IM02 - Hunters & Prey (10 page)

Lysander frowned. “Alyssa, our laws are put in place to keep our kind protected. We have to—”

“We can trust her,” I pleaded, grabbing ahold of his shoulders and gazing deep into his eyes. I’d never forgive them if they killed her. I had to find some way to smooth things over. I wanted him to let her go. I willed him to feel the fear I felt for her, sending out all my mental anguish in a wave toward him. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t end her life because I broke a rule.

Fallon took advantage of the momentary silence. I saw the flash of her shadow as she sprinted toward the door. Nicholas made quick work of preventing her escape. In a superhuman blur, he caught her by the door and took hold of her wrists.

She struggled against his grip. “Damn it! Ouch … you’re hurting me. Let me go.” Leaning as far away as she could manage, she turned her pleading eyes to me. “Alyssa … help.”

“Nicholas, stop,” I yelled as I saw him twist her around and wrench her arm up behind her back.

He walked her back to Lysander, ignoring her whimpers of protest. “Don’t take that tone with me,” he growled at me. “You do not command me, little one. Lysander has made up his mind, and we will follow his orders.”

I turned back to Lysander. “Please, don’t do this.” Tears formed in my eyes making it hard to see, casting the room in a blood-red haze. I wiped at my face, seeing the tinged traces of bloody tears staining my pale skin. “You can’t do this to her. She’s the only reason I’m alive. She helped me escape from Santino.”

“Alyssa, this is for the best. You will understand this in time.” Lysander’s voice was soft, but hardly reassuring. “If it will make you feel better, you can be the one to do it.”

“What?” Both Fallon and I shrieked at the same moment.

“I will allow you to turn her,” Lysander answered. “I cannot let her remain mortal.”

I breathed a momentary sigh of relief.
Oh, thank god he doesn’t want me to kill her.

“Hey. Don’t I get a say in this? I don’t want to be one of you,” Fallon said, still struggling to fight against Nicholas’s grip. She was no match for his strength though. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against his body.

“It’s better than the alternative,” Nicholas spoke into her ear. A wicked sneer covered his face.

Lysander’s head cocked to the side, he arched an eyebrow at her. “Miss Fallon,” he said reaching out to take her hand and pulled her toward him. “Please understand this is for the best.” He covered her hand with his—a gesture I assumed was meant to be comforting. “Think of this as a gift.”

The effect was lost on Fallon. There was no relief in her eyes. She stood stiff as a board, biting her bottom lip. The thundering drumbeat of her heart gave away her fear, even though she tried to hide it with a blank stare.

“Please, it’s not that I don’t appreciate what you offer, I just don’t want it.”

Lysander was silent for a moment. His lips pinched together and his nostrils flared as he breathed. “We cannot allow our secret out.” His low, controlled tone sent a shiver down my spine. “The Saints are just one group among many who wish to see our kind and others of the supernatural world destroyed. Secrecy is our first line of defense.”

Fallon’s eyes glossed with tears, she lowered her head and focused on the floor. My heart ached. She looked so defeated.

Lysander guided her in front of me. “Since you trust Alyssa, I will let her be the one to take your blood. You can rest assured she will not kill you. I hope that will be of some comfort to you.”

Fallon’s body shook, trembling with fear. The intoxicating scent of it would have normally sent me into a ravenous frenzy, but not this time. I did not want to taste her blood. I did not want to do anything to harm her. Guilt churned in the pit of my stomach.

“I should have never gone to you. I should have never told you what happened. I’m so sorry, Fallon.”

She whimpered, still looking at the ground.

“Please forgive me. Say something.”

She looked up. Tears were streaming from her puffy eyes. “Will it hurt?” Fallon sniffled. She was a wreck, but trying to be brave.

What do I tell her? Yeah, this is going to hurt, quite a bit actually. She’s already a mess.

I remembered back to the excruciating pain I had felt as the blood—the liquid fire Lysander had fed me—rushed through my veins: the head splitting ache of my skull as my jaw shifted to accommodate my new teeth, and the sharp stabbing pains as my internal organs died off. I winced at the memory of that pain.

I chose my words carefully. “I’ll do my best not to hurt you.”

She gasped, probably realizing the hidden meaning behind my half-truth.

I took a deep breath and held out my arms to embrace her. “Come closer, please.”

Part of me waited with anticipation for the hot rush of blood once I opened her vein. Instincts are hard to quiet; however, a larger part of me felt pure sympathy for her. I knew how hard this was for Fallon. The uncertainly, the fear, the anticipation. My psychic abilities, though very limited, allowed me feel the swarm of emotions tearing through her. She put on a brave face. Her eyes, though glassy, were stubbornly locked on mine.

“Just be calm and relax,” I whispered, calling forth the strength inside me. I matched her stare, sending a wave of calm toward her, willing her to be still, numb, and accepting. “This will all be over soon.”

Taking her neck into my left hand, I leaned in, my mouth salivating in anticipation.

A small, almost unrecognizable sound rang through my head. A voice. High pitched, yet sounding as if it were a great distance away. I hesitated for a moment.

Alyssa, please don’t do this to me
, the voice said.

It was Fallon, but she wasn’t speaking. I was hearing her thoughts. I had never been able to hear another’s inner monologue before. As a young vampire, I had yet to develop that ability as the other, ancients had. She must have been screaming the words in her head. I closed my eyes and silenced my mind, trying to listen again.

Please don’t, please. Alyssa, please let me go.

My stomach sank, a new rush of guilt made me feel queasy.

I can’t do this to her.

I released my hold on Fallon and turned around, looking imploringly at Lysander.

“It will not be as bad as you fear, Miss Fallon,” Lysander said. I had no doubt he could hear her frantic thoughts.

