Twice Cursed

by Marianne Morea

  Lily glanced at Sean, whose nostrils were flared in revulsion too.

  “Stop!” she said, her hand shooting out to grab the stem of the glass as Sébastien’ tilted it to his lips. “It’s infected!”

  The flute crashed to the floor, and the blood seeped across the broken shards like an act of murder. Incensed, the master vampire pushed himself up from his chair, his fangs fully descended.

  “How dare you!’

  Fear gripped Lily’s stomach, and she squeezed her fingernails into her palms to keep her hands from shaking. “Please, Sébastien…it’s true, sir, can’t you sense it? Smell it?”

  Sean and Jack both stood, flanking her sides. They were so close to death they could smell it along with the fetid blood spreading across the rug.

  “I smell nothing but waste,” he slurred through his fangs and his anger.

  “You have to believe us.” Lily pleaded.

  Sean stepped forward, pushing Lily behind him. He kept his hands in plain sight, but was poised to phase if things got any more out of hand. “Sébastien, we came here in good faith, not only to help stop the bloodbaths, but to help you save your race. Surely you realize this is no joking matter, nor is it a bargaining chip. At least question where the blood came from. See if there is a tie back to either Améile or her redheaded progeny.”

  Sébastien sucked in a deep breath, and with it, his fangs receded. “Yes. Rational. That is the vampire way. You’ll have to forgive my lapse in manners, Sean. It’s just I have been craving all day, and I am not used to having my delicacies snatched from under my nose. Literally.” He turned toward the bartender. “Where did this come from? Who was the procurer?”

  “Lupo.”

  “Fine. Send him in.”

  Dismissing the bartender, the master sat down, straightening his clothing and once again crossing his legs one over the other. A nervous vampire followed the bartender back into the room.

  “Ah…Lupo. Tell me, my boy. From where did you procure this AB negative? I trust it is AB negative, correct?” he asked, indicating the remaining liquid still in the decanter.

  The vampire’s head bobbed up and down. “Yes, master. It’s AB neg alright, and it’s as fresh as it gets. I put the human donor in the holding chamber in case you wanted more.”

  “Good. And did you procure the donor from one of the shadow houses on the preferred list, or is it someone from a random hunt?”

  Lily’s mouth went drier than it already was at the images the conversation prompted. Shadow houses and willing donors were bad enough, but her stomach clenched at the memory of watching vampires stalk their victims on a ‘random hunt’.

  “Oh no, sir. Clovis supplied the donor tonight. She’s from the shadow house on east 67th street.”

  “Bring her in.”

  “Sir?”

  The master vampire hissed, and the vamp procurer jumped, nearly pissing his pants. “Right away, master… right away!”

  The grandfather clock in the corner chimed 11:00p.m., but before it reached its eleventh peal, the sound of hurried footsteps and rushed harsh words could be heard in the hallway behind Etienne.

  Both Lupo, and whom Lily could only guess to be Clovis, came through the door, carrying a half conscious woman. She was in a state of semi-undress, as was Clovis, and from the disgusted looks on the council member’s faces, it was obvious they didn’t much approve of procuring vampire’s extracurricular activities.

  The woman was already foaming at the mouth when they laid her on the floor in front of Sébastien. “Here she is, boss,” Clovis said, tucking his too shiny shirt into his unzipped pants. He was an unadulterated pig of a pimp, by any standards.

  Sean got up and knelt by the woman’s head. He took a deep breath and coughed, the stench was so bad. With his fingers beneath his nose, he squinted up at Sébastien. “I find it inconceivable that you can’t smell this. It’s absolutely foul.”

  He spoke as much to himself as to the master vampire, but didn’t wait for a response. Instead, he turned his attentions back to the girl. Careful not to get any of her spittle on his hands, he shifted her head to the side exposing a series of bite marks on her throat. “Looks to me like she’s been the appetizer for more than just a few vampires,” he commented, eyeing Clovis and the obvious proof of his duplicity.

  Lily didn’t think it was possible, but the procurer actually blanched.

  Wiping his hands on his thighs, Sean sat back down next to Lily. “From the look of things, I’d say you have an epidemic starting.”

