Better Off Red (40 page)

Pax began speaking with Natasha and Rodrick. I listened to their low mutters as they mixed with the weak, panting sounds of my precious feeder in my lap. Rodrick and Natasha would take care of the body. Rodrick’s suffering was tangible, but he was handling it well. He knew what Greg had done and only wished he’d done something more to prevent it. The remains of my human soul felt bad in a way, but my demon knew the aftermath of Greg’s demise was Rodrick and the brother-kings’ problem to deal with.

I probed Samantha’s mind and quickly found the reasons why she’d been so close at the moment of my fall. She’d followed Greg and me into the dark stairs, partly out of jealousy, partly because she was worried about me. Despite that fact she was already his girlfriend and was sleeping with him willingly, Greg had raped Sam, more than once. Each time, he’d been careful not to leave any marks that couldn’t be explained away. I thought about telling Rodrick and Pax to toss Greg’s body off the top of the library, but it would have made a mess in the pristine snow.

A sudden jolt to my system pulled me from my daydreaming.

I felt Camila, her whole presence, slipping away from me.

My gaze shot to her, terror surging through my body. She grimaced, that tale-tell look of apology flashing across her face. I pulled my mouth away from Samantha’s sweet vein, but before I could call to Camila, before I could beg her to stay, she was gone.

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Where is she?”

“Where has she gone”? Rodrick and Pax gasped at the same time.

Instinct told me to bite the front of my tongue. My fangs pierced my own flesh and I used the small amount of blood that rushed to the surface to seal Samantha’s neck. I wasn’t done feeding, but I’d had enough to hold me over.

I shut out everything around me and focused on finding Camila. I found a piece of her, a shadow of herself. She was safe, but emotionally, she was falling apart. I just couldn’t get a clear read on why she’d disappeared and I couldn’t get a hold on where she was. I opened my eyes. Natasha, Rodrick, and Pax stood there, waiting on directions from me. My new demon instincts prepared me to delegate, but I had no plan.

“My study group is waiting for us,” I told them. “I—” I flinched when Rodrick suddenly took Greg’s full form. He even turned his dark jacket and slacks into Greg’s jeans and long sleeved shirt. He grabbed Greg’s Cubs hat off his lifeless head.

“Uh, I’ll go with him,” Samantha said, blinking at Rodrick. Her fear and her confusion grew stronger, but I was filled with pride. She might fall apart later, but she was going to keep a level head until we were out of the woods. “We’ll tell them you threw up or something and we’ll grab your stuff.”

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Rodrick nodded and started down the stairs. Samantha turned to follow him but stopped without a second thought when I gently gripped her arm.

“Thank you,” I whispered. I learned forward and kissed her lips. There was no heat or desire behind the kiss, but another silent vow from me to her. I released her and she sprinted after Rodrick.

“I’ll handle the body,” Pax said. He slung Greg’s body over his shoulder and vanished from the stairwell, leaving me alone with Natasha.

I felt her devotion as Natasha peered at me, her white-blond hair swaying.

“Sometimes the only way to protect your true love is to hide from it,” she said, a sad bit of hopefulness on her face.

“Do you know where she is?” I asked.

“No. I do not have that power. She is blocking us all. We’ll get you cleaned up and then we’ll try to find her.” I looked down. I was covered in dust. She took my hand and then winked. Her smile calmed me a bit. “You’ll see, my Queen. It’s like flying.”

A soft rush of air went through my body. Natasha was right; it was like flying through a wind-blasted waterfall. When I opened my eyes, she and I were back in the lounge of Camila’s apartment.

Tokyo appeared a moment later. She took two steps closer to Natasha and me, then stopped.

“What the hell happened? I mean—my Queen.” The bowing and respectful nodding was getting on my nerves, but I had a feeling there was much more to come.

“Greg threw me down some stairs and then I pissed myself.”

I stormed off to the bathroom, turned on the shower, and shed my soiled jeans. Looking in the mirror, I saw the blood on my shirt. It was Camila’s.

