Witch Gone Viral

by Sami Valentine

  Leaning in, she rested her head on his shoulder. She breathed in his sandalwood scent. He could fight like the devil and crack a quip with the best of them, but there was always that core of sorrow inside. The guilt of his soul wasn’t the only burden he bore. The bright side to amnesia was she didn’t know if she had mommy or daddy issues. Childhood traumas weren’t her problem. “You’re being hard on yourself.”

  Lucas shook his head. “No, my father was free with that fact whenever he caught me scribbling when I should have been overseeing shipping reports. My mother died in childbirth, so my spinster aunt raised me when he was away on merchant voyages.” A small smile of distant remembrance drifted across his features. “I started with funny poems to make my aunt smile. Even after I died, I’d mail some silly snippet when I remembered. I loved her.”

  “You’ve always had a big heart.” Red nuzzled his shoulder.

  Lucas tilted her chin up. His gray eyes were magnetic.

  She couldn’t look away.

  Caressing her cheeks, his gaze darted over her features as if imprinting them to memory. He took a shaky, unnecessary breath. “It rules me more than it should. I act first, think second. The first night I saw you, it took every scrap of will to walk away. You’re the girl I never should have met. Even the first time your soul entered my life, I had been dead for nearly twenty years. Then to see you again. It was like I had been given a gift.”

  She smiled, feeling the flush on her neck.

  His face crumpled as if his heart broke at the sight. “I didn’t realize this was a test.”

  Red pulled away from him. “What are you saying?”

  He dropped his hands to his lap, letting her go. His shoulders slumped. “The Dague wants my soul, and that device could already be ready to zap the city any night now.”

  She gestured to the city lights around the rooftop. Their enemies could be lurking behind every shadow with his name at the top of the hit list. “You’re leaving again? Did you learn literally nothing from last time?”

  “Quinn was right, kitten. My demon will have you in its sights. I’ll rip through any hunter to get you. I’ll enjoy it too. It won’t matter that Kristoff claimed you, I’ll turn you anyway.” Lucas shook his head. “You’re not safe if I am around.”

  Red touched his chest, biting back the panic to remain calm. This was madness. She understood his logic, but it was going to get him killed. Maybe her too. “I’m more vulnerable without you. I need you to have my back in the fights ahead.”

  Lucas took her hands, bowing his head, jaw tightening. “I have killed every human woman that I have ever loved, starting with my mother at my first breath. Even my aunt was eventually used against me because I couldn’t let her go. I would have killed Juniper too if it wasn’t for the soul. That’s what I am trying to tell you. I need to let you go. I need to be strong or else you’ll be the one to pay.”

  Yanking her hand back, Red scooted away from him on the couch. If he was worried about hurting her, he was too late. “You’re making a mistake. We need you here. I need you here.”

  “Not if I eat you!” He tossed his hands up, lip curling.

  Red stood, turning from him to face the lights of Sunset Strip. The wind chilled the tears on her cheeks. “We can fight this. Going on the lam isn’t going to bring down the Dague!”

  Lucas put his arms around her from behind and leaned his chin on her shoulder. “Red, we don’t know the range on their rotten machine. I shouldn’t even be on this bleeding continent.”

  Spinning to face him, Red wiped the tears from her cheeks. “You’re not coming back.”

  “Not until I’m sure it’s safe for you.” He rubbed up and down her upper arms.

  She studied his strained, determined expression. How could she reach him? Her head was as thrown as her heart at the idea of losing him. “My life has never been safe.”

  “This is different. If they change me, I’m not going to be like Kristoff, content to sniff around in the friend zone.” He cradled her face in his hands. His fingers trembled. His darkened gray eyes met hers. His voice came out a husky growl. “I will do every wicked thing you ever dreamed of and more than you can even imagine. Then, when your body can’t take anymore, I will make you a monster.”

  Chest tight and breath caught, Red couldn’t stare away from the tempest of his gaze.

  “That’s why I can’t be your boyfriend, Red. I would only be your death.” Swallowing thickly, reddish tears marred the whites of his eyes, Lucas released her. His cold touch radiated on her skin even as he turned away.

