Crimson Psyche (28 page)

Shit — this is bad. I’ve got to keep him talking.

“Wait a minute — what abilities? Vampires keep saying that, and I still don’t know what any of you are talking about.”

“You mean your golden magician hasn’t told you?”

Devereux glared at Hallow as he continued mouthing incomprehensible words. If he was trying to cast a spell of his own, it obviously wasn’t working. His vampire companions, at least a dozen of them, kept up an ongoing clatter of shouts and threats, making such a commotion that I didn’t think anyone but I could hear what Hallow was saying.

“I think we’ve already established that I don’t know what the hell
anyone
is talking about. Since you’re so enamored with the sound of your own voice, why don’t
you
tell me?”

He grinned. “Glad to. You’re gonna love this. Drum-roll, please! You’re a vampire.”

I raised my eyebrows and pursed my lips. “I’m a vampire?”

Well, what did I expect from an insane immortal killer? Devereux said Hallow’s mind had mutated over so many centuries, so who knew what kinds of weird neural pathways were etched into his brain? But his insanity aside, the longer I could keep him distracted, the longer I’d avoid whatever psychic lobotomy he had in store for me.

The entire situation was becoming more surreal by the second.

“You are indeed. Oh, not the blood-sucking variety like your warrior vampire over there, nor even like me, but you are a vampire nonetheless. You, my dear doctor, are an emotional vampire.” He smiled, waiting for my reaction.

I frowned. “We usually call those people psychic vampires, and I’m not one.”

He shook his head. “No, it’s not the same thing at all. Those pitiful humans live off the crumbs from the psychic table. You’re different. You’re a magnet. You literally
attract
emotions. And the fascinating thing is, you don’t even know you do it! All those psychic emanations float in your aura like a vibrational buffet. And not only from your current life, but from endless others. For someone like me, you’re a feast.”

Vibrational buffet? Endless other lives?

He paused for a few seconds, a huge grin sliding across his face. “Devereux probably never told you the big secret about who you used to be, did he?”

“Who I used to be?” How much crazier can this madman get?

I opened my mouth to ask about those ludicrous assertions, but he shook his head. “No, don’t even bother asking. I’m going to keep that bit of information to myself for the time being.”

I’m arguing with an insane vampire. Time to switch techniques.

“Well, okay, so assuming I believe anything you just said, what’s that got to do with you?”

He was still gripping my arm with his strong fingers. The heavy smokiness that had cleared slightly when Devereux punched the opening in the wall had returned, making my eyes water again and my lungs ache from breathing in the thick dusty air.

“Why, you’ll just keep on drawing in resources from the human environment and I’ll be well fed. What a glorious arrangement. Of course, your physical body will eventually give out, but by that time I’m sure I’ll have found a replacement or two.”

He twisted my body so Devereux, whom I could clearly hear still roaring unfamiliar words over the clamor of the other vampires, had a clear view. He stepped behind me, his hands following the curve of my waist to fondle my breasts.

I sucked in a breath, suddenly terrified. Hallow must have subdued my mind earlier, to keep me from sensing the depths of his vileness, but whatever he’d done to mute his usual predatory energy had shifted and the thing pressing himself against me was now horrifying and alien. The ancient vampire’s power washed over everyone.

My gaze slid to Maxie, whose eyes were wide, her lips parted. She sat limply, her shoulders slumped, still entranced. Victoria remained locked in her own silent world.

Devereux pounded against the invisible force field, his expression a mixture of rage, fear and grief. The cacophony from the vampires around him had reached eardrum-shattering levels.

Hallow cupped my breasts, squeezing gently, his voice, soft silk in my ear, the resonance relaxing my muscles and disarming my resistance. “Let’s begin.”

He continued stroking me, whispering psychotic endearments, and as he spoke, my mind began to fragment. My perception split and I clearly saw in my psyche the two now-familiar aspects of myself, standing together in my inner world, waiting. The part I thought of as my professional self — reserved, shy, even cautious — was diminishing in size. I — who was
I
? — wanted to call out to her, to warn her she’d been deceived, but my vocal cords weren’t functioning.

