Midnight Poison (Paranormal Poisons Saga Book 1)

by A and E Kirk

  Leontes rested his forehead in Kiara’s hair. “Trying to remind her that there is enough good here so that she does not leave. Trying to fix your mistake, so get out.”

  Jaeger shuffled on unsteady feet across the tile, gingerly touching a bloody gash on his scalp. “What the hell was that?”

  “That?” Leontes snarled. Rage trembled his limbs. “What did you think would happen when you showed her a list of all the people she has murdered? Why, of all things, would you choose to help her remember that?”

  “I didn’t check what was on them. It was supposed to be a surprise for both of us.”

  “Even you are not so stupid as to—” Leontes caught the utter misery in the prince’s eyes. “What am I saying? Of course, you are that stupid.”

  Leontes sighed and rested his head back against the tile while Jaeger slid down the wall beside the open shower door. His movements stiff and pained. Plaster dust paled his skin.

  “I take it the shower helps somehow?”

  Leontes shrugged. “She loved the rain. She could not smell very well in it, see as far, hear as much. She believed it to be what humans felt like all the time.”

  Jaeger frowned. “Is it?”

  “Honestly, it has been so long, I cannot remember.” Leontes shook his head. “She was always fascinated by them. Humans.”

  “So…when will she wake up?”

  “She is awake, but trapped in a memory. One you forced upon her with those files, so it is less a memory and more a living nightmare.”

  Jaeger hung his head. “I’m sorry. I thought I was helping her.”

  “You should prepare yourself for…” Leontes licked his lips, finding it difficult to say the words aloud. “When Kiara remembers something so devastating, she resets back to remembering nothing. Except perhaps me opening that coffin, but even then, she does not know my name.”

  “What? Why?”

  Leontes stroked her hair. “Something happened in that coffin. Or the argument could be made she was not all that stable before she went in. Her mind comes out wiped clean. Perhaps so she does not remember that she is the boogeyman.” Leontes plucked a few plastered curls from Kiara’s forehead and tucked them behind her ear. “That is why we cannot divulge her past. It risks triggering this.”

  Jaeger watched Kiara. “You should have told me.”

  “You could have used the knowledge against her. You still could.” Leontes’ voice held a warning.

  “I wouldn’t.”

  “Perchance. But your father and Mai would. Rusila already has.” Leontes jutted his chin at the lights. “Electricity always startles her at first. Turn everything off and bring in the candles.”

  After Jaeger left, Leontes looked for signs of life, but her eyes remained unsettlingly empty. Her hand suddenly gripped his with desperation. Whatever she was seeing, he knew it could not be good.

  CHAPTER 68

  Kiara stared at the buildings of the once quaint, medieval town as it burned to ash. Fire blazed so ferocious and bright, the flames turned the night as bright as day and exposed the horror. Blood poured between cobblestones. Peasants ran in all directions. The screams were unbearable.

  Someone shook her.

  “Finally!” Butch pried a bloodied sword from her hand and let it clatter to the ground. “I’ve been calling you forever.”

  “I can’t stop.” She reached for the sword. “Many still live. The purge isn’t complete.”

  “No more.” He dragged her toward a coffin next to a fountain in the town square.

  She balked. “I don’t want to go back in.”

  Butch kept his grip firm. “It’s your only escape from the madness.”

  “What’s in there?”

  “A fresh start.”

  “But—”

  Butch waved his hat at the carnage. “The life we want doesn’t happen if we have this.”

  He opened the coffin lid. Splintered scratch marks were etched deep in the wood. Small bloody handprints smeared in desperation. Kiara peered at the eternal darkness within. Butch stepped inside and sunk into a void of black, which slowly began to swallow him whole.

  “Don’t worry.” Butch held out a hand. “We won’t be in for long. He always opens it.”

  She gripped the lid of the coffin. “Who?”

  “Excellent. You’re forgetting already.” Butch took her hand, steadying Kiara as she stepped in.

  Another hand gripped Kiara’s, trapping it on the coffin’s edge. Blood dripped from the fingers entwined in hers and tried to stop her escape.

