IM02 - Hunters & Prey (14 page)

The sounds of her fear echoed in my ears. Short staccato breaths came in symphony with the erratic drumming of her heart. Crouching down into my own corner, I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms tightly around them.

“No matter what I say, don’t look at me, don’t talk to me. Don’t … come … near me.” I lowered my head to my knees and took in slow, controlled breaths, trying to calm my inner beast.

Visions played in my mind. I saw my teeth ripping into the tender skin of her neck; her dark cherry-red blood, flooding my mouth, the sweet taste of it, bathing my tongue in ecstasy.

I groaned in desperation and bit my lip, piercing through the soft flesh. Liquid pooled and I sucked it away, pulling my bottom lip slightly into my mouth.

The craving—the need intensified. The taste of my own blood coated my tongue, but there was no satisfying rush of energy; no sweet, sugary taste. I needed more. I needed fresh. I needed Fallon’s blood.

I cried out in agony.

She flinched against the wall.

“Alyssa, you’re scaring me.”

“You should be scared.” I barely recognized my own voice.

“No, I’m not scared
of
you.” She was lying. I could feel the fear, the repulsion coming from her. “I’m scared
for
you.” Her voice found a small measure of strength. “You’re hurt. You’re in pain. I don’t like seeing you like this.”

“I’m immortal, I’ll heal,” I lied. I knew I would soon have to answer to the effects of my blood loss. The gunshot wounds, the blood Quentin took—it would take its toll on my starved body soon enough. Paralysis would come, and that would leave me completely helpless. My death would be certain after that, either at Quentin’s or Santino’s hands.

Soft footsteps, rubber squeaking against linoleum, caught my attention. I looked up to find Fallon inching gradually toward me. “Stay away,” I barked the words, giving her an icy stare.

Her eyes met mine.
Such a bad idea
. I lost control of my willpower. The monster inside took over. My will to live and my need for sustaining blood pushed aside thoughts of friends or promises of protection.

Come to me. Come and let me drink you
. I reached out with my desire, reeling her in like a fish on a line.

Fallon was no match for me. Like countless other mortals, she gave in to my mental control. Her face slacked, blanking of all emotions. The trembling of her body lessened. She lumbered forward in a slow steady step. Her eyes remained locked on mine as she mindlessly walked toward me.

She was putty in my hands.
She is your friend
, a tiny voice, the distant echo of my conscience, whispered. I blinked, breaking eye contact.
Don’t do this
. I fought with the last shred of control I could muster.

Fallon hesitated, wavering where she stood.

“I told you not to look at me.” I roared. “I told you not to talk to me. Do you have a death wish?”
Surprisingly, she didn’t retreat. She knelt down next to me and extended a shaky hand.

“You won’t hurt me, Alyssa.” Her words were confident, but the weak voice behind them said otherwise.

“Don’t tempt me,” I growled and scooted back. “You don’t know what I’m capable of.”

“I know you don’t want to hurt me. You’re my best friend.”

“Then why make it harder on me? You know what I am.” I found myself shouting at her. The need for blood was almost too much to handle. “Why would you stand there, bleeding right in front of me?”

“Well, what am I supposed to do?” Her voice gained a little strength. “We’re trapped here. I was trying to help untie you so maybe we could get out.”

The thought of escape hadn’t even crossed my mind. All I could focus on was blood. Her blood. It would taste so good on my lips.

“I’m not going to be much help here. You would have been better off leaving me tied up. I’m as dangerous as a rabid animal right now.”

“It’s a risk I have to take. We have to get out of here, Lyssa. That Quentin guy is nuts. He was talking all crazy about creating an army of Saints.”

That must be why he took my blood. He wants to turn others.

“What the hell are the Saints anyway? Aren’t Saints supposed to be religious good guys or something?”

I felt her hand at my back, gently patting me. I didn’t dare look up. I kept my eyes locked on the ground. I couldn’t trust myself to look in her direction.

“Keep your distance, Fallon. I’m trying hard not to hurt you. Don’t touch me.”

The hand on my back vanished.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what this must be like for you.”

“You would have, if you had let me turn you back at the hotel.”

“I didn’t…” Her tone changed sharply. “I don’t want to be a vampire. I don’t want to drink blood.”

“Lysander was right. Mortals are a liability,” I growled.

“What?”

Immediately I wished I hadn’t said that out loud. My control was hanging by a thread. I took a deep breath and tried to soften my tone. “If you had let me turn you, we wouldn’t be in this mess. They used you as bait.”

“Hey lady, you’re not blaming this on me. You were the one who came to me about all of this … this craziness. I didn’t ask to be given a back stage pass to the world of the supernatural, so you can just quit with the guilt trip.”

“Excuse me for visiting an old friend.”

“Don’t sugar coat it, sister. You needed a place to hide. You would have never come back to see me if you hadn’t gotten yourself into trouble.”

“Pissing off a hungry vampire isn’t the smartest thing to do, Fallon.” Anger was only fueling the demon inside of me, yet it seemed to be anchoring me to consciousness. Every instinct I had screamed at me to attack and drink my fill. I knew it was only a matter of time before exhaustion would take over and my body would go limp from lack of blood. If I could last that long without harming Fallon, maybe she would be okay.

“Is that supposed to be a threat?”

“It’s a warning. Take it how you want.”
Please just get away from me, Fallon. Run, go escape while you can.

“Some friend you are.”

“Yeah, some friend. I’m doing all I can to keep you alive, and you want to piss me off and make me lose my self-control.”

“Oh? And what self-control is that?”

