Burning Days (The Firsts Book 17)

by C. L. Quinn

  Ben had dropped back to the ground, his eyes burning into Saul’s. Saul couldn’t tell if anything he was saying was getting through, but he continued.

  “Okay, here are a few things you need to know. Vampires are more powerful, physically, than humans. We do have the ability to use compulsion, you understand that, but we don’t like to circumvent someone’s free will unless we have to. You will need to consume blood, at least every few days, to maintain your health, but you also will eat massive quantities of food. It’s a gift. All the food you want and you’ll stay fit and healthy. We burn hot, Ben, and need those calories to stay energetic. Sex is more enjoyable as a vampire and you will find yourself much more sexually active than you might ever have been as human, but you’ll need to be careful not to overstep and force anyone. Sexual thralls happen, where a vampire can’t stop themselves. Most of us consider sex to be consensual only, so we don’t use compulsion to force sex from someone. Sunlight absolutely will kill you if you’re caught out in it, so don’t be. Well, that’s the introduction. I hope you get a chance to live and find out I’m telling the truth. It’s up to your brother. Ben, I’ll always be your sire, and if you ever need anything, I’ll be there for you.”

  Saul stood and pushed the chair back until it fell over.

  “If you can find me. Me and mine will be long gone before your brother gets here.”

  Shooting to his feet, Ben raced at his maker, reaching for his throat. “Leave my brother out of this.”

  “No, he’ll be here, with your crew, and they’ll rescue you. I hope. It’s up to them now. I hope you have a long life. Goodbye, Hunter.”

  Saul used air displacement to disappear and, for the first time in his vampire life, left one of his makes behind to figure out how to do this on his own. He really had no idea what Jack would choose to do, but he was fairly sure the choice would be the wrong one, and Ben would be dead before the week ended.

  Two hours later, the sun gone, Saul went alone to the nasty bar where he’d confronted Jack and Ben.

  He had no concern about a hunter ambush, he fully expected that. Ben’s location was his safety net. They wouldn’t risk their dear companion. At least, not until they knew his fate. Sorrow followed him as he approached the bar.

  As Jack entered B.B.’s Boozetown, he spoke into his coms.

  “Everyone, here’s how this is going to go down. Priority is getting Ben back. If the fang is here to ransom him, I’m going to do whatever I have to do in order to assure Ben comes home. If he wants me, whatever the fuck he plans to do with me, I’m going. I order you to stand down. Don’t say it, San. I’ve thought of it all.”

  After a pause, he continued. “We go after him, after Ben is safe. If I have to let him escape to get Ben back, I let him go. If that happens, I’ll get him, if not today, then someday. There is no other way this goes down. Got it?”

  He knew the vampire would come to him, so he took a seat near the table where he and Ben had sat the night that this had started. His team had already taken other tables surrounding him. Eight hunters from a southern California team covered the entrances.

  Jack didn’t have to wait long

  Using hyperspeed that Jack had seen before, the vampire showed up seated beside him with a cocktail in his hand before Jack saw him move.

  “Hello, Remington.”

  Facing the vampire he considered the greatest enemy he’d ever known, Jack lifted his eyes. “Vampire.”

  “Saul, if you are interested, though you probably aren’t. I’ll answer to vampire.”

  “Is he alive?”

  “Very much so. As a matter of fact, he’s the healthiest he’s ever been. In remarkable shape.”

  Terror struck Jack. Why hadn’t this occurred to him?

  “What did you do? Is my brother still human?”

  Jack didn’t give a fuck about the threat of compulsion; he looked the vampire right into his disturbing amber eyes.

  “Is Ben still human?”

  The vampire slowly sipped his cocktail, then set it on the tabletop. “Ben is still human. We all are. Vampires are human, too, they’re just enhanced.”

  Saul stood, bringing Jack to his feet too.

  “Ben is at a farmhouse in Eugene on the corner of Chantilly and Old U.S. 23. Unless I’m lying. It’s up to you how you deal with it, but yes, Mr. Remington, I made your brother. He’s vampire. You and your hunters think when a human is turned, he becomes a vicious predator with no remorse, unable to reason. You think that the vampire virus makes us monsters. So, I ask you, Jack, what are you going to do with your brother?”

