Reborn Vampire Romance: Blood Courtesans (9 page)

“This is happening?” My voice came out in a panicked shriek. “Again?”

Thud-thud-thud.
More bullets sounded.

Kristos remained calm and dragged me over to the wall where he pushed an unseen button. A panel in the wall swished open and he pushed me through into a dark room. Once I was inside, he entered and hit another unseen button to shut the panel. After fumbling in the dark for a moment, he found the light switch and flipped it on.

A dim light illuminated a small room with metal walls. A bank of video monitors on one wall flared to life showing the apartment was full of armed operatives dressed in all black. Kristos watched them with a frown and went to a control panel by the door we’d come in through and hit some buttons. There was the reassuring sound of bolts sliding home and locks clicking in place. “There, we’re the only ones who can open the door now.”

Then he turned his attention to a storage bin set next to the door. Quickly rummaging through its contents he pulled out some clothes and tossed them to me.

“Here, put something on.”

“Where are we?” I kept my voice to a whisper, not wanting anyone to hear us in our hidey-hole. Sorting through the clothes, I found a t-shirt and pulled it on, grateful for its warmth.

“It’s a panic room. We’ll be safe here.”

Relief made me weak. Wrapping my arms around myself, I watched the monitors. The apartment was overrun and all the black clothing made it look like an invasion of ants...that happened to carry semi-automatic weapons. “What about your people?”

He grimaced. “Dead, hiding or running. I won’t know until this is over.”

I gulped. “Who are they? What do they want?”

“I don't know who they are, yet, but I’m fairly certain they're here for one thing. You.” His expression was grim as he watched the men ransack the room I'd stayed in after the first shooting.

“And the only way to stop this madness is for me to become a vampire?” I couldn’t believe I was even asking such a question. It sounded beyond insane when I said it out loud.

“Correct.”

“Have you ever brought anyone over?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Does it hurt?”

Another nod.

Whatever I was about to say died on my lips as something on the monitor caught my eye. The blonde vampire who’d brought me clothes earlier was walking down the hallway toward Kristos’ room, pushing a hooded figure in front of her. With the hood over their face, it was hard to be certain, but the gaunt, feminine frame looked familiar.

“Oh, God,” I said. I knew there was a good reason I hadn’t liked that woman.

“What? What is it?” Kristos reached out to touch me as if searching for a physical wound.

I pointed to the monitor bank. “I think she has my mom.”

Kristos swore under his breath and slammed the wall with his hand.

“Isn’t she one of yours?” I asked just as she waved forward a bunch of the men.  They weren’t shooting at her and my heart sank.

“Not anymore, apparently.” Kristos’ voice was terse.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What does that mean?”

“I brought her over and she should be mine, but there are ways to take over someone’s kin, to become their master. It appears Samira has been stolen from me. Her loyalties lie elsewhere now.”

“What do we do now?” I asked unable to keep the panic from my voice. Vampires were supposed to save my mom, but my current circumstances made cancer look safe.

“They’re trying to draw you out, make you reveal yourself.”

“And if I don’t?”

He looked at me, eyes filled with regret. “Your mom will become expendable.”

I put a hand over my mouth and tears gathered in my eyes. “It’s my life for hers, isn’t it?”

He nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

My lower lip trembled and the tears spilled down my cheeks. On the monitor, I could see that mom was in Kristos’ bedroom now. The blonde vampire shoved her onto the bed and then stalked around the room, hitting the walls as she went.

“She knows we’re in here, doesn’t she?” I flinched as the vampire in question put some muscle into her hits. I fully expected her fist to punch through the wall into our safe haven. Fortunately, the walls held.

His lips thinned and he glared at the video monitor. “She was part of my team. She would know about the panic room.”

“Is there any good news?”

Kristos shook his head. “Not much. We’re safe in here, but your mom is out there. I assume you’re not interested in sacrificing her?”

“God, no!”

We both fell silent watching the blond vampire try to tear down the walls of Kristos’ bedroom. She ripped out the drywall and cast it aside like she was peeling an egg as she tried to reach us.

