I watched the receding shape of Isaac lying in the middle of the road. Was he dead? I couldn't recall Nik saying vamps died via blunt force trauma to the head.
“No,” I shrieked, finally catching my breath. “I gotta go back!” Not really sure why I said that or felt that way, but I did.
“He's fine,” Nik mumbled through his clenched teeth, his gait remaining steady. After another block, Nik stopped, opened a car door, and dumped me into the driver’s seat. He pushed me toward the other side and climbed in after me, clearly not trusting me stay put while he walked around the car to the opposite door.
Before he had the door closed, he had turned the key and slammed his foot onto the gas pedal. We screeched away, him driving like a Formula One racer and me holding on to the seat belt. After a few minutes with only the sound of the car's angry roar, Nik spoke.
Okay, it was more like a yell.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Wrong with me?” I screamed back “What's wrong with you? I went there on my own.”
“And that's supposed to make it okay? We've been trying to keep you away from Richard and you just gift wrap yourself?”
“Well maybe that's a mistake! Maybe if you'd just handed me over to him at the beginning none of this would have happened.”
I realized this wasn't the true reason I had gone to Isaac, but I didn't want to tell Nik the truth.
Nik growled as he slammed the car to a stop in front of what looked like a very nice condo. He dragged me out of the car, across the lawn and through the front door. My guess was this was Nik's apartment. Compared to his mansion, it was a shack, but compared to my shack it was quite the mansion. He pushed me onto a black leather couch before careening into the kitchen and back. Nik tossed me a blood bag.
“Now listen to me,” he demanded as he plopped down on the couch next to me. “Richard is a cynical, cheating basta--jerk,” he said, stumbling to edit himself. “His motives are never simple. Nor are they pure. He didn't have Isaac turn you because he liked the way you looked. There is always more going on beneath the surface. We have to know what that is before you go traipsing off to him.”
“You ever think that maybe we'd all be better off if I did just go to him?”
“Absolutely not! Knowing Richard, he's probably trying to conjure himself a genie to take over the world. Why would you go to him? Are you stupid?”
“I went to him hoping Isaac would stake me!” I snapped back, the truth spilling out of its own accord.
Nik turned in his seat on the couch, took hold of my shoulders, and gave me a rough shake. “That is not an option.”
“But I'm a monster,” I shrieked in his face as I jerked my shoulders free from his strong fingers.
“You don't get to give up. Giving up is just giving into that darker side. You have to fight for it! Fight to be a good person.”
“I can't!”
“Then you're even worse than you realize. We all have a darker side, even before being turned. But we fight, each day, to be better. Giving up makes you pathetic…”
Nik wasn't able to finish. Josh burst through the door. “What the hell was that?”
“Not you too,” I snapped back and stormed out of the room before tears could leak from my burning eyes. I didn’t want to think about what Nik had just said. Not knowing where I was going, I ended up in a bedroom. I didn't know if it was Nik's, but I didn't care either. The bed squeaked as I flopped onto it. I stared up at the very tall ceiling, trying not to hear what the others were saying and failing miserably.
“I don't think yelling at her is going to be very helpful,” Nik said, his voice slowly cooling after our fight.
I heard an almost comical growl come from Josh. Evidently he wanted to yell a little more.
“Besides,” continued Nik. “I've already done the yelling.”
“Why did she run off?”
“To get Isaac to stake her.”
I flinched at his words, feeling like a complete coward. Maybe, just maybe, Nik was right. But I knew it was necessary. I was a threat to all humanity, or at least the portion that lived in the greater Olympia area. I held my breath, determined not to scream at them. There was a strange silence, followed by the sound of light footsteps heading my way. Josh entered, his blood-stained shirt removed. He didn't have the rippling muscles of Nik or Isaac; instead he had that not-an-ounce-of-fat look. It made me think of Richard. Neither of them looked like the typical male runway-model. In my books, vamps had always been super attractive—like Isaac and Nik. But Richard had proved to be a rather normal looking guy… okay, more of a butt-ugly guy.
