Chapter 15
Fifteen
SOPHIE
“Bloody hell! You killed him, Soph.” Tish approaches the vampire from Night Crawlers—Vaughn.
“He’s not dead,” I grit out.
“There’s blood on the side of his head.”
I don’t need to get closer to know she’s right. I can smell the blood. I whacked him pretty hard with my purse, which is heavy thanks to all the books I brought. “Like a blow to the head will kill a vampire.”
“Do you think he followed us here?”
“No. I’m sure we had no tail. I think he was following the two youngsters who came before him.”
“Oh… the witch and the mage. That duo is up to no good for sure.”
“Leave him to me,” Madeleine whispers in my ear.
God, what a pest. My father was right. It was easy for me to locate the secret chamber where the High Witch and Solomon trapped my deranged relative and her cohorts.
But the magic keeping them trapped is too strong, and I couldn’t break the wards.
Madeleine was able to slip through a crack in the magic thanks to my blood donation, but she’s still tethered to her prison.
“Not a chance,” I reply, then crouch next to Vaughn’s head and slide my arms under his pits so I can lift him to a sitting position.
“We should have asked Igor to come along. How are you going to carry him?” Tish asks.
“You told me not to bring Igor,” I retort.
“Well… how was I supposed to know we would require his brawny services?”
“Just leave him here,” Madeleine insists.
“Will you quit annoying me?” I snap.
“Insolent girl!”
I sense she’s about to unleash her wrath on me, so I raise the crystal hanging around my neck, which glows brighter when I recite the ancient spell to ward off malevolent spirits.
Madeleine shrieks before retreating to her chamber.
“Are you sure that was the best way to deal with your old auntie? She’ll be so pissed when you return.”
“It had to be done. She needs to know she’ll have to answer to me when she’s free.”
“You’d better find a way to bind her to you before you break that psycho out of jail.”
“Yeah, I know. Tonight was only a recon mission. I didn’t even think I’d find the secret chamber.”
“Or bump into this hottie here.”
Ugh. I don’t want to be reminded of Vaughn’s good looks. It was bad enough that I tasted a drop of his blood and now I have a craving for it, and not for nurturing purposes.
I lift him up to a sitting position, but hell, he’s heavy. Damn all these muscles.
“Can you even carry him out of here?” Tish asks.
“We shall see.”
I take a deep breath, then use my quads and unfurl my legs, lifting Vaughn off the ground fast so I have momentum to be able to throw him over my shoulder.
“Damn, girl. Those workout sessions with Igor have paid off. I honestly didn’t think you’d be able to do it.”
“Your confidence in me is heartwarming. Let’s get out of here. The catacombs are a little too busy tonight for my liking.”
“No kidding. It’s like Grand Central Station here. Are you taking the hottie to your father?”
“No.”
“Ooooh, so we’re bringing him home with us?”
“Yes. Don’t get too excited. He’s our prisoner, not a new thirst trap.”
“I don’t see why he can’t be both.”
I keep my mouth shut. I can’t think about him in any other terms besides the fact that he’s my prisoner who may very well be connected to the usurper king. I need answers, and I’ll get them by any means.
VAUGHN
My face is wet when I finally come to. I try to move, but my hands are bound behind me.
I’m strapped to a chair in the middle of a cozy and girlie living room.
The walls are painted lavender, and one of them has striking wallpaper with huge flowers.
The second detail that catches my eye is the violin case propped against the wall.
Sophie is a musician, then. It gives me little comfort, though.
I’m still her captive, and that just confirms what I already suspected: She’s not on my side in this war.
I try to break free, but she used something strong that I can’t tear.
A black cat jumps onto the coffee table in front of me and says, “Oh, look who’s awake.”
“What the actual fuck!” I jump back with a jerk, and the chair ends up toppling to the side.
“Gee. Overreact much?”
“You’re a vampire and a shape shifter?” I say in an embarrassingly high-pitched voice.
“No,” someone else answers, and a moment later, I’m upright again, and the bane of my existence is staring at me.
“Sophie,” I say.
She frowns. “How do you know my name?”
“I heard it from your purse. I guess your cat was in it.”
Sophie glowers at her pet. “Tish, you have a big mouth.”
“Oh, so I can’t say your name out loud in front of Mr. Hottie over there, but you can say mine?”
“What do you want with me?” I ask.
“You’ve got things twisted around, Vaughn.” Sophie grabs my chin, digging her nails into my skin. “I’m the one asking the questions here.”
I jerk back to free myself from her clutch. “How do you know my name?”
My wallet appears in her hand like magic, making me even more leery of her. She takes my driver’s license out and reads, “Vaughn Joseph Bradley. Born 1998 in Salem, Massachusetts. How were you born only twenty-two years ago when vampires haven’t been able to reproduce in centuries?”