The primitive aspect, Lust, stepped forward, shining with raw energy. She responded to Hallow’s unspoken invitation, excited to become whatever he demanded of her, and I experienced that same dissonant sensation as before: being both parts of myself simultaneously, this time knowing the primitive was about to take control.

Hallow spun me around to face him. He stared into my eyes and his irises began to flicker and then swirl. My knees softened. The sounds of the room receded and the temperature warmed.

Like an hourglass flipped upside down, I transitioned from one personality to the other inside myself. It was a curious sensation, and I found myself reveling in the growing strength of one aspect while grieving the decline of the other. Reality began to lose its crisp edges, morphing into an altered state.

Is this a dream?

He smiled.

I studied his face, which had become even more beautiful, more unearthly. His sculpted features, full lips and lustrous hair fascinated me, and all I could think about was touching him, tracing his naked skin under my hands.

In answer to my thought, Hallow pulled his shirt off in one seamless movement. His soft hair flowed down his body and I buried my fingers in it, sliding the long, dark strands across his muscular, pale chest.

He wrapped his arms around me and brought his lips to mine. A wave of heat pulsed through me, creating an odd melting sensation, as if my very skin were dissolving. I felt myself merge with Hallow as his aura consumed mine. Intense sensations rocketed through me and I heard myself scream — I recognized the sound, but I knew it couldn’t be coming from my physical mouth, since my lips were still pressed to Hallow’s. My heart pounded double-time, the rhythm so hard and fast I expected the sharp pain that would signal an impending coronary, but it didn’t come. Bright images, like a film on fast-forward, bombarded my brain: scenes of death and destruction, visions of bloodless corpses and ancient graveyards. Were these Hallow’s memories?

He deepened the kiss, sending electricity pulsing through my frame. I wasn’t sure if my muscles spasmed or if I only imagined they did. He slid his tongue into my mouth and I tasted blood.

Then he suddenly disengaged. He reared back and stared at me for a few seconds, his eyes exerting an almost-physical pull, and without thinking, I raised my chin, exposing the throbbing vein in my neck.

Fast as a serpent, he struck.

In that moment, a door slammed in my psyche, locking away the only part of me with any hope of resisting the beautiful monster, once again sealing her in the soundproof glass cage.

I shuddered in orgasmic bliss. The common-sense, rational part of me could no longer interfere and the primitive self was enraptured. My entire being ached with need. As Hallow sucked on my vein, my body convulsed, one climax building into another.

When he lifted his bloody mouth, I groaned and raised my neck again in invitation, already craving what only he could give me.

He chuckled. “That was only the prelude. The finalé is yet to come.” He tugged my sweater over my head and tossed it onto the rugs covering Victoria. “Turn around so your ex-lover can see what is no longer his.” I slowly faced the hole in the wall where Devereux stood. A sad expression shadowed his gorgeous face. I had forgotten he was there, but as soon as I saw him, I smiled and waved. He was so pretty. I didn’t see any reason why he shouldn’t come and take part in the fun.

Hallow unhooked my bra and I shook it off, happy to be free of it, oblivious to my nakedness.

He stroked my breasts and pinched the nipples, making me moan with pleasure.

As he slid his hands across the chain of my protective necklace, he groaned. “Oh yes — such powerful magic in this trinket.” He clasped the silver pentagram in his hand. “And it would work beautifully, if I were merely what Devereux believes I am.” He laughed. “But I’m not!” He tugged hard on the chain and the necklace came free in his hand.

“Hey — that hurt!” I yelled, raising a hand to rub the welt at the back of my neck.

He threw the necklace across the room.

Still massaging the sore skin, I glanced down at Maxie. She’d raised herself onto her knees. Her brows were contracted, her lips a tight, thin line. I couldn’t understand why she was so upset. We were all going to be together, weren’t we?

Distant noises floated into my ears. Devereux appeared to move in slow motion, exaggerating his enraged expression. Why was everyone so angry?

Hallow unfastened my jeans and started to push them down my legs, leaving me standing in my white bikini briefs. “Get rid of them,” he ordered.

