You can fuckin’ try, asshole. You’ll have to deal with Ricardo if you want to get to Mikey.”
James starts for the door behind Leroy, shoving the gluttonous bastard out of the way.
“Your funeral,” Leroy bellows.
As soon as James turns the knob, my stakes crackle to life. I grab my second stake, prepared to kick some bloodsucker ass.
Hisses can be heard as the vampires pick up on the energy James and I bring. Between my abilities and James’s unknown ones, the vampires are alarmed and pissed off.
Too damn bad.
I spot Mikey right away. He’s getting his dick sucked by a pale vampire. Based on the slurping and his lolled head, cum isn’t the only thing she’s sucking out of him. The three other vampires abandon the people they’ve been feeding on to rise to their feet, assuming a defensive position.
“I just want the kid,” James states in a bored tone. “Hand him over and we’ll get out of here.”
Mikey flips him off before tangling his fingers in the vampire’s hair. James, no longer patient, grabs the closest vampire by the throat, shoving him against the wall. The thing fights against his hold, but it’s no match for him. James is definitely…more.
I stalk right up to the vampire in front of Mikey and nudge her with my boot. “Beat it, bitch.”
She pops off Mikey’s dick to snarl at me. Unlike the other vampires in the room, her eyes are murky white rather than red. Her head tilts as she takes in my age, blood trickling down her chin.
“I said leave,” I bite out. “If you value your piece of shit life, leave.”
The two other vampires, having decided not to fuck with James, prowl my way, standing behind the woman like they’ll do what it takes to protect her.
Swinging my arms out from beneath my poncho, I reveal my weapons. They crackle and hum, the rune markings lighting up. The vampires aren’t afraid, more curious than anything.
“Put your pants on, Mikey. You’re going with my buddy over there.”
“Over my dead body,” the woman hisses. “We made a deal. He’s mine to feed on.”
Mikey, who’s probably close to my age, is still drunk from the effects of her venom. The pathetic guy sits there with his legs sprawled out and bleeding dick jutting out, a lazy grin on his face.
Jude sure knows how to pick ’em.
I’m about to pull the worthless asshole up when the female decides to attack. Wrong move, bitch.
The red haze I’ve become one with emits from the stake as white lightning flips out around the stake like tiny whips, desperate to end evil. I slash my arm to the side, plowing the sharp point into her throat. She cries out, a gargled sound, but she’ll live from this wound. If I want her dead, I have to stick her in that dead heart of hers.
“Leave,” I bellow, projecting fire into my voice, warning the other two vampires.
A sickening thud can be heard from the other side of the room, but I don’t have time to check on James. He can handle himself, contrary to Jude’s belief.
The female claws at me, snapping her teeth. While the other two seem more reasonable, looming behind her and not attacking me, this one is out of control.
“I really didn’t want to have to do this,” I grind out as I drive the other stake with precision through her chest.
Her body glows red as the power of my ruby stake slashes through her, attacking her blood one cell at a time. The sizzle of the magic cuts through her, eradicating the evil within seconds from the inside out. Unlike the usual staking, mine causes the beast to catch flame, the red haze and white lightning rolling through the flames. Soon, she’ll be nothing but teeth and bones, a grotesque warning for those like her who test the power of the ruby stakes.
This has Mikey’s attention. His mouth is parted as he fumbles to put away his messy dick. The other two vampires are retreating.
“Tell your friends—the ones in your nest who aren’t here—business is closed,” I instruct them. “Don’t come back no matter what Leroy offers. I have crap to do and you two seem reasonable unlike your friends.” I dart my gaze between the bones at my feet and the pile of ash at James’s.
“You can’t do that to my brother, man,” Mikey grumbles. “We got a good thing going with them and—”
“We’re through here,”
one of the vampires says.
“Ricardo,” Mikey tries. “Hear me out.”
“No,” Ricardo snaps. He levels me with a hard glare. “The girl has said enough on your behalf. Goodbye.”
Ricardo and the other vampire start out the door, but James blocks their path.
“Why should I let you go?” James asks, licking his teeth. “You seem like trouble to me.”
“Lizzie was trouble,” Ricardo admits, “but your daughter took care of her.”
“She’s not my daughter,” James grits out. “Jesus, do I look that old?”
