by Kat Cotton
I had a stake. I’d put the hunter’s stake in my cleavage. Where was it? It wasn’t like my boobs were so big that I could lose a stake in my bra. Somewhere, in all the commotion, that stake had fallen out.
I had no stake.
What was I thinking? I couldn’t stake this guy anyway, but having a weapon would relax me. If only Nic hadn’t made me leave my knife behind. All I had was jewelry, and this guy would not be taken down by accessories.
I tried to remember what they’d said about the Vampire King. They couldn’t go against him. I’d just thought that was some kind of vampire bylaw or other bollocks, but no, it seemed like they literally couldn’t go up against him.
It wasn’t like a thrall. They still had free will or Nic wouldn’t have said that to me, but they couldn’t directly disobey the King’s command.
I shuddered. Kisho’s hand was still in mine, but his grip had loosened, as though even the effort to hold on to me was beyond him. The look on his face, I’d seen it before.
Not at the warehouse. When we’d been there, Kisho had freaked out, but he’d been struck with horror more than anything. This was a different thing entirely. At the warehouse, we’d been hidden under the desk, but here, Kisho was in direct sight of the Vampire King.
Just like at the nightclub, Kisho—and the others—stared at the Vampire King with the same blank expression.
At the club, I’d thought Kisho had flaked on me, that he’d been too weak to fight, but he wasn’t weak. He’d been physically unable to move. Now none of them could move.
There was only the whir of the air conditioning unit and the distant sound of traffic. The fluorescent light overhead shone brightly, but the lights of the parking garage outside were darker. Shards of sunlight shone in from the garage exit. Those shards promised freedom, although I had no idea why. The Vampire King would walk in sunlight as easily as the pack.
Something in me said that if I did this with the Vampire King, I wouldn’t be unchanged by it. I couldn’t mess with a power that ancient and come away unscathed. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I’d come away at all.
I took a deep breath. Hell, even my toes curled with fear. He scared the bejesus out of me. That evil. He smelled of raw earth and old stuff. Even though his face didn’t look old, his eyes proved that he’d seen way too many lifetimes. My head pounded with the implications. The Vampire King was no pubescent boy easily flustered by a crush. And he was no stupid incubus either. One slip and I’d be dead. This man had no mercy, even an idiot could sense that.
This was not what I’d signed up for. Nic had said he would make sure I’d get out of this, once I’d distracted the Vampire King and the rest of them left.
Even though I had my doubts about Nic, I’d assumed he had a plan. A plan a bit more sophisticated than standing around like a freakin’ statue while I made out with the core of all evil standing in front of me.
Once the Vampire King’s attention turned to me, I figured the vampires would be freed from his command. They could escape. But where did that leave me? As soon as my thrall over the King ended, he’d turn on me. I couldn’t kill him. I couldn’t even slow him down enough to escape.
Nic couldn’t save me, not without opening himself up to the Vampire King’s control again.
Why would he risk himself to save me? He had no soul.
The fear inside me turned to anger. The mayor was right. Damn him. Nic had planned to use me for his own purposes, then let the old man feast on me.
I could run. Running was most definitely an option. The Vampire King wouldn’t care. He had no interest in me. He wanted the Demon Child.
I had options. I could strike out on my own in a new city. I could join with the mayor. The mayor, he was a swell guy after all. I wondered if Portia still needed people on her team.
After all, I had no loyalty to these vamps. I’d always been Clem Starr, loner. Not part of a pack. Not a team player. For good reason: people fuck you over.
And if the Vampire King had the Demon Child, what of it? This war between the humans and vampires was really none of my concern. It’d play out with or without the Demon Child. I couldn’t save the world. I could only save myself.
“Papa!” The Demon Child broke the silence as though he’d just recognized the man in front of him.
He let go of Nic’s hand. Nic slumped, unable to stop him. The kid took a step toward the old vampire’s face softened a little. Before the kid reached him, though, he turned back to Nic.
“Pretty man.”
