Pamela Palmer - [Vamp City 02]

by A Kiss of Blood

  “I’m fine.”

  “Vampire . . .” She ached for him, for what he’d endured. His yells would echo in her ears for a long, long time.

  “I’m fine, Quinn. Leave it at that.” But his tone said otherwise. And she hurt for both of them.

  He needed time to heal, physically, mentally, and emotionally. But there was no time. If they wanted any chance of saving Vamp City, and Zack, they had to reach Vintry as quickly as possible. There was no way in hell she was letting Arturo seek out the dying fae in this condition, without her. They would head for Fabian’s castle together.

  Even if Arturo fought her every step of the way.

  Chapter Fourteen

  As Quinn and Arturo rode back to Neo’s, Arturo was silent. Brooding. The landscape was dark as pitch, and Quinn couldn’t see a thing, but her horse seemed to be able to follow Arturo’s, so she gave the horse his head and concentrated on not falling asleep in the saddle. She was exhausted. But with Vintry’s life going quickly down the drain, sleep was a luxury she couldn’t afford.

  The rumble of the earth startled her into full wakefulness. Moments later, flashes of light appeared here and there across the landscape. Not sunbeams—it was the middle of the night. But streetlights, car headlights, the nighttime glow of the city. She could see them, sprinkled through the dead trees and it gave her chills.

  “It’s getting worse,” she murmured. The bleed-throughs were everywhere.

  “Did you tell them my name?” Arturo’s words took her by surprise, yanking her thoughts back to the wolves. He still sounded so . . . spent.

  “No. I was careful about that. They didn’t seem to recognize you.”

  “Wolves . . . are Kas’s job.”

  Kassius, she knew, was a vampire and a wolf. A werevamp. “I imagine it is. Does he get along with the other wolves?”

  Silhouetted against a distant bleed-through of a streetlamp, she saw Arturo glance at her though she couldn’t read his expression. If she had to guess, she suspected he wasn’t sure he liked that she knew that Kassius was a wolf. She wouldn’t have known if Kassius hadn’t bitten her to get the truth out of her at Cristoff’s insistence. And if she hadn’t stolen a few truths from him in return.

  “No,” was all he said. And even that word seemed to cost him.

  They fell once more into silence. She had things to tell him—the bubble, for one. But now wasn’t the time, so she held her tongue and kept an eye out for more trouble.

  Movement caught her eye in the distance. A couple of figures on horseback silhouetted against an office building’s nighttime lights.

  “We’ve got company,” she murmured, preparing to reach for her gun. Or maybe her knife since she wasn’t sure how many bullets she had left.

  “It is Micah and Neo.”

  It always surprised her that he could see so well in the dark. From what she’d been able to gather, vampire senses were not superhuman, exactly. They weren’t that much better than her own. Except for their night vision, which was a huge advantage.

  Arturo turned toward the other two vampires, and they met in the middle a few minutes later.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Micah demanded. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.” He frowned, peering at Arturo closely. “You look like hell. When was the last time you fed, Ax?”

  Arturo ignored the questions. “Fabian’s. ASAP.”

  Quinn’s jaw dropped. “After what you’ve been through? You need time to recover.” But even as she said the words, she heard the fallacy in them.

  “No time,” he said, voicing her thought. He turned to Neo. “Take Quinn.”

  “No way. I’m going with you.”

  “You’re staying,” he snarled.

  “No,” she replied calmly. “I’m not.”

  Micah looked from one of them to the other. “Ax, you look terrible. What happened?”

  When Arturo made no move to reply, Quinn did it for him. “Wolves. He’s been in their feeding trough almost since we left here.”

  Micah whistled low, turning to his friend. “And you haven’t fed.”

  “He has,” Quinn replied, when Arturo remained mute. “He just did.”

  The bleed-throughs disappeared suddenly, the worlds closing once more. And once more she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face.

  “Are you okay, Quinn?” Neo asked, his voice warm with concern.

  “They didn’t hurt me. The alpha and I came to an agreement . . . after I almost killed him. I promised them a shipment of beef and pork, by the way. I hope you can help me honor that. I suspect they could be valuable allies.”

