Being set up and sucked dry by an insane vampire wasn’t where I had expected to be at this point in my life.
My heart ached as I thought about Victoria and Tom, and what Hallow would probably do to them. I cried hopelessly for Devereux’s good intentions, and the pain he would experience after I was gone, and for all the possibilities that would die along with us. And I wept for Maxie’s deception, for I had started to trust her, even though I’d known her only a short time — some judge of character I was. And so much for my intuition.
My knees gave out and I sank to the filthy ground. I still couldn’t accept that Maxie had meant to hurt me. Even now, with the huge, ugly proof grinning down at me, I couldn’t make myself believe that our connection had been a complete lie. I had obviously been under Hallow’s control for far longer than I had realized.
Were there signs I’d missed? Inconsistencies I’d refused to acknowledge?
Of course there were. And as I figured them out, they’d haunt me for as long as I was able to retain independent thought. Even if Hallow had fogged my awareness, shouldn’t my own skills have given me even a small clue?
“Hey, Doc — you’re doing that weird staring thing again.”
I gazed up at her through my tears, unable to speak. Did she really think I’d respond to her, that I’d play this hideous game with her, now I knew that’s all it was?
Suddenly there was a building-rattling crash, so loud that it startled even Hallow. Were we having an earthquake in addition to everything else?
Several more explosions thundered around us in all directions.
Hallow laughed. “I take it your hero and his vampire cavalry have arrived.” He danced around the candleholders, clapping his hands after every new assault like a demented child. “It will be entertaining listening to them take the building apart, only to discover they’ll be stopped in their tracks when they hit the impenetrable layer created by Devereux’s very own sorceress!” With a malevolent grin on his face he said to Maxie, “I simply must go and watch. Witnessing their frustration is just too big a temptation to pass up. You stay here and guard your replacement.”
“Master!” Maxie groaned and threw her arms around his neck. “Don’t say things like that. You’d never replace me. You love me. You promised I’d be with you forever.”
Hallow shoved her away so roughly she fell, her head hitting the hard ground with a sharp crack. She landed next to me and he leaned over both of us, snarling, his long fangs glistening in the candlelight. His mercurial eyes narrowed. “You will be with me forever.” The sound of his laughter resonated long after his body had disappeared.
Maxie was as addicted as Luna and I didn’t know whether to be disgusted or sad, or one of the myriad other reactions wrestling in my brain. I chose horrified. Was I getting a glimpse of my own future?
I found myself wondering why I was less compassionate about Maxie’s addiction than Luna’s? Maybe it was because I’d let my defenses down with her, something I had never done with Devereux’s bristling assistant.
Maxie sat up and rubbed her head. She yelled to be heard over the demolition sounds, “I’ll be glad when all my humanity is gone. It’s irritating to still be so breakable.” She scooted close and stared at me. “It wasn’t personal, you know. I really did like you.”
I sniffled a couple of times to clear my clogged nose. “With friends like you, I apparently didn’t need any enemies.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t blame you for being pissed off, but here’s your chance to ask all your questions. Once Hallow returns, there won’t be a lot of time to talk.”
She said the last in such an ominous tone that my stomach clenched. “What do you mean? What’s going to happen?”
She leaned back on her elbows. “He’ll take some of your blood, give you some more of his and begin the process of making you one of us.”
“Some more of his blood? What are you talking about? I never drank any of that psychopath’s blood.”
“I’m not surprised you don’t remember. He didn’t share all the details, but one time I know about for sure.” She raised her eyebrows, as if she was waiting for me to ask what she meant, so I obliged her.
“Well?” I asked impatiently, “are you going to tell me?”
“I just wanted to see if there were any traces left of the feisty doc I know and love.”
I frowned and pressed my lips together. She was making it easy for me to hate her.
“Okay, okay — I guess I am being an asshole. It’s hard for me too, ya know. I didn’t expect to like hanging out with you. No matter what you think, I’m not totally heartless. Anyway, do you remember when I gave you that brandy at the amusement park?”
