Bad Blood

by Kristen Painter

  Lilith pulled Tatiana’s finger into her mouth, her tiny fangs trying and failing to pierce her mother’s metal hand. Her face crumpled and a wail bellowed out of her. Cracks shot through the porcelain lamp on the side table.

  Tatiana stood, causing Edwin and Octavian to rise also. “If you’ll excuse us, my daughter is hungry. I look forward to the ball. I’m sure Lord Syler will send more details when things are settled. Unless there is anything else he wishes to speak to me about before that.” Like a firmer alliance with the mother and guardian of the only vampire child ever known to exist. She flicked her gaze to Octavian and then the door, indicating she was ready to leave. “I’ll send a servant to see you out.”

  Doc was glad to drive. It was a good distraction from his thoughts, something to focus on besides the weird power he’d inherited. He glanced in the rearview mirror. Fi was sprawled out on the backseat, catching a few z’s. He’d thought about trying to make her stay with Damian, but after her speech in the freighter, he knew better than to even start that conversation.

  “Where do you think Creek’s going to be?” Doc asked Mortalis, beside him in the passenger’s seat.

  He had the window partially rolled down. The tangy smell of smoke occasionally drifted in. “Wherever the action is.”

  “Looks like it’s already been here.” They’d passed burned-out cars, some still ablaze, buildings that looked like they’d had bites taken out of them, giant puddles of foul ooze, even a couple of bodies—none of which had looked human.

  “You hear that?” Mortalis asked.

  Doc powered his window down. Sounds of distant fighting. He pulled the car over on the next block and parked. “On foot from here.”

  Mortalis nodded. “Agreed.”

  “Fi, up and at ’em.” Doc reached back and gave her a shake.

  “I’m up.” She yawned and ran a hand through her hair.

  He snagged the short sword he’d brought from Mal’s collection on the freighter, then the three of them got out and headed toward the noise. A flash of light brightened the night sky. Doc broke into a run, Mortalis and Fi behind him. They turned the corner and found Creek crouched behind a Dumpster, facing down a two-headed serpent coiled overhead in one of the few remaining power lines. Sparks showered over the creature’s skin and down onto the ground, making it hard to get near. The electricity seemed to feed it. As if in confirmation, a third head popped up.

  “Need some help?” Doc skidded to a stop at Creek’s side.

  “Love some.” Creek leveled his crossbow at the thing and sent a bolt into its body. The serpent howled, its voice high and oddly feminine.

  “We need to take the heads off,” Mortalis said. Out of nowhere, he brandished a short curved blade. “We need to get it on the ground for that.”

  “I can bring it down,” Fi said.

  “Like hell you will.” Doc shot her an angry look. “Get behind us.”

  Creek shook his head. “This isn’t a game, Fi.”

  She flipped them off. “Nothing can touch me in my ghost form. Just get ready to kill it.” Without waiting for them to respond, she darted out from behind the Dumpster and toward the serpent. Doc grabbed her arm, but his hand closed around nothing. When she was ghost, there was nothing to grab.

  “Hey, slimy,” she yelled. She levitated a discarded bottle and chucked it at the creature. The bottle shattered against the light pole. All three heads swiveled in her direction.

  “I do not like this,” Doc whispered. He was fighting the fire within hard, trying to breathe and stay calm enough to keep from combusting.

  “She’ll be fine as long as she doesn’t go corporeal,” Mortalis answered. “She’s a little crazy, that one.” But there was admiration in his voice.

  “It’s working,” Creek said.

  The serpent slithered down the pole, its heads dancing closer and closer to Fi. Every so often, she took a step back, turning as she moved so that the creature’s back was to them.

  Creek pulled a knife from his boot. “I’ll take the head on the right. Doc, you take the middle, Mortalis, the left. On three.”

  “Got it,” Doc answered.

  “On three,” Mortalis repeated.

  “One,” Creek said.

  Fi threw something else at the serpent, and the front half of the creature hit the asphalt.

  “Two,” Creek said.

  She took another step back. “Come and get me, you disgusting worm.”

  It disengaged from the light pole completely.

  “Three!” Creek yelled.