  “Nonsense, we still don’t know how she was infected, or if she’s the only one,” Rémy interjected.

  Sean shrugged. “There’s only one sure way to find out.”

  Both men looked at Lily. Not wanting to gag, she was already breathing through her mouth. “Oh no! I can’t go through that again, Sean. The dizziness and the nausea—forget it!”

  “We don’t have any other option, Lily. It’s the only way we can prove to Sébastien and Rémy that this situation is rife.” His eyes were sympathetic, but resolute. She didn’t have a choice.

  She exhaled, and stood up. “Okay, but only if we form a mental chain. I’ll touch her first to open a conduit and get a read.” She pointed to the half dead woman lying on the floor. “Then Etienne will have to channel my thoughts so you can see what I see as well,” she said, addressing Sébastien directly. “On our end, Sean and Jack can follow via the Hunter’s shared mind path. Sean’s right. If we want to eliminate all doubt, this is the way it has to play out.”

  Sébastien rose from his seat, motioning for Rémy and Etienne to do the same. The other vampires moved into position, flanking them, but with strict instructions not to interfere. They linked accordingly, with Jack and Sean each with a hand on Lily’s shoulders.

  She knelt on the floor next to the now unconscious woman, smoothing the girl’s matted hair in an effort to inject some humanity into this inhumane scenario.

  Lily inhaled through her mouth, but still gagged slightly. Sean squeezed her shoulder, and the cool feel of his confidence flooded through at his touch. She glanced up, giving him half a smile. “I love you, too,” she whispered, their eyes locking in a private moment.

  “You got this,” he feathered across. “Show them what my girl can do.” He winked, and she covered his hand with hers, giving it a squeeze.

  Foregoing another breath, she stretched a shaking hand out toward the woman, but stopped, glancing up at Sébastien. “Promise me you’ll show mercy and end this woman’s suffering as painlessly as possible.”

  Sébastien nodded. “We may be a master race, chéri, but that does not mean we are utterly devoid of compassion.”

  Satisfied the vampire would be good to his word, she placed her hand on the girl’s forehead, but this time it was Sébastien who interrupted. “You must promise me something as well,” he said, eyeing both Sean and Lily.

  Sean glanced at Jack before shifting his eyes back toward the vampire. “Of course, if it is in my power to grant,” he answered carefully.

  Time seemed to stand still as they waited for the other shoe to drop, but the master vampire exhaled as if relieved.

  “Good. To use your witch’s turn of phrase, if this ‘plays out’ the way we fear, I ask two courtesies: first, that you help us track and kill my sad progeny and her offspring, tonight. And second, that you lend us the olfactory services of your Hunters to help find and eradicate those infected within our shadow houses, both vampire and human donor alike. This is a sad business throughout, and killing one’s progeny is never easy, but for the greater good, I am left with no other choice.”

  Sean put his hand on Sébastien’s forearm. “I hunted my own brother for the very same reason, so I understand. We’ll help you clean house.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  ***

  The sky was cloudless, but the air was damp and frigid. Lily stamped her numb feet on the red brick esplanade circling the Bethesda Fountain at the heart of Central Park. Her shit
kickers were great for throw-downs, but their steel reinforced toes weren’t much when it came to keeping her feet warm.

  “Come on, you fanged bitch. Show yourself,” she muttered, her warm breath puffing out onto her cupped hands. At least the rest of her was warm, having traded in her thin leather jacket and gloves for ones that were shearling lined. It was nearly two a.m., and still there was no sign of either Améile or her redheaded brat. Sébastien had warned that it could be a long wait, and so far he was right.

  The park was quiet, and she didn’t know if it was the cold and the wet, or the vampires scattered throughout, but either way she was glad the homeless had decided to move indoors. Maybe this way they stood a chance at keeping the human collateral damage to a minimum.

  Funny how none of the vampires seemed to know the redhead’s name. Even Clovis. If he did, he’d taken it with him into the vampire great unknown. Sean had mentioned that vamps tolerated little, but if tonight proved anything, it was they tolerated deceit least. Ironic, really, considering the trickery they used to lure their victims, but who was she to point out the pot calling the kettle black?

