The Tomb of Blood

by Britney Jackson

  “Same reason you’re awake right now,” Erik said uneasily.

  “You had a nightmare, too,” Rose assumed.

  “Well, it wasn’t a nightmare exactly,” he corrected, “just a dream.”

  Rose eyed him suspiciously. “Then, why can’t you go back to sleep?”

  Erik shifted uneasily. “Damn, you’re persistent,” he complained. He glanced hesitantly at her and sighed, “Promise you won’t think I’m insane?”

  “I already think you’re insane,” Rose teased, cracking a tired smile.

  “It was about Alana,” Erik admitted. “I can’t stop dreaming about her.”

  Rose nodded in understanding. “How long has this been going on?”

  “A month or so?” he guessed, shrugging. “It happens from time to time. Every century or so, I start having these dreams about her, and I can’t stop.”

  Her frown deepened. “Have you told Kallias about this?”

  “Not really,” Erik sighed. “I might have mentioned it once, but…” He raked his fingers through his hair again. “It’s just…I really loved her, you know.”

  “I know you did,” Rose said sympathetically.

  “I just keep thinking that maybe I’m more messed up by all of this than I thought,” he confessed, his voice thick. “I mean, what kind of person dreams about an ex-lover twelve hundred years later? I should be over her by now, right?”

  Her gaze softened, and she offered him an understanding smile. “Aren’t you the same person who told me that you can’t measure love with time?”

  “Alana was psychotic,” Erik stated. “She used me. She ruined me.”

  Rose shrugged. “I’m not saying she deserves your love. I’m just saying that maybe you never stopped loving her. Maybe you can’t just turn love off.”

  “I guess not,” Erik sighed, looking away, his green eyes brighter than usual, almost watery, as he stared blankly at the wall, as if his mind were far, far away. “I was going to tell you: You should check your phone. It keeps vibrating.”

  Erik set a phone—her phone, she realized—on the bathroom counter, and then, he turned and walked back into the room. Not long afterward, Rose heard the creaking of the mattress as Erik lay down on his bed. Then, she heard the loud, male voice that boomed from the television as Erik turned on the news.

  Rose walked over to the bathroom door, her bare feet padding softly against the cold, tile floor, and she closed it softly. Then, she reached out and took her phone from the bathroom counter, frowning as she scanned the thirty notifications from missed calls. All thirty calls were from Audrey, and three of them had come within the last hour alone. Rose swallowed uneasily, sickening dread twisting at her stomach, as she began to dial Audrey’s phone number.

  She pressed the phone against her ear and waited for it to ring.

  The first ring had barely begun when Audrey answered, “Rose?!”

  “Yeah,” Rose said nervously. “I saw that you called?”

  “Like a hundred times,” Audrey snarled on the other side of the line. “I’ve been calling you since early this morning, Rose. Why didn’t you answer?”

  Rose cringed at the loudness of her voice. “I was asleep.”

  Audrey was quiet for a moment. “It’s four in the afternoon, Rose.”

  “Yeah,” Rose said, raking her fingers through her long, auburn hair. She glanced up at her reflection in the mirror, noticing the nervousness in her tired, azure eyes. “Lately, I’ve been staying up all night and sleeping during the day.”

  “Who are you, and what have you done with Rose?” Audrey quipped.

  Rose bit her lip. “So, why did you need to talk to me?”

  Audrey sighed, “I need to tell you something. In person, preferably.”

  Rose grimaced. “Well, I’m kind of busy until after sunset,” she lied.

  “This is pretty serious, Rose,” Audrey said sharply, clearly offended that Rose wouldn’t cancel the plans she supposedly had. “Someone is going to die.”

  Rose felt the blood drain from her face. “You had one of your dreams.”

  “Yeah,” Audrey confirmed, “and it’s someone we know.”

  “Who?” Rose asked with a shaky voice.

  “Just come over as soon as possible,” Audrey said irritably. Paper rustled in the background, as if Audrey were unfolding paper. The newspaper, Rose assumed. Audrey usually checked the obituaries after she had precognitive dreams to make sure they hadn’t already come true. “I want to try to save her.”

