Beautiful Monster-The Exchange (5 page)

Lev rarely fed where he lived.
At least his
brother had taught him that much, even though Alexei didn’t follow the rule
himself
. There were times, he was ashamed to admit, he’d
broken that rule. The consequences of getting caught wouldn’t be as dire for
him as they would be for Alexei, since Lev had never completely drained a body,
leaving a corpse to be found by a passerby.

Strangely, despite his other struggles with being a
creature of the night, Lev did not find feeding difficult. It was a primal need
that had to be filled and that’s how he rationalized it, not letting what was
left of his conscience get in the way. Plus he knew if he didn’t feed often to
keep himself sated, the darkness within would make its way to the surface.
There was a kernel of good in that deed, he reminded himself, if for no other
reason than to quell his conscience.

Finding prey was simple for Lev, he’d strike up a
conversation, usually with someone young—man or woman, it didn’t matter. With
the added charms his undead status bestowed on him, his victims would soon fall
under his spell and then he’d lead them away, like a puppy on a leash. A dark
alley was always a good place to take them. He’d feed quickly, sinking his
fangs into a wrist instead of the more dangerous and tempting jugular. Blood
came quick and furious from that perilous artery, and it took longer to heal.

Feeding was the only time Lev allowed the darkness a
modicum of control, still, the true Lev, as he liked to call it, never strayed
far. Like a sentinel, his true self stood guard. Though he couldn’t help wonder
if Tony, Alexei’s friend, would have been his first kill if his brother hadn’t
stopped him. In the past, Lev had always been careful, never letting himself
get too thirsty. The episode with Tony had been a shameful lapse in judgment.
Was he going to let all that go tonight? Was he finally going to purge what was
left of the true Lev and, in turn, his pain?

Though Alexei was his maker and his brother, they’d only
fed together once, right after Alexei had turned him, when he needed to be
shown the ropes so to speak.

Lev remembered the experience well. His brother had
whisked him away to a park miles from their home in Saint Petersburg. That
first meal had been a young man barely out of his teens. Alexei, of course, had
gone straight for the man’s jugular, then encouraged Lev to drink when his
thirst had been quenched.

Darkness had been at the helm of Lev’s actions that
evening, though the reins were still held by the true Lev. His nostrils had flared
at the scent of the crimson fluid as it rushed through the boy’s veins. He’d
inhaled it. He’d savored it.

Fear—distinct and palpable—had flavored it too, but he’d
forced it away because it gnawed at what was left of his humanity. Lev had plucked
up the boy’s arm and immediately sunk his teeth into his wrist and sucked.

When they were done, he and Alexei had left the man in
the alleyway, slumped against a wall. His brother had assured him that, in
time, their victim would be fine. Lev had listened for a heartbeat, and when he’d
heard its faint cadence, he’d walked off.

Now, in the wee hours of the morning, Lev walked the
suburbs of New York with his brother. They were somewhere in Brooklyn, in an
area with lots of open spaces and conservation area.

“I thought we were going somewhere else,” Lev said. “Is
this not too close to home?”

Alexei threw Lev a look that said, “Who cares?” It was
accompanied by a shrug, then in a move as quick as a heartbeat, Alexei pulled
him into the doorway of a darkened store that had been locked up for the night.
An iron gate was fastened across the entranceway, but there was enough room for
the two of them to hide.

“Hear that?” Alexei asked.

Lev listened and soon heard the sound of footfalls. The
click, click, click of high heels. “A woman!”

“Yesss, I think so.”

Lev could not only see the excitement in his brother’s
eyes but also that his fangs were distended and ready.

They waited in the shadows until she neared. Then as she
passed, Alexei shot out a hand, grabbing her by the upper arm. There wasn’t
even time for a scream as he whisked her away so swiftly they were almost
flying. Lev followed at lightning speed, trying to keep up with his
adrenaline-spiked brother. They stopped when they reached a small grove of
trees that was just dense enough to hide them.

Alexei pressed the woman up against the wide trunk of an
ancient oak. She squirmed but wasn’t able to budge under his powerful grip. Her
wide eyes gave away her horror; a scream formed but died in her throat as
Alexei clamped a hand over her mouth. Then he twisted her head to the side,
exposing the vulnerable jugular that pulsed with every beat of her heart.

“You first,” Alexei said.

Lev licked his lips. Fangs protruded through his gums,
and he salivated like a dog waiting for dinner to be slopped into his bowl. He
lowered his head until he was millimeters from the artery. He smelled iron and
copper and heard the blood whoosh as fear made it course faster than usual. A
whimper escaped her, and a single tear dropped onto Lev’s cheek.

