Blood Ties

by Mari Mancusi

  “Oh my God!” I cry. “What happened to you?”

  He looks up with pitiful, scared eyes. “Sunny,” he whimpers. “You’ve got to help me. I think... I think I might have been turned into a vampire.”

  2

  My first thought is to move him—to drag him somewhere—somewhere safe. But then I see he’s trapped himself on a small island of shadow, surrounded by an ocean of sunshine, squinting up at me with pale, bloodshot eyes. New vampires are less sensitive to the sun than fully mature ones—they won’t spontaneously combust into flames like the ancient ones do—but I know from personal experience the rays can still hurt like crazy and give you one hell of a sunburn.

  My second thought is to call for help. But I realize, too late, that in my haste to make a grand exit, I left the book bag containing my cell phone in Magnus’s limo.

  So instead I squat down next to him, trying to ignore the rank smell of rotting garbage coming from the Dumpster a few feet away, and wrap my arm around his shoulders, pulling his shivering body against my own. It’s like grabbing onto a supersize icicle, and I wonder wildly if my tongue would stick to his skin if I tried to lick him.

  “Oh, Jayden, what happened?” I ask, my voice breaking at seeing him in this condition. He clings to me too tightly, as if desperate to absorb my warmth. I squeeze him even tighter, rubbing his back, feeling his spine jutting out from under his thin skin. What’s wrong with him? Could he really be infected? He was fine when I saw him a couple weeks before. Recovering nicely from his run-in with Cornelius, healthy enough, even, to take over the leading role in the Dracula musical at the Sun Casino.

  So how did he go from playing a creature of the night to becoming one in reality? I mean, I’ve heard of life imitating art, but this seems a bit extreme...

  “I don’t know,” he confesses. “I felt fine when I was originally released from the hospital. Just went about my business, taking care of the animals by day and acting in the show by night.” He looks up at me, an accusing flicker in his otherwise hollow eyes. “I thought you’d gone back to Massachusetts.”

  My heart pangs guiltily. Of course he had. And I hadn’t exactly done anything to make him think otherwise, either. Sure, I’d been meaning to call him the moment I got back to Vegas from my adventure in Fairyland, but somehow I kept finding reasons to put off the call. Or pick up the phone when I recognized his number on the caller ID, for that matter. So much had happened—so much of my life had changed—so completely—that, to be honest, it was easier to avoid a conversation altogether than to figure out a place to even start.

  And now, here in this alleyway, with Jayden fighting for his mortal life, the whole “Sorry, I was busy getting kidnapped by fairies” excuse sounds lamer than “The dog ate my homework.”

  “It’s okay,” Jayden adds, his voice laced with bitterness. “I know your boyfriend probably discouraged you keeping in touch.”

  He wasn’t wrong. While Magnus had never specifically spelled out the idea that he didn’t want me hanging out with Jayden anymore, I knew he believed no good could come out of a friendship with a guy who clearly liked me as more than a friend.

  If only Magnus knew the truth: that I’d been fully prepared to dump him and run away with Jayden. And that it was Jayden himself who talked me into giving Magnus another chance. Maybe then he’d have more respect for the guy...

  I force my thoughts back to the present. “But then you started feeling weird?” I ask, urging him to continue as I attempt to swallow down the floodwaters of guilt rising to my throat. If only I’d checked in on him. Answered his calls. I am seriously the worst friend ever.

  He nods. “The light started bothering my eyes. And then I found it almost impossible to get up in the morning and go to sleep at night. But the biggest change was with the animals.” He stares down at the ground sorrowfully. “Now when I enter the room, they all freak out. The dogs start howling uncontrollably. The cats hiss in fear. Sweet little Rex even tried to bite me.” His voice chokes on the little wire-haired terrier’s name. “I eventually had to quit. My presence was stressing them out so much, they couldn’t concentrate on the show.”

  My heart breaks for him. Poor Jayden. He’d devoted his entire life to working with the rescue dog and cat performers at the Comedy Pet Theater. I remember going backstage with him just weeks ago and seeing the affection in his eyes as he showed off his beloved animals. And, it was clear to me at the time that they loved him as much as he did them. But that was the mortal him. Pets, as a rule, don’t take too kindly to vampires. Something about the smell. Dead meat walking around. Most cats find it confusing. Most dogs simply want a taste.

