by Kailin Gow
She gritted her teeth. “Pig,” she muttered, as she raised her stake, hoping for her own sake as well as Justin's that it worked. She closed her eyes and ran towards the vampire, her stake colliding with his chest. He made no motion to defend himself.
“What, you think a stake can kill me? I'm a Life's...”
But the rest of his words were lost as he crumbled into a pile of dark gray dust with a loud pop.
Kalina and the others stepped back in astonishment. So it had worked after all. The Life's Blood vampires could be defeated by these rubies.
Kalina fished more out of her pockets. Put them on your stakes too, boys – backup. She handed more rubies to Stuart and Jaegar. She fished two spare stakes out of her bag. When she found Octavius and Max, she wanted them to be able to fight, too. Her heart was beating fast with excitement. They had a real shot now – they could kill Life's Blood vampires!
They proceeded again into the house, looking around to make sure they managed to trap any vampires before they sounded the alarm. Jaegar and Stuart flanked Justin and Kalina, who were rushing to finish tying as many rubies onto stakes as they could, adding additional rubies to their necks and arms for good measure. Now that they were sure that these jewels worked, they never wanted to risk being without them.
They spotted another vampire making the rounds.
“Hold on,” whispered Jaegar. He and Stuart ambushed the guard and pushed him up against the wall. This guard, too, had Life's Blood in his system; Kalina could smell it now – hot and strong and sweet with musk.
“Where are they?” breathed Stuart.
“Where are who?” The vampire struggled to escape, but Stuart pressed his ruby-adorned arm against his throat. The ruby sizzled the flesh, and the vampire yelled.
“Keep it down or we'll put that jewel where it hurts,” Jaegar gritted his teeth.
“Where are Octavius and Max?” Stuart hissed.
“I don't know what you're talking about!” the guard cried.
Jaegar looked deep into his eyes with a searching look. “He's telling the truth,” he announced. “But...”
“They must be in hiding!” Kalina whispered, giving Jaegar a significant look.
Jaegar and Stuart exchanged glances. They knew what that meant. This vampire had just become a security risk. And he would have to die.
The vampire evidently knew it too. In a panic, he broke free, leaping onto Justin and leaving a deep, gaping bite in his shoulder. Justin gave a loud yell as Jaegar and Stuart stabbed the vampire at the same time with their hands. The vampire collapsed into dust, staining Justin's clothes.
“So, it weakens them, too...” Stuart nodded. “You were right, Kalina.”
Jaegar had rushed to Justin's side. “Here, drink,” he said quickly, biting into his own flesh. Kalina found herself sniffing the air as blood poured from the puncture wounds on Jaegar's wrist, strangely aroused by the smell. How odd – she had never reacted so strongly to the scent of blood before.
“What are you doing?” Justin scrambled from Jaegar's wrists. “You're not turning me, are you?”
“No, stupid – I'm healing you. If I was turning you I'd have drained you first. You have to die to live, my friend.”
“Are you sure?”
Jaegar rolled his eyes. “No, Justin. I'm not sure. I've only been a vampire a few hundred years. Really not enough time to figure out how this whole turning thing works. Not like it's happened to me or anything.”
“Fine!” Justin grabbed Jaegar's wrist and drank greedily. Within moments his wound had healed.
“All better,” said Jaegar, yanking away his wrist. “Now quit sucking – it's not chocolate, you know.” He smiled. “Imagine if all doctors were vampires. Your hospitals wouldn't have any sick people – they'd all be cured in a heartbeat.”
He had intended it as a joke, but Justin's face grew searching and serious. Kalina looked up. Justin looked as if he was seriously contemplating it. He was that devoted of a doctor to actually think he might find a cure to sickness and diseases.
“Enough with the Justin jokes,” Kalina said quickly. “I know you want a third brother, but I have enough vampires around me as is. I need a human!”
“Speaking of humans,” Stuart spoke up, turning around. A distinctly human figure was running across the courtyard – a woman's figure running at super-speed, chased by two vampires.
Max.
