Legacy (Endlessly Book 2) (4 page)

“I doubt it would affect anyone, even if it were consumed,” said Verloren. “We’ve bitten each other.” Verloren looked at me. “Frequently.”

The tingling in my cheeks was painful. I turned from the others and let my hair fall over my face to cover my embarrassment. Jason snickered. Everyone there knew vampires drink from each other during sex, but I didn’t want to dwell on it, especially with a pervert like Jason.

“I know,” said Hania. “I’ve seen it
in her mind. The two of you have an extremely tight mental connection, like none I’ve ever seen. It’s unbreakable.”

“What about Pedro’s friend?” Verloren asked. “He ate the virus.”

Hania was giving me a chance to confess. “It did create a link,” I whispered to Verloren.

Jason eyed me as I spoke.

Verloren’s expression grew quizzical. “Why didn’t you tell me, love?”

“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” I told him. “It just made access easier. I didn’t want you to worry. It wasn’t anything like what we have.”

“That’s because of the intensity of your love,” Hania told us.

Jaso
n searched my eyes before looking at the creatures in the cell. His wall cracked. His curiosity was getting the best of him.

“No
, Jason,” I said.

“What?” he protested. “Tell me that you’re not the least bit curious.”

The other three watched our silent argument.

I turned to them. “He wants to see the whole process from start to finish.”

A menacing smile crossed Jason‘s face. “You guys can’t tell me you don’t want to see it all in action. Bring in a human, let her eat. See how long it takes for the zombie to show up. I‘ll clean up the mess.” He reached into his hoodie and pulled out a large gun. “But first, we need to get rid of these stinky assholes.”

What about the connection?
I asked Jason.

He ignored me. Was I the only one concerned about a connection between Jason and myself? Jason pulled the trigger twice. The shots echoed
.

4
powerful weapon

I stood outside the next morning, watching Jason and Lex from a distance. They shoveled muddy earth over the rancid bodies. Jason flirted relentlessly. I chuckled at his clumsy attempts to impress her. An icy wind raced through the forest. I shivered as the cold seeped through my trench coat. I was about to head back to the underground house when someone grabbed me from behind. My heart jumped.

“What are you doing out here all by yourself?” Verloren whispered. “Don’t you know there are monsters in these woods?”

“Really?” I breathed. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

H
e pushed hair away from my neck and I felt his breath. “I don’t know,” he purred, “but they should have warned you. These monsters bite.” He bit me just below my ear.

I screamed and started laughing hysterically. Jason and Lex glanced at me. I stifled
my laughter. Once they saw we were horsing around they ignored us.

Verloren licked the already healed wound. He kissed a
spot under my jaw and whispered: “So what are you doing out here in the cold?”

My breathing halted at his touch. “Lex was showing me around, but now I’m watching Jason mack on Lex.”

Verloren looked at the couple. “Jason’s always after the girls.”

“So I’ve noticed.”

When Jason stopped babbling Lex walked over to us dragging her shovel. Jason nearly fell over himself trying to catch up with her. When he got close he offered to carry her muddy tool. She handed it to him, and he fell a few steps behind. He wanted to check out her butt.

Pervert,
I thought, chuckling.

Jason heard me and broke into a devilish smile. As they stopped in front of us his thoughts grew more descriptive, but Lex broke the spell, turning away from him to talk to us.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said. “I wanted to introduce you guys to Sarah.”

I wondered if that name would always chill me. As it was, Lex noticed my shiver. “Don’t worry,” she said. “This Sarah is much nicer than the fairy.”

We followed Lex back to the house where she introduced us to Sarah. As soon as that was done, Lex and Jason disappeared.

Sarah Rhodes was a thin girl around my h
eight. She had light green eyes and her looks were those of a woman in her mid-twenties. She was quiet and her smile never quite touched her eyes. Her straight, natural hair fell a few inches past her shoulders, making me envious.

Coloring my bone-white hair bothered me. I only did it to disguise myself after my transformation. Now I was growing it out again, a process that went more quickly now that I was no longer human. Already I had an inch of roots showing. I was starting to look like a skunk.

Sarah sat on a sofa beside the angel, Fabi. Both girls had their minds closed. Sarah’s mental wall was there by choice, but Fabi’s mind was closed forever. I would never see her thoughts. Despite this inaccessibility I liked Fabi. She made me calm, even when I was meeting her for the first time. We four were the only ones in the lounge area, which was quiet except for the television.

