Girl, Forsaken

by Graceley Knox

  Praise for Graceley Knox & D.D. Miers

  “The dawn of a new age of vampire.” - Crafting Geeky Bibliophile

  "Thirst is the first in a new series from the writing team of Graceley Knox and D. D. Miers. Whatever they are doing, they are doing it right because Thirst had me riveted." - Tome Tender Book Blog

  "The premise for Thirst is so unique... And these aren't just vampires, they are Kresova." - IB Book Blogging

  "A CRAZY, WILD, INSANE RIDE THAT KEPT ME ON THE LEDGE" - Marie's Tempting Reads

  “If you haven’t read any books by Graceley Knox or D. D. Miers well get busy because you are missing out on two very gifted story weavers!" - Goodreads Reviewer

  Girl, Forsaken Copyright © 2018 by Graceley Knox & D.D. Miers

  All rights reserved.

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Edited by: Lorraine Fico-White - Magnifico Manuscripts

  Cover Design by: Lori Grundy

  To Lorraine Fico-White

  Without you, we would be lost. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for dealing with our shenanigans through this crazy writing journey of ours.

  Contents

  Praise for Graceley Knox & D.D. Miers

  The Draugur

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Dear Reader,

  Also By Graceley Knox & D.D. Miers

  About the Authors

  The Draugur

  Long before Vlad the Impaler, there was Vasile Draugur.

  Descendant of a warlord emperor, Vasile was a force never before witnessed in history. But for all his strength and power, his people fell into dissolution as famine, disease, and war spread through their land. Desperate and desirous to prove himself, Vasile sought the help of the Servants of Hekate, the right hand to the queen of the underworld.

  He begged for help, grace, and mercy, but his cries fell on deaf ears. His fate was sealed the moment he walked into the temple asking for Hekate's help.

  Unhappy with their prophecy and angered by the priestess’s words, Vasile slaughtered one of Heckate’s priestesses, a young innocent who was actually Princess Avilda, daughter of the great King Ivar Baetal.

  He attempted to save the girl and failed.

  Hekate cursed him with the words, “For the blood you stole this night, you shall live a walking death." Horrified by their leader’s actions, Vasile’s people rebelled, sealing him in a cave, alone, unable to die, and hungry.

  Seeking revenge for the loss of his daughter, Ivar Baetal ravaged the known world, offering his life and his humanity to a witch in order to achieve his goals. Upon capture by a great foe, Ivar ripped out the leader’s throat, promising to destroy every one of them. The tale of an undead leader from hell spread like wildfire among those left in the wreckage.

  Gathering his forces, Ivar soon believed the myths told about him, drinking blood every night to continue to lead his army to victory and avenge his daughter. Madness took his mind and his own officers turned on him, refusing to drink blood as he did. Though they managed to plunge a knife into his heart, Ivar rose again the next night, declaring himself a god and turning those remaining loyal to him into creatures of his own making—the Baetal. Ivar swore to find the man who took his daughter and destroy any last trace of him and his line.

  Years later, an earthquake decimated the cave Vasile had been sealed in, setting him free. Forgotten and unsure of the new world around him, he created others like him, destined to live a walking death. Soon, their numbers grew, and the Draugur were born—powerful, wise, and among the oldest of the ancient vampire races. Unknown to Vasil, his enemy still walked the earth, searching and hunting him.

  The Draugur and the Baetal.

  They cannot be known.

  Be seen.

  They live by one rule: Their existence relies on their very nonexistence.

  Chapter 1

  “Please, God, please,” I say under my breath, glad I have the lab Niko built for me to myself. I glance up at the countdown on my phone. The digits flip over to an even five minutes, and I fumble to silence it as I refocus my attention back to the microscope.

  The muttered prayer I’ve been repeating dies on my lips as one red donut turns into a gray sickle and shrivels up, finally imploding and releasing more virus all over its neighbors.

  “Son of a bitch!” The bubble of hope that had slowly grown inside of me pops and I sigh. If I see one more virus squiggle today, I will throw this microscope through the freaking window.

  While I’m disappointed, I can’t be too upset. This trial has kept the virus at bay for six minutes rather than my previous best of two. I’m heading in the right direction, but since there are so many freaking options on which way to go now, it’s like blindfolding myself and tossing a dart at a map.

  I grab the bag of my blood from the small refrigerator unit under the table and glower at it. “What am I missing that stops the virus?” I ask the empty lab.

  I add a single drop to a sample on the slide and watch as the virus attacks my cells before it’s absorbed and then, in a matter of seconds, all that’s left are beautiful red donuts, bounding around as though the virus never existed. “You’re mocking me, I know it.” At this point, I’m not above cajoling the virus into working with me. That or cursing it into submission.

