Edge of Night

by Crystal Jordan

  “Do you remember him?” Asher snarled.

  She nodded. Yes, she remembered. Soul stripped bare by pain and exhaustion and terror, there was only her love left to protect her from him. Nothing was stronger, and even that he’d try to take from her.

  A fresh wave of his blood magic hit her, so penetrating she lost all sense of time, of space, of conscious thought. His fangs pierced her neck again, and he sucked too much blood. She shrieked into the gag until she had no voice left to do more than croak, until the echoing screams were only in her mind.

  She was so hot, burning from the inside out. It felt like her blood boiled in her veins. If she’d had enough coherency left, she might have prayed for death, but the pain devoured her until there was nothing else. The universe narrowed to agony. Every second, every heartbeat, her entire being was endless anguish. She couldn’t hear, couldn’t see, couldn’t do anything other than exist in the torment.

  The world erupted in chaos around her, something slicing across her cheek. Her eyes opened, though she couldn’t remember closing them. The room spun around her and she could barely keep her head aloft, the muscles and tendons in her neck throbbing. But it was real pain, not the magic-induced kind. The door had exploded in, and the window that made up the top half had broken. Spraying glass shards had hit her face.

  She saw everything as if in slow motion, with all the sounds muted over the roaring in her ears. Percussive booms came from a distance, but she didn’t know what they meant. What was happening? A yowl rent the air, and an orange tabby cat launched itself through the gaping maw of the doorway. It leaped at Asher’s face, latching on, and the vampire screamed and spun in circles. Balthasar. A streak of something that was almost too fast to see went by her. It was large, man-shaped, with coppery hair on top. Something larger and darker followed in its wake. She didn’t know why this was important, but her brain nagged at her that those shadowy shapes had significance. Asher wasn’t looming over her anymore, and that was what mattered most.

  She drifted for a moment, grateful that the pain had receded to a dull ache. At some point, she’d lost control of her bladder, and she sat in an uncomfortable puddle. She didn’t have energy to be embarrassed about that. Rest sounded so good, like heaven. If she could just shut her eyes and sleep, it would be all right.

  Something crashed into her, spinning her chair sideways into a cupboard. She tipped over and landed hard on her shoulder. The force of the impact left her gasping, but reality snapped back into focus. Luca and Gregor were here. She heard vampiric hissing, splintering wood, the impact of flesh on flesh.

  She felt bruised from the inside out, as if her body was too swollen to move. She tried flexing her limbs. Her knees slowly straightened, and she realized that with the chair on its side, she could slip the ties down and off the legs. Her wrists were bound to each other, not the chair, which meant she could now wriggle up and escape. Her hands were still lashed behind her, but she could at least move around a little.

  There was glass on the floor, and someone had knocked stuff off the counter. The remains of a toaster were flipped upside down next to her, a butcher block lay on its side with knives littering the linoleum, and a cracked ceramic utensil holder spewed spatulas and wooden spoons. Blood smeared the tile around her, and she thought it might be her own. There seemed to be a lot of it, especially after Asher had taken so much. Alarm tingled up her spine, but she didn’t want to think about what all that crimson might mean. Luca. She needed to find Luca, see him, know he was okay.

  Trying to avoid most of the sharp glass and cutting implements, she rolled to her side. She didn’t have enough strength to stand, but she could figure out what was going on. She saw Luca locked in vicious combat with Asher, their fangs and talons ripping into each other. A few feet away from her, Tina knelt with a gun clutched between her hands. Gregor was doing some incredible acrobatics to dodge the bullets she fired at him. The redhead leapt from floor to table to counter to ceiling, hissing at the Normal woman, who looked wild and enraged. It wasn’t until she stopped firing that Erin realized he’d wanted her to run out of bullets.

  The sickening crunch of snapping bones brought her gaze back to Luca. Her heart stuttered as she watched Asher hit the floor, his blank eyes staring. His neck was ripped open, his head twisted sideways and almost completely severed from his body.

  It should have been the most horrifying thing she’d ever seen, but instead she just felt numb. Cold. She shivered, suddenly freezing.

