“Where’s Milo?” I asked, and my voice sounded weak and soft. Jack put his hand over mine, trying to stop the blood. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’s with Bobby. They’re fine,” Jack bit his lip and looked back over his shoulder.
“The lycan just took off when the cops showed up. We gotta get out of here before they find us.”
After the lycan attack, dealing with the cops didn’t seem like that big of deal. Except that I was bleeding like crazy. They would take me to a hospital, where everything would get very, very complicated, and I couldn’t handle that. The wound itself wasn’t deadly either. Or at least I didn’t think it was.
I tried to remember if vampires could die from blood loss. I knew starvation could kill them, but it had to be a very long time. At any right, but the looks of the puddle growing underneath me, I had lost almost all the blood I had in me.
I was starting to feel it. My insides felt like they were burning and shriveling up. There was this weird painful sense of being deflated. My mind had fogged up so much I couldn’t understand anything Jack was saying to me, and everything I could see had blurred completely into a red haze. I couldn’t feel actual bloodlust because I was too weak. All the strength had seeped out of me, and it was replaced with some of the most intense pain I had ever felt. I started screaming until Jack put his hand over mouth. I could smell and taste my blood on his hand, and my stomach lurched.
The ground seemed to move around me, falling away. A cold wind blew over me, but I could barely feel it. I couldn’t see anything. There was just the pain. I could smell blood, and that frantic animal part of me was barreling in. I tried to move, to fight to get at the blood, my arms wouldn’t work. They were shaking violently, and I wondered dully if I was having a seizure. The world swayed and bowed around me, and I was about ready to kill Jack to get his blood. The pain was so excoriating that I would’ve killed anyone to make it stop.
“Alice, drink.” Jack’s voice in my ear, but I didn’t know what he was talking about. I could smell him, but it wasn’t his blood. It was warm and fresh and pounding quickly. I wanted to drink it, but I couldn’t find it. I couldn’t speak or move.
Then I felt it. Warm skin pressed against my lips, and I felt the pulse of his veins throbbing on my mouth. Without thinking, I sunk my teeth and started drinking. Almost instantly, my strength picked up, and I grabbed onto whoever I was drinking. I pressed them closer to me and drank furtively. My mind flashed onto when I saw Milo biting Jane and how he had looked like an animal, and I knew that I was eating like that, but I didn’t have a choice.
The pain stopped, then pleasure slowly trickled through me. Delirious heat spread through me.
Pleasure exploded all through me, and I drank more deeply. I could feel how kind and loving they were, and there was an acidic aftertaste from the adrenaline. They had been afraid, but they weren’t usually, and they weren’t know. They felt safe with me and they cared about me, even though I was drinking them dry.
Some part of me knew I should stop. I had already drank enough where I would be alright, and it was almost more than a human could spare. But the rest of me refused. I couldn’t stop. It felt too amazing and tasted to wonderful. I needed this, and I couldn’t stop, not until I had it all.
“Alice!” Jack shouted. There was a sharp pain in the back of my head, but I didn’t care, not until that pain started pulling me back. He was pulling me by my hair, trying to get me to let go, but I wouldn’t, and if he pulled too hard, I would end up tearing out the throat. “Alice! Let go!”
“Jack!” Milo wailed. “Make her stop!”
Jack kept pulling on me, and I literally growled at him, like a dog with a bone. Thinking quickly, he wrapped his hand around my throat, squeezing down on it. I couldn’t breathe, but more importantly, I couldn’t swallow. I let go, simply so I could bite Jack and get him to leave me alone, but as soon as I separated, I could think again. I felt dizzy and drunk, but I didn’t feel animal crazy anymore.
Jack didn’t know that though, so he wrapped his arms around me to keep me from going after the blood. The neck had already been pulled away from me. It had been the instant I had stopped biting, and I looked around to see who it was. Milo cradled Bobby in his arms, sobbing, and that’s how I found out.
“Bobby?” I mumbled. The familiar tired haze I got after eating settled in on me. My inner thigh tingled and itched like crazy, meaning it was healing.
