Sins of the Blood: A Vampire Novel

by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

  "The police are going to need that information," Whitney said. His voice was all business. He had obviously switched into Eradication mode.

  DeFreeze nodded. "They're not going to be able to do much. They leave cow-bars alone."

  Eliason stood. He turned his back on the windows. "We can't wait for them anyway. Each moment we delay is another moment that Cammie gets hurt. Any way we can get this Henderson?"[C&F145]

  "Oh, there's a way." Whitney picked imaginary lint off his jeans. "But it's risky."

  "I sure as hell would like to get that bastard who killed my operatives," DeFreeze said. "I've done risky."

  "Not this kind." Whitney kept his head down as he spoke. The curls on the nape of his neck had grown wild, as if he never had them cut. "We have to get him out of that cow-bar, and then we have to get him to talk."

  Eliason frowned. "He won't talk to us."

  "Not willingly," Whitney said.

  "No one can make a vampire talk if he doesn't want to," DeFreeze said.

  "I've done it." Whitney's voice was small. He hunched farther forward in his chair. "We actually found a vamp who had hidden his children. He wouldn't tell us where they were and Investigation couldn't find them. So my partner before Cammie, Alyse, buried the guy in garlic and woke him up. He was too drugged to move, and he answered any question we asked."

  Eliason didn't like the sound of that. He had never faced an adult vampire. He wasn't sure he wanted to.

  But they had to find Cammie somehow.

  "The garlic didn't help my boys tonight," DeFreeze said.

  "That's because this guy is a practicing hereditary—or, if it wasn't Cammie's brother, it was a vamp over a hundred years old. Despite what the media says, the old ones are rare. And smart. The stronger the vampire, the less garlic affects him. But smart vampires don't live in cow-bars."

  Eliason crossed his arms and leaned against the desk. He didn't want to ruin the one chance they had. "From what you said, we have to find him when he sleeps, and there's no way to do that in a cow-bar. There should be a human guardian."

  "Oh, there is." Whitney stood. He ran a hand over his hair, and looked at both men. His eyes were bruised from lack of sleep. "There's a reason smart vampires stay away. Leeches can be bribed, especially if the vampire in question is threatening the cow-bar. And it looks as if this Henderson[C&F146] guy is, if Cammie got in."

  "How much money?" DeFreeze asked.

  "Ten grand, twenty grand." Whitney shrugged. "Something to make it worth the betrayal and loss of business. We'd get the coffin to a safe place, douse it, and start asking questions."

  Eliason's throat was dry. No wonder Whitney was so good on eradication. He remained calm, cool, even under pressure. "How do you know all this about cow-bars? The Center rarely works with them."

  Whitney's features appeared to have shrunken in on themselves. "Cammie asked me once why I stayed when others always left. I never told her the reason. I'm not really ACV. My father was a leech. I grew up in cow-bars, Brett. I know them as well as I know my own hands."

  "Do you think we're going to get answers out of Henderson?" DeFreeze asked.

  Eliason made himself swallow. They had to get answers out of Henderson. He was their only tie to Cammie, except Ben himself.

  Whitney shrugged. "There's only one way to find out.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  It was just past twilight as Ben led Mikos up the walk to his Olympia home. With each step, Steve's words came back to haunt him. Fucking suburban. Not at all like a place Mikos would enjoy. Good thing Ben had gotten Glenda out of there. He wouldn't see her again for a few more nights. She had been angry about Cam-Cam, and he had had to drain her more than he had planned to get her to forget that Cam existed.

  But Ben couldn't forget. He ached for her.

  She was beautiful.

  He had gone through her possessions that first night after he had dumped her in his bed. Her identification showed that she had worked for the Westrina Center in the Midwest. It also listed her name, and age.

  In the past twenty-four hours, the memories were coming back to him. She was his sister.

  And that didn't stop him from lusting after her.

  He pushed open the door, and flicked on the light. The sectionals were neatly arranged. Everything was as he had left it. The bottle remained untouched on the dining room table. Cam was still asleep.

  Good.