  The silence that met her request had a heaviness that told her she’d made a mistake. Or overstepped.

  “Is that a problem?” she asked.

  “Mukdalla’s son was killed trying to deliver store-bought meat to the wolves six months ago. The wolves killed him.”

  Quinn’s heart clenched. “Poor Mukdalla. But Savin said the wolves that killed the Traders were from the Herewood pack, not his. I made a promise, Neo. We’ll have more trouble with the wolves, not less, if I fail to honor it.”

  “Discuss this later,” Arturo snapped, startling her. “We need to go.”

  Suddenly, there was a flurry of movement between the vamps and she heard Micah’s low curse. She hated not being able to see!

  “Back to Neo’s, Ax. You’re in no condition to go anywhere like this. There’s too much at stake to risk screwing this up.”

  “What happened?” she demanded, as the horses started forward again.

  “He nearly fell off his horse,” Micah told her. “I thought you said he fed.”

  “He did. I thought he did. It certainly sounded like it.”

  “I fed,” Arturo grumbled, but he sounded completely exhausted.

  “What’s at Fabian’s?” Neo asked.

  When Arturo didn’t answer, Quinn did, suspecting he was using all his concentration to stay on the horse.

  “Tarellia said that Fabian’s sage, Vintry, is the only one who might be able to help me free my magic, but he’s aging. There’s not much time. And that was yesterday morning.”

  They continued in silence until, finally, the faint lights of Neo’s house appeared between the trees. They rode into Neo’s courtyard, and Quinn dismounted easily, handing her reins to one of Neo’s men—vampire or human, she wasn’t sure. Neo led the way in through the back door, and Quinn followed, Arturo and Micah close behind.

  “Your eyes have turned white, Ax,” Micah murmured as they closed the door behind them. “He needs blood, Neo. And fear. A lot of it.”

  Neo frowned. “I’ll send someone, but you must ensure he doesn’t accidentally hurt her.”

  “I’ll stay with them.”

  Neo called to one of his people. “Bring Marissa to 3A. At once.” To them he said, “She just arrived last night and is still utterly terrified.”

  “I’ll clear her mind when he’s through,” Micah assured Neo. “She won’t be harmed.”

  Though Quinn followed them downstairs, she remained in the hallway as Micah led Arturo into one of the bedrooms, and a young woman was escorted there soon after. The door shut behind her, and a moment later, her bloodcurdling scream tore through the underground.

  Quinn went rigid.

  Neo squeezed her shoulder. “He’s not hurting her, you know that. He’s scaring her because he has to. Because he has to feed.”

  “I know.” She looked at him. “I swear he just fed from a wolf.”

  “Who probably had little fear in him.”

  She wasn’t so sure about that, considering what Arturo almost certainly did to him. With a shake of her head, she moved away. “Do you know where Zack is? I can’t listen to this.” The poor girl was terrified.

  “It’s the middle of the night. He’s probably in bed.”

  “Right.” It was so hard to remember night and day in a land without a rising and setting sun.

  But when she checked his bedroom, she
found it empty. As she headed back into the main room, she caught sight of Mukdalla’s vampire husband.

  “Rinaldo.”

  He turned to her with a smile. “Sorceress.”

  “Do you know where my brother is?”

  “With Jason, I believe. Last I saw them, they were in the study.” He pointed down yet another hallway. “Third doorway on your left.”

  Quinn thanked him, the muscles of her neck and shoulders easing as the screaming finally quieted. She found Zack sitting at a long table in a room lined with bookshelves. He was shoulder to shoulder with Jason as they peered at something in Zack’s hand. A Gameboy.

  “Damn, you’re good,” Jason muttered. “It’s my turn.”

  Zack grinned. “Give me a computer or game player, and I can kick anyone’s ass.”

  Jason grunted, accepting the Gameboy. “You’ll be kicking vampire ass by the time I’m through with you. One more game, then we get some sleep.”

  “I’m not tired.”