  Gone before Jack could react, Saul disappeared almost as if he’d never been there.

  Frozen, shocked, heartsick, Jack didn’t move until he felt Sanquinetta’s touch. Just the palm of her hand on his back, her voice quiet, strong.

  “Jack.”

  He couldn’t respond, he was lost in the vision of Ben ripping someone’s throat out.

  “Jack.” San’s voice finally intruded. “Let’s go.”

  It was all he could do now; go and see what this creature of the night had done to his brother.

  The team followed him and Sanquinetta out the door.

  No one spoke. No one tried to comfort him or assure him it would be okay. They knew it wouldn’t.

  Automated, Jack got into the passenger side of Sanquinetta’s car as she started the engine and pulled out.

  “He said he might be lying. We might get there and Ben might already be dead.”

  “I don’t believe that, Jack. I think he said that so we wouldn’t try to kill him until we checked it out. It was smart. He wouldn’t have a reason to claim that he’d changed Ben if he hadn’t. No, Jack, I’m sorry, but I think this is exactly the kind of vengeance that asshole planned when he took him. He’s smart. He’s cunning.”

  “You’re right. I just…I can’t make sense of this. How we came to this. How I let it happen.”

  “Contrary to what you believe, you don’t make the world spin or the moon cross the sky, Jack. This wasn’t your fault, only that of the fang that took him. So, stop it now, or you are of no use to Ben. We’re on our way to Quesh’s home. He has a lift-car, so we’ll be in Eugene in less than half an hour. The car seats six. Quesh will drive, Elias is coming, along with Plato and one of the hunters from California.”

  Jack nodded. He knew why they were taking a hunter from outside their team. Elias wanted someone who wouldn’t be swayed by loyalty or emotion. If Ben were dangerous, if they determined he had to be killed, it was best to have an impartial onboard. Just in case.

  Jack thought he might throw up.

  Lift-cars were rough for Jack. The idea of something flying through the sky on an engine still freaked him out. Today, it didn’t matter. His mind was on what he and his father would face shortly.

  Ben was a vampire, a monster who would have to be put down. How could they? How could they kill him? At that moment, Jack had to concede that the vampire Saul had created the perfect, most painful vengeance by forcing them to do this.

  It would destroy him. Right now he couldn’t imagine doing it, yet soon, he would have to.

  “We’re close, buddy. Are you all right? Can you do this?”

  His eyes shot to San. “Can I do this? Of course I can. San, it’s Ben. No matter what, he’s my brother. I have to be there with him, for him, regardless of what he is. If he’s violent, if he’s changed, I’ll do what has to be done.”

  Sanquinetta began to shake her head, over and over, her eyes moist. “Six years ago when I was still with my team in Louisiana, we had a hunter changed by a vampire. He begged us to end him. Begged. He said he couldn’t be a monster, and the kind thing for us to do was give him a quick trip to the next world. Before he lost his soul. It was hard, but we did it. It was painless, Jack. For him. Not for us.”

  “I know. San, there isn’t anything in this world that could ever be harder than killing Ben. I wish to hell the vampire had done it. At least I wouldn’t
have my brother’s blood on my hands.”

  “But you’ll get to say goodbye and tell him how much you love him.”

  “We’re close. I see the farmhouse, Jack. We’re landing right in front.” Quesh brought the lift-car down right in front of the house, well-lit by a pivoting light under the vehicle.

  A small bump later and they were on the ground.

  Stepping from the vehicle on the side opposing the house, Elias had everyone check their weapons.

  “This could still be an ambush.”

  Plato nodded. “It could, sir. We’ll follow you in and watch your one-eighty.”

  Jack took point and led the small team into the building, which was dark, no lights on, little furniture, no window coverings. Across the wood floor, a triangle of light led them to a stairwell, which Jack traveled down without hesitation until he reached the bottom and peered around the corner of the space.

