Crimson Debt

by Evangeline Anderson

  “You are very welcome, Addison,” Corbin murmured. “Now, is there any place else you are in need of healing?”

  I thought of the inner bend of my elbow where Taylor had bitten me just the night before. It was still red and raw and painful, almost as though I’d been bitten by an animal instead of my friend. Not that it was her fault. I opened my mouth to tell Corbin about the fresher wound and closed it again. I couldn’t have his mouth on me anymore tonight. Not if I didn’t want to embarrass myself by coming right in front of him.

  “Addison?” he asked again, frowning and I realized I’d been taking too long to answer his question.

  “Uh, no. No, that’s it for scars,” I said, which was technically the truth. I’d only recently had Taylor start using the inside of my elbows because the much-abused veins in my wrist were getting too hard to find, so there weren’t really any scars there yet.

  He looked at me for a moment more and then nodded. “All right, then. Let’s go. I want to surprise Celeste when she is just waking up.”

  I followed him out of the office and into the purple Tampa twilight with a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. I ought to be glad—we were going to get Taylor out of her life of bondage, after all. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had bitten off more than I could chew.

  Chapter Five

  Celeste’s house was exactly as I remembered it. Decorated in a dramatic black and white motif, it seemed like something you’d see in a fashion magazine, not an actual place you’d want to live.

  I had been wondering how Corbin planned to gain entry to the house. If he would knock politely or blow the door open with some kind of as-yet-unexplained vampire mind power. After the way he’d healed my wrist I wouldn’t put anything past him. However, he surprised me by doing neither. He just turned the knob on the ornate, blood red door and walked into Celeste’s living room as though he lived there. He must have seen the surprise on my face.

  “What is your question? Ask, Addison.”

  “Well…” I looked around nervously. I didn’t exactly have the best memories of this house. “I guess I thought you’d, uh, make more of a dramatic entrance. You know, to get Celeste’s attention.”

  Corbin shrugged. “What could be more dramatic than bypassing all of her carefully constructed wards and entering her home without an invitation?”

  I looked back at the blood red door which he’d left standing casually open. “You mean we shouldn’t have been able to just walk in like that?”

  He shook his head. “No. And please do not ever attempt to enter a powerful vampire’s home unannounced without me—the result could be nasty to say the least.”

  “I didn’t know,” I said, feeling like I should have.

  Corbin shrugged again. “How could you? You prefer to harass us at our places of business where such wards are not possible, do you not?”

  “Hey, buddy, that harassment is part of my job.”

  He smiled. “I am not complaining. I never would have met you if you hadn’t come to the Fang to harass me.”

  I opened my mouth to shoot back some smart reply but at that moment Celeste herself appeared and I forgot what I had been going to say. She was dressed in a long red silk robe that draped around her dramatically and made her pixie-cut blonde hair look almost white. Her dark eyes were filled with rage.

  “You.” To my great relief she was talking to Corbin, not me. “What are you doing in my house at this time of day?”

  “It’s twilight outside, Celeste, no longer daytime. Or are you unable to go out until full dark?” He shook his head. “Such weakness. What a pity.”

  “What are you doing here?” she repeated and then she saw me. “And why ever did you bring that annoying little non-glam with you?”

  “I have come for a fledgling you created. I understand you have been abusing her.”

  “What? Why should you care what I do with my creations? Unless…” Her eyes narrowed and she glared at me. “You are speaking of Taylor, aren’t you? She is the one you have come for.”

  Corbin inclined his head gravely. “Indeed. So if you could please produce her, I will be on my way.”

  “It’s not so easy as that,” Celeste spat. “I don’t know how this little human has bewitched you into taking her side but Taylor is mine. I brought her over and I am not willing to let her go.”

  “Come, Celeste—this isn’t worth your time or trouble. I understand the one in question—this Taylor—has been a grave disappointment to you. You should be happy to be rid of her.”

