Flowers and Fangs (Stake and Dust series, Book II) (23 page)

She had only been around adults and though
each scent had a unique difference, none of them smelled as
enticing as Kylie's blood did right now. It smelled…fresh. Just
another question she would need to discuss with Tremayne.

"We'll drink then we can be on our way." Tim
flitted to the door where he held Kylie prisoner.

She followed suit, her movement surprisingly
smooth. She was getting the hang of this. She felt Tremayne's blood
coursing through her veins, giving her strength. "No," she said
firmly. She leaned against the door, putting all her weight against
it. "You will let her go or I won't go with you." She wasn't sure
if the threat would work, but she had to hope it would for Kylie's
sake. She was stronger, but so was Tim. If he wanted to fight her,
she wasn't sure she could stop him.

Tim stared at her, his gaze sliding over her
features one by one. He inhaled deeply and for a second, she
thought he would agree to her terms, but then his nostrils flared.
His attention wavered and she realized too late that he must have
inhaled Kylie's scent again. With a growl, he flung her away.

She flew back and slammed into the cabinet
filled with knickknacks. The glass shattered, littering the floor
around her, but she quickly regained her footing. When she did, Tim
was already dragging Kylie out of the room. The girl's hair was a
tangled mess of blonde curls and her face was tear stained. She met
Sloane's gaze, her eyes pleading for help.

"Isn't she delightful?" Tim slid the back of
his hand down the side of Kylie's face, ignoring the child's
sobs.

Sloane didn't know what to do. One wrong move
and Tim could easily snap Kylie's neck and all attempts to save the
child would end.

"Don't you want her to be just like us?" Tim
tested the words as he glanced at his sister with what could only
be construed as affection. He still loved her, but with all his
emotions being out of whack, his love for Kylie had turned down a
darker path.

"She would remain a child forever," she said,
letting the implications speak for themselves.

He didn't seem surprised that she mentioned
the drawback to this plan, which made her believe he had thought of
it, too. The quiet certainty in the way he held Kylie and the way
he didn't even consider the act as perverted, sent a chill down her
spine. He wanted to own Kylie, keep her like a momentum of his
past.

"We'll never age either," he told her. "She
could be our daughter. No matter where we travel, we'll be a
family."

"Is that what you truly want?" She kept the
horror she felt from creeping into her voice, but she couldn't stop
the pain in her chest, the feeling as if a hand squeezed her heart
in hopes of stopping it. The thought of making Kylie like them was
beyond cruel. Kylie would be trapped in a child's body, while her
mind matured to adulthood.

"Of course," he said.

"And you know how to change her without going
too far and draining her?" She hoped he didn't say he did.

Tim frowned. "I haven't been able to complete
the process. I've drained them before I could give them the third
bite."

She shivered at the thought. How many had he
tried to change? He had tried to change her. If Derek hadn't
stepped in and stopped Tim, and if Tremayne hadn't offered his
blood, she could have been another one of Tim's victims.

She had to keep Tim talking until the others
were in position. "I'll go with you Tim and we'll be a family as
you wish it, but on one condition…"

"And what is that, dear Sloane?" Tim tilted
his head and his gaze lazily swept over her, giving her the feeling
she looked more like a tasty treat than a person he wanted to spend
eternity with.

"We wait to turn Kylie." He stiffened and his
nostrils flared. She hurried on before she lost him completely.
"Only until she's a teenager. Let her grow up first. Then we'll
make her like us." Even if she were really planning to run away
with Tim, she knew he would never be able to holdout that long.
Heck, she wasn't sure she could. However, what she proposed wasn't
real. She would never go with him and she would never subject the
child to their fate.

Kylie no longer whimpered, but stood still as
if she lost all hope. She'd lowered her head and her hair hung
around her face, shielding her expression.

"How do I know this isn't some kind of
trick?" Tim eyed Sloane with suspicion.

She lifted her shoulder. "You don't. I guess
you'll have to trust me. Besides, where am I to go? I can't go
home."

"Yeah." He straightened his shoulders.
"That's right."

"You asked me here. I'm assuming so we could
be together," she reminded him.

He hesitated a second more before his grip on
Kylie lessened.

