Replica (The Blood Borne Series Book 2) (36 page)

“My welcome committee,” the woman said.

That surprised me. From what little I knew, vampires and werewolves usually hated each other.

They do. They are pets
.

Since these weren’t genuine werewolves, it made sense that a vampire would use them to do her dirty work.

“You’re with Stravinsky?” I asked. “You’ve come to retrieve us?”

“We’ve come for you, but we are no friends of Stravinsky.” She stepped out of the darkness as if appearing out of thin air, and a group of six people trailed behind her. She was gorgeous with long, flowing dark hair and pale skin that reflected the light of the full moon. She wore tight black pants and a long-sleeved black shirt that dipped low enough in the front to leave little to the imagination about the size of her breasts.

The group behind her was similarly dressed—three women and three men—although there was absolutely no doubt of who was in charge.

The leader turned her head toward Antonio. “Cazador, I’ve been looking forward to this day.”

A low snarl released from his throat as his grip tightened on his blade, his gun now in his other hand.

She gave him the sort of smile a mother gives a demanding toddler—a look of forced patience and false humor. “Is that any way to greet your queen?”

“You are not my queen, Elena.” He spat, sending a glob of spittle down in front of her feet.

She bared her teeth and hissed, the sound sending shivers down my spine.

The little girl clung to my leg again, releasing tiny whimpers.

Get your ass up, Lea
.

Her lack of a response sent a new wave of panic through me.

Elena swung her gaze to me so sharply, I expected her to have whiplash. “It is true.”

I froze, then forced myself to say, “That Stravinsky is creating monsters? Yes. The evidence is behind us.”

“Yes. They are being dealt with.” She flicked her wrist and gunshots filled the night, accompanied by screams and the cry of the bird creatures.

“You’re killing them?” I asked in dismay.

She looked bored with my question, but she took several steps toward me. “Do you not destroy canines with rabies?” She flicked a glance toward Ivan and grinned. “Do you have rabies,
dog
?”

“Rot in hell,” he snarled.

Her smile widened as she turned her attention back to me. “You are a curious creature. You show no fear toward me.”

“Should I be afraid of you?”

Her brow lifted into a smirk. “Oh, Lea. You have chosen well with this one.”

I snuck a glance at Lea, more worried than before. She wasn’t speaking in my head.

“She’s dying,” Elena said.

“We gave her the antidote.”

“It’s not working.” Elena gave me a pretend pout, then moved behind me, circling to stand behind Lea. “It’s for humans. Not vampires.”

I sucked in a breath, overwhelmed with panic. I snuck a glance to Ivan, who looked like he wanted to rip someone else’s head off.

“Who are you?” I asked. Both Antonio and Ivan seemed to recognize her, and she had called herself queen.

“Yes, my dear. I am Queen Elena. I have ruled the vampires for two hundred years, and you and I have a common enemy.”

“Stravinsky?” I asked. “Why would I believe that? The werewolves you sicced on us were his creation, weren’t they?”

Her gaze held mine. “We held similar goals once,” she said, her voice soft and alluring. I could feel myself wanting to please her.

“Don’t look her in the eye, Rachel,” Antonio shouted.

I cast my eyes down, feeling like an idiot. That was Vampire 101. “Can you save her?”

She laughed. “There is protocol to follow here. I am royalty.”

“Fuck your protocol. Can you save her?”

“Yes,” she said in a satisfied tone. “I can save her.”

I shook my head. “What is the price?” I cast a glance at her, then quickly looked away. “Because I know how the world works, and there’s always a price.”

She moved next to me, trailing the backs of her fingertips down my cheek and my neck, sending a shiver all the way to the base of my spine.

The little girl started to cry.

“You will not feed from her!” Antonio shouted. A scuffle broke out, and it sounded like Ivan was holding him back.

Elena looked amused. “I will do as I please,” she said. “But she will give me her permission.”

“Will you kill me?” I asked, trying not to show my fear. “Or turn me?” I’d drank from Lea recently, which made me wonder if it was a possibility.

She leaned in to sniff my skin, running her nose up my neck until it reached my ear. “No,” she whispered. “I will let Lea have that honor.”

“And if she’s dead?” I whispered back.

“We shall see if she dies.”

“So you’ll save her if I let you take my blood? How do I know you even can?”

She glided over to Ivan and looked up into his face, trailing her hand down his chest. He looked to the side, evading her gaze. “You know I can save her, don’t you, dog?”

“Yes.”

I gasped in surprise. I figured she had been playing mind games.

She gave Ivan’s chest one last stroke, then turned her attention back to me. “I know you distrust me, so as a sign of good faith, I will give her my blood first. I will drink from you when she begins to revive. You will let me.” She flicked her finger toward Antonio. “And he will watch.”

“The hell I will,” he growled.

