Blood Relic

by Lucretia Stanhope

  “Dear god, I do love you.” He parted her lips with his tongue and claimed her with a deep kiss. “Can you handle a bite? Did Nathan feed from you again?”

  She put both her hands on his face. “Yes, he did. It wasn’t as bad as that first time he lost it. I think that one scared him. I don’t want to talk about Nathan. He’s harmless, and useless. I’ve searched his whole mind during our ‘time.’”

  “The one following you is old. Strong. We’ve got his full attention. After tonight, you be so careful.” He kissed her forehead. “I have the impression he is the big link and I don’t need a reason to kill him before he gives up the names and location, but if he hurts you…”

  She pressed her lips to his, stopping his declaration. “We want him to come get me. That’s the point.”

  “Yes, but not to hurt you. Just do what he says.” He closed his eyes. “I hate pushing you toward the dark ones.”

  “That’s why partners aren’t supposed to fall in love.” She stared at the crease that formed between his closed eyes. He was worried. The imperfection on his face stood out.

  “We aren’t partners.” He opened his eyes and the crease vanished.

  “No. We aren’t, so it’s okay if we cross lines.” She trailed her fingers across his mouth.

  He grasped her waist and pulled her closer. “More than okay.”

  “Cross them,” she whispered.

  He cocked his head and licked his lips. “Sweetheart, you’ve been unsure. Not until you are ready. Something is bothering you about us. Remember, I can feel your emotions.”

  Reality crashed down, stealing the moment. “It’s, Reginald said…”

  “Call magic. We want it in the air.” His tone hardened and the crease returned, deeper this time. “What did that son of a bitch say?”

  “That the darkness in our minds would be bare to each other. What if it ruins our love? I mean I hesitate, because if we don’t start it, it can never end. I don’t want it to end. Everyone leaves me when they see in my mind. My mom. My dad. Jasper. What happens when you see the dark corners? The places that harbor the woman who killed Kayla and made sacrifices for the ward on her chest?” The magic she called intensified as her fears fueled the intentions behind it.

  “You mean the woman who can love me? Do you think I won’t love those places? I want to know every single thing about you. Light and dark. Fears and hopes. Triumphs and losses. Things you are proud of and things you are so ashamed of you hide them from yourself. Not to judge you and to determine if I love you.” He paused and kissed her. “I love you. I want to know so that I know how to love you in the way that you need to be loved.”

  He wasn’t perfect, but he was perfect for her. The dark corners of his mind were probably absolute blackness. She could love them. Did love them. Tears filled her eyes. “Do you want some happy tears?”

  He kissed the corners of her eyes. “I love you.”

  “Show me. I want you to kiss me so deeply that I don’t know whose air I am breathing.” All the doubts about them washed away under his intense gaze. “Now.”

  “Here. Like this.” He balled his fists, looking like he was barely restraining himself. “Say yes.”

  “Yes. We’ve been going mad with want. I need you. Here like this. Next time it can be in a garden under the stars.”

  He lifted her off the ground. “Yes?”

  She wrapped her legs around his waist as they slammed into the wall. “Yes.”

  “Work magic. We still have to bait the hook.” He nipped at her ear. “You are so mine.”

  Alice pulled up as much magic as she could under the assault of kisses and bites. Hands and lips brushed and bruised with equal measure as the force of their passion took over.

  Their first time was against the wall, filled with the need they’d both been building since the day they met. Raw. Aggressive. Possessive. After the need ebbed to a manageable craving, he tossed her on the bed for a second more methodical time. The third time was all for her. Gentle. No nips beyond a small injection he gave her to take her to places of unrestrained ecstasy.

  After they were both spent and satisfied, she cradled against his chest, listening to the rhythmic sounds of his breathing. “Do you have to go?”

  “I do.” He kissed the top of her head. “We have to put this mission first. When we have our night in the garden, I will hold you until the last possible second.”

