by Nina Walker
He jumps back, growling. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have, and maybe my head hurts even more now, but I’m still glad I did. I smile and glare. I have nothing to say to this sucker.
Procuring a white handkerchief from inside his suit jacket, he mops up his blood. His nose heals right before my eyes. Except for a couple drops on his white shirt, it’s as if nothing happened. I heard it crunch, I felt it give, my own forehead hurts.
But he’s healed.
“A less controlled vampire would’ve already killed you for that,” he says calmly. “But you’re fortunate that I have had centuries to learn patience.”
Centuries? Just how old is this freak?
He picks up a stake, the same one I had strapped under my pant leg, and snaps it in half. “Who are you working for?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” It’s a lie and we both know it.
“Let’s cut right to the chase, shall we? I have your mother. I will kill her if you don’t answer my questions, and then I will kill you.”
I blink at him, fear cleansing me like boiling water. He’s right. He holds all the cards and I’ve got nothing. What did I expect? This is a casino, he said it, and what do I know about casinos? The house always wins.
“What makes you think I work for someone?” I deflect with a question of my own, even though I know it’s useless.
“You tracked that vampire the other night, and you obviously had hunter friends with you. You carry a stake on you at all times. You wear that crucifix everyday, which by the way, is a silly superstition.” His jaw tenses and he grabs the necklace, yanking it from my neck and breaking it with an easy flick of his wrist. I yelp as he tosses it to the floor. “You, my angel, are a hunter.”
I shrug and try not to hate him for breaking my necklace. Grammy gave it to me before she died but I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing what it means to me. “So? What does it matter now that you’ve got me. You can’t compel me to do anything.”
“I could keep you locked down here for years until your prefrontal cortex develops and then compel you. How old are you, again? Eighteen? Oh, but you’re almost nineteen. Only two more weeks until your birthday. You humans love to celebrate your countdown towards death.”
“What’s your point?”
He smiles. “Six years isn’t so long a wait for a vampire. It’s but a drop in the ocean to me.”
My mouth goes dry. He looked up my date of birth and now he’s willing to keep me until I’m twenty-five. I imagine myself being a kidnapped girl, living years in this dark, dank room––a vampire as my only link to the outside world.
“But why should I bother with all that when I have your mother?” he continues. “Is her life not compelling enough for you, Angel?”
It is, but he doesn’t have to know that. “Stop calling me that.”
“Devil, then.”
I take a deep breath. “My mother will end up dead either way. I came here to save her, as I’ve done countless times, but tonight she refused to come home. Did you see how much blood she donated? There’s no saving her now, thanks to you.”
“She’s a gambling addict,” he scoffs. “How is that my fault?”
“Compulsion!” My outburst echoes through the room.
“We don’t need to compel the addicted.” His laugh is bitter. “They come to us all on their own. You humans are weak.”
“I’m not weak.”
His smile quirks. “Trust me, you are. You’re mortal. You're breakable. And just like everyone who has come before you, I will get exactly what I want from you when I want it and how I want it. I could even make you beg for it if I desired.”
“And what do you want, Adrian?” I twist my neck. “This? You want my blood? Take it then. Get it over with.”
“If I wanted your blood you’d already be dead. You already know what I want, hunter. Who do you work for?”
Like I’d tell him. But I need to drag this out while I think of something. “And what’s in it for me?” I feign interest.
“Oh, we’re back to negotiating, are we?”
“I guess we are.”
“Well then, name your price and we’ll see what I can do.” His liquid ice eyes travel up and down my body, slowly, langually, and I shiver.
The thought strikes me and I can’t stop myself. “Compel my mother never to gamble again.”
He pauses. “You’re smarter than you look.”
“So I don’t look smart?”
“You look like a twenty-first century teenager so one can only assume your education and experience are lacking.”
“Typical narcissistic male.” I roll my eyes.
This time his laugh is genuine and it unsettles me. “If I do this, I’ll need more than just to know who you’re working for.”