His eyebrows squished together as he looked from one to the other. He wasn’t under the command of the Vampire King like the others, maybe because of the unicorn blood. He just seemed confused.
“Papa?” he said again. He stomped his foot on the floor.
Kisho’s shoulders heaved as though he held back his tears.
“You’ll not have that child,” the Vampire King said. His voice rumbled around the small area.
Nic nodded.
The Vampire King put his hand out to the Demon Child, and the Child walked toward him. As though to encourage him, the Vampire King bent down.
The kid giggled and the Vampire King smiled at him.
“You’re my true son,” he said to the kid. He patted the Demon Child on the head but fixed his gaze on Kisho.
A tremor went through Kisho’s body, coming from the very core of his being, a solitary tear rolling down Kisho’s face. That tear, while making him look more beautiful, broke my heart.
“You thought you could hide?” the Vampire King asked, his voice reverberating through the corridor. It seemed to shake the ground.
Kisho sobbed again.
The Vampire King raised his head, his gaze taking in the entire pack. If I thought that they could hand over the kid and get out of this unharmed, that gaze told me differently. His eyes burned with hatred. That hatred swept over Nic before settling on Kisho.
Then he laughed. A sound rumbling from the pits of hell.
No matter what, I couldn’t let Kisho suffer. I had no fucking options. If I didn’t act, Kisho would die.
I squeezed Kisho’s arm. I had to do this for Kisho and even for Nic. Nic had rescued me from the zoo. He’d given me a home, with cake. He might be a bastard, and I might hate him, but I’d thrown in my lot with them and I had to take this all the way. And he wasn’t wrong, I would miss him if he wasn’t around.
Even in the cold corridor, something warm and faltering wrapped around my heart. A feeling I’d never felt before. I didn’t want Nic to die, and I didn’t want Kisho hurt. I wanted to protect them. I wanted to hang out at the lair with them and swap snarks with Nic. I wanted Kisho to make me coffee and sneak Nic’s cake to me. What did that mean? Was it friendship or something more?
I took another deep breath. Okay, I’d do this.
I leaned forward, resting my arm on Nic’s shoulder.
“If I distract him, can you get the pack and the kid to the van?” I whispered.
Nic gave a tiny nod.
Swinging my hips, I stepped forward. Underneath everything, the Vampire King was a man—well, he’d been a man once. He wouldn’t be immune to my charms. And he’d proven he had a thing for human women.
“Hello.” I kept my voice sweet and quiet.
The Vampire King’s attention turned from the Demon Child. His eyes lit up as he noticed me for the first time.
I stood in front of Nic, drawing all the King’s attention. I bit my bottom lip, a soft scraping with my teeth. If I’d learned anything in this business, it was that the older they are, the more they like you sweet, innocent but ultimately corruptible. I softened my expression. Sweetness didn’t come naturally to me.
Before I went any closer to the King, I wanted to prepare myself. All that frustration and sexual aura hadn’t worked on the kid, but then he was a kid. I dug down deep in myself, stirring the pits of my stomach into an aching need. I couldn’t fail now.
Nic fiddled with my neck. What was his game? Shit, the
orb. I’d forgotten about it. Nic unfastened the chain and I slipped the necklace into my pocket.
I kept my eyes downcast. If I’d dredged up everything in me for the Demon Child, I had to dig even deeper this time. The image I got was Kisho, naked, that moment a split second before I’d caned him. In that moment, the anticipation of impact that ran from my body to his. Even the memory now bought a thin sheen of sweat to my skin and a dull ache to my lady parts.
Oh God, I could do this.
The Vampire King turned his body toward mine and I looked up, an innocent glance through my lashes but filled with the entire beam of my sexual thrall.
His muscles tensed and his eyes glazed over. All his attention had turned to me. Well, more specifically, my boobs.
I opened my mouth slightly and give a small sigh. That drew him to me, almost against his will. As I moved closer to the Vampire King, that smell became a little overwhelming. Along with the earthy scent, there was a touch of some ancient oils, patchouli and musk.