  I still haven’t found the combination of elements in my own blood that nullifies the virus, which means duplicating the cure is next to impossible. Unless I tap a vein for everyone. And how do I know how much blood will be needed? More for the vampires that have been sick longer? Will only a drop do? A cup? I have no data to compare it to. If only I can delay the reaction long enough, I might not have to keep bleeding myself dry. “Vampire dies from exsanguination, tonight at ten.” I snort at my own joke and continue scribbling notes.

  Of course, it wouldn’t be an issue if I still produced my own blood. My body refuses to replace it with new blood cells unless I’m snacking on a blood bag. Instead, I must take less and less of my own blood, as I’m unsure if what’s currently in my blood stopping the virus will continue to appear as I replace my own blood with that of others. As if in reminder of my “no longer human” status, a dizzy spell hits me, a cue that I need to drink more blood, and soon.

  I pop the last two of my iron pills with a swig of water, swallowing hard. I just can’t envision myself latching on to someone’s throat and drinking their blood to take my medicine. “Oh, hi, ex
cuse me, I just need to borrow your jugular so I can pop my vitamins. Damn that vampiric anemia. Hope you understand.” Yeah, right.

  “Sasha, you’re more pale than usual. You need to feed,” Nikolai’s voice manages to grate on my nerves and tingle through my body at the same time. Stupid sire bond. Niko had given me a place to crash after Arsen had used me, but it doesn’t mean I don’t remember he’s the one who viciously attacked me and made me what I am. He’s also the world’s largest jackass, so there’s that, too.

  “You need to stop sneaking up on me, and I need to solve this puzzle before the virus gets any more out of hand.” It’s the same argument we always have, and my resolve fails more every time we have it. I need to keep up my strength, but no way am I going to feed from him. I ignore him as best I can, prepping a new slide.

  He sighs and leans against the table next to me. “I don’t know why you deny it, Sasha. I know what you need.”

  I stifle a groan at the obvious double entendre. The reminder of why I can’t function the way I used to is a deep slice, and he knows it. Usually, I clench my jaw to keep my name-calling to a minimum, but I know he’s really here for an update, and six minutes isn’t going to please him.

  “Are you here out of concern for me, or to check up on my progress?” I huff at him as he leans toward me, blocking my way. “Nikolai, get the fuck out of my way. I’m endeavoring to save the vampire race, remember?”

  “Failing to save, from what I see.”

  I take a breath, count to ten, and shove him to one side. “I’ll keep failing, too, if you don’t let me work in peace. Overbearing jackass.” I mumble the last part under my breath but not so low that he can’t hear it.

  “You need blood, a good hard fuck, and a shower, not necessarily in that order.” He chuckles, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, and I don’t have to pretend to gag at his words.

  “Dammit Nikolai, aren’t you old enough to know when not to say something?” You’d think hundreds of years of practice would mean something. But apparently you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. “If you’re going to be in the lab, at least be useful.” I hold out an empty beaker, just to spook him, and I let it go before he takes it from me. I glance up from the microscope. “Can you sweep that up? You were supposed to take it.”

  He scoffs and backs away from the small slivers of shattered glass, but I feel his stare on the back of my head as I peer through the glass of my microscope. “I do not clean up anything. I am the Master of the Baetal.”

  “You are ‘Sir Butterfingers of the Less-than-Stellar Vampiric Reflexes’ from what I just saw.” I grab the dust pan, cleaning up the mess quickly, if not a bit dramatically. “See, so easy even you can do it.” Pretentious prick.

  “I’m old enough not to care about mincing words, Sasha. And I have been nothing but useful since you arrived.” He crosses his arms over his chest, his tone slightly threatening.

  I glance up at him. Despite constantly telling me how much I need him and how useful he is, Nikolai has been very little help to me since he bit me and I transitioned from human to vampire. Now, as I hunt for a cure, I ask myself for the hundredth time what the hell I’m even doing here.

  “I’m not the one constantly picking fights with the one person standing between my people and annihilation.”

  He grabs my shoulders and forces my chin up. It’s a manipulative move he thinks I’m unaware of, but I’ll play his game for now. He pushes my hair out of my face with a sigh. “You chose me, remember?”

  I roll my eyes. “Don’t make this something it isn’t, Niko. You’re the lesser of two evils. The devil you know and all that. Right now, my life is like a really fucked-up version of choose your own adventure, the cliché paranormal edition.”

  He appraises me for a moment before letting me go. “Okay, so what do you need?” He rolls up his sleeve and taps his arm like he’s looking for a good vein. “Take some of my blood to work with. Maybe it will help you figure out what makes your blood different, if you have something to compare it to.”

