Taken: A Vampire Blood Courtesans Romance Page 9

  I dropped my head, finding Xael’s murderous gaze. “Was it the same demon…the same one who did this?”

  My sister’s focus dropped to the wolf in my arms. Her chest heaved as she gulped the air, and the rage in her eyes dulled. “It’s the only one I saw, but there could be others.”

  “Then we’re still in danger.” Marcus snapped and scanned the trees. “Where did you lose them? If we move fast enough we can head them off.”

  “They’re gone, like disappeared, gone. They were there one minute, then the next…nothing.” Xael strode forward, standing face to face with Marcus. “I searched for them—for Zadoc. He’s gone.”

  “He’s not gone. Not yet at least. He’s between worlds.”

  I turned my head toward the black-haired mage, Rowen.

  “What do you mean, between worlds?” Marcus snarled.

  She shrugged. “It’s how demons move around and why you can’t track them—not out here at least.”

  The blood splatter glowed against my brother’s ashen skin. “Between worlds. You mean death, don’t you? They use the dying as a goddamn vehicle.”

  The mage’s brow narrowed. “Some, yes. I thought you already knew.”

  Marcus flinched. “I guess we should know a lot of things. The children… The slaves they buy from the Echo pack, they’re…”

  “Dead. The lucky ones at least. The rest are kept in holding cells—fed, clothed and given basic medical care so the demons can corrupt their minds.”

  My stomach dropped like a weight. Corrupt their minds… The lucky ones die.

  “So there’s no way we can find Zadoc?”

  Marcus deflated in front of my eyes.

  “We can’t, no. But there’s someone who can.”

  Marcus jerked his head up. His black eyes sparkled. “Who?”

  Rowen turned her head. Even before her gaze met mine, I knew what she’d say. An icy touch ran along my spine, raising the hair on my arms as her gaze stopped at the wolf in my arms.

  “Odessa.”

  I curled my fingers, brushing against her back as I shook my head. “No. She’s barely alive. She can’t help anyone.”

  I moved toward Marcus as he took one slow step toward me.

  “Maybe the old woman can force her—”

  “Look at her!” I lifted Odessa toward him.

  The hiss of her breath turned into a nasally whine, fresh drops of blood took flight. Marcus stared before speaking.

  “Everyone needs to get to the house. We’ll re-group. There has to be another way to find Zadoc.”

  A frigid wind slapped dried leaves against my leg. I turned to the one who brought this war upon us—the female beta of the Bloodstone pack—Abrial.

  Lightning tore open the sky, and the roar of thunder soon followed. The muscles of Abrial’s throat bulged as she lifted her hand to the woman in my arms. “Let me take care of Odessa, Victor. Let me help her.”

  Abrial’s fingers brushed Odessa’s arm, before I snatched her out of reach. “Don’t touch her. Don’t you dare touch her—any of you. You’ve done enough.”

  Ruddy brown freckles on the beta’s face paled as she met my gaze. “That’s a cruel thing to say.”

  The wolf in my arms moaned, and I drew her hard against my body. I barely knew this woman…this wolf. We had two days of strange conversations and lingering stares. But when the demon attacked she proved her worth—she proved her worth to me.

  “It’s not her fault,” Marcus snapped.

  The crunch of leaves dragged my focus to my brother’s feet. I skimmed his bare legs, lingering on his thighs and thick, flaccid cock then moved my gaze to the smear of blood across his chest and snarled. “No…it’s yours.”

  Traces of the Bloodletter remained in his stare, anger lashed like a whip that ached to spill blood.

  Marcus inhaled hard. “I didn’t know they’d attack. I thought we had time.”

  “They shouldn’t have been here, Marcus.” I slid my gaze to Abrial. “She shouldn’t have been here.”

  “Where else could I have taken her? Tell me, Victor…where?”

  I shook my head. I had no answers, all I had was a broken wolf…broken because of me.

  I gripped Odessa with one hand and slipped the other under her knees. She was so light, as though she was barely there at all.

  Her lips parted as I pushed off the ground. I followed the quiver of her mouth as she sucked in the cold air, and for a second I couldn’t see her—all I saw was a monster.

