Blood Cruel (Gods of Blood and Shadow Book 1)

by Simon Cantan

  Jaden stayed quiet, hoping she’d elaborate, but instead she turned and made for the door. “I’ll bring you food when I get Rubi’s groceries.”

  He nodded and watched her leave. He wasn’t hungry, not for human food, and doubted he’d be able to struggle it down when she brought it. The only hunger was for something else. It felt like a crazy itch he couldn’t scratch.

  Her words echoed through his thoughts: that when he turned, he’d understand her wanting to eat him. People kept saying he wouldn’t care about humans when he turned. That they’d just be food to him.

  Could he possibly feel that way about Katie? The doubt inside him scared him most of all.

  Chapter 25

  Search

  Katie struggled to hold Loki’s symbol up, her hand shaking and pain shooting through her chest. She knew in a moment her hand would drop. If Caterina turned back to her, she’d be through. But Caterina didn’t pause, gathering Jaden up and springing up into the air, disappearing into the darkness. Katie let her arm fall.

  Each breath she took stabbed her chest, making it almost impossible to breathe. She could feel where Caterina had hit her, pain throbbing and biting at her from the spot Caterina’s fist had impacted. It hadn’t been a fight. Katie hadn’t even seen Caterina coming, but she doubted she could have done much if she had.

  “Give me a minute,” Loki said from close by.

  If she could have breathed, she would have asked him why he hadn’t helped. He could have done something. Gods could move objects, he could have pulled Caterina’s clothes back, or sent a rock at her head. Instead, he’d sat by and waited. If there was less pain, she could shout at him… She frowned. The pain was fading. Was she slipping into unconsciousness? Or dying? They said you didn’t feel as much pain when your body realised it was dying.

  “You can get up now,” Loki said.

  She shifted a little, experimentally, and sat up. The pain in her ribs was gone. Were the bones still broken? Was she just numb? Probing it with her hands found nothing out of place.

  “I fixed you,” Loki said. “Get up before someone comes along and asks why you’re sitting on the path.”

  She got to her feet, her eyes on him. “How did you fix me? Gods can’t change people, only influence objects.”

  “Well…” He spread his hands. “Um… technically you were right when we first met. Strictly speaking, I’m a demon.”

  Her eyes widened. She opened her mouth to speak, but Loki held his hand up.

  “Trust me,” he said. “I know what you’re going to say. I’ve been through this dozens of times. Let me explain and then you can ask. I was a demon for centuries. Not a nasty demon, just a trickster. I liked nothing better than tripping a farmer and making him fall into the pig pen. But five hundred years ago, a Godchosen went to a church and had me bound to a vampire.

  “The vampire only lasted a year before someone staked him, but in that time I saw atrocities that would make your liver melt and your kidneys run. The vampire killed humans for pleasure, just to watch their fear. He ate until he couldn’t, then killed again just because. When I saw that, I knew I had to wipe out his kind.

  “I played with humans. I like them, with their silly little ways, and I don’t like to see them tortured, murdered.”

  “I assumed…” Katie paused to swallow. “You can’t help me when I fight them? I thought you could pull the rug from under their feet literally, making the fights more even.”

  “I can help, but not directly. It has to be all you.”

  “Then we’re dead. Or I am, I guess. I can’t fight them without you helping.”

  “If you think that, then you will die. But I don’t believe that. I can help you become more than you were. I already have. Why do you think you weren’t scared of the bus driver’s body? How do you think you could train for an entire day without giving up?”

  “So you can manipulate me?” she asked. “Turn me into something else?”

  “No. I can only boost what’s already there. If you didn’t want to succeed, deep down, then I wouldn’t be able to make you. That’s why you need to have faith. Without it, you won’t survive.”

  “Jaden turns in a matter of days. Training will take years.”

  “Jaden is a vampire,” Loki said. “You still haven’t accepted that. Until you do, the thought you can rescue him is even more dangerous than losing faith.”

  She shook her head, walking through Loki on purpose and striding up the street. She knew she couldn’t get away from him, but she was certain he was wrong. Jaden wasn’t just a vampire, he was her friend. She would find a cure for him or die in the attempt.

