Blinding Light (The Bloodmarked Trilogy Book 2) (3 page)

“Hey, Lucy!” I heard a female voice whisper-yell from the shadows. She came into view when she stepped forward, and all I saw was the platinum blond hair.

I tried piecing together the night of my transition, but it was fuzzy. I knew I was a hybrid and hated vampires. I hunted them and saved humans, or at least tried to. The harder I tried to remember, the worse the hunger became. The heartbeats nearby were growing to a deafening crescendo.

The girl moved forward cautiously. “I know it’s a little weird at first, but the memories come back slowly, over days or weeks. I still don’t remember everything from my human life. Have you remembered anything yet?”

I didn’t say anything. She was a vampire after all, and I knew there was no way I had any vampire friends in my old life. But here she was, acting like my BFF. Nope, didn’t trust her one bit.

“Here, this could help clear the confusion,” she added, tossing me a bag of sweet deliciousness. No time had passed between catching it and having it ripped open and drained.

“My name’s Emily by the way. I hope you don’t mind, but your shirt was a mess when I found you. I had to put a new one on you.”

I wasn’t paying much attention to her words, only what she held in her hand. She handed me another bag and a flash of silver on her wrist peeked out from under the sleeve of her jacket. Once the hunger subsided I really looked at her. More visions broke through the fog.

“I remember you. You pulled me out of the alley. I was dying, or changing, or whatever. I blacked out.”

“Yeah, you were out a little longer than expected. Most vamps take a day or two.”

“How long was I out?” I asked hesitantly.

“Four days. Well, almost five, I guess.”

“What the hell? What have I missed?”

She studied me a moment. “It’s pretty disorienting, isn’t it?” Her voice was nice but lacked much concern.

“It’s starting to clear up.”

“What else do you remember about me?”

I assessed her briefly and the images smashed into me so hard I stumbled back a step. An image of a light-skinned black man with hazel, almond-shaped eyes took root. But he wasn’t exactly a man. He was the vampire responsible for so many deaths, including Holly’s. He claimed their deaths were on me because of all the trouble I caused him and the whole vampire drug ring he was running.

He used it as a way to get older vampires high enough in order for him to drink their blood. It was a way to gain their strength and power but had to be done in a gradual manner, from weaker vampires to stronger ones. If he had tried feeding from a vampire much stronger than him, he would have been burned to death from the inside out by their evil.

I had no problem with him killing his own kind, but once he started killing humans he sealed his fate. I had made many reckless decisions and carried the guilt of those deaths for so long, but it was time to make someone else accountable. He was going to burn. I would make sure of it.

              “Shane,” I growled. I grabbed the blond by the throat, her feet swinging wildly.

              “Wait!” she choked. “I’m…Not…With…Him…Anymore.” I loosened my grip and she coughed. “I want to help you.”

              “And why would you do that?” I asked skeptically, remembering that she was Shane’s girlfriend, the one he turned into a vampire. I had no doubt that he dumped her, but her motives were still unclear. I also remembered her sneaking around and spying on me at one point, probably for Shane.

“Because he’s a power hungry bastard who left me alone to figure all this vampire shit out myself. Son of a bitch even tried killing me before leaving for good. I’ve been keeping an eye on him though.”

“So what do you need me for?”

“Because you might be the only one who can stop him now.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Because you’re one of those powerful kind of vampires. You left before sunset. I came downstairs to check on you and you were gone. You can walk in the sun, can’t you?”

I didn’t respond. I knew I could, obviously. But I now also understood why I could. I was a vampire of the Light, which was different in some way to the Dark ones. I guess I never figured all that out.

“So why should I help you?”

“Because you want Shane dead even more than I do.” I looked away considering that. I didn’t doubt it for a second, but I wasn’t about to trust her intentions. “And because he has your boyfriend.”

My head snapped in her direction, fully attentive. “What?” I asked, confused.

“You don’t remember him yet, do you? What’s his name?” She closed her eyes and snapped her fingers to jog her memory. “Oh! West. Yeah, I think that was it.”

The name didn’t ring any bells, but something stirred in me, deep in my chest, and my heart clenched painfully. I knew I was going to do this, if not for him, then for Holly. Shane had to die.

“Where is he?”

She smiled a wicked smile. “First, you’ll need more of this,” she said, tossing me a couple more goody bags.

              We walked the whole three miles at an agonizing human pace. During that time, I relived the night of my transformation. I remembered Shane setting me up. He bribed me in order to get me to meet with him, but he was a no show. Instead, I was led directly into a trap.

There were assassin vampires waiting for me. The assassins wanted me dead for being a rule breaker. They worked for a group of vampires called the First, or the Elite. This prestigious group of bloodsuckers included a handful of the first vampires in history, who were apparently the rule makers in the paranormal world.

The rules were simple. Don’t kill other vampires, and don’t expose vampires to humans. Since I had such a hard time following rules, they sent their assassins to kill me. Shane must have been more than eager to turn me in. I thought he had simply wanted me, whether to use me as bait to get to the First or to steal the power from my unique blood. Predicting his motives was always a headache.

