Blood Sport (The American Arcane Book 2)

by Justen Hunter

  Then I heard a scream, coming closer rapidly. It wasn't human, not entirely. The shriek was right in my ear, and I felt Bauer moved off of me, shoved off.

  I tried rolling over, but the wind had been knocked out of me. “Crap, what the...” It took me three tries before I could finally pick myself up.

  There was a female figure on top of Bauer. She was pounding at him with fists, and I suddenly realize that this was Serena Laurent.

  “Serena, Serena...” I tried to get her attention. She wasn't listening. I watched as her head reared back, and another shriek filled the air.

  She sunk her head down, and I realized what happened as she bit at Bauer's throat. Blood spurted everywhere as she pierced the skin, and Bauer's moans of anguish were quickly quieted.

  I didn't fully grasp what was going on until Serena's jaw clamped down. She reared her neck back, and the wet ripping sound of her tearing out Anselm Bauer's throat left me watching in horror.

  She focused on Bauer still for several long moment. Spitting out the flesh she had bit off, licking the blood off her body like a cat. I watched.

  Finally, after several long moments, she stilled. “Serena?”

  Her head turned to me. She watched me for several seconds, and I didn't flinch. I knew I was being sized up. The bastard had turned her into a vampire. She needed blood to sustain herself. She had gotten some from Bauer, but that was sketchy. The vampires I knew didn't feed from other vampires. Some sort of cultural taboo. I didn't know if that stemmed from just distaste, or if a vamp couldn't really feed off another.

  I kept my voice calm, even. I wasn't prey. I knew that much, and I wasn't going to let Serena think that. “Serena Laurent, my name is Eric. I want to help you.”

  She lifted a hand, wiping at her mouth, and she spoke. Her voice was weak, raw. “Please, help me.” She collapsed, and I was wondering just what the hell was going on.

  Amy arrived a minute or two after the paramedics showed up to look at Owen. Serena hadn't stirred much since she had collapsed, just some occasional moaning. I was staying by her side, though.

  Serena was a young woman, and she would look that way for the rest of her life. I put her in her early twenties, only a few years younger than myself. She was an African-American woman, her dark hair cut in a short faux-hawk. She was wearing workout clothes, though they were ripped and stained with blood. I had draped my jacket over her body for warmth, though to be fair I wasn't sure how much that mattered.

  Amy rushed into the little break room, looking down at Serena. “What is her status?”

  “She's not really conscious.” I said. “Been in and out. But that's not the problem.” I pulled up one of her lips, careful to make sure I didn't wake her. “He turned her.”

  “Oh no,” She whispered. Amy froze right where she is. “That...This is not good.”

  “Like crap, it isn't. What do you do with a newborn vampire?” I stood up, taking a step away from Serena.

  She walked towards Serena. “She likely needs to feed. And we will need to get her to a vampire who can help her adjust.”

  “Well, her maker's lying dead right there.” I gestured with my head toward Anselm's corpse.

  As we talked, Serena stirred. “Hello?” She whispered. “What's going on?”

  I turned. “Serena, right?” I asked, and moved to kneel down next to her on the floor. “It's Eric. How do you feel?”

  She curled up, pulling her knees up into her chest. “Cold. Scared. Where is he? Is that lunatic dead?”

  “He's not going to hurt you.” I said. “You're safe now. Amy, can you check to see if she's hurt?”

  “No,” She shook her head. “Not with what happened.”

  “What?” Serena looked between the two of us. “What happened?”

  “What do you remember?” I asked.

  “I don't know. It's all a blur...” She shook her head. “Some pain, his muttering. He wouldn't stop talking, but I couldn't pick any of it up. I remember teeth, fangs, blood...Screaming. Who was he?”

  “A vampire named Anselm Bauer.” I tried to figure out how to broach this subject. “How...do you feel different? Like, physically?”

  She paused a moment. “I don't know...hungry. Like, for serious red meat or something.”

  I sighed. “Serena, I'm going to cuff you. But it's not because you did anything wrong.” I pulled a pair of my silver-laced cuffs from the back of my belt. “Can I do that?”

