Blood Inheritance (The Lazarus Hunter Series Book 1)

by Cas Martin

  'Come on,' she heard Monica say, her voice low with urgency. 'We have to get out of here now. Shit, shit, shit. I can't believe I've just done this. Come on. We have to go. Now.'

  'Garth,' Elizabeth managed to mutter.

  'Shhh,' replied David. 'He's okay. He's way up ahead of us. You know what kids are like. They always bounce back.'

  'Thank god. Oh lord that hurts.' She bit her lip again when she realised David was limping. He was also bleeding heavily from a wound on the side of his face. He had taken a battering and a half, but he was still finding the strength to carry her. She gritted her teeth again and stars appeared briefly at the sides of her vision.

  Even after her fight with Jasoum, she had not suffered anywhere nearly as badly as this. Sure, he had left her with a couple of cuts and some pretty serious bruises, but on the whole, she'd got off quite lightly. She would never again take for granted the advantage the element of surprise could give you. It had been their downfall tonight and it had nearly got them killed.

  'My car's down here,' Monica said and there came the beep of central locking clicking open.

  'We've got one a couple of blocks away,' said David, pausing and jarring Elizabeth against his body, causing her rib to scream out in silent agony to her once more.

  'Too far. We're not moving fast enough. It's only a matter of time before someone comes after us. Trust me. We're moving too slowly.'

  'She's right,' said Garth, his breath coming in sharp heaves. Elizabeth admired his pragmatism. He might not understand Monica's motives, but she had a fast car, and that was high on his list of priorities. He clicked the back door open and climbed in.

  David slid Elizabeth in beside him at an awkward angle and once again she thought she was going to pass out from just trying to keep the pain inside. Her lip was going to be as swollen from her own biting as it was from the full on fist in the face received during the fight itself.

  David shut the door beside her, then climbed into the passenger seat next to Monica. She was already gunning the engine and he only just had time to shut his own door before she pulled from the curb, executing a sharp u-turn and heading away from the building.

  After a few blocks, Monica let out a ragged breath, followed by a tirade of expletives. 'Shit. Shit. Shit. What the hell have I started?'

  'I'm sorry,' Elizabeth mumbled from the back seat. Every time the car turned a corner it seemed to hurt.

  'Don't be,' muttered Monica. 'It's my own fault. Damn it, I just reacted.'

  'We shouldn't have been there. It was stupid. I knew that something wasn't right.'

  'It's not your fault. It was a trap. They knew that you were looking for the journals, and they set you up.'

  'Who did?' Elizabeth was starting to understand what it was like to be unpopular. Really unpopular.

  'I can't tell you that.' Their eyes met in the rear-view mirror. Elizabeth might get it out of her later, but she would confess nothing in front of the others. Elizabeth could tell by the look that something was very wrong with this evening. The only way that Monica could possibly know was if someone had told her. That person was most likely going to be someone in her own family.

  'So where do you want me to drop you guys?' Monica asked. Her tone was light, as if they were all coming back from the movies and had just happened to hitch a ride together.

  'Just the nearest subway,' mumbled Garth from the back seat.

  'No problem,' Monica replied. She turned to David. 'What about you?'

  'I have to get Elizabeth back to her hotel.' His voice was firm.

  'No way.'

  'What? Excuse me?'

  'They know where she's staying. When they realise what's happened tonight, they'll be right there.'

  'You think I'm going to let her go with you?'

  'Not without a fight apparently.'

  'You must be crazy.'

  'Far from it. They probably know you too, know where you live. The only consolation is that you're not quite as important as she is. It'll be her they go after. It was her they wanted to kill tonight. You're not important enough to kill in your own right, but they wouldn't think twice if you got in the way. As for him,' she gestured to the back seat, 'I think he's been keeping way beneath the radar. Impressively so. You might want to keep it that way, kid. Before these two get you killed.'