“Brandy?” Our trip to the deserted funhouse was so long ago that I had to mentally recreate the evening step by step, starting with crawling under the fence. It took me a only few seconds to get to the bit where Maxie insisted that I drink some brandy after my encounter with an invisible hand. And then I remembered the strange aftertaste that made me assume it had been in her car for a long time.
“The light bulb over your head just lit up.” She smiled. “Yeah, that’s it. There was a little of Hallow’s blood in the flask.”
The idea of tasting Hallow’s blood was so disgusting, that I scrambled to my feet and started pacing back and forth.
Maxie rose from the floor behind me and I faced her. “Why put blood in the brandy?” I asked bitterly as I inched backward. “Was it just another way to prove you were in control?”
“Well, yeah.” She shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. “There was that. You needed to acclimate by consuming small amounts of his blood. It’ll save time during the big transformation ritual, and keep you from overdosing and becoming worthless to him. Putting it into terms you can relate to, Doc, you’re connected to him now at levels much deeper than body or mind. We’re in the realm of metaphysics or even quantum physics here. He has begun the process of joining his aura with yours. Soon you’ll be an extension of him.” A huge smile curved her lips. “Like me.”
Another crash sounded overhead and my stomach roiled and my breath caught. The notion that I already had some part of Lyren Hallow inside me was frightening. Even if Devereux did somehow manage to break through the magic and free us, I’d still be under the psychotic’s control. All I could hope was that Devereux would get to Victoria and Tom before they were killed.
Knowing that Devereux was near should have been reassuring, but since nothing about Hallow was in the least bit rational, I was afraid to hope there might be a way out of this nightmare. Talking to Maxie was probably another dead end, but she had more information than I did and I was willing to repress my true feelings and appear interested, in the hope that she would reveal something I could use to help my friends.
I pointed at her head. “So Hallow’s the reason your hair is white? There was no mystery about your transformation?”
“Nope. I knew all along.” She winked. “Sorry about fucking with you. You were so compassionate, it was easy to make up this shit.” She gathered the avalanche of white into a ponytail. “But, yeah, the hair is a side-effect of becoming Hallow’s lýtle. Turns out the progression is different for every woman. You probably figured out that his twin over there” — she pointed at unconscious Luna — “only resembles him because they didn’t get very far along in the transformation process before Devereux’s vampires interfered. If they’d continued, her hair might have gone white, too. I heard it happened to others.”
“What about your face changing?”
She laughed. “I wondered if you were going to mention that. The transformation gives each of us special abilities. Mine is that I can alter the appearance of my face and body so every person who looks at me sees what he or she wants to see. It’s great for going undercover to get a story.”
Did she honestly expect me to believe she really worked for that tabloid? But she answered before I could ask the question.
“Yeah, I real
ly do work there, although I’ve only been in the Denver office for a few months. Being Hallow’s slave isn’t a 24/7 kind of gig. A girl needs other interests. And if you’re remembering what I told you about visiting the amusement park when I was a kid, I actually did live in Denver earlier. I wasn’t lying about that. At least, not totally.”
I’m so relieved she didn’t totally lie. Yeah, right.
“So who was it Hallow came to harvest if it wasn’t Luna?”
Confusion clouded her face for a few seconds before she broke into laughter. “Oh yeah, the harvest thing — it turns out Hallow’s a pretty creative liar, much better than me. It was you he came for all along.” She smiled in apparent appreciation of her master’s cleverness. “He really got into the game here, littering the ground with bloodless bodies just to tantalize the vampire community and to keep them out of his way. Brilliant.”
Well, that explains Mr. Roth’s dead vampires.
From the way Maxie was talking, it was pretty clear she either didn’t believe I was her replacement, or she was in denial. Devereux had told me the monster had a harem. I hadn’t seen evidence of that and I might regret raising the issue, but I wanted to know.
