Blood Bond

by HELEN HARDT

  “She needs to keep hydrated,” I said. “Look at her. She’s miserable.”

  “Thanks.” Emilia rolled her eyes. “Who here hasn’t told me how shitty I look?”

  “I’ll take her to see Jack,” River said. “Dante, you can take care of the transfers yourself, can’t you?”

  “I’ll try. I might need Em’s signature, but I’ll tell them she’s ill today, which she is. She can always go in and sign later.”

  “Use your glamour,” River said.

  “What glamour? I may have this amazing power, but I have no idea how to control it or even to get it to come out at will. This is fucked up.”

  “A little,” River agreed.

  “I’ll go with him,” Julian said. “If any glamours are necessary, I can take care of it.”

  “Cool.” River took Emilia’s arm. “Let’s go.”

  “I’m fine,” she protested.

  “You’re green,” River said. “That’s not fine, at least not on this planet.” He ushered her out the door.

  Dante picked up the Vampyre Texts and held it. “It looks the same to me.” He opened the book.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Apparently Bill had someone break in and steal the book. This is presumably a fake, according to him.”

  Chills crawled up my spine like tiny insects.

  That book on the table? It’s a fake. Someone has been here. Someone stole the real one.

  My dream.

  “What is it, Erin?” Julian asked.

  I clamped my jaw shut after it had dropped open. “Nothing. At least I don’t think it’s anything.” I quickly told them about my dream.

  “Bea couldn’t have made her way into my dream,” I said.

  “No. But a ghost could. A ghost that was inhabiting Bea, perhaps,” Julian said. “Remember, she’s a medium.”

  “She was quoting Thoreau again. But what would Thoreau know about morning sickness in vampires or whether the book was real?”

  “Another ghost could have been quoting Thoreau,” Dante offered.

  “Oh! I almost forgot. When Bea first came to the door in my dream, she wasn’t Bea. She was one of the ER doctors from University. Dr. Zabrina Bonneville.”

  “A doctor might know about morning sickness remedies,” Dante said, “but how would she know about the book?”

  “She could only get into your dream if she’s dead, Erin,” Julian said.

  Dead? Dr. Bonneville? “She’s not dead. She’s on vacation with her husband.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Dante

  Ask the queen, Dante. Ask me what you want to know.

  I clamped my hands over my ears in an attempt to shut her out. Not now. I had too much to do.

  “Dante?” Erin said.

  I removed my hands from my ears. “I’m okay.”

  “Are you sure, son?”

  I nodded to my father. “Yeah.”

  Erin cleared her throat. “I suppose Dr. Bonneville could be dead. I should probably feel worse than I do about that possibility. Anyway, I’m sure she’s fine. She’s on a three-week vacation. I haven’t seen her in a week or more.”

  “It could be anyone,” Julian said. “A ghost will take the shape of whatever is familiar to you. Are you and this doctor close?”

  “Ha!” Erin shook her head. “Not at all. She’s an excellent physician, but on the niceness scale? She’s a zero.”

  “If it’s not someone close to you, it’s doubtful it was her. It could have just been a random dream,” Julian said.

  “It didn’t seem very random,” Erin said. “I remember it so vividly. I remember the herbs that Bea had written down on the piece of paper. One I’d never even heard of. Wild yam.” She grabbed her phone and punched on the keyboard. “I’ll be damned. Here it is. Wild yam.” Her eyes moved rapidly as she read. “There are conflicting views about whether it’s safe during pregnancy. Some sources say it can cause miscarriage, but others say it helps morning sickness and can prevent miscarriage. Some say— Oh!”

  “What?” Dante asked.

  “Wild yam contains a substance that can be converted to progesterone in the body. Progesterone is a female hormone that we make naturally, but supplements of it are often given to women to prevent miscarriage.”

  “Maybe we should tell Jack,” Dante said.

  “We can tell him if you want,” Erin said, “but I’d advise against using it. None of this is substantiated that I can see, and if it’s associated with a risk of miscarriage, I’d stay away from it.”

  “What about the other ingredients?” Julian asked. “Are they safe?”

  Erin did some quick typing. “Yeah, they all appear to be safe during pregnancy and can help with morning sickness. Nettle leaves, gingerroot, peppermint, chamomile.”

  I sent a quick text to River to relay the information to Jack. “Now, about the phony book.”

  Ask the queen. Ask what you wish to know.

  “Damn it!”

  “What is it, babe?” Erin asked.

  I cleared her out of my head. “Nothing. I’m fine. Bill says the book is a fake. If I still had my sense of smell, I’d be able to tell if anyone had been here.”

  “Bea told me in my dream that the book had been stolen,” Erin said. “Funny, it looks the same to me. Just as heavy as it always was. I never would have imagined it had been stolen and replaced.”

  “I guess we’ll never know for sure,” I said. “Bill could be lying.”

  “Then Bea would be lying as well”—Erin shrugged—“though admittedly it was a dream.”

  Julian shook his head. “I don’t think so. Whatever is in the book has my father good and spooked, and this is a man who was never scared of anything. I’m wondering…”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Don’t hate me for suggesting this, but maybe we should leave well enough alone.”

