The Assassins of Light

by Britney Jackson

  He snorted. “Remember,” he said, as he held out his wrist to her, “you can’t swallow any blood. It would create a blood bond, and that would be weird.”

  “I’m aware,” Rose muttered. She took his wrist and bent her head. The sound of his heartbeat thundered in her ears, and the scent of his blood—sweet and powerful—filled her senses, even now, before she’d even bitten him. She exhaled slowly, trying to keep her hunger under control, and then, she sank her fangs into his wrist. Pulling back—when the blood was so close to her mouth—was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. It went against every instinct in her body, but somehow, she pushed the instincts back. She controlled her hunger.

  She heard Kara’s sigh of relief behind her as she managed to pull back.

  Erik lifted his eyebrows. “Impressive self-control for a baby vampire.”

  “Shut up,” Rose grumbled as she turned his wrist, letting his blood flow into the stone goblet. The blood filled about a third of the goblet now. She looked up at him for a moment, and then, she whispered, “Thank you for doing this.”

  Erik shrugged. “I’m only doing what any good friend would do.”

  “Well, thank you for that, then,” Rose said, “for being a good friend.”

  Talulah gestured for Rose to pass the goblet to Erik. So, Rose placed it, carefully, in Erik’s hands. Her apprehension increased as they began the final part of the ritual: each one of them would drink blood from the goblet. Just one sip.

  The reason most vampires killed their victims was that it was almost impossible to stop after just one taste of blood, and humans could only lose so much. The reason starved vampires didn’t spike their drinks with blood was that one taste of blood would only intensify the already ravenous hunger. There were so many things that could go wrong, so many reasons for this ritual to scare Rose.

  “Relax,” Kara told Rose and Erik, who looked equally nervous. “It’s one sip of blood, and then, it’s over. You can do this. You can control your hunger.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Erik muttered. “You’re used to controlling it.”

  Kara nodded. “I know. But if you do lose control, we’ll handle that, too.”

  Erik sighed with relief. He knew Kara could stop him, if he lost control. She’d done it plenty of times in the past, after all. He turned to face Talulah.

  Before Talulah drank from the goblet, she called out, loudly enough for all of them to hear, “The three powers, gathered in this circle, have given their blood. This blood symbolizes the connection we are establishing with the alliance. Just as we sacrificed some of our blood, we also sacrifice some of our independence for this alliance, but we do it in hopes of gaining something more.”

  Rose watched as Talulah sipped the blood. Talulah’s eyes slid closed, as that taste of blood affected her. When her eyes opened again, Rose thought she saw that flash of hunger in those deep, black eyes, but Talulah controlled it well.

  Talulah took the goblet from Erik’s hands and turned to her second-in-command, James, offering it to him. The ritual continued this way—from Talulah to James, from James to Aaron, from Aaron to Kara. Then, it was Rose’s turn.

  Rose stared apprehensively at the stone goblet that Kara offered to her. Her stomach twisted with hunger as the scent of fresh blood swirled around her head. “Have I mentioned that I think this is really weird?” she mumbled to Kara.

  An amused smile pulled at the corners of Kara’s lips. “Once or twice.”

  Rose sighed and stepped closer. Kara tilted the goblet against Rose’s lips, and Rose swallowed a sip of blood. And her entire body roared with hunger.

  “Easy,” Kara whispered, as she sensed that Rose was losing control. She pulled the goblet away from Rose’s lips. “Look at me, Rose. Not the blood.”

  Rose looked up, meeting Kara’s sharp, piercing gaze, and suddenly, she felt grounded. It was as if Kara’s gaze held her in place, as if those beautiful, blue eyes had brought her back. Her hunger faded just enough for her to regain control.

  “Perfect,” Kara whispered, still holding her gaze. “Now, take the goblet.”

  Rose wrapped her hands around the goblet and turned toward Erik. He looked as apprehensive as she felt. “Are you all right?” she asked him quietly.

  “For now,” he said, staring at the blood. “Let’s just get it over with.”

  Rose lifted the goblet a little higher—because he was so much taller than her—and he leaned forward to drink from it. His shoulders stiffened as soon as he tasted the blood, and he turned his face away, his jaw tight, as he tried to resist.

