Alexander was perched on a wooden chair at the dining table with his back to her. He also had a bed-head, his hair curling slightly at the tips. Draped over his slender form was a black silk kimono with a pattern of lotuses climbing up the sleeves. Nestled in his hands on the table was a steaming cup of what she guessed was blood.
“Sleep well?”
Varsee was leaning against the kitchen counter holding a steaming mug of her own. Unlike her brother, she was fully dressed and looked completely fresh faced and radiant in an olive-green blouse.
“Yeah. Yeah. I did. Thanks,” she hurried with a smile.
At the sound of her voice, Alexander turned around. His eyes completely bypassed her and raked Caius up and down, his lip curled up a little with revulsion.
“What the hell are you wearing? You look like a nineteen-eighties hippie. And not in a good way. If there even is a good way.”
Caius took the chair opposite him, unfazed by the remark. “I found it in the wardrobe.”
Alexander’s eyebrow arched. “You mean Mr. Braverman’s wardrobe? What was wrong with what I put you in? Y’know, I give and I give. I worked hard on making you look good and what do I get in return?” He threw Caius a sweeping gesture. “I’d like my shirt back.”
Caius’ eyes were on the table, distant and resigned as always. “That’s fine.”
Alexander looked over his shoulder at Evie. “Seriously, what do you see in this guy?”
She bit back a smile and crossed over to Caius’ side of the table, brushing her hand across his shoulder blades before sitting down beside him. He looked to her and offered her a soft smile as she took his hand and squeezed it, gazing into his eyes.
“God, you guys are sickly.”
“Would you like a drink, you two?” asked Varsee, her voice noticeably louder to try and drown out her brother.
“That would be great, thanks,” said Evie.
“Well.” Alexander stretched his arms above his head, making the sleeves of his kimono drop to his shoulders. His arms were thin yet laced with muscle and when he stood up, Evie noticed that so was the rest of him. His kimono fell open, revealing his bare torso and matching silk trousers. His silk trousers hung low, revealing the V of his hips.
His body reminded her of a greyhound. The way he seemed to be made up of just muscle and bone. There was no extra fat on him at all. And yet, even though he was slim, Evie couldn’t help but sense the power radiating from him.
When Evie glanced upwards, she did a double take and then felt her cheeks burning as a grin cracked on Alexander’s lips, filling his angular face. He lifted his mug to his lips, gave her a cheeky wink and glided out of the room.
Varsee swooped in and took his seat, placing two mugs of blood on the table.
Caius thanked her as he took the mug nearest to him. Evie did the same.
Varsee’s eyes widened with realisation and she hid her face with her hands. “Oh God. I’m so sorry about last night. The noise.” She sent the two vampires a queasy, bashful look. “It just sort of happened. And we’re not used to having guests.”
Caius let his long hair shield his face. Evie could feel her face flushing at the memory but also found it amusing that she was embarrassed. “It’s fine,” she said finally through a laugh.
Varsee still looked a little pale and awkward on the other side of the table. She fiddled with her fingers and stared down at them as if they were fascinating. “I just didn’t want you to think that we were like animals that had to jump each other’s bones every moment we’re alone together. Because we’re not.” Her head flipped back up, making her curls fly over her shoulders. “We can be good hosts.”
“I don’t doubt it,” said Evie, still not being able to shake off the awkward laughter in her tone. Caius, not being any help at all, just nodded with his eyes still casted downwards.
“Sis, I’m ready!” Alexander called from the living room.
Varsee’s eyes sparkled and she straightened on her chair. “Great, I can stop babbling on.”
Evie furrowed her brows and gave Caius a sideways look. “What’s going on?”
Varsee got to her feet. “You might want to save that blood for after.” She waved towards the door. “C’mon.”
“After what?” Evie was starting to feel uneasy as she got to her feet at her Maker’s sudden shift from embarrassment to casual ease. She couldn’t help that the earlier conversation was just a way to stall them.
