Raven
“What do you know about gifted vampires?” Thomas answered my question with one of his own.
Vampires had been one of the first topics covered in my long car rides with Sage and Noah, so I sat proudly, glad that I knew what he was talking about. “When some vampires are turned, human attributes of theirs can be strengthened,” I said. “For instance, as a human, Rosella was able to see the future. That ability was heightened when she was turned. It’s why she’s a seer as a vampire.”
“Who told you that?” he asked.
“Noah and Sage,” I said.
“They were close, but not exactly right,” he said. “I lived in the Haven for a while after being turned, so I’m friends with Rosella. As a human, she was talented at listening to people, observing them, and using that information to determine what choices they might make. She had the gift of intuition. Once she was turned into a vampire, that ability heightened, allowing her to actually see the future.”
“All right.” I nodded, glad I’d seen Rosella’s gift in action with my own eyes. Otherwise, I might not have believed him. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess you’re bringing this up because you also have a gift?”
“Yes,” he said. “As a human, I had a knack for technology. With a bit of fiddling, I could quickly determine how any gadget worked and fix anything that was broken. As a vampire…” He paused, giving me a close-lipped smile. “Well, it’s probably best to simply show you.”
Suddenly, all of the cell phones in the room started buzzing and lighting up. It was like they’d taken on lives of their own. The lights started flickering—like in those creepy horror movies. And it wasn’t just the phones. The television turned on and began flipping through the channels. The lights overhead went crazy as well.
Thomas looked completely in his element as the eerie, flickering lights bounced off his skin. I watched him, shocked. Then, all at once, everything returned to normal.
“You did that,” I stated, knowing it was true.
“I can communicate with and control technology.” He was so casual about it—as if what he was saying was normal. “I’m what’s known as a technopath.”
“That’s why your remote control doesn’t have a power button.” I glanced at where the strange, blank remote sat. “You didn’t need to use it at all.”
“It’s a prop—I only held it to keep you focused and not asking more questions,” he said. “And earlier, you asked how I had recordings from Prince Jacen’s selection in the Vale. The answer is simple—I hacked in and created recordings for myself. I thought they might prove useful down the line.” He smiled, clearly proud of himself for being right.
This guy would be a nightmare to security systems everywhere. No wonder he kept referring to his penthouse as a fortress. I had a feeling that I’d only seen a sliver of all the advanced technology he had here. He’d likely used his ability to acquire his wealth, too.
“That’s… amazing,” I finally said, not wanting him to see how his power was making me feel slightly uncomfortable. “It’s a good thing we have you on our side, isn’t it?”
“It is.” He nodded. “I can be a pretty terrifying enemy. None of the vampire kingdoms want any trouble with the Bettencourt coven. Most vampires in America have to go rogue to avoid detection by the kingdoms, but not us. As long as we don’t make the humans suspicious about what we are, the kingdoms let us be.”
“How do you get enough blood for yourself and your coven without drawing attention to yourselves?” It was something I’d been wondering since I woke up here and learned that the Bettencourt coven was smack in the middle of one of the biggest cities in America.
“There are microscopic security cameras in every hotel room—”
“Isn’t that against the law?” I interrupted.
“Against human law.” He chuckled. “I have ways around that. But did you want the answer to your question or not?”
“Sorry,” I said. “Go on.”
“We prefer to target humans who are traveling alone—it’s easier that way,” he said. “But most importantly, we always make sure they’re strong and healthy. Because once they’re asleep, we go into their room and draw their blood. We take the same amount as is safe to give for a blood donation. The blood is stored in our refrigerated vault. Once done, the human is given memory potion to forget what happened, and healing potion so there’s no trace of the needle mark. The next day, they’ll feel woozy, but they won’t know what happened. And we never take blood from a human more than once during their stay.”
“Wow.” I shook my head, unsure what to make of this. “Don’t any of them realize something’s off?” I was mainly thinking about the way I knew my memories of my Europe trip weren’t right. Surely some of the humans who’d gone through this process had experienced the same thing?
“There are a few rumors of hauntings in the hotel—those silly city ghost tours love stopping outside as part of their presentations—but the humans are clueless about what truly goes on here,” he said. “And I keep my vampires in line. Only those who have proven their ability to resist draining a bleeding human are allowed to perform the extractions. In all of the decades we’ve owned and lived in this hotel, we’ve only had one mistake.”
“You mean a death,” I said darkly.
“A death that was our fault,” he corrected me. “Occasionally, humans will die of natural causes while staying here—it happens in any hotel. In those cases, we go through the human system to report the death and take care of the body. But in regards to the human death that was our fault, that vampire was punished most severely. There have been no transgressions since. We keep our guests safe. I promise you that.”
“But you go into their hotel rooms while they’re sleeping and take their blood.” Goosebumps rose on my arms at the thought.
“And then they forget it ever happened and continue their lives as normal,” he said. “It’s far more humane than what happens in the kingdoms.”
