Cherry Blossom (Vampire Cherry Book 2)

by Sotia Lazu

  I disentangled myself from him. “It’s not just what she did to my dad. It’s what she said when he turned her down. She said she could wait. Even when I was eight years old, she was planning on ruining my life. On having me turned. Why? Just out of spite?”

  “I don’t know.” Constantine shrugged.

  “Well, I’m planning on finding out,” I said.

  “We need to locate Willoughby.” Alex traced circles on my shoulder with his thumb. “He’s the only one who might know.”

  “We can get on it tonight. Now.” Constantine seemed in a hurry to leave, but he didn’t move.

  I dropped to my knees in front of my parents. “Will you be okay?” I asked them.

  My mother twirled a lock of my hair around one finger, and gave me a warm smile. “We’ll be great. Constantine told us how he rid the world of that woman. She’s gained nothing.” Her eyes still shone with tears, and the neckline of her shirt was soaked, but she seemed to mean in.

  “I love you.” I smiled. My eyes burned, but I held the smile in place. We’d deal. All of us.

  “We love you too, Princess.” My father smiled too. “And we will be great. I feel lighter already. Thank you, Constantine.”

  “Think nothing of it.” Unlike my dad, my ex seemed burdened with the weight of the world.

  I wanted to hold him again, but it wouldn’t go down well with Alex. “Thank you,” I mouthed. I should say more, but the words just weren’t there.

  I thought I heard him say he was sorry again, but his lips didn’t move.

  ****

  I watched Mom and Dad head upstairs. As soon as they were out of sight, I said, “We’re going after Willoughby. Tonight. Constantine, any leads? Where do we start?”

  “I suggest we start by scanning the neighborhood. If he is watching, we show him we are not sitting ducks. Odds are he will come to us. I do not believe he was sighted without his knowledge. Not when he managed to completely disappear for months. He wanted to lure us here.”

  He could have shared that insight sooner. Along with other things.

  I saw Alex nod in agreement. “I thought of that too.”

  “Either of you could have said something.” My answer lacked bite. I was too mentally exhausted.

  “It’s just a theory,” Alex said.

  Constantine got the door. “Shall we?”

  Within less than forty eight hours, we’d found out that the ancient vampire who’d orchestrated my turning had been after our family for years, and had raped my father’s body and mind. I was feeling drawn to Constantine on a level I couldn’t explain; Alex had Mr. Hyde moments; and my aunt wasn’t really my aunt, but my grandmother.

  Who was also a vampire.

  Oh, and we were probably about to walk into a trap.

  I needed a moment to process all that, and analyze my dad’s trip down locked-down-memory lane until it made sense to me. And I wanted a sounding board who had no horse in this race.

  “You two go. I need to make a phone call,” I said. “I’ll catch up.”

  “Walking the streets alone two nights in a row is inviting trouble, especially if Willoughby’s really still around. We’ll wait for you outside.” Or Constantine didn’t want me to be alone after what we’d learned. I’d have expected Alex to be the one to object.

  I nodded, and waited for them to leave the house. Then I took a couple of unnecessary breaths, and called Constantine’s private landline.

  Sheena picked up. “Have they killed each other yet?”

  “No, but I’m tempted to off them both, for different reasons.” I filled her in on what we’d found out, and how much of it Constantine had known for a while.

  Sheena snorted. “God! Men who pull that ‘for your own good’ crap drive me crazy. He’s lucky he looks so good.”

  I laughed.

  “And how’s Alex? Going berserk, every time you and Constantine are within two feet from each other?”

  “The paranoia factor keeps rising,” I said, “but we’re still holding strong.”

  “Promise you’ll be careful,” Sheena said.

  “Don’t worry about me. My guys have my back.”

  “Not the part of you they’re interested in. You still promise.”

  “I promise.”

  “Good.”

  I hung up and returned to the living room. The sound of soft laughter drifted down from above, and I let myself hope things really would be fine. If my parents could share a laugh after the evening’s revelations, anything was possible.