  “I am never happy when someone invades my home and tries to take what is mine,” she snarled. “And besides, I am not done with Taylor yet. So is so sensitive—I quite enjoy tormenting her.”

  I saw Corbin’s eyes harden. “You must forgo that pleasure in the future. Produce the fledgling at once or face the consequences.”

  “How dare you!” She rushed forward, her hands hooked into claws, but it was me she was headed for, not Corbin. I was already reaching for my Glock but I would have been too late—much too late—if Corbin hadn’t stepped in front of me.

  He caught Celeste in his arms and bear hugged her until I could hear her ribs creak. Considering that a real bear couldn’t have gotten that response from a vampire’s body, it was pretty damn impressive.

  “Let me go. It was that stupid little human who put this idea in your head—I know it was. I never should have let her leave here alive in the first place.”

  “Are you threatening my consort?” Corbin growled.

  Abruptly she stopped struggling. “You’re serious? You actually claim a human as your consort? I could understand using her as a snack or even a fuck if you’re feeling destructive but a consort? Even a shifter would be better than a human.”

  “It is true it would be better if she were brought over,” Corbin said. “Nevertheless, Addison is my consort and as such she is under my protection both day and night. I will kill anyone attempting to harm her. Is that clear?” He shook Celeste once, like a rag doll before depositing her almost gently on the ground.

  Celeste looked up at him, her eyes still glowing with rage. “It’s clear. Clear that this human has you under her spell somehow. How she has done it, I don’t know. But now I must pay the price for it.”

  “What price?”

  The voice belonged to a new vamp who was suddenly standing behind Celeste. He was dressed like a gentleman from the Civil War era with a waistcoat and a white linen poet type shirt and his hair was in loose, dark waves over his shoulders. But what caught my attention were his tattoos. Beneath his left eye were four tiny blood red stars. And beneath his right eye were two more.

  Six hundred years old. I couldn’t help sucking in a breath. Holy shit, Corbin was the oldest vamp I’d ever met and this one—who had to be Roderick—was two centuries older and thus, considerably stronger. If things went south now, we were in very big trouble.

  But even stronger than my fear was my fury. This was the asshole who had been forcing Taylor to do demeaning, disgusting things. This bastard had made her want to kill herself. My hand was still on the butt of my gun and my finger itched to pull the trigger. But if I killed a vamp in a non-official capacity, I was in for a shit-load of trouble and not just from the government. Vampires had been known to exact their own revenge for illegal kills and it was never pretty. Reluctantly, I kept the Glock holstered, hoping for a legitimate chance to use it later.

  “What is all the commotion?” Roderick asked, looking between Corbin and Celeste. His eyes didn’t even register me at all. I guess humans weren’t worth his time or attention.

  “Inquisitor Roderick.” Celeste bowed low to him and Corbin inclined his head. “Corbin here has taken it upon himself to come and take away one of my fledglings because he heard I was being cruel to her.” She laughed as though it was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard.

  Roderick frowned at Corbin. “Explain.”

  “Celeste has lived in my area for over a
hundred years and though I am older and stronger than her, I have never tried to exact any tribute. Now, however, she has something I want.” Corbin shrugged. “So I am taking it.”

  “He has no right!” Celeste exclaimed.

  Corbin grinned, flashing his fangs in a way that had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with menace. “Might makes right. It is the creed of our kind, as you well know, Celeste.”

  “Enough.” Roderick held up a hand for silence. “Who is this fledgling you are so set on having, Corbin?”

  “It is Taylor—the one I gave you to amuse yourself with,” Celeste answered quickly. “He wishes to steal her from under your very nose, Inquisitor.”

  “I wish to remove her from a situation that is causing my consort distress,” Corbin said, nodding at me.

  Roderick gave me a surprised look and I was sure it was the first time I had registered on his radar. “You claim a human as your consort?”

  “I do.” Corbin gave him an unwavering stare.

  “And you find that to be satisfactory? You are able to fuck her without breaking her?”

