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Into the Flames

Page 75

by Multi-Author


  Damn, she’d screwed her life up. Her decisions and unfortunate circumstances had stolen from her the only two men she’d ever loved. How could her desire to be normal have come down to this moment?

  Another bone-shattering spasm quaked through her chilled body and she hugged herself against the pain. Alex turned and rummaged through a gym bag in the back seat for a washcloth and a bottle of pain medication. The sporty Honda held everything she owned. Not wanting someone else to clean up her mess, she’d packed up her personal stuff from her furnished apartment, left enough cash on the kitchen table to cover the month’s rent and a significant bonus for the sweet landlord—and walked away. Even her cellphone was gone. Tossing it into the river as she’d driven over the bridge, she wanted to break all threads holding her to this life

  The plans she’d laid out months ago were finally happening. Only one thing would be left undone. She’d never be able to confess her secrets to Glenn. Someone had stolen that opportunity from her. There had been no sense sharing them with Reese this morning. A vampire like him would never understand how self-loathing had driven her these past several months to reckless decisions. Reese was one of the true breed, a vampire revered for his honor and commitment to the species. No doubt, he would take Glenn’s place as a mentor to the broken and down-trodden humans who awoke in a world of immortals, teaching them to embrace their nature.

  It was too late for her.

  She flipped two pills in her mouth, swallowing them down with great gulps of water and throwing the empty bottle onto the growing pile on the passenger seat floor. Her only path now was to turn herself over to the vampire tribunal and accept her fate. A death at their hands would certainly be better than the living hell Alex was experiencing—a hell she’d helped forge.

  Sadness ripped at her heart and caught in her throat. She couldn’t hold back the flood of tears that streamed down her cheeks. If ever she needed the comfort of Reese’s embrace and the soft whispers of his encouragement, it was now. But it was too late to wish for such things.

  Now, Alex just needed to get into the tavern undetected and grab some blood wine one last time. She hoped it would be enough to relieve the tremors and nausea and allow her to drive the thousand miles to Montana. She expected to be in tribunal custody by the time the town gathered for Glenn’s funeral the day after tomorrow.

  Just as she was summoning the energy to push out of the car, she watched a shadowed figure run from the woods, unlock the back door of the tavern and disappear. There were only a few employees who had keys to the tavern. Chris was one of them. Maybe she’d manage to make things right with the vamp after all. Another wave of pain gripped her body and she doubled over, unable to hold back her cry of pain. It didn’t matter now who was in there—Alex couldn’t put this off any longer.

  Stumbling across the parking lot to the back door, Alex nearly tripped over the threshold of the open door, barely catching herself on the counter. Heated blood boiled through her veins, burning its way into her muscles, making her shaky and weak. Every nerve in her body shouted protests and her stomach heaved. In the months since this began, no episode had ever taken such control over her. She leaned her hip against the island, taking a moment to gather the energy to get down the back stairs.

  The dark kitchen was eerily quiet. The light from a small bulb under the counter cast deep shadows in the corners and around the heavy equipment, tickling an odd sense of fear along her neck, but it was enough to prove to Alex no one was in the space. She walked to the doors, pushing them open enough to see into the tavern. The muted glow behind the bar wrapped the tables and chairs in a soft blue haze. Though she saw no one, she called out, “Chris?”

  No response.

  It didn’t make sense. But, at the moment, nothing in her confused mind made any sense. Perhaps she’d only imagined someone coming into the tavern. No doubt the pain was causing hallucinations. Alex could only hope some blood wine mixed with crackers would stay down this time and help get her back to some semblance of normal. But the way her skin crawled with unseen bugs, she suspected it wouldn’t help. Without Glenn or the professor, there was no one to turn to for guidance. After tonight, she’d be on her own to suffer her fate, which was fine. She’d rather die than be turned back into the monster she’d seen in the mirror the past three decades.