Chapter 14
“Let's go!” Kalina cried as she spied Max running across the courtyard. Max ducked and ran straight into another room of the house.
“That way!” Stuart led the foursome back through the garden and through the door, following in Max's footsteps.
Kalina's heart was beating so quickly that she felt her whole body shaking. Her blood was alive with adrenaline; she was breathing heavily. This was it, she knew. Where Max was, Octavius would be also. It was going to be the final showdown. Octavius was alive – she knew that – but for how long, she didn't know. And if Molotov got to Max and Octavius, then it wouldn't be long before he got to her, her brother, and the Greystones.
“Stay back, Justin,” she said. “It's too dangerous.”
“Not a chance,” Justin said as they ran. “If your mother and Octavius are in need of help, then they need everybody that they can get. And even if you need to use me as a human shield or whatever, that's better than nothing. Focus on getting out of there safely – don't you dare worry about me. Besides, I have the rubies now.”
Kalina saw how the rubies glimmered – not only on her own stake, but on the wrists and necks and the stakes of those around her. They were ready for a fight, she knew – a fight that could very well be her last.
Tap into your blood. It was that same, strange voice again. Tap into your strength. Let it control you.
And so they entered the room. It was an enormous antechamber, decorated elaborately with wood carvings and bamboo shoots. The ceiling was held aloft with wood beams, on which were carved elaborate dragons. Yet unlike the previous hall they had entered, Kalina noticed with a frown, this one didn't seem abandoned at all. There was not a cobweb in sight. Somebody had recently cleaned this room and used it. But why?
Before Kalina could begin to formulate an answer, a group of vampires decended upon her from the rafter, their fangs bared. Kalina recognized them from the village – these were without a doubt Molotov's men, sent to capture or kill them. Among them was the woman Kalina had seen. The same black hair as Max – the same distinctive dark clothing that Max had wore. But the face was entirely different. This pale face, with its bright blue eyes and high cheekbones, was not the Central Asian faces Kalina saw on the other vampires in Molotov's set. She was Eastern European – Russian, probably. And from the fangs Kalina saw protruding from her dark blood-red lips, she wasn't a Carrier at all, but a vampire.
They had walked right into a trap.
They made for the door, turning to run.
“So!” the vampires slammed the heavy wooden door shut before them, bolting it. “You think you can escape, can you?”
The Russian vampire approached Kalina, looking her up and down with a sniff of her pert, upturned nose. “So is this what we've been waiting for?” She gave a deep, languishing sigh – full of condescension. “Really, I'm disappointed. We went through all that trouble to lure her here for what? She's not even as pretty as I thought. I don’t understand why there is all the fuss about her…why vampire men find her so irresistible.”
Kalina prickled.
“Well, next time I decide I want to turn, I'm going for a blonde.”
“It's not her face that's special, Olga.” Molotov appeared from the shadows, his expression grim as he paced up and down the room, his eyes fixed on Kalina. “It's her blood.”
“Life's Blood is Life's Blood,” Olga said dismissively. “The other one would have done just as well. I don't care what they look like, in any case – as long as they're authentic. And she smells decent. But the other one would have
tasted just as good – and wouldn't have required me to do all this work.”
“It's not the same,” Molotov said. “This one's a virgin. And you know what that means. The other one – her mother. She'd already given that power. She'd already turned another vampire.”
“So this one has the power of turning...” Olga nodded. “Interesting. But I like my fangs fine, thank you.”
Kalina's jaw dropped. What could Molotov be thinking? A vampire as powerful as this one – surely he didn't wish to become human too? Vampires who wanted humanity tended to be, like Stuart, kinder, gentler vampires, already trying to be in touch with their human side. Molotov seemed to display no interest in anything but cruelty and power.
“You want me to fall in love with you too?” Kalina scoffed, trying to sound braver than she felt. “Sorry, but my dance card's full. Take a number, Molotov – I've got three vampires around me already. I'm not interested in number 4!”
“Some ego you've got there, little girl,” Molotov looked faintly amused. “Who says that I want that from you? I can have any woman I please if it's beauty or pleasure I'm after – and I'm far too comfortable to turn. Old age? Sickness? Ugliness? What vampire in his right mind would seek that one out?”