  A small smile twitched up the corner of Corbin’s lush mouth. “As you see—she is still in one piece.”

  “You must have surpassing control. That I would like to see.” Roderick was looking at me with much more interest now, as though I might do a clever trick if he watched long enough.

  “Sorry, we don’t do private shows,” I snapped.

  Roderick frowned. “It appears your consort needs some discipline, Corbin. She hasn’t enough respect for her betters.”

  I wanted to say tell him to fuck off or ask how being a rapist and a torturer made him better than me but Corbin was suddenly between us. “My apologies, Inquisitor. She is a non-glam and so a bit more difficult to control than most humans.”

  “I see. So you are unable to control her mind?”

  “I said it is more difficult, not impossible.” Corbin put an arm around my shoulders and I forced myself to hold still though I wanted in the worst way to shrug it off. “I could break her to my will completely if I wished, of course. But I find that a broken mind makes for a boring bed companion. Do you not agree?”

  “Not at all, actually.” Roderick sniffed. “Although in my estimation it is the breaking itself that gives the most pleasure, not the end product.”

  I thought of how he’d been “breaking” Taylor and wanted to shoot him so badly I could almost taste it. Only Corbin’s heavy arm around my shoulders and his hand gripping my upper arm kept me from reaching for my Glock.

  “As I was saying, Celeste’s treatment of her latest fledging is most upsetting to my consort. She and this fledgling were friends before Celeste took her and turned her against her will.”

  “Celeste, is this true?” Roderick turned to her, frowning. He spoke softly but there was a vast depth of menace in his voice. “You know turning a human without their consent is heavily frowned upon now that we are in the public eye, do you not?”

  “The old ways were better.” Celeste sounded sulky. “One never had to ask who was willing and who was not. We just took what we wanted.”

  “I remember that well.” Corbin’s eyes flashed. “A fine time for our kind. However, it was not always so pleasant for those that were taken.”

  I looked at him in surprise. Had Corbin been brought over against his will? He had always seemed like the type to volunteer for vampirism to me but maybe he hadn’t. Maybe some vampire somewhere back in Scotland or Wales or wherever it was he came from had seen a big, strong, handsome man and decided he would make an excellent part of his or her entourage. It was something to think about—if we got out of this alive. The situation seemed like it could go either way.

  “Cease this bickering.” Roderick looked irritated rather than enraged, which I cautiously hoped was a good sign. “Celeste, you have committed an illegal act. And you have made me party to it by giving me the fruits of your illicit activity as a tribute. I should kill you here and now.”

  “Inquisitor, no…please.” Celeste’s dark eyes grew wide and terrified.

  “Calm yourself. I said that I should, not that I would—yet, anyway. We must have a trial to determine your fate.” Roderick turned to Corbin. “We can hold it in your club. You will close tomorrow night in order that we may do so.”

  Tomorrow night was a Saturday and I had an idea of the vast amount of revenue Corbin would lose by closing but he only nodded. “As you say, Inquisitor. But what of the fledgling I came for?”

  Roderick sighed. “I will cede her to you. I was growing tired of her relentless sniveling anyway.”

  Corbin inclined his head. “You are most kind.”

  The other vampire snarled. “Do not be so quick to count me kind, Corbin. You may have gotten what you want but I will be looking into your affairs next. I hope you will have something suitable for me to bring back as tribute.”

  “I am preparing something as we speak,” Corbin said neutrally. He turned to Celeste. “The fledgling. Where is she?”

  She crossed her arms over her flat chest sulkily. For someone who was facing a trial and possibly the vampire equivalent of the death sentence, I didn’t think she looked too concerned. “Danica will show you,” she said. A vampire with a single red star tattooed under her left eye nodded at Corbin and walked down a hallway toward the back of the house.

  I hurried ahead of him, trailing right behind the one-star vamp who had long black hair and a perfect figure a lot like Taylor’s. Obviously Celeste had a type and this was it. We came to a bedroom door and Corbin reached over my head to push it open.