“Holy fuck, she can do it,” Nic whispered.
Chapter 37: Trouble
I reached out to the Vampire King, cupping my hand around his neck. The coldness of his skin sent a shiver through me. One false move could break my lure. I’d be vampire food. This guy wouldn’t flinch at feeding on me, and I wouldn’t get out of that alive. Every drop of blood would be drained from my body.
I ran my fingers over his lips. He had full lips, softer than I’d expected, but like the rest of him, so cold. I wanted to pull my hand away, the shock of the cold was so strong.
That bottom lip was so much like Kisho’s. Maybe, if I closed my eyes, I could pretend he was Kisho instead. Except I couldn’t weaken the bond, not this soon.
Behind me, the footsteps of the vampires let me know they were moving. Whatever hold the Vampire King had over them had broken. His grip over me only deepened, though.
The pack had their own van. All five of them could leave easily. They’d be out of here and back to wherever they came from. Nic wanted them safe; he’d let them leave first.
I locked my gaze to the King’s. Those eyes scared me, but I had to fight to keep any trace of fear from my face. Those eyes drew me in. There was a darkness there, a darkness that struck me in the pit of my belly. That darkness terrified and repelled me, but it also attracted me. It hooked into my mind and swirled inside me, black and overpowering.
My body became fluid.
If I’d thought I could play with him and keep control, I’d been so wrong. He wanted me, I knew that, but that lusting was so much more than sexual. He wanted me fully. That wanting reached into me, like tentacles wrapping around my heart, pulling out every secret desire and longing. If I wanted power, money, playthings, anything at all, he’d give them to me. That’s what he said to me.
Nic thought he was dark and mysterious, but his darkness was like a moonlit night, full of shadows and shimmer. The Vampire King’s darkness was the bottom of a deep, deep well. No shadow, no light, just oblivion.
The Vampire King would only take. He’d feed from me, if not on my blood, then my vitality. I wasn’t strong enough to meet him as an equal. There’d be no fight, just drowning.
Even knowing that, I moved closer. My heart pounded. I hoped he’d think that was desire, not fear. This might be the biggest mistake of my life, but it was too late to turn back now.
I counted the footsteps of the pack. As the Vampire King drew me into his darkness, I needed to have awareness of that. Two of them left quietly. The next one not so much. I thought the sound of him scuffing his feet would make the Vampire King suspicious. My heart stopped, but our connection didn’t break at all.
The last two left when I first put my lips to the Vampire King’s ice-cold ones. An engine started. They’d be gone soon.
Of course, that was the easy part. The pack members meant nothing to the Vampire King.
I ran my hand down the Vampire King’s chest, playing with his cold skin as I sunk further into the kiss. The more the kiss deepened, the less hold I had. Once Nic and Kisho left, I wasn’t sure how much of me I would remain. The darkness in the Vampire King called to me far more strongly than I knew how to resist.
I clung to the real things around me like a drowning man clung to a life preserver. Holding on with just the tips of my fingers, but holding on for dear life. If I remained the physical me, the Clem who stood in that corridor of the convention center kissing this monster, my friends could escape.
If I focused on how those stupid heels made the arches of my feet ache and the annoying way the dress twisted around my legs, the cold air on my skin, the noise of the air conditioning, the footsteps leaving. Kisho’s sob.
No. Erase that.
I did not want to think about how Kisho felt watching this. If I could’ve, I’d have shielded him from it. I knew Nic had told the truth. Kisho wouldn’t easily forgive me. There was too much damage there.
The temptation of the Vampire King wrapped around me, dragging me under. I struggled to keep my eyes open and my senses aware.
The sounds around me blurred. There were footsteps. Whose, I didn’t know. Then fingers brushing my arm, a signal that they were leaving that I could only vaguely process.
The heat of the Vampire King ran through my body even though his skin had the chill of an Arctic winter. I wondered if my flesh would stick, like when you touch something frozen. My body rubbed against his, but I was hardly aware of the physical sensation. My head swam and I was falling, falling…
A whisper buzzed inside me, telling me of the things that would be mine if I gave in. If I unfurled my fingertips from that edge of reality. It tempted me, it so tempted me. I wasn’t even sure what he offered in any tangible sense. just that it was powerful and dark and would give me all I needed. Forever.
