The Cursed (The Unearthly)

by Laura Thalassa

  Andre set me to my feet but kept one hand around my waist for support, eyeing the Politia like he dared them to pry me from him.

  I leaned into him, still weak from my injuries, and emotionally battered from my encounter with the devil. I’d been so close to losing everything.

  “You will not harm any of us,” one of the cloaked figures said. I’d recognize that voice anywhere. Lila.

  She stepped away from the cloaked crowd and removed her hood, her hips swaying as she walked. “You will let—”

  Andre’s hand slipped from my waist. A moment later he stood in front of her and wrapped a hand around her neck and lifted her off the ground. “You do not know how badly I’ve wanted to hurt you. And now you’ve presented me with the perfect opportunity.”

  I heard guns cock as officers trained their weapons on Andre. One of them shouted at him in Romanian, but he ignored the warning.

  I shifted my weight. This could devolve real fast if I didn’t do something. I took a deep breath, and called the siren up. “Don’t listen to anything the woman says,” I instructed the room, my skin glowing weakly. “Those of you who came here tonight intending to do me harm will willingly turn yourselves in. Officers, you will arrest the perpetrators.”

  Everyone except Andre, Oliver, Lila, and me appeared confused. The members of the Order weren’t stepping forward to turn themselves in, but they also weren’t trying to escape. The officers hadn’t moved forward to arrest the Order members, but they hadn’t stepped aside either. I was too weak to counteract the cambion’s glamour.

  “You will not hurt me,” I heard Lila rasp. When I glanced back at her and Andre, she clutched the earbuds in one of her hands, and Andre’s hold on her was loosening. I could see his trembling hand, the way his muscles spasmed.

  No one could deal with her. No one but me. Well—there was Oliver, to be fair—but this was my battle.

  I crossed the room just as Andre released her. She backed away from him and me, a smile dancing on her lips.

  I grabbed two knives from Andre’s belt while he stared at his empty hand. Stupefied. That was his expression; it was the same one that graced the faces of the other supernaturals in the room.

  “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size, Lila?” I asked, lunging at her with the knife.

  She jumped away. “Sorry babe,” she purred, “but you’re going to have to catch me first.” Her form streaked across the room, and I bolted after her.

  In front of the doorway out, Oliver squared his shoulders, spaced his feet apart, and pointed his gun at Lila. “Just say no to the hot, crazy ho.” He pulled the trigger, and the sound of a gunshot rang out.

  I screamed as a bullet tore into my side.

  Oliver threw his hands in the air. “I got her! I got—oh fuck,” he said when he saw me.

  Behind me, Andre’s angry howl raised the hairs on my arms. He might be dazed from the glamour, but he was becoming aware enough to know I’d just been shot. And once he came out of the trance, he’d be pissed.

  Lila tore past us, pushing Oliver to the ground as she exited the room.

  He yelped. “Not cool, wench!” he yelled after her.

  “Move,” I gasped out at Oliver as I trailed behind her, clutching my side.

  “But sweets …” he said, rising back to his feet.

  I pushed him back down and darted out of the room.

  Behind me I heard Oliver mutter, “I might’ve deserved that.”

  I ground my teeth together as movement jostled my new injury. It was the third time I’d gotten shot, and it was still just as blindingly painful as the first two.

  I followed the scent of ash and roses through the castle, still gripping the throwing knives. Fat lot of good they’d do me at this point. My aim while injured would be crappy at best.

  When I passed through the front entrance, I glanced over the staircase at the barren landscape. Amongst the white snow, a small form was sprinting away from the castle.

  Until my wound healed, I’d have a hard time catching her, even with my vampire speed. I tightened my hold on the throwing knives. If I decided to throw these at her, I’d likely miss, and then I’d be weaponless and she’d be further away.

  Making a split-second decision, I steadied my breathing and focused on my target. I lifted my arm and took aim. Move through the pain, I chanted to myself.

  I threw my entire body into the throw. I released the knife, biting back a cry as pain sliced through my side, and leaned a bloody hand heavily against the stone railing.

  The knife embedded itself right between her shoulder blades, exactly where I’d intended it. Well, dang. That actually worked.

  Lila cried out and fell to her knees.

  Taking a deep breath, I pushed away from the railing and bounded down the stairs. I held my side as I ran, blinking several times to eliminate the black dots clouding my vision.

  Ahead of me, Lila was whimpering. She reached over her shoulder and grasped the hilt of the knife. Letting out a scream, she pulled it out and tossed it aside. It took her several precious seconds to push herself to her feet, and I was almost upon her by then.

  I let loose the second knife I carried, hissing in pain as I released it. This one embedded itself just below her ribcage. Chances were, it hit a vital organ.

  Lila choked out another cry and fell into the snow once more. I picked up the knife she discarded and stalked towards her as she crawled away.

  Lila moaned and glanced over her shoulder. “So … fierce,” she gasped out.

  I leaned down and removed the knife from her lower back, and she screamed. Perhaps something about my visit with the devil had changed me, because I hardly batted an eyelash at my own cruelty. How our roles had reversed within a single evening.

