Vampire's Thirst (The Awakening Series)

by Cynthia Garner

  “Right,” Jason contributed. “That’s what I thought, too. You’re saying it’s not that way?”

  Kimber suddenly felt like she’d been all alone in this battle, even though there were other necromancers all over the world. Maybe she was more aware because she’d seen the initial attack? “It is spread by bite, yes. Patient Zero, Lazarus, was the one who bit the ME, who then spread the zombie phenomenon, for want of a better word. But the origins are from the Unseen, not a virus.”

  “And you’ve been able to push it out of them?” Maggie glanced at Jason again and Kimber saw her fingers tighten around his hand.

  “Yes.”

  Maggie’s eyes widened. “Were you touching a zombie when you did it? How did it feel? Did it hurt?”

  “It hurt.” Kimber leaned forward. “Doing this puts a great strain on your system. I can’t stress that enough. It’s different than tapping into the Unseen to animate a corpse for questioning. That’s a piece of cake because you still have a spark of the person’s soul to work with, to anchor the Unseen to. But now, with everything so messed up…” She shook her head and sighed. “It’s not like it used to be.”

  She almost volunteered the information about what she’d done to Atticus but thought better of it. She didn’t know how these two felt about vampires, and she didn’t want to give them any ideas. The last thing she needed was for them to go around attacking vampires.

  The other woman looked hopeful when she asked, “Does it reverse the process? It makes them human again?”

  “No.” Seeing the disappointment on Maggie’s face made Kimber feel like she’d just kicked a cute, fuzzy kitten. Nevertheless, she wouldn’t do either of them any favors if she wasn’t direct. “The initial infection kills them, Maggie. When the Unseen is stripped out of them, they go back to their original state, which is being dead.”

  “Oh.” The word came out in barely a whisper.

  “I’m sorry.” Kimber didn’t know what else to say. Everyone had someone who’d been turned…well, except for Kimber. She had no family and the one friend she’d had who’d been attacked had been killed before he could turn into one of those mindless cannibals.

  “How did you do it?” Jason asked, twining his fingers with Maggie’s.

  “The procedure is much the same as you would use for a raising. Only instead of summoning the Unseen to inhabit a body, you summon it to leave a body. Or bodies, more accurately.” Kimber studied them carefully. Both seemed to be following her reasoning, even if they looked a little shell-shocked. “I’ve only been able to do it once without holding on to a zombie, and it…” She swallowed. “Well, let’s just say it’s easier doing it by starting with one zombie.”

  “You’re saying we have to do this one at a time?” Maggie’s frown crinkled her forehead.

  “Not exactly. You start with one but spread it, like an infection.” She gave a small smile. “We fight infection with infection.”

  Brigid sat up straighter. “Yes, I understand your thought process on this.” She gave an abrupt nod. “I would be able to assist in this endeavor.” Her gaze flicked over the other two necromancers. “My power acts as a focus. Think of me as a prism, anchoring three separate laser beams into one more powerful beam.”

  It felt weird for one of the fey to be talking about laser beams, but that was the kind of world Kimber lived in now. Ten minutes later, impatient with going over the same talking points again and again, Kimber came to a decision. “We need to practice.”

  Jason stood and rested clenched fists on his hips. “You want us to go out into a bunch of zombies? And do…what? Hold their hands and sing ‘Kumbaya’? Are you nuts?”

  “No, no.” This was getting them nowhere. Kimber stood, too, and added, “Look, let me talk to Duncan. There has to be a safe way we can do this.”

  “Safe and zombies really shouldn’t be together in the same sentence,” Maggie muttered.

  Kimber couldn’t stop a quick grin. “We’ll find a way. I’ll get back to you.” As Brigid got to her feet, Kimber turned toward the door and saw Leon. Her smile faltered. She’d actually forgotten about him for a few minutes. “Come on, Leon,” she said on an aggrieved sigh. “Take me to your leader.”

