Yearn For Blood (Blood Origins Book 1)

by Tiffany Heiser

  wide with fear and rage and something I couldn’t quite

  identify. A light seemed to shine from them as his gaze caught

  and held mine. Our eye contact couldn’t have lasted more than

  a second, but it felt as if everything, from the moment we’d

  gotten the flat tire to our desperate flight through the woods to the blood I knew was rising through the back of my sweater,

  had been leading to this moment. Looking at Cryder now, it

  seemed unfathomable that I had ever questioned him. It didn’t

  matter what Bristol said, that he had suggested he and Cryder

  had been together the whole time. One look was enough to tell

  me the truth. Cryder’s arrival meant my safety.

  Bristol hadn’t even turned to look. “You’re too late,” he

  said softly.

  “No--.” I choked.

  “She’s mine. And the other one, she’s dead.”

  “No!” The word ripped itself from my lungs. “Cecile!”

  Bristol bared his fangs at me…

  Cryder lunged. He barreled toward both of us so fast

  that I couldn’t hold back a scream, but somehow, he managed

  to strike only Bristol, peeling him away from his stance in

  front of me. I backed around to the far side of the tree I’d been pressed up against and peeked out to watch, panting to catch

  my breath. They fought vigorously, terrifyingly, too quickly to

  track their motions. I couldn’t tell who was winning.

  Watching them now, I realized fully how much danger I’d

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  been in. Bristol could have snapped my bones in one hand.

  Cryder. .Cryder could have broken my neck if he’d been

  careless while we were kissing. How could I have allowed him

  to touch me?

  Even now, watching him, I wanted to do it again.

  He could lift me, I thought. He could hurt me. But he

  didn’t.

  The brawl rolled to the right a little, and Cecile came

  into view. Instinctively, I ran for her. I dropped to my knees

  beside her and grabbed her hand. “Cecile? Oh, God, please

  wake up. We need to get out of here. Cecile.”

  She remained motionless. I tried to remember CPR.

  Did you even give someone CPR for a head wound? No, it was

  for a stopped heart, wasn’t it? I should check her pulse. I

  fumbled with her wrist, trying to find the telltale beats that

  would let me know she was all right, but I found nothing.

  She’s dead, Bristol had said. Was he right?

  “She isn’t dead,” came a voice, as if it was reading my

  mind.

  Startled, I looked up. A man I didn’t recognize stood

  over us. He was older than me, older than Cryder or Bristol,

  but not by much. In his twenties, maybe. “Who are you?”

  He didn’t look at me. Instead, he sank to his knees and

  took Cecile’s wrist from my hand. “You’re looking in the

  wrong place,” he said. “You can feel the pulse here…” he

  moved his fingers to her neck, just under her jawbone, “or

  here.”

  “She’s alive?”

  BLOOD ORIGINS- BOOK ONE

  “Yes. But fading.”

  “Who are you?”

  “Forgive me. My name is Drake.”

  “Drake like the hip-hop artist?”

  “If you like.”

  “You’re with them.” I gestured to Bristol and Cryder.

  It was an accusation, and Drake knew it. “I’m

  with...Cryder. Yes.”

  “You’re like them.”

  “Yes.”

  “What are you?”

  For the first time, he met my eyes. “I think you know

  the answer to that, Rena.”

  “How do you know my name?”

  “The same way Bristol knew to hunt you. The same way

  Cryder knew you needed his concoction—” he sniffed. “You’ve

  been drinking it, good girl.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Rena, please. There will be time for answers, I promise.

  But right now, you must decide: do you want your friend to

  live?”

  “What?”

  “I can save her,” he said. “I can save her right here and

  now. But there’s only one way. She’s too far gone to be taken

  to a hospital. Too much blood has been lost.”

  “What are you going to do? Are you a doctor?”

  “Rena.”

  “Of course, I want you to save her! What kind of

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  question is that?” I was breathing too fast, near tears. I was

  angry and panicked and felt like screaming. Cecile lay dying—

  nearly gone—on the ground in front of me, and we were

  talking about whether I wanted her saved? Why were we talking

  at all? “Save her!”

  “Rena, you have to understand. You have to calm

  down. You’re her best friend, yes? Like family?”

  “Yes. Yes. We’re.. we’re sisters. Oh, God, Cecile…”

  “You can make this decision for her.”

  “She’s here because of me. I’m the one who wanted us

  to follow Cryder. I’m the one Bristol wanted. If it weren’t for

  me.”

  “Be quiet.” Drake’s voice was sharp. “Listen to me,

  Rena. In minutes it will be too late. I can save her, but in order to do it, you’ll have to give her up. The friend, the.. the sister you know will be preserved, but she will lose herself in the

  process. Do you understand?”

  “No,” I whispered, suddenly terrified beyond anything

  I’d felt so far.

  “If I save her,” Drake said, holding my gaze, “she’ll be

  like me.”

  “Like you?” Vampire.

  “Like me and Cryder.” And Bristol, he didn’t say, but I

  saw his eyes cut towards the fight before returning to me.

