MY MIND SPUN as I watched Teren pick up Ben and blur away; Olivia immediately followed him. I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard, what I’d just seen. Simon, Olivia, and a bunch of Henry’s hunters had volunteered to become mixed vampires. Sure, that kind of advantage—the speed, the strength, the hearing—was desirable, but back when I was hunting, mixing my blood with a demon’s was something I never would have considered. It was almost hard to imagine someone like that wanting that kind of life. Didn’t they understand that all living vampires eventually turned into undead vampires? Guess they didn’t care. Or perhaps they didn’t know. Mixed vampires were rare, and many people, myself included, hadn’t known about them until I’d encountered some of them.
Julian picked up Arianna and blurred away after his father. Huffing and puffing, Trey emerged from the section of the woods that we’d been searching. He looked around, his face a mask of disbelief at the carnage before him. “Stay here with Rory and Cleo,” I told him. “We’ll be back in a minute.”
Nodding, he sat down. “I’m tired of running anyway.”
Jake glanced at Trey, and then took off after Teren and Julian on foot. Nika was a split second away from following her father and brother, but I grabbed her elbow and stopped her. She looked back at me with bunched eyebrows. “What? We have to go!”
I gave her the sternest expression I had in my repertoire. “You still have a bullet lodged in your chest. You don’t need to be running around, jostling it. We can’t risk it puncturing your heart.”
Nika crossed her arms over her chest, defiance written all over her face. “But we need to tell Grandma and Gabriel what’s going on.”
“True,” I told her. “But if we’re going to go, then you’re going to have to let me be chivalrous.”
Even though there was a lot going on, even though Trey was gagging as he examined the dead vampires, the look Nika was giving me was laced with seduction. Dead or not, my body instantly responded. “Chivalrous? How?”
I swept her into my arms, and held her close to my chest. “You’re going to have to let me carry you.”
Nika let out a noise that was somewhere between a groan and a giggle as she laced her arms around my neck. I tried to ignore the splotches of wet blood smeared over her chest. She had healed, she was fine. That had been too close though, and for a few seconds, I’d been sure that I’d arrived too late and she was forever gone to me. I never wanted to experience that level of pain again. I’d rather have a second conversion, starve again, or eradicate my father’s memory again…than lose Nika.
As we sped after the others, at a slower pace so I could be sure Nika was stable, she asked me about what I’d found in the woods. “Was there anything on your side?”
I frowned as I remembered. “Just a couple of newly-turned teens who obviously had never seen any real combat. They ran the minute they saw me. I was about to chase after them when I heard the gun go off.”
A surge of pain filled my stomach. I hadn’t known at the time who had been involved in the gunfight. Just the thought of Nika being in danger had turned me into a nearly deranged maniac, but any of my new family being hurt or killed was unthinkable. I’d attacked the armed vampire with a vengeance, and hadn’t stopped until he’d been incapacitated. While he was the one who had ultimately pulled the trigger, I wasn’t mourning the fact that he was dead.
We came across Teren and the others so fast, I almost shot right past them. Halina was with Teren, and she called my name as I ran by. Careful not to shake Nika too much, I slowed and returned to where Teren was telling Halina and Gabriel everything he knew.
Teren pointed at Olivia, who gave Gabriel a friendly wave. “He did it,” Teren said. “He found a way to create mixed vampires. And he found a way to make it routinely work…we just fought several of them.”
While Gabriel stared at Olivia with obvious astonishment, Halina gestured to some bodies lying in the tall grass—nearly hidden in the darkness, but for the smell of blood wafting from them. One of Halina’s vampire assailants appeared to be disarmed, while the other had a sword. I scanned my creator for any sign of injury, but she didn’t seem to have a scratch on her; not even a strand of hair was out of place.
“As did we,” she told Teren, her expression grim.
“This shouldn’t be possible,” Gabriel murmured, clearly stunned by all he’d seen. “The blood…finding the right balance of human and vampire, finding a way to override the human immune system, so it always accepts the foreign material…” His hand came up to touch Olivia, and his finger pulled down her lip to study her teeth. “What he’s accomplished…it’s masterful, poetic. Pure genius.”
