“Erik,” she said as her heart rate slowed. Her mind seemed to clear, and then, she noticed Kallias with Ethan. Her heart sank. “I tried to kill Ethan?”
“It’s all right,” Erik told her. “He’s fine. You didn’t hurt him.”
“Are you kidding me?” Ethan yelled suddenly. His brown eyes looked wide, practically bulging with fury, and he clutched his neck, as if he were protecting the artery. “What do you mean she didn’t hurt me?” he snarled at Erik, trying—and failing—to jerk his arm out of Kallias’s grasp. “She attacked me! I think she bit me! She’s fucking crazy!” He glared at Kallias. “Let go of me!”
Kallias frowned at Rose. “Ethan? Why does that sound so familiar?”
Rose cringed. “Kallias… Don’t…”
Before she even finished the sentence, Kallias’s eyes flashed with recognition, and his shoulders stiffened. In one fluid motion that was too rapid for any human to see, he spun on his heels and snatched Ethan up by the throat.
A harsh, choked gurgle sounded in Ethan’s throat as Kallias grabbed him. His feet left the ground, and his face reddened from the pressure. His dark eyes widened in fear, and his mouth moved, but no coherent sounds came out.
“Huh,” Erik said, lifting an eyebrow. “I must have missed something.”
“Let go of my arm, idiot,” Rose said impatiently as she tried to pull her arm from his grasp. Erik released her arm, and she bolted toward Kallias, her heart racing. “Don’t hurt him, Kallias. Please. It’s not what I want. You were right. It was just the hunger. Let him go. Violence isn’t how I deal with things.”
“No,” Kallias agreed. “But it’s how I deal with things.”
“He’s a human, Kallias,” Rose reminded him. “You don’t kill humans.”
Kallias watched as Ethan struggled for air. “I can make an exception.”
“Hey, could someone tell me what is going on?” Erik called, interrupting them. “I need to know whether I need to stop a murder or go get popcorn.”
Rose rolled her eyes at him. “You should stop him. Obviously.”
Kallias sighed, as if he were incredibly disappointed that she didn’t want him to kill her ex-boyfriend, and he opened his hand. Ethan crumbled onto the pavement, coughing and heaving as he tried to breathe through his sore, constricted lungs. Kallias didn’t give him much of a chance to breathe, though, before he snatched him up by the arm, forcing him to stand. He leaned in close, making eye contact with the terrified, oxygen-deprived man, and he took control of his mind. “Forget what happened here. Forget about Rose attacking you. Forget you ever saw her here. But don’t forget this: if you ever touch her against her will again, you’re dead. As a matter of fact, if you ever do to anyone what you did to her, I’ll find out, and I will kill you. Do you understand?” he growled.
Ethan nodded weakly, cringing away from Kallias as much as he could.
Kallias sighed and released his arm. “Fine. Get out of here.”
Rose breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you for not hurting him.”
Kallias watched as Ethan staggered away from him. “Hey!” he called out suddenly. He took a step forward, toward Ethan. “There’s just one more thing.”
Kallias punched him.
Rose rolled her eyes. “Never mind,” she muttered.
Ethan hit the pavement immediately, a sickening crack echoing through the air as his nose shattered. He yelled out and covered his nose with his hands, the blood pouring through his fingers, as he writhed in pain on the ground.
Rose glared at Kallias. “You couldn’t just let him leave?”
Kallias shrugged. “I tried. It didn’t work out.”
“You know, I can fight my own battles,” Rose complained. “I don’t need you to punch everyone who hurts me. I can deal with them myself.”
“By ripping out their carotid artery?” Erik asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It was an accident,” she said defensively. “I was hungry.”
Kallias spun toward her. “What are you doing here anyway?” he asked angrily, his eyes narrowing. “I thought you were just going to your apartment.”
She returned his glare. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she snarled with bitter, razor-sharp sarcasm. “I didn’t realize I needed permission before going somewhere.”
“Rose, you just tried to kill someone,” Kallias reminded her.
“Well, yes,” Rose admitted sheepishly, “but considering what he did to me, I think I should get a pass for that one. Besides, you tried to kill him, too.”
