If Wishes Were Curses

by Janeen Ippolito

  “Not soon enough.” I took his hands in mine, squeezing them tightly. Aching for his pain and unsure of what else to do but listen.

  “No. They killed her and our children. All of them, valiant warriors. My only thought was killing as many vampires as possible, then joining my family in whatever lay beyond. But I was denied even that peace.”

  His mental blocks cracked. Desires and fears flowed over me. A keen need for his family. For his wife. For his flock, who had scorned him as a vampire, the very people who had slaughtered his family. Fear that he would hurt others. That he had hurt many. That he would never be enough.

  That even now, I would reject him.

  I stepped even closer. Compelled by the strength of his essence. By my own experiences, aligned with his in spirit. “I can’t understand everything. But I’ve lost too. I’ve been rejected too. I know that much.”

  “You do.” He studied me in fascination. As if memorizing every part of my face with eyes that were suddenly pools of dark violet-black. “As much as anyone can, and more. I can’t believe … how have we never met before?”

  “I don’t know.” The words were low. Quiet.

  A raspy chuckle sounded behind us. I whirled around and faced a mild-mannered blond guy, wearing a pink polo shirt and pressed khakis. He smiled like a cat cornering two fat mice.

  “You two always find each other. Convenient. For once.”

  “What?”

  Cendric pulled me closer to him, his expression a mixture of confusion and suspicion. “Neil. What are you doing here?”

  “Who’s Neil?” I asked.

  “He works at my firm.” Cendric’s expression hardened. “He’s one worthy of the vampire lawyer jokes.”

  “Ah. So a bad vampire.”

  “One of questionable morals. Although it appears now that ‘bad’ is the correct word with regards his morality.” Cendric paused. “He wasn’t a very good lawyer either.”

  “Ever the judge,” Neil sneered. “And now with a new girlfriend to encourage you. At least I managed to stop you before you before you married her, Cendric. We know your track record with mates.”

  I scowled. “Low blow, jerkface.”

  Wait, did he mean Cendric saw me as a mate? But vampires couldn’t do that, could they? I swatted away the thoughts for later consideration.

  “Allis, leave him to me,” Cendric said. His fangs elongated, and shadowy magic swirled around his hands. And were those black feathers in his hair? “Get back.”

  Why? But I moved partly behind him and reached out to summon my pistols. A small sense of security filled me when I felt them in my hands. I’d broken my parole, but my magic was much happier being free. At this rate, Cendric could work something out with the cops and court. If not—well, I’d deal with that later.

  Cendric faced Neil. At that moment, seven more people stepped out of the shadows and into the parking lot lights, taking up what looked like a military formation. I reached out into their minds and was hit with a blood craving so strong I almost saw red. Vampires, all of them. Dressed in polos and khakis to blend in with upper class suburbanites.

  “What are you doing here?” A deep tone of command filled Cendric’s voice. Almost made me want to answer him, and I hated doing what people told me to do. Some of the time. “Tell me. Now.”

  One of the vampires gulped and blinked, making his pale-faced, imposing presence look a little less scary. “We’re here to take you captive.”

  “Shut up, Filbert!”

  I snorted down a laugh, despite the situation. I wasn’t one to judge someone for their name, but vampires named Filbert and Neil? I glanced at Cendric. He didn’t look amused.

  I nudged him with my elbow. “Cid, who are these street feeders?”

  “Not now, Allis.” His voice was stone. “All of you, stand down and return to your homes.”

  A few of them started moving back, while others glanced uncertainly at Neil. Mr. Chatty, a stocky fellow with a crew cut, spoke up again. “Halverson, maybe you should reconsider.”

  Neil made a disgusted sound and gestured with his hand, dark red magic flowing from it. “Stupid vestiges of shifter magic. You’re not part of his flock! You’re my blood vassals, bound to me. Capture them before I kill you all!”

  The vampires lunged at us, their eyes filled with bloodlust and their fangs fully visible. Long claws curled from their fingers.

