Redemption (League of Vampires)

by Rye Brewer

  Was he really that worried, that I’d tell someone? That I’d risk my sister’s wellbeing just to share the dirty deeds I did for him?

  I nodded, the bile rising clear up to my throat. I barely managed to say one word. “Right.”

  Chapter 2

  Anissa

  It was a relief to be away from Marcus, out of his suite and back on the way to my own section of the mansion. He’d pulled me out of class to speak with me—a stupid move, really, seeing as how our meetings were supposed to be secret. None of the others would dare question him, though, so it didn’t matter.

  Now me, well not many would bother me with questions, either. My list of friends was short. That comes from being ostracized.

  The walk back was long, and I moved more slowly than usual to absorb what he’d told me.

  I have to assassinate the head of the Bourke clan.

  I had no idea how many of Marcus’s enemies had met my blade, but I would never forget the first one. I was terrified, full of doubt. I’d hated myself. I’d hated being in a position to act as his personal slayer. I’d almost ruined the entire job, too, making too much noise when I crept up on a werewolf who’d dared insult him. He’d tried to shift into his werewolf form, and would have torn me to ribbons, if I hadn’t been fast enough to slice his throat and pierce his heart with my thin, silver blade. As you know, silver wasn’t only effective against werewolves—that was one part of the myths that was the truth—but it also seared the flesh of a vampire.

  Except mine.

  I’ve never had a problem with it, but I don’t advertise that fact. I’ve learned the hard way that sometimes those who are friends can become enemies in the blink of an eye, so why tell them your strengths or weaknesses?

  Since my first assignment, I’d taken many victims. I guess victims isn’t really a good word, we’re not talking about good guys, or angels.

  Yeah, I believe in angels. I know, odd for someone who doesn’t believe in God. How can I believe in God when my kind are deities on earth, or as close as it gets to deities?

  It had gotten easier to kill with time. Much easier. I did what I had to do. When I was honest with myself, I had to admit to a sense of pride in how good I’d gotten. I was the best—undetectable, unstoppable. When I maintained my focus on my assignment. Which I always had. I had a laser-beamed focus when it came to the side job, because my sister was at stake.

  I slid in and out of the darkness like a shadow. My targets never saw me coming. When I spent my energies on improving my skills, it made my job easier. I didn’t have to think about what I was actually doing when I concentrated on technique.

  “What was that about?”

  I whirled to the left, caught off guard.

  Raze, my best friend, fell into step beside me, coming off the corridor to the left. Some focus I had, I smirked inwardly at how quickly he could have gotten the jump on me.

  “Well,” he repeated. “What was that about?”

  I needed to redirect his question and divert his concern. He might be my best friend, but even he didn’t know the things I did at Marcus’s command. Raze thought I had a secret boyfriend outside the clan—it was the theory he had come up with to explain my mysterious comings and goings. I let him believe what he wanted to believe as long as it didn’t get me into trouble.

  “He wanted to talk about Sara.” That was enough to put any questions to rest.

  Raze knew better than to press me on my sister. Everybody did.

  “Oh. Well, you didn’t miss much. Mulroney was as boring as ever.”

  Mulroney, our astronomy instructor.

  Marcus and some of the other elders, those who hadn’t died or run off after the fire, had explained, and it made sense, that it was important for young beings like us to have a working knowledge of the stars, the elements, the history of the human world as well as that of our own ancestors. We used that to navigate the world when we traveled away from our clans. We also learned current events and made it a point to stay on top of trends in everything from music to fashion. It helped us survive in a world that wasn’t always welcoming. Even though the humans lived peaceably alongside us, in every society there were always factions looking to break down what they didn’t understand. The better we blended in, the better for our kind.

  “What are your plans for the weekend?” I asked as we walked the halls, getting around the topic of my disappearance from class.

  “Oh, I don’t know. I was going to stay in and read for a while tonight, then go out with the family tomorrow to feed.”

  My heart, or what there was of it, twisted in a pang of jealousy whenever Raze mentioned his family. I saw his jade green eyes look down at the floor when I glanced over, and if his pale skin could have colored with embarrassment, it would have. I knew he understood my feelings about not having a family. Except for my sister. A family of one, plus me.

  “That’s great,” I said. “So no parties? You don’t want to go out with Isabel” —Izzy to her friends— “and her crew?”

  He wrinkled his nose. “You know I don’t like that new group she hangs out with. They’re all, I don’t know…”

  “Stupid?” I asked with a laugh.

  He laughed, too, probably relieved that I had said it out loud.

  “I’m sorry, but if I can’t carry on a conversation, I’d rather stay home.”

  “You’re a snob,” I teased. “You need to lighten up and act your age.”

  “A hundred and three?” he teased back.

  “Yes. A hundred and three, not five hundred or a thousand. You know what I mean.”

  There were times when I thought his emotional development had slowed to a crawl the way his physical development had. He’d been turned at the human age of thirteen and had lived more than ninety years since then, but had only aged six years in terms of his appearance.

  “If you would lighten up, you’d have a lot more friends and probably a ton of girlfriends.” I mock-punched him in the arm.

