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

by Jade M. Phillips

  Oh? Shock traveled through me. Here I’d been thinking we were one in the same, two creatures cut from the same cloth, but the comfort of that thought was ripped away by his words. I couldn’t begin to understand what he meant by me being different so I regarded the old vampire with curiosity, practically watching the wheels turning in his mind. He shook his head in disbelief, but carried on. “But I think I’m right in my assumption.”

  “What assumption?” Nervous anticipation slithered up my body like a cold snake, and I could feel the color draining from my face.

  “Well…” Wilson leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin in thought. “I found it strange the level of humanity you still embodied after turning— not to mention your unmatched strength and speed. But your compassion, sympathy and mercy… the unconditional kindness in your heart, is unusual. And now that I know you saved a human’s life instead of draining him dry…”

  I wriggled uncomfortably in my chair, not liking where this conversation was going. I didn’t want to be different. I didn’t want to stand out from the crowd. I just wanted to be normal— well, as normal as a vampire could be in the given situation— but I had the feeling he was going to tell me otherwise. Guy had said it before and now Wilson was just adding another layer to the fact that I was different.

  “The way you do not lust for human blood,” he continued as if counting off accusations on his fingers. “Your surprising strength. Your speed and agility.” He shook his head again, as if battling his own mind. I wished he would just get it over with and spit it out.

  “Wilson,” I breathed, desperation coursing through me. “Is there something wrong with me?” I almost laughed. Of course, there was something wrong with me, I was a vampire, for crying out loud. But what else? What else could there be?

  “No,” Wilson answered. “Not wrong per se, just different. Special.”

  And there it was. The words I didn’t want to hear. Different. Special. But what did it mean? My heart pounded rapidly as I gazed onto my mentor’s face.

  “It all leads to one thing,” he said. “I do believe that you are, in fact, a hybrid.”

  “A what?”

  “A hybrid. A mix-blood. A half-breed.”

  I shook my head, my mouth hanging open. I couldn’t even begin to understand what he was talking about.

  Wilson saw my dumbfounded expression and leaned in, steepling his fingers. “Listen carefully.” He spoke as though instructing a class full of fourth-graders. “A hybrid is a combination of two species. In your case, vampire and human.”

  His words barely crested the top of my confused brain.

  “But how?”

  Wilson let a smile peel across his lips. “It may sound complicated, but it’s not. It’s actually quite simple, though a very rare case indeed.” He stood and took a deep breath. He began pacing the small kitchen, his gaze distant and far away, like he was grasping at forgotten information from a book he’d read long ago.

  “Yes, you were human before. And yes you were turned into a vampire by a vampire. But here’s the difference: A hybrid like you would have a different chromosome in their blood, passed down through the genetic family tree.” He spun to me quickly. “Let me ask you a question. Were you ever seen as different growing up? Stronger than most? Smarter? Having a sixth sense or any other distinctions you can think of?” His eyes bored into me, searching for answers I didn’t have.

  “No.” I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I was pretty normal.”

  Wilson gazed at me for a long moment before waving a dismissive hand. “That doesn’t matter. Every hybrid is different in their own way. Now stay with me here.” He walked a small circle before stopping. He scrubbed at his chin. “Let me explain it like this. Have you ever been given a vaccination? A shot for, let’s say, influenza?”

  I nodded. Of course, I had. It was required of all students attending school. But I realized that Wilson was very old and when he was a human things might’ve been different back then.

  “Good. Now think of that shot. It is a dead virus that was placed into your bloodstream, one that would make you immune if you were ever exposed to it in real life. That is how a hybrid’s blood works.” He sat back down in the chair next to me, an excited glimmer to his eyes. “Though it lay dormant and inactive, you’ve always had something in your blood Ruby. A vampire chromosome. As farfetched as it may sound, somewhere in your family history, a human mated with a vampire, producing a hybrid. A half-human half-vampire. And then that hybrid reproduced. And so on. But it is likely that through the generations that gene was suppressed. And because of your exposure to vampire blood, when you were turned by your maker, it has now been activated within you.”

  I shook my head again, mouth agape in disbelief. All of the information was making my head pound and I narrowed my eyes against the pain.

  “So you’re saying that my…” I searched for the word while pressing my fingers to my temples. “Would it be condition? You’re saying that my condition is rare?”

  Wilson nodded and licked his lips. “There’ve only been a few known cases like yours. So unfortunately, there’s not much to go on.”

  To say I was dumbfounded would be a huge understatement. Wilson was saying that I was some weird mutation of vampire and human. As if being a vampire wasn’t weird enough, now I was even more of a freak. God. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. But I still had so many questions. I let them pour from my mouth like water from a broken pipe.

  “Am I still immortal, or can I die like a human? Can I eat food? What does this mean for me, Wilson? Am I still able to join the others like we’d planned? Will they know I’m different? Will they hate me?”

  My heart raced and my skull pounded numbly. My breathing was harsh and quick with anxiety. Wilson placed a hand on my shaking shoulder. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s going to be okay.”

  I lifted my lashes to him. “Is it though? If I am as you say, a hybrid, and its rare, then how do you know it’s going to be okay?”

