Unfortunate Souls (Book 1): Unfortunate Souls Series (The Unfortunate Souls Series)

by Jade M. Phillips

  I cuffed my ears with my hands, trying to subdue all of the activity, but the strain from the handcuffs chafed my wrists. All of the sights and sounds and sensations and smells overstimulated my brain and I could barely differentiate one from the other, much less where they came from.

  There were so many things, so many little things that captured my attention —the smell of the church, lending its long history to me with just one inhalation, the artificial light, as though it came from my own eyes, and the webbed cracks in the wall, creating a pattern all their own. It was beautiful, like art work.

  Even the dust motes that hung in the air held their own beauty. I reached up to touch one, and it bounced off my fingertip, light as a feather. I could feel an electric charge in the air, a humming resonance of energy flowing through me and I knew I was connected to everything. It was fascinating.

  But through all of the chaotic buzz, something was missing, Guy.

  I reached for the doorknob and, in trying to open it, ripped it off plain and simple. Obviously unaware of my own strength, I stared in amazement at the wooden bulb in my hand as the door swung open, revealing the candle-lit Catholic Sanctuary. My mind quickly changed focus and I dropped the knob to the floor, stepping into the church, Mother Mary laying her sad eyes upon me once again. I could swear the painted tears on her cheeks were real, wet and liquid, and they rolled down her face as she mourned for my soul. Gooseflesh pebbled my skin and I couldn’t help but think I’d stepped into a whole new world— a world of pure astonishing bliss and unadulterated pain, the pain something that I categorized as loneliness. And I could already tell that my loneliness would be a close companion in my newly changed body and my newly birthed life.

  But aside from my theological musings, I could feel that something was wrong. Very freaking wrong. And it wasn’t because I was no longer human —that in itself, in fact, felt very right for some reason. No, it was something entirely different, and I shuddered as fingers of terror gripped my heart.

  Faith…

  My ears perked up and I could’ve sworn I heard Guy’s voice. I went to take my first step out into the church, but in trying out my new legs, my body bolted forward as if I had a jet pack strapped to my back. In a blazing flash of light and speed, I rushed past the pulpit, the statues, the pews, and burst out the door of the mission in a shower of broken wood and splinters. As the pieces rained down on me I froze in awe of my speed and strength, wondering if Superman had felt like this the first time he flew.

  “What the…” I looked back behind me to see I’d torn the solid door from its metal hinges, the thing shattered into a thousand pieces. I barely had time to realize what I’d done, when my attention was diverted elsewhere. I needed to find Guy.

  My eyes adjusted to the same scenery I’d seen the night before, a beautiful desert vista with the large mountains lying along the horizon like a giant sleeping lion. The moon was just rising above those mountains and the first stars of night shone so clearly they seemed to be resting on my shoulders, hanging on the air like clusters of frozen diamonds. But despite my new psychedelic vision, there was no Guy.

  Panicked, I spun my head back and forth and, like a knock to the head, the scent of him planted itself in my brain —wet leather, fresh musk, and live blood. My sense of smell came automatically and I didn’t even have to tell myself to breathe in.

  I flew through the desert, fear jamming itself into my heart and in mere seconds, I found myself at a dead stop directly in front of Guy. He was lying on the ground with a dark-haired man —wait, no, not a man, a vampire— sucking the blood from his neck. The vampire was wounded as well and it was obvious Guy had put up a tremendous fight.

  I suddenly saw red, rage coursing through my veins. Without hesitation, and before my brain even had time to react, I grabbed the vampire by his shoulders and threw him off of Guy. He flew into the air into a triple twist, before landing on the ground and breaking through the top crust with a loud boom.

  Guy’s bleary eyes landed on me in surprise and then traveled to my wrists. It was then that we both realized I no longer wore my handcuffs. I looked at the ground beneath me, tiny pieces of broken metal and chain lay strewn across the dirt. Confusion and panic fought inside of me and in the span of a heartbeat, I was kneeling next to Guy.

  “Are you ok?” I asked, my own voice like a string quartet warming up before a symphony. It sounded strange, fluidic, and distant, as though it was not my own.