Kallias sighed, “There are too many humans here.”
“I know,” Rose sighed, dragging her hand through her wavy, auburn hair, “but Audrey makes terrible decisions when she’s drunk. She needs me.”
“I will sue all of you!” Ethan cried, still writhing in pain on the ground.
They all glanced down at him.
Kallias frowned. “Should we just leave him here?”
“I think that would be best,” Rose said, nodding.
—
“Are you sure that it’s a good idea to leave Erik outside unattended?” Rose asked Kallias as she shouldered open one of the heavy, white double doors.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Kallias muttered, following her into the dark house that stunk of smoke and alcohol, “but right now, I’d rather leave him unattended than you. At least he isn’t trying to kill people in the front yard.”
She shot an irritated glare over her shoulder. “It was an accident.”
“And at least he isn’t causing earthquakes out there,” Kallias added.
Rose winced. “Also an accident,” she said as she closed the door. “But for the record, I don’t think one crack in the sidewalk qualifies as an earthquake.”
Kallias leaned against the staircase. “You also uprooted a tree.”
“I did?” she asked, her eyes widening. “Huh. Cool.”
He raised an eyebrow at her.
“I mean…oops,” Rose said, flashing a sarcastic smile.
“Rose!” yelled a familiar voice. “There you are!”
Rose and Kallias turned and looked up toward the top of the stairs, watching as Audrey stumbled clumsily down the staircase. Rose frowned as she realized that Audrey was carrying a beer in one hand and an entire bottle of wine in the other. Audrey fell forward, nearly tumbling down the last three stairs, but Rose reached out and caught her before she could. Audrey didn’t seem to notice how quickly Rose had moved. Instead, she just giggled and leaned against Rose.
“Um…Audrey?” Rose asked worriedly. “Are you drunk? Already?”
Audrey giggled, “I might have had a few beers.”
Rose took the wine bottle out of Audrey’s hand, frowning at the cheap, brightly-colored wine. “And half a bottle of wine, apparently,” she muttered.
“I was on my way out to check on you, and then, I saw Levi, and then, there was beer, and I got sidetracked,” Audrey explained, slurring her words.
“It’s fine, Audrey,” Rose muttered. “Just…please, don’t puke on me.”
“It’s not fine,” Audrey slurred, her eyes widening. “I have to warn you. When I was talking to Levi earlier, he mentioned that someone invited Ethan.”
“Yeah,” Rose said nervously, glancing at Kallias. “We kind of noticed.”
“What? You saw him already?” Audrey exclaimed. She held Rose at a very wobbly arm’s length and examined her, as if she were searching for injuries. “Are you okay? Rose, you tell me where he is right now so I can kick his butt!”
“Audrey, I don’t think you’re capable of kicking anything right now,” Rose said as Audrey swayed on her feet. “Besides, Kallias kind of beat you to it.”
“Kallias?” Audrey repeated. She glanced over her shoulder so quickly that she nearly fell over, her eyes widening as she noticed Kallias leaning against the staircase. “Holy sunflower! When did Mr. Tall-Hunky-Scary-Guy get here?”
“Sunflower?” Kallias repeated, his eyebrows lifting.
&
nbsp; “His name is Kallias,” Rose sighed, “and I…asked him to come.”
For a moment, Audrey just stared at her, and Rose began to worry that Audrey could tell that she was lying. But then Audrey patted her on the back. “Good idea,” she said. “He’ll scare away all of the rapist-murderer-thieves.”
Kallias frowned. “The what?”
“Ooh! I love this song!” Audrey announced as a bass-heavy, hip hop song began to blare through the speakers, echoing throughout the entire house.
Rose scowled at her friend. “No, you don’t. You hate hip hop.”
“Oh. I do?” Audrey asked, her brows furrowing. Then, she laughed and shrugged. “Oh, who cares? I like it tonight. Rose, you have to dance with me!”
“No, I don’t,” Rose argued sternly. “This is a free country, and I am allowed to abstain from dangerous activities…like dancing and socializing.”
“Fine. I’ll dance with someone else, then,” Audrey said indignantly.
