by Alicia Rades
It was my only choice if I ever wanted to see my sister again.
2
Venn burst through the door of my studio apartment and rushed across the room to the bed. I groaned in agony as he set me down. The feeling of the blanket on my skin was torture, as if I’d just been tossed onto a bed of needles. This was so not how I pictured things going the first time I brought a guy back to my place.
“Where’s your med kit?” Venn demanded.
I tried to spit the words out through clenched teeth, but they wouldn’t come. Instead, I pointed to my spell book on the table across the room.
“You don’t have a first-aid kit?” Venn asked in disbelief.
I shook my head and pointed again.
His brow furrowed. “You want the book?”
I nodded, biting back a cry as the pain pulsed up my abdomen. “Now!”
We were running out of time. As Venn raced across the room for the notebook, I struggled to unzip my pants. There was no time for modesty.
“Help?” I asked desperately as soon as he returned.
Venn dropped the book next to me and began stripping my boots off. His fingers fumbled with the button on my jeans before he pulled them down my legs, careful not to touch my wound. Not that it mattered. Even the smallest touch sent a trail of fire across my skin. When he peeled my jeans back, it felt as if my skin was being ripped off with them.
“The book.” I tried to point, but I could hardly lift my limbs.
Venn hurried to my side and flipped my spell book open.
“Page…” Where was the spell again? “In the middle somewhere.”
“Tracking… Truth… Protection…” Venn read off the words I’d written in the headers of the pages.
“Keep going,” I croaked out.
“Healing… Healing!” Venn stopped and scanned the page, then flipped to the next one. “Which one? There are a ton of them.”
I struggled to sit up and somehow managed to prop myself up on my elbow. Venn turned the book toward me. The words swam in front of my eyes, and though I had perfect twenty-twenty vision, I squinted to see them more clearly.
“Next page,” I told him.
Venn turned the page so quickly that he tore it a half inch. I cringed.
“There!” I cried.
I scanned the incantation. Fantastic. This was going to be one of the toughest spells I’d ever performed. I let out a shaky breath. Let’s hope nothing went wrong. I began muttering the words under my breath.
Go away, pain! I thought to myself. Whoever said becoming a vampire was comparable to labor was insane. I was experiencing a mere taste of what vampire venom could do. If labor was even a fraction this bad, I was never having kids. And let’s hope to God no vampire ever tried to change me.
I reached the end of the incantation, but the pain only burned more intensely. Had I made it worse? This spell was supposed to counteract supernatural injuries.
Where’d I get this crappy spell from anyway? I glanced at my notes in the header of the page. It came from one of my boss’s clients, Mrs. Carlyle. She was the sweetest old lady you’d ever meet, but this wouldn’t be the first time she sold us a shoddy spell.
What a bitch. Devin had to stop offering her money.
“Go back,” I instructed though clenched teeth.
Venn flipped to the previous page.
This was a basic healing spell. I’d used it the last time a vamp tore a muscle in my shoulder, so I knew it worked, but it wouldn’t do anything about the venom. That, I was going to have to ride out.
If I don’t die first, I thought to myself. Okay, here it goes.
I pressed my hands to my wound. I could hardly open my mouth, but I pushed past the pain and whispered the incantation under my breath.
I can’t die. I need to find the Soulless. I need to save my sister.
I couldn’t explain how I knew Jenna was still alive after all this time, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe she was dead. I’d felt a piece of myself die with my parents, but I hadn’t felt that with Jenna yet. She was still out there somewhere.
I couldn’t tell if the incantation took, so I recited it again. A sharp, stabbing pain shot down my leg and up my hip. The fire in my body filled my lungs, and I gasped for air.
This was it. I was going to die. My body was ripping into a million pieces, and there was no spell in the world that could piece me back together.
An earth-shattering scream filled the air around me, and then… nothing.
My mind swam through a fog as thick as syrup. I was vaguely aware I was still alive, but I couldn’t seem to hold on to the memory of what had happened to me.
Where am I? I repeated to myself each time my mind cleared enough that I could manage a coherent thought. Why does everything hurt so much?
My mind slipped back into oblivion.
What felt like hours later—or days—I finally became aware of my body again. The light weight of a blanket settled over my legs, and the heavy, humid air left my skin slightly damp. A dull ache spread across my thigh.
“Ugh,” a voice filled my ears. It took me a moment to realize the groan had come from me.
“Rae?” a second voice said softly.
Rae? That’s a strange thing to call me. Only a moment later did I realize I’d told Venn to call me that.
My eyes shot open. I knew I was lying in my bed because of the ache in my back that I woke to every morning. The familiar water stain on the ceiling stared back at me.
“You're awake.” Venn sat at the edge of my bed in my dining room chair. It was the only place to sit in my entire apartment.
The dull glow of morning light filtered in through the dusty window next to my bed. I struggled to push myself to a sitting position. The fire in my body had subsided, but my muscles hurt when I moved them, like I’d just finished running a marathon—and I wasn’t a runner. My stomach twisted in hunger.