  In the back of the poorly lit room, a man leaned against the wall, his hands tethered to thick links that looked impossible to break. His head was down, his body lax, but Jack would have known him anywhere.

  “Ben.” He stepped down into the dingy basement that smelled like blood and piss.

  Ben lifted his head. “Jack. My God, Jack.”

  Weak, tired, Ben’s voice was the most beautiful thing Jack had ever heard.

  Standing, the chains rattling as he moved, Ben walked toward his brother, but stopped when he saw his father hurry forward and pull Jack back.

  “Jack, no,” Elias snapped.

  Jack shook his father’s hand off his arm. “What? It’s Ben.”

  “Look at him. He’s huge. He’s changed, Jack, he’s a vampire. You don’t know what he’ll do.”

  “It’s Ben!” Jack insisted. Pushing Elias back, Jack moved into the area where a dirty, nearly-naked Ben reached out his arms and wrapped them around Jack’s back, pulling him to him.

  “I thought I was going to die here.”

  “I wasn’t going to let that happen.”

  “How did you find me?”

  “Your kidnapper told us.”

  “Sire.”

  “What?”

  “Sire. That’s a person who makes a vampire. The right word. Sire.”

  Jack stepped back, gently detangling Ben’s arms. He searched a face he knew as well as his own. Only it was true, this face, Ben’s face, was different. The jawline wider, more square, the eyes dark, hair filthy but thicker.

  When he lifted his gaze to look at Ben’s body, he was shocked to realize that Ben, who had been about three inches shorter than Jack’s six two, was taller than Jack now. While he was covered in dried blood and dirt, it was impossible to miss his heavier muscle mass, thighs that looked like they belonged on a bodybuilder.

  There was no doubt; Saul had done what he claimed. He’d changed Ben into a vampire.

  Most shocking of all, though, was that Ben was still the soft-spoken man Jack had always known. He wasn’t angry, or hungry, or violent. He wasn’t a monster.

  Jack looked at Sanquinetta, who stood just out of Ben’s reach like Elias, but after he glanced to her, she surged forward and hugged Ben too.

  “Thank you guys for coming for me. I don’t, uh, know what I am. I know I’m different, I know something happened to me. But I don’t feel any desire to hurt anyone, or to kill. I guess that’s still to come.”

  “We’ll get through this together, bro. We’ll figure this out. First, I want to get you home, get you cleaned up, some food, some beer, sleep in a bed instead of on piss and shit.”

  “God, Jack, you are reading my mind.” Ben’s eyes went to Elias. “Dad?”

  Elias maintained his distance, but his eyes were shining with unshed tears and his smile was one of gratitude. “Son. We’re going to take care of you. I’m glad he didn’t… Well, I’m glad you’re still alive.”

  Plato decided to follow Jack and Sanquinetta’s lead and came up to Ben. “Boy, the shit you’ll do to get attention, right?”

  “Worked, didn’t it? I bet you guys could think of nothing else for the past week.”

  “Aw, for about a minute a day, then I was all about the booze and girls. Different girl every night, you know me.”

  “I do know you. Different girl every night means you bought your girls online and jacked off on your couch.”

  “Ouch!” Plato turned to Jack. “You can leave him here.”

  “Okay. Dad, can you go get me another baby brother?”

  Elias nodded and looked around for something to cut the chains. He found a laser cutter and, after hesitating, he finally moved close and cut the chains. When the final link hit the dirt, he pitched the cutter back into the corner of the room and issued a command.

  “Come on. We need to get Ben back before the sun rises.”

  That comment sobered all six who had arrived to try to save Ben. Jack sighed and reached for Ben’s hand to lead him out of the basement where he lost his human life.

  The trip back, overloaded with an extra passenger they hadn’t been wise enough to account for, felt labored and dangerous.

  As Quesh landed his vessel, Ben stepped out onto his lawn, and Elias moved back to his sons.

  “Ben, we need to chain you up after you clean up. Jack, don’t argue with me about this. Here’s the facts. Ben is vampire, and as such, considered dangerous until such time we can confirm that he isn’t. Ben, you cannot be allowed free run of the HQ anymore. You’re the enemy now, my son, I’m sorry.”

