Brendan studied me. “Carlson wanted to change you?”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever considered being changed?”
“No.” I shook my head slowly. “Never. I’d rather die.”
Bad enough being halfway there, but if I managed to get some of their blood in my mouth.... “Brendan?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re here to help, so will you—” I scrubbed my hand across my face, “—will you promise me something?”
“That depends on what you ask me.”
“If I somehow become a Vampire during our time together, kill me.” I glanced back down at the street. “I don’t want to be like them. I can’t be like them.”
“I understand that, but—”
“Promise.” I turned back to stare at him. “I don’t know what my Gran saw, but if it were to happen...if somehow I—”
“Heather, I won’t let anything hap—” He stopped. He muffled a curse and looked across the rooftop. “I promise.”
“Good. Thanks.”
He cleared his throat. “Thanks for telling me about the virus,” he said softly. “And about your parents.”
“My Gran should have told you. She should have told you everything; not fair of her to bring you into all of this.”
“She only wanted you to be safe.”
I laughed and leant my head against the wall. “I am a born Infected and a Slayer. I am never going to be safe.”
“Yeah, well, life is shit.”
Unstoppable laughter fell from my mouth. “Believe me, I have noticed.”
“But even so, she still wanted you to be safe.”
I didn’t comment.
“Heather?”
“Yeah.”
“I...I will keep—” He stopped himself, again. Another muttered curse followed.
I remained silent, waiting to see if he would continue. The noises of London drowned out everything else. The gentle night breeze danced around me, causing a free strand of my hair to caress my cheek. I suddenly felt so tired.
“What would happen if you drank human blood?” Brendan finally asked.
“I don’t ever want to find out. Diluted. Undiluted. I won’t touch it.”
“Does your mixture help?”
“Yeah. I have to drink four litres a day at the very least, but yeah, it helps. My Gran fed the stuff to me since I was born.”
“I can’t imagine that to be easy.”
Glancing up at him, I shrugged. “Y’get used to it.”
“I don’t imagine it’s something that anyone can get used to.”
“I don’t really have a choice.”
“You really believe that? There is always a choice—”
“Not with this, Brendan. We never even risked pure animal blood due to the fear that drinking it undiluted might—” cause me to go insane and start killing every cow in the fields surrounding my aunt and uncle’s estate.
He nodded. “Okay, no blood unless it’s diluted and it comes from a butcher.”
“And by butcher you mean the business, not the man himself?”
“Naturally.” He grinned. “So, how come you mix it with cranberry juice? Has it got something to do with the colour?”
“Cranberry juice has a very strong, bitter aftertaste, so it dulls the taste of the blood slightly. Less clotting, too.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
“Oh yeah, everything about this conversation makes so much—”
“Heey...man. Whass your...prob—lem?” A rowdy male shouted outside the club.
I peeked over the edge to see a six-foot-tall male across the road. He wobbled from side to side, brown hair sprung in spikes from the top of his head, peachy-coloured skin flushed a mottled red, and a trail of blood flowing from his nose, down his lips, and onto his neck.
“Humans make it so easy for them,” Brendan grunted as he moved beside me.
The gentle night breeze swam past me, pulling the smell of fresh blood with it. My body grew tense as the scent stung my nostrils and tickled my throat. My heart fluttered.
Brendan landed a hand on my left shoulder. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, unable to take my eyes off the drunk. From the corner of my eye, I caught Brendan studying me carefully. Irritation curled around my spine; I hated being watched, but the only thing I could concentrate on was the faint metallic scent that crawled up my nose, then down my throat. The thirst stirred within me as I pulled the essence into my lungs, and although I hated myself for it, I shuddered. The familiar tingle of my senses peaking swam through me.
“Well, if that smell doesn’t get any Leeches’ attention, I’m sure his incapability to stand will.”
The drunk moved unsteadily all over the pavement. Blots of blood had managed to find their way onto his once-crisp, white shirt. Drinking and fighting; how idiotic.
He’s a walking buffet, and he doesn’t even realize it.
“I—I said—” He stumbled forward, his arms stretched out before him as he attempted to challenge the bulky bouncer in front of him.
“I think you’d better go home, mate,” the bouncer said, simply holding his ground.
“And I th—think—” The drunk spun around.
“Come on, baby, let’s go home.” A girl appeared by his side. Her black hair fell down her bare back, sweeping across her caramel skin. Tight, red, leather trousers and black halter-neck clung to her, showing off every curve a person would want to see, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. She threaded her arm around the drunk’s waist and pulled him away from the bouncer.
Brendan gently squeezed my shoulder. “What do you want to do?”
I inhaled deeply, allowing my senses to lock onto Brendan’s scent. His unusual aroma blocked out even the smell of his own blood, and boy, was I thankful. I pulled his scent in, until I could taste him on my tongue.... Until all my concentration clung to him.
