First Drop of Crimson

"Now there's a subject I like to talk about," Nathanial said with obvious relish. "Just stab one in the eyes with that knife. Instant death."

"What knife? A silver knife?"

The color drained from Nathanial's face. "When you got me, you didn't get the knife, too?"

"What. Knife," Spade bit out, his temper already stretched to the breaking point.

Nathanial shot up with a moan, his movements far faster than a human's should be. "How could you not know about the knife? You knew about me! You knew what I was, what the girl was, and how it happened. How could you not know about the f**king knife?"

Spade swatted him almost casually, sending Nathanial crashing back onto the cot. "Don't waste your time railing at me when you should be answering my question."

Nathanial's lip was bleeding where Spade had hit him. He swiped at it immediately, wiping the blood on a blanket, eyeing Spade with tension reeking out of every pore. Then Nathanial let out a short, unamused laugh.

"You're the first vampire in seventy years not to go after my blood. Even the guards, who were forbidden from tasting me, constantly snuck sips. I don't even know how to react to you ignoring it."

"React by telling me about the knife," Spade replied in an icy tone.

"Only weapons made from their own bones can kill a corporeal demon. Because of that, demon bones are almost impossible to come by. If a demon kills another demon, they destroy the bones. But a demon will keep one weapon as defense against other demons. I stole the bone knife from the demon who branded me when I sent him back to the underworld. Just in case he ever returned."

Spade considered this. His knowledge of demons mostly consisted of information about the noncorporeal ones who possessed humans, so what Nathanial said could be true. But then again, it could be utter shite.

One way to be sure.

Spade grabbed Nathanial, pinning him to the wall. The man struggled with considerable strength considering his heartbeat, but he couldn't break Spade's hold. What he did do was snap his eyes shut at Spade's first move, however.

Clever sod. "I'm not going to hurt you. I only want to be sure what you're telling me is the truth. Open your eyes."

"No," Nathanial gasped. "You could make me do anything."

"For pity's sake, you have nothing I want except your knowledge," Spade replied curtly. "If that wasn't true, why would I bother mesmerizing you? Anything else I'd want, I'm strong enough to take without using my gaze."

Nathanial's pulse thundered like hoofbeats from a stampede and he stank like fear, but slowly his lids fluttered opened. Spade let his power blaze forth, seeking to dominate the will behind those hazel eyes.

The lad was stronger here, too, than Spade would have imagined. Then again, Nathanial would need an iron mental fortitude to endure Web's treatment the past several decades without going insane. Spade pushed that thought aside, because it led to a reluctant admiration that he couldn't afford to feel.

"Open your mind," Spade said, more power flowing from him.

He felt the snap of Nathanial's will as if breaking it had made an audible sound. Then he pushed through the trailing cobwebs of consciousness until he was sure anything he asked Nathanial would be answered with the truth.

"How do you kill a demon?"

Nathanial repeated the same answer as before in a monotone Spade was used to hearing from someone enthralled. The lad hadn't been lying. He must truly not know that revealing such information brought him closer to his own destruction.

"Why do you think I captured you?" Spade asked next, just to be sure.

"To save your girlfriend," Nathanial mumbled. "So I could help her control the power from the marks."

No, Nathanial had no idea what his fate was. Spade pushed back a flicker of remorse. He and Denise might not have a future together, but that didn't mean she couldn't have a future free from the demon's essence. Spade would make sure Denise returned to being human just as she wanted, with her family safe. Through his own fault, Nathanial was the cost of that.

"Who has the knife?" Spade asked, though he had already guessed the answer.

"Web. Keeps it close to him always. Afraid of the demon killing him to get me back."

No doubt Raum would indeed have tried to slaughter Web to regain Nathanial, if he'd known Web had him. But now Spade had him, and Web would know Nathanial would tell him about the knife.

Bloody hell, Web would be expecting Spade to try to take the knife. He'd know Spade needed it, just not for the same reasons Web had kept it.

Spade's mouth twisted. Looked like Web would get another chance to kill him after all.

"You will never try to escape me," Spade said, looking deeply into Nathanial's eyes. "Say it."

"I will never try to escape you," Nathanial repeated dully.

Web had probably forced the same directive in Nathanial. The lad had fought with him as Spade dragged him out of Web's, but no matter. In Spade's case, he wasn't using the command to try and keep Nathanial with him indefinitely, but only a short while. Just until he gave him away to Raum, where, if all went well, he'd also be giving Denise away, too. Surrendering her back to her fragile, lethal humanity that would end up forever separating them.

The knowledge of that rose like bile within him, but he forced it back. It's what she wants more than anything else. Even me.

"Right, then. Wake up," Spade said, releasing Nathanial.

The other man blinked and shook his head as if to clear it. "Find out what you needed to know?"

Spade's jaw clenched. "Yes."

And he was staying the course regardless.

Chapter Thirty-one

Denise had stayed up, waiting for Spade's return. When she heard the front door slam, she hurried into the hall, hoping to catch Spade before he disappeared into one of the upper rooms. But though she waited, no one came up the stairs.

Maybe he went straight to the study again. Denise went downstairs and checked the room they'd had their fight in, but it was empty. Then she peeked inside the other rooms on the first floor. Nothing. Finally she went to the front of the house again, her heart leaping when she caught movement by the entrance.

As quickly as that optimism shot up, it flatlined when the dark figure in the shadows turned around and Denise saw it was Alten.

Bones was wrong. It was dawn, but Spade hadn't come back after all.

"Oh, hi, Alten," she said lamely. "I was just..." Obviously waiting for someone who wasn't going to show up.

"If you're looking for Spade, he went downstairs," Alten said. "Still looked mad, too. I'd leave him be if I were you."