  “I understand. He needs time to approach before the sun comes up and I need to rest and recover.” She craned her neck to see his face. “You are more than I ever imagined in my most fanciful daydreams. Please don’t change your mind.”

  “More? Darker, for sure. We are forever, dearling.” He rolled over her and kissed her nose, forehead, and each eye. “Be careful. He’s…”

  “Old and strong. Dangerous and the vampire I need to get our answers.” She winked and nuzzled against him.

  He fingered her wrist, running his thumb over the scars. “Watch and charm on at all times.”

  Alice sat up. What was that look? The scars? Was he angry at Reginald, or did he think she wasn’t ready for anyone stronger? “I’ve got this. Do you doubt that?”

  “Not for a second.” Matthias kissed her again and locked eyes. He’s moved into the building. No more words. He stood, dressed, and left.

  She closed her eyes, breathing in his scent that lingered in the air and mingled with the aroma of their pleasure.

  Outside a presence moved toward the room. The moth she wanted fluttered closer.

  Shine the light. Her fingertips sparked. She wrapped the sheet around her and tucked it at her breasts, holding it in place.

  Her hand rested on the doorknob. So close. They had to be standing on the other side of the door. Magic sparked from her fingers again. The hair on her arms stood on end. Her stomach knotted. Bait him.

  “Hello? Did you forget something?” She opened the door.

  Shadows greeted her. A card with a red rose sat on the floor. She glanced down the hall. Empty. She knelt and picked up the card. Cold wrapped around her. Old and powerful. His presence changed the environment even after he left.

  A shiver raced across her, causing her to stand abruptly. Was he still there? She took two backward steps and shut the door, locking it. Brilliant. You are supposed to lure him, not run from him.

  One of the thorns on the rose pressed into her hand, piercing her palm. The petals of the closed bud opened. She sat on the bed cross-legged and put the card beside her.

  The small prick from the thorn already stopped bleeding, but the rose hummed. Magic? He could have a witch.

  The lights in the room flickered as Alice stared at the rose, searching for a spell. It felt old. Like the magic she worked with Morrigana. Her mouth dried. The pounding of her heart echoed in her ears. Old vampires working with pure witches. Was she ready? What was the flower for?

  She set it on the bed and peered at the card. Read it. You already activated the magic death rose. What the hell else could go wrong? When she pulled the card from its envelope, a small coin dropped out. Token. Like what Matthias had been given.

  The smell of dirt and pine wafted from the paper. An address and a single word: DUSK. No note.

  Be there at dusk? This was her invite. What of the rose? Did the magic in it already tell the vampire what he wanted or…

  Alice jumped up and scribbled a fast note.

  See you there.

  She put the note back in the envelope and sat it with the rose just outside her door. For several minutes she stared at the closed door. Was it wise to give him back the rose? She ran her fingers along the ward on her chest. Please work.

  It was getting late. In the morning she needed to go to the coven and tell the witches she was moving on. Poor Nathan. No more free meals. Not from her anyway.

  The temperature dropped.

  Alice twirled. Not in the room. Very near.

  No footsteps in the hall. Nothing.

  Her fingers sparked. She
patted out the small burn on the sheet that was still tied around her and closed her eyes.

  Vampire. Faint. Hiding. Could he be able to travel in shadows? If pure witches could and he was working with one, that was possible.

  Alice flicked on the lamp, rocking it with her sudden movement. With it gripped in her hand she wielded it like a sword against the invading shadows. “Hello?”

  Each time she thrust it forward, she expected to be greeted by a fanged smile. Nothing. Relax. It’s nerves. Her hand trembled. The light trembled. She sat the lamp back on the night table. It’s not nerves. Magic continued to pop at her fingertips.

  A presence manifested in the hall.

  It hadn’t approached. Appeared. Vampires who can work magic?

  She held her breath a beat. Listening and feeling. “Hello?”

  It flashed away.

  The isolation wrapped around her with a warmth that didn’t quite soothe. She flung open the door. The card and flower were gone. Good. Was it? Yes.

