Damned and Cursed | Book 10 | Fallen Skye

by Bullion, Glenn

  Lonnie stood and slipped on a pair of boxer shorts. Zoey’s attention had moved from the threesome to the living space.

  “Victoria,” she said. “If I ever complain about your house again, please, kick me out.”

  “Hey, Dylan,” Lonnie said. “I didn’t hear you coming.”

  “Yeah, well, we heard you.”

  “Funny, funny. You remember Dana, right? And Traci?”

  “Uh, yeah,” Dylan lied, and waved. “How are you doing?”

  Traci was quiet, still getting dressed. Dana sauntered to the refrigerator, still nude, to retrieve a bottle of water.

  “Are you all here for some fun?” she asked. “The more, the merrier?”

  “Uh, no,” Dylan said. He gestured behind him. “This is Victoria. That’s Kevin, and Zoey. And with that, I’m going to sit down, and let you take it from here.”

  Lonnie moved toward Victoria, wearing an awkward smile. Despite the living arrangement, he wasn’t an unattractive man. Clean, well-kept, piercing eyes. He extended a hand to shake, which as politely as she could, she refused.

  “Pleased to meet you,” he said. He flashed Victoria and Zoey a smile before his attention turned to Kevin. “Uh, what’s with Styles?”

  Kevin looked down at his coat, barely covering the magical arsenal underneath. He cinched it tighter.

  “Have you seen anything strange happening down here?”

  He laughed.

  “A lot of strange shit happens here in the sludge. Define strange.”

  Zoey snickered.

  “Like three people fucking—”

  Victoria shot her a look to silence her.

  “You think that’s strange?” Lonnie said. “Just get two more shots in Dana. Then you’ll see strange.”

  “Do you know this man?”

  Lonnie accepted the photo and stared at it while moving to the fridge. He pulled out a bottle of blood and took a deep drink. He offered the bottle to Victoria and Zoey, who declined. A look of curiosity flashed across his face before extending the nectar to Kevin.

  “You’re … not a vampire,” he said. “What are you?”

  “Hey, you wouldn’t believe it,” Dylan called. “He’s a—”

  “Kevin isn’t important in all of this. Let’s just pretend you don’t see him.”

  “You hear that, Kevin?” Zoey teased. “You’re not important.”

  The comment didn’t offend the witch.

  “That’s fine by me.”

  “Hey,” Lonnie said, pointing. “Are you the freak that tore up the club last night?”

  Zoey moved defensively toward Kevin, their shoulders almost touching. Victoria noticed the gesture of affection. The vampire and witch had become good friends. She was proud of her charges.

  “You’re calling Kevin a freak?” she said, motioning around them. “And you live here?”

  Muted kissing interrupted their discussion. They turned to see Dana and Traci had turned their attention to each other, making out on the couch.

  “Sorry you don’t approve,” Lonnie said, showing real irritation for the first time. “The job market in this town isn’t exactly booming for a guy who—”

  “Hey,” Victoria interrupted. “Enough.” She pointed to the photo. “Do you know him, or not?”

  “Yeah. I know him. His name’s Alan. Good guy.”

  “He lives down here?”

  “No. Believe it or not, I do know people topside. I do go out.” He flashed Zoey an angry glare. “But what’s funny is, Alan isn’t one of us. He’s human.”

  “He is?”

  “Yeah.” Lonnie approached Victoria and lowered his voice. “There’s this woman I get with … ” He looked over his shoulder, at his companions. Traci and Dana had stopped their public display. They talked while browsing their phones. “That I, uh, used to get with. Alan’s her brother.”

  Victoria took the photo and studied it again. She almost had every pixel memorized.

  “Well, recently turned, I guess.”

  Lonnie shrugged.

  “I guess.”

  “Do you know where Alan lives?”

  “Afraid not. But, Alyson, his sister, my uh … old friend, I know where she lives. I can give her a call—”

  Everything happened so fast.

  The surroundings had already thrown off Victoria’s sense of smell. The sewage, the sex, the echoes bouncing off the concrete. She didn’t smell it until it was too late.

