Jail time it was. It was probably way past due anyway. I was certain I deserved it.
I let them cuff me and place me in the back of a squad car. Their fear lessened as soon as they realized I would cooperate, but that didn’t stop them from keeping their distance. Officer Winstead only touched me long enough to slap the cuffs on and guide my head down without hitting it on the roof of the car.
I tried easing the tension. “Don’t worry. I won’t bite.”
Eight hands went to their respective holsters. The smell of fear became so potent I got a little thirsty. Guess that had the opposite effect.
Oops.
The corners of my mouth lifted slightly. Too easy.
†
The trip to the police station was quick. I was thrown into a holding cell and currently awaited my sentence. Sorry, my discussion with the Chief. It may have been a holding cell for the average underage drunk, but it was definitely no match for a vampire. However, I was behaving since it seemed to reduce the number of twitchy trigger fingers. I definitely didn’t need any sudden fear-induced cravings sneaking up on me if I was going to be here for a while.
But the longer I waited, the more restless I became. I had a bad case of the jitters, and the whole place reeked of vomit and urine. My nose definitely wanted to bust through these bars and find some bleach to burn the rancid stench clean out of it.
It was pretty foul, but I preoccupied myself by visualizing all the attack methods I’ve used in the past. They served me well, but I was itching to get back out and put my newly acquired super strength to good use. My palms pressed into the cold metal as my fingers wrapped around the bars.
As soon as I squeezed them, I heard shuffling at the end of the hall, and two male voices drifted toward me. I sighed. My great escape would have to wait.
I could also hear two other sets of feet against the tile. When the first two men came into view, my hands dropped to my sides, leaving finger-shaped indentions in the bars. A man sporting light denim eyes and blond hair streaked with grey stopped in front of my cell. He wore a black suit and a hard expression. When he spoke, his voice filled with barely contained resentment and what sounded like disappointment.
“Miss Masters. I’m sorry it’s come to this. I can’t say that I’m happy to see you here. But to be honest, I’ve thought about nothing else since…” His voice trailed off and broke on his last word. Overwhelming sadness replaced the hardness in his tone. “Since everything that happened.”
“Chief Beckett.” I whispered, unable to trust my voice. The name popped into my head out of nowhere, but I responded to the sadness in his words with my own grief that resounded like a gong being struck. I found myself reaching for my invisible watch again. Maybe it was a nervous tick.
“Chief,” the guard behind him said. “Her eyes. They’re getting lighter,” he warned.
“Don’t worry about it, Eddie. Why don’t you boys wait for me at the end of the hall?” Eddie and the other two hesitated a moment but reluctantly complied. I heard their pounding heartbeats and felt their heightened fear. My hunger stirred and I fought the urge to attack.
“Miss Masters,” Chief Beckett drew my attention back to him. “I understand you may have had the best of intentions. I put my faith in you. I thought you would be the solution to this town’s increasing body count. I thought you could keep my…” his voice broke again, but he continued. “I thought you could keep my daughter safe. I thought she was protected around you.” He bowed his head and covered his eyes with his hand, but not before I witnessed the tears that filled them.
Images of a dark haired girl flooded my mind. She was dying in my arms, and now it was my eyes stinging with unshed tears. The remorse was too much to deal with, and the lid on those memories slammed shut again.
“Chief!” Eddie’s voice rang down the hall. “The mayor’s on the phone. He asked to speak with you.”
“Tell him I’m in the middle of something.”
“He says it’s urgent, sir.”
“I’ll be right there.” He turned back to me, but I couldn’t pay attention any longer. He seemed to notice a change in me but didn’t push it. “I’ll be back when I can.” At that, he left me alone in my cold cell.
I couldn’t process what was happening inside of me, and I grew tired. I couldn’t hold on to reality anymore and my fragile psyche was begging for a break. In a daze, I shuffled toward the metal bench along the wall. As soon as my back hit the flat surface, unconsciousness swarmed me.
Even in my sleep, I was far from rest. Dreams of the dark haired girl haunted me. Images of us together laughing and talking became more and more vivid. Her grey eyes shone bright in the afternoon sunlight as we ate lunch together outside a familiar café.
I couldn’t escape the burden of loss and grief. It was a giant tidal wave threatening to come crashing down on me, sweeping me away into nothingness.
Before I slipped further into the dark corners of my mind where nothing pure or good thrived, the memories sprang free of their cage and roughly thrust me back into reality. I could no longer hide from all the pain and anguish I held in my heart. I was no longer being crushed by the tidal wave. I was the tidal wave. Everything came flooding out as I woke.
Pain. Torment. Grief. Loss. Worry. Guilt. Sadness. They were expelled in one word.
“HOLLY!”
It was like a curtain had been lifted, exposing scene after horrific scene. I stumbled out of the bed in an effort to flee, or to kill. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but the only light in this entire space was artificial, compared to earlier when there was a trace amount of sunlight filtering in from an unseen window.
There was movement out of the corner of my eye. Chief Beckett stood as sentry outside my cell. He looked truly frightened, and he was frozen in place like one wrong move would incite me. He was right to assume the worst in this case. I wanted to tear him apart.
