“He thinks you’re hungry.”
No matter what I did, I would always be a monster to those who weren’t. It didn’t matter how I behaved, how kind I was or who I tried to help. People and animals alike would always see me as a predator. I swallowed thickly.
“Let’s see if anyone’s here so we can leave,” Tage urged.
“Fine. You go left, I’ll go right.”
“Nope. We don’t separate,” he said adamantly.
Big baby. “It’ll be faster if we do, Tage. Then we can leave and go back to Mountainside.” I looked around at all the brokenness. Dishes and chairs, curtains blowing from busted windows on the second floor. A cat ran quickly across the lawn. “Besides,” I added, “no one’s here.”
Reluctantly, he let go of my hand. “Meet me back here in ten minutes. If I have to come and find you, you won’t like it.” Then he shrugged and grinned. “Well, you might like it.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Who am I kidding? You’ll love it. But ten minutes,” he warned.
I smiled and walked toward the right half of the city and he moved away from me toward the left. Running through the yards, I made my way to the back of the city. I’d work my way forward, fast. Ten minutes wasn’t much time to comb through thirty homes. Stepping into the foyer of an enormous three-story white home, I called out, “Is anyone here?”
There was no answer. Glass crunched beneath my boots. In the living room, furniture had been scooted toward the windows and hearth. The center of the room was empty except for a tennis shoe that lay on its side.
Sniffing the air, I couldn’t find anyone here. The kitchen was in similar shape, chairs and table overturned and pressed up against the back door. “They were trying to keep something out.”
A slow clap sounded from behind me. I turned quickly, heart hammering, and expecting to slap Tage across the chest for scaring me. But I didn’t find Tage. “They were trying to keep me out of here, I expect.”
The woman was ethereal. Her skin was pale brown and her eyes were the color of wheat. Her short, rust-colored hair hung in ringlets around her ears. Everything in me screamed for me to run, but all I could think about was Tage. He would feel my distress and come straight there.
“We haven’t been here in months,” the woman offered. “But a little birdy said you’d be coming this way soon and we had to see the hybrid for ourselves.” Her eyes raked up and down my body. “You don’t look special. You certainly don’t look as strong as he said you were.”
The scent of another night-walker came from behind me. “She looks harmless,” he said. “They’re waiting. What about the other?”
The woman smiled, baring her fangs. “Drain him.”
“NO! Tage, run! I’ll meet you at the front gate!” I screamed as loud as I could, walking in a circle as the two vampires closed in, arms outstretched.
The woman smiled. “I thought you’d be more cooperative, or at the very least curious to see The Manor. It’s so much nicer than Mountainside. I used to live there, you know,” she whispered.
My eyes widened and my teeth ground together. She’d fed her own people to the wolves. There was a special place in hell for people like her, and I would be honored to send her straight there, given the chance.
From behind, the vampire clamped a metal belt around my stomach with spikes in the center. He warned me, “Try anything and I’ll have it slice you in two. This will be a little uncomfortable, but nothing the all-mighty hybrid can’t handle, right?” He smiled, nudging me ahead of them. We walked down the streets, the teeth of the device digging into my core, tearing flesh with each step. Tage panted from the gate, angry as hell and ready to fight.
“Run, Tage. Please,” I said to him, motioning to my stomach. His eyes fastened on the metal wrapped around me. “They’ll drain you and cut me in half.” The male vamp tsked from behind, wrapping his palm across my mouth and with his other hand, slapping the belt at my back.
“Aaaah!” I let out around his fingers. “Manor!” I bit my captor’s hand as hard as I could and looked down at the warmth spilling from my waist, blood oozing down from each tooth into my dress; macabre stripes of crimson dripping down the fabric.
The vampire fumed, his green eyes darkening. Soon his cheeks began to redden to match his hair, puffing in and out with rage. “You’ll pay for that,” he said menacingly.
Tage was in a war with himself. I watched his jaw tick, his hands clench into fists and then relax again. Urging him again, I pleaded, “Go!”
