Blood Ties

by Mari Mancusi

  I grin. “It’s about freaking time you figured that out.”

  29

  Las Vegas, Nevada

  The sound of excited barking greets me as I slip backstage at the Comedy Pet Theater and push open the door that leads into the backroom. There, my heart dances with joy to find Jayden, surrounded by a happy chaos of flying fur and lolling tongues. Of course he got his job back once he returned to Vegas. After all, no one loves the animals more than he does.

  “Hey,” I say, sitting down beside him and pulling a big fat black cat onto my lap, stroking its sleek, shiny fur. So much better than any cat café.

  “Hey, yourself,” he says, then laughs as Rex tries to poke his big black nose into his pocket. “Okay, fine, fine,” he says to the dog, reaching in and pulling out a biscuit. Rex barks excitedly, doing a little dance on his hind legs. Jayden throws him the treat and he catches it midair. I guess when there’s this much competition from the pack you have to hone your doggie athleticism if you want to score the treats. Though from Rex’s current weight, I’m guessing he’s pretty successful at that.

  “So how are you feeling?” I ask. “I mean, are you completely back to normal now?”

  Jayden nods. “One hundred percent,” he says, looking slightly bashful. “Except for the fact that somehow in the transition my hemophilia went away.”

  “Oh, that’s amazing!” I cry.

  “Yup. I can finally live a normal life without worrying about bleeding to death on a moment’s notice,” he says. “Which is fine by me. I’ve seen enough blood to last a lifetime, thank you very much.”

  My heart lurches. “Look, Jayden, I’m sorry...”

  He waves me off. “You were right,” he says. “I’m not cut out to be a vampire. All that action, adventure...” He shrugs sheepishly. “I thought I wanted all of that. That kind of glamorous lifestyle you lead. But to be honest, I’m happiest here. Just working with the dogs and cats.” He smiles at me. “I’m actually thinking of opening my own shelter. Find a little farm outside the city. Take in homeless dogs and cats. Rehabilitate them. Help them become good pets for people someday.”

  I smile, my heart aching in my chest. “That sounds wonderful,” I tell him honestly. And it does. I can’t imagine ever having that. A simple life that makes me happy. Doing good for the world. Normalcy at its finest.

  He studies me carefully. “Does it?” he asks. “’Cause it’s not too late. You could do it with me.” His eyes shine with the idea. “Just the two of us. I’d train the dogs. You could work on placing them into good homes. And you could still finish high school,” he adds quickly. “I mean, whatever you want. I’ve got a little money put away. I could support you until you were out.”

  Tears well up in my eyes. “Oh, Jayden,” I say. “That sounds perfect. And in another lifetime...” I trail off, knowing there’s nothing else to say.

  He nods slowly, as if he had already known my answer. Heck, he probably had. “Right,” he says.

  “I actually came to say good-bye,” I confess. “Pyrus is furious that Magnus and I infiltrated the Alphas after he told us not to get involved. He has denounced us as traitors, using some crazy trumped-up charge, and putting a price on both of our heads. If we’re found, we’re going to have to stand trial for treason.”

  Jayden stares at me, horrified. “And if you’re convicted...?”

  “Magnus will be staked. And I’ll either be deported back to Fairyland or killed.”

  “But you guys did the right thing. You stopped a war. You saved innocent people.”

  I nod glumly. “I know. It seems like a happily ever after. Roberta and Dr. Franken in jail. The Alpha students being retrained by Slayer Inc....”

  “But the Consortium doesn’t agree?”

  “Who knows what they think? They’re all too scared to speak up against Pyrus. Magnus isn’t the first vampire he’s kicked out of the Consortium. They’re afraid if they take a stand, their vampires will suffer.” I scowl. “Can you believe he still bombed the temple? Even though Magnus called him and told him he didn’t have to? A beautiful historic landmark—just obliterated for no reason. Not to mention, the Holy Grail itself was still in there when it blew. I’m really glad I made you drink when I did.” I shake my head, thinking of Pyrus’s ugly smirk. “There’s something wrong with that guy. Someone’s got to get him out of power—or I’m afraid things are only going to get worse.”

  “So what now?”

