Tainted Blood

by Sara Hubbard

  He quickly considers this before nodding.

  I have no idea what to say or do; I’m going on instinct. For the first time, I feel what needs to be done and I don’t need a spell to do it.

  “Can you hear me?”

  He raises an eyebrow, and I slow my words when I repeat myself, so he can read my lips.

  “No,” his voice is quiet as a church mouse.

  “Good.”

  A loud explosion sounds in the foyer, and shards of the front door blast everywhere, some landing on the hardwood not three feet from where I stand.

  When my eyes go wide, Alexander spins around, and he and his brother flank me. Heavy footsteps get louder as the vampires draw near. I smell Markus before I see him, like a bottle of musk and cinnamon. He smiles wickedly when his eyes meet mine.

  “Well, well, you’ve made friends.”

  It surprises me to see Markus looking the exactly same as he did when I first met him. His skin still has the same pale color, and his aura is just as thick and dark. He doesn’t look sick at all, and it makes me wonder if I affected him at all. Sebastian and Alexander seem to believe I’m toxic to all vampires, and I’ve killed some in the past, but what if those rumors were as true as the ones I was told about the coven? Or maybe Markus is immune like Sebastian. If that’s true we are in serious trouble.

  Markus glances at Justine. “And who’s that on the floor? A late supper?”

  “I’m surprised you’d care to notice, considering how much you hate humans.”

  The vampires flanking him almost vibrate with tension as they wait for us to fight. They’re begging to be let off their leashes, to attack. And here I stand, petrified. How many times have I imagined myself the heroine in the books I read, what I would do in these situations. I always thought I’d be smarter and run away before getting myself killed. But now, running is the furthest thing from my mind. I’m going to end him or die trying.

  “How about you tell your dogs to stand down and you fight me honorably? If I win, your men walk away and never think of my friends or me again.”

  “And if I win?” Markus asks.

  “Well, I’ll be dead so…isn’t that what you ultimately want anyway?”

  “Oh, no. I have a better idea. How about I kill them both for helping you, and then, before I reach into your chest to rip out your heart, you surrender and agree to do as I say for the rest of your human life?”

  “Don’t listen to him. His children are young. We can take them.” Sebastian tips his head to the side and cracks his neck.

  “Well, this will be fun.” Markus pastes a cocky grin on his face as he turns to Alexander. “Alex, kill your brother—and make it hurt.”

  For the first time since I met him, Alexander smiles widely, like a child before opening presents at Christmas. It warms me to him for the briefest of moments. Then I remember he’s a dick. But at least Markus can’t use him against me.

  Alexander doesn’t move an inch.

  Markus grimaces at us. His face shifts to harsh lines and veiny, translucent skin. “My oldest child and you’ve turned him against me.”

  I don’t bother telling him it that Alexander turned all on his own.

  Sebastian and Alexander crouch, and the other vampires race forward, screaming at the tops of their lungs with their arms outstretched and their hands tipped with long, sharp nails. I stay where I am, eyes on Markus. He doesn’t move a muscle as the vampires around us collide. Arms retract, fists fly. Alexander tears the head off a blond-haired vampire, like his head was only attached with Velcro. With a bloodthirsty smile, he tosses the head to the side with the spinal cord trailing behind it.

  I hold my palms up, balls of glowing fire radiating.

  Markus charges forward through the chaos. Sebastian jumps through the air to land a fist in a vampire’s jaw. The vampire rocks on his feet and stumbles. Sebastian snaps his neck.

  I throw fireballs at Markus, but he dodges them, and when he collides with me, we fly through the air to smash into the far wall. He tries to pound on my face, over and over, but my protective wall is up and fully intact. I shake off the pain in my back and gulp air. With all my energy, I wrap my hands around his neck and draw my fireballs again. They singe his neck, and he drops me, backing away as his neck mends before my eyes.

  The other vampires continue into the other room. Alexander whirs by the doors, his foot outstretched as he soars through the air. His foot crashes into the stomach of another vampire. Sebastian backflips to dodge a punch before round housing the two vampires trying to hit him with a bevy of right and left hooks.