He gave a stare of warning to the assholes to the left and right of me and then looked to me. “I’ll be back for you!”
Tears pricked my eyes. “I know. Go!”
He sped away and the male vamp behind me took off after him. They were under the cover of the forest before I could blink. The female vampire laughed. “Gregor is one of our fastest runners.”
“Runners?”
“Yes,” she said, urging me out of the gate and toward the left.
“If Gregor hurts Tage, I will eat him, and I don’t mean drain him. I’ll eat every single inch of him,” I panted in anger.
The woman shrugged. “Do you feel like a jog?”
“With this thing on? Not really.”
“Too bad. Stay behind me. You don’t want the dogs to catch you.”
I was going to ask what dogs she was talking about, but then she sped away. I had no choice but to run after her. Each step while walking was difficult, but moving much faster, it seemed that the teeth of the belt couldn’t do their job. It wasn’t nearly as painful.
We ran over hill and valley, past several miles until we came to a clearing. On a knoll ahead of us was an enormous house, several stories high with spires on the corners. It looked more like a castle than a house, and then I heard the growling. The night-walker smiled. “The hounds won’t like you.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re part rotter, and we taught them to tear those apart on sight.”
Lovely. Two dogs whose backs were taller than my waist came from both the left and right, baring their teeth. The black fur on their backs was raised and foam collected at the corners of their mouths. They growled, easing forward. “Better follow me, hybrid.” She blurred away and I wasted no time following her.
I could hear the animals’ hearts beating faster and faster, the sound of their paws propelling them toward us on the grass. They were incredibly fast, but luckily, we were faster.
The vamp grabbed my arm and stopped me as we stepped onto a wooden bridge. The dogs stopped at the end of the trail, refusing to walk onto the wooden planks beneath our feet. They snapped and growled and barked angrily. The scent of stagnant water and old, rancid blood filled my nose. Rotten wood. Contaminated, dirty water. I covered my nose with my hand and looked for the source. It took me only a second to realize we were standing over it. Swarms of gnats curled into the air all around, buzzing around my ears and threatening to fly into the corners of our eyes, nostrils, and mouth.
Beneath the bridge and surrounding the castle-house was a moat. The water was still, but what made me gasp was what was in the water. The bodies of dead humans bobbed lazily at the surface. Some floated face down, while others had their eyes fixated on the sky. Flies sipped from the surface of the water, bracing their legs against the coating of film atop it. A vulture sat on the far bank pecking at a corpse, fanning its wings to get a better grip of the person’s flesh; tearing at the man’s face.
I turned away, my stomach in knots. “What’s wrong, hybrid? Weak stomach? Everything must be fed. It’s the cycle of life,” she teased. “Let’s go inside. The others are waiting and I want to get out of these awful clothes.”
She motioned toward her jeans and shirt as she walked across the bridge to a pebbled pathway. We walked up a set of stairs to the entrance of the house. The Manor was a mansion, a castle of the most unimaginable wealth with the most unspeakable atrocities kept inside its stone walls.
Glossy t
ile and red carpet, paintings that were taller than the walls of my house, tapestries woven of intricate portraits, vases that could hold trees. Everything was bigger, grander, and shinier. The vampire who brought me here led me to a sitting room and told me to wait, and then she ran up a staircase we’d passed upon entering.
It wasn’t long until the news of my arrival spread throughout The Manor. The hybrid is here! And it wasn’t long until I knew exactly who’d been spreading the word about me around the neighboring settlements. It was no surprise. The women of The Manor craved power, and he wanted that above all else, no matter the price or who had to pay it.
Three women, including the one who captured me, entered the room. Two of them wore elaborate gowns, one gray and the other a deep, blood red. They were beautiful, with ruby lips and jewels dripping from their necks.
