Cherry Stem (Vampire Cherry Book 1)

by Sotia Lazu

  Alex gasped for breath. He kicked at our captor to no avail. I could possibly get away with nothing but a bruised jaw, but I couldn’t do much to help Alex; Benjamin stood with his arms spread, so we couldn’t reach one another.

  “Is that clear?” Benjamin asked again.

  It was possible that Constantine and Johnny had heard Benjamin and were rushing to our rescue, but I couldn’t afford to wait for knights with sharp canines, who might or might not show up. I nodded. Benjamin’s palm was disgusting against my lips. It felt dead-dead. Touching my lips to it was like touching them to wax. Cold wax, not the kind I used to get rid of unwanted hairs when I was alive. It was odd, since he and I had to be the same temperature.

  “Will you keep quiet if I let you go?” He dug his thumb into the soft tissue underneath Alex’s jaw, making him tilt his head back and wince.

  I nodded again, more vigorously, my gaze glued to Benjamin’s dirty thumbnail.

  “Good.” He squeezed my face once and pulled away.

  “You’re the one working with Ádísa,” I said as soon as he loosened his grip on Alex. My tone was as accusatory as I could manage without raising my voice.

  He gave me a bewildered look. “I’m here to take her down. The bitch will get what’s coming to her. She’ll pay for what she did to my daughter.”

  “Your daughter?” My turn to be taken aback. I never imagined he’d have a family.

  Though his eyes weren’t as wide now that he could breathe again, Alex looked as shocked. He didn’t need to know who the man in front of us was; at first glance, Benjamin seemed incapable of human contact.

  “She was killed a few days before you were turned. I knew a vampire had done it, but I could do nothing about it.” Benjamin’s face now showed more emotion than I thought possible, becoming almost human instead of the carved-stone mask it usually resembled. “The death of a human meant nothing to the council. I wasn’t supposed to keep in touch with my family after my turning, anyway. Ádísa approached me the night before Willoughby’s hearing and promised me the one responsible would meet the sun if I helped her.”

  Things were falling into place. “That’s why you were the first to attack the old council.” I remembered Benjamin jumping up and hurling accusations at them, urging spectators to join him in bringing them down. “The one who killed your daughter,” I whispered. “Was it...?”

  He nodded. “Willoughby. He was supposed to dust for what he did to my little girl. She was twelve. I only had a year with her before I became a vampire—too little time. I couldn’t give her up, so I watched over her and my wife as much as I could. Then he—” His voice cracked, and I was shocked to see a tear run down his cheek. “When you came to tell us he was still around, I confronted Ádísa. She called me an idiot for believing you. I looked into it anyway, and once I discovered Willoughby was her childe, I knew for certain you were right. A maker would never have their offspring killed.”

  Yeah, tell Willoughby that.

  Benjamin shook his head. “She lied to me from the start. For all I know, she was the one who ordered my little girl killed, so she’d get to me. I could be the reason my Virginia died.” His face crumbled, and it was as if he shrank, the wind knocked out of him.

  I didn’t know what to say. I was frozen in place, watching pain destroy a man I’d considered emotionless.

  “We’re going to bring him down. Her too. For everything.” Alex sounded hoarse. Of course he did. He was suspended by the throat for the second time since we met. Hanging out with me didn’t do much for his wellbeing.

  Benjamin nodded again and let Alex go. “Come with me and keep your voices down. She’ll hear you.”

  “She’s here?” That was bad—so very bad.

  Benjamin walked by me, toward the direction Alex and I came from. “Yes,” he said over his shoulder. “I didn’t see her leave. I meant to hide until she was gone, then break in and wait for her to come back, but I didn’t have the patience. Thought she’d be underground, but all I found were some newly turned vampires. They may be the girls you’re looking for.”

  What about Dotty? “Did you see the human woman too? Thirties, tall, with short hair?”

  He shrugged. “Saw someone. She was restrained. I don’t know if she’s who you want. She was asleep, I believe.” With that he was out of my field of vision, around the corner.