  He shook his head and took a deep breath. “I don’t know anything for sure. There is no rulebook. There are no guidelines for being a vampire or a hybrid vampire for that matter. But I can tell you are strong, not only in body, but in mind. You will find your way and you will be able to handle it. In time things will work themselves out and you will figure out a way.”

  My throat felt like it was closing in on itself and I spoke in a scratchy voice. “Wilson, I… I don’t want to be different. I don’t even want to be a vampire. I just… I want to go home.” My eyes burned, threatening tears.

  Wilson’s chest heaved with suppressed emotion. He tilted his head. “There are things you can change, young one, like how you view the world and what you do during your time here. But there are some things you cannot change. Being a vampire is one of them. And Tombstone will be your home. Just give it a chance. You might end up liking it there.”

  Though I didn’t want to admit it, somewhere in the back of my mind I knew he was right. I couldn’t change what I was any more than a chicken that wanted to fly. But that still didn’t stop my mind from being on overdrive, my emotions a balloon ready to pop. But I took in a calming breath and reeled myself back in, allowing the balloon in my chest to deflate. I blinked my eyes dry. I’d come too far to let this newfound information break me down. Like Wilson said, I was strong and I would find a way.

  “But you are right in your trepidations about the others,” Wilson said, breaking through my frantic musings. His forehead was lined with thought, making me uneasy. “Now that I know what you are, it would be best if you not announce your anomaly to the others. I’m not sure how they would handle it. When you arrive in Tombstone, its best to keep your head down and not draw attention to yourself. I hope that by the time you leave here you will be able to fully control yourself and they will know none the better.”

  I nodded, hoping that his confidence in me was valid. I too, hoped I would be able to control myself.

>   “But the most important thing is,” he tapped my untouched chalice. “You must drink human blood when you get there. If you do not, they will suspect you are different. And that could potentially cause a problem.”

  I flinched with unease. How could I do that? How could I force myself to drink human blood? It was wrong on so many levels. And freaking gross, too. I sighed heavily, trying not to think about the thick red liquid traveling down my throat.

  I dropped my head to my hands and massaged my aching head. My mind was swirling like a cyclone with all of the new information. It was too much, too soon.

  Sensing this, Wilson reached out and rubbed my shoulder gently.

  “Don’t worry about the details just yet. Knowledge will come in time. Every vampire has to start somewhere.”

  He was right. I had bigger matters to worry about, like making myself acceptable to the new vampire coven I would be joining in a couple of days. I needed more training. I needed to accept my new life and try my hardest to fit in.

  The tension in my head forgotten, I glanced at Wilson and shrugged my shoulders. I would get through this no matter what. I had no other choice. “How about I try another spoon, Wilson?”

  He smiled and handed me another utensil. “Good idea.”

  THIRTY-GUY

  I watched Ruby through the window, her light hair a stark contrast to the darkness of night, her beautiful form delicate yet so strong. My heart squeezed in my chest at the sight of her. She sat alone on the stoop of the back porch, a pile of broken spoons next to her on the bricks. She tried again and again, with unwavering concentration, determined as ever to perfect this one last skill before being integrated with the other Unfortunates.

  I stuffed my hands in my pockets and released a pent-up breath of air. The last couple of days had been intense, to say the least. What with visiting Lily’s gravesite and my revelation there, letting go of my past. Taking Ruby to view the sunrise at the planetarium and seeing the joy it brought her. Realizing the feelings I had for her were real, not to mention my bond to her. But when Wilson had placed me in front of Ruby, instructing her to read my mood— that had been the hardest so far.

  My bond to her had flared when she stared into my eyes, my body pulsing with our connection. Or, my connection to her, rather. And she’d been right about everything. She’d been right about my controlling manner, my hesitation over leaving her, and my loyalty to my duty. But then she’d faltered, literally stumbling away from me as if I were a flame about to burn her. I couldn’t help but wonder what she’d sensed in me and if it had been my deep need to protect her and take care of her. Or had she discerned my feelings for her I tried so desperately to deny? I wasn’t sure what she saw or sensed, and now, with our time running short, I wasn’t sure I’d ever find out.

  For the past few days, I’d sat idly by while she trained with Wilson, feeling useless. I’d wished there was something more I could do for her, wished I could help ease the ache I sensed inside of her. An ache only someone who has lost everything could ever know. Deep inside me, her pain was a part of my soul.

  But I supposed I’d done all I could in bringing her here and helping her find her place in life. I couldn’t help but think of her as a true warrior for I’d never seen a vampire so strong, never seen an Unfortunate hone their skills so quickly, as if she was meant to be this way all along. Her movements, though still somewhat choppy, were growing more fluid, her strength more controlled. She was a natural. A beautiful, natural vampire. Quite the oxymoron.

  If someone had told me I’d one day fall in love with a vampire, I’d have laughed in their face. Me, caring for the likes of the thing I hated most and falling for the enemy, was an irony I’d never known. And though I would always be bonded to her, always sense her presence like a ghost in the back of my mind, our time was coming to an end. And I hate to admit, a little too quickly for my liking.

