The Tomb of Blood

by Britney Jackson

  “Abuse,” Rose assumed, remembering how Alana had offered to help her, how Alana had offered to make Rose’s abusers suffer, “especially rape.”

  “Exactly,” Elise said, sighing softly. “Alana agreed to help Kara, so they went to the asylum in the middle of the night. While Kara helped the patients escape, Alana locked up the doctors. Then, just like she’d done to the woman, Alana used her telepathic abilities to torment the doctors and drive them insane.”

  Rose frowned at that. “What happened to the mental asylum?”

  “During that time period, the mentally ill were a taboo subject. People didn’t understand mental illness, and because of that, they were afraid of it. And when so many doctors went insane overnight, it terrified people. They assumed that it had been caused by a contagious disease or a chemical spill,” Elise explained. “They closed the asylum down and quarantined it. Even to this day, people avoid it. Kara took me to see it once. It’s abandoned and…pretty creepy.”

  Rose raised up suddenly, cringing as terrible pain tore through every muscle in her body. “I bet that’s where she is,” she said between clenched teeth.

  Elise rushed to her side, taking her arm as she tried to stand. “Are you sure you’re ready to be on your feet?” Elise asked, her brows creased with worry.

  “I have to be ready,” Rose said, wincing in pain. “Kara needs our help.”

  “Rose,” Elise said, her thin, soft body pressing against Rose’s side as she slung Rose’s arm around her shoulder, supporting some of Rose’s weight. “Kara wouldn’t want you to worsen your injuries. She would want you to stay in bed.”

  “I need to get to my room,” Rose muttered. “I need to get dressed.”

  “Rose,” Elise sighed. “You can barely walk. You should stay in bed.”

  “I can’t,” Rose insisted. “I can’t just stay here, worrying about her.”

  “I knew it,” Elise said suddenly, smiling. “You have feelings for her.”

  Rose froze. “What?” she sputtered. “No, no, no. She’s just a friend.”

  Elise tilted her head to the side, her yellow-blonde curls falling to one side, and her smile widened. “If you say so,” she said skeptically, humoring Rose.

  Rose scowled at her disbelieving tone. “I need to get my clothes.”

  “You’ll need blood, too,” Elise said. “Would you like some of mine?”

  Heat rushed to Rose’s face. “Um…you’re very pretty…”

  “Thank you,” Elise interrupted, her lips curving into an amused smile.

  “And you smell nice,” Rose added awkwardly, “but…”

  “But I’m not Kara,” Elise finished for her, lifting an eyebrow.

  Rose blanched. “Who said I want to feed from Kara?” she sputtered.

  “Or Kallias,” Elise continued, “or anyone else you have feelings for.”

  Rose scowled, considering once again arguing the point that she did not have feelings for Kara, but ultimately, she decided against it. Secretly because she wasn’t sure that was the truth. “The blood bond with Aaron was weird enough.”

  Elise nodded. “Tom uses human blood, stored in blood bags, to spike the alcohol. It won’t taste as good as fresh blood, but it’ll strengthen you a little. While you’re getting ready, I can go and get a blood bag from him, if you want.”

  Rose reached out to brace her hands on the bed as she began to sway on her feet. Yeah, she definitely needed blood. “Will he give you one?” she asked.

  “If I tell him the situation, yes,” Elise assured her. “Tom’s a nice guy.”

  Rose nodded tiredly. “Let’s do that, then.”

  —

  Ten minutes later, Rose had her old, bloodstained T-shirt halfway over her head when the scent of sweet pea filled the room. “Elise?” she said worriedly.

  “Do you need help?” Elise asked, her accent soft and thick.

  “Uh,” Rose said awkwardly, blushing. She pulled the T-shirt back down over her torso, covering up her bare skin. “I’m not finished…getting dressed.”

  Elise nodded and waved her hand encouragingly. “Go ahead, cutie.”

  Rose blushed. “Believe it or not, modesty is a real thing.”

  Elise giggled at her snarky remark. “The naked body is an art form, and no art should be hidden,” she murmured, “but since it makes you uncomfortable, I will gladly look the other way.” She spun around, facing the opposite direction.

