Blood Catalyst

by A. L. Kessler

  "Where are you off to? Case closed, women caught, justice being served." He crossed his arms.

  "First off, grown woman, remember? I can leave my house when I want."

  "Not when there are assassins after you."

  Okay, he kind of had a point. "I'm going down to PIB. They found the victim of another case I consulted on. He won't speak to anyone but me."

  He nodded. "Okay, thank you for letting me know where you'll be." He did sound honestly grateful.

  "Of course, sorry for snapping at you."

  "Everyone who keeps tabs on you, Abby, does it because we care about you. We know you're a grown woman, but you're a grown woman who attracts trouble."

  That was true as well. "Okay, okay, I'll make sure someone knows where I'm going at all times."

  He smirked. "That's all we ask."

  I rolled my eyes and walked out to the Hummer. I climbed in and started the engine. Something made my stomach heavy as I pulled out of the driveway. That feeling that someone was watching me. I looked in my review mirror, and I expected to see Merick standing at the door watching me, but he wasn't. I tried to shake the feeling as I drove to the office, but it never left.

  When I pulled up to PIB, the scene wasn't what I expected. I'd been expecting the quiet parking lot that I normally came in to, but instead, there were emergency vehicles parked around an area and a strange amount of magic filling the air. Alfie's magic.

  I parked as close as I could get and hopped out. There weren't any reporters here, so either they had left when Alfie was first discovered, or Boss Man cleared them out. Either was okay with me.

  I flashed my badge at the EMT that was standing near the ambulance and found Agent Yorkingson standing at the edge of a magical circle. Interestingly enough, the magic was no longer pure, but it still felt like Alfie.

  Something wasn't right.

  I couldn't see into the circle. "Grayson, how did you know that it's Alfie in there?"

  "Because I can hear in him there, and if we asked him to bring the circle down he yells for you."

  I pressed my lips together. "Alfie? It's Agent Collins."

  "You said that I would be safe and I wasn't. They took me to a horrible place!"

  Guilt hit me hard. "Alfie, I'm sorry. I had no idea that there were bad people involved with the team that took you from the scene." I tried my best to sound sympathetic, but we had an out of control young warlock sitting on PIB property. There was some urgency in my voice that I couldn't mask. "Alfie, I need you to pull down the circle so we can tend to you and so you can tell Agent Yorkingson about what happened."

  The Circle started to crumble as if it was a puzzle and the pieces were tumbling down. I started to relax a bit when I saw Alfie. He was curled up in the middle of his circle, his hands wrapped around his knees. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to do all of this."

  I held my hand out to him to help him up. "Alfie, do what? You're a victim in all of this. Nothing is your fault."

  He gave me a sad smile as he clasped my hand and the world spun and disappeared around me. As the darkness swallowed both Alfie and me, I heard Grayson yelling for me, and I knew that something had gone terribly wrong.

  ∞

  Pain exploded behind my eyes as I tried to open them. My body ached as if I had hit a wall, literally. I felt around with my hands as my eyes struggled to focus. Holy hell my head hurt. My fingers brushed over what felt like cold stone. I pushed up and tried to get my vision to clear, but it wasn't happening. My stomach threatened to spill its contents as I finally made it into a sitting position. A few deep breaths and the feeling passed. I was going to be okay.

  But what about Alfie? Where was he? Did Grayson still supposedly have a tracker on him? I put a hand to my head as it pounded while I tried to answer all the questions. After a few more moments, my eyes cleared and I saw Alfie laying on the ground next to me.

  His eyes blank.

  Blood at the corner of his mouth and dried at his nose. Dead. And I didn't know for how long.

  I stood slowly, trying to think through the situation. There were a couple of things that I knew. I'd been taken from the scene with some sort of magic, which was most likely what caused Alfie's death. I was alive, awake, and nothing was broken. Levi was going to kill Grayson when he found out. And I was wearing a mother fucking dress. Not my PIB outfit.

  Terror filled me. Who changed my clothes?