I stared at the jeans lodged around my ankles, but I couldn’t figure out how to discard them. The portion of my brain that was in charge of such things wasn’t reporting for duty. I tried lifting one foot, then the other, but the jeans wouldn’t budge. Watching myself march in place made me giggle, and laughing felt so good that I began swinging my hips.

“Stop!”

I froze in place.

Hallow turned to Maxie and barked, “Help her.”

Maxie crawled around Victoria and knelt in front of me. She pulled my jeans off, one leg at a time, and threw them out of the circle. I leaned over and stroked her hair and her head jerked up. She looked surprised.

My bare feet were so pale against the dark floor. Hadn’t I worn shoes? I tried to think about that for a few seconds, but became distracted by Hallow’s loud voice.

“Move away.” He kicked out at Maxie, and she flinched and returned to her original location.

“I told you there was fantasy sex in our future.” He smiled at me. “
My
fantasy, of course.” He tugged at the drawstring waist of his flowing pants and the tie came open. The silky fabric pooled at his bare feet and he stepped out of it.

I was struck by Hallow’s fantastic form: white marble skin over well-toned muscles and a huge erection jutting out from the dark hair between his legs. I couldn’t tear my gaze away, nor stop my hand from floating in that direction.

He laughed and assumed his favorite spread-legs, fists-on-hips stance. “Patience, my good doctor — or whoever you are now. I can assure you I’m worth waiting for.” He pointed to the filthy mattress. “Lie down.”

I stretched out on the thin pad, unconcerned about anything but persuading Hallow to suck on my neck again. I knew there were other people in the room, but they were only faint blips on my radar now.

“I’m ready! Bloody Marys for everyone!”

Hallow knelt at my feet and said dryly, “How charming. I’ll have to do something about getting the rest of you back. This mindless part of your personality is becoming a mite boring. Who knew your psyche would be so fragile?” He smoothed his hands up my legs, hooked his fingers into the elastic band of my panties and pulled them off. As he crawled up my body, his soft hair sent pleasure ripples along my skin, and when he completely covered me I lifted my head, offering my vein again.

He grabbed my hair, lining my lips up under his. “Don’t skip ahead,” he scolded. “You’ll make me lose my place in this tedious ritual.” He glanced at Victoria. “If it wasn’t for the hag of a witch who originally cursed me, we’d be off to the next adventure by now instead of making me jump through all these ridiculous hoops. Since the crone — who is long dead, and by my hand, I can assure you — stuck her warty nose into my business, turning my usual process into a Wiccan fairy tale, we’ll have to accomplish this the slow way. Not that you’ll be complaining, of course.”

“But don’t you want to bite my neck?” I whined.

He pressed his lips against mine in a rough kiss which lasted only a couple of seconds. “Shut up and pay attention.”

He licked and kissed his way to my breasts and as he focused on one nipple, then the other, my body trembled. His rumbling chuckle vibrated my stomach as he finally shifted lower, moving glacially slow. He spread my legs and knelt between them. “Bend your knees,” he ordered.

I obeyed and my body’s quivering escalated as my breathing hitched, making my heart flutter in my chest like the wings of a hummingbird. A continuous low moan escaped from my throat.

“Do you freely choose to become my slave, my sweet Kismet?”

I’d just taken a breath to yell, “Hell, yes!” when Hallow’s face slammed into my crotch and something heavy landed on top of me.

“No fucking way!” Tom screamed.

All hell broke loose. I gasped after being squished by an unidentified flying object, and then screamed, before focusing on Hallow and Tom wrestling each other.

“Shit! Come back!” I sat up, pissed off that my fun had been so rudely interrupted. They ignored me.

In the blink of an eye, Hallow pinned Tom to the ground and grabbed a handful of Tom’s hair, exposing his neck. He paused briefly, flashed his long, sharp fangs, then sank them into the frantically pulsing vein. Tom shrieked and wailed, wildly flailing the limbs that weren’t trapped under the vampire’s body.

Hallow’s loud sucking sounds entranced me and I stared, unable to shift my gaze away, until a rush of movement on my other side drew my attention. I was surprised to find Maxie, crouched over Victoria and slapping her face, demanding, “Wake up!”

