by B N Miles
44
The doctors kept Jessalene that afternoon for observation, but Jared convinced them to let her go by the time evening rolled around. She got changed back into her clothes and walked out with the three of them, leaning some of her weight on Jared’s arm.
“I’m really fine,” she said. “Just exhausted. And my arm’s stitched to hell.”
“You’re going to have a distinguished battle scar,” Lumi said. “Something to be proud of.”
“Spoken like a true Magi Fist,” Jared said with a laugh.
“I think it’ll be pretty.” Cassie held Jessalene’s other hand.
“Thank you,” she said as the three of them stepped out into the night. They made it just a few feet before a sleek black sedan, its wheels shining, pulled up next to them. The back window rolled down and a familiar face looked out at them with a big smile on her lips.
“Perfect timing,” Underlord Nikita said.
Jared stepped forward as the group stopped. “Here to visit Jessalene?” Jared asked.
She nodded. “I am,” she said. “I also brought a gift.”
“Gift?”
“Why don’t you ride with me, Jared,” she said. “The girls can take your car. And we’ll all meet up back at your place.”
He hesitated, not moving. He didn’t like the idea of getting in that car with Nikita, but he didn’t get the sense that she wanted to do him any harm. In fact, so far, she’d shown nothing but positive interest in him.
“Go on ahead,” Jared said. “Lumi, you drive.”
“Fine,” she said.
Jessalene hesitated. “Maybe we can just stick together?”
“It’s okay,” he said. “I’ll see you all back at the house in a few minutes.”
Cassie smiled and gently pulled Jessalene away. Jared watched the group leave and felt a strange separation anxiety he’d never felt before. He realized that he hadn’t been away from all the girls at once for a long time, and he didn’t like it.
“Come,” Nikita said, opening her door.
Jared walked over as the Vampire Underlord slid across the back seat. He sat down next to her and just noticed the two people sitting up front. The man on the left was Caz. He glanced back and gave Jared a little grin, showing off his fangs. But the woman on the right was new, and Jared didn’t think she was a Vampire. He didn’t feel an aura from her at all, and when she turned to look at him, he nearly stood up.
She had a Magi mark. It wasn’t too dark, not like Lumi’s, but it was definitely there. She was blonde with full, pretty lips, and green eyes. She was probably in her mid-twenties at most. Her nose was petite and her eyes narrowed at him.
He stared at her then turned back to Nikita. “Who’s this?”
“Her name is Izzy Read,” she said. “She’s an Independent.”
Jared started and stared at the girl a second time. She smiled back at him and tilted her head. “Nice to meet you,” she said.
“Nice to meet you, too.” Jared hesitated. “I didn’t know there were any other Independents in the city.”
“I move around a lot,” she said, as if that meant anything.
He looked at Nikita and she grinned. “She’s your present,” she said.
“Ah, I’m not sure the girls are just going to accept—”
Nikita laughed and interrupted him. “She’s a healer. I’m paying her an absurd fee to heal Jessalene.”
He blinked then looked back at Izzy. She smiled and shrugged. “I’m expensive but worth it,” she said.
“Thank you.” He looked between the two women then let out a breath. “I don’t know where you find these people, Nikki.”
“Oh, darling. When you’re a Vampire Underlord, you have a lot of pull. Caz? Let’s get moving.”
The car began to drive as Jared sunk back into his seat. Some of his anxiety was beginning to wane, although the way Nikita looked at him still put him on edge. It was a mix of curiosity and desire, and he knew where that look was leading. She’d made it clear what she wanted from him, and he suspected he wouldn’t be able to resist it for too much longer.
She wore a low-cut dress, black and form-fitting. It flowed down to her knees, clinging to her waist and loosening around her legs. She had on a simple diamond necklace, with diamond studs in her ears, and her hair was swept back in an elegant wave.
