Blessed by a Demon’s Mark (8 page)
That hit a little too close to home.
“Fine,” I said in a small voice. Somehow Jonathan had made me feel like a fool. Maybe I was. I’d been mad at so many people for so long, I was probably making things harder on myself by simply not listening and taking people’s advice when they give it. “He can stay.”
“Thank you.” Jonathan dipped his head ever so slightly and turned and walked away.
I almost called out to him, almost told him to come back. I was the reason he was forced to keep a glamour up at all times to hide his true face. I was the reason he limped ever so slightly when he walked. I’d damaged him in more ways than one. The least I could do was talk to him civilly and thank him for all that he’d done.
But I kept quiet, knowing if I called him back, I’d regret it later. I couldn’t let anyone get close to me again, not if I planned on returning to Delai once all of this was over.
The front door opened and closed, leaving me standing alone in the dining room with nothing but my guilt to keep me company.
8
You’d think some time alone with my thoughts would help me sort through the mess of emotions I’d been going through. A long day alone in my room with just myself for company could be a balm to the soul.
But it wasn’t. I sat there and fumed, dwelling on things I probably should have let go. Jonathan had no right to come into
my
house and tell me how to act, what to do. It seemed everyone wanted to have a say in what I did with myself. It made me so angry, I wanted to scream.
my
house and tell me how to act, what to do. It seemed everyone wanted to have a say in what I did with myself. It made me so angry, I wanted to scream.
In the end, however, I was angriest at myself for letting things get so far out of hand. I never should have up and left for Delai like I had, leaving everyone to wonder what happened to me. I understood why I did it. I couldn’t face my brother’s death, face what I’d become. I’d been in shock, and the sleepy little town was the only place I thought I could go for sanctuary.
And it had worked for a time. I’d felt good there, managed to overcome a lot of my pain by pretty much forgetting about it. Levi helped me keep my hunger at bay and at times, I felt like a normal person.
Too bad I always knew the truth.
What didn’t help was that my hunger was roaring by the time night fell, which only accentuated my anger. I was hungry and Levi wasn’t around to help me deal with it. His blood bags might taste like shit, but I’d come to rely on them so I wouldn’t have to hunt.
I stormed out of my bedroom, dressed in all leather. Jonathan’s gift hung from my shoulders like it had been made especially for me. It felt awkward at first, but I think that had to do more with whom it was from than what it was. After a few seconds of fidgeting, I got over it and the coat felt natural on my body.
Ethan was waiting for me in the dining room. I gave him a passing glace, one that warned him I was in no mood to be trifled with. He knew better than to mess with me when I was as starved as I was.
My weapons were sitting on the metal bench in the basement. The moment my sword was strapped on, I felt a thousand times better, felt more focused, though the hunger was still there, eating at me bit by bit. I could feel myself becoming Lady Death, putting the Kat Redding I’d become in Delai behind me.
I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I hated Lady Death, hated the name, hated what she had become, yet I needed to be her to keep those I cared about safe. I couldn’t pretend I could do it without her mind-set. It was kill or be killed, and I planned on being the one doing all the killing.
I turned to head back up the stairs and found Ethan standing there, staring at me.
“What?” I snapped, slipping my coat off so I could get the shoulder holster on.
“I was, uh, wondering . . .” He licked his lips and shuffled his feet. “Before you go, would you want to talk to Beligral?” His face reddened and he took an involuntary step back before I could even say anything.
I checked my Glock, put it in its holster, and put my coat back on. “No,” I said as I started for the stairs.
Ethan didn’t try to stop me as I passed him. He backed against the wall and watched me, worry lining his features. He knew I was hungry, knew I was going on a hunt.
And he also knew there was a powerful vampire out there hunting for me.
I tried not to think about it as I went through the side door, into the garage. I didn’t bother checking my motorcycle like I normally did before starting it up and tearing out into the cold. The tires lost traction almost as soon as I hit the driveway, but I managed to keep from crashing. Barely.
