by Neha Yazmin
POISON BLOOD
Book 2: Absolution
NEHA YAZMIN
Copyright 2012 Neha Yazmin
British English (BrE)
* * *
All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious, and resemblance to any real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
* * *
All rights reserved by the author.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any forms, or by any means, without the prior permission of the author.
* * *
nehayazmin.blogspot.co.uk
facebook.com/NehaYazmin
twitter.com/NehaYazmin
goodreads.com/NehaYazmin
* * *
~ Books by Neha Yazmin ~
Paranormal Romance:
Poison Blood, Book 1: Revelation
Poison Blood, Book 2: Absolution
Poison Blood, Book 3: Prophecy
Poison Blood, Book 4: Apocalypse
~
Contemporary Romance:
Chasing Pavements (Soulmates Saga, Book 1)
Make You Feel My Love (Soulmates Saga, Book 2)
Someone Like You (Soulmates Saga, Book 3)
* * *
~ Dedication ~
I would like to dedicate the entire Poison Blood series to my niece and nephew, aged 9 and 8 at the time I started writing these books. My nephew helped think of names for some of the characters and my niece always listened to my ideas. Even though you have to wait a few years before you can read these books, I hope you enjoy them when you do.
Contents
Such is My Love
Chapter 1: Chase
Chapter 2: Her
Chapter 3: Premonition
Chapter 4: Mission
Chapter 5: Mac
Chapter 6: Background
Chapter 7: Angel
Chapter 8: Abilities
Chapter 9: Enemies
Chapter 10: Parentage
Chapter 11: Runaway
Chapter 12: Hesitations
Chapter 13: Light
Chapter 14: Soul
Chapter 15: Shielded
Chapter 16: Education
Chapter 17: Mate
Chapter 18: Connection
Chapter 19: Atonement
Chapter 20: Possessed
Chapter 21: Discovery
A Note on Book 3
About the Author
Books by Neha Yazmin
Questions with the Author
CHASING PAVEMENTS - Blurb
CHASING PAVEMENTS - Sneak Peek
Such is My Love
Such is my love, to thee I so belong,
That for thy right, myself will bear all wrong.
– Sonnet 88
William Shakespeare
Chapter 1: Chase
I don’t know what being in love is like for humans. It never happened to me, not really. I only thought it did. Thought it for a long time. Almost half a century. But it feels as though I’ve known for longer that I’d been wrong.
What is it like for us vampires when we’re in love? Before I can address this question, that unsettling feeling washes over me again. Truthfully, the sensation itself isn’t unsettling in any way – it’s actually quite nice – but it’s unnerving because I don’t understand it. This strange rush of warmth rolling through my ice-cold, diamond-hard body isn’t something I should be experiencing at this moment in time.
At this moment in time, I should be working. Doing my job. Hunting. Continuing my chase. Running at the fastest speed I’m capable of, through this deep green forest in Norfolk, England, chasing my prey, I fell to the ground when this bizarre emotion first passed through me. My muscles had locked from the shock and strength of it. I collapsed like a cleanly chopped tree. Residual kinetic energy meant I rolled and rolled across the forest floor, until finally, I came to a halt at a tall pine tree.
Took the tree down in the process, but at least I stopped spinning.
There it goes again, that unexpected and unexplainable emotion that’s been distracting me from getting up and carrying on with my mission. A wave of calming yet exciting energy breaks through me as I lie on the undergrowth, confused.
Love is like that isn’t it?
Confusing, exciting, overwhelming, and at the same time it stills your mind, heart and soul.
Falling for someone does strange, incomprehensible things to you.
Why does it feel like I’m falling in love?
I’m not falling in love!
I’ve not seen anything or anyone that I could develop any connection to. All I’ve seen are patchworks of trees stretching before me. Branches, jutting roots, hedges, shrubbery, twigs, the silver spots of sky through the spaces between the leaves rustling in the winter morning breeze.
All I’ve heard are ghostly winds swirling through the woods. Hushed chirping of the birds. Crunching noises of the animals, squirrels, pheasants, deer, retreating from the path I’ve been following, the scent I’ve been tracking.
All I felt during my lightening quick sprint was one of triumph. I was close to my goal.
Hot on the heels of my target.
And then I dropped to the ground.
What’s happening this morning? This week?
Monday, I inadvertently stumbled onto a file pertaining to a top secret mission at work. A mission to track down a vampire rated A in our company’s database. An A-rated vampire has Amazing powers. If our superior strength and speed, our advanced senses weren’t enough, some of our kind are blessed with additional supernatural powers. Rare though they are, these extraordinary ones of the species are out there. It’s not unlike us to keep these cases between only a select few in our organisation.