“Looks like that idiot is going to be our bait for this evening, because there is no way any Vampire would not be able to smell his blood,” I said.
I hadn’t realized how close Brendan had actually gotten to me until I moved and found his face a mere inch from my own.
“All right.” His emerald gaze locked onto mine. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said, unable to move. My skin prickled due to the heat radiating off his body, and warmth flooded my cheeks.
“So what’s the plan?”
“Follow them and see what happens,” I mumbled as his breath skated across my nose.
His left eyebrow arched; the motion pulled his scar straight. “That’s not much of a plan.”
“I’m more of an improviser.” I forced my eyes away from him and looked out over the rooftops. My gaze wandered lower and lower, taking in every inch of the scene.
“I had actually noticed that.”
“Besides, you make a plan, and then you end up changing it because it doesn’t always work out. So what is the point? It makes more sense to go with the flow.”
“Fair enough.” His hand fell from my shoulder. “So you just want to follow them?”
I used the rooftop wall to push myself up.
“He reeks of blood; there is no way in hell they won’t be attracted to that.” The couple slunk toward one of the back streets. “I’d feel better if I made sure they were somewhere safe.”
“Okay, then.” He stood up. “Let’s do this.”
I walked over to the metal fire escape and started down. A large blur dropped past me, followed by a heavy thud. I peered over my arm to see Brendan jumping off a dumpster. He looked up at me and smiled.
Fucking show-off.
“Jump. I will catch you,” he said.
Not a chance. I continued making my way swiftly down the rickety fire escape, ignoring his deep chuckle.
“Can you still smell the drunk’s blood?” I asked as I hopped off the ladder and walked toward him.
He tilted his head and inhaled
. “Faintly.”
“Let’s get a move on, then.”
We ran out of the alley mouth and dodged among the cars, ignoring the odd beeps and curses from the drivers. We made our way around the corner to the street the couple had walked down. After a few steps, Brendan grabbed my arm.
“I need to kneel down. The scent is always strongest nearer the ground.” He dropped to one knee and pretended to tie his shoelace, his focus moving down the pavement.
“Hey, baby!” A cockney male bellowed in my direction.
I turned to see five rowdy guys heading down the street.
“Hey, baby. How about you come and have a party with us?” the male asked as he stopped beside me.
“I think I will pass.” Next to me, Brendan stood and turned on them.
“Aw, come on.” The male ran his hand down my arm. “We’ll give you a real good time. What d’ya say?”
His four friends circled us.
Gold flooded Brendan’s irises. I turned to the drunk and gave him a sweet smile before sending my right fist into his liver.
The bloke grunted and doubled over.
I turned back to Brendan. “Why can’t people take no for an answer?”
“Beats me.” He punched the drunk to his left in the eye.
I kicked the drunk on my left in the gut.
“What about you two?” He turned to the two men who stood behind him. “You got an invite for us?”
“Nah, man. It’s cool,” one said.
“Good.” Brendan gave me a sideways glance. “Coming?”
“Lead the way.” I followed him across the street.
“I will never understand men.” The comment slipped from my lips as I glanced back at the drunks.
“We’re not all like that.”
“No. Some of you like to break into people’s houses.”
“I already told you, I used your keys.”
My gaze wandered over every shop front and down any alley that came into view. He stayed in front of me, his gaze remaining forward as we walked.
“Question?” He stopped and turned his head to the right, his nostrils flaring.
“Shoot.” I stopped beside him, glancing up at the rooftops.
“How do you manage to have relationships if you can smell the guy’s blood?”
I blinked and looked at him. “What the hell has that got to do with anything?”
“Nothing really, I just...I just imagine it would be...difficult.” His attention shifted to the left. “I mean, shit, it’s difficult for me to have a relationship with a human, but in a completely different way.”
We strode down the pavement.
“Well, truth is, I don’t really have time for relationships.” I could see from the corner of my eye that his focus had moved to me, but I kept searching our surroundings.
“So you’ve never been in a—?”
“I didn’t say I haven’t been in a relationship,” I interrupted him as we turned a corner onto a quieter street. “I just said, I don’t have time. Don’t forget, my Gran was human, just like my aunt, uncle, and second cousin. Just because I can smell blood doesn’t mean I am suddenly going to have the urge to feed on them.”
Even though the thirst was always there. Always begging to be soothed.
The thirst hadn’t really been a problem with my ex, though. I’d been careful with him. I always made sure I’d replenished my body, that I had the thirst under control. It proved a difficult relationship for a number of reasons, one of them being that I was treated like the most precious thing on Earth by my Gran. She hadn’t allowed me out much, but I had stood my ground when it came to Seth. I needed some normality in my life. Had wanted a regular relationship; a normal experience, and somehow, Seth and I stayed together for two years....
And then I saw him cheating on me.
Premonitions really were a bitch.
