Blood Lust (The Blood Sisters Book 1) (8 page)

Jessica
scraped a piece of plaque off her teeth—she didn’t have time to brush that
morning—and flicked it off her finger across the room. It didn’t make her feel
any better, nothing did when she sat at a metal interrogation table. Why was it
always metal anyway?

She
tossed back her hair and drummed her fingers against the table, but that didn’t
make her feel any better either.

Amanda
cast a sideways glance at her. “Your nerves are giving me a stomachache.”

“Everything
gives you a stomachache,” Jessica said even though she knew it wasn’t true. A
few things gave Amanda headaches.

“How
long do you think we’re been here anyway?”

Jessica
shrugged and kept her gaze from the locked door in front of them. “Few hours at
least. Daylight’s wasting, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Amanda
laughed, that scared little laugh she always did when they were kids and
Jessica told her a ghost story. “Aren’t you?”

Worried
was putting it mildly. More like she was ready to scratch her way out of her
skin to get out of here.

“If
the dem—if
the men, come here,” Amanda’s
voice dropped down to a whisper, “we’re like trapped rats and all these
officers—”

Would
be in harm’s way. Dead. “Lucky for us by then I’ll have a plan.”

“Really?”
Amanda’s eyes grew hopeful.

The
door’s knob began to twist. Jessica held up a finger when she heard the snap of
the lock and they both sat up straighter. The sisters raised their eyebrows at
each other, communicating silently with glances and facial tics. Jessica gave a
shrug while Amanda wove her fingers together with a coy smile.

Here
went nothing. The interrogation followed by their pitch of innocence. Amanda
would throw in some doom and pessimism and
hopefully,
it’d go better than normal. Jessica was planning on telling the truth this
time.

Mostly.

Sheriff
Woolsey entered the room with a manila folder under his shoulder. “I was doing some
light reading on you two. Jessica and Amanda Blood.” He threw the thick folder
onto on the table. “I nearly sprained my thumb flicking through all these
pages.”

Jessica
glanced at the splayed pages. With a wince, she caught sight of her photo from
when she was fifteen and angry. Angrier than she was now.
At least,
today she had some understanding, but
back then? She was a system kid with a history of being ‘difficult’ and ‘high
risk’.

“Well,
I hope we kept you entertained.”

The
Sheriff chuckled. “You have a chip on your shoulder, Ms. Blood, and maybe it’s
one you earned. Maybe the foster system failed you. Twenty homes in five years
is a lot for any kid. Petty crime. Violent outbursts, and that’s just your
record before you turned nineteen.”

Amanda’s
eyebrows furrowed together tighter than Jessica had ever seen. It took a lot to
make her sister angry. When her voice was angry and loud, it reached a pitch
that made Jessica’s wince. “That information is supposed to be sealed! She was
a minor!”

It
was cute when Amanda was protective.

Woolsey
turned his attention to her. “You’re the one I don’t understand. By all
accounts, you’re the quiet one. The good one. The one that was lined up to be
adopted, but you’ve turned to the life of a thief. Stealing cars. And illegal
weapons?”

Amanda
cringed. Jessica leaned forward, “Those are mine. She doesn’t actually like
weapons.”

“Can’t
even touch them. I break out in hives,” Amanda said. “And for the
record,
I’d never allow myself to be adopted.”
She sat up straighter and her nostrils flared. “I’m a Blood. Nothing will ever
take that away.
Nothing.”

He
had awakened the spitfire in Amanda, something she had never learned to
control. It festered inside of her like a rash. Jessica put her hand on her
sister’s knee. “Why don’t we let the good Sheriff tell us what he’s charging us
with. Because if he isn’t, then we’re free to go, aren’t we?”

Woolsey’s
tongue clicking inside his cheek. “
Pick
pocketing
is still a crime. And that car you stole, Ms. Blood,” his eyes
locked with Jessica’s and under her intense glower he looked away. “Well, you
could have really hurt that man. Do you want to know, Ms. Blood, how many
active warrants you have on your head?”

Jessica
always remembered and it made her swallow, hard. Wasn’t something she was proud
of but shame—she had that in buckets. “I’m not admitting anything, but even if
I were,” Jessica leaned across the table, “you don’t want us in your town any
more than we want to be here. So let us go. Pretend you never saw us, or say we
beat you up and escaped. I don’t care, but we need out of here. Now.”

Woolsey
met her eyes and glanced between the two sisters. “You threatening me, young
lady?”

“No,
” Jessica said softly.

“You
just don’t want the type of danger we
bring,
”
Amanda added. “We’re
hard-nosed
criminals.”

She
said it so sweetly, so innocently, that Jessica did a double take. With
Amanda’s wide eyes, woe-is-me expression, she wasn’t helping to sell their
story.