  Alex and I hurried after him. I wanted to ask where she was and rush to her, but our chances of helping her and the rest of the girls would be much greater once Ádísa was out of the picture. Then another thought occurred to me, and I wanted to smack myself for not having it sooner. “We need to warn Constantine and Johnny Boy.” I stopped Benjamin with my hand on his arm.

  He frowned. “Johnny is here too? But he didn’t believe you. Or me.”

  He didn’t? Then why was he there?

  Oh shit.

  I was so stupid, letting myself be fooled by Johnny Boy’s friendly act.

  He’d conveniently appeared at Ádísa’s the same night as us, with a story that would work if he weren’t a council member. Why would he be looking for proof of her guilt by himself, when he could order someone else to do it for him?

  And why didn’t I think of this sooner?

  He said he’d looked everywhere upstairs for the girls. If he had, he’d know Ádísa was still inside the manor. But of course, he knew that from the get-go. He’d wanted me to go with him and leave Constantine with Alex, because he wanted to take me to her. He was leading Constantine into a trap.

  Unless my ex was in on it.

  No. Constantine was the one to insist I stick with Alex. Whether he suspected something or not, he definitely wasn’t in cahoots with Johnny. And I had to warn him before it was too late.

  “Let’s go.” I started running toward the stairs, where we said we’d meet the other two, barely holding back for Alex to keep up.

  Constantine and Johnny weren’t at the bottom of the staircase, and we wouldn’t find them in any of the basement rooms. Without thinking, I climbed the stairs and burst into Ádísa’s living room of horrors.

  “I SUGGEST YOU DON’T come any closer.” Johnny smiled amiably, as always. He sat on the armrest of the chair I noticed on our way in. The thing was uglier than ugly, from its winged back to its clawed feet. Ádísa stood behind it, leaning against its back and tapping her sharp nails on the upholstery. Willoughby flanked her other side, his arm folded around Constantine’s chest, the stake in his hand pressing over Constantine’s heart.

  They made for a very evil—if totally clichéd—tableau. I sort of felt bad for Ádísa. For all she had going, she seemed desperate to prove her superiority.

  Still, her guys were armed, so I froze in my tracks, as did Alex. Benjamin, however, unconcerned with my former lover’s unlife, shoved me aside and lunged for Ádísa with a roar.

  Johnny raised his arm. I heard the thwack of the cord releasing but didn’t have time to warn Benjamin. An arrow shot out of the mini crossbow in Johnny’s hand, sliced the air, and found Benjamin’s heart.

  Benjamin turned to dust mid-leap. One moment he was lifting off the ground, about to close the distance to the woman who promised him retribution for his daughter’s murder but used him as a pawn, and the next he was a thin cloud of dust descending toward the inappropriately colorful carpet.

  Alex’s gasp reached my ears. It was the first time he saw someone dust, since he’d been knocked out when I offed the vampire at his mother’s place. I wanted to make sure he was okay, but I didn’t dare avert my gaze from Willoughby’s hand.

  “Why?” I muttered, unsure of what that why was about. Why did they kill Benjamin? That was kind of easy to figure out. Why were they turning the girls? Why was Johnny teaming with Ádísa? Why...?

  Ádísa replied to the obvious question. “He was dangerous. He had to be put down.” She looked between me and Alex. “You are dangerous too.”

  “We’ve done nothing to you,” I spat out between gritted teeth. She was a c
ouncil member, and we were nobodies. No reason for her to fear either of us. “You were the one who ordered me turned and had him”—I pointed to Benjamin’s remains—“help you overturn the council. And you had Constantine keep an eye on me. Why?”

  “I am not going to explain myself to you or to a human.” She straightened up and went to Constantine.

  “Why take the girls?” I asked, unfazed by her turning her back to me. “Or me? You could have turned anyone. Why set up this scheme?”

  Willoughby mustn’t have noticed how bad guys in movies die after presenting their elaborate plans to the white hats. “These girls are precisely the type rich, powerful men go for,” he said with a grin. “Place them in the right spot at the right moment, and they can bring those men to us.”

  Huh? “So this was about money?” That was absurd. Ádísa had to be richer than Midas.