  “Erin!” Luca landed on his knees beside her. He pulled the gag away from her mouth and sliced through her wrist bindings with his talons, but then his hands hovered over her body as if he were afraid to touch her.

  Movement behind him caught her eye, and she saw Tina pivot to point the gun at his back. Was she really out of bullets or had she been faking? Erin couldn’t risk finding out. She groped for one of the knives and used every ounce of strength she had left to throw the blade at the other woman. It slammed deep into her arm, and the hand holding the gun went limp. Gregor was on her before the pistol hit the floor.

  “I think you just saved my life,” Luca commented. He pressed his fingertips to her throat, and a wave of nauseating pain hit her as he touched where Asher had bitten. A punctured artery, she realized. This was not good.

  “Too much blood.” Her voice was breathy, almost soundless.

  “Yes.” He nodded. “You’ve lost too much blood. Hold on, sweetheart. There’s an ambulance on the way. Just stay with me. You’re going to be all right.”

  No, she wasn’t. She could tell by the awful look in his eyes. She wasn’t going to be all right. Darkness was already creeping in on her vision, but she kept her eyes open as long as she could, focusing on his precious, beautiful face.

  “I love you.” Her lips moved, but no sound emerged. Still, he understood her, because his eyes filled with tears and he brought her fingers up to kiss.

  He kept speaking, asking her things she couldn’t comprehend. His voice was sharp, desperate and he shook her, but it didn’t hurt the way she knew it should. She felt like her mind and body were drifting apart, floating. She tried to smile for him, tried to hold on, wanted to stay with him more than anything in the world, but the darkness won.

  “Erin!” Luca got into her face, screamed like a madman. “Erin, stay awake!”

  She stared at him, and he watched the light in her eyes dim. Her heartbeat fluttered, faltered, and he knew that once again, he was too late. A sob exploded out of him, tears coursing unchecked down his cheeks.

  “I’m sorry, Cavalli.” Gregor’s hand closed over his shoulder, clamping down hard in sympathy. “So damn sorry.”

  Luca loved her so fucking much. Everything he’d ever felt for any other woman paled in comparison to this. No one would ever fit the man he was right now the way she did. He wanted centuries to explore what was between them, to learn all of her, to grow with her and learn more.

  He couldn’t lose her. He could not. Everything within him rejected the very idea of a world without her in it. Turning her without permission could result in him being put to death—that was the punishment for what he was considering. He didn’t care. For once, he didn’t give a damn about the laws he’d sworn to uphold. This was bigger than that, bigger than him.

  There was still life in her, but the number of heartbeats she had left could be counted on one hand. It was now or never. Her head lolled limply as he lifted her.

  “What are you doing?” Gregor’s hand tightened, but Luca yanked away.

  “It’s her only chance.” He sank his fangs into her flesh, felt the sluggish flow of blood through her veins, but he pulled enough in to make the spell work. The only kind of spells vampires were any good at. He bit into his wrist to let the crimson fluid run freely, forced her mouth open, pressed his arm to her lips and pushed the magic into her along with the blood. Vampiric magic. Turning.

  Her throat worked, and her body spasmed. Eyes flaring wide, she gurgled. Convulsions sho
ok her, twisting her in his arms. Her limbs jerked like a puppet with cut strings.

  “You know that turning takes its toll, Luca.” Gregor’s voice was gentle with empathy. “She might not have enough strength to survive what it will do to her.”

  “It was worth the risk.” He kept his wrist against her mouth, let her take more of his blood. More than he should. She might drain him dry, but he shoved that thought aside. “There was nothing to lose but her.”

  She shuddered, arching and writhing. A harsh cry broke from her throat, her eyes rolled until only the whites showed. Long, ugly seizures took her. The many punctures Asher’s fangs had left healed, broke open again, bled, resealed. Luca flexed his arm, pouring his lifeblood into her.

  “Don’t die. Don’t die. Please, Gods, don’t die. Ti amo, Erin. Don’t die. Don’t leave me. Anything but that. I love you.”

