Prologue 14 страница

vehicle right at the guardrail before he

bailed out the door.

Gretchen’s scream as we hurtled over

the cliff was the last thing I heard before

everything went black.

B lood.

Its taste flavored my mouth while its

coppery scent hung in the air. I

swallowed, expecting the pain radiating

through me to vanish, yet it didn’t. That’s

when I realized I wasn’t swallowing

vampire blood for healing. It was my own.

I forced my eyes open even though it

felt like razors had replaced my eyelids.

Then what I saw made me forget the pain.

Gretchen hung above me, her black hair

hiding her face, red drips falling onto the

smashed glass that surrounded me. Sandra

was also suspended by her seat belt, her

blood flowing in a thicker trail. Between

us was a thick tree branch, of all things, its

leaves spattered with crimson.

Why aren’t we dead? was my first

thought, followed immediately by Where’s

Shrapnel? I sat up, trying not to scream

from the pain. A glance at the front of the

limo showed the driver’s side was empty.

The passenger side wasn’t. Oscar’s pale

face had an expression of shock that even

his rapidly mummifying skin couldn’t

erase. He was also suspended upside

down by his seat belt in the flipped limo,

the hilt of a silver knife buried in his

chest.

I lurched toward that knife, sending

more fiery arcs through my body. It felt

like my ribs, collarbone, and left arm

were fractured, plus I had more cuts than I

could count from all the broken glass.

Still, I was lucky. Without the side and

front air bags, I’d be dead. I hadn’t been

wearing a seat belt since I wanted to grab

Sandra in case she tried anything. Little

did I know the danger came from the front

seat, not the back.

Grunts of agony escaped me as I hoisted

myself over the broken glass into the front

of the limo. Once there, I saw through the

smashed windshield that a tree had

stopped our descent down the cliff. That

was the good news. The bad news was the

orange flickers licking up the underside of

the hood.

I yanked the knife from Oscar’s body,

intending to cut the seat belts from

Gretchen and Sandra, when noise outside

made me freeze. Someone was coming,

and I wasn’t naive enough to think it was

rescuers.

I licked the blood-coated knife so fast

that I cut my tongue, but before that pain

fully registered, it vanished. In the

seconds it took me to lick the other side,

my whole body hurt less. By the time

Shrapnel ripped off the passenger side

door, I was crouched in front of Gretchen

and Sandra, holding the knife in one hand

while electricity crackled from the other.

He immediately leapt back several feet,

body tensed to dodge anything I aimed at

him.

“Why? ” I spat.

Half of his shirt and jacket hung in

tatters, the red-stained slash showing

where my whip had penetrated. Despite

the severity of the wound, it hadn’t killed

him. It had only slowed him until he

healed enough to come back and finish the

job.

“Because now you know, ” he said in a

hard voice.

“I don’t mean this, ” I said, a jerk of my

head indicating the ruined limousine.

“Why did you betray Vlad? ”

“I didn’t intend to.”

Now his voice was almost a whisper.

Despair skipped across his mocha

features, followed by weary resolve.

“None of this was supposed to happen.

You think I wanted to kill my friends in

that car? I don’t even want to kill you, but

I have no choice.”

I raised my right hand higher. “You so

much as twitch and I’ll cut you in half for

real this time.”

He was too far away for me to attempt

it now, but if he came closer, he’d be in

range. I didn’t dare risk charging him due

to the steep incline, plus that would leave

Gretchen and Sandra helpless. Instead, I

waited for him to lunge at me with his

inhuman speed, but as the seconds ticked

by and Shrapnel didn’t move, I grew

suspicious. Sure, he knew I wasn’t

bluffing, but it wouldn’t take long for

word of the crash to reach Vlad. He had to

know that, so why wasn’t he at least

attempting to—

Then the wind blew a noxious fume my

way. Once I smelled it, I understood.

Shrapnel didn’t have to move to kill me.

All he had to do was wait for the fire to

reach the leaking gas tank.

Chapter 34

“I f you run now, you might make it before

Vlad gets here, ” I said, switching tactics. I

couldn’t free Gretchen and Sandra and

fight off Shrapnel before the car blew. We

both knew that.

“It’s already too late. You didn’t die in

the crash and it took too long for me to

heal before I reached you.”

Again he sounded more weary than

villain-ish. He even sighed as though

burdened beyond what he could bear.

“Now all that’s left is to ensure your

death.”

“What did I ever do to you? ” I snapped,

hoping someone from the mansion had

seen the smoke and help was on the way.