Just like that, Denise's mood switched again. He'd come back. He might be mad, yes, but Spade was back. Well, mad or no, they were going to talk. They had too many things to work out for Spade to be avoiding her.

"What's downstairs?"

Alten shrugged. "His breakfast."

That's right. This was a vampire household, which meant there was a living buffet beneath them. Maybe feeding would put Spade in a better mood before she talked to him. She could hope.

"Show me," she said, tightening her robe around her.

"I don't think that's a good idea - wait!"

Denise had already turned around and started walking away. She'd find it herself. The house was big, but if it was like every other vampire community home, the basement would be renovated into a cozy mass living area.

"Fine, I'll show you," Alten said, sounding frustrated.

She gave him a sweet smile. "How kind of you."

His look said kindness had nothing to do with it. Denise followed him to the back of the house and down the staircase that led to - she'd guessed it - a plushly redecorated basement. To her surprise, only two humans were on the large sectional couch, watching TV. The pool table, computer area, kitchen, and exercise room seemed to be empty.

"Where is everyone?" Unless this was the smallest vampire entourage she'd come across, several humans were missing.

The boy on the couch looked up. "It's dawn, so they're sleeping. No one usually comes to eat at dawn."

So where was Spade, then? "Where's the vampire who came down here a little bit ago?"

The boy grinned and pointed down a hallway. "Follow the sounds. Kristie's a screamer."

Anger erupted in Denise. Spade couldn't have replaced her with someone else so quickly, could he?

Look what happened the first night Rachel and Ross were "on a break," her inner voice taunted.

Denise growled, raising Alten's eyebrows. She shoved Alten's hand away when he went to grab her arm, shooting him a dangerous look.

"Ready to wrestle me to the ground? Because that's the only way you're stopping me from going down that hallway."

"It's not - "

"Not what?" Denise interrupted Alten. "Not any of my business? I'll be the judge of that!"

Denise stalked down the hall the young man had pointed to, growing even more livid as unmistakable loud groans met her ears. Spade had arrived less than fifteen minutes ago! Bastard!

Something stabbed her in the palms. Dense looked down, not surprised to see those hideous claws had replaced her nails and her fingers were stretching into impossibly long lengths. His fault. She curled her hands as best she could without jabbing herself again and then banged on the door the sounds emanated from, fury making her reckless.

"Open this door!"

A few seconds later, the door swung open to reveal Ian, totally na**d, very erect, and highly annoyed.

"What the bloody hell is your problem?"

Denise could feel the heat scorch across her face. Behind Ian, a na**d young woman also gave Denise an aggravated look while Alten let out something that might have been a stifled laugh.

"Um...never mind," Denise stammered, spinning around, hiding her hands, that heat in her cheeks growing even warmer.

Ian slammed the door, muttering something about rude interruptions. The feminine squeals from inside the room resumed almost immediately.

"I tried to tell you that it's not Spade in there," Alten said when Denise came back into the room. He didn't even attempt to hide his grin.

"You could have tried harder," Denise got out, still attempting without success to wipe her mind clean of what she's seen. "I absolutely never needed to know that Ian was pierced down there."

Alten let out another snicker that was cut off by Spade's voice behind them.

"What are you doing here?"

The guard had just let Spade out of Nathanial's cell when Denise's voice drifted down to him. Why was she down here? Was something wrong? Had Raum somehow found her while he was out?

Spade tore up the stairs into the basement just in time to witness Alten laugh. Denise was in front of Alten, red-faced, her hands behind her back.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, grabbing her by the shoulders and taking in a deep sniff. No scent of the demon on her skin. Some of the red cleared from his vision.

Denise's mouth was open, her eyes wide. Spade forced himself to let go, take a step back, and other wise not loom over her snarling. Looking at her, so lovely, was more than Spade thought he could bear. Ian's words rang in his head with all the sinful temptation of a snake holding out an apple. Were I you, I'd change Denise over regardless of her objection...

He snapped out of that treacherous line of thought when he noticed her hands were still behind her back. It wasn't her normal stance, and her shoulders were twitching like she was moving them.

Spade didn't grab her again; he moved behind her faster than she could whirl away. A curse escaped him when he saw the claws sticking out from her hands even though she tried to hide them.

She'd partially shifted again. Selfish, foolish bastard, Spade lashed himself. He should have considered this possibility. Yes, it had maddened him to realize Denise didn't intend for them to have a future together, but he should have stayed. After all, his shredded emotions wouldn't manifest in a horrible physical transformation, like hers could.

"Denise." Spade made his voice calmer than he felt as he continued to curse himself. "I apologize for snapping at you. What did you come down here for?"

Alten began to ease away. Denise flicked her gaze to him as if she wanted to follow him.

"I wanted to talk to you, but maybe we should wait until you've gotten some sleep," she muttered.

Not when waiting might mean another complete transformation for her. Even though being so close to Denise was like pricking his heart with silver needles, Spade wasn't about to let that happen to her again.

"Tell me now, what was it you wanted to speak with me about?"

Her eyes became shiny and she blinked. "Everything's happening so fast," she almost whispered. "I mean, a month ago, I was still grieving for Randy, and now you've got me thinking about changing into a vampire so we can have countless years together, and I...sometimes, I don't know if I'm ready for what I feel for you."

She was thinking about changing over? Spade couldn't help but stroke her face while every nerve inside him went taut with anxious expectation. Please, let it be that. By Christ, he'd apologize on his knees for walking out earlier, if that was the case.

"Ready?" he asked softly, but also with irony. "Life never waits until you're ready. I wasn't ready to turn into a vampire, but I did. I wasn't ready to lose someone I loved a long time ago, but it happened. You weren't ready to have your husband murdered, but he was. You certainly weren't ready for a demon to brand you, but he did. And neither of us might be ready for what we feel for each other, but that doesn't make those feelings go away."