  Before drifting she typed out a fast message to Matthias with the new location. A few seconds later her phone buzzed with a new message.

  I don’t have a token for that one. Please be careful. Whoever gave it to you will likely make sure you arrive before inviting me, since I’ve been openly stalking you they will invite me. I will be there as soon as I have the token in hand.

  He would be there. Alice pulled the comforter up to her neck. Not at the very start. Fine. She survived Nathan’s cravings. She faced off with the big mean Reginald. Matthias wasn’t going to be there if she actually made it to the relic stage. Flying solo in a den was good practice.

  Chapter Thirteen

  ALICE TUGGED HER dress over her head and shoved it in the smelly locker she’d been told to use. How did metal absorb stink? The door closed but didn’t latch. She fingered the hole where a lock would have gone. Oh well. Most of the witches there didn’t look like they wanted her dress or cell phone as much as they wanted vampire hairs, nails, blood or whatever else was traded in these places.

  She rubbed vanilla lotion between her breasts, and returned the bottle to her purse before putting it in the locker too. The new habit formed quickly after Nathan complained on a few nights that her neck and wrist tasted like perfume.

  Even with the smell of her lotion, sweat and sex blended in a stench that hung on the thick magic in the chilled air. Vampires were already there. Waiting. Not Matthias.

  “Ready?” The lanky witch who the den master sent her away with, held a look of impatience on her pale face.

  “Sure. Are we going up for bidding now?” Alice glanced in the mirror. Bright red lips, dark smoky eyes. Even through the grime and in the dim lighting, she could see that she looked sufficiently like a tramp. Perfect.

  This den made Nathan’s look like a candidate for some housekeeping award. Everything about it felt dirty, including the witches, and the den master, who only stopped long enough to glance her way and didn’t take a sip. The perfection that the vampire curse seemed to include, couldn’t cover the mannerisms that made him look like a callous killer. A busy killer. One too busy for private office feedings. Thank god. Small miracles. How a monster like that fed was probably something she didn’t want to experience.

  The witch moved beside her and smoothed her hair, while glancing at Alice in the mirror. “Yep, can’t keep the customers waiting. If you get any offers for after work meetings, that’s at your discretion. We don’t guarantee your safety. Any parts you collect here are yours to keep. They pay the doorman, but any extra money they give you needs to be turned in before you leave. You’ll get your take the next night.”

  Sure you will. “Fair enough. Are there private rooms?”

  She grinned at Alice in the mirror. “Yeah. It’s rare someone pays for that on the first night with you. If you do good enough, they’ll usually want that on night two.”

  Alice followed her out of the locker room, down a hall, and to a closed door. “Anything else I need to know?”

  “Don’t try to weasel extra attention from the master. He’s spoken for and she’s a nasty witch.” The witch paused with her hand on the doorknob. “Stand at the end of the row. Wait until the bidding for you is over, then go to the winner. Its open bidding, so you’ll know who it is.”

  “Understood.” Jealous, nasty witches, check. Maybe that was why the den master didn’t take a sip? Alice walked through the door and walked behind the lineup to find her place at the end. In the darkness it was hard to make out faces. Matthias still wasn’t there. Not yet.

  As things carried on, a few more witches came through the door and stood at the end of the line, just past her. The lesson to learn here is that latecomers get the cheapskates. Latecomers and new girls.

  The den master stepped from in front of one witch to another. He paused and then gestured toward the room.

  Hands raised in rapid succession until it came down to two. They continued to raise their fingers back and forth until one gave up.

  After the bids stopped, the den master moved down again.

  The witch left the stage and sauntered over to the winning vampire. She wasted no time, picking up the ball, and sitting on the lap of her buyer.

  When it was Alice’s turn, most of the vampires were already happily feeding from their witches. Alice squinted, trying to make out the two vampires who were engaged in a bidding war over her.

  Shadows concealed them both. It didn’t matter. Neither was Matthias. The test would be to see if she could draw attention to herself without the benefit of being in his lap.