Rose stared at her blankly. “Um…okay?”
Audrey set her beer on the slanted staircase railing. It immediately tipped over, but Kallias caught it before it spilled. Audrey, completely oblivious to the spill she’d almost caused, dragged a hand through her tangled brown hair and pulled her pink sweater down over her waist. “How is my hair?” she asked.
“Your hair is fine,” Rose said, “but Audrey, I think you lost your bra.”
Audrey glanced down at her sheer, pink sweater that did not do a good job of hiding her nipples. “Oh, yeah. I left it in Levi’s room,” she said, wincing.
Rose blinked. “You slept with Levi? Again?”
“Lecture me later,” Audrey whined. “I need to dance with someone.”
Rose sighed as Audrey headed into the living room, where other people were dancing, and turned toward Kallias. “Now, do you see why she needed me?”
He frowned. “Because she lost an item of clothing?”
“Because she slept with Levi,” she corrected.
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his black jeans and leaned heavily against the wall. “I’m guessing there is a story behind that?” he asked.
“Levi is Audrey’s high school sweetheart,” Rose explained, “and he is head-over-heels in love with her. But Audrey is…sowing her wild oats, as she likes to call it. She doesn’t want to settle down yet. She doesn’t want to commit. So, every time she sleeps with Levi, she inevitably breaks his heart afterward.”
Kallias stared at her. “Tragic,” he said slowly, thick sarcasm bleeding into his voice. “But Rose, you are a vampire. You could kill someone. You almost did. A heartbroken acquaintance should be the least of your worries right now.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “Yes. I know that I’m a vamp-…”
Kallias cut her off mid-sentence—or rather, mid-word—by clasping his hand over her mouth. “Shh,” he hissed, his eyes flashing. “Someone’s listening.”
She frowned and followed his gaze. To their left, down a dark hallway, she heard a single heartbeat. “It’s coming from the dining room,” she whispered.
Kallias stepped back and peered down the hall. Then, he began to inch toward the hallway, taking slow, careful steps, moving as silently as possible.
“Rose?” asked a soft, feminine voice behind her.
Rose spun around. A thin, young woman stood in the doorway that separated the foyer from the living room, clutching a brown, leather-bound diary to her chest. Her long, brunette hair hung in two, adorable braids. As she stared at Rose, her round, green eyes, framed by thin, black glasses, widened in shock.
“Oh. Hey, Riley,” Rose said, smiling at her.
Riley didn’t even seem to hear her. She just continued to gape at Rose.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” Rose commented.
Kallias returned to the foyer, raising an eyebrow as he saw Riley standing there, staring at Rose. He walked over to Rose and leaned in close so that he could speak into her ear. “The person who was listening to us has already left. He left the dining room through the back door,” he whispered in her ear, too softly for any human to hear. “I know that it was a human…but not much else.”
Rose glanced up at him, frowning at the information. Then, she turned back toward Riley. “Um…Riley?” she said worriedly. “Are you all right?”
“Hmm?” Riley squeaked, blinking quickly as she finally seemed to snap out of her daze. “Oh. Oh! Rose. I’m…I’m s-sorry,” she stammered, “s-so sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Rose said with a puzzled frown. “Are you all right?”
Riley blushed. “I’m fine,” she squeaked.
Kallias leaned against the staircase, watching the interaction with a raised eyebrow. He stepped forward again and leaned in close, causing Rose to straighten in surprise as his warm breath fell against her ear. He whispered in her ear, “It’s the allure, Rose. She is human. You’re a vampire. She can’t resist you.”
Rose’s eyes widened as she understood the part that he wasn’t saying.
“I’ve…um…missed you in class,” Riley said nervously.
“Yeah,” Rose sighed. “I had to drop my classes this semester.”
“Audrey said that you were attacked,” Riley said shyly. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Rose said quickly, “It was no big deal, really.”
Riley frowned at that but didn’t say anything. She shifted the notebook in her arms and tugged down on her plaid skirt. “You look different,” she said nervously. “Really p-pretty.” She blushed. “I mean, you were before, too, but…”
Kallias snorted, earning an irritated glare from Rose.
