Fallen Ever After (9 page)

Arie’s steady voice smashed through the blissful fog of oblivion that was grasping to pull me back under. My head throbbed and I winced. When I opened my eyes fractionally, his pale face and gray eyes loomed over me. I looked down at my arms, expecting my skin to be blistered and boiled, but much to my surprise it remained unmarred. Relief washed over me. I thought the poison that I’d drawn out of the vampire would affect me the same way it had burned those who drank it directly.
Splintered sunlight.
The thought wouldn’t have made much sense to me if I hadn’t experienced what the poison felt like firsthand.

“I’m okay,” I said, trying to reassure him. “I feel like hell, but I’m okay. Just help me up.”

Arie brushed a curl off my face, fear receding to the background as he realized that I really was okay. “God, Holly. I thought you were dead… like the others.”

Like the others?
“What others?”

“Some of them didn’t…” Julian said, trailing off. His face was drawn.

I pushed myself up and Arie took my arm as he guided me to a seated position. Part of me needed to know that everything was okay and confirm it for myself, but then another part of me didn’t want to look. It reminded me of the tragic car accidents on the highway. I couldn’t stop myself from looking for survivors, even though I couldn’t stand to see death.

It hurt when I tried to turn my head, but my pain was quickly forgotten when I saw the bar. Chairs and tables had been overthrown by vampires who had caught on fire, or by those trying to get out of their way. Broken glass sparkled on the marble and spilled blood which mixed with the poisoned Puncture that painted the floor. Everywhere I looked there were vampires slumped over with markings that disfigured their pale skin. The bodies of five vampires who had been burned to death were lined up in front of the bar.

“Oh, God.” I shook my head.

I knew they were dead. There was no way someone could look that charred and survive. I had to look away.

“I don’t understand. Why are they dead? Why are others only… scarred?” Trying to form words and make my brain cooperate with my mouth was painful. “Can someone get me some water?”

The female vampire whose skin had been melting rushed to my aid, grabbing a bottle of San Pellegrino from behind the bar. She unscrewed the cap and knelt to hand it to me. Grateful for its cool crispness, I took a swig.

“Thank you.” I gestured with the water bottle.

She shook her head. “No, I should be the one thanking you. You saved my life. If not for you, I might look like one of them.” She looked toward the crispy remains of the five vampires lined up, wrinkling her nose.

There were no words to describe how bad the place smelled, but I knew I would
never
forget what burning flesh smelled like. Two bouncers grabbed one of the bodies, each taking an end, and started carting it off as if they were simply moving a piece of awkward furniture. I figured they were probably disposing of it. I put my hand over my mouth. The smell of burnt vampire pulp permeated the air and I felt like I was going to be sick all over again.

“I just don’t understand why they’re dead and the others are not.” I nodded toward the vampires that had been disfigured from drinking the poisoned Puncture but for some reason had survived the attack. Some already looked like they were starting to heal.

“And why didn’t they start frying from the first sip?” Arie asked.

“Obviously, it’s not instantaneous. Christ, you take two aspirin and it takes at least twenty minutes before it even starts to help,” Julian muttered.

Julian shoved his hands in his pockets, looking increasingly uncomfortable.

“I suppose there’s metabolism to account for, and it didn’t seem like they all combusted at the same time. It seemed like some of them melted faster than others, now that I think about it,” I said.

Why am I not dead? And how on earth did I manage to save her?

I desperately wished that Rue were here, because if anyone would be able to explain to me what I’d done, it would be her. Something happened the day that I materialized the dress for the gala. It felt like the burst of light that emerged from me and broke the nut had tapped into something else that had been there all along.

I’d just never known it.

I’d only found out that I was a witch when Rue shared my family history with me, but if I was being honest with myself I’d always known there was something different about me. Normal people don’t See things. I’d thought that being a seer was a burden, but tonight it had saved my life. And it had saved someone else’s life. Luckily I’d retained those powers even after I’d turned. And who was I to question it? The only kind of luck I’d ever had was bad luck. I wouldn’t start asking questions now.

“None of them can be more than a hundred,” Victoria said.

Victoria walked over to one of the bodies, crouching by its blackened remains. Her blonde, almost white, pixie hair spiked out in varying directions. My head felt thick; I hadn’t even noticed her leaning against a wall, quietly observing. “They’re newly made vampires. I’m sure of it. This one isn’t even wearing bloodstone.”

“Victoria is right,” Arie said. “If he was old enough to know better, he’d be wearing bloodstone. No doubt the irresponsible fuck who made him didn’t bother to explain it, and he must have been turned recently if he’s not wearing one.”

Julian shifted from one foot to the other. It seemed like he wanted to be anywhere else. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him. I didn’t even want to be there. And this had nothing to do with him or his missing cousin. I looked around, but the waitress whom I knew without a doubt was responsible for the death and destruction wasn’t there. Not that I really expected her to be. I knew she’d be long gone by now if she knew what was good for her.

The elevator chimed, breaking the stillness of the bar, and the doors swung open. Tessa walked through them, her spike heels clicking across the black marble. She stopped short, her mouth pursing together at the scorched scene that unfolded in front of her.

“Good God, what’s with the barbecue?” Tessa asked, gesturing toward the three remaining corpses. “Could someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?”

The bouncers had been clearing the bar, and the waitresses had started to clean up the broken glass and blood. Donors were serving the wounded, who were mending with each minute that passed.

“Well?” Tessa said, her impatience clear. “Someone start talking.”

Arie coughed. “Holly told me not to drink the Puncture. I think she had a vision right before it happened. Then they started bursting into flames left and right.”

“The young ones didn’t make it,” Victoria said.

Tessa walked over to the bodies, quiet fury etching her face. “I want to know who’s responsible for this. I want whoever did this with their head on a pike.”