  “Jareth’s still leading the Blood Coven, which is something, I guess. Pyrus doesn’t know he helped us. Right now he’s working on rallying the other Consortium members to our side, which is dangerous, to say the least. If Pyrus gets word of what he’s doing, who knows what will happen to him... and the Blood Coven.” I sigh. “But we’ve got to try.”

  “Oh, Sunny,” Jayden cries, grabbing my hands in his. “Promise me you’ll stay safe.”

  “I’ll try my best,” I say, attempting a small smile, but it’s not easy.

  He pulls me into a hug, squeezing me so tight it takes my breath away. The tears stream down my cheeks. When he pulls away, he searches my face with concerned eyes.

  “I do love you,” he says. “I know we can’t be together. I understand and accept that. But I will never stop loving you. And I want you to know that.”

  “I know,” I manage to squeak.

  “And if you ever need me—for anything at all—I will be there for you. No matter what,” he says firmly. “I may not be a superstrong vampire. But I am powerful in many other ways.”

  I try to smile. “Believe me, I know,” I say. “I really do.” I pause, then add, “And Jayden?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I care about you, too. I don’t know if I should say that. I mean, it can’t change how things are between us. Or the fact that I belong with Magnus. I love him and need to stick with him. But that doesn’t mean my feelings for you aren’t strong as hell.”

  His face breaks in happiness. “Oh, Sunny,” he says. “That’s all I ever wanted to hear.” He reaches out and presses a warm hand against my cheek. It’s nice to feel his humanity again. “We share a bond, you and I,” he says fervently. “And no matter where we are or who we’re with, that’s never going to go away.”

  I smile at him and give him another hug. We grip onto each other so tightly it’s amazing neither of us breaks in two.

  “I’m not going to say good-bye,” he says earnestly, finding my eyes with his own green ones. “Because I know our paths will cross again. You take care of yourself. Be safe. And tell Magnus if he lets the Consortium touch even a hair on your head he will have me to answer to.” He grins shyly. “I don’t care if he is a creature with supernatural powers. I’m sure somehow I could kick his ass.”

  I rise to my feet, my legs threatening to buckle and give way from the effort it takes. “I bet you could,” I say with a small laugh as I turn to walk out of the theater and out of his life forever.

  As I step out into the night, a limo pulls up to the curb. The door swings open and I scramble inside. “You okay?” Magnus asks, looking at me with worried eyes.

  I shake my head, the sobs bursting out, and he pulls me to him as the driver shuts the door, rocking me in his arms as we head to the airport.

  “I’m sorry,” I say, trying to regain my composure. Magnus looks at me lovingly. “Don’t be,” he says.

  “I know how hard this is for you. Leaving everything behind.” He slams a fist against the leather seat. “I hate taking you away from everyone you love. I wish to God there was some other way.”

  “But there’s not,” I remind him gently. “We both know that. And I love you, Magnus. More than anything in the entire world. Where you go—I go. End of story.”

  “Still! All you wanted was to be normal. And I feel like I’ve stolen that from you... time and time again.” He searches my face. “Are you sure you want to come with me?” he asks. “It’s not going to be an easy life. And definitely not a normal one.”

 
; “Meh,” I say, forcing my voice to sound breezy. “Normal is so overrated anyway.”

  Epilogue

  Rayne

  “Rayne, Rayne! Guess what, guess what? I got to level eighty!”

  I groggily pull the covers from over my head and squint in the early-morning (afternoon?) sunshine. Above me, my eleven-year-old half-sister, Stormy, bounces in play, an excited expression on her freckled face. Normally I don’t like being woken up so abruptly, but the simple fact that I’m still alive to do it makes it a little easier to bear.

  When Corbin captured me and gleefully told me of his plan to poison me and feed me to the masses like a sacrificial lamb, I figured that was just about the end of me. After all, there was no way the Consortium was going to care about one troublemaking vampire when they had the whole vampire race at stake. But I underestimated the determination of my dear, dear twin sister—who seriously is a lot more amazing than people give her credit for—single-handedly dissolving the mastermind plot without killing a single innocent. Truly genius, Sunny.