When my eyes landed on Venn’s face, my hunger didn’t seem to matter anymore. My stomach shifted for entirely different reasons. I’d invited this guy to take my pants off last night. How embarrassing! I mean, it was to save my life, but still…
I couldn’t take my eyes off Venn, off his smooth skin and strong jaw. I wanted to throw my arms around his neck and drag him into bed with me.
It’s the adrenaline from last night talking, I told myself. You’re acting weird because he helped you.
“What?” Venn asked innocently. He’d totally caught me staring.
Of course he did! You’re barely two feet from his face.
I didn’t know what to say. “Have we met before?”
Venn shook his head. “Not that I remember, anyway.”
“What are you still doing here?” I asked in barely a whisper. We were strangers, after all, and he’d been watching me sleep all night like a creep.
“I wanted to make sure you were all right,” he replied.
Okay, so maybe he wasn’t a creep. Maybe he was a gentleman. He’d draped a blanket over my exposed legs while I slept, so there was that.
“You’re feeling better, aren’t you?” Venn asked.
I lifted the covers to inspect my injury and was surprised to find a washcloth taped over the wound. The dry, crusted blood I expected to find wasn’t there.
“I couldn’t find a first-aid kit, so I had to improvise a bandage,” he admitted.
The tension in my chest softened. “You cleaned it for me?”
“I did what I could.”
My face heated at the thought of him tending to me while I slept. He could probably see the blush on my pale cheeks. I avoided his gaze and carefully peeled back the tape on my thigh. The washcloth dropped away to reveal that the wound had mostly healed, but a large, tender bruise remained. I pulled the covers back over my legs.
“Since you’re okay now, I think I’ll go.” Venn lifted the chair and returned it to its spot at the table.
“Wait,” I croaked out.
He paused and looked
back at me. His eyes drooped, as if he hadn’t slept all night.
I cleared my throat. “You’re not going to turn me in, are you?”
His eyebrows drew together. “Turn you in?”
“Yeah, well…” I glanced around the tiny apartment, not really looking at anything—not that there was much to look at. I just couldn’t manage to meet his gaze. “You know what I am. You know what I’ve done.”
Venn inched his way across the room and shoved his hands into his jean pockets. “You mean that I know you’re the Ravenite?”
I internally flinched at the word. I didn’t deserve the respect that came along with the name. I was Rachel Collins, low witch and raven shifter in hiding. I was just a cashier at a spell shop who happened to kill vampires on her off-hours. But I wasn’t special. I was barely an adult. I could hardly remember to do my own laundry, for heaven’s sake! I wasn’t the fierce, confident vigilante everyone thought the Ravenite was.
But I was the girl the police wanted.
“I’ve killed enough vampires to earn me a life sentence,” I said.
As far as I was concerned, I was doing the police a favor by taking out vile vamps. They weren’t going to kill them, not without a trial, at least. Some people still saw them as human. They called them diseased, but I’d seen enough to convince me otherwise. Vampires lost their humanity the moment they changed.
It wasn’t like I had a grudge against vampires or anything. Okay, maybe I did. But I didn’t kill just anyone. I only killed the ones who deserved it.
“Relax,” Venn said. “I’m not going to tell anyone. The vampires are better off dead.”
Exactly! Except Venn didn’t say it with vengeance in his tone. He said it more like it was fact.
And let’s face it, Venn was still a stranger to me. I couldn’t just trust that he wouldn’t out me. I was going to have to ditch Nocton and move to another city, preferably somewhere far away from Illinois where no one had ever heard the name Ravenite. It didn’t matter where I went as long as there were vamps to slay.
Great. Bloodstone was the only place I’d ever manage to find a job that taught me anything about magic. Not to mention I was never going to find another place this cheap. I mean, it was a total dump, but at least I could afford it. I’d have to find a roommate.
Oh, God. Not a roommate.
Not to mention there was this Soulless guy running around now. I couldn’t just walk away from that, not if I could use him to find Jenna.
Venn eyed me.
“What?” I asked innocently.
“I’m curious... how’ve you gone this long without getting caught?”
I shrugged.
Venn continued to stare at me, waiting for me to answer.
I wasn’t interested in opening up to a stranger, but I had questions of my own to ask him, and it wasn’t like he couldn’t figure this one out on his own.
I sat up straight in bed and pulled the blanket around me. “I’m not registered as a shifter.”
Venn raised an eyebrow. “Just a witch, then?”
I nodded.
“That was a pretty decent spell you cast last night,” Venn pointed out. “You must be at least a mid-witch.”
I shrugged again. “Somewhere between a low witch and a mid-witch. I’m still learning how to control my magic.”
Venn bit his lip, like he wanted to say more but wasn’t sure he should. I stared back at him with a questioning gaze.
“What were you doing with that vamp last night?” he asked.
Wait. Did he think I was just going to spill all my secrets because he helped me home?
“You already asked a question,” I pointed out. “It’s my turn.”
Venn hesitated but eventually sank into the chair behind him, like he was settling in for a long conversation. “Fair enough.”
My mind raced through fifty different questions at once. If we were going to play twenty questions, I had to make mine count.
“I want to know more about that vamp,” I settled with. “You seem to know him.”