  "Ah, Abigail, you have woken." Ira's voice sent a whole new panic through me. I looked up and found him standing in the room. His black hair was styled out of his face, and his brown eyes held a bit of insanity as he met my gaze. He still had the scar on the side of his face where I had burned him with fire. "I'm sorry that I left you in here with him." He motioned to Alfie. "But this room is the most secure. Once you've changed, then I will find you a more suitable room."

  I've changed? I was hoping he was talking about clothes, but of course he probably wasn't. "Your witch couldn't kill me, so you had me kidnapped?"

  "My witch wasn't meant to kill you. She was out of control, and that was my fault. I released her sooner than she was ready. I'm not out to kill you, Abigail. Not really." He held his arm out to me. "Walk with me."

  It was a command, but nothing with power, not yet. I looked around the room. It was an empty space with only Alfie's dead body. The only door was behind Ira, and I wasn't going to be able to run in the ruffly dress that hung on me. I had no other choice but to walk with him.

  I nodded, but I didn't touch his arm. I took a step forward to show him that I was willing to follow him. He closed the gap between us and grabbed my hand, placing it on his elbow. "It is rude to refuse a gentleman's escort."

  "And it's rude to touch a lady without permission," I snapped back.

  He chuckled, and it sent shivers down my back. My pulse raced as I realized the danger I was in. I needed to play things right, or nothing good was going to happen. He squeezed my hand, almost as if reminding me of the situation. "You're in my land now, Abigail. My rules. Not yours, not PIB's, not your father's. Mine."

  I didn't respond. I had nothing to say to him as he walked me out of the room and through the hallways that were made of the same smooth stone as the floor. What was with vampires and their castle-like dwellings? I pushed the thought from my head and tried to focus on what mattered. We had no castles like this in Colorado, not that a vampire could hide in without notice. Ira had said we were in his land, which meant that chances were, I wasn't even in my home state. There was nothing around me that I could use to identify where I was though.

  I didn't have my gun, but I still had my magic. I wasn't completely helpless, but until I had an escape route, attacking and fighting wasn't an option.

  We walked into another room. This one had a fireplace that was stone cold, nothing there for me to use easily, but I didn't need an existing fire anymore. Maybe Ira didn't know that. He'd only seen me use the ability once when I was still half-drugged and fairly new at controlling it.

  In the middle of the room sat a jewel-adorned throne. The stones caught the light in the room and shone a glossy black. Handcuffs were on the arms of the chain. I had a feeling they were magically enhanced. Off to the side stood Oliver. His hair was nicely slicked out of his face, his shirt was untucked which was unusual for him, and covered the waistband of his black slacks.

  He met my gaze when I looked at him, but then his eyes darted to Ira. I was in so much trouble. I was no match for my uncle magically.

  "Oliver, if you would guide our niece to her new throne." Ira kissed my cheek. "Soon you will become the princess of vampires in the truest sense."

  The words sent cold through me. Holy fuck.

  I didn't have time to process. I reacted. I pulled away from Ira, slamming him instantly with my magic. It shoved him a few feet away from me, but it wasn't en
ough. He appeared in front of me, grabbing my throat. "Listen to me Abby, if you fight me, it will be more painful than you can imagine."

  I wasn't going down without a fight. I pulled my knee up, hitting him between the legs. He didn't let go of me, but the grip around my neck loosened. He threw me toward Oliver.

  I moved too fast to recover, and I hit the floor with my shoulder. The shock sending a strange wave of numbness through my body. I shook it off and jumped to my feet, batting at the dress to stay out of my way. I needed to buy time. I couldn't face him head on, and I needed a plan. I held my hand behind my back and conjured up a small flame. I glanced behind me at Oliver, and he gave a subtle shake of his head. He wouldn't betray me. Even if it seemed like it, he wasn't working for Ira completely. I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out, but I was hoping that he had my back. Together we could possibly take on Ira.