  “Hell, you’re going to bleed yourself dry trying to keep her alive.” Gregor shoved his own arm in front of Luca. “Drink before you kill yourself. And stop the mental shouting. The whole world already guessed you love her.”

  Luca took the offering, if only because he could transfer more to Erin. Anything to save her. Anything.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Erin felt like hell. Someone had worked her over with a baseball bat, and then started in with a crowbar. Every single centimeter of her hurt. Even her hair hurt. Her mouth was gummy and she was starving. Hungry in a bone-deep, visceral way that she’d never felt before.

  Her eyes opened, and the first thing she saw was Luca. He was sprawled in a chair beside her hospital bed, his head bent back awkwardly. He was going to have a crick in his neck when he woke up. Her gaze locked on his neck, and she could see the pulse throbbing there. She couldn’t look away from it, and it was as if she could sense every single beat of his heart. Her stomach rumbled. God, she was so hungry. It felt as if a ravenous beast lived inside her, clawing to get out.

  “Luca,” she rasped. Her voice was so weak she barely made a sound, but he jerked to alertness anyway.

  For a split second, she thought tears shimmered in his dark eyes, but then he blinked and leaned toward her. His fingers twined with hers, and her gaze dropped to the fluttering pulse at his wrist.

  “I—I need to eat.” Her gaze met his. “What’s happening to me?”

  Because it was taking everything she had not to lunge at him, despite the ache in her muscles. It was terrifying, and cold sweat broke out on her skin. Shivers ran through her, and she clenched her fists, holding herself as still as she could.

  “Explanations later.” He held up his arm and pressed his wrist to her mouth. “Bite down.”

  There was no choice—that ravenous beast inside her snapped its jaws, and she grabbed Luca’s shirt so he couldn’t escape her. Sweet, tangy fluids flooded her mouth and she sucked them down as fast as she could. Ah, yes. That was the good stuff.

  “Oh my gods!”

  They both jerked and looked toward the door, where a nurse stood with a bag of clear IV liquid in her hands. “I was coming to hook up her next dose of elixir.”

  “I’ll take it.” Luca held out his hand and the woman scurried forward to slap the bag into his palm.

  “I’ll—uh—get some more for Ms. Bates.” Then she disappeared.

  Erin swiped a hand across her mouth, and came away with a crimson streak of blood. Uneasiness filtered through her, because now that her hunger had abated somewhat, pieces started to fall into place. Memories resurfaced, though some made more sense than others. “Luca…”

  “You’re a vampire now, in case you hadn’t guessed.” He expertly switched out the IV bag that hung over her bed.

  “I hadn’t really processed much beyond the hunger.”

  He nodded, resuming his seat. “I’ve heard it’s especially intense the first few weeks after you’re turned. It’ll get more manageable, I promise. And you learn to always have some elixir with you.”

  “What happens now? Does my family know? How long have I been out?” She licked her lips. “Tina and Asher are dead, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, Gregor and I killed them. Gregor made sure you got to the hospital alive, and then he vanished. His usual routine.” His shoulders shifted. “Your family knows. They’ve been coming in to see you in shifts. Your aunt just went to the cafeteria for some of the battery acid they call coffee. You’ve been here for eight days.” He blew out a breath. “What happens now is up to you.”

  All the information made her head spin. She was suddenly very glad to be lying down. “What does that mean?”

  “I turned you illegally, Erin. I didn’t have the All-Magickal Council’s or Vampire Conclave’s permission. Hell, I didn’t even have your permission. I just…couldn’t let you die.” A smile that looked more like a grimace crossed his face, a myriad of indiscernible emotions flashing in his gaze. “There weren’t any werewolves around to Change you into one of your family’s pack, so it was death or vampirism. I’m sorry.”

  “Oh. I…” She pressed a hand to her forehead, but the room kept doing somersaults. A shiver coursed through her. “I feel really weird.”

  He caught her fingers. “It’s all right. It’s just part of the process of turning. You’re going to be okay. Just rest now.”

