by Sofia Daniel
The door flew open, and Justine strolled into the room, holding the skin of a dire wolf that looked exactly like Gates. Her gaze skipped over the spirit and fell on me.
Every ounce of blood drained from my face. My mouth dropped open, and I whispered, “Justine.”
“Well, well, well.” She rocked back and forth on her heels. “Turning to demonology for kicks?”
Ademenitor tilted his head to the side. “What is this deformed creature?”
Justine’s face twisted into a scowl. “Have you taken a look at yourself in the mirror?”
My heart spasmed. I stared at the onion woman, whose face froze in a frightened mask. All this preparation, neither of us had thought to stop hunters from watching us through the walls.
“How dare you!” the spirit snarled.
“I’ve dealt with shits like you before.” Justine extended her tendrils over the nine circles and stuck them into the spirit’s red core.
My jaw unhinged, and my lungs emptied their contents in a single rush. “Wait—”
I ran out of air, unable to shout out a warning. It was already too late, and I didn’t know who I needed to tell to watch out. If the spirit absorbed Justine, it might be strong enough to deal with Radu, but then what? We could end up with a being twice as powerful and twice as evil as the vampires and the hunters.
“What are you doing?” Ademenitor thrashed his arms through the stream of Justine’s energy, but it couldn’t break her hold.
“Teaching you your place.” She sucked the spirit’s red energy into her tendrils. “When I send you back to the cesspool where you belong, you’ll be nice and weak, so the others will feast on your life-force.”
“No!” The spirit’s voice echoed through the chamber.
Justine threw her head back and laughed, absorbing more of the spirit’s red core.
Nausea, with a side-order of terror, rippled through my insides. I turned the onion woman and gasped. “What’s happening?”
The older woman shuddered. “I have no idea, but we have to stay and erase the circle. Otherwise, enough of those things will break through and possess us all.”
An icicle of terror lanced through my heart, spreading cold through my veins. What on earth had we done? And what was Justine doing?
The hunter’s vast energy body became drenched in a red deeper than blood. She turned to me, her eyes blazing like a stop sign. “Alicia, fetch Lord Radu. He must also feed. With this power, he will be strong enough to defeat the likes of Lilin and Stryx!”
The spirit’s harsh, gut-wrenching screams sent a shudder that permeated me to the marrow. After all that talk of being able to take control of Radu, Ademenitor couldn’t even defeat Justine. A whimper reverberated in my throat. Between the onion woman and me, we had condemned the entire supernatural world.
Justine’s face twisted into a scowl. “What are you waiting for, go and—”
Her eye widened, and her feet dragged through the flames, forming a break. The onion woman darted forward and poured fresh oil over the fire to rejoin the circle.
Ademenitor’s body stretched over Justine’s, and with a sickening crunch, all her chakras exploded into a mass of swirls that sank into the spirit’s red core.
“You have pleased me.” Ademenitor rubbed his belly. “And I will reward you for this very generous gift.”
“Did you pretend she was winning?” I asked.
The spirit chuckled. “Of course.”
The red spot in the middle of its body narrowed. It twisted into a pentagram within a hexagram within a heptagram. Surrounding them were two concentric circles joined by eight spokes and in the center of the shapes lay a rectangle whose right side dipped down forty-five degrees and was bisected by two parallel lines.
“Memorize this symbol,” he said. “It is the way to call me at a moment’s notice. Wherever you draw it in blood, I will come.”
The symbol reverted to a circle, and Justine’s face surfaced through its red light, twisted in a silent scream. Her single eye glared out, a mix of horror and vengeance shining within its depths.
My throat spasmed. The hunter probably thought I had led her into a trap.
As soon as the spirit descended into the pentagram, the onion woman bolted upright. She reached into the apron of her black dress and doused out the flames with handfuls of salt.
As soon as the fire had gone, she turned to me and snarled, “Wipe that look off your face and take your place at Radu’s side.”
I reared back. “Me?”