  “You want to know something?” she said, her voice weakening. Already her blood was pooling around her.

  “No,” I said, standing over her.

  She flipped onto her back and winced. “I secretly didn’t want you to die. You reminded me too much of myself.”

  “We’re nothing alike,” I said, staring down at her.

  “We are,” she insisted. “Beautiful, seductive—wicked.”

  She coughed thickly. Now that there was no one to glamour, she seemed fragile.

  I knelt at her side and drew up one of the throwing knives. “You chose to be evil. I have not.”

  Even as she eyed the knife, she laughed weakly. “You will, though. You won’t have any other choice. And the good guys? The ones you think you represent? They will hunt you down and steal your life from you. The saddest part of all is that they will think the world is a better place because you are no longer in it. That will be your legacy.”

  Her words chilled me; they felt too close to the truth. I placed the knife at her throat. “How about you worry about your own immortal soul right now.”

  I saw the whites of her eyes flash—saw true fear in them. Lila didn’t want to die. The thought terrified her. “I already have a place of honor in hell,” she said, her voice wavering.

  I cocked my head at her. “Are you sure?”

  This time I smelled rather than saw her fear. “I’ll see you there, Proserpine,” she promised.

  “No, you won’t.” In one smooth stroke I slit her throat. “And my name is Gabrielle.”

  Chapter 30

  When I turned back to the castle, Andre stood at the entrance, watching me. My dark sentinel. He must’ve witnessed Lila’s execution.

  We stared at each other across the expanse of land, and then we were moving. I held my side as I ran, though the injury had mostly sealed up. My legs pumped furiously, and my weakened body screamed at me to rest. I promised it I would once I was back in my soulmate’s arms.

  We met somewhere in the middle. Andr
e lifted me in his arms, crushing me to him. I ignored the sharp stabs of pain that came along with his embrace. Instead I cupped his face and kissed him.

  Our lips moved over one another’s as though it were our last. I welcomed the warm sweep of his tongue as it invaded my mouth. There was a time this evening where I hadn’t been sure I’d ever get this again. I rubbed my hands over his cheeks, smiling a little at the feel of stubble.

  He groaned into my mouth and reluctantly pulled away. “I can’t live without you, soulmate,” he said, leaning his forehead against mine.

  “That’s funny, because apparently I can’t die without you,” I said.

  I’d officially become one of those girls. The gross romantics. Screw it, I’d earned the right to be disgustingly cute with my scary vampire.

  “I’m glad to hear it soulmate,” Andre said, smiling. “So, so glad to hear it.”

  “Well, my winter break wasn’t totally a bust,” Oliver said, entering Andre’s place behind us. “I got to shoot some foo’s and help save the day.”

  “Yeah,” I said, glanced behind me at him, “well one of those foo’s just happened to be me. Still haven’t forgiven you for that.”

  “Geez, I said I was sorry!” Oliver said. “I was trying to stop that trollop from escaping.”

  That trollop I’d killed. I swallowed at the memory. In response, Andre’s arm tightened around my waist.

  “Next time, Oliver,” I said, “do us all a favor and aim.”

  Oliver narrowed his eyes. “Maybe my hands had a mind of their own. Maybe they wanted me to take out the more annoying of the two lusty women in the room.”

  Andre growled low in his throat.

  “Oh, you do not get to get annoyed, Andre,” I said. “You were the one who gave him the gun.”

  Andre gave me an innocent look, as if to say, Who moi?

  “That look doesn’t work when you’re covered in blood,” I said.

  Oliver glanced between the two of us. “Are you guys finally going to do the deed? ’Cause if you are, then Caleb and I should probably leave, lest you two destroy another house.”

  I glanced at Caleb. After waking up in a nearby town—right where the devil said he would be—Caleb had called in to the Politia. He’d been responsible for their arrival.

  Since we met up with him at a Politia station, he’d been quiet. My guess was that he was suffering from some form of survivor’s guilt.

  “If you really must know, fairy, I’m planning on feeding Gabrielle,” Andre said, giving me an intense look. “What happens after that is none of your damn business—unless, of course, you’re interested in donating some blood to help her cause?”

  Oliver cringed. “Um, pass.”

  We stopped in the entryway, and Andre turned to Oliver and Caleb. “Then we’ll see you tomorrow evening.”

  The two guys got the hint and headed off towards their rooms. Not that they needed any extra prodding. It was late, and by late I meant early in the morning.

  I raised my eyebrows at Andre as he whisked me down the hall. “We won’t be seeing them until tomorrow evening?” I asked, when we entered Andre’s kitchen.

  He set me on the counter, his hips pressed between my legs. His eyes looked haunted. “I’m worried that my blood may have sped along your transition. If it has, you’ll probably have to start sleeping during the day.”

  I frowned. “I don’t feel any different.”

  Andre’s lips thinned, and he placed an ear to my chest. “Your heart beats twice as slowly as it did last night.”

  My lips parted in surprise.

  Andre lifted his head and his lips skimmed my neck. Goosebumps rose along my skin.

  “The smells of your skin are now much fainter—all but the scent of siren, which won’t fade.”

