Blood Rush: Book Two of the Demimonde

by Ash Krafton

  Brianda's outfit alone should have made an impression on Shiloh's friends. Did she also have a bandolier or a low-slung belt with a laser blaster? One thing was for sure—if I were off being truant with my miscreant friends and someone like Brianda came for me, I wouldn't have to worry about those kids hanging out with me anymore.

  Satisfied, Brianda came back into the den a few moments later. "Who are her friends these days? They aren't the same kids I used to see her with. I don't recognize any of them."

  "No idea," I said. I tucked my thumb into my back pocket, suddenly worried she'd see my hand and know what had just happened between me and Rodrian. "She doesn't bring anyone over and she doesn't talk about them."

  "Keep a watch on her. I'm concerned. I can't always get away to go after her." She hugged Rodrian. "I'm sorry. I wish I could be here."

  "Sophie has everything under control." Rodrian smoothed Brianda's hair and kissed her on the forehead. "Thanks for bringing your sister home."

  Brianda nodded at me before she left. If Rodrian thought I had everything under control, he was delusional. I'd never felt more out of my element in my life.

  Rodrian wordlessly gathered his things to leave and I retrieved my wine glass. As he put on his coat and grabbed his satchel, I touched his power again. He was all business once more, our brief interlude gone from the front of his mind.

  Strange, that's not the only thing that's gone. The uncertainty and the lack of confidence had disappeared, too. Only determination and focus remained. Purpose. Rodrian seemed to have sorted something out along the way.

  At least one of us did. I seemed to have accumulated yet another problem.

  I wanted more of him.

  Crap.

  Shiloh spent the next morning being snarky and rude, evidently pissed at me for calling her father on her. I'd hoped to work things out in the car when I drove her to school but she got a ride. I heard the front door slam as I came out of the office with my purse and keys and barely reached the window in time to see the car speeding down the driveway.

  I had no idea what to do with an angry teenager. All day long I endured horrific imaginings of flash mobs and viral videos and being strangled in my sleep. Weren't there books on this sort of thing? And were any of them actually helpful?

  Rodrian drove her home shortly after I'd returned, as though he'd meant to time it perfectly. She stomped past me without a word and slammed the door to the tri-suites behind her. Okay. Guess we wouldn't be talking tonight, either.

  Rodrian stayed only long enough to tell me that he'd be back to pick me up later for my meeting with Eirene. Something big loomed in him. I could feel his anticipation, his eagerness to set something in motion. I didn't pry; I merely wished him luck.

  He looked surprised by my intuitive words but thanked me with a hug me before he turned to leave.

  It was not a sexy hug. Thank goodness.

  Toby wandered out of his rooms and met me in the foyer where I still stood, wondering if I should go up after her. "Everything okay, Red?"

  I rubbed my brows. "Do you understand teenagers, Toby?"

  "Naw," he said. "I sure don't. I was never a normal teenager myself."

  "Not normal? I didn't think there was such a thing."

  "I was a kid when I turned," Toby said. "It was three days before my fifteenth birthday. Hell of a present. At least I got one."

  My stomach sank. Even when I didn't try, I always managed to say the wrong thing. "I'm sorry, Toby. I didn't mean—"

  "It's okay, Soph, it's just what happened. I don't talk about it much, is all."

  Toby stuffed his hands deep into his front pockets and hunched his shoulders, ducking his head. I knew a burden when I saw one. If I couldn't get close enough to help Shiloh, maybe I could reach out to Toby. The Sophia didn't respond to Weres but I was still an advice columnist. I was still wired to reach out and help people.

  I couldn't ignore Toby's need for a friend, not when he lived under my roof. He was my responsibility.

  "Come on. I'll ask Bethany to bring something to the den and we can talk about it."

  Toby's eyebrows lifted. "You don't like to talk about Were stuff."

  "But I want to know about you, Toby. As a person. You're my friend."

  "Your friend?"

  I considered it and nodded. "Yes."

  He straightened a bit while he walked past me into the den. Good. Maybe I could help him out, after all.