  ***

  When she got home, her father was pacing in the hallway. Relief spread across his face when he saw her. “You’re late. I was so worried something had hap… where’s Jaden?”

  “Gone,” Katie said. “Caterina took him.”

  Aidan nodded and hugged her. “It’s for the best. We should pack and get ready.”

  “What?”

  “To move,” he said. “If Caterina doesn’t kill him, then he’ll be back to kill us. We have time to get far away before that happens.”

  “I’m not abandoning him. I’ll find him. I have a way to track him.”

  Loki appeared behind Aidan and shook his head. She glared at Loki. He had to tell her where Caterina was. If he didn’t, she’d find a way to make him.

  Behind her, someone banged on the door. Katie looked at Aidan with wide eyes. She broke away from him and turned to open the door. Maybe Jaden had gotten away somehow?

  She flung the door wide and saw Rans standing there, a worried expression on his face.

  “He’s not here,” she said. “Caterina got him.”

  “I know,” Rans said. “I heard.”

  “Heard?” she asked.

  Rans reached into his pocket and took out a phone, holding it up. “Through Jaden’s mobile. I have it monitored. I heard Caterina take him. Heard what she said about me. And I have his location. His GPS tells me where they are.”

  “So go get him,” Aidan said. “He’s your son. Go take him back.”

  “I can’t,” Rans said. “I tried. There’s a human living in the warehouse they’re in. I can’t enter without an invitation. I need you to get him for me.”

  Katie frowned at Rans. She didn’t know what to say. She needed that location, but she didn’t trust the vampire.

  “Only a human can get in there,” Rans said. “I know you’re the host of Loki. You can kill Caterina and rescue my son. Please, I can’t go through eternity knowing I could have saved him.”

  “I will,” Katie said. “In the daytime, when you can’t spring on me from a shadow. Leave the mobile on the mat.”

  Rans nodded, setting the phone down at his feet. “Thank you, Katie. I’ve heard what a good friend you’ve been to my son. I knew I could count on you.”

  She nodded, avoiding telling Rans he was welcome. She didn’t know how open to interpretation that might be. He bounced away and leapt into the night. Once she was sure he was out of reach, she stepped out, grabbed the phone, and hurried back inside.

  “The host of Loki?” Aidan asked.

  Katie’s heart fell, and she closed the front door. “We should sit down.”

  They walked through to the living room and sat, but Aidan moved to the edge of his seat almost at once. “I told you how your mother died. She wasn’t even the host, she was just a servant. You’re in great danger. We need to get to Oslo and get you an exorcism.”

  With a start, Katie realised an exorcism would work. Loki was a demon, not a god. He could be exorcised, and she’d never have to think about vampires again. If she did, though, she’d be giving up all hope of ever seeing Jaden alive. She shook her head. “No. I’m keeping him.”

  “I can’t lose you,” Aidan said. “Not you as well. You and your mother… it’s not possible. He must have chosen you on purpose. You can’t trust him, monkey. He laughs when people die.”
>
  Behind Aidan, Loki appeared and stood watching. She could see Loki’s face was set. There was no hint of a smile, of a gleam in his eyes. Loki wasn’t the trickster, not when it came to vampires.

  “You said it yourself,” Katie said. “I’m an adult. I can make my own decisions. Tomorrow, Loki and I are going to rescue Jaden.”

  “Then I’m coming with you,” Aidan said.

  “To do what?” she asked. “I’ve been training. You’re not ready to fight vampires, Dad.”

  “You think I’m going to let you go on your own?” Aidan keeled over sideways, asleep before his head hit the arm of the sofa.

  Katie stared in surprise at her father. Then her eyes narrowed, and she looked up at Loki.

  “He can’t follow us if he’s asleep. He’ll wake once we’re far enough away that he can’t find us.”

  She looked at the time on her phone. It was only six in the afternoon. “You’re going to make him sleep for more than fourteen hours?”

  “He can use the rest,” Loki said. “He’s had a hard week.”