  “Yeah.” He choked and sputtered and I knew he was lying. The bite wound on his neck trickled blood and he was pale as a sheet, lacking any shred of energy. His eyes took me in before fluttering closed and I grabbed his shoulders as if it would keep him conscious. I sensed fear in him; even smelled it like a predator would smell its prey. Not only was he afraid of the vampire that had gotten to him, but he was afraid of me. I didn’t know how a new vampire was supposed to feel, or if vampires even had human feelings, but at that exact minute, my heart hurt. It hurt that Guy feared me. I could smell him more intensely now, his musky leather and his red-hot blood fresh in his veins. But I did not want to drink his blood, for some reason and the thought befuddled me. That was the whole point wasn’t it? Vampires kinda had a thing for human blood.

  “Behind you…” Guy rasped, his eyes now cracked open. My body elevated from the ground and, as if in slow motion, I twisted in the air to meet the other vampire. His eyes glared at me, intense and angry, and he came after me like a flying maniac. I looked down at the ground and marveled at the distance between me and the rocks below. Crap. Either I was flying, or I’d just jumped very high and time was moving in slow motion. Either way, I was about to have it out with this nasty vampire, and by the flames of hatred in my heart, he wasn’t going to have it very easy.

  I focused on the vein in his neck. It pulsed with cold blood, and smelled like… like banana pudding? In any case, he looked awfully angry and ugly to boot, but smelled like the most delicious food I’d ever tasted.

  Even before we landed on the ground, my fangs descended and sank into his neck, sucking the sweet dead nectar from his body. When he tried to resist, pushing against me with his steely arms, I took his head and snapped it to the left, his neck bones cracking in my hands. I gasped when his skin broke open, the remainder of his blood exploding in my mouth. I was drenched, my bloody hair dripping onto my satin gown. I hadn’t realized how hungry I’d been until I was lapping up every drop of the sticky syrup.

  Once I’d drained him, I tossed his corpse aside like a bag of garbage, disgusted. I fell to the ground, heaving and overwhelmed by the sensation of being fulfilled. I felt alive, more so than I ever had when I was human, stronger. I looked over at my savior, his chest rising and falling slowly, and his hands lying limp at his sides. His eyes closed and I could tell he was fading fast. No!

  I snapped to his side and checked the bite wound on his neck, but there was no more blood oozing out. He peeled open his eyes, but they shut again as if it were too much effort to keep them open. He was dying. I knew it.

  “Oh, my God.” Hyperventilating, I ran my hands over his cold arm, knowing I had to do something fast. My heart pounded and my mind spun, trying to find a solution. An owl hooted in the night as though everything was normal but this was the farthest thing from it.

  I brought my fingers up to my sharp fangs and gingerly touched them, having trouble believing Guy had saved my life, knowing what I would eventually turn into. And now he lay there before me vulnerable; I could kill him so easily. But… I didn’t want to.

  I gazed down at him and recalled movies I’d seen and books I’d read about vampires. Supposedly, drinking the blood of a vampire could rapidly heal wounds and replenish one’s strength. The consideration that these mere books and movies could hold true was insane, much less the belief I was a vampire, in itself. But I didn’t have time for a deep, reflective inner moment. I had to do something quickly.

  Like a bolt of lightning, something clicked inside of me, an instinct of
some sort and I tore into my wrist with my fangs. I stuck my flesh to Guy’s mouth, hoping I was right, hoping my blood would save his life.

  TWELVE: GUY

  I vaguely remembered the vampire sinking his teeth into my neck and how the world grew hazy. I vaguely remembered him hissing when being pulled from my body. I vaguely remembered warning Ruby to look behind her. And I vaguely remembered a thick, metallic liquid traveling down my throat, choking me, but I swallowed regardless.

  And then she was kneeling over me like a macabre vision, beautiful and vicious, and my numb body prickled with feeling, my heart palpitating and pumping. My cold blood traveled warm again and my lungs gasped from the large intake of air. My vision cleared, showing her violet eyes, her white-blonde hair curling over her shoulders, and the anxious expression on her face. She looked at her wrist and observed the wound closing, amazed by her own body’s reaction. It was clear then that she’d fed me her blood and saved my life, as I had saved hers.