  He settled on one of the couches, sprawling sideways and testing the cushions with a bounce. "Fancy couch. I never sat on anything like this."

  Curling my leg beneath me, I tucked myself into the corner of the other sofa and drew up my knee. "Do you have any family left?"

  His expression darkened but he answered me. "My momma'd run off when I was just little and my daddy worked nights, slept days. Me and my big sister were pretty much left to ourselves. She made sure I washed and ate and went to school. I didn't make it easier on her, though.

  "She didn't like me, I don't think. She hated Momma for what she'd done, and she hated having to take her place. But she tried. I guess when that boyfriend asked her to go with him, though, she figured it'd be more fun than staying home with a rock like me."

  "What happened to her?" I asked. "Did she run away?"

  "I don't know where she'd gone off to." Toby scratched his head. "Doesn't matter."

  I glanced up at Bethany when she came into the den, carrying a covered dish. She set it on the bar but lingered, listening to Toby. I don't think he realized she'd even come in.

  "She left, and I ran wild," he said. "Cut school right away. I'd just come home at the usual time in the afternoon in case Daddy woke up.

  "Then I started taking off at night. I met a new crowd. They hung out at Pally's Pool Hall, near the Industrial Park. It was on the rough side of town."

  I sighed. "That's what I worry about with Shiloh."

  Toby stared at me. "You should worry. It was there it'd happened. I don't remember much, other than I was shooting a good game and was thirty dollars up. I had on a blue shirt, my favorite one. It was worn thin and soft like a baby's cheek and just tight enough to make it look like I had some muscle. I loved that t-shirt. When the fight broke out in the parking lot, we all went out to watch.

  "People stood around watching these two guys fight, drinking and yelling. Fights were fun. I'd been in a couple of scraps myself, but watching was just as much fun, and hurt less the next day.

  "Me and my buddies kept to the back of the lot, near some bushes. Didn't want to get dragged into the fight, you know? I heard a noise and, when I looked behind me, I saw a big dog in the bushes, like it was watching the fight. Another one ran right out, right up to the two guys that were fighting. It just ran right out and, next thing you knew, it bit one of them.

  "Darndest thing I ever did see. Never saw an animal do that. I backed away from the fight, a little afraid of the big dog that was tearing into the one dude. I forgot all about the dog that was behind me. I must have kicked it or stepped on it, because it yelped and bit me too."

  Bethany cleared her throat, capturing Toby's attention.

  "Were bites are not gentle," she said.

  Toby laughed ruefully. "No, they sure ain't. Took a good chunk out of my arm. My friends ran, the sumbitches. I ran after them. Back inside Pally's I could see my arm was bleeding pretty fast and it burned like hell. There was a lot of blood on my blue shirt and it looked like grape jelly.

  "It was all I could think about. Grape jelly. I made a sandwich when I got home and fell asleep on the couch. By morning, I was burning up sick and Daddy was standing over the couch, calling my name. I just wouldn't shake.

  "He yelled about the bite and took me to the hospital. The thing that seemed funny to me was how much like a father he was acting for once. He was finally being a father and I was too sick to care.

  "He called off work the whole week. I got fourteen stitches and two shots and got told to stay in bed. Daddy actually coo
ked and tried to take care of me. He even switched onto day shift so he could be home when I was home. I never got to tell him it was too late. He never got a chance to be my father again."

  "What happened, Toby?" I said.

  "One night, about two weeks later, he was watching TV. I never knew he could use the remote. He was in there, laughing and drinking a beer. TV was loud. He didn't hear what was happening to me in my room.

  "The moon had risen and it was nearly full. It gleamed right through my bedroom window and hit me like a punch in the nose.

  "I changed. I didn't understand what was going on. It happened so fast and hurt so bad that I don't think I even hollered. I don't remember my first night at all. Maybe you're not supposed to.

  "The next morning, waking up and looking like me again—that I remember.

  "I was naked in the backyard and the sky was light purple, like the sun was going to come up soon. I could hear Tam Jenkins next door banging his lunch pail around, getting ready to leave for work. I didn't need him to call the police on me for streaking."