  Cendric’s voice boomed out. “Allis, leave!”

  “Not happening, Cid. We’re not separating.”

  “If either of you try to leave, I will set my vampires on the nearest mortal population and tell them to drink up,” Neil interrupted.

  “Asshole!” I ducked into an evasive stance and shot my pistols, aiming for anything I could find. In front of me, Cendric pulled a sword out of his coat and started swinging. But not taking off heads, even though he wielded the sword expertly. Instead, he focused on slashes and cuts that disabled his opponents.

  Did he want the other vampires alive? I’d never seen anyone deliberately try not to kill one. It was fascinating.

  And distracting.

  Cendric was really good, his strokes brutal and precise. Using a style that combined sweeping strokes to keep multiple opponents at bay, then strategic strikes to take them down. He might not be killing them, but he was making the other vampires hurt. Badly. As opposed to my fighting style, which had been dubbed ‘indecisive, annoyingly quick rabbit with sharp, pointy teeth,’ which was an insult to rabbit shifters everywhere.

  “Too busy ogling to fight?”

  I spun to face my attacker. It was Mr. Chatty, close enough for me to smell burnt blood on him. I aimed and fired, but he dodged with inhumanly fast speed and grabbed my leg. Something sharp stabbed me in the thigh—or tried to. Between my jeans and my durable skin, it was barely a scratch.

  “Nice try,” I grunted.

  I swung the base of my pistol at his throat, knocking him off balance. Another vampire grabbed me from behind, twisting my left arm behind my back and forcing one pistol from my hand. I hissed in pain and jabbed my elbow into his solar plexus. He dropped a few curses and released my arm. I shook it out, wishing I had shifter healing.

  Then another vampire filled my vision, and his fist slammed into my chin. My head recoiled, reverberating with agony. Stars swam before my eyes. I grit my teeth and shot out blindly, hoping to connect with something sensitive. Damn it, if I could just clear my head, I could try to scramble this guy’s organs. Cendric’s altruism was great for him, but I was fighting for my life.

  Then strong arms pinned me from behind, knocking out my other pistol.

  “Get her again. Even the half-breed genies can take a beating.”

  Two on one? Cheaters.

  Cid and I should have teamed up.

  Two more punches slammed into my jaw. My head spun, and I went limp in my attacker’s grasp.

  “Allis!”

  “Sorry, Cid.”

  The concrete bit my cheek, and a bleary thought emerged. At least it isn’t shifters. They would have just ripped my throat out.

  Then my eyelids slipped shut.

  Chapter 9

  Breath tickled my ear, scented of copper and cedar. Strangely, deeply comforting. Familiar. I could bask in that scent all day and never grow tired of it. Which was saying something, because my attention span wasn’t great a lot of the time.

  I did a quick physical assessment. Despite the fight with the vampires, I didn’t feel the usual soreness or puffy lips I’d expect from an attack. However, my wrists throbbed. I tried to move them, but they were pinned behind my lower back and pressed against something flat and cold. I tried to move forward, to nudge it out of the way, but I was held fast. In front of me, I sensed something else. Hard, but not as cold.

  Hmmm. It also felt comforting. I shifted, trying to nudge closer.

  The breath inhaled sharply. “Don’t do that. Keep your distance, if you can.”

  Cendric. Relief shot through me at the
warm, smooth tones. If my wrists hadn’t been bound, I would have grabbed him and held on tight. He was there. He hadn’t left.

  Yet. He probably would, though.

  My eyes snapped open, and I stared into the darkness, blinking. Nothing. A complete absence of light. “Did they shove us in a black hole or something?”

  “Or something, I believe.” Cendric sighed. “Although your words are close. This appears to be a nyctophage.”

  The word jarred loose dark rumors from childhood. “A magic-free zone, inhabited by an evil monster who sucks your magic?”

  “Not quite. A cell imbued with dark magic that depletes the prisoners. The monster part is optional. I can’t sense any magical creatures in this room.”

