by Kell Amber
“Mr. Heart, I’d be delighted to.”
For a vamp pulsing with power, the guy was certainly accommodating. Quentin watched as he signed his name—Jakinson—with a flourish. Vampires generally only had one name Quentin recalled from the short bit he’d read about them.
“Do you go by Jaks?”
Jakinson brushed a hand across Quentin’s cheek. “I would for you, sweet one.”
Quentin jerked away from the vampire’s touch, determinedly holding back shivers. Stacy had warned him to stay clear of the vamps. Now he knew why. He snatched the paper back.
“Thank you for your assistance.”
Turning to go, Quentin spun back around when he heard his name called. “Yes?”
“Don’t be a stranger.”
“Trust me, Mr. Jakinson, you want me to be a stranger. Otherwise I’ll be coming to arrest you.”
“Aw, but I’m onto your tricks.” The vampire gave him a teasing smile, a look that settled strangely on the austere face.
Quentin let a return smile escape. “You’ve only seen one of them.”
He left with those words, hoping the vamps couldn’t hear the pounding of his heart. The necklace moved against his collarbone as he walked, but he didn’t dare stop to check it out. He needed to get out of there before his nerve broke.
Keeping his gait calm and even, Quentin nodded to the butler who held open the door for him. He waited until he’d left the sight of the vampire mansion before teleporting to the sidewalk in front of his apartment. Maybe they would lose interest if he didn’t show further magic. It would be better than having Jakinson interested in draining him of magic.
Not until he opened the front door of his apartment and threw the deadbolt did he relax.
“I made it.” Quentin laughed into his empty apartment. “I can’t believe it.” He collapsed on the sofa, smiling as he sank into the soft cushions.
A loud ringing made his heart hiccup in his chest.
“Shit.” After reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out his cell phone, read the caller ID, and then pressed the Connect button. “Hi, Stacy.”
“I got a call from the magistrate. How the hell did you transport Master Vlad and the entire cage?”
Quentin laughed. “I spent a week working on that spell. Isn’t it great?”
“Yeah, real cool, but how do they get him out of it?”
“Um… you have to say….” Damn his poor memory. At least he’d written it down.
Quentin plunged his left hand in and out of his pockets and cursed when everything but what he was looking for fell out of them. His extra spell balls tumbled to the floor and rolled in all directions. He let out a sigh of relief as the elusive piece of paper brushed against his finger. He pulled it out of his pocket then turned the paper over to decipher his own writing, he read, “Touch the bars and say ‘release this vamp from cage to cell.’ That way he can’t go anywhere except inside the jail area.” Relief swept through him. The one thing he didn’t confess when he interviewed for the position was his sucky memory. Unless written down, Quentin couldn’t remember crap. Hopefully after he captured a few vamps, the necessary phrases would stick in his mind.
“Thanks, Quentin. Good work. The people at the station were really impressed with you. I want you to teach that cage trick to the others.”
“I can’t. It’s a compressed-object spell. I invented it.”
A loud sigh on the other end of the line had Quentin smiling.
“And how do I get some for my people?”
“You can buy spell balls from me. I’m having the process patented.” Quentin didn’t have a lot of sources of income. The more ways he could bring in money, the better off he would be.
After a few minutes, Stacy said, “Bring me a contract tomorrow and we’ll work out a deal.”
“Sounds good.” Quentin gave a rushed good-bye. Being a bounty hunter wasn’t his first choice of occupation, but the pay was phenomenal and would allow him to take care of his mother. He smiled as he remembered his successful night.
After taking off his jacket and putting it in the closet, he began to collect all the balls off the floor. They’d rolled under his couch, his coffee table, and one had escaped halfway to the kitchen. He counted them out to make sure none were missing, then stuffed them back into his pockets for the time being. The movements caused the necklace to thunk against his chest. Curious about it, he went to pull it off, but an ice-cold burn against his fingers had him dropping it. As soon as he let go of the necklace, it returned to normal temperature and lay calmly against his skin.
“What the hell?”
He walked to the bathroom and flicked on the light to see his reflection in the mirror. Leaning forward, he took a good look at the necklace, careful not to touch it with his hands. A brilliant platinum snowflake flickered at him in the dim bathroom lights, with a large diamond sparkling in its center like frozen ice. The purity of the stone told Quentin, even with his limited experience of jewelry, that it was probably worth a fucking fortune.
The events of the day slammed into him like a sledgehammer: the stress of his first job, the flush of success, and the fear of dozens of vampires ripping him apart.
“Go to sleep, little human.”
The whispery voice sounded familiar, but Quentin’s exhaustion stopped him short of identification. The last thing he remembered were the wolves taking position around the couch to guard him in his sleep.
* * *
The next morning, Quentin wandered in through the agency doors, with joy strumming through his system. With his payment from capturing the vampire leader, he should be able to put a big down payment toward his mother’s medical bills. The other hunters were staring at him as he entered. He ignored them. If he could capture a master vampire, he could deal with office politics.
“Heart, get in here!” Stacy shouted from her office.
His good mood plummeted at the edge in her voice. What could he possibly have done? He’d only had one assignment, and by all measures, it was successful. She should be happy with him.