  But something in his voice didn’t sound quite right, as if he only hoped she’d be okay, but maybe she really wouldn’t be. Did vampires die while turning? What hadn’t he told her? She wanted to stay awake and talk to him, not rest the way he’d suggested. She blinked and darkness swallowed her up.

  When she opened her eyes again, it wasn’t Luca or her aunt next to her, it was Tess Jones. She shook Erin’s shoulder, urgency in every line of her body. “Wake up. You need to wake up. I know going Magickal is rough, but you have to open your eyes now, Erin.”

  “What’s wrong?” Erin croaked.

  “Good. Drink this.” The she-wolf shoved an open canister of elixir into Erin’s hand.

  That ravenous hunger gnawed at her again, so she downed the liquid. It was as clear and flavorless as water, and just as thirst-quenching. “Another one, please.”

  Tess slapped a second canister into her palm, then Erin realized she’d already removed all of her IVs. The tubes lay across her legs, but there were no needle marks on her arms. The holes had already healed themselves. Erin blinked down at her arms as if they belonged to someone else. How weird.

  “Put these on. We need to get going.” Pulling open a small duffle bag, Tess revealed a folded stack of Erin’s clothes.

  Sucking down the last of the second canister, Erin raised a brow. “Where are we going? Why do you have my things?”

  “Luca’s been arrested for illegally turning you.” The she-wolf frowned. “No one wanted to disturb your vampiric turning, but a man’s life is on the line. He’s on trial before the All-Magickal Council.”

  The canister dropped from Erin’s nerveless fingers. Luca arrested. Luca on trial. Turning a Normal illegally meant he’d be put to death. The elixir she’d just finished threatened to come back up again. She jerked the bag of clothes toward her and they almost went flying across the room, but her hand snapped out and she caught the handle.

  Tess helped her stand and get dressed. “It takes some practice to get used to the extra strength and speed. Usually, you’d be eased into it by doctors and physical therapists, but we’re checking you out on a day pass.”

  “Are we allowed to do that?” Erin gingerly slipped her feet into a pair of ballet flats. The shirt and pants were lightweight linen, but they covered her from neck to toes.

  The she-wolf put a wide brimmed hat on Erin’s head, like something from a bygone Hollywood era. “Not exactly. Do you care?”

  “Nope. How long do we have before Luca goes on trial?”

  Tess checked her watch. “He’s on the docket for ten o’clock. It’s nine-thirty now.”

  Heart skipping a beat, Erin strode toward the door. “Let’s get moving then.”

  Grabbing a bulgin
g bag that seemed to slosh, Tess followed.

  “What’s that?” Erin nodded to the bag as they bypassed the elevator and took the stairs down.

  “Elixir. You’re going to get some intense cravings while we’re out.” They hit the bottom step and Tess led her to the hospital’s underground parking garage. “This is our insurance policy that you won’t attack anyone to suck their blood.”

  “Good thinking.” She flinched and hissed when Tess pulled the car out into the sunny morning. Her fangs popped out, pricking her lower lip. The taste of blood in her mouth had her reaching into the backseat for some elixir.

  Tess didn’t comment on the sunshine reaction, just worked her way through the morning commute traffic. “Today is the actual sentencing. The idiot didn’t even show up to defend himself during the hearings. He refused to leave your side. After he mauled the shit out the first guy they sent to try and force him to the Council chambers, they couldn’t find anyone else who would go up against him. His FBI team flatly refused, and so did the Seattle PD after Selina was done with them.”

  The blare of a horn sounded like someone had slammed a hammer into her eardrums. She could smell too much and hear too much. She could sense the heartbeat of every person they passed—a drum-like cacophony. She folded her arms around herself and tried to shut it all out. Stay strong, stay focused. Luca needed her now. “So he’s going to be killed?”

  Tess cast her a look. “Do you want to guess who’s on the special panel reviewing the case? From the witches—Millie Standish. From the werewolves—your uncle. From the vampires—Luca’s father. So, it doesn’t really matter who the elf and Fae reps are if the first three vote in a block.”