  I tunneled my fingers through his hair, and tilted his head back to face me. “Please tell me that my body no longer has to die before I become a vampire.”

  Andre’s eyes searched mine, and in them I saw remorse.

  “Damnit,” I whispered, my brows pulling together. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

  “The truth,” he said, “is that I don’t know. When it comes to you, all the rules that govern the supernatural world get thrown out the window.”

  He clasped the sides of my face, his touch feather light. “Are you okay, soulmate?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “I feel better.”

  He gave his head a shake. “I mean emotionally. A lot happened to you this evening.”

  He didn’t know the half of it. I hadn’t had a chance to tell him how the devil had kissed me, that he’d declared we were married, that he’d been a hair’s breadth away from binding me to hell. I’d managed to spurn him again, which could not have made the king of darkness my biggest fan. Nope, I’d place lots of money that if he ever got the chance to touch me again, he’d make sure I knew exactly what hell felt like.

  The sound of footsteps saved me from responding.

  “Sir.” One of Andre’s men entered the kitchen, clearing his throat when he saw the two of us together.

  Andre turned to face him. “What is it, Reginald?”

  “The Elders waited for your attendance this evening. They asked me to pass along the warning that the next time you’ll be charged with a misdemeanor for failing to appear in court.”

  Andre waved him off. “Let them know that I was indisposed, and that I will have to take off the next several days as well.”

  Without batting an eyelash, Reginald nodded and left the room.

  I gave Andre a disbelieving look. “So vampire Elders kidnap me the first time they catch wind that I’m in the area, but you can just say you’re indisposed, and they’ll back off?”

  Andre arched an eyebrow. “I’m the king of vampires,” he said, as if that explained everything.

  He moved away from me and walked over to his fridge, grabbed something from inside it. My breath caught when I saw what he held in his hand. Blood.

  Andre came back over to where I was perched on his counter. “Here,” he said, placing the bag in my hand and closing my fingers around it.

  I grimaced at the thing in my hands. It was cold. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

  “I was thinking we could play Hot Potato with it,” Andre said. The side of his mouth quirked. The bastard was trying not to laugh.

  I gave Andre a slitty-eyed look. “How do you even know what that game is?”

  “Amazingly soulmate,” he said, “I have learned a thing or two during my time on earth. Now do me a favor and at least give the blood a try. It even has a little straw so that my baby vampire doesn’t have to get her fangs dirty,” he said pointing to the top of the bag.

  “Ha-ha—you’re not funny.”

  He gave me a look that said he disagreed. “I want you to drink it.”

  “Andre, no.” Ew. As if I hadn’t seen—and drank—enough blood tonight.

  He brought the bag to my mouth. “Please,” he said, his eyes smoldering.

  My hand trembled from exhaustion. I could do this. I’d shanked a bitch, dodged the devil, and survived death three times over. I was a badass.

  Except when it came to blood.

  “Let the record show that I’m only doing this because you asked nicely,” I said. “See how far good manners go?”

  Andre’s lips twitched again. “I am amazed that in all my seven hundred years I hadn’t discovered this asking-for-permission thing,” he said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and letting his fingers run down my jaw. “It seems to be especially effective with the ladies.”

  “Hardy-har-har,” I said, but I melted under his gaze.

  He gave the blood bag a meaningful glance.

  “Okay, okay, I’ll stop stalling.�
� I brought the plastic straw to my lips and, drawing together my courage, I took a pull. As soon as the thick liquid hit my tongue, I grimaced … at the temperature, not the taste. I also might’ve been little disgusted that the source of the blood was a plastic bag and not a big hunk of man.

  This was so messed up.

  In spite of my distaste, I didn’t stop drinking until the bag was gone. Andre took it from me and gave me another. I felt like a kid drinking Capri Sun, sitting there on the kitchen counter, sucking my drink through a straw.

  So much for me being a badass. This was totally ruining my image.

  Once I’d finished a third bag, Andre declared I’d gotten enough color back to stop drinking.

  “Don’t you need to feed as well?” I asked him as he threw away the discarded blood bags.

  “Once I know you’re okay, I will.”

  “But you lost a lot of blood.” Even now I eyed his bloody arms.

  He came back over to me, a teasing smile tugging the corners of his lips. “Soulmate, I’ve fared far worse. I promise I’ll take care of myself, but for now, let me worry about you.” Andre didn’t say it, but I could swear he was all sorts of pleased that I’d shown concern for his vampy needs.

  He leaned in and placed his ear against my chest. When he pulled away his expression was grim.

  “It’s not speeding up, is it?” I asked.

  “No.”

  I placed a hand to my heart. “But I can feel you here,” I said, a happy smile drawing the corners of my lips up. It vanished when I remembered my time with the devil. “I couldn’t when I was with him.”

  Andre’s face looked pained. “I couldn’t feel you for a while either.” He placed his hand over mine. “Did he … hurt you?”

  I pursed my lips and chewed the inside of my mouth. “Not in the way you think. He kissed me and tried to do more, but it never happened.”

  Andre’s hands gripped the marble countertops on either side of me, and I heard the rock groan.