  Rose’s eyes widened in alarm. “Audrey, do not leave without me.”

  “Then, you better get here soon,” Audrey warned.

  “I’ll be there at nightfall,” Rose assured her.

  —

  Rose exhaled slowly, shakily, and then, she raised her hand and knocked on the door. It opened immediately, revealing Audrey, already dressed in a pair of jeans that were stained with green paint, and a faded, gray T-shirt with the name of a band that Rose didn’t recognize—a heavy metal band, most likely—printed across it. Audrey’s long, brown hair looked messy and tangled, as if she’d just woken up. But to be honest, Audrey’s hair usually looked like that, and based on the amount of calls that Rose had received from Audrey throughout the day, Rose figured that it was safe to assume that Audrey had not just woken up.

  “Finally,” Audrey grumbled as she stepped out of the way.

  Rose swallowed as she stepped inside the apartment. “Are you all right?”

  “What do you think?” Audrey muttered as she dragged her feet across the carpet, walking tiredly toward the bed. “I have a hangover, and someone might die tonight, and I can’t find a single person who has her phone number.”

  “Her?” Rose repeated, stopping just inside the doorway. “Who is it?”

  Audrey turned toward Rose, a nervous frown turning at her lips.

  “What is it?” Rose asked when she saw the hesitancy in Audrey’s round, amber-colored eyes. She slid her hands into her pockets. “Is it someone I know?”

  Audrey nodded. “You know her better than I do.”

  Rose exhaled slowly, bracing herself. “Okay. Who is it?”

  “Your friend…from your history classes,” Audrey sighed. “Riley?”

  “Riley?” Rose said, her eyes widening. “I just saw her last night.”

  Audrey sunk down on the bed. “It was Riley. I’m sure of it,” she sighed, shrugging helplessly. “It was a vampire that killed her. A blonde woman. Ugh, she was sickeningly beautiful. I’ve never seen a woman that beautiful. She had perfect, blonde hair, a perfect, thin body, and perfect, dark blue eyes.” Audrey shook her head in disgust. “I hated her on principle, even before she killed Riley. No one should be that beautiful. No one. It makes the rest of us look bad.”

  Rose lifted her eyebrows. “Um…Audrey? Can we stay on topic, please?”

  “Right,” Audrey said, wincing. “Sorry. So, the blonde woman—I mean the vampire—gave Riley a flower when she first arrived at Riley’s apartment.”

  Rose frowned at that. “What kind of flower?”

  “What does that matter?” Audrey asked. “It was an orchid, I think.”

  Rose paled. “Was it a blue orchid?”

  “Uh…yeah,” Audrey said, her brows furrowing. “How did you know?”

  Rose felt all of the air rush out of her, as if she’d been punched in the stomach. She stared at the floor, trying to figure out how the murders that had been happening in Norway could be connected to here…to Riley. “Tell me the rest of the dream,” she urged Audrey. “I need to know everything that happens.”

  “They went to a restaurant and ate seafood, I think. Wait. No. Riley ate, but the woman just watched her. She said that she’d already made plans to eat later,” Audrey explained, frowning as she tried to remember the details of her precognitive dream. “Then, they took a walk through the park together, and they began to kiss. And then…there was some…touching. And that’s when the woman bit Riley. You know…honestly,
I think it might have been a date.”

  “Of course!” Rose groaned, feeling the sudden urge to bang her head against the wall. “She said that she was going on a date with a beautiful woman. Unbelievably pretty is what she called her. It was a vampire. I should have known.”

  Audrey frowned worriedly. “When was this date supposed to be?”

  Rose’s eyes widened. “Tonight!” she realized suddenly. “It’s tonight!”

  Audrey sighed sadly, “Then, we’re too late. We’ll never find her in time.”

  “Don’t say that,” Rose said, her heart racing rapidly inside her chest. “I can’t let Riley die.” She chewed on her lip, trying to think of a plan as quickly as possible. “She’s on a date with a vampire, which means that the date couldn’t have started until after sunset. And they went to the restaurant first. So, we just need to beat them to the park.” She looked up at Audrey. “Which park was it?”

