Baited Blood

by Sue Ann Jaffarian

  When Dodie and Doug had stopped by their house to pick up clothes for them all, Dodie had had the insight to pack Madison’s running shoes and some leggings, so it was easy to piece together a running outfit. Madison had topped it off with the tee shirt she slept in and a gray hoodie she’d borrowed from Hyun. It was a bit too large for her but was keeping her warm in the dampness. Her hands were stuck in the pockets, her left hand on her cell phone. If anything went wrong, she was to immediately call Samuel’s house. Colin had asked Byron and Ricky to stay behind to keep an eye on Ann Hayes. Even gagged and tied, he didn’t want to leave the manipulative Ann alone in the company of Libby, Enid, and Foster.

  Madison’s right hand fingered the spray vial of bloodroot. That and her bracelet were her only protection. She felt naked and exposed, and out of her mind with worry for those attacking the castle.

  They didn’t know if Julianne had any indication that she’d been exposed or if she thought anything out of the ordinary about Libby leaving, except for the reason she’d given—that she was frightened and disgusted by the recent violence being visited upon the consorts. They also didn’t know if Heather had heeded Libby’s advice and gotten herself and the other consorts out. Colin was operating under the assumption that there were mortals still in the castle.

  Julianne’s SUV drove up and found parking in the small lot opposite from where Madison stood. Julianne got out of the driver’s side. From the passenger side emerged the young man she’d seen with her on Friday morning. Two against one—now Madison wished she’d had Notchey with her.

  “New wheels,” Julianne observed, noting the plain white rental car. Madison’s car was still at the Dedhams’.

  “Just a rental. My car’s having a diva moment. I’m thinking it’s time to buy another.”

  Madison then noticed a second man getting out of the back seat of the SUV. He was tall and slender, with high-cut cheekbones and longish dark blond hair pulled back at the nape of his neck. Now it was three against one; not good odds at all. She fingered the bloodroot in her pocket, wondering how many she could hit before things got really nasty.

  “I thought it was going to be just us girls,” Madison said in a joking manner.

  Julianne glanced over at the men. “It was, then Adam said we ladies shouldn’t be running alone in the dark, so he came to protect us.” At the name Adam, Madison forced a smile at the dark-haired man she’d seen on Friday. He was the vampire who’d tortured Libby.

  “The other one’s Coby,” Libby said by way of sloppy introduction. “He’s crashing with Adam for a few days.” Julianne leaned in close and whispered, “Who knows, you two might hit it off. When I told him you were cute, he slapped on his sneakers.”

  Coby—the other guy who had attacked Libby. Madison shuddered and pretended it was a chill. If Julianne had any idea what was happening at her rented mansion while she bantered with Madison, she gave no indication.

  “I’m getting cold,” said Madison to the three of them as she jogged in place. “Shall we get going?”

  They started up the trail, Madison jogging alongside Julianne. Behind them were the two men. Madison wished they were up ahead, where she could keep an eye on them. “If you guys want to push it,” she said over her shoulder, “don’t let us hold you up.”

  Julianne looked back at them. “She’s right. You wouldn’t want to listen to our gabfest anyway.”

  The two men picked up their speed and passed them. They didn’t take off but put some distance between themselves and the women while still remaining in sight.

  “How did your business trip go?” asked Julianne.

  “Boring and exhausting. Glad to be home.”

  “What is it you do?”

  Madison looked over at Julianne. Her ponytail had been threaded through the back of her baseball cap and bounced playfully with every step she took. Madison’s hair was pulled back, too, but lay like a damp, thick rope coiled in the hood of the sweatshirt.

  “I’m an executive assistant for a nonprofit foundation. How about you?”

  “Not sure.”

  Madison shot her a look. “You don’t know what you do for work?”

  “Guess you could call me a headhunter of sorts.”

  Had she not been terrified, Madison would have found the comment funny. “You find jobs for people?”

  “More like I find prospects and mentor them.” Julianne jogged a few more steps before elaborating. “I look for losers and give them a second chance at life.”

  “So you train them for new jobs?”

