Crimson Storm

by Amy Patrick

  Looking more alert, Shane pushed up to his elbows. “We’re in the vampire place? It looks like a hospital room... without windows.”

  “It’s a medical clinic. They treated you last night,” I explained. “They’re going to make sure you heal properly and keep you safe until I get back.”

  His brows pulled together. “Where are you going?”

  “I have to leave for a while. I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

  Now Shane sat up fully, placing a hand on his abdomen and patting it in apparent amazement. “It doesn’t hurt at all.”

  He pulled up his t-shirt, exposing his mid-section. “I’m completely healed. It looks like I wasn’t even shot. How is this possible?”

  “They injected you with vampire blood. It heals people—that’s a secret by the way.”

  In fact, it had been so secret, even I hadn’t known about it until Dr. Coppa told me. Kannon, the big liar, had told me just the opposite in the van so I wouldn’t further weaken myself by giving Shane my own blood. Besides, it had to be injected to work for humans—drinking it wasn’t helpful to them.

  “Don’t tell anyone, okay?” I said. “We’ll be even more endangered than we already are.”

  Shane reached out and took my hand. “I’d never do anything to endanger you. You know that.”

  Behind him, Reece made an irritated snorting sound.

  I withdrew my hand from Shane’s. “I know. And I’ll make sure you stay safe, too. That’s why I have to leave. I have to go and talk to Sadie.”

  Swinging his legs around, Shane slid from the bed and stood.

  “Great. I’ll go with you. When do we leave?”

  34

  No Kool-Aid for Me

  “You can’t.”

  Placing a hand on Shane’s chest, I urged him to sit back on the bed. “And you shouldn’t get up yet. Wait for Dr. Coppa to clear you. You can trust him, by the way. He won’t hurt you. He’ll keep an eye on you until I return.”

  I could see in Shane’s eyes the realization was hitting him. He craned his neck around and saw Reece, no doubt mistaking him for a security guard.

  “They won’t let me go with you, will they? Am I...” His question turned into a statement. “I’m a prisoner.”

  I nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want this to happen. I guess I didn’t think it through very well when I brought you here, but you were dying and there wasn’t much time. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “You could have turned me,” he said.

  I was shaking my head no, but he went on, grabbing both my hands now. “You still could. Then I could come with you. I could help you if you turn me.”

  “No.”

  “Why not? Think about it. It would be safer for me. I’d be like you—and my parents. And they’d have no reason to keep me prisoner here. I’d be free.”

  This time I didn’t drop his hands but squeezed them. “Shane... if I turn you... you’ll never be free. You don’t know what it’s like. You would regret your decision.”

  “Not if I got to stay with you,” he argued. “And it would solve that whole I-can’t-date-a-human-guy problem.”

  Another disgusted snort came from Reece’s side of the room.

  Shane twisted to look back at him. “You wanna mind your own business buddy? I realize you hate humans, but this has nothing to do with you. Just do your job.”

  Reece was in Shane’s face in an instant. He glared down at the shorter guy. “My job—is keeping the princess safe. I won’t let anything get in the way of that—certainly not her pity for a weak human.”

  “Princess?” Shane gave me a quizzical look.

  I cringed. “My mother is the ruler here, she’s sort of... a queen.”

  He blinked. “Oh. Wow. Well, I guess that explains your reaction when I kissed you the first time.”

  Now Reece didn’t snort in disgust but growled a low rumble that vibrated through me and must have raised every hair on Shane’s body.

  What was up with him? No, Shane shouldn’t have told him to shut up. That would’ve angered any red-blooded man, human or otherwise. But Reece was being extra-aggressive toward my friend.

  I put my hand on his arm. “Please. Could you give me a minute to say goodbye? Then we can go.”

  He maintained his stare-off with Shane for another long moment then whirled away, going to stand by the door with his hand gripping the handle so hard I worried it would break off and trap us all in this room together.

  That wouldn’t end well.

  Shane watched him walk away. “You’re traveling with him? I don’t like it.”

  I smirked. “Join the club. He’s leading the mission, and I’m going along to assist. Believe me, you don’t want to go on this trip, and you don’t want to turn. You shouldn’t get any more involved with this world than you already are. I promised to let you return to your life, and I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep that promise.”

  Shane reached out and cupped my face in his hands. “You’re part of my life now. A big part. I don’t want to lose you.”

  And then he pulled me toward him and placed a soft kiss on my lips. I gasped and drew back, staring at him in shock.

  “Why did you do that?”

  He lifted a sardonic brow. “You really have to ask?”

  “You said you were content with being just friends.”

  “‘Content’ is a strong word for it,” he said. “‘Resigned’ is more like it. Go do what you have to do. And when you come back, Abigail, I think we should give it a shot.”

  From the doorway, Reece barked, “Time’s up. We need to go.”

  I looked from his angry violet eyes to Shane’s sincere brown ones. “Goodbye—for now. I will come back and free you.”

  “I’d rather you came back and kept me.” He smiled. “Be safe. I’ll be waiting.”