  “No.” Ádísa’s tone was scornful. Apparently she wasn’t above explaining herself if that meant pointing out my idiocy. “It is about power. Turn a few men at key positions, kill a few more after they sign over their companies to their latest significant others, and we rule the world.”

  I gaped at her. “You’re planning to take over the world with an army of what? Five gorgeous, undead escorts? Ten?”

  She scoffed. “You’re assuming we limited ourselves to Los Angeles.”

  “Why didn’t you turn those men to begin with? Why involve the girls?”

  “The ones we’re after are hard to get close to. They have people monitoring their every move. Turning doesn’t happen within seconds. It’s one thing for Bill Gates to disappear for a whole night after an appointment at his office, and another for him to ask not to be disturbed because he’s spending the night with a conquest. And the girls are trained to be conquests. Men in power have to hunt their prey.”

  “Bill Gates is married,” was what came out of my mouth. My mind couldn’t process what I’d heard.

  “Why did you break into my mother’s house?” Alex asked from behind me.

  Willoughby smirked. “We needed to know what progress you’d made with the case. I followed you there before, and she told us you’d be there alone. We were planning on wiping you, but she”—he pointed at me—“got in the way.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t have messed with me. Why turn me?” They’d turned me and let me loose. I didn’t even fit the type they were after.

  Willoughby opened his mouth, but shut it again at Ádísa’s glare.

  “What? No more playing the James Bond villains?” I asked.

  Blank looks all around. These people lacked basic pop-culture knowledge.

  “You know—answering our questions so we aren’t left wondering after we escape and kill you?” I acted braver than I felt, but I wasn’t exactly trembling in my boots. Their displays of power made them less scary than the ideas of them I’d had in my head.

  “Not as if we’re risking anything. You’re as good as dead.” Ádísa arched two perfectly shaped eyebrows. With an order from her, Willoughby dropped his arm, and I let out a sigh of relief. Imminent danger to Constantine was averted.

  Probably.

  Ádísa locked her gaze to my ex’s and said, “I knew I could count on you to bring her here.”

  The ground opened under my feet, and my stomach plummeted. Constantine betrayed me? I stared at him, certain Ádísa was playing me. She had to be lying.

  Constantine was silent. Why wasn’t he denying her words? He smiled at her, and I almost took a step toward him before the memory of Benjamin’s perma-death stopped me. I’d have to kill the double-crossing bastard later. Because I would kill him, for making me trust him and letting me down.

  Again.

  Ádísa went on. “I knew you had a soft spot for her. I saw you watching, listening... waiting for the right moment to turn on me. I arranged for that moment to be tonight.” She whispered the last part, but all nonhumans in the room must have heard her loud and clear.

  A sense of peace washed over me, at odds with the situation. Constantine didn’t betray me. She used his feelings for me against me, but it wasn’t his fault.

  I didn’t get to relish my relief.

  Ádísa made a show of pulling a sharpened stake out of a hip holster and dragging it along Constantine’s cheek. “What is it with the women in your family, Cherry?” she asked.

  It took a couple of seconds for me to grasp that she was talking to me. The women in my family? I didn’t have the faintest idea what she meant.

  “No matter. Your allure worked against you this time. It got you where I wanted you. It’s such a pity Constantine will share your fate, but maybe I’ll get to keep your new friend.” She meant Alex.

  I growled. “You’ll leave all of us alone.”

  “Or else?” Her smile was too sweet and innocent to be sincere.

  Constantine spoke up. “How could you think I would betray you? After all we’ve been through? Don’t you know I love only you?”

  I opened my mouth to say I was sorry, I should have known better, when it dawned on me he was talking to Ádísa. And then he did more than talk. He cupped her face, pulled her to him, and shoved his tongue down her throat.

  Ádísa lowered the stake and plastered her body against his, all but dry humping him.

  This was like the set of a supernatural soap opera, with the leading characters changing allegiances and lovers before every commercial break. “Now that’s been cleared up, will you tell me why it had to be me? I mean, I know you needed someone recognizable for the whole council-overturning scheme to work, but I was a minor celebrity at best. Why not go with a big name?” I said.