  “Lucas…” Vision blurring, Red blinked away the tears. She opened her eyes to find herself alone in a city of millions. Shivering, she bowed her head before draping herself over the couch. She pulled a pillow to her chest.

  Her phone rang.

  Sitting up, Red pulled it out of her pocket and saw it was the supreme. “Fucking hell.” She put it to her ear and answered it as calmly as she could. “Cora, hi.”

  Cora took a beat. “Red, are you okay? You’re a little choked up, chica.”

  Flushing from being caught in a breakup, she scrubbed at her wet cheeks as if the vampire could see her through the audio phone line. “It’s nothing compared to all of this mess.”

  “Your feelings are valid. This night has been hard for everyone. What is it?”

  Red weighed the options of telling Cora about Lucas or the supreme finding out on her own. Either way she would find out quickly and be pissed. Red tried to say it as cut and dry as she could. “Lucas left. He’s scared of the Genesis Machine hitting him from a distance. He thinks he is a liability.” Her voice cracked. “Please don’t punish him.”

  “Center yourself, Cora.” The low whisper came over the line before the supreme spoke louder. “Red, I’m not going to hurt your man.”

  “Former. If ever…” Red muttered.

  “Oh, it was that kind of exit,” Cora drawled, the Louisiana coming out in her voice. “Girl, we need some chardonnay for this story.”

  Chuckling, throat froggy with tears, Red wiped her face. “Once we smash these terrorists, I’ll take you up on that.”

  “I know it’s probably the last thing you want to hear, but I gotta tell you that this too shall pass.” Cora sighed bitterly. “I’ve been telling myself that a lot lately.”

  “You’ve been dumped on enough too.” Red commiserated. Cora had lost her childe, Joe Chang, and now her city was in danger again. It put a breakup into perspective. Lucas had left town. He hadn’t died.

  “Could you tell the universe that? I’m on the razor’s edge. And that soul machine…” A blast of low Creole cursing came over the line.

  “I’m guessing August Harvest part two, but the wacky reversal?”

  “Chaos again. These young ones don’t understand. Looking back, I don’t know how I survived,” Cora said, voice growing distant with memory. “I was a jazz baby, fresh to Harlem from the south, and ready to party through the roaring twenties. I was already nocturnal before I was reborn into eternal night at war. 1926 was the bloodiest year of the harvest. The humans had an armistice, but the vampires never stopped. You never knew who would be next. I dodged the curse for nearly 30 years. Then once I got it, I knew it was a gift.”

  Red leaned back on the couch, curling her feet under her. “You didn’t resent it?”

  “I hated it at first. The guilt was maddening. Every morning, the sun called to me. I could only drag myself out of bed to the late shows. Half starving and full of loathing, I lost myself in the theater. It’s how I met Delilah.” Cora paused, necklaces rattling though the phone line as she shifted. “She’s a wreck, Red. I’ve seen her tortured, and I never saw her lose it like this. I need you to keep an eye on her there. Please.”

  “I will.” The earnest plea touched Red, shaking loose the chip on her shoulder that she had been carrying about the tribunal’s appointed supervision. Cora wasn’t perfect, but she protected her people. The supreme hadn’t earned her resentmen
t. Red ran a restless hand over her pulled-back hair. “Cora, I have to apologize to you.”

  “Why? Working for me might just get you killed.”

  “You helped me, stood up to your own kind, and I repaid that with paranoia. Maybe you haven’t noticed, but I’ve been projecting on you. I won’t bore you with the details of my existential crisis. I’ve been afraid of my own power. It made me suspicious of yours. Not really all that feminist of me, I know.” Red pinched the bridge of her nose, wincing at her own awkwardness. “I don’t know why I needed to tell you that, but there you go.”

  “I appreciate that, Red.” Cora’s words came out with a raw quiver. “We’re going to get our friends back. It’s all going to work out.”

  Nodding, Red made her goodbyes before leaning back on the circular couch. She looked up at the starless, smoggy sky. Putting a hand on her heart, she tried to control her breathing. Cora had said it was all going to be okay.

