The Night House (27 page)

“What on Earth do you mean?” he asks slowly.

“You could have just taken me at any time. Finn wouldn’t have been able to stop you. But you didn’t. You came to the Night House, and you got to know me and you let me know you.” I take a deep breath. “I think after all this time, you’ve started to care about me.”

Staring up into his cold, hard face is awful.

“You scare me, Jeremiah. You know that, but if you did this one thing for me, if you just let Micah go, I wouldn’t be scared anymore.” I touch his chest with shaking hands. “Maybe we could have something.”

The silence that wraps around us is utterly unbearable. If only I had James’ gift. If only I knew what he was feeling, this wouldn’t be so terrifying. I am walking on the edge of a cliff, wearing a blindfold, in the middle of a storm.

His body is frozen, unmoving. I am pleading with a statue. A terrifyingly beautiful statue. His eyes don’t even shift between mine, like he’s found a way to make eye contact with my mind. Something in his gaze shifts, like a spark going off in darkness.

Footsteps approach us from outside the train. I step back from Jeremiah.

“Darling, it’s all ready. Everyone’s waiting.” Priscilla stands in the doors of the car, hand on hip, glass of blood in hand. “Getting cold feet?”

Jeremiah glances at me one last time before he turns to her. “Of course not.”

Priscilla’s gaze fixes on me, then she smiles at Jeremiah. “Then get out here before I start eating the guests. And don’t forget your pretty little morsel.” She raises an eyebrow at me before stepping away.

Jeremiah straightens his already perfectly straight jacket. “We must start the ceremony. Take my arm.”

He holds it out for me. I don’t know how my legs could possibly support me anymore, but I manage.

We step out of the train car and onto the platform. Chairs are set up all along the track, leading up to the stairs that take you above ground. Vamps with needles swarm from couple to couple, drawing blood for the higher ups. There is an aisle between the chairs, with Priscilla standing at the end.

Jeremiah leads me down the aisle. All conversation stops. Even the feeding stops. Everyone watches us in silence.

At the end of the aisle, a semicircle of vampires waits, including Priscilla. The circle master stands at the center, with his familiar heavy black robes. He told me I was strong for a human. I hope he’s right. Jeremiah directs me to an empty chair. As I sit, the circle master addresses the crowd.

“Last week, we all suffered a terrible tragedy when our beloved Northeastern King was murdered at the hands of three hunters. And so, as decreed by the eight monarchs of the Northeast, Jeremiah Archer, former Monarch of Pennsylvania, will assume the role of King of the Northeast. Please rise.”

Everyone stands up. Jeremiah turns to face the circle master with his hand on his heart.

“Jeremiah, do you swear to protect all vampires in your area?” he asks.

“I do,” Jeremiah answers.

“And do you swear to always put the region’s interests before your own?”

“I do.”

“And do you promise to uphold our law and tradition at all costs?”

“I do.”

Priscilla steps forward with a small box and Jeremiah puffs his chest out, head held high. Everyone in the crowd is silent. Some of their faces are slack with awe, others tight with angst. I am half expecting something to jump out of the box and attack him. It would be fitting.

The circle master opens the box, revealing a pin: a bar of silver, set on an iron base. Another loaded gun for the brave new king. The circle master speaks as he swaps the old blue pin for the new one.

“Then by the power given to me by our monarchs, I present to the world Jeremiah Archer, King of the Northeast.”

James

A few vampires have spread out around us. We’re not on a platform but in the terminal itself, right above a stairwell. Seeing Micah is like a shock to my system. My vision clears, and I can feel my body again. It’s like I was never bitten. I nudge him with my feet.

“Micah,” I say.

He moans but doesn’t wake up. I glance around at the other vamps, but they don’t seem to notice. They all feel like taut wires, with every last nerve buzzing. They’re waiting.

I shove him a little harder. “Micah.”

He curls in on himself and lets out a painful groan. “Who…?”

“I’m a friend of Bianca’s,” I whisper.

The sound of her name fills him with relief. His eyes slowly pry open until he stares at me. He stays awake for her.

“Bumble Bee,” he mutters. “Is she safe?” He has a slight lisp.