Varsee was already pushing her way through the door. “You’ll see. Stop asking questions and just follow me.”
Caius’ chair dragged across the tiled floor. He tucked his hair behind his ear and Evie caught the apprehension on his face.
Who are these people?
Caius headed towards the door and Evie fell into a step behind him. He paused for a moment before shoving it open. Evie went to follow but ended up crashing into his back. She moved to step around him but he stuck his arm out, preventing her from moving any further.
And then she realised why.
Alexander was standing in the centre of the floral room. He’d changed into a knitted jumper and leather trousers. He had his back to them. In his hands were two pistols.
Evie’s fingers dug into Caius’ side as she frantically searched for Varsee. She was standing by the stairs in the open-plan room, facing her brother, watching him with a soft smile as he felt the weight of the guns.
“What’s going on?” asked Caius, his usual soft voice uncharacteristically sharp.
At the sound of his voice, Alexander spun around and Caius pressed his arm harder against Evie’s chest protectively. But Alexander just smiled, the guns dangling limply by his sides. “Welcome to the party.”
“Varsee?” Evie looked back to her Maker for some sort of explanation.
“Caius, stand on the other side of Alex.”
“Not until you tell us what is going on.”
“We need to test this bond you two share. To see just how strong it is.”
He stalked across the room towards Varsee, his hands curling into fists.
Alexander stepped in front of him, blocking Caius’ path to his sister and started motioning him backwards with one of his guns. Alexander nodded with a smile, but his eyes were dark and devious as Caius started stumbling away.
“There.” Alexander positioned him before the sofa and walked backwards to where he was originally stood. Now all three of them stood in a line, about five feet apart from each other. Alexander’s head flipped to both of them, his blond hair slapping his cheeks, and then raised both guns with his arms stretched out completely. Varsee’s chin lifted and her body seemed to tense all over as her brother trained his gun just below her heart. Her eyes were blank.
On the other side, Caius tried to back away and smacked the back of his legs against the side of the sofa, his hands waving in front of his chest.
“What the hell are you doing?” Evie looked between them, her eyes wide and her brain whirling.
“Got these from some of those vampire hunters I killed. Wooden bullets. I’ll dodge your heart so they won’t kill you but they hurt like a bitch,” said Alexander, a dark grin cracking his lips.
“You’re going to shoot them?” Evie’s fingers tangled into her vest. It was a strange sensation, to be terrified as a vampire. Their heart didn’t bash against your ribs. Sweat didn’t bead on their brows. They didn’t tremble.
But her head felt foggy and her nerves felt like they were been stretched out dangerously thin. She felt the need to gasp for breath as a sob lodged in her throat.
“I sure am. But you can save one of them.” Alexander’s blue eyes flitted to her. “You just need to choose who.”
Caius. Of course it’d be Caius. She loved him. She had spent a hundred years with him. Her life was nothing without him.
But then her eyes started slowly drifting to Varsee, her new Maker. The blonde vampire must have felt her gaze because her lips curved into a smile as she started hopping from foo
t to foot, readying herself for a bullet in the chest.
Evie suddenly felt that tug stronger than ever, like Varsee had lassoed her and was dragging her towards her. Caius fell to the back of her mind as if he were just a person in a dream she was slowly waking up from, forgetting.
The feeling made her shudder and she snapped her attention back to him. He looked stiff and dark and fearful as his eyes fell on her. The skin on his face was pulled tight and he seemed to have sunken in on himself as he watched her.
Caius, of course I’m going to save Caius, she repeated in her head, trying to sound as confident as she could to block of the doubt brewing in the back of her mind.
“You look conflicted.”
Evie shot Alexander a glare. His eyes smiled at her over his shoulder and then he shifted his body a little, widening his stance. “You better make your mind up quick,” he said as he pulled back both the hammers with his thumbs.
“I’ve made up my mind,” she snapped back.
“Good.”
Then he fired.