There was nothing enjoyable about this kiss, but nothing awful either. It existed in a place where enjoyment and pleasure and any sensation I’d known no longer meant a thing.
When I came out of the coma after the zoo, I’d felt like this. So fuzzy, the world out of focus. Wanting to respond, but finding it easier to stay buried deep within myself.
Then the image of Kisho in the garden as he gave me that necklace floated to my mind. As it did, the darkness loosened its hold. Once more, I could hear the air conditioning and hear the traffic. That smell of patchouli suddenly became so strong, it made me nauseous.
Then I became aware of crashing and yelling from outside. Of course the Vampire King had minions. And those minions would try to stop Kisho and Nic. I had to trust that Nic and Kisho were strong enough to fight them off.
The image of Kisho wavered and the darkness drew me again.
Before I lost all awareness, I heard the van start up. Kisho and Nic were safe. If only I could break away from the Vampire King.
I needed to breathe, to gulp air into my lungs, anything to stop myself from drowning in this darkness. But that darkness was so damn appealing.
Instead, I sunk further and further. I stopped fighting, letting my body go limp in his arms. The darkness turned pure white. That whiteness swathed me, flooding me with happiness like I’d just taken the best party drugs ever.
There was the only thing that worked to fight this. I searched for that image of Kisho in my mind. Tied up and being whipped by Nic—that only added a buzz to my desire but nothing else. I needed something stronger, not the red-hot lust, but that soft feeling.
I tried again, thinking of Kisho in the garden. When he’d touched me and I’d known that it had been so right. The gentleness of him.
Kisho gave me comfort and a tender warmth. The way he bowed his head when he said sorry, the way his dimples showed when he smiled, the thousand little things he did to make me happy. The touch of his fingers on my neck when he’d clasped the necklace on me.
As that image buzzed through my body, the Vampire King pushed me from him.
Fuck, I’d gone too far. I had nothing to protect me, nothing between me and evil ancient
vampire.
The Vampire King stared at me like he had no idea who I was. Had the orb burned him? No, it was still in my pocket. When he realized the Demon Child was gone, his fury would be fatal. Any moment, he’d come back to his senses. I needed to get out of here. I needed to—
“Run!”
Nic grabbed my wrist.
Chapter 38: Orb
Nic could tell me to run, but he was totally forgetting the impractical shoes and my lack of vampire strength. There was no way we’d get away from this guy. He wasn’t called Vampire King because he was a weakling. He might be temporarily dazed, but that would last thirty seconds, tops.
My stomach churned as we fled through the parking garage.
Outside, in the sunlight beyond the exit, Kisho sat in the van. Those idiots had stayed for me instead of escaping. Nic had kept his word.
If we could get to the van, we’d stand a chance. Even vampire speed wouldn’t outrun a vehicle.
My heels clanked on the concrete floor. A few vampire bodies littered the garage, the Vampire King’s minions defeated by Nic and Kisho. One of them blocked my way. I tried to jump it but think I impaled his hand on my heel.
Even as I ran, I’d left something back there. I’d been tempted. I’d fought it, but a deep emptiness took its place. The Vampire King had drained me.
From the garage, there was a steep incline to the exit. Nic swept me up in his arms and raced with me to the van. We reached the top of the incline, almost at the exit barrier. If we skidded under that, we’d be in the van.
Nic let me down. I nodded. I could do it. So close.
I ducked, swinging my body under the barrier.
But as we righted ourselves, the Vampire King flew in front of us. Of course. He’d never let us escape with the Demon Child. If he’d been terrifying before, now he was gruesome. We’d tricked him, and that obviously made him very angry.
This was it. We’d die. He’d command Nic and I’d be left on my own. There was no way he’d be drawn into my sexual aura again. I had nothing left.