  “I am.”

  Quinn watched them, glad that Zack and Jason seemed to be getting along. Happier still that Jason had, wisely and amazingly, found a way to remind Zack of the things he was good at.

  She walked fully into the room, joining them at the table. “Hey.”

  Zack looked up, relief in his eyes. “You were gone a long time. Everything go okay?”

  “Yes and no. We found the fae, but she can’t help me. There’s someone else we have to find. We may be gone a couple of days.”

  “Days?”

  “It’s hard to tell. Nothing happens quickly in this place.”

  “And you’re still not going to let me go?”

  She shook her head apologetically. “We’ll be going in undercover.” At his frown, she added, “I’ll be fine, Zack. Arturo and Micah are going with me.”

  “Any word on Lily?”

  Quinn shook her head, hating the disappointment that tightened her brother’s jaw. “Arturo’s sent someone to find her. As soon as Arturo hears anything, I’m certain he’ll let you know.”

  She slid her hand against the side of Zack’s neck and grimaced. He was hotter than before.

  “If Arturo’s not going after her, I am.”

  Jason set the Gameboy down, meeting Zack’s gaze calmly. “Then come morning, let’s get back to work. If you attempt a rescue untrained, you could hurt her more than you help her. Training is key.”

  Zack stared at him morosely, then released a hard huff. “I know.”

  The thought of Zack’s attempting a rescue attempt on his own terrified her. But Jason was a good, calm influence. And Zack did need to learn how to fight, if only to protect himself.

  Zack glanced at her again. “How soon are you leaving?”

  “I’m not sure. Arturo’s getting a bite to eat . . .”

  Jason snorted.

  Zack eyed her with concern. “Be careful, sis.”

  She gave into the urge and kissed him on the cheek. “I will. You, too.” Then she headed back to the room where Arturo fed, needing to know the vampire was going to be okay.

  She only had to cool her heels in the hallway for a few minutes before the door opened, and Micah stepped out, the girl at his side, smiling, the two fang wounds on her neck barely visible and already healing.

  “What kind of dance?” Micah asked kindly, meeting Quinn’s gaze with a knowing look before turning back to the girl.

  “Jazz mostly, but I take one ballet class a week, and I’ve been thinking about trying hip-hop.”

  As the two disappeared down the hall, Quinn stepped into the doorway. Arturo sat on the bed, his head in his hands.

  “Better?” she asked quietly.

  “Come in, cara mia.” He lowered his hands and looked up at her wearily. His eyes were back to normal, but he still looked tired and beaten. Maybe it would just take time for him to recover.

  She sat beside him and took his cold hand in hers, then gave in to the urge and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

  She felt his mouth buss her hair.

  “That feeding didn’t help you, either, did it? You’re so cold. I’ve never felt you so cold.”

  “It is not blood that I still require. Nor fear.”

  Her brows drawing together, she straightened and looked at him. His eyes were normal, his fangs not elongated. “What do you need?”

  He stared at her, his own brows lowered as he reached up to caress her cheek. “It makes no sense, bella, but there is one thing and one thing alone that I crave. That I must have.”

  “What?”

  “You. Your sunshine. Your warmth.” The thumb that slid softly across her bottom lip trembled subtly. “Your kiss.” The depth of need in his voice, in his eyes, caught at something deep inside of her.

  With shaking hands, he framed her face, his need not quite hunger. Nor quite passion. But there was no denying it existed. Her breath turned shallow as he stared at her, as he stroked that unsteady thumb across her lips.

  “I must kiss you, cara. Do not deny me this.”

  “I won’t.” She reached for him.

  He dipped his head, slowly this time, his mouth covering hers, his cold, closed lips pressing against hers, just that. But with that simple touch, she felt the tension go out of him as if his body sighed. His hands on her face gentled even more, a featherlight caress. And she shuddered, a longing deep inside her stirring, making her eyes sting. She’d been so worried the wolves would kill him.

