by L. Danvers
“It’s not just Xander I’m at risk of losing. It’s Julian and Charlotte, too. Whoever took Xander took Grace, too. And you and I both know we don’t stand a chance of reopening that portal without Grace’s help. We have to save both of them.” He finally looked back at me. “I already lost one sibling. I’m not going to risk losing three more.”
My shoulders slumped. “And what would Victoria say?”
He pressed his lips together, thinking. Eventually, he lifted his chin. “She’d tell me to save my family.”
“At the risk of you succumbing to madness? I don’t need to remind you what you were like as a vampire, do I?”
He shifted in his seat, leaning across the table now to speak to me. “Things are different now. After we rescue them, I can live off of synthetic blood. I lived off the spelled artificial stuff for a decade, didn’t I?”
“Yes, but I also remember what happened when you finally gave in to your cravings. Or did you forget about slaughtering the entire blood slave village? Not to mention your killing spree here in Quarter Square.” I swore I saw a vein protrude from his forehead for a flicker of a second at the mention of what he’d done.
He shook his head. “It won’t be permanent,” he asserted. “Once we get Julian back, he can bite me again.”
He had a point. It had worked once before. We’d all thought that, being an immortal werewolf, Julian’s bite would be the end of his vampire siblings. That’s what everyone assumed the witch who had cast the curse upon them meant when she referred to him as being the “failsafe.” But as Aiden discovered when he was bitten by his brother, it turned out that Julian’s bite cured them of their vampirism instead, effectively killing them by giving them a human life that would come to an eventual end.
It was a shame they hadn’t figured that out, oh, a thousand years ago...
I dragged my fingers down my unshaven face. “What if it doesn’t work again?”
“We already know it’ll work. I’m human now, aren’t I?” He could tell I was about to bring up more concerns, but he cut me off before I had the chance to start listing them off. “And I’ll handle Victoria.”
“And if she’s not okay with it?”
“She’ll be okay with it.”
“But if she’s not?”
He shook his head, not wanting to even go there. “She will be.”
We argued about the prospect of Aiden turning into a vampire for fifteen minutes or more before Jasper finally returned—with another vampire, Naomi, by his side. She was dressed in all white—looking more like an angel than a creature that could tear your throat out—and had her mousy brown hair tied in a braid that hung over her shoulder. Her blue eyes dragged toward Jasper, who was standing with his arms folded across his chest. “Naomi and I are going to help.”
“That’s it?” Aiden asked, an air of annoyance in his tone. “Just you two?”
“You’re lucky we’re doing this at all. This goes against everything we stand for.”
“But Xander did turn us,” Naomi added. “And Jasper and I feel like we should at least try to help him.”
“And Grace is our friend,” he added.
“But even still,” Naomi continued, “going up against a coven of Albright witches isn’t going to be easy.”
“Which is why you should both drink human blood,” Aiden pointed out. He rolled up his sleeve and offered his arm to them. “It’s the only way this is going to work. It will make you stronger.”
“No,” Naomi said firmly. “We offered to help you, but we refuse to drink from humans. Even you.”
Aiden huffed. “Well, I hate to break it to you, but the two of you are not going to be enough to take on a coven.”
“We can use my magical objects,” I reminded him.
“They took on Xander and Grace and won. Do you seriously think we stand a chance?”
“Then what do you suggest we do?” Jasper asked.
“I’m glad you asked, actually. Because that’s where you come in,” Aiden added. “If you recall, I’m no longer a vampire.”
Jasper nodded. “I’m aware.”
“I need you to change that.”
Jasper visibly gulped. “You want me to turn you?”
“Yes.”
“Why me?”
Aiden shrugged. “To be fair, either of you could do it. I know how much you all care about Xander. And you are loyal to him, aren’t you?”
“...Yes.”
