Vampires of Moscow (Blood Web Chronicles Book 1)

by Caedis Knight

  “That is…” he continues. “Until Boris got greedy and started having his associates, like Varlam who you met at Sakhalin, steal entire shipments from me. Of course, once Boris’s employees found out about the super blood they started attacking my workers, draining them out of greed - sloppily leaving their dead bodies dumped on my sites for anyone to find. That’s when your friend went and ran her mouth to The Chronicle. So, you can imagine my luck when a little Verity Witch fell right into my lap and helped me weed out all the rats in my organization. Now all these problems have been taken care of. I should thank you, really.”

  He was playing me all along. He used me for his own investigative purposes, all the while I thought I was investigating him.

  “How long have you known I’m a reporter?”

  “I had my tech guys look into it shortly after you arrived. They struggled with the encryptions, I admit, but your mistake was not knowing Russia has the best hackers in the world. Your movements were suspicious too.”

  “My movements?”

  Konstantin reaches out and pinches my Black Rabbit pendant between his fingers.

  “The pendants are bewitched with tracker spells. It’s how I saw you at the construction site. It’s how I tracked Ansel’s movements too.”

  “The map in your office,” I say weakly, recalling the elaborate map of Moscow hanging in his office, flickering with bewitched moving lights. It’s how he knows where all his little rabbits are. I should have known.

  I let everything sink in as my body rocks slowly back and forth. Grief is heavy in my stomach and gravity is threatening to make it flood out of me in the form of vomit.

  “You didn’t have to kill Ansel,” I choke out through a sob. “She didn’t even know the whole truth.”

  “Yes. It is a shame. She was a sweet child,” he drawls, “But when you build an innovative business such as mine, there will always be collateral damage.”

  “You know what? You’re not some visionary, you're just a pathetic trafficker,” I shout. “Nothing more.”

  His smile waivers a little.

  “I’m not some backstreet dealer, sweetheart. My sun pills are going to change the world.”

  He’s right. If this crap gets out, no one will be safe from Vampires.

  “Why are you doing all of this?” I ask. I feel faint. So much blood has rushed to my head that I can only ask the simplest of questions. “You already have plenty of money.”

  Although I know it’s more than that. Having enough wealth has never stopped someone from wanting more, but with Konstantin, his reasoning always runs deeper than that.

  He doesn’t answer me, so I goad him. “Your medical lapdog over there said your product wasn’t ready, that it would cost Vamps their lives if it was released too soon.”

  Konstantin glances at Dr. Vassily with irritation. “Like I said, collateral damage.”

  “I don’t understand why you’re doing this!”

  Konstantin sighs. “We Vampires have been cast out to the shadows for too long,” he says, tapping the syringe. “But not anymore. We were created to rule this world. We belong in the light.”

  Konstantin is already so powerful in the night, why would daylight be so important to him? How much more will he gain? Then it hits me. Ballet! Being unable to walk in the sun cost him his life’s dream. Finally, Konstantin’s motives make sense.

  “The moment I was turned,” he says, “I could see that us Vampires were the real gods. I knew it the moment I took my mother’s life. As I watched the weakness and humanity drain from her, I knew there was no other god in this world as powerful as me.”

  Konstantin killed their mother.

  My heart already aches from all the blood pumping to it, but upon hearing Konstantin’s confession my pain for Lukka crashes down on me like a thunderous wave. Poor Lukka, all these years thinking that his mother killed herself because of him.

  “That’s why I built us our own chapel,” he gestures at the ceiling. He’s talking about the Black Rabbit.

  “So, this is about power?” I say.

  “Everything is about power, sweetheart.”

  “There are other ways to power, Konstantin. One with a smaller body count.”

  “The road to power is paved with bodies,” he answers coolly. “Especially in mother Russia.”

  Dr. Vassily has finished whatever he’s been working on in the corner of the room and straightens up as Konstantin pulls something from his pocket. He holds the vial up to my face. Even upside down I recognize my bottle of Witch blood antidote.