  Ruby was no longer restrained by the handcuffs, though her left wrist still held the metal bracelet and the chain that dangled below. The rest of the broken pieces lay strewn about the ground, and I had a moment of panic at her freedom. Yet for some odd reason, my fear subsided quickly and I knew she wouldn’t hurt me. But the idea was crazy, for she was a vampire —a damned strong vampire if my guess was right— and could do considerable damage, though young as she was. Still though, most Newborns were weak and she shouldn’t have been able to bust through the silver cuffs, much less kill the older vampire as she had.

  The way she looked at me was not predatory nor malicious like it should’ve been, but on the contrary, kind and caring. She looked worried and I shook my head, trying to wrap my mind around the strange events of the night, thinking this was no ordinary vampire.

  My strength slowly returning, I sat up and searched her face with wonder. “You… saved my life.” Her eyes lifted to mine. Her hair dripped with blood and the red liquid ran down her white gown. She fidgeted with the lace hem and cast her gaze to the ground.

  “It was nothing.”

  I shook my head, confusion marring my thoughts. If I hadn’t witnessed it first hand, this docile Newborn vampire sitting before me, I’d never have believed it. If it had been any other vampire that broke through those cuffs, and in my weakened state, I’d have been long since dead. My mind was on overdrive with questions I couldn’t answer.

  Though my fear of her had dissipated, I was still wary and retrieved my wooden stake from the ground, holding it in my lap. Her sad eyes followed my movements as if she knew I didn’t trust her and I couldn’t help but think it such a human reaction. It wasn’t normal.

  I nodded to the heap of bloody flesh lying on the ground. There were only bits and pieces left. “It wasn’t ‘nothing.’ You could’ve tried to kill me like he did.” I tilted my head in question. “Why did you do it?”

  One long moment of silence passed, as though she were searching for the answer herself. “I’m not sure. It was just… like an instinct. Like I wasn’t in charge of my body.” She shrugged. “I guess it was because you’d saved my life and I owed you one.”

  I laughed nervously. Though Newborn vampires were weak at first, that didn’t mean they weren’t ravenous, voracious at best. They would awake in their new life, wild with hunger, blinded by it, and anything in their way was taken down, violently. But Ruby… she just sat there calm and… compassionate. My mind was blown.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  “For what?” I found myself asking from within my stupor and glanced over to see Ruby intensely studying me. Her eyes traveled my body and I scrunched my brows, wondering what could possibly be on her mind.

  “Did I make you a vampire by feeding you my blood?” she finally asked, and I subdued the urge to laugh, shaking my head.

  “That’s an old wives’ tale. The only way for a vampire to turn someone is by biting them and injecting their venom into the human’s blood stream. It’s a conscious decision, not something that just happens automatically.”

  Ruby’s face visibly relaxed for a moment, but then it tightened with dread again. She glanced at me with fear in her eyes and, knowing what she was thinking, I spoke before she could utter another word.

  “And no, the other vampire did not infect me. I was just his midnight snack.”

  She released a half-hearted laugh, but her gaze drifted to the ground as though she were being pulled into another thought. “I can’t believe I killed him,” she said, her nose wrinkling with worry. “I’ve never killed anyone before. What’s going to happen to me? Am I going to be in trouble?”

  Oh jeez. Not only was she a caring vampire, but a remorseful one too. This was getting stranger by the moment. My jaw clenched when I found myself feeling —what was it— sympathy? Ha. Sympathy for a vampire. Sure.

  “Listen,” I said, stumbling to my feet, brushing the stickers off my pants. “I work for FUSE, and as far as I’m concerned, you’ve done us a favor. He was nothing but a low-life bloodsucker anyway.”

  Her lip trembled and I realized what I’d said. She was one of them now and I had just backhanded her with insult. But I shouldn’t be caring that I’d hurt a vampire’s feelings. Again, I shook my head at the absurdity of it all and sighed, flabbergasted.