  A strong sense of something rotten touched her nose, only for a moment.

  Then the screaming started.

  They turned to see the vampire with its fangs in Traci’s cheek. Wild hair, ripped clothes, no shoes. Dana fell from the couch and shouted as she tried to push herself away. Dylan jumped back, startled.

  The vampire wrapped his claws around Traci’s waist and pulled her down, like an animal with prey. Blood sprayed from her face onto the nearby wall.

  He tried to drag her down the nearby tunnel, knocking over a lamp.

  Victoria shook her surprise and moved. Dylan was closer and reached Traci first. He tried to shove the vampire away, pull Traci to safety. The vampire reacted fast, slashing Dylan across the face. He jumped on Dylan next, pinning him near the couch and attacking.

  Victoria moved to Traci first, pulling her to her feet. Her face was a mess. Puncture wounds straight through the skin, blood pouring onto her clothes. She could barely stand, and fell into Victoria’s arms.

  Lonnie decided he wanted nothing to do with the attack, or help the woman who only minutes ago was nude on his couch. He backed up, watching the scene unfold like he was a bystander.

  Victoria locked eyes with Zoey, and they spoke without words. Zoey rushed to her side, taking Traci from her, and gently lowered her to the ground.

  Dylan was trying to defend himself, but failing. The wild vampire was too much, too fast. He bit and clawed, letting out a sound that almost sounded bestial.

  She’d seen bloodlust before, felt it herself over the centuries. The rage on display wasn’t bloodlust.

  A vial flew across the room, striking the wild vampire in the head. The glass shattered, throwing a sweet-smelling liquid over Dylan and his attacker. They both screamed in agony, but Dylan took less of Kevin’s magic.

  The vampire leapt behind the refrigerator, knocking it over, and crouched behind it. Part of his face and one eyeball had melted away. His remaining eye glowed red.

  Terrible memories flooded back to Victoria. Vampires in cages, experiments, the near decimation of Baltimore. Human science, in search for a cure for vampires, had done the exact opposite, turning innocent mortals into feral monsters.

  She knew that virus was in a lab somewhere, locked away from the world. But her instincts told her that wasn’t what was in front of her.

  Victoria and Kevin moved in step together, from opposite sides of the living space. The vampire eyed them up, baring his teeth. Kevin pulled a vial from under his coat.

  She held up a hand.

  “No,” she whispered. “Hold on.”

  She took the moment to study him.

  She put his age somewhere in the mid-twenties. It wasn’t the person in the photograph, but the rage, the wild look, she knew they were connected. Blond hair, with streaks of crimson and gore from Dylan and Traci. Blood dripped from his fangs to the floor. His ripped jeans were old, caked in dried blood and dirt.

  Something green was on his neck, like a streak of dripping paint.

  The vampire took advantage of Victoria’s hesitance, and attacked. He chose Kevin as the target, deciding he was the weaker of the two. Victoria intercepted. She summoned her speed and tackled the vampire. They fell awkwardly across a table, with Victoria ending up on the bottom. Wood and glass shattered under their weight. Victoria was stunned, and that was just enough time for the vampire to grab a shard of broken wood. Her senses came back just in time to see the makeshift stake descend.

  She raised her arm as the pain shot across her chest. The weapon
struck home, piercing her blouse and flesh, but stopping short of the heart. The vampire was strong, intelligent. Victoria snarled and attacked with her free hand, striking his missing eye and shoulder.

  The vampire fell at her side as one of Kevin’s vials struck him. A scream of rage and pain, along with smoke. Kevin jumped over her, putting his body between the two vampires. He dropped to one knee, placing a protective hand on Victoria’s shoulder, as he grabbed another vial. Deciding they outmatched him, the vampire scurried away, down a dark tunnel.

  Kevin offered his hand. Victoria took it, using him to steady herself, before giving chase.

  The chase didn’t last.

  She stopped at the first intersection, trying to determine the path. Her nose was useless. There was no trail to follow.

  Frustrated, she turned back to Lonnie’s living space.