His gaze strayed to her face. She was blonde and pretty
with a small turned-up nose and a smattering of freckles dotting her cheeks.
She was also young, about the same age as Carly.

He pulled away, then roughly freed her from Alexei’s
grip. She fled immediately, stumbling until she could gain her feet. This time
there was no click of heels. She’d lost her shoes somewhere along the way, but
Lev could hear her sobs. He held his brother tightly against the tree, giving
her time to get safely out of harm’s way.

Alexei barely strained against him, and when he turned
to his brother, disappointment colored his expression. Lev sighed and let
Alexei go, giving him a little push.

“You were never meant for this life.” Alexei shook his
head as he walked away.

“Where are you going?” Lev called out after his brother,
afraid he might try to find the girl.

Alexei stopped and turned, his hands were stuffed into
his pockets. Gone was the disappointment of moments ago, replaced by what Lev
thought could pass for acceptance. “Come with me, brother. I have an idea. One
you will like.”

Lev took a step, then stopped. He studied Alexei’s face.
They were so much alike Lev sometimes felt as if he was staring into a mirror.
They had the same thick black hair, the constant five o’clock shadow on angular
faces, and the same sensuous wide mouths. Alexei’s face, however, was a little
more angular and harder, his mouth fuller, and his lips held a constant pink
glow almost as if he was wearing lipstick.

Was Alexei giving up on him? Yes, he thought, and truth
be told, he was relieved. He was a creature of the night like his brother, but
unlike Alexei, who had lost all humanity, the true Lev still lived in him. He
wasn’t sure he ever wanted to lose that despite the pain he’d have to endure
for all eternity.

What did he have to lose? Lev followed.

Lev and Alexei stood outside Boris’s mansion for the
second time in one night.

“Why the hell are we back here?” Lev asked. Anxiety
began to lumber to its feet as he remembered what happened inside just hours
ago.

Alexei ran a hand through his hair, took a breath as if
to steady his nerves, then moved forward and took hold of the bars of the gate.
He peered through, pressing his face against the wrought iron. “We’re here
because this is where Carly left through that…that hole. There has to be a way
to reunite the two of you, and I imagine Boris’s house is the logical place to
start. The scene of the crime, as such.” His hand strayed absently to his neck,
to the spot where Boris had drunk his fill.

This was unbelievable. Lev turned to leave. “No. We
can’t go back in there!” Why would Alexei suddenly care that Carly was gone?
Red flags waved high and mightily in Lev’s brain.

Alexei caught his sleeve in one long-fingered hand.
“There will be no rest for you until we try our damndest to get her back. I
know you too well, brother. You will brood, you will cry, you will be hell to
live with…” He sighed.

Lev held up a stilling hand. “Really? That’s why you
brought me back here? To shut me up? It wasn’t out of the goodness of your
cold, dead heart?”

Alexei looked puzzled, even hurt. Then he said in a
somber tone, “We must try. Give it all we’ve got so that you can go on with
your life. Perhaps then you will feed properly; perhaps you will kill. You will
experience your first turning. I will not give up on you.”

Lev rubbed a hand across his stubbled cheeks. His
brother’s motives weren’t pure or selfless. That didn’t surprise him. Yet,
despite knowing Alexei was hoping for failure yet again in order to teach him a
lesson, being back at Boris’s house made a certain kind of sense. He was eager
to give it a try, and his heart leapt a little at the thought he might see
Carly again.

She did disappear in that house, and this may be the
only place where the portal could be reopened. The wheels were turning in Lev’s
mind. There were obstacles: even if they could manage to get back into the
great room, then what? How would they find and open the portal? And, most
importantly, what if Carly wasn’t in it anymore?

His enthusiasm waned when he remembered that even if she
did come back, they would still only have a precious few hours together before
she’d have to leave again, and this time for good.

He pushed the thought away. It was too painful. As a
distraction, he asked Alexei a question that had been burning in the back of
his mind. “Danger lurks here for you, brother. You managed to get away once,
but you may not be so lucky a second time. Are you not afraid?”

Alexei smirked and gave a dismissive wave, though Lev
saw something in his brother’s eyes. Something he could not quite put a finger
on.

“I’m not worried,” Alexei said. “Shall we go?”