  Sunny. Her name brings a blood tear to my eye. I wonder how she is. What she and Magnus are doing. They couldn’t tell me where they were going, of course, in case the Consortium resorted to hypnosis or mind-control tricks to make me spill.

  “Come see!” Stormy commands, grabbing my arm and trying to drag me out of bed. She, of course, doesn’t know the danger Sunny’s in. Her mother, Heather, told her my sister simply had to go away on a trip.

  “Okay, okay!” I cry, giving in with a laugh. I crawl out of bed and allow myself to be dragged over to the computer where she’s logged into World of Warcraft. It used to be my favorite video game, but lately with all that’s been going on I’ve had little time to play it. And now my eleven-year-old stepsister has managed to out-level me.

  She proudly displays her tricked-out level-eighty mage. “And look, this robe I made myself,” she boasts. “It’s totally leet.”

  I ruffle her hair. “That’s awesome,” I tell her. “I’m jealous.”

  “Do you want to play with me for a bit?” she asks, looking up at me with pleading eyes. “None of my friends are online.”

  I glance at my watch. Ugh. I slept later than I thought. “Sorry,” I say. “I’ve got a training session at one. And Teifert hates when I’m late.”

  Stormy looks at me with admiration. “So cool.” She whistles low. “I wish someday I could become a slayer like you and Mom.”

  “Well, study hard and maybe you will,” I tease.

  “And play lots of WoW. I’m sure that helped me.”

  “Ooh, good idea!”

  I say my good-byes and head through the condo and out the door. I’m meeting Mr. Teifert at the gym in a half hour. The vice president of Slayer Inc. temporarily relocated to Las Vegas so he could continue my training. Since I’m between missions, I’ve actually been working on getting my slayer instructor certification so I can teach other slayers or maybe even open up my own academy someday. After all, as much as I like being a vampire, after this whole experience I believe, more than ever, that our laws must be strictly enforced to avoid any potential power grabs—whether by human, vampire, or anything else.

  I greet Teifert at the back room of the LA Sports Club. To my surprise he’s not wearing workout gear, but a stiff three-piece suit. “Dude, what’s with the outfit?” I ask. “Doesn’t look like something you’ll want to get blood on when I kick your butt.”

  But he doesn’t smile at my joke. Instead he motions to a nearby set of chairs. “Sit,” he instructs.

  A worried feeling worms through me as I follow his instructions and take a seat. “What’s going on?” I ask.

  He pulls out a manila envelope from his briefcase. “The Consortium has sent out a request to Slayer Inc. An official commission.”

  A new assignment? “Oh-kay...”

  “They’ve got a rogue vampire on the loose—one who’s wanted for treason. They’re asking that Slayer Inc. track him and his mate down and deliver them, undead or alive,” he says. “And they’re offering a large sum of money in exchange for the service.”

  “And you want me to carry it out?” I ask. “How much money? Are you saying I’ll actually get paid this time?” I’ve been doing Slayer Inc.’s dirty work for so long now under the guise of “destiny.” This time, I need a paycheck. Especially if I’m going to open up my little slayer school.

  Mr. Teifert frowns. “Yes, there is a payment for services rendered,” he says. “You’ll get ten percent. One million dollars.”

  My eyes widen in excitement. “One million dollars? Dude! I’ll take it!” I try to reach for the envelope. But Teifert locks on with a killer grip. “What?” I ask.

  “Maybe you should take a look before you start cashing any checks.”

  “Sure, fine. Whatever. Let’s see.” I manage to wrestle the envelope from his hands and rip it open. Two black-and-white photos fall onto my lap.

  “So let’s see what naughty vampires need—” But the words die in my throat as my eyes fall on the first photo. I look up at Teifert in horror. He nods grimly.

  “But... there’s got to be some mistake!”

  “No.” He purses his lips. “No mistake.”

  “But... but...” I pick up the other photo and a mirror image of my own face stares back at me. “They want me to slay my own sister?”

  ~ TO BE CONTINUED ~

  Turn the page for a special except from the next

  Blood Coven Vampire novel...

  SOUL BOUND

  Coming soon from

  The Berkley Publishing Group!