As we approached an old warehouse I once helped Shane acquire, my heart rate quickened. A wave of dizziness washed through me, which was just plain weird. I was a vampire. I wasn’t supposed to experience any more of those human ailments.

I wanted to hide under a blanket and cry, but the source of this fear and sadness was a mystery. The invasive vibes passed as quickly as they came, and I merely felt anxious. I needed to get in there like yesterday.

We stopped in front of the red brick structure. I scanned it up and down for threats, my gaze settling on the main entrance. I sidled closer to the door and detected movement behind me. My spidey senses tingled, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose.

My body readied itself for attack, but I had already expected retaliation from the blond and was prepared for the backlash. She never liked me.

Yeah, those memories came back too. This confrontation had been a long time coming.

Letting that beautiful, fiery rage fuel me, I spun and caught her wrist in midair before she could strike out with the stake.

“Bitch!” she snarled. “He’s going to kill you and your stupid boyfriend!”

Charming girl. Either way, she wouldn’t be around to see what would transpire. I yanked up her sleeve.

“I believe this is mine.” Finding the delicate silver clasp, I unhooked my charm bracelet and pocketed it in my jeans before turning my cold gaze back on her. “I may have a case of amnesia, but I do remember that I don’t trust vampires. In fact, I really, truly hate them.”

“But you are one!” she screeched.

And wasn’t that a bitch?

Real fear flared in her eyes when she glimpsed her death in mine. She tried twisting out of my grasp but I held on tightly, feeling bones crack. She screamed out, but I was done wasting time.

I cocked my free arm back and swung until my hand wrapped around her beating heart. Yanking it free from her chest, I watched the fear in her eyes fade to nothingness.

She lit up like a firecracker and disintegrated into black ash, floating off into the night. I closed my fist tightly around the cold beating heart until it, too, caught fire. It stung as it burned, but when I opened my hand, soot covered my completely healed palm.

Well, that felt almost as good as a super speed run. A flickering ember of concern for my mercilessness sparked. But I stomped it out, letting the coldness sink into my bones, because I was nowhere near satisfied. I clapped my hands together to dust off the ash and snatched her stake from the ground, tucking it away in my boot before reaching the door.

Entering the building, I had no expectations of the outcome, only anticipation for what I might find. A shift in my homeostasis drew me deeper into the dark hallway. Each step carved out a deeper hollow inside of me, like the other part of me was waiting nearby, guiding me. It moved me down the stairs and through the basement door. I knew whatever was down here was important.

He was important, and he counted on me. With each heavy footfall of my boots, his blurry image in my mind began to clear. My heart opened and warmth flooded my veins.

I waded through several large load-bearing columns while trying to make sense of the chaos in my head. When I rounded a middle column, I gasped out loud and dropped to my knees, nearly crippled by the sight. The past few months slammed into my chest with unrelenting force. I was coated in dread so heavy it plastered me to the floor. Fear soaked me to the core and rendered me motionless.

In a large open area, toward the back of the building, was a low-hanging beam. There were heavy chains draped over the beam, and attached to them was the root of everything. He was the center of this giant shit storm of tension.

I was glued to the floor. A thousand memories manifested themselves like a continuous picture reel in my mind. My unsteady heart burst open from the pressure of everything that had been tucked away and hidden inside of me.

“Gavin.”

His name fell from my lips in a broken whisper, like it was pulled out by a thin string and rescued from the swell of emotions that clogged my airways and filled them with choked sobs and ragged breaths. The very reason my memories had been locked away for so long dangled, helpless and incoherent, from those chains.

Attached to him were several IVs. Some siphoned blood while others injected something clear into his system.

There was a reason my brain denied me the memory of him when I woke. I was terrified to see him like this after what Shane had told me he had done to him. Gavin was the strongest vampire I have ever seen. He was the one who always protected me.

The sight of him so helpless and weak nearly destroyed me, and that image would haunt me forever. I didn’t know how long I knelt before him on the cold concrete listening to his slowed heartbeat, but I knew it wasn’t over yet.

I could still save him, and to do that, I had to be tough. Gavin needed me to be the strong one this time. I couldn’t be that foolish girl who jumped headfirst into a fight without thinking.

“I’m so sorry, for everything,” I whispered.

With great effort, he lifted his head a few inches and his eyelids cracked open far enough for his eyes to find mine. My greedy gaze absorbed every detail to ensure I would never forget that beautiful face again. I counted each mesmerizing fleck of blue revealed through those thin slits.

There was a fresh scar above his right eye that must not have been able to heal quickly. Dried blood and the sheen of sweat layered his chiseled features. That strong jawline and straight nose were exactly how I remembered them. The slight cleft in his chin was faintly shadowed in the low, sporadic lighting of the florescent bulbs above.

My gaze went to his left eyebrow, and I think I sighed when I saw the tiny, crescent scar there. It always reminded me of how human Gavin was compared to other vampires, who never retained any scars when they turned.

My attention traveled south over those strong shoulders and bare chest. He wore only his typical black slacks. Now was so not the time for inappropriate thoughts, but that didn’t stop them from making an appearance at this little reunion.