  Lonnie was still in the same position. He hadn’t moved an inch, standing in shock with his mouth hanging open. Dylan was on one knee, examining his own injuries. Kevin, Zoey, and Dana were at Traci’s side. Traci lay on the floor, weeping, with a hand pressed to her face. Zoey had ripped away part of her shirt and pressed it to Traci’s cheek. Kevin’s coat floated in mid-air next to him. He pulled a vial from his combat vest and leaned over the injured mortal.

  “No!” Victoria shouted, startling everyone. She ran to Kevin and grabbed his wrist.

  “Relax,” Kevin said. “It’s just water. To heal her.”

  “I know. Not yet.”

  “Not yet?” Zoey said, still putting pressure on Traci’s wound. “Victoria, she’s hurt pretty bad.”

  Victoria knelt down for her own look, gently moving Traci’s face. Traci stiffened and sucked in a breath. Besides the puncture wounds, there weren’t any other major injuries.

  “What’s going on?” Kevin asked. He lowered his voice. “Look, I don’t think this is the time for the no magic speech.”

  She put a hand on his shoulder and offered a warm smile.

  “You did good,” she said, running a hand across her own open wound. “Thanks.”

  She pointed to Lonnie and Dylan.

  “You both just became their guardians,” she said, pointing to Traci and Dana. “Get her to a hospital. Do whatever you have to do. But do not let Traci out of your sight.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because she needs to be watched. Kevin, stone,” she said, holding out her palm. Kevin dug into his vest and handed over a rock. “If she changes at all, shows any sign of becoming a vampire, you talk into this. Kevin will know.”

  Dana stood up and approached.

  “Look, I don’t want to be crude, but we’ve had pretty much every vampire body part in us at one time, including teeth. We’ve been bit many times. She won’t change.”

  “I … hope you’re right.”

  Everyone exchanged concerned glances. Traci sat up with the help of Zoey.

  “What did that vampire do to her?” Dana asked.

  Traci cried as her voice choked up.

  “He put two fucking holes in my face,” she said.

  Victoria squatted and stroked her hair. They needed to get moving, but she wanted to be compassionate.

  “You’re going to be fine,” she said, not completely sure that was true. “You just stay with your friends here. They’ll take care of you.”

  “Man,” Lonnie muttered under his breath. “She wasn’t that good a fuck.”

  “Hey!” Zoey shouted, angrily pointing at him. “Shut your mouth and do the right thing, you piece of shit!”

  Dylan approached Victoria.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “I can handle him. We’ll be okay. But … what the fuck was that thing?”

  Victoria sighed and looked at Kevin. She held up her finger, where there was a trace of the green substance from the vampire’s neck. It had the consistency of blood, smelled like honey.

  “What is this?”

  “Shit, I don’t know. Where did you get it?”

  “From the vampire, when we were fighting.”

  “Well, we’re in the sewers,” he said, leaning away. “It could be sewage.”

  “Or magic.”

  “Damnit, Victoria!” he said, pulling out an empty vial. “Then maybe you shouldn’t be touching it.”

  He collected the sample. Zoey stood by his side, and they studied the vial together.

  “I need to know what it is.”

  He shook his head.

  “You know how this works,” he said. “I mean, I just don’t know. I can keep this with me, and maybe it will come.”

  “That’s why I want you to go back to Michael Taver’s place.” She looked at Zoey. “Both of you. That witch dungeon of his, and the magical library. If that is magic, then it came from there. Search the books, search everything. Even if you don’t find anything, maybe being there will trigger what it is. That’s how it works, right?”

  He nodded.

  “Sometimes. Being around magic to create magic. But listen, I can get a camcorder right now. It won’t be easy. This place is a maze. But we might be able to track that vampire. At least up to six hours ago.”

  The thought was a good one, and tempting. Maybe it was a plan they followed later. But Victoria wanted to know more about what they were dealing with first.

  “Not yet, but keep that in mind. I want to know all about that—” She pointed to the vial. “Before we go hunting.” She managed a smile and leaned in to hug Kevin, but he took a step back, gesturing to the blood on her chest she’d already forgotten about. “Oh, sorry. Thanks for helping me.”

