by Raven Steele
“That’s why I have leather seats. Besides, I have no aversion to blood.”
“I can tell. You’re caked in it.” Briar snickered, as I subconsciously swiped at my forehead. I didn’t want to look like the old me.
Briar opened the car door. “I’m leaving my pants on, though, but don’t worry. I’ll clean up any blood I leave. I don’t want to catch you licking it up later.”
She laughed, then grimaced, tilting her head as if in pain.
I cast Mateo one final look before I slid behind the wheel. Once everyone was inside, I drove away, watching him in my rearview mirror, a dark prince of the night. Lynx sat in the back, her head resting against the glass. Briar settled next to her, hitting at her ear.
I peered at her in the rearview mirror. “How does it feel?”
“Slowly getting better. Hey, Sammie, tell me something. Who is Faithe?”
The car was silent for a moment as I processed my feelings. What to tell them? The truth seemed the easiest. “She is my daughter.”
Both Lynx and Briar gasped.
“Like, daughter, daughter?” Briar asked.
I shook my head. “I turned her centuries ago.”
“So weird,” Briar responded.
“That I turned someone?”
“Nah, not that. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around your life spans.”
“Oh.” I thought about that. “Would it help if I used other terms? Maybe decades?”
“No, that’s still weird.”
“Have you turned anyone else?” Lynx asked.
“No.” The word escaped quickly.
“Was she always like…” Lynx paused. “That?”
“Not at all.” My voice was quiet. “Korin has changed her.”
“What did she used to be like?” Lynx leaned forward, resting her arms on the back of the seat.
I rubbed at the back of my neck, exhausted from the mental battle of keeping my emotions in check. “I found her one day wading into a lake trying to commit suicide. Back then, albinos were seen as bad omens. She had been a freak in her time, abandoned by her parents when she came into the world. Her family and the village believed she was the spawn of the devil and brought a curse to them. As a baby, she was left in the woods to die, but a Romanian woman heard her cries in passing and cared for Faithe into her teens. But when a terrible fire destroyed their village, the people believed it was punishment for taking in the ghost of the forest. They killed her adopted mother. Faithe managed to escape before they killed her, too.
“Once again, she had no home, wandering village to village to beg for food, but her unearthly appearance inevitably forced her to move on when she would be beaten and tortured.
“This is when I discovered her. Her soul and mind broken. Halfway into the lake. She’d had enough of a world that had treated her so harshly.”
“That’s terrible,” Lynx whispered.
Briar also leaned forward, still rubbing at her ear. “Then what happened?”
“After turning her, I took her far away from those people who tortured her to a place in Africa, where the climate was warmer, the skies more clear, and the people more open minded to someone like Faithe. I had heard of a tribe there, the Madabbe Tribe, who accepted those who were different. They believed people like us were gifts to mankind.” I inhaled a hitched breath. To be a vampire and to be considered a gift was not something I believed.
I continued. “It took some time to find the remote village deep inside the Congo, and I almost gave up, but then I’d see that forlorn look in Faithe’s eyes again. I was determined to find the tribe, to find a place where she felt valued. I considered returning to my coven, but a part of me knew she wasn’t ready for that environment. She needed to find her inner strength first. Vampires could sense weakness and might torture her mercilessly.
“Eventually, we found it and, like I’d heard, the Madabbe people took us in. They embraced Faithe fully, even giving her a name: Specter. With her white hair and skin and reddish eyes, they didn’t treat her like a monster, not like the rest of the world had. They treated her as if she were a god, something to be in awe of, something to be respected.”
“Whoa, that’s awesome.” Briar leaned back and rested her feet on the back of my seat. “Bet they loved you, too.”
“Actually, they feared me at first. Apparently, they had heard my name whispered among their visitors and none of it was good. This was the first time I realized what kind of monster I had become. The realization was eye-opening and made me decide to stay longer than expected. After a long period of time, we finally returned to my coven with Korin.”
“So you used to be kind of wicked?” Briar asked.
Briar’s hopeful voice made my stomach clench. She was looking for solidarity, but if only she knew. Wicked was a tame word for what I’d once been.
To ease the sudden tension in the air, Lynx quickly asked, “Briar, how’s your ear?”
“Meh, burns a little.” She lowered her feet and leaned forward. “I still can’t believe Korin did that to me. It was the strangest sensation, feeling my body move even though I was screaming at it to stop.” She met my eyes in the mirror. “If Korin wanted you to go see his coven, why didn’t he just compel you like everyone else?”
“Because I can’t be compelled anymore.”
“How? And can you share whatever it is with the rest of us?”
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. My roommates didn’t know my history. I had deliberately kept it from them for a number of reasons. A lot of my past was violent and bloody, especially when I was a full member of my old coven. For some strange reason, their opinion of me mattered, and I didn’t know how they would react if they knew what sort of person I used to be. Keeping my past to myself also helped me keep my roommates at arm’s length. And yet, as I looked at both of them, I couldn’t deny the unlikely friendships that had developed, despite my best intentions.
Maybe it was time to let them know the real me. Parts of me, anyway. It would help in this situation. “I fought and earned the Kiss of Eternal Night.”