  Of course, if Ira had any hint of Oliver betraying him, he'd probably kill him instantly.

  I let the flame disappear and summoned my magical whip. The manifested weapon appeared in a snake of red and purple magic from my hand and curling behind my feet. I focused on Ira as he slowly stalked toward me.

  "I will make you suffer before your change, Abigail, and then when you wake to your true form, you will have to beg me to teach you control. You will be mine, my fledgling, mine to teach, mold, and Levi will suffer knowing that he couldn't save his daughter. His precious reminder of Elizabeth." Ira sneered at me. "Oliver," he snapped.

  At first, I thought he meant Oliver was Levi's reminder of Elizabeth, but then Oliver's arm wrapped around my body, and his other hand ripped my pentagram off. A shock ran through my body as Oliver forced my magic back into me, temporarily binding it. I gasped for breath, trying to reach for the magic, but finding nothing but pain.

  Oliver let go of me, and I fell to my knees. He'd done this to me once before, and Merick had fixed it. I couldn't fix it because I didn't have my magic. Real fear flooded through me, almost paralyzing me. I was going to become a vampire, and there was nothing I was going to be able to do about it.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Oliver helped me to my feet, but I slammed my elbow into his chest, forcing him to let go of me. I gathered the dress and shot toward the door, my bare feet pounding against the stone as I tried my hardest to get out of the room. Fuck having a plan. I wasn't going to let Ira drain me and turn me into a vampire. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to reach the exit.

  Ira wrapped an arm around my stomach and started pulling me back toward the throne. No, no, no. He would win if I was cuffed to that chair. He'd win. I'd be a vampire. And I'd lose everything I'd worked for in my life. I kicked and scream, scratched and punched, while Ira carried me to the throne, laughing.

  I'd become too dependent on my magic and my weapons, and now I was helpless.

  Ira slammed me down in the throne, and I cried out at the pain as my back hit the hard surface. I glared up at him as he slapped the cuffs around my wrists. I couldn't feel them cut my magic off because Oliver had already done that.

  Ira ran his hand over my head and pushed my hair out of my face and away from my neck. I started shaking as I glanced at Oliver. "Don't let him do this to me, please."

  Oliver said nothing, he didn't look away, and his expression never changed.

  "Oliver," I begged as Ira ran his fingers over my neck, stopping at my pulse. "Please."

  He turned away from me as Ira touched his lips to my neck. I jerked around trying to throw him away, but Ira wrapped his fingers in my hair, holding my head to the side.

  I cried out as his fangs broke the skin and he started to gently suckle at the blood. I could feel his power slipping into me, and I started to relax. I tried to push it off and fight it, but my mind refused to, and without my magic, I was helpless.

  But that feeling was soon replaced by pain. Fire filled my veins as Ira continued to drink. I cried out and tried to fight against him more. I remembered this from the last time he managed to feed on me when I was trapped by Hannah's magic. I tried to call on my magic, but it only forced more pain through me.

  I was panting and sweating by the time Ira pulled back. He licked a drop of my blood off his lip.

  "Delicious." He tilted my chin up so I could meet his gaze fully. "I can't drain you in one sitting, your blood is intoxicating, but don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow night."

  Oh, thank god. I had time.

  "Oliver, she's not to rest. Do whatever you must to keep her awake during the day. If I find that you help her escape during the day, I will slaughter your daughter and anyone else you love, before I kill you."

  Oliver nodded. "Understood."

  Well fuck me, there went sleeping off the blood loss. I took a deep breath trying to shake off the nauseous feeling and the world spinning even though I was sitting.

  "I hate to do this to my own niece, but really there's no other way to hurt Levi than to turn you as my fledgling." Ira cupped my cheek. "A parting gift."

  I felt his power overtake me, and my mind flashed back to the feeding that had just happened. I cried out as I felt him against me again, and the pain flooded through me.

  I came back to panting. "Fuck you, both of you." I couldn't keep the hate out of my voice. Ira had control over me, and for a second time, someone I trusted had betrayed me.