  The memory loomed in my mind as I stood. Hovering like the black mist that had spilled from this woman. My stomach dropped with the image—terror clenched something inside—a mist that morphed into a wolf.

  I hissed as her shoulder hit my chest and stuck my shirt to my skin. Blood bloomed through the white fabric. The blade had barely missed my heart, one more swing of the sword and I wouldn’t be standing. I wouldn’t be here at all. But she saved me. This wolf saved me and I’d failed her.

  I failed her.

  I was supposed to be the Guardian. I was supposed to be the protector.

  So, why did I feel so damn weak?

  She was so small—so damn small and yet she held a monster inside.

  No. Not a monster…a wolf. A wolf that saved me.

  What if she dies? I won’t let that happen. A nerve near my eye twitched as the roiling anger turned ferocious. I won’t let that happen.

  The witch…she’ll save her.

  “You better find some clothes, Marcus. Looks like we’re in for one hellva storm.”

  “Victor,” Marcus called.

  I gave the Bloodletter my back as I headed for the house. My hands trembled and the tremor raced along my arm and into my chest, tearing like talons as it went. Overhead, lightning mirrored the same path through the sky.

  The forest floor crunched under my boots as I carried Odessa down the mountain. Find the witch, then find Zadoc…witch, then Zadoc…witch, then Zadoc.

  I strode through the small clearing toward the remainder of my family. Evander, Byron, and North waited like blood-sickened and battle-weary soldiers. Their clothes were shredded; crimson splatter marred their skin. Spruce and pine trees stood tall behind them, like their army of green.

  Twigs snapped in stereo as—one-by-one—those who remained of the Bloodstone pack slipped between branches to stand with my brothers.

  I met the aching confusion in Evander’s eyes. His tortured gaze drifted behind me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d spoken a harsh word to any of my family, or cared enough that I needed to.

  “I’m going after them,” Isaiah snarled, raking back long blond hair. “If you’re not going to do anything, then I will. I might not be able to walk between worlds, but I’ll find another way. I’ll sniff the bastards out if I have to.”

  “Me too.” Lucas rounded on our brother. “We’ll go after Zadoc, we’ll bring him back.”

  I slowed my stride, and then stopped, staring at the wolves.

  “They have demons Isaiah, and Goddess knows what else. If you go alone, you’ll only get yourselves killed. Look what happened to the wolf,” Xael snapped.

  I lifted my head, catching the defiance in the lion’s eyes as Isaiah answered. “Then, we’ll die for a reason.”

  “Stop. No one is going anywhere.” Marcus shook his head. “But not until Victor’s seen to the—Odessa…not until he’s seen to Odessa. Then we’ll all go and find Zadoc. By now the demons have realized their damn mistake and wish they’d taken one of the less…violent of us.”

  “Like me.” I spun, catching Marcus’s steely gaze. “Less violent, like me. That’s why they were here, isn’t it? That’s why they attacked—to take someone like me? I mean, think about it, one or two of the beasts wouldn’t kill us. Slow us down, sure, but not kill. They knew we wouldn’t give up the wolves, so they wanted a captive…a trade. That’s why the demon came after me. I was that trade.”

  The soft, steady sound of Odessa’s breaths grabbed my focus.
I dropped my head to the gaping wound along her face. “Only, they didn’t count on her, did they? So, they panicked, and grabbed the only one of us they could.”

  Marcus shook his head, but I saw the truth in his gaze. “We don’t know that.”

  Logically, it made sense. I didn’t need consoling, not from the cold, hard truth. “Yes, we do. That should’ve been me out there…but I can’t leave her, not until I find the witch.”

  Thunder snarled overhead. The rumble quaked inside as my dragon lifted his head and pierced me with icy blue eyes. The chill spread, turning the heat of my anger to a cold, steely rage. The forest was silent for a second until I spoke. “If less violent is what they’re after, then they’ll be sorely disappointed.”

  Heavy drops splattered the forest floor as I turned toward the house. Inside my head, the dragon inhaled the scent of rain, and I felt his cold rage nestle deep.

  And with each jagged breath, the dragon shook three-thousand years’ worth of shackles from his soul.