  “Basically.”

  “Your job must be very rewarding.”

  Julianne cackled with laughter. “You have no idea.”

  Madison’s earlier amusement turned to disgust, but she fought not to show it.

  They were jogging uphill now, almost to the top, lobbing along silently at a nice pace. Madison’s mind wandered to the castle. Had Colin and his band managed to get into the place and overtake Julianne’s ragtag army of newly turned vampires, or was there still a heated battle going on? If the run went as planned, Julianne and Madison would part as new pals, and Julianne would return to the castle to face defeat and capture.

  Up ahead, the men disappeared around a bend. Madison went on alert, giving the situation her full attention.

  “Tell me, Madison,” asked Julianne, without looking over. “How do you enjoy working for Samuel La Croix?”

  Inside her chest, Madison’s heart skipped a beat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand that.”

  “Oh, come now. Don’t play games.” Julianne stopped on the trail. “I know damn well who you are. But it’s about time you knew who I was.” She roared, her fangs snapping out and filling her mouth.

  Madison pretended shock. “You’re a vam—a vampire?”

  Julianne sneered. “More game playing? Not to mention bad acting.”

  Madison wasn’t sure what to do. She looked up ahead and didn’t see the others, and assumed they were waiting in ambush. She started walking backwards down the hill, keeping one eye on Julianne, the other on the trail.

  “Let’s see,” Julianne said, following her but keeping her distance. “You live with vampires. Work with vampires. No doubt even fuck vampires. Not sure why you’re so surprised I turned out to be one.”

  “What do you want with me?”

  “You, my dear, are my ticket to Samuel La Croix. I’m going to destroy your boss, and you’re going to help. I’ve already tweaked his nose. All those dead vampires left carelessly around? I did that. Samuel’s dead whore?” Julianne cocked a thumb at herself. “My handiwork.” She took another small step toward Madison. “But you’ll bring home the prize.”

  “Like hell I will!”

  Madison turned and lit down the hill as fast as she could, praying Julianne and her friends did not have the gift of speed.

  “After her,” yelled Julianne.

  Without looking back, Madison knew the vampires were on her heels even without extra speed. She dug deep, looking for a burst of extra energy. Samuel had been right, she should have gotten at least a little sleep. She looked up at the sky. The sun was coming up. Between the rising sun and it being their bedtime, the vampires should also be exhausted. And unless the rain didn’t keep them away, other people might be on the trail down below.

  Madison thought about Hyun running for his life for a living and found more speed. She was about one third of the way down the trail when her sneaker hit a patch of loose gravel. She stumbled but didn’t lose her balance. After a few awkward steps, she found her groove again. A hundred yards more, she stumbled again. This time she fought to remain upright. Someone crashed into her from behind. The force sent her sprawling into the brush alongside the trail. Her face and arms stung from scratches. She started to get to her knees when someone grabbed her from behind by her hair and pulled her up. It was Coby.

  Once on her feet, Coby dragged her up the trail several yards to where Adam and Julianne waited with self-satisfied gr
ins.

  “Now listen up and listen good,” Julianne warned, getting in Madison’s face. “You will go back down the trail with us, and you will behave. You try to warn anyone we meet along the way, I’ll kill you as entertainment for anyone willing to watch.”

  “You can’t hurt me.” Madison concentrated on keeping the fear in her voice to a minimum. She held up the arm with the bracelet.

  “So,” laughed Julianne. “I see you’re not as stupid as Samuel’s bimbo.” She gave Madison a wide, ugly smile and licked her fangs. “I saw that on you before and brought backup just in case you had a habit of wearing it.”

  Coby jerked Madison’s hair. She let out a short cry of pain. They laughed.

  “Coby isn’t a vampire—at least not yet.” Julianne blew him a sloppy kiss. “So I’m afraid he can do whatever he wants with you and no one can stop him … or will.”

  To prove the point, Coby took out a small knife and nicked Madison on the neck, just below the ear Colin had nipped. Keeping a tight hold on her, Coby bent down and ran his tongue over the blood that trickled out of the incision. It made her shiver, but not in the same way as Colin’s actions had.