  Audrey shook her head. “There were…trees.”

  Rose stared blankly at her. “Wow. Thanks, Audrey,” she said sarcastically. “You just narrowed it down to every park in the freaking world.”

  Audrey glared at her. “I’m trying,” she grumbled. “It was so dark. Riley could only see by the light of her phone. They were on a hiking trail, I think. Far away from any roads. There was a bridge. And…I think…a creek underneath it?”

  “I know where that is,” Rose realized, her eyes widening. “My brother used to take me to that park when we were kids.” She straightened and nodded. “Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath for courage. “I’ll go there and find her.”

  Audrey jumped up before she could leave. “Not without me!”

  Rose scowled at her. “Audrey, I need you to stay here. There’s a dangerous vampire with Riley. If I let you come with me, she might kill you.”

  “And you think she won’t kill you?” Audrey asked incredulously. “What the heck? Do you think that you can take on vampires now, just because you survived an attack by one? You can still die, Rose. You’re not immortal.”

  “Right,” Rose squeaked nervously. “Definitely not immortal.”

  “I’m coming, too,” Audrey said as she grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. She marched toward the door. “And you can’t stop me.”

  Rose grimaced as she realized that she would now have to think of a way to save two humans from a vampire that was undoubtedly older and stronger than her. She followed Audrey out of the apartment and froze as she saw a familiar man with spiked, blonde hair standing outside their door. “Owen?”

  “I called him,” Audrey explained. “I thought he’d have Riley’s number.”

  Rose frowned at Audrey. “How much did you tell him?”

  “Just that I need to talk to Riley,” Audrey assured her.

  “She also mentioned that you would be here,” Owen added.

  “Right,” Rose said, looking at him. “Well, I’m happy to see you, but…”

  He leaned against the metal railing, his arms crossed across his chest, causing his long-sleeved white shirt to stretch tighter across his lean torso. He looked different somehow, and it took Rose a moment to realize why he looked different: his hazel eyes, which usually sparkled with amusement, were narrowed with suspicion, and his usual playful grin had been replaced by a worried scowl.

  “But?” he prompted, lifting his eyebrow.

  Audrey answered for Rose, “We need to find Riley. Immediately.”

  Owen shrugged. “I’ll drive. My car is faster than either of yours anyway.”

  “No,” Rose said, shaking her head. “This is too dangerous.”

  Owen pushed away from the railing. “Why?” he asked suspiciously.

  “Because Riley’s on a date with a vampire,” Audrey answered.

  Rose’s eyes widened. “Audrey!” she squeaked, glaring at her.

  “What?” Audrey asked, shrugging irritably. “We don’t have time to lie.”

  Rose continued to gape at her friend. “Audrey, you can’t just…”

  “She’s right,” Owen interrupted. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. “If we’re going to save her from a vampire, we can’t waste any time.”

  Rose spun toward him, her jaw dropping. “Excuse me?”

  Owen ignored her shock. “It’s a good thing I brought my gun.”

  “You have a gun?” Audrey asked, her eyebrows lifting.

  “Several of them,” Owen assured her. “Come on. We better hurry.”

  —

  “How the heck do you know about vampires?” Rose snapped.

  Owen leaned back in the driver’s seat, both hands wrapped tightly around the steering wheel, as he swerved through traffic, heading for the park on the outskirts of town. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “It sucks when your friends hide things from you,” he said bitterly, “doesn’t it, Rose?”

  She swallowed uneasily. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  Owen shrugged and shifted his gaze back toward the road. “I told you that my parents were murdered, remember?” he said as he swerved in between two fast-moving cars. He flashed a bitter smile at her. “Guess what killed them?”

  “Vampires,” Rose realized, her face paling at the revelation. She sunk lower in the passenger’s seat, fidgeting nervously. “Owen, I’m so sorry.”

  “Why? It’s not like you are a vampire,” he said, looking at her, “right?”