The onion woman looked at me as though I was stupid. “How else are you going to get close enough to Radu to summon Ademenitor?”
Chapter 17
It took the entire walk from the basement for my heartbeat to return to normal. I checked and rechecked my chakras for signs of the spirit’s taint, but apart from the time it had tried to reach me through the flames, I could no longer feel its influence.
Two male hunters stood outside the double doors of the dining room. They both grinned at me, revealing sharpened teeth. Thinking of Dante’s delicious blood, I transformed my teeth and grinned back.
“Welcome, sister.” The one on the right opened the door.
Radu stood behind the head table with Renée on his right. A frightened-looking red-haired girl in a white tunic cowered on her other side, and a few seats to the left sat Captain Tanar. The vampire straightened and gave me an expectant stare.
Ignoring him, I inclined my head at Radu. “Apologies for the lateness, My Lord.”
He beckoned me inside with a gloved hand and pointed at a table full of male hunters whose energy bodies were broad enough to make them Radites. With a nod, I hurried over to my new place, cringing as the males’ gazes flicked over me as I sat.
Radu held up a scroll. “Dracula sends a message that he’s on his way for an inspection. My brother is a cautious creature who will travel with the very best of guards. But he will not be prepared for me or my elites.”
Cheers broke out across the tables of hunters. I glanced at the frumosi, who slumped in their seats, resigned. Annette ran a hand through her braids and dipped her head. Right now, I bet she wished for the return of the vampires.
Radu chuckled. “Once I have Dracula’s blood in my veins, we will secure the other hostages and lure Stryx into my domain. And when I have ingested his power, we will defeat Lilin, and the supernatural world will be ours!”
I locked eyes with Captain Tanar, who mouthed, ‘Help.’
The kitchen doors opened, and a selection of delicious vampires strolled into the dining room, each clad in white loincloths. Saliva flooded my mouth. Would it hurt to fill my stomach before I dealt with Dracula and Radu?
The male vampires walked around to the head table. Most of them were boys from my year and the year below, but I spotted Professor Proust, Dr. Grannus, and a few of the guards among the group.
My breath quickened, and I pushed aside thoughts of how the former headmaster had supported my humiliation and the doctor’s eagerness to perform unnecessary gynecological exams.
Radu tilted his head to the side, examining the males. He turned to Renée and asked, “Which will you have?”
The female hunter wrapped her arm around the vampire girl at her side. “I’ve already chosen.”
Radu’s lips thinned. “At this rate, you’ll exhaust valuable breeding stock.”
Nausea rose to the back of my throat, and the tingling in my gums vanished. The thought of the girls being forced to have babies killed my appetite. I turned back to the table and clenched my fists.
“Don’t you fancy any of those boys?” asked a blond hunter.
“Not really.”
He gave me a friendly bump on the shoulder. “I prefer to drink males by the goblet, not from the source.” His gaze rose to the head table, where Renée bit into the neck of the red-headed girl. “The females are a completely different matter.”
A few of the hunters at the tables chose a vampire male and brought him back to feed. The mal
e students who didn’t get selected walked to the back of the dining room and through the doors leading to the kitchen.
This time, female vampires dressed in their academy uniforms brought in trays containing goblets of blood, followed by more girls carrying hot meals for the frumosi. The meal was shepherds’ pie and mixed vegetables, which used to be my favorite.
A vampire girl in my year, who I recognized had laughed at me the time I’d been attacked by vampire bats, offered me a goblet of blood. Hatred burned in her violet eyes, but I met her gaze. The vindictive part of me wondered how the vampires liked being the underdog, but I stayed my tongue. Even if the vampires had treated us like second class citizens, they had never used us as livestock.
“No, thanks,” I said.
The girl handed the goblet to the hunter sitting on my right.
“I noticed you’re off your feed,” said the man on my left. “Feeling nostalgic for solids?”
