Turning towards the vampires glaring at us, he gave them the finger and headed off towards a hallway off the common room.
Unsure of what to do, I waited to see if these vampires were brave enough to make a move on us or if they would wait until we were asleep to remove our heads.
A female with long blonde hair stepped forward. She was wearing a black and red plaid skirt, a white collared shirt with a dark red tie and a black blazer. The blazer bore the symbol of the Mielcarek Coven.
“Welcome to Wicked Reform. I’m Valene. I assist Nikkos in acclimating the new students to the school. I’ll give you a quick tour and show you where you’ll be sleeping.” Her sneer told me that she was a Mielcarek loyalist who thought I was trash for waging war on the coven.
Looking to Silvijn, her sneer quickly changed to a flirtatious wink despite the fact that he had killed more vampires than me. It seemed that she was more than happy to forgive him for his part in the rebellion. Silvijn’s strong jaw, piercing blue eyes and firm muscles were more than enough to impress any female and even a few males.
I stepped in front of Silvijn, blocking him from her view. He belonged to me and was not available for bedtime fantasies for anyone else.
“Sure, Valene. Let’s take a look around. I don’t plan on being here long, but I can pretend to pay attention.” I crossed my arms and took another half step towards her. She flinched slightly as I invaded her personal space.
A smile slowly spread across her face. “Everyone thinks they’ll simply walk out of here and return home when they first arrive. I’m here to tell you that more people are carried out in body bags than those who leave in carriages.”
I shrugged. “Good to know, since I don’t plan on having enemies conspiring against me. I plan to eliminate anyone who challenges me.”
Again, she smiled. “They have punishments designed for those who break the rules. There are creatures here who know your weaknesses and how to exploit them. Come find me after your first punishment session so I can see the fear that replaces your arrogance.”
I was slightly worried about someone being able to determine my greatest weakness, but I refused to let it alter my plans.
She spun on her heel and motioned for us to follow her through the hallway to the left.
A collective growl spread through the room as we followed Valene. It was going to be a long few weeks until I figured out who to kill in order to escape.
Heading through the same hallway as Nikkos, Valene put on her tour voice. “You’ll spend most of your time here at Vamp House, as we call it, especially during daylight hours. There are no protections from the sunlight for vampires outside these walls. The only time you will be expected to leave is when you are taken to the detention centers to be punished. Seeing how angry you are, I have a feeling you’ll be spending most of your time there. Aside from that, there are training areas for exercise or blowing off some steam, but there are a lot rules. The blood room is through there. Don’t feed on the other creatures here unless you are suicidal. Admittedly, there are some who offer themselves as blood whores for the thrill of it, but you will pay a high price.” She pointed to a large cafeteria off the hallway that took up one entire side of the building. Along the walls were a few tinted windows. The wooden tables and benches were stained from the years of blood bags consumed by the students.
Further down the hallway was a series of doors marked with different names. None of them said “professor” or “teacher”; instead, their placards had titles like Hunger Counselor, Studies Coordinator and Student Counselor.
I found it interesting that the school didn’t attempt to hide the fact that this was first and foremost a reform school, which was one step away from a prison or detention center. It appeared that the students were free to roam the school, though the ever-present threat of punishment was just a few steps down the hallway.
Silvijn raised his eyebrow at Valene. “Have you been broken before, Valene?”
She turned her head and frowned. “What are you talking about?”
He walked closer to her and ran his hand through a strand of her long blonde hair. Leaning down to whisper in her ear, he lightly tugged on her hair. “Has anyone ever bent you over a table, smacked your ass and broken your resistance until you gave yourself over willingly to anything they wanted to do to you?”
Her mouth fell open and she gasped. A blush blossomed on her cheeks and she pressed her bare thighs together.
So much for scaring off the perky vamp. Now, she would be drooling over Silvijn, begging for his attention. I wasn’t sure what game he was playing, but I would deal with him later.
“I think we can handle the rest of the tour by ourselves. Do you have a map or something?” I slid between the two of them to separate them.
She snapped out of her thoughts of bending over for him and silently nodded. She pulled a folded piece of paper from her blazer pocket and handed it to him. “Your uniforms are on your beds. Your bunk assignments are handwritten on the map.” She licked her lips and swallowed.
I snatched the paper from Silvijn’s hand and pushed him towards the waiting area. I needed to get away from Valene before I snapped her neck.
All eyes were on us again when we walked through the common room, though I ignored the glares and headed for the stairs. I needed to get out of my torn and bloody clothes and get some rest before I killed someone. I ran up to the dorm level and found a wide hallway with arrows pointing towards the dorm areas. Left for males and right for females.
Silvijn followed me into the female dorm hallway. The rooms were labeled in alphabetical order, which was easy enough to follow. Ducking my head into the first room, I found triple bunkbeds labeled with numbers crammed into every available space. The ceiling of each room was made of tinted glass to reveal the dark sky but also protect us from the sun. At least I would still be able to see the sun during the day.
Locating room K and bunk 18, which was on the bottom, I picked up the ridiculous uniform sitting on top of the bed and stared at it. At least it wasn’t grimy and torn.