  Kevin nodded. The tension was gone between them. Victoria knew they’d have more issues in the future. That was how friendship worked. Jack and she hadn’t spoken in almost a century before finding their way back to each other’s lives.

  He looked toward Traci.

  “You think she’s going to turn into a crazy vampire. Like back in Baltimore, don’t you?”

  “Huh?” Zoey asked, never hearing that story. “What?”

  “I hope not. And I know it sounds cruel, not curing her with your magic. But if she changes, we need to know.”

  “But I might not be able to cure her then. I might not be able to cure her now. With another witch’s magic, I can’t always just undo everything.”

  “I know. There are a lot of unknowns. But we have a little more now. They’ll watch Traci. You figure out what that green crap is. Then we’ll move together.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Lonnie still owes me an address.” She held up the photograph. “I’m going to find our mystery man.”

  CHAPTER 18

  JACK DIDN’T HEAR the knock at the door. His attention was elsewhere.

  He stood at the bottom of the stairs, his arms crossed. Tiffany and Skye sat on the couch. What Tiffany called music played on the speaker on the end table, while they watched a movie. They also talked to each other. Where was their focus? The music, movie, or each other? Was it everywhere and nowhere? Jack wasn’t sure.

  The scene looked innocent enough. Tiffany in her pajamas, Skye with a swimsuit and robe. But he couldn’t fight the dread in the pit of his stomach. There were times Andee had trouble handling Tiffany, and she was a professional babysitter. Would Skye crack under the pressure? Would she fall apart? Would they truly sit and relax all night long, and have no problems?

  “Dad!” Tiffany said, her tone sharp.

  Jack jumped, and realized she’d been calling his name several times.

  “What! What?”

  “Someone’s at the door. I think it’s Marie.”

  “Alright. Don’t scream at me.”

  “And stop staring at us. It’s freaking us out.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do.”

  “Answer the door.”

  Marie greeted him with a smile as he followed Tiffany’s orders. Seeing her relaxed him, helped ease the hurricane that was his nerves, and he wasn’t sure why. She looked lovely, wearing a yellow flower dr
ess and matching flats. His brain was scrambled, but he couldn’t remember ever seeing her in a dress before.

  “Wow,” she said. “You clean up real nice.”

  “I actually used soap this time. You look rather okay yourself.”

  She laughed as she stepped into the living room.

  “I went for a jog earlier. Always perks me up.”

  “A jog. Sure.”

  “Hi, Marie,” Tiffany said, waving from the couch. Skye copied the wave, the exact movement and cadence. “You look beautiful.”

  “Thank you very much.”

  “Hey Jack, can I have a dress like that?”

  Jack didn’t respond. He’d went back to his staring station, leaning against the upstairs railing. He knew Tiffany was more than capable of taking care of herself. His daughter could deal with anything, including Skye. But the dread in his bones didn’t want to slither away.

  “Would you stop staring? Marie, could you make him stop?”

  Marie laughed quietly and put a hand on Jack’s shoulder. Again, there was that strange mix of horror and comfort at Marie’s touch. His mind drifted to what he hoped was the future. Jack and Marie, without clothes, in a hotel room bed, or a patch of grass in the woods. He wasn’t picky.

  “Hey,” Marie whispered. “Are you alive in there?”

  “Yeah. For a long, long time.” He took a breath. They needed to get moving, before he let his silly worries consume him. He pointed to the stove. “The casserole will be done in a half hour. When it is—”

  “I know, I know. Oven mitts. Take the food out.”

  “Turn stove off,” Skye finished, waving him away. “Go. We’ll be fine.”

  “You’ve got my number in your phone. The restaurant number is on the fridge. If you need me—”

  “We won’t, Dad. God, just go. You worry too much. Go, and have fun. Maybe give Marie a little kiss.”

  “Okay, smartass,” he said, pointing at her. “We won’t be out too long.”

  Jack motioned to the door. He held it open for Marie. She had one foot out before Tiffany spoke again.

  “Hey!”

  She ran across the living room and surprised him with a tackle hug. He returned the gesture, giving his daughter a tight squeeze.