  “You’re stronger. How?”

  I walk toward him, and he circles me. I let him, my light surrounding me like a cocoon. He can’t even get close enough to me to hurt me right now. Confidence fills me like never before. I always shied away from confrontation, figuring it was easier and safer to walk away, but now I’m strong enough to stay and fight. Even if I don’t win, I’m strong enough to try.

  “Like I’d tell you.”

  A flash of a memory hits me, making me stumble. Markus recognizes it immediately. “Ahh, more memories, Penelope? Are you in there? I’d love to see you again.”

  “Shut up! Penelope’s dead.” A flash of light, a warm spring breeze— I’m in a field on the long grass. And Markus is over me, laughing as he holds a spear over his head. ‘See you soon,’ he says as he drives the spear into my heart. I let out a loud gasp.

  “Come on, Penny. Let your walls down, and fight me like a real hunter.”

  “Play fair? How fair is the fight when you’re stronger and faster than I could ever hope to be as a human?”

  He hisses at me and pounds on my wall: right, left, kick, jab. His teeth grit together as he screams, “Let me in!”

  “I don’t think so!”

  Alexander appears in the doorjamb, his eyes flaring at the sight of his master. He surges forward like a tornado, his fist flying, but Markus dodges, and Alexander continues punching and kicking. Sebastian runs in to join him. Markus laughs as he stands still, holding up his arm to block Alexander’s fists and his knee and other arm to stop Sebastian’s. It continues for some time, and I wonder if I should step in, but I worry about hitting the brothers.

  “Enough of this!” Markus says.

  A blur of shapes moves around the room. A vase smashes on the floor. A painting falls off its hook to slide down the wall, and then the large window at the front of the house shatters as Sebastian flies through the air to collide with a tree outside.

  “Sebastian!”

  He struggles to get to his feet. Alexander is thrown to the ceiling and falls on his back with a spectacular thud as the plaster on the ceiling and some wood rain down over him.

  “Kill him!” Sebastian yells. “Now!”

  Markus peppers me with punches and kicks, knocking me back though not breaking through my armor. Each blow drains me, little by little, until my head throbs. My muscles ache, the way I used to feel after a long-distance run—without the feel-good high. My eyes burn, as if I haven’t slept in days.

  With two hands out, palms facing me, he bends his knees and flies forward horizontally until his hands smash into my light. I fall back on my ass, my light faltering, dying like the flicker of a threatened power outage.

  He smiles as he stands tall in front of me. My light shatters into electric dust motes that collect around my body.

  “I’m impressed. You’re better than before but still not quite good enough.”

  He lunges for me, and I spin around to move out of the way. He pivots, crouching to tackle me. His hands go to my neck, and I grip his wrists and fight with my mind, imagining a metal collar around my neck strong enough to stop his crushing fingers. It slows him, but not completely. I bend, feeling the pressure, and desperately try and pull his hands away, but he’s too strong.

  Two balls of black light flash forward, and Alexander and Sebastian stop just long enough for me to see them grip Markus’ shoulders and attempt
to pull him off. He still doesn’t let go. I panic, slapping his arms. Gasping, I try to swallow air but can’t get enough. The world is fading into darkness. My light is almost extinguished. Alexander whirls away. Seconds later, he returns to stake Markus with a poker.

  Markus’s hands retract, as if they’re on springs. I fall to the floor on my stomach and roll over to take deep gulps of air. I can’t get enough.

  “Your blood! Give Markus more. Now,” Alexander demands.

  Sebastian rushes to my side and grabs my arm. The suddenness makes me flinch as he sinks his teeth into my wrist.

  “No!” Alexander screams at his brother, seemingly unaware that he’s immune to my toxic blood. There’s no time to ease his mind. I crawl to where Markus lies. Blood drips from his chest and mouth.

  “Stay away,” he hisses.

  I press my wrist to his mouth, but he growls like a rabid dog before pressing his lips together in a hard line. Sebastian and Alexander fight to force him to open it but he’s stronger, even as injured as he is.

