“That may have happened.”
“For someone supposedly so powerful, you’re one hell of a sleazebag: you keep me and Nolan busy, just so you can manipulate people to do what you want. Real dangerous vampire, you are. You’re about as tough as Hello Kitty!”
“I don’t own cats, so I’m unfamiliar with the reference behind your insult. Therefore, I haven’t been insulted.”
“You admit that I insulted you…and then you say you’re not insulted?” Rather than allow him to take charge of the conversation, I took the lead. “I’m not going to give you the Soul Sword. That’s why you’re here, right? To manipulate me into giving it to you?”
“You’ve made it abundantly clear that you won’t give me what I seek.” He titled Kendall’s neck upward, forcing her to look skyward as he set his gaze on the pulsing vein in her throat. “It seems Serena values her sword more than you. That is such a pity.” He stretched open his mouth, revealing sharp fangs.
He’d flashed his fangs, and while I tensed up, I barely flinched at the precursor of battle. It took a lot of self-control to act so stoic, but revealing the least bit of hesitation would encourage Darius to attack sooner than later. “Let’s just say, for shits and giggles, I were to give you the sword.”
He retracted his fangs, pensive. He met my stare. “I’ve never understood that idiom: ‘shits and giggles.’ Please don’t judge. I haven’t defecated in over three centuries. However, when I was human, I don’t recall relieving my bowels…only to begin laughing. Tell me, after using the toilet, or doing number two, as it were, do you find yourself in a jolly mood?”
Dumbfounded, I couldn’t do more than gawk at him.
“Ah, it seems an explanation eludes you as well. Even if you haven’t had any familiarity with this rather disturbing condition, I’d hoped that earning a college degree would have expanded your mind. Apparently, the American educational system leaves much to be desired.” He lowered his head, dejected. “My sympathy goes out to today’s youth.” Darious lifted his head, no longer concerned with matters of which he had no control. “Well, then, moving on…”
Darius brushed the hair lying against Kendall’s shoulders and pressed his lips against her skin.
“Hey!” Brandon started toward him.
“Don’t interrupt me, boy.”
Brandon halted all movement, but he snarled in frustration and released an anguished groan. “Yes, Master.” He settled his gaze on Kendall’s face, and a helpless look came over him.
“Masturbator, is more like it,” I said. “Because you’re standing around stroking your—”
In response to my outburst, Darius’s expression darkened. “When a vampire sinks his fangs into another’s flesh, he automatically releases a type of anesthetic while his teeth simultaneously insert a powerful aphrodisiac into his victim. I’ve witnessed many humans fall victim to the desire to once again take pleasure from the experience. Some even become so enamored with the cravings that their need overrides all other impulses. In that regard, it is quite similar to drug addiction.”
Brandon tensed his fists so tightly at his sides that they trembled. He stepped toward Darius.
“Sit,” he said.
“Yes, Master.” Brandon stopped and sat cross-legged on the carpet.
Darius leaned over and patted the top of his head.
The conflicted emotions of hatred and obedience battled for dominance on Brandon’s face. His cheeks flamed red.
I couldn’t imagine the humiliation Brandon endured. I waited for a moment where Darius didn’t pay me any attention, so I could attack, but even without looking my way, he seemed to know where I stood at all times: each time an opening appeared, I prepared to spring forward, but a fraction of a second later, Darius had glanced my way with a knowing smile.
Darius frowned at Brandon. “You once stated that an actor who portrayed a vampire on screen could clean the floor with me.”
“Not exactly. I said Keifer Sutherland’s character from The Lost Boys could kick your ass.”
“Suck your thumb, Brandon.”
He plugged a thumb in his mouth, but he winced at the command that made him helpless to do otherwise.
“Now…suck it!”
My friend did as requested, but his eyes pleaded with Darius to end this torment. I hated seeing Brandon reduced to endure such humiliation, but I was just as incapable of stopping this as him.
“The character in that film had a master,” Darius said. “You have a master. I…do not!”
From around his thumb, Brandon said, “You will pay for this.”