  After walking in silence for several minutes through the caverns, Reece finally spoke. His tone was dark. And accusatory.

  “So you are interested in him.”

  I wasn’t. But I was interested in Reece’s reaction to Shane kissing me. He was not acting like someone who didn’t care.

  “What does it matter to you?” I challenged. “You knew when you joined the Bloodbound, I’d find someone else eventually. Or did you think I’d stay alone forever, pining away for you?”

  If he had assumed that, he would have been right, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.

  He shot me a sullen look. “No. But that guy? Really? A human?”

  “I work for the Vampire-Human Coalition,” I said as if that explained everything. “We’re all about vampires and humans getting along.”

  With another harumphing noise, he turned away. “There is no Vampire-Human Coalition anymore.”

  Noticing our surroundings, I realized we were heading for the throne room again. “I thought you were in a hurry to leave.”

  “I am. But Imogen wants to speak with you first.”

  “What about?” Panic raised the timbre of my voice and made my knees nearly too stiff to walk. I’d thought I was done with Imogen—at least for a while.

  “I’m not sure. In spite of your accusation that we’re ‘close,’ she rarely explains herself to me,” Reece drawled.

  No, she’s too busy jumping your bones.

  The thought of the two of them together filled my soul with bitterness. I couldn’t keep it from spilling over into my voice.

  “So how many Bloodbound is your queen sending along to protect her ‘favorite soldier?’”

  He shot me a look of bitter annoyance. “None.”

  Suddenly there seemed to be no air in the cavern. The pulse point in the side of my neck started tapping.

  “It’s just the two of us?” I wheezed.

  “Yep. A happy little couple on a cross-country vacation.”

  His tone oozed sarcasm. We weren’t a couple anymore, and we were far from happy.

  But I was struck by the fact that destiny had brought us together again
. At the beginning of this week, I had been on the opposite side of the country with no thought of ever coming back to this place—or to him. And now here we were together, preparing to embark on a journey together.

  Just the two of us.

  Oh, this is not good.

  “I thought you said Imogen considered this mission a top priority.”

  “She does,” Reece said. “And that’s why we have to avoid attracting too much human attention. Traveling with a group of Bloodbound wouldn’t exactly be subtle.”

  “Oh.” That much was true. All the vampire soldiers were like Reece—jacked and extremely tall.

  If the females here couldn’t stop staring, then human women would gawk non-stop. And human men would notice that if nothing else.

  “Reece... I’ve been wondering... why are you all so... well, you know?”

  He looked over at me and actually grinned a little. “No. So... what?”

  “You know what I’m asking. Why are you all so big? Why do you look so... good?”

  The grin widened. “I told you, we have a special diet.”

  “Right. You said your blood bags come from a special supply. What’s so special about it?”

  “It’s mixed with Imogen’s blood. Which reminds me.” He pulled a small vial from his pocket, handing it to me. “Drink up.”

  Holding it up to the light, I studied it. The vial was filled with blood.

  “Wait... is this Imogen’s? I don’t want it. This is what keeps all of you loyal to her no matter what. No Kool-Aid for me, thank you.”

  I tried to give it back to him, but he refused to take it. “Queen’s orders. She’ll know if you haven’t taken it.”

  “Oh. That’s why she wants to see me. She should know she doesn’t have to force me to go along with the plan. She’s holding Shane hostage. I’m not going to let any harm come to him.”

  “Of course you wouldn’t. He’s too ‘important,’” Reece said, mocking the word I’d used earlier when speaking with the doctor. “But I don’t think that’s it. It probably has more to do with your appearance.”

  “My appearance?”

  I looked down at myself, at the inconspicuous dark jeans and boots and the black leather jacket I wore. “What’s wrong with how I look?”

  “Nothing. You look... fine. It’s just we’re not going to get very far if you’re recognized as a fugitive.”

  “So, I’ll wear a disguise. That’s what I did to get out of San Francisco.”

  “You won’t need a disguise if you’ll just do as you’re told and drink that.”

  Inspecting the vial again, I asked, “Imogen’s blood will change my appearance?”

  “Not completely. But enough to fool the humans.”

  Seeing my reluctance, he added, “Look, it’s your choice, but if you don’t drink it, you can’t come with me. And if you don’t come with me and at least try to help me get through to Sadie, Imogen will have no reason to keep your little human sweetie-pie alive. Old Shane’s gonna find himself the main course at dinner tonight because you’re squeamish about drinking a little royal blood.”

  “Fine.” I yanked the cap from the vial and downed its contents. “How long does the magic pretty-potion take?”

  “You’re already—” Reece stopped himself and started again. “It’ll take a few hours to alter your appearance significantly. And another dose or two to enable you to mesmerize humans.”

  35

  A Lovely Trip

  “What did you say?”

  I wasn’t sure which of his statements was more shocking—the one where he’d (almost) complimented me or the one where he’d hinted at vampires having supernatural mind control powers.

  “Mesmerize. Humans,” he said, choosing to address only the latter of the two.

  “We can’t do that.”

  “Some of us can. The Bloodbound can. Imogen calls it ‘the pull.’ I call it useful. Especially now that cars are checked at every state border. And we’ll be crossing quite a few of them in the next few days.”