  “Erik?” she whispered worriedly. “Are you okay? Can you control it?”

  He nodded, but the action looked so forced and pained that it only made Rose worry more. But then, he straightened and took the goblet from her hands.

  Talulah took the goblet from him and returned it to the table. Then, she addressed the Village of the Undead and the Tomb of Blood, together. “The ritual is done. In the face of the greatest threat this world has ever seen, we are united.”

  Rose noticed, out of the corner of her eye, Erik folding forward, as if he were about to pass out. She reached out and grasped his arm. “Are you all right?”

  He fell forward, his head against her shoulder, as if he were hugging her.

  “Thanks for the hug and all,” Rose grunted, “but you’re kind of heavy.”

  She wondered, for a moment, as he sagged against her, motionless, if he’d lost consciousness somehow, but then, she felt sharp fangs graze her neck.

  Kara jerked him back, suddenly, her hand clutching the back of his neck, as if he were an animal that she were holding by its scruff. He snarled at her, his eyes wide and feral. “Elise?” she called, her eyebrows lifting, as Erik tried over and over—and failed over and over—to escape her grasp. “I think he’s hungry.”

  “Goodness,” Elise murmured, squeezing between Rose and Kara. She pulled off her coat and draped it over Rose’s arm. “He really is starving, isn’t he?”

  Rose watched, her eyes wide, as Elise swept her long, curly blonde hair to one side and approached Erik. Honestly, she was impressed by the small, blonde vampire’s boldness. Because, honestly, in this state, Erik was pretty scary.

  “I’ll stop him if he tries to take too much blood,” Kara assured Elise.

  Elise nodded, and then, Kara released Erik. Elise gasped as Erik sank his fangs into her neck, but it didn’t take long before she was sighing out in pleasure.

  Rose looked away, her face hot. She hadn’t expected to see that today.

  Kara returned to her side. “Do you want me to hold that?”

  It took Rose a moment to realize that she was talking about Elise’s coat. “Oh, no, I’ve got it,” Rose mumbled. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Erik like that.”

  Kara nodded. “I have,” she sighed, glancing back at him. “He’s always had a pretty insatiable appetite, and Alana used to encourage him to feed from one human after another, which would intoxicate him and make him more feral.”

  “Was I like that?” Rose asked curiously. “When I nearly drained you?”

  “A little,” Kara said with a smirk, “but it’s hot when you get like that.”

  Rose raised an eyebrow. “If you say so,” she said skeptically. She swept her gaze around the crowded room, expecting to find a lot of vampires watching Erik and Elise—in shock or horror—but instead, she found them all engaged in conversation—some excited, some wary, some casual. “No one’s even noticed?”

  “You’re in a vampire colony,” Kara told her. “There’s no shame here.”

  Rose turned to Kara, frowning curiously. “No shame in losing control? Or no shame in feeding from someone in the middle of a crowded room?”

  “Neither,” Kara said easily. “Both are just part of what we are.”

  “Thank you, everyone, and welcome to the alliance,” Talulah said, finally, her low, warm voice carrying across the crowded room. “To our allies, we invite you out
side, beneath the moon and stars, to watch the Lights with us. It’s possible that we could be at war with humans by the end of the week, if we’re unable to stop it. Therefore, I think we should spend time together and enjoy the peace.”

  Aaron rolled his eyes at the sentimentality. “But tomorrow, we plan our attack,” he said, moving to stand beside Talulah, “So, don’t get too comfortable.”

  “It’s freezing outside,” Rose muttered under her breath. Everyone in the room had begun to leave or talk amongst themselves, so only Kara heard her snarky remark. “I don’t think there’s any chance of us getting too comfortable.”

  —

  Rose tilted her head back, watching the stunning, greenish light shift and dance across the navy blue sky like a living, breathing being. “It’s almost worth the cold to see that,” she said. She looked over as she felt Kara sit down beside her.

  The five of them—Erik, Tom, Elise, Kara, and Rose—huddled together, on short, wooden benches, around one of the many bonfires outside the colony.

  Kara looped her arm around Rose’s shoulders, pulling Rose closer to her.