  'I am right here, you know,' grumbled Elizabeth, sounding much like a petulant teenager herself. But her mind was whirring, processing everything that Monica was saying. She had come close to getting herself very, very dead tonight. It was something of a wake-up call, and she realised just how reckless she had been since arriving in America.

  She was going to be a hell of a lot more careful from now on. Starting with finding out what Monica was really doing here.

  28

  Monica was on full alert. She pulled the car into a parking spot right next to the elevator and turned off the engine. She paused to scan the entire basement, but sensed no one.

  She got out of the car, slow and purposeful. The ring had provided her with a lot of protection tonight, but going up against four grown men who were built for fighting had still taken its toll.

  When she was certain there was no cause for alarm, she opened the door to allow Elizabeth to climb out.

  Monica was impressed by how tough the other woman was. Apart from the initial time she had passed out, she had managed to stay conscious ever since. Even as she opened the door, Monica could smell the blood pooling under Elizabeth's skin, and knew that she would wake up in the morning with some seriously hideous bruises. She offered her hand to help her to get out, doubting she would be able to do it on her own.

  Even with the help, Elizabeth struggled to get her legs out of the car and onto the floor. They were shaking so badly she seemed uncertain they would actually hold her weight. The two of them made slow progress to the elevator, and Monica used the key card from her purse to open the doors.

  The inside of the elevator gave some indication of the building's luxury, and she saw Elizabeth raise an eyebrow in appreciation.

  Unfortunately, the disadvantage of living in the Penthouse was that by the time you reached your destination, the elevator had built up a nice amount of momentum. As the elevator began to pick up speed Monica debated whether or not she should say something to Elizabeth. Sadly, she erred for too long on the side of caution. She saw Elizabeth's knees buckle under the sudden hit of pain that engulfed her entire body as they jolted to a stop. As fast as she could she put her arms out to steady her, allowing her own bruised body take the full weight of Elizabeth's as she bordered on the very edge of collapse.

  The doors moved smoothly apart and Monica slid her arm around Elizabeth's waist. The two of them hobbled out of the elevator together, Monica taking most of the weight, trying not to do more damage to Elizabeth's ribs. She should probably have taken her to a hospital, but that would do little more than create a paper trail if someone was cunning enough to follow it. Monica could protect her by hiding her in the apartment. What she couldn't do was publicly protect her in front of every other family in the city.

  Her own bodyguard leapt to his feet as he saw the two of them come through the doors, but stopped when Monica raised her free hand.

  'Are you okay?' he asked.

  'I'm fine. I need you to sit back down and forget you ever saw this.'

  'But you—'

  'I mean it Eric. You didn't see me in this mess, and you didn't see her at all. Do you understand me?'

  'Yes Miss Carletto.'

  'I'm trusting you. A lot depends on your discretion. I'll make sure it's worth your while.'

  'I understand. Didn't see a thing.' He sat back down in the chair and picked up his newspaper, concern still creasing his brow despite her reassurances.

  There was a touchpad next to the door, and when Monica swiped her card against the flat grey panel next to it, it instantly activated. She typed in the code which gave her access to the penthouse. She didn't even stop to worry that
Elizabeth could now access her apartment if she had the key card. She was fairly certain that the other woman couldn't see straight in front of her in her present condition, let alone memorise a series of random numbers.

  She was also hopeful that Elizabeth wouldn't try to. After all, with the stunt she had pulled for her this evening, she figured that Elizabeth more than owed her one. Not breaking into her apartment was the least that she could do in the grand scheme of things.

  The light at the top of the key pad changed from red to green, followed by a sharp click as the locks disengaged. Monica turned the handle and allowed the door to swing open, before transferring more of Elizabeth's weight onto her and gently walking the other woman inside. She paused only briefly to turn the lights on, and kicked the door shut behind them. A relief she hadn't known she was capable of feeling rushed upon her once she was in the sanctuary of her own home. She hadn't realised how much she had been running on fear and the traces of the hunger that were always within her.