“It’s what you will do if you live.” His

gaze shifted to my right hand. “My death is

already certain. Hers is not.”

Her. I took a last stab at making him run

or charge me.

“You mean the pretty brunette

vampire? ” I said, betting it all that it was

the same woman I’d glimpsed in my

vision. “Hate to break it to you, but she

was found out days ago. Vlad’s already

got people hunting her down. We just

didn’t know who the traitor was.”

“Lies, ” Shrapnel hissed.

He took a step forward and I held my

breath. Come on, just a little closer!

“How’s this for lies? She’s five foot

four, curvier than me, thick walnutcolored

hair, lilting accent... want me to

go on? ”

I couldn’t, but as the scent of gasoline

increased, so did my desperation. I

debated charging him despite the steep hill

and his incredible speed. Then he took

another step closer.

“How did you break her spell to reach

her? ”

“Oh, it was easy, ” I said, thinking it

was a damn good thing Shrapnel wasn’t a

mind reader because I had no idea what he

was talking about. “Where do you think I

got all this straight black hair from? I’m

one quarter Cherokee and my grandmother

was a powerful medicine woman. She

taught my mother and me all kinds of

mystical tricks, so your little bitch’s spell

was no match for the magic I know.”

Except for the one quarter Cherokee

part, the rest was all lies. I held my

breath, hoping that Shrapnel didn’t realize

that.

“Don’t speak of her that way! ” he

roared.

He took another step forward and that

was my chance. I exploded toward him,

snapping all the electricity I could muster

into a whip that shone as bright as

lightning. He lunged to avoid it, but even

his speed wasn’t enough. That dazzling

cord caught him in the hip and continued

all the way through.

His legs dropped like felled tree limbs,

pitching the rest of him forward with his

momentum. He ended up landing on me,

his weight knocking the breath from me.

Before I could push him off, he began

pummeling me while his fangs tore at

anything close enough to bite.

I screamed at the brutal double assault.

Being almost cut in half hadn’t diminished

Shrapnel’s ferocity. Instead, he seemed

almost demonic in his determination to

kill me. A stunning blow caved in my rib

cage, cutting off my scream. The

savageness of the pain stole all thought,

triggering blind survival instinct. I didn’t

consciously grab him and send a current

into him. All I knew was that his weight

was suddenly gone and I was transported

into a decrepit alley.

The streetlights were broken, but I

didn’t need them to see as I strode down

the narrow path between the buildings.

“You killed the bomb maker, too?

When will you stop taking such reckless,

stupid risks! ”

My bellow drew several glances. I

didn’t care. Most vampires avoided

places where the homeless dwelled. They

smelled too much to make eating them

palatable.

“It wasn’t too risky” was my lover’s

unruffled reply. “I took care of it, dearie.

He’s dead, ending any chance this will

be traced back to us.”

Fury made me grip the phone before I

forcibly relaxed my hand so it wouldn’t

shatter and end our call.

“If you hadn’t used him to kill Leila,

he wouldn’t have needed taking care of. I

wouldn’t have told you where she was if

I knew what you intended. If Vlad

doesn’t believe the explosion was an

accident, he won’t rest until he finds her

killers.”

“You’re overreacting, ” she said, and

the boredom in her tone hit me like a

splash of acid. “Even if there are

suspicions, they won’t lead anywhere.

Whatever she might have been worth to

him alive, she’s less dangerous to us

dead.”

My laugh was harsh. “One day, you’ll

tell me the real reason you don’t want

Vlad to know about us. Until then, the

only motive I see for you killing Leila is

jealousy.”

I’d intended the accusation to sting,

but I hadn’t anticipated the venom in her

response.

“My reasons don’t matter. What does

matter is you are the one who gave me

her location. He’ll kill you for that,

dearie, and only after years of torturing

you. Unless that sounds appealing, you

have no choice but to keep this a secret.”

I hung up, my sense of despair equal

to the knowledge that she was right. Vlad

would respond only one way to my part

in Leila’s death, and he wouldn’t stop

there. He’d do the same to her, and

despite my anger, I couldn’t let that

happen. I loved her, and if lying would

keep her safe, then I would lie.

The alley dissolved and I expected to

fall back into my own reality, but without

even trying to, I linked to Shrapnel’s

accomplice next. For a split second, I saw

her, wearing a skirt suit and reclined on a

couch with a martini in her hand. Before I

could focus on her face, her features

blurred, leaving nothing but a blob

surrounded by lustrous walnut-colored

hair.