I reached out to her again and kept trying to sense her, over and over, as I bathed quickly, the frustration building. I didn’t skimp on the soap between my legs or the liberal amount of shampoo I used to scrub out my dried human blood matted to the back of my head. I would have scrubbed myself raw if it weren’t for my new resilient skin, still pale and covered with freckles, but tougher. I kept scrubbing though.

• 300 •

Better Off red

Where in the hell did Camila go? I could still feel her. She was miserable and she was crying, but I couldn’t sense why. There was no pain, but something that reeked of guilt and shame. Still, not even the smallest hint about where she might be.

The past week with Cleo had been an absolute mess, and now we’d have to deal with the same issues with me. I had to die now, in the eyes of the human world, in the eyes of my family. There would be some elaborate plan to erase my life, some elaborate lie to make my parents think they had lost me forever.

I fought back the tears as the last of the soap washed down the drain. Crying now was useless.

I shut off the water and wrapped myself in a towel, grateful I’d gotten in the habit of leaving clothes with Camila months ago. Out in the lounge, all the sister-queens had assembled. I held my hand up to Cleo, Omi, Faeth, and Kina, asking them to save the bowing and the pledges until after I was back in fresh underwear.

I opened the drawers Camila had cleared out for me, and as I bent to grab my bra, I saw the small wooden box sitting among her things on top of the dresser. Ignoring the only proof of our engagement, I yanked on my clothes and went back to face the sister-queens.

I walked back into the lounge and stopped next to Kina’s chair.

“I get it. I’m high on the totem pole, but I’m going to smack the next person who calls me queen. I’d like to find Camila, and we don’t have time for all the bowing and praising,” I said. They all nodded, taking my subtle hint. “Good.” I walked over and squeezed between Cleo and Faeth on the couch.

“Well…”Omi said hesitantly, “You’re in charge until she returns.”

“I don’t care about being in charge. I want to find her.” I could still sense her, still upset, but nowhere around. “None of you can sense her?”

They all shook their heads.

I let out a breath in frustration and then I felt my feeder coming closer. I called out for Samantha to come in before she knocked on

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the door. Rodrick had seen her safely back to the house, but she was still shaken. She stepped inside and set our backpacks by the TV.

“They bought the puking story. Alison said she’d call you later,” she said.

I couldn’t stop my eyes from rolling. “Great. Come here.” I held my hand out for her, comforted momentarily by the heat of her shoulders as she settled on the floor between my legs. There were the last traces of snow still melting in her hair. I rubbed her shoulders trying to ease the tension out of her body. She had nothing to worry about anymore, but it would take time before the worrying went away.

A voice in my head stilled my hands. A warm, soothing voice that I couldn’t ignore.

It was Dalhem and he was calling to me.

My Ginger
, he whispered behind my eyes. His voice was a low stroke to my temples.

“Ginger, what is it?” Faeth asked. I frowned, trying to concentrate, then moved Samantha gently out of the way. Natasha called for her and Samantha scampered across the room into her lap.

My Ginger come to me now
, he whispered again in a gentle command.

“I have to go,” I told my sister-queens. “It’s Dalhem.”

“Is Camila with him?” Kina asked.

“I don’t know. I have to go.” I didn’t wait for them to ask me more questions. I closed my eyes and followed the sound of my master’s voice.

I felt Dalhem’s influence before I appeared in his living room.

He was in my mind fully as I vanished through space. I knew before I even thought to block him or before I even considered his influence as intrusive, that I was in the presence of kindness and love. That love and kindness came with a sort of power I’d never imagined.

I came face-to-face with Dalhem in his half-human, half-demon form. I hadn’t realized that a small part of me had been doubting the true nature of my sister-queens and Camila. Yes, they were vampires, animalistic, sure, but the demon part didn’t truly make sense. The truth of the creature didn’t all seem real until I looked into Dalhem’s golden eyes and saw the crown of black horns

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that protruded quite naturally from his forehead. He was not of this world, not of heaven or earth.

His pure white hair fell gently behind his ears, almost to his shoulders. His wings were hidden. I imagine they would have ruined his crisp black suit. Even under the fabric of his clothes I could see how muscular his arms were. He grinned as I gazed back at him, showing off his enormous fangs rooted in the top and bottom of his jaws. Had he been human, I wouldn’t have taken him for much older than thirty. Had he been human, he would have been very handsome, but it was hard to see past the horns and the teeth and the power in his eyes. His smile was warm and paternal, but I found it hard to smile back. Camila’s suffering was ripping at my heart.