I really hated these reminders that my writing was shit. You know those points in your life where you realize you've failed at something you really set your heart on? You see it in the Olympics when athletes hurt themselves or they lose the chance at a medal. They're broken, downtrodden. That's how I felt. I'd worked so hard at being a writer. And despite two published books, I suddenly realized I wasn't an artist. I wasn't highly creative. I was just the last man standing, so to speak.
Josh strolled to the fireplace and flipped a switch. For some reason, it seemed odd for a really old vampire to have a gas fireplace. Too modern. Josh leaned against it, the contented look on his face out of place considering all the recent shouting.
“How long have you known Isaac?” he asked. The question startled me.
“Um… we'd been dating for a couple months before all this.” I waved my hand in the general direction of the living room, where I assumed Nik remained.
“There are some things you need to know about Isaac.” Josh sauntered over to the bed and lay down next to me. At first, he simply stared at the ceiling, showing no inclination for actually telling me the story. Eventually, he sighed and began. “There were originally three seethes here in Olympia. It made things… complicated. A lot of hungry vamps in a comparatively small area. Richard decided he wanted more territory, and so he attacked the Tumwater seethe—my seethe. I was out of town that day. When I got back they were all dead. All but Isaac that is.”
“Isaac was part of your seethe?”
Josh nodded. “This was nine or ten years back. Isaac helped Richard in through a back door in exchange for his life. Richard slaughtered the whole seethe. When I got back and discovered the massive pile of ashes, I went to Mikhail. He accepted me, but has always mistrusted me. It's natural I suppose—the new guy and all.”
“He killed them all?” I asked. Strangely it made me more confused. Why hadn't Isaac been willing to kill me then? He clearly had no moral compass.
I realize this is stupid, considering that I'd asked to be killed, but I felt a little relieved that he hadn’t done what I’d asked. I guess the desire to live is just too strong.
“Yes. Just to make his feeding grounds larger.”
I cringed away from the thought. “And Isaac helped him?”
“Isaac liked the idea. He quickly rose in the ranks, somehow managing to kill all the vampires older than him other than Richard. I doubt the duels were exactly on the up and up. He's now Richard's right hand man.”
I had to paint a new picture in my head of the man I'd dated. He wasn't the Isaac I had known. Not by a long shot. I suddenly felt very alone, even with Josh lying next to me. I could hardly go to Chloe or Jordan about this. And Nik wasn't that helpful. He'd just tell me what an idiot I'd been.
“I went to Isaac and asked him to kill me,” I said before I could edit my words. Josh already knew this, but I needed to say it. “He wouldn't do it. Said he needed me as a vampire.”
“That could be a clue.”
I nodded. “All right. Let's find out what the bastard wants and make sure he never gets it.” Maybe it was the experience of nearly getting what I wanted, or thinking I nearly got what I wanted, but I suddenly had a new vigor for life. I would wipe the floor with Isaac’s ass and make him pay out like a Las Vegas slot machine. It was easier to transform my fear and depression into ange
r.
“Sure, believe him,” mumbled Nik from the other room. I heard his footsteps as he entered, but kept my eyes on the ceiling. I really didn't want to deal with him right now. “Isn't that what I'd been saying all this time?”
“But with far less detail,” smirked Josh as he rolled off the bed. I glanced up at them in time to see Nik nod his head toward the exit. Ugh. What now? Josh quietly left before Nik closed the door. He leaned against it, keeping his distance.
“So, have you come to your senses?”
“Always the charmer,” I sighed.
“No. I just don't sugar coat it and spill my heart out like Josh.”
“Assuming you had a heart.” Okay that was low, even for me. “Sorry.”
“No you're not!” he snapped. I sat up to look at him. “That's how you honestly view me?”
“Yes… no… I don't know. Haven't you noticed sometimes I say things before I really think about them?”
“Yes.”
I glared at him.
“You asked,” he pointed out.
“Doesn't mean I want an honest answer,” I said, a good pout forming on my lips. Even after all his years of existence, he didn’t know a thing about women. I stifled the pout before I seemed any more pathetic. “Just remember, you're the one who's tried to get Mikhail to kill me… multiple times.” Though I had thought about what I was saying, for a change, I couldn't keep it from slipping out.