  He shot her a disgruntled look that almost made her want to apologize. Almost. She recognized that he was just doing his job and that she was really upset with Duncan, not Leon. But she felt like she’d choke on any apology she might try to give, so she kept her mouth shut.

  When they reached the lobby, she saw she’d been in the human section long enough for the sun to set and full dark to fall. They crossed to the stairs that led up to the other floors, Kimber leading the way with Leon and Brigid following silently behind. As they approached Duncan’s office, she looked at Leon and said, “Why don’t you show Brigid to her quarters? I’m sure she’d like to rest a bit, maybe freshen up.” She glanced at the fey woman. “Would you like something to eat? I’m sorry I didn’t think to ask you that before.”

  Why could she apologize to this stranger without blinking but not the vampire who’d been part of her personal protection detail for the last month? God, something was royally screwed up with her.

  “I’m not hungry, but I would like to rest, thank you.”

  Leon hesitated outside the door to Duncan’s office.

  “Oh, come on, Leon. I sleep in the same bed with Duncan without any guards standing by. He’ll be fine with you letting me go into his office by myself.”

  The big vampire folded his arms over his chest and broadened his stance. “So, go inside his office, and then I’ll escort Brigid to her room.”

  Kimber pursed her lips. “Don’t trust me either, eh?” Jerk. None of them seemed to want to believe her when she said what happened with Atticus had been an accident. She was glad now that she hadn’t apologized. “Fine.” She threw up her hands and gave a brief knock. At Duncan’s bid to enter, she opened the door and waggled her fingers at Leon. “Off you go now.” Without waiting to see his response, she pulled the door closed behind her and walked toward where Duncan sat behind his desk.

  He looked up. There was a hint of reserve in his eyes, something she’d never thought she’d see with him. For all his talk about knowing she’d never hurt him, he sure wasn’t putting his money where his mouth was. “How’d things go with the other necromancers?” he asked. His deep voice never failed to ignite her engines, but the same glimmer of constraint in the low tones dashed ice over the fire.

  Really, could she blame him for his hesitancy? With the way her mood swung toward aggression, who was to say she might not go off and try to siphon off his energy? She’d never wanted this strong man, this alpha vampire, to feel fear around her, and that he might broke her heart.

  With that in mind, her response was muted. “Fine. We want to practice on some zombies. I thought maybe we could—”

  “No way in hell!” He shoved his chair back and stood. One palm slammed down on the desktop. His features hardened with resolve. “It was one thing to let you go out to get tampons, which you needed. I’m not about to risk my people so you and your little friends can go play with zombies. Hell, what is it with you humans wanting to go waltzing around like there’s no danger out there? Or, worse, expecting me to put my people in jeopardy to protect you while you play?”

  She realized right away that he was being an ass because he was still shaken over what she’d done to Atticus, though that didn’t make her feel any better about his attitude. She also realized he must have received more complaints from the humans in “the hole,” as they’d taken to calling the basement level. But fury over his condescending attitude blasted away any sympathy she felt or any guilt she held in lying to him about those damned tampons. “We’re not in second grade,” she gritted out. “I’m not talking about going outside and playing a game of tag. Or taking a walk in the park,” she added to let him know what this was really about.

  She really wanted to yell at him, maybe even bop him a good one right on his
schnoz, but that wouldn’t make him more agreeable. She put her hands on her hips and fought to keep from tapping her foot in agitation. “I’m talking about setting up a practice area, something that won’t put the compound at risk. We could set up an arena of sorts in one of the buildings that’s unused on this block. Build a fenced-in corridor to get us from here to there safely, and we could handle the rest.”

  “And just how would you get your zombies to this arena?” Duncan sat back down with a frown. At least he seemed to be listening to her instead of reacting to her words. “If it still comes down to vampires going out to round them up—”

  “No, it doesn’t. Jason and I could—”

  “Absolutely not. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you endanger yourself, either. And who the hell is Jason?” He jumped to his feet again, his frown deepening into a scowl, silver sparking the green of his irises.