“What happens in the kingdoms?” I leaned forward, not sure I wanted to hear the answer. Sage and Noah hadn’t given me the details there. All I knew was that other than the Haven, the vampires in the kingdoms fed on human blood.
“That’s a conversation for another day.” Thomas waved my question and zeroed in on Sage, who had a glazed look in her eyes. “Right now, we need to decide what to do about Flint.”
Sage
“You’re crazy if you think I’m going to turn against my brother so easily.” I glared at Thomas and sat straighter. He’d shattered my heart, and now he wanted me to side with him over Flint? Over my pack?
“You heard what he said.” Thomas motioned to his phone.
The evidence looked bad, but I wouldn’t be swayed that easily. “You could have used your ability to manipulate that recording into something it wasn’t,” I said.
“Why would I do that?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “But I know you well enough to know you always have a motive. Even if I don’t know what that motive is yet.”
His eyes clouded with darkness—like my words had hurt him. “I’m trying to protect you,” he said.
“Then help us find out who really sent those coyotes after us.” My voice rose—I couldn’t believe he was still pushing this. “Because it wasn’t Flint. My brother wouldn’t do that.”
“I disagree, but I’m not the only one who’s met Flint before.” Thomas looked over at Noah. “You’ve been pretty quiet this whole time. What do you think about all this?”
Noah pressed his lips together and looked back and forth between Thomas and me, like he couldn’t choose between us.
What was taking him so long to reply? Flint had allowed Noah to live in our pool house when he would have otherwise been homeless. Noah should have stood up for Flint on the spot.
“These are serious allegations.” Noah pressed the pads of his fingers together, being careful about his wording, and looked at Thomas. “Whil
e I don’t know much about how your ability works, I trust Sage that you could have used it to alter—or create—the conversation you played for us.”
I breathed out in relief. Noah was standing up for me—for my pack. Thank God.
“The conversation you heard wasn’t altered,” Thomas said. “It was a recording of what actually happened.”
“Very well.” Noah leaned back in the couch, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Do you have more vials of the truth potion you had me take lying around here?”
“Yes.” Thomas didn’t flinch when he answered the question.
“Good,” Noah said. “Take it, and then tell us the recording hasn’t been altered in any way.”
“You can’t be serious.” I glared at Noah. “You actually think he might be telling the truth?”
“We have to consider the possibility,” Noah said. “Trust me—I don’t like the thought of Flint putting a bounty on my and Raven’s heads, and I hate that he could be plotting behind your back. But if that’s what’s going on, we need to know. We need to be prepared.” He turned back to Thomas. “So—what do you say? Will you take the truth potion or not?”
“Your proposal is fair.” Thomas nodded and stood up. “I’ll go get the potion.”
He returned less than a minute later with a vial of light blue potion. He untwisted the cap and raised it to his lips, preparing to drink it.
“Wait.” Noah held a hand up, and Thomas stopped mid-motion. “Let me smell it, so I can make sure it’s the same strength as the one you just gave me.”
Smart. Shifters had the best noses of any supernatural species. Noah would easily be able to sniff the potion and tell if it was as strong as the one he’d just drank.
Thomas handed over the potion.
Noah held it under his nose and inhaled. “It’s good.” He nodded and handed it back to Thomas. “Go ahead.”
Thomas downed the potion like it was a shot. Then he placed the empty vial next to where the one Noah had previously taken was sitting on the coffee table. “I hope you know that I’m telling you this because I want to keep you safe,” he said, focused on me.
I swallowed, sweat beading on my forehead. This media room was feeling smaller by the second. I wanted to know the truth, but if the recording was real…
A pit formed in my stomach at the possibility. Because if the recording was real, I wouldn’t be able to trust my brother or my pack.
I’d be alone.
I wasn’t scared by much, but the thought of being alone terrified me.
“Do you want to ask, or should I?” Noah’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“I can do it.” I straightened and turned to Thomas, not wanting him to see my fear. “Was the conversation you just played for us an accurate, unaltered recording of the discussion you had with Flint within the past few days?” I was careful to word my question properly, as I didn’t want to give Thomas a way to lie by omission.
“Yes.” Thomas held his gaze with mine. “Hours before you arrived to my penthouse, Flint called me. I recorded the conversation, and what you heard was an accurate, unaltered version of what we discussed. I know it’s hard to hear, but I’m telling you this because I love you and I want to keep you safe no matter what.”
The walls felt like they closed in around me. My chest ached—it hurt to breathe—and I pressed my fingers to my temples as I tried to sort through my thoughts. How could my brother do this—not just to me, but to Noah? Because Flint knew the truth about Noah. He knew Noah was fighting for a good cause.
I wasn’t stupid—I knew my brother’s morals tended to reside in a gray area. But he always had reasons for what he did. He made tough decisions to protect me. To protect our pack.
“This doesn’t make sense.” I lowered my hands and looked at Thomas again. I couldn’t even think about how he’d said he loved me while under the influence of truth potion. I needed to take this one step at a time. “Why wouldn’t Flint just call me, tell me about this alliance, and ask me to come home?”