  Oh, for the love of God, could she just answer me and stop sucking face with my ex?

  Nobody paid me any attention except for Johnny Boy, who leveled his crossbow in my general vicinity. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Alex moved so he stood half behind me. He wasn’t a coward, to be using me as a shield, so I hoped he had a plan in mind.

  “Hey. I’m talking to you, you harpy. And what do you know about my family?” I yelled the question, both in hopes the other vampires would turn their attention to me, and on the off chance I got a reply.

  It worked. Ádísa pulled back from the lip-lock, clearly about to say something. Only she didn’t get to.

  Constantine, still cupping her face, twisted.

  I heard a crack. Her spinal cord snapped as easily as a twig. Constantine kept twisting and pulled upward, until he tore her head from her neck with a squelching, ripping sound.

  He twisted her head off.

  Despite knowing better, I expected blood to spurt. There was none. In the blink of an eye, Ádísa’s body formed a pile, her stake landing beside it with a dull thud. Constantine was left holding thin air, his palms covered in her dust. His face contorted, lines marring his beautiful features. His eyes filled with tears. His pain seemed physical.

  I wondered if it really was—if there was some sort of metaphysical bond between maker and childe that hurt when severed. Would I feel what Constantine did now if Willoughby was really executed? I didn’t know; they don’t cover maker extermination in the handbook. I’d find out firsthand, though, if Willoughby did us all a favor and died tonight.

  I could ask Constantine later, but I didn’t want to. He appeared devastated. Lost.

  Then he met my gaze.

  Producing a maniacal grin, he spun and caught Willoughby’s wrist. He took advantage of the other man’s shock, to move the stake away from his own chest.

  “You killed her.” Willoughby’s face was a mask of fury, but his eyes held the same devastation Constantine’s held for that split second after he killed Ádísa.

  Constantine didn’t speak, but used both hands to bend Willoughby’s wrist backward. He pushed, and the stake was shoved into Willoughby’s chest. Willoughby took a couple of steps back but didn’t dust. The stake must have missed his heart. I looked at Johnny as he was about to shoot me. I saw it in the tensing of his eyes, the tightenin
g of his finger on the crossbow’s trigger. I ducked to the side at the same moment Constantine kicked the armchair into Johnny and rattled his aim.

  An arrow buzzed by, not close enough for either Alex or me to be at risk. If Constantine didn’t jar Johnny off balance, I’d be history. Before relief could settle in, Alex pulled me behind him and brought up his gun. This was why he’d hidden part of his body from view—so the others wouldn’t see him reach for his weapon. Well, there was no reason for him to hide anymore. The fight was on.

  I tuned down my hearing just in time. Alex’s gun went off, and the sound had to be deafening to the other vampires in the room. Johnny looked pained even before Alex planted bullet after bullet in his chest. Johnny Boy’s inability to take aim again allowed me to approach Willoughby and Constantine, who were wrestling on the floor.

  I grabbed Ádísa’s stake from where it lay beside them and crawled toward Johnny. The armchair acted as a shield against stray bullets. Alex was still shooting Johnny when I stood behind the vampire and plunged the stake under his ribs and through his heart.

  Something whizzed past my head. My cheek burned. Alex almost shot me. “Hey. Watch it.”

  “Are you all right?” Alex crossed the room toward me, holding his gun up.

  “Not thanks to you.” I rubbed my cheek and checked my hand. No blood, not that it’d leave a scar even if there were an open wound. Dust clung to my lips and eyelashes.

  He stopped a couple of feet away from me and took me in. “You seem fine from where I’m standing.”

  “I’m lucky you ran out of bullets.” I tilted my head toward the other two vampires and motioned for Alex to stay where he was. He nodded, and I rushed to help Constantine. I was looking for an opening, when Willoughby brought up his knee and crashed it squarely into my ex’s crotch. Constantine folded over with a groan, and Willoughby rolled him off and took flight.

  Constantine was on his feet before I could decide whether to chase Willoughby or look for the missing women. “Go find the fledglings,” he said. “I’m going after him.”