I tossed it back down and pulled my leather shirt over my head. I felt Silvijn’s eyes on my exposed breasts. Stripping off my black leather pants, I bent over the bed to unbutton the uniform skirt.
Glancing up at him, I winked. “Planning to bend me over, Silvijn?” I laughed at the thought. We hadn’t had sex in…well, I couldn’t remember the last time we had been intimate. We had been exhausted from battle or so focused on our battle strategy that we hadn’t had much free time.
He leaned against the metal frame of the bunk beds. “You’re not the kind of person who likes to be bent over a table. You prefer your men on their knees, begging to fuck you.”
I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. “So why are you not on your knees?” My eyes trailed down his leather pants.
He leapt forward and grabbed my neck. My back slammed against the wall, sending a chill of warning through me. His intense eyes were cold as he stared at me.
“You know that I would have preferred death to being captured and sentenced to a place like this. I don’t do well in confined spaces, as you well know. I don’t like being tortured unless the torturer is gorgeous and wearing nothing but spiked heels. You broke your pledge to me. You swore you would keep me out of jail as long I helped you get revenge. Now, here we are, Marianela, stuck in reform school. I pledged myself to you and this is my reward. You should have let me die.” His hand tightened around my throat, cutting off my breath.
While I understood his anger, it was foolish for him to be mad that I saved his life.
Shoving him off me, I slapped him. “Consider my gift of life a second chance for revenge. You lived to fight another day. If you were dead, the fight would be over for you. You should be thanking me. Warriors don’t die a good death. They just die and have to be replaced. Just like Marcario’s general.” I leaned forward to kiss him, hoping to invoke the pleasant memory of killing Marcario’s top warrior in an ep
ic sword battle.
He shook his head and pushed my face away. “That’s all you ever think about. You only care about the next battle. There’s more to life than killing.”
My eyebrows shot up. This from the vampire who set fire to an enemy camp with a smile on his face. “Yes, there is. My revenge wasn’t just about killing my brother; it was about claiming my place as the head of the coven. I didn’t work my ass off and endure countless horrors to be denied what is rightfully mine. My father chose me to lead and Marcario stole that from me. I admit the war was all about hurting him and his loyalists, but it was only a means to an end.”
He looked down at the ground and bit the inside of his lip. “You could have fooled me. I saw how you relished the deaths of our enemies. There were days when it was all you spoke about. You say that you wanted to lead the coven, but during our campaign, you only cared about the carnage. I accept some of the responsibility for the person you’ve become, Marianela, but not all of it. What happened to the woman who used to love the simple things in life like walking through the surrounding villages and greeting everyone with a smile?”
I scoffed. “She died at the bottom of the ocean. You know that, Silvijn.” I brushed past him to put on the deplorable skirt and cover myself.
Silvijn sighed behind me. “We’re done here, Marianela. I can’t go on like this anymore.” He threw up his arms and walked towards the doorway.
I stomped my foot. “I need you to help me survive this place until we can escape, or kill everyone in their sleep, whichever comes first. We need to figure out how to get out of here so I can kill my brother.”
He whipped around and hissed at me. “Do it by yourself. I don’t want to be your general anymore.” He disappeared into the hallway, leaving me alone to fend for myself.
Perfect! Just when I needed him most, Silvijn abandoned me. It seemed I would have to fight my way out of here alone.
Chapter 3
Laying in my bed after a long shower, I reflected on what Silvijn said about not being the sweet girl I once was. I had my reasons for the change in my demeanor over the years, which I thought he understood. And yes, I had focused on my hatred of my brother to get me through the day in order to survive. It was hard to let go of my rage and focus on my main objective of ruling the coven. It was impossible to be civilized when everything was stripped away from me in one terrible moment.
I let out a breath and tried to calm down. Silvijn would come around once his anger subsided and he saw that living was better than dying.
I closed my eyes and listened to the hushed sounds of plotting. I fully expected some kind of welcome wagon designed to put the new student on edge. I assumed they would step up their efforts due to my status, but I hoped that at least a few vamps would accept me as the true leader of the coven over my brother.
Shortly after lights out, scurrying sounds from all around me prepared me for the inevitable. A bag was thrown over my head and I was punched repeatedly. I was dragged somewhere out of the way like the bathroom or a closet, but I went willingly. I wanted to see how this played out. I would either kill them all to prove that I was not someone to be fucked with or I would win them over with my fists.
The bag was pulled from my head to reveal the bathroom. Smart choice since there were more options to intimidate a prisoner with all the hard surfaces and running water.
A light was shined in my eyes, ruining my night vision, as multiple sets of arms held me against the tile wall.
“No one wants you here, Marianela. We all know how you tried to overthrow the Mielcarek Coven. Most of us are trying to prove our loyalty to the coven. We don’t need you painting a target on our backs. If you start trouble, it could mean death for all of us.” A burly vamp with short brown hair appeared to be the ringleader of the six other male and female vamps who were brave enough to threaten me.