Woolsey
laughed. “I feel like the both of you are setting me up. Doom and gloom, right?
What can two young ladies do in lock up that
me
and my deputy can’t handle?”

“It’s
not about what we can do, Sheriff, trust me.” Jessica leaned across the table
and grabbed Woolsey by the collar. “It’s about what they can do. The ones that
are out there and they’ll come for us. Trust me.”

The
color drained from his face and even his mustache appeared to be shaking as he
peeled her off and pushed her back. “Some scary thing is out there and it’s
coming for you, huh?”

Jessica
gave a shrug while Amanda nodded. Pretty much, yup. Too bad regular folk rarely
believed it.

From
the shake of his head, Woolsey was no different. “This little act you two have
going might work on some people, but listen here—” The Sheriff was about to
launch into a full diatribe when a knock came at the door. Jessica held her
breath as a deputy stuck his head inside. “Sheriff, FBI’s arrived for these
two.”

Jessica’s
heart skipped a well-worn beat. Beneath the
table
she squeezed her knees. Amanda’s voice cracked. “FBI?”

“Guess
the jokes on you this time.” Sheriff Woolsey stood up from the table and his
chair squealed across the floor as he pushed it in. “Excuse
me
girls, while I sign the paperwork and make
final arrangements. It seems you’re not going to be our problem after all.” He
grinned and left the room with his head held high, his
nose-thumbing
the air.

Jessica’s
skin crawled. As soon as he was gone, Jessica got up and inspected the window
of the room. They had to get out of there, now. The anxiety was almost too much
to bear.

The
bars were set firmly into cinder blocks. Small town quality construction was
going to make it impossible for them to break out of here, but still she gave
the bar a tug for good measure. Jessica ran a hand through her hair, tugging on
it. What the hell was she going to do? They were in a real jam, a pickle.

Damn
it, Jessica hated pickles.

Amanda
swiveled in her seat. “The FBI can get us out of here, can’t they? It’ll be
like
safe
passage through the wicked
forest. This could be good news, Jess.”

Except…Jessica
went on
tiptoe
and gazed outside. The sun
was beginning to set behind the evergreen trees in the parking lot. Red
streaked the night sky like fresh blood.

Demons
were on the move.

“Except
we’ll be like sardines in a can and even worse, so will these FBI guys.”
Jessica turned and gazed at her sister.

Amanda
bit her lip and seemed to understand, but already a sour expression spread
across her face as if she had just bitten into a lemon. “You have a plan.”

Jessica
gave a half shrug. “You’re not going to like it.”

Her
sister sighed and gazed at the door. “Just tell me what to do.”

“You
can do this,” Jessica whispered to her and stood behind the door. She meant it.
Amanda had done far harder things before, but based on the uncertain frown,
Amanda didn’t believe it. “Mandy,” Jessica stressed as she heard footsteps
coming from the outside hall, “you can do it. Trust me, okay?”

Amanda
had to believe it. If she didn’t, this thing was going to fail hard and burn
faster than popcorn in the microwave.

Amanda
nodded hesitantly. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a brief
moment. That was a good girl. She could do it, but her fear was real. Jessica
hated putting Amanda in such a position, but she’d hate even worse falling
into
demons’ hands.

Or
if innocent people were caught in the crossfire, that’d be far worse on her
conscience. So no matter how much they hated it, the plan needed to work.

When
the door unlocked, Amanda backed away and pushed her butt back against the
table. She glanced at Jessica for guidance, her eyes wide and pleading, but
Jessica just shook her head. “Don’t look at me. Just do as we discussed, okay?”

But
what if the police heard? What if they were listening? Jessica didn’t need to
be empathic to read Amanda’s face. A moment later, it didn’t matter because the
door was swinging open and Jessica’s view was obscured. She could make out
Amanda’s dirty soiled feet take their mark, but that was all.

“Where
is Jessica Blood?” A new voice. It must have been the FBI agent.

“She
was in here!” Woolsey said. “Ms. Blood,” his angry voice lashed out at Amanda
and it made Jessica’s blood boil. No one talked to her sister that way. “Where
is your sister?”

Jessica
gritted her teeth and took a deep steadying breath. She would be exposed as
soon as the door swung closed.

One…Two…

As
it slowly shut Jessica came into view, backed up against the side wall closest
to Amanda. Her eyes swept over someone in front of her. Amanda’s voice was a
hushed whisper and there were lines crinkling on her forehead. “There’s
something wrong Jess!”