  “Carefully,” he murmured, putting a restraining hand on my shoulder to hold me back when I would have gone rushing in. “Celeste is capable of great cunning. Let the one she sent to guide us go first.”

  I thought he was being a bit too cautious but I slowed down reluctantly and let Danica enter the room ahead of us. Then, when Corbin nodded, I walked in behind her, looking for Taylor.

  At first, all I saw was a vast expanse of black satin. A huge four poster bed with strangely carved posts dominated the room, drawing the eye immediately, and it was spread with satin sheets. Walking closer, I saw that the carvings on the posts were some kind of never-ending orgy. But not just any orgy—a vampire orgy. The carved figures all had fangs and they were displaying amazing levels of flexibility. I hadn’t even known some of the positions shown were possible and I supposed they weren’t—for humans, anyway.

  Then I heard a soft whimper from the vast bed. It was Taylor, curled up in a corner near the far right post. She had the black satin sheet pulled up to her neck and her long dark hair was hiding her face.

  “Taylor, it’s all right. I’m here for you. I’m going to get you out of here and you’ll never have to come back.” I climbed up the high side of the bed onto the slick satin sheets, almost slipping in my haste to get to her. “It’s okay. It’s okay,” I crooned, gathering her into my arms.

  Taylor leaned her head against my shoulder and sobbed. I held her tight, not minding that the arm she wrapped around my waist was just about squeezing the life out of me. I wondered why she wasn’t squeezing me with the other arm too but when I looked up, I saw that she couldn’t. A thick metal cuff connected her slender wrist to the ornately carved post. There was a fine wisp of smoke rising from where the metal was touching her flesh, proving it was real silver, which burns vampires on contact.

  “The keys. We need the keys to these cuffs.” I turned my head to look for Corbin. He was standing at the foot of the bed, watching us with a bemused expression on his face as though he wasn’t sure what to think of what he was seeing. “The keys!” I said again, which seemed to startle him into action.

  He turned to Danica. “Does your mistress have the keys to these cuffs binding the fledgling to the bed?”

  “Here they are.” Roderick was suddenly there, holding out a small iron key on a wire ring. Corbin took it and strode around the bed. While he was busy unlocking
Taylor’s hand, I smoothed her hair back from her face. Her cheeks were streaked with blood and it had dripped down onto her chest. Obviously she’d been crying for hours.

  “Hurts,” she whispered in a soft, broken voice.

  I felt my heart squeeze in my chest. “I know, hon. We’re getting you out of the cuffs right now.”

  “Not just that.” She nodded her head at the black satin sheet pooled in her lap. “There too.”

  “What else did he do to you?” I cast a furious glance over my shoulder at Roderick who looked back at me blandly, as though he hadn’t just been torturing my best friend.

  “Hurts,” Taylor moaned again, drawing my attention back to her problem.

  Carefully I lifted the sheet and saw… “Crap—is that a chastity belt?”

  “A silver one,” Taylor gasped as I touched the contraption that appeared to have hinges in the crotch and locks on either side of the waist. There were multiple plumes of smoke rising from her bare pelvis, everywhere the silver was touching her.

  “We need the key for this too,” I said to Corbin who was staring at the silver chastity belt with an unreadable expression on his face.

  “I recommend you leave that on her.” Celeste was suddenly there again, by the side of the bed. Taylor shrank away from her mistress, her eyes wide with fright. “It’s a valuable part of my collection and I’d be sorry to lose it,” the blonde vampire continued. “But it keeps little Taylor in line beautifully. She’s been wearing it every minute she’s in the house—except when Inquisitor Roderick takes it off to fuck her, of course.”

  “The key, Celeste,” Corbin grated. “This is sadistic, even for you.”

  She handed over the key, which was much more elaborate than the one for the cuffs, and shrugged. “I was just having a little fun.”

  “Fun?” I looked at her in disbelief. “Handing Taylor over to be raped and tortured was what you consider fun? You sick bitch!”