“Then what did you need me for?” Kalina rounded on him. “Wouldn't my mother have done just as well.”
“Tut tut,” said Molotov. “You didn't listen. I said I didn't need you to turn me. But perhaps there's someone that you would like to turn.”
“I told you – not interested.”
“Octavius was a fool. He and the Consortium hid Carriers away, provided them with a chance to meet vampires he trusted and could vouch for. He helped Carriers and their true loves find each other – and didn't even charge for the courtesy. He overlooked a profitable venture there. Now, some vampires far crueler than I would want to drain you dry and sell your blood in vials to the crazies and rogues of the vampire world, who want nothing more than lust. But I am a businessman, Kalina. I know that eventually you'll run dry. But selling a chance to meet the most powerful and very beautiful Carrier in the world, the youngest and perhaps the only one left a virgin, I can charge as many vampires I want access to you – until you find one you'd give yourself to willingly. Although I daresay the men would want to fool around with you a bit first...but no matter. If you don't love them – too bad. You've already paid up. And vampires who want to turn human tend to be far more sensible than rogues. They tend to have more money to hand. Like Stuart there. What wouldn't he have paid for a chance to taste you?”
Kalina's jaw dropped with horror as she realized what Molotov was intending. He wanted to turn her into a prostitute – to sell a chance at her love to the highest bidder.
“You're disgusting!” she cried.
“Now now – I'm not even offering to kill you,” said Molotov. “That's one up on plenty of other vampires out there. And I'm offering to keep you safe and allow you to make your choice – and as long as you please the men I send to you (you can think of ways to do that without breaking the curse, can't you?) I'm sure they won't complain too much if you decide it just won't work out. Perhaps they'll keep coming back for more. And keep paying. I'll give you a cut of the profits, if you like. A sound business deal all around.”
“How dare you!” Justin cried. “You're talking about my sister there!”
Jaegar and Stuart, too, were seething with rage.
“Well,” Molotov said smoothly, “perhaps your sister would like to answer for herself.”
“Never!” Kalina cried. “You think I like my blood going crazy around three vampires?” She could only imagine what torment she would go through – psychological and physical – if hundreds of vampires dared turn their glamouring charms onto her.
“Enough!” Another figure emerged from the shadows. It was Octavius!
The other vampires turned around to face him, shock on their faces.
“How did you...” Molotov began.
“Found a good hiding place,” Octavius said through gritted teeth.
Kalina's heart leaped. Seeing him again – so handsome, so sure of himself even in this moment of trial. He leaped down onto one of Molotov's minions, twisting his neck clear round so that the bones snapped. But the minion, high on Life's Blood, his red eyes gleaming, snapped his neck right back into place. “Fool,” he hissed. “You dare to mess with a Life's Blood vampire? Then you deserve what befalls you!”
At once the room became a whirlwind of chaos as all of the vampires and Justin formed a melee. Kalina found herself in the middle of a circle of vampires – protected by Jaegar, Stuart, Octavius, and Justin. Not one of the vampires seemed to be making any attempt at harming her, she noted – it was clear that Molotov had given specific orders to take her alive. That didn't stop her from rushing to Justin's side, staking any vampire that got in the way.
“Octavius, catch!” She threw one of the ruby stakes Octavius’ way. “It'll fight them off.”
Octavius caught her eye as the stake landed neatly in his hand. “Nice throw.” He turned to one of Molotov's minions, gutting him completely with the stake. The minion crumbled to dust, and Octavius looked up at Kalina with surprise.
“Little bitch!” Olga was at her side, her fangs bared. The other vampires might have been keeping her distance, but it seemed that Olga had no objection to Kalina spilling some blood in the fray. “You think you're a little special one – but I warn you. You're just another whore who thinks she can lead vampires to their deaths like dogs.” She spat as she rushed towards Kalina.
Kalina's blood immediately kicked in. Her adrenaline pumped as she kicked Olga square in the stomach, sending her reeling.