  “Why?” Her voice quivered.

  I swallowed, but Amy spoke. “It I s for your own safety.”

  Serena's body tensed, and her pupils started to dilate, going almost totally back. “What's wrong?” She sat up, moving with a certain unnatural speed typical of the undead. She was already fast for a vampire. Most of them still took some time to get used to death. “Please, I just want this over.” She sniffed the air, an instinct that told me she was starting to just run off instincts now. “You're not telling me everything.”

  “Amy...” I didn't know how to break this to Serena. I was not a grief counselor.

  I wish I knew what to say. I had been here before. Attacked by a vampire. I hadn't been turned into a vampire, but I had at least been fed on. I felt awful.

  “Eric, we should restrain her before this continues.”

  Serena lashed out, her dark hair whipping as she reached out to grab the front of my shirt, pulling me up easily to draw us close, so that I was looking into her eyes. I struggled, grunting. “I don't need to be restrained!” She growled. “I need to know what's going on here.”

  I didn't have to look to know that Amy had drawn her blade and was threatening Serena with it. “Amy, stand down.”

  “I cannot do that.” She hissed. “She is threatening you.”

  “It's all right, Amy.” I said softly. “Serena, I want you to run your tongue over your canines. Slowly.”

  Serena did, and I saw the slow movement of her tongue slide across her new fangs. “No.” She let go of me. “No. No no no...This is a joke. It's a sick joke!” She touched her fangs with her fingers. “No, no....” She shook her head, repeatedly.

  I looked into her eyes. “I'm sorry, it's true. He changed you. For what purpose, I'm not entirely sure...”

  Serena hung her head. “This is all so messed up...” She sobbed. Tears slid down her face. I didn't know vampires could cry.

  I placed my hands on hers. “Yes, it really is.”

  Chapter 3

  We led Serena out to the police vehicles, out of the office, and I steered us out of the way of Anselm's body. I would let the cops deal with that. We went down the stairs, and I saw that Owen had already been moved. “They got Owen out all right?” I asked.

  “He is in the ambulance now.” Amy answered. She was tailing behind me as I gave Serena a shoulder to support her descent down the stairs.

  I had put Serena's hands in front of her in the silvered cuffs, and led her out to the front. Roberts was waiting out at the edge of the line of emergency vehicles. “Report, Mister Carpenter? What's going on?”

  “Serena Laurent, ma'am.” I said. “Bauer got to her. Turned her.”

  Serena looked away, closing her eyes. Roberts glared at me. “He did...what?” She looked back to Serena. “Let's get you to a medical technician. Carpenter, why is she handcuffed?”

  “Because she is a newborn vampire.” Amy said. “And she will need to feed very soon.” I didn't mention that she had torn out Bauer's throat, not yet.

  “Great. We'll call in to a local hospital and see if they can get something for her.”

  I shook my head. “If you really want to sate the hunger, it'll need to be fresh.” I thought for a moment. “I can take her up to San Francisco. We have a large vamp community up there, and they can help her.”

  Roberts looked between the three of us. “She needs to be questioned.”

  “We'll drive her down in a day or two once she's more accustomed. I promise.” I looked Roberts in the eye. “But right now, she needs a vampi
re to help her.”

  The captain sighed. “Fine. She's back within forty-eight hours.”

  “I promise.” I looked to Serena, and I smiled. “All right, are you up for a bit of a road trip?”

  Serena nodded softly. “Yes.” She whispered.

  We led Serena beyond the row of cars, over to the Jeep. We put Serena in the back seat, then Amy and I stripped off our gear and put it back in the trunk. I got into the back seat with Serena, while Amy got into the driver's seat.

  Amy started the car, and we pulled away from the warehouse. What a nightmare. I looked over to Serena. “Do you think you'll be able to control any hunger if I take off the cuffs?”

  She nodded. “I think so,” She whispered. “I don't know.”

  I unlocked the cuffs, and slowly took them off her wrists. There were red lines where the cuffs had pressed into her skin. Silver just had that slight burning. When Arcanes came into contact with it, even just skin contact, it was sure to cause them discomfort. Being a witch meant getting rid of any silver jewelry you had. I had found out early on it seriously screwed with my magic, and gave me rashes to boot.