I steeled my back. “Then do it. Save her.”

“What else do you want?” Ivan asked. “There has to be more. You could force yourself on her and let Lea die.”

“Aren’t you a cunning wolf?” She moved in front of me. “There is one little thing, an errand of sorts.”

“What kind of errand?”

“I need you to retrieve the Book of Life.”

“Excuse me?”

Antonio swore in Spanish and Elena smiled. “Yes, you are correct. She is the one.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, certain this had to do with Antonio and Lea’s earlier conversation about me.

“You, my dear, are the one who’s fated to find the Book of Life. Once you promise to retrieve it and deliver it to me, I will heal Lea, then you and I will drink from one another to seal the covenant.”

“I’m not drinking from you.”

“Then Lea dies.”

“Don’t do it, Rachel!” Antonio shouted. “You’re selling your soul!”

“Lies,” Elena sneered. “Ask the dog.”

I looked at Ivan. He cast a glance at Lea, then back up at me, pleading.

“Ivan. Will she own my soul?”

He shook his head. “No. But she will own you until you complete her task.”

“How hard will it be to find this book?”

“People have searched for centuries and never found it.”

“A piece of cake,” I said, looking down at Lea.
Shit
.

“She wouldn’t want you to do it, Rachel,” Antonio pleaded. “She would never ask this of you.”

I lifted my gaze to meet Ivan’s. His shoulders were tense and his voice shook as he said, “He’s right. She would never ask this of you.”

No, she would never ask, because that wasn’t her style. She didn’t ask for help. She was so freaking sure she could do everything on her own. That she didn’t need anyone or anything. Calvin had broken her, but she had begun to revive, like a Phoenix in the ashes.

And I couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when she found out she needed someone after all.

“Do you have any clues at all about where to find this book?”

“Yes,” Elena said, “contrary to the wolf’s dire prediction, we have excellent clues.”

“So why not retrieve it yourself?”

“It needs to be a human. A special human like you.”

“Why?”

“Legend says it can only be retrieved during the brightest part of the day.”

“Can’t a minion do it?”

She gave a slow shrug. “I have my reasons for asking you.” She cocked her head to the side, looking lost in thought. “Your window to save her is quickly closing. I need your answer now.”

“Yes,” I said without hesitation.

Her smile spread wide. “Excellent.”

“Rachel! No!” Antonio shouted.

But Elena had already dropped down next to Lea, quicker than I could see with my naked eye, and was holding her wrist over my friend’s parted mouth. A thin ribbon of blood flowed down, rolling over Lea’s lower lip and filling her mouth. Lea’s body jerked, then twitched as Elena stood and gave me a smile that made my heart stutter.

“
Sangre de la bruja
, you are mine.”

LEA

Elena’s words echoed in my head, and her blood sang in my veins as I came around, vaguely aware that Elena and Rachel were exchanging blood.

Sangre de la Bruja.

Blood of the Witch.

I jerked to my feet, my limbs as sloppy and uncoordinated as if they’d been dislocated repeatedly. Elena laughed softly as she delicately wiped the corners of her mouth.

“Oh, how I wish I’d met you years ago, when Peter first turned you from the light. You could be queen one day, Lea. You have the strength for it.”

“Fuck you.” I spat the words at her, along with what was left of her blood in my mouth. Her eyes tightened at the edges as the vampires behind her shifted back a few steps. She raised a hand.

“I would no sooner break a prized broodmare than destroy her now. There is too much left for her to accomplish before she bows before me. But to be sure—” She bent and scooped up the girl hiding behind Rachel’s legs.

“No!” Rachel lifted her gun and pulled the trigger in a single motion. One of the other vamps shot forward and took the bullet for his queen, right in the head.

Rachel’s thoughts mirrored mine.
No fucking way.

The little girl wrapped her arms around Elena’s neck as the vampire queen cooed softly to her. “She will not be harmed. But if you don’t come to me soon enough, she will make a lovely meal for Timothy.” She paused in stroking the girl’s hair, her eyes locking with mine. “Timothy created Caine. They have...similar tastes.”

I took a wobbling step forward. Caine. The monster I’d killed in New York who liked his victims young and terrified.
Madre de Dios
, I could not let this happen.

“We’ll do it. We’ll get her back,” Rachel said, iron in her voice. Iron enough for the both of us.

I glanced at my friend, and the knowledge of what she’d done washed over.

Her life for mine. Rachel gave me a nod. “We have a trip to make. You up for it?” But I could feel the questions swirling in her head.

I turned back to where Elena and the others had stood only a moment before, but they were gone. Of course they were. They had only lingered long enough to stir shit up.

The village was silent as the sun peeked over the horizon. Gingerly, I made my way to where Elena had stood. In her place was a small leather-bound book, a thin piece of leather wrapped around it several times and knotted on the front.