I turned around to the frumosi tables, where my classmates poured gravy on their generous helpings of shepherds pie. “Not really,” I replied and meant every word. “I haven’t thought about that kind of food since I transitioned.”
“That’s because you’ve moved up the food chain.” The hunter on my right downed his goblet of blood.
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
He wiped the back of his mouth and sighed. “When you were a frumosi, you ate cows, right?”
My lips tightened with distaste, even though the words were true. “I suppose so.”
“You never ate what the cows ate, did you?”
I shook my head.
“There you go.” He offered me his hand. “You’re Alicia, right? My name’s Alex. I’m a Radite, too.”
I moved to give him a handshake, but he pressed his lips on my knuckles. “You know, there are ways for hunters to feed other than blood.”
“How?” The memory of milking Nero and Gates for their semen rolled to the front of my mind, making warmth gather between my legs.
Mischief danced in Alex’s eyes, and his lips curled into a smirk. “Come back with me, and I’ll teach you to—”
A shadow fell across our table, and Alex’s eyes snapped up to the figure standing behind me. I twisted around and tilted my head up to find Radu staring down at the hunter, his blue eyes hard. “Thank you, Alexandru. I will take care of Alicia’s training.”
“Yes, My Lord.” The hunter picked up his empty goblet and pretended to drink.
I gazed up at Radu, who gestured for me to take his arm. Tamping down the panic flaring across my chest, I pulled back my seat, scrambled to my feet, and placed my fingertips on his massive, leather-clad elbow. Revulsion rippled across my skin like an infestation of millipedes, but I held a straight face.
Radu pressed down on my hand with his massive paw and walked us through the dining room. Every eye turned in our direction, and I imagined that if Kat hadn’t been absorbed by Zarah, she would whisper something nasty to Annette about how I always attracted the most powerful men.
Pushing those thoughts away, I gave Radu a shy smile. The onion woman had left it to me to summon Ademenitor to consume the monster’s soul.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Radu asked, “How was your first night as one of us, my dear?”
“Shocking at first,” I replied. “Nobody told me I could transform by absorbing another hunter.”
“I made Zarah a Radite as a reward for unlocking the mystery of where the vampire elites hid their young.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and squeezed me to his side. “It was the least I could do after she had given me the key to everything I wanted.”
I gulped. Did he mean Dracula’s blood? Did it matter? “But I killed her.”
Radu raised his broad shoulders. “I offered her power but not protection. She squandered it by challenging one with greater potential.” He was probably trying to pay me a compliment, but my insides still trembled from the shock of seeing Ademenitor swallow Justine. “But it doesn’t have to be like that with us.”
I gazed up into Radu’s ridiculously pretty face. “What do you mean, My Lord?”
With his arm still sweeping me along, he opened the door to a stairwell and stepped inside, plunging us both in darkness. We walked down a flight of stairs in silence, the echoing of our footsteps the only sound. My pulse thudded in my ears, and my stomach twisted with anticipation.
A moment later, the door above us opened, and a group of people stepped into the stairwell. I couldn’t be sure if they were Radu’s personal guards or enforcers who would make me change my mind if I turned down the man’s advances.
I shook my head. Despite being the leader of all hunters and a mighty warrior, Radu didn’t seem the type to want to force intimacy on a woman. I wondered if that was because he felt that they should all desire him, as it struck me as odd that the type of person who could steal another’s life-force would concern themselves with sexual consent.
At the bottom of the stairs, he turned to me and placed both hands on my shoulders. “Do you know I enjoy a bit of feeding play?”
My insides turned to stone, but I smoothed out my expression in case he could see in the dark. “What’s that?”
“A girl hungry for both power and cock straddles my body and takes what she wishes.”
Heat rose to my cheeks, accompanied by a ripple of disgust. The last thing I wanted was to absorb more stolen life-force. “Did Zarah play that game?”
“Are you jealous?” He opened the door, letting in the light.