I snort. “I’m not going to walk you in there and let you kill my friends if that’s what you’re after.”
“I don’t want to kill those hunters,” he replies evenly, catching me off guard. “And I already know where you work. Your facility is under the city bank. No, Angel, I have other reasons for wanting to keep my enemies close.”
I know I shouldn’t believe him even though I want to. But he knows about our location, so maybe he’s not lying.
“How can I trust you?”
His eyes flash triumphant. “A blood vow.”
“A what now?” I haven’t heard of this, but if it has to do with blood and a vampire then it can’t be anything good.
“We exchange a small amount of blood and a promise,” he says, “if either of us breaks that promise, then we die a very painful death.”
“Eww, I don’t want your blood! That’s so unsanitary.” I mean, seriously, that could have terrible complications for me. “Haven’t you ever heard of HIV? I don’t know where you’ve been.”
“I can assure you my blood is pure, much more than that of a human. The vampiric virus kills off anything that tries to threaten my body.”
“Still gross.”
“And I can tell your blood is untouched.”
If he means that I’m a virgin who’s never done a drug in her life, then he has me there. But seriously, that’s been my hard work and a series of a lot of unpopular choices, and I’m supposed to blow it all now on this guy? Yeah, right.
“I won’t touch the hunters if you will agree to keep me informed on your handler’s goings-on. I want to know when he leaves, where he goes. I want to know what he’s teaching. Anything out of the ordinary about him. Anything at all.”
“My handler?” My mind flashes to the man who’s been nothing but kind to me.
“Yes. Leslie Tate.”
I freeze, and he chuckles. “Oh, Angel. Who do you think I am? I run this city. Of course, I already know all about Tate, and if he were brave enough to face me, I wouldn’t have to go through you.”
I don’t know what to say.
“And in return,” he continues, “I will agree to save your mother from her addiction.”
I think of my mother and the way she treated me tonight. I think of the bag, heavy with blood, of the money, being gambled like it means nothing. I want to save her, I do, but what if I can’t? What if Adrian is her only hope? He can fly. He’s powerful. He’s old and connected and runs the city. If anyone can save her, it would be him. And as much as I don’t want to betray Tate or my friends, Adrian is resourceful. He’ll find out what he wants about Tate one way or another. At least this way my mom will survive until Christmas. Could anyone really blame me for that? She’s the only family I have.
“You can’t go after the hunters or Leslie if I do this.” The second the words pop out of my mouth, guilt eats at my stomach. I’m not this person. I can’t agree to do this. As much as I want to, it’s not who I am.
“Fine, I will only fight a hunter if it’s to protect myself.” I can tell Adrian is getting excited. This isn’t going to end well. “How does that sound? It’s a good deal
that I’m offering. You should take it.”
“But––” I can feel the shame pull on my facial features. Adrian freezes. He sees it, too. He knows I’m going to refuse.
“The alternative is I kill you and your mother,” he growls, his face going dark. He’s not playing games anymore. “You make this vow or you die.”
“Those are my only options?”
“Yes. I have no qualms about killing you both. You’re lucky I’m even making this deal with you to begin with. Don’t think I can’t force you to do whatever I want, because I can.” He smiles and his eyes shine brighter than ever. “But I’m a gentleman so I’m going to ask you. One. More. Time.”
He’s not a gentleman. He’s a monster.
I release a slow breath, the implications of this conversation pressing down on me with the weight of life or death. He’s right. What other choice do I have? Maybe it makes me a horrible person, but I want to live, and I want my mother to have a life free of addiction. I don’t see another way out of this one, so I’ll just have to hope that I can outsmart Adrian later and help Leslie Tate along the way.
“Fine,” I snap. “I’ll do it.”
Chapter 16
With a flash of movement too fast for my human eyes to follow, the ropes binding me fall to the floor in a stream of ribbons. I jump up and Adrian gives me space to stand and shake out my limbs. I want to run away, to fight, to do something, but I can’t. So I stand there, frozen to the spot, glaring at the beautiful monster that I’m certain is going to be my ultimate undoing.