“Sounds sexy,” Briar said. “I’ll fight to get it.”
“It wasn’t. It was pain and torment, the worst kind you could imagine. I had to pass three trials. The first tested my body, the second my mind, the third my soul. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
“Why did you do it?” Lynx asked, her voice soft.
“One reason was to break the hold Korin had over me. If he couldn’t compel me, I wouldn’t have to do his bidding.”
Briar smoothed her hair back into a ponytail. “What were the other reasons?”
“Nothing that matters right now.” The words escaped faster than I intended. “We need to talk about what this means. If Korin is working with Bodian Dynamics, or is Bodian, that means he might also try to bring Trianus back.”
“Trianus?” Briar scowled. “I thought we eliminated that problem. Don’t tell me you think someone still wants to bring that demon back?”
“We can’t rule it out.” I almost told her about the prophecy, but the timing felt wrong.
Briar folded her arms and mumbled, “I think we can. I kicked that incorporeal thing’s ass to pieces. At least it felt like an ass I was kicking.”
“How do we get rid of Korin?” Lynx interrupted, her heart pounding.
I adjusted my weight on the seat, considering her uneasiness. She seemed to be more nervous than usual lately. “I don’t know. Many have tried to kill him, and just as many have died.”
“He’s got to have a weakness,” Briar said. “Like a mind nut sack we can punch repeatedly.”
Lynx leaned forward, her eyes hopeful. “Could you beat him? This Kiss thing makes you fight better than anyone I’ve ever seen before.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Briar said, “but Lynx has a point. Your fighting skills are insane when you beast out.”
I frowned, not understanding the term. “Beast out?”
“You kn
ow, go all crazy-eyed monster killer. Do that on Korin.”
“The Kiss of Eternal Night is not to be used lightly. It has consequences, severe ones I didn’t know about when I went through the trials. I don’t know if I would have fought so hard to obtain the Kiss had I known about them.”
Lynx tilted her head. “What kind?”
“The Kiss of Eternal Night is pure darkness said to have been stolen from the blackest pit in Hell. Light has never touched it. Its power is rooted in rage and violence. I left Korin with the desire to escape the violence, and instead I ran right into its arms.”
Silence crowded the small space. Briar broke it. “What are our other options?”
“Could we drive him out of town?” Lynx asked. “We almost burned down the warehouse. If we can somehow try again and be successful, maybe he’ll leave.”
“First, we have to find a way to un-compel everyone,” I said. “We need the Nocs working with us again.”
“I agree,” Briar added. “It was weird seeing Angel so submissive. And yet, there was something appealing about it, too.” She touched her lips, her eyes distant. I didn’t want to know what she was thinking about.
Lynx leaned back into her seat. “I’ll find something. I promise.”
No one said anything else the rest of the way home. Lynx was lost in her thoughts, Briar was probably thinking about how to make Angel submissive to her, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how we could stop Korin. Once Korin made a plan, he didn’t give up on it. And anyone who stood in his way was destroyed.
I knew that because I used to be his destroyer.
Chapter 7
I drove past Lynx’s house and into the driveway behind it, passing Luke on the way. He was leaning against his bike looking anything but happy.
“Someone’s in trouble,” Lynx muttered.
Briar groaned and smoothed back her tangled hair. Parts of it were matted with blood. “I should’ve brought a change of clothes. How bad do I look?”
I opened the car door, pausing. “Like you’ve returned from a date with Michael Myers.”
Both Lynx and Briar turned to me, mouths agape.
“Was that a pop culture reference?” Briar asked. “Fist bump, girl.” She held her fist for me to tap.
I ignored it and exited the car. I may not keep up on the latest celebrity gossip or popular music, but I knew some things. Human’s version of horror intrigued me. Plus, part of me enjoyed the banter between us. It had been centuries since I’d had friends like them. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed it.
Luke rounded the corner and came straight for the car. When Briar exited and he saw her in a bra and bloody jeans, hair matted, the color drained from his face. He hurried to her and touched under her ear, the blood already dried. “What happened? Are you okay?”
While they spoke, I walked inside with Lynx. She crossed through the kitchen but stopped at the doorjamb. She looked back at me over her shoulder. “I’m sorry about tonight.”
“Why would you be sorry? You did nothing wrong.”
“If I wouldn’t have been so anxious to storm in there, Briar wouldn’t have been hurt, and you wouldn’t have met your maker. I can tell he terrifies you.”
“None of this is—”
“It’s just that sometimes, I get this hunger for danger. Like there’s this darkness inside me wanting to come out, wanting to hurt others.” She looked up at me with glossy eyes. “It scares me.”
I went to her and lightly placed my hand on her arm. “I won’t pretend to know what you’re going through, but I know I have my own darkness I have to fight, sometimes daily. It can be so hard not to give into it, if only to silence the constant whisperings.”
“How do you do it?”
It took a single beat of my heart to answer. “I only have to remember the monster I once was to know I never want to become that again. But you need to find what works for you.”
She nodded her head, her gaze returning to the window.
“You should sleep. It will be dawn in a couple of hours.”
“Maybe. Thanks, Samira.” She walked towards her room and closed the door softly.