  They were gold, his eyes, and shining.

  Like Cryder’s. Not like Bristol’s.

  I swallowed the bile that was rising in my throat and

  squeezed my best friend’s hand. “Do it.”

  BLOOD ORIGINS- BOOK ONE

  Chapter Eleven

  DRAKE'S EYES DARKENED. AT FIRST, I THOUGHT

  it was a trick of the light, but before long the shining golden

  color had faded to a matte yellow-brown, and then to black.

  With everything I saw from these people, every weird little

  behavior, I was more and more frightened. Every moment I

  spent with them, they seemed less and less human.

  Drake bared his teeth, showing fangs where the canine

  teeth should be, longer than normal teeth and tapered to a

  point. There was something odd about that—odder than the

  existence of fangs in the mouth of this guy in front of me—and

  it took me a while to put my finger on it. It wasn’t until he

  raised his own wrist to his lips and bit down that I realized—he

  wasn’t menacing. He didn’t have a snarl on his face, and he

  didn’t look as if he was trying to show me his fangs to scare me.

  He’d simply opened his mouth and there they were.

  He can’t help it, I thought.

  What difference does that make? He’s still a vampire!

  But he’s saving Cecile…

  I didn’t know. I couldn’t tell who the good guys were

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  anymore, who I should trust and who I should fear.
I just

  watched, dazed, as Drake held his arm back out. He was

  bleeding now, from two puncture wounds that seemed deep. I

  knew they’d match the fangs I’d seen. What was he going to

  do?

  He tipped Cecile’s head back and, using a thumb, held

  her chin to open her mouth. The other arm, the bleeding one,

  he lifted over her face, angling it so that drops of blood fell on her tongue. It took me a moment to register what he was

  doing. By the time I did, he’d finished and was holding her

  body in an upright position in his arms. She looked like she’d

  fallen asleep sitting up.

  He’d fed her blood. I gagged but swallowed hard against

  it. He was doing what I’d told him to do, I reminded myself,

  although that didn’t make me feel much better. And I trusted

  Drake. I honestly believed he was here for Cecile’s benefit, that he’d meant what he said about wanting to save her. Something

  was at work here that I didn’t understand, that was for sure,

  and it would be a mistake for me to try to involve myself in it.

  Suddenly, a loud growl came from behind me,

  accompanied by something that was closer to a whimper.

  Drake’s head jerked up in alarm. I spun around. In my horror

  over what was happening to Cecile, I’d managed to forget all

  about Bristol and Cryder fighting behind me. Now I saw that

  they’d separated a little and were circling each other, like

  boxers preparing for the next blow. Cryder had a hand pressed

  to his shoulder, his face contorted in a grimace. As I watched,

  Bristol spat a mouthful of blood and flesh onto the ground and

  BLOOD ORIGINS- BOOK ONE

  smiled, his face masked with blood.

  I retched.

  Drake grabbed my arm and pulled me back. His eyes

  met mine. “You should run,” he said.

  “I’m not leaving Cecile.”

  He nodded. “I thought you would say that.”

  I was prepared to fight him more, but to my surprise, he

  conceded the point. Maybe he really did understand. He pulled

  me in closer to him and I got the feeling he was trying to shield me. Why? Bristol and Cryder were preoccupied with each

  other. They weren’t paying any attention to me. If Cecile were

  awake, I’d have been willing to bet the two of us could get up

  and walk away from this nightmare, and neither of them

  would have even noticed we were gone.

  Right?

  Right?

  It didn’t feel right. Suddenly I felt cold. If this had

  nothing to do with me and I could truly just walk away from

  it, why had Cryder and Bristol both been so fascinated with me

  from the moment they’d laid eyes on me? I’d wanted to believe

  Cryder just had a crush, but if I was honest with myself, I’d

  known for a long time something more was at work here. The

  way I’d started to get sick and he’d immediately known what

  to do for me.. that was no coincidence. And then there was the

  fact that, after cornering us in the woods, Bristol had focused

  his attention on me. He’d made it seem as though killing me

  was his top priority, and whatever happened to Cecile was just

  collateral damage.

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  For that matter, how had Cryder and Drake known

  where to find me?

  Shrinking behind Drake now, I watched the exchange

  of blows between Cryder and Bristol, the horrible

  discoloration of Bristol’s jaw from having bitten Cryder. As I

  looked on, Bristol landed a punch in Cryder’s ribs. Cryder

  howled and crumpled to the ground. Bristol laughed.

  “They’re fighting about me,” I said. “Aren’t they?”

  “It isn’t quite that simple,” Drake said.

  “It’s not complicated. Bristol wants to kill me. Cryder

  wants to stop him. Right?”

  “Well, but…”

  “That’s right, isn’t it?”

  Drake didn’t answer, but I didn’t really need him to. I

  was capable of seeing what was happening right in front of me.

  This fight was because of me, and if Cryder were to come to

  harm, that would be because of me, too.