“You mean pure evil genius, right?” Ben grabbed his daughter, and pulled her back from Gabriel. “She’s eleven, and he did some crazy experimental procedure on her that luckily turned her without killing her. But he used Starla’s blood to make her.” He emphasized Starla’s name, so Gabriel would grasp the danger without him having to say it in front of Olivia. Gabriel was too worried about his nestmate to catch the subtlety though.
His hopeful eyes locked onto Olivia. “Starla! Is she alive? Did she have her medicine with her? Did she have enough? Does she need more? I can…I can get some, and you can take it to her. If we just…”
He started looking around, like he was plotting how to go about doing that. Ben stepped forward to get his attention. “She doesn’t need the shot anymore, Gabriel, but Olivia will.”
Olivia immediately turned to her dad. “Whoa…what shot? The one Starla had to take every day? Am I gonna have to do that?” She put her hands up before Ben could even answer her. “Nuh-uh, no way! I hate needles.”
Gabriel caught the important part of her comment, and his expression relaxed. “She had medicine on her then…good girl.” Then his mouth firmed and his gaze swept over Ben. “What do you mean she doesn’t need it anymore? She’ll always need it, unless she…” His eyes widened as he turned his face back to Olivia. “She’s dead, isn’t she?”
Halina put a hand on his shoulder in sympathy, and Gabriel reached back to squeeze it. Olivia shook her head in answer. “Nah, she’s still kicking. Henry transfused her with Jacen’s blood. They’re like, bonded now, which is really amusing when they get separated and reunited.” She made an explosion with her hands, followed by a bomb sound.
Halina let out an amused snort, while Gabriel looked intrigued. “I’d never considered something like that. Of course, I’d never considered transfusions at all. Brilliant,” he murmured, genuinely impressed by the madman’s skills.
Tenderly setting Nika down, I snapped, “Yeah, brilliant. He’s creating compulsion-proof, super-hunters to capture vampires for our blood, or to just flat-out kill us. The bullet in Nika’s chest is proof of that.”
Halina growled and snapped her gaze to Nika. Her eyes narrowed as she examined the streaks of blood over her pristine skin. By the intensity of Halina’s gaze, you would think she could see the bullet, and she was obliterating it with the power of her mind. I was sure Nika would prefer it if removing the bullet was that easy. Me too. Knowing the level of pain she was going to experience made me nauseous. Watching her go through it was going to be difficult.
Halina was about to say something when Jake finally caught up to us. He ran into the clearing full-bore, like a psychopathic axe murderer was on his heels. When he spotted us, he slowed to an easy jog. His chest was heaving and his breath came out in explosive exhales and sharp pulls. What had been a brief jaunt for us, had been a decent run for him.
Hand on his side, he strode up to Halina and Gabriel. “Did you see him? Did you see Simon? Did he come this way? Where did he go?” He looked around the woods, then spotted the mound of a body in the darkness and froze. “Is that…?”
Even in the moonlight, I could see his face paling. Halina shook her head. “That was a problem, one we took care of, but it was not your son.” I didn’t mention the fact that Halina had never actually seen Simon before, so she wouldn’t know him by sight, and she could have possibly killed him. I was sure she hadn’t though, and I didn’t want to freak Jake out. He was holding together surprisingly well, considering.
Just after I thought that, his face clouded. “So…Simon was here, but he somehow slipped past us…and every lead who might have told us where to find him was killed? Is that what just went down?”
Olivia raised her hand and pointed at me. “I heard that guy say that the kids he faced ran away, so technically, they’re still alive.” When Jake threw a glare her way, Olivia shrugged and muttered, “Just saying.”
Nika matched Jake’s glare. “They were going to kill us. We did the best we could, but we’re not sacrificing anyone for information.”
Jake gave her a level look. “No one but Simon, Starla and Jacen, right?”
Nika’s jaw tightened as she looked away, and I pulled her into me. “We all know what’s at stake. You don’t have to remind us,” I said.
Jake took a step toward me. He was still breathing fast, and every word was punctuated with a heavy exhale. “Apparently, I do, because we’re back at square one, with no leads, and no way to find my son!”
