Breed of Innocence (The Breed Chronicles, #01)

by Jordan, Lanie

  “Nothing,” she said.

  “I know you didn’t find anything, but what made you think you’d found the nest?”

  “Nothing,” she repeated. “It was just a guess.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “That’s what we’re here for, isn’t it? To guess?”

  Peter shook his head. “No, Felecia. We’re not guessing, and if we are, we go off a system better than eenie, meenie, miney, moe.”

  “Whatever. Let’s see little Miss Perfect do better.”

  “Oh, come on. I didn’t even say anything!”

  “Exactly. At least I tried something, which is more than—”

  I scoffed, but before I could respond, Peter said, “Enough! We’re here for a reason. Focus on the task at hand. And Felecia? I don’t mind guesses, but don’t just take a shot in the dark. At east make it a semi-educated guess.”

  I couldn’t see her, but I knew Felecia had to be fuming. She was probably sending death glares my way.

  Peter clicked off his headset for a minute. “Don’t engage her, Jade.” He rested a hand on my shoulder. “If she wants to fail, let her. Don’t let her you mess you up again.”

  I still wanted to say or do something, but instead I let out a harsh breath. “Fine.”

  He winked at me, then turned his radio back on.

  Everyone stayed quiet for the next half hour. I caught a glimpse of Peter’s map as he tracked our progress and the places we’d covered. We’d already circled our area once and were on our second pass.

  I slowed my pace and looked from house to house. My gaze landed on one and I touched Peter’s arm to get his attention. “Hold on.”

  “We might have a possible location,” Peter said over the headset. “What do you see, Jade?”

  “The trash cans.”

  Felecia’s laughter rang out in my ear. “Seriously? That’s her big clue?” She scoffed. “And I was yelled at for guessing?”

  “What about them, Jade?” Peter prompted.

  “The houses.” I pointed. “All of them before now have had trashcans out front. There are three on this block that don’t and a fourth that’s out but knocked over—”

  “Wow, that’s remarkable. You found some houses that don’t have trash and one who had their trash knocked over by animals,” Felecia said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Bravo.”

  “Save it,” Peter snapped. “Go on, Jade.”

  “I’m guessing three of them belong to early risers or people who just forgot. But…” Jade, if you’re wrong, you’re an idiot. Don’t be wrong.

  “But what?”

  I pointed to one of the houses. “Animals didn’t knock that can over. There’s nothing inside it. There’s no trash on the ground.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Mind if I check something real fast?”

  “Stay in sight, Jade.”

  “I will.”

  He nodded at me, so I crossed the street and tiptoed my way up the driveway. After glancing around, I made a few mental notes and started back. When I passed the car, I sighed.

  “Well?” he said.

  “This is it,” I said. “They have kid toys in the front yard and a car seat in the back of the van, but there’s not a bit of trash in their can. How many people—especially with kids—don’t have at least one bag of trash?”

  “Maybe they’re on vacation, Jade,” Linc said, speaking for the first time since we’d separated.

  “I considered that, and, while it’s been a while since I’ve had the whole family thing, I can’t imagine a family going on vacation without the car seat.”

  Linc said, “You’ve got a point.”

  “Okay, let’s check it out,” Peter said.

  “Seriously? Because there’s no trash?” Felecia argued. “How is that any better than my guess?”

  “Because yours was just a guess. You didn’t have an ounce of fact or reasoning to back it up. Maybe you’re right and Jade’s wrong, but at least she’s putting in real effort.”

  Don’t smirk, Jade. Don’t do it. “It’s not just the trash or the car,” I said slowly, turning to look at Peter. “It’s the blood on the ground beside it.”

  “Well done,” Peter said, clasping my shoulder. “Teams, it looks like we may have found our nest. We’re on Brick Street, house…1320.” His lips raised in a smile, and when he spoke again, his tone held laughter. “Look for the house with the knocked over trashcan.”

  I groaned as I heard Linc’s voice in my head. “Seriously? Trash? I don’t remember that being in the books.”

  “Bite me,” I said.