“You nearly killed him, Alice!” Milo yelled at me.
“She had to do it, or she would’ve died!” Jack shouted. He was still holding me in his arms, but more gently. He just wanted me near him.
I wiped Bobby’s blood away from my mouth and tried to sit up. We were sitting on black top next to a white building, and when I looked up, I realized it was the Basilica of St. Mary, a massive cathedral a block away from the park. Jack had carried me over here, away from the police, and then tried to fix me up. I felt like passing out, but I was fighting it. We weren’t safe here, not with the lycan after us, and I had to do something.
“I never should’ve let him come with.” Milo stroked Bobby’s hair. I could hear his heart beating, and it was still strong, so I knew I hadn’t killed him, but he had completely passed out. Not to mention the fact that he belonged to Milo, and vampires hated sharing their humans with other vampires.
Even though he loved me, it had to be driving Milo crazy to let me bite him.
“That is why I let him come with,” Jack admitted sourly.
“What?” Milo glared at Jack. “You brought him along to feed her?”
“He saved your sister’s life, didn’t he?” Jack countered.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized weakly. I tried to sit up again, but that was all I had in me. Jack’s arms were strong and warm, and I finally gave into them. Darkness rolled over me, and I passed out.
I awoke on the floor. After everything I’d gone through, I felt surprisingly good. When I opened my eyes, all I could see were the beautiful gold and white ceilings of the cathedral. Bobby was lying next to me, sound asleep himself, and I felt this strange pulling in my heart for him. Not like love or even a crush, but just a connection. He had shared himself with me, and in return, he’d gotten some of me as well.
I had never fed on a human before, and I was surprised to find that I felt anything for him afterwards. I didn’t have time to ponder the details of our relationship, though, because I heard voices talking.
I got my feet, still feeling kind of dazed and drunk. We were in the balcony of the church, surrounded by pews and crosses, and Jack, Milo, Peter, Ezra, and Olivia were standing at the other end.
They had been trying to let us sleep, which was ridiculous. I needed to be awake and strong for this. Their voices were hushed, and I tried to sneak over to them, but I stumbled and bumped into a pew.
“Oh good. She’s awake,” Milo muttered dryly, so apparently he wasn’t ready to forgive me yet.
“What’s going?” I asked when I reached them. They were standing in a circle, making some kind of plan, and I squeezed in between Jack and Ezra. “What are you guys doing here?”
“We called them,” Jack said, and I couldn’t believe that he’d called Peter. Ezra, I understood, but I was pretty sure he hated Peter now more than ever. But here they were, standing in a circle, and Jack wasn’t trying to kill him. “We couldn’t get to the car because of the police, and we didn’t want the lycan to follow us back home anyway.”
“I called Olivia because she’s the only really equipped to deal with them,” Ezra said.
“And I’d do anything for you, sweetheart,” Olivia winked at me, and Jack moved a little bit closer to me. She wore leather pants and a tiny leather vest with nothing underneath it. On top of that, she had donned some kind of crossbow apparatus. The leather satchel on her back was filled to the brim with metal arrows.
She saw me admiring her weaponry and smiled. “Titanium is strong enough to break through a vampire’s sternum and go
right through the heart. The old wooden stake would never work, and even this isn’t fool proof, but it’ll at least slow them down.”
“Great,” I sighed, and looked around. It suddenly dawned on me that someone was missing.
“Where’s Jane?” Jack pursed his lips and nobody said anything. “Jack? What happened?”
“The lycan took her with them,” Jack said quietly.
“Oh my god.” I ran my hands through my hair. “This is a fucking nightmare.”
“We’ll get her back,” Peter promised fiercely. His green eyes met mine, and I felt Jack bristle, but he did nothing. “We’ll make the trade, me for her. They can’t deny it.”
“We are not sacrificing you,” Ezra said firmly.
“Why not?” Jack scoffed. “It’s his fault we’re in this mess! He almost got Alice killed, and who knows what’s happened to Jane!”
“We’re not giving them anybody!” Ezra roared, looking at Jack sternly. “We will stop them.”