“I hope the rest of your friends aren’t stupid enough to greet Silvijn in the same way. If so, I would be more concerned about them dying.” My ears perked up when I heard the sexy sound of Silvijn snarling followed by a loud thud. I chuckled when I saw the concern on their faces. “Silvijn is one of the greatest generals of our generation, and I had nearly 1,000 men under my command. We killed more men than that on our march from the sea to the Mielcarek compound. Men with swords and armor tried to kill me on a daily basis. You really think I care about the threats of a few delinquents?” Another thud and more snarling from the men’s bathroom next door had them all reconsidering their rash attempts to intimidate me.
The leader opened his mouth to speak, but I snapped my head forward, headbutting him. Distracted by Silvijn’s fight, he hadn’t kept the proper distance from me.
Biting the arms holding me in quick succession, I broke free from their hold and grabbed the dazed leader by the throat. “What’s your name?” Snarling, I stared into his eyes.
“Aslo.” He shook when he looked into eyes that held no pity for him.
“Aslo, I’ll make you a deal. I won’t kill you as long as you advise every vamp at this school that death awaits any who dares attack me.” I quickly turned my attention to the others who were attempting to mount a rescue of their leader. “All of you listen well. I will snap each of your necks and leave you for dead in the sunlight if you come at me again. I have no mercy left in me and no patience for fools. Strike at me again and you will not survive. Follow me and I will allow you to live.”
Aslo defiantly shook his head. “We already serve someone, Marianela.” He appeared torn between his fear of dying by my hands and the loyalty granted to someone else.
“Who?” I assumed there would be an established leader whom had already made their name before my arrival, so I wasn’t surprised that this band of unorganized idiots was just following someone else’s orders.
“Ceyla, Heir to the Sabourin Coven.” He whispered the name as if he were too afraid to speak it.
Fuck. Ceyla was still alive.
I tried to hide my disappointment. “Fine. Tell Ceyla that you did your best to scare me, but it didn’t work.” I crushed his throat with my hand and dropped him. The rest ran for their lives to inform Ceyla of their defeat.
I looked down at Aslo. Once he recovered, I might be able to persuade him to work for me, unless he wanted to have his neck snapped every night for the rest of his life.
Stepping over him, I left the bathroom and found Silvijn in the hallway licking the blood from his lips.
“You believe I have lost my way, yet I only snapped one person’s neck and let the others live to tell the tale. Based on what I heard, you tore apart your attackers. I can still hear some of them struggling to breathe. Your bloodlust is equal to mine, so don’t pretend to long for the innocent girl of my youth. She was forced to become someone else to survive. What’s your excuse for becoming the fiend I see before me?” Flipping my hair over my shoulder, I left him to ponder my question.
≈
After a fitful sleep, waiting for someone else to attack me in the middle of the day, I rose to find all 26 female vamps in my dorm room sitting on the edges of their bunks, glaring at me.
Sitting up, I pulled my hair out of my face and sighed. “I’m sure you treat all the new students like this in an attempt to scare or intimidate them. I don’t scare easily and I’m known to tear out the throats of those who get in my way. While I’m not looking to make friends here, I’m not interested in making more enemies either. Stay the fuck out of my way and I’ll leave you alone. Deal?” I looked into every set of eyes that were attempting to make me feel unwelcome.
A brunette in the bunk across from me smiled. “Everyone has to earn their place here. You are no different. You are a nobody just like the rest of us. You might have been the once and future ruler of the Mielcarek Coven, but most of us don’t like the coven or just don’t like you.”
I contemplated the fact that many of the students had committed crimes against the coven, though they would have to pledge their allegiance to the coven befo
re they could be released. The same would go for me. I would have to, in theory, bow to my brother to prove that I was loyal to him. I nearly choked at the thought of kissing his ass to obtain my freedom.
“I don’t have a problem earning my place here. I’m sure you all believe that I was pampered and loved by my family. You believe that my father simply pointed his finger at me and told me that I would be a ruler someday. You might even call me spoiled.” I cackled at the thought of being given anything by my father. “I assure you, your concept of my upbringing vastly differs from the reality of it. I have no problem with breaking a few nails in order to get what I want. Tell me. How do I move up in rank?”
A vamp to my right wearing a red scarf around her neck stood up. I could tell right away that she was a Bitten vampire, a pathetic Night Slave, not a purebred. Some Bitten wore scarfs to hide the bite marks left from being turned into vampires. I was surprised that the Night Slave had the courage to speak up. “You’ll need to fight your way up the ranks. The men have their status and we have ours. Challenges are conducted in the woods because they are illegal. If you’re caught in a challenge, you get to spend time with Nikkos. Let’s just say you don’t want to piss him off. If you are caught a second time, you go before Aero, the Dean of Discipline. He’s worse than Nikkos, so beware.”
I stood up and stretched my back. “Understood. Now, tell me this. Who runs this place? I don’t mean the teachers or the deans. I mean, which of you bitches do I need to kill to be on top?”
A strange expression passed between all the females as they looked to one another.
The vamp with the scarf shook her head. “She’s fucking crazy. She has three men who make sure the fight isn’t even. As much as I dislike you and would be happy to see you die, I’m warning you to stay away from her.”
Bloodlust: House of Vampires Page 2