  I looked at Oliver, and I saw something flash in his eyes. Regret? Sorrow? I looked away from him.

  Ira chuckled as he left the room. Minutes ticked by as I tried to think of something. I tested the cuffs with my wrists. They were latched. I tried to scoot the throne. Nope, too heavy and probably would fit through the door.

  Oliver stepped toward me. "Abigail."

  "Unless you have something fucking useful to say, shut up," I snapped at him.

  He knelt in front of me and took my face in both his hands. "Look at me, niece."

  I met his gaze. "He's going to turn me."

  He nodded, and I wanted to stab him for it. "There are security cameras, so listen closely. They have no sound, so listen to me and hold on to your anger."

  I didn't move. I didn't say anything. I wasn't sure what he was getting at, but now was no time to start screaming or yelling at him. Or was it, he told me to hold on to my anger.

  "I have your gun." He jerked my arm as if he was making a harsher point, "The cuffs aren't enchanted. Ira wouldn't know the difference and Hannah isn't here."

  I jerked my face away from his hand. "And why not?"

  "Because what better way to make you suffer by including your uncle in your forced change?"

  I jerked my arms, but the cuffs didn't move. "Even if they aren't charmed, you bound my magic, and I'm not fucking Houdini."

  "The spell will wear off by dusk. In time for him to get here." He put his hand against the bite mark, and I hissed. I didn't have to pretend it hurt because it sent a shock of pain through me. "Before he gets a chance to use this against you, I hope. As for the cuffs, did Merick teach you our nifty trick?"

  I nodded but instantly regretted it as it caused Oliver to put more pressure on the bite. I cringed. "I can only go two feet."

  "Two feet could be the difference between life and death, Abigail."

  He had a point. "My gun?" I whispered. "I can't take him with magic alone."

  "I'll make sure it's within your reach once you've escaped. He's going to know I had something to do with this. Do not react if attacks me. I will be fine."

  "I don't know where I am. I need you to stay alive so you can take me home." I hung my head, still feeling defeated.

  He grabbed my jaw and forced me to look at him. "And I need you to make sure you kill him, and as PIB, with your gun, not your magic. He cannot be allowed to live. Many lives are depending on it."

  "PIB needs to be alerted." I could feel the blood loss dragging me down.

  Oliver shook
my face. "Abigail. They will be, but you will not be here when that happens. Only a select few will know of your involvement. I will not risk Samuel coming after you."

  I gave a snort. "Oh, he's already tried." My eyes grew heavy. "Just let me rest a little bit."

  "As much as I can," he promised. "I didn't want it to come to this Abigail. That is, I never wanted you this close to Ira, but it's the only way."

  I nodded. "It was always going to come to this because Levi won't kill him." I cringed at the truth in my words.

  "I know." Oliver leaned his head against mine. "Promise me, Ira dies no matter what."

  "No matter what," I muttered and closed my eyes.

  ∞

  Cold water fell over me, causing me to gasp as it pulled me out of the uneasy sleep I'd gotten. I looked up to see Oliver standing there in front of me, a smirk on his face. "Time to wake up."

  "I fucking hate you."

  He laughed a little bit and knelt in front of me again, so we were face to face. "I let you sleep longer than I should have. He'll be here any moment."

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, my magic was there, he hadn't lied about that. "My gun?"

  The door flew open, and my heart skipped a few beats as Oliver stepped away from me, his face in an emotionless mask. His facade was back in place, and I had a feeling I was going to experience some more pain before I'd have a chance to escape.

  "Oh, Abigail," Ira said in a fake sweet voice. "My darling niece." He stalked up to me and grabbed my throat. "Why can't I get into Elizabeth's house?"

  That wasn't the question that I was expecting. I couldn't speak around the grip on my throat, and I couldn't help the little whimpers that did escape. Air would have been nice.

  He seemed to realize what was keeping me from speaking and unwrapped his hand.

  I coughed a couple times. "It's my house asshole."