  “Wouldn’t that be the point? This place is supposed to blunt your magic.”

  I jerked my head around as if I could force myself to see. Something tickled at the edge of my senses, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe I was imagining it.

  “The word is ‘deplete,’ not blunt.’” He let out another ragged breath. “My ability to scent magic-laced blood, and blood in general, is part of who I am. A core survival instinct. Passive magic that even ravens have. We are—they are carrion eaters at times.”

  Something in the way he said ‘blood’ made my pulse jump. Strong, pulsing need pierced through the walls Cendric had around his mind. As if the word was disgusting and desirable at the same time. It made sense that blood would be desirable to a vampire, but I didn’t want that when I was this close to one. Although Cendric had seemed in control earlier. “You okay, Cid?”

  “Yes, I’m well.”

  The desire flared, coupled with a fear that almost overpowered it.

  “Liar.”

  “Stop reading me.”

  “Nope.” I frowned. “What’s going on?”

  He sighed. “We’ve been in this place at least two days.”

  “Two days?”

  “According to my hunger levels, yes.”

  The word “hunger” clicked with something in my brain. A chill raised prickles on my skin. More bare skin than I remember having earlier, especially around my neck and shoulders. Where was my button-down? Had Mr. Polo and Khakis mangled my tank top around my shoulder? Why there? I still felt fabric around the rest of my torso. Unless…

  I swallowed. “Cid, can you drink human blood?”

  “Blood will not harm me.”

  “Yeah, that’s great. But I asked if you could drink human blood.”

  “I drink blood magically derived from plants.”

  “Still not answering my question. Can you drink human blood?” I paused, steeling myself to ask the next question. “And do you want to drink mine?”

  “No. Not in my mind or my heart.”

  “What about your body and your taste buds?”

  I swear I could hear him set his jaw. “It won’t be a problem.”

  The hell it wouldn’t.

  An odd chuckle sounded through the dark. I stared into the darkness, hoping to discern the source of the sound. That tickle at the edge of my senses was growing stronger. A tiny part of my brain insisted that if I just stared hard enough, I could learn something.

  Maybe I was starved too, although I didn’t feel it.

  “Do you want to see, Allisandra Evanenko?” Suddenly the room flooded with bright light, filling my vision with dots and stars as I fought to adjust. “Or should I say, Allisandra Evanenko Mahdi Al-Maram? I might as well. You don’t know what those last three words mean anyway.”

  “They’re Arabic. What does Arabic have to do with me?”

  “Roughly fifty percent of you—well, a lot more than that. We all know how magic tends to take over genetics.” I knew that mocking, sing-songy male voice. Evidently, Cendric did as well.

  “Neil Halverson.” Anger filled his tone, along with the deep authority from earlier that had stirred the other vampires. “Release us now!”

  “Nice try, but you don’t have any command over me anymore.”

  Cendric’s eyes narrowed. “What have you done? Why entrap us?”

  I winced. “Dude, ease up on the volume. You’re right next to my ear.”

  “My apologies.”

  The vampire managed to sound regretful and incensed at the same time. That took skill. I glanced around in the brilliant white space. It was completely formless and featureless, without a single wall or piece of furniture to add depth. Cendric and I were laying on something firm and hard, like a floor, but to my eyes it was only more endless expanse. Nothing defining it.

  Also, Cendric was quite a bit closer than I had suspected. His duster was gone, and his shirt was ripped, revealing toned muscles. Which I wouldn’t have minded at all, if we had been untied, and if he had looked far less conflicted and hungry.

  “Okay Neil, I’m with Cid here. Why did you kidnap us?”

  “A simple question with a complex answer.” He walked across the white space as if he were strolling across a golf green to afternoon drinks. “Cendric and I are old friends. He showed me the light. I thought I should return the favor.”

  Cendric watched him with the expression I usually gave roaches: waiting to strike and end their miserable lives. “I took you in and gave you wheat-blood to calm your blood urges. I gave you a space at my firm.”