He spoke soothingly. “I’m sorry how things turned out, Lucille. I understand Holly meant something to you. But I can’t look past everything that has happened. It seems to all revolve around you. Vampire activity in this town has seen a dramatic increase in the past few years. I think it would be best if you left St. Louis and never came back.”
My vision blurred as the tears welled, but they didn’t fall. “I’m so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. Holly was my only friend. My only family.”
My hunger churned, and it was getting harder to keep it at bay. I turned back to Chief Beckett and shut out everything else. I had one goal now. Get out of here without hurting anyone.
When I met his gaze, his expression, too, had hardened into stone. “I know you cared for her, but I don’t think I can ever forgive you.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and became distant. When he returned my gaze, he continued. “I think it’s best if you wait out the night here and leave first thing tomorrow morning.”
Whoa. Back up.
That definitely would not work for me, considering the amount of damage I could do in one night brandishing this much hunger. My irritation spiked, but I steeled myself as I stepped up to the bars, inches from his face. I held my fangs in check. He didn’t back away.
“You’re right. What happened to Holly was my fault and completely unforgivable. I’ll have to live with that guilt forever. But right now, I really have to get out of here. It’s not safe for anyone.”
Anger flashed through his eyes. “It’s not safe with you out there!” he shouted. “I won’t let you be responsible for any more deaths.”
I stepped an inch closer, my face pressed against the cold metal. “You do what you need to do, and I’ll do what I need to do.”
He had the good sense to look scared before I snaked my hand out and grabbed ahold of his tie. I slammed his head into the bars, leashing my strength as much as possible.
Pressure points. I made a mental note to learn them soon.
He slumped to the floor, and the sound of footsteps ricocheted off the wa
lls. Shouting soon followed.
I gripped the bars once more. It took zero effort to spread them human-width apart. When I stepped into the wide hallway, there were about ten guns and twice as many petrified eyes pointed at me.
“Stop right there! Put your hands above your head!” the first watchman yelled, each word sounding more unsteady than the last.
“Sure. Now say please.”
Just before I made my grand escape, a hand clamped over my calf. I looked down into those blue-grey eyes and bent low so he could hear me clearly.
“I plan to be responsible for many more deaths, Chief. Every vampire that played a role in Holly’s death will meet the end of my stake.” I straightened. “And you will never have to see me again. I promise.”
I turned back to the firing squad and stalked forward as one yelled, “Get back!”
“You really don’t want to go there,” I warned. Slowly, they eased back against the wall forming a hole for me. “Smart move, boys.”
I walked out into the main booking area and overheard several gasps as people quieted and gave me wide berth. Did everyone know about vampires or was I just that scary looking?
I walked out into the night and registered the change in temperature. The disturbing part about it was that it didn’t bother me. It wasn’t uncomfortable, even in my threadbare thermal, which I didn’t realize I owned. At least, not in this color.
I watched my warm breath mingle with the frigid air forming cloudlike wisps. It was strange how much I felt like my old self, but there were things I wanted to test.
The first was going to be speed, and I was really going to enjoy it. I sprang forward in the same way I used to go into my warp speed runs. Pushing off the pavement, I shot across the street and watched cars coming in slow motion. I was in awe of how quickly my new senses could react. I reached speeds I never dreamed of before. My sight was much sharper and sounds cut through the roar of the wind much louder than they ever could. And, oh God, the adrenaline. It was better than I imagined. I think I circled the city eight times before visiting my sanctuary. It was time to say goodbye to all my angels who have brought me so much peace over the years.
The nostalgia didn’t last long, and when I left the cemetery, I ran until I found myself standing, once again, in front of that big obtrusive structure that called to me earlier today. I knew there was something else I couldn’t remember. I was almost afraid of what it was that my mind refused to show me. It must have been something capable of breaking me in half.
I couldn’t stand there all night, so I decided to do what I did best. Time to go to work. Maybe that would jog those memories free. I headed to the Landing to check out the bar scene there.
I made it about half way when someone called to me from the roof of some fancy restaurant, of which I’ve never seen the inside. It was a three-story building, and I decided to test my other abilities.
Crouching low, I spotted my landing and pushed off with every ounce of my strength. A giggle escaped my lips when I landed well over the ledge, toward the middle of the roof. Yeah, I freaking giggled. That was one of the coolest feelings in the world. Too bad this power came with relentless hunger and murderous rage. Well, the rage thing may have always been there, but the monstrous hunger wasn’t helping that whole self-loathing issue I’ve had for forever.
“Hey, Lucy!” I heard a female voice whisper-yell from the shadows. She came into view when she stepped forward, and all I saw was the platinum blond hair.
I tried piecing together the night of my transition, but it was fuzzy. I knew I was a hybrid and hated vampires. I hunted them and saved humans, or at least tried to. The harder I tried to remember, the worse the hunger became. The heartbeats nearby were growing to a deafening crescendo.
The girl moved forward cautiously. “I know it’s a little weird at first, but the memories come back slowly, over days or weeks. I still don’t remember everything from my human life. Have you remembered anything yet?”