The sound of the guns firing was like a dull explosion in Evie’s ears. The thunderous boom plus the pain that lanced through her side as a bullet broke through her ribs made her black out. When she came to, she was on the floor. Arms were wrapped around her from behind, holding her middle as blood spilled out of her, turning her vest and ugly brown-red colour.
The room was tilting and her brain felt like it was pulsing and swelling. Her eyes kept going in and out of focus. She could see Alexander still stood in the centre of the room, his face a white, featureless blur. And behind him was a humped dark figure on the floor. She squinted, trying to force her eyes to focus. It was like looking into a kaleidoscope. The floral patterns on the wallpaper danced and swirled, making her stomach lurch. She picked her head up carefully, afraid to move too much and disturb her wound. A curl of blonde hair fell against her cheek and she slapped it away irritably. Then her stomach dropped with realisation.
A blonde curl? She looked down at the arms that held her. The soft material of the olive blouse felt cool against her bare shoulders. She was pressed against Varsee… and the figure across the room from her, dropped back against the sofa, was Caius. Blood painted the front of his jacket. He was inspecting the damage of the bullet that had sliced through him.
“Caius!” Evie’s voice was hoarse and croaky inside her head as if she had a cough lodged in her throat. When she tried to push off Varsee, her Maker’s arms tightened around her.
“Stay down. You’re wounded,” said Varsee, calm and cool into her ear.
The hot, stinging sensation of new tears burned the backs of her eyes. “I protected you… It was supposed to be him. I chose him.”
“You thought you had. But blood calls to blood, Evie. It was my blood that saved you. And now it’s your turn to save me.”
She shook her head as her vision turned red. “I chose him. I did.” She squeezed her eyes shut, letting the tears fall, hot and wet down her cheeks. She could feel the wooden bullet inside her, scraping against her bones and muscles as she moved. The pain was excruciating, like something was trying to slice her open and fight its way out of her body. “It was supposed to be him.”
“Well, I think we all learned something tonight.” Alexander’s voice made her open her eyes again. His blurry face started to become clearer, like wiping away steam from a window. His blue eyes shone down at her, pinched with amusement. He dropped the guns onto one of the armchairs. “Whoever said love conquers all clearly knew nothing about the sire bond.” He strolled over to Caius, making him lift his head. His ruffled, dark hair fell from his face and his pale gaze was as sharp as daggers. “You alright?”
Caius’ nostrils flared. “You just shot me.”
“To prove a point. And at least now you’ll have to throw away that sorry excuse of a jumper which we are all thankful for.”
Caius looked back down at the bloody patch covering the vast majority of his front. The wound that was visible through the tear of the fabric was black and shimmering. His eyes then found Evie’s.
Her dead heart contracted as it felt like someone had just doused her in ice water. He looked empty as he watched her. Resigned and solemn.
Evie struggled against Varsee, attempting to crawl across the carpet towards him but Varsee yanked her back. Evie let out a growl and jabbed her elbow into the ancient vampire’s side but ended up causing more pain to herself as her swift actions tore her wound. She shrieked and fell back, throwing Caius a hopeless look.
“C’mon, I’ll help you upstairs,” said Varsee into her ear in a soothing voice that made Evie give up her futile attempt to escape and collapse against her in submission.
Varsee carefully manoeuvred herself so she could get to her feet before helping up her progeny. The blonde vampire smiled encouragingly as Evie’s bones creaked in protest.
Her Maker turned towards the stairs but Evie halted. “Caius.”
“He’s in good hands, don’t you worry,” said the vampire that had just shot him. He held out a hand which Caius grabbed rather reluctantly. Alexander yanked him to his feet and dropped him down onto the sofa, all with the care of someone throwing out the garbage. Caius choked on a groan and curled up into himself on the sofa, cradling his injured chest.
Alexander rolled his eyes. “You’ll be healed in a few minutes. That bullet will pop right back out again. Sit tight while I go get you a towel.”