“I have an idea,” Kristos said. “It’s risky, but I think we can make it work.” He leaned in for a kiss saying only, “Drink.”

I started to ask him ‘drink what?’ but blood poured into my open mouth. He’d cut his tongue with his fangs, I realized. I tried to push him away, but his hands gripped my shoulders like steel.

“Drink of me, love.”

“Are you going to turn me now?”

He lifted his head. “No, I would never force that on you, but I’m going to make it look like I did and buy us some time. They’ll back off if they think I’ve made you my kin. Now drink as much as you can.”

His lips tried to claim mine again but I turned my head. "But they took Samira, right? What's to stop them from taking me anyway?"

He wiped blood off his mouth. "Samira was always weak. I should have never made her. Right now they think you're weak, too. They think they can take you because you haven't been turned yet, that none of our kind have any hold over you. The second I prove that assumption wrong, the game changes."

A wry smile played across his lips. "Not to mention the idea of you as a vampire, one they aren't master of, will give them pause. Your father was one of our most powerful of our kind. There is no doubt you will be powerful, too. It's your birthright.  As a human, you are theirs for the taking. You'll never be able to run fast enough or fight back. But if you're a vampire..."

"I
can
run fast enough and fight back," I finished for him.

He nodded. "And you'll have all of my resources and power at your disposal. I won't let them take you. "

"Why? Why do you care? Why are you doing this for me?" He'd been a gentleman since we'd first met, but even chivalry had limits. He'd saved me, protected me and cared when we barely knew each other. "You don't owe me anything."

"It's not about what I owe you. I didn't lose my sense of right and wrong when I became a vampire." He grimaced. "Some vampires lose themselves to their immortality. They think, if you live forever nothing really matters."

"Does it?"

"I believe it matters even more.  We become the choices we make. I try not to forget that."

"So you're a saint as well as vampire."

Another wry smile played across his lips. "I doubt the church would agree with you on that. Now, we are running out of time. Are you ready?"

I nodded. As his lips covered mine yet again, I hoped everything he'd told me was true. That my life hung on every word he'd uttered terrified me, but I gave his plan everything I had, doing my best to swallow his salty blood. It hit my stomach like lead and a wave of nausea almost over took me. I made a gagging sound as my throat recoiled.

Kristos’ grip on my shoulders tightened in warning. “This is our only chance to save your mom. You have to keep it down.”

After what seemed hours of suckling his tongue, he broke contact. Sweeping my hair to one side, he exposed my throat. “Now a fresh bite at your neck to make it look authentic.” I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood as his fangs pierced my skin. This was no intimate foreplay like all the other feedings. There was no arousal to blunt the pain and I whimpered as he sucked at my neck.

Fortunately, he didn’t feed long and a moment later he let me go. I reeled at the absence of his arms to steady me and my stomach heaved, threatening to reject his blood. I huddled against the wall, gasping for air.

“Look at me.” He helped me stand and lifted my chin to meet his eyes. “I’m going to put you into a light sleep. Just look into my eyes.”

I wanted to ask him about clichéd vampire powers, but there was no time. The blonde vampire had found the button opening the door to the panic room. It didn’t work, of course, but I could hear the click of the door trying to open and then jamming up against the internal locks Kristos had triggered.

One second, I was looking into his eyes thinking how beautiful they were, the next I knew nothing as they cast me into a dark oblivion.

I
woke some time later. I was in Kristos’ bed and when I turned to my side, I found my mother next to me. The hood had been removed and she was asleep, breathing deeply as she dreamed.

Sitting up, I stretched my arms over head, wincing at a throbbing pain in my wrist. Looking at it, I saw two neat puncture marks. I’d been bitten, but why or by who I didn’t know.

Frowning I scanned the room for Kristos, but he wasn’t there. I cocked my head to the side and listened, hearing only silence. No gun shots, which was reassuring.

Wanting to be cautious, I ducked back into the panic room, which was still open, and checked the video monitors. The armed men were gone, but the apartment was a mess of overturned furniture and there were bullet holes everywhere.

Movement on one of the screens caught my eye and I watched as Kristos appeared along with the blonde vampire. I leaned forward and by chance hit a button that turned on the sound, allowing me to overhear their conversation.