  I darted out from behind Drake before he could stop

  me, knowing he would intervene if I gave him the chance, and

  ran to Cryder. “Bristol! Stop!”

  To my surprise, he actually did stop, stepping back to

  regard me as I placed my body in front of Cryder’s. His

  eyebrows disappeared into his shaggy hairline and he laughed.

  “You haven’t had enough? I thought you’d know when to quit,

  girl.”

  “Rena!” Drake yelled.

  I ignored him. “This isn’t about Cryder. Let him go.”

  “I’m not keeping him, am I?” Bristol spread his arms.

  BLOOD ORIGINS- BOOK ONE

  “Cryder, you’re free to go.”

  “You know I won’t,” Cryder spits. “Rena, get back.”

  “No.”

  “Get back.” He got to his feet and staggered, obviously

  in pain.

  “Cryder, you’re bleeding, just...just stop. Please.”

  “My God,” Bristol said softly, a bloody smile blooming

  on his lips. “You love him, don’t you? You really love him.”

  My cheeks flamed. It’s none of his business. I wanted

  desperately to be alone somewhere, just me and Cryder, to

  figure out what my feelings were, if I even had them. It felt so

  unfair that I had to do this here that my heart was searching for answers in the middle of a life or death scenario. I remembered

  watching Titanic when I was younger and thinking how

  romantic it all seemed, and how I couldn’t wait to meet my

  own Leonardo DiCaprio. Only now did I realize how awful

  and ugly it was to realize you were in love with someone you

  might be just moments away from losing.

  I turned my back to Cryder and faced Bristol. “I know

  what this is about.”

  “Do you?”

  “It’s about me. It’s always been about me. I don’t know

  why, but for some reason you want to kill me.” I swallowed

  hard, trying not to let myself think about what I was doing. All

  that mattered was Cryder’s ragged, pained breathing behind

  me. All that mattered was keeping Bristol from hurting him

  any more to get to me. “If you want me, just take me. I’ll go

  with you.”

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  “Rena, no.” Cryder’s voice was a sob.

  I couldn’t turn to him. If I saw his face, I might change

  my mind. “Cryder, you and Drake take Cecile. Save yourselves.

  Please. We don’t all need to die here.”

  “No one needs to die here.”

  I wished I could believe that, but I just wasn’t confident

  in Cryder’s ability to win this fight. “It’s all right, Cryder. I know what I’m doing.”

  “That’s right, Cryder.” Bristol smirked. “She knows

  what she’s doing.”

  “Be safe,” I said, and stepped toward Bristol.

  Before I could register that he had moved, his hand was

  around my throat. The fact that I’d expected the attack didn’t

  make it any less painful, and my body tried to gasp reflexively,

  but I couldn’t draw
breath. He peeled his upper lip back from

  his fangs, exposing them menacingly—so different from the

  way Drake had bared his before biting his wrist for Cecile. If I

  hadn’t known better, I might have guessed the two were

  entirely different creatures.

  Bristol lifted me into the air with one hand. My feet

  dangled, but I refused to kick at him. I wouldn’t go out

  fighting. I wouldn’t give my friends reason to question leaving

  me here. I closed my eyes and thought, I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m

  fine. This would all be over soon.

  “You stupid, stupid girl,” Bristol hissed. “This was never

  about killing you.”

  My eyes flew open.

  “Killing you?” He scoffed. “As if I care whether you live

  BLOOD ORIGINS- BOOK ONE

  or die. All I care for is your blood.”

  My blood?

  He sniffed at my neck again. A shiver ran through my

  skin like spiders were crawling over it. “So much power. When

  I’ve drained you, it’ll all be mine. And then who will be able to stand in my way? Not your friends. They can start running now

  if they want, but once I’m done with you…” He licked behind

  my ear, and I recoiled internally disgusted. “I’ll be nuclear. I’ll be unstoppable. All thanks to you, you delicious bomb of a

  human. You’ll give me the power I’ve always dreamed of.”

  Oh, God. I’d made a horrible mistake.

  “Rena!” Cryder’s voice was anguished.

  Now I kicked out at Bristol, as hard as I could, but he

  dodged me easily and laughed. “Too late, girl. You should have

  run when you had the chance. You should have trusted Cryder

  more when he tried to save you. Now you’ll both die in the

  end. So, will you, Drake, and—” He sniffed the air. “I see what

  you’ve done to that girl. She’s not safe either, then. I hope

  you’re all proud of yourselves.”

  I wanted to scream. All I’d wanted—so desperately—

  was to save Cryder. Instead, my rash actions were going to get

  everyone I loved killed. The one upside was that I wouldn’t live

  to see it.

  Bristol’s hand squeezed my neck even tighter. The

  darkness started closing in, as the lack of air in my lungs made

  my vision dim. I closed my eyes and waited for it to be over.

  But it never came.

  Instead, I heard a tearing sound, accompanied by a

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  meaty squish—oh God, was this my death? —but suddenly

  breath rushed back into my lungs and I dropped to my hands