Vampire Crush(59)
Author: A.M. Robinson

Caroline has wrapped herself around his back, her tan legs clamping around his waist as she hits him over the head with a branch. Her hair sticks to her shoulders and back in long, wet strands, and I can see a raw, bloody gash on the left side of her neck. The rain has exposed patches of skin beneath her white T-shirt.

"Stay away from my sister," she shouts after a series of zinging swaps to his neck. "And never bite me again. Gross."

Vlad could toss her off him with very little effort – of that I’m sure – but right now he seems too stunned. The crook of Caroline’s elbow is a surprisingly effective blindfold. He stumbles forward with his arms extended, Lurch-like, before hitting a tree. Growling, he reaches behind him, grabbing Caroline by the neck so hard that she actually squeaks.

"Hey! Let go of me. And cut your nails every once in a while, freak. You really are a – ," she begins, but then starts to choke. Vlad is squeezing.

Stealth and seduction have failed. Time to move on to plan B: a full-frontal, last-ditch, completely insane attack. As Vlad holds Caroline up like a chastised kitten, I grab the handle of the spoon and pull it out. He is not looking at me, just smiling as she squirms. With painful slowness, he begins to turn in a circle, showing off his catch. A crack of thunder splits the sky overhead as I rush forward, holding the spoon aloft with both hands and yelling nonsensical obscenities at a Braveheart decibel.

His eyes widen when he sees me pounding toward him, and he drops Caroline, who hits the ground rolling. I touch his arm for one whole second before he captures my wrists and rips the spoon from my grasp. I hear a snap and the vibrating zing of something lodging itself in a far tree.

Grabbing my neck with one hand, he pins me to the ground, my head twisted to the side at an odd and painful angle. I watch as his other hand darts out and captures Caroline’s ankle. He drags her across the wet ground, turning her so he is holding us side by side so we are facing each other. For a few seconds she coughs and splutters, her eyes closed. When she opens them, they are a bright, feverish blue.

Vlad pinches our chins and jerks them upward so we are forced to stare into his enraged face. My legs are trapped beneath his body, and my hip begins to throb. When I struggle, he presses down until I cry out in pain.

"You thought that you could trick me?" he asks.

Caroline starts to cry. Our hands are trapped between our bodies. I wiggle a pinkie finger, trying to find hers to tell her that I am here, that I understand. That I know what I have to do.

"Let her go and I will become a vampire," I say. At least then I will be an even match for him.

"And?" he says.

"And I will marry you. You will be a Mer – " I pause as something strikes me. "Wait a second, if you turn me into a vampire won’t I be an Unnamed? So then when we marry you will just be Unnaming yourself again," I say, and then I realize that all I’m really doing is undermining the only reason he has not to kill us.

The eagerness in his eyes dims a little, and I start to worry. It’s occurred to him, too. "You are human but you are already Mervaux," he says tightly. "The Danae will understand that you are an exception to the rule. A wormhole of sorts."

Caroline suddenly stops sobbing. "It’s a loophole, idiot," she sniffles. I have never been more proud of her in my life.

"Shut up!" Vlad hisses. "If you say one more word then I will – "

"Do we have a deal?" I ask to draw his attention back to me.

His eyes narrow, and I feel a surge of hope – and a surge of fear. Oh God, I am going to have to go through with this. I shut my eyes, ignoring the rain on my face as I try to think of the best strategy. Just because I give in now, it does not mean that I have to give in forever. I will still be me, just fangy. I can still fight him. I can still stop him. And if not, I will stake myself.

When I open my eyes, Vlad is tilting his head to the side as if weighing his options. "Fine," he says and then releases our necks. "But if you do not keep your word, I will find her and kill her. And everyone else that you love."

We struggle to our feet, Vlad watching me warily all the while, as if I might bolt. Even if I was free to, I don’t think that I could. My legs are shaking so violently that I nearly collapse. Caroline is now standing with one hand to her wounded neck. Something is sticking out from beneath her foot, angled up from the pressure. It is half of the broken wooden spoon.

Caroline and I have never seen eye-to-eye on anything, have never been able to read each other’s minds, but now I imagine little brain waves wiggling their way from my mind to hers, telling her to find a way to give me the piece of wood beneath her foot.

"You need to go," I tell her. "But give me a hug first."

Beside me, Vlad rolls his eyes and then sets to studying his fingernails. "Make it quick. I am eager to be done with this," he says as Caroline starts to step forward. I lift my fingers to tell her to stop and then make a point of flicking my gaze down. She stops, her mouth forming a little "O." Before her face can give anything away, I wrap my arms around her shoulders. Suddenly she lets out a wail and drags us to the ground.

"Oh, stop. You are always so overdramatic," Vlad says as Caroline fakes heaving sobs, all the while wiggling the spoon out from beneath her foot. She yells at him to shut up, even while she’s tucking it in my waistband. The point where it snapped is sharp, shardlike. After she is sure that it is concealed by my shirt, she stands up and backs away.

"I’m sorry for not believing you," she says and starts to cry anew. "I’ll come back."

"Don’t. Please."

"But what will I say?"

"You’ll think of something." I manage to offer her a grim smile. "You’re good at that. It’s okay, Caroline," I say. "I swear. Go."

She remains still for one final second and then takes one step backward, and then another, and another. I watch her vanish into the wall of woods, listening to her footsteps dwindle as she gets farther and farther away. The tip of my makeshift stake digs into my side, but I don’t mind the pain. The pain is hope.

"Now," Vlad says. "Where were we?"

Chapter Nineteen

He advances toward me, and I instinctively take a step back. It’s difficult not to lunge at him again with the stake, but I know that a frontal attack is doomed to repeat failure. My only chance of success is if I wait until he is distracted.

"Once it is done, how will we contact the Danae?"

Vlad sneers. "For all of their ‘secrecy,’ it is not difficult to figure out who among the families is a part. I will contact them with word that I have information on Neville and then use that to explain – " He stops. "You do not care. I will not let you stall any longer."