“I’m Marta,” offered the one who wore gray. Her hair was as black as the night sky, straight and shiny as silk. Her skin was caramel and she somehow looked younger than I was. There was an innocence in her face that betrayed the coldness of her stare. She stepped toward me and extended her hand, but I took a defiant step back. She smiled, revealing long, pearlescent fangs. “And this is Elise,” she added, gesturing to the one in red. Elise stared at me with a curled upper lip. I could smell her displeasure and the perfume she’d bathed in that morning. Her hair was like Mercedes’ used to be; blonde as butter and hanging over one shoulder in soft waves.
My heart pounded. I couldn’t stop worrying about Tage. Wringing my fingers in my skirts, I ignored the women and stared at the rich belongings that surrounded us. While the finery inside was opulent, on the other side of the walls was nothing but death and decay. The putridness that surrounded this place was nowhere inside The Manor itself. It smelled like fresh flowers and... live humans.
Where were they?
The woman who brought me here stepped forward, still clad in her jeans. “I’m Lydia. Pardon me for not introducing myself sooner, but we had no time for pleasantries this morning. Tell me something.” She skirted the furniture and stood beside me. “Where is Roman? I hear he’s human now.” She grinned widely but I wasn’t sure if she was happy about the news or wanted to feed from him. Probably the latter, knowing Roman.
My blood began to boil. “Why did you bring me here?”
She began to answer, opened her mouth to form a word and then stopped, her smirk falling from her lips. Lydia’s eyes flashed and darkened with anger. “Gregor is dead,” she told the other two women.
I smiled. Tage had ended him. He would get rewarded for that later. “But he’s your best runner,” I parroted. Lydia’s claws scratched pathways across my cheek. I launched myself at her, forgetting the belt, overwhelmed by rage. It was only when I knocked her down and bent toward her, that the metal teeth reminded me of their presence.
Lydia screeched, “He was my favorite!”
“That’s enough!” Elise said from behind me. Something sharp pierced my neck and I clasped my hand over it as things became fuzzy. I knew immediately what she’d done.
“Belladonna.” I could smell it and feel the poison begin to filter into my blood. My heart pumped it faster through my body, spreading the poison evenly.
“Word on the street is that it has quite an effect on you. Right, Pierce?”
As Elise helped me stand, Pierce stepped into the room. His hair had been cut short, making him look too much like his brother. My vision swam and my head bobbed, too heavy for me to lift for long.
“Remove the belt,” someone said, to which Pierce pushed something on the side and it unclamped. He eased each metal tooth from my waist, one by one. I could feel blood pour from each wound, soaking into my dress—the dress Maggie made for me.
“You ruined my dress,” I slurred. “You’ll pay for this.”
He smirked. “I highly doubt it.”
I could sense her distress. She wanted me to leave, but didn’t want to go with them. The asshole chasing me was a cocky bastard, but so was I. I led him through the woods, blurring through trees, up and down hills and across streams and outcroppings of rock, and that was where I got him – near the den of the coyotes Saul and I hunted for the people of Mountainside.
Dropping down over the hill onto the rocks, I ducked back into the den and waited as he jumped down after me. Then I pounced. I drained him as he kicked and thrashed, fighting to squeeze my hands, throat, and head tighter and tighter until he lost strength and stopped fighting. I kept drinking until I was beyond full, until there was nothing left of him but an empty husk.
I had to go back for her, but I knew I needed help. The vamps of The Manor were nothing to toy with. They wiped The Glen off the map, along with almost every creature in the entire area. Having depleted their food source, it wouldn’t be long until the residents of The Manor ventured farther to find food. I couldn’t take them on alone and had no idea how many we were up against to begin with, but Roman might.
Pumping my arms, gut full of fresh blood, I ran toward Mountainside. I knew Roman would have the answers I needed, and we had to get her back.
Her emotions ranged from angry to worried, but at least she was okay. I just hoped the guy I just drained had no blood bond with anyone, or else they would quickly realize he was gone and Porschia would pay the price.
The guards didn’t have time to oppose me. The gate had already been opened up for a man pushing a small cart of wood, and I ran inside past them and straight to the rocky dwelling where Roman lay. Saul and Mercedes were outside but followed me in.