I take a deep breath. The subway appears endless from here. “Not yet.”

Micah releases a shaky breath. There’s a storm of guilt, pain, sadness, and anger within him. It’s like meeting Bianca for the first time all over again. It’s hard to take. He hates himself for what he thinks he’s done to her.

“She did something stupid and selfless, didn’t she?” he asks quietly.

“Yeah,” I say. “We have to get out of here. We can all get out of here together, if we just—”

“
You
have to get
her
out of here,” Micah says.

“She did this for you, Micah. I’m not about to leave you behind.”

“I’m not worth the effort. I’m barely alive as it is. Saving me now won’t change my fate.” Micah smiles and his eyes slide shut again. “I’m very glad to meet you.”

“My name is James,” I say. “I’m glad I met you too.”

The sound of the subway train squealing in its tracks gets everyone’s attention. I feel rumbling beneath us. Finally, I can feel Bianca again.

Someone is thumping up the stairs. I see the face of Stalker rise into view. He is grinning over his fangs.

“You’re up, human.”

Bianca

Jeremiah faces the crowd. The new pin shines on his jacket. Applause echoes through the subway. For a moment, he allows emotion to soften his expression. It’s something almost like happiness. This is a side of him I have never seen.

“I thank you all again for your generous support,” Jeremiah declares. “Tonight is an amazing time for us all. I am humbled by my new title, and also invigorated. I plan to change not only this region but the world. For too long, we have hidden in the shadows of humans. But we can change that together. We are the dominant species, and it’s time we acted as such. Long ago, there was a man who tried to alter the course of vampiric history. Instead, he only managed to alter himself. You know of whom I speak: St. Germain.”

A ripple of shock passes over the crowd. They all know of him. Jeremiah waits for the murmurs to stop before he continues speaking.

“After decades of searching, I have finally found his true heir.” His gaze zeroes in on me, that almost-happiness sharpening with anticipation. He holds his hand out to me. My heart quivers as I go to him. When I take his hand, it takes all of me not to shiver. He says, “I would like everyone to meet Bianca St. Germain.”

Now all eyes are on me. Jeremiah relishes the crowd’s obvious awe. Some of the vampires rise to their feet, to better see me. Others clearly don’t believe him, muttering to others.

“Indeed, it is true,” the circle master’s voice booms out over the crowd, silencing everyone.

“Together, we will change the world,” Jeremiah says.

They all know what it means; I see it on all of their faces. They are dumbstruck. Jeremiah has them all in the palm of his hand. He turns to me with something resembling affection playing across his face. “I have been selfish,” he says to me. “But I am not as awful as you would imagine.”

I can’t breathe. Maybe not all is lost.

“You think we are monsters because we have killed your kind.”

My heart is pounding. I have no idea where this is going.

“Humans kill all the time,” he says. “It is for their survival. Vampires must kill as well. This is how things are done. And until you experience it yourself, you will never be able to understand me.”

My heart races.

“And so, I present you with a gift.” Jeremiah turns to an officer standing by the steps and nods to him. “Bring them.”

Them?

Them?

It was only supposed to be Micah. This was all supposed to be for Micah. He was the one in danger. He was the one who needed my help. So why are there
two
vampires walking down the stairs, with bodies slung over their shoulders?

This is the moment when the ground simply falls out from under me. When I have nothing and he has everything.

They dump Micah and James onto the ground. Then they force them onto their feet, so they face me. Micah can barely stand. Deep circles frame his eyes, and his skin is practically hanging off him. He hasn’t been this bad since he first lost his job, when I found him, starved, in his home. Now an officer has his rusted pin resting on the beat of his pulse. James struggles against his captor, legs kicking out, but a vamp grabs him by his hair and exposes his neck.

“No,” the word is so quiet when it leaves my mouth, but they all hear me.

Jeremiah squeezes my hand so hard I almost gasp. It’s his party after all. I have to pay attention to him.

“Bianca, you never told me about your human.” His voice is all business. “I was very angry when I found out. It was one thing to be sharing your blood with another vampire, but you shared something else with him.” Jeremiah acts like he’s being force fed these words. They make him uncomfortable, and that is how I know they’re true. “I see how much you care for these two. You would do anything for them. You love them.” He smiles. “It is difficult for vampires to love.”