“I have to say, Jared, I didn’t expect you to actually bring Hank down,” she admitted as they began the drive to his place. “I figured you’d interrupt whatever plans he had in progress and chase him from the city. But actually arresting him?” She laughed and reached out to touch his knee. “Very impressive.”
He frowned at her hand on his leg but didn’t move it. “Thank you,” he said. “I had help.”
“Yes, I know. Your girls.”
“My Captain told me you put in a formal request to speak with Hank.”
She nodded. “That’s right. I suppose they’ll grant it, won’t they?”
“He said they would after they’ve had a chance to talk to him first.”
“That’s what I assumed.”
“Why do you care about this assassin? You said you were only paying attention because an assassin was inherently interesting.”
She smiled and tilted her head. “Well. That wasn’t entirely true.”
He let out a breath as she pulled her hand back from his knee. “Then what is the entire truth?”
“The Vampire Lords employ thousands of thralls,” she said. “Almost every Vampire in the world owes us fealty. From the lowest Bottomlords up to the eleven full Lords, we have a network of spies, killers, and thieves. Do you see where I’m going?”
“You’ve worked with Hank before,” Jared said, the truth dawning on him in that moment.
She smiled. “Precisely.”
“Jesus. You want to make sure he doesn’t talk about it.”
“I want to make sure he doesn’t talk about anything,” she said, staring at him.
He took a moment to digest that. “You’re going to kill him.”
“No,” she said, snorting. “I’m going to tell him that if he opens his mouth, even once, about anything, then I’ll kill him.”
Jared shook his head. “I need him to talk, Nikki. I need to know what the Medlar wanted him for.”
“The Medlar wanted him to kill that Elf,” she said, making a face. “That’s all they wanted.”
“But why? What else does he know? There’s something big going on here.”
Nikita gave him a long look. “You might be right about that.”
He cocked his head. “You know something.”
“I don’t,” she said. “I have assumptions. But I can tell you this, that assassin doesn’t know anything else about what’s going on with the Medlar. He’s just a tool, Jared. The Medlar don’t give their tools briefings. They point them in the right direction and say, go kill.”
He felt a shiver on his spine and he knew she was right. The Magi families didn’t care who they used or what happened to them afterward, so long as they got what they wanted in the end. They wouldn’t have told Hank a single thing he didn’t absolutely need to know.
“If you can point me in the right direction,” he began, then stopped himself.
“You’re already heading in the right direction,” she said, her voice soft. She frowned at him and seemed to be considering something. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll make a trade with you.”
“Trade,” he said flatly.
“A very simple trade.” She smiled and leaned toward him. Her breasts pressed together, and he couldn’t keep his eyes away from her. She was alluring, gorgeous, powerful. Her skin looked soft and her body was supple, and the way she stared at him said she’d let him taste every inch of her if he just asked.
But he knew this was what she did. He’d figured that out the moment they met. She seduced, and if Jared couldn’t resist her, then he’d become just another thrall, working for his new Lord. He wasn’t interested in entering
into her service, although he wondered how she could serve him.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“Let me feed on you,” she said. “Just a little bit. A small taste. And then I’ll tell you where I think you need to look.”
He frowned at her and felt Caz and Izzy paying close attention. He knew what it meant for a Vampire to feed on a living human. Drinking blood gave Vampires a connection to the humans that gave the blood. In general, when it was blood that had been taken from a human and stored for a long time, that connection was very weak. But it was there, and it was why Nikita had wanted Arman’s blood. She wanted to create a connection between herself and Arman, if that was even possible. Briefly, Jared wondered if she had succeeded, but it didn’t matter.
When Vampires drank from a living human, directly from their body, the connection was much stronger. And Jared knew that a Magi’s blood would take that connection and ramp it up beyond anything else. The priori that infected his body would do something to Nikita. It would boost her power in some way, even just temporarily. But it would also give her insight into him, much the same way that sleeping with Lumi and coming with her had left them both bare.