  “That isn’t happening, Dad. Ben is staying with me.”

  “In your glass house? No he’s not. I had Barkley prepare the area in HQ’s basement to secure him. It will be decent once I’ve added a sofa and a vidscreen with a remote within his reach.”

  Elias turned to his youngest son. “Ben, you know I’m right. Jack is speaking from emotion, but you know how you feel. You know that you are different, and we all know what that is. Plus, you cannot allow sunlight to touch you, so the basement of HQ, it’s the only place for you. You’ll be secured, I’m sorry.”

  Ben watched Jack’s furious expression. “Dad is right, Jack, I’m sorry. I’ll go to HQ. The last thing I ever want to do is hurt any of you, and, I admit…”

  He stopped, his head down, then he looked up, before he faced everyone. “I admit that I crave blood.”

  The admission stung, and Jack knew that in most hunter’s eyes, Ben was lost, but Jack still wouldn’t accept it. He did accept his father and Ben’s decision. Caution was wise, and he wasn’t an idiot.

  “Fine. Let’s go.”

  The flight back seemed longer, but that was only because Jack’s mind had taken a much harsher turn. Ben was alive, and thank the universe for its grace, but for how long?

  “Comfy?”

  “Quite. You forget how I’ve been living for the past week.”

  Nodding, pleased, Elias handed a disposable cup to Ben filled with dark ale. “You look much better.”

  “A long hot shower, lavender scented soap, and clean clothes will do that for a guy. Thank Plato for donating these clothes. It’s pretty obvious my own won’t fit anymore. And thank San for bringing me that frou-frou girly body wash.”

  Taking a long draw from the cup, Ben licked his lips.

  “That’s exactly what I needed. Thanks. Um, can you have someone bring me some food? And Dad, by that, I mean a lot of it. Saul told me I have to eat so much more than I ever had to before. I think he’s right. Jack brought me a large milkshake, two double-burgers piled high, a massive order of potatoes, and I’m still starving.”

  Eyes moving over Ben’s newly oversized body, Elias slowly nodded. “Sure. Ben. Are you certain that’s what you need? Just food? That it isn’t blood?”

  Elias was afraid it was starting. That his son might become driven to seek blood. That he would tear out the throat of any person he could reach. That he or someone in the group would have to put Ben down like a rabid animal. There was no doubt that Ben was now built as a predator.

 
; Ben moved close to his maximum range, chains much like he’d worn in the basement with Saul wrapped around his wrists and ankles. He wondered how the compulsion thing worked. Saul hadn’t taught him, but he figured he’d eventually work it out. Not that he was interested in using it, but things were strange, and he knew that, at least for now, he was considered a threat to every human he came into contact with. How the hell was this going to work out? Even he had no idea if he would eventually become homicidal and want to feed on Jack and San.

  “For now, Dad, I’m just hungry. For food. Maybe some sweets. No, strike that, definitely sweets, and a lot of them. Please, I’m tied up like a BDSM fantasy. I’m not going to feed on any one.”

  Elias didn’t believe a word. Even if that was true, for now, if or when might it change? For the moment, he’d take care of Ben’s needs. It was the least he could do.

  “Of course not, son. I’ll arrange for your meals.”

  “Is Jack coming back?”

  “Yes. In fact, I’ll have your brother pick your food up and the two of you can chat. Goodnight, Ben. I, uh, am thrilled that you are still with us.”

  “So am I, Dad, and no one is more surprised that I am.”

  “All right. Sleep well, Ben.”

  Ben watched his father go up the steps, and gratefully, because he knew without fail that Elias Remington was ready to say goodbye to the little boy he’d rescued so long ago from his drug-addicted mother. Sorrow hung around everyone he saw tonight.

  “This isn’t the future I was hoping for,” he commented aloud as he polished off the beer in one long gulp.

  He really was starving. Ben looked at the plastic cup Elias had given his beer to him in, his lips curled in a crooked smile.