  Peter held back a chuckle. “He raises a good point. That wasn’t in the books.”

  “The trash was the first thing that struck me as off.” I shrugged. “And,” I said, pointing to the lawn, “the grass has drag marks.”

  Shaking his head, Peter laughed. “And she didn’t even catch the blood.”

  “What?” I squeaked. “I caught the blood.”

  “By the car, maybe.” He pointed to a spot on the sidewalk, a few feet from the trashcans. “But not that blood.”

  “Well, shi…skabob.” I gave an oops smile.

  His mouth opened, closed, then his shoulders shook with a contained laugh. “Nice save.”

  I grinned. “Thanks.”

  “And way to think outside the box, Jade.” He smiled. “Greene’d be impressed. Hell, I’m impressed.”

  Within ten minutes, the other three teams appeared, walking up from different directions. I saw Linc immediately. He wasn’t hard to miss, since he spotted me at the same time and started shaking his head. I could almost hear him laughing.

  Adam looked at me, raised an eyebrow. “Trash? That’s a first.”

  “Not a bad sign,” Harry said. He looked to Peter. “What’s the plan?”

  Peter split the groups again. “Adam, Linc, you’ll take the back door. Harry, you get the north. Dale, you’re south. Felecia, Jade, and I will take the front.” He gave us hard looks. “Stay close. Defend yourselves if you have to, otherwise do not engage. Clear?”

  I nodded, even as my heart started to pound. Back at the CGE, when we’d been loading up with weapons, I’d been nervous and excited. But now… We were on the hunt.

  Holy crap. It hadn’t seemed so…real before.

  Peter faced us, kept his face serious and his tone nonsense free. “We don’t know how many are in here, so eyes open, weapons ready, and stay focused. I don’t want to explain to Greene why I left with three Prospects and came back with less, hear me?” When we all nodded, he said, “Okay. Teams, take your positions and makes sure your radios are still working properly.”

  As the other teams went to their designated spots, Felecia and I followed Peter onto the porch. He turned the doorknob. The door was unlocked. He waited until we both had our stakes out, then turned to me. “Jade, on five, turn the knob, and then stay clear until I give you the go-ahead. Okay?”

  I nodded again.

  “We’re going in five.” As he counted down, he pulled out a stake in one hand, a taser in the other. When he reached one, I pushed the door open and jumped back. Peter ran in immediately, before the door opened fully.

  “Clear,” I heard him whisper.

  Felecia stepped in next and I followed behind her. My already-racing heartbeat picked up speed. The stench of blood and death hit me first, made me immediately nauseous. I breathed through my mouth, trying to keep my breaths even.

  The house was pitch-black.

  “Prospects, hold your positions and stay quiet,” Peter said, walking away.

  We waited in the living room. Felecia stood a few feet away and crinkled her nose.

  “Try breathing through your mouth,” I whispered.

  She rolled her eyes. “I know how to breathe.”

  Why did I bother?

  “One down,” I heard someone say—maybe Adam. It was hard to tell since the voice was so quiet.

  “Two down,” Peter said. “Dale, Harry, w
e’ve got at least two more and could use some assistance.”

  I heard them confirm Peter’s request and, about a minute later, Dale came in through the front door. He paused at us, said, “Wait here,” and then headed for the stairs. Harry must’ve come in from the back, because he was right behind Dale and following him up the stairs.

  Felecia and I glanced at each other as we waited in silence. Felecia bounced foot to foot, like she was just waiting for the chance to do something. A small part of me wondered if she’d just run again.

  What was taking them so long? I wondered. It’d been at least ten minutes now without a word from anyone. I wanted to call to someone, to see if they were all okay, but I didn’t. What if I said something and it distracted them?

  Another five minutes passed, then a scream echoed throughout the house and the headset. Linc should’ve been safe at the back door (hopefully), and Felecia and I were at the front, so that left one of four people.

  What did we do?

  Someone yelled for the van driver, seconds before I heard Peter say, “Vamp coming out the front!” His voice was loud, out of breath. “Do not engage! I repeat, get out of the way, and do not engage!”