  The time was well past midnight when they finally left the Red Veil, stopping home only to call Ryan as promised. To say he was more than a little put out at being rescheduled was an understatement. That is, until he found out why, and where they were headed.

  Lily exhaled, blowing a cloud of steam into the icy, wet air. She had to hand it to Martinez. His membership in the world of the supernatural was less than twenty-four hours old, yet already he was as stubborn and crazy as the rest of them. Talk about an argument for nature versus nurture. Martinez was still thinking in human terms, though. This wasn’t a stakeout, it was a search and destroy mission. Sean had even tried to dissuade him, but the stubborn cop claimed this was still his case.

  Ha. Tell that to the vamps!

  She could see him across from the fountain terrace, watching the water that spanned the area between them and Améile’s suspected lair. He was all in black, like that made any difference. To the supes, the full moon might as well be high noon.

  Lily paced the perimeter around the fountain, her eyes scanning the tree line and the footpaths for movement. “Anything yet?” Martinez asked, coming up behind her.

  She hooked her hand on her hip, her fingers wrapping around the base of her concealed crossbow. “It’s really not a great idea to sneak up on people, especially when more than half the team is undead. I could have shot you, you know.”

  He smiled, lifting his hand to show her the 9mm in his palm. “Yeah, I thought about that, but you’re too smart a hunter to just react.”

  Silent, Lily just looked at him. “Why did you want to come tonight? And don’t hand me that bullshit about it being your case. The fact that you brought a gun to fight vampires shows you have no clue how to fight what we’re up against.”

  He snorted. “I think I’ve seen enough to figure it out as I go,” he countered, pulling a sharpened stake from his inside jacket pocket.

  By now he’d seen her skepticism plenty to read the look on her face. Maybe he’d take the hint and go home where it was safe. “Well, good luck with that. Try not to get yourself killed,” she muttered, turning to scan the trees again.

  Ryan moved beside her, hands on his hips as he followed her line of sight. “I’m surprised the big guy let you take this area alone. What, no bodyguard?”

  Lily could feel the heat coming off his body, and as he stood watch, his intensity was equal to that of any of Sean’s hunters. There was no doubt Ryan would be an asset to the compound, despite how much he bothered the crap out of her.

  “Look. Sean is the Alpha of the Brethren, and like it or not, I’m his alpha female…his mate. If you really want to be part of the supe world, you’d better learn that loyalty and trust are necessary evils. As to being on my own, Sean knows I’m a competent hunter, besides, Jack is around.”

  Ryan huffed. “I guess the fact he put me in such close proximity doesn’t count, huh.”

  “Nope. Not one bit. Until you prove yourself, you might as well be bait.”

  He frowned, his expression just shy of offended. “You seem to forget I’m a seasoned cop,” he replied quietly. “I came tonight because all you’ve talked about is my accepting who I really am. In order to do that, I need to reconcile the world I grew up in, with the world I’m genetically linked to. If this really is my world, then I need to test my own mettle. I need to see if there’s a place for me—as me. Get it?”

  Ryan’s posture was stiff, but insulted or not, she didn’t care. This was dangerous. “Listen, I didn’t mean to dismiss your abilities, but this is a whole new game with lethal players. Any badass mutt you’ve encountered in the past, will look like a cartoon villain after tonight. You want in? Then you’ve got to be prepared to step up and smell the blood on the vampire’s breath as you stake her. Literally.”

  Lily’s gaze jerked toward the water.

  “Hey! We’ve got possible movement near the center of the park, somewhere close to Belvedere Castle by the turtle pond. Can you sense anything?” Jack’s voice floated across through the common Were path.

  “With all the supes Sébastien brought with him tonight, not a chance. The place is flooded with supernatural signal.”

  “Ugh…what good are you woman! What if you got closer? Would your antennae work then?”

  Ryan made a noise, grabbing Lily’s attention. “What’s going on?”

  She waved him off, sticking her finger in her ear, silently telling him to shut up so she could hear.