Riley clutched her notebook a little tighter against her chest. “I should go. I just stopped by to give Ned the Medieval History notes. I don’t like parties.”
“Me either,” Rose said with a friendly smile.
“I have a date tomorrow,” Riley said, blushing. A smile broke across her face, as if she’d been eager to tell someone all day. “She is nice and really pretty. Unbelievably pretty. I don’t know why she would ask me on a date, but…”
“There are lots of reasons someone would want to date you,” Rose said.
Riley smiled shyly. “You’re always so nice to me,” she said quietly. Her smile faded as she glanced up at Kallias. “I have to go. I’ll see you later, Rose.”
Rose nodded. “Good luck on your date.”
Kallias leaned against the railing with his arms crossed, an amused smirk tugging at his lips as he watched Riley. “Poor girl,” he chuckled after she left.
Rose spun around toward him. “What do you mean by that?”
He lifted his eyebrows at Rose, as if she’d asked a ridiculous question. “She’s practically in love with you, and you didn’t even realize that she was gay.”
“Riley’s not in love with me,” Rose argued. “We’re…friends.”
Kallias snorted, “How can someone so intelligent be so clueless?”
—
Audrey pushed the door open with her shoulder, carrying an open beer in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other. She hopped down the steps, taking two steps at a time, and winced at the beer as it sloshed out onto her hand.
“Beer and pizza,” Erik commented. “My kind of woman.”
Audrey froze and looked up at Erik, the slice of pizza still halfway in her mouth. Her round, amber eyes widened dramatically as she slowly swept her gaze up and down Erik’s tall, lean body. “Holy freaking bologna,” she breathed.
Erik snorted, his green eyes sparkling with amusement. “You all right?”
“You have an accent,” Audrey mumbled with a mouthful of pizza.
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Nope,” she said, wide-eyed. “Not to me.”
He chuckled. He stepped forward and offered his hand to her, flashing his most charming smile. “My name is Erik Olafsson. I’m Rose’s friend.”
Audrey shook his hand, only realizing afterward tha
t she’d used her beer-soaked hand to do it. “Uh…sorry about that,” she muttered when he glanced down at her wet hand. “I’m Audrey Stevens. I’m also Rose’s friend.”
“Oh, you’re that one,” Erik said. “Yeah, Rose told me about you.”
“What exactly did she say about me?” Audrey asked worriedly.
He shrugged one shoulder. “Not much. She said you’re her best friend.”
She smiled. “I am that, yeah,” she said braggingly.
He snorted. He leaned lazily against the wall of the house, blatantly checking her out. “That frazzled, messy look you have going is pretty hot. Especially that unbrushed hair. It’s like you just finished fucking someone.”
Audrey blinked in surprise. “Hot? Really? You think so?”
Erik shrugged one shoulder. “I wouldn’t say it, if I didn’t.”
She smiled. “You…have a bit of a dirty mouth, don’t you?”
He grinned wickedly. “Oh, you have no idea.”
She giggled nervously and then choked as she took a much-bigger-than-necessary sip of beer. “I might be a little drunk,” she admitted, blushing.
Erik lifted his eyebrows. “I can see that.”
“Are you a biker or something?” she asked as she bit into her pizza.
His brows furrowed. “Why would you think that?”
Audrey gestured toward his leather pants with a tilt of her head. “Just figured that was why you were wearing leather,” she said as she chewed her pizza.
“Nah,” he laughed. “They’re just more comfortable than jeans.” His smile tilted mischievously. “Especially when I’m not wearing underwear.”
Audrey choked on her pizza. Her eyes widened in shock, and she swallowed uneasily as her gaze swept down toward his tight, black leather pants, lingering on his crotch. “I really didn’t need to know that,” she mumbled.
“Erik! What do you think you’re doing?” Rose suddenly yelled.
Erik straightened and turned slowly to look behind him. He watched as Rose hurried up the steps, onto the porch, with Kallias trailing closely behind. “What do you mean?” he asked innocently. “I was just talking to your friend.”
The Tomb of Blood Page 10