“Because whatever this alliance is, he knows you’re not going to like it,” Thomas said.
“He told you that?” I asked.
“No,” he said. “It’s just a guess.”
“But it makes sense,” Noah added. “Especially since someone in this alliance apparently wants me dead. In case you forgot that part.”
“No,” I said numbly. “I didn’t forget.”
I looked at Raven, curious what she was thinking. She’d been pretty quiet this whole time, but now, I saw sadness in her eyes.
She didn’t have to speak for me to understand what was going through her mind. She agreed with what the guys were saying. She felt bad for me. But worst of all, she understood how scared I was.
Because now, she wasn’t the only one who might have lost her family.
“You have a place here,” Thomas finally said. “You can move back into your old room—”
“Stop,” I interrupted him. “I’m not moving in here.”
Move in with my ex-fiancée in his hotel run by vampires? No, thanks.
“You don’t have to take your old room back,” he said. “You can have a condo of your own, if you’d prefer.”
“No.” I stared him down, my voice sharp. “I’m not just going to abandon my pack.”
“You heard what Flint said,” Thomas said. “You can’t go back there.”
“I can, and I will.” I stood up and ran my fingers through my hair, needing to get out of this room. I turned to Noah and Raven, since they were the ones in danger here—not Thomas. “I’m going to figure out what my brother’s up to and talk some sense into him. The only way to do that is to see him in person. But I need to make sure you’re both safe first. So I’m going to wait until you’ve made your way to Avalon.”
“Or you could come with us,” Noah said. “To Avalon. It’s the safest place in the world. Rumor has it that not even the fae can find it.”
“The Bettencourt is just as safe,” Thomas cut in. “More so, since you have me to protect you here.”
“I don’t need to be protected from my own brother!” I yelled, stunning them all into silence.
I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince more—them, or myself.
All three of them sat there with wide eyes, apparently not sure what to say next.
“I need some time to think.” I marched toward the door, stopping when my hand was wrapped fully around the doorknob and turning to face them once more. “I’ll be in my room. Don’t come and talk to me unless it’s to tell me that the vampire blood is out of Raven’s system.”
“Why?” Raven asked.
“Because once it is, we have a final demon to track down and kill,” I said. “Then the two of you can go to Avalon, and I can go back home to talk to my brother.”
Sage
I’d hoped to get a ton of sleep that night and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to face my problems the next day.
That didn’t happen. Instead, I tossed and turned for hours, trying to think about who Flint might have made an alliance with.
One of the vampire kingdoms?
The fae?
The demons themselves?
Each idea was more ridiculous than the last, and all this worrying was getting me nowhere. I’d only know the truth once I went back home and found it out myself. For now, I was frustrated, irritated, and scared. I didn’t know what to do with all of these emotions. All I knew was that I needed to be alone.
Much to my relief, the three of them listened to me and didn’t come in to bother me. Thomas knew me well enough that he knew trying to push me would just make things worse.
He also knew me well enough to know that when I was upset and couldn’t sleep, I liked to binge watch television shows. When I’d stomped back to my room, the television screen had flashed on, showing the Netflix home screen. My account was still there.
He’d used his power to let me know my account hadn’t been deleted.
&nbs
p; I wished I could say I was annoyed at him. But when I logged into my account and immediately found a show to watch, I was grateful.
Binge watching television didn’t make me forget about everything going on, but it did distract me slightly. That was the best I could hope for right now. Especially given what Thomas had said to me under the truth potion.
He’d said he loved me.
I wished he’d never said it. Now I was more confused than ever, and given everything going on with my brother, confusion was the last thing I needed right now.
Anyway, truth potion only forced people to say what they believed to be true. If someone believed a lie to be true, they’d say that lie under truth potion, because it was their truth.
Thomas might have believed he loved me, but he didn’t act like it. And weren’t actions more important than anything else?
I thought so.
At some point, someone left a large pizza outside my door, covered in delicious meat toppings. I knew it was there because the smell was intoxicating. I opened the door, glad to see that no one was standing in the hall, and pulled the pizza inside.
This had to be thanks to either Thomas or Noah. Both of them were aware of my weakness for fast food delivery pizza. I didn’t care how many times people swore by high-end pizza restaurants—nothing could ever be as delicious as Dominos. And when I was stressed, I could easily polish off an entire large by myself. Plus a side of cheese bread.
Once I was full, I finally managed to fall asleep.
A knock on the door woke me up what felt like mere minutes later.
I opened my eyes to see the “are you still watching this?” Netflix screen on the television, and the empty pizza box open at the end of the bed. Apparently I’d slept for a few hours, but it didn’t feel like it. I felt like I could sleep for a full day straight.
I was the definition of a train wreck. But a glance at my watch told me I needed to get myself together, because the vampire blood was likely out of Raven’s system by now.
The Angel Trap Page 10