I would have bolted into the hallway, but he held onto my shoulder, keeping me in place. The next words that tumbled from my lips were pure bullshit. “Maybe I want to know if you do this with all the new girls.”
“Zarah was not to my liking.” His glacial eyes bore into mine. “But a girl with large appetites will go far in my organization.”
A cold sweat broke out across my skin. If I took Radu up on his offer, he would probably overpower me before I got a chance to draw Ademenitor’s symbol in blood. But if I continued to reject his advances, I might fail my mission and get absorbed.
“I want Dante to stay in my room,” the words slipped from my lips. When Radu’s pleasant expression morphed into a scowl, I added, “My stomach’s rumbling, and I didn’t fancy any of those other vampires.”
“And you will take your pleasure from this Dante?” Jealousy hardened his voice.
Placing both palms on the man’s oversized and heaving chest, I swept my gaze from his pouting lips to his penetrating stare. “What can I say?” I murmured. “Revenge turns me on. I plan on making that vampire pay for the pain and humiliation he caused me when I served as his slave.”
His eyes narrowed so I could only see his long, golden lashes. “You may still be vamp struck.”
“They never bit me.”
“But you were their blood whore,” said Radu. “What did they do with you?”
“When I didn’t consent to let them drink my blood, they made me serve them in other ways.”
I glanced down at the arm-sized erection straining through the leather of his pants, suppressed a shudder, and snapped my gaze back up. Maybe his henchwomen could handle that much meat, but I sure as hell couldn’t.
Radu raised his sculpted brows. “And you will make Dante serve you in the same manner?”
“It’s only fitting that I drink his blood and get riled up for feeding play,” I replied.
“You will show me.” Radu turned to a group of guards who had been following and ordered them to pull Dante from the cells. We power-walked through the hallway, making me jog to keep up with his long strides.
My heart sank. There was no way I could perform in front of an audience of Radu.
Just as we passed the boys’ suite, the stairwell door burst open, and a female hunter rushed into the hallway. “My Lord.”
“What is it?” Radu snarled.
She flinched into a low bow. “Sorry for the interruption, but our lookouts tell us tha
t a fleet of black limousines is traveling in our direction.”
Radu turned his attention to the cowering woman. “Is there a truck or similar vehicle carrying dirt?” asked Radu.
“Yes, My Lord,” she said. “It’s labeled Sunshine Compost.”
Radu grabbed my hand and pressed his plump lips on my knuckles. “I must prepare for the upcoming battle. My guards will bring you Dante for dinner. And afterward, we will celebrate my victory against Dracula.”
He disappeared with his entourage, leaving me alone in the hallway, staring at their backs. I hoped that Dracula would bring stronger vampires than the ones who had been guarding the students. If Radu became weakened during hostilities, he would be easier to defeat.
I walked to the suite, opened the door, and stared at the empty fireplace. Even if Dracula was victorious, we would still have to leave. Every frumosi student in the academy would hate me for being favored by Radu, and the vampires would despise me for turning into a hunter.
Running a hand through my hair, I let out a shuddering breath and headed for the chaise. If the surviving werewolves knew I had helped to kill their alpha and pack mates, they’d also want to tear out my neck.
The door to Raphael’s room opened a crack, and Nero poked out his head. “How’s Dante?”
“How did you get in here?” I whispered.
“Through the fireplace,” Nero replied. “There are passageways leading down to the dungeons. What’s happening with Dante?”
My shoulders sagged. “We bonded, but I had to let the hunters return him to the sun cell.”
Raphael also poked his head out. “Why?”
A flock of butterflies took flight in my stomach. In all the time I’d had a truce with the boys, I had never confided in them about the onion woman. “I have another plan.”
“What’s wrong with the one we have?” Nero stepped out with Raphael on his heels.
My gaze darted to the door. “Hide. I’m expecting a group of hunters to arrive soon with Dante.”
“Really?” asked Raphael.
“He’s supposed to be my dinner.”
“Do you need to feed again?” asked Nero.