Olivia raised her hand again. “Actually, that’s not entirely true.” Everyone turned to look at her, and she gave us all a small smile.
Ben put a hand on her arm. “What are you talking about, sweetheart? Do you have a blood-bond with someone who might lead us to them? Someone else created with Starla’s blood?”
Olivia scrunched her face. “No…I can’t… Most everyone was made with Jacen’s blood, since he could be drained faster… The rest of us who were made with Starla’s blood…must all be dead. I’m the last one…” She frowned, then brightened. “But we do still have a lead.” She pointed in the direction of the building, where I could hear the music thumping into the night like a gigantic heartbeat. “The kids at the party. When Simon hands out the drug, he tells them where to meet him if they want more. It’s probably somewhere easy to find. Simon wouldn’t want the kids forgetting.”
We all looked back to the party. Of course. Simon was recruiting volunteers that he could juice up for his rescue mission. Once he had enough of them, he’d descend on the ranch in some crazy attempt to get Jake back.
Jake slowly shook his head. “I wish I could get a message to him, let him know I’m all right, that he doesn’t need to do this, but even if he believed I wasn’t under duress, Henry would have confiscated his phone right away. He probably destroyed it. Crazy, paranoid, manipulative old man.” He looked back at the group of us with hope in his eyes. “But at least we have another lead to follow.”
Teren turned to Julian. “You and Arianna go back to the party and see what you can learn.”
Julian looked ecstatic to be given such a big responsibility, and he straightened his shoulders as he nodded at his dad. “We’ll find out where the meeting is. I promise.”
He picked up Arianna, and the two of them sped away. Jake looked like he was going to follow, but Teren held up a hand to stop him. “Leave the kids to talk to the other kids. We have cleanup work to do.” He indicated the corpses on the ground. Jake sighed, longingly looked back at the party, then finally nodded and got to work covering our tracks.
“I’d like to take one back, to study the blood,” Gabriel told Jake as he passed by. Jake made a face that was two parts disgust, one part resignation. Whatever might help his son.
Teren turned to me while Halina, Jake and Gabriel began gathering the vampires. “Ben and I are going to help clean up the other site. Why don’t you take Nika to the ranch? Mom, Gran, and Emma can get started on her…injury.” He frowned at the thought of his daughter being dug into. My stomach twisted.
I was just about to tell him that was a great idea, when Nika stepped forward. “I’ll be fine a little longer, Dad. I’d like to go help Julian. No…I’m going to go help Julian.”
Teren clearly didn’t like the tone of defiance in her voice, but I thought I saw a flash of pride in his smile. “Nika, you have a bullet in your chest. It could be near your heart—”
“And Starla could die any second. The longer we waste, the less time she has. She needs Gabriel’s medicine. And they both need to come home.” Her voice choked on the word home, and dark red blood welled in her eyes.
Teren looked moved by her tone, by her face. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it and nodded. Nika looked back at me, a challenge in her eyes. I wasn’t going to challenge her though. She made a good point, and the risk to her was minimal, so long as she was careful.
Instead of answering her unasked question, I scooped her into my arms. “Ready to dance?” I asked, a playfulness to my tone that really wasn’t appropriate given the circumstances.
Nika let out a soft giggle, but then stopped herself with a sigh. “Let’s go find Simon.”
The task diminished the brief moment of levity, and I took off after Julian. Hopefully, we’d be able to find someone who would willingly help us, since we couldn’t compel answers from these compulsion-proof kids.
When we got to the backside of the building, I gently set Nika down. She frowned as she stepped away from me. “I’m not made of glass, you know. I’m not gonna break.” Some clouds drifted past the moon, casting a shadow across Nika’s face. It was ominous, seeing her enshrouded in darkness.
“Maybe not, but I might if something happens to you. Trust me, keeping you safe is purely self-preservation on my part.”
The clouds passed and the moonlight brightened the smile on her face. Or tried to. The moon could only do so much to enhance perfection. “I love you too,” she told me, leaning in for a kiss.
