Falling to Ash (13 page)

Theo’s voice sounded more like a growl in my ear. ‘Now,’ he said.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and plunged my fangs into his throat.

Chapter Ten

FEEDING FROM THEO
had a side-effect that I hadn’t immediately remembered: it left me completely open to him. My mind, my heart. He only had to take a quick look inside to see that I was hiding something from him. Luckily, I managed to hold back something for myself, but the damage was done: Detectives Trent and Smith, my unsanctioned ‘mission’ through the tunnels to the hospital, fighting Rick . . . Theo saw flashes of all those things as I drank from him. Although vampires can’t compel other vampires with their gaze unless they are
very
old, your Maker does have some power over you. Enough to make it difficult to keep secrets.

Events moved quickly after that – too quickly. I tried to get him to listen, tried to explain, but he was having none of it. He called his Enforcer to the room, once we’d
cleaned
up, and demanded that I tell him about what had happened to Rick.

Kyle glided in on silent feet, ninja-style and creepy as hell.

I nodded at him. ‘Kyle.’

His too-red lips spread into a nasty grin. ‘Moth. How nice to see you back where you belong, at your Master’s side.’

I didn’t reply, deliberately turning away from him. Until now, he and Holly had been the only other vampires to know about my existence – a fact that had irrevocably changed tonight. Kyle didn’t like me, seeing me as proof of Theo’s massive slip in . . .
discipline
. And judgment. He certainly hadn’t made a secret of his disapproval, and I couldn’t help but wonder why Theo let his Enforcer get away with such an attitude problem. They’d known each other for decades, but Theo was still the older and more powerful.

Kyle had taught me a little self-defense. Nothing specific – more like he took parts of a whole host of martial arts and mixed them all together. The real purpose of the lessons was to help me to control my strength after I’d adjusted to being turned. There was an element of discipline in the blocks and falls and punches that I appreciated. I fell down a lot more than I wanted, and we didn’t use mats or anything like that. The floor was hard and I was constantly picking myself up, always trying to
prove
that I could take whatever Kyle dished out. Which of course I couldn’t. The only reason I was still in one piece was because Theo would kill him if he really hurt me.

I suspected that Kyle hated that more than anything else.

I ignored him and instead focused on Theo. I wanted to get this little session of show and tell over with so I could go home. I wanted to sleep, and I knew that the two older vampires must be feeling the approach of the day.

‘Now,’ Theo said. ‘Tell us.’ He stretched his arms above his head and watched me as I tried not to notice the white flesh peeking out from beneath the raised edge of his black shirt. His black pants sat perfectly on his slender hips.

I swallowed and looked away. Why did I let him do this to me? It was so seriously screwed up and we both knew it. But there was a lot more going on here than simple attraction to an older guy. A
much
older guy. His vampire abilities were an integral part of his existence. They helped him catch his prey; they intoxicated his people and enabled him to keep control of such a large group of vamps; and they transformed his bite from something to be feared into something we all craved.

I forced myself to focus on where we were and what I was supposed to be doing, filling them in on everything that had happened at the hospital. Well, OK . . . not
quite
everything. I managed to tell the whole story
without
a single mention of a certain vampire hunter’s son. Don’t ask me why – I just didn’t want to effectively hand him over to Theo. At least, not yet. Maybe I could find out Murdoch Senior’s location without my Maker hurting Jace. I wanted to give myself the chance to try.

Theo’s face registered a dark flash of fury as he heard what I had done without permission, but it creased into a thoughtful frown as I got to the part about Zombie Rick. ‘This is worse than I imagined.’ He began to pace, stopped and gazed at me. ‘You’re unharmed, though? I am still angry with you, Moth, but that was excellent thinking to use fire against it.’

I ignored the swell of pride in my chest. I hated it when his praise made me feel like a little kid looking for Daddy’s approval. Instead, I shrugged. ‘I’ve watched a lot of TV. But I never expected to actually face a zombie. Not in real life.’ I glanced at him, almost shyly. ‘I wasn’t even sure I believed in them. Until today.’