I knew a lot of my anger stemmed from the hunger and my inability to control it, yet it felt like so much more. I could blame some of it on how people were treating me, how Jonathan assumed I would want his help. I could blame it on Countess Baset for hunting me even though I hadn’t actually killed her precious lover.
But there was so much more to it than that. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but the rage kept building and building; it boiled in my gut so that I was a total mess by the time I decided which way to go.
Blood dripped from my gums from where my fangs had punched through. The taste only served to make my hunger flare even more. If I kept going like this, I would be a ravenous beast in no time, and that wouldn’t be good for anybody.
My first inclination was to head to High Street where I knew I could find a victim that wouldn’t weigh on my conscience later. I could go there, find someone in some dark alley who was probably high on something or near death anyway. I could feed on them until I was sated, and no one would bother me. I could then go on my merry way, having done a service to the Purebloods who still tried to walk the night despite the scum who usually prowled the streets.
But that wouldn’t prove anything. Countess Baset was hunting for me even though quite a few people thought I was dead. Perhaps it was time I made myself known. Let the bitch see me. I could make such a scene it would terrify her.
I found myself laughing as I shot down the road toward a part of town I rarely bothered to go.
Polaris was a place where the rich Purebloods had congregated after the Uprising. They built their big houses, tried to keep themselves safe behind large walls and fancy electronics. The mall there was huge by today’s standards, as were many of the other buildings. The people of Polaris thought big was always better, and even as things fell apart around them, they stuck to it.
Still, despite their attempts at isolating themselves from the horrors of the night, Polaris had become their prison.
One of the big Royal Houses occupied the region now. Count Mephisto was pretty much top dog when it came to Royals. It didn’t take him long to take control of the businesses, and the homes quickly followed. He still let the Purebloods live there, protected them from outsiders even, but that didn’t mean they were anything more than sheep.
Now, the Purebloods are still rich, but they give up their wives and children upon request. You didn’t tell Count Mephisto no. To do so was to invite disaster into your home. He wouldn’t kill you outright, but you’d wish you were dead by the time he was done with you and those you loved.
Anyone could come and go in his territory. The parkway was open to anyone, as was the mall. You just had to abide by Mephisto’s rules, and feeding on his sheep wasn’t something he allowed without a permit.
It was the perfect place to prove my point that I wasn’t someone to be fucked with.
The dark roads I was used to were replaced by the well-lit parkway. Expensive cars rolled down the road, kids out cruising in one of the few places they could do so. Tall buildings towered to the sky, a water fountain sprayed a foamy stream into the air. Groups of teens huddled together, scurried from place to place in the hopes that something wouldn’t jump out at them from behind a tree.
Just because it was illegal to eat his sheep, that didn’t mean rogues didn’t try it every now and again. And who knew when Mephisto or one of his minions would head out for a late-night snack, one that wasn’t as willing as the ones they kept back home in their cushy little mansions.
But beneath the calm-seeming exterior, I knew the heart of the place to be black. No matter how much he tried to dress it up, Mephisto couldn’t do anything about what went on in the darkest corners of his safe haven. He wasn’t the only monster that walked the streets here.
My eye fell on a huge man who was pressing someone against the wall of an alleyway. As I passed, he stepped back and the tiny thing he’d been holding slid down the wall to fall in a heap. The big vamp looked both ways and then bolted, leaving his bloodless victim behind.
My stomach growled and I had to look away. I didn’t know if it was just a small woman or a child he’d fed upon, but either way, she was dead. Polaris wasn’t really that much different from High Street when you got right down to it. People died. It was a way of life everywhere.
I headed for the mall since it was the most public place I could think of. If I wanted to announce my return, it would be the ideal spot. I just had to find a likely victim and make sure I could easily get away. It wouldn’t do to make a scene, only to be captured by Mephisto’s men before I could get away.
I found a place to park deep in the mall parking lot. The mall was huge, having grown over the years to be at least twice the size it had been when Mephisto first took over. It stayed open all night these days. Vampires and wolves shopped right along with the Purebloods, though the wares they shopped for were vastly different for obvious reasons.