  "She'll be tough to convert," Mikos had said when Ben told him. "You will need the protection of the nest. An eradicator has a desire to fight the intoxication."

  "I thought you can't fight what you are," Ben had replied.

  "No." Mikos had smiled a little. "But you can try."

  Now, as he stood in the living room, Mikos nodded. "You have done well. Where's your cow?"

  "At her home," Ben said. "Luckily I hadn't moved her in here yet."

  "Good." Mikos brushed a hand along the velour surface of the sectional. "We can't afford distractions tonight. Show me where she is."

  Ben flicked on the light, and led the way down the hallway. It still looked barren compared to the home he had grown up in. No pictures on the walls, no streaks marring the white surface. Only the paint and the tan carpet. He pushed open the door to his bedroom.

  The thread of light illuminated the form on the bed. Cam slept in a fetal position, her slim body huddled under the covers. She had her back to them. He loved the curve of it, the way it tapered into her buttocks.

  "Delicious," Mikos said. He pulled off his shirt, then slipped out of his jeans. His penis was limp. "She needs to drink me."

  Ben nodded. Just looking at Cam had made him hard. It wasn't right to lust after a sister like this. But they hadn't grown up together. And when he had mentioned it to Mikos, Mikos had shrugged.

  "There are no taboos among vampires," Mikos had said. "Who knows what kind of future the two of you will create."

  It was as if Mikos had given him permission. And nothing looked so inviting as the female form on that bed.

  Ben undressed slowly. Mikos watched, touching Ben's erection when it popped out of Ben's pants. Ben moaned, but moved away. He wanted to save himself for Cam. He went over to the bed and crawled in behind her, pressing himself against her. She stretched against him, her body suddenly rigid.

  He bit her carotid artery, sending his tainted saliva into her, and she relaxed. Her blood pumped into him, as sweet as it had been the first time. He had drained her that night, and she had filled up on him. Nothing compared with that, except this taste.

  Mikos was on the bed with them. He grabbed her head with his hand and shoved it against his own neck. She tried to turn away, but he pushed. Ben almost cautioned him not to hurt her, but he didn't want to let go of the sweet liquid filling him.

  He slipped inside her. She was wet. An orgasm spasm through her. Mikos reached around her and caressed Ben's naked buttocks. Ben raised his free wrist to Mikos and Mikos bit. They were all feeding off each other. The blood loss was as exciting as the flow.

  Cam-Cam's orgasms were powerful. She made small groaning sounds, and she rubbed against Ben as if she couldn't get enough. A huge orgasm built inside him. He stopped moving, trying to savor it. Then Mikos' hand slid down and gripped Ben's balls. Ben sucked harder on Cam, her warm blood easing every ache inside him. Then he spasmed into her, the power of his orgasm matching her own.

  Finally, Mikos detached his mouth from Ben's wrist, and rolled away from them.

  "More," Cam whispered. Her words were slurred. "Please. You taste so good."

  Mikos laughed and offered her his wrist. She took it and sucked greedily, the noise of her mouth echoing in the room. Through her blood, Ben could taste some of Mikos effervescence. Another orgasm was building. He pushed against her, hard, and they came together.

  Spent, Ben let her artery go. He licked it closed, then licked his own wrist. Cam's hand had traveled down to her pubic hair. Mikos caught it.

  "Turn on the light," Mikos
said.

  Ben reached to the side of the bed and turned on the light. Cam-Cam was breathing hard. Her cheeks were flushed with the blood warmth.

  "Camila Timms," Mikos said, sitting up. The bruise she had made in his neck was already fading. "Did you like that?"

  "You taste good," she said, wiping her mouth.

  "But did you like it," Mikos asked.

  A small frown creased her forehead. "I shouldn't," she said.

  "But did you?"

  "Can we do it again?" Her voice was soft.

  Mikos laughed. The warmth of the sound tingled through Ben. They had succeeded, then. Mikos ran his hand along her face. "We'll do it every night, you and I," Mikos said, "Until that frown goes away."

  Ben sat up. He didn't like that. Cam was his find. His to train. His to love.