Theo chuckled, a sound that gave me goosebumps. ‘Like humans don’t believe in vampires? Ah, my little Moth. There are things out there that I used to find difficult to believe.’ He shrugged flamboyantly. ‘If I hadn’t seen them with my own eyes, I would probably have dismissed them as legends – fairy tales to scare children into good behavior. Although I despise the term
zombies
– it’s nothing more than a pointless link to popular culture.’

I frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Simply that the correct term for the boy you encountered is
Unmade
. Zombies aren’t connected to the . . . mythology of our world. You would do better to look at Haitian and African folklore.’

‘Like . . . voodoo?’

Theo nodded. ‘
Vodoun
is the correct term. But yes, that kind of magic is not something that’s common in Massachusetts.’

I was getting a little bored with the history lesson, but Theo was on a roll and this might be important. ‘What about down South? New Orleans is famous for black magic.’

‘I can assure you, that boy you encountered has nothing to do with places such as New Orleans. Creating a true
zombi
is an art that very few practitioners have the power for; it is a complex procedure. Now, the Unmade are much easier to understand. They are far more similar in nature to vampires – more similar than many of the Elders would like to admit.’ He curled his lip in distaste and exchanged a knowing look with Kyle.

I was getting confused. ‘But what’s the difference?’

‘The Unmade are not the result of magical ritual. They are the result of a vampire attack gone very, very wrong. The victim returns as nothing more than a shell – a
revenant
of sorts. Only survival instinct keeps it going
until
it runs out of energy. Like a wind-up toy at the end of its life.’

I shifted from one foot to the other, trying not to picture Rick’s face. ‘So he really wasn’t brought back by a voodoo priest or something?’

Theo smiled. ‘A
bokor
? In Boston? You really have watched too many horror movies, child.’

I used to love horror movies, but it’s something my Maker finds amusing. After what I’d witnessed just the previous day, I didn’t think I’d find it so easy to watch fictional zombies going about their zombie business.

I shivered. ‘But why did he . . . it . . . eat human flesh?’

‘The flesh isn’t so important as the life force that it contains. Eating something living – and it wouldn’t necessarily have to be human – will keep it going for two or three days. Revenants, the
Unmade
 . . . these creatures need more than just blood to survive. A more dense meal would provide a greater charge of energy.’

‘Sort of like keeping a dying battery running?’ I tried not to think of the ‘dense meal’ that Nurse Fox’s arm must’ve provided.

He narrowed his eyes. ‘A little. Now, enough of this.’ He gestured to Kyle. ‘Look into this matter for me – begin as soon as you wake tonight. I’m sure we would have heard if there had been similar . . . incidents. But it can’t hurt to be certain.’

‘Done,’ Kyle replied. He turned to leave but then spun back to face me, taking me by surprise. ‘You did well to defeat the revenant, Moth. It looks like you remembered more of our training than I would have thought.’ His tone was grudging but seemed genuine.

I raised my eyebrows, not quite knowing how to reply. There was a tiny part of me that was pleased with his veiled compliment – Kyle did not give praise lightly.

‘Um . . . thanks,’ I said.

He nodded and fixed me with a look that I couldn’t even begin to decode.

Theo held up his hand, commanding his Enforcer to wait another moment. ‘Keep this quiet, you understand? Do not let anyone else know what you’re doing. At least for now. We do not want any . . . rumors.’

Kyle inclined his head, flicking an amused glance my way, then left the room as swiftly and silently as he’d arrived.

I returned home as an appropriately bloody dawn splashed the sky. I stopped in my tracks on the street, mouth hanging open.

Jason Murdoch was waiting outside my apartment building. He slouched against the wall beside the main entrance, as though he had all the time in the world. His hands were in the pockets of his army jacket. Pale
moonlight
glinted off his hair and brow-piercing, and his eyes were lost in shadow.

We stared at each other for a good thirty seconds.

‘How did you know where I live?’ It was all I could think of to say.