  “Imagine how delighted I was,” he coos. “To hear the Vamp who attacked you talk of a Witch blood antidote. Your precious MA has certainly kept that new development quiet...” He shakes it in my face. “Useful stuff, this. No wonder you wouldn’t want other Paras getting their hands on it. Oh well, too late.”

  The Mage Association are the only ones who can produce this. If Konstantin releases it across the whole Para community us Witches will become totally defenseless.

  My heartbeat gallops wildly as Konstantin rolls up his shirt sleeve and injects himself with a groan. It must hurt as he shoots the doctor a vile look as if the unpleasantness of the drug were his fault. The fact that the shot was meant for him instead of me is somehow scarier because now I have absolutely no fucking clue what this monster is doing.

  Konstantin crouches down until his face is inches from mine. I can’t believe I once enjoyed staring into these eyes. I can’t believe I let this piece of shit near me.

  “Thanks to you delivering this handy little antidote straight into my home, I had my doctor study it and make me another version. A special Vamp version which will allow us to finally get to feed on Witches properly.” I’m shocked into silence, but Konstantin hasn’t finished. “Imagine how many Vamps are going to enjoy the thrill of a Witch for dinner,” he says.

  I swallow again. He’s developed a drug that allows all Vamps to feed on Witches? Not just an antidote. This is huge. If he can achieve that, he can achieve anything...and it’s all my fault.

  My voice is croaky as I attempt to reason with him. “Why go through the effort of devising a drug to feed on me, when you can literally feed on anybody else?” I shout, my voice wavering. “Is power over me that important to you?”

  He laughs. “Don’t be silly, sweetheart. Your blood means nothing to me, in fact, it tastes like shit. Through this medicine, my latest design, I’ll get to do more than just drink. I’ll also get to absorb your abilities.”

  I close my mouth quickly and Konstantin’s smile widens. It’s terrifying. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the doctor leave us, and although I know he’s not on my side all I can hear is my heartbeat hammering against my tight chest knowing I’m being left alone with Konstantin.

  I want to scream. To call out. To beg. But it won’t make any difference. It’s too late.

  Konstantin slowly lowers down his shirt sleeve, then with unnatural speed he plunges his teeth into my neck. His fangs, buried deep into my soft flesh, burn like a brand. Each suck at my neck making me sway from side to side. I can hear the rush of blood leaving me, feel myself losing consciousness as my body grows weaker. Konstantin drinks deeply, his hands moving to either side of my face to keep me steady as he lets out soft moans of pleasure.

  “This medicine makes you taste delicious,” he groans. “That’s an added bonus.”

  Eventually, he releases me and leaves me swinging like a piece of meat in an abattoir as I drift in and out of consciousness

  “Tell me a lie, sweetheart,” he coos, his mouth smeared with my blood. “I want to see what Verity magic I can do.”

  “A lot of people love you,” I say weakly.

  I can tell when the ping of my lie hits him, because he looks both angry and pleased with himself. His face twists into a snarl and he throws himself at me again, this time sinking his teeth into the other side of my neck. Pain pulses from my chest to the crown of my head, sharp and relentless. Then he lets go
.

  “Just finish me already,” I growl.

  “Oh, no, no, no, Saskia,” Konstantin tuts, his eyes hooded in post-feed ecstasy. “There’s an art in feeding. It’s like an orgasm. It’s all about control and drawing it out, savoring the moment. But I’ve already taught you that lesson. Haven’t I?” He gives me a look and I know he’s thinking of the Bolshoi. Thinking of the way he had me teetering on the edge of a climax until he decided when I’d come. I fucking hate him.

  He places his face close to mine, whispering in my ear. “I’m going to nearly drain you, sweetheart, over and over again, keeping you on the verge of death. But I won’t let you fall. Where’s the fun in that?”

  He’s taking pleasure from my suffering. I feel the bile slipping down my throat.

  “Think about it, Saskia. Why would I ever kill you?” he coos. “The abilities I’ve just sucked out of you will only last as long as the blood is in my system, so I need to keep taking it. Although it won’t be long until I find a way to synthesize it. Truth pills - what do you think? It has a certain ring to it, don’t you agree?”