“Remove your thumb, child.”
Brandon obeyed. His eyes blazed with hatred. “I’ll come for you.”
“I appreciate the compliment, but I’m heterosexual.” Darius smiled for a brief moment and then he turned toward Kendall. His sharp fangs came into view once more, and he sank them into Kendall’s neck.
My shoulders jolted upwards at that violation, almost as if Kendall and I shared a mental link that allowed me to feel her fear and inability to fight back. But that wasn’t true. It never could be.
Kendall cringed from the pain, but a second later, she elicited a sigh of ecstasy. She swung an open hand behind her and clutched his pant leg. Another moan of pleasure lingered in her throat as Darius sucked deeply on her.
“I’ll fucking kill you!” said Brandon.
Darius removed his lips from Kendall’s neck. A drop of blood slid down Kendall’s shoulder. “I cannot blame you,” Darius said, his lips red. “She tastes…sublime. Not that you would know anything about that, now would you?”
“Okay,” I said. “You’ve proved your point.”
“The sword isn’t valuable to you,” said Darius. “So why resist my offer? Are you telling me, you prize a sword more than your best friend’s life?”
I couldn’t relinquish the sword. No other weapon on the planet wielded as much power as the Soul Sword. On the other hand, I’d never had a better friend than Kendall. We had too much history, too many shared memories that made it near impossible to give up on her. Rational thought dictated that I keep the sword, but my emotions told me to hand it over without second thought. Given that dichotomy, I didn’t know what to do.
“You’re a smart woman,” Darius said. “You know the smart decision.”
The smart decision? As much as I wanted to keep the sword in my possession, I knew that if I ever gave up on my best friend, I’d resent it for the rest of my life. At the same time, if I handed over the sword, I might not be able to eliminate all of the supernatural creatures that stalked Chicago.
“Don’t,” Kendall said, eyeing me. “Don’t give it away.”
I tried to determine if Kendall meant what she’d said, or if she had put up a false front. Scrutinizing her face, I was shocked to discover she believed wholeheartedly in her words: she’d rather die…than have me give up my sword.
But where would I be without her? Without her advice? Without those late-night conversations, the ones that always made me think twice before acting impulsively, the ones that allowed me to be honest with myself, the ones where she let her guard down, and the ones where we confided in each other. Where would our band be without the one person who grounded Brandon and me. The person who always knew the right amount of sentimentality to use in our lyrics, so we wouldn’t veer into melodrama. The person who had an effervescent energy that made our audience watch her every movement until she burst into hysterics on stage?
For all those reasons, not to mention countless others that bound us together like sisters, I wouldn’t dare sacrifice her for a…sword. Even though every instinct in my body told me not to hand over the weapon, I did just that. I held out the sword.
A giant smile broke free on Darius’s face. He released Kendall and extended an arm toward the sword.
One second before he touched it, however, Brandon snatched the sword from my hands and swung it towards Darius, who ducked and slung an arm around Kendall’s waist, d
ragging her to the ground.
As Brandon fell to the ground, I scooped up the sword, certain that Darius would take this as a refutation of his offer. For that reason, I pivoted toward him and swung the sword toward his head.
Darius avoided the blade, righted himself, and snapped Kendall’s neck.
CHAPTER TEN
“No!” I screamed, watching Kendall’s body slump to the ground, lifeless. The blade slipped from my fingers as I scrambled over to her. My mind spun. My breath came quick. And anxiety clamped down on me to such an extent that I couldn’t move, other than to set my attention on Darius.
Smirking at Kendall’s prostate body, Darius got to his feet and dusted off his hands. Then he directed his gaze at me, and his arrogant expression turned disillusioned. “You could have avoided this outcome if you had just handed me the sword.”
I wanted to scream at Darius, but my gaze returned to Kendall’s inert form. Try though I might, I couldn’t allow myself to acknowledge that she had died. After all, she had died with Darius’s blood inside her, which meant…he’d turned her into a vampire. Tears entered my eyes as I looked up at Darius. Fury and sadness churned inside my heart, and I had no idea, which one would win.