“You agree that you’ll spy on Leslie Tate for me, and in return I’ll relieve your mother of her gambling addiction?”
I nod. I’ve always been a confident person––I’ve always loved myself––but tonight, Adrian has taken some of that away from me, and I’ll never forgive him.
His eyes narrow. “And you will speak of this agreement to no one?”
“Fine, but neither will you.”
“Agreed.” His smile is sinister as he drags one of his fangs across his full bottom lip, splitting it. Blood trickles down his chin.
“What are you doing?”
He answers by stalking in so close that I stumble back. He pushes me up against the hard wall, caging me in with his muscled arms. His spicy cedar smell dances through the air, reminding me of a Christmas tree––if a Christmas tree was sexy and terrifying. The long thin stream of blood continues to trickle down his neck; I grimace. His bottom lip is an entirely different color than his top, red as cherries with the pooling blood. Hunger flashes, lighting up his sky blue eyes like a thunderstorm. Did he change his mind? Is he going to kill me? I should be afraid, but strangely I’m not.
My knees weaken, and I grab hold of his arms to anchor me up. They’re like steel beams welded to the wall. His strength is utterly unhuman, reminding me of just how vulnerable I am to be standing here.
“What are you doing?” I ask again, my voice trembling.
“Testing myself.” His reply is low and guttural. Is he going to kiss me? No, a human man would be testing a kiss, but Adrian is anything but human. The bastard is testing his resolve not to drink me dry. I’m a toy to be played with and used, nothing more. He’s like a little boy trying to see how long he can hold his breath under water. Eventually, he’s going to need air. Eventually, I’m going to get myself killed.
“Test yourself on someone else,” I growl. “I thought we were doing the blood vow?”
Something I can’t quite describe flashes over his features. It’s like annoyance and resolve and laughter all wrapped together. “We are.” He snatches his right arm free of my grip and swipes at my face. He’s so impossibly fast that his stubby little fingernail slices through my bottom lip, blood spilling to mirror his.
Surprised, I cry out, but he captures the pain with his foul mouth. His lips cover mine, our blood mixing. Metal assaults my taste buds, and I hate him even more than I thought was possible. This feels so wrong, and when he coaxes my mouth open to deepen the kiss, his tongue sliding across mine, it feels downright immoral. What kind of girl kisses a vampire and likes it?
Because I do like it.
My body buzzes and my heart pounds and my fingers crawl their way up and around his cold neck to ruin his perfect Adonis hair. He pushes our bodies against the wall, his hand still above me cracking the plaster. I’ve never been kissed like this before.
I feel like a wildfire and Adrian is my fuel. I need more.
As if knowing exactly what’s going through my mind right now, he chuckles cruelly and peels us apart. He wipes his thumb along his bloodied lip and licks it clean. His has already healed. “Hmm, I thought so.”
“You thought what?” I hate that my voice cracks. I hate that I want him to come back and kiss me again and that I’m hoping he’ll say something about how good I taste.
“That you’d crumble and I wouldn’t.” The statement is like a cold shower.
Nevermind, I don’t want him.
I glare, hating how right he is about me. Here the man stands, completely unaffected by what we just did. He’s had lifetimes to engage physically with far more beautiful and experienced women. What am I? I’m nothing but a stupid teenaged girl, a game he played to win. Well, he may be the victor for now, but I’m not giving up. This is far from over.
“And what did you think of our exchange, little angel?”
I shrug. “That I’ve had better.”
He laughs. “So have I.” He is so clearly not the liar right now; it would be laughable if it wasn’t so embarrassing.
“So that’s it? The blood vow is set?” I fold my arms over my chest and tap my foot.
“Yes.”
“But I didn’t feel anything.”