The white-haired
lýtle
glanced at me before leaping toward one of the four thick wooden spikes that secured the leather straps restraining Victoria. She wiggled the spike back and forth, still trying to rouse the unconscious woman. “Wake up, damn you. Hallow really
is
going to replace me with her!” She jerked her head in my direction. “I agree with your dickhead ex-boyfriend:
no fucking way
! Wake up, Witch, and tell the blond stud how to tear down the magic bubble. Hallow will be pissed off, but he’ll get over it and I’ll have him all to myself again. Wake. The. Fuck.
Up
!”

Victoria groaned and pulled against the leather straps. Maxie must have loosened the first spike enough because Victoria’s arm came free. She coughed, then licked her lips. “Yes — Devereux,” she mumbled.

While Maxie crawled to the next anchor, Victoria took a deep breath and almost sang some foreign-sounding words, her voice weak, “
Patefacio veneficus, patefacio veneficus
.”

I glanced over at Hallow, who was now licking Tom’s neck like a bloody lollipop, then boomeranged my gaze back to Maxie.

“Louder, Witch!” Maxie ordered as she dislodged the spike binding Victoria’s other arm. “Before the master comes out of his blood-trance.” She edged closer. “This is going to hurt.” She pushed off the rugs, slid her arm under Victoria and heaved her into a sitting position. Victoria gasped with pain. “Again, Witch! Louder.”

Victoria licked her lips and chanted, “
patefacio veneficus, patefacio veneficus, patefacio veneficus...
”

She paused for breath, but before she could take up the chant again, a deafening crash reverberated from all directions and I saw a blond blur heading toward Hallow, followed by a stampeding herd of vampires.

Tall candles toppled like skyscrapers in an earthquake as the newcomers swarmed across the room. I watched for a moment to see if anything would catch on fire, but the ground was little more than hard dirt, so there was nothing to ignite.

Devereux pointed at Luna and yelled to the nearest vampire, “Take her back to the Crypt. I will deal with her later.”

A Jean-Luc Picard look-alike swooped over to Luna, gathered her into his arms and they vanished.

Devereux interrupted Hallow’s feast by wrapping his arm around the fiend’s neck and pulling him off Tom. The two vampires faced each other, snarling and hissing.

Devereux’s undead storm troopers spread out in a loose formation around the combatants, calling out graphic suggestions for subduing the dark-haired bloodsucker. “Do not interfere,” Devereux roared at his companions. “He is mine.” He removed his coat in a smooth movement and tossed it behind him. “You will pay for this, Slayer.”

Hallow spread his bloody lips in an evil grin. He laughed and made a “come and get me” gesture with his hands. “This night just keeps getting better,” he announced and leapt at Devereux, lethal fangs extended.

Blood spurted from the bites and gashes they inflicted upon each other. My heart pounding, I sat up to get a better view of the fight, and my gaze caught the limp, bluish-white body sprawled on the floor. Tom didn’t look so good — in fact, he looked dead. A strange, sad feeling coursed through me. I tried to shift my attention back to the two vampires, but I couldn’t stop staring at Tom. Some distant voice in my head kept insisting I had to do something to save him. Save him? What the hell? How was I supposed to save him? I was just waiting for one of the gorgeous long-haired guys to finish what Hallow had started.

“Stop!” Maxie said, and I rose to my knees and jerked my head toward her voice. “What are you doing?” she asked Victoria. She grabbed the witch’s hand, which was tugging at the straps tied to her ankles.

“Let go. I need to help him!” Victoria pointed to Tom. “He’s dying—”

“No, he’s not dying. He’s dead — drained dry. Toast. There’s nothing you can do, Glinda.”

“You’re
wrong
.” Victoria wrenched her hand away. “I can still sense him.” She squinted her eyes and stared at Maxie. “He’s more alive than you are, whatever you are. You’re not a vampire, but you’re not human, either.”

“Yeah, looks can be deceiving.”

“Not to me. I see you, or what’s left of you. And I see Hallow, too.” Victoria locked eyes with me. “I have to make Kismet see before it’s too late.” She slid her gaze back to Maxie. “If you really want to make sure Hallow doesn’t claim her so you can keep him for yourself, you’ll help me.”