I opened the door when we pulled apart, and was instantly assaulted by the thunderous club music; it gave me a headache. Grabbing Nika’s hand, I entered the building with her. There were strobe lights everywhere, and buckets holding dry ice in sporadic clumps around the gyrating bodies. Combined with the sound, I felt like my senses were on overload. The quicker we got out of here, the better.
Nika was cringing too, but she indicated with her head where we should go. Whatever clumps of people Simon had managed to drug and immunize when he was here before had most likely spread out. Some had probably even left, forever taking their secrets with them. Wherever we started seemed as good a place as any.
Holding my hand, Nika pulled me toward the center of the masses. The more time we spent in the roar of overwhelming noise and movement, the more I was able to block it out. I even started picking up a few heartbeats, which was both miraculous and odd. My body was attuned to blood, though, and like a sweet fragrance in the air, I could almost always pick it out.
That was it though. I wasn’t hungry, and the thought of ripping open the young throats around me was an unappealing as it would have been if I were still human. Teren and Halina were right. Being a vampire didn’t alter who I was. All it had done was heighten my senses and change my menu.
Nika started commanding the people around her, asking them to do things they wouldn’t normally do, looking for someone who could resist her. I followed suit. “Tell me your deepest fear,” I asked a girl beside me.
Her eyes glazed over, as she immediately replied, “Losing my family.”
I smiled at her answer, and then moved on to someone else. “Tell me your deepest fear,” I asked a guy wearing a sideways baseball cap and enough gold chains to buy a small village food for a year.
“Snakes,” he told me, his expression bland. Then he shivered, like just saying the word was disturbing.
Nika and I were almost to the other side of the room, having no luck finding someone who could refuse our questions, when I suddenly stumbled across an asshole. He was tall and lanky, with thick dark hair that fell over his eyes. I almost compelled him to get a haircut, but instead, I stuck to my normal line of questioning. “Tell me your deepest fear.”
He eyed me up and down, or I assumed he did, since his head made a surveying motion, then he pushed me back and said, “Screw you.”
I snapped my head to Nika, and called her name. Her sharp hearing heard me above the chaos, and she instantly turned to look. I pointed at the guy who’d turned me down—he shouldn’t have been able to do that. Understanding my gesture, Nika smiled as she stepped the few feet over to where I was.
She tapped him on the shoulder, while I wondered what we should say. Since we couldn’t make him tell us anything, we’d have to be charming and schmooze it out of him. That was not my strongpoint.
“Excuse me,” Nika said over the thumping music. “We heard there was some amazing stuff going around the party. We were wondering if you knew where we could get some?”
The guy smirked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Just as I was wondering if pummeling answers out of the guy was acceptable, Nika shrugged and said, “That’s too bad. I heard it’s supposed to be an amazing ride. I’d do just about anything to try it.”
She started turning away from him. His mouth popped open and he grabbed her elbow. My mouth dropped open too. Just what was my girlfriend promising him? “Wait…mine is gone, but I know where to get more.”
Nika looked back at him with a smile bright enough to knock a grown man to his feet. The teen in front of us surely felt the impact. He even backed up a step. “Really? That’s great! Thank you! Where do we go?”
That was when the stoner seemed to remember she wasn’t alone. He looked over at me with a frown. “Howard’s Market, tomorrow at midnight.”
Nika patted the guy’s cheek. “Thanks! You’re the best!”
She immediately moved away from him and he held up his hands. “Wait! We can still party!”
I put a hand on his shoulder. “No…you can’t.” I wanted to bare my fangs at him, just a little…but I refrained. Damn. Being responsible sucked sometimes.
Leaving the forlorn partier to his thoughts, I followed Nika. Like she could somehow still sense Julian, she found her brother in the swarm of bodies. He was asking a couple of girls if they had any good stuff. Both girls laughed at him, then walked away. Without being able to trance people, finding kids who were compulsion-proof was tricky. Nika put a hand on his shoulder and Julian spun around with wide, startled eyes. It was hard to surprise a vampire, even a mixed vampire, but Julian was several generations down the line, and his senses weren’t as acute as the others. Plus, it was really damn loud in here.