Shit. I had my wallet on me. My driver’s license still has my mother’s address on it.
“Have you ever heard of fake IDs?”
“Yes, but this isn’t fake. The girl who came looking for you in the alley was your sister—your very human sister.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. How did she already come to that conclusion?
Duh, Vaughn. Anyone with two brain cells and an internet connection could find that information. It isn’t like you deleted all your presence from social media.
I won’t confirm anything, though. “Oh, so how do you explain my existence, then?”
“You were made, but the question is, by whom?”
“Tough break. You ain’t getting any information from me.”
I try the binds around my wrist again, and to my surprise, I sense a bit of a slack. Maybe she laced them with vampire’s bane, but it’s already evaporating. I just have to keep her talking for a while longer.
Her pretty eyes shine with determination. “Oh, but I will get the information.”
“Why is my face wet?” Let the distractions begin.
“It was my idea,” the cat replies. “You weren’t waking up on your own.”
“What are you? I’ve never met a talking cat before.”
Sophie grabs my chin roughly again. “I said I’m the one asking the questions here. What were you doing at Night Crawlers two nights ago?”
“Hanging out with my friends. What were you doing there? I doubt you have any friends.”
“Hey! I’m her friend,” the cat complains.
Sophie whips her face to her. “Tish, stay quiet or leave.”
“Ugh! I might just leave since you refused to take his shirt off.”
My brows shoot up. “Why would you want my shirt off?”
“Reasons.” The cat shrugs.
God, this is so freaky.
“Stop talking to her,” Sophie snaps. “She’s not your concern.”
I try the bindings again. They’re definitely much looser.
“What were you doing in Bloodstone’s catacombs? Did you free that deranged ghost?” I ask.
“I said I’m—”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re asking the questions. Whatever. You can ask all the questions you want. I won’t say a thing, not even if you torture me.”
She narrows her eyes. “Torturing you would be pleasurable, but messy, and I just decorated my apartment.”
“Why? Did you just move in? Oh… I know. You were in hibernation.”
Irritation shines in her eyes. I guessed that one right. Vaughn one, Sophie zero.
“Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?”
I smile broadly. “Every damn day, sweetheart.”
Something happens to her. Her pupils dilate, and her heart seems to skip a beat. Then her scent changes, and it becomes sort of intoxicating to me. Holy shitballs. Does she have a thing for me?
She grabs me by the hair and yanks my head back, exposing my neck. “I don’t need to torture you to get the information I need. You might not know this yet since you’re a newbie vampire, but… blood remembers.”
Fast as a cobra, she bites my neck, sinking her fangs deep.
It hurts for a moment, and only because I think she wants to punish me.
But when she drinks my blood, the pain turns into pleasure, and I react accordingly.
The sensation shoots straight to my cock, making it as hard as a rock.
I’m not the only one who’s affected, though. I can smell her arousal too.
Before all these new senses do my head in, I try to break free from the bindings again.
Now that she’s distracted, this is my chance to escape.
This time, the cord breaks, and before she notices I’m free, I push her off me as hard as I can.
She staggers back, trying to remain upright, but she trips over the corner of the coffee table and falls, hitting her head with a loud clunk.
I get back on my feet, ready to run to the door, but Tish jumps on my face, scratching me with her claws.
Fucking hell. I yank her from me none too gently before she gouges my eyes out.
The window is open, but I don’t know how high we are from the ground, and I seriously don’t want to add animal cruelty to my list of accomplishments.
The damn cat is going berserk, though. If I let her go free, she’s going to do some serious damage to me.
I spot a wooden chest, and without thinking twice, I stuff her inside, then run to the door. But Sophie moans on the floor, making me pause.
Vaughn. What are you doing? Escape while you can.
“Please, somebody, help me,” Sophie whispers, and for some reason, I don’t think she’s talking about me.
I turn around and go check on her. Yes, she kidnapped me, but I’m unable to leave her like this.
Her eyes are closed, and her eyebrows are scrunched together. Then she starts to thrash and raises her arms to her face as if she’s protecting herself from an attack.
“No! Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me,” she repeats, then starts to cry.
Fuck. She must be reliving a nightmare. I kneel next to her and, like an idiot, cradle her in my arms.
“It’s okay. You’re safe. I’m not going to hurt you.”
She finally opens her eyes and stares straight into mine. In an instant, I’m ensnared. I want to drown in her lavender gaze. Her body is shaking when I touch her face with the tips of my fingers. “Whoever hurt you, they’re gone.”
She blinks fast, and I expect her to strike me at any moment. But she simply says, “You didn’t run away.”
“No, I didn’t. Are you okay?”
She doesn’t answer, but she does move away from me. “I know who made you. It was Lucca… Lucca Della Morte.”
Ah hell.