  “After that, everything became a blur,” Jayden continues. “I’d have blackouts, wake up somewhere and not remember how I got there or what I’d done. I was starving, but couldn’t keep down any food. I started to lose weight like crazy and then this horrible sickness came over me. Like the worst flu I’ve ever had. I tried to crawl to the hospital, but never made it that far. I’ve been here in this alleyway for the last three days, I think. I’m losing track. I’m so weak. So hungry. And all I can think of”—he makes a face—“is blood.”

  I swallow hard. This is not good. “But I don’t understand,” I say, trying to make sense of his story while at the same time moving away from the topic of drinking blood. “I mean, it’s not like vampirism has suddenly gone airborne or anything. You would have had to literally drink vampire blood—or have it injected into you somehow—to become a vampire. But obviously you would remember something like that...”

  A flicker of fear crosses his face. “Cornelius,” he murmurs. “I think maybe some of his blood must have mixed with mine when he bit me.”

  My heart sinks at his words, remembering all too well the night Jayden saved my life—and the entire Blood Coven—by risking his own. Could he have really somehow become infected while facing off with the evil vampire? ’Cause that would make this whole thing my fault.

  “Sunny, please, you’ve got to help me,” Jayden begs. He clutches at my skin with desperate, bluish fingers. Sighing, I wrap him into a hug, pulling him against me, feeling the tears break free from my eyes as he buries his face in my shoulder. If I somehow did this to him—dragged this sweet, innocent boy into my dark world—I don’t know how I’m ever going to be able to forgive myself.

  “I’m so hungry,” he murmurs. “So scared.”

  “I know,” I say, attempting to soothe him with soft murmurs. “I was once bitten by a vampire, too. I know how horrible the transformation can be.”

  I shudder, remembering that awful week. The pain, the confusion, the wild changes. Of course, at least for me, I had my sister at my side. And Magnus, too, guiding me every step of the way. Jayden has had to go through this whole nightmare alone. With no hope or help. I can’t even imagine what that must be like.

  “But you’re not a vampire now,” Jayden says, looking up at me. “So could this whole thing still be reversible somehow?” I can hear the thin shred of hope in his voice and it breaks my heart all over again. “Is there still a chance for me to go back to being human?”

  I bite my lower lip. That is the $64,000 question, isn’t it? “I’m not sure,” I hedge. “For me, it took a drop of blood from the Holy Grail.”

  Jayden’s eyes widen. “The Holy—” He shakes his head. “Does that even really exist outside of Monty Python movies?”

  “Oh yeah. It exists.” I nod. “But it’s not like some prescription drug you can have called in to a pharmacy. It’s hidden away, deep underground in England and closely guarded by this ancient druid sect. Not exactly as accessible as a Big Gulp at your local 7-Eleven,” I add wryly. “Magnus took me there when I was infected and paid off the druids so they would allow me a tiny sip. Of course, I had to drink it within seven days of being bitten. If you were really infected by Cornelius, well, that would have happened, like, a month ago. So I’m not sure that would even be an option for you.”

  Though...
>
  Inspiration hits me with the force of a ten-ton truck. Technically speaking, I’ve still got traces of ye olde Grail blood swimming through my mortal veins. For full-blooded vampires, this is a total turnoff—and maybe even poisonous. But for a newbie like Jayden—well, maybe he could get some real mortal benefits by taking a sip or two...

  I bite my lower lip, trying to come to terms with the idea. I’ve been bitten twice in my life. Once to turn me into a vampire, once to make me mortal again. And let’s just say I’m sooo not one of those fang- banger types—like my sister—who totally gets off on the whole thing. (Rayne makes it sound orgasmic. To me, it’s—literally—a big pain in the neck.) But still, I got Jayden into this mess. It’s my responsibility to get him out—if I can.

  And maybe, just maybe, I can.