"Come here, Kylie." Sloane waved to her in a
come hither fashion.

Tim gave his sister a slight push. The child
kept her head down as she made her way over to her. Kylie's
behavior struck her as odd. She didn't run into her arms where she
would be safe, and the fast thudding of her heart had slowed
considerably, making her believe the child was in shock.

"Where do you want to go first?" Tim's
question shifted her attention to him.

Kylie had reached her and she drew her into
her arms. She gave the signal and spoke the words the others were
waiting to hear. "You're safe." Kylie's scent filled her nostrils
and her fangs elongated, her thirst increasing. The child's carotid
artery throbbed beneath the flesh like a beacon of temptation. She
smelled of blood, rich and thick as if she bathed in the substance.
She gritted her teeth and took shallow breaths in hopes of holding
back the urge to drink.

In the next second, the windows and doors
exploded around her, announcing Tremayne and the other hunters'
arrival.

Tim met her gaze, the betrayal burning bright
in his eyes and for that she felt a pang of guilt. Then he glanced
at Kylie. "Help me, sister. They're going to kill me."

Kylie turned her head away, burying her face
against Sloane's T-shirt, her small hands gripping the fabric.

Tim pursed his lips as he realized he was on
his own. He screeched, his anguish peaking until it shattered the
last shred of his control. He flitted toward Cassandra, who was the
closest to him, but a glint of steel in the hunter's hand caught
the light before she buried it in Tim's shoulder with a quick jab.
He bellowed and stumbled away from her in surprise. Smoke rose
around the wound, the iron doing its job to weaken him.

Sloane backed up toward the bedroom, wanting
to keep Kylie out of harm's way. She fumbled behind her for the
doorknob. She eased it open and dragged Kylie in with her, slamming
the door shut. She may not be able to block out the retched cries,
but she could at least spare Kylie having to witness her brother's
demise.

Your safe," she began to tell Kylie, but then
paused. Her nose flared and the scent of blood flooded her
senses—too much blood

Her hands slipped from Kylie's as she took in
the horror the room held. She reached for the light switch, not
because she couldn't see, but she hoped her eyes betrayed her. Her
trembling hand fumbled with the light switch, but finally her
fingers managed the feat. Oh how she wished they hadn't. The
comforter on the bed, which had once been blue roses, was drenched
in blood, a stain spreading from the center outward like the petals
of a new flower reaching for the sun. Red splattered the walls and
floor. The scent in the room made her mouth water and her teeth
throb, but at the same time it sickened her.

Her gaze shifted to the corner of the room,
shadowed in darkness where the light did not reach. Her hand flew
to her mouth with a sharp intake of breath as she realized what she
viewed. Bodies piled haphazardly on top of each other like dirty
laundry.

"I thought perhaps Tim was wrong about you,
but he wasn't," Kylie said. "You're the same as we are in a sense,
but…there's also something different about you."

It took a second for Kylie's words to
register their meaning. Her gaze riveted to the child, her hair a
golden mass of unruly curls and her cherub face full of innocence,
except her eyes glowed crimson, and fangs protruded long and sharp
from her mouth.

"No." Sloane shook her head in denial and
backed up a step. "No." She repeated with sickening dread. Kylie
couldn't be a vampire. She had heard Kylie's heartbeat. She
concentrated on the sound now and realized the child's heart no
longer beat strong and sure. Her gaze shifted back to the bodies,
and realized with sickening dread why Kylie's heart had mimicked a
human child's. She had just fed.

"Don't be sad, Sloane. I'm not." Kylie's
voice was singsong sweet. If she didn't look at her, she could
believe Kylie was still the lovely ten year old she remembered, but
now wasn't the time for fantasies. She met Kylie's gaze and the
girl's lips curved. Not the sweet smile of the child she'd once
been, but with a grin that made Sloane's skin crawl.

They stood facing each other with suspicion,
while Tim fought for his life... or whatever semblance of a life he
had as a vampire. Tim had killed to survive, but what he did to his
sister was beyond reproach. "I'm sorry, Kylie. I'm so sorry, Tim
did this to you."

She chuckled, a low guttural sound that
didn't sound human. "He didn't change me."