“She’s
here!” The FBI agent was tall and wore shades on his eyes. His lips came
together pinched in a pout. “She’s—”

Jessica
wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him close while her other hand
grabbed the gun at his side. With one deft
move
she released the safety and held the gun to his temple. “Say one more thing and
I blow your head off. Sheriff, clear us a path or he dies and I blast a new
exit.”

“You’ll
never get out of here. You might kill a few people, sure.” Woolsey took a
gingerly step toward her, his hands outstretched, “but we’ll get the drop on
you, sugar. You’ll never make it out the front door. And your sister…”

Why
couldn’t people just do the sensible thing and get out of her way?

“Just
come quietly.” The FBI agent craned his head toward her.

Irritated,
Jessica pushed the gun harder against his temple. He groaned and Jessica edged
him forward. “We’re leaving. Amanda, c’mon!” Glancing into the hall, Jessica
saw three police officers, guns
drawn
.
“Sheriff, tell them to lower their weapons or else it’s going to get really
bloody in here.”

The
FBI agent laughed, which Jessica thought unusual, but then she realized Amanda
wasn’t following her. Jessica cast a glance up to the mirror hanging on the
wall. The reflection showed her sister, arm out, holding onto the wall for
support, the other, gripping her stomach tight, as if she had fallen ill.

Jessica
knew better and inside her growing fear festered.

Amanda’s
teeth chattered and she opened her mouth to speak, but Jessica knew already
what she was going to say. Their escape attempt came too late.

Demon.
Based on Amanda’s condition, Jessica would guess it was a doozy. “Sheriff,”
Jessica’s voice was loud and clear, “you’re going to want to empty your station
before this gets real ugly.”

His
face was one of disbelief. “Because you’re going to kill us all?”

“If
she doesn’t, I will.” The FBI agent smirked and Jessica nearly missed the way
he hissed.
Crap,
was he the—

The
agent threw his elbow back into her face and Jessica saw stars as her head
bucked backward.

He
spun and grabbed her by the throat with one hand while the other grabbed her
arm. She fought against him, but damn, was he strong! A shot went wide as he
throttled her into the wall. Jessica couldn’t breathe and panic set in. Sheriff
Woolsey was still in the room, his gun now drawn to back-up the FBI agent.

Didn’t
Woolsey hear the threat the demon made?

He
must have thought this was a regular arrest, but Jessica knew better. The FBI
agent was too strong to be human and overhead, the lights dimmed as the demon
drew additional power.

More
demons were coming, circling the wagons around the sisters Blood, and the
police officers were casualties waiting to happen. They would be stomped like
bugs; demons had no regard for life, and the officers stood in the way of what
they wanted. Humans? They only exist to serve demons.

The
FBI agent sneered at Jessica. “You’re not the one we’ve come for. You’re merely
in the way.” His voice was inhuman, deep and
guttural,
as if it came from the pit of his stomach, not his mouth, where his teeth were
visible, jagged and sharp. Jessica would die before this monster got his hands
on her sister.

Amanda
collapsed onto her knees in complete distress, clutching her throat as if she
couldn’t breathe. Jessica needed to get her out of here before things got
worse.

“I
think you’ve taught her a lesson, Agent, now if you—” Sheriff Woolsey stepped
behind the FBI agent and the demon turned his head. He screamed a sounded like
eagles mixed with tigers.

Woolsey
froze in place and his eyes widening as his hand slackening. His gun slipped
from his fingers, blood seeping from his ears.

Jessica
used the agent’s distraction against him. The heel of her hand came up,
slamming under his jaw, loosening his grip on her throat. She twisted her body.
Her throat screamed in pain, and as she fell to the ground, something pierced
her skin.

The
agent lunged for her with his arms spread eagle. He was going to collapse right
on top of her.

Jessica
couldn’t breathe; as she kicked her feet to slither across the cool linoleum.
With a two hand grip, she lifted her gun and fired several shots center mass
into
the demon’s chest.

He
growled, his claws growing as the shots healed themselves. The bullets clinked
as they hit the ground. The gun’s caliber was too small to kill such a strong
demon with a chest shot. Jessica repositioned herself, shot, and fired a bullet
right through his forehead.

Bull’s
eye.

His
face twisted like a Picasso painting in a volcano, all the colors running
together as he hit the ground. Jessica ignored the frozen Sheriff
Woolsey.
Her thoughts spun with uncertainty;
she scooted on her knees over to Amanda. Why hadn’t the deputies come?

Where
was everyone?

The
questions soured her mind with doubt. They had to move. Had to get out of here.

Amanda
was doubled over as if she was going to be sick and Jessica focused on taking
care of her. She pulled her sister’s hair back and touched her clammy forehead.
Burning up, running a fever. Intense burning desire raged in Jessica, she had
to get Amanda out of there before things got worse.