“I appreciate you being willing to temporarily set aside this code you choose to live by. And I’ll still take you up on your help. But if we’re going to take on the Albrights, we better make sure we’re prepared. And that means doing whatever it takes. Someone has to rescue him and Grace, right? We need someone who can be at full strength. Someone willing to drink human blood. Someone who will be ruthless if needed.”
Jasper was looking more uneasy by the second. “Okay...”
“And who better than me?”
The Book Slayer glanced at me, seeking my input. So, I offered it. “Look, I don’t like this idea any more than you do. But Aiden has a point. It’s our best chance of saving the two of them.”
Jasper nodded warily. Pacing, he dug his fingernails into his scalp. “Let me get this straight—you want me to give you my blood and kill you?”
“Yes,” Aiden said, looking curiously at ease about the prospect of becoming a vampire again.
Jasper stepped back a few paces until he bumped against the edge of his bed, which he promptly plopped down onto. “Like, right now? Here?”
Aiden cocked his head to the side. “You’ve never turned anyone, have you?”
He shook his head.
“Look, we can make this easy on you. Just give me some of your blood. You don’t have to kill me.” He glanced at Naomi. “She can do it.”
She shook her head. “I will help rescue Xander and Grace, but I am not about to be the person responsible for turning Aiden Dumont back into one of the world’s most infamous vampires.”
“Fine. Then I hope you enjoy spending the rest of your immortal life knowing that you refused to do the one thing that could help you save your Maker. Oh, wait. You won’t be able to. Because we’re going to get massacred if we aren’t successful. And it will be your fault.”
“Alright,” she spat. “I’ll do it.”
“I’m glad to see that you’ve come to your senses, Naomi.” He smiled, his temper quickly vanishing. “Jasper? Your blood, please?”
Reluctantly, Jasper stood. He sank his fangs into his wrist and let Aiden drink.
Once he was finished, Aiden walked over to Naomi. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he said, “Ready to do the honors?”
“Oh,” she said coyly. “I think I’m going to enjoy this part.” With a quick snap of his neck, Aiden thumped to the floor. Naomi towered over him. Her bright blue eyes—in perfect contrast to her dark hair and porcelain skin—lifted and locked in on mine. “I hope you’re ready, Ben. Because when he wakes up, he’s going to be very hungry.”
Grace
Flesh crawling, the man began screaming. Fire burst from his veins, melting his skin. He clawed and screamed and pleaded for help. Pleaded for mercy.
In his last breath, he muttered something. Some futile last attempt to stop us.
Then, strangely, he smiled.
But it was already done.
Clutching my chest, I woke up in a cold sweat. I wiped my brow and reached for the glass of water I kept on my nightstand and drank it in one gulp. The nightmares were getting more vivid. They almost felt... real.
When I checked my phone, I saw that it was 4:00 a.m. I was tired, but I was too afraid to go back to sleep. I knew the nightmares would just return, perhaps stronger than before. So instead, I headed to the bathroom. With the twist of the faucet knob, I allowed cool water to pool in my hands and proceeded to splash my face with it—unfortunately, I did not look like the girls in the face wash commercials when I did so. I looked more like a fish ou
t of water—literally. Though I often felt that way figuratively, too. Things were just... off.
By all accounts, my life was good. I had a job, a friend, a crush... But I also felt strangely detached from it all, perhaps because of the memory gaps. Something was missing. I just didn’t know what. And every time I thought on it for too long, my thoughts somehow drifted to something else entirely. Which was what was happening now, so I let it go.
Grabbing the blue towel from the counter, I patted my face dry and stared in the mirror. I was still trembling slightly from the nightmare. I remembered bits and pieces. But I also remembered this intense fear—and anger.
I was in what appeared to be a hotel room, though it was hard to tell as the lights were flickering. There were three other people in there with me. They were all men. One was the man who was dying. There was something bone-chilling about the way he had smiled as he died. Like he knew something I didn’t. I didn’t remember enough from the beginning of the dream to have a guess as to what that might have been, though.
