Crimson Storm

by Amy Patrick

  Like me and Kelly and Heather—and Sadie—they’d followed the rules, tried to do the right thing.

  “But I’m not sure what the answer is. What’s Imogen planning to do?”

  “I’m not at liberty to talk about it. She’ll share that with you if she chooses to,” Reece said. “You remember your court etiquette, don’t you?”

  “Of course. Bow, address her as ‘my queen,’ don’t piss her off and get myself beheaded. It hasn’t been that long since I was here.”

  “You don’t think so?” he said with a faint smile. “Feels like an eternity to me.”

  32

  A Wise Choice

  Before I could respond to the odd remark, the doors to the throne room opened, and guards ushered us inside.

  They nodded to Reece in a deferential way, and I noticed all the other queensguard did the same. Clearly he’d risen in the ranks since I’d left the Bastion. It made sense—he was Imogen’s child, and she’d elevated him to her personal guard shortly after he’d joined the Bloodbound.

  Was that all Reece was to her? Remembering the way she’d looked at him and touched him the last time I was in this chamber I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d also made him her consort.

  Her reaction to our entrance gave me no clues. In fact, she paid no notice to our approach, keeping her eyes on the pair of vampires who stood before her. They seemed to be pleading their case on some matter. A line of others waited behind them for a turn.

  Imogen sat on her throne wearing a sleek black wrap dress. She was just as beautiful and unnaturally young looking as she’d been the night we’d met, the night she’d turned me. Her dark hair was up in an elegant twist, her nails and lips stained a deep scarlet.

  When she eventually looked over at us, Reece bowed. “My queen.”

  I barely heard the words over the sound of blood rushing in my ears. Hastily, I performed an awkward bow of my own.

  Imogen rose from the throne and swept her arm toward the line of supplicants in a gesture of dismissal. Her personal guard moved toward the waiting vampires, telling them it was time to leave.

  Two of them flanked Imogen as she descended the steps in front of the throne and walked toward me and Reece.

  Actually, “walked” wasn’t quite the right word. “Sashayed,” would have been more accurate.

  She wore a look of smug satisfaction. “I knew you’d be back. You have a lot of nerve showing your face here again after such betrayal, little one.”

  The guards on either side of her moved their respective hands to the dagger holders strapped at their waists, apparently ready to use them at a moment’s notice.

  Licking my lips, which had suddenly gone dry, I told her the absolute truth.

  “I never meant to betray you. I was simply following my conscience.”

  And my heart, which was screaming for me to get as far away from Reece as possible.

  “I know you didn’t want me to return, but I didn’t see another choice.”

  “Of course I wanted you to return, silly girl. You’re my daughter.” Her tone suggested only the dullest idiot would think otherwise. “Now... to what do I owe the pleasure of your homecoming?”

  I was almost too shocked to answer. “I’m in some legal trouble. My friends and I were arrested by the human authorities. We didn’t do anything wrong—they just cuffed us and took us to one of the Safety Centers.”

  “You mean prison camps,” she corrected.

  “They took our identification and money, locked our bank accounts.”

  “I heard about that. How unfortunate.”

  “You knew?”

  “I know lots of things.” Imogen pursed her lips, and her voice turned mocking. “Did your dear Sadie do nothing to help free you?”

  Don’t let her provoke you. Stay calm. Keep your head. Literally.

  “I’m sure she would have if she’d known where we were or what had happened to us. When we escaped, I was unable to reach her. There was an attack on the Vampire-Human Coalition headquarters. It’s been destroyed.”

  “I heard about that too. Pity.”

  In spite of Imogen’s sympathetic words, there was no trace of compassion or concern in her demeanor. Her lack of shock certainly led weight to the possibility that she, and not human radicals, was behind the bombing.

  “I don’t even know if your sister is alive,” I added.

  “She is.” Imogen’s tone was matter-of-fact. “And yet you’re here. What is it exactly you think I can do for you?”