I knew of at least one store that sold teenagers imported from other countries. These girls and boys were highly sought after by the vamps with the most money to burn. If I knew I could pull it off, it would have been one of the first places I’d have shut down, though I knew it would be near impossible. Killing the employees wouldn’t stop Mephisto from importing children and selling them. I’d have to kill the vamp himself, and that was so unlikely as to be laughable.
I kept my coat tightly wrapped as I dismounted. I didn’t want my weapons to show, especially here. I knew there were cameras, as well as crews on the lookout for those breaking the law. One glimpse of my silver weapons and I’d have the entire place coming down on me.
That didn’t mean I’d ever consider leaving them behind. I’d rather risk getting caught with them than go unarmed. Anyone could jump me at any time. Safe rather than sorry, right?
I glanced around the parking lot, unsure where to go from there. I was so hungry it hurt, but I wasn’t going to rush into anything.
It was surprising how busy the place was, especially when you consider how quiet most of the city is at night. Aside from the vampires and wolves lurking the dark corners, walking next to the Purebloods, it might even be reminiscent of what it was like back before the Uprising. I only wished I’d been alive that far back to have seen it.
With a sigh, I started walking for the mall. There was no sense standing around and waiting for something to happen. I was there for a reason and I just wanted to get it over with.
A pair of men stood to either side of the doors as I entered. They casually glanced my way and I knew they were looking me over to make sure I wasn’t a threat. I must not have registered on their scale because they looked away almost immediately to check out an older couple wearing nearly as much leather as I was.
I made it all often steps into the mall before realizing how mind-numbingly stupid it would be to attack someone inside. I could walk through the mall and out the other side where there were some other stores, but that would only put me farther from my motorcycle. If I was going to do this, I was going to do it smart.
I turned around and walked right back out. The two men both raised their eyebrows at me and I shrugged in what I hoped would be an innocent manner as I passed them and headed back to the parking lot.
I walked all the way back to my Honda, checking behind me to make sure neither of the men followed me. They were still by the door, leaving me alone to consider what to do next.
The parking lot had constant traffic, people walking to and from the mall. I could easily find someone here if I waited long enough. It wouldn’t be too hard to feed, to expose myself for what and maybe who I was, and then get the hell out of there.
I leaned against the van parked beside my motorcycle, crossing my legs so I looked as though I was just hanging out. No one would be fooled into thinking I was anything but dangerous thanks to my leather, but here, that might be more of a turn-on than anything.
A group of kids dressed in coats similar to mine passed by. A sweet, smoky smell trailed after them and their eyes were bloodshot. It wasn’t hard to tell what they’d been doing before arriving.
One of the guys looked my way, started to look away, and then did a double take. He smiled and said something to his friends before he sauntered over to me. The rest of his friends kept walking.
“Hey, baby,” he said. He reached out and trailed a hand down the front of my coat. “Cool threads. I do like.” He smiled, exposing crooked teeth.
I had to fight hard not to roll my eyes. It was just as much of a struggle not to leap out at him either. I gave him a smile that spoke of things he could only dream about.
He licked his lips and I noticed his tongue was pierced more than once. The metal piercing clanked against his teeth when he talked. “My car is back that way,” he said, jerking his head back the way he had come. “Want to go for a ride?”
“Why not here,” I said, stepping back beside my bike. As far as I knew, the kid wasn’t dangerous, wasn’t anything but a dumb teenager out looking for a little action. I moved a hand down to my waist suggestively, though I had an entirely different motive for getting my hands near my belt.
The kid’s grin widened. God, he had to be no more than seventeen or eighteen. I almost told him to piss off so I could find someone else. If I hadn’t been so hungry, I might have.
He stepped close, putting the van between us and the mall. The two big men at the doors wouldn’t be able to see us.
I pulled a knife from its sheath. As the kid reached for me, I grabbed his hand, flipped it over, and cut into his palm. The blade was hidden back in my belt before the guy even knew he was cut.
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