  “Fuck this.” Alexander tears Markus’s jaw clear off, exposing a hollow of blood and tissues. I fight the urge to vomit and stare at Alexander in horror.

  “Now!” he commands me.

  I hold my wrist over the mangled vampire’s face. Tears stream down my face as my blood drips down his throat. I can’t watch. I look away to Justine, who stirs nearby. When she lifts her head to me, her eyes are on fire, and her fangs are exposed. She licks her lips. “Your scent.”

  Oh, dear God. Not now. Please not now.

  “Sebastian!”

  He follows my gaze and subdues his new child while she fights him, trying desperately to break free from his hold to reach me. “I must feed.”

  “You’ll stay where you are,” he commands her.

  Markus gurgles as Alexander helps my blood along, squeezing my arm to increase the flow. I narrow my eyes up at him and ignore the sting. The more blood flowing from me, the weaker I feel. I want to lie down and sleep. My eyes grow heavier, and the world starts to spin.

  The light around Markus’ wings flickers until it cools to shades of gray and black. I pull my hand away, though Alexander tries to fight me.

  “That’s enough,” I say. “He’s dying.”

  “He’s got nine lives. He needs to die and stay dead.”

  “He just lost his last one,” I say quietly as I slump to the ground on my behind.

  Markus’ wings flicker and burn brighter with the same golden tones my aura usually has, but it only lasts a moment before the light shatters into a thousand pieces, and like a thick coat of dust it sways in the air to fall to the floor like a pile of ash. His body grays, and his eyes dull. He falls back to lay limp beside me. Then he catches on fire, burning the same brilliant shades of orange and red I saw in his eyes just moment ago. Unlike the young vampire I killed, he doesn’t explode into blood and guts. His death is more...palatable.

  “Estelle!” Sebastian yells to one of the maids.

  Justine tugs on her hair as she paces, but Sebastian no longer holds her. Like me, he sits on the ground, seemingly exhausted. But unlike me, he finds the energy to shrug it off and stand. He dusts off his jeans.

  Estelle hurries into the room. Although she gasps at the site of the burning vampire and the piece of his jaw that remains, she closes her eyes a moment, and I watch her lips move as she counts to three. When she flashes her eyes open, she calmly says, “Yes, sir?”

  “Feed the lady,” Sebastian says.

  “Of course.”

  “Justine, you will feed until her heart slows, and then you will stop. You will never drink from Emily no matter how delicious she smells. Her blood will kill you. Do you understand?”

  She nods and flies through the air to wrap her arms and legs around the poor maid. Though the maid opens her mouth in horror, her shock fades once Justine slams fangs into her flesh.

  I’ve never heard a vampire suck harder and louder than Justine.

  And I hope to God I never have to hear it again.

  23

  “I’m so sorry.” Justine stands in the backyard, looking over the terrace to the vast forest at the edge of the manicured lawn. I stand at her side, leaning against the stone rail, still exhausted and reeling with everything that just happened. “I would have bitten you. The blood lust…I never imagined it could be so…consuming. Nothing else mattered to me.”

  I want to rub her shoulder and comfort her, but perhaps, keeping my hands to myself for a while might be best. “It’s fine, really. I suppose it’ll take you some time to adjust.”

  “I hope not too long.”

  I offer her a sympathetic smile. “I can’t thank you enough for what you did for me. Without the added magic, I might not have survived.”

  She frowns at me and slowly reaches out to take my hands. She swallows hard, and her chest stops moving. To avoid smelling me? I can’t imagine how hard it must be to control every impulse.

  “You would have beaten him,” she says. “With Alexander and Sebastian’s help, it would have been possible. From what I saw, you were a perfectly oiled team.”

  I scoff at that. “I don’t know about that. Alexander and I might have looked like we’re in sync, but there is certainly no love lost between us. Needing each other was the thin piece of string that forced us to cooperate. Now that his master is dead and he’s free, I somehow doubt we’ll speak again.” I’ll have to give him his hearing back before I go. I tried after the fight, but I was too weak. He’s likely staring me down from a window right now, cursing me for not fixing him yet. I glance back, and there he is at the door, arms folded over his chest. His expression makes me irritated and twitchy.