“If you were anyone else you would be dead now. I can smell every tiny bit of blood oozing out of that cut on your arm. I’m starving, Fallon.” My throat dried, making my voice hoarse and raspy. “I’ve lost a lot of blood, and I’m at the edge of sanity being here in this room with you. I’d say I’m using a lot of self-control right now, and you should appreciate that.”

I was reaching the limit of what my vampire body could do with so little blood. My head started to feel fuzzy. Soon I would pass out, and Fallon would be safe, or at least safe from my hunger.

“So, Quentin was right. You do kill people.”

I sighed loudly. I didn’t want to have to admit this to her, but there was no hiding it now.

“I have.”

“And you will again too, huh?”

I didn’t appreciate her condescending tone. “Probably… Yes, definitely.”
If we ever get out of here.

I chanced a look up at Fallon. As expected, she didn’t look happy. Her lips were pursed together. She stared at me with narrow, accusing eyes.

“So all that talk back at the café about sources all over town, that just meant you were using the city as a hunting ground?”

“You have to understand, Fallon.” It was becoming harder to speak. I felt like a drunk person, slurring my words. “It’s how we live. We need the blood to survive.”

“Drink cow’s blood,” Fallon snapped at me. “Go to a butcher shop.”

“I have.”

“And?” Fallon’s voice echoed oddly in my ears, sounding as if she were at the far end of a tunnel.

“It’s horrible.” I mumbled. I didn’t have the energy left to explain the finer points of drinking blood. The difference between live, fresh blood, flowing from a beating heart, and the stale, coppery tasting, sludge that was old, dead blood. Blood from anything dead would do nothing to sustain me. Without the life force in living blood, I would get no energy to fuel my body. I would lose the ability to function and become nothing more than an immortal vegetable.

“That’s no excuse.”

“I have to drink live blood.” I struggled to find the right words. I needed to tell Fallon, to make her understand if I could. “It sounds bad. You wouldn’t understand unless you had to. Look, I only hunt criminals if that makes a difference. And I only hunt a couple times a week.”

“How many people have you killed?”

I felt a spike of anger hearing the accusatory tone in her voice. It gave me a momentary rush of energy. She wasn’t even trying to understand my situation.

“I’m not answering that. That’s a loaded question, like when a chick asks her boyfriend how many girls he’s slept with.”

“Don’t try to deflect.”

“I’ve already warned you, Fallon; don’t make me lose the last bit of self-control I’ve got right now.”

“Fine, don’t answer. But don’t expect me to just accept this. You’re nothing but a cold-blooded killer.”

My stomach sank hearing those words. My best friend thought me no more than a common murderer. Not that I could blame her, but that didn’t stop me from feeling the gut-wrenching guilt that threatened to consume me.

The room went quiet. Neither Fallon nor I spoke.

I sat still, breathing through my mouth, staring off into the distance, fighting against unconsciousness, wishing I could read Fallon’s mind. I knew she must be deep in thought. I wanted to know all of the horrible things she must have been thinking about me.

Weakness settled into my limbs. I knew this feeling. I relaxed onto my back, lying down on the floor with an arm bent behind my head. Soon, I would be immobile, just like when Kallisto had drained me and left me as bait to draw out Lysander.

“What are you doing?” Fallon snapped at me, breaking the silence.

“I’m weak…” I struggled to get the words out. “I’ll be immobile soon. You won’t have to worry about me after that.”

“I thought you said you would heal. You’re immortal, right?”

“Immortal. Yes. Invincible … indestructible, no. I’m going to… pass out soon.”

A look of panic crossed her face.

“What can I do?”

“Nothing. Just try to figure out a way to get yourself out of here.”

“Wait, what about you?”

“Don’t worry. Just get yourself out.”

“I’m not just going to leave you here. There has to be something I can do.”

“I need blood.”

“What if I…” Her voice weakened. “I could, maybe…”

“No … I can’t … I won’t. I’ve just spent all this time trying to stop myself.”

“But, if it’s the only way to help you.” She cringed as she spoke the words.

“No. Fallon, I’m not going to pretend the idea isn’t enticing. I’ve already killed you several times in my mind.”

She gasped. I guess she wasn’t ready for blunt honesty.

“The fact is this. I’m not a cold-blooded killer. I’m still your friend. I need blood so much that I doubt I could stop myself once I started. And I won’t put you in that kind of danger. I’ve already done enough of that.”

“But-”

“Just get yourself out.”

Fallon scooted across the ground. Her warmth closed in next to my body.

“I’m not leaving without you.”

Footsteps echoed outside of the door to our room. A jingling of keys preceded a loud creaking sound, and then the door burst open.

CHAPTER 10

*****

F
ear renewed my weakened energy. The haze receded from my vision. I struggled to lift my head and found the cold, twilight eyes of Santino, staring back at me. His large body filled the doorway.

“Isn’t this an interesting sight?” He laughed and turned toward Fallon. “I wouldn’t get too close to her, young lady. She looks like she’s ready to feed.”

I groaned. “I’m not a killer.”
How many times am I going to have to explain myself tonight?

“Not a very good one, no.” His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed as they locked on me. “But you are a killer, none-the-less.”

“Let us go,” Fallon yelled. She stood up, putting her body between me and Santino.

“Why haven’t you killed her?” Confusion flashed across Santino’s face. “You need blood, and here it is, fresh and hot, just waiting for you to take it.”

“I’m not going to kill my friend. I don’t harm innocents.”

“Interesting.” He laughed again. “You like to hand pick your victims, then?”

Oh, he’s just trying to make it sound worse
. “If I must kill to survive, I will only do it to those who deserve it.”