  Bethany had taken a seat on one of the stools near the bar. "It is a terrible thing to endure alone," she said. "Small wonder the Werekind tend to be a savage lot."

  She tilted her head and looked at Toby. "You, boy, seem to be an exception."

  Toby stole a glance at her and nodded once, her assessment causing him a moment of shyness.

  "I snuck inside and got dressed and stuffed a backpack with whatever I could fit in it, and I took what money I could find in Daddy's top drawer. He was still asleep on the couch. I didn't wake him up. No point in hearing him tell me to get out and never come back. Then I ran. I never stopped."

  "Didn't you ever—" I whispered.

  "No." His voice was like a stone. The word just fell out of his mouth. "You know, it's ironic. Me getting bit reminded him how to be a dad. But it also taught me I wasn't his son anymore. I met Tanner before the year was out, up in North Carolina."

  Here was the part I dreaded, the mention of his best friend. He'd been only an enemy to me and I steeled myself, waiting for the story I knew I'd have to face one day. I couldn't be any use to Toby if I shut down every time he said the guy's name.

  "When I felt the moon coming on, I'd find woods. I learned to steal extra clothes and hide them before the moon took me. Gradually I got to keep my brains while I was wolfed up. Didn't mean I always used them, but..."

  He paused and glanced up. Bethany had uncovered the plate and I could smell the savory aroma of steak. She carried a plate over to him, offering him a steak sandwich. He looked up at her, unsure, then took it with a shy nod. She held out a plate to me, too, but I wasn't sure I had an appetite yet.

  "One moon I was in a nice patch of wood," he continued. "Trees were so thick the moon couldn't find me. It was just a game I played. She always knew where I was. I got to like the moon. She was the only one who loved me.

  "I was full of rabbits and nowhere close to being tired of chasing them. So, when I caught a smell of fur—of wolf—I ran to find it.

  "When I ran into the clearing, I saw them. Two big brutes, fighting like they meant to kill each other. I watched quietly and stayed back in the scrub. I sure didn't want to get jumped.

  "When finally one lay still and didn't get up, the other looked at me. I was afraid. I smelled my own fear, so I knew he could too. I lay down as small as I could.

  "He came over for a look at me, growling. Then he sniffed at me, hit me with his nose, and walked away a couple of feet before he stopped to look back at me. He called me, told me to follow him. So I did. We ran out the rest of the moon together.

  "When I woke up he was close by putting on his shoes. He saw me looking at him and said 'my name's Tanner.'

  "'Toby,' I said.

  "'Got a pack?' he said.

  "I shook my head and looked down, 'cause I sure as hell didn't.

  "He tied his boots, stood up and tossed my clothes at me.

  "'You do now,' he said. 'Let's go, brother.' And he took care of me ever since."

  Toby took a bite, chewing and watching me, waiting for my judgment. I could tell he really needed me to say something honest.

  "He was good to you," I said.

  Toby nodded. "I know he wasn't always a good guy. He made money doing the stuff nobody else wanted to do. He kept other wolves from hurting me and we made our own pack. He kept me safe and gave me a home and didn't turn his back on me, even though I was good for just about nothing.

  "I can't judge him by the mean stuff he did because it was just work. I should have been road kill or froze to death when winter came. But I didn't, because Tanner saved me."

  A hundred things had gone through my mind as he told me his story. This likeable, goofy kid—this is the back story? Who lives through stuff like that and emerges sane? Or alive? I didn't need the Sophia's compassion to sympathize and he became dearer to me in that instant, just for telling me these details that anyone else would have kept locked inside.

  Perhaps Toby was stronger than anyone gave him credit for being; admitting your ugly past and your thread-bare circumstances took courage. He didn't run away from a challenge. I vowed to not run away from him just because I thought he was one, too.

  Maybe he mistook my silence for horror, because he got up and crossed the room to sit next to me. Taking both my hands, he urged me to meet his eyes. I saw no shame in them. Instead, I saw a determination to do what he thought was right, even if it meant it facing an added challenge in making me believe in him.