He raised his eyebrows. ‘You’re way too easy to find.’

Oh. My. God. If I could still hyperventilate, that’s exactly what I would be doing. As it was, I had to lean against the wall next to him and force out a couple breaths. It made me feel better.

‘Is there a problem?’

Bastard. ‘Now I have to move apartments.’

‘Why?’ He made a big show of examining the place. ‘Nice neighborhood. Lots of Italian food practically on your doorstep.’

Bastard!
I couldn’t speak. I just stared at him some more.

He winked. ‘No, it’s cool. I won’t tell anyone where you keep your coffin.’

I felt an illogical stab of guilt. He and his father had been forced to move after my first encounter with the younger Murdoch at Thomas Murdoch’s Boston apartment.

Jace broke into my thoughts. ‘You didn’t reply to my text.’

‘Oh!’ I remembered getting the message before the Family meeting. Unsurprisingly, it had slipped my mind.

He looked amused. ‘I take it, from your deeply intelligent response, that you at least got it?’

‘Yeah. Sorry. Wasn’t exactly a priority at the time.’ I crossed my arms across my chest. ‘What did you mean about “sharing info”?’

‘Exactly what I said. I’ve been doing some research into our friend, Rick. I’m assuming you’ve spoken to your Maker about it by now?’

I nodded. ‘But can this wait? I’m really tired, I need to sleep.’ And I couldn’t exactly invite him in because then Holly really
would
kill me. Although she wasn’t actually here, that much was true. She was staying with her friend – the brunette vampire, who I found out was called Alanya – at Subterranean.

‘Cool. Why don’t you come over to my place tomorrow night? Well, I guess that’s this evening, really.’

‘OK,’ I said carefully. I was sort of waiting for the catch. Couldn’t really help it when Jace was around. Was it a trap? But I should go, right? I might find some clue as to where Murdoch Senior had gone. Theo didn’t know where the hunter was currently based, and now I had to think about the task set him by the Elders. And about how our survival rested on his ability to find and kill Jace’s father.

I swallowed, feeling like a traitor. Then I mentally kicked myself for being such a wuss. It wasn’t like Jason Murdoch and I were BFFs.

‘OK?’ he repeated. ‘That’s all you have to say?’

‘No, I have plenty to say.’ I pouted, trying to think of something to say.

‘Who knows,’ he said, with a half-smile, ‘maybe we’ll make a good team.’

‘And what will
you
be bringing to this so-called team?’

‘My superior knowledge of how to kill vampires.’ His face was totally deadpan. I honestly couldn’t tell whether or not he was joking.

‘And that’s supposed to make me feel better about partnering up with you?’

He flashed me a grin that was all teeth. If anything, it made me feel worse.

Chapter Eleven

I DRIFTED UP
from the dreamless dark, staring at the ceiling of my bedroom and trying to remember everything that had happened last night. My head ached, almost as though I was hung-over. Gray light filled the corners of the room like fog.

I pushed my hair away from my face, shivering as I recalled the sensation as my fangs slid into Theo’s throat, the feel of his body against mine.

Rolling over, I buried my head under the duvet and tried to forget the taste of Theo’s skin and the fresh blood that I’d taken from him.
His
blood, but not quite his blood. The mixture of almost-two-hundred-year-old vampire blood and that of the human girl he’d compelled into being his snack for the night was difficult to forget. Human blood alone still bothered me, but my Maker’s
was
something else entirely. Theo was like a drug that would be impossible to give up.

And now Jace wanted to ‘share information’ and work together in some way. What was
that
all about? I wasn’t dumb enough to think he didn’t have some kind of ulterior motive, but I was too curious to pass on the opportunity. Jace . . . interested me. I couldn’t help that. He was the son of a hated vampire hunter, and he clearly had more than his fair share of damage, but he also seemed almost reasonable. At times. And it couldn’t hurt to use him to figure out more about Rick. Perhaps if I showed Theo’s Family that I could be useful, that I had resources, they wouldn’t want me dead.