  I have hesitated to ask for just that because he is cured. The virus shouldn’t have left anything in his bloodstream, but it’s worth a shot. Perhaps watching his blood interact with mine will give me the break I’m hoping for. He hands me a sterile syringe, still in its paper wrapper. “Will any needle do? I’m sure you’re dying to get inside me.” He winks and it’s so disarming that for a moment, he’s just a hot guy offering to let me stab him, and I smile despite myself.

  “Yeah, okay, let’s see what makes Nikolai tick. If it will get you out of my hair while I work, I’ll try anything at this point.” I tie a tourniquet around his bicep, wiping down his inner elbow as he pouts at my words.

  “If your words were blades, you’d have bled me dry a thousand times over already.”

  I ignore him as I take a few vials of his blood. “Yeah, I’m sure you’re super sensitive and just hide it really well.” I remove the needle, wiping away the drops of crimson left on his skin, ignoring the lurch in my hungry stomach at the sight. “Now, give me an hour or three to create a sample, and I’ll even let you see it through my microscope.”

  He frowns, but his need for a cure supersedes his desire to make sure I know he’s the boss, as I knew it would. It doesn’t stop him from leaning in for his obligatory kiss, and I present my cheek to him like an obedient daughter.

  His cool, dry lips press against the side of my face and I manage to stifle the shudder of revulsion from his touch. He leaves without any more argument or distractions, just as the centrifuge demands my attention with a high-pitched beep.

  The sound makes my head feel like a toothpaste tube being squeezed too hard with the cap still on, and I slam my hand down on the power button to stop the incessant noise, sit at the table, and lay my head on my arms, blocking out the light and padding my forehead as I wait for the dizzy spell to clear.

  I have to feed soon, and though I hate to admit it, while blood bags sustain me, they don’t satisfy like I know hunting would. My instincts drive me to hunt. To prey on those weaker than me. I can’t trust myself enough to stop, though. And I won’t take someone else’s life for sport. I try to rest a few minutes before continuing. The need for sleep will fade with time, too. Some of the older vampires around me can go for days without sleep. They also stick to a nocturnal schedule, preferring to hide their existence in the shadows as they did in the days of old. I don’t know how many arguments I’ve had with them that, thanks to pop culture, they’re more likely for someone to ask to take a picture with them than run away screaming for the townsfolk to get the pitchforks.

  I don’t know if I passed out instantly after my imagination drifted to torch-wielding farmers or if I took forever to fall asleep, but it feels like an instant when a soft touch on my shoulder startles me awake.

  “I have a delivery for you, Sasha.” A young vampire slides a box onto the table next to my elbow. “Sorry for waking you.”

  “No, I need to stay awake. Thanks.” I glance at the box as he leaves. Arsen. I know it’s from him without opening it, just like I can still feel his hands on my body even though I haven’t seen him since I left his compound. His actions still sting, like a thousand bees attacking my heart. He’d played me, like a fine-tuned piano, and I’d fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker. I don’t know what’s worse. Knowing that he used me, or that despite it all, I miss him. I miss his smile as he looked at me, his hand on the small of my back as we walked, and the way his lips felt against mine every time we kissed.

  Now everything I’m doing is for myself, for the research, for the vampires affected. Not for Arsen and the Draugur and certainly not for Nikolai and the Baetal. I’m Sasha the clanless vampire, here solely for the sake of the scientific thrills.

  I carry the expensively packaged box back to the sliding glass door that encloses the laboratory, digging my thick magic marker out of my lab coat. Return to Sender. I write it in big block letters across the address label and drop the package
on the ground outside the lab’s door. I walk away, pretending I’m not curious about what he keeps sending me. Every letter, every bouquet, every box large or small, has gone back.

  I have no intention of going back to Arsen except to deliver the cure, and if I could trust Nikolai to get it back to the Baetal, I’d send it by courier.

  At least Nikolai hasn’t reminded me about the impending arrival of my new helper. Some Russian scientist Niko brought over from the motherland to give a second opinion on the virus. I’m sure they go way back, but I have no idea if this guy learned match when Pythagoras was still figuring things out in between sacrifices to the Greek gods or if he’s actually current. With my luck, he’ll come armed with an abacus, notes from some alchemist, and horrible habits.

  I didn’t ask to be in this situation, thirsty for blood and inhumanly strong. And the argument I’d had with Niko over bringing in someone else had been huge. I’d thrown shit at him. He’d laughed and caught everything. When he’d tired of my ire, he reminded me he was in charge here, and I was only able to use his equipment at his say-so. I had no choice but to give in and accept the interloper’s imminent arrival.

  It’s not like I can run these tests at the lab on campus. What if someone stumbled across it? “Hey, look. Sasha has found the super cure for any and all human sickness. Only known side effects: fangs and a hunger that never abates.”