Tainted Night, Tainted Blood

14



“Do you believe him?”

We were sitting in Jonathan’s office. Nathan stood by the door, arms crossed. Adrian thankfully had left, leaving the three of us to discuss what we learned from Davin.

Jonathan tapped his fingers on his desk. “I don’t know. It’s hard to believe anything he says.”

“But why would he lie?”

“To get something for nothing,” Nathan said. He sounded angry.

“I don’t like it.”

“Neither do I.” Jonathan gave me a pointed look. “We should keep an eye out for others like her.”

“Don’t we already have enough to worry about?” I really didn’t want to add another problem to my growing list. It was starting to get to be a bit too much, even for me.

“Do we have a choice?” Jonathan sighed. He rubbed at the right side of his face where his glamour hid his scarred features. It was odd to watch. His fingers didn’t sink into the flesh or anything, but it didn’t look right either. “If Davin is telling the truth and others like that woman show up, we could be in some serious trouble.”

Nathan grunted. He’d been filled in by Jonathan and it was clear he didn’t want to believe Davin. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to either.

“They’re Purebloods,” he said. “What could they possibly do to us?”

I looked at him like he was a moron. He didn’t deign to notice.

“We should just stay vigilant,” Jonathan said. “If one of them can sneak up on you,” he gave me a nervous look, “then we should all be watchful. None of us is safe.”

“But what about our murderer?” I said. “Are we sure this woman isn’t responsible? She seems crazy enough to walk right into a vampire House.”

“She wouldn’t have survived,” Jonathan said. “You saw what it was like. I just don’t think she could manage it on her own.”

“Maybe she had help.”

Both Jonathan and I glanced at Nathan. He shrugged and looked away.

“It’s possible.”

“But unlikely,” Jonathan said. “Does she seem like someone who would work with werewolves? We know a wolf is involved if the claw marks on the bodies are any indication. We can’t start assuming that one possible murderer is responsible for every murder that takes place.”

I felt that one was aimed at me. “Then where do we stand?”

“The same place as before.” Jonathan sat back in his chair. He was staring at the top of his desk and I wondered if there was something on one of his monitors that was interesting. “We keep looking, but now we watch for suspicious Purebloods walking around with poison.”

I shuddered. “How long was I out?” I asked. I was feeling much stronger, but it felt good to sit down for a few minutes. I still had to get home at some point and wanted to leave soon. It was hard to find the willpower to rise.

“Not long,” Jonathan said. “Adrian brought you straight to us and we took you upstairs. I had just enough time to question the woman before you came down.”

That was a relief, though it didn’t make much sense. “But the silver should have knocked me out longer. It never wears off that fast.” Especially since it had been injected straight into my bloodstream like that. I should have been out for hours.

“The silver wasn’t pure,” Jonathan said. “There was just enough to keep you down for a few minutes, an hour at most. Whatever was in the injection that knocked you out was the most potent.”

“She wouldn’t need you paralyzed that long to finish you off,” Nathan said.

He was right. If the plan was to incapacitate me long enough to cut my throat, they could use the slightest traces of silver in the mixture and it would do the job.

Of course, that did beg the question as to where she had managed to obtain the silver. It wasn’t like it was easy to get hold of these days. The silver I used came from a demon, and I was pretty sure she would have nothing to do with something like that.

I stood, feeling uncomfortable sitting in the presence of the two men. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because both the werewolves had seen me vulnerable. Maybe it was because I was angry at myself for getting jumped like that.

Whatever it was, I just wanted out of there.

“Where’s my coat?” I asked, checking myself over. I still had on my shoulder holster and belt. All my weapons had been left untouched, which was a good thing. I wouldn’t have put it past Adrian to take something with him when he left.

Jonathan glanced at Nathan, who turned and walked out of the room. I started to follow.

“Wait,” Jonathan said, standing.

