Over The Edge [On The Edge Series]

by Kallysten

  Brett didn't think much at all. He could see flashes in his mind of Lisa and Leo's faces when Nicholas talked about them. It was far beyond him to wish they were there.

  "I don't understand,” he finally replied.

  "I didn't expect you to. How could you? You're only human. But that's all right. You'll understand when you wake up. Now, be quiet."

  The fingers returned to Brett's arm and back, more forceful this time. They pulled him forward until there was cool flesh against his heart. The bite was a jolt of pain, bright and blinding through the darkness. The vampire took a few slow pulls on Brett's blood, then bit again, almost but not quite in the same place. Brett's head was becoming light, and he closed his eyes. The pain dimmed. The world faded into nothingness.

  Chapter 14

  The three flights of stairs had never seemed so long to Lisa; Brett's scent had never seemed so clear. At the very least, he had been here, and if she knew him at all, he still was. If she knew her Sire, it wouldn't be for long.

  She didn't bother with knocking and flung the door open. It was dark inside, the only light coming from the night table lamp at the other end of the loft, but Lisa could see all too clearly what was happening. Even if she hadn't, the scent of Brett's blood would have made it obvious. She shouted before she even knew she was speaking.

  "Stop!"

  To her surprise, Nicholas did stop and raised his head from Brett's neck. He didn't let go of him, but at least he wasn't taking any more blood. How much had he taken already? Brett's heart was beating steadily, but it seemed too slow to Lisa.

  "What happened to ‘we'll never see each other again', Childe?” Nicholas asked. He truly seemed puzzled, and maybe a little amused too. “I thought you had told me goodbye?"

  Lisa had to fight so her voice would remain steady. “Please, don't kill him."

  The amusement definitely took over, and Nicholas even chuckled. The sound was like shards of ice cutting at Lisa's heart.

  "Why not?"

  He looked down at Brett, whose face was pressed against his shoulder. Keeping an arm around Brett's waist to hold him up, he tilted his head back, and brushed away the locks that obscured his eyes.

  "He's good-looking,” he said, looking back up. “He'd make a fine Childe, since both of mine are abandoning me."

  His gaze flickered between Lisa and Leo next to her. All his amusement had faded, replaced by a cold anger. That was when he was most dangerous. Leo knew this as well as Lisa did, and he started advancing in a vaguely threatening way. Nicholas’ voice rose instantly, taking the accents of thrall that were so difficult for a Childe to ignore, especially when combined with the piercing eyes now steadily looking into Lisa.

  "Stop him, Beth."

  Without thinking twice, Lisa did just that, stepping forward and thrusting her arm across Leo's chest to stop him. From the corner of her eye, she could see him turn to look at her and could imagine the incredulity in his face. She never looked away from her Sire, however.

  "What the hell are you doing?” Leo asked.

  Nicholas answered before she could. “She's doing what I say, like a good Childe. You might have learned to resist thrall, but she hasn't. Have you, dear?"

  Not trusting herself to speak, Lisa shook her head. Nicholas’ eyes almost seemed to be glowing now, the fire within them burning her mind and holding her captive.

  "I'll make you an offer. If you stake our rebellious child here, I won't just kill your pet human. I'll make him one of us, and we can start over. Start a new clan, the three of us. And as long as you return the favor, I won't look too closely to see if your prey are still alive when you're done with them."

  For a few seconds, the silence was almost complete, broken only by Brett's heartbeat. It had slowed down again. They didn't have much time to end all of this. Lisa could see that, but she didn't think Leo did. He snorted, as though Nicholas’ offer was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. He should have known better. He had heard their Sire make much more outrageous offers before, and Nicholas always meant them.

  "She won't do it,” Leo said, challenging.

  Nicholas laughed, the sound like ripples of ice. “Of course she will. Unlike you, she's a good Childe, and she does what her Sire tells her. Don't you, Beth darling?"