Only, I usually know all the top secret information and so understandably, I was surprised that this was hidden from me.
“Sorry Christian,” Darryl said to me in the boardroom on Monday when I enquired as to where he’d been in the last fortnight, why I hadn’t been able to get through to him all that time.
His profile on our database was set to Engaged. Meaning: he was on a job. But I couldn’t access the mission details. When he eventually showed up at headquarters, he made various excuses not to talk to me.
Eventually, I had to sneak up on him and drag him to the privacy of the boardroom.
“I can’t tell you,” he continued.
This bothered me a great deal. His tone implied that he had been instructed not to tell me about his whereabouts, and surely that couldn’t have been the case. I was supposed to know where my top agents, like Darryl, were sent, and for what purpose.
“What do you mean you can’t tell me?” I asked indignantly. “I keep getting thrown out of a mission file linked to your ID. And from what you’re saying, it seems as though this is not some computer malfunction. I’m really not supposed to know about this?” My words became a question because they sounded ridiculous without the enquiry in them.
Why would there be any project that Darryl knew about that I couldn’t?
“I really don’t have the authority to tell you–”
“You really don’t have the authority to refrain from answering a direct question from me Darryl,” I threatened. Tensing up, almost in a battle crouch, I said, “Whatever authority you do have, I can strip it off you right now if you don’t disclose what you know.”
His eyebrows bunched up, clearly feeling the heat. At the same time, there was a quiet confidence about him. As though he had some sort of insurance. More that, he thought I couldn’t do anything to him if he disobeyed me.
No one dis
obeyed me!
“I’m waiting,” I pressed, my temper beginning to flare. A growl was building in my chest and I didn’t want to let it out. I tried to be as professional as possible at the office.
“Christian,” he sighed, “if you gave me a direct order to not divulge this information to someone in particular, you know I’d have to follow.”
At once, I knew who had given him this direct order.
There was only one person who would and could do that.
But it just didn’t make sense!
Why would they do this?
The confusion cut through my anger, urging me to think about how to get the answers. Relaxing at once, I asked, “And you’re not supposed to say who gave you those orders?”
He gave a tired shake of his head.
“That’s fine,” I assured him. “You may go.”
After giving me a startled, quizzical look, he headed for the boardroom door and waited for me to use my ID card to let him out.
I was beside him before the second was out. “Just before you leave, Darryl,” I said smoothly, holding my card above the reader that was mounted to the side of the metal door, not swiping it open yet. “I’d like your ID card please.” He regarded me warily. “You know I have ways of taking it off you, but I don’t want to sneak up on you again. It’s not my style.” I held up my hand.
Because there hadn’t been a command to not give me his card, he had to succumb. “You’re going to use my ID to tap into my mission documents,” he murmured, handing over the card.
“Yes,” I answered, smug. “And a new direct order for you Darryl,” I added, almost cheekily. “You do not tell anyone about this, or what you think will happen when you leave this room. I’ll get in touch soon.”
Nodding, he faced the metal door as I opened it for him with my ID card, tightly holding onto his in my other hand.
Back in my office, I tried to open the file that kept telling me I lacked the necessary security clearance to view it. Though I wasn’t able to gain full access to this project, logging in as Darryl, I saw that he’d been tracking an A-rated vampire around the English countryside. He’d reported little success in getting anywhere near his target – Kristy, was her name – but he suspected she was now in Norfolk. He returned to HQ to discuss tactics and give a detailed report to the person who’d assigned him this task.
Interestingly, Kristy’s exact power, her supernatural gift, was listed as ‘Unknown’.
This I knew was a lie – if you don’t know the special gift the vampire possesses, how can you rate it A for Amazing?
The power was known, just not listed in the mission documents.
That alone would’ve heightened my curiosity enough to chase after Kristy myself, but seen as I was specifically not supposed to know about her, I didn’t think twice about investigating.
Tuesday, I arrived in this Norfolk forest, to hunt this Amazing immortal through acres and acres of woodland, and I’ve been chasing her ever since. Going around in circles, most of the time. Clever and quick, she’s always one step ahead of me. Bit of a daredevil too, sticking to the greenery here rather than escaping the jungle altogether. Playing with me. She waits for me to catch up before making a quick turn and taking off again.
Not wanting to leave me too far behind.
Not harbouring any desire to be caught.
Now it’s Thursday morning, and just as I thought I was finally within touching distance of my target, I took an unexpectedly odd turn of my own.
I fell as something like love exploded through me.
As soon as I figure out what on earth is going on inside my body, I will get back to work. I’ll catch Kristy if it’s the last thing I do in this forest.
She’s made this into a game, which two can play at, and I want to win.
I’m the only one who can.
This job clearly needs someone who can be invisible.