  The two of them hobbled their way over to the cream leather sofa that was the centrepiece of the living room. She eased Elizabeth down gently onto it, not surprised when the other woman let out a moan as her ribs heaved under the strain. Once she was seated, Monica stood straight, hands on hips and surveyed the damage. The long mirror at the end of the room revealed just what that damage was, and Monica was relieved the whole 'not being able to see your reflection' thing was a myth. She would hate to walk around in this state and not know what she looked like.

  She may have won the fight, but she had also sustained some serious injuries. She had also killed. That was something for her conscience to deal with later. It was one of those things that could wait. Getting them both patched up was a much higher priority.

  She went to the cupboard and pulled out a first aid box that she kept in there. It was bigger than your average first aid kit. Just like the pack of blood she kept at the back of the freezer, it was a necessity in her world. She hoped that she had something in there to help Elizabeth. It stood to reason that the two of them were going to heal at very different rates, and Elizabeth was on the point of passing out again when Monica walked back into the room.

  'Okay, first,' began Monica, riffling through the box. 'Painkillers. They're pretty strong ones. Not your usual over-the-counter stuff, but I think it's what you need tonight.' She went back into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. She thought of the blood that was buried deep in the freezer and felt a surge of hunger rise up in her. This was different to last night. This was the need to feed to heal, and to begin the recovery process. As it was, she would be able to survive without, for the next few hours at least. If she had to make sure that Elizabeth was asleep before she ate it, then she could wait that long without it being too much trouble. To be honest, it was something she would rather do in private anyway.

  She slammed the door to the fridge shut and, bottle of water in hand, went back into the living room. Elizabeth was holding the painkillers, looking slightly apprehensive. Even to Monica they looked huge, and she remembered the one time they had got stuck in her throat and she thought she was going to choke to death. She handed her the bottle of water with a smile, then took it back from her, removed the cap, and handed it back one more time. Elizabeth raised her hand to her mouth slowly and put the tablets — both of them — in her mouth. Monica realised that she had raised her hand so slowly because of the pain she was in, not trepidation about the size of the pills.

  Monica had to remind herself again that this was one tough cookie she was dealing with. This woman had single-handedly killed one of the world's most powerful vampires. Although, she sure as hell had been getting her ass kicked tonight. If they were going to carry on working together until this whole mess was sorted out, then Monica needed to find out why.

  'Thank you,' smiled Elizabeth as best as she could, coming across instead as more of a grimace. 'And not just for the painkillers. For saving my life tonight and letting me stay here.'

  'It was nothing,' Monica smiled in return.

  'It was a hell of a lot more than nothing. I'm grateful, but you don't have to pretend it was a walk in the park for you. I don't know what's going on, but I do know that you've gone out on a limb for me tonight, and I want you to know just how thankful I am. I would be dead by now if it wasn't for you. David and Garth would be too. Of course, we wouldn't have been in that position at all if I had just listened to my damn gut, but I was too stupid.'

  'Don't work yourself up over it,' interrupted Monica, alarmed by the way the blood was draining from Elizabeth's face as she was talking. If she didn't calm down, she would end up passing out again. Monica didn't need Elizabeth to go into shock, and the best thing she could do for them both was to keep them focused on the job in hand. 'Look, we've got plenty of time to talk as soon as we're cleaned up. We both need a little bit of ad-hoc medical attention first. Sound like a deal?'

  'Deal,' nodded Elizabeth, taking another swig of the water. 'I hope those painkillers kick in soon. I've never hurt this bad before.'

  'They'll probably take about thirty minutes, but when they do start working it'll be okay. Right, let's start with the serious injuries, and then we can sort out the cuts and bruises. What hurts the most?'

  'I've cracked two ribs and done something bad to my shoulder.'