Then a wave of dizziness assailed me,

as if someone just whacked me over the

head with a two-by-four. I dropped the

link, returning to the present where I was

curled on my side, coughing between

tortured gasps for air. Blood dribbled

from my mouth and the pressure in my

chest increased until it was excruciating.

This wasn’t from the beating Shrapnel

had given me. No, I recognized this pain.

My abilities had hit the lethal zone, and

the only vampire near enough to heal me

wanted me dead.

Frustration made me want to howl at the

unfairness of it all. I was only supposed to

use my abilities on Sandra to see if she

was guilty or innocent. I hadn’t meant to

pull Shrapnel’s worst sin, let alone link to

the bitch who’d started this whole mess

with the carnival bomb. Now those things

would kill me.

A groan made me open my eyes.

Through a haze of red, I caught a glimpse

of Shrapnel. The current I’d blasted into

him had thrown him over a dozen feet

away. Both his arms were now missing in

addition to his legs, and his skin looked

like meat someone had put through a

grinder. Despite all the damage from the

current, he was still alive. Then his head

lolled toward me and our eyes met.

A sliver of surprise threaded through

my fading consciousness. I hadn’t

expected any empathy from him, but I was

unprepared for the mixture of relief and

pride in his expression. Relief made

sense; he wanted me dead, and from the

crushing pain in my chest, he’d soon get

his wish. But why pride? He had nothing

to do with my abilities overloading

enough to put the final nails in my

coffin...

Far too late, I figured it out.

How did you break her spell to reach

he r? Shrapnel had asked. I thought he

meant the brunette vampire had cooked up

something magical to prevent me from

getting a clear look at her face if I linked

to her, but it was more than that.

The spell was also meant to kill me.

Chapter 35

“L eila! ”

My sister’s voice cut through the agony

that made me want to stay in the fetal

position or die, whichever hurt less.

Gretchen. Sounds afraid penetrated past

my pain, followed by an ominous memory.

The limo’s on fire.

I pushed myself to my knees, a gurgling

scream escaping me. Through vision that

was starting to blacken, I caught a gleam

of orange. The flames had spread farther

up the vehicle. They could reach the

leaking gas tank any second.

I lunged at the limo, blood spewing

from my mouth as I tried to breathe

through the almost paralyzing pressure in

my chest. My vision was too blurry to find

the knife I’d dropped, and the pain made

me feel like I was on fire. Maybe I was

and didn’t realize it. Still, I couldn’t stop.

I focused on my sister’s screams and they

were like a shot of adrenaline, giving me

the strength to lunge forward again, and

again. The side of the car hit me in the

face as I staggered into it.

My vision was now totally black and

Gretchen’s voice was fainter, but my mind

still worked. With my left hand, I fumbled

until I found the lock for the seat belt.

Then I dragged my right hand over my arm

until it reached the spot. With the last bit

of energy I had, I sent a bolt of electricity

through it.

The sudden thump of weight onto my

shoulders was the most wonderful thing

I’d ever felt.

“Save Sandra, ” I tried to say, but all

that came out was an unintelligible gurgle.

Something shoved me roughly, blasting

more pain into me. Had Shrapnel come

back? I wondered, and then didn’t care as

a lovely numbness began to creep over

m e. Not good, a shred of rationale

warned. Don’t pass out! You won’t wake

up! I tried to force my way past the

darkness and the addictive bliss of

diminishing pain. It felt like swimming in

quicksand—the more I struggled, the

deeper I sank. Then consciousness

returned at the brutal sensation of being

dragged. My ribs felt like twigs someone

snapped within me, but I managed a few

ragged gulps of air. That and the fresh

deluge of pain chased away the ominous

lethargy. Then a thunderous noise snapped

my eyes open, an orange haze momentarily

blinding me.

The fire had reached the gas tank at last.

Through the tiny slits that remained of

my vision, I saw I was now behind some

trees, their trunks taking the brunt of the

exploding debris. Sandra was unconscious

nearby, and Gretchen...

I had to be hallucinating. If I wasn’t,

then my sister was about twenty feet away,

crouched on top of Shrapnel. She had the

knife he’d killed Oscar with sticking out

of his chest, and though her expression

showed she was terrified, both her hands

were firmly wrapped around the hilt.

“Don’t even think of trying anything, ”

she gasped.

Shrapnel’s eyes were fixed on her

while the sticklike things growing from his

shoulders and hips twitched. Soon his

arms and legs would be fully regenerated

and the damage to his insides healed. I

was about to warn Gretchen that he would

try something when three forms dropped

next to them with the abruptness of

crashing meteors. The fourth landed next

to me, green eyes ablaze and dark hair

whipping wildly as he tore his wrist open

before shoving it against my mouth.