The air caught in her throat. No, Kylie
couldn't be suggesting… "Did Trent change you?"

Kylie shook her head and giggled.

She glanced at the bodies. She couldn't
pretend the child hadn't partaken in the grisly killings.

Kylie sighed. "It is a mess. I should have
cleaned up before you arrived."

She said it with a nonchalant shrug as if
she'd been draining people of their blood for years. "I will admit,
the first kill was difficult," she said with a pout. "I didn't mean
to kill her, but she didn't suffer for long."

"She?"

"My mother," Kylie clarified. "My father put
up a fight though." Her eyes narrowed. "He deserved to suffer," she
spat.

She had killed her parents? "Kylie…" What
could she say to a child killer? Vampire or not, she showed no
remorse.

"Did you know my father was cheating on my
mother? They were getting a divorce."

She hadn't known.

"Ah… Tim never mentioned it to you. He loves
you and yet he kept secrets. Interesting…" she said more to
herself. "My mother had me in counseling. Said I was acting out."
She rolled her eyes. "My counselor helped me in so many ways." Her
smile revealed her devotion.

"Kylie, was the counselor a vampire?"

"He was my savior, my master," she snapped.
"He said he'd be with me forever, but hunters killed him." She
pointed toward the door, knowing exactly who had killed her
master
. Her features turned cold and anger spilled into her
words relaying her fury.

Funny, Sloane had never thought of Tremayne
as her master, but more like a sponsor, a person to rely on for
questions and help, not someone who ruled her actions.

Then it all fell into place: The blood in
Kylie's room had been Tim's blood. Tim hadn't died trying to defend
Kylie against a vampire attack. "Oh God. You bit Tim."

Kylie took a few careful steps toward her,
stalking her. "Trent finished the final bite," she said.

Sloane took a step back, hoping to make it to
the door before Kylie attacked, but then she remembered. She was a
vampire, too. "So what's your plan now, Kylie?" Sloane asked.
"Tim's about to be killed out there. Are you planning to sacrifice
your brother?"

"You're the one who betrayed him. You brought
the hunters here."

"I was trying to save you, Kylie. You're just
a little girl." As she said the words, she realized it wasn't true
anymore. Kylie wasn't the innocent child she'd babysat. She was a
vampire, a killer… "Tremayne can help you."

"Tremayne? Is that your master's name?" she
hissed.

"He's helping me, Kylie. You don't have to
kill to survive."

"But I like it." Her lips curved, the
chilling smile so wrong on a child's face. "I'm in control
now."

Bitterness washed over Sloane, seeping into
her heart at the injustice this child had gone through. This
shouldn't have happened to her. Everyone failed her. First, her
father then the man who was supposed to council her. The fiend had
taken her innocence and twisted it into this vile creature. Kylie
was beyond help now, but she could end the terror the child would
inflict on others. She gripped the dagger Tremayne had given her
and flitted.

Chapter Thirty

Derek took the front door. Wade and Cassandra
stood in front of the window next to the couch, and Tim would have
to take down Tremayne to get past the big guy and into the kitchen
where the back door stood.

"You can still come with us," Tremayne told
him. "Stand down."

Tim's chest heaved, spittle drooled from his
mouth, and his eyes were bright red and glowed with anger. The
vampire was surrounded and he knew there was no escape. His gaze
met Derek's then. "You did this!"

Derek anticipated Tim's attack and let his
arrow sail through the air with lethal intent. Tim screeched in
pain, clutching his chest where the arrow had hit its mark. His
body stiffened and fell back hard. He lay still as a statue, but it
didn't end his wails of pain and anger.

Wade strode forward with his sword readied.
Tim's eyes widened in fear.

"Ky…lieeeee!" Tim shouted.

Wade swung in a downward motion. For a split
second, Derek swore peace eased over Tim's face, before his head
rolled away from his body.

"It's over." Derek closed his eyes and wiped
the sweat from his face. He squeezed Wade's shoulder in passing as
he hurried to the bedroom door, throwing it open. "Sloane, it's
over. You're—" his words solidified in his throat as he stared in
horror at Sloane and Kylie grappling on the floor for the
dagger.