  “Oh, shut up.”

  We reached the hall which led to his family’s section of the mansion. I looked at him critically, taking in his tall, strong frame and thick, spiky black hair. He was cute—even his thick, horn-rimmed glasses added to his looks. He’d be popular if he would just loosen up. Actually, he’d be hot. He had it in the looks department.

  “Well, I guess I’ll see ya when I see ya. I mean, you didn’t say anything about having plans…” He trailed off.

  I knew what he was getting at. He wanted to see if we could hang out. I would have to disappoint him.

  “Sorry. I have somewhere I need to be.” I gave a small shrug.

  He scowled, but just for a second. “Okay. Then maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, sure.” I gave him my best carefree smile, and wondered if he bought it or if he saw my true emotions about my task at hand. I spun around and headed down a hall away from his quarters.

  I was happy to be away from him since I hated lying and was never very good at it. I got the feeling he liked me a little, too, which made things awkward. He’d probably be relieved if he knew I didn’t have a secret boyfriend or even a crush. There was no way to set his mind at ease, not when he gave me the perfect cover story. And he would never tell, since he wasn’t sure if I was breaking one of our Canons, the laws of our clans. He’d never tell because he knew the punishment for breaking Canons. My sister suffered punishment every day because she’d broken the law.

  Night was falling, meaning it would be time to go on the hunt. Once I got to my little room at the end of the East wing, far away from the happy little clusters of rooms lived in by families, I changed into black jeans, flat-soled boots and a black tank, then covered up with a black hoodie. I needed the hood to hide my nearly white hair—it tended to stand out in the darkness, and I needed to blend in.

  I grimaced at my reflection in the mirror. Oh, yeah, by the way, of course we have reflections.

  Sara’s hair was nothing like mine, a deep,
rich chestnut brown like her father’s. She hadn’t been allowed to cut it, of course. She wasn’t allowed to have any visitors within reach of her.

  I thought about her as I prepared to track Jonah Bourke. I wouldn’t take him tonight—I didn’t know enough about his habits yet. I’d be screwed if I tried to take him while he had a dozen vampires hanging around. I’m good, but I’m not that good.

  I’d probably need two or three nights of observation to finally go in for the kill. Two or three nights of stalking. That’s what I want to do with my weekend. I wiped the scowl from my face when I remembered why did this, and why my sister did what she did that got her punished. At least I was free to do what I wanted most nights.

  My sister was the only thing that kept me hanging on whenever I wished I could live a normal life. I should be hanging out with Raze, or going out with Izzy and the gang she’d fallen into after she’d started dating Jeremy Booth. He was best friends with Will Carver, Marcus’s son, and that entire group of pals was both the most and least popular of the little factions in our clan. She swore up and down that Jeremy was different. I wanted to believe her. I also wanted to stay far away from Will. He reminded me of his father, and that made me think of Marcus. And I didn’t like thinking of Marcus.

  I’d always heard the Bourkes liked to hang out together at a restaurant in Midtown. A vampire restaurant, one where those of our kind could choose from a wide selection of blood. Sort of like those wine bars I heard humans talking about—the places that had many kinds of wine. Why humans would go to a place to drink wine—and not just wine, but different varieties of it—boggled me. Probably because I was way too young to appreciate wine back when I had been turned.

  We were all turned between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. That was one of the League’s Canons. It was better to turn a vampire at a young age, but after puberty had started, because otherwise they might be too strong physically. And when a vampire was freshly turned, they were very strong. Supernaturally strong, even for us. Impossible to wrangle, totally devoid of sense or reason. So turning one while they weren’t yet at the peak of their physical strength was an effort to lessen the damage a young vampire could do.

  I decided to take the train because it was best to take it when traveling through the human world at a reasonable time of night. I could have used my speed to run into the city—it had been a long time since I’d gone for a good, leg-stretching run—but there was too much chance of being spotted. Night had just fallen, so there would be plenty of humans on the way home from jobs and or on their way out. It was better to blend in when the chance of being seen was high. That would keep me from being noticed by anyone who might actually pick up that I was a vampire. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. If they saw me and it was brought to the attention of the League, then it’d get back to Marcus. First, the League would take it out on him, then he’d take it out on me. Or worse, Sara.

  I took a seat by the window, settling in for the short ride to the city. I liked taking the train—I got to enjoy watching scenery speed by without using any effort. And the sight of the city lights getting closer the longer I rode was always interesting. There were so many humans there. Their blood scent merged, and was overpowering. Not tempting. Not usually. I didn’t go out when I hungered. The lust for blood was not to be underestimated.

  Humans didn’t know anything about my world, and I knew little about theirs, how could I remember much about being a human? It had been decades.

  No matter how hard our instructors worked to teach us about humans and their habits, their thoughts, their rituals, it wasn’t enough. I didn’t remember what it was like to be one of them. I was fourteen when I was turned, around the time of the first World War. I had barely known anything about life then. One hundred years had passed—the blink of an eye for somebody like me—and with each passing year, the memory of being human faded just a little more.