  My insides grew heavy like cement when thinking it was our last night here at the old ranch house, the last night we would be together, the last night I could look upon her flawless face and feel her arms wrap around me in a tender hug. It was for the best that we part, I’d known it all along, but I still couldn’t push away the hankering it should be different somehow. Maybe it was my bond to her, or maybe it was all we had been through together. But it didn’t change the fact that letting her go would be the hardest thing I would ever have to do. Ruby broke another spoon and placed it next to her on the ground, unfazed. She took up another from a box and wrapped her fingers around each end.

  I opened the sliding glass door and joined her on the stoop. She didn’t look over at me but kept her eyes closed tight in concentration. After a few long moments, the spoon snapped. She blew out a puff of air and turned her attention to me. I smiled, eliciting one from her too.

  “You’ll get it,” I said. “Just takes time.”

  She dropped the broken pieces into the pile and scooted closer to me, our sides touching. She laid her head on my shoulder and gazed out into the night. A large sticker tree swayed in response to the warm breeze, its shadow shifting across the ground in the moonlight. I resisted the urge to grab her into my arms and kiss her, to savor the last moments I could with her. But it was not the time to let my emotions have their way with me, and I knew in my heart, there never would be a right time.

  “I know.” Ruby inhaled deeply. “I will get it. But I can’t help feeling that I’m not ready yet.”

  “You’re ready.” I laid my hand on her thigh and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

  “I guess.” She sighed and snuggled in closer, as if to warm her cool body. Her arms were bare and her right one brushed my left, blooming my bond to her even more. I could feel her affections toward me like a blast of heat and I resisted the urge to shake my head in frustration. I ignored the feelings I was gleaning from her and turned to take in her physical form.

  She was wearing some of the clothes I’d bought for her while in town, a pair of jeans and a pink T-shirt. She looked lovely. She lifted her head from my shoulder and turned her violet gaze upon me, questioning.

  “Guy?” Her voice was like the first drop of rain; tentative. I turned to her.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you think I’ll ever find out who my maker is?”

  Seeing the hope in her eyes, I hesitated.

  I thought about the information my intelligence officer, Todd Kemp, gave me about the way Ruby had died. But what he didn’t know was after she’d perished in the car crash, someone— a vampire, no doubt— had swiped her from the wreck, possibly only seconds before the car exploded, leaving authorities to assume she’d been incinerated. I thought about the coven we’d vanquished at the Bisbee warehouse and how I found her alone, without her maker. She was the only survivor and that meant her maker was certainly dead along with the rest of the Unfortunates from that night. It was likely she would never find out who turned her but I didn’t want to completely strip her of her hope.

  “I don’t know.” I watched the breeze pull a strand of hair from her braid and flutter across her cheek. Sympathy yawned through my body over what this girl had endured, over all she had lost, and my heart clenched in sorrow for her.

  She leaned in closer to me. “It’s just… I was wondering… Wilson said…” She let her words trail off in the wind and heaved a sigh. I waited expectantly for what she would say, knowing she was holding something back. I could feel something through my bond to her, something like fear, but she waved a dismissive hand as though banishing the thought, and the feelings of dread dissipated. “Never mind.”

  “What is it?” I asked, grazing my thumb over her shoulder. I wanted to help her, wanted her to feel comfortable telling me whatever it was that weighed on her mind. Ruby met my gaze, her purple irises shining in the dim porch light.

  “It’s just… I’ve been having these dreams.” She kneaded her hands together in apprehension and I couldn’t help but feel she’d changed the subject. But I didn’t want to push something she wa
s uncomfortable with.

  “Dreams?” I asked, urging her to continue.

  “Yes. Well, memories, really. Of the night I died. But every time I think I will remember what happened, who made me, something stops me. As though I’m not supposed to know.” Her shoulders drooped slightly and I pulled her in closer, her head resting on my shoulder.

  “Maybe,” I offered, breathing in her vanilla scent, “You will eventually remember. Maybe it will happen when you need it most.”

  She turned her head and looked up at me, her pink lips curling up at the edges in a smile.

  “Maybe.” Ruby’s gaze then roamed the sky as if looking for far away answers, answers I wished I could offer her. I got the feeling there was still something she wasn’t telling me, but still, I didn’t want to push the issue.

  “Did Wilson fill you in on where I’m taking you?” I figured a change of subject was due.

  “Yes.” She focused her worried eyes on me. “But will it be safe for you?”

  Safe? The term was relevant. But I knew I had to do it, whether it was safe or not. “I’ll be fine. As long as I don’t get too close.”

  Silence fell upon us for a brief moment before Ruby looked over at me again. “So you won’t tell FUSE about me, when you go back to your men? You won’t tell them about Tombstone or Wilson?”

  I turned my body to hers and took her hands in mine. Her eyes glistened, striking a pang through my heart. It hurt that she even asked those questions, that she would even doubt my motives. But she knew as well as I did, that we were enemies and I understood her fear. I took in the fullness of her lips, the curve of her face.

  “I haven’t come all this way, sacrificed everything to help you, to just turn around and ruin it. I’d never do that to you. And even though I don’t like to admit it, I’d never do that to Wilson. I kind of have a soft spot for the old guy.”