“You have only yourself to blame,” Darius said. He looked down at Kendall’s crumpled body and shook his head, emitting a tsk-tsk-tsk sound from his lips. “Wherever you go, death follows.”
I got to my feet and charged him. I slammed into his chest, driving him against the wall. Although the maneuver didn’t expel air from his lungs, I lost all sense of rationality as well as the self-discipline martial arts taught me by throwing one fist after another at Darius, hoping to pound him into oblivion.
But he dodged each punch, as though I’d moved in slow motion. Then he put a hand to my back and threw me against the wall. My right cheek bashed into the drywall and I slipped to the ground. Thankfully, I was already close to it, so he couldn’t put much strength into the tactic. Expecting a follow-up, I twirled around, but Darius had already vanished.
“He just…” Brandon slapped one hand against the other. “He’s gone.”
I rushed to my feet, raced over to the family room window, and scanned the street.
Darius entered his Ford Fusion, rocketed out of his parking spot by the curb, and shot down the street.
I gnashed my teeth together, doing my best to control the fury that wanted to erupt from my throat, and turned my attention toward my best friend.
Against all logic, Kendall twitched and reached a hand toward her neck as though she’d slept at the wrong angle, resulting in soreness, rather than dying via a cracked neck. She turned her neck side-to-side as though trying to remove a kink and released a heavy sigh.
I stared at her, shocked that she’d returned from the deadly blow that Darius had delivered.
“I’m thirsty,” she said, no longer evoking the least bit of discomfort. Licking her lips, she got to her feet, headed toward the kitchen, and disregarded the incredulous looks that both Brandon and I sent her way.
I glanced at Brandon, as he stared after her, startled by her ordinary entrance into the kitchen. He turned his gaze upon mine. “Did you see that? Didn’t Darius just…kill her?”
I nodded, unable to say a word.
“She’s a vampire?” he asked, incredulous. Tears entered his eyes, and he winced at his inability to protect her.
The refrigerator door whooshed open in the other room. “Where’s the orange juice?” Kendall asked. “Don’t we have any lemonade? Brandon, if you drank it all, I’m going to shrink your briefs…not that anyone would notice!” She poked her head around the corner. A grin lit her face. “Not with that little string bean.” Then she disappeared again.
“The bite marks on her neck healed,” Brandon said, releasing a heavy sigh. He lowered his head and shook it. “Oh, man.” He folded his right forearm into the pit of his stomach, looking nauseous.
“Doesn’t she remember what happened?”
I hopped up and motioned for Brandon to follow me to the kitchen. I turned the corner and spotted Kendall, scanning the fridge.
“No orange juice,” she said, irritated. “No lemonade.” She slammed the door, spun around, and glared at Brandon as though he’d ruined her day. “All I see is Miller Lite and Jim Beam Kentucky Fire…” She glared at him. “That might be dinner some nights for you, Brandon, but how about breakfast?”
Brandon straightened, but his sickened expression didn’t fade.
Kendall’s brow furrowed. “I don’t want a shot of liquor, I want…” Perplexed, she turned stared at Brandon’s neck. She sniffed and licked her lips. A second later, she sped across the kitchen and latched onto his throat with her teeth, sucking deep.
Startled, I just stared at her, unsure if I’d been hallucinating.
Brandon’s eyes opened wide. A second later, gratification gripped him. “Ooooh, yeaaah!”
I sprang toward them and tried to separate them, but Kendall clutched onto him with great strength. I tried again, this time putting so much effort into maneuver that I grunted with near exhaustion, until I barely managed to pry Kendall away from Brandon. Breathing heavy, I held a hand against their chests, separating them.
Brandon’s neck glistened with blood. A one-inch circumference around the two puncture wounds looked like someone had scraped a cheese-grater against his skin. He shook his head once, twice, a third time until he removed the drowsy look from his face and placed a hand against his neck. An animated expression turned on me.