  “It isn’t safe for us in the outside world anymore. The three of us are wanted—for the murder of a human. And for escaping the Safety Center. I still don’t even know what the initial charges were against us that got us arrested. Anyway, our photos have been circulated nationwide. I have no idea where Sadie is now. She didn’t answer her phone. We have no money, no I.D... nowhere else to turn.”

  Her smile held a chilling blend of pleasure and malice. “So... you’ve come back to my court, to beg for my protection. Perhaps you have a better understanding now of my feelings toward humans—and my disdain for my sister’s approach to dealing with their species.”

  “In spite of what happened to me, I still believe in Sadie’s teachings. I still believe in peace.”

  In a flash of motion, Imogen snatched the short dagger from the belt of the soldier on her right and plunged the weapon into his thigh.

  The man didn’t yell or react other than flinching and gasping quietly. If it had been me, I’d have dropped instantly and been rocking on the floor in pain, but he stayed upright and silent.

  From the savage look on Imogen’s face, I was shocked I hadn’t been her target.

  “How can you still be so naïve?” she roared at me. “They locked you up, hunted you—my daughter. It’s an outrage. There can be no peace with them.”

  I was so shaken it was difficult to respond. But I had to. For Shane’s sake.

  “They’re not all bad. There’s a human who risked his life to help us get here. Shane. He took a bullet for me.”

  Beside me, Reece shifted slightly, and a low growl emanated from his throat.

  “Yes, I’m aware of that too,” Imogen said. “In fact, when I was informed you brought him with you—to my court—I almost didn’t believe it. You’re still capable of surprising me, little one. I’m told you actually asked our medical personnel to save his life.”

  She laughed out loud.

  “What’s funny about that? He saved my life, and Kelly’s and Heather’s.”

  “Well that’s all very admirable, but you must know I can’t let him leave now that he’s seen our sanctuary.”

  “You’re going to have him killed?”

  She lifted one shoulder and let it fall, looking bored. “Unless you’d prefer to turn him.”

  The growl beside me rumbled louder. What was with Reece? If I could hear him, so could Imogen. Surely growling in the queen’s presence wasn’t in the Bloodbound rulebook.

  “Of course, if you do that,” Imogen said, “you must be prepared to be connected to him for eternity. You’ll be his maker, and that is a very special bond.”

  A tremble began in my belly and worked its way outward. I spoke through quivering lips. “No. Please, Mother. You know how I feel about turning a human.”

  One of the reasons I’d left the Bastion was Imogen’s determination to test me to see if I possessed the same “gift” she had, the ability all arch vampires had to turn a human with a single bite.

  I’d skipped the Inception Ceremony on Devil’s Night where the test was supposed to have happened and instead attended Sadie’s speech and peaceful sit-in at the Lincoln Memorial.

  It was the night I’d found my true calling and my path.

  It was also the night I’d lost Reece for good when he’d chosen Imogen over me.

  “I can’t take someone’s life. I’d rather die myself,” I said.

  Imogen snarled. “Very well. It will sadden me, but my primary job as que
en is protecting our people against any and all threats. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

  Glancing to her left, she barked an order to the Bloodbound soldier she hadn’t stabbed. “Seize her. Put her in a holding cell. We’ll have a public assembly in the Grand Dome tomorrow night.”

  Reece stepped toward the guard. “No.” But he stopped himself.

  Lowering the volume of his voice and dropping to a knee before Imogen, he said, “My queen, I think I may have a better solution, if you’ll allow me to speak.”

  She gave him a fond smile, stroking the back of his downturned head and running her fingers through his shiny, dark hair. “Of course you may speak. You are my favorite queensguard.”

  As her gaze drifted back up to meet mine, there was a definite challenge in her eyes, along with a good deal of gloating. It had never been enough for her to just win—she had to rub my nose in it too.

  My stomach rolled in revulsion as I pictured the two of them together. Imogen treated the Bloodbound as her own personal harem, ensuring their loyalty and obedience by having them drink her blood at their initiation.