“What if we can’t?” Peter countered. “We should all die for my mistakes? No. I won’t let that happen.
This is my fault. This is my war.”
“We’re all involved in it now,” Ezra said. “Do you think they’ll really just let us walk away if we give them you? That would be too easy for them.”
“You should’ve just let me die in Finland!” Peter shouted, his face raw with pain. “I told you to leave me there! Why wouldn’t you listen?”
“I’m more than happy to let you die here,” Jack offered, glaring at him.
“Nobody is dying here today!” I held up my hands to silence them. “We’ll figure something out! I don’t know what but… We’ll do something.”
“See? Firecracker,” Olivia smiled at me.
“We need a better plan than arguing with each other,” Ezra said. “The lycan will track us soon.”
“Maybe sooner than you thought,” Olivia said, and she started reaching back for her crossbow.
As she set her crossbow, I peered down over the balcony. A dirty, disheveled lycan was walking down the down the center of the aisle of the church. I heard the click as she set it, and then he looked back up at us, his brown eyes were wide and innocent. I can’t explain it, but as soon as I saw him, I knew he wasn’t with them.
“Stop!” I shouted, my voice reverberating off the ceilings, and I held my hand up in front of her crossbow. Leif just stood in the center of the church, staring up at us. He would willingly take whatever fate we dealt him.
“What? Why?” Jack looked at me like I was crazy.
“No, she’s right,” Peter agreed. “He’s not like the rest of them.”
“Leif!” I leaned over the balcony, as if I thought that would help me speak to him.
“I’m not with them!” Leif yelled back. “I came here to warn you! It’ll be harder for them to find you without me. I’m the best tracker they have, but you’re so close. I’ve beat them by a matter of minutes.”
“Why would you help us?” Ezra asked, looking at him skeptically. Leif looked at Ezra for a moment, then looked back at me.
“Really?” Milo scoffed. “Does every vampire in the whole world want to tap my sister?”
That wasn’t it, and I knew that, but I couldn’t explain it. There was nothing sexual about the way he looked at me, and I wasn’t even remotely attracted to him. It was something else entirely.
“She is pretty hot,” Olivia said, and both Peter and Jack gave her an uneasy look.
“No, I don’t want to … ‘tap’ anyone,” Leif looked unsure of the word. “I’ve just had enough. They are cruel and sadistic, and I’ve seen that vampires can live another way. I don’t want to stay with them anymore. They shouldn’t even be alive. They are abominations.”
“How do you propose we stop them?” Ezra asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Leif admitted sadly. “But I will help you anyway I can. Even if you just want me to bait them. If I can save you, I will do it.”
“Do you trust him?” Jack looked seriously at me.
“Yes,” I nodded. Jack turned back to Ezra and Peter, and Peter nodded.
“I think he’s okay,” Milo said, and Olivia shrugged.
“Hey, how did you find Jane?” I asked, looking down at Leif. It made sense to me that they’d be able to find me since they met me before, but I didn’t understand how they’d even know she associated with us.
“She was wearing your clothes walking around downtown,” Leif said, almost sadly. “I smelled you on her. We tracked you down to Minneapolis by asking around. Gunnar knew people that knew Ezra.” He face flushed guiltily. “I never should’ve agreed to come with, but if I hadn’t they would’ve killed me, and they still would’ve killed you. When we got on the boat, though, I knew I had to find a way to help you. That was a complete massacre.”
“Oh my gosh.” My jaw dropped as it hit me. “That was you? On the tanker that crashed into Newfoundland?”
“I’m not proud of what they did, and I will pay for my sins,” Leif raised his chin when he looked at me. “I assure that I will make amends.”
The cathedral echoed with the sound of broken glass, but Leif stood his ground. The stained glass windows shattered, sending bits of broken glass raining down all around him. The lycan walked slowly in the pews towards him, and Gunnar started doing a slow clap.
“Bear told me you were a Judas,” Gunnar said. “I thought he might be right, but I knew that you would still lead us right to them. You failed at killing them and at saving them. You’re absolutely useless, aren’t you?”