Olga looked up in surprise. “You're not such a bad fighter – for a human.”
Kalina said nothing, but dodged Olga's next punch, jumping up onto the rafters to avoid her blow.
Olga jumped up too. Kalina raised her stake, but as she made to send it straight through Olga's heart, Olga kicked it out of her hand and it clattered to the floor below.
“You think if I killed you right now, anyone would know it was me?” Olga smiled sharply. “They'd think you just got stabbed in the confusion.” She landed a punch square at Kalina's face. Kalina ducked but not swiftly enough, and was hit square in the shoulder. She fell back.
“No!” Justin made his way up a ladder, rushing onto the rafters.
“Fool!” Olga kicked him from the roof and he fell with a crash into the fight below.
“Justin!” Kalina screamed. She couldn't tell what had happened to him.
It was all over; she was beaten. She was on her back; her weapons were gone. Olga approached with a triumphant smile on her face.
“You may be special,” Olga said. “But in the end – you're only human.” She slashed Kalina's face with her nails, drawing blood. She laughed. “Now I get to kill you.”
And then Kalina heard the voice again – the voice of Life's Blood in her system.
Use the Blood.
And then Kalina felt her wounds closing up, the blood vanishing as one by one her cuts healed. Her skin grew paler than ever, and she could have sworn fangs were pressing into her lips.
Kalina sprang to her feet. “You think so, do you?”
Olga gaped with horror. “What does this mean? Somebody turned you? Impossible – Life's Blood Carriers are never turned – no vampire would be able to resist killing you if he drank that deeply. You'd never get the chance to be reborn.”
Kalina's fangs glinted. “Are you so sure of that?”
“Then Molotov....”
“Guess he'll have to rethink his plans.”
Kalina looked up to see a ruby-stake flying through the air. Justin, bruised but clearly alive, had managed to retrieve her stake and had thrown it towards her. She had managed to confuse Olga, to distract her for one second. It was enough.
She twisted her body to catch the stake; it landed neatly in her palm.
“Now where were we?”
But as Kalina raised her stake to stab Olga, another vampire rushed through the air, knocking Olga from the rafters. Kalina's thrust met empty air.
Kalina looked down to see a figure holding Olga tightly.
A figure she recognized. A figure that made her shudder.
Mal.
Chapter 15
Kalina watched from the rafters as Mal yanked on Olga's arm and pulled her into another room. She looked down at the melee. Molotov seemed to have vanished, leaving his men to fight off Jaegar, Justin, Octavius, and Stuart. They had managed to disarm and kill most of the men – high on Life's Blood, Molotov's men had expected to be invincible, and so had not taken any of the necessary precautions – but a few still remained. From what it looked like, however, Octavius and the others had it covered. Anxious to know what was behind Mal's appearance, Kalina tiptoed over to the edge of the rafter. To her surprise, Kalina found that she could hear everything – her transformation, from fangs to skin, must also have included another set of vampire abilities. Mal and Olga were whispering to each other in hushed tones, but the words were clear in Kalina's ears.
“I see I've arrived in the nick of time,” Mal was saying.
“Nonsense,” Olga scoffed. “I could have handled her. It was a temporary setback, that was all.”
“Didn't look so temporary,” said Mal. “In any case – I see you've delivered the vials of Life's Blood.”
“As promised,” Olga said.
“But you had some too, didn't you?” Kalina heard Mal take a step closer. “I can see it in your eyes.”
A pause. “Yes,” Olga said at last. “I did.”
“I told you it was forbidden!” Mal grew angry. “I told you it was for Molotov's men – and them alone. Do you realize how much a single vial of that stuff is worth?”
“Consider it a finder's fee,” Olga said promptly. “I did what you asked, didn't I? Risked my hide going all the way from St. Petersburg to Beijing to deliver the vials! Kept them safe, too. Do you realize how much danger I was in, trafficking that much Blood across uncontrolled territories? You're lucky I didn't drink the whole thing. I just drank enough to stay safe and make sure I could fight anyone else seeking the blood.”