  “Tasty,” he told the others.

  Adam showed his fangs and eyed the slow-dripping blood with barely contained lust.

  “In time,” Julianne told Adam, patting him on the back.

  Coby put his mouth on Madison’s neck and gave the wound several loud, noisy sucks. She wanted to vomit.

  “Come now, Coby,” Julianne warned. “It’s not nice to tease us like that.” She looked up at the sky, alight now with the promise of the day to come. “We have to get back and get her secured before we turn in. Tonight, we’ll bring down La Croix, and she’ll be our victory feast.”

  “But the bracelet?” reminded Adam.

  Putting her hands on her hips, Julianne looked at him and sighed. “It’s a good thing you’re good in the sack, Adam, because you sure aren’t very bright.” She glanced over at Madison. “Coby will kill her and drain the blood for us,” she spelled out to the dull-witted vampire.

  As Adam’s light went on, he snarled at Madison in anticipation.

  The four of them started down the trail, walking at an even pace. Still maintaining a tight grip on her hair, Coby walked along Madison’s left side. The two of them led the way, with the two vampires several yards behind them. Madison put one foot in front of the other like a robot, her hands in her pockets. To anyone passing them coming up the hill, they looked like two couples returning from a leisurely morning walk. Because of the danger, Madison now hoped other people wouldn’t be on the trail. She didn’t want to chance Julianne deciding to have a snack on the way back to the car. It didn’t seem to be on her agenda, but Madison was learning that Julianne was unpredictable and her hatred for Samuel might only fuel her instability.

  With her fingers playing with the spray bottle of bloodroot, Madison tried to devise a plan. She didn’t have long, ten minutes at the most, until they reached the parking area. The bloodroot wouldn’t take out Coby, but a spray of the red liquid to his face might loosen his grip on her and render him temporarily off-balance. The vampires could chase her all they wanted, but until Coby was back in action, they couldn’t do anything to her. Madison saw it as her only chance.

  With her hand still in her pocket, Madison tested the sprayer by depressing it a little. It was stiff, but went down. She tried again. This time it lowered easily and her fingers grew wet with the sticky liquid. The juice was probably staining the pocket of the hoodie but with the vampires behind her, she doubted they could see it. With the tip of her index finger, she felt for the direction of the spray opening and positioned her grip so that it went in the right direction when pulled it out of her pocket.

  “Let her go,” an unseen voice called from the side of the trail.

  The party of four stopped in their tracks.

  “Let her go, or I’ll shoot.” From behind a tree stepped Notchey. He moved toward them slowly, his gun aimed directly at Julianne.

  Julianne laughed. “I’m a vampire, you fool. You can’t kill me.”

  “I can if the bullet hits you directly in the heart.”

  “You’re not that good of a shot.”

  “You willing to take that chance?”

  “Shoot this guy, Notchey,” Madison called to him. “He’s not a vampire.”

  Realizing his vulnerability, Coby stepped behind Madison, using her as a shield. He crouched slightly until his head was almost resting on her left shoulder. It was her moment of opportunity.

  Whipping out the bloodroot, she hit the plunger, shooting the bright red liquid over her shoulder and directly into Coby’s eyes. He yowled and let go of her.

  Madison rushed to Notchey’s side. “They’re the ones who killed Kai.”

  Coby was on his knees on the ground. “I can’t see.”

  “Quit whining, you crybaby,” snapped Julianne. With her chin, she indicated for Adam to move to Notchey and Madison’s flank. “He can’t shoot us both that accurately.”

  Adam followed her instructions and moved to cover their left.

  “Unlikely,” admitted Notchey, never taking his eyes off of her. “But you’re the one I’m aiming for, not him.”

  Madison held the bloodroot out, aiming it at Adam.

  Julianne raised her face and sniffed the air like a dog sensing danger. “She’s got bloodroot, Adam. Don’t let it near your mouth and nose or you’ll go down like a sack of stones.”

  Keeping his eyes on Madison, he nodded his understanding.

