The Bite That Binds (The Deep In Your Veins #2) (35 page)

“Much like you, Samantha, I have a substantial gift,” Orrin explained, seemingly enjoying my confusion. “It has its advantages in many situations.”

It was Jared who guessed. “Density control. You can manipulate the density of your own body. Rare.”

Shit.
Now what do we do?

Fuck if I know
.

“That’s right, Jared. You – fortunately for me, but unfortunately for you – cannot harm me. Even with all that power, Samantha, you cannot harm me. Nor can those talented men there.”

A fleeting look allowed me to see that the squad were now the only ones remaining – though many of them were worse for wear – and they were beginning to gather behind us.

A click of Orrin’s fingers was followed by the swift appearance of a stout, cheery looking female. “Moira, be a dear and take care of these people.” He gestured to Jared and the squad.

Suddenly the squad began to drop to the ground, one by one. Instinctively, I brought my shield up and extended it around Jared before the woman could place her focus on him – which appeared to agitate the hell out of Orrin. “What did you do to them?” I demanded.

“Don’t be alarmed, they’re merely in a very deep sleep. After a few hours – it differs from person to person – they’ll wake again. It’s a useful gift to have when you’re caring for babies.” He signalled to Moira to return inside. A nervous Blake went with her.

Jared asked the very question that was bugging me. “Why didn’t you get her to do that at the beginning?”

“I wanted to see what Samantha was capable of. And it’s not often you get the chance to observe the Heir and his own personal squad in action.” Orrin gave me what I guessed was supposed to be a reassuring smile. “I had considered plucking you out of harm’s way so that we could leave a little sooner, but I was confident that you would escape it unscathed. And I was right, wasn’t I?”

I had to have heard him wrong. “Excuse me, but it sounds like you have the impression that I’m going somewhere with you.”

“Well of course you are. You think I don’t know what the brothers did to you? You think I didn’t play some part in what happened?”

“What do you mean?” growled Jared. Yeah, it had been dumb of Orrin to admit that in front of a very protective Jared.

Orrin sighed. “The brothers are what you might call…I guess sociopaths, is probably the best term.” And wasn’t that the pot calling the kettle black. “They know what’s right and wrong, they just think the rules don’t apply to them. It’s what makes them such good scientists − no guilt or ethics to interfere.

“They’re both obsessed with the idea of glory, of making a discovery or an achievement that no one else can match. Their goal is to create the ultimate vampire − a blend of all three. Unfortunately, the brothers can be a little eccentric and unpredictable, but the right amount of motivation and the right amount of adoration from me had them focusing on the task.”

He looked as though he actually expected us to praise him for that. Snort.

“Unfortunately, none of their experiments turned out well. I admit, I didn’t actually think they would be successful.” He tilted his head as if in thought. “Maybe they can find a way to amplify my gift so that it’s strong enough that I can manipulate the density of other peoples’ bodies, too.” He shrugged.

That gave me an idea.
Call Reuben,
I told Jared.

Baby, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he’s in dreamland right now.

So wake him up using your telepathy.

I don’t think that’ll work.

Try,
I growled.

Hey, don’t get pissy with me.

I can’t just – You know what, we can argue later. Just try to wake Reuben, and tell him what to do.
I addressed Orrin then, hoping to keep him talking. “I can understand why the brothers
would want to create a hybrid – it’s all about glory, all in the name of science. But what’s in it for you?”

His smile was creepily wide. “Tell me, Samantha, what vampire out there wouldn’t pay – and pay very well – to become as powerful as you?”

“So this is about money?”

“Isn’t that what makes the world go around? Come on, you’re a Sventé. Or, should I say, you
were
a Sventé. You know what it’s like to be seen as the weaker breed, to
feel
the weaker breed, to be dismissed, and to be targeted. If someone had offered to make you stronger, given you the opportunity to help yourself, wouldn’t you have jumped at their offer?”

I did kind of get his point. After all, that was exactly what I
had
done. Sebastian had appeared with his offer to get me out of my shitty situation and find something better, and I’d taken it. But this…this was a little different. “I’m surprised at you, Orrin – and not in a good way.”

“Surprised, how?”

“See, it’s not a shock that the brothers haven’t looked beyond their goal – they have tunnel vision. But you…I would have thought you’d have been able to see the bigger picture. How can you not see the complications and possible consequences of what you’ve done?”

He narrowed his eyes. “I don’t follow.”

“That’s my point. Let’s say I was to Turn a human. They’re not going to become a Sventé, they’re going to become just like me. So will other humans I Turn, and any humans that
they
turn. The same applies to any vampires that the brothers work their magic on. Before you know it, you have a new breed of vampire. That’s not good.”

Orrin inhaled deeply as he considered that. “I don’t see why it would be a huge problem. Sventés, Kejas, and Pagoris have co-existed well enough. Why would the introduction of a new breed be such a bad thing?”

“Because this new breed will be stronger. A lot stronger. That’s a threat to the status quo. Although it chafes most, they do accept that Pagoris are the most powerful of the three breeds, they accept that Kejas are a close second, and that Sventés are the weakest. They accept that that’s the way of things. Introducing a stronger breed will unsettle everyone. Sventés will worry that they’re now easy pickings. Kejas won’t like that they’ve gone a step down in the hierarchy, now being in the place that Sventés once had. And Pagoris, so used to sitting on the throne, won’t like that they’ve lost that throne. They’ll all want to react, and it won’t be pretty.”

Uncertainty briefly flashed on his face. “The point may be moot since, for all I know, you’re no longer able to Turn humans. I will take you to the brothers and let them look at you. They can tell us more.”

The bloke lived in another reality if he thought that would happen. “Here’s the thing…I don’t have any intention of leaving Jared or the squad to go anywhere, let alone with you. Shame, isn’t it.”