  Rather than anger her, the evidence of his jealousy knocked down a few chunks in the wall she’d begun to build around her emotions where he was concerned. Maybe there was a road back to when they’d been happy with each other. She gave a soft smile and walked around his desk to plop herself down in his lap. Her smile widening at his startled look, she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, “Jason’s one of the necromancers and he’s madly in love with Maggie, the other one.” She stared down into his eyes. “If we do this, and I think we should, I’m afraid it’s me or your vamps, lover. Your choice.”

  He stared at her for a moment; then his shoulders slumped. “Well, if I agree to let you do this, I guess it’ll be a couple of my vamps.” He brought one hand up and cupped her face, rubbing his thumb gently across her cheek. “I don’t want to lose you, Kimber.” For the first time in a week she could see in his eyes, his face, exactly what he felt—desire, uncertainty, and so much love it took her breath away.

  And just like that, any lingering frustration and anger melted away. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. It was soft and sweet and gentle, a slow sliding of her mouth against his. He closed his lips around her lower one, then the upper before settling firmly over her mouth again. She sighed, parting her lips. He slipped his tongue inside her mouth, tasting her, caressing her tongue in slow, easy strokes. She loved his flavor, though she always had a hard time describing it. Salty, with a little hint of sweet. Primitive with a definite undercurrent of ultramasculinity.

  She moaned. Duncan responded with a moan of his own and held her tighter, his tongue twining around hers with greater force. She arched against him, rubbing her tingling breasts against his hard chest. At some point she needed to breathe, and she broke away from him. This was what she’d missed this last week, this closeness, the carnality behind their love.

  “I love you,” she told him.

  “I love you, too,” he replied with a light kiss to her mouth. He settled her more comfortably on his lap and wrapped his arms around her to clasp his hands over her hip. After a few moments of companionable silence, he asked, “Do you really think the three of you can do something?”

  “I do.” Kimber sifted her fingers through the silky hair at his nape. “Except I don’t think we should risk Maggie.”

  “Why not? You’re a woman and we’d be risking you.”

  “She’s pregnant. Maybe seven months or so.” She didn’t follow through with what would be a logical “I’m not” because, well, she was. And she didn’t want to outright lie to Duncan. An omission wasn’t exactly a falsehood, though she knew when he found out he wouldn’t see it in quite the same way she did. “It’s Jason’s.” She frowned. “Well, I think it is. I didn’t ask.”

  “I don’t suppose it matters,” Duncan replied quietly. His gaze met hers. “I won’t do anything that puts you at unnecessary risk,” he said. “You mean too much to me.”

  “Even if we could stop the apocalypse?”

  “Even then.” He pressed a kiss to her brow. “I love you, Kimberly Treat, and I’m not giving you up. Not to zombies, not to the Unseen. We’ll figure this out.”

  She saw the inner conflict on his face. If he did encourage her and she and the others were able to end the apocalypse, it was possible when everything was said and done he might lose her, too, because of the Unseen inside her. She fought the urge to blurt out her news. If he knew she was pregnant, he’d definitely put the kibosh on this plan of hers. She didn’t want to risk her unborn child, but she needed to set things right in the world. She’d had a hand in starting this, even if it wasn’t exactly her fault. She needed to be the one to end it. She didn’t want to raise her child—any child, for that matter—in this zombieriffic world.

  * * *

  Just when she thought she might see if she could do something with the hard wedge of man flesh pressing against her hip, a knock on the door came. When she tried hopping off Duncan’s lap, he tightened his hold. “Come,” he barked.

  The door swung open to reveal Atticus. He seemed startled, and definitely not happy, to see Kimber there.

  She pushed back the hurt she felt at his attitude. Since she didn’t know what to say at this point, she didn’t say anything.

  “Sorry,” Atticus said with another glance at Kimber. “We’re scheduled for a meeting with Vachon. He’s ready.”

  Duncan’s arms loosened and Kimber climbed off his lap. As he stood, a tall, muscular man strolled into the office. He wore navy slacks with a crisp, long-sleeved white dress shirt. His dark hair was caught at the nape of his neck with a leather band. Blue eyes held intelligence and good humor.