  I pulled on my sneakers and stormed out. “Ready. Let’s go.” I slipped my hand in Alex’s, and silently prayed it wouldn’t be long before this cloud pressing down on us dissipated. And what better way to speed that process than by finding and killing my maker? The grin on my lips felt slightly demented, but not forced.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Constantine, Alex, and I spent the next few hours patrolling the neighborhood, while pretending to enjoy a leisurely stroll. We meandered around my hometown in not-so-companionable silence, which I occasionally broke by pointing out a landmark or something I’d associated with my childhood.

  “It’s a beautiful place,” Alex murmured, when we reached Santa Agape. “The whole town, I mean. A place to raise a family.”

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Constantine picking up his pace, allowing us some semblance of privacy.

  “Alex,” I said, “I’m sorry.”

  He gave me a questioning look. “For what?”

  “You will never have the family you dreamed off.” I had to be blunt. Our vague discussions about the future hadn’t seemed to sink in, and after seeing my father cry for what had been done to him, I was in no mood for subtlety.

  “You don’t know that.” He shrugged. “There are other ways.”

  “No, Alex.” I stepped up in front of him and held his gaze. “You can never have a family. You’re no longer human. Children deserve to be kept away from our darkness.”

  “But with your grandmother’s brew—”

  “We’ll still be vampires, even if we walk in the sun. The darkness is inside us. What will you tell your son or daughter, the first time they see your fangs pop out? They’ll scrape a knee, have a nosebleed, and you’ll vamp out instead of being there for them.”

  “Cherry—”

  “Never.” I hated being that harsh, and seeing the hurt and disappointment on his face, but there was no gentler way to break reality to him. I needed him to realize there was no maybe, no grey area, about this. “You’re a vampire now. Not a human with a taste for blood. You don’t get to live like them.”

  Constantine had tried to tell me that, repeatedly, and I’d shut him off, refusing to acknowledge the truth in his words. I’d been so wrong.

  On many things.

  Alex nodded and kissed my temple. “You’re right. I just need more time to adjust to this change. Need to relearn how to think. How to be. You know?”

  “I know.” I found his lips with mine and kissed him gently.

  “Maybe some tender loving can help speed up the process?” He nibbled on my lower lip.

  “Not out here. When we go home. But you’ll have to be quiet.”

  “Quiet as a vampire.”

  I laughed half-heartedly, and swatted his ass. “Let’s go. We have another ten blocks to cover.”

  I spotted Constantine by the creek. He was squatting next to a huddled figure. The wind blew the other way, and Constantine’s face was averted, so I couldn’t make out what he said, but the figure nodded. Constantine turned to us, and the moon shone on his face, revealing blood-smeared lips.

  Alex tensed, his nostrils flaring. The human—had to be—stood and walked away.

  Constantine used a handkerchief he pulled out of his pocket to wipe his mouth, and met us on the side of the road. “I promised him a bite for information,” he said.

  One of the bite junkies Constantine told us about.

  “And? What did he say?” Alex sounded im
patient, but I was sure the sight of blood had unsettled him. Feeding only from me was bound to become a problem sooner or later.

  “He heard a girl was found nearby this morning. She was alive and lacking any physical signs of an assault, but appeared disoriented, and her blood-cell count was remarkably low.”

  “And he found all that out, how?” I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t see the guy being into investigative journalism.

  “His cousin is an EMT. He was first at the scene and followed the case.”

  “So we’re sure her attacker was a vampire?” I asked.

  “I’m certain it was Willoughby,” Constantine replied.

  “How?” Alex asked.

  Constantine kept his gaze on me. “The girl was a redhead with bangs.”

  I took a moment to gather my thoughts. “That’s not exactly proof.” Even if it felt like a punch to the stomach.

  “Forgive me, if I don’t require more evidence. We obviously have to stay vigilant—maybe even sleep in shifts once Ruby’s potion takes hold, in case he has humans helping him.”

  Alex nodded. “Cee’s right. We can’t risk it.”