  How many times had she summoned Reece to her private chambers since I’d been gone? For all I knew it was every night. She had just called him her “favorite.”

  “You may rise,” she said to him.

  Straightening again, Reece kept his manner submissive. “I see this as a great opportunity, my queen. Abigail could be useful on the mission you’ve assigned me.”

  “You mean the mission you proposed and I approved. Yes, go on.”

  “She can get close to Sadie like no one else. Spare her life, and I will personally supervise her to make sure she follows your orders and doesn’t get into more trouble. You can keep the human male here as... motivation.”

  “Wait,” I said, turning to him. “What is this ‘mission?’”

  If it was another assassination attempt on Sadie, I’d have no part in it. I really would rather die than bring any harm to her.

  Reece had clearly been proposing Imogen hold Shane hostage to ensure my cooperation, but if it came to a choice between saving Shane’s life or Sadie’s, there was no choice. The future of the world rested on her capable shoulders.

  Imogen answered for him. “Reece has suggested, quite wisely, that there is strength in numbers. We are strong here at the Bastion, but there aren’t enough of us to wage war on the entirety of the human race. We need to bring vampire-kind together under united leadership. Even before the attack on the VHC, Reece volunteered to go to my sister and convince her of this fact.”

  Her sharp gaze bounced between the two of us.

  “He’s right. Sadie’s fondness for you will make her more receptive to meeting with him and listening to what he has to say. I’ll allow it.”

  Hope sparked to life inside me. If I was allowed to meet with Sadie, there was a chance all of this could work out. Having the two vampire factions join forces was a fantastic idea.

  Of course in my version of things, the newly united vampires would decide to follow Sadie’s leadership instead of Imogen’s.

  It could happen. They just needed to be given a chance to meet her, to hear her speak.

  Reece’s tense posture relaxed slightly. “Thank you, my queen. I believe that is a wise choice.”

  Imogen gave him a tight smile then turned her icy gaze on me. “Let’s hope Abigail is wise in her choices. Remember, little one, as you go out into the world again tomorrow and reunite with your beloved ‘leader,’ that I have your friend, Shane.”

  “Please don’t hurt him,” I whispered, getting choked up. “He doesn’t deserve it.”

  “His fate is entirely in your hands. If you return with good news, if you convince Sadie to instruct her followers to join the vampire resistance, I will free him. You have my word. However... if you should try to escape or decide to stay with Sadie and never return, well then, we’ll make good use of your human boyfriend’s blood. In addition, your friends Kelly and Heather will be expelled.”

  She punctuated her threats with a friendly smile. “Travel safely, children.”

  33

  Charity Call

  The following night, I went to the medical clinic to check on Shane and say goodbye.

  I wasn’t sure how to tell him he was a human bargaining chip.

  Maybe I wouldn’t. He had enough to worry about just trying to recover from a gunshot wound.

  Reece accompanied me. As I was no longer an official citizen of the Bastion, he’d been assigned to watch my every move. He’d even slept outside the door of my room instead of going to the Bloodbound barracks. Imogen was nothing if not careful.

  I had to walk quickly to keep up with his rapid pace. “What’s the hurry?”

  “I want to get this over with and get on the road. There’s no time for this little charity call of yours... unless there’s more to your relationship with this human than charity and friendship?”

  He slid a quick glance at me.

  Was he jealous? If so, it made no sense. He was the one who’d chosen to be bound to Imogen, essentially forcing me to leave him behind.

  “Shane’s a very good person,” I said. “And he’s been a good friend. I care about him, and I have to make sure he’s okay before I leave. Are you sure he’ll be safe here while I’m gone?”

  “I’m sure,” Reece said, seeming not too thrilled about that fact. “I gave the order personally.”

  We walked a few moments in silence before he gestured toward the pendant I still wore around my neck. “I’ll replace that for you. It’s broken.”