  Rose couldn’t help but sigh pleasantly as she leaned against Kara’s side, relishing the warmth of Kara’s body, breathing in the sweetness of Kara’s scent.

  The low, steady beat of a drum carried across the snow-covered valley, as music played somewhere nearby, as vampires danced sensually to the music.

  The sound of boots crunching in the snow drew their attention to the person approaching them from behind. Talulah’s tall, dark form came into view. She lifted a small, metal flask to her lips, and the scents of blood and whiskey drifted out toward them. “Do you guys need anything?” she yelled over the music.

  Kara lifted an eyebrow. “Why don’t you sit down and relax, for once?”

  “It’s easier to relax near people who haven’t betrayed me,” Talulah said.

  “Suit yourself,” Kara laughed, as Talulah spun around and walked away.

  “Do you always make such a lasting impression on people, Kara?” Erik said playfully. He took a sip from a bottle of whiskey and then passed it to her.

  “Absolutely,” Kara said as she took the bottle. She opened it and drank some of it. “It’s not always good. It’s not always bad. But it’s always memorable.”

  Elise leaned toward Nina, her curly, blonde hair falling forward, over the front of her jacket. “So,” she sang, drawing out the word, “you and Aaron, huh?”

  Nina straightened. “What? No. He just…” she trailed off, blushing. She turned toward Elise, her brows furrowing, and shrugged. “How did you know?”

  “My room is right next to his,” Elise said with an amused smile. “I could hear the…er…sound effects.” She laughed and lifted her eyebrows meaningfully.

  Nina’s big, brown eyes looked even bigger than usual. “Are you serious?”

  “I kind of liked the sound effects, actually,” Erik said shamelessly.

  Elise giggled. “Why are all of you Vikings such pervs?” she teased.

  Erik exchanged an amused look with Kara. “We weren’t pervs. We just liked to indulge in certain…pleasures. And we were open about it. Proud, even.”

  “Unless you were a lesbian,” Kara added. She lifted the bottle of whiskey to her lips and sipped it. “Then, everyone just pretended that you didn’t exist.”

  Rose watched as Kara drank the amber-colored liquid. “I find it hard to believe that anyone could’ve ignored your existence,” she said with a playful smile.

  Kara laughed, “No. I didn’t let them. I had everyone talking.” She set the bottle down in the snow, between her boots. “One lady told my father that he should be ashamed of himself for having such a disturbed daughter. So, I slept with her daughter.” She grinned wickedly. “She didn’t have much to say after that.”

  Rose rolled her eyes. “Oh my word,” she laughed, “that’s terrible.”

  Elise was laughing, too, along with most of the other vampires around the bonfire, when she noticed that Nina was still blushing. “Relax,” she told the young vampire, nudging her with her shoulder, “No one here is judging you.”

  Tom smiled at her from across the fire. “Yeah,” he snorted. “Let’s face it: there aren’t many people in the Tomb of Blood that Aaron hasn’t fed from.”

  Nina raised an eyebrow. “Even you?” she asked with an amused smile.

  Tom shrugged and took another sip from his flask. “A few times.”

  Rose frowned at Elise, Nina, and Tom, as they laughed. “How does someone as cold and unfeeling as Aaron manage to seduce so many people?”

  Elise lifted an eyebrow. “Have you ever seen him turn on the charm? He is surprisingly good at it. I mean, he’s still an asshole, but the man can flirt.”

  “Hey, do your rooms have one of those really big bathtubs?” Nina asked.

  “Mine has a walk-in shower,” Tom told her. “It’s a pretty nice room.”

  As Rose listened to their conversation, she buried her hands deep in the front pocket of her hoodie and hunched her shoulders forward, in an attempt to keep warm in the brutal weather. She straightened in surprise when she felt the warmth of Kara’s body against her. Before she could turn to look at Kara, she felt the heat of Kara’s breath on her ear. She shivered at the arousing sensation.

  “Are you cold?” Kara whispered, her lips twitching into a knowing smile.

  “Why would I be cold?” Rose sassed. “We’re only in the freaking Arctic.”

  Kara laughed softly, and the pleasant, breathy sound caressed Rose’s ear in just the right way, causing her to shudder…again. “Dance with me,” Kara said.