Verloren leaned back into the sofa opposite the other two. I lay with my head on his chest listening to his heartbeat. I liked the way his voice rumbled in his chest. I was drifting in and out of a sleep inspired by Fabi.

Verloren wasn’t thrilled with the presence of the angel. He knew she would be unhappy with our diets. As he talked to Sarah about finding me a meal, I watched Fabi grimace. The thought of taking human lives upset her. Her feelings went no further than her face. When I tried to read her, she was a complete blank. There were no cracks in her wall.

Sarah and Verloren talked about the zombies openly. Everyone living here knew about them, so there was no need for secrecy.

“You don’t normally feed on the whole human?” Verloren asked Sarah.

Fabi closed her eyes, turned to the television, and pretended to be engrossed in the program.

“No,” Sarah said to Verloren. “We tend to have more regard for humans at this site.”

“What about Cory? You said he’s a werewolf. Doesn’t he have to fuel his shift?” Verloren asked, running his fingers through my hair.

“He comes and goes,” Sarah replied. “If he feeds, it’s not when he’s here. I mainly eat through the donors now. We had a larger gathering yesterday because you two were showing up. More mouths to feed, you know?” She pursed her lips.

“Jason
won’t be happy if he can’t feed,” Verloren said.

“He’ll have to leave to do it, and he better not let Fabi know. She’ll give him hell.”

I saw a smile twitch on Fabi’s lips. Though her eyes were on the TV, she overheard every word.

I wrapped my arm around Verloren’s chest. His gun and holster were missing.
You’re not wearing your gun?

Anything for you.
He pressed his lips to my forehead.

I looked at Sarah. “You said that’s how you feed here
now
,” I told her. “How long have you been here?”

She flinched
and I sensed pain.

“I was abducted five years ago from a city to
the north of here, Port Angeles,” she said with a touch of sadness. “I was brought in as a… meal… and Kale—” she paled when she said his name “—he turned me… kept me as one of his lovers. He always had a few girls around. He would get bored with a girl after a while and kill her, so he always needed new ones.” Her lip quivered. “I must have done something right for him to keep me around so long.”

I’m sorry,
I told her.
Kale hurt a lot of people.

She composed herself and looked at us. “Including the both of you, from what I’ve heard.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why don’t you leave? Hasn’t it been torture to stay here?”

She looked at Fabi, then glanced around the room. “I can’t go back to my real family.” Her voice broke. “I would rather have my children think I’m dead than to know their mommy is a monster.” She touched a small locket at her throat.

Her eyebrows squeezed together. She squinted and her eyes glazed over as her mental wall slipped. I felt the aching hurt so visible in her eyes. She wanted to cry but for Sarah the tears would never come. It’s heart-wrenching to see a vampire cry. All the agony is there, but never any tears. Sarah stifled a sob and patted the locket.

Finally she spoke:
“I still hope someday, what you two have, will stumble through that door. Then I can watch my children grow up from a distance.”

We fell silent, with nothing but the drone of the television
in the background. I knew children were at the core of strong family bonds. I’d never been family-oriented. My independence had always been a disappointment to my parents and siblings. I’d never wanted children and once I’d come of age I’d left home for good. My contacts with my family were few. I had no idea if they even knew I was missing.

Sarah interrupted my thoughts. “Most of the guards left after they heard the news about what you did. So did most of the girls Kale kept here. Now that he’s dead, I feel that he owes me for everything he took from me. This place is a start.

“I’ll leave here in the next hour and I’ll be taking Cory with me to Seattle. It might be morning before I get back. Takes a while to find scumbags.” Her eyes flickered to Fabi again.

“Just the way she likes it.” Verloren stroked my hair again.

Fabi looked at me puzzled. “The way you like it?”

I started out of my sleepy state. “I don’t like to take an innocent life,” I replied automatically.

“A vampire with a conscience,” Fabi said, staring at me. “You all seem to think you’re doing the world a favor by cleaning it up. But your victims are still alive. Doesn’t that bother you?”

Verloren wasn’t the only one that didn’t want the angel here. When he glanced at Sarah it was cl
ear she was uncomfortable too. Fabi turned back to the television. Verloren’s jaw muscles tightened as he looked at her. I heard him sigh.