  “Okay, Jayden,” I say, reluctantly sweeping my long, dirty blond hair away from my neck. I suck in a breath; I just know I’m going to regret this. But what choice do I have? I can’t just leave him here. “Let’s try something.”

  His eyes widen in a mixture of fear and desire. “I don’t know, Sunny,” he says worriedly and I can see his hard swallow. “I don’t want...”

  But he does want. I can see the hunger in his hollow face. The shaky hands, the bated breath. He wants me badly, even if he can’t admit it aloud.

  “It’s okay,” I assure him, trying to sound confident. “I want you to. The Grail blood inside me might make you better. And that’s what’s important here.”

  He nods slowly, as if unable to speak. His lips part and my heart breaks all over again as I see his tiny, pointed fangs slide into view. Poor Jayden never asked for this. I just hope we’re not too late to save him.

  “Bite me,” I whisper. And weirdly, I actually want him to. In fact, my whole body is humming with anticipation of the act. Is it his vampire scent—the pheromones given off by creatures of the night—that are seducing my senses? Or is just Jayden himself—the sweetest boy in the world—who has me all turned on?

  He cocks his head to the side awkwardly, trying to get in position. I stretch my neck out to give him better access. He leans forward and I can feel his shaky breath on my skin a moment before that all- too-familiar sting.

  Ohhh! My eyes roll back in my head as he takes that first, tentative suck—unexpected ecstasy sweeping over me in a tidal wave of emotion. Suddenly I realize that though Magnus has technically bitten me twice, both times he only transferred blood into me. Never took any out.

  This feels different. Wayyyy different.

  Jayden grabs me by the shoulders, yanking me roughly toward him, his fingernails digging into my skin. I moan in pleasure as his mouth presses more firmly, more confidently, against my neck, locking himself against me and drinking large gulps of my blood. Oh God, it feels so good. So warm. So delicious. Like I always imagined sex would feel like.

  “Oh, Jayden,” I find myself murmuring as I collapse weakly into his arms. I close my eyes, completely enraptured. The dark, dank alleyway has now become the center of my universe and the rest of my mundane reality is a mere echo of little importance compared to what’s going on here. Something to easily give up forever, just for one more moment of this vampiric ecsta—

  “Sunny! What are you—Oh, hell, no!”

  Suddenly, the pleasure is violently ripped away.

  My eyes flutter open just in time to see Jayden being tossed like a rag doll against the opposite wall— limp and wild-eyed, blood streaming down his chin. Above me stands Magnus, a tall, broad-shouldered shadow holding a large black umbrella over his head to shield the sun. He stares down at me with horrified disbelief on his face and I dimly realize he must have circled back to look for me after I escaped the limo.

  I also sense he’s so not going to be pleased at catching me with another vamp. Even if my reasons were totally innocent.

  “I can explain,” I murmur weakly as he scoops me up into his arms.

  “I don’t think I want to know,” he mutters. He starts walking me out of the alleyway and toward the limo, which is idling on the main street.

  “Wait! What about Jayden?” I ask, craning my neck to try to look behind me.

  “We’ll take care of him,” Magnus replies in a tight voice. Unfortunately, it sounds more like the mafia brand of “taking care” of someone—cement shoes and the East River—then, you know, making sure all their sweet-sixteen birthday wishes come true.

  “Magnus, we have to help him. He’s turning into a vampire.”

  “Yeah,” he says grimly. “The whole neck-ripping thing sort of gave that away.”

  “I know, but... I sort of asked him to do that,” I protest, suddenly feeling an overwhelming weakness come over me, now that the adrenaline is fading away. My heart thuds sluggishly in my chest. “I thought my Holy Grail–infused blood might help him become mortal again.” From behind me, I can see the limo driver dragging Jayden’s unconscious body across the pavement. I wince. Luckily he’s a vampire or that kind of treatment would leave some nasty scars.

  “Suffice it to say that you thought wrong,” Magnus replies as he tosses me into the limo like a sack of potatoes. I wince as my butt hits the seat. Hard. Sometimes vampires forget what it feels like to bruise.

  But this is no time to think of myself. “I know, but don’t you see? That’s my bad, not his. He never would have done it if I hadn’t asked him to. If you’re going to be mad at anyone, be mad at me.”