“Back so soon?” came an all too familiar baritone. Boris
was on the other side of the gate. He grabbed each of their hands, pulling
their arms through the bars and clamping tightly so neither Lev nor Alexei
could move. The man was powerful, but Lev had the sinking feeling he was being
gentle—that he could crush them as easily as peanut shells.

“Your brother does not tell you everything, Lev. He is a
man of many secrets. Still, I am most grateful to have met up with him again.”
Boris puckered his lips and blew Alexei a kiss. “You are so pretty. Both of you
actually, but lucky for you, Lev, only Alexei possesses what I want.” He turned
to Lev, and although Lev had seen the man up close just a short time ago, he
still found him frighteningly hideous. His bald pate held a few straggly gray
hairs, making Boris look like an abandoned doll some little girl had ripped the
hair off of. It grew thickest in the back in a matted oily mess. Lev caught the
scent of it, or maybe it was the scent of Boris himself—a mixture of dirt and
rotten flesh, and when he opened his mouth to speak, it wafted out stronger,
making Lev wince and turn away.

“I have been thinking about what happened with that
ghost girl of yours. What was her name? Charlene? Carla?”

“Carly,” Lev whispered.

“Ah, yes, Carly. I have been wondering what the hell
happened. I have never seen such a thing like it in all my years. The two of
you left so quickly after she disappeared, I was unable to share with you what
I saw.” He smiled a rotten-toothed grin. “I had been hoping you would once
again grace me with your presence.”

What he saw? Hope began to germinate in Lev, but he
reined it in.

Boris must have noticed the look of interest on Lev’s
face. In a voice lined in silk, he said, “Come in and I will gladly show you.”

Lev turned to Alexei. “Brother?”

Alexei railed against Boris’s grip, making the large man
laugh. “Don’t think we have a choice, do we? Besides, that’s what we’re here
for anyway.”

Boris let them go then toed the gate wide. It clanged
against the metal post it was fastened to.

Glancing up at the moon, Boris said, “Gentlemen, we must
make haste. Soon it will be time to go to ground. Of course you are welcome to
stay here.” He turned to Alexei, “Especially you, my love.”

Alexei’s hand flew protectively to his neck, and Lev
noticed his brother shudder with Boris’s words.

“Hope he’s had his fill,” Alexei muttered.

They were back in the great room, where Carly
disappeared into a vortex of light just hours ago. Lev walked to the spot and
searched for some evidence, some remnant of the portal. It was hard to believe
it even happened.

“Carly,” he whispered, knowing he’d never receive an
answer. She was gone. Still, he wondered what Alexei had up his sleeve and what
Boris had hinted at outside.

The big-nosed servant entered and stood like a sentry
awaiting orders. Boris waved him off, and he immediately scampered away.

No one sat. Boris, Alexei, and Lev stood in a small
circle. Lev noticed his brother’s lip twitch—a nervous tic.

Boris placed a hand on each of their shoulders and
grinned. “You two look like twins. I still cannot get over the resemblance.” He
smiled at Lev, making his stomach cinch with panic. No wonder his brother
wanted nothing to do with this man. And to think, Boris was the one who’d
turned Alexei. Lev thought of Boris’s pug face pressed against the flesh of his
brother’s neck. It was enough to make him want to retch.

“You said there was something you wanted to show us,”
Lev said, trying to hide his disdain.

Alexei took the opportunity to take a step backward.
Boris let his hand fall to his side; disappointment crossed his features. “Why
do you hate me so, Alexei?”

“You know why.” Alexei sneered and moved even farther.

“Because I keep telling you how exquisite you are? What
man would take offense to that? Especially one…well, one like you.” He smiled,
and that somehow made it worse. “Is it not okay that I pay you a compliment?”

“Actually, no, it’s not okay. I get it. You like me. You
think I’m good-looking. But don’t think for one second I don’t know what else
you want,” Alexei said.

Lev was confused. He wanted to know what was happening
between Boris and his brother, but he also needed to know what Boris had to say
about the portal.

“You do not realize how lucky you are,” Boris said,
reaching a sausage-fingered hand to caress Alexei’s cheek, but Alexei was too
far away and Boris’s hand just hung in the air longingly.

“I know how happy you’d be to look like me. THAT is what
I do know. You don’t just admire my looks, you WANT them.”

“Ha! You are smarter than I thought,” said Boris.

Lev stepped between them, utterly confounded. “What’s
going on? What’s this talk of Boris wanting your
looks
?” He laughed.
“How is that even possible?” He looked at his brother for an answer. It was
crazy talk, utter nonsense. He didn’t have time for such foolishness. “Are you
going to help me get Carly back or not?”