  Rose pulled off her shirt again, clenching her jaw at the agony that burned through her body with every movement. She grimaced as she glanced down at the blood-soaked bandage around her chest and the gruesome scars that marred her torso. “My naked body is a hack-job,” she muttered under her breath.

  “As your friend,” Elise said with a small smile, “I must tell you that the only thing that is unattractive about you is your highly-unfounded insecurity.”

  Rose felt herself smile at that. “Well, you’re a very nice friend, then.”

  “If you need my help with those clothes, just let me know,” Elise said. “And I’m not saying that to come on to you. I just know you must be in pain.”

  Rose glanced at Elise, feeling another smile pull at her lips. “Thank you.”

  “Anytime, sweetie,” Elise said warmly.

  “I tried calling Kallias a few dozen times,” Rose sighed, wincing in pain, as she tugged a clean, black T-shirt over her bandaged skin. “He didn’t answer.”

  “Does he have his phone with him?” Elise asked.

  “I can’t think of a reason he wouldn’t,” Rose mumbled, picking up the black, hooded jacket she’d laid out on the bed. She slid her arms into the jacket. “Not to mention, if he’d left it here, I would have heard it ringing. But I didn’t.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Elise said, trying to sound reassuring. “He’s a twenty-five-hundred-year-old telepath, right? I doubt anyone could hurt him.”

  “If only it were that simple,” Rose muttered under her breath.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Elise asked. “Try to rescue Kara?”

  “Yes,” Rose said easily. She cringed in pain as she zipped up her jacket. “She sent you that message for a reason. What if…what if Alana hurts her?”

  “Kara told me once that Alana would never kill her,” Elise said, turning to face Rose again. She crossed the space between them and handed Rose the cold blood bag. “She said that Alana loves her too much. Or…thinks she does.”

  Rose ripped open the blood bag with her fangs. “Alana is unstable. Even if she truly loves Kara and Erik, she could still hurt them if she’s provoked.”

  “Eh,” Elise grunted, wincing. “Kara tends to do a lot of provoking.”

  “Not to mention, even if Alana doesn’t hurt Kara physically, you know she will hurt her emotionally,” Rose said worriedly. She leaned against the footboard, exhaling shakily. “I can’t stand the thought of Kara having to endure Alana’s manipulation and abuse. We have to help her. As quickly as possible.”

  “I agree,” Elise said with a smile, “just not quite as fervently as you.”

  Rose offered her a puzzled frown, and then, she lifted the blood bag to her lips and took a hesitant sip of the blood. She immediately coughed and spluttered, blood spilling over her bottom lip. “Ugh!” she groaned. “It’s terrible!”

  “What did you expect? It’s not fresh from the source,” Elise muttered. “And…I just meant that while I do care about Kara, I’m also pretty nervous.”

  Rose continued to grimace at the cold, stale-tasting blood as she sipped at the blood bag. Despite its not-so-delicious taste, she felt stronger with every drop of blood she swallowed. “What? You think I’m not nervous?” she laughed.

  Elise opened one of Kara’s drawers, examining the weapons inside. “You seem quite fearless, actually. It’s as if you have no concern for yourself.”

  “Ugh. You’re starting to sound like Kallias,” Rose teased, offering Elise a good-natured smile afterward. She stepped forwar
d, still sipping the blood, and peered into the drawer. “What are you looking for? Do you need weapons?”

  “I don’t usually carry weapons,” Elise said. “I don’t usually need them.”

  Rose’s eyes widened at the sheer amount of weapons inside. Every kind of dagger and blade filled the drawer—too many to count. She couldn’t see the bottom of the drawer, only layers upon layers of dangerously-sharp blades. “I think she needs more weapons,” she said dryly. “It looks like she’s running low.”

  Elise giggled at her sarcasm. She closed the drawer with a sigh, but then, her gaze shifted toward the top of the drawer, and her lips curved into a smile. “Ah,” she said as she grabbed the heavy battle-axe. “I’ll take this for protection.”