  On trembling legs, Alex made her way to the door leading to the wine cellar, surprised when light spilled up the stairs from her office. Tight bands of trepidation wrapped around her stomach and squeezed. As she descended cautiously, she worked to convince herself that Chris had come back to do some work in the cellar, but the cold fingers of fear walking up her spine had other, more sinister opinions.

  “… I don’t fucking care what you want!” A voice boomed from the office, followed by a loud metallic crash that sounded a lot like the old file cabinet being thrown to the floor. “It’s not about you. It’s about finishing what’s been started. And if you don’t like it, you can just leave. I never asked you to be here.”

  “Haven’t you done enough without trashing O’Malleys? I mean …”

  Alex recognized Chris’s voice. Pressing herself against the cool stone of the cellar wall, she sidestepped closer to the door, not really wanting to make her presence known until she knew exactly what was going on.

  “If you don’t have the spine to see this through to the end, then get the fuck out.”

  Who the hell was Chris talking to?

  “You’ve completely lost it. I didn’t sign up for this insanity.”

  “What you signed up for, my man, was the power. Enjoying the superiority you have over those insipid humans. I gave you that and more.”

  “I didn’t—”

  “Didn’t what, Chris? Didn’t want to stop the distribution of blood wine? Didn’t help me leave a trail of breadcrumbs that would lead RISEN right to Alexandra Flanagan’s door? Didn’t enjoy hiding your bloodlust among the ashes of my fires?”

  Alex couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She and Chris were friends. They shared the same sire. Her knees nearly buckled with the weight that Chris had a part in framing her for the death and destruction that had plagued South Kenton.

  “You said we’d shut down the wine cellars. You never said anything about convicting Alex of … Fuck! I’m sorry I ever …” Chris’s words trailed off.

  The vampire laughed. “Yeah, try giving apologies to the men and women you drained and burned. Wouldn’t RISEN love to hear how you treated those humans?” Heavy boots thumped along the floor as if the vamp were pacing. “How many were there? Let’s see. The lab tech at the university who wouldn’t have a drink with you. The hairdresser and the cashier who refused to give you their phone numbers. Then there’s the one that has me a bit confused, the drunk guy the other night from—”

  “Shut up! Shut the fuck up! You brainwashed me. You said it was the vampire way.”

  The pacing stopped. “Oh Chris, I don’t think the tribunal will let you use that as a defense.”

  “I’ll tell them everything. It was you. I had nothing to do with Glenn’s death. That was never part of our plans. I—”

  Chris’s words stopped as a loud thump was followed by a gurgling sound as if the other man had Chris around throat. The short order cook had obviously betrayed her, but Chris deserved judgment by the tribunal, not death at the hands of another vampire. In her condition, Alex could barely defend herself, let alone save the life of another. She needed Reese or Josh—damn, at this point, she’d accept Ronan’s help—anyone who could stop the crazed vampire intent on hurting Chris. She reached for her phone, cursing when she remembered it sat at the bottom of the river.

  “Our plans? You stupid, weak sonofa—”

  The metal cabinet exploded and a scream ripped from Chris’s throat. Alex looked around the corner, hoping to find some way to save the man. Chris lay on the remnants of the file cabinet in the corner, his body contorted in unnatural angles. Another vampire st
ood with his back to her, looming over Chris.

  Chris’s gaze locked on hers long enough to warn her off.

  “I’ve spent the last six months piecing this together,” the vampire continued. “Now at the last hour, with this last fire to set, your conscience is eating at you?”

  “You won’t get away with this. I won’t let you. I’ll tell RISEN everything.”

  The vampire began to laugh, the condescending sound both incongruous to the situation and oddly familiar. “If you don’t want to end up in the ashes, I suggest you keep your fucking mouth shut!”

  “I told Alex everything last night. She knows you—”

  “Fuck, Alex.” The vampire fisted Chris’s shirt in his hands and threw Chris’s broken body into the cask room as if it weighed nothing. Bottles shattered and the scream of agony that followed nearly made Alex puke. The vampire stalked into the room after him.