Evie was making her way up the stairs at an agonizing slow rate; every jostle of her body re-opened her healing wound. Varsee, with her arm wrapped around her middle, whispered soft encouragements with every step they conquered. After what felt like climbing Everest, Evie was settled at the edge of the bathtub watching Varsee soak a sterile cloth in warm water.
“Take your vest off. But be careful. It’s probably stuck to the wound.”
Evie nodded obediently and sucked back a groan as she tugged on the hem of the vest and pulled it over her head. She threw it on the floor where it fell with an ugly sounding splat. Left in only her tattered bra – which still had old blood on it from when the psychotic Nest vampires attacked her – and Varsee’s borrowed jeans, Evie suddenly felt very exposed and vulnerable. Varsee didn’t share her embarrassment. All her focus seemed to be on the now visible wound as she sat on the edge of the tub beside Evie. Evie just watched in silence as Varsee worked on her, prodding and teasing the bullet hole with the warm cloth.
“Yes. The bullet is working its way back out of your body. You should be feeling your bones and muscles knitting back together as it passes,” said Varsee, her voice as calm and collected as always even though she was covered in Evie’s blood from her hands to her shoulders. She looked like she had done this countless times before. Had she? Maybe she had cleaned up Alexander and her old progenies after their cuts and scrapes? Or maybe it was more than that? Maybe she had been a nurse once? She certainly had the steady hand and the patience for it.
Evie thought back to those two swirling pools of mystery and secrets that were her Maker’s eyes and was knocked out by the sudden, rushing vertigo.
“Relax,” chastised Varsee lightly as she stabbed at her side. “Almost got it.”
Evie let the feeling pass and it was replaced with a sad sting of nostalgia. She was hit with the memory of her mother. Her mother when she had been caring and kind, before she became reproachful and bitter. Before Evie had met William. Before she was shunned.
An overwhelming ache ripped through Evie’s whole body and her vision turned red.
“Got it!” Varsee exclaimed with triumph, holding the cloth wrapped over her hand. Pinched between her fingers was the wooden bullet, black with blood. And just like that, Evie felt herself mending back together from the inside out. When the pain dulled to nothing, she wiped her hand across the watered-down blood stain on her side and uncovered her unscathed skin underneath.
After dropping the bullet into the sink, Varsee was back at her side, the pressure of her fingers
forcing Evie’s chin up.
“You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, don’t you?” Varsee asked, studying her progeny’s eyes.
A swelling darkness bloomed inside Evie and her jaw clenched. “You exploited our bond. You said you’d never do that. You said you were happy sharing me with Caius. You can’t make me pick sides. It’s not fair.”
Varsee’s gaze stayed level. “I needed to know for certain how deeply rooted your connection was still to Caius. You are my progeny. I needed to know that you would be there when I needed you. Just like I would be there for you.”
That’s when it dawned on Evie, the severity of her situation. Alexander had pointed a gun at both Varsee and Caius and she had jumped in front of the bullet to save Varsee. What if that happened again and Alexander wasn’t the one pulling the trigger?
She’d choose Varsee. She’d want to choose Caius but her sire bond would pull her to Varsee.
If Varsee ever changed her mind about Caius and no longer wanted him around… If she ever got sick of sharing Evie… If she forced Evie to make her choose to spend the rest of the eternity with only one of them…
She shuddered at the thought and forced it out of her head.
“I want to see Caius,” she said simply and looked to the floor, making Varsee drop her fingers from under her chin.
“Okay. Let me get you something to wear.”
Once she left the room, Evie got to her feet and inspected her reflection in the mirror. She looked as youthful and glowing as always but felt the polar opposite inside. Sometimes it was irritating to look upon herself and to see the picture of inhuman beauty staring back at her. It was in those times where she felt the weight of human emotions ripping at her insides the way that bullet had torn through her muscle tissue. When she truly hated what she saw in the mirror. Because it was a lie. It was fake. That blissful, optimistic, fresh glow was just a cover up. Like paint over rust. It covered up the hurt but it was still there, prodding and insistent.
The Progeny Page 21