Nik stared at me for a long moment, his expression cold and fierce. I was about to suggest a new topic when Nik sauntered over to the bed and sat next to me. “Listen to me carefully,” he began, nudging my shoulder until I looked at him. “If Mikhail orders me to kill you, I will do it without hesitation. But that doesn't mean I will do it with joy. In fact, I think I might actually be a little upset.”
“Wow! That's comforting to know you'll be a 'little upset',” I said. Sarcasm is better than bed-wetting-terror.
“But I won't do it unless he orders me. Life is worth living. And if you give up and get someone to kill you, you miss out on all the opportunities for doing good.”
“You mean like killing innocent women in the streets?”
“No, like running a homeless shelter like Josh does.”
That surprised me. Not that I didn't think Josh was great. I just had trouble seeing him as a soup-pouring kind of guy.
“You're making me blush,” said Josh from the other room.
“Our long lives give us the opportunity to do a lot of good in this world, if we choose to take that advantage.”
“But that doesn't make up for what I've already done.”
“No,” agreed Nik. “But wouldn't it be worse to just give up and not try to do any good?”
“You know… you can be kinda annoying sometimes.”
“Me? What about you? A pipsqueak, dropped in my lap, demanding my undivided attention, who got my people ki… ” Nik stopped suddenly, but I knew what he was getting at. “I didn't mean that. I don't actually… I mean… You know I… ”
“Just shut up, Nik!” I snapped before storming out of the room. Just as I reached the living room, a loud banging on the door resounded through the apartment. Nik was beside me in an instant, his business face already on. His own blood bag forgotten, Josh rose from the couch and got into position; both men were in front of me. I couldn't decide if it was chauvinistic or gentlemanly—can it be both?
Nik stepped forward and opened the door. I would have expected him to open it just a crack, but no, he acted as though he was letting in a friend. He probably knew the door wasn't much defense against the things that go bump in the night. Richard himself stood in the doorway, Isaac on one side, his face already healed, and a vamp I didn't know on the other side.
Oh crap. Now I've done it.
“Mr. Krasniy,” Richard said with a sickening smile, while folding his small, pudgy hands over his round stomach. Isaac, on the other hand, glared at Nik as he leaned forward, ready to attack. The third man looked unsure while his nervous eyes flittered between speakers. “You have one of my children, whom I'd like back.”
“Oh? Your child? I didn't realize she had gone through the Joining with you. Ash, why didn't you tell me?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder and winking at me. He appeared relaxed, none of the anxiety I knew he should be feeling apparent in his stance. His hand still rested on the door as he turned back to our guests.
I suspected Josh looked more like I felt—sheer panic coloring what I could see of his pale face. His fists were clenched at his sides and his stance was forward, ready to defend me, no doubt.
I may be new to the whole vampire life, but I knew Richard was older than Nik, and, therefore stronger, despite his appearance. And if Nik was taken out, Josh and I didn't stand a chance. Isaac was older than both of us combined and I had no idea how strong the third man was. What were we going to do?
“We have not had that pleasure. But Isaac turned her, she belongs to my seethe.”
“As I recall, Isaac did not originally belong to you. He chose. Will you, therefore, give her the same choice?” Nik asked, his voice still sounding like he was having a conversation with a friend over tea—very deceptive.
Richard turned his eyes on me, waiting. “Uh—thank you, Richard, for your hospitality, but at this time I'd like to stay with Nikolai,” I said. I hoped that statement wouldn't go to his head, but I felt the need to be diplomatic.
Richard's eyes lightened as he smiled at me, sending a shiver down my spine. I realized there was no hope of him leaving peacefully. One glance at Isaac confirmed my suspicions.
“I'm afraid I cannot accept that answer,” the fat man said.
In a blink of an eye he slammed into Nik, sending him crashing into the dining room table, and pinning him to the ground. Isaac rushed Josh, but the younger vampire was prepared for it. He ducked, flipping Isaac over like a hockey player might do on the ice. The third mystery man rushed me. Rather than try to fight him with no weapons at hand, I turned and sprinted into the sitting area. The room blurred as I rushed. So that was what it was like to run vampire fast?