  She was going to die. Alex felt it in every bone-crunching spasm of pain quaking over her muscles. Whatever deal Chris had made with this vampire, he didn’t deserve for things to end this way. Alex rushed into her office, searching for anything she could use to keep the crazed vampire from killing Chris. With her muscles so weak, her options were limited. She grabbed a chunk of warped metal from the file cabinet, holding it in front of her like a shield.

  “Leave Chris alone.” She stepped into the cask room, sickened by the devastation in front of her. Wine casks had been flung against the walls. Broken wine bottles littered the floor. Blood wine dripped down the stones, splashes of it painting the ceiling and pooling on the floor in sticky puddles of crimson red. If the smell hadn’t gagged her, the sight of Chris’s broken body lying in the center of the devastation would have.

  “Well, well, well, look who’s joined our party.”

  Alex gasped as the vampire turned around. “Ronan? What are you—”

  “Run, Alex. Save yourself.” Chris barely finished the sentence before Ronan backhanded him, sending him flying against a wall. He fell to the floor like a ragdoll, his muscles and bones gone liquid as he lay unconscious in the rubble.

  Nausea rolled hot and hard up her throat, making her dizzy. Alex set the edge of the metal on the floor, leaning on it for support. Her stomach heaved and she had no choice but to give into the spasms, bloody vomit splattering on the floor at her feet.

  “So typical of you, Alexandra. You come running into to save the day, but look at you, so weak you can barely stand.”

  “Fuck you, Ronan.”

  “Now? It seems wickedly inappropriate don’t you think?” He laughed as he casually studied his fingernails.

  “What the hell happened to your accent?”

  He laughed. “Fake as the part I’ve been playing. With Glenn and the professor gone, I don’t need to continue that foolish charade. When everything is finished tonight, RISEN won’t need my help to condemn you to death. I’ll walk away from South Kenton a wiser, happier vampire than the one who sneaked in here undercover from even those RISEN assholes.”

  “I won’t let you—”

  “Let me what, Alex? Look at you. You actually think you’re going to survive this …” His hand waved up and down her body, his face contorted with disgust. “I was really hoping to see Colton’s face when the tribunal sentenced you to death, but if the good professor’s hypotheses are correct, you won’t survive the night.”

  “I’m not dying. I have some sort of flu.” She wrapped her arm around her torso, pressing her forearm against the pain. Death would be a welcome relief to the slow torture twisting her insides like cords of rope. Ronan swam in her vision and Alex held on to consciousness by a thin thread. “Vampire don’t die from the flu.”

  “RISEN operatives have nothing on you, my sweet, Alexandra.” His demented laugh echoed painfully through her head. “But please don’t insult me,” he said. “Look at you. Sweat beads on your brow, but you shiver as if it were December. Your eyes are bloodshot. You puke at the sight of blood. I have no doubt your head is throbbing like the percussion section of an orchestra. Your muscles are so weak, you can barely stand up. I know the signs. Tell me, have you tried eating anything but the chemical gruel he makes for you? A nice juicy steak perhaps?”

  She gagged again, unable to process how Ronan knew what she needed.

  “Ah, not quite there are you?” He pulled a vial of yellow serum from his pocket. “RISEN would no doubt love to get their hands on this. I do believe the good professor had finally discovered a way to re-code vampire DNA and make immortals human again.” He held the vial up to the light. “But I guess, since he died before any of his lab rats completed the transformation, we’ll never know will we?”

  Alex clenched her teeth against the wave of agony burning over her nerves. She wanted to get her hands on the vial and inject it—let the sweet elixir sear through her veins and wash away the agony and nausea. She wondered how many more treatments she would have needed to be completely human again. That last vial may very well be her salvation, but she refused to beg the sadistic asshole for her life.

  “There are copies of the professor’s work,” she said tightly. “The knowledge didn’t die with him.” Lifting her chin, she met Ronan’s skeptical stare. “His work will save vampires like me changed against their will.”

