Catalyst (Page 18)

For a moment, Kahli thought this was the stupidest thing she’d ever done – but it was Reggie. He was completely lacking in the motivation department. Odds were that he’d keep the blood for himself and have a drop now and then. She could always find it later. This wasn’t a problem right now. One thing at a time, Kahli, she told herself as she watched the vial fill up. When it was full, he removed the needle, slipping it from her skin. A drop of blood pooled on her arm where the needle had been.

"May I?" he asked.

Kahli’s eyes narrowed. She pulled her arm to her mouth and licked away the drop of blood. "No. One vial. That’s it. Use that from now on. I don’t want to get vamp herpes or whatever else you’re carrying."

Reggie looked aghast. He shrunk away from Kahli swiftly and pocketed the vial. "As you wish, you vulgar creature."

Reggie felt the telltale burn of the rune two seconds before it happened. He had just enough time to turn his face toward the front of the house. A loud crash came from the front room. It sounded like three dozen wine glasses all shattered at once. Reggie pinched the bridge of his nose. "He wasn’t this barbaric before you came along," Reggie said, and walked out of the room.

Kahli followed Reggie down a dark hall that opened up into the front sitting room. Will lay on his side amongst shattered glass from the large front window. The thick drapes billowed as the wind blew through the opening. Will’s leg was covered in blood, and tiny red lines scratched his cheeks. Will pushed himself upright and raised his hand. Pointing his finger at Reggie, he said, "She’s coming with me."

Reggie rolled his eyes, "You could have used the door, William. That wild girl is rubbing off on you and it’s not becoming." Reggie stepped past Will, allowing him to see Kahli.

Kahli stood there, lips parted, watching Will. She rushed toward him, heart pounding much harder than it should have been, and held him in her arms for a second. Will remained rigid, and made a small noise when she squeezed him. Blushing slightly, Kahli remembered they weren’t alone and stepped back. Her eyes darted to Reggie who was examining his picture window, which was now in a million glittering pieces.

When Kahli looked back at Will, she asked, "Are you all right? Please, tell me you are. When the safe house collapsed, I thought – "

He spoke soothingly, rubbing his hands over her arms, "I’m fine, Kahli. I’m just glad the King didn’t find you first." Will stared at her like he thought he’d never see her again. The look said so much, but having him that close, and that emotionally charged, made her feel what he felt. Too many fears, hopes, and dreams flittered through her stomach when Will looked at her. After a moment, Will asked, "Did he do anything?" Will tipped his head toward Reggie.

Before Kahli could answer, Reggie snapped, "Of course I did." The sunlight poured through the busted window, but the wind was too frigid to feel its warmth. Reggie narrowed his eyes and spoke directly to Will, ignoring Kahli like she wasn’t there, "She’s an ill-mannered twit. I shocked her a few times, and dislocated her arm, amongst other things that will infuriate you, no doubt."

As Reggie spoke, Will noticed the crook of Kahli’s arm. He pulled it straight and examined the tiny pinprick with a smear of dark red across her pale skin. Will’s gaze drifted up to Kahli’s face. "He took blood from you?" She nodded. "And you let him?" The pitch of his voice rose as his dark brows creased his forehead.

Kahli smiled at him and nodded, "It’s part of the deal."

"What deal?"

Reggie grabbed his long black coat from the front closet, and ushered the two of them toward the door. "Hope you don’t mind if we use the door this time," Reggie grumbled something about centuries old glass imported from the Old World that was reduced to rubble. Speaking more clearly, he continued, "Get into my truck, and she can tell you all about it along the way."

Chapter 24

Cole didn’t know what to say. Cassie begged him to leave without her. She actually thought that life here was better! The thought made him sick. Walking the halls aimlessly, Cole finally stopped on a bench near the front of the palace. Guards moved quickly, pouring in and out through the picture perfect front doors in waves. Their microfiber suits clung to the vampire’s gangly forms, and made their skin look more yellow than usual. Cole lowered himself, and sat on the bench. For a moment he did nothing, his thoughts about Cassie derailed. There was something about the way the vamps moved that caught his eye, but Cole couldn’t put a finger on what was wrong. They were preparing for an invasion, no doubt, but that wasn’t it. There was something else. These guards were lethargic, their limbs moving awkwardly as they attempted a steady jog out the front of the palace. Cole watched until the Captain saw him.

The female vampire was ghastly thin, practically all bones. Dark hair was pinned on her head, pulled back tightly from her narrow face. Black eyes skewered him in place, "What are you doing here?" Before Cole could answer, she gripped his arm digging her nails into his flesh, "Better get back to your own kind before something unexpected happens to you." Wrenched upright, the Captain lifted Cole with ease. She was stronger than most vamps.

Sneering at her, Cole ripped his arm away, "What are you implying, Captain?"

"I’m not implying a damn thing. I’m overtly telling you to get out or I’ll feed you to my men." Her eyes slipped over Cole while she spoke, as if she were assessing how many vampires he could nourish.

Cole wanted to fight her, to run a stake through her heart. It was her kind that made Cassie what she was – weak and defenseless. This is what caused his sister to feel like she was so brittle that she couldn’t escape with him. Hatred boiled in his blood, but Cole’s face remained expressionless.