  Duncan shook the newcomer’s hand. “I hope your stay so far has been pleasant, Xavier.”

  “Your hospitality is most gracious,” he said with a brief incline of his head. “And here is your very good friend Kimber.” His widening smile deepened the color of his eyes. “It’s good to see you again.”

  Kimber shot him a glance. “You, too,” she said, but anger began heating her inside. Here we go with the ‘very good friend’ bullshit again. What the hell?

  Duncan cleared his throat. “Shall we get started, then? Kimber, I’ll see you later.”

  She forced a smile. She didn’t see any reason why she couldn’t be in this meeting—why she shouldn’t be in this meeting—but she wasn’t going to press the issue in front of a stranger. “Of course.” To Xavier she said, “I imagine we’ll be seeing more of you. I’ll let you get your meeting started.” She went up on tiptoe and placed a kiss against Duncan’s lips, then smiled at Atticus as she went by.

  Atticus, who used to be her friend, didn’t want to be in the same room with her anymore, and her lover called her a “very good friend.” She sighed and closed the office door behind her. This had been the worst day ever.

  Chapter Seven

  By ten o’clock that night, Kimber was beat. She’d had no idea that being pregnant and stressed and worrying about what exactly her lover meant by very good friend could make a woman so fatigued. Tossing down the mystery novel she’d been reading, she heaved herself off the sofa and toddled toward the bedroom. Duncan was still with Xavier and Atticus and probably would be until the early hours of morning. Right now Kimber was too tired to even think about staying up to wait for Duncan. Maybe she’d take a nap with him later on. The way she was feeling right now, she thought a lot of naps might be in her future.

  She took a quick shower and pulled on one of Duncan’s soft T-shirts but didn’t put on any panties. They made her uncomfortable while she slept. Crawling beneath the covers, she lay on her back and placed one hand over her abdomen. “Well, little one,” she whispered, “I guess it’s just you and me right now. I don’t think your daddy meant to imply anything by calling me a very good friend. I mean, he could hardly call me his girlfriend, right? How silly would that be, an alpha vampire calling me his girlfriend, like we’re teenagers? And it’s not like he can call me his fiancée, either, since he hasn’t asked me to marry him. And I’m not sure what I’d say if he did,” she rambled on. “I think I’d say yes. I love him, so of
course I’d say yes. Probably.”

  Kimber didn’t understand why she felt so ambivalent. Any woman would jump at the chance to marry the man she loved, right? So why was she waffling?

  Her thoughts continued to natter at her as she spiraled down into sleep.

  * * *

  The full moon lit the small city park, showing clearly the horde shuffling toward her. Kimber turned to run but stopped to see she was surrounded by zombies. She reached for the hatchet at her waist. Her fingers closed around air. What the hell? Why had she come outside and gone a mile and a half away from the compound without at least carrying some sort of weapon?

  Her heart thrummed wildly in her chest. She looked around to find something—anything—she could use. Nothing. Not even a rock or a stick. Taking a deep breath, she looked for a break in the circle closing ever tighter around her. There! Another breath, and she took off like the hounds of hell were on her heels.

  With only a little difficulty, she managed to push through the horde. She put on a burst of speed. Just as she reached the outer perimeter of the park, more zombies spilled out of the woods, trying to cut off her escape.

  Then she saw the vampires, perched on overturned cars, standing on the curb across the street. Watching. Waiting.

  Waiting for what?

  “Help me!” she yelled.

  “I told you I wouldn’t jeopardize my people so you could play in the park.” Duncan stepped forward from behind a line of beefy enforcers. “This was your choice, to put your life at risk. So you get to live with the consequences.”

  Live with the…Was he kidding? If he didn’t help her, there wasn’t going to be much more living being done by her. “Duncan, you can be mad at me later. Right now, I really could use your help.” The last word came out as a screech as she dodged rotting hands reaching for her. On some level she was aware of how surreal this was, but she was too panicked to do much more than plead for help. “Please!”