  'In that case, we should get your ribs strapped up. Moving around is what makes them hurt so badly. If you're strapped up it will still be pretty uncomfortable, but it shouldn't be as painful at least.'

  'Where did you learn to play nurse?'

  'When you're, well, one of us, then some of the games you play growing up can be a bit rough and tumble. It's designed to help you stay alive in the human world. In order for you to master your instincts then you have to bring them out somehow. That's the theory at least. Either way, I got into some pretty bad messes and so did some of my friends. We avoid going to hospital as much as possible, so we learn to sort ourselves out as much as we can.'

  'Makes sense.'

  'I probably shouldn't be telling you this. There's probably some unwritten code that I don't even know about.'

  'Well, I won't tell anyone if you don't,' said Elizabeth with another grimace, as she eased herself forwards to the edge of the sofa. She reached for the hem of her T-shirt and gripped before letting go. 'God, I don't think I can do this. It hurts too much.' The remaining blood drained from her face, turning her a pale shade of green.

  'Don't do it if it hurts. Trust me, you need to keep those painkillers down, not throw them straight back up. Can you raise your arms above your head?'

  'Maybe?' Elizabeth raised her arms, slowly and gingerly, just enough so her arms came away from her sides.

  Monica knelt on the floor in front of her, and reached for the hem of Elizabeth's T-shirt, pulling it up as slowly as she could. There was no way that she could do it without hurting her and as she pulled it over her shoulders Elizabeth let out another groan of agony.

  'I'm sorry, I'm trying to be as gentle as I can,' said Monica as she finally pulled it free. She looked down at Elizabeth's torso and took a sharp intake of breath.

  'Well, that explains a hell of a lot,' said Elizabeth, following Monica's eyes down. The area around one of her ribs was a livid shade of purple. It was going to be a long time before the bruising faded completely. Monica was fairly certain there would be all sorts of hideous shades of green and brown in the transition. 'What's my back like?'

  Monica walked around behind the sofa so she could get a proper view without Elizabeth having to turn herself round. 'Oh yeah, that's pretty bad too. Can you breathe okay? I mean, I don't have to worry about a collapsed lung or anything?'

  'It hurts, but I don't think so. I think I'd know about it by now. Not that what I do have isn't bad enough. I feel like I need to crack my shoulder back into place too.'

  'First things first. We need to strap up your ribs before we can think about popping your shoulder. And then, trust me, the nex
t thing we're both going to do is have a stiff drink. I think we've both earned one.'

  'I completely agree with you on that one.'

  Monica walked back to the front of the sofa and searched through the first aid box again until she found a wide length of bandage that was ideal for strapping. 'This should just about do it. Okay, arms in the air.' Monica waited patiently as Elizabeth slowly raised her arms. It was clearly taking more of a toll on her than she wanted to admit. One moved much more freely than the other. Monica knelt back down in her original position so that she could have a better chance of getting the strapping on tight enough. If it was too loose then Elizabeth would be no better off.

  She looked up to see that the other woman was going pale again, her eyes fluttering as though she was once again on the brink of passing out. 'Stick with me Elizabeth, I'm going to make this as fast and painless as I can, but you're going to have to hang in there.'

  'I'll do my best.' Elizabeth's voice was barely a whisper, and Monica could tell that she was using all her energy just staying conscious. Monica reached forwards so she could pass the bandage around her, biting back her instinct when she leant in.

  There was so much blood, pooling under the immediate surface of Elizabeth's skin, looking so vivid against the rest, which was pale with fatigue. Blood was what Monica needed to heal right now and this was the last thing she should to be looking at. She swallowed deeply and took a deep breath, concentrating on the tight wrapping motions until the job was done, taking the safety pin from between her teeth and fixing the bandages tight, apologising again when Elizabeth winced as she did so. She sat back on her heals to admire her handiwork.

  'Well, I'm not going to go out on a limb and say it's going to be this season's fashion accessory, but at least it looks like it's going to hold. How does it feel?'