“I thought Hallow had a lot of female slaves. Where are all the rest?”
Her good humor vanished. “I don’t know about how it used to be.” She raised her chin. “Since he’s had me, he hasn’t needed anyone else.”
“Until now?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“I’m not sure why he wants you.” She frowned. “I tried to convince him that three’s a crowd.”
Ah, the seeds of discontent. I can work with this...
“It wouldn’t be three. He said I’m your replacement.”
Her eyes narrowed and her hands clenched at her sides. She stood rigid and shouted, “Shut up! You don’t know anything. He won’t replace me. You couldn’t possibly be enough for him. He’s just fucking with my head. I told you my boyfriend was an asshole.”
She didn’t appear to believe what she said any more than I did, but addicts could be masterful at self-delusion. How far can I push her?
“Maybe he’s tired of you, or maybe he’s just a lying bastard who manipulated you the same way he did me. You probably don’t mean any more to him than any of his other women.” I gave an exaggerated laugh. “I’ll bet you thought you were special.”
I must be suicidal.
Her lips curled into a malevolent smile and she took a step toward me. I cringed from the almost palpable anger radiating off her, as an entire portion of the wall collapsed behind us. Bricks and lumps of cement tumbled into the room like a chunky mudslide.
My gaze shot to the huge hole, and the sea of pale faces appearing. Devereux had brought reinforcements, and they were all trapped behind the unseen magical boundary.
“Kismet!” Devereux roared, and he threw himself against the invisible force field, speaking in the strange language he often used. After a few seconds, he slammed his fist against the barrier in obvious frustration and shouted, “I must know which spell Victoria cast so I can dismantle it. Revive her!”
I took a step toward Devereux to ask him how to revive Victoria, since Hallow had knocked her out with his vampiric gaze, but Maxie grabbed my arm, holding me in place with unexpected strength. “Nope, sorry, Doc. No conjugal visits today.”
“That’s right,” a low voice rumbled directly behind me, and Maxie and I swung around to see Hallow.
“At least, not with your knight in shining armor.” He swept Maxie’s hand away from my arm and said brusquely, “Sit with the witch. Be prepared to do whatever I ask.”
She sank to the ground next to Victoria.
He lifted me into his arms and smiled. “Now that the audience is in place, let the show begin!”
On the other side of the boundary Devereux raged, “You will pay for this, demon!”
Hallow threw back his head and laughed theatrically. “I almost wish I had time to finish you off before I claim my prize. Killing one such as you would bring me great pleasure. But if I have learned anything after all these millennia, it’s that a juicy human in hand is worth two — or multitudes — of vampires in the wall.”
His body shook with mirth. I struggled to free myself from the steel bands his arms had become, but my efforts only made him press me closer. “Hallow,” I cried, “why are you doing this? You already have Maxie. You don’t need me. What’s the point of this?”
He stared at me. “You honestly don’t know, do you?”
What the hell is he talking about? “Know what?”
He licked his lips, exposing the tips of his descended fangs. “You have strong abilities, and I shall be gorging myself at the smorgasbord of your talents for — well, for as long as you last.”
Great. We’re back to the “strong abilities” crap again — and I still have no idea what these so-called abilities are.
He walked us to the far end of the room, to the pile of beds where Tom was lying, still unconscious. Holding me easily with one arm, he snagged another of the dirty mattresses and dragged it over to Victoria’s circle. When he dropped it, a great cloud of filth billowed up.
Shit — this is bad. I’ve got to keep him talking.
“Wait a minute — what abilities? Vampires keep saying that, and I still don’t know what any of you are talking about.”
“You mean your golden magician hasn’t told you?”
Devereux glared at Hallow as he continued mouthing incomprehensible words. If he was trying to cast a spell of his own, it obviously wasn’t working. His vampire companions, at least a dozen of them, kept up an ongoing clatter of shouts and threats, making such a commotion that I didn’t think anyone but I could hear what Hallow was saying.