  I shrugged. There was no use disagreeing with the both of them, especially when I was still reeling at the thought of Willoughby attacking someone just because she had the same hair color as me.

  “At least she’s alive.” Alex’s voice was laced with relief.

  “Maybe we should go by the hospital? See if she remembers anything?” I asked.

  Alex shook his head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. For all he knows, she’s dead. If he’s following us, and we lead her to him, he may decide to finish the job.”

  “She was really quite lucky. Willoughby isn’t known to leave his victims breathing,” Constantine said to him. His eyes were narrowed in speculation.

  “Maybe she has a message for me?” I asked.

  “As Alex said, we cannot risk leading Willoughby to her, if that’s not the case. Let us wait until the potion takes effect. Then we can visit her during the day.”

  That made sense. We went on with our search, but found no sign of my maker in the surrounding area. I suggested we go looking downtown; San Luis Obispo has a rather lively nightlife, and nothing makes for better hunting grounds than nightclubs full of college students.

  “He let the girl live. That has to be significant.” Constantine tapped his chin with one finger. “He’s not killing. He wants our attention, and he will have to stick close by to ensure his success.”

  I had to agree with that.

  My thoughts veered back to the young redhead I’d never met. Whoever she was, she’d been incredibly lucky. Willoughby hadn’t been all that gentle with me or with Alex; neither of us had survived his attack. His latest victim had been found in the daylight and had apparently been responsive, if disoriented, so she was still human. Still alive. If she’d been turned within three hours of sunrise, she’d have remained dead until the next sunset, and if it had happened earlier in the night, she’d be up and around by morning, but the sun would have fried her.

  Yup, very lucky indeed.

  We were almost home, when Constantine’s phone rang. Without breaking stride, he swept his forefinger across the screen and brought it to his ear. “Gheorghios, I did not expect you to call me back so soon.”

  I closed my hand into a fist with the thumb and pinkie extended, and shook it by my ear, waggling my eyebrows. The weird gesture was meant to ask for permission to listen in on the conversation. Constantine wouldn’t be able to tell if I did, but I’d been brought up with manners.

  He nodded, and I expanded my hearing just as Gheorghios was saying, “—if there’s any truth in it.”

  “Tell me what you heard, and we’ll look into it.” Constantine came to a halt.

  Alex and I stopped walking too, and I widened my eyes at Constantine. I wasn’t sure letting Gheorghios know we were together was a good idea.

  “We?” Gheorghios asked.

  Constantine snorted. “You have been a council member longer than I, Gheorghios. You know we each have our people.” Good save.

  “Of course.”

  “So, if you please…?”

  “Yes, yes. As I told you, all I know is a legend that some of the oldest among us believe to be about her. I cannot vouch for its validity. ”

  He paused, but Constantine remained silent.

  “According to legend, Ádísa was a Valkyrie who fell for a mortal,” Gheorghios said. “She was supposed to collect his soul, but the man promised her his love, and she let him live. Odin, the father of the Norse gods, made her human as punishment. She would only be allowed back in Valhalla, if she brought with her the man’s soul, but he had to give it to her willingly. Ádísa said she did not care about immortality; she would live out her human years with her lover. When she went to him, however, the man told her he was in love with another woman. He’d lied to Ádísa on the battlefield.

  “Ádísa was enraged, but she no longer had the power to harvest his soul and take it to Odin. She begged Odin to take her back and reinstate her powers, and he said he would do so only if she managed to gain the man’s love. Despite her pleas and promises, the man showed her nothing but scorn. He even gloated over having fooled a Valkyrie.

  “The thought of growing old and dying alone terrified Ádísa. Crazy with loss and sorrow, she found a vampire to turn her immortal again, and killed the man who had betrayed her. When she offered his still beating heart to Odin, the father of gods finally took pity on her. He said there was a way for her to return to his side. She had to win the heart and soul of a man pledged to a descendant of the woman the human chose over her.”

  I caught Constantine’s gaze. He frowned. “So am I to believe in Old Norse mythology?” he asked Gheorghios. “I lived those times. I don’t remember any Valkyries around for my death.”