“I can’t believe you bit me!” he said.
“You liked it, didn’t you?”
Conflicting emotions dueled behind his eyes. “That’s not the point. The point is—”
“You liked it,” she repeated.
“Yeah.”
“And you want me to do it to you again, don’t you?”
He gave a stiff nod, as though deserving of a replay.
“Always the romantic,” Kendall said. But when her gaze settled on his neck, all trace of humor left her countenance. She gasped. Then she wiped her hand against her lips and stared at the blood on her fingertips. She licked her lips, obviously enjoying the taste because her eyes widened. She looked at my hand, frustrated that I’d stepped between them. “You can remove your hand now. There won’t be a round two.”
I examined those ferocious eyes, so full of confidence and certainty. In other words, far from the Kendall I’d always known. This woman had nothing to fear. She couldn’t age now. And her heightened senses, strength, and speed made it unlikely she’d die anytime soon, unless of course, someone planned to do her in. Even then, unless that person had supernatural abilities, he or she had better be clever enough to outsmart her.
Now that she’d attended to her hunger, Kendall’s countenance transformed so swiftly into anger that I couldn’t find my friend I’d loved for so many years.
“Because of you, I’m a…vampire, Serena!”
Guilt prodded me. “I’m sorry. You know that I never wanted any of this to—”
She rushed me.
Sensing an impending attack, I shoved Brandon to the side and faced Kendall. She threw a right hook on a wide arc, giving me plenty of time to swat it aside.
Kendall tried to hit me in the chest, but I blocked it, and slapped her in the face, shocking her. “Stop it.”
Furious, she jumped toward me.
Presuming that her super speed might catch me by surprise, I jammed an open hand into her throat.
Cringing, she placed both hands to her neck and staggered in place until she regained her balance.
“I’m sorry, Kendall.” Her quick healing properties made it obvious that the pain had already begun to ebb. Her accusatory stare made my heart sink. “I need you to believe that. You’re my best friend. I’d never want anything like this to—”
“It’s your fault Darius turned me. It’s your fault I’m so fucking thirsty.” She set her eyes on my throat. “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’
t be…” She shook her head.
She didn’t just blame me for what happened tonight, but what had occurred since my family changed our lives. I’d feared that my family drama would affect Kendall and Brandon, but I had no idea that…
“Because of you, I won’t be able to grow old with someone.” She almost directed her gaze toward Brandon, but made it appear as thought she’d intended to look elsewhere instead. “I’ll never have children, Serena!” Her chest caved inward and pain registered on her face.
“We don’t know that,” I said. “Remember, you’re still alive. You just…need to drink blood instead of eating food or drinking water to stay alive.”
“If I had a baby, would she need to drink blood, too?”
I wanted to go to her, but doing so would probably incite fury, so I stood in place, hoping she didn’t try to knock me out again. But her words echoed in my mind, and the consequences of my ancestry heaped onto my shoulders, nearly knocking the breath from my lungs. Moisture instantly misted my eyes.
“You stole that from me!” Irritation and sadness entered her expression.
Tears streamed out of my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. I wanted to apologize, but no matter what I said, I couldn’t reverse Darius’s actions.
“A vampire,” she said. Blood, rather than tears, entered her eyes as though someone had sprayed them with paint, but since she hadn’t appeared to notice, they obviously hadn’t affected her vision.
I didn’t know what to say. I looked to Brandon for advice.
After looking frightened for a long moment, he shook his head, unsure how to respond.
Kendall winced, on the precipice of breaking into bloody tears.
I wanted to cross the floor and wrap her in a big, long hug. But that would not be the wisest course of action. She might try to tear into my flesh as well!
She placed her palms against her temples and closed her eyes. “This isn’t happening,” she said. She swiped more blood from her face and growled at the fluid. “Get off!” she shouted. She placed both palms against her face, smearing as much blood off her face as possible and spread her cheeks toward the back of her head. “I’m going crazy!” she said, as though having given up trying to determine why she acted so unlike herself. “This is what crazy feels like!”
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