  “And I played right into your hands as the redeemed vampire. It was one of my greatest acts.” He flashed a toothy smile with familiar vampire incisors. “And I must say, the wait has been worth it. Your self-righteous charity was damned annoying at times, especially since I had to go along with it entirely to convince you. But enduring it allowed me to enact my own master plan and ensure my people would survive.

  I snorted. “Your people? Who, the polo police? The country club vampires?”

  “As sharp as ever, Allisandra. I’ve missed that.”

  “Yes, because clearly we’re old friends.”

  “More like I’m your devoted fan.” He shook his head. “If only you knew. But then, that’s the point of that curse-mark you carry, right? To make sure you don’t remember, no matter how many times you discover.”

  I pressed my lips together. “You could tell me, since you’re being so chatty.”

  “I could. It would honor my dear friend in the body of that bear shifter. A shame I had to sacrifice him to corner you and turn the Fae community against you. And when you’re one of us, they will still blame you. After all, a pit bull cannot defy its true nature.”

  “Did you just call me a dog?”

  He nodded. “A very dangerous one. But you know that already. The main feature of that curse-mark, after all, is to keep you in check. Everyone around you knows that.” He leaned in and grabbed my jaw. “Poor, poor Allis. Even her closest friends have been lying to her because they expect her to explode—or to have to be put down. Don’t want to get too close to the beast when you might have to kill it.”

  Neil released my jaw and stalked away. His words sank deep into my memories. Jack studying me with a hooded expression and drugging my coffee. Theiya apologizing at the end of our interrogation. Neither of them saying once that they believed me about anything. Both hiding their fear of me. They were Fae and knew things that I didn’t, things that they couldn’t or wouldn’t tell me for some greater, long-range purpose.

  “Allis.” Cendric’s words were quiet and urgent. “Don’t let him get inside your head.”

  “But Jack and Theiya’s actions support his words.”

  He paused, fresh betrayal on his face. “You know Jack and Theiya?”

  “For the last four years.”

  “I’ve been acquainted with them for decades. How did we never meet?”

  Neil’s words echoed in my mind. If only you knew. But then, that’s the point of that curse-mark you carry, right? To make sure you don’t remember, no matter how many times you discover.

  All the times I’d forgotten and brushed things aside, never remembering the person meant to help me
. Cendric.

  What was the curse-mark doing to me?

  Neil cleared his throat. “Are you two done whispering? I’ve waited a long time for this reveal.”

  “Please, don’t let us interrupt your confession of sudden but inevitable betrayal,” Cendric muttered.”

  I snickered.

  “Thank you. As it turns out, destiny tends to fight back, which brought you right back into Cendric’s arms over and over. Of course, he never really knew what to do with a pit bull of your caliber. But I do.”

  “What? Chain me up?”

  “Only if you’re in the mood,” he leered.

  “Ew, gross. No thank you.”

  “We’ll see how you feel afterward. There are parts of yourself you don’t understand, Allis. Your awakening will be quite potent. And I’ve done quite a bit of research, so I know just what to do with you and your full prowess that the Fae have been so afraid of.”

  “And that is?” Maybe the asshole would keep talking and give everything away.

  “Aha. No, I’ll wait until Cendric here drains your blood and leaves you for dead.”

  “I’d rather die myself!” Cendric growled.

  Neil slapped Cendric on the back, forcing him closer to that all-important vein on my neck. I froze. “Oh, I promise, you will. You’re a means to an end. You always were. She is the grand prize. And with you draining her in this controlled environment, she won’t have a chance to fade.”

  “You still won’t get my magic,” I shot back. “The curse-mark—”

  “The curse-mark will be broken at the moment of your death. But I’ll simply revive you and turn your dangerous, compelling skills to my own purposes. You won’t be able to resist.” He tilted his head. “You see, you’ve never officially met me, Allis. I’ve kept myself in the shadows, watching as you and Cendric met and forgot each other, over and over. All thanks to the curse-mark meant to stop Allis from finding true love.”