Leaning forward, Nika shouted, “We got it! Let’s go get Dad!”
Julian nodded and pulled Arianna toward the exit.
When we were finally on the way back to the ranch, I laid my head back on the car seat and let out a long exhale of relief. Not having that chaos assaulting me from every direction was bliss in and of itself, but having a location—an actual, physical location—was an answered prayer. We were one step closer to Simon, which was one step closer to Starla, Jacen, and stopping the science that would ultimately lead to our undoing if left unchecked. Everything hinged on that goth-boy’s memory. Howard’s Market. There was only one in the city, and it was sort of a landmark for locals, or so Nika told me. I hadn’t been here long enough to know. But all the kids knew it, which was why Simon was using it. Even a kid blitzed out of his mind would know where to meet him.
“Do you think we should go there tonight?” Trey asked. He was hyper, bouncing in his seat, eager for another adventure. It was the exact opposite of how I felt, and I wished he was sitting in the front seat beside Julian, instead of right next to me so I wouldn’t have to feel his energy; he was practically vibrating.
“The kid said tomorrow night, and Nika is hurt. She needs attention first,” I told him, for the umpteenth time. And also for the umpteenth time, Nika cringed. She probably wouldn’t mind a detour before going to the ranch. The others were meeting us though, so we couldn’t deviate.
Trey started in on a recount of tonight’s activity. I would have given anything for him to shut up so we could have some peace and quiet. Like Nika knew I was teetering on the edge of slapping my hand over his mouth, she grabbed my fingers and softly pressed them to her lips. Just like that, I didn’t much care about Trey’s incessant babbling anymore.
When she brought our fingers down to her lap, I cupped her hand with mine. “We’ll get you taken care of as soon as we get there. Then you can rest.”
She suddenly looked ill, and she peered down at her chest like a creature was about to burst out of it. “I’m sure it’s fine…we can wait a little longer.”
Knowing she was just scared, I brought my fingers to her chin. “No, we can’t, and you know we can’t.” She bit her lip, then laid her head on my shoulder. Ignoring Trey, we spent the rest of the car ride wrapped in each other’s arms.
The ride to the ranch seemed to take forever, but when we got there, I heard Nika mutter, “That was fast.” Time really was all about perception.
Everyone was outside when we pulled up, and I could see Tracey craning her neck, looking for her daughter. I instantly wished Olivia had ridden back with us. Ben hadn’t wanted her to leave his side though, and they were following behind us in Cleo’s car. Halina and Gabriel had decided to head out on foot while we all drove. Gabriel wanted to immediately study the mixed vampires we’d fought. Halina was waiting next to Emma, and both women smiled brightly at seeing their children return.
When we stepped out of the station wagon, Tracey seemed disappointed to see us. I was certain Ben had called her on the drive home, to let her know Olivia had been found. I wondered how much he’d told her. If she hadn’t been informed already, she was in for a big surprise.
Stepping forward, Tracey asked, “Are Ben and Teren right behind you? I know Olivia is with them…I want to see my daughter.” She fisted her hands like she was commanding me. I didn’t have the answer she needed though. The shot I was taking blocked me from everyone.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Julian beat me to it. “They’re about ten minutes behind us, Aunt Tracey. They’ll be here soon.” His tone was calm and supportive, but he was clenching Arianna’s hand. He knew what this was going to do to Tracey.
Halina smiled at me with approving eyes, then turned to Emma. “Nika was shot, she should have the bullet removed immediately.”
Everyone snapped their gaze to Nika, and everyone’s expressions suddenly went from relief to concern. “Shot?” Tracey asked, recovering first. “Who shot you?” Her hands went to her throat. “Was Olivia involved in a gunfight? Is she okay?”
Nika let out a reluctant sigh as Julian assured Tracey that Olivia was fine. He didn’t mention she was a vampire, but I supposed Tracey hadn’t asked that. Imogen, standing very close to Malachi, came forward. Her eyes scanned Nika, spotted the lingering bloodstains on her skin and dress, and asked, “Were you hit in the chest, dear?”