With his stomach churning, Quentin walked into her office.
“Close the door.”
“Okay.” He carefully shut the door and took the seat she pointed an imperious finger toward. Stacy’s short blonde hair stuck out around her head as if she’d spent the past hour raking her fingers through it. Her piercing eyes were shadowed with exhaustion.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but did you by any chance accept a priceless amulet from Master Jakinson?”
Quentin nodded. “Yeah, it’s the weirdest thing. He threw it over my neck last night, and I can’t even get the damn thing off. Maybe you can help?” He gave her the puppy-dog eyes that usually worked on girls, but received a hard glare in return.
“Shit! I knew you were new, but I didn’t know you were stupid! Accepting a gift from a vamp is giving them ownership. Jakinson is within his rights to declare you his.”
Ice frosted over Quentin’s chest, colder than the amulet had felt the night before. “What does that mean? I didn’t promise anything. He put it over my head and didn’t say another damn word about it.” Fury burned away the chill, leaving nothing behind but a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“He doesn’t have to say anything. Vamps can claim anyone they want.”
“Just because he claims me doesn’t make me his!” Quentin jumped to his feet. “He can’t just keep me like a lost puppy.”
“Calm down. Let me see the amulet.”
He dropped back down into the hard visitor’s chair. With a sigh, he pulled the necklace out from under his shirt and tilted the amulet toward her.
“Holy crap, you’re in big shit. When I heard the rumor, I thought they meant he’d claimed you as an ongoing snack. Higher vamps can do that, you know. Stake someone out, declare them a private feast, and then kill anyone who touches their personal stash.”
“I’m not some vamp’s snack!” Quentin had enough pr
oblems. He didn’t need to become the personal plaything of some high-powered vamp.
“No, you’re not,” Stacy agreed. “You’re more than that.”
Somehow her quiet agreement made him more nervous than if she’d yelled. “What am I, then?”
She gave him a considering look as if trying to think of the best way to break the news.
He couldn’t take the staring anymore. “Just spit it out!”
“When he gave you that necklace, Master Jakinson declared you an Untouchable. In the vampire world, it means that if anyone touches you for any reason without Jakinson’s permission, they forfeit their life. You are the sole property—mind, body, and soul—of Master Jakinson.”
“What, like his pet? Fuck that!”
“No, not like a pet. Like a god. I’ve been at this job a long damn time, Quentin. I’ve read all the old case files, all the vampire history. No one has been declared Untouchable for eight hundred years. It’s practically unheard of. When the master gave you that amulet, he gave you a piece of his soul. He bonded with you. I’m willing to bet that diamond is infused with his essence. I recognize the stone too: it’s called the Eye of Winter, because Master Jakinson’s nickname is Winter due to his cold nature. As far as I know, he’s never given it to anyone. Ever. This is a big fucking deal.”
“Whatever. Just give me my next assignment.” He didn’t care if she talked about it with stars in her eyes. It felt like a branding, and trying to remove it earlier had burned his hand. Luckily, it hadn’t left a mark he’d have to explain.
“I can’t give you an assignment.” Stacy looked as sad as she sounded.
Quentin’s jaw dropped as he felt the world shatter around him. “What? Why not?”
“Because if you’re injured, Jakinson could have me killed for purposely endangering his Untouchable. I told you this is a big deal.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Quentin growled. That was his first thought. Then complete and utter fear struck him. He was bound to a vampire and now had no way to pay his mother’s bills. How could he fuck up his first job so badly? “I really need this job, Stacy.” Tears choked him. “My mother….” He didn’t need to go further. Stacy knew his situation.
Stacy reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper. She held it out to Quentin. “Go talk to Master Jakinson. See if you can work something out. If you can get him to sign this release, I’ll let you back in.”
He couldn’t believe it. It was as if he’d been reduced to an adolescent again and had to ask permission from his mother to do something.
Furiously, he ripped the form from Stacy’s hand. “Oh, he’ll sign it.”
Quentin stopped at home before heading back over to the vampire compound. The wolves gathered around and sniffed at him.
“Fine, you can come.” Maybe he could use them to intimidate Jakinson.
He made sure to load up on spells before he left.
Chapter 5
When Quentin transported to the front of the vampire mansion, the wolves came along with him as if they were his own furry protection squad. They followed Quentin inside.
The same butler who opened the door last time let him in again, but this time the man bowed low as Quentin stomped by.
Quentin resisted the urge to punch the guy. It wasn’t the butler’s fault that Quentin had been marked and essentially claimed by the new master vamp. Quentin tried to keep his anger for those who deserved it.
“Follow me, Master Quentin. Master Jakinson is in the library.” The butler’s gaze swept over the wolves, but he didn’t say anything about them before turning and leading the way.
Quentin followed the butler down a long hallway, and the wolves followed . He spent the time giving himself a pep talk and trying to control his temper. He needed to get Jakinson’s permission to work and also get him to take off the necklace.
The butler opened a carved wooden door for Quentin and then stepped back. “He’s in there.”
“Thank you.” Quentin walked into an enormous room lined with books.
Jakinson sat in a leather chair, reading a large volume.