  “Jeez, Jack, could you make me feel any more like a bug? To answer your question though, yeah, getting closer would work. I’ve got a clear radius for two hundred feet as we speak, and if I know which guards Sébastien has lurking around, I can segregate their feel.”

  “Good. Then get to the castle. I’m at the Boathouse, so I won’t be far behind.”

  Lily’s hand went to her temple. There was an odd hum behind Jack’s voice that made her head throb. “Okay. Where’s Sean? Does he know there’s been a possible sighting?”

  “He knows. He’s with Sébastien at the lake. They’ll have to catch up.”

  “I’m on my way…”

  Lily knelt to adjust the stakes in her boot. “That was Jack…” she hesitated, looking up from her laces as Rémy stepped out from behind the giant angel at the center of the fountain. He launched himself in the air, turning a somersault before landing silently on the red bricks not three feet from where Lily and Ryan stood.

  “How long have you been there?” she asked, pushing herself to standing, unfazed by the vampire’s acrobatic entrance.

  “Long enough,” he said, sliding a critical eye over Ryan’s defensive bearing. “Etienne has been keeping watch, and he informed me Améile is in the area, or so your wolf guard thinks. Unfortunately, the opportunity to verify that escapes us as we speak, so I have elected to fly you to the castle. Your wolf will meet you at the designated place. Sébastien has one of our guards posted there already. His name is Chen.

  Lily raised an eyebrow. “Not exactly a French name, huh?”

  Rémy gave her a lopsided smile that did more to soften his deformity than all the firelight in the world. His period coat was right out of Interview with a Vampire, and his long hair blew across the ruined side of his face, making him seem both sad and romantic. “Shall we?” he said, holding out his hand.

  “Wait…” Martinez said, his hand reaching for Lily’s elbow.

  Rémy fixed Martinez with an unblinking stare, but to his credit, the detective met the vampire’s gaze head on without flinching.

  “I want to help you, Lily, and not by standing here with my thumb up my ass,” Ryan whispered, cocking his head closer to her ear.

  The vampire raised his one intact eyebrow. “Unlike my face, detective, my hearing is preternaturally perfect. Don’t think to circumvent the little witch’s directive. However, if you’d care to demonstrate the trick you descr
ibed using your thumb, I’m sure we could spare a moment or two.” Rémy spread his hands invitingly, his amusement undisguised.

  Martinez clenched his jaw, his eyes torn between wanting to take a swing at the vamp, and not wanting to die for the effort.

  “Enough,” Lily cut in, shoving the detective’s hand away. “We don’t have time for this. Ryan, you’re right. Get to the boathouse and look for Jack. I’ll meet you both at the castle.”

  Barely waiting for Lily to hook her arms around his neck, the vampire launched them both effortlessly into the air, hovering thirty feet or so before lifting over the tree tops. She was surprisingly warm, considering the wind temperature as they flew, and the fact that vampires were ice cold to the touch. Rémy must have recently fed, and she shivered, regardless of being warm. Nope. Not going there, thank you…and she stopped that train of thought in its tracks.

  The park looked beautiful from their high vantage point, and she wondered why Sébastien didn’t have his vampires do an aerial search. For that matter, why wasn’t he the one who gave the directive to head to Turtle Pond, if he had someone stationed there? Wouldn’t they have spotted Améile first? A weird feeling tapped her on the shoulder, and she couldn’t shake the feeling she was missing something crucial.

  “Sean…where are you? I’m headed over toward the castle. Jack said they had movement there.”

  “Jack said what? When?”

  “Just now, and Etienne sent Rémy to give me a ride, vamp style. Jack said you knew about this…”

  “Hmmm. Maybe he thought Sébastien told me. Strange, though, he hasn’t said a word. Hang tight. Don’t do anything until I get there.”

  Hang tight. Ha. Considering she was in transit via an airborne piggyback ride, she would have found the directive mildly funny, if it weren’t for the nagging feeling at the back of her mind. Rémy slowed as they approached the pond. A night bird’s whistle echoed from the top of the castle, and Rémy answered, setting Lily down on the floor of the main turret.