  “Feel better?” I asked, quietly.

  Serena answered by wrapping her arms around my shoulders, hugging me. “Thank you,” She said. “Just...thank you. Both of you. Even if he did this to me, I...Shit, I'm just relieved it's over.”

  I returned the hug, and smiled down at her. “It's sort of our jobs.”

  “Your jobs? You guys don't look like cops.”

  “Nor are we.” Amy replied. “Eric is the Knight of Gold and Iron, the Arcane's Knight of San Francisco and the Bay.”

  “Well, that's a title.” Serena remarked as she pulled away. “So you do this as, like, a thing, Eric?”

  “It's my job. Someone's got to keep order around there, and if it means I can protect people, well, there are worse ways to use my gift.”

  “Your...gift?” She looked at me with a questioning glance.

  “I'm a witch,” I said. When I saw her confusion, I shrugged. “Yes, we're real, but I'm the only one I know of.”

  “Huh,” She said. “Even going to college, I didn't really have much interaction with Arcanes.”

  “It happens.” I answered. “But once you get your first encounter with the Arcane, well, you just start getting more involved. Serena, I know where you've been. Six months ago, I was attacked by a vamp, and I know how it feels. It's scary, horrifying.”

  She sighed. “It's not just that. It's that hunger in the back of my head.” She pushed herself back against the door on her side. “I don't want to lose control.”

  I cleared my throat. I had learned, back when I first got attacked, that there was a chance that a vampire could gain odd abilities from feeding off a witch. I had no plans of letting her feed off me when there was that possibility.

  “I'm on good terms with the vampiric authorities in the Bay. We can get you someone willing to let them feed off of you. After that, you'll be able to go off of Plas or bagged blood.”

  She nodded. “Sounds all right. Okay, so...” She ran a hand through her streak of hair. “I can still eat and stuff, right?”

  “Vampires are able to consume regular food, but they gather no nutritional value from it.” Amy supplied from the front seat. “Serena, I suggest you rest. Even going as fast as we are, it is still a few hours to San Francisco.”

  Serena nodded. “Yeah, I guess that's a good idea. I'll see if I can get some shuteye.”

  I watched out of the corner of my eye as Serena curled her knees up to her chest. The gym shorts rode up a little bit, showing off athletic thighs. I wanted to hug her still. Tell her everything would be all right. It wouldn't, but I'd do my best to try to get it there.

  I waited until she was asleep, or at least still, before pulling out my phone. I dialed up the number for The Last Drop, a bar where the vampire court of San Francisco held itself. I waited for a few rings before I got one of the bartenders.

  “Last Drop,” said a thickly-accented voice.

  “Hey there, Grigory,” I answered. “It's Eric. Can you put me through to Ishmael? This is important.”

  Grigory paused a moment. “Yeah, sure. Just a forewarning. It's a crazy night. Ishmael will fill you in.”

  I was about to ask what was so crazy, but I got put on hold. I put my hand over the phone, and looked up front to Amy. “Something happened while we were gone.”

  “What is it?”

  “I don't know yet.” I said, and waited back for Ishmael.

  Ishmael came on the line a minute or so later. Ishmael's deep voice chimed. “Eric, it seems we've both been busy tonight.”

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “We've had a killing. A pair of vampires in the city.” He answered. “I need you to meet Teresa at the scene.”

  “Listen, Ishmael, I need to talk to you about something. Anselm didn't just kidnap this girl. He turned her.”

  There was a moment of silence on the line. “Hell.” He hissed. “You couldn't just be pulling a bad joke on me, could you?”

  “It's not a joke, Ishmael. I've got a new born vampire in the backseat with me. I need a donor when we get to San Francisco.”

  He sighed. “I'll see what I can do. In the mean time...”

  “We're still a few hours out. Give me the address, and I'll meet Theresa there in a few hours.” I told him. “Who was it?”