Quentin stopped in the doorway to glare at the elegant vampire. “Take it back! I have to work.”
Jakinson didn’t look up from his book. “No.”
With his fists clenched at his sides, Quentin walked up to him. “Without this job, I have no way to pay my mother’s bills. You need to take off this necklace.”
Jakinson scowled and set down his book on the table beside him, pinning Quentin with his stare. “I’m not going to let you go out there and get injured. If you need money, I’ll give it to you.” He waved a hand toward Quentin’s companions. “What’s up with the wolves?”
“I don’t like to leave them alone. We’re close, like family.” He smirked.
Lars gave a soft bark.
Jakinson was stunning, and if he wasn’t blocking Quentin’s goals, Quentin would have been more than willing to be the vamp’s boy toy, but this was about his mother, and no one got in the way of her treatment.
“Did you make them?” Jakinson’s gaze was on the wolves instead of Quentin, apparently ignoring Quentin’s worries.
“No. Someone else did.”
“Who?”
Quentin shrugged. “I don’t know yet.” He’d have to investigate and figure it out eventually. “I need two things from you.”
Jakinson stood, then hooked a finger underneath Quentin’s necklace and pulled him closer with it, showing no fear of the wolves. “And what do I get if I do what you want?”
“What do you want?” Quentin was almost afraid of the answer.
“You. I want you to be mine.”
“Why? We don’t know each other.” The vampire’s behavior baffled Quentin. He didn’t understand why Jakinson was so obsessed with him.
“Because we vampires know when we find the one—and you are my one.” Jakinson kissed Quentin on the forehead. “Now, what are your requests?”
It took Quentin a few seconds to collect his thoughts. Even the brief brush of Jakinson’s lips against his skin had derailed his mind. “I need you to sign this form and help me find a vampire.” If anyone could find Glenn, it had to be another vampire.
Jakinson growled. “You are hunting another of us?”
“Not for the reason you think. This one is my friend. I think he was converted by a rogue vampire and then abandoned. I need to find him before something happens to him. He disappeared from the hospital morgue.”
“Why would his maker abandon him? My clan is always proud to claim a new member. It is rare for a vampire to leave his young.” Jakinson brushed the hair away from Quentin’s eyes, pulling it gently from where it had been trapped inside his glasses.
“That may be your policy, but someone doesn’t share your views.”
Jaks narrowed his eyes at Quentin. “I will help you find this other master. I don’t like the idea of someone being so free with changing random humans.”
“Thank you, Master Jakinson.” He could work on getting the necklace removed later. Glenn was his priority now.
“I thought you were going to call me Jaks?” he asked in a sultry voice, insinuating all things rich and luscious, like dark chocolate.
“I didn’t want to presume.” Truthfully, he hadn’t wanted to encourage the vampire. Standing this close to Jaks played havoc on his libido.
“You can presume all over the place. As much as the necklace claims you’re mine, it also announces I am yours.”
“Like we’re in a relationship?” Quentin tried to step back, but Jaks gripped his necklace in his fist.
“We’re not dating,” Jaks growled. “We are bonded.”
“Will you help me?” Quentin couldn’t handle a vampire boyfriend, but he shoved that idea into a compartmentalized portion of his brain, like he did while working on a complicated formula. He would deal with that later.
“Yes, I’ll help. If your friend is truly a vampire, we need to find him quickl
y before he starts hunting to feed his hunger. We can’t let a newly born vampire run around the city. It will give vampires a bad reputation. There are strict feeding rules, and newborns will drain too many people to feed their hunger. They have little control.”
Good to know Jaks had his priorities in order. The thought of Glenn chomping on innocent people had Quentin ready to rush out and find him right away. “I lost him in the forest. I could sense something waiting for me there.”
“Which forest?”
“The one behind the hospital on Lakewood.”
Jaks’s expression became increasingly foreboding. “Good thing you didn’t go there alone. You are right. It’s a dangerous place. Some dark wizards set up traps inside those woods. If your friend has been influenced by a vampire with bad blood, that vampire might be located there.”
“What do you mean ‘bad blood’?”
Aren’t all vampires the same?
Jaks slid a hand around Quentin’s neck. The warmth of his hand wrapped around Quentin’s nape like a new, protective layer. “If a new vampire drinks the blood of a dark wizard, it can corrupt the vampire’s spirit. Those are the types of vampires you have agreed to capture. The ones you think you will hunt down with your wolves. Foolish boy.”
Quentin held back the angry words hovering on his lips. He needed Jaks’s help. He didn’t reveal the wolves might not be with him much longer. His father and uncles’ curse needed to be broken. Quentin didn’t know the length of time before such curses became permanent, but he didn’t want his family members’ souls trapped inside their wolf form forever. He wouldn’t wish that fate on anyone—even his deadbeat dad.
Jaks said, “Where’s this form you want me to fill out?”
Quentin handed over the paper Stacy had told him to get Jaks to sign. Without moving an inch, he waited for Jaks to read it and tried not to miss the vampire’s touch.
Once he’d scanned the form, Jaks said, “I am not signing this. It says I give you permission to freely work as a bounty hunter.”