Vlad. Someone must’ve spotted the

smoke after all.

As I began to drink from the deep slash,

Vlad’s guards hauled Shrapnel up, one of

them removing the knife before he could

spare himself by taking his own life. Then

my vision went completely dark. I

swallowed again, but the pain wracking

my body didn’t lessen. Instead, it grew

until it felt like razors were being shoved

into my skull while the tightness in my

chest spread to engulf the rest of my body.

I couldn’t swallow anymore. I couldn’t

even summon the strength to take another

breath. When coldness swept over me,

replacing the pain with its icy caress, I

knew he’d arrived too late.

“No! ”

Vlad’s shout held me down, but only for

a moment. Then inner chains I’d never felt

before broke and I burst forth like a bullet

being fired through a gun. I wasn’t broken

on the ground anymore. I was soaring, and

it was more exhilarating than any of the

dreams I’d had where I could fly. My

vision was no longer an ugly haze of

crimson and darkness. Instead, everything

was bathed in brightest light while the

comforting scent of rainwater and freesia

enveloped me. I’d smelled that before, so

long ago I’d forgotten it, but now I knew at

once who it belonged to. And then I saw

her. The streaks of silver in her black hair

looked radiant. So did the tiny lines on her

face when she smiled. All at once, the

guilt I’d carried fell away. She didn’t say

anything. She didn’t need to. I felt that

she’d never blamed me for her death and

that she’d forgiven me all my other

wrongs. I rushed toward her, but with that

lovely smile, she held out a hand to ward

me off.

Not yet, baby, whispered across my

mind.

Then something yanked me down with

brutal force. Her sweet scent vanished, as

did the crystalline sunshine I’d been flying

in. I began to fall with terrifying speed,

every attempt to catch myself countered

with another relentless tug. The ground

was fast approaching, yet I could do

nothing to fight the invisible grip that

pitilessly continued to wrench me

downward.

When I landed on that unyielding

surface, the impact broke me apart. I

waited for the soothing cold caress of

death to come, but it didn’t.

Instead, all I felt was fire.

Chapter 36

B lood.

My mouth was wet with it while its

scent perfumed the air, no longer coppery

and sharp, but heady and intoxicating. I

swallowed and inhaled simultaneously,

trying to fill myself in every way with the

blissful liquid that made the pain go away.

For a few moments, I was lost in satiation

so complete it was like coming and

cresting an incredible high at the same

time.

Then, like every high I’d relived

through my abilities, the crash left me

shivering, hurting, and desperate for

another hit.

Someone snarled, “More, ” in a tone I’d

expect from a rabid animal if it could talk.

The response was a wet, chilly cloth to

my face. It took away the blood I’d been

licking, and my eyes snapped open in

outrage. Once they did, everything was so

bright and vivid that for a second, I

couldn’t focus.

“ I said more! ”

Two things registered at the same time.

That savage voice came from me, and I

hadn’t breathed in between speaking.

Feeling tiny daggers jab me in the lip was

almost redundant.

You’ve really done it this time, my

inner voice mocked.

My teeth ground, driving what I knew

were fangs deeper into my lower lip.

Seemed that dying and being brought back

as a vampire still hadn’t killed my hated

internal voice.

Then the kaleidoscope of colors

became distinct shapes and Vlad came

into focus. His black pants and indigo

shirt reeked of smoke and burnt rubber,

but under that, I caught the rich aroma of

blood, and everything else vanished.

I leapt on him, seeking those luscious

traces with an urgency that had me tearing

into his skin and clothes with my new

fangs. He murmured something I didn’t

comprehend in my search for the source of

that scent. Part of me was appalled at my

savageness, yet the rest only cared for one

thing.

Blood. Need it. NOW.

Vlad shoved me away, one hand

holding my snapping mouth at bay while

the other reached behind him. That inner

burning had returned, ravaging me with

pain so intense I couldn’t think past the

need to make it stop. Then ambrosia slid

down my throat, dousing my anguish so

thoroughly that grateful tears slid down my

cheeks. I swallowed as though I was

trying to drown, my eyes closing with

relief so profound I thought I might pass

out. Then something else edged through my

relief. Anger, followed by a tidal wave of

the rawest, most unbridled emotion I’d

ever felt. Calling it love was likening a

spring shower to a hurricane, and when I

realized it didn’t come from me, but the

vampire still holding my jaw in an iron

grip, I was shocked.

“I can feel you.”