  Rose lifted her eyebrows at the massive, unconcealable weapon. “You’re choosing a battle-axe as your first weapon ever?” she asked, sipping the blood.

  Elise tried to swing it over her shoulder and nearly took Rose’s head off.

  Rose blinked. “This is one of those what-could-possibly-go-wrong moments.”

  —

  “Where are you two going?” growled a low, thickly-accented voice.

  Rose froze just inside the foyer, her gaze shifting toward the desk. Osiris sat behind the desk, watching her with dark, narrowed eyes. He leaned back in the office chair, his silk, maroon shirt partially unbuttoned, his shiny, black shoes propped up on the edge of the desk. She matched his glare with her own.

  “Come on, Rose,” Elise urged, walking past him. “Just ignore him.”

  Rose attempted to do just that, but Osiris unfolded himself from the chair and placed himself directly in her path. “Get out of my way,” she snarled.

  He leaned in close, until his expensive cologne overwhelmed her senses, and sneered, “Didn’t your mother teach you not to disrespect your elders?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “No. But a few of her boyfriends tried. Do you know what I learned, instead?” she growled. “That I will never cower from men like you.”

  He raised a thick, dark eyebrow. “Men like me?” he repeated. He laughed derisively, clearly trying to intimidate her. “You think you know me?”

  Rose refused to flinch under his dark, murderous gaze. He wanted that, and as the official Queen of Stubbornness, Rose had an obligation to ensure he never got that satisfaction. “I’ve known enough evil people in my lifetime to recognize an evil man when I see one. You think you’re strong because you prey on the weak. But you’re just a coward, hiding behind your age, money, and ego. The only people who respect someone like you are the ones you pay to fake it.”

  Osiris growled and snatched up the front of her hoodie in his hand, dragging her toward him. “You’ll regret that,” he snarled, baring his fangs at her.

  “Not likely,” Rose said, forcing a smile.

  “Let her go,” Elise warned Osiris, “or I’ll call Aaron.”

  Osiris glanced over his shoulder, and his dark skin paled at the sight of Elise. She stood behind him, holding her cellphone in the air, the name Aaron displayed across the screen above his phone number. “Don’t,” he said slowly.

  “This is Strike Two, and you only get one strike with Aaron,” Elise said.

  “She attacked me,” Osiris growled, his eyes wide with frustration.

  “Not this time,” Elise said, “and not last time either, according to Kara.”

  “Kara is a liar,” he snarled between clenched teeth.

  “Yep,” Elise agreed, “and that’s why you shouldn’t have pissed her off.”

  Osiris let go of Rose’s hoodie, dropping her so abruptly that she barely had the time—or the strength, for that matter—to catch herself. Elise was beside her instantly, wrapping her arm around Rose’s waist, preventing her from falling.

  “Are you all right?” Elise asked worriedly. “How is your injury?”

  “She’s injured?” Osiris asked with a sickeningly smug smile.

  Rose tugged at her hoodie to smooth out the fabric he’d bunched up. “I think my lungs are injured after inhaling your cologne,” she muttered.

  His smile faded.

  Elise cast a wary look at Osiris. “Well, now, I see why Kara likes you so much,” she told Rose. “You’re almost as much of a troublemaker as she is.”

  “Sorry,” Rose mumbled.

  “Come on. Let’s just go,” Elise said. When she was sure that Rose could hold her own weight, she dropped her arm and stepped away. Her blue-gray eyes narrowed at Osiris as she walked past him. “His job is to watch the cameras, not to question the members of this colony. If he’s smart, he’ll get back to his job.”

  Osiris’s black eyes narrowed murderously.

  Rose followed Elise toward the elevator, resisting the urge to make a derogatory remark about Osiris’s intelligence. But as she walked past him, she felt his hand wrap around her arm and jerk her backward, his front pressed against her back. She cringed as she felt his warm breath falling against her ear.

  “Be careful out there tonight,” he growled in her ear, venomous sarcasm bleeding into his voice. “I would hate for you to die before the fun even starts.”