He smirks. “That’s obviously not true.” His eyes drink me in, and I redden. I also realize just how disciplined and powerful he must be if he could exchange blood with me without actually biting me. I didn’t know that kind of restraint was possible for a sucker. Technically what we just did wasn’t against vampiric law. There certainly wasn’t venom involved.
“How do I know if any of this vow stuff is real?” I challenge. I still can’t shake the fact that I didn’t feel anything magical happen. Not that it’s magic, well, maybe it is, I’m not really sure.
“Well, Angel, it’s quite simple. If you don’t hold up your end of the bargain, then you’ll die. What’s so hard about death for your human mind to comprehend? Don’t you worry about your mortality on a daily basis?”
I scoff. “Whatever, let’s go compel my mother right now and get this show on the road.” I raise an eyebrow and try to mask my excitement. I’ve always wanted this for her––for us––especially since things have taken a turn for the worse, but I never dared to imagine it was possible. Now that it’s about to happen, I want it more than ever.
“Patience is a virtue.” He strolls away, and I follow, but first I pick up my broken necklace and stuff it into my pocket. “Haven’t you ever heard that?”
“Talk of virtues is pretty rich coming from a murderous vampire, don’t you think?”
“I can’t help what I am, same as you can’t help it. It’s pointless to fight nature.”
“Right. Like vampires are natural. I know for a fact you were born human just like the rest of us. You said it yourself. You’re a virus.”
He says nothing.
“So vampires can’t help but kill?” I continue to poke the bear. “Great, maybe we can get that in writing and take it to the idiot humans who signed treaties with you guys in the first place.”
He doesn’t bother to respond. We continue walking through a labyrinth of hallways until we reach a stairwell. He opens the door. “After you.”
He doesn’t have to tell me twice. I want to save my mom and get out of here. The thin cut on my lip throbs and I feel completely bruised from his kiss. His mouth is like a brand on me now, one that nobody else will see but that I will never forget. I’m not proud of myself.
A
s soon as we’re back on the casino floor, he points to the nearest bathroom. “Clean yourself up. You’re going to attract unwanted attention with all that blood.”
I hurry inside and wash my face and neck––even though I refuse to look myself in the eyes––and then scrub everything clean with a paper towel from the dispenser.
Smoothing my hair on the way out, I find Adrian waiting for me. He hasn’t bothered to clean our blood off his smirking face. I don’t think it’s a vampire thing, I think it’s a rub-this-in-Eva’s-face thing. “You’re truly sick, you know that?”
“I do know that.” His eyes are sinister but playful, a terrible combination.
I have to look away. I gaze out at the casino floor with it’s golden art deco style, totally bugged that it’s more crowded than I’ve ever seen it before. These people are idiots for being here and I want to shake them all and scream in their faces, not that it would matter one iota. “Okay, let’s go find my mother. Knowing her, I’m sure she’s still here somewhere.”
“You mistake me, little angel. I’m not going to do anything for your mother tonight.”
I stop short and gape at him. “But you have to.”
“No, the vow we agreed on is that you’ll spy for me and then I’ll relieve your mother of her addiction.” He clicks his tongue, smiling ruefully. “We never set a time limit on when that relief would come, but we did set an order.”
Realization burns bright as the midday sun. “That’s not fair!”
He backs away. “Neither is taking my money and still reporting me to the Vampire Enforcement Coalition, but you did that, and now I’m doing this. Two can play the game of twisting words, Angel. Now get out of my casino and don’t return until you have valuable information to report.”
He disappears into the raucous crowd, leaving me to wonder why on earth I ever thought I could trust a vampire.
Chapter 17
I regret everything. What was I doing? Why did I give into him like that? I’m a terrible person. A better hunter––a stronger hunter––wouldn’t have agreed. They’d have died before engaging in a blood vow with a sucker, especially Adrian-freaking-Teresi. I may not know Tate well, but I do know that he’s been nothing but gracious to me, and here I am betraying his trust. And what if it ultimately comes down on my friends, too? What if I’m the weak link that causes the downfall of the whole organization?