  His words are taking shape in my hazy head. He’s going to leave me hanging here indefinitely like his personal lab rat. For how long? Terror rocks through me and I start to shake.

  “You’re broken,” I say quietly. I need him to know that beneath the layers of my terror, beneath the layers of hate, I pity him. “It’s no surprise though. I mean, your father left you, your mother didn’t care about you, and when your brother finds out that you’re as evil as your parents were, he’ll hate you more than anyone.”

  It works. His level gaze narrows and I’m almost grateful when his teeth plunge into me again and the whole world fades to black.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Konstantin fed on me so many times I eventually passed out. My eyes flicker open and I realize I’m still in the cage but at least this time I’m the right way up and no longer restrained. Someone has propped me up on a concrete bench and littered around me are empty syringes and little glass bottles.

  What the fuck have they been pumping into me?

  Or has Dr. Evil been extracting blood samples to get to work with on truth pills? My neck stings but the pain isn’t too bad. I run my hand over what I expect to be a huge wound, but it’s just two tiny dots like scabbed-over pinpricks. Have they been injecting me with fast-healing meds? Or making my blood stronger by filling me with power-enhancing steroids? I’m no vegan, but for the first time in my life I know exactly how a farm cow feels and it’s not cute.

  I try and get to my feet, but my legs can’t hold me up and I flop back down again. Great. Not only am I trapped in Vamp jail, in an underground private parking lot where no one is going to come until nightfall, but I can’t even stand up.

  I lean my head back against the concrete wall and shout. My throat is sore, but that’s the least of my problems.

  “Hello?”

  Silence.

  “Anybody there?”

  What am I expecting? Batman to crash in?

  I can hear movement next door. What if Konstantin is still there? Will he come back for more? I haven’t eaten in ages, but I feel like I’m going to throw up.

  The lab door behind me opens and the weaselly Dr. Vassily enters and places a full syringe on the small table by the door.

  “Mr. Volkov has asked me to prepare more antidotes,” he says, pointing to the injection. His face is deathly pale even for a Vamp, and his watery eyes are rimmed red. “He will be back soon, so stop shouting.”

  Looking him dead in the eye I let out a scream as loud as my sore throat will allow.

  In a flash he’s by my side, face inches from mine and Vamp teeth bared. Unlike Lukka’s thick white fangs, Dr. Vassily’s are yellowing and pathetically thin, I'm tempted to snap them out of his slack-jaw mouth.

  “You think you can threaten me with those pin-dick fangs?” I say. “An office stapler would do more damage than what you’re packing.”

  “Keep talking, you little bitch, and I’ll kill you!”

  “No, you won’t,” I say. “Konstantin needs me more than he needs you.”

  The doctor snarls and looks me up and down like I’m a piece of meat. Which, after what they’ve been doing to me, I guess I am.

  “The world is not short of Witches,” he spits. “Witches who are far more powerful than you. But there aren’t many doctors like me. So, keep quiet and rest. Mr. Volkov will be back soon, and we need you to be compliant.”

  A smile creeps over his face and I want to wipe it off with a chair. But there’s nothing left in the cage now except a concrete bench attached to the wall, a small table, and a floor full of trash.

  The doctor slams the door loudly behind him and I do my best not to burst out crying. It’s freezing down here. They haven’t even given me a blanket.

  Come on, Saskia, I say to myself. You’ve got out of worse situations than this one. If you can burn down a Shifter mafia den and fight a Siren queen underwater, then you can get out of a cage.

  I have no idea what time it is, but it has to be morning by now, which is probably why Dr. Vamp is grumpy and my torturer is either in his mansion or upstairs in the club having a nap. There’s only one car left in the garage and it’s too ostentatious to belong to Konstantin. I squint at it and....wait. No way.