“I did my bit.” Maxie snorted. “I helped you give Devereux the key to unlock the spell. The rest is up to the blond Sir Galahad and his knights of the round coffin. But just to be clear, I wasn’t helping
you
. I was helping
me
.” She gave a bitter laugh and nodded toward me. “Yeah, as if anything we do will keep her from giving Hallow whatever he wants. He’s been controlling her a lot longer than you think. She’s basically one giant libido at this point.”

“I’m not a giant libido.” I planted my hands on my hips. “I’m just the right size. Why are you two talking about me like I’m not here? What is it you want me to see?
Hey!
” Devereux and Hallow tumbled into me, knocking me face-first to the ground, and my forehead bounced on the hard surface with a jolt of pain. I scrabbled sideways toward Victoria, trying to escape the frenzied fight. She’d managed to dislodge the last two stakes holding her legs and now she rose painfully to her knees.

Devereux yelled to one of his vampires — a refrigerator-sized undead linebacker with a tight cap of wiry black curls named Basil — and pointed at me. “Move her to safety.” But the second Devereux shifted his attention to Basil, Hallow kicked out at Devereux’s shoulder. He struck with such force that Devereux flew across the room and punched a deep indentation in the far wall before he crashed down into a pile of stacked-up furniture. Devereux’s bellow of rage was accompanied by the sound of wood splintering.

Time stopped.

Hallow moved unbelievably fast and appeared next to me, dripping blood. Covered in the red liquid, he looked like a cartoon demon. The thick smell made me gag. He wove his wet fingers into my hair and pulled my head tight against his sticky leg, yanking so hard that it felt like my hair was being wrenched out by the roots.

I wailed, “Ow, dammit, that
hurts
. Let
go
.”

“Shut up,” he snarled. “We have unfinished business.”

He spun to face Basil, who’d just stepped up beside me, pushed his fingers into the linebacker’s chest, and before the huge vampire even had a chance to notice the wound, grabbed Basil’s heart and crushed it in his dripping hand.

Basil slammed to the ground.

As his warrior’s body disintegrated into dust Devereux reappeared. Growling, he flung off the tattered remains of his bloody shirt and took a step toward Hallow, then looked down at me and stopped. The other vampires closed in around us.

Hallow tightened his hold on my hair. “Yes,” he said silkily, “I thought my hostage might get your attention.” Keeping his eyes on Devereux, he dragged me backward a couple of feet through a pool of Basil’s blood. “As delightful as this interlude has been, I’m afraid my new slave and I have to complete the ritual and be on our way. Of course, I could simply wait until the sun comes up, watch you and your minions die for the day and then finish you off. You wouldn’t feel a thing, but that would be incredibly kind and — well,
humane
— of me, and I can’t have that. No. Better that I allow you to observe while I complete my business with your former significant other, and then I’ll destroy you all personally and painfully, the way it should be.”

He tugged me to my feet, wrapped his arm around my waist and snugged me against his body. As soon as he pulled me close, his limp organ stirred to life.

Devereux stared at me and as I met his beautiful eyes, a crackle of energy arced across my forehead. I heard, “Come to me.”

That sounded like a great plan to me, so I stepped toward him.
Yeah, Fang Boy—

Hallow yanked me sideways, breaking my eye-contact with Devereux. “Nice try, my boy but you simply don’t have the juice to override my control of the delightful doctor. And if you keep trying, her mind will simply collapse upon itself. But of course, that’s your call. It won’t bother me if she’s a vegetable. She’ll still be able to attract emotions like a magnet, so her mental state is of no concern to me.”

Hallow strengthened his grip and spoke into my ear. His voice sizzled across my skin. The achingly ecstatic tone melted my bones, slowed my heart rate. I was beyond relaxed. “Do you choose me, Kismet?”

I wanted to say yes, but I couldn’t form the word. My lips wouldn’t work. I was unable to make any of my muscles to do my bidding.

He shook me roughly. “Fucking sensitive human! Even my voice is too much for you!
Speak, slave.
Do you freely choose me?”