There was another man behind him. He had dark hair and a handsome face that was covered with blood as he hunched over on the floor, coughing and gasping. He was holding his throat like he was struggling to breathe.
And the final person was holding my hand, though he didn’t seem to want to. It was more like I was making him.
I couldn’t recall any distinct features on any of them. Or who they were supposed to be. Or why I was with them in the first place. But then again, dreams rarely made sense.
Now that I was more awake, the memory of the nightmare was growing hazy.
I stood on my tiptoes and leaned in closer to the mirror to check out the bags under my eyes. I looked like a raccoon. What did women do before concealer? I needed some desperately, but I’d deal with that later. Right now, I needed coffee. So, I tied my hair up into a ponytail and headed into the kitchen.
I turned on the coffee maker waited for my liquid energy to brew. The smell of the freshly brewed coffee filled my lungs, and I could already feel my mood lifting. I retrieved one of my coffee mugs from my dishwasher. But, being too tired to properly function, I dropped it. The ceramic pieces scattered across the floor, and I had to grab a broom to make sure I got all the fragments. With a sigh, I picked up another mug and proceeded to fill it up. But I frowned as I cupped my hand around it. Taking a sip confirmed my suspicions. My coffee maker must have been broken because this wasn’t even close to hot. Warm tears collected in my eyes from frustration, and I let out an angry moan. Why was nothing going right today? All I wanted was one hot cup of coffee. Was that too much to ask?
I heard a strange bubbling sound, and I realized my hands were suddenly warm. When I opened my eyes, I saw that the coffee was now simmering, and steam was rising from it. I rubbed my temple, feeling a headache coming on. Was I going crazy? The lack of sleep must have been getting to me.
With my coffee in hand, I headed back to bed and turned on the TV in hopes of trying to find something to keep my mind off of that nightmare. I stumbled upon reruns of some reality show about rich women who argued a lot and settled on that. I needed something mindless and hoped it would be a good distraction. While the drama was entertaining, my mind continued to wander.
I drew a long sip of coffee, savoring the taste as its warmth spread through me. I was reminded of when Bellamy had first walked into the Sunny Side Grille. I’d spilled coffee all over myself, which was mortifying. But it had all worked out in the end. I thought back to our kiss after the Halloween party a couple of nights ago. I wondered if he felt the same way about me that I felt about him. I didn’t have much experience with dating—other than one guy back in high school. I wondered what had happened to Ryan...
Anyway, Bellamy and I hadn’t talked about being exclusive yet. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if we were officially dating. Did one date count as dating? I thought about asking Madison, but I was worried she’d say something to him about it. She had known him practically forever.
I checked my phone, even though there was no reason to. I knew he hadn’t texted. I hadn’t heard from him since yesterday afternoon. I’d texted him, but he hadn’t responded. I tried not to be one of those girls who obsessed over a guy she barely knew, but I couldn’t help myself. I thought we’d had such a good time together.
By the time my wake-up alarm buzzed on my phone, I could barely keep my eyes open. But duty called. So, I hurriedly got ready and headed into work.
I was on the sidewalk a few paces away from the door when my phone rang. I thought about ignoring it, figuring it was a scam call. But curiosity got the better of me.
My eyes widened when I realized it was Bellamy. I’d hoped to hear from him, but it seemed strange that he would be calling so early. “Hello?” I said, unable to conceal my smile in spite of myself.
But my smile quickly faded.
“Grace?” It was Bellamy. But his voice sounded more rough than usual. He let out a raspy cough.
“Yeah, it’s me. Is everything okay?” I knew it wasn’t, though. I couldn’t explain it, but he sounded off. Something was wrong. My heart sank into the pit of my stomach. “What’s going on?”
“Something happened,” he started, pausing before adding, “I’m at Amber Falls General.”
Xander
The door flew open. I didn’t even flinch, figuring Evangeline was in a rush today. But then I heard two sets of footprints. Curiosity got the best of me. So, naturally, I dragged my gaze toward the door.