  “Believe what you will. I only told you what I have heard. I know of no one who asked the lady herself and survived to share her answer.”

  “I see. Thank you, Gheorghios.”

  “Just remember your promise.”

  What promise?

  “I do.”

  “When time comes, I shall call on you,” Gheorghios said, and Constantine terminated the call.

  “What promise?” Alex asked before I could.

  “Nothing significant. Vampire politics.” Constantine waved him off.

  “You were a Viking,” I said. That he was actually ancient never ceased to amaze me. “Ever hear of that legend before?”

  “Not that I recall. What do you two make of it?”

  I didn’t know what to think. I wasn’t even sure what I’d heard. Was all this possible? “If we believe what Gheorghios said—and that’s a big ‘if’—I guess my great-great-great-several-times-back-grandma could have been the other woman. It would explain why Ádísa seemed to have been obsessed with my family for years, and especially her hatred for me. I was turned before I had any kids, and she didn’t know Ruby isn’t dead, so I was her last chance. The last of our bloodline. She needed to seduce a man who loved me, to get her place back. But seriously, do we even believe this story? I mean…gods and Valkyries?”

  Constantine’s face fell. “Improbable though it seems, it would explain a lot.”

  I put two and two together. “Was this why Ádísa had me turned? Why she told you to make me fall in love with you?” It wasn’t the most appropriate conversation to be had in front of Alex, but propriety wasn’t my main concern right now.

  “Possibly.”

  “She had to know you’d fall for Cherry too,” Alex said. “It wouldn’t have worked otherwise. She had to steal you from her.”

  She had stolen him, hadn’t she? I’d found Constantine fucking her on the bed he shared with me. Her face shone with triumph, as she’d looked up at me. “She thought she’d won,” I whispered.

  But she hadn’t. Because Constantine’s heart had remained mine.

  It still was, if I were to believe him, des
pite the three young vampires spicing up his nights lately.

  I don’t know if Alex caught the longing in Constantine’s gaze. It only flickered there for a second, but that was enough for a knot to form in my stomach. Constantine and I had been Ádísa’s puppets for years, our relationship constructed and shattered by her hand. I saw him clench both palms into fists and then relax them.

  “Once again, glad you killed her, man.” Alex patted Constantine’s back. I couldn’t tell if he was oblivious to my ex’s discomfort, or was trying to alleviate the tension.

  Constantine’s reply was too low even for my vampire hearing to pick up. He didn’t speak again till we were home. Neither did Alex and I. My parents were asleep, but there was a platter of sandwiches and three cupcakes waiting for us in the kitchen. We grabbed a bite, and drunk our fill of Ruby’s magic potion—Constantine and I with blood, Alex with more tea.

  Alex tried to boost our spirits by suggesting daytime trips once the ability to walk in the sun kicked in. Where he found the strength to remain upbeat was beyond me, but it was equal parts endearing and annoying. I can’t speak for Constantine, but my mood wasn’t improved.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sex was the furthest thing from my mind, when I finally stretched my body on the mattress. My lack of sleep caught up with me, and all I wanted was to close my eyes and wake up in a week.

  I couldn’t blame Alex for not sharing my vision. He was better rested than me. Better fed too, since I had packaged blood as sustenance, while he drank straight from the source—also known as me.

  “Are you too tired?” he asked, raising the hem of my t-shirt, and rubbing circles on my back.

  “Mm-hmm, but what you’re doing feels nice.”

  He kissed me behind the ear. “I can let you sleep, if you want.”

  My mind said yes, I’d truly appreciate that, but my body already responded to his touch. “I’m up for some gentle lovin’,” I said, and smiled into my pillow when Alex blew cool air down my spine.

  “What my lady wants, my lady gets.” Slowly, almost lazily, he ghosted his fingertips down the length of my body, lighting my skin on fire with feather-light caresses. “I love touching you,” he whispered in my ear, his breath warm with my blood.