  A little voice inside her wanted to tell him that she hadn't gone by ‘Beth’ for more than a decade, but the thrall silenced the voice, silenced everything inside her that was demanding that she protect Brett and fight the orders of a Sire she hadn't respected in longer than she could remember. She picked up a stake from the floor and turned to face Leo.

  * * * *

  Leo couldn't believe this was happening. He couldn't believe Lisa would kill him, or that she would let Brett die. At the same time, he knew too well how vulnerable she was to thrall of their Sire. Unlike him, she hadn't felt it for years, hadn't fought it for so long that she had no chance to shake it off now.

  "Lisa ... please..."

  His whisper didn't stop her, and she continued stepping sideways, waiting for her opening, but Leo saw it: her eyes didn't have that vacant expression that thrall brought forth. Instead, they were gleaming, almost pleading.

  Relief flooded him as she advanced toward him. She wasn't under thrall, not anymore, so this was all pretend. She wouldn't really try to kill him. Or so he thought, until she threw a punch at him that caught him in the stomach. By pure reflex, he struck back. He barely touched her, but she doubled over as though he had made full impact. He started to understand her game—or at least, he thought he understood—and when she attacked next, he struck again, this time sending her toward their Sire. She stumbled at his feet and let go of the stake she held. It rolled to the side, out of her reach.

  Nicholas cursed and pushed Brett onto the bed behind him then went to pick up the stake.

  "Clumsy, Beth. I'll do it myself. You can make it up to me later."

  Both Nicholas and Lisa's hands closed on the stake at the same time. Nicholas looked up at Lisa, and from where Leo stood he thought he could see surprise in Nicholas’ eyes when Lisa kicked at his foot. Nicholas lost his balance, and she helped by pushing at his chest. He grabbed her hand as he fell down and pulled her with him. They fell down together. They both still held on to the stake as they struggled on the ground. Leo wanted to intervene, but he was afraid to hurt Lisa. Not only that, but he couldn't imagine being in her place and being ready to stake their Sire. His body refused to move when he even thought of the possibility. All he could do was watch, and not even hope for one or the other to take over. Even watching became too much when Lisa got the upper hand and straddled Nicholas, pinning his hands to his sides. Holding the stake with both hands, she pressed it above his heart. Leo closed his eyes.

  "You can't do that,” Nicholas said. “You can't kill your own Sire."

  There was such confidence in his tone that, if Leo had been in Lisa's place, he couldn't have done anything but agree. She didn't falter, though. Leo opened his eyes again and saw that her hand remained steady, holding the stake over Nicholas’ heart. She shook her head, dismissing his words.

  "When you left us, you said we weren't your Childer anymore,” she said, her voice as quiet as it was determined. “I've spent thirty years thinking I had no clan. No Sire. You're nothing to me."

  "Beth—"

  "You don't even know my name."

  She pressed down, and he turned to ashes beneath her. Leo felt something snap inside him, like a tightrope that had suddenly lost all tension. He waited for the whiplash, but it didn't come. All that was left was a huge void in the middle of his being, a void he could never have imagined before experiencing it. He had lived apart from his Sire and missed him, but he had never felt as though a part of him had disappeared. He needed contact. He needed his family. He went to Lisa.

  She was still kneeling on the floor, now over ashes rather than the body of their Sire. He knew, the same way he knew already that the void would fade but never disappear completely,
that she felt it to, whatever she might have told Nicholas about not being his Childe anymore. She started when he rested a trembling hand on her shoulder.

  "Are you OK?"

  He wanted to say more, but his voice broke down and he fell quiet. Lisa stood. For a moment, she seemed to waver. Her shoulders were hunched, making her appear smaller, more fragile. The urge to envelop her in his arms overwhelmed Leo, and he took a step forward. In a flash however, the moment was gone. She stood straighter, and turned her eyes away from the ashes in front of her.

  "I'm fine,” she said, her voice becoming firmer with every word. “But Brett's heart is going way too slow."