  Chapter 26

  Metal

  Jaden lay on the bed, staring at the metal ceiling. Usually when he stared into indistinct patterns, he saw dogs, people, perhaps the occasional elephant. Now he only saw blood, organs, and teeth.

  He heard Caterina coming long before she turned into the doorway. The metal stairs and floor made a stealthy approach impossible. She threw a plastic bag to him that he caught out of the air and looked inside. She’d bought crisps, chocolate, soda. Nothing substantial.

  “How long am I meant to last on this?” he asked.

  “Until you don’t need human food anymore,” she said. “You’re probably almost at that stage already. Is food becoming a little tasteless? Your hunger fading?”

  He ripped open the bag of crisps and stuffed a few in his mouth, just to prove her wrong. He barely tasted the artificial flavours.

  “You won’t be able to eat much longer,” she said. “Your body will reject it.”

  “Tell me why my father fled with me. Couldn’t he have stayed there? He’s stronger than you, right?”

  “We’re evenly matched,” she said. “He’s never fed on another vampire. I have. A few weak, freshly turned runts that didn’t get me much, but it was enough to make up for the hundred year difference in our ages.”

  “So why leave? You said vampire murder is illegal in Ireland.”

  “Rights of the mother,” she said. “I had guardianship of you. A holdover from our times as humans, but people still assume the mother has the best interests of the child at heart.”

  “Only you don’t have a heart.”

  She shrugged. “When yours stops beating, it’ll cease to matter for you too. It’s already slowing.”

  “Being a vampire sounds lonely.”

  “We used to roam in packs. We still have some humanity. So I can’t say you’re wrong. But covens turn on one another sooner or later. When you live for centuries, eventually something will annoy you so much that you rip someone’s throat out.”

  Jaden nodded, unsure what he could add.

  “I have to hunt, or I’ll need to sleep. And I’m not sleeping until you turn. Don’t move.” She glanced down at his chains and smiled. “Not that you’d get far.”

  Jaden listened to her footsteps clank away over the metal floor, then turned his attention to the junk food she’d given him. He grabbed a few more crisps, eating them without tasting them.

  What about Katie? She’d been hurt badly by Caterina. He needed to know how she was.

  He put the bag of food aside and got up, trying to stay quiet and pad to the door. The chains around his ankles dragged, making stealth impossible. He returned to his bed and took his jacket off, wrapped it around the chains, then tried again. This time it made less noise.

  He shambled for the stairs and hobbled down them, holding the railing for support. Once through the floor, to where he could see the warehouse, the height made him dizzy. He tried to ignore it and crept down to ground level.

  As he got close to the entrance, the door to the offices opened. Rubi stood there, searching the area outside. “Is anyone there?”

  He stared at her, wondering if he could bluff his way out. Rubi might have a way of signalling Caterina. He realised he could kill her and remove Caterina’s protective shield over the place. With the woman dead, Rans could enter and save him.

  He imagined putting his hands around the woman’s neck and making all his problems go away. Then he shook his head and let out a breath. What was wrong with him? Was he really thinking of killing someone just to make his life easier?

  “It’s me, Jaden,” he said. “I’m going out for a walk.”

  “Oh,” Rubi said. “Don’t go too far. Your mother won’t be long, and she’ll want to talk to you when you get back.”

  “I won’t.”

  Rubi nodded and went back into her apartment, closing the door behind her. Jaden stared at the door for a moment more. She’d seemed less real to him, somehow. Like she wasn’t a three-dimensional person.

  He shook off the feeling and walked to the door. The note taped to it made him pause. I’ll be back before you can get far. Did you ever see the film Misery? -Caterina

  He paused, staring at the note, visions of sledgehammers and ankles running through his head. She didn’t need him mobile, just alive long enough for him to turn. He spun around and went back up the stairs to his room. There had to be a way to let Katie know where he was. If she was still alive.

  When he sat on his bed, he felt something hard in his back pocket and could have slapped himself. Of course, his phone had the means to contact Katie whenever he wanted, as long as it had survived. He pulled it out and opened the cover, finding the screen splintered and broken. He must have landed on it, but it might still work.