“Don’t answer that if you value your existence,” I blurt out to Ricardo. “What was wrong with her? Why do you say she was trouble?”
Ricardo turns to me, his red eyes flashing. “Tainted. Bad blood. Sick. Something was in her system, making her act erratically. I’m looking into it.”
Interesting.
“You know the nightclub run in the catacombs beneath The Basilica of St Patrick’s Old Cathedral here in Manhattan?” I ask, wiping Lizzie’s blood off my stake with my poncho.
Ricardo nods. “Been there a time or two.”
“I’ll be there thirty days from now near midnight. If you find information on what was in her, let me know.” I walk over to him after I’ve stowed my stakes away and offer my hand. “Do we have a deal?”
The other vampire grumbles.
“Enough, Victor,” Ricardo states. “We’ll play nice with the child.”
I’m used to assholes seeing me as a young, weak girl. Their words don’t insult me. You’d have to care, which I don’t.
“Good,” I say, thrusting my hand out again. “Shake on it.”
I know these vampires, especially the old ones. Most are reasonable and don’t mind co-existing. How he got mixed up with Leroy’s smarmy ass is beyond me.
He lets out a soft sigh and then clasps his icy cold hand around mine, his long fingernails biting into my flesh. His grip is strong and unyielding. He holds on longer than he should, clearly thrilled by the way my heart rate kicks up a few notches.
“We have a deal, young one. Are we dismissed?”
“Goodbye, Ricardo. Don’t make me hunt you down for information.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” he says, baring his sharp incisors.
With a flash, he darts past James, his buddy following behind.
“Why couldn’t we just kill them?” James complains.
“Because you know Jude. He values information above everything. Ricardo seeks information that could be useful to him.” I shrug. “Grab your guy and let’s bail.”
He stops me with a hand to my throat, squeezing just enough to let me feel his strength. “I was wrong about you. You’re quite something, aren’t you?”
“Quite.”
His lips curl up on one side into a handsome grin he’s yet to show. “After I drop off this idiot, why don’t you and me—”
“No,” I mutter, pulling his hand from my throat. “I don’t date.”
“No one said anything about dating, darlin’.”
“James, there will never be a you and me. I’m not going to be your fuck buddy now that you deem me worthy. I don’t date. I don’t fuck. I just work.”
“Sad life, little one.”
“I already have my happily ever after,” I explain with a shrug. “Now I need to keep the villains away so I can keep her.”
“I knew you were a lesbian,” he grumbles.
I don’t correct him. Instead, I slip past him and on to my next destination.
Loey.
4
Castilla
The pulse of the music grows louder the deeper I descend into the nightclub. Being that it’s in the catacombs beneath The Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, you only go there if you know it’s there. It’s a hub of paranormal activity being that it’s a portal to other dimensions. Prudence, my old lady friend, knows all about traveling through dimensions. While in one of the other realms, she picked up an ability to transport within the same realm. It’s quite ironic how she can hold on to your arm and flash you to your destination within seconds, but it’ll take her ten minutes just to walk from her office at Headquarters to the restroom. She runs me home all the time, but I think that’s because she has grandmotherly instincts over Mercy, not that she necessarily wants to be my ride.
“This ain’t a daycare, runt,” a huge guy with a green aura says from the nightclub entry door.
“Elton knows me,” I drawl out. “Give him a call.”
“I’m not bothering the owner to let in some kid.”
Another guy, one I’m familiar with, places a hand on the annoying dude’s shoulder. “Rex, let her in. She’s cool.”
“Sorry, Jeb, not happenin’. It’s my ass that’ll get chewed out if I let in children, not yours,” Rex growls.
Jeb chuckles as he walks off. “I tried, man. I tried.”
Another woman comes to stand beside me. One I know very, very well. I side-eye Loey, not missing the mischievous glint in her blue eyes. Her blond hair is pulled back into a high ponytail tonight, giving her not just the girl next door vibe, but a cheerleader one too. Though it’s probably not helping my case to get inside because she looks like another young, innocent girl who doesn’t belong in this nightclub, I know looks can be deceiving.
“She’s with me,” Loey says, her voice nearly a growl of animosity.