  “Are you serious, Dad? After all we’ve been through to get to this point? I had to see your dead body, for God’s sake, with everything those creatures did to it. I’ll never be able to scour that image from my mind.”

  “I know, son. I’m sorry. But my father isn’t easily frightened, and he’s clearly willing to move heaven and earth so we don’t uncover what’s hidden in the Texts.”

  “No. No. Just no.” If I could have grabbed my father by the collar, I would have. “We have to. I have to understand the blood bond. And now, I have to understand what’s happening to me, why I can apparently out-glamour an elder. It must all be in there. And damn it, we’re going to figure it out.”

  Ask the queen. Just ask me.

  She was lying, of course. She never told me anything, just got me anxious enough to ask and then denied me any answers.

  As she sucked the blood from my body, she sucked the life from my soul.

  Or so it felt, anyway.

  As determined as I was to retain my strength, to escape someday, sometimes I nearly gave up.

  Sometimes, I wished the unthinkable.

  I wished for death.

  It never lasted long, and I erased the thought as quickly as I could, but sometimes…

  Mostly during torture. I refused to cry out, and I kept the promise to myself. But inside the deepest recesses of my brain, I sometimes let go.

  I wished to cease existing.

  What might death feel like? The process could be painful, but I’d endured horrific pain already.

  And once the process was complete?

  No pain.

  Only peace.

  How do you know that? Death might be eternal hellfire.

  Her again. In my head. I’d begun noticing it during her feedings. Somehow, she got into my head.

  Unless it was my imagination.

  Not your imagination, Dante. I’m part of you now. As you are part of me.

  I winced, though I was not in pain at the moment. I’d long since gotten used to her feedings, but while they were not exactly painful, they were far from enjoyable.

/>   She took.

  She took without my consent.

  Then she forced me to take from her.

  Those were the worst times. I needed blood. Without it, I would die. Hers was my only choice.

  She detached her teeth from my body, licking the puncture wounds closed.

  Then—

  What? She stood and began removing my leather bindings. I held back a gasp. Would she let me go?

  No. Of course not. She had an ulterior motive.

  I soon found out what it was.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Erin

  “Dante?” Julian’s voice dripped with concern.

  Dante had stood immobile for several seconds after his tirade about figuring everything out. I tentatively touched his arm.

  He broke from whatever kind of trance he was in and met my gaze. “I’m all right.”

  “You seemed a million miles away, son.”

  “Sometimes I just…remember. Does that happen to you, Dad?”

  “Not anymore. But I’m not bound by the limitations of a physical brain. You still are. Memories are created in the brain, and they sometimes come when you don’t want them.”

  Dante let out a sarcastic laugh. “You make it sound like it’s better to be dead.”

  “In some ways, I suppose it is,” Julian said. “But I can never again enjoy the crisp tannins of a glass of Bordeaux or the softness of a Pinot Noir. I can no longer let a piece of salmon sashimi melt on my tongue. I can never stroke the soft fur of a pet or smell the sweet fragrance of flowers in the spring. I can no longer run until my legs ache and feel the endorphins afterward. I can never again caress the warm skin of someone I love, Dante. I can’t hug you or your sister.” He shook his head. “In many more ways, it’s so much better to be alive.”

  “But you can no longer feel pain.”

  “Part of the upside, though I guarantee you life is better. Embrace it while you have it. It’s fleeting.”

  “Yet you chose death.” Dante rubbed the back of his neck.

  “I chose death for you. I’ve said this before, but you’ll understand when you have a child of your own. I’d do it again a thousand times.”

  Dante seemed far off again for an instant. Then he sighed. “I know, Dad. I don’t know how I’ll be able to thank you enough.”

  “Together, we’ll figure out what’s going on. I’m sorry I suggested otherwise. I shouldn’t have. Your life means so much to me that I allowed myself to be overprotective for an instant.” He turned to me. “We’ll find your friend too. We won’t stop until all these mysteries are solved.”

  “What about Bill?” Dante asked.

  “I will deal with my father. He may be the most powerful vampire in the world right now, but I’m no longer bound by the confines of the physical plane. I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

  “It’s nice to have a ghost on our side.” I couldn’t help smiling. “I can’t believe those words just came out of my mouth.”

  That got a laugh out of Dante. “You rock, Dad.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment. But know this. My father might be the most powerful vampire in existence, but I have a feeling that will change very soon.”

  “How?” Dante gasped. “You don’t mean…”

  “No. No. Bill is in excellent health. But from what you and River described today, I think your power, once you learn to harness and control it, will blow your grandfather’s away.”

  “That’s impossible. I’m not even thirty. Bill is a hundred and two years old.”

  “Nothing is impossible, Dante. I’ll admit it’s improbable, but there is no explanation that I know of for what you were able to accomplish this morning. We’ll look into it together. For now, though, I need to go. I want to peek in on Emilia at the doctor’s.”

  “Let us know what’s going on,” Dante said.

  “Absolutely.” He disappeared.

  I shook my head. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that. He’s here, and then he’s gone. No poof of smoke or fading out or anything.”

  Dante chuckled. “This is reality, Erin.”