  Lifting her arms, she slid her hands to the back of his neck, then he was pulling her tight against him, one hand in her hair, the other around her waist as he swept his tongue into her mouth, claiming her, drinking of her as if she were the only thing he needed to survive. Her body softened, heating, as affection for this difficult, dangerous male surged within her.

  And still he drank of her kiss. His lips began to warm. Beneath her hands, his flesh warmed, too. And still he kissed her, making no move to do more. The door was still open, but somehow she doubted that would stop him if he wanted to coax her beneath him.

  Instead, he pulled away, his lips pressing a kiss to her cheekbone, her eyebrow, her temple. Breathing hard, he pulled her against him, pressing her head to his shoulder as he held her close. Just that.

  “I failed you,” he said softly, his tone devastated. “Again.”

  “No.”

  “I did not protect you.”

  Quinn pulled back, lifting her hand to his face, to his warm flesh. “You were battling a pack of wolves and a sorceress’s magic at the same time. You may be fast, and strong, but you’re not Superman.” She stroked his cheek. “The only way you’ve ever failed me was in betraying my trust and handing me over to Cristoff. You didn’t betray me this time, Arturo. I know you tried to reach me.” Stroking his cheek again, she smiled. “You’re warm. And you look better.”

  He didn’t return her smile. Instead, as his hands caressed her hips, he watched her with a bemused expression. “I needed your sunshine.”

  She frowned. “You really did, didn’t you? How can that be?”

  “I do not know. You feed me in a way I do not understand. The girl’s fear left me cold.”

  “Literally.”

  “Yes.” He stroked her cheek. “You are becoming important to me in ways I would not have thought possible. I do not want to take you with me, tesoro.”

  I do not want to. Not I won’t. They were making progress. “We’re out of time, you know that.”

  “It is a terrible risk, cara.”

  “Isn’t everything in this world? Vintry can’t die before he helps me, you know that. We can’t let that happen.”

  “Because of Zack.”

  “Yes. Of course.”

  He watched her for several thick moments. “If Zack were not tied to the magic . . . would you renew it?”

  Would she? She looked away, uncertain what to tell him. There were good people here, she was convinced of that, now. But there was so much evil,
too. Arturo believed the evil would lessen once the magic was renewed, but what if he was wrong?

  “I don’t know,” she said honestly, meeting his gaze.

  He looked at her in disappointment, then released her and rose. “Come, then. Micah will renew your glamour. And we shall go.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Quinn found herself drifting off to the rhythmic movement of her horse a short while later. Arturo and Micah accompanied her as they rode toward Fabian’s stronghold, and Vintry. Before they’d left, Micah had renewed her glamour. She once more looked like Neo’s sister, though this time with a Slava’s opalescent glow in her black hair. The vampires agreed that it might help protect her since, apparently, freshies—mortal humans—were the coin of the realm at the moment. The best an enterprising Trader could do with a captured Slava was hope for a reward. But freshies were fair game and could be bought and sold at will.

  Of course, by pretending to be a Slava, she ran a greater risk of being injured. The immortal Slavas were sometimes treated far more roughly—in Cristoff’s house, brutally. Hopefully, since she supposedly belonged to Arturo, they’d leave her alone.

  Micah had warned her that her glamour wouldn’t last as long this time. Creating the glamour took a lot of energy, energy he needed time to renew. And before they reached the stronghold, he was going to have to glamour himself since the plan was for him to enter in the guise of one of Fabian’s guards. Any way they looked at it, they wouldn’t have much time.

  The clouds had broken up a bit since their first ride tonight, allowing the moonlight to filter through. Why the moon and stars were visible through the Vamp City bubble, but the sun and sunlight, not to mention the real world, weren’t, she didn’t know. It scrambled her scientific mind. Despite the moonlight, she couldn’t see much—her companions were little more than dark shadows on either side of her—but at least she didn’t feel like she’d fallen into a well.

  “So, what else do I need to know before we get there?” she asked the two vampires. They’d convinced her to leave her gun and stakes behind since both could be construed as weapons of aggression against a rival vampire master. But they had no objections to her switchblade. Everyone in Vamp City, apparently, carried a knife.