  "Your brother doesn't like that, Camila."

  She turned to him, her eyes enormous on her small face. Her mouth was slack and blood covered. He had never seen anyone so heavily drugged, although he suspected he had looked like that on his first night in the nest. "I killed him, Ben," she said. "I was coming to take you home."

  He cupped her head, his hand over Mikos'[C&F147] . He licked the blood off her lips. She opened her mouth so that he could taste inside. "It's better that you come home with me," he said. "I can't live with your people. You can live with mine."

  "Being a vampire. 'S wrong, Ben."

  "Oh, Cam," he said, stroking her breast. Her distress made him ache. "They're afraid of us. That's why they teach you its wrong. You and I are hereditary. We can be powerful. Imagine feeling like this the rest of your life."

  "'M outta control, Ben." She arched into his hand. A tear ran down her left cheek. "Never been outta control."

  He slipped inside her again, just to feel her warmth. "Enjoy it," he said. "Your body is a toy. Enjoy it."

  Mikos bit her shoulder from the back and her arch was stronger. An orgasm fluttered through her. She murmured as if in pain. Mikos gave her his wrist and she sucked on it, that frown still creasing her forehead. Her second orgasm made Ben sink his teeth into the other side of her neck. After a moment, her teeth brushed his skin. When she bit, he came for the third time. It was almost painful because he was dry.

  She let him go, and leaned on him. He could feel the total relaxation in her body. "'S wrong, Ben," she whispered.

  Mikos stroked her hair. His gaze met Ben's. "Her mind is strong," Mikos said. "But her body craves this as much as yours did. We have to get her to stop thinking."

  Ben licked her wounds closed and cradled her against him like she used to cradle him. He hadn't believed he was capable of such tenderness. "What if she really doesn't want this?"

  Mikos smiled. "The physical change has already begun. It's only a matter of time before she's convinced. She's ours, Ben. Yours and mine. Forever."

  Chapter Forty

  Her mouth was dry, her body curiously sated. She ached in a thousand places—bruises along her arms and neck—and her groin tingled. She could catalogue all those things, but they felt distant, as if they belonged to someone else. Most of her mind was engaged in doing as Mikos and Ben directed, but somewhere, toward the back, her personality hid. There was a wall around it, a glass wall so thick that nothing could get through. If she tried, she could connect herself, her mind and her body, for just a moment, and then she would get nauseous.

  She followed them off an elevator into a darkened hallway. The faint scent of blood trickled to her. Her mouth watered. Jesus. Couldn't she stop the physical sensations? It was as if she couldn't get enough. And she didn't even enjoy it. It was just something she had to do, a compulsion like she had never had before.

  Mikos stopped in front of a wooden door. Soft conversation echoed behind it. He unlocked the door and swung it open, bathing the hallway in light and sound.

  Cigarette smoke mingled with the blood odor. Half a dozen people were jammed in the entryway. Poison played on the stereo, almost drowned out by the conversation. In the back of the room, a naked man stood on a chair, rubbing himself all over. A hand grabbed him and he toppled off.

  Cammie's mouth opened slightly. They didn't have to lead her in. She went on her own, longing throbbing through her. In the glass prison, her real self cried out that she was no better than the people she had fought, but that didn't stop her movement.

  A man ran his hand along her breast, and she turned so that he could feel the nipple. "Hey, Mikos," the man said, "What you got here?"

  "Another virgin," Mikos said.

  The crowd parted for her. She felt a hand on her back. Ben. His forehead was creased with worry. "If this is too soon for you," he said, but she didn't understand what he meant.

  Then she saw them, people on the mat. Three women and two men. One of the men looked like Eliason, but as she looked closer, she realized that this man was younger. And drugged. His penis was erect and he was playing with it. The skin along his shoulder was purple with bite marks.

  The smell of blood was thick. Maybe just a taste. A taste…

  She knelt beside the man, put her hand on his chest, and leaned into his neck. As she bit, other fingers grabbed her, ripping off her clothes, positioning her over him until his body slipped into hers. It was almost painful. She was sore.