  They sprang forward, each man attacking his assigned head. A few sparks still snapped from the transformer, biting into the flashing blades. Metal found flesh and sinew. Blood spewed into the air, drenching them, but the battle was over almost as soon as it had started. The headless serpent twitched on the corner of Alafaya and Vine, its blood pooling in the street and trailing into the storm drain.

  “Yay,” Fi cried, clapping as she came toward them. “That was awesome.”

  “Yeah, awesome.” The sticky ooze covering Doc made him itch. He hated being dirty. He tried to breathe. One freak-out and he’d go up like a Fourth of July finale.

  Creek turned to Doc and Mortalis. “Thanks for the help.”

  Fi stopped at Doc’s side and wrinkled her nose. “You guys look really gross. You don’t smell so hot either. You get in Mal’s car like that and he’ll make you wish that snake thing had eaten you.”

  “You think I like this?” Doc asked. Heat built in his hands. He looked down to make sure there were no flames. There weren’t. Yet.

  Mortalis frowned. “And I thought Nothos guts were bad. This stuff feels like acid.”

  “We need to wash it off before it does any permanent damage.” Creek pointed halfway down the block to a fire hydrant. “There.”

  “How are you going to open that without a wrench?” Fi asked.

  Creek hoisted his crossbow, took aim, and fired. The bolt sheared off the main nut on the hydrant, sending a plume of water into the air. “Like that. Let’s get cleaned up. Here, Fi, hold this.” He gingerly held out a small black rectangle.

  Doc was under the spray before she got corporeal to take the phone. Water had never felt so good. He scrubbed at himself as best he could. Creek and Mortalis joined him to do the same.

  “Hey!” Fi yelled. She waved at them.

  “What?” Doc asked, the rush of the hydrant’s geyser filling his ears.

  She held up the phone. The screen was lit up. “Creek’s got a call.” She glanced at the screen. “Somebody named Argent. You want me to answer it?”

  “No.” Creek darted out of the water and snatched the phone from her fingers. He swiped a finger across the screen. “Creek here.” He listened for a moment, then nodded. “Will do.” He hung up and turned back to Doc and Mortalis.

  “Something up?” Mortalis asked as he stepped out of the spray.

  Doc came out behind him to hear better.

  Creek nodded. “Police need some help down in Little Havana. They think they have the comarré killer.”

  Chapter Forty

  A screaming wall of pain jerked Chrysabelle out of a deep, dreamless sleep. She woke up gasping for air, belly-down on her bed, arms and legs tangled in sweat-damp sheets. The trip to the signumist came back to her in a hard rush of memory and throbbing, fiery pain.

  A hand touched her shoulder and she yelped, shrinking away from it. The move shot fresh heat through her back. The new signum there burned like brands.

  The hand disappeared. Mal’s silver eyes came into focus, his face somehow suddenly inches from hers. “It’s okay. You’re home. Stay still and rest.”

  She stared into his eyes, the cool of her pillow a comfort. She lifted her hand and touched his cheek. “Home?”

  He nodded. “Do you want anything? Velimai is here.”

  The wysper appeared behind him, peering over his shoulder with concern-filled eyes. If I can do anything, she signed, just tell me.

>   “No,” Chrysabelle whispered. The pain made her eyes water. “How long… home?”

  “A quarter hour, maybe a few minutes more,” Mal answered. “But you’ve been asleep since we got into the car.”

  “The city? Samhain… the covenant…” The effort of words drained her.

  “Don’t worry about any of that. Just rest and recover. Try to go back to sleep.”

  She tried to shake her head but only succeeded in turning it farther into the pillow. “I need to…” Even breathing made her body ache. “The Aurelian.”

  “Soon enough,” Mal said. He patted a small red pouch on the nightstand. “For when you’re ready, but for now, you need to sleep and heal.”

  She closed her eyes, meaning to say something else about how she couldn’t wait, didn’t want to wait, needed to find her brother, but the depths of sleep consumed her, pulling her blissfully under once again.

  Octavian paced the sitting area of the master bedroom. “Word will spread now. Every house will know of Lilith’s existence as surely as they know you are Dominus.”