“Lu…Lucy,” he wheezed. My name on his lips was like a choir of angels singing. At least he was somewhat coherent. That was a good sign.

I picked myself up off the ground, and I wanted to go to him so badly, it hurt to hold myself in place. I didn’t trust this one bit. I knew Shane had to be close. I searched the shadows, but there were so many of them created by the army of cement pillars, and they moved every time the lights flickered.

“I know you’re here, asshole. You might as well show yourself,” I taunted. I may have wanted to be more careful, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t allowed to be pissed off. Anger and me went way back like old pals, and we were about to spend some quality time together catching up.

Gavin coughed and my head snapped back in his direction. “Be. Careful,” he stuttered. My fury saturated the stagnant air seeing him like this.

“I’m going to get you out of here,” I vowed.

“That’s very touching, baby. Really, it is.” The smooth voice echoed off the cavernous space, and I whipped around to see him leaning casually up against a column, less than twenty feet away. “But you shouldn’t lie to the man. You have a very slim chance of fulfilling that promise.”

Without another word, he shot across the room so fast I almost couldn’t track him. Almost. It was a good thing I had these fancy new super senses. He stopped at another column to the left of Gavin. The three of us formed a triangle, equal distances apart. He looked over to Gavin and nodded his head toward him.

“So sad isn’t it? That a simple little drug could bring down a strong, strapping vampire like him.” A superior smile plastered his face while he spoke.

“I’m not sure why you’re smiling. You know I’m going to kill you, right?”

He laughed. “You always thought you were stronger than me. That’s what pisses me off about you. But don’t worry. After I kill your boyfriend over there, I’m going to kill you. You’ll finally learn your lesson. You should have never messed with me, baby.”

“Is that what all this is about, Shane? Getting me back?” I asked, still unclear on the whole point of this.

“Hmm. I’m going to educate you so you understand just how pathetic and miniscule you really are in the grand scheme of things, sweetheart.”

“Miniscule? That’s an awfully big word for you, Shane. I’m shocked you know what it means.”

He smiled. “Yeah, well, I’ve learned a few things recently. For instance, I know that you are an extremely rare type of vampire. I know you can walk in the sun, and I really wanted a taste of the kind of power that runs through your veins. I was actually there the night West bit your mother. I was in the neighborhood and heard the commotion. When I saw how strong he was, fighting off the other vampires, I became obsessed with him.”

I snorted, but he ignored me in favor of listening to the sound of his own voice.

“I was desperate to gain strength like that. I even approached him years later to ask about it, but he ignored me. I assumed it might have had something to do with your blood but couldn’t be sure, so I watched as you got older. I saw your strength. So I did everything I could to get close to you while I asked around about blood that makes vampires stronger. Everyone I asked either had no clue or they mentioned the old theory of drinking vampire blood. Of course, they warned me against that method because of the whole taking the other vampire’s death into you when you consume it. So I came to a dead end, until I came across one particular vampire who opened my eyes to all kinds of things. He told me there was a way it could be done successfully. He even offered his help in setting up my business.”

“I knew you didn’t have the brains to pull it off yourself,” I interjected.

He continued again as if I hadn’t spoken. “Hell, he also had a role in setting you up for those murders after you became such a nuisance to the business.”

“You mean the trail of bodies you left in the streets,” I said evenly, but my palms stung when my fists clenched so tightly that my nails drew blood as they dug into the flesh.

“Yes, good times. But having you in hiding from the cops got boring. Plus, the assassins were drawing closer, so I had to get you out on the streets again in order for them to find you.”

“You used me as bait so you could feed off of them,” I noted.

“And, boy, were they powerful. I was ready for your blood. I wanted to change you into a vampire myself to taste it in its most pure form. But my partner informed me that it would kill me to drink from you no matter how strong I got. Because our blood doesn’t play well together, baby. Such a waste, too.

“That had been my original plan, but since it isn’t going to work out, I’ll have to settle for killing the two of you. Although, it did make me curious about how your boyfriend got so strong without dying from your blood. He even inherited your ability to walk in the light.” Shane flicked his eyes over my face. “Oh, did he not mention that to you?”

I had suspected as much but never saw it with my own eyes. Yet another detail to add to the mystery that was Gavin West.

“Before you ask, the answer is yes. I have already had a taste of your boyfriend’s blood. It burned like holy water going down, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure I would make it through that one. Unfortunately, his little sunlight tolerance didn’t rub off on me. I already tried. No matter. I am, however, much stronger than before. Strong enough to kill you, and that’s all that matters to me after the amount of shit I put up with.”

“So that’s it, huh? You’re just going to kill us both.”

“Well, I would be willing to spare your boy toy if you helped me with one last thing.”

He paused to let me consider another option. “The suspense is going to kill me before you get the chance. What is it you want?”

“You bring me back the blood of the First, and I let him go.”

He made it sound so simple, so black and white. But I knew it was never simple when it came to Shane.

“You know, Shane, I’m really sick of being bribed and blackmailed. I hate being told what to do. I won’t be manipulated by you anymore.”

“You mean by us,” he corrected.