“Where’s Porschia?” Saul yelled.
“What happened?” Mercedes asked.
Roman sat up. He still looked awful but was awake and alert. I crouched low in front of him. “Did you know about The Glen?”
He ticked his head back. “What about it?”
“It’s empty. All of the people are gone and the only thing there besides some stray animals—which I’m surprised they haven’t already eaten—were two of your lovely friends from The Manor.”
“Oh, no,” he cursed, holding his hand out for me to help him up. He groaned as I picked him up and sat him on his feet.
“You need to tell me everything you know about them. Now.”
He shrugged a sweater on and quickly pulled it down before beginning, “After Pierce fell to the Infection, a woman approached me...”
“We know the story,” I snapped.
“Not all of it!” he yelled back.
“The note gave me directions to Blackwater and I took Pierce with me. I carried him all the way. One night when we were very close, we came across The Manor. The woman who originally turned me, Veronica, was there.”
“Why do I feel like this isn’t going to be a happy story?”
“Because it isn’t,” he continued. “I was in Frenzy. I’d just carried my brother, who I couldn’t even stand to smell, let alone feed from, about three hundred miles. Hungry and tired didn’t begin to cover it. ‘Insane’ only skimmed the surface of how I was feeling. When I saw her, I snapped. That’s what Porschia doesn’t know. Porsch said to me... I wouldn’t get answers to my questions about her note, about why she did this and what any of it meant, unless I asked the woman who turned me—the woman who wrote it. But I can’t ask her…because I killed her.”
“You drained her.”
“Yeah, and her sister is still pissed about it.”
Mercedes huffed. “Well no wonder! And now the sister has Porschia! Does this woman know that Porschia knows you?”
“I think so, yes.”
“How do you know that? What the hell is going on? What aren’t you telling us?”
“You told us about what Tage said, the Infected in the woods knowing about Porschia? Well, I think Pierce is the one spreading the word about ‘the hybrid.’ He may have left Blackwater, but living in the woods was never his style. I went to look for him after I was made human again. I found some of his things in an old shack, but he was long gone. When the people here said t
hey were afraid, I wondered whether it was of Porschia or of the ladies of The Manor. They’re old and strong as hell. They feed, but not off a drink or two a day; they drain two or three humans each per day, sometimes more.”
“How long did you stay at The Manor after you killed the sister? How long before they knew it was you?” Saul yelled.
“I didn’t stay. After I fed from her, I ran like hell. I did what I had to do in order to survive,” Roman shouted, stepping into Saul’s face. “Like you didn’t!”
“How’d they know it was you?”
“They could follow my scent!”
“Why didn’t they come after you?”
“They tried a few times, but for a long time, Blackwater had more vampires. They could attack, but they still couldn’t overcome the fact that we were more powerful in number. Over time they gave up, but I knew that if I left they’d hunt me down.”
“And now you’re human. You’re like bait for them. Even if they didn’t have Porschia, they would come here for you and slaughter everyone in Mountainside just to get to you,” I said, shaking my head.
Roman looked to the rocky roof, bracing himself against the wall. “I thought this would be a simple trip. The people of Mountainside and The Glen are good people, but distrusting. They had seen me before as a vampire, so I thought my presence here would help. I didn’t mean for all of this to happen.”
I laughed mirthlessly. “Well now that it has, what can we do to get Porschia back?”
“We destroy The Manor.”
“And how do you propose we do that, Roman? Are you going to club them? Swing a shovel? You won’t last a minute.”
Roman smiled. “You’re going to turn me again.”
“No. No way. You were hell on wheels as a night-walker. I’d hate to see you in Frenzy.”
Mercedes stepped forward. “Then turn me.”
“And me,” added Saul.
Roman smiled. “These women are incredibly strong, but smart too, Tage. They have hundreds of years of tricks up their sleeves. You can’t win this battle alone.”
Friction (The Frenzy Series Book 4) Page 6