  For the first time since the beginning of the fight, Leo became aware of the regular but too faint, too slow beat filling the room. He followed Lisa's eyes. Brett was still lying on the bed where Nicholas had let him fall. His eyes were wide open and blinking up at the ceiling. If not for the hand he was pressing to his neck, there would have been a lot more blood on the blanket beneath him.

  Without taking the time to think, he hurried to Brett and picked him up.

  "Brett? Can you hear me?"

  The only answer was a muffled groan.

  "Lisa? The keys, by the door. The car is across the street. Get it close to the door, we'll be there in a minute."

  She didn't give any hint that she had heard other than following his directions. By the time he reached the street level with Brett, she had parked the car and opened the passenger door.

  "I'll get in the back with him,” she said. “You drive."

  He would have rather sit in the back, but already Lisa was slipping in the back seat and opening her arms. There was no time to argue.

  For the first few minutes, they drove in silence. The hospital was on the edge of town. Leo's attention was divided, one part focused on his driving, the other on the still regular beating of Brett's heart. When they came, Lisa's tears shattered both the silence and his mind.

  Unable to bear looking at her, he kept his eyes on the road but flung his right arm back. Immediately, she grabbed his hand and clung to it. It took her long seconds to calm down, long seconds that wrecked Leo's nerves and brought the void back to the forefront of his thoughts. When at last she spoke, her words rose no louder than a murmur.

  "I killed my Sire."

  Leo tightened his hold on her hand. “No. You killed a murderer.” The word tasted foul. He had never thought of applying it to Nicholas, or himself, or any other vampire, but at that moment, that was what she needed to hear. “You killed the man who threatened to take everything from you for the second time."

  Lisa didn't answer. When they arrived at the hospital, she was still clutching Leo's hand.

  Chapter 15

  "I'm bored!"

  Brett's disgruntled cry died without an echo, swallowed by the four walls of his bedroom. He was tired of looking at them, tired of being confined to his bed, tired of doing nothing. It had been two days since Nicholas had bitten him, a day and half since the hospital had released him, and while he had slept for most of that time, he couldn't stand it any longer.

  "Anyone ever told you act like a spoiled brat sometimes?"

  When Leo entered the bedroom, his smile belied his chiding words. He walked over to the bed and sat down next to Brett with his back to the headboard, setting the tray he was carrying on his own lap.

  "I thought you were reading."

  Brett snorted and threw a resentful glare at the book he had placed on the bedside table. “It's the dullest book I've ever read. I can't read through a page without falling asleep again.” He turned his gaze to Leo, and became suspicious of his amused grin. “That's probably why you chose it."

  "That would have been very mean of me. And it would be just as mean for me to bring all this and eat it in front of you, I suppose."

  He picked up the fork on the tray and speared a bit of omelet with it, bringing it to his mouth and eating it with exaggerated relish. The smell was suddenly tickling Brett's nose, warm and peppery. It looked just a little overcooked, but the bits of green and red pepper showed that Leo had tried to cook one of Brett's favorite dishes.

  "It looks good."

  He shifted on the bed so he could look at the tray more closely. Next to the omelet plate, a small bowl held an apple cut into quarters. There were also a slice of toasted bread and cheese and a small glass wine. Clearly, Leo had done his research thoroughly.

  "It is good. Want a taste?"

  Leo held out the fork, a piece of omelet at the end, as though expecting Brett to lean in and accept the food. Instead, Brett rolled his eyes and took the fork from him. Despite what his companions seemed to think, he was not a child who needed to be pampered back to health. He had played along so far, but enough was enough.

  Leo picked up the tray and settled it carefully on Brett's lap. “I figured you were tired of soup and juice."

  The first bite practically melted on Brett's tongue. He sighed in contentment.

  "Tired is an understatement,” he said when he had swallowed. “I was beginning to think I'd become an invalid."

  "Maybe if you hadn't been overworking yourself before all this happened the doctor wouldn't have confined you to your bed."

  Brett snorted before taking a sip of wine. He recognized it as the finest bottle they sold at the bar. “You mean, maybe Lisa wouldn't have confined me to it. She doesn't know about this feast, does she?"

