Reborn (Princess of the Blood Book 1)

by Jane Ederlyn

Abby nodded.

  John’s face reddened. “Why not?”

  “There was trouble on the beach. Please understand.”

  “Vampire trouble?” he asked. “Life used to be simple. People were either good or bad. I never heard of vampires or anomalous crimes before meeting you.”

  “Do you think I’m making this up? Perhaps you think I’m causing it?”

  He looked away, but his non-answer was reply enough.

  After turning onto Alton Road, she caught a shadow. Her head whipped around and she brought the car to a stop. Horns blared behind them.

  “John, please take Abby home.” Marie opened her door and leapt out. After a moment of hesitation, he jumped into the vacated driver seat.

  Abby lowered the window. “Marie, what is it?”

  “Don’t fret. I see the person that Odin wanted to detain and I must help.”

  John made a sound. “What makes you think that you can detain anyone?”

  “John!” Abby exclaimed.

  Marie cocked her head and gave him a thorough sweep, trying to penetrate his soul. “Because I am stronger than several Odins.”

  John returned her stare. Horns continued blasting as they held up traffic on Alton and one driver, sped past yelling obscenities.

  “Take a chill pill,” Abby yelled out the window.

  “I’m taking her to my place,” John said.

  “As you wish. Be safe.”

  “You too,” Abby said to Marie, then turned to glare at John. “Let’s get something straight right now. We are in a relationship and that means two people sharing, agreeing, and respecting each other. We are not going to your house. We are going to mine. If you don’t like that, then you can get out and walk home.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  Abby bit her lip. “Accepted.”

  Marie smirked. She liked when Abby’s spunkiness crested. She looked at John. His lips were stretched into a tight, uncomfortable simulation of a smile, and his eyes shifted restlessly, not holding her stare. Her gut tightened with dread. She hadn’t expected his acceptance to come easy, but he was resisting. He floored the accelerator, and the truck jolted forward, speeding away.

  A few minutes later, Marie followed the rogue as it meandered down Second Street, crossing back and forth. It started backtracking and Marie let herself be seen, acting as bait as she tried to keep the rogue in the dark residential area where there was less chance of her being spotted. Not fully turned, she was more woman than beast and still wearing a black spandex miniskirt and a torn shirt.

  Odin answered his cell with a grunt.

  “Odin, I found what you were looking for.”

  Silence. That got his full attention.

  “Where are you? We’ll come to you.”

  “No need. I am coming to you and it is following me.”

  “Beautiful, that’s too dangerous.”

  “You are gallant, but a baby rogue is no danger to me.”

  “Unless it’s hungry, it can be easily distracted.”

  “It was chasing a cat when I saw it. By the smell of her, I think she caught it.”

  “Did you say she?”

  “Oui, most definitely.”

  “If the rogue is a girl, then who raped our victim in the park?”

  “Are you sure the two are related? Maybe an innocent was raped and her distress attracted the rogue.”

  “Or we have another rogue on the loose. We’re on the way to you.”

  They made it past Meridian Avenue. She let the rogue get closer and it chased her across. A car sped past and it yelped in surprise but kept going. After crossing, Odin and Lagmann appeared at the northeast corner. Marie put a hand up to stop them, afraid their scent would spook the rogue who sniffed the air then started howling in a high-pitched whine that hurt Marie’s ears.

  Marie veered into an empty alley. The rogue watched her with pale yellow eyes and drool dripping down lips still red. It growled and charged. Marie spun, walked up the wall, and somersaulted in the air. The rogue ran into the wall and bounced back, stunned. Marie landed behind her, grabbed her hair, and smashed her face into the wall. She dropped onto the pavement and Marie dug her heel into the heaving chest and hissed.

  Footsteps rang in the alley, but she didn’t look away from the clear yellow eyes. It growled and swiped out, clawing Marie’s foot and drawing blood. Marie fell to her knees and snapped the rogue’s neck.

  “So much for wanting to talk to her,” Lagmann said.

  “Rogues are not good. But if that was your wish, you should have gotten here sooner.”

  Marie stood, hands flexing and unflexing with the memory of a kill.

  “Call Thorhild,” Odin ordered and dropped to inspect Marie’s foot. There was blood, but the skin had already closed. “You’re shoes are scratched. I guess I’ll have to buy you another pair.”

  “Oui,” she said.

  Odin straightened and held his hand out to her.

  Lagmann froze in mid conversation and Odin and Marie looked up. Three vampires stood a foot away.

  “Good evening,” they said in unison.

  The vampire in the suit glanced between Marie and the wolves and back. “Your Grace, this is highly irregular.”

  “What was I to do?” Marie shot a quick glance at the rogue corpse.

  “No, no, Your Grace, we mean your company.”

  “They are my friends, Bartolommeo.”

  The vampire’s head turned and his eyes pierced Odin. “There are many now.”

  Marie took a step forward and put her hand on the vampire’s arm. “Yes. Tonight there are many. We need the help to search for rogues.” She smiled at him and his gaze left Odin and met hers. “Please have Etienne visit me when he returns.”