I didn’t say anything. She was a vampire after all, and I knew there was no way I had any vampire friends in my old life. But here she was, acting like my BFF. Nope, didn’t trust her one bit.
“Here, this could help clear the confusion,” she added, tossing me a bag of sweet deliciousness. No time had passed between catching it and having it ripped open and drained.
“My name’s Emily by the way. I hope you don’t mind, but your shirt was a mess when I found you. I had to put a new one on you.”
I wasn’t paying much attention to her words, only what she held in her hand. She handed me another bag and a flash of silver on her wrist peeked out from under the sleeve of her jacket. Once the hunger subsided I really looked at her. More visions broke through the fog.
“I remember you. You pulled me out of the alley. I was dying, or changing, or whatever. I blacked out.”
“Yeah, you were out a little longer than expected. Most vamps take a day or two.”
“How long was I out?” I asked hesitantly.
“Four days. Well, almost five, I guess.”
“What the hell? What have I missed?”
She studied me a moment. “It’s pretty disorienting, isn’t it?” Her voice was nice but lacked much concern.
“It’s starting to clear up.”
“What else do you remember about me?”
I assessed her briefly and the images smashed into me so hard I stumbled back a step. An image of a light-skinned black man with hazel, almond-shaped eyes took root. But he wasn’t exactly a man. He was the vampire responsible for so many deaths, including Holly’s. He claimed their deaths were on me because of all the trouble I caused him and the whole vampire drug ring he was running.
He used it as a way to get older vampires high enough in order for him to drink their blood. It was a way to gain their strength and power but had to be done in a gradual manner, from weaker vampires to stronger ones. If he had tried feeding from a vampire much stronger than him, he would have been burned to death from the inside out by their evil.
I had no problem with him killing his own kind, but once he started killing humans he sealed his fate. I had made many reckless decisions and carried the guilt of those deaths for so long, but it was time to make someone else accountable. He was going to burn. I would make sure of it.
“Shane,” I growled. I grabbed the blond by the throat, her feet swinging wildly.
“Wait!” she choked. “I’m…Not…With…Him…Anymore.” I loosened my grip and she coughed. “I want to help you.”
“And why would you do that?” I asked skeptically, remembering that she was Shane’s girlfriend, the one he turned into a vampire. I had no doubt that he dumped her, but her motives were still unclear. I also remembered her sneaking around and spying on me at one point, probably for Shane.
“Because he’s a power hungry bastard who left me alone to figure all this vampire shit out myself. Son of a bitch even tried killing me before leaving for good. I’ve been keeping an eye on him though.”
“So what do you need me for?”
“Because you might be the only one who can stop him now.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Because you’re one of those powerful kind of vampires. You left before sunset. I came downstairs to check on you and you were gone. You can walk in the sun, can’t you?”
I didn’t respond. I knew I could, obviously. But I now also understood why I could. I was a vampire of the Light, which was different in some way to the Dark ones. I guess I never figured all that out.
“So why should I help you?”
“Because you want Shane dead even more than I do.” I looked away considering that. I didn’t doubt it for a second, but I wasn’t about to trust her intentions. “And because he has your boyfriend.”
My head snapped in her direction, fully attentive. “What?” I asked, confused.
“You don’t remember him yet, do you? What’s his name?” She closed her eyes and snapped her fingers to jog h
er memory. “Oh! West. Yeah, I think that was it.”
The name didn’t ring any bells, but something stirred in me, deep in my chest, and my heart clenched painfully. I knew I was going to do this, if not for him, then for Holly. Shane had to die.
“Where is he?”
She smiled a wicked smile. “First, you’ll need more of this,” she said, tossing me a couple more goody bags.
2
We walked the whole three miles at an agonizing human pace. During that time, I relived the night of my transformation. I remembered Shane setting me up. He bribed me in order to get me to meet with him, but he was a no show. Instead, I was led directly into a trap.
There were assassin vampires waiting for me. The assassins wanted me dead for being a rule breaker. They worked for a group of vampires called the First, or the Elite. This prestigious group of bloodsuckers included a handful of the first vampires in history, who were apparently the rule makers in the paranormal world.
The rules were simple. Don’t kill other vampires, and don’t expose vampires to humans. Since I had such a hard time following rules, they sent their assassins to kill me. Shane must have been more than eager to turn me in. I thought he had simply wanted me, whether to use me as bait to get to the First or to steal the power from my unique blood. Predicting his motives was always a headache.
As we approached an old warehouse I once helped Shane acquire, my heart rate quickened. A wave of dizziness washed through me, which was just plain weird. I was a vampire. I wasn’t supposed to experience any more of those human ailments.
I wanted to hide under a blanket and cry, but the source of this fear and sadness was a mystery. The invasive vibes passed as quickly as they came, and I merely felt anxious. I needed to get in there like yesterday.
We stopped in front of the red brick structure. I scanned it up and down for threats, my gaze settling on the main entrance. I sidled closer to the door and detected movement behind me. My spidey senses tingled, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose.
Blinding Light (The Bloodmarked Trilogy Book 2) Page 2