  A man sat next to me, and I pulled the hood closer around my face. I didn’t like being looked at by them, especially not the way the stranger had been watching me. With my slight build, human men thought they could take advantage of me. I’d only lashed out at them once. Only once, when it had felt like an emergency. That man had escaped with a broken arm. He was lucky.

  I could smell his desire. It hung around him in a thick cloud. I felt sorry for any woman who crossed his path that night. It would be so easy to leave him helpless and bleeding. I wasn’t hungry but, I could use another feeding, too. But we were more civilized. We had to be. Feeding on random humans would break the pact we’d made.

  Did I miss feeding? Did I miss the feel of a human’s heartbeat pulsing their life-giving essence into my body? I won’t lie. There’s something so primal and pleasurable about it.

  But in the interest of the wellbeing of my kind—I can refrain. Some didn’t refrain. I know they didn’t, but they hadn’t been caught yet. Typically, the League finds out and they send Hunters out to find them. The Hunters usually discover that those who feed on humans are rogue and clanless vampires. Or maybe they lie and say so to the humans so that we can keep the peace.

  It was a relief to get off the train and away from the man. His smell hung on my clothes. I wished I could shudder it off. It would be replaced with other human scents soon enough.

  I dodged and weaved through the crowds, up and down the sidewalk, floating through them like a black cloud. They didn’t notice me, too busy enjoying their night. I knew where I’d find The Bank, one of Manhattan’s hottest underground vampire eateries. Ans sure enough I did find it.

  It was only a few blocks from where I’d gotten off the train, and even though it wasn’t very late, the restaurant was already packed.

  I waited outside, in the dark alley between the restaurant and an apartment building. It wasn’t as easy to fool those of my kind as it was to slip past humans, but I was good at fading into the darkness. Another reason I worked so well as Marcus’s slayer. Even other vampires tended to look through me when I wanted them to.

  I waited roughly an hour before I saw them. I had seen Jonah only once, years earlier. Back when he had first come into power in his clan. His father had been the head of the Bourke clan for as long as I could remember. Then, one day and for seemingly no reason, his parents had disappeared. Rumors flew for a long time. Marcus had been for taking control of the clan, naturally. The rest of the League had gone against him and placed Jonah in power. Those were dark days.

  There.

  I narrowed my eyes squinting in his direction. That had to be him. I couldn’t get a good look at him just then, but I recognized the shockingly red hair of the Bourke family right off. Jonah and his siblings. I didn’t know much about them, but I knew they traveled in a pack. How would I get through them to get to him?

  They stayed for over two hours and were all happy and glutted when they left. I followed at a safe distance as they visited club after club over a period of hours, until they reached the glass apartment building their clan inhabited. Like the Carver mansion, the building was occupied only by members of the Bourke clan. I couldn’t get to him in there—the security would be ultra-tight.

  Still, I heard a girl with long, wavy hair—his sister—talking about going back to hear live music at the restaurant the following night. That would have to be my chance. If the rest of the group was busy listening to music they might not notice me luring their brother away.

  Chapter 3

  Jonah

  “What is it about The Bank that always draws you in?” I asked, relaxing in the shared living room of the suite my brothers and sister and I shared. We each had our own bedroom and bathroom surrounding the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Not that we needed a kitchen or even a dining room. We almost never ate—fed—in.

  “I like the atmosphere,” Philippa said, just like she always did. She shook her head, a red wave of hair cascading around her. “It’s a fun place.”

  “With a great selection,” Scott added with a grin.

&nbs
p; “Of blood and chicks,” Philippa smirked. She could always read Scott like a book.

  Then again, so could I.

  “True and true,” he confirmed with a laugh. “What can I say? I like what I like.”

  “If you had hormones, I would recommend a suppressant,” Philippa muttered, shaking her head. I loved listening to them go back and forth like that, even when I had a lot on my mind.

  Gage could sense that I was preoccupied. I could tell from the expression on his face. Something about being my twin, I guessed.

  “What’s up with you tonight?” he asked, frowning.

  “I can’t stop thinking about the League meeting next week.”

  “Uh-oh,” Scott said. “He’s got a bad feeling about something.”

  I threw a pillow at him, and his hand shot out to grab it. It would take more effort than that to catch him off-guard.

  “Are my gut feelings ever wrong?” I looked around the room.

  None of them could disagree.

  “What are you thinking?” Philippa asked, finally serious. She slid into a leather chair, crossing her long, lean legs.

  I sat across from her, near where Scott and Gage had stretched out when we got in.

  “I don’t like knowing the pact with the Carvers is almost up. I don’t like having to deal with Marcus Carver. I don’t trust him.”

  “Who does? I heard his own clan doesn’t. He rules with fear,” Scott shrugged. For once, he was serious.

  “What would Dad have done?” Philippa asked.

  “He would have run away. Oh, wait. He already did that.” Gage looked disgusted, as he usually did when talking about our father.

  “You know I hate it when you say things like that,” Philippa reminded him. “They must have had a reason. They waited until you and Jonah were old enough to rule the clan.”