  “Pay that no mind, missy,” Butch said.

  Nero suddenly appeared at her side. “We killed Eponine. There’s no coming back from that.”

  Nero shoved her into the coffin as Butch yanked from below. Kiara screamed and reached for the edge of the coffin, but it was too far away. The bloodied hand kept its desperate hold upon her as she fell.

  Darkness washed over and snuffed out the light from the burning town. It was much easier to forget in here. Everything seemed so distant. Faded. The further Kiara fell, the less she remembered where the consuming guilt came from, but the gut-wrenching feeling remained.

  The cold hand tightened around hers and stopped her descent into the void. Sudden rain washed away the blood. Long fingers entangled with hers, and she was lifted toward a soft, flickering light.

  “Kiara.”

  A handsome face emerged from the shadows. It lacked any life or warmth, but for the intense blue eyes dull with worry. A weak smile tried to find purpose on pale lips. He brushed away the beads of water with a delicate touch, as if afraid she might break.

  “Can you hear me?”

  She nodded, throat burning from the screaming and salt water.

  “Do you know who I am?” His words were simple, but he delivered each one with precision, his body poised, every sinew of muscle stretched to the breaking point.

  She nodded again, but his posture did not relax. Her tongue darted out to capture the rain. She swallowed. Twice.

  A ragged breath filled her lungs, and she croaked out, “You worry too much.”

  Leontes closed his eyes as if the lids had become too heavy a burden. He exhaled the breath he had been holding, and his entire body relaxed so completely Kiara could have sworn his bones had liquefied.

  “Because you worry not enough.” His voice quivered slightly. “My name?”

  “Leontes.” Her hand dragged heavy as an anchor as she lifted it to cup his cheek. “Why the silly question?”

  He gathered her to him. She was not sure what had brought on such affection, but she was not about to question it. Kiara snuggled in and locked her arms around him. They sat there, unmoving, water pulsing.

  She felt quite happy until she caught the glint of candle light on the walls and remembered the fire. Until tears salted her cheeks. Until the horror of what she had done came flooding back.

  “I’m a monster,” she whispered.

  CHAPTER 69

  Kiara sobbed and wrenched from Leontes’ arms. She stumbled out of the shower, slipping and thudding hard on the slick tile. Leontes scrambled after her.

  “Whoa there.” Jaeger dropped a candle and prepared to stop Kiara from escaping, but upon seeing his face, she merely fell to the floor and her whole body sagged.

  “I hurt you, too,” she rasped.

  “This?” He tapped the gash on his forehead. “I mouthed off at gramps. Totally deserved it.”

  Kiara sobbed, burying her face in her hands. “I’m a monster.”

  Leontes fell to his knees, hands on her shoulders. “No, no, no. It was not you.”

  “Don’t lie.” Her hoarse voice cracked. “I remember them. Their faces. Their screams. How can you—how could anyone stand to be near me?” She crawled away and leaned against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest.

  Leontes opened his mouth, desperate to explain, but hesitated.

  Jaeger looked at him. “I thought you said she wouldn’t remember?”


  “I do not understand.” Leontes ran a hand through his wet hair. “She has never remembered and managed to remain borderline sane—” He gave her a quick glance. “— mentally adept before. I am not sure of the best course of action.”

  “No wonder everyone hates me!” Kiara wailed.

  Leontes gritted his teeth. “That is not true.”

  “Yes, it is! Being locked away was too good for me. I’m vile. Disgusting. Beastly. An abomination.”

  “It was your master, not you!” Leontes said in a rush of anger.

  She stared at him through the tears. “What master?”

  Leontes looked down and sighed at his outburst. He was walking a tightrope now. The wrong word, the wrong look, could be the end for them all.

  “You were but a toddler when he came to your village,” Leontes said quietly, his words clipped and unemotional. “He murdered everyone. Including your family. He took you. He raised you. And he taught you to kill for him. Your actions made him the most powerful vampire in all of Europe. But understand this, he gave you no choice.”

  Kiara blinked, taking in the new knowledge. Her lip quivered. “Everyone always has a choice.”