“Not exactly,” Venn said. “He stole something from me, and I tracked him down to get it back. What were you doing with him? You know he’s a Soulless, right?”
“Yeah.” That was kind of the idea.
Venn leaned forward in his seat and rested his elbows on his knees. “You know who the Soulless are, don’t you?”
I scowled. “Of course I do. I’m not an idiot.”
The Soulless were an elite group of vampires—the elite group. They were the ones created by Valkas, the original vampire. He showed up eight years ago at the same time magic appeared in our world. The Soulless were the worst of the vampires, the ones in Valkas’s immediate circle. He left his mark on them when he changed them so that everyone would know to be afraid. Their mark was a warning. And there wasn’t a soul in the world who wasn’t afraid of them.
Except for me, of course.
I’m a terrible liar.
“If you knew he was a Soulless, what were you doing getting into a knife fight with him?” Venn asked.
Was Venn mocking me? He didn’t deserve to know my whole life story. Then again, he’d found Cowen once already. Maybe he could help me find him again.
I swallowed hard. “He has something I need, too.”
“What’s that?” Venn’s gaze bore into mine, challenging me to reveal more.
My teeth ground together. I really didn’t like all these questions.
Venn leaned back in his chair when I didn’t answer. “I don’t know yet if you’re friend or foe. What if we’re after the same thing?”
Good point.
“You can relax,” I said. “All I need from him is information.”
Venn’s expression hardened, and I thought I detected a hint of concern in his tone. “You really don’t want to mess with a Soulless.”
I scoffed. “Says the guy who punched one in the face last night.”
Venn crossed his arms. “Yeah, well, I had my reasons.”
“So do I,” I replied flatly. “Can you hand me my pants?”
“These bloody ones?” Venn rose from his chair and bent to the floor beside my bed.
“Yeah. They’re my best pair,” I said, reaching for them.
Venn averted his gaze as I pulled them on. I could only guess it was out of respect, but I kept the blanket draped over my legs, so it’s not like he’d see anything even if he wanted to. After I was dressed, I pushed back the covers and hung my legs off the side of the bed.
“So,” I said, running my fingers through my tangled black hair. “Now that we’ve established that we’re friends, what’s the plan?”
Venn furrowed his brow. “Plan?”
“Yeah.” I rose to my feet.
My thigh protested since the spell was still working to heal it, but I’d endured worse. I crossed the room and grabbed the bag of bread next to the fridge. Venn’s eyes followed me the whole time.
“Are we going after this guy or what?” I asked as I shoved a bland piece of bread in my mouth. I would’ve toasted it, but I was too hungry and impatient.
An expression of disbelief washed over Venn’s face as he stepped into the small kitchen beside me. “Go after? As in, together?”
I nodded. If he didn’t help me, I may have to wait years before I found another Soulless with answers.
“You know I’m good with vampires,” I pointed out. “I’m a shifter. I’m strong—and fast.”
“So am I,” Venn said in a clipped tone.
I took a step back, holding up my bread up in surrender. “Right, I know. But don’t we both stand a better chance together?”
“No,” Venn said with conviction.
What? He didn’t think I’d slow him down, did he?
“I can’t let you get involved with someone like this,” Venn said.
I let out a breath of disbelief. “I’m already involved!”
Venn pursed his lips. “Well, maybe you should get un-involved.”
/> I swallowed my final bite of bread and leaned against the counter. “I told you last night, I’m not some damsel in distress.”
Venn opened his mouth to say something but only exhaled. After a moment of holding my challenging gaze, he finally spoke. “You’re hurt. I don’t want you to get hurt again.”
He didn’t even know me; he couldn’t mean that.
“I can handle getting hurt,” I said with my head held high. What I couldn’t handle was letting this opportunity pass me by. “I’m going after him with or without you. You wouldn’t want me to find him first, would you?”
Venn’s teeth clenched. “You’re going to be a problem no matter what I do, aren’t you?”
I put on my best innocent face. “My friends don’t call me stubborn for nothing.”
I internally laughed at the mention of friends. I didn’t have any friends—not anymore—but Venn didn’t need to know that.
“How do I know I can trust you?” Venn asked.
A hundred versions of the answer flew through my head, so I was surprised by the words that actually left my mouth. “You don’t.”
I didn’t exactly know if I could trust him, either. We were just going to have to take a chance on each other.
Venn stepped forward and narrowed his eyes at me. My backside was already pressed against the countertop, so I had nowhere else to go. My skin heated, and my mouth went dry. He was testing me, waiting for me to back down.
I won’t.
“All you want from this guy is information?” Venn asked, his hot breath brushing across the top of my head.
“Yes,” I stated without blinking, despite my racing heart.
How did this guy’s challenging gaze send my heart hammering harder than it did when I stood up to a freaking Soulless?
“What kind of information?” Venn pressed.
“That’s personal,” I replied, refusing to answer. He was already objected to me getting involved with one Soulless. What would he think if I told him I intended to crash their hideout?
“Tell me again why I should help you,” Venn insisted.
He was only inches from me now. Had this guy ever heard of a personal bubble? Not that my apartment left much room for personal space.