  “As you wish, Your Grace. It is always an honor. Good evening.” Bartolommeo bowed, as did the vampires wearing the guayaberas. They stood staring at her for a split second as the wolves watched, and then disappeared in a blink, into the shadows as if they had been but a figment of color or imagination.

  Marie turned to Odin. “We need to go soon.”

  Thorhild arrived at the tail end of the conversation. He looked at Lagmann. “Your Grace? What’s all that about?”

  “She’s a princess,” Odin said.

  “Actually, I’m a duchess.”

  Lagmann ground his teeth. “As if things weren’t complicated enough.”

  Odin’s voice rattled in warning.

  “Get to work, Thorhild,” Lagmann said sourly.

  Thorhild’s brows went up in surprise and confusion. “What crawled up your—”

  “Enough!” Odin yelled and both men stilled. After the echo of his roar disappeared, they set to work, chopping up the body into pieces. There were too many cops in the area for them to risk taking the body away, even in pieces, so they threw the chunks that could determine identity into a tightly sealed bag and the rest got disposed of in a restaurant trash container and set ablaze.

  Chapter XXIX

  Thorhild gave Siv a ride back to the compound and Odin, Marie and Egon climbed into Lagmann’s car. Looking into his rearview mirror, Lagmann’s eyes connected with Marie. They stared at each other, sharing a moment of silent conversation, before he looked away, needing to return his attention to the road.

  “Would you like to come in for coffee?” Marie asked, as they neared the house.

  He shook his head, declining her attempt at concord.

  Egon was half out the window. “I would.”

  Lagmann looked at the mirror again. “Nothing good can come of this.”

  Odin punched the driver seat and the force propelled Lagmann forward. Only Lagmann’s strength and his tight grip on the steering wheel, kept him from losin
g control of the vehicle.

  “Keep it to yourself,” Odin ground out.

  “Let him be, Odin. It is his loyalty that makes him speak,” Marie said.

  “I know how he feels on the matter, he doesn’t need to repeat it incessantly.”

  “He is right.” Her quiet vehemence silenced them.

  “Marie?” Odin touched her knee and she covered his hand with her own.

  For a moment, she let herself enjoy the current of heat flowing into her from their connecting hands and the soft whir of the vehicle’s engine. Egon was wearing cologne. It was mild, and the muskiness bounced off his skin reinforcing the interior walls with his presence. Lagmann wasn’t wearing fragrance, but she did pick up a trace scent of alcohol from a hair product. They were extraordinary. All of them. “He is right. I know he is.”

  Odin stopped breathing.

  “We should not be together and it is against my better judgment, but I don’t have the strength to keep you away.”

  At her words, he expelled a sigh so heavy, its denseness wrapped around her like an embrace.

  At the sound of a car, Abby rushed to the window. She pulled back the curtain in time to see vehicle lights knife the darkness in half before flickering off. Marie was home, she thought with equal relief and curiosity. She glanced at John. He was curled up and deep asleep. His snores filled the room like the ticking of an old clock. She sighed, not sure what to do about him. He was a successful, normal guy. Was it fair to ask him to give in to her, to join her in this life? Was it horrible? No, it wasn’t horrible, just different.

  She pulled on a pair of yoga pants and a long T-shirt then slipped on a pair of Nikes and rushed downstairs. Marie was striding through the kitchen door just as Abby slid into the kitchen.

  “What happened? Did you find the rogue?” Abby asked.

  “We found a rogue. Just one. Will you make something to eat, ma chérie?”

  Abby nodded as she prepared the coffee machine. “You said just one. Is there more than one?”

  “They, we, do not know for certain, and until then, please do not leave the house alone.”

  “Of course.”

  “I mean it, Abby.”

  “Okay.” She opened the refrigerator and took out Brie, cranberries, and roasted turkey for sandwiches. She placed the items on the counter and returned for bread and a container of blood for Marie.

  Egon came up behind Abby and leaned over her, a hand high on the appliance door. “Let me help.” He bypassed the blood for the carton of milk. He straightened and she stepped back.

  “Don’t you have something more substantial than that?” He stared at the counter with a pained expression.

  “Help yourself.” Abby motioned with a sweep of an arm.

  He pulled the freezer open and retrieved two packages of rib-eye steaks.

  “Ew.” Abby wrinkled her nose in disgust. “I didn’t buy that. Do you and Odin carry meat around in your pockets?”

  Egon glanced at Marie. “Does she ‘ew’ at you?”

  Marie dipped her chin in assent. “Before, now blood comes prepackaged and she only has to pour.”

  “Does it come with a sippy straw?” he asked.

  “Sippy straw?”

  “Yeah, like those Juicy Juice things? You know, the straw comes with the carton. Insert and sip away.”

  “Unfortunately it is not that convenient, but that is a good idea. I will have to think about that. Abby, our Egon is an entrepreneur.”

  He smiled, but his stomach grumbled upstaging him. “Uh, do you have a grill?”

  “Outside. Is one of those for me?” Abby asked when he started walking away with all four steaks.

  “Are you saying you want one?”

  “Not really.”

  “Come on, Abby. Try it, it’s good.”

  “Only if it’s well done.”