  Rose stared at him, her azure eyes wide. Her heart raced against her chest, as rapid as a tattoo needle, and she felt frozen in her seat, beneath her friend’s scrutinizing gaze, as they stared each other down. Now, more than ever, she suspected that he knew something. She could see it in his eyes. She could hear it in his voice. And there was nothing she could do. “Right,” she lied.

  Anger flashed in his hazel eyes, but a forced smile curled at his lips. “Of course you aren’t,” he said as he shifted his gaze back toward the road. “You’re a kind, compassionate person. If you were given the choice between dying and becoming a vampire, you would die. You would die before hurting anyone else.”

  Rose watched him. “Some vampires don’t get that choice.”

  His gaze darted back toward her. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean…some vampires aren’t given a choice,” Rose said. Her blue eyes softened with sadness. “The transformation happens after death. If a vampire chooses to turn you after you die, you can’t stop it from happening.”

  His brows furrowed. “I never knew that.”

  “This is a strange conversation,” Audrey commented from the backseat. She scrolled through her phone distractedly. “I feel like I’m missing something.”

  Owen glanced at Audrey’s reflection in the rear-view mirror, but then, he shifted his gaze back to the road, apparently choosing not to fill her—or anyone else—in on what had led him to make those suspicious comments.

  Rose sat up straighter in her seat as they passed a sign that alerted them that the park’s turn-off was just up ahead. “For the record,” she said, casting a questioning glance at Owen, “guns don’t kill vampires. You do know that, right?”

  “Who said anything about killing?” Owen asked as he turned sharply onto the road that led into the park. “I thought our goal was just to save Riley.”

  “It is,” Rose said, instinctually gripping the dashboard as Owen drove down the rocky, unpaved road at a dangerous speed. Trees closed in around them as they entered the park. She sighed, “I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

  Owen glanced at her for a moment, his head tilting to the side, as if he were surprised by something. Then, he quickly glanced back at the road. “Jared has some weapons that kill vampires, but I don’t want him involved. For now.”

  Rose frowned at him. “Weapons that kill vampires?”

  “Here it is,” Owen announced, changing the subject, as he swerved into an unpainted parking space. He cut off the car. “We need to hurry.”

  Rose continued to stare at him for a
moment. She knew that she should keep asking questions, figure out exactly what Owen meant by weapons that could kill vampires. That sounded like a very bad thing. But at the same time, Riley could die at any moment, and Rose couldn’t risk that. “Yeah, we do,” she agreed reluctantly. She opened the passenger side door and stepped out of the car.

  She smelled the blood immediately.

  Intense and enticing, the scent of fresh human blood—salty and sweet, all at once—overrode the scents of pine, leaves, and grass. It overrode the scents of animals and even the scents of other people in the park. And it called out to Rose, from deep within the park. Rose tilted her head back and inhaled deeply.

  Then, without even thinking about what she was doing, without even considering what her friends would think, without even realizing how she might be jeopardizing her own safety, Rose raced toward the scent of fresh blood.

  She moved rapidly through the woods, moving too fast for the human eye to see, bypassing the hiking trails and running and leaping through the trees, instead. And then, finally, she reached it. The bridge from Audrey’s dream.

  She froze at the edge of the bridge. Her hand grasped the wooden railing so harshly that it splintered beneath her grip. She panted, her stomach clenching with intense, unbearable hunger as the fresh blood overwhelmed her senses.

  At the other end of the bridge, beneath the green-tinted shade of a weeping willow tree, Rose saw them. A woman in a blue dress, with pale blonde hair flowing down to the nape of her neck and around her shoulders, held the limp body of a thin, brunette woman in her arms. Rose recognized the long, brown braids that fell over the woman’s arms. She recognized the purple plaid skirt that hung loosely from the thin body. She recognized the thin, black glasses that had fallen off of the woman’s face and landed in the grass by their feet.

  “Riley,” Rose breathed, afraid that she was too late.

  But as she watched the blonde woman—the vampire—suck at the base of Riley’s throat, swallowing slowly and indulgently as blood filled her mouth, Rose realized that Riley was still alive. And as she listened, she heard a slow, faint heartbeat, echoing from Riley’s limp, unmoving body. “Stop!” she screamed.