  Pressed the button made the screen light up. Finding Katie’s number, he dialled.

  She answered at once. “Jaden?”

  “Katie, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she said. “Loki healed me. What about you? Where are you?”

  “I’m okay too. I’m in one of the old warehouses in the shipyards. Caterina put chains around my ankles so I can’t run.”

  “Stay there. I’ll come after dawn to get you.”

  “Bring bolt cutters,” he said. “Caterina will be waiting too. She’s feeding so she won’t need to sleep.”

  Jaden didn’t see Caterina enter until she snatched the phone from his hand. She pressed the screen, putting it on speaker, and smiled at Jaden.

  “Don’t worry,” Katie said. “I’ll be there to rescue you before you know it.”

  “Caterina’s listening!” Jaden called.

  Caterina angled the phone so he could see the mute button was active. Katie couldn’t hear his warning. He got to his feet, ready to fight Caterina for the phone, but she pushed him back easily.

  “Are you there?” Katie asked. “I can’t hear you.”

  After a moment, the phone went silent. Caterina snapped it in two and threw it into the corner of the room.

  Chapter 27

  Escape

  Katie stood in the shadow of a small shed, watching the warehouse. Nothing had moved in the ten minutes she’d been standing there. At first, she’d told herself she was just being cautious, but it was beginning to feel more cowardly than careful. The long coat she wore was warm, the floor hockey bag on her shoulder heavy.

  The warehouse itself appeared abandoned. If Loki hadn’t assured her Caterina was in there, she might have passed it by. She wouldn’t have been able to find it without Rans’ help.

  “Don’t be scared,” Loki said, appearing beside her.

  “Don’t be scared of the blood-sucking monster in the warehouse that almost killed me?”

  “The armour will work. So will your weapons. Trust them… and trust yourself.”

  She sighed. She thought he’d say anything to get her to go in there and become the vampire hu
nter he wanted her to be. But Jaden wouldn’t get rescued without her. She dropped her bag and slipped off her long coat. The coat caught on the wooden symbols she’d glued to the snowsuit underneath. Making sure not to tear any of them free, she threw the coat aside. Then she unzipped her bag and took out her Macuahuitl and a set of bolt cutters.

  Feeling like she was on the way to a convention, she walked toward the warehouse. She kept her eyes on the windows, looking for any sign of life, but no one appeared.

  “Can you sense where she is?” she asked.

  “It’s not as specific as that,” Loki said. “There are two vampires in there. Maybe somewhere near the top of the building?”

  Katie paused at the door, putting her hand on the handle. Surprisingly, it opened. Inside, the warehouse was quiet. Other than a few pieces of abandoned equipment, she couldn’t see anything.

  A door opened on her left and she jumped, holding her macuahuitl ready. An old woman poked her head out and searched the warehouse. “Is anyone there?”

  Katie realised the woman was blind. “Hello. I’m Katie.”

  “Hello,” the woman said. “I’m Rubi. Caterina said you’d be coming. She’s upstairs waiting for you.”

  Katie looked over to the nearby stairs and swallowed hard. There was no element of surprise. Caterina was waiting for her at the top of those stairs, with her unbelievable strength and speed.

  Katie walked to the stairs on shaky legs and put her foot on the first one. She glanced back and saw Rubi still standing there, smiling, oblivious to what was about to happen.

  Knowing she couldn’t hesitate or her courage would leave her entirely, Katie walked up the stairs. The steps wound up, ever higher, toward a hole in the ceiling where death was waiting for her. She kept going, forcing one foot in front of the other until she was within ten steps of the top. Then she paused.

  “Jaden?” she called.

  “Up here.” His voice reached her from somewhere above. “Be careful, Caterina is here somewhere too.”

  Katie muttered a curse to herself and walked up the final steps, emerging into the floor above. The windows appeared to have been blacked out, barely any light coming through them from the day outside. The lights were off, which she guessed was by design. Vampires didn’t need light to hunt.