  “Are we going back to California? Do you know where Sadie is?”

  “I don’t know exactly. But Imogen has a sense of where to find her. She’s not in California. She’s in Canada. Makes sense—they’re much more vampire-friendly there these days than the U.S. is.”

  Reaching the throne room doors, Reece stopped, clearly intending to wait outside.

  “She wants to see you alone. She specifically said she didn’t want me there.”

  “Oh.”

  Had Imogen changed her mind about me and decided to go ahead and end my annoying, disappointing existence? Maybe she worried Reece would try to intervene and prevent the execution.

  The fear in my eyes must have been obvious because his tone softened considerably. “It’ll be okay. I’ll be right here waiting.”

  I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before nodding and going inside. The throne room was deserted except for Imogen. If there was to be an execution, she intended to do it herself.

  As I got close, she smiled that beautiful, cold smile of hers. “How is your friend, Shane, doing tonight? Much improved, I hope?”

  “Yes. He’s better,” I answered through lips stiff with dread.

  “That’s good news. It would be a shame for an innocent human to lose his life over you.”

  I decided to just be blunt with her. “Look, you don’t need the thinly veiled threats or even direct ones. I know you’ll kill Shane if I don’t cooperate.”

  “Oh, that’s a given. What I want you to understand is, he’s not the only one who’ll pay the price if you fail. I’ll dispose of everyone you care about—including the one you care for most.”

  The breath evaporated from my lungs. “Reece. You wouldn’t.”

  “Don’t doubt it for a moment.”

  “But... he’s your child. You said you hadn’t created a child in over a hundred years before turning the two of us.”

  “That’s true,” Imogen said, drawing out the last word.

  She lifted a hand and tapped her lips with one slender, manicured fingertip. “Have I ever told you what happened to the children I created in the past? No? It’s not exactly bedtime story material, I’m afraid. Might cause nightmares. Let it suffice to say you don’t want to disappoint me.”

  “I’ll speak to Sadie,” I vowed. “And I’ll make sure she gives Reece an audience and considers your offer. All I can do is my best, and I promise you I will.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. There’s one more thing before you go...”

  She rose and came to stand directly in front of me. “Do not forget the promise Reece has made—to me. He’s made an eternal commitment to serve me... and me only. He’s useless to me if he’s not loyal. In every way.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m not blind. He has a certain... weakness for you.”

  I blinked hard, biting the inside of my cheek to suppress a warm, sweet rush of foolish joy. Her words shouldn’t make me feel that way, and I really shouldn’t let her see the inappropriate involuntary reaction.

  “You’re wrong. He hasn’t shown the least bit of interest in me since I’ve been back.”

  “Be that as it may, I’m advising you—strongly—not to tempt him to violate any of the Bloodbound rules.”

  Imogen gave me a coy smile and raised one perfectly arched brow. “If any vows are broken, Reece is the one who’ll pay the price—with his life. And I’ll make sure you live forever so you can fully appreciate his loss.”

  Then she turned and walked slowly back to her throne where she sat primly with her hands in her lap.

  “You are dismissed. Have a lovely trip.”

  Epilogue

  When I emerged from the throne room, Reece was there waiting as promised.

  And he was smiling.

  Not a fake one this time—the real thing.

  It made him even more devastatingly handsome than ever, but it also worried me a little. What on earth was there
to be so happy about? We were embarking on a do-or-die mission, and our relationship wasn’t exactly a smooth one.

  “Did someone just tell you a great joke or something?” I asked as we fell into step together, headed for the cavern’s exit.

  Still smiling, he shook his head. “No. I just saw Kannon. We had a good talk.”

  “About?”

  “Nothing much. Guy stuff.”

  “But it made you happy?”

  The grin widened even further. “Yes. It. Did.”

  “Ooookay then.”

  Clearly Reece wasn’t going to tell me about their conversation. At least he was pleasant for a change instead of being the surly ogre he’d been since my return to the Bastion.

  Glancing over at me, he said, “Look, I figured some things out when we were talking, okay? Come on, Abbi. I’d think you’d be happy to bid farewell to the cranky SOB you found when you got here.”

  Not only was he still smiling, but he sounded like the old Reece—my Reece—the guy I’d met that night under the Crimson Moon. The guy he’d been before taking the Bloodbound vows.

  “I am glad,” I said cautiously. “I mean, it would have been a long drive to Canada otherwise.”

  “Exactly. As long as we’re traveling together, we might as well have a good time, right?”

  I hesitated, but finally said, “Right.”

  In spite of our agreement, my senses were on high alert. Maybe I was just nervous. Convincing Sadie to align with Imogen and agree to joint leadership of the vampire people promised to be challenging.

  Traveling with Reece—alone—possibly for weeks—without giving into my attraction to him would be even more difficult.

  Maybe impossible.

  Especially if he was going to be charming like this.

  But I couldn’t fail either mission. Lives, including Shane’s and Reece’s, hung in the balance.

  My mother—my real one—used to say, “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.”