  “That won’t be a problem, I assure you.”

  Argh. He could be so impossible sometimes. And it was tough to fight in my weakened condition. The blackness, now, is fast approaching, but I can’t let it claim me until I make sure Jayden has immunity for his crimes. After all, I know the punishment for vampires who take unauthorized drinks from the locals instead of sticking to officially unionized blood donors. And let’s just say, it’s not just a bite on the wrist.

  “Please Magnus, I beg you. Don’t let them hurt Jayden. It’s my fault he’s turning into a vampire and I can’t turn my back on him now.” My voice breaks at the last part and I look up at him pleadingly.

  I catch the flash of indecision in his eyes as he runs a frustrated hand through his hair. I press forward, sensing his weakness. “He saved my life, Magnus. We owe him that.”

  Magnus sighs, then nods stiffly, turning to the limo driver. “Throw him in the trunk,” he instructs. “We’ll bring him into the clinic and do some tests before we charge him with anything. See what we’re really dealing with here.” He turns back to me. “I hope you know what you’re asking,” he says in a low voice. “My covering up a crime like this could make some vampires question my ability to rightfully lead the Blood Coven. And with all that’s been going on, this is not a good time for some power-hungry beta vamp to turn me in to Pyrus and the Consortium. Let’s just say our House Speaker isn’t too fond of rule-breakers.”

  “I know, I’m sorry,” I say weakly as he crawls in next to me, cradling me gently in his arms. I look up at him with grateful eyes. “But this is the right thing to do, you’ll see. Jayden’s not some dangerous beast. And if we can help him...” I trail off. Can we help him? Or is he really doomed to become a creature of the night forever? All because of me.

  How will I ever live with that kind of guilt?

  Magnus strokes my forehead with a soft hand. “We’ll see what the doctors say,” he tells me. “And then I’ll make a decision. In the meantime, I need you to promise you’ll stay away from him.”

  I frown. “But—”

  “I’m serious, Sunny. A new vampire doesn’t have complete control of his urges. He could hurt you— even if he doesn’t want to.” Magnus scowls. “And I’m telling you right now, if I find out he’s touched you again—even a mere brush of fingers in a dark hallway, I will kill him without a moment’s hesitation.”

  And the black look in his eyes as I fall into unconsciousness confirms that he’s not making idle threats.

  3

  “Sunny!”

  I grog
gily open my eyes, coming face-to-face with

  my sister, Rayne, who’s standing above my bed, peering down at me with a disapproving expression on her heavily made-up face. She’s out of her standard-issue vampire rehab pajamas and back in full Goth regalia: black, black, and more black. Making up for lost time, I suppose.

  “I can’t leave you alone for one second, can I?” she demands.

  My hands unconsciously fly to my neck, the memories flooding back to me as I finger the thick white bandage that covers my wound. I appear to be in some sort of white, sterile hospital room that smells a lot like bleach. Magnus must have brought me here after I blacked out in the limo. All around me, machines beep and whir and a catheter attached to my arm drips some kind of unidentified solution into my veins.

  I turn my attention back to my sister. “Um, that’s rich coming from a girl who spent the last two weeks in the vampire loony bin,” I remind her.

  “Vampire rehab,” Rayne corrects as she plops down on the side of my bed. As if that technicality makes it all okay. “Not loony bin. And let me tell you, rehab is so hot right now. You should have seen all the vampires going through the twelve steps. I felt kind of bad for some of them. I mean, imagine trying to write down the names of all the people you wronged over a fivehundred-year life span. I’m talking lists longer than the fifth Harry Potter. And let’s just say it’s not always easy to make amends with those you sipped on for supper. Turns out, people tend to hold a grudge about that whole throat- ripping-apart thing. If, you know, they survived the act in the first place.”

  She shakes her head, remembering. “And then there were the celebs! So many hot vampire celebrities. I wish I could tell you who. But they made me sign this stupid nondisclosure thing saying I couldn’t reveal anyone’s identity. Though... I suppose if you guessed, I might be able to give a nod or something. Or maybe tap my foot...”