Outside, Luke’s bike fired up. When Briar didn’t come back in, I assumed she left with him. I vaguely thought of the blood in my car and wondered if she, indeed, had wiped it up.
Alone, I inhaled a shaky breath and fell into a chair by the kitchen table, the realization of what had happened finally hitting me. I’d faced Korin, the vampire who made me all those centuries ago. Once I was free from him, I never thought I’d see him again.
There was a time I thought I’d never leave his side. He was my father, the person I turned to if I ever needed advice or help. I gripped the table in front of me, my breath heaving as memories threatened to pull me under. All the terrible things I’d done for him. I was a different person then, far removed from who I was now.
Closing my eyes, I focused on my breathing, trying to calm my emotions. Seeing Korin again also brought out the dangerous side of me, the kind that liked to maim and kill. Trying to calm the monster, I thought of my favorite spot in this world, a place I hadn’t been to in a long time. I pictured the lush forest, hidden by a veil of mist with its gnarled roots and twisted branches grown rugged as if to protect its heart. Its heart being a series of lakes and dozens of cascading waterfalls, the color of rare emeralds shining in the moonlight.
“Are you thinking of Croatia?” a voice said. I opened my eyes. Mateo stood in front of me, only a table between us. “One of the last times we were together was at the Plitvice Lakes.”
“I remember.”
Silence pressed between us, something that didn’t used to exist. Not between us. And yet, the pull to him was undeniable. I felt it with every beat of my heart: the need to touch him, even just a simple caress. I pushed the craving away.
“Whatever you think you need to say, don’t. I understand that you must do things for Korin. There is no need to explain.” I stood and stepped away from him, trying to resist the yearning he had awakened in me.
His lips tightened as he watched me move back from him, then he hitched in a breath. “There is so much I want to tell you.”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Things are different.”
“I thought so too, but when I saw you in the swamps with Silas that night, I realized that nothing’s changed.” His body moved around the table so fluidly, I don’t think he even knew he was moving toward me. “I tried to pretend my feelings weren’t real, that I was only feeling the way I do because you brought back the only fond memories I have ever had, but I can’t do that anymore. Not when you are so close.” He reached up and palmed my cheek, his thumb brushing across my skin. He moaned, a tortured sound. “Oh, Samira. All my feelings for you, they never left me, they are only buried here.” He touched his chest where his dead heart thundered. “It is so hard to see you, smell you, to be near you without touching you the way I want.”
I closed my eyes. “Stop, Mateo. We can’t do this.” I tried to convince him, and myself, that I didn’t love him anymore.
“There is fire between us, Samira, and though it may have died down, there are still embers that burn hot. We just need to find our way to each other again.” He slid his hand behind my neck just like he used to, and his touch ignited every part of my flesh. I sucked in a breath through my teeth.
“Do it,” he ordered.
His command struck a nerve. The most sensitive one that sent waves of heat through my abdomen. I knew exactly what he was talking about. In the past, whenever he had touched me in this way, I would tilt my head to the side, offering my life blood to him. Then we would make love for hours, just taking and giving to each other. In that world, he was the only being that existed for me, and I him.
And it had almost killed me.
“We can’t do this.” I stepped away from him.
His hand fell to his side, but he closed the distance between us again. Fangs grew in his mouth
at my refusal. “Now that you know the truth about Korin I can tell you my true feelings. I’ve come for you, Samira. I cannot stay away any longer. I tried to resist. I swear I tried.”
He gripped my hips, yanking me to him, allowing me to see the torture it had cost him in his eyes. “But I cannot ignore your call to me any longer. It has not abated over the centuries. No, it has grown. You are the only woman for me, Samira. Mi completi. Senza di te la mia vita non ha senso.”
You complete me. Without you, my life has no meaning.
I clung to him, fighting against the desire to let him press me against the kitchen wall and bite into my flesh. I was the same as him. Distance, time, or even the tearing of my heart from my chest had not lessened my feelings for this man. I wanted to tilt my head to the side and give in to my hunger. Lust and longing surged through me, overpowering my control.
Yesss, the dark voice inside me crowed, begging to be released. To feed on my emotions, to take control of my body and release a wave of blood lust no one could stop. I sucked in several shaking breaths, trying to control my feelings. If I gave in to them, it could release the Kiss. I needed to be in control of myself now more so than ever before.
And so, I slowly released him and moved away. I did not miss the disappointment in his eyes. But I wrapped myself up in courage and strength, something I’d worked hard to acquire over the centuries, and said the words I thought would push him away.
“I do not love you anymore, Mateo.”
He drew his brows together. “I do not believe you. I feel it from you, just as I know you can feel my passion, my love, for you.”
I released a trace of venom into my words. “It is too late for your exclamations of love. I waited three nights for you, even though I put both myself and Faithe in danger to do so.”
He stepped closer. “You were never in any danger.”
I pushed him back, trying to put some distance between us. “I was in danger. I had to kill Henrik, who had been compelled to find me and cut off my head. He was a good friend and it pained me to kill him.” Grief clutched my pounding heart, thinking of that night. Of my helplessness, my pain in killing my dear friend.