The whisper made his gaze gleam

brighter than I’d seen before, yet now, it

didn’t hurt to hold his stare.

“Because your shopping deception cost

you your humanity.”

The harshness in his tone would’ve

made me flinch except for the fresh surge

across my emotions. More anger, yes, but

born from fear of losing me. I hadn’t

thought Vlad was capable of being afraid,

yet it threaded through my subconscious

along with another wave of love’s

seething, unhinged second cousin. I

thought his controlling behavior stemmed

from arrogance, but it came from a

pathological need to protect me. If I

wasn’t still fixated on thoughts of blood,

I’d be amazed at all he’d acquiesced to

while that compulsion raged in him.

Then another crippling pain hit me,

erasing the rest under a hunger so severe it

was like starving to death a thousand

times in the space of seconds. I would’ve

collapsed if not for Vlad’s grip, and

before I could scream from that awful

inner burning, a new mouthful of ambrosia

took the agony away.

I swallowed as greedily as before, this

time returning to my senses before he

pried the sodden shreds of plastic out of

my hands. Plasma bags, I noted while

licking my hands clean with an impulse I

couldn’t control. How modern of him. If

memory served, I’d be a blood-crazed

maniac for days until I garnered enough

strength not to murder the first living

person who crossed my path. The thought

was depressing.

Then another realization belatedly

struck.

“How am I a vampire instead of a

ghoul? I remember dying...”

And seeing my mother. That stunned me

into momentarily forgetting my question.

She hadn’t been a dream or an illusion; I

knew that as surely as I knew my own

name. That meant there was something

after death. I’d never believed it because I

hadn’t seen it from the other deaths I’d

relived, but maybe glimpsing what lay

beyond had to be personally experienced.

Vlad’s grip loosened until he stroked

my throat instead of restrained my jaw.

“My blood wasn’t enough to heal you this

time. It did, however, start the

transformation process.”

“How? ”

His teeth flashed in a humorless smile.

“In normal transformations, I’d drain you

to the point of death before having you

drink my blood. You drained yourself to

the point of death with your injuries, and

you had enough of my blood in you that the

additional amount I gave you tipped you

over the edge.”

Then his hand dropped, rage-infused

anguish scraping across my emotions

before he went on.

“Of course I didn’t know that until after

you died, when suddenly, you began

tearing at my throat.”

I didn’t remember that, nor did I have

any recollection of being brought here.

The last thing I remembered was seeing

Shrapnel hauled up by guards and Vlad

kneeling beside me.

“Gretchen. She’s okay, isn’t she? ”

“Minor injuries only.”

This time the relief I felt wasn’t fueled

by ingesting a bellyful of blood. “And

Sandra? ”

“More serious injuries, but she’ll

recover.”

I didn’t want to ask, but I had to know.

“Shrapnel? ”

His mouth tightened. “Where he

belongs.”

That meant the dungeon, no doubt.

Maybe that’s where we were, too. This

room looked like a fancier version of one

of Vlad’s prison cells since the walls,

ceiling, and floor were solid rock with no

apparent exit, but there were two stacked

mattresses in the corner covered by

several thick blankets. That hadn’t been

standard in the dungeon accommodations

I’d seen, though the absence of lights was

—

And I could still see perfectly. I blinked

as if expecting that to change, which of

course it didn’t. No light illuminated the

tight quarters, yet I saw every inch down

to the red smears streaking the walls that

smelled so good I wanted to lick them.

When twin pinpricks of pain jabbed me in

the lip, I knew my new fangs had sprung

out again.

I closed my eyes, feeling overwhelmed.

I hadn’t wanted this so soon and I didn’t

know if I could handle it. But ready or not,

I was now a vampire. My hand slid down

my chest to my heart. Twenty-five years of

beating, and yet forevermore it would be

as silent as a drum that someone had

abandoned.

When I opened my eyes, Vlad was

staring at me. He said nothing, yet an odd

mixture of empathy and ruthlessness

strafed my subconscious. You brought this

on yourself, his emotions seemed to relay,

but you will not face it alone.

I stared back, noticing a tiny scar by his

nose that I hadn’t seen before. That wasn’t

the only thing. His skin no longer seemed

pale; it looked faintly luminescent, as

though covering a light he carried within.

His hair wasn’t merely dark brown, but a

rich collage of black, umber, and chestnut.

The air around him crackled with energy,

and when he stroked my throat again, his

hand tingled as if he were the one suffused

with inner electricity.

“You’re different now, too, ” I said in

wonder.

His mouth curled; half mocking, half