The Captain grabbed his shoulder, meaning to spin Cole around, and push him back towards his section of the palace. But, Cole grabbed her wrist hard, and yanked the vamp eye to eye. "Do not touch me," he growled in her face.

The vampire started to laugh, like she thought Cole was insignificant as a flea, but before she could utter another word, Cole reached into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around his knife. Before she realized what he was doing, the blade pierced her gut. The Captain gasped. When she tried to pull back, Cole held her close, his eyes right in front of hers. "Tell me what I want to know, or I’ll kill you."

Eyes fell on them, but Cole’s body blocked the knife. Cole could feel the cold unnatural stares on the back of his neck as vampires stopped to see what their Captain was doing. Cole spoke softly, "Tell them to continue or I’ll jab this straight up into your heart right now."

The Captain remained close to Cole, her eyes narrowed into tiny slits of hatred. The Captain barked, "Continue as directed, while I take care of this problem." She hissed the last word. Cole knew she’d kill him if he gave her the opportunity.

"The weakest spot in the perimeter, where is it?" When she didn’t answer, Cole pushed the knife in harder. Sticky black blood oozed from her wound and back down the knife onto his hand. "Where is it?"

"The south side of the palace." The Captain stared at Cole, not offering more.

Cole’s body tensed. His hand gripped her shoulder harder as he started to twist the blade slowly. Watching her eyes, he said, "Be more specific, Captain."

The vampire bit her lip, drawing black blood as Cole twisted the knife. A scream caught in her throat. Her entire body was tense, ready to fight, but she was too weak. Cole held the knife in place, allowing her blood to drain. The suit she wore soaked up the blood before it ever hit the floor. No one could see what he was doing. No one would know that this human was so strong, that he killed the Captain with an embrace and a well-placed knife.

A gurgling sound came from her throat when she tried to speak, but Cole didn’t care. An inky trail of blood ran from the corner of her lips. "Tell me," he hissed, knowing he only had seconds remaining before the vamp died.

"The south wall, under the palace, i-gardunm – " her final words were garbled. Cole didn’t understand her. Pulling her limp body closer, he moved the dead vampire to his back, holding her arms around his neck like he was in a head lock. Her freakishly unblinking eyes would go unnoticed, at least he hoped so.

Cole turned away from the front door, stumbling like he was being shoved and snapped over his shoulder, "I’m going, I’m going! You don’t have to be so mean about it." His voice was loud enough that a few of the guards that remained the foyer didn’t bother coming over. It looked like their Captain was taking care of a pain-in-the-ass human.

Vampires were fools. Their arrogance made them blind. When Cole rounded the corner, he kicked open the first closet he found, and shoved the Captain inside. After searching her, Cole took her keys along with a vial of blood. Cole smashed the vial on the ground, ruining its contents so that no one would gain strength from his kind.

The corner of Cole’s lip twitched before pulling into a twisted smile. "This is going to be just like Deliverance Day. Maybe even better."

Chapter 25

Cassie didn’t want to go through with the Pairing, and as the hour grew nearer, she felt worse. Looking over her shoulder, she expected Cole to show up again, but he didn’t. Cassie sat in front of a mirror, letting Brianna help her tame her curls. The girl pulled her hair until Cassie’s scalp ached, but she didn’t care. A sickening feeling crept from her stomach and up her throat – she told Cole to go on without her. After all this time, there would be no one left to protect her here. She was on her own from now on.

Part of Cassie didn’t think Cole would leave without her, but the other part knew that he needed to. She would just slow him down, and while Cassie didn’t want to be dead-weight, she knew she was. There was nothing she lent to aiding in his escape. There was no way to help Cole. She’d just get him caught.

Brianna gently tapped the top of her head with a comb, "Hello? I’m talking to you. Anyone home?"

Cassie blinked and came back to the present. "Oh, sorry, Brianna. I zoned out for a second." Cassie smiled at her in the mirror. "What were you saying?"

Brianna laughed, instantly assuming the wrong reason for Cassie’s distraction, "You can’t stop thinking about him, can you?" Cassie didn’t reply. It was easier to let Brianna think what she wanted. "I was asking you if there was another guy that you’d rather be Paired with."

Cassie’s big brown eyes looked up at Brianna’s in the mirror, "No, not really. I’ve never really thought about it before." That wasn’t totally true, but she barely spoke to this girl. In truth, Kahli was the only girl in palace that she’d felt like she could talk to. With everyone else, it was a matter of being friendly, but she didn’t share her concerns or dreams, not that she had dreams anymore.

Cassie was at the end of her life, of that she was certain. If Kahli hadn’t saved her from the Purging, something else would have ended her insignificant life – maybe a scrape or a bruise – or the birth of her child. It killed Cassie to think about bringing a baby into this world, especially because she wouldn’t be there to protect and raise that child. It was like they were livestock and nothing more. That’s what humanity aspired to, and they seemed content.

When Cassie was a child, before that bloody Deliverance Day that ended with her and Cole living in the palace, everyone hoped to live in the palace. It was the place where humans were the safest. There was no fear of the elements, no worries about clothing or food. There was always a soft bed and plenty of blankets. And they limited how often a person could be used for feeding. It sounded like utopia back then, but now it was different. Cassie felt no different living here than she did at the old farm. In the end, she was still just a body to be used how the vampires pleased. Cassie was born into slavery and she would die that way.