  I clutched the wolf close and weaved in and out of the trees as I made my way down the mountain. Could I call my dragon? Could I say his name after all this time?

  Abandoned. Forgotten. The beast hissed.

  The sky opened. The deluge flattened my hair against my forehead and ran into my eyes. My feet slipped on the slick pine needles. Blurred shapes weaved in and out of the trees beside me as the others raced for shelter.

  Abandoned.

  I curled my body, covering her face as I speared through the underbrush. Branches snapped, fabric tore, followed by a sting. Rivulets of water slipped down her forehead capturing the blood to stain her lips.

  Forgotten!

  The dragon’s howl rebounded in my head as I broke through the trees and stumbled into the courtyard. Someone called out behind me. I didn’t stop. I couldn’t look—not yet—not until I found the witch.

  I slowed at the sight of our house. The once perfect glass wall was now a gaping hole. Shards crunched as I stepped inside and stared at the destruction. Inside my dragon smiled and slunk back into the shadows as he whispered. So, what makes you think I’ll help you now?

  I rounded the stairs and headed for the rear of the house. Blood littered the hallway like crumbs. I followed each drop toward the closed door. The old woman wasn’t my friend, and she wasn’t my confidant—not like she was for Marcus. I turned to scan the empty hallway behind me, but I had no other choice—I had no one else to turn to.

  “Witch.”

  My voice echoed in the hall. I spread my hand out, holding Odessa’s head against my shoulder as I dropped her legs.

  “Witch, it’s me…Victor.”

  I shoved the door and stared at the splattered mess inside the once crisp white room. The stench of blood was suffocating. I breathed through my mouth and stared at the dark markings on the walls, and then at the pool on the floor. There was too much blood, too much for anyone to survive.

  The witch was dead.

  “Not dead. Not yet anyway.”

  I spun at the harsh wheeze and stared at the old woman. She gripped the doorway with sticklike fingers and shuffled into the room. Thick white bandages covered her neck from the base of her throat to her chin. I glimpsed crimson through her long, tangled brown hair, and searched the rest of the old woman’s body. “You’re hurt…do you need—”

  Anger glinted in her dark eyes. “Blood, from you? No. I’ll live. I can’t promise the same for your wolf.”

  I gripped tighter, driving my fingers into Odessa’s waist. “What do you mean?”

  “Her wounds go much deeper than flesh, dragon. If she won’t fight to stay here, I won’t force her.”

  The witch shuffled over and lifted gnarled fingers to sweep Odessa’s blonde hair aside, then set those dark, all-seeing eyes on me. “Demon… I smelled the stench from upstairs. She’ll be left with a scar, there’s no hiding something like that. She’ll be disfigured, ugly…better to let her find some peace.”

  Find some peace?

  I tried to swallow the fist in my throat and stepped toward the door. “You mean… No.”

  The witch’s gaze narrowed. Her wrinkles turned to creviced lines. “Look at her, dragon. Look. At. Her.”

  I dropped my gaze. In my mind, all I saw were pale blue eyes shining bright. A pinched little nose and perfect lips that curled into a crazed lop-sided grin. But as the witch spoke, that all seemed to fade away.

  Shadowed wolf…monstrous, shadowed wolf.

  Blood… Her face… Her poor, beautiful face.

  “It’d be a mercy.” The witch shuffled one slow step closer. “Let her go, she’s done enough.”

  And inside my dragon took a step into the light. He dragged the scent of blood and wolf deep into my lungs and stared at the gash across her face. He lifted his head, pale blue scales shone in the light as he pierced me with a frigid gaze.

  Abandoned, he whispered. Forgotten, just like me.

  I clenched my jaw. Molars cracked. I brushed her arm and the motion eased the tension inside.

  I’m not going to give up on you. Do you hear me?

  “You heal her body, witch, and I’ll do the rest.” I tore my focus from Odessa, finding the old woman. “Do not let her die, you hear me? Do not let her die.”

  The old woman stilled. There was a tug at the corners of her mouth as she nodded. “Put her on the bed. I’ll fix her face as best I can.”