“Dying now would be far better than serving you,” Leif growled at him.
“Stop!” I shouted hanging, over the balcony. The lycan already knew we were there, so it wasn’t like I was giving way our position, but Jack glared at me anyway. “He’s not the one you want!”
“You have no idea what I want,” Gunnar glared up at me. His face was that of pure evil, and a shiver ran down me. He walked to the center aisle and just stared up at me. The other three lycan moved in closer to Leif, but he didn’t run. They were going to slaughter him, but he just stood his ground and held his head high.
“They’re going to kill him!” I hissed, looking at Ezra. “We’ve got to do something!” He looked at me helplessly. As of yet, we still hadn’t figured out how we were going to save ourselves. Jack was staring down at Leif, and I could almost see his mind racing. He was trying to think of something, but he was taking too long.
Without thinking, I launched myself over the balcony. I heard Jack calling my name, and when I hit the ground, I half-expected my legs to snap. In fact, they barely even hurt. I even landed on my feet, and if the situation weren’t so incredibly terrifying, I would’ve felt pretty damn cool for making a landing like that. None of the lycan even looked back at me, but then again, I wasn’t a much of a threat. I stood up, and I heard the sound of Olivia’s crossbow click back as she loaded an arrow. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one.
Dodge and Stellan cocked their heads at the balcony, but Bear kept his attention fixed on Leif. Dodge moved first, but he wasn’t as fast as the rest of them, so the arrow sliced straight through his heart. He collapsed to the ground, and I thought he might burst into flames like in the movies, but he just laid on the ground.
Stellan was standing in front of me, smiling, and then in a blur, he was gone. Olivia fired an arrow at him, but it flew through the air behind him and landed in a pew. Using his speed as momentum, Stellan leapt from off the back of a pew up into the balcony. No other vampire moved as fast as he could, not even Ezra, and even with the four of them up there, they could barely hold their own against him.
In the moment of distraction, Leif took his chance to counterattack Bear, sending him crashing into the pews. Wood splintered everywhere, and I realized too late that Leif had the situation under control. I looked back up at the balcony, feeling helpless as they struggled to keep Stellan at bay. Ezra was trying to defend Olivia so she could load
her crossbow, but even when she did manage to get a shot off, Stellan was impossible to hit.
“Hello, Alice,” Gunnar whispered, and his voice was right in my ear. I had been too busy watching Stellan that I hadn’t noticed him coming up behind me. I tried to look up at him, and his hand was around my throat, one of his razor sharp nails pressing into the skin over my jugular. I fought to pull his arm free, and he started dragging me backwards, towards the altar.
I thought about screaming, but I didn’t want anybody to know. They would stop and look at me, and that’s exactly what would get themselves killed. Milo was crouched over Bobby, trying to protect him, and Jack and Peter had already sustained pretty major wounds. Only Olivia had yet to be wounded, but she was dodging and diving almost as quickly as Stellan.
So I let Gunnar drag me away. I knew that he would probably kill me, but whatever he did to me, I had to endure it silently. That was my only chance of saving them. Leif was still fighting Bear, but he seemed to have the upper hand. He knocked Bear back to the ground, and then he grabbed a broken piece of the pew. It was one of the backs, but it had been snapped in half, giving it a sharp edge. Leif held it high over his head, then plummeted it down against Bear’s throat. There was this awful gurgling sound, but I closed my eyes to keep from seeing the blood. I heard the crunch of the bone, and Bear’s heart fell silent. Leif had decapitated him.
“Everyone is so busy right now,” Gunnar clicked his tongue. “It’s so boring and dull with just the two of us don’t you think?”
“Gunnar,” Leif said, keeping his voice low. Blood stained his shirt and face, and carefully stepped over the pews towards us. “Let her go. She’s not what you want.”
“You are quite right,” Gunnar sighed. “But she is what everyone else seems to want, and if you take a step closer, I’ll slice her throat wide open.” Leif stopped where he was, glaring at him. When Gunnar spoke again, he was shouting loudly, so everyone would hear him. “What do you think, Peter? How much blood can sweet Alice lose in one day?”
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