  There was a moan and the sound of something breaking. In the next second, a dark figure appeared out of the shadows, coming in from the kitchen. I caught the sight of fangs and ducked out of the way as a vampire ran out of the house. The breath in my lungs caught and I closed my eyes. When I reopened them and started to move forward, I froze as another vamp ran at me. It shoved me to the side. I hit a table and fell as the vamp went out the door.

  “Shit.” There was a sharp pain in my arm and I lifted it up. There was a small gash with a steady flow of blood.

  Felecia glanced down at me. I thought maybe she would help me up, but then she just took off.

  I pushed to my feet. “Where are you going?”

  For half a second, I’d thought maybe she was just running away again. She didn’t seem to react well under pressure. But she wasn’t.

  She was going after them.

  “I’m not letting them get away,” she yelled back.

  “Damnit, Felecia! Get back here!” I yelled. “Two vamps went out the front door,” I said, speaking quickly. “Felecia went after them.”

  I waited two seconds and didn’t hear anything. “Can anyone hear me?” Weren’t these things supposed to be automatic? I tapped the button on the side. “Felecia went after the vampires!”

  Just as I was about to run further into the house, I heard Peter’s voice. “Just stop her, Jade. Leave the vamps alone, but stop Felecia.”

  “On it,” I said and took off behind her. I had no idea where they were, but I followed in the direction I’d seen Felecia go. I stopped at the sidewalk, pausing only long enough to glance down the street. To my right, I saw Felecia running after a shadow.

  I booked it after her, pushing my legs faster and harder than I ever had. “Felecia! Stop!” I screamed. Before I’d even said it, I knew it’d be a waste of time. I was the last person she’d listen to.

  As I ran, I noticed that she’d slowed her pace. And I realized something that had me slowing down too. Felecia was the only person—or thing—I saw in the deserted street.

  Where the hell had the vampires gone?

  “I hope this counts as defense,” I said, pulling the nano-sword from my pocket. I turned the hilt, had it transforming into the sword with the UV light. If for some reason I couldn’t or didn’t use it, it might act as a deterrent. I really hope it acts like a deterrent.

  Felecia was a few feet in front of me, so I stopped and turned in slow circles. “Where’d they go?” I whispered, hoping Felecia would hear me and actually respond.

  “I—I don’t know. I saw one go that way and the other just…vanished. They have to be here somewhere.”

  Shit. “Come back. We’re safer together than apart.” I heard her snort and had to grit my teeth. “Are you really that anxious to die?” I snapped. “You already left me to do that once. Get your ass back here!”

  She stopped walking and, obviously reluctant, turned and started back toward me. Keeping my pace slow, I moved closer to her. Whether she had a death wish or not, I didn’t. I just wanted her with me so we could go back to Peter and the others and hopefully save ourselves from expulsion. Or failure.

  Or death.

  We’d just about reached each other when I saw a shadow appear a few feet behind her. I opened my mouth and the vampire started toward her. “Run!” I screamed.

  She glanced over her shoulder and then swerved to the right. I held the sword up and braced myself. The vamp studied Felecia for half a second, then me, then Felecia again, like it was trying to decide which of us it wanted. It locked its gaze on me. But it wasn’t looking at me.

  I glanced down and saw the cut on my arm, and the blood.

  I really was a demon magnet.

  Slowly, I started to back away. “Go get Peter,” I whispered, hoping she’d hear me over the headset. If she did, she ignored my plea.

  The vampire sprinted toward me. When it was ten feet away, it leaped. I waited until the last second, then raised the sword. The vamp landed on it and the force knocked us both to the ground. Its blood-red eyes slowly went black and wide, and after a second, the flesh melted away and it disintegrated into nothing.

  “Holy shit,” I said, sitting up and gulping air like it might not be there in two seconds. Dumb luck, Jade. Dumb luck. I pushed to my feet and hunched over. A nervous laugh bubbled out of my mouth. That was just a little too close for comfort—

  “Jade!”