He wasn’t worried about being turned. The only way to become a Vampire was for a human to feed on a Vampire’s blood.
The strange thing was, he liked Nikita. Despite knowing she was a seductress, he was interested in her, and she’d done nothing but help him throughout this whole ordeal. He couldn’t trust her, not really. But a little taste of his blood, a little drop of his essence, wouldn’t destroy him. It wouldn’t ruin him to be vulnerable.
Not if it meant getting him a step closer to understanding what the Medlar wanted.
In the end, that’s all he cared about.
He needed to protect his girls. And to do that, he had to keep going forward, keep getting stronger, keep trying to solve this mystery.
He held out his wrist and stared into Nikita’s eyes. “Three seconds,” he said. “No more.”
She grinned and showed her fangs. “Are you sure?”
“Three seconds,” he repeated. He glanced at the two sitting up front. Izzy had a strange, horrified look on her face, while Caz was grinning.
“Oh, darling.” Nikita reached out and took his hand in her own. She kissed his palm, her lips soft. She kissed his wrist, kissed up his arm, pulled him closer to her and kissed his cheek. “Three is more than enough,” she whispered in his ear.
Then she pulled back, held his hand and his arm in a steel grip, and bit down into his wrist, right into his pumping veins.
Pain flared, hot and sharp. Jared let out a gasp then a soft grunt as the pain vanished. Nikki let out a gentle groan as she ran her tongue along the length of his skin, then pressed her lips firmly around the wound. He could feel his blood being sucked from his body with impressive strength, and he fought back the dizzying head rush that followed. He’d never been fed on by a vampire before, but feeling her bite into him, feeling her drink his blood…
It felt strangely good. It felt intimate, like they were sharing something special. He knew it was illegal for Vampires to feed on humans without consent, and it was usually illegal for Vampires to get that consent because of the Accords. So Nikita might not have fed on an actual human’s body in a very long time.
He counted the three seconds in his mind. When he was done, he made a noise and touched her shoulder, and Nikita pulled back. His blood strained her lips and she let out a moan of pleasure, the most sensual, sexual thing he’d ever heard. It sent a shiver along his skin and made his cock stir against his will. Nikita held his hand tight, not letting him go, as his blood continued to well up through the two puncture marks on his wrist.
It dripped down onto the leather upholstery and sunk into the seat.
“Oh, yes,” Nikita whispered, her eyes unfocused. “Oh, Jared. You are delicious.”
He clenched his jaw. More drips of blood hit the seat before he pulled his hand away from her. He covered the wound with his other hand and pressed down tight.
Nikita wiped the blood from her lips with her left hand then licked the blood off her pale skin. She stared at Jared, her eyes beginning to clear, before reaching into her purse. She took out a strip of shimmering soft black cloth. “For your wrist.”
He took it from her, wrapped the wound tight, and tied it off with his teeth. She watched his every move, her eyes drinking him in. She looked drunk and happy, and he’d seen that look a hundred times on Magi right after they took a shot of heroin. His eyes moved over her body again, down to her breasts, and she gave him a little smile, almost like she was inviting him to look at her. They shared that moment together, his eyes roaming her skin, and her basking in his attention, almost proud of his desire for her. He wanted to reach out and grab her hair, kiss her lips, taste his blood on her tongue, feel the soft wetness between her legs.
But Caz pulled the car over and the sudden movement brought Jared back to the world.
“We’re here,” he said.
Nikita tore her gaze from Jared. “Well then,” she said.
“You owe me information.” Jared didn’t move.
“Right.” She nodded at him and tilted her head. “The Medlar hasn’t just been buying land around this city. They’ve been buying it all over the country. Perhaps all over the world.”
“I know that much,” Jared said. “Lumi mentioned it.”