  Red didn’t believe her.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  January 27th, Evening, Club Vltava, Sunset Strip, Los Angeles, California

  The cold on the rooftop had driven her back to Kristoff’s office. She had checked on Vic earlier, yet she didn’t like leaving him alone with all the minions on lockdown in the building. They might have been on the same side, but too many still sported bruises from their earlier fight with the Dague. A pinched hunger soured their features. Vampires had super strength, speed, and healing, but using those talents drained their energy without a blood refill. Kristoff had them all well trained enough that not even one looked her way. She locked the office door anyway.

  Going to the spacious bedroom suite attached to the office, Red took Vic’s hand as she sat at his bedside. “Damn it, Vic, you get hit in the head too much. This can’t be good.”

  Propped up on pillows under a green duvet, Vic rested on a massive bed in the center of the bedroom attached to the office. Quinn had landed one hell of a KO on him. The impact had blackened both his eyes. Butterfly bandages crossed the bridge of his flattened nose. He breathed heavily through his mouth. He wasn’t in a coma, but she feared for his life anyway. The world was changing too quickly. Vic had been knocked unconscious in a city where there were vampires with souls, would he wake up before or after the Dague stole them all?

  “You’re going to be bummed that you missed a big fight, but you did miss a big meeting, so it’s a wash.” She screwed up her face, fighting back the hot tears behind her eyes. “You’re going to give me a big fat ‘I told you so’ about Lucas when you wake up, too.”

  Staring into his swollen face, a ghoulish vision rose up of a target on his forehead. Quinn had made it clear. He was in the market for a new childe. Vic was a clever hunter and knew how to cover his tracks. He could dodge the Black Libertine… in the old days. The electric wheelchair lurked in the corner. Quinn’s voice echoed in her head about Vic walking. “It won’t always be like this, Vic. I just have to decide if I’m willing to have you hate me. I’m ready for the other tradeoffs.”

  The swing of a door filtered in from the office. Kristoff stepped to the open threshold between the attached rooms as if conjured by her dark thoughts. He lingered, shoulders hunched, leaning on the doorframe. Even over six feet tall, he seemed small and uncertain as he gazed at her. “I just wanted to check in, but I can leave if you want to be alone.

  “It’s fine.” Red shook her head. She gestured to the California king sized bed. “Why did I have the couch again?”

  “You grumbled when I tried to move you.” Kristoff smiled as he moved beside her. “You demanded covers and rolled over.

  “You should have told me the thread count on these sheets.” Red shook her head as she looked at Vic. “His nose isn’t going to be as pretty as before. More than that, he’s going to be broken up about Quinn.”

  “I can help with one of those.” Kristoff brushed his finger along a sharpened fang and let a blood droplet drip onto Vic’s nose, turning the thin butterfly bandages red. The cut healed as the bruises lightened from deep purple to a dusky green. His eyes darted to her. He frowned. “Too bold? Should I have let nature take its course?”

  Breath shaking, Red stood up. The idea had been in the back of her mind ever since she had guessed Kristoff’s powers. Quiet as a shadow, it’d followed her. She’d be doing research with Vic at Quinn Investigations when it would pop up like a ghoul from a crypt. The specter would rise as they had tacos and iced raspados outside a food truck. She’d fall asleep with the thought poking at the back of her mind. It wasn’t something she had said aloud or even journaled. A chorus of shame and reminders of bodily autonomy never chased the idea away fully, only kept it wordless. Tonight, it needed to be said.

  “What are you thinking?” Lifting an eyebrow, Kristoff stepped away from Vic.

  “You fixed your brother’s legs.” Red made herself met his gaze, dropping her arms to her sides and raising her chin. “Can you do it for Vic?”

  “I wondered when you ask…” Kristoff wet his lip. “Do you think he would thank you? He might see it as owing a vampire.”

  “We both know it wouldn’t be his debt. I’m asking you.” Red put her hand on her chest to center herself, keeping her voice even. She knew that this would tie her closer to the demon. She didn’t care. If Vic had a fighting chance against Quinn, she was willing to make the sacrifice.

  “I’ve kept this secret for a long time. People will wonder when a man starts to walk again.”

  “I’ll say it’s a Smith and Reaper secret treatment. Hell, I’ll tell Vic that.”

  Kristoff turned away, shaking his head. “He’s like you. He’d just get into trouble trying to figure out the mystery.”