  “You lie, you sad, pathetic woman.” He stormed over to her, kicked the metal out of her hands and hauled her up by her shoulders. “I know damn well there are no more copies. I destroyed both the professor’s computers and thanks to Glenn, who located a briefcase full of research work and several affidavits, the rest of his research will go up in flames with this Godforsaken tavern and this insulting winery.” Ronan shoved her away from him and she fell on her ass. “Everything will be gone and no one will know how my father tried to play God!”

  “Your father?” Alex’s question came out trembling and weak.

  “Professor Morgan.”

  “But Paul had no children.”

  With a feral cry of frustration, Ronan picked up one of the few casks left whole and smashed it on the floor. When his angry eyes locked on hers, they were filled with unshed tears. “I was his dark secret. An abomination! Neither human nor vampire. I got dealt the shittiest of hands.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Of course you don’t understand. No one understands. How could a human sire a child with a vampire?”

  “I didn’t know it was possible.” Her statement stopped him cold.

  “Obviously, neither did he.” Ronan thumped a fist on his chest. “But here I am. Despite everything, I live!” Long fingers pushed the blond hair from his face. “And thanks to him I walked between the worlds. Too weak to be considered a vampire. Too aberrant to be considered human. I couldn’t eat food, but I had worthless fangs. Barely formed, they weren’t strong enough to tear flesh. I had to live off my mother’s kills. She brought woodland creatures home for us to feed on together. Woodchucks, rabbits and deer.” He laughed derisively. “I gotta tell you, it was a helluva a childhood.”

  Alex felt herself wilting as if someone was siphoning off every ounce of her energy. Elbows digging into her thighs, she willed herself not to completely collapse on the cement floor. She hadn’t expected to be so dependent on the serum— or the gruel supplement.

  The professor had believed he’d made a breakthrough with his last modification to the serum formula. Despite the side effects she’d witnessed on vampires using the previous serums, Alex had finally convinced the professor to try the cure on her. She’d had her last injection the night of the mansion fire. The chemical gruel the professor mixed for her had run out yesterday.

  Of course, the man hadn’t planned on being murdered by his own son. She couldn’t let Ronan get away.

  Another bout of nausea filled her throat. Under the guise of retching, she shifted closer to a piece of broken cask scattered on the floor. She would never have the strength to fight Ronan, but maybe, just maybe, she could incapac
itate him and keep him here in the cellars until someone found them.

  Her confidence flared as she watched Chris open his eyes, his body obviously healing from the brutal beating. She just had to keep Ronan talking until Chris had the strength to fight the monster before her.

  “Your parents loved you,” she said quietly.

  “My mother loved me. My father loved my mother.” Ronan lost himself in his reminiscences. “My mother was loathe to let him experiment on me, but she continued the treatments, dreaming of making us both human one day. My father worked tirelessly to discover what made vampire blood different. He took samples upon samples, injecting her with serums he hoped would work.” Tears ran unchecked down Ronan’s face as he paced the cement floor, his bloody footprints leaving a gruesome trail. “He took everything from her and never got any closer to finding anything. Still, she let him experiment. Over and over, he stuck her. Until she became incapacitated and could no longer get out of bed. I was a teenager by then. I was forced to learn how to hunt and feed. I fashioned false canines and honed my hunting skills, bringing home animals so I could feed us both. I was so angry at what he was doing to her. My father and I argued. I wanted him to stop, but he insisted it was what she wanted.”

  Alex moved again, a splintered section of wood now resting beneath her thigh. “She wanted to save you from the hell of immortality.”

  “Immortality?” He laughed at the ceiling. “I wasn’t given that power. I couldn’t heal. I had no superior senses. I was weak like my father. I hated him for creating me. I hated him for killing my mother.”

  “She died?”

  “She was murdered!” Ronan’s frustration echoed off the stone walls.

  Alex could barely breathe. “Your father was a kind and gentle man. He offered vampires salvation.”

  “Look at you. Weak as a newborn kitten. You call the life you have right now salvation? And all those vampires you turned back when his cure didn’t work, do you think you’d saved them?”

  She stared mutely at him, unwilling to play his game.

 

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