It can’t be.

Could I have been wrong?

Is Jeremiah capable of feeling something after all?

He raises his voice. “I was going to have them both killed, to break your bond to any living creature. We would have started our union with a clean slate. Instead, I have decided to let one of them go, to prove that I care for you. Choose which one lives.”

I was wrong. There is nothing inside him.

“No,” I say, unable to think straight. “You can’t make me choose.”

Jeremiah takes me by the throat. “This is what you wanted,” he says. All signs of tenderness have gone like they were never there. “A guarantee of the vampire’s safety. You can have that now, and you can have a taste of my world while you’re at it. These are the kinds of choices I make every day. This will allow us to understand each other. I’ve already shown you enough mercy. Don’t make me take it back.”

He releases my throat, but grabs my shoulders, making me face Micah and James.

“
Pick
,” he growls into my ear.

Micah and James stare at me with their sad blue eyes. These are the two beings my entire life revolves around. And he asks me to pick. Pick like they’re meals on a menu.

My throat burns as sadness rises up like bile. Tears flow freely down my face. I want to throw up, I’m so sick. This is too much. My legs go weak, and I fall to my knees. “I can’t!”

“You
will.
Or I will kill them both right now.”

I shake against the sobs. I can’t speak. I can’t breathe. I can’t do anything except watch them and cry like I’ve never cried before. This can’t be it. It can’t be over.

“Jeremiah.”

Micah’s voice is tired, but he meets Jeremiah’s gaze with so much strength.

“You’re wrong,” he says. “It’s easy for vampires to love.”

Then he does what I couldn’t. He chooses for me.

Micah presses his own throat into the rusted pin and opens up a river of scarlet.

James

Surprisingly, there is no fear in Micah.

I am terrified.

I can feel my throat closing up. My blood is pouring out of me. Acid is running through my veins, burning me from the inside out. I can’t get any air; my lungs are going to burst. My brain is on fire.

Everything is wrong.

The pain in my neck worsens and I see Micah on the ground, clawing at the wound. I want to throw myself at him, to make him stop, but amongst the pain and suffocation, there is a clear determination in him. He’s trying to make it quicker. For all of us, but for her more than anyone.

It’s his last gift to her.

But she is screaming and Micah is losing the fight for his last breaths, and darkness is closing in.

Bianca

When Micah stops moving, everyone is still. Now he is sleeping in a pool of crimson paint. His skin is paper thin and white. Maybe there’s still time to feed him my blood. Maybe I can still save him. He can’t just be gone. Jeremiah hauls me to my feet.

“That was
not
a decision.” Jeremiah’s grip tightens. “That fangless nuisance made the choice for you. That is not acceptable.”

He gestures to the vampire who holds James. The vamp bites down on James’ neck and James cries out, agony written all over his face.

“Stop it!” I slam my fist on Jeremiah’s chest.

“You know how to make this stop.”

I try to meet his gaze, to quell my sobbing, to bring back the façade of calm. Micah is dead, and James is dying. Sickened, I tell him, “I’m yours.”

There is a painfully long pause before says, “Let the human go.”

The vamp holding him releases his grip, and James falls to his knees. There is no life in him.

Finn descends the stairway. His gaze trained on Jeremiah, he asks, “Would you like me to take him?”

Jeremiah and Finn stare at one another intently.

“Yes,” Jeremiah says. “Take him and clean this mess up.”

Finn grasps James by the arm. There is a moment, a single brief moment, where Finn meets my gaze. Like watching lightning strike, there is a flash of pain in those black eyes, then it is gone.

James shouts and struggles, but it doesn’t matter. I meet his gaze for a second before he is taken upstairs.

This is the last time I will ever see James or Micah.

I am alone.

James

Not again.

I feel the nauth raging through me. My thoughts are starting to blur, but I need my head now more than ever. Where are you Ally? Shiloh? I need you.

I’m seeing rainbows as I am dragged through Suburban Station. I need to know why Finn is so upset. I can see the anger and confusion wafting off him like a foul smell in a cartoon. What doesn’t he want to do?