Don’t let her get to you, love,
he told me silently.

What do you mean?

Fight those thoughts from her. I hate seeing you get caught up in all that. It worries me.

Why? It’s really relaxing. I don’t ever get to feel this comfortable around people I don’t know.
I shut my eyes.

If you can’t fight her, you might not be able to fight off the demon
, he told me
.

My eyes shot open. I sat up and looked at him. Sarah and Fabi noticed.

There you go,
he told me.
Do you see how you shoved her out quickly? It’s like dropping something hot. You have to be that quick. It only takes a second for them to get a hold on you. Then they’ll make it feel as though you are making the decisions, that everything is your choice and nothing is amiss. You should practice with her around. It isn’t as noticeable with the demon. It‘s more subtle. A small thought here and there to infiltrate. An angel will slam you with it all at once.

Where is Jesse?
I asked him.

Don’t know. I guess wherever everyone else is.

Lex and Jenny came in from the hallway. Their swimsuits were dripping and both were bouncy and smiling.

I noticed
a large floral tattoo down Jenny’s leg when she asked: “Ashley, do you have a swimsuit?”

“No, why?”

“Come on,” Lex waved me toward the apartments.

When I looked at Verloren, Jenny said: “Oh leave him. Girls only. Fabi and Sarah
, you should come too.”

Sarah and Fabi both made excuses.

I glanced at Verloren again. He smiled, kissed me softly, and I heard his breathing catch. I followed them down the hallway to Jenny’s apartment.

S
he dug through her dresser and turned to me, saying: “Here we go.” She held two small pieces of black material with strings attached. “It ties on the hips so it’s completely adjustable for size.”

“No way,” I said. “I’m not wearing that. It won’t cover anything.”

“Oh come on,” Jenny begged. “You’re gonna be happy when you get down to the pool. Remember we promised no boys allowed, so no one’s gonna see you. I have a surprise for you and I don’t know how much longer I can hide it.”

Grumbling, I took the scraps of material into her bathroom. I adjusted and readjusted the ties, making sure they were tight and double-knotted. I didn’t want to chance a sudden spillage of flesh. The bottom was slung too low for my tail, so I couldn’t pull it to the right position. The top seemed too small. I felt as if body parts were about to fall out of it. Did they actually expect me to swim in this thing? I looked for a towel to cover myself but there were none. As I opened the door I tried to cover myself with my wings.

Both girls shouted catcalls and speculated about why Verloren couldn’t keep his hands off me. Finally they dragged me out into the hallway where I saw Verloren walking to our apartment.

“You see what they’re doing to me?” I said.

He grinned. “Yeah, and I like it… a lot.”

“You would.”

They forced me down the steps toward the gym where the unmistakable squeak of tennis shoes, along with male yells and rhythmic bouncing, announced basketball.

I stopped short. “No way. You said no boys.”

“There aren’t any boys,” Lex said.

“Then what is that?” I asked, pointing toward the sounds.

“They’re playing basketball. They’re not in the pool.”

“But I have to walk through there and I don’t have a towel.”

“They won’t see. We’ll run.”

“Sure, and give them the opening credits to
Baywatch
. With this top they’ll get what they always wanted.”

Both girls laughed
and I heard Verloren chuckling somewhere up above us. He came down the stairs beaming. I moaned as I felt heat melting my insides.

“No boys!” Jenny reminded him.

Verloren growled at her.

“You should be more worried about Jenny,” Lex mumbled.

I looked at Lex stupidly.

Jenny smacked Lex on the arm.
“Great. Now she’ll know I’m gay and she’ll be weirded out.”

“I didn’t tell her,” said Lex. “You just did.” Lex saw Verloren and said: “We’ll give her back in a bit.” She pulled me. “Come on. They’re too busy talking shit to pay attention.”

“I’m not weirded out,” I whispered to Jenny.

“Good. No offens
e, but I like my girls with a tan.”

They pulled me across the wooden floor where Jason, Josh, Cory
, and the demon were playing. I groaned and followed Lex. The game stopped. Everything was quiet except the boys’ minds. Jason’s thoughts were the loudest and the most vulgar, but it was only a matter of degree. “You guys are fucking perverts!” I shouted, hurrying toward the door.

Jason’s laughs echoed off the high ceiling. “She c
ompletely fucking heard that,” he shouted.