“I’ll get right on it,” Victoria said with conviction in her voice.

I had a feeling that Victoria was deadly serious. And I imagined that Tessa was old enough that she would know what a staked head looked like from firsthand knowledge.

“It was the waitress who served our drinks,” I said. “I’ve never seen her before tonight. I imagine she’s fae. She had a blue trail behind her that reminded me of the silver trail that flows behind Luna. I saw her break into Tessa’s office, use a key that she keeps in the pottery, and steal money from her desk. She paid a fire faerie for whatever she put in the Puncture that did this.” I waved toward the all the damage and the injured vampires that sat at the bar. “She met with him here.”

“Naida. She’s a water nymph. I just hired her three days ago. She said she moved here from Oregon,” Victoria said. “And I believed her.”

She pursed her pale pink lips, looking toward the bodies—guilt outlining her delicate porcelain features. Her guilt quickly diminished, only to be followed by a resolute stance. I imagined she’d shred the waitress limb from limb if she got a hold of her before Arie or I were able to find her. “I should have checked her background more thoroughly, but I’m going to make her pay for what she’s done.”

How could Victoria be so impulsive? I’d always known her to be controlled in everything she did. If you could condemn someone to a death sentence, wouldn’t a small part of you die right along with them? I imagined once she had a chance to calm down she would be more composed. But the way she was talking, I imagined the water sprite would be paying for what she’d done with her life.

Arie sighed. He seemed to have noticed her shift in mood too. “It’s not your fault. None of us saw this coming.”

Victoria was a seer, like me. The burned bodies seemed to trigger something in her, but I didn’t know what. She kept looking over at them. It was almost imperceptible, but I could have sworn that I saw her shiver, as if the act of burning a person were an atrocity that held some deep-rooted and personal fear. Victoria carried so much weight, though I hardly understood why.

“Except me, but I couldn’t even stop it in time. You can’t blame yourself,” I said, chiming in. “Arie’s right. There’s not much any of us could have done to prevent this.”

Victoria had been the one person I’d been dying to see tonight. I hated to see her reproach herself over something so completely out of her control.

“It doesn’t matter. We know who did this,” Victoria said. “And I’m going to kill him.”

“You think Luna’s father is behind it?” Tessa asked, almost rhetorically.

“It’s the logical explanation. Luna’s father found out that she made a deal with you and started pressuring her to work for him again. Luna was upset. You gave her a few days off, and then suddenly Naida applies for a job.” Victoria shook her head. “I should have pressed Naida harder when I interviewed her. It’s the only thing that makes any sense.”

Arie wrapped an arm around my shoulder and I leaned into his protective embrace. “This is going to start another war.”

I couldn’t stand the resignation in his voice.

“Look, I’m going to take off. If there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to call me,” Julian said. “Let me know if my cousin turns up.”

Julian and Arie exchanged glances across the destruction of the bar. That one look communicated more than words ever could.

After everything that had happened, I couldn’t blame Julian for wanting to get out of there as fast as he could. The place reeked of burnt vampire, and everyone was on edge. This wasn’t his fight. It was our fight, and I pitied anyone that got in the way. The murderous looks on both Victoria and Tessa’s faces were enough to scare the shit out of anyone. I had a feeling that when Tessa got a hold of Naida that she’d end up in her ‘interrogation room’ upstairs, and there wouldn’t be very much left of her once she and Victoria got done. I shivered, and Arie wrapped his arm around me even tighter.

Julian gave a curt nod. “Yeah, I’ll call you. And if you need anything…”

Arie nodded before Julian exited onto the elevator. Everyone stood in silence. Some of the older vampires who’d drunk the poisoned Puncture, but hadn’t been burnt to a crisp, were listening to our discussion about the attack. I imagined they’d want to deliver retribution as well. Another donor had extended his arm to one of them, generously coming to her aide.

The wounded, the dead, and everything that had happened, sickened me. I’d managed to save one life, but if only I had a better comprehension of my magic, then maybe I could have saved more.

Tessa broke the silence. “We should pay Luna a visit. Show her the picture from Naida’s employment file, and see if she recognizes her. If Naida worked for her father, she’d probably know about it.” She walked around the bar, pouring herself a shot of Cuervo. “Besides, someone needs to check in on her for her own safety. Her family doesn’t exactly value it, and we’re as close to family as she’s got.” She threw back the shot in one swallow.

If there’s one thing I’d learned about Arie’s friends, it was that I could count on their fierce loyalty.

“She spent the night at my place last night. She was really upset, so I told her she could stay with me,” Victoria said. “I didn’t think she should be alone. She was talking all sorts of crazy shit. That she should have done what her half-sister did—run off and save everyone the trouble.”

Her voice was as pragmatic as ever, and it didn’t seem to register anything other than concern for a friend. It baffled me that for someone as astute as Victoria was, she had no idea that Luna had feelings for her. But Victoria didn’t show attraction toward anyone, and even held Arie, her maker, at a safe distance. She was always loyal but didn’t usually get emotional. Tonight was an exception, but given the circumstances, I could understand why.

“Okay, let’s do this,” Tessa said.

“Let me just grab Naida’s file and we can go.” With a nod, Victoria turned on her heel and headed in the direction of Tessa’s office on the third floor.

Arie started pacing back and forth as we waited for Victoria to return. She’d been gone almost ten minutes and we were all quiet as we thought through all the implications. Arie stopped pacing in front of the last crispy body in front of the bar as two of Tessa’s guards came back to take care of the last reminder of the night’s attack.

“What difference does it matter if Luna confirms that Naida works for her father?” Arie asked. “The better question to ask is what the hell was in the Puncture? It managed to nuke the newly turned vampires. This is something new, something we haven’t faced before, and we need to figure out what we’re dealing with.”