“I don’t want this. I don’t want to be like you,” she blurted between sobs. “I don’t want to drink blood. I like the sun. I want to grow old. Have children. And not have to hide from my friends.”

“Please reconsider, Lysander. You can trust her to keep our secret,” I begged. “I can’t do this to her if she doesn’t want it.”

Nicholas stepped in. He wrapped an arm around her preventing her from flailing. Taking hold of Fallon’s head, he bent it sideways, exposing her jugular. “This shouldn’t be that complicated. Be happy you are being given the option to live. In my time there was no such choice.” He opened his mouth wide, fangs bared to strike.

“I don’t want this,” she whimpered.

“Nicholas, stop,” Lysander commanded.

Nicholas let out a growl of disappointment and raised his head.

Lysander turned to me.

Please let her go
, I silently begged as I locked eyes with Lysander.
We can trust her. I would bet my life on it.

His stern look softened as he stared into my pleading eyes. He glanced back at Fallon, then to Nicholas, and back again to me. “This goes against my better judgment, but I will let her remain human.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Nicholas let Fallon go with a slight push, causing her to stumble a few steps. He glared menacingly at Lysander but did not speak his protest.

“Don’t make me regret this decision, Miss Fallon,” Lysander said. “I’ll kill you myself if you cause us trouble.” He stared straight into Fallon’s eyes as he made his warning. “There will not be another offer for immortality. Do you understand?”

I knew this look, and I knew the tone in his voice well enough to know Lysander was as serious as death.

Fallon nodded quickly, and wiped her eyes with her hands. “Thank you,” she squeaked. “I won’t cause any problems. I promise. I’ll never even utter the word ‘vampire’ again.”

I reached out to Fallon. “Sorry about all of this.”

She refused to look at me. She wiped her eyes once more, then turned quickly and rushed out of the door.

“Fallon,” I yelled after her, but she did not answer. The door slammed shut behind her with a loud
bang
.

Nicholas caught me by the arm. “You too, should be held accountable for Fallon’s actions,” he said. “If she lets the word out about us, it will be your fault. You could have just turned her.”

“She’s my friend, Nicholas.” I snapped at him and pulled my arm from his grasp. “I couldn’t hurt her.”

“She
was
your friend. I doubt she is anymore,” he said coldly.

“You know, you’re an asshole.”

“Someone has to be. This isn’t a fairytale.”

“That’s enough, you two,” Lysander interrupted. “We have other business to deal with. The rest of the clan should be here soon. We will stay in this casino today and we will all…” he gave me a cold stare, “leave together tomorrow evening.”

Nicholas pivoted on his heel and walked to the door. “I’ll be at the poker tables to pass some time. Come find me if you need me.”

Lysander grabbed me by my shoulder, stopping me before I too walked out of the room.

“Know this, Alyssa… you may be my treasure, but I will hold you accountable if anything happens.” His eyes bore into me with an icy harshness.

“What?”

“We cannot let our secret out. Our secret is our protection. I cannot risk more of our kind for one human.”

“You’re starting to sound like Kallisto.” I twisted out of his grasp.

He winced at the mention of her name. “If I were anything like Kallisto, your friend would be dead now.” His hands balled to fists. “There is a lot more to leading a clan than just getting your way. I have others to consider, not just you or myself. I would be selfish to risk the lives of my clan mates over one person who could have been turned.” His words were cold and unfeeling, his upper lip curled into a sneer as he spoke, revealing his fangs.

“She didn’t want this, and I don’t blame her.” I matched his hard stare. “Given the choice, I wouldn’t have either.”

Lysander’s jaw clenched. His hand reached out and twisted the door knob, yanking the door open. “She had better not betray us,” he said as he walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

I stood there for a few moments, in silence. I didn’t want Lysander to be angry with me, and I didn’t want to lose my best friend.

“I’m so sorry,” I said to the empty room as I slid down the wall, to the floor. “I’ve really fucked things up this time.”

CHAPTER 7

*****

S
ulking wasn’t going to do me any good, nor was going stir crazy in the empty hotel room. I needed to try to fix what little I could, starting with finding Fallon.

I wandered through the casino amid the constant ear-splitting chimes of slot machines ringing out all around me. Even in the late hours of early morning, people sat glued to the machines, hoping to win their fortune. Various colored lights flashed on my left, followed by the tinkle of coins. A man let out a triumphant cheer.

Someone must have won a big jackpot,
I mused.

I weaved my way through the table games, stopping briefly in the Poker Room. Nicholas and Rozaline were inside, seated side by side at a crowded table. Both of them had chip stacks almost double those of the rest of the ten players at the table.

I watched for a moment as Nicholas laid his cards out on the table with a smile. His pair of eights held up over another player’s busted straight draw. After looking at the cards, I could tell Nicholas had been using his mental abilities to force his opponent to keep betting even after he had no chance of winning.

Rozaline spotted me and beamed a smile. She indicated the spot at the table where the man Nicholas had just busted was leaving.

Vampires don’t have regular jobs. We make our money in whatever way we can. Being a Vegas native, I was already well versed in the game of Texas Hold’em. And being a vampire, with the ability to mentally influence the other players, made the game so much more fun. That handy little ability made sure I would never have to worry about money again.

Under normal circumstances, I’d have joined them, but I still wanted to look for Fallon. I mouthed the word “Later” and continued on, searching the casino.

In the back of my mind, I doubted I’d find Fallon. Knowing her, she was probably driving, pedal to the floor, down the 95 freeway in an effort to put as much distance as she could between us. I would have, if I’d been in her shoes. I hoped, at the very least, if I couldn’t find her, that she’d try to contact me in a few days, after she calmed down.