  Rose jerked her arm out of his grasp, a spark of red flashing in her eyes, and then, she followed Elise into the elevator. She sucked in a deep breath, trying to slow her racing heart as the door slid closed, closing them inside the tiny tomb.

  “Are you all right?” Elise asked, her brows creasing with concern.

  Rose nodded. “He doesn’t scare me,” she said, glancing at the camera, which she knew that he was watching. She fell back against the wall when the tomb shifted into motion. Wincing at the pain, she pulled herself upright again.

  Elise continued to watch her with a frown. “Your necklace is glowing.”

  Rose covered the Stone of the Eklektos with her hand in an attempt to hide its crimson glow. “It always does that. It just glows brighter when I feel afraid or angry or sad,” she explained breathlessly, her pulse skyrocketing.

  Elise stepped toward her. “Rose, what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” Rose said, forcing a smile. “I’m just…claustrophobic.”

  Elise glanced around the small tomb. “Ohhh…”

  The tomb came to such a rough, abrupt stop that it actually hurt. “You’d think that with as much technology as you have down there, someone would’ve built a safer elevator by now,” Rose complained as she regained her composure.

  Elise used the handle of the battle-axe to shove the slab off of the tomb. “The goal is for no one to think that this is anything more than a cemetery.”

  “I’m sure there are less unpleasant ways to achieve that goal,” Rose said.

  Elise climbed out of the tomb and then offered her hand to Rose. She helped Rose climb out as gently as possible, still concerned about Rose’s injury.

  Rose waited until Elise covered the tomb to ask, “Elise, who can see the surveillance from the cameras in here?” She pointed at one of the cameras in the corner of the mausoleum and lowered her voice. “Can Osiris see us right now?”

  Elise glanced at the camera. “No. The computer in the foyer only has access to the camera in the elevator. This camera is linked to Aaron’s computers.”

  “Do you think Aaron is watching right now?” Rose asked curiously.

  Elise shrugged. “It’s possible,” she said uncertainly. “Why?”

  “Because I have a message for him,” Rose said, glancing at the camera, “and I don’t have time to go back down to the tombs and talk to him directly.”

  “I suppose it’s worth a try,” Elise said. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “How long has Osiris been part of the Tomb of Blood?” Rose asked.

  Elise tilted her head thoughtfully, her blonde curls falling to one side. “Not long,” she said, her brows furrowing. “I think he joined two weeks ago.”

  “So…not long before Alana started all of this?” Rose assumed.

  Elise frowned. “I guess not,” she confirmed. “What is your point?
”

  “And how old is Osiris?” Rose asked apprehensively.

  Elise shrugged. “I know that he’s from ancient Egypt. So…pretty old.”

  Rose chewed on her lip anxiously. “Then, he’s been alive as long as this vampire colony has existed. If he wanted to join, why didn’t he join before now?”

  “Because he didn’t want to,” Elise said. “Osiris is as prejudiced as it gets. Everyone is below him in his eyes, including the vampires in this colony. We’re not as rich as him. We’re not as civilized as him. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera…” She rolled her eyes. “He’s a billionaire. Why would he want to live in the tombs?”

  “Exactly,” Rose said. “He clearly doesn’t. So, why is he here?”

  Elise froze. “Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

  “I think Osiris is one of Alana’s spies,” Rose confirmed.

  Elise moved closer and lowered her voice. “What proof do you have?”

  “None,” Rose said, shrugging. “I just have a bad feeling.”

  “He’s an asshole,” Elise said, “but that doesn’t mean that he’s working with Alana. I mean, I haven’t personally met Alana. I’ve only heard stories from Kara. But based on what I know, I think Alana would hate someone like Osiris.”

  “That doesn’t mean she wouldn’t use him,” Rose pointed out.

  “According to Kara, Alana flies off the handle pretty easily. She just snaps and kills someone,” Elise explained. “Now, Osiris is sexist, homophobic, and prejudiced against people who aren’t as rich as he is. Alana is a woman, bisexual, and a former slave. I don’t see that relationship working out too well.”

  Rose nodded. “Good point,” she sighed.

  Elise shrugged. “I just think that Alana would have killed him by now.”