He was quiet for a moment, studying Jared intently. “We could take him with us, I suppose. But not conscious. Jared is too powerful for us to take any risks with him.”

“
Jared
is right here,” snapped my fiancé. “And Jared isn’t going to let you take him or Sam anywhere. It’s really that simple.”

“I didn’t come this far to allow you or anyone else to be a hindrance. Samantha comes with me. I assure you, she’ll come to no harm.”

Jared snickered, crossing his arms over his chest. “The brothers said the same thing. Then she went through nights of agony and all kinds of weird stuff happened. Forgive me if I’m not reassured.”

“Then look at it this way: harming her would totally go against what I’m trying to achieve. Therefore, it makes no sense that I would hurt her, does it?”

Scepticism dripped from Jared’s smile and voice. “And I suppose you’re going to let me and the guys go free.”

Orrin jiggled his head. “If Samantha agrees to drop her shield and come with me, I shall agree to simply have Moira put you to sleep for a while – long enough for Samantha and I to be gone. I do not like to kill for killing’s sake.”

Unreal. “But you don’t mind mothers being butchered and their babies being sold?”

“That’s just business, nothing more.” He returned his attention to Jared. “You know what it’s like to yearn for things like power, respect, and status. Unfortunately, nobody came and took
me
to the Grand High Master. I had to get those things for myself. And I have.” He seemed to take pride in that. “Once Samantha agrees to drop her shield, Moira will put you to sleep long enough for Samantha and I to leave.”

I cocked my head. “And just what would make me agree to drop my shield? There’s no point in threatening me. You can’t get inside this shield to reach either of us.”

“No,” he allowed, “but I can always ask Moira to make the squad’s sleep more permanent. She can do that, you know.”

“I don’t believe you. I think you’re just calling my bluff.”

“Do you really want to take that chance? Do you really—” He gasped as two strong hands manacled his ankles. Lying on the ground behind him was a drained-looking Reuben. Orrin managed to kick him aside, but it didn’t matter because Reuben had touched him long enough to have the desired effect.

“My good squad member there has the ability to temporarily amplify a person’s gift,” Jared told Orrin. “He can also make it temporarily weaker. You feel it, don’t you? See how quickly you’re becoming substantial?”

Orrin peered down at himself and smiled. He was
beyond
weird. “It’s an admirable gift.” He focused on me, losing his smile. “I suppose you’re going to kill me while my gift isn’t working.”

I pursed my lips. “No. But someone else is.”

Jared locked his hand around Orrin’s throat and dragged him inside the house.

“If you’re looking for the child—”

“Don’t worry, Orrin, the baby is safe and sound,” assured Jared as we stopped inside the kitchen. “I’m not sure I can say the same for Moira, though.”

He definitely couldn’t say the same for Moira, considering that Jude was in the hallway holding her beloved knife and that it was dripping with blood. Looking a combination of irate and keyed up, she slowly began advancing toward us. Her gaze never moved from Orrin, who Jared was holding directly in front of him, presenting him to Jude.

“Good ole Moira won’t be joining us,” she told Orrin when she came to stand before him. “Which is a shame, really, because I’d happily kill her twice. If you’re thinking that the memory guy might run to your rescue, I’ve got news that’ll kill that dream. He jumped into one of your SUVs about five minutes ago. Couldn’t get away fast enough. You just can’t get the staff these days, can you?”

In a rather sluggish movement, Jude ran the tip of her blade down Orrin’s chest, over his navel, and continued downwards. It finally came to a stop when the tip was pressed against the space between his bollocks and his arse hole.

Orrin gulped. Of course he did. Right at that moment, Jude looked far from sane…and fully capable of relieving him of his crown jewels.

Shakily, he asked, “Who might you be?”

“That’s not important,” Jude told him calmly. “What’s important is that you’re in agony when you die. It’ll never match the kind of agony I went through when my child was taken from me. No, nothing can match that. But it can certainly be damn well close.” And then, as if to demonstrate that, she thrust the knife upwards.

Jared winced, though not in sympathy with a screaming Orrin. He winced again when she twisted the knife before withdrawing it.
Damn, that would hurt.

“I’ll take it from here,” Jude told us, though her gaze hadn’t left her victim.

Had I not seen what an accurate shot she was with that knife, I might have worried about leaving her alone with him in case he tried to fight her off and make a run for it. It was like she and that knife were one entity.

Understanding that she needed to do this – and do it alone – in order to find some measure of peace, I gestured for Jared to release Orrin. The vampire dropped to his knees, still crying out in agony. “It should be about an hour before his gift begins to strengthen again,” I told Jude.

Still, she didn’t look away from him as she spoke. “Then I’ll make those minutes count.”

Taking the hand that Jared offered me, I allowed him to lead me out of the house towards where our squad was lying, still dozing – and snoring, in some cases. It seemed that Reuben had returned to dreamland.

As we were walking away, we heard Jude speaking again to Orrin. “Do you know what’s great about how quickly you heal? It means I can do this to you over and over again before I finally kill you.” By the sound of his squeal, she had just made that evident.

I was pretty sure the next hour was going to feel very long for Orrin.

It was impossible not to balk as I watched Harvey repeatedly poke his arm through the hole in Damien’s stomach. Both seemed to think it was absolutely hilarious. The hole was slowly shrinking in size now that his body was healing, but it would be a few hours before it finally closed over.

They were the only squad members who weren’t lying on one of the infirmary beds around them. The others hadn’t yet woken from Moira’s induced sleep, but their wounds had healed nicely.

Antonio came to my side, frowning at Reuben. “I do not think I have ever heard anyone snore so loud.”