  I spun toward the sound of my name. My eyes barely had time to widen before the second vampire crashed into me. Something hot and sharp stabbed into my neck and I felt the worst pain of my life as I hit the ground with the vampire on top of me.

  A scream ripped from my throat before it died out as my breath froze in my lungs. My heart hammered in my chest, so fast it felt like one solid, non-stop beat. Then it slowed until I could count each beat individually. Each one felt like being stabbed with a hot poker.

  I’d had a bees nest fall on me as a kid, and the pain of being stung by hundreds of bees had been the worst thing I’d ever felt.

  But it didn’t compare to this. Not even close. This was like being stung in the same place, over and over, by thousands of bees with stingers dripped in acid.

  My body shuddered.

  Dimly, I heard voices and sounds in my head. But I couldn’t focus on them enough to make out the sources. My eyes were open, yet all I could really see was a partial dark shadow above me. I looked past the darkness, to the sky, and longed to be a part of it because it had to be better than this. I’d never wished for death before—never thought I would.

  Now I did.

  I’d seen pictures of vampire attacks and had read the books about them, but still, I hadn’t imagined it could be like this. I hadn’t imagined a pain so bad it was debilitating. I could feel everything, yet I felt paralyzed, or like I was trapped in someone else’s body. Words and pictures didn’t come close to describing the intensity of it.

  Colors around me got darker; sounds dimmer. My body was frozen but my neck burned. Shivers wracked my body even though I could feel sweat form on my skin.

  Do something, Jade! Fight back! I knew I should listen to the voice—whoever it belonged to, because I wasn’t really sure—and do something; try to fight, kick, bite, punch—anything—but nothing would obey. It was like the switch that controlled my body had been turned off. I couldn’t really feel it anymore. Even my pain was lessening.

  I didn’t know how much time had passed. It could have been hours or minutes or seconds; I just didn’t know.

  I wasn’t sure I cared.

  Ash-colored spots floated in my vision. The vampire? Had Felecia actually saved me?

  Faces swam in front of me.

  Someone whispered my name and then the world went dark.

  CHAPTER 16

  Strang
e sounds pulled me from the darkness like a hushed whisper I couldn’t ignore. My eyes wouldn’t open, not right away. After a few minutes of struggling, I finally managed to squint and keep them open. I glanced to my right, toward the sounds, and immediately regretted it. I closed my eyes again. The darkness was better—it wasn’t so darn bright.

  A second passed and my eyes snapped back open. I knew those sounds. I blinked furiously until I’d adjusted to the light. Machines beeped and buzzed; lights flashed and blinked. I groaned. Not a hospital!

  Pressure on my hand had me turning to the left. I found Linc, eyes closed, leaning back in a chair with his head resting on his shoulder and his chin tucked to his chest. It had to be the world’s most uncomfortable position.

  I would have grinned, but I didn’t have the energy for even that small of a movement. Who knew waking and blinking could be so tiring?

  I opened my mouth to say something, but found it too dry to form any words. I tried once more, made a sound that resembled a choking bullfrog, then decided against speaking at all.

  Looking down, I studied Linc’s hand. It was wrapped around mine, our fingers linked together, and he was clutching it like he was afraid someone would walk off with it. I squeezed his hand, once, then twice more.

  Finally, his eyes fluttered open. “Jade!” He jumped up and dropped my hand. “Doc! Get in here!”

  I groaned again as the door burst open and Doc, along with Peter and Director Greene, rushed in.

  Doc ran up to the side of the bed, flashed a penlight in my eyes, nearly blinding me. I tried telling her to knock it off but managed only the first syllable. She patted my shoulder and smiled. “Can you grab a cup of ice chips, Linc?”

  He nodded and crossed the room to a tray with a bubblegum pink pitcher. He came back a second later with a plastic cup and handed it to Doc. She held it up to my lips and lifted it so a few pieces fell into my mouth.

  After another small amount, she pulled the cup back. I would have smacked her—if I could have raised my arms. “I don’t want to give you too much too soon,” she said, reading my thoughts. “It can make you sick. Do you think you can talk?”

  I let the chips melt in my mouth and managed a croaky, “Mean.”