  It hurts to smile but I do so anyway. That car belongs to Lukka. It’s not his prized yellow Lamborghini, but another pink model from his collection. A sick feeling creeps over me at the thought that maybe he’s in the club, that he’s been in on this all along, but I push away my fear. I’ve just spent the last three nights (and plenty of day action too) with him and he’s never once lied to me. He has no idea I’m in trouble. I’m sure of it.

  What was it he said about his cars being his babies? About using something even better than a nanny cam to watch over them?

  I pick up one of the empty syringes off the ground and weigh it in my hand. If I can hit the car, maybe Lukka’s phone will alert him that someone is damaging his property?

  I stumble over to the bars of my cage, my legs wobbling beneath me, and throw the empty syringe as hard as I can at his car. It drops a meter away. Nowhere close. This is why I never took part in athletics at school.

  I grab a tiny glass bottle off the ground and throw that instead. It’s heavier so it goes further, but I’m still a shit shot and it lands with a light crash on the ground nowhere near his car.

  I try again, then again, hoping Dr. Vassily next door can’t hear the noise I’m making. Nothing works and I’m left with no more options, all the trash from my cell now littering the parking lot instead.

  I look around the sparse room, contemplating taking off my boots and throwing them next, when I spot a full syringe behind me. I don’t want that fucking thing anywhere near me anyway - not if it means Konstantin gets another go at draining me dry.

  This is my only chance. If I miss his car Lukka will never know what happened to me and the world is going to be overrun with Vamps who can also do Witch magic...in the sunlight. Fuck that!

  I weigh up the syringe in my hand. It’s heavier than the other items were. I can do this. I have to do this. Taking a deep breath, I channel my inner Katniss and take aim. Bam! The syringe hits the wing mirror of the fancy car with a satisfying crack - disappointingly the syringe remains full and unbroken.

  With a loud slam, the door to the lab flies open again and the doctor steps out, this time looking more exhausted than angry. Someone needs a coffin nap.

  “What was that noise?” he asks, his voice dripping with weariness.

  Shit, he’s noticed I’ve tidied up my cell. Fast as a flash he grabs my face and edges closer.

  “No one is coming to save you, Witch bitch,” he hisses. “Only the Volkovs have the key to this garage during the day and they are both sleeping. One more word out of you and I’ll wake Konstantin so that he can deal with you himself.”

  He can say what he likes, but I know Lukka doesn�
��t sleep much.

  After ten minutes I’m convinced either Lukka’s phone hasn’t alerted him or he’s not heard it. After twenty minutes I start telling myself that maybe he’s in on this after all. Then, after thirty minutes, a side door at the back of the garage slowly opens and I see Lukka’s bleary and concerned face.

  I’ve never been so happy to see anyone in my life.

  Except he doesn’t look in the direction of the cages, he only has eyes for his car baby. He jogs over to the car and runs his hand tenderly over the wing mirror, picking up the glass on the floor and looking around.

  I want to shout but I daren’t. I can’t let the doctor know I’ve summoned help. I wave my arms around and Lukka finally notices me. He goes to speak but I hold my finger up to my lips.

  “Help me,” I whisper. “Get me out of here.”

  He lets out a confused laugh and runs his fingers through his messy hair. He looks half asleep. He’s bare-chested and wearing baggy white trousers, his usual array of gold chains around his neck, and a pair of plastic Adidas sliders. Was he sleeping upstairs? He must have been because he couldn’t have driven over from the house in daylight. Unless he has sun pills. Has his brother told him about them already?

  “There you are!” he says, his face lighting up. “I’ve been calling you. I came to the club last night looking for you and I’ve been there all day waiting.” He frowns and walks over to me. “What are you doing down here? Did you get trapped, little Witch?” He gives me his demonic sexy grin. “Or have you been waiting for me to join your cage?” He raises his eyebrows suggestively and a feeling of both relief and sadness washes over me. Lukka has no idea what his brother has been up to.

  “This is serious, Lukka,” I say. “Konstantin is involved in something bad, really bad. He’s creating some crazy new drugs! You have to get me out of here.”

  Lukka laughs again and leans his head against the bar. He blinks lazily.