  “A couple. They weren't too active in the community, but they were vampires none the less.” He listed off the address, one I recognized as being in a decent neighborhood. “Eric, dead vampires don't sit well with me.”

  “I'll take a look and see what I can find.” I said. “Just let me do my work. Who's working the case?”

  “Not sure yet. Talk with someone on scene.” He said.

  I relaxed back into the seat. “All right. I'm still staying at Matt Taylor's place. Have your donor head there.” I had had a place for a while. Until werewolves broke down the door and vampires started frequenting enough places. My landlord had decided he did not want to renew my lease. So I was temporarily crashing at a friend's house.

  Ishmael sighed into his phone. Vampires didn't tend to breathe audibly, especially the older ones, so that was merely for show. “You need to find a permanent place to stay.”

  “I'm working on it.” I snapped back. “I'll talk with you once I've finished at the crime scene. Goodbye.” I hung up on Ishmael. The last thing I needed was the Count of the Bay delving into my personal life.

  I looked back to Serena, still sleeping. Poor girl, what a world to be undead in.

  Chapter 4

  Parking in San Francisco, especially at night, can be a matter of magic at times. I reluctantly paid my way in a lot, and hustled down the block to the address Ishmael had given me. A few squad cars were still there, along with a criminalistics van and two plain government-issue cars.

  I approached the front of the building, where the local vampire sheriff was waiting. Teresa did not look pleased.

  Teresa was Ishmael's right hand vampire in the ruling of the vast county of the Bay. She wasn't a particularly tall woman, only about five-four. She had a dark tan of skin, though I knew it was natural. Teresa didn't sunbathe, she had a mix of blood from her nineteenth century South American roots. She had hark hair that spilled to her shoulders. Tonight, she was a representative of the Arcane community of San Francisco, wearing a blue blouse, jeans, and cowboy boots. She didn't have a jacket, even from the cool spring night. Vampires.

  Her lovely features were twisted in a frown, which shrunk when she caught wind of my scent. She looked to me. “Eric,” She turned to me. I could have sworn I heard just the slightest bit of a growl in her voice.

  We closed the distance, and we shared a quick kiss. “Hey there,” I found my voice growing quiet. “It's...been a night.”

  “You smell like other vampires,” She said softly. “How did Bakersfield go?”

  “How much did Ishmael fill you in on whi
le I was driving up?” I looked into her big dark eyes for just a moment, then saw a puzzled look on her face. “We were too late to save Serena. Bauer turned her.”

  Teresa froze. “He...You mean you've got a newborn vampire in your custody?”

  “Yes, we need to get someone to feed her. I'm definitely not offering, as I don't want another potential problem on my hands, and Amy...well, she just can't.”

  She nodded. “I'll put a few feelers out, see if there's someone I can call to offer up some blood. But in the meantime, let's go in.”

  “You can fill me in on what I need to know.” I opened up the door for the apartment building for Teresa.

  “Caveman,” She teased me.

  “You're almost two centuries older than me,” I teased. “Not my fault I got raised by a southern lady who'd hit me over the head if I didn't.”

  We crossed the lobby and called an elevator. Once we got in, I relaxed against the wall of the elevator.

  “Tired?” Teresa asked, her voice slipping. She didn't have any cops around her, and she let some of the guard drop. I had noticed she did that a lot., putting on an act for mortals.

  “I had to deal with a recently fed vampire, and a newborn as well. I'm not saying I haven't taken worse, but it's just been a night. So, who are our victims?”

  “Two vampires, a couple. Katrina and Luis, registered surname Otero. The two of them have been together for about twenty-five years. Luis was turned in the seventies, and Katrina has been around for about ninety years.”

  “Right, so, what did they do?”

  “Katrina was a dance teacher, Luis an accountant. Luis did the books for a few vampire businesses in the city, but nothing particularly shady.”

  “Any reason why anyone might want them dead?”

  “None that I know.” She answered. “They kept clean. No reports to Ishmael or the police, nothing to suggest that they might have been anything other than law-abiding citizens.”

  I frowned. While I wanted to believe that they might have been clean, my gut told me that anything that required the Count of San Francisco to pull me away wasn't just anything by the book.