  My steps slowed as I neared the queen-sized bed. Stay. A voice whispered inside, stilling me as I lowered her to the mattress.

  Dragon? I called as I lowered her head to the pillow. But the sound was gone, as though it’d never been there at all.

  The thick white cotton sheet lay crumpled at the foot of the bed. I grasped the corner and dragged it over her boots and along her legs.

  Heavy steps echoed from the hallway, slowing at the doorway. “Is she okay?”

  I glanced over my shoulder, finding anguish in my older brother’s eyes, and dropped my gaze to his clean clothes. “For now.”

  The anguish softened as my brother held out his hand. “Good, let’s bring the big oaf home.”

  I gripped his hand, but felt nothing with the connection of my kin. There was no warmth, there was no power, and there was no dragon. “Yes.”

  Marcus tightened his grip and reached up to squeeze my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Victor. I failed you and I failed Odessa. I should’ve known… I should’ve protected everyone.”

  “We should’ve protected them, that’s why we were born, isn’t it?” The whisper slipped into a growl. “We can fix this…it’s not too late, right?”

  My brother reached up to grasp my shoulder. His gaze slipped into the room. Something passed through those black eyes and suddenly, I felt weak as Marcus answered.

  “We’ll do our damndest to try.”

  Odessa

  I licked my lips and tasted blood.

  The shadowed wolf circled me from the darkened corners of my mind. I huddled against the fire, taking comfort in the dull orange light, yet I felt no warmth—I felt nothing. The beast lunged into the flickering light from the fire to threaten me with a snarl before moving into the darkness once more.

  Sold.

  A man’s voice echoed from somewhere below.

  Sold.

  The deep, familiar voice called me over. Look, it said. Come over here…

  A warning inside came to life. I was in unfamiliar territory—this was dangerous ground. I kicked the earth, finding strength in the familiar. But instead of dirt and sticks from the forest floor, I found the night. Stars sparkled far below, as if the grime had been washed from this world, and left only diamonds behind.

  Darkness shimmered, inviting me to dip into the endless pool. My feet tingled with the thought. One slight movement had been all I needed. I curled my toes, shifting my weight as the man’s voice rang out.

  Sold…

  But this time it was followed by a child.

  Please don’t make me go Papa…r />
  A tiny voice slipped through the night. The child’s voice was familiar, and my chest ached with the sound. I knew that voice… I knew that voice…

  Please Papa... I love you.

  Stop calling me that. I’m not your Papa.

  “No more. Please no more,” I whispered and instead of my own husky tone, I’d returned to that small, pathetic girl once more. “Don’t make me go back there. Please, don’t make me.”

  Chains rattled as I dragged my hands up to cover my ears. Heavy shackles weighed my wrists down. My thin arms shook as I heaved the manacles higher, until I couldn’t hold the strain. I dropped my wrists to the ground and the metal links clattered. The sound filled my head, blending with the snap of the fire. Sparks shot into the endless night, sending a flare for help. But no one would save me, not down here in the dark corners of my mind. Down here, I couldn’t even save myself.

  The guttural growl of the shadowed wolf came from my left. I spun, catching silver eyes glinting in the orange hue of the fire.

  You know where you are. You’re alone with me and all the nasty things you’ve done, Odessa. They’ve been waiting for you…all those memories just sitting here waiting to remind you who you really are.

  Heavy panting surrounded me. I clenched my fists and screamed. “Why don’t you show your face…fucking coward.”

  The snarl from the shadows turned into a guttural chuckle. I turned my gaze toward the click of nails as the wolf edged closer. Anger burned inside my chest and slipped through my lips. “You…you just stay away from me. You just stay away.”

  The shadows shimmered and blurred, until a tear spilled down my cheek. I dropped my head, catching the tear on my jaw with a swipe of my shoulder and whispered. “Stay away from Victor, and stay away from me.”

  Victor? Where is your Victor now?

  I shuffled backward, searching the darkness. Victor was here, somewhere. He wouldn’t leave me. We were meant to be…we were meant to be. If only he’d let us be together.

  I held on to my prophecy, to the right order of things. “Blue eyes. Water. Blue eyes. Water. Hold on to me, Victor…hold on.”