  (No, Daddy. Please. No.)

  But still she moved, the arousal more than she could bear. His blood had a sour taste, but it was good. Not as good as Mikos, but thicker, more nourishing. The people behind her were chanting. She rocked on the man, feeling his orgasm inside her, but not stopping. He was moaning and arching, and then he stopped. His blood was easing to a trickle.

  "She's killing him," Ben said.

  (Let him go.)

  "It's time she join the other side of the fence," Mikos said. "Let her kill for us once."

  (Let him go!)

  His blood was so good. Maybe if she went deeper—

  (Let him go!)

  She pulled back, her own voice in her head so strong that it was as if someone had shouted in her ear. The arousal was gone as if it had never been. She climbed off the man's cool body. His eyes were open. She had killed him.

  Then he licked his lips. "God," he whispered. "They were right about virgins."

  Mikos was smiling at her. His eyes were red-rimmed like her father's had been. Ben touched her arm. She turned to him. He was suddenly solace in this room full of strangers. "I'm going to be sick," she said.

  He nodded. He helped her up, put a hand on her back and propelled her through the double doors, down the hall and into an ornate bathroom. She went around the overlarge tub into the room with the toilet and vomited blood all over the porcelain. Then she sat, shaking, and used toilet paper to wipe off her mouth. The nausea was gone, but the disgust was still there.

  Ben was leaning against the wall, watching her. "I did that after my first time, too," he said. "It's like the shock as the body finishes its change or something. I don't know. Then I didn't eat for days. You need to keep eating or you'll get sicker."

  She rested her cheek against the cool tile. She almost liked him. That disgusted her the most. He treated her like a lover, not a brother. Like—

  (Dad had)

  — the man of her dreams. Only he forced her to do things she thought only sick people did.

  (Over fifty percent of vampires’ children…)

  Great. She had become a statistic now.

  "You'll like it, Cam-Cam," he said. "You will. Soon you won't be able to get enough."

  That was what she was afraid of. Someday she would completely cross over. Someday she would think it all right to take a drugged man's life because he offered his blood to her. Someday satisfying her own needs would become more important than anything else.

  "I can't live like this," she said.

  "Yes, you can, Cam." He crouched beside her and held her against him. "We'll live together. Trust me. It'll be fun."

  Chapter Forty-One

  i

  The fire in the libr
ary was dying. Ben had his feet propped on a stool, a glass in his hand. He sipped, not willing to use a cow this evening. Cam's response had unnerved him, and he wanted to settle his stomach.

  Mikos pulled back the wire screen and put another log on the fire. Then he stirred the embers until small blue flames surrounded the log. He propped the screen back up and wiped his hands on his jeans. "She's going to be tough, you know," he said.

  Ben nodded. That was becoming clearer and clearer. He had thought after Mikos had drained her that she would be willing to be part of the nest. Her reluctance surprised him. "I was uncomfortable at first," he said.

  "I worry at her restraint. She should have killed that cow." Mikos walked over to the other high-back chair and sat heavily.

  "She was getting ill. She had had too much. We should have waited another night before bringing her here. After you and me together, her system couldn't take more blood." Ben took sip. The blood in the glass was warm and barely fresh.

  Mikos leaned his head against the back of the chair. "Perhaps," he said. "It makes sense. But she killed our people too long and she is older than you, Ben. She has had more time to learn about herself. I want you to lock her in her room tonight, and each night until we're sure of her."

  "She didn't try anything at my place." Ben swirled the glass in his hand, watching the blood stain the sides.

  "It was still too new for her. She wouldn't have. But now is the time that will tell us what our future is with her. If she crosses completely, she will be an asset to the nest. The two of you will be able to work together. If she doesn't, we will have to take care of her."

  Ben closed his eyes. Cam was too special. He would take her out of the nest before he had anything happen to her. Perhaps the life here merely overwhelmed her. He sighed.

  Mikos seemed to take that as a tacit agreement to the plan. "Now," he said. "Tell me again about the woman you found in Olympia."