  “Is that what the symbol’s for?” Her voice snapped me back to reality and she was pointing up to my shirt. I looked down to the patch I wore. “Is that for FUSE?” she asked.

  I exhaled, running my fingers through my hair in frustration. I’d already divulged too much information to this girl, er, vampire. But that was when I thought I’d be done and over with this quickly. That was before I realized how much time I’d actually have to spend with her. That was when she was still a human. But it wasn’t the case anymore, she wasn’t human. She was now a full-fledged vampire, my enemy.

  “Yes,” I answered. From now on, short answers would be the best. I shouldn’t be conversing with a vampire. We needed to get a move on and time was running short.

  “It looks like a funny cross,” she mused, cocking her head.

  I knelt down and ran my hands over the dirt, finding my pack. I retrieved my flashlight and clicked it on, shining the light over the ground, searching for my gun. “It’s an Ankh.”

  “Oh.” Her face wrenched with an emotion I couldn’t place. I couldn’t begin to understand what she was going through. Heck, I wasn’t sure I wanted to understand what she was going through. She was the enemy after all, and I was finding myself getting a little too gushy over this vampire, not to mention that I’d done a terrible deed in betraying my men, my loyalty to FUSE. I kept my voice steady, trying to get a move on. “The Ankh was originally used in ancient Egypt. It’s the symbol for life.”

  She studied the patch on my chest. It was like she said, a red-stunted cross with a loop at the top. I’d worn it so long I hardly noticed it anymore, but she noticed it and seemed consumed by it, her expression turning dark. Her eyes flashed with something I was familiar with, the same look most Newborns had once after turning; pure rage.

  “The symbol for life,” she repeated, her voice as cold as ice. Her clawed fingers curled into the dirt at her sides. “As opposed to what? Un-life?”

  I became uneasy with her tone, though somehow comforted. Maybe she was a normal vampire after all and it had just taken a few moments for her primal instincts to kick in. I searched for my weapon, knowing I might need it if she grew more unpredictable. The spot from my flashlight landed on my gun and I sighed with relief, placing it back into my holster.

  She growled when I didn’t reply. I kept my hand on my gun.

  “Am I right?” she asked. “FUSE symbolizes life? And what am I, death? Some unholy beast that roams the night, feeding on innocent people?” Her fangs ascended and before I could blink, she stood mere inches from me, so fast I hadn’t seen her move. By the looks of her, she was enraged, her expression fuming, and I held my stance, cautious. In my opinion, it was a norma
l reaction from someone who’d just realized they would forever be a vampire.

  “Tell me!” Her screaming words nearly caused me to flinch but I held strong and our eyes met in an uneasy connection. I would not look away first. It was the first rule in training: Never show your weakness to an Unfortunate— even if the Unfortunate was the most beautiful girl you’d ever seen.

  “You are very much alive.” I spoke cautiously as though handling a faulty time bomb. “But not in the traditional sense.”

  She stared at me intensely, her violet eyes flashing with anger. “Who the hell did this to me anyway?” Her fists clenched to her sides, her nails digging into her palms, drawing blood.

  “I don’t know.” My answer wasn’t what she wanted, but it was honest.

  “Because when I find out who it was that made me this way, I’m going to kill them.” Her chest heaved, her jaw clenched. She was on the verge of a meltdown.

  I held up a flexed palm, my calm voice belying my apprehension.

  “Your maker is already dead, Faith. Killed in the ambush. You need to relax. Calm down. There’s no need to get yourself wound up.”

  “Wound up…” She spiked her eyebrows, her voice breaking, making me think she was about to lose it. “Do you understand that I died, or was supposed to die? And I’d finally come to terms with that? I was on my way to heaven…or hell…or wherever it is you go. But that son of a bitch stole my way out. He stole my peace. It was my death— mine! And he stole it.”

  I could see the situation hitting her all at once. She was a volcano of emotions, erupting uncontrollably. She stomped her foot into the dirt like a ridiculous child, the ground breaking beneath her heel, leaving her leg in a small hole. She looked down in shock at the crevice she’d made as though she’d never seen such a thing before—and I guessed she probably hadn’t.