Nika sighed again, and her eyes guiltily drifted to her mother. “Yeah. One of the guys had a gun. He was gonna shoot Julian…I distracted him.” She rubbed her chest, like the wound still ached.
Emma’s face went stark white in the moonlight, then there was a flurry of movement as women rushed around Nika. We were driven apart as searching fingers entangled her. While Emma and Imogen looked for signs of an entry point, that was almost impossible to see now, Alanna said to her husband, “Jack, we’re going to need lots of towels and a sharp knife.”
Arianna tossed her hand over her mouth while Trey looked confused. “What are they gonna do, dude? Cut her open and dig it out?”
Face sympathetic, Julian’s eyes never left his sister as she was swept into the house. “Yeah…that’s exactly what they’re gonna do,” he murmured.
My own face grim, I nodded at him, then followed Nika. The women were taking her to the kitchen. Nika was shaking, and I could tell she was forcing herself to keep moving forward, when all she wanted to do was run away. My stomach was twisted into a knot so tight, I wasn’t sure how I could let this happen. I knew it was necessary—the bullet needed to come out—but the pain she was going to endure…I couldn’t take it.
“Is there anything we can give her? A drug? Alcohol? Anything to numb the pain?” I asked, panic in my voice.
Halina shook her head. “She’s a pureblood now…her body would absorb most everything before it took effect, or it would just make her sick. Gabriel might be able to cook up something she could handle, but that would take time. It’s best to just get it over with.” Looking over at Nika, she brushed her knuckle down her cheek and said something in Russian.
Nika exhaled a slow breath as she nodded. The table was cleared off and Nika laid down on top of it. Jack was working on gathering a bunch of towels. He set a pile down next to his wife, then he went to get a knife. When he returned and Nika saw the sharp blade, she gagged, then covered her mouth and looked away. I squeezed her hand, wishing I could do more.
“We need to undress her,” Imogen stated. From her voice, it was clear that was a cue for all the men to leave the vicinity. Malachi, who had been watching from the edge of the room, left with Jack. Eyes defiant, I squeezed Nika’s hand tighter. If they wanted me to leave, they would have to pry me off her.
Maybe seeing that I was glued to her side, none of the women tried to remove me. They started removing Nika’s party dress, and Nika started freaking out. “No, no, it’s fine…it’s not hurting me. Just leave it. Please, leave it.”
She was frantically looking between her mother and grandmothers, but they were all avoiding eye contact with her. Knowing panic when I saw it, I brought my free hand to her chin, and turned her face to me. Hoping she would let me soothe her, I lowered my lips to hers. She was stiff with fear at first, but then she slowly began relaxing into my touch. She even brought a hand to my face, and for a second, I think we both forgot what was going on as we took a moment to enjoy each other.
Then she screamed.
She instinctually fought against the object causing her pain, and Imogen immediately told us, “Hold her down.” I didn’t want to, but I knew the end would get here sooner if we did. I held one side while Alanna held the other. Halina secured her feet.
Nika’s cries were unbearable. So was her begging for us to stop. I don’t think she was even aware of where she was or what she was saying. She was just in pain. Bloody tears rolled down her cheeks nonstop. Seeing her torture brought tears to my eyes. I couldn’t hold them back, and the blood-red drops dripped off me and onto her lips. She licked her lip without thinking, and her fangs instantly released. She stopped screaming and snapped her gaze to me. She wasn’t really seeing me though. She had a feral, hungry, pained, scared look in her eye, and I suddenly knew what would ease her suffering.
Letting her go with one hand, I brought my wrist to my face and tore it open. The pain was searing, but nothing compared to what Nika was going through. I brought my wrist to her mouth, and she hungrily took it. She sucked down long draws of my free-flowing blood, and I started to feel lightheaded as she gulped down swallow after swallow. I didn’t care. I’d let it all go if it helped her. If I didn’t have to hear her scream anymore.
Just when I thought I was about to pass out, I heard Imogen say, “There…I found it.” Seconds later, she exclaimed, “Got it!” I glanced over to see her hand, drenched in dark red blood, holding a tiny bullet. My vision swam, then everything went dark.