“Good.” She grinned. His blood still stained her fangs. The moment was beginning to wear off, and he just wanted to get out of the car and back to his girls as soon as he could. “Then you’re a step ahead. The Medlar haven’t been making these purchases out in the open. They’ve been using shell companies to do their dirty work. Find those companies, trace back the money, and you’ll find all the property they’ve been acquiring. I think you’ll find the layout very interesting.”
Jared looked at her for a long moment then nodded once. “Thank you,” he said.
“Don’t thank me. That was a fair trade.” She leaned her head back, her eyes fluttering. “More than fair. Oh, Izzy darling, don’t forget to go with Jared. You still need to fix his girl.”
“I will,” she said, not looking back.
Jared hesitated then opened his door. He was about to climb out when Nikita said his name again. “Don’t forget that I want to speak with your assassin,” she said.
“After we’re through with him, you’ll get your chance to scare him into silence.”
“Thank you.” She smiled again and her eyes fluttered shut.
He stepped out onto the sidewalk. Izzy got out at the same time and she looked at him with pure disgust in her eyes. He frowned, looked away, and shut the door.
Izzy was slim and pretty. Her face had high cheekbones and she wore little to no makeup, but still looked put together and fresh. She wore a long, layered, flowing dark blue skirt and a simple peasant top. Her blonde hair was long and natural, fastened with a leather thong into a loose pony at the base of her neck. Her skin was suntanned, and she looked like she worked outside. “Let’s get this over with,” she said.
Jared was surprised by the venom in her voice. She didn’t seem so disgusted by him initially, at least not until he’d let Nikita feed from him. He glanced back but the car was already driving off, leaving Izzy stuck with him. She walked up the stoop of his place then looked back. “You coming?” she asked.
He nodded then followed her up. He moved past her, their bodies close for a moment. He let his eyes linger on her and was surprised to find her eyes lingering right back. She was bold and didn’t shy away, though her face was still pulled into an annoyed look. Her Magi Mark was darker than he first realized, which meant she was well practiced, but still not so dark that she might be a threat.
“Welcome to my home,” Jared said, unlocked the door, and let them both inside.
45
Jared found Jessalene and Cassie sprawled out on the couch. Jessa looked exhausted, but better than she had the day before. Lu
mi was in the kitchen, rooting around for something, as Jared steered Izzy into the living room.
“New friend?” Cassie asked, bounding to her feet. Jessalene smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“This is Izzy,” Jared said.
“Hello.” Izzy held up a hand and smiled at them. The venom in her expression was completely gone.
“She’s an Independent Magi,” Jared explained. “Nikita hired her to take care of Jessalene.”
“I specialize in healing,” Izzy said. “That’s pretty much all I do with my magic these days.”
Lumi came wandering into the room and stood a few feet away, arms crossed over her chest, a small frown on her face. Izzy looked over at her, and Jared could feel the instant tension. It was probably the shockingly deep color of Lumi’s mark, but Jared could sense Izzy’s unease.
“What’s an Independent?” Lumi asked, coming over. She leaned up against Jared and he put an arm around her shoulders, hugging her tight.
“She doesn’t have a family,” Jared said.
Izzy winced. “I have a family,” she said. “I just don’t belong to any sanctioned Magi family.”
“Huh,” Cassie said. “I didn’t know any Magi existed outside of the families.”
“Technically, they don’t.” Lumi’s voice was hard, almost derisive.
Jared gave her a look. “They’re very uncommon,” he said. “The families tend to treat them… poorly.”
Izzy snorted. “You mean the families tend to hunt us down and kill everyone we know.”
“That too,” Jared admitted.
Cassie looked appalled. “Wait, that’s a thing? Really?”
“Sort of,” Jared admitted. “It’s illegal to practice magic outside of a Magi family. The theory is, the families know how to control the power and to keep their Magi from going too insane. And when they do go insane, they know how to take care of them. Independents wouldn’t have all those precautions in place, and they’d be a huge risk. An insane Magi is incredibly dangerous, and could do a lot of damage very, very fast.”