  I burst into laughter. “Do you realize what you just said? Both of our realities have recently been turned upside down.”

  “True that. In fact, I don’t know how I’d be getting through all this without you, baby.”

  I cupped his cheek, letting his dark stubble run roughly under my fingertips. “I know exactly what you mean.” I stood on my toes and brushed my lips lightly over his. “You don’t happen to have your rope, do you?”

  He smiled against my lips. “I’ve moved what little I own here, love. I’m sure it’s around somewhere.”

  I winked at him. “Let’s find it.”

  As I pulled on the rope binding my wrists to the rungs of the headboard, Dante tantalized my pussy with his tongue. His strokes were soft and teasing, not raw and untamed. That would come another time, when we both needed it.

  For now, I was good with sweet and sultry, lounging on my bed, bound for his pleasure.

  For my pleasure.

  I writhed beneath him, grinding into his face as best I could without the benefit of my arms and hands. He continued to suck on my clit and then nipped my inner thigh, teasing me almost to climax.

  “Dante! God!”

  “Easy, baby. You’ll get what you want when I decide it’s time.”

  Tingles ran through me. The command in his voice always made me hot, made me want him all the more. As he tongued my pussy, I closed my eyes and let myself whirl inside the deepest recesses of my soul, where only Dante and I existed.

  Only Dante and I…

  He thrust two fingers into my wet channel, and the climax surged through me like a lightning bolt, hurling me further into my imaginary plane.

  Images swirled in my mind… Dante, pounding into me. Dante, at my side as we exchanged rings and vows. Dante, as I struggled giving birth and then holding a beautiful black-haired newborn.

  Our baby.

  We’d have a baby someday.

  A baby that…

  My eyes popped open.

  My body was still shaking, my pussy still pulsing, Dante’s fingers still thrusting.

  But the baby.

  The baby.

  Something was different.

  Something was different yet wonderful.

  Our baby—Dante’s and mine—was a vampire.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Dante

  Erin’s body tensed.

  She had clearly climaxed, and was enjoying it.

  Now she was tense, her pussy walls no longer pulsing but gripping my fingers.

  I withdrew them and looked up at her. “Baby?”

  “Untie me, Dante. Untie me.”

  I was hard as a rock, ready to jam my cock into her heat, but the tone of her voice made me hesitate.

  “Please,” she said again. “Untie me.”

  I quickly released her from the headboard. “What’s wrong, love?”

  “Nothing. Nothing. I just saw something… I mean, it’s okay, really. You’re one. You’re sister’s one. River’s one. Lucy’s…well, not one, but something else. So what if we make another one? What’s the big deal?”

  “Erin, love”—I caressed her cheek—“what are you talking about?”

  “Our baby, Dante.” She closed her mouth quickly. “Shit. I mean…I don’t presume that you…that you and I…”

  “Erin, it’s okay. I know you’re not presuming anything. What has you freaked out?”

  “I was so happy, feeling so good, floating on a cloud, and then I climaxed, and it was perfect, and I saw us in my mind. I saw us”—she reddened—“getting married. And then…”

  “What?”

  “I saw our baby. He was beautiful, Dante.”

  “Any baby that comes out of you would have to be. It was a boy?”

  “Yeah. It was. I think. But he…” She shook her head. “It can’t be, according to what you’ve told me, but it was clear as d
ay. I don’t know how I knew it, but I did. He was a vampire, Dante.”

  The image I’d seen a few times landed back in my mind.

  Erin handing me a bundle. The baby crying…and the tiny white nubs where his canines would grow in.

  “I’m sorry,” she continued. “I know it was just a fantasy. I was coming, and my mind was just going to beautiful stuff. Please don’t think I expect—”

  I placed two fingers over her lips. “Shh. It’s okay. I know you don’t expect anything. And for what it’s worth, if I ever get married, it will be to you. I’ve always known that.”

  She smiled, sighing. “Me too. To you, I mean.”

  “Now tell me. Was there something about the baby?”

  “No. I just knew. He was beautiful. Perfect red lips in the shape of a pout. A big tuft of black hair on his head. He was tiny and beautiful. And he couldn’t be a vampire. You said a human and a vampire mating always results in a human baby.”

  “Yes. That’s why there are so few of us left.”

  “So how…?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. It could be just your imagination playing tricks on you. Or it could be…”

  “What?”

  “I don’t know. But I’ve seen the same thing, Erin. I’ve seen our baby, and he is vampire.”

  Once Erin had fallen asleep, I called out to my father. He appeared instantly.

  “I need a good way to summon you,” I said.

  “Summon me?” He laughed.

  “I didn’t mean that to sound condescending, but I do need to know how to get in touch with you. Sometimes you come when I call, and sometimes you don’t.”

  “I don’t always hear you. And sometimes I do hear you, but I can’t come.”

  “Okay, then. We need to figure out a communication system. You need to be able to let me know if you hear me, and if you can’t come.”

  “I can’t exactly carry a cell phone, Dante.”

  “I don’t get that. You’re wearing clothes, aren’t you? Put it in your pocket.”

  “These clothes don’t exist. You’re seeing me the way it makes sense to you. There are no pockets because there are no clothes.”