  “The sun’s getting higher,” Madison whispered to Notchey. “They’re going to be getting weaker. Wait them out.”

  Adam continued to move in, but still Notchey didn’t take his gun off of Julianne.

  It was Adam who made the first move. He rushed Madison and Notchey. Madison ran forward, spraying him with the bloodroot, but the vampire shielded his nose and mouth with his arm and charged her. The two of them went down in a pile, the force of the strike sending them both into the dirt not far from Notchey.

  The stronger of the two, Adam untangled himself from Madison and straddled her, pinning her to the ground. Notchey’s eyes flashed between them and Julianne, but he kept his gun on Julianne.

  “Don’t worry, Notchey,” Madison called to him. “This creep can’t hurt me. Take out Julianne.”

  Adam jumped off of Madison and dove for Notchey’s legs. The blow tumbled the cop to the ground, his head striking a tree trunk as he fell. Julianne and Adam both pounced on Notchey. Before the gun was knocked from his hand, he managed to get off two shots. Both of them hit Julianne, wounding but not killing her. She rolled off of Notchey, whimpering like a hurt animal, and retreated to collect herself.

  Madison looked around for the bloodroot, which had been knocked from her hand, but couldn’t find it. Adam sunk his fangs deep into Notchey and began tearing the flesh. Notchey screamed in pain, then went silent. Grabbing a large rock, Madison raised it up and brought it down on Adam’s head. Over and over, she hit the vampire devouring Notchey. Each blow filled the air with a loud cracking noise. When Adam finally rolled off of Notchey and onto his back, Madison grabbed the fallen gun and stood over him. She fired once, surprised by the kick of the pistol. It hit the vampire in the chest but not directly in the heart. Weakened but not dead, Adam snarled and slowly began to rise. She kicked him hard in his jaw and he fell back. Before he could get up again, Madison placed the gun directly over his heart and pulled the trigger. Adam went limp. His eye sockets emptied.

  “Get her, you useless piece of shit,” Julianne yelled at Coby. Coby had gotten to his feet and was shaking off the bloodroot’s effect on his eyes. The juice had stained his face red. One look at Adam’s corpse and he took off down the trail.

  Julianne let out a scream of anger. The earlier bullets had entered her left arm. It hung by her side limp and useless for the moment. Soon it would be sound again, but Madison didn’t know how long it would take
.

  Julianne looked at Madison, then at Notchey. “I may not be able to kill you,” she said to Madison, “but I can kill him.” She flashed Madison a sick grin. “And I’m going to make you watch.” She started slowly for Notchey, keeping one eye on Madison and the gun.

  Madison moved toward the injured Notchey herself. He was badly hurt and out cold. She fired at Julianne, hitting her in the gut. The vampire yelped and clutched the wound. It didn’t kill her but stopped her long enough for Madison to remove her protective bracelet and slip it onto Notchey’s wrist.

  “You’re crazy,” Julianne told her, licking her fangs.

  Madison pointed the gun at Julianne. “You want me, bitch? Come get me.”

  Julianne slowly started for Madison. “I am going to drain you and use your skin for a flag.”

  Madison kept the gun trained on the vampire. Moving off to the side, she drew Julianne deeper into the brush. She wanted them away from Notchey just in case some of her shots went wild. A few more steps back, Madison shifted directions. Julianne followed like a lioness circling her prey.

  Once sure Notchey was behind her and the gun, Madison decided it was time to make her move. She knew she’d never hit Julianne directly in the heart unless it was dumb luck. She needed to get close, close like Adam, and make the shot count.

  Madison stopped and pointed the gun. She pretended to fire it, but nothing happened. She looked up at Julianne, fright filling her eyes. She didn’t have to fake the fright, it was real even if the gun jamming wasn’t.

  Julianne gave off a sinister laugh and moved in closer. Madison pretended to fire again. Nothing. She backed up. Julianne jumped forward, pinning Madison against the tree behind her. She drove her fangs into Madison’s neck. Madison screamed in pain. Julianne pulled back, her lips and teeth covered with Madison’s warm blood. She laughed and took another bite, this one deep.