  “No,” Jaeger said, braving Leontes’ icy look. “Gramps is right. Raised by a violent psycho, you never had a chance.”

  “Exactly. And when you began to refuse, which became more and more often, you endured every kind of torture he could imagine.” Leontes grimaced. “Burning, beatings, starvation, mutilation. With your healing powers, he could take it far without risk of actually killing you. Eventually, you did make a choice. You would not kill children. No matter what level of pain he inflicted. Even Jaeger must have had heard the stories.”

  Jaeger nodded. “Oleander’s Orphans. There are plenty of bedtime stories about kids you protected and their adventures.”

  Leontes silently thanked the werewolf prince for leaving a slight omission. Oleander’s Orphan Army would only serve to rattle her further. She had always been happy to believe the worst of herself. Her bastard of a master had taught her that well. Maybe an understanding of some good in Kiara’s past might balance her out. Might keep this version of her here.

  After several moments, Kiara’s breath slowed, no longer coming in choppy bursts. Her hands stopped covering her face so she could nestle into Leontes chest and twist her fingers in his shirt.

  “Why did Nicky call me the Baby Killer?” Kiara sniffled.

  “Because she is a bitch,” Leontes said.

  Jaeger gave him a chastising look. “She’s dead.”

  “Dying did not make her any less of a bitch,” Leontes replied.

  He felt Kiara laugh softly, then her heartbeat increased. She lifted her head, their faces close. “What happened to my master?”

  Leontes searched her eyes and found them sad, but clear and steady. He coughed and stood, smoothing his damp clothes. “Let us not push it, shall we? We will have to talk to Dr. Lyons about anything more.”

  He braced himself for further argument, but she surprised him.

  “Fair enough.”

  Leontes hesitated for a moment. “Yes. Well then. Very good. I will, ah, fetch you dry clothing.”

  “Leontes?”

  He turned. She looked so small and frail, left alone on the floor. The wet clothes clung to her delicate frame. The heavy sleeves hung past her hands, making Kiara look more a child than ever. Her eyes and nose swollen red gave a sharp contrast to her ashen complexion.

  “Yes?” he said.

  Her gaze was tentative. “Do you want me to remember everything?”

  He smiled.

  “Of course I do,” he lied.

  CHAPTER 70

  Once Kiara was asleep, Leontes made his way to the werewolf’s door. After listening and hearing only slow steady breathing, he gathered a few essentials and disappeared into the night.

  He moved swiftly and silently in the shadows, across the island toward the staff quarters and Nicolette’s bungalow. Being conscious for all eternity meant he need not waste time on rest.

  He risked a great deal, but Giselle was running out of time. If he got caught, the witches could detain only him, leaving Jaeger to escort Kiara off the island and continue the pursuit. The thought of Jaeger alone with Kiara made Leontes want to rip out the young werewolf’s throat, but if Jaeger could get her to safety and still have a chance to track Giselle, that was all that mattered.

  Getting Kiara to agree to leave without him would be difficult, but not impossible when she realized she was Giselle’s best hope.

  Leontes shook off his worry and crouched behind the hedges surrounding Nicolette’s residence. It was a small but elegant, pale wood building with several large windows, all of which were dark. He listened for a heartbeat, breathing, any movement inside. Sensing the bungalow’s emptiness, he moved forward.

  A harsh scent permeated the air. Leontes whirled. A massive shape leapt from the shadows and slammed Leontes onto his back. Large paws pressed heavy on his chest. Breath hot and fowl, the wolf leaned its snout close.

  And licked Leontes’ face.

  “Jaeger, you bloody idiot!” Leontes spat in a cold hiss.

  Moonlight glinted on Jaeger’s pale fur, which gleamed silver. Leontes shoved the wolf off and wiped his face as he got to his feet.

  “You are lucky I recognized your wretched scent or I would have ripped your head off. Ugh!” Leontes used his jacket sleeve to scrub his face. “That was revolting! You are such a vile cur.”