  Tatiana tore herself away from listening to Lilith’s soft coos as she fed from the wet nurse in the next room. The nursery wasn’t completed, but Tatiana wanted Lilith close, so she’d set up the wet nurse in her dressing room. “You seem worried.” She sprawled back against the nest of pillows on the bed. “Don’t be. The Castus made it clear to the other Dominus that I and my family are to be protected at all costs. None would dare cross us knowing how firmly the ancient ones are on our side. One look at Lilith and they will see where his favor lies.”

  “That’s what worries me,” Octavian said. “There will be jealousy unlike anything the families have ever seen.”

  She smiled, his concern touching. “Sweetheart, don’t you think I’ve given this much thought?” She slid off the bed and came to his side, taking his hand. “This is exactly the position I—we—want to be in. The other houses must align with us or they will be of little consequence in the new age.”

  He smiled back at her. “You’re so sure of yourself, so confident.” He feathered kisses across her forehead. “So fearless.” His lips brushed hers and she welcomed him in, flattery one of her greatest aphrodisiacs. “I am so proud to be at your side.” Hands splayed on her hips, he pulled her closer. “I cannot wait to see you at that ball. You will leave the men bitter with want and the women wondering how you are everything they are not.”

  She tipped her head back as his mouth trailed kisses down her neck. “If you’re trying to get me into bed, it’s working.”

  He laughed against her skin, his fangs grazing the curve of her shoulder. “I adore you, Tatiana. Do you know that?”

  “You’ve made that delightfully clear.” She nipped at his chin, drunk on affection and the rare air of happiness. “I feel the same way about you.”

  His expression grew more serious, but the silver in his eyes didn’t fade. “That you could feel that way toward me when I was little more than your servant a short while ago…” He turned away from her.

  “Don’t,” she whispered, clinging to him. “The past is just that. We’ll talk of it no more.”

  Head bent, his gaze came at her sideways. “Tell me of the future, then. Tell me of your plans.” The curve of his mouth broadened into a grin. “I love hearing you talk about your ideas and desires for the vampire nation.”

  She flew to the door and locked it, then was back at his side, tugging him toward the bed. She could almost understand how Daciana had married Laurent. With a man like Octavian, such a commitment didn’t seem so hard to accept. Maybe they should marry. For Lilith’s sake. And to show the rest of the families just how strong their bond was. Her legs hit the side of the bed. “I want to take over the world.”

  He tumbled down on top of her, shoving the pillows out of the way. His fingers worked the buttons of her silk blouse. His mouth followed them down. “How will you do it?”

  “I will start with… Oh, that’s the spot.” A shiver of pleasure trilled down her spine and joined with the places his hands caressed. “I will… I…”

  “Will I be at your side?” He breathed the words over her bare flesh, raising an army of goose bumps across her thighs, exposed by the skirt he’d shoved up to her hips.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “Always.” Because she was almost sure she loved him.

  His tongue raked across her stomach. “I am afraid,” he said softly.

  The chill returned, but for a whole new reason. She struggled to her elbows and stared down at him. “Afraid of what?”

  He rested his head on her taut belly. “That I love you far more than is wise.” His thumb drew a small, delicious circle near her navel. “You will be the queen of the vampire nation. Then you will find another and break my heart.”

  She laughed softly so as not to wound him further. “You worry for nothing. You’ll see.” She lay back down and threaded her fingers into his hair, guiding him back to where he’d been when he’d stopped. “At the ball, you’ll see.” She would announce their union. That would stun the families, wouldn’t it? She did love to make a scene.

  Soft kisses teased her flesh. “Until the ball, then.”

  She could have sworn she felt him smile against her skin.

  Doc stomped the brakes and brought the car to a stop behind Creek’s motorcycle. Keeping up with the KM had been an effort. Mal’s beater sedan wasn’t exactly as limber as the bike, and dodging some of the things currently roaming Paradise City’s streets was no small feat.