  “Will you leave here?”

  “Of course. I have to get home to my sister. Our parents left us a bookstore, and it hasn’t been doing terribly well. I can’t let it go under, and my sister can’t run it herself.”

  “Well, I told you before, I’ll always do what I can to help you.”

  “I know that.”

  “I might not be magical anymore—not like I was.” She flashes me a grin with incisors a little too sharp and pointed for a human. “But I’m skilled in spells and history, and I have connections. The coven will turn their back on me, but they might help you.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “And what about Sebastian?”

  Sigh. What about Sebastian? I’m not sure how I feel. His dishonesty still stands like a wedge between us. I can forgive him, sure, but trust him again? I’m on the fence about it. I don’t think for a second he’s been honest with me about everything else—not to mention what he’s likely omitted.

  “I don’t know. I care about him… I guess we’ll see.”

  “I want to hug you and wish you well, but I need time to better control this. I want to throw you down and suck on you so hard right now.”

  I stifle a chuckle. “Um…I’m not sure if I should thank you for the compliment or run.”

  Her eyes light up with amusement. Her glow hasn’t changed much since she changed over, though it’s a little softer with a little more gray. But she still feels the same to me.

  She releases my hand, and I walk away from her, turning back just once to wave, but she already has her back to me as she looks up at the sky. It’s a brilliant blue with billowy white clouds, but with her eyes, it must be worthy of a painting.

  The French doors open as I approach. Deaf Alexander watches me with red eyes. He points to his ears.

  “I know. I know.” I have nothing left to give, but I can’t leave him like this. He’s like a declawed cat without one of his major defenses. I touch his cheeks and close my eyes. His cool flesh makes me shiver.

  When I took his hearing, I didn’t know what I was doing. Instinct took over, and I knew exactly what I needed to do, but I don’t have that right now. It seems those moments of brilliance only come when I’m threatened.

  “Can you hear me now?”

  “No.”

>   I concentrate harder. “Wouldn’t it be awful if I can’t fix this?”

  He lets go of a low, guttural growl that sounds like a bear.

  I’m in serious trouble if I can’t undo this. Maybe I should try with my eyes open… I focus on his ears, imagining them opening up like a blooming flower. “Now?”

  He nods, and I lower my hands and drop from my tiptoes.

  “I…” he begins. “That was smart, what you did.”

  “What I did? You mean, your hearing?”

  He nods, his eyes holding mine. “Thank you.”

  I hitch a shoulder, not expecting a tender moment. It’s as uncomfortable as I would have imagined. “I’m glad I could help.”

  “It’s been...eventful.”

  I let go of a quiet laugh. “You could say that.”

  “Good-bye, Emily.” He bows his head and takes a step back before whirling out of the room. In the time I’ve spent here, I never really got to know him well. Granted, I didn’t really want to and still don’t. But as I stand here, I wonder if I ever gave him a chance. He’s an asshole, but maybe he’s not as much of one as I thought. He had his reasons for distrusting and disliking me. Namely, he feared I would end his long life. Given who I was before, maybe he had good reason to feel that way.

  “Time to go?” Sebastian’s voice is tinged with sadness, and I feel a pang of it too. I don’t want this to be the last time I see him, and I hope it won’t be, but I’m not sure what more we can be to one another now that the dust has settled. And I can’t trust him. There’s that.

  He drives me back to my small hometown. It takes a few hours, and we talk very little. There is much to say, and neither of us wants to say it. I guess that’s always the way when you pit needs against wants. I don’t need him in my life, and it will likely be better without him, but do I want him? Very much. I crave his touch, his body next to mine, the brush of his lips on my skin…though I’m not sure if that’s what I feel or if that’s what the Penelope side of me feels. What’s worse? I can’t ever be sure.

  He pulls up outside of my small log cabin in the woods and turns off the car. He moves his hands over the wheel, his eyes staring straight ahead. “Why do I have the feeling we’ll never see each other again?” he asks softly.