  Leo's unabashed grin told the truth before he did. “I threw away the soup when she went down to hunt."

  "My hero.” Brett took a few more bites. “It is very good. I didn't know you cooked."

  "I didn't know, either."

  They laughed together. Brett continued eating, marveling at just how comfortable he felt, how easy the whole situation was, when he had only known Leo for a week.

  Silent now, he cleared the tray to the last crumb, feeling Leo's eyes on him the entire time. When he was finished, Leo took the tray back to the kitchen, coming back right away with Brett's laptop.

  "Dinner and a show?” Leo suggested, and when Brett raised a puzzled eyebrow at him, he set the open laptop in front of him.

  On the screen, the security feed was playing, the timestamp in the corner showing it was a recorded video. The figure almost in the center of it immediately caught Brett's attention.

  "She's beautiful."

  Leo sat down next to him again, close enough that he could see the screen. “Of course she is."

  Right there, so close Brett could have touched her and yet so far away, Lisa danced. Arms up and head thrown back, she looked like she was enjoying herself immensely. It was easy to imagine she was dancing for him, for them. She was wearing the red leather dress Brett had bought her to celebrate the opening of On The Edge. She had worn it the first time she had gone down to dance, and Brett had danced with her for a while before watching her for hours, hard and aching for her the entire time. The leather hugged her body and made her curves even more luscious, if that were possible. Brett couldn't take his eyes off her, and he knew that the four or five men dancing around her, following her lead like moths fluttering around a flame, were all as desperate to touch her as he was.

  "Beautiful,” he repeated quietly. “And ours."

  He expected Leo to agree with him again. Instead, Leo pulled back slightly. With some difficulty, Brett looked away from the screen at Leo, who seemed to have lost his smile and good mood.

  "Something wrong?” he asked, puzzled.

  Leo grimaced, even shrugged, and Brett thought he wouldn't answer, but he finally did, keeping his eyes on the computer screen rather than looking at Brett.

  "I'm not sure she still wants me around. She hasn't said anything, but she's been distant since that night, and I think when you're better I'll—"

  "Nonsense.” Brett would have laughed if it hadn't been so obvious that Leo's fears were real, and not just an excuse he had found to leave. “She's been spooked by what happened, that's all. It has nothing to do
with you. In fact, we talked about you moving in here. Her idea, but we both agree it'd be nice. If you want to, of—"

  The only answer Brett received was a forceful kiss, complete with clashing teeth and a demanding tongue, that stole his breath and made him incapable of coherent thought beyond the realization that Leo had just agreed to live with him and Lisa.

  When Leo pulled back, his eyes shone with a joy that warmed Brett and made him laugh with happiness.

  "Why don't you go tell her and share a dance with her for me, and when you two come back, we can celebrate."

  "No need."

  The quiet, husky voice startled Brett, and Leo as well, judging by his involuntary jerk. They turned their heads toward the door together. Lisa stood there, leaning against the doorjamb, watching them with eyes that sparkled just as much as Leo's.

  "We can celebrate now,” she said as she came up to them.

  She climbed onto the bed and crawled up until she was kneeling between them. She leaned in to kiss Brett first, and he barely noticed Leo taking the laptop away. He did notice, however, the hand that curled on his hip, holding him against Leo's side, and the smaller one that rested on his thigh, the touch both innocent and searing. Too quickly, Lisa ended the kiss and turned to Leo. Brett wove his fingers in her hair as he watched them kiss. They were each beautiful in their own right; together, they were breathtaking. He kissed her cheek, then Leo's, and they both turned their heads toward him, offering him to join in.

  He didn't know how long all of this would last, but he refused to worry about it. From the first day he had met Lisa, there had never been a promise for ever after for them. He had been lucky then; he was even luckier now to have them in his bed, in his life and in his heart. He would enjoy every second they gave him, and hope that he could make them as happy as they made him for as long as they allowed him to.

  If his luck continued to run high, it would be for a long, long time.