  It ended. The vampire to the right, hiding in the shadows won. It wasn’t the stalker. He wasn’t there. No time to worry about that. Alice stepped out of line and tried to look seductive as she slunk over to her buyer. Be graceful. Don’t trip.

  A few vampires glanced up as she passed.

  The face came into focus the closer she got. It was the vampire from the first night at Nathan’s den, who Matthias out bid. Not a cheapskate. Another stalker? “Well, hello there.” Did that sound sexy or simple?

  His smile revealed more fangs than friendliness. He held out a hand and took her by the wrist, pulling her into his lap. “Work magic. I’ve felt what you are capable of. Hold out and I will hurt you.”

  Not so friendly. They didn’t need to be friends for her to attract attention. She repositioned herself in his lap. “Ready when you are.”

  He twisted her head to the side and ran his thumb along her vein. “Now. Make it hum like you did at the other den.”

  Bossy much? Alice floated the ball and filled it with water. Her fingers sparked with static. If nothing else, this mission taught her that her magic knew what a predatory creature felt like. Nothing wrong with those instincts. She closed her eyes and called up stronger magic.

  The hum between them popped with their clashing energy.

  Fangs pierced her skin, pressing deeper, ripping. No warmth came from his bite. Not a drop of pleasure juice.

  Alice squirmed and focused on the ball as he drank. Asshole. The energy coming from him went past what Matthias showed her when they trained for the awful bite. It wasn’t hate. Disgust. Why feel so much darkness toward someone who was nourishing you? The ball vibrated with tension. Relax. Get the attention of the other moths. Someone in this room could be the one to propel her closer to the relic makers.

  She glanced around. A few sets of black eyes were watching. Not good enough. With a flick of her fingers, the ball drifted toward the ceiling. She twisted her hand and watched it spin. Her brow arched and she blew toward the ball. The liquid inside glowed and changed colors.

  “Keep doing that.” He stopped and held her by the nape of her neck. “Ready for more?”

  She pushed a purr up, hoping it sounded believable. “Yes.”

  “Give me more magic. That’s not going to be sufficient.” He let her neck go and snatched a handful of hair, yanking her head to the other side. The bite was harder. He chewed, letting his fang
s leave and reenter.

  A shiver raced over her. What was he doing? Did it really bother him that much to lose one bid? No. He wants tears. Did she give him tears? Would he let up? The ball dropped into her palm and she raised it again.

  “I’m glad I didn’t pay full price for you.” He tightened his grip in her hair and bit again. After another deep draw, he stopped. “You are hardly tasty enough for the pittance I paid.”

  The anger that raced out from him reached into her presence and scratched at her insecurities. Not good enough. Never good enough. Not good enough for anyone. Not even this monster.

  Stop it. That is his energy. He’s not good enough. Angry little petty monster. I’m more than enough. Her anger sent glowing waves vibrating out from the ball. She pressed peace and light out as hard as she could.

  More eyes focused on her.

  The sting of the bite ripped through her as he trailed bites down her neck, gnashing at her shoulder. “Cry, bitch.”

  Bitch? Did he say witch? She scooted forward. His touch grew repellant, making heat prickle from each place they pressed against each other. Hot warnings like when Decker wanted to eat her and chop her up.

  He wrapped his other arm around her waist and pinned her against him. “I’m going to drink until you can’t move.”

  Shit. “I’m casting as…”

  He let go of her hair and snatched her arm, pulling it back at an odd angle and gnashing into her wrist.

  She winced as a loud pop came from her shoulder. Where was the doorman? Was this allowed?

  He pulled it harder. “Magic. Now, worthless.”

  The ball lifted again. Make this count. She pulsed energy in growing waves. Most of the vampires were watching now. Still feeding, but watching. Give him what he wants. Tears started to fall.

  “That’s my girl. Cry for me.” He reached around and caught her tears on his finger. They mingled with the blood that was already there from his sloppy feeding.

  The sound of him sucking his fingers made her stomach knot.