“I will help you, Lev,” Alexei said finally. “But first,
I need something from Boris.” He turned to the slovenly creature. “I’ll give
you what you want, but you must vow not to hurt my brother and to return to him
what I have taken away. The one thing he will need if he is to be reunited with
his love.”

“Anything,” Boris said, his eyes seemed to lighten a
couple of shades.

Lev gave his head a shake. “What’s going on?” he tried
again.

Alexei and Boris turned to him now as if realizing for
the first time he was in the room and listening to their conversation.

“Perhaps we should sit after all,” Boris suggested.

Alexei and Lev sat side by side, and Boris settled on
the edge of the coffee table that was now back in place in front of them. Lev’s
leg shook impatiently, and he folded his arms across his chest. Time was
running out.

“Brother, you may be one of us, a creature of the night,
and that is my fault.” Alexei splayed a hand across his chest, and his voice
held a contrite affectation. “I never should have turned you. I am deeply sorry
for that, but there are some things you are aware of and some you are not. As
you do know, when a creature is made, he or she remains exactly the same way
they were on the day they were turned. We grow no older. We keep whatever looks
we have; we do not deteriorate.”

“Yes, of course I know this,” Lev replied. He tried not
to look at poor unfortunate Boris, who was hideous before he was turned and was
still hideous now, centuries later. With no way to improve his circumstances,
he would remain a vile, ugly creature for eternity.

Alexei continued, “But what you do not know is that when
a mortal is turned, the one who turned them takes his or her essence.”

“Essence?” Lev asked, confused.

Boris broke in with a chuckle, “I will be straight with
you, comrade. Straighter than Alexei. Seems he has not done his duty and taught
you the things you need to know to be fully one of us. I turned Alexei many
years ago. We were on our way to storm the Winter Palace and overthrow the
Tsar. Perhaps he has told you the story, no?” Boris didn’t wait for a reply.
“When I saw your brother, I found him irresistible. I wanted him in the worst
way, and, so, I took him. I turned him, but when I did, I also took a part of
him that is not physical. Do you know what I am saying?”

Lev shook his head no. He hadn’t a clue what Boris was
hinting at. The big man clamped a hand on Lev’s knee and leaned in close,
making Lev desperate to pull away.

“His soul,” Boris whispered in Lev’s ear, then leaned
back, letting his fat hands fall onto his own knees. “I am filled with them!
They are teeming within me and no doubt in your brother as well.” He threw
Alexei a sidelong glance along with a raised eyebrow.

Lev stared, shocked. Could it be true? If so, it would
mean his soul still existed—not in his own body, but it hadn’t been destroyed
like Lev had thought all these years.

Boris was watching Lev and nodding—glee shown in his
eyes. “I know what you are thinking, and yes, there is a piece of your brother
in me. It gives me power, making me stronger than the one I turned.”

Lev looked at his brother with new eyes. “Why didn’t you
tell me my soul wasn’t lost?”

Alexei let his head hang and studied the hands neatly
folded in his lap.

“How do I get it back?” Lev asked, impatience coloring
his voice.

A gruesome smile crept onto Boris’s face. “There is only
one way.”

Alexei looked up and into his brother’s eyes. “I have to
die, and the only one who can kill me is my maker.” He turned toward Boris who
seemed as giddy as a child on Christmas morning.

“But why would Boris want to kill you?” he asked Alexei,
wanting to add—it’s obvious he’s in love with you. He didn’t have to give voice
to the question; Alexei answered it as if he’d read Lev’s thoughts. “If Boris
kills me, he gets something he covets more than my soul—”

Boris finished for him, “His good looks!” He laughed and
rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Look at that face! That body! It would not
just be mine, it would be ME.”

Lev jumped to his feet. “I can’t let you sacrifice
yourself for me.”

“But without you by my side, brother, I would not want
to live. You said it yourself—that if I would not help you, you’d leave. You
said that knowing I wouldn’t be able to go on without the only person in my
life that I love. I am not like you, Lev. I am corrupt. I have killed and I
have turned others, but you, my brother, somehow you’ve managed not to do those
things. Your soul is pure. I can feel it inside me. Sometimes I think it’s the
only thing keeping me from running wild, murdering, and turning everyone in
sight. Think about it, Lev, if Boris takes my life, your soul will be released.
It will return to its rightful owner. That is…” Alexei shot Boris a warning
glare, then continued, “That is if Boris keeps his word and allows it. Then you
will be free to find Carly.”