Kristos held the blonde's arms pinned behind her back. “The only reason I let you live, Samira, is to carry the truth back to your new master. She’s mine. I’ve claimed her. You’ve tasted it.”

Samira gave him a defiant look over her shoulder. “I will tell him all that I saw and of the blood that I drank, but the truth will only be proven when she rises.”

Looking at my wrist, I wondered if that was the blood she was referring to me. What was going on?

“She will rise,” said Kristos, his voice ringing with authority.

Samira shrugged, her expression insolent. “Your eternity will be forfeit if she doesn’t.”

“Don’t threaten me.” He wrapped a hand around her throat. “I made you, I can unmake you.”

“You made me weak and ripe for the taking. Watch that my new master doesn’t take her too,” she said with a snarl.

In response, he spun her around to face him. Lifting her by the throat until her feet dangled in the air he walked into the main living area of the apartment. I tracked his movements from the camera in the hallway to the one that showed the living room. With a harsh yell, he threw Samira against the glass window.  The glass shuddered but held.

He picked Samira up for round two, whipping her into the air by her hair and back against the glass. It cracked this time with an audible snapping sound. Another hit and it shattered and Samira flew out the window, arms and legs flailing.

Kristos stood at the edge of the broken window and watched her fall, a look of grim determination on his face. A group of men rushed into the apartment and my stomach clenched with fear. They fanned out through the apartment and I searched the console for some kind of alert button but couldn’t find one. I was just about to go drag my mom into the panic room and lock the door behind us when the men hailed Kristos.

“Are you okay, boss?” one of them asked.

“We came as soon as we got the alert,” said another.

The men all had their weapons drawn and scanned the room for threats.

Kristos rubbed the back of his neck. “The threat has been neutralized for now.” He gestured out the window. “Someone took Samira from me. She’s on her way to report to her new master. Have her followed, but be careful.”

“Yes, sir,” said the tallest of the group. His height seemed to correlate to some authority as he quickly gestured to two men who gave a curt nod before jumping out the window after Samira. I guess vampires don’t mind jumping off buildings.

My mother gave a groan and I rushed to her side just as Kristos walked into the bedroom. My mom’s eyes fluttered open and she sat up. “Where am I ?” She caught sight of me. “Myra.”

“Mom.” I sat on the edge of the bed and gave her a hug. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” Her brow furrowed. “I was kidnapped.”

I rubbed her back. “I know. I think we’re okay now though.” I turned to Kristos. “It’s over, right?”

He gave a slow nod. “For the moment.”

I sighed in relief. “Thank God.”

Kristos offered me his hand and, when I took it, he pulled me into a hug. Putting his mouth to my ear, he whispered. “You’re not safe yet, love. You may never be safe, not while you're human. I'm afraid if you want to live, you will have to die.”

I sank into his embrace as the truth of his words washed over me. Every choice I had involved death. I could die and lose my mom. I could turn into a vampire and protect her...maybe. Plus she still had cancer and wasn’t in the clear yet. Nothing was certain except someone would die. The idea terrified me.

“Will you help me, Kristos?” I asked in a soft voice.

“You drank of me and we are blood bound now. I will do everything I can.” He planted a chaste kiss on my cheek. “The apartment is not secure. We need to leave.”

So we gathered up my mom. I threw some clothes into a bag, and we ran into the night. Kristos had said he wouldn't turn me against my will, but my life wasn't leaving me much choice. I wasn't free or safe. I wondered if I ever would be again.

The best I could hope for was some time to make peace with the future being forced upon me and come to terms with a past I had never known.

Several days later
...

I
f you want to live, you will have to die.

Turning Kristos’ words over and over in my mind, I sipped my caramel latte amidst the hustle and bustle of a very busy coffee shop in New York’s Upper East Side. Fall had decided to give everyone a surprise preview of winter and the crisp air drove people into the small cafe. I watched as they ordered their favorite brew in harsh New York accents and waited for their orders, hands thrust in pockets because the weather had shifted so suddenly that no one had gloves yet.