“I think we’ve already established that I don’t know what the hell anyone is talking about. Since you’re so enamored with the sound of your own voice, why don’t you tell me?”
He grinned. “Glad to. You’re gonna love this. Drum-roll, please! You’re a vampire.”
I raised my eyebrows and pursed my lips. “I’m a vampire?”
Well, what did I expect from an insane immortal killer? Devereux said Hallow’s mind had mutated over so many centuries, so who knew what kinds of weird neural pathways were etched into his brain? But his insanity aside, the longer I could keep him distracted, the longer I’d avoid whatever psychic lobotomy he had in store for me.
The entire situation was becoming more surreal by the second.
“You are indeed. Oh, not the blood-sucking variety like your warrior vampire over there, nor even like me, but you are a vampire nonetheless. You, my dear doctor, are an emotional vampire.” He smiled, waiting for my reaction.
I frowned. “We usually call those people psychic vampires, and I’m not one.”
He shook his head. “No, it’s not the same thing at all. Those pitiful humans live off the crumbs from the psychic table. You’re different. You’re a magnet. You literally attract emotions. And the fascinating thing is, you don’t even know you do it! All those psychic emanations float in your aura like a vibrational buffet. And not only from your current life, but from endless others. For someone like me, you’re a feast.”
Vibrational buffet? Endless other lives?
He paused for a few seconds, a huge grin sliding across his face. “Devereux probably never told you the big secret about who you used to be, did he?”
“Who I used to be?” How much crazier can this madman get?
I opened my mouth to ask about those ludicrous assertions, but he shook his head. “No, don’t even bother asking. I’m going to keep that bit of information to myself for the time being.”
I’m arguing with an insane vampire. Time to switch techniques.
“Well, okay, so assuming I believe anything you just said, what’s that got to do with you?”
He was still gripping my arm with his strong fingers. The heavy smokiness that had cleared slightly when Devereux punched the opening in the w
all had returned, making my eyes water again and my lungs ache from breathing in the thick dusty air.
“Why, you’ll just keep on drawing in resources from the human environment and I’ll be well fed. What a glorious arrangement. Of course, your physical body will eventually give out, but by that time I’m sure I’ll have found a replacement or two.”
He twisted my body so Devereux, whom I could clearly hear still roaring unfamiliar words over the clamor of the other vampires, had a clear view. He stepped behind me, his hands following the curve of my waist to fondle my breasts.
I sucked in a breath, suddenly terrified. Hallow must have subdued my mind earlier, to keep me from sensing the depths of his vileness, but whatever he’d done to mute his usual predatory energy had shifted and the thing pressing himself against me was now horrifying and alien. The ancient vampire’s power washed over everyone.
My gaze slid to Maxie, whose eyes were wide, her lips parted. She sat limply, her shoulders slumped, still entranced. Victoria remained locked in her own silent world.
Devereux pounded against the invisible force field, his expression a mixture of rage, fear and grief. The cacophony from the vampires around him had reached eardrum-shattering levels.
Hallow cupped my breasts, squeezing gently, his voice, soft silk in my ear, the resonance relaxing my muscles and disarming my resistance. “Let’s begin.”
He continued stroking me, whispering psychotic endearments, and as he spoke, my mind began to fragment. My perception split and I clearly saw in my psyche the two now-familiar aspects of myself, standing together in my inner world, waiting. The part I thought of as my professional self — reserved, shy, even cautious — was diminishing in size. I — who was I? — wanted to call out to her, to warn her she’d been deceived, but my vocal cords weren’t functioning.
The primitive aspect, Lust, stepped forward, shining with raw energy. She responded to Hallow’s unspoken invitation, excited to become whatever he demanded of her, and I experienced that same dissonant sensation as before: being both parts of myself simultaneously, this time knowing the primitive was about to take control.
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