I turned to face him. Nathan closed the door behind him, leaving the two of us alone.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“How many times are you going to ask me that?” I responded.

“It’s just ...” He struggled for something to say. “I was worried there was more to it than what we were told.”

“I’m fine.” I was getting aggravated at having to repeat myself. If one more person asked me if I was okay tonight, I was going to gut them. “She got lucky. I was feeding and my victim was a bit too into it. He distracted me.”

“That isn’t like you.”

I clenched my teeth to keep from yelling at him. “It won’t happen again,” I said, my voice low and controlled. “I made a mistake.”

“Okay.” Jonathan still looked worried, and it bothered me to no end. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you because of this.”

“It’s my choice,” I said. “I’m doing this because it needs to be done. This is what I do. I’ll live.”

“I hope so.”

Nathan returned before I could say anything and he handed me my coat. I checked the pockets to make sure my spare clip, as well as my silver packets, was still inside, then slipped it on. It felt comforting to have its weight on my shoulders again.

I didn’t say anything as I made for the door.

“Kat,” Jonathan said from behind me. I nearly growled as I stopped. I was so ready to get the hell out of there.

“What?” I said.

“How are you going to get home?”

F*ck! My Honda was sitting in the parking garage on High Street. Unless I was willing to go for a nice long walk, I was going to have to bum a ride.

“I’ll drive you,” he said. I noted a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

We went to the Den’s garage and got into Jonathan’s black car. I sat as close to the door as I could, as if sitting close to him was going to somehow infect me with his taint. It was stupid, I know, but I just wasn’t looking for company right then.

He tried more than once to start up a conversation, but I ignored him. I had too much on my mind. I just wanted to get out on the open road and get home before the sun decided to make an appearance. The night was quickly fading and I still felt like I had so much more to do.

He dropped me off right beside my motorcycle. I thanked him grudgingly and got out to inspect it. I didn’t trust it not to have been messed with. Not here.

As far as I could tell, everything was fine. I got on and started it up. The vibrations of the motorcycle beneath me felt comforting. It was something familiar, something I longed for.

It felt like home.

Jonathan sat in his car watching. I drove off without giving him another look, though I did make sure he wasn’t following me as I started down the road.

The night had grown cold since I had last been out. That didn’t mean there were any less people on High Street. It was just as crowded as every other night. I doubted there was much of anything that would keep the usual patrons away.

I put the vileness behind me and tried to outrun my own thoughts. It didn’t work. I couldn’t stop thinking about my close call, about what Davin had said. Could this really be happening? My life hadn’t exactly been easy before, but it was starting to get a little out of hand.

Without realizing what I was doing, I turned away from home. I didn’t want to face reality. If I did, then I would have to face my own mortality. Never before had I come so close to death. Even trapped in a vampire Count’s cell had been better than lying there, staring up at the woman as she prepared to cut my throat.

If Adrian hadn’t shown up, I’d be dead right now.

That thought only angered me more. Adrian had been following me, I was sure of it. As much as he might want to call it a coincidence, I knew better. He wanted something out of me. And I was pretty sure I knew what that something was.

The air started misting, which only added to my shitty night. It speckled my coat, moistened my cheeks, as I raced down the highway, weaving in and out of traffic. I was going too fast, driving too recklessly, but honestly, I didn’t care. So what if I crashed? I’d live.

I took a hard turn and nearly lost control. Even with my reflexes, I was going too fast for the wet conditions. I righted myself at the last instant and kept going, trying to outrun my life.

It was stupid. I could never run from what I was. I might not have chosen what I’d become, but I did choose the life I’d been living. It was the only thing that kept me sane.

Or did it? I was really starting to wonder.

I didn’t see the sign as I turned down the well-paved road, but I knew where I was going. I felt drawn to the place. The closer I got, the more relaxed I felt.

The lights ahead sparkled in the light rain. They called to me, told me of comforts waiting, of a friendly face willing to accept me for what I was.