Loey hates most people. Has attitude like you would not believe. Isn’t afraid to get into a brawl just to make a point. Luckily, we’ve bonded. Neither of us warms up easily, but our friendship was something in my life that just came easily.
Everything has been hard.
I’ll take what I can get.
“Because that makes a difference,” Rex sneers. “Go home. It’s bedtime, little girls. Your daddies—”
His words are cut off when Loey throat punches him. He grabs at his neck, gasping for air as his face turns purple. Loey grabs the front of his shirt, yanking the burly guy toward her.
“You’ll live, demon,” Loey says in a sweet, prissy voice. “Next time, you won’t. Pick on someone your own size. It’s embarrassing when little girls have to whip your big ass.”
She lets go of his shirt to pat his chest before shooting me a smirk. I follow after her, ignoring several salacious stares from clubbers. We make our way over to the bar.
“Can I buy you two baby dolls a drink?” an older man with a graying beard asks.
“No, but you and your buddy could give up your seats for two ladies.” She shakes her head. “I swear, chivalry is dead. I’ve been to more realms than I can count and the male population on each one is all the same.”
The man loses his interest and purses his lips in annoyance. “Try smiling and maybe you’d have a chance of getting laid.”
Our favorite bartender—Pok—leans forward and hisses at the man. Pok, though I’m not exactly sure what he is, is not one to fuck with. The old man gets the hint rather quickly, grabbing hold of the man’s arm beside him. They shuffle away, opening up the seats for us.
“Thanks, Pok,” I say, giving him a small smile. Not too wide. A few months ago, I grinned at him, and he gave me his number. Pass.
“Anything for my girls.” He beams back, his stare lingering too long on my lips. “Same as usual?”
We both nod and then he heads off.
“Pok has it bad for you,” Loey says as we sit on our stools. “I mean, he seems like he’s a pretty cool guy. Maybe you should have called him.”
“I’m not looking to make snake babies with him.” I shudder at the thought of having sex with a giant beast of a man-thing like Pok.
“Not every sexual encounter leads to babies,” Loey deadpans.
My only one has.
“So? Any good news?” I ask my friend. “Did you find them all?”
Her brows pinch and she scowls. “No. The Shadowed Sanctum has to be hidden behind a cloaking spell or something. I’ve searched everyw
here, Casti. Everywhere. I’m running out of options.”
The defeat in her tone has us both growing quiet. Pok returns, giving Loey and me the sewer special. It’s not really sewer water, but it’s neon green, smells like something you’d paint your house with, and burns like a motherfucker. It’s also a really great drink to loosen you up. Whatever they put inside doesn’t just give a relaxing vibe to humans, it’s universal in the way it affects supes as well.
“Do you think it’s someplace you’ve already been but just hidden really well?” I ask as I pick up my sewer special. I sip it and cringe. So gross, but a zing of ease shoots down my spine. Exactly what I needed.
“It’s possible. Maybe even probable. I feel like such a failure.” Her eyes fall to her drink. “Sometimes I wonder why I’m still doing this. It’d be much easier…” She trails off, her blue eyes darting my way.
To die.
Or specifically, let me kill her.
The thought of my friend dying hurts, but it’s necessary. I get it. Mercy be thy way. She’s a vampire. Her life—an immortal one if I don’t intervene—is driven by thirst and violence. She’ll never be the girl she was before she was turned. Loey, at the end of the day, is a bloodsucker. An animal. Evil running through her veins, forcing her to prowl Earth and other realms, guided first and foremost by her need to feed.
I made a vow to my friend to put a stake through her heart if her suicide mission to find the five maledictums doesn’t work, and unfortunately, it’s a promise I’ll keep because that’s what friends do for each other.
“When the time comes, you know where to find me,” I tell Loey, reminding her I can do this for her. I will do this for her.
“Put your stakes away, Casti,” Loey teases. “I’m not ready to die tonight.”
“Good,” I say with a smile, “because Mercy is going to drive me up a wall wondering if you brought her a gift.”
Loey smirks as she reaches into her pocket. “Like I would ever show up empty-handed. My girl loves her trinkets.” She hands me a small, thin bracelet with a murky white gemstone weaved into it.
I take it from her, feeling a slight buzz of magic that pulses through it. “This isn’t a regular bracelet from the souvenir shop up the street, is it?”