My forehead wrinkled, and I scowled, thinking the measly portions of artificial blood I was living off of were starting to affect my brain. This had to be a hallucination.
“I’ll check the other rooms,” a familiar voice called out while Uncle Ben rushed over to me.
When he reached me, he shook his head, giving me his most sympathetic look. “What did they do to you?” His voice was heavy and sad like I was some pathetic wounded puppy. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had pitied me. My stomach twisted.
I blinked, still unsure whether it was really him. It wouldn’t have been the first time my mind had played tricks on me lately. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’d thought Grace had been in this very room. I’d had full-on conversations with her, or what I had hallucinated to be her, only to discover I’d been talking to a broomstick propped against the wall. I swore, the Albrights left the stupid thing there just to mess with me. “Is it really you?” I asked, put off by how measly my voice sounded.
“Yes, it’s me.”
“How do I know?” I growled, beads of sweat dripping from the creases in my forehead.
Realizing the quickest way to prove himself, Uncle Ben rolled up his sleeve. “Drink,” he ordered.
And I gladly did. It was the first taste I’d had of real blood in... How long had it been now? The days and weeks blurred together. But it didn’t matter anyway. I was so close to freedom. I could taste it.
I wanted more, needed more, but my arms were still restrained, so he was able to pull away. I let out a groan. “You have no idea how much I needed that,” I said, thinking more clearly now as if a fog had lifted from my mind. Now that my senses were back on full alert, I realized just how loud it was in the compound. There was shouting and screaming—and what sounded like furniture being thrown against walls.
Uncle Ben kept stealing anxious glances at the hallway as he hurried to break me out of the restraints. He couldn’t get them off. “Where’s the key?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” It wasn’t like they told me where they kept it.
He mumbled to himself as he spun around. He frantically began opening drawers and rummaging through their contents.
I didn’t know where Evangeline kept hers, but he certainly wasn’t going to find a key here. The witches weren’t that stupid. “Where are the witches?” I asked. I mean, I knew they were the ones I was hearing in the background. But who was holding them off? Then it hit me. It was obviously Grace. I knew she’d come for me.
“Handled,” he answered curtly. “For now.”
I nodded in appreciation, thoroughly impressed. Taking out an entire coven—even temporarily—was no easy feat. But, knowing Grace, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Sure took her long enough, though.
Now that I was feeling more like myself, I decided it wouldn’t hurt to give busting out of here myself another shot. Using every ounce of strength I could muster, a roar escaped my lips as I flexed my muscles, ripping my wrists out from their restraints. They were covered in blood by the time I was done, but the wounds quickly healed.
Uncle Ben rushed to my side and rested his hand on my back, trying to be supportive despite being utterly useless—except for his human blood, that is. I broke free from the ankle restraints, too, and Uncle Ben knowingly offered me his wrist again so that I could gather more strength. “Thank you, by the way,” I said when I was done.
“Of course. I’m just sorry we didn’t get to you sooner.” He patted me on the shoulder.
“Where is Grace, anyway?”
“Isn’t she here?”
I scowled. “I thought she was with you.” I thought on it for a moment, trying to process this. “If Grace didn’t help you bust me out of here... who did?”
Aiden popped his head into the doorway. He entered, giving me a nod of mutual respect. “Xander.” Aiden marched over to me and flung his arms around me, drawing me in for a hug. I tried squirming out of it, but his hold was strong. Very strong.
My brows stitched as connections started forming in my mind.
When he finally released me, I pulled away. “How did the two of you manage to infiltrate the Albright witches’ compound?” I asked.
“Jasper and Naomi came with us. They’re handling the witches. Aiden and I were looking for you and Grace.”
“Jasper and Naomi?” I said, trying not to laugh. “You broke in here with Jasper and Naomi? What did they do? Read to the witches until they were bored to tears? They’re not fighters.”
Uncle Ben cleared his throat, and I caught him looking at Aiden as if he was waiting for him to tell me something.