  Creek waited for them on the sidewalk as they got out, but the second the first door opened, he was off down the street toward the cop cars they’d followed here. The cops jumped out, guns drawn as Doc, Mortalis, and Fi, still in her ghost form, hustled to catch up to Creek. “A woman called in, said she heard the sounds of a struggle out her window, looked out and saw a blond girl with gold marks on her being dragged into this alley.”

  He cocked his crossbow. “You three stay here, let me suss it out.”

  “You sure you don’t want more help than those two cops?” Doc asked.

  “They’ve been briefed. One cop is varcolai.”

  Doc nodded and took a better look at the cop, recognizing him as a member of the pride. “Shout if you need us.”

  Creek ducked into the alley. Doc inhaled, testing the air for scents. Blood. In spades. And the faint hint of vampire. But between the two was the familiar musky scent of feline shifter. Had to be the cop. Suddenly, a deep guttural snarl broke through the other sounds of the city.

  “Doc.” Urgency laced Creek’s voice like a poison. “Now.”

  With Fi at his side, Doc spun around the corner, unprepared for the scene before him. A large feline varcolai in half-form crouched over the torn body of one of Dominic’s comarré. If she wasn’t dead, she would be in another heartbeat or two. Blood dripped from his clawed fingers and pooled beneath the girl like a morbid blanket, unfurling slowly toward the street. The varcolai stood, stepping back carefully to avoid the puddle.

  The cops had their guns raised, but they were out of their league. “Guns aren’t going to do much good,” Doc said.

  “Copy that. Besides, we need to take him in alive,” Creek answered. His crossbow stayed up on his shoulder. “You know this cat?”

  “Maybe. Definitely leopard, but it’s a little dark to really make out—”

  One of the cops flipped on a handheld spotlight, bringing the killer into clear view. The varcolai cop muttered a curse.

  Doc swore, too. “What the hell?” He stepped forward, a little past Creek and enough to block the KM’s shot. “Sinjin?”

  The man snarled again, showing a small chip in his left fang and confirming Doc’s identification. How could he forget the varcolai who’d cast him out of the pride?

  Sinjin shook his head as if telling Doc not to say another word. Doc snorted in derision and took another step forward. “You think I’m going to stand by and let you murder these girls? Like hell.”
>
  With a quick shake, Sinjin shed all signs of his leopard half and took on his full human form. “Siding with the mortals, Maddoc?” He shook his head. “Don’t you see what’s happening? The vampires grow stronger every day. We have to seize whatever opportunity we can, and tonight we’re seizing a big one.”

  “There’s no we, Sinjin. You kicked me out of the pride years ago, remember?” Heat coursed through Doc’s bones. “And I don’t consider killing humans an opportunity.”

  “I didn’t kill this girl. I found her here. The victim of a vampire.”

  “Her blood is on your hands, and I bet when the police search you, they’ll find the container of vampire ashes you’ve been planting beneath their nails.”

  Sinjin’s mouth bent in a cruel sneer. “You’re weak. You always have been.” His eyes reflected the cop’s light with a green-gold glow Doc knew must be shining in his eyes, too. The heat in his body got more intense. “That’s why I’m the pride leader.”

  “I never wanted that job, no matter how much you thought I did. Time to give yourself up. This game is over.” And time for Doc to calm down.

  Hands fisted at his side, Sinjin stretched his neck and growled the low, threatening call that meant one thing. Challenge.

  This wasn’t the time or place to answer that call. Not with the fire in his system just begging for a way out. Doc turned and walked back toward Creek. “Cops have any tranquilizer darts? That’s what I’d use—”

  Creek’s mouth opened but Fi’s yell hit Doc’s ears first. “Behind you,” she wailed.

  Doc twisted in time to catch Sinjin’s charge full in the chest. It took him to the pavement hard enough to knock the breath out of him and dent the asphalt. He was vaguely aware of Fi telling Creek to shoot and Creek saying he couldn’t get a clean shot.

  Sinjin raised his hand, claws out. Doc rolled as the hand came down, throwing Sinjin off. Doc flipped to his feet and caught Sinjin as he did the same, then shoved him back into the alley wall. The sounds of bones and bricks cracking filled the air.

  “I’m going to kill you like I should have done instead of kicking you out,” Sinjin snarled.