  Leontes kicked at the wolf. Jaeger hopped back, his glowing yellow eyes somehow looking amused. Wet pops and crunches of bones cracked into the night as Jaeger’s body contorted. Fur receded. In a moment, Jaeger stood in front of Leontes, wearing a devilish grin. And nothing else.

  Leontes put his hands in front of his face and turned his head away. “Good God, man.”

  Jaeger glanced down. “You really don’t like the naked thing.”

  “I certainly do not like your naked…thing.” Leontes waved his hands around, but kept his head averted. “Please tell me you brought some clothes when you ignored my directive to stay in the room.”

  “Give me a minute, tough guy.”

  Leontes could hear the laughter in Jaeger’s voice, then, thankfully, sounds of clothes being donned.

  “It’s safe,” Jaeger announced.

  Leontes slit open one eye and, seeing Jaeger in the spa’s green sweat pants and T-shirt, sighed with relief and opened his eyes fully. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m your backup.”

  “When I give you an order, I expect you to follow it.”

  “Then you don’t know me very well.”

  “I would rather not know you at all,” Leontes glared. “You left Kiara alone.”

  “She was sleeping like a baby when I took off. Plus, she told us earlier she set up her own security spells so no one could get in. I trust her.” He cocked his head. “Don’t you?”

  Leontes breathed deep. “Fine. You can help. But you had better do as I say.”

  “When have I not?”

  Leontes grunted. They snuck toward the bungalow’s front porch and crouched at the bottom of the steps.

  From right behind them, a voice whispered, “Why are we stopping?”

  Leontes and Jaeger whirled and attacked.

  To evade their assault, Kiara launched over them both and landed lightly on the porch. “Wow, you two squeal like girls.”

  “Kiara!” Leontes’ voice hissed with exasperation. “How many times have I told you not to sneak up on people like that? You will get yourself killed!”

  “Or kill them.” Jaeger panted, a hand to his chest. “I almost—” pant, pant, “—had a heart attack. That’s insane. How’d she do that? I didn’t hear her. Or smell her.” He looked at Leontes and then turned to Kiara. “How’d you do that?”

  Kiara split a wicked grin. “Practice.”

  Leontes regained his composure. “We do not know. And if she does, she is not telling
.”

  Kiara lifted her shoulders with an air of pure innocence. “A girl’s gotta have some secrets.”

  Jaeger gave her a dubious look. “Some?”

  Leontes squinted in the dark. “What are you wearing?”

  Kiara touched the dark splotches on her face and grinned. “Mud. I’ve seen it in movies. Helps camouflage. Looks cool, right?”

  He looked doubtful. “Is that really necessary? Especially for you?”

  “It’s fun.”

  “I think it’s cute,” Jaeger offered and followed Kiara onto the porch.

  “You would,” Leontes grumbled.

  “Wait,” Jaeger said when he saw Kiara about to attempt to open the front door. “What if there’s an alarm or a booby trap?”

  “Why is it called a booby trap?” Kiara said. “Does it have something to do with guys’ obsession with boobs?”

  “Not a pertinent question at the moment,” Leontes said.

  “Right, right. I tapped into their security again and shut down all alarms or defense spells on Nicolette’s cottage. We’re clear for at least,” Kiara bent her elbow and looked at her bare wrist, “sixteen more minutes, give or take, before they’ll become suspicious.” She turned the doorknob and entered.

  Jaeger hesitated. “She does realize she’s not wearing a watch, right?”

  “I am not entirely sure,” Leontes admitted.

  “Then how can we be sure she disabled all the alarms?”

  “I trust her.” Leontes smirked as he pushed past. “Don’t you?”

  CHAPTER 71

  Jaeger came out of Nicolette’s bedroom. “Closets and dresser are cleaned out. Somebody’s been busy stripping this place bare.”

  The bungalow was a simple yet elegant designer’s dream of muted tones and furniture so minimalist that it had to be ridiculously expensive.

  Leontes’ fingers had grazed over every object in the room, trying to get a read. He blew out his frustration. “These items are not hers. I am getting nothing. We would have been better off in her old accommodations.”