  “Ew,” Egon mocked. “What a waste of a good steak.”

  “Don’t care,” Abby said.

  “Brat,” he replied, and to his surprise, she smiled and didn’t spit poison.

  Marie followed Egon outside. He was completely comfortable in her presence and admittedly she liked that—liked that he was easygoing but not a pushover, liked that he had no apparent hang-ups and made everyone comfortable, including Abby.

  Egon turned on the burner and wiped the grill. He must have sensed her curiosity because he said, “Canola oil gives you great grill marks.”

  She tilted her head, studying his actions.

  He handed a fork to her. “Turn them.”

  “Like this?” She stabbed and flipped each steak.

  “Yes, good job. Now put them on the plate. Ours are done, but Abby’s steak needs to be on longer. I’ll probably die of starvation before it’s ready.”

  “If you’re talking to me, I don’t care.” Abby mumbled as she unpacked a basket of linen napkins, white melamine dinnerware, stemless wine glasses, and set the table. As a finishing touch, she lit a coconut-scented candle in a lantern and placed it on the center of the table.

  Marie glanced at Abby and then back at a beaming Egon. Even Abby’s snarkiness didn’t perturb him. Suddenly, the grill flame sizzled and sparked as meat juices spilled out. Marie jumped, wary of the spikes of red flame.

  “It’s okay, that’s normal,” Egon said.

  Marie smiled at him, but she was now having second thoughts about the wisdom of having a grill at the house.

  “Sorry about Lagmann. He means well.”

  She tore her eyes away from the grill and met Egon’s apologetic glance. “I understand.”

  “You make Odin happy. I’m glad we met you.”

  “Thank you.”

  Egon didn’t say any more as the smell of charring meat rose off the grill. Marie took a few steps away to clear the cloying smell from her nostrils and inhaled the sweet scent of grass. There was a warm breeze and the blades of grass shifted one way then another like the tide.

  Egon sat at the table across from Abby. Marie sat next to Egon, so she could keep an eye on Odin, who hadn’t come out of the house.

  “Five settings? Are you expecting Boy Wonder?” Egon asked.

  Abby shrugged. “Just in case he wakes up.”

  Egon ground his teeth.

  Marie listened to their exchange but didn’t look at them. She sniffed her cup as if it held an exquisite wine. Sighing, she dipped her finger into the red fluid. “Fresh O-Positive.”

  “Really? You can tell the blood type?” Egon asked.

  “No, not really, but it’s fresh.”

  “Everyone is O-Positive to Marie,” Abby said.

  Egon glanced between them. “Huh?”

  “Universal donor.” Abby smiled.

  He blushed. “Ahh, I get it. She can take blood from anyone.”

  Marie patted his shoulder. “Good boy.”

  “Hey, that’s not nice.”

  She continued petting him, but instead of drawing away, he leaned into her.

  “She’s treating you like a puppy,” Abby said.

  “Now scratch behind my ears,” he said.

  “Stop,” Marie said in mock seriousness and pushed him away.

  Abby laughed and Egon turned woebegone eyes at her. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not touching you.”

  “Please. I have itchies.”

  “Fleas probably. Forget it,” Abby said, her voice stern, but a genuine smile touched her lips.

  Egon swallowed what he was about to say and just stared at Abby. They shared a moment, neither noticing when Marie pushed her chair back and went into the house.

  Odin paced up and down the kitchen, gesticulating to someone on the phone. Watching him gave her a feeling of déjà vu. She came up b
ehind him. “You are worried.”

  “It was a woman. The rogue was a woman. This is turning into something else,” he said into the receiver. “Did you think you could keep the rumors from me? What does my brother say on his behalf?”

  The first time she’d gone to his apartment, he’d paced like this. She stepped closer to him and he stilled, but didn’t turn. She reached out and touched him, splaying her hands on the curve of his back. Coiled muscles released under her hand, and his bunched shoulders relaxed.

  She caressed down his back, before sliding around to face him. His eyes were shadowed. Instead of speaking, she laid her cheek on his chest and wrapped her arms around him.

  “I have to go,” he said into the phone.

  Marie lifted her head. “You do not have to hang up,” she mouthed.

  He nodded. “I have to go.”

  “You’re with her, aren’t you?” Stormda asked in a squeal that Marie couldn’t help but overhear. She winced.

  Odin clicked disconnect and dropped the phone into his pocket. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. His pocket vibrated. Sighing, he took out the phone, glanced down at the incoming number, and ignored it, returning it to his pocket. “I need to run,” he said, his voice hoarse. “My head is pounding. I need to release the pressure.”

  “Run? Where? Do you have an errand?” Marie asked.

  “I need to expend energy. Do you want to come with me?”

  “Tonight?”

  “Yes.” He took her hand and led her outside. “The moon is almost full. I can feel it and it isn’t helping. I need to go to the Everglades and run it out.”

  “And howl at the moon?”

  “Something like that.”

  “What about Abby?”

  “Egon can stay with her.”

  “Does he need to run too?”

  Odin squeezed her hand. “He’s fine for another couple of days.”

  “All right. We’ll go running.”