She was beside him on a large golden couch. The whole room was decorated in dark wood and creams and gold, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Camila. She wouldn’t look at me. She was too ashamed.

Clear blue tears ran down her face in a steady stream. Dalhem’s arm was around her shoulders. As she sobbed, he tightened his grip to comfort her, but she only sobbed harder.

“You are already a quick study. Using your powers with such precision and not even an hour old.” My eyes fluttered back to his face.“Master.” I dipped my head to him deeply.

“My Rodrick. I thank you. You may go.”

My head whipped to the side. Rodrick was standing in the corner looking back at Dalhem. I was too overwhelmed by Dalhem’s power and Camila’s tears to sense another vampire in the room.

“I thank you, Master, for your grace and forgiveness and your acceptance of my word,” he said. Dalhem dipped his head with subtle appreciation in reply.

Then Rodrick took three long strides in my direction and hugged me. He was trying to tell me something, give me some sort of warning, but he couldn’t. There was no way to keep any sort of communication from Dalhem and we both knew it. Instead, my arms went around Rodrick’s waist and I squeezed back, my only way to thank him for at least trying to be on my side. Whatever side that was. And then he vanished.

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I took a deep breath and turned back to face Dalhem.

“I’m afraid I have some unfortunate news. I’m going to have to punish our darling Camila, and I believe you know what that punishment will be.”

“Please don’t hurt her,” I begged him as a sharp pain shot through my chest. I could hear Natasha’s words pounding in my ears. Remove the head or the heart. The sun will do the rest.

“Oh, my Ginger.” Dalhem frowned at me sternly. “I may be pure demon, hell-spawned, but I think you misunderstand my love for your mate. She is the only piece that remains of my twin. Though her execution is called for and just, I would no sooner harm her than I would harm my own daughter. But that does not erase the mistakes she has made. I overlooked the taste she gave you for human blood all those months ago. I should have corrected her then. But now she has changed you against your wishes and she has taken the life of a feeder that did not belong to her. If our Rodrick had not forgiven her immediately, she would have to answer to more than just me.”

“But I begged her to change me. And Greg—”

“You begged her to help you. Let us not be confused. And yes, my Gregory harmed you and a feeder belonging to our Natasha. I would not have allowed him to live, but our Natasha and our Rodrick and even your precious Samantha, deserved their vengeance, and our Camila took that away from them because her only thought was of you.”

“And she saved me. I don’t understand. What’s the difference between her changing me and her changing Cleo? We were both dying. She saved us both.” I waited for his anger to rise as I kept up my arguing, but all I felt was his compassion.

“My Ginger, she saved our Cleo with the aid of her sister-queens. She trusted them, as she vowed that she would, to bring our Cleo across safely. Your sister-queens could have healed you and left you human, but our Camila let her emotions for you get in the way. She let her emotions overrule what she truly knew to be just.”

He went on, speaking firmly but softly, all for my sake. I wasn’t going to change his mind, but he was willing to explain.

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Better Off red

“Though you have yet to commit the ritual, I only allowed our Camila to bind herself to you as her na’suul under the terms that she would be willing to let you go if you ever wished to leave her.

Humans may be a very treasured gift to us, but they don’t view time and bonds as we do. They don’t treasure their own lives as we do.

You may still love her very much, I sense that you do, but there is a large difference between fabricating stories to your family about your mysterious girlfriend and them believing you are dead.”

Camila tensed, but stayed quiet as the tears dripped off her chin. I wanted to go to her. Trying to move was useless, though.

Dalhem would not allow it, not until he was done. My feet were frozen to the floor.

“You will never see the sun again, my Ginger. And I hope you had no desire to have children of your own, because now that choice is gone. And there is also the small matter of your family. You may be content with our Camila now, but you have seen the behavior of your sister-queen, Cleo. If in a day or in a week or twenty years, when you see that your family is forever removed from you, you may hold our Camila responsible for taking your life.