  My hand automatically went to it, clasping it protectively. “No, thank you. I’ll hang onto it. I... like the safety of having a weapon nearby if I need it.”

  What I didn’t say was how much comfort having the small sample of his blood nearby had given me while we were apart and how much it had meant to me that he’d given me anything at all.

  It was pointless to talk of such things and would only make me seem more pathetic than I actually was. In fact, I changed the subject.

  “So, Imogen said you were already planning to go and see Sadie in Los Angeles?”

  He gave a terse nod and answered without meeting my gaze. “I thought it would be smart. We’ll still be outnumbered even if all the vampires join together, but we’d be a formidable minority. And Sadie would make a good emissary between the human authorities and Imogen, who of course will lead the resistance.”

  “Why you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Why would you be the one to travel to Los Angeles?”

  Where I was living. Where we might have run into each other at the VHC.

  His shoulders lifted and fell in a casual shrug. “Why not me? It was my idea to join forces.”

  Ah. So it had nothing to do with the fact I was in California. At least not as far as he was willing to admit.

  “Why do you think Sadie will listen to you? I’m not sure you understand how committed she is to peace.”

  “I’m not sure you understand how close she came to dying in an explosion,” he countered. “Maybe she wouldn’t have listened to me before, but I’ll bet she’s a whole lot more interested in the concept of a vampire resistance movement now.”

  “Did Imogen have something to do with the attack? Please tell me it wasn’t the Bloodbound who did it and pinned the blame on humans.”

  “Who can say who’s responsible? It doesn’t really matter. If it ends up being the catalyst to unite the vampire population of this country, then it was a good thing.”

  My jaw dropped open. “People died in that explosion, Reece. Good people. You really have changed, haven’t you?”

  I couldn’t help adding, “I noticed you and Imogen are quite close.”

  As queen, Imogen had anytime-access to all the members of the Bloodbound, but she seemed to prefer Reece over all the others. And who could blame her? If I were queen, he’d be my “favorite,” too.

  He
rolled his eyes. “She’s my maker. She’s yours, too, and you’d do well to remember it. It’s the only reason you’re still alive. Anyone else who’d gone and consorted with the enemy would have found themselves headless.”

  “Yes, I guess I should be grateful Imogen is so merciful.” My words were laced with sarcasm, but then I got serious.

  In spite of Reece’s gruff attitude, he’d kept me from harm last night with his suggestion of compromise. Perhaps deep down inside somewhere he still cared for me? At least enough to not want me dead.

  “Thank you for what you did, by the way, stepping in with Imogen like that.”

  For a moment our gazes connected and held, the tension strung between us in a taut, invisible wire. Then he gave a slight no big deal shrug.

  “I was just being honest. I do think you’ll be of use. Besides, like I said, I don’t believe Imogen really wanted to kill you. She still has high hopes for your future.”

  I snorted. “Well, she can hope all she wants but there’s no way I’ll ever be her mini-me—now or thousands of years from now.”

  When we arrived at the clinic, Reece insisted on going into the medical holding room with me.

  “I won’t say a word,” he promised when I tried to protest. We entered the room together, and he went to stand against the back wall as I tiptoed to Shane’s bedside.

  Shane was sleeping. He looked much better, cleaned up, and his color was good. He’d been deathly pale the last time I’d seen him.

  Stroking his bare arm softly, I said, “Shane? Can you hear me?”

  His eyes blinked open. He looked at the ceiling and then around the room. When his gaze landed on me, he smiled.

  “Abigail. Hi. Are you okay?”

  “Am I okay? I came to see how you’re doing. How do you feel? Are you in pain?”

  His brows quirked as he thought about it a moment. “No, actually. They must have some good drugs at this hospital. Where are we?”

  Darting a glance at Reece’s glowering face, I kept my answer vague. “We’re at the place I mentioned. I’m so sorry you were wounded. I was hoping you’d be on a plane or maybe even home by now.”