I coughed, trying to clear my throat, and a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed my leg, shooting a quick burst of electricity through me.

“
Aspicio!
” Victoria screamed.

The strange word hit me like a lightning strike, sending a trembling wave sparking along my skin. I jerked my gaze down to Victoria as she yelled again, louder still, “
Aspicio!
”

Holy shit!

I slid bonelessly out of Hallow’s grip and fell to my knees, staring into Victoria’s wide eyes.

“See the truth, Kismet! Take my hand and see what I see.” She held out her hand, palm up.

“Silence, Witch!” Hallow commanded. “I will make sure you remain obedient to me, and this time, there will be no traitorous slaves to intervene.” He reached for her golden curls and Devereux leapt over me. He smashed into Hallow, pushing them both backward and knocking over more of the tall candleholders, all the while snarling and growling.

Maxie, a silent observer on Victoria’s other side, suddenly stood. One of Devereux’s vampires moved in to restrain her, clutching her arm in what must have been a painful grip. “The Master told us not to interfere in his fight with Hallow.” He smiled wide, displaying one perfect fang and a chipped one. “That includes you. I think you’ve caused enough trouble for tonight.”

Devereux and Hallow continued their battle behind us to a soundtrack of guttural growls and rumbling hisses and the ripping of flesh and wrenching of bone: grisly background music for the surreal confrontation. The smell of fresh blood saturated the smoky air.

I was staring blankly, unable to move, aware of everything around me but frozen, when Victoria reached over and took both my hands, squeezing hard. “
Aspicio!
Excito!
” she cried. My head flopped back and my mouth gaped open. Then my chin thumped forward onto my chest as Victoria’s words reverberated like a cattle-prod to my brain. Electrical impulses radiated through all of my nerve-endings and energy danced along my scalp. My toes cramped.

Slowly I lifted my head and met her gaze. My eyes felt twice their normal size.

Her expression intense, she leaned in close and whispered, “Keep hold of my hands and focus on Maxie.”

The worst migraine I’d ever experienced threatened to explode my skull. I blinked and licked my lips, then shot my attention to Maxie, who was struggling to break free of the snaggletooth vampire’s grip.

“Stop, Witch!” Maxie yelled. “Don’t do this!”

Maxie was she always was, right down to her cynical smirk. Her long hair flowed along her body like silky snow, her model’s figure showcased in her tight T-shirt and jeans.

Confused, I turned back to Victoria, not sure what she thought would happen.

She squeezed my hands again, so hard I felt the bones crunch together. “
Aspicio!
Excito!
” she repeated, and my body twitched like a frog in a high-school biology class. A loud buzzing filled my ears, like white noise times a thousand. I tried to raise my hands to block the annoying sound, but Victoria held them in a death-grip.

I glanced at Maxie again, and her face blurred. The blue eyes I was accustomed to seeing morphed into green — then brown, then silver — and her features melted, gel-like, creating a double-exposure image. I blinked several times to clear my vision, then opened my eyes as wide as possible, but the ghastly transformation continued until the beautiful woman with the quick smile no longer stood in front of me. Instead I stared, uncomprehending, at a tall, brown, shriveled-up husk with vaguely human features, except for the empty holes where eyes should be. The figure was surrounded by a murky, dark green-grey energy field, bubbling and churning like chemical sludge in a toxic waste tank.

The hideous sight shocked me. I gasped and slumped back against Victoria, who encircled me with her arms.

“Look at Hallow,” she demanded, and everything slowed. My eyes watered and my vision fuzzed. The pain in my head hammered relentlessly, pressing with such intensity against the bones of my skull that I knew I couldn’t possibly survive. I must be dying — this had to be death. Victoria’s voice was very far away.

“Kismet! Look at Hallow!” She grabbed my face and angled it toward the two vampires fighting.

Hallow and Devereux floated in the air, their mouths yawning wide, their fangs displayed menacingly. They were both covered with blood from the gashes and lacerations crisscrossing their bodies. For a second I thought Devereux had embedded his powerful fingers into the skin of Hallow’s neck, but then Hallow, the beautiful man I’d so desired, faded from my sight, and something unbelievable appeared.