  "Sophie," he said. "I know that what he did hurt you. It wasn't personal. You were just a job. I'm sorry he scared you. And I'm going to make it up, I swear it. I have to do it. His wolf is always with me and I can't outrun it. His ghost will follow me forever if I don't."

  He didn't need to say another word. If there was one thing I understood, it was being haunted.

  He sighed and stood, wiping his hands on his jeans. "Thank you for supper, Miss Bethany. It was delicious. And if you'll excuse me, I need to go out for a while. I feel like running."

  "Not running away?" Bethany collected his plate and set it on the bar.

  "Nope." Toby smiled while heading out the door. "People only run away from bad things."

  Bethany chuckled as she finished cleaning up. "I think you have a champion in him. Good. You need one."

  "Am I that bad off?" I almost whined.

  "No." She paused in the doorway. "But there is badness coming."

  I made a mental note to ask Rodrian what Bethany's talent was and hoped it sure as hell wasn't foresight. Then again, I did have a meeting with Eirene tonight.

  Maybe Bethany was spot-on with the badness. Oh, the joy.

  Eirene sat in the hotel lobby and, as usual, wore a look of unabashed distaste as she surveyed her surroundings. It made me wonder what kind of luxury she was used to living in. I mean, this had to be one of the most prominent hotels in the city. She barely refrained from curling her lips at the decor.

  I knew I was in trouble because I was late. Driving me into town, Rodrian drove me into town but he wasn't his usual zippy self. The drive was leisurely, his mood chatty.

  I hadn't anticipated leisurely and chatty.

  When she spied me, she rose quickly as if relieved to break contact with the settee. Dorcas stood a second later, clinging to her side like a shadow. "I thought you weren't going to come this evening. I wondered if I'd be dining alone."

  Her voice was reproachful and she arched her perfect eyebrow at me.

  "Traffic held me up. That's all. I'm sorry." I didn't think details were necessary. They'd make my apology sound more like a justification.

  She relaxed her brow. My lucky day.

  "We dine at L'Orcus Tavolo tonight. We will walk. It is a most beautiful night. These taxis, they are utterly revolting."

  The restaurant was several blocks away and it was freezing outside. I sighed to myself, and heartily agreed with her choice. If I didn't become an ice cube by the t
ime I got there, it'd be my lucky day. Again.

  We were seated in a quiet corner. Dorcas stood at the wall, her shapeless brown dress allowing her to blend with the tapestry. It was kind of creepy, actually. Lately she'd become kind of a chameleon, disappearing in my periphery. I had to remind myself she was there. God help me if I learned to dismiss her the same way Eirene did. I don't want to be that kind of person.

  Lifting my glass of water, I sipped and tried to avoid drinking the lemon wedge. "Eirene, what do the Canons say about the blood of a Sophia?"

  "Well." She seemed taken aback. "A direct question on an extremely discomfiting subject. Sophias do not share blood. It is forbidden."

  Oh, dear. Not a good thing. "But why?"

  "What have you been doing?" Her voice lowered in warning. "I must warn you—"

  "Look. It's no real secret what happened to me. I lost blood to a DV who in turn overthrew a master vampire. Nothing could have been done about it. Since that night, a lot of people made comments about my blood without really telling me anything useful. What can you tell me?"

  Eirene pursed her lips, a look of harsh concentration on her delicate face. "There is more to this. Be completely honest or I will not help."

  "It was Marek." I licked my lips, rolling them between my teeth as I sought the best words. Eyes on the table, I made my confession. "After Marek took my blood, a DV healer named Pontian..."

  "Ah, Pontian," she interrupted. "He is very old. Very close to the edge. He has not fallen, yes?"

  "Well, not then, but he did have a freaky way of reading my mind."

  "A sign of how close he is." She paused, reflecting and drumming her nails on her water glass. The rhythmic tink-ling made an odd accompaniment for such doom-stricken words. "Soon. Soon he will fall. Even a great heart such as his cannot resist forever."

  "Eirene? That's harsh."

  She shrugged and squared her shoulders. "It is nature. You, too, are a part of nature, part of the Balance. You cannot take sides. You belong to all."