  Rose turned to stare incredulously at her. “Don’t you know me at all?”

  Kara trailed her heated, light blue gaze over Rose’s curves. “I know how much I want to feel your soft hips moving against mine,” she murmured quietly. A slow, seductive smile curved at the edges of her lips. “I promise you’d like it.”

  Rose blushed. “If you want to embarrass yourself, there are easier ways.”

  “I would never be embarrassed by you, Rose,” Kara said easily, her brows furrowing, as if she thought that it was absurd to think otherwise. But then, that serious look in her eyes faded away, the icy blue of her eyes catching fire, burning with lust. She tilted her face toward Rose’s, as if she were going to kiss her. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it. I saw you watching me the night we met, in the bar. You wanted to dance with me as much as I wanted to dance with you.”

  Rose swallowed as a painful wave of desire traveled through her body.

  “Come on, sexy,” Kara said, her dark hair falling around her face, as she leaned toward Rose. She smiled and lowered her voice. “I need you to dance with me,” she whispered. “I’ll explain in a moment…when we’re dancing…alone.”

  Rose nodded in understanding. She pulled her hand out of her hoodie, and Kara immediately took her hand, her long, warm fingers intertwining with Rose’s. She allowed Kara to pull her to her feet and lead her away from the other vampires. Her tennis shoes sank into the snow as she followed Kara toward a dark area of the snowy valley. All around them, vampires danced sensually and with reckless abandon, as if they didn’t have a care in the world, as if they felt no shame for their dark, sensual desires. Rose envied the confidence and freedom in their expression. She didn’t feel that yet, and she wasn’t sure if she ever would.

  Kara used their joined hands to drag Rose closer to her, until her cool, lean body bumped against Rose’s softer, warmer body. “I wasn’t lying, you know, about wanting to dance with you,” she murmured, sliding her arms around Rose’s waist. Her hips moved in a sensual rhythm, in time with the music, and without even thinking, Rose found herself moving with Kara, as if their bodies were in tune with each other. Kara’s lips brushed against Rose’s. “When I saw you in that bar, I wanted to ask you to dance. I wanted to feel your body against mine.”

  Rose moaned softly, desire burning her skin, even as the cold
air rushed around them. She locked her arms around Kara’s neck, sinking her fingers into Kara’s silky, blue-and-black hair. “Then, why didn’t you?” she asked breathlessly.

  Kara smiled at her. “Would you have said yes, if I had?” she whispered.

  “Probably not,” Rose said, “but since when are you afraid of rejection?”

  A cocky smirk pulled at the edges of Kara’s lips. “I’m not,” she said. Her fingers found their way underneath the bottom of Rose’s hoodie and then under her shirt, until her fingertips connected with the warm, soft skin of Rose’s hips. “I just like to make a girl want me first.” She ran her fingers over Rose’s hipbones, caressing Rose’s skin with just enough gentleness to make her moan, and then, she moved her lips to Rose’s ear and whispered, “You want me now, don’t you?”

  Rose closed her eyes, breathing out shakily, as the desire burned painfully throughout her body. “Uh,” she stammered, “what did you need to tell me?”

  Kara chuckled at the abrupt change of subject. She grabbed Rose’s hand and spun her around, urging Rose to dance with her back pressed against Kara’s front. She looped her arms around Rose’s stomach, her breasts pressing against Rose’s back, as she showered kisses along the curve of Rose’s neck, smiling as Rose moaned at the sensation. “The dancing is a good cover, don’t you think?”

  “Mmm-hmm,” Rose murmured, closing her eyes. “Cover for what?”

  Kara’s lip brushed against Rose’s ear as she explained, her voice low and lilting, “I received word from one of my spies today. She said that she has reason to believe that the Assassins of Light are going to bomb another vampire colony.”

  Rose stiffened in surprise. “Oh my word. We have to warn someone.”

  Kara tightened her hold on Rose’s hips. “We can’t,” she said quietly. “It would cause panic and chaos, and—while I do love a bit of chaos every now and then—now is a very bad time for chaos. Just stay calm. Keep dancing with me.”

  Rose raised both eyebrows in disbelief. “What the heck, Kara? You can’t just tell someone they’re about to get bombed and then ask them to dance.”