  “Take that, you putrid jumble-gutted zombie!” I cry, mashing my PS3 button as fast as I can, letting loose a stream of deadly bullets from my AK47 and splattering zombie brains, blood, and other assorted bodily fluids all over my bedroom television screen. The game dings as I beat my own high score once again and I lean back in my chair, feeling oh-so- satisfied. Yeah, baby! No one’s better at Vampires vs. Zombies than me. I should enter a tournament. I’d blast all those wannabe-zombie-slaying nerds out there from here to kingdom come without even trying.

  I’m about to start the bonus round when there’s a knock on my door.

  “Come in!” I call, hoping it’s my half sister, Stormy. She’s the only one who can come even close to beating me at the game and I’d love another chance to kick her eleven-year-old, video game–addicted butt.

  Sure enough, the door opens and Stormy pokes her blond head into my room. “Hey, Rayne,” she says. “There’s some girl here to see you.”

  “A girl?” My mind races for possibilities, but comes up blank. I’ve never really been good with making girl friends in general and I’m almost positive I haven’t given my home address to any mortal ones here in Vegas. (Unlike my much more social twin, Sunny, who made, like, ten friends in two days just by breathing the air at Las Vegas High School.) And, of course, no self-respecting vampire would be swinging by for a chat on a Saturday afternoon while the sun is still high in the sky. “Who?”

  Stormy shrugs. “I’ve never seen her before,” she confesses. “Though she looks a lot like the girl from Resident Evil.”

  “Video game or movie?”

  “The movie. Definitely the movie.”

  Hmm. I’m pretty sure I’d remember making friends and influencing people who looked like Milla Jovovich...

  “Well, send her in, I guess,” I tell my sister. What the heck, right?

  Stormy nods and disappears. While I’m waiting, I go and save my game. It’s a little embarrassing to see the game clock pop up and realize how many hours I’ve been sitting in front of a television set. But it’s for a good cause, I remind myself. After all, if Slayer Inc. received reports of me hitting the slot machines or dancing up a storm in downtown Vegas they might decide I’m not taking my whole mission to bring down my sister and her boyfriend as seriously as they’d like. Out of sight, out of mind, that’s what I say. As far as they know, I’m scouring the world, one step away
from my bounty.

  I hear the door creak open and turn around to greet my strange visitor. Stormy isn’t wrong—the girl does bear a remarkable resemblance to the famed zombie-slaughtering film star. Not only does she kind of look like her, but she dresses like her, too. I mean, it’s not every day you see someone sporting a tight white tank top under a green army vest, tucked into little black shorts with garters that cling to ripped thigh-high stockings—even in Vegas. (Unless, of course, Taylor Momsen’s in town...) The girl tops off the outfit with an amazing pair of knee-high, stack-heeled, black leather boots and two matching black leather holsters, strapped to her perfectly toned and tanned thighs.

  But unlike the zombie killer of the 3-D silver screen, these holsters aren’t slotted with guns. They contain stakes.

  A vampire slayer. I let out a low whistle, wondering where on Earth she scored an outfit like that. Is there some kind of secret online Slayer Inc. uniform shop that sells this kind of stuff that no one told me about? I mean, I’m not all about the army vest. But those boots, man! I’d pretty much sell my soul to slip my feet into those beauties—if I hadn’t already given my soul away when I first became a vampire.

  Of course, I’m not entirely sure my current not-so- tanned, not-so-perfectly sculptured thighs could carry the rest of the outfit as well she does. After all, I’m still recovering from all those high-calorie blood milk shakes they force-feed you in rehab...

  “Rayne?” the girl asks, looking down at me and removing her mirrored aviator shades. She wears a slightly disdainful look on her otherwise flawless face and I suddenly get a weird feeling I’ve seen her somewhere before, though for the life of me, I can’t figure out where that could possibly be. “Rayne McDonald?”

  “That’s my name, don’t wear it out,” I reply automatically, feeling a little defensive. After all, she just showed up at my house, out of nowhere, giving me dirty looks like that. Even if she is the hottest thing known to slayer-kind and I’m three days overdue for a shower and wearing vampire bunny slippers instead of kick-ass boots.