I saw it a month before it happened, and the day he came round to break up with me, I already knew everything he was going to say. I tried my best to act hurt, even though I felt numb more than anything else. I punched him, which made me feel slightly better, and then naturally that was the last time I saw him. What an arsehole.
“It just wouldn’t be fair of me to date someone.”
“How do you work that one out?”
Well, relationships were too much hassle to begin with; time, and effort, being key elements in any relationship, and obviously my time and energy were needed elsewhere. Then there were the feelings, natural impulses, lust...all a concoction for losing control which could therefore lead to me ripping someone’s throat out. Plus, when the hell would I have the time to play happy couple? “I can’t risk putting someone else’s life in danger. My emotional attachment to a partner could be used against me.”
“Emotional attachment? Wow, that’s...cold.”
“You know what I mean,” I grunted as I followed him across the street, then around a corner. “You said it yourself, anyway; it can’t be any easier for Shifters to have a relationship.”
“It isn’t.”
“There you go, then.”
“But it is possible.”
Well, whoopee for you. “Why are we talking about this, again?” Tension bunched my muscles. The familiar prickle of awareness moved under my skin.
“Seeing those idiots drooling over you, and us talking about your senses on the roof, just made me...curious.”
I looked at him. “You may not be a cat, but don’t think that curiosity won’t get you killed one day.”
“That your way of telling me to butt out of your love life?” His gaze met mine and he gave me a smile.
“Bingo.”
A sharp scream stabbed through the night air.
I set off after Brendan as he sprinted down the street, then round the next corner. A small car park lay across the road.
He slowed down, and then stopped at the street corner, pulling me against the wall with him.
“We found our lucky couple.”
“And the lucky couple found themselves a lovely Vampire couple, it would seem.” I pulled my crossbow from my back strap.
I had taken only two steps forward when Brendan placed his hand on my shoulder. “What about the CCTV cameras?”
“They will have shut them off already.”
“How?”
“Pulled out the leads, I would imagine. Secret existence, remember.”
“So the reflection thing isn’t true?”
I looked at him with an arched eyebrow. “You’re seriously asking me that?”
“Hey, I don’t exactly hold up a mirror to see how they look after I rip their heads off.”
“No, it isn’t true. They have reflections.”
“Well, if that’s the case, why go to all the trouble of bringing their lunch to an area under observation? Why not take them somewhere secluded?”
He had a point. “I guess we will have to figure that out, but not now.”
I jogged across to the car park, holding the crossbow in my right hand, my index finger already hovering over the trigger.
Both Vampires had fully transformed. Their bald heads glinted in the orange streetlight as their snake-like tongues whipped from side to side between their long fangs. The male Vamp looked like he’d been built of muscles. He wore his jeans loose, but his T-shirt looked as if it had been painted onto him. He held the human female by her neck; I could see her face turning pale under his grip as she frantically fought for oxygen.
The female Vampire, slender and exotic looking, wore a tight black dress that hugged her body as she pinned the human male to the ground. I couldn’t see his face. No doubt he had hit his head and passed out when she had thrown him to the concrete. She cupped his head between her hands as she straddled him. I honestly couldn’t tell if she wanted to bite him or screw him.
“I don’t mean to interrupt this gangbang you’ve got going on here.” I smiled as I walked over to the two Vampires. “But I wondered if I could join in.”
“What, no witty comments?”
The female turned her head and looked up at the male.
“How about you let the lovely couple go and I will consider not killin’ you?”
The female cocked her head and hissed as her gaze landed on Brendan, who had stopped behind her partner. Brendan growled in reply.
“I will say that again in a way you can understand. Get off him or I will move you off him.”
The female Vampire looked back at me as she slowly slid off the human male and stood up. Her black eyes narrowed. Her attention remained on me.
I kept my sight on her as I retrieved my sword from my back, then pointed it at the male Vampire. “You, too, big guy.”
Brendan growled again. The Vampire slowly put the girl down on her feet.
The human fell to the ground, coughing and grabbing her throat. Bruises already bloomed on her skin. That bastard. She looked over at her partner lying on the floor and started to crawl toward him.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I said, my eyes still fixed on the female Vampire.
“Who are you people?” she asked, her voice strained. “What the fuck do you want?” She coughed again.
“We’re no one, but what I want is for you to lie down on your stomach, close your eyes, and put your hands over your ears. Do I make myself clear?” I could feel her gaze burning a hole into my head.
“Trust us,” Brendan said softly.
Concrete muffled the girl’s frantic sobs as the four of us stood silently. The prickle of awareness under my skin began to burn slightly as I stared at the Vampire before me, not even making an effort to attack me even though she had more than enough opportunity and strength to do so.
“Brendan.”
I pulled the trigger, sending an arrow straight into the female’s mouth. I moved toward her as she stumbled backward. I dropped the crossbow and gripped my sword with both hands. Her wail died as I swung my sword through her neck.
Cranberry Blood Page 7