“The
smell,” Amanda’s voice lurched with the threat of vomit. “It’s everywhere.
Everywhere, Jess!”

“I’m
going to need you to move.” Jessica barked the order, but she wasn’t mad. She
was desperate. Terrified. Not because of the fight, fighting came
easily
. No, it was Amanda that Jessica was
always afraid for.

Amanda
just nodded and gathering her strength, got to her feet. Jessica cradled her
like an injured child. Woolsey blocked the door, “I want to know what the hell
is going on here and I want to know now. If you think I’m just going to let you
walk out of here after you killed an FBI agent—”

His
voice was drowned out by screams coming from his station. The screams were so
piercing; it made Jessica’s skin crawl. Woolsey’s eyes widened, as his head
turned toward the door.

“You
know what you just saw wasn’t normal, and unless you get your men out of here,
they’re all going to die.” Jessica gritted her teeth. “Now move the hell out of
the way! They want my sister and they can’t have her.”

Woolsey’s
complexion paled. He hesitated, his hand
on
the door knob. Jessica was about to knock him out of the way when Amanda’s
frail voice spoke up. “Demon.” Her shaking finger pointed.

Jessica
followed the trail of green mist flowing out of the FBI agent’s nose. It was
circling toward them and she knew who its intended target was. It needed a new
host to inhabit and there was only one in the room that it could take.
“Woolsey, get out of here before—”

But
it was too late. The mist swirled beneath his face and the chubby man took a
deep breath, sucking the mist up his nose. His eyes rolled back in his head and
he collapsed into a heap face down onto the floor like an alcoholic after an
all-nighter.

Shit!

They
had two minutes until he awoke with a demon fully infiltrated into his brain.
Enough time to escape the room and maybe shoot their way out of this police
station.

Amanda
had other ideas. Already her hand was crackling even though she could barely
stand.

Not
again. Jessica’s anger fumed out her ears. “We’re leaving.” Jaw tight, she
tugged on her sister, but Amanda held her ground.

“We
need to send this one back to the underworld where it can’t hurt us. Please,
Jessica!” Her face was so innocent in its plea that Jessica felt like dirt.
Absolute dirt that she’d put Amanda’s life above any other.

But
so what? That’s what was important to Jessica. And she would sacrifice Woolsey,
and anyone, if it meant getting Amanda out safe.
“No,
” She said it deeply, simply and Amanda was crestfallen, like a
smashed mirror fallen to pieces. The pain etched along her features.

“If
we don’t save him than why bother to fight at all. Why?”

They
were running out of time. If they were going to stand there, risk their lives
and fight each other, might as well save Woolsey in the process. “You have
sixty seconds. That’s all time left before we’re dead anyway. So you better
hurry up.”

Amanda
was already on her knees. Her hand raised high and the ball of swirling light
between her fingers grew brighter, bigger. Lightning shot out from the center,
growing longer until it hit Woolsey’s chest. Even though he was unconscious,
his back arched as if he was having a full blown seizure and his head banged
against the ground.

Her
other hand touched his forehead to keep him steady and safe from self-injury.
Amanda’s head tilted back; she looked so serene with her eyes closed. Her face
glowed in the magical light and she looked like an angel.

An
absolute angel.

It
was hard to look away from such a display, but Jessica stepped away to open the
door. She smelled the acrid odor of
gunfire
.
Out in the hallway, lights from the station flashed as screams came from the
front of the station. Long shadows were cast upon the walls.
The hair
on the back of her neck stood tall, as
a breathy growl came towards her.

They
were coming.

Her
head spun back to Woolsey, her hair slashing at her mouth. The green mist was
almost fully removed from his body. Now all that was left was to destroy it and
they’d be in the home clear.

Jessica
turned her attention back toward the coming demon; green, scaly; in a pair of
bad jeans and a biker’s vest. If they were lucky, there would be nothing more
than some low level grunts in the sheriff station. Those she could kill, that,
a job she could handle.

She
fired a shot between his eyes. Lucky for her, she had always been a quick study
with a steady hand.

If
not, she might have been dining in hell tonight.

****

The
office was dark.

 
“What’s going on?” Woolsey stumbled, his eyes
glazed over, as the sisters Blood pulled him to cover.

Jessica
dove for an overturned desk and rested her back against it as shots rang out in
what was left of the sheriff’s station. Littered with newspapers on the floor,
shards of glass and a trail of bodies led them closer to the front door. The
place looked like a bomb shelter after the bomb went critical.

The
air was thick with smoke and flying debris. It burned Jessica’s lungs and made
it hard to see. Lights flickered and the desk lamps were covered in drywall
dust. “You two, get down!” Jessica ordered as she tossed her gun to the side.