I jumped over Nik's black coffee table and picked up one of his matching side tables. It broke into pieces when I spun around and slammed it into my attacker's shoulder. I held onto one of the legs, realizing I had a stake. Cool. I felt a bit like a blonde girl from Sunnydale.
Trying to keep up the feeling, I swung at him with my empty fist while at the same time smashing my stake into his chest. The move worked… except for my aim. I stabbed him in the gut. He grunted and bent around the stake. I jumped back and picked up another leg to the table while he yanked the stake out of his stomach.
Damn, now he also had a deadly weapon.
To my astonishment, he dropped it and came at me with open hands. Must have an order to take me alive, I realized as I skipped away from him.
It's just like dancing, I told myself in an attempt to stay calm; a dance where you want your partner to die. He followed me and managed to slam his fist into my chest, sending me flying into the wall. I heard a crunch as I made an Ashley size hole in the drywall. The man grabbed me by the arms and pulled me out of the wall. He slammed me into the floor, pinning me with his knee. But I fight dirty!
I bent forward and sank my teeth into his thigh, tearing away a small piece of flesh. To my disgust, it didn’t taste bad, just watered down. He jerked away with a loud bellow. I took that opportunity and rolled toward the TV. Strangely, a small piece of my mind thought about how much I didn't want to destroy the enormous, flat screen television; at least, not until I'd gotten to watch something on it.
From the other side of the room, I heard other crashes and shrieks as my companions fought for their lives. At least they were still alive, I thought, as I rolled further, trying to keep out of my opponent's reach. He fell toward me, trying to slam both his fists into my stomach. I dodged his blow for the most part, his knuckles barely grazing my side. It still hurt.
I assaulted his head with
my knee—which hurt, by the way—and drove my stake into his shoulder. It might not kill him, but I knew firsthand that pain would slow him down. While he battled the wood sticking out of his shoulder socket, I jumped onto the enormous, sturdy looking coffee table. The man seemed to feel it more important to pin me, rather than get the stick out of his body. Perfect, I thought as I flinched away from his first swing. I kicked him in the chest, dodged, and finally reached for the black table leg protruding from his shoulder. I yanked it out just far enough to slam it back into his chest. Finally, I hit the mark. His eyes bulged for a brief second just before he crumpled into dust.
Before I could put too much thought into what I'd just done, I leapt off the table and sprinted over to Josh. Isaac had him pinned against the back wall, smashing Josh's head into the drywall over and over again, right where a stud was half concealed. Blood was dripping from Josh's neck, nose and the back of his head. As I reached Isaac, he bent Josh's neck to the side as if to bite him again. I grabbed Isaac by the hair and pulled with all my might. To my wonder, Isaac flipped backwards and skidded across the gleaming hard wood floor. I positioned myself in front of Josh, giving him a chance to collect himself.
After spitting out the wad of flesh he’d torn from Josh’s neck, Isaac forced his face into a scowl. He glanced at Richard, who had not managed to corner Nik. Both of the older vamps were bloodied and slowing.
“Richard!” Isaac called before bolting out the door. Evidently he didn't like anything near a fair fight. Richard gave the room a glance, his quick eyes taking in the pile of ash and Isaac’s sudden disappearance, before following Isaac out into the early morning glow. I ran toward the door, slamming it shut and flipping the deadbolt. Normally it would be a futile effort, but the morning was coming. We would be safe until the sun set again; at least, that's what I told myself.
Nik stared at me for a moment before toppling to the ground, slightly propped up by the kitchen cabinets. Josh had also taken refuge on the floor. I didn't know who to help first. Before I could decide, my feet led me into the kitchen. I jerked the fridge door open, finding a neat display of blood bags hanging from a homemade rack. I grabbed two bags, tossed one in the general direct of Josh and knelt beside Nik.
The Series that Just Plain Sucks: The Complete Trilogy Page 12