  “He can keep a secret.” Taking Kristoff’s hand, Red tilted her head to look up at him. “Please. Quinn is going to come for him. I don’t want him to be…” She dropped his hand, lowering her face. What was she expecting? Vampires with the dark gift of healing had to stay hidden. Their power would be coveted by any desperate person watching a loved one suffer. She was one of them.

  “I’ll do it for you, Red, but tonight is a bad night.” Kristoff ran a quick hand through his dark blond hair, giving a minute shake of his head. His jaw tightened. “He’ll need a lot of blood. I’ll need to feed afterward to be ready for the fight ahead. We’ve run out of blood bags, and none of us have time to hunt.”

  “I don’t know how long we can wait.” Swallowing back the lump in her throat, Red glanced at Vic’s battered face. She had vowed once that there was one thing that she’d never ask Kristoff to do. The Dague had forced her hand. “I’ll make sure you feed. Just please heal him now.”

  “I’m intrigued.” Kristoff rubbed his chin as he considered her. He nodded and clasped his hands behind his back. “The doctor is in session then.”

  Throwing herself forward, Red hugged him. She could already picture Vic swaggering into a highway honkytonk again. Joy in restoring her mentor overcame her doubts. “Thank you!”

  Kristoff held her close, strong arms tightening around her. “You’re welcome.”

  She wiped her eyes as she drew back.

  A small smile tugging at his mouth, Kristoff paused, shoulders slumping. Conflict bloomed on his features. “Are you sure?”

  “Not at all, but I’m willing to try anything.” Red glanced down at Vic. She didn’t add what she was willing to lose to keep him from joining the evil dead at Quinn’s hand.

  Kristoff turned to Vic, stepping away from Red to take stock of his patient. His vampire fangs lengthened over his human teeth.

  Her heart jumped, instinct telling her to get the predator away from the prey. She forced herself to back up to the foot of the bed. Hovering over Kristoff, distracting him with a heaving bosom and throbbing anxiety, wasn’t going to do anything for Vic.

  Lifting his wrist, Kristoff bit into it, then pressed the bleeding cut to Vic’s slack lips. He rubbed his thumb along the throat to force the other man to drink.

  Vic’s
bruises healed on his face, the deep purple transforming back into the natural golden tint to his skin.

  Red gasped out. “It worked!”

  “It’s not enough,” Kristoff grunted before cutting his wrist with a fingernail.

  Standing at the foot of the bed, Red chewed the inside of her cheek as she watched. The process took longer than she expected. Kristoff had to bite his wrist again and again as he healed. His skin grew paler as he administered his blood.

  “There. I can’t do any more tonight.” He scrubbed the blood off his wrist with a handkerchief. Amber flickered in his gaze. “I need to feed.”

  Red stepped away from the bed, shivering from the hunger in his eyes. She knew that her retreating trembles were a siren song to a vampire. Backing into the attached office, she stilled her shakes and beckoned him with one finger.

  Kristoff followed her, blue eyes darkening, closing the door behind him. “Now, what is on the menu?”

  Gulping back the jolt of fear, Red raised her chin. Her heart hammered against her ribs. “Me.”

  Fangs jutting from his mouth, Kristoff licked his lips. “How did you know that’s what I wanted?” Closing the gap between them, he ran his fingers over his mark on her neck. “What’s the catch? Will my sire come at me when my back is turned for touching his girlfriend?”

  “I’m not his girlfriend.” Red bit her lip and looked away. “I don’t think he’ll notice, not where he’s going.”

  Kristoff didn’t say anything as his finger twirled a rogue curl on the base of her neck under her high ponytail. His whisper-soft touch tingled down her spine. He studied her face. “I don’t want to mistake you. Tell me what you want me to do.”

  “Don’t make me say it.” Red sighed. “Do you need an engraved invitation?”

  “I need to hear it,” he whispered into her ear, lips brushing against the lobe.

  “Mr. Novak…” She tried to be sarcastic as she held up her wrist. “I’m giving you an invitation to the bar.”

  He drew back. His eyes flickered to her neck and followed the line of her throat. “I’ll need to drink deeper than that.”