Tainted Night, Tainted Blood

25



The wait was killer.

I arrived at the Luna Cult garage and paced near the entrance. It was dark within the depths of the garage, making me that much more agitated. It wasn’t much better outside.

The night was overcast, but at least it wasn’t raining. I wasn’t so sure I could take it if it was. The night had turned out bad enough, even with getting Thomas back.

Of course, I didn’t really have him back yet. Jonathan and Nathan still had him, and I would need to figure out how to make Thomas understand I was there to help. He had yet to recognize me, but I figured it was only a matter of time.

I kicked at a fallen piece of concrete. It bounced off the wall, the sound echoing throughout the garage. I was the only one in there. I knew someone might be watching on the cameras, yet I still felt isolated, alone.

I should have gone with them. I never should have left Thomas with Nathan. I didn’t care that Jonathan was with them. He couldn’t watch the big wolf all the time. All it would take was one quick slice across the throat, and everything would have been for nothing.

“Come on,” I growled, my pace increasing. They should have been back by now. Lei’s wasn’t that far away. What could possibly be taking them so long?

“F*ck it,” I said. I would go find them. There were only so many ways to get here from Lei’s. If they were still at the doc’s place, I could deal with them then.

Just as I was about to turn, headlights came into view. I stood my ground, fists clenched, and waited. The car glided into the garage and pulled up beside me. The tinted driver’s side window came down.

“Get in,” Jonathan said.

I shook my head. I was too nervous to sit. My gaze traveled to the trunk. Was Thomas still in there? Was he still paralyzed? Was he dead?

Jonathan sighed but rolled up the window. He coasted down farther into the garage, going down two levels before shutting off the engine. I followed him at a near run, wanting nothing more than to check on my brother.

As I reached the trunk, it popped open. Jonathan got out of the car and came around to join me as I lifted the lid.

Thomas lay there, his body twisted in a painful-looking tangle. He must have been jostled pretty badly during the ride. Either that or when Jonathan put him in there, he’d been careless. Just the thought pissed me off.

I reached down and started working Thomas from the trunk. Jonathan leaned over to help. I was about to tell him to piss off but changed my mind. I was still hurt. As much as I hated to admit it, I would need his help to get Thomas to the Den.

We managed to wrangle him out of the tight space. Jonathan held him up as I closed the trunk. He started to drag him away when I noticed the knife still sticking out of my brother’s back.

“Wait,” I said. I marched to where Jonathan stood supporting Thomas and yanked out the knife. Fresh blood oozed from the wound and I grimaced at the sight. I was hungry, yet the sight my brother’s blood only made me want to puke.

I lifted one of Thomas’s arms and threw it over my shoulder. Jonathan adjusted his grip and did the same. Thomas’s feet dragged uselessly behind us.

“I see you found some clothes,” I said. I wasn’t sure why I was talking. My mind was racing, my heart thumping in my chest. I just wanted to get Thomas somewhere safe so I could start working on him.

Jonathan laughed, though it was without humor. He was wearing a set of Lei’s sweatpants and shirt. I had to admit, it looked better on him than it had on me.

The silence stretched on the farther we walked. For some reason, the sound of Thomas’s feet dragging behind us was nearly enough to drive me completely batshit. I ground my teeth, just wishing the sound would stop. It was like dragging a corpse.

“It’ll be all right,” Jonathan said. “We’ll figure this out.”

As much as I wanted some sort of noise to mask the sound of his dragging feet, somehow talking didn’t seem appropriate anymore. I wasn’t so sure I could talk without breaking down and bawling.

And that only made me angrier. What did Jonathan care how I felt? We worked together because it was the best way to solve the problem of the murders. I wanted nothing to do with him after this. I just wanted to live my life, with Thomas and Ethan, and forget about this whole mess.

We reached the Den without a further word. Jonathan seemed to note my mood and let me brood in silence. He opened the doors, keeping as much of Thomas’s weight on himself as he could, and we worked Thomas in through the doorway sideways.

Pablo was waiting for us as we entered. He glowered at me but didn’t say anything as he took the burden from my shoulders. I was in too much pain to fight, so I let him. He took all of Thomas’s weight as Jonathan let go.

“I’ll be down in a minute,” he said. “I need to change. Take him down to a cell.” He took the stairs by twos.

My heart clenched at the thought of Thomas in a cell, but I let it go. No sense getting pissed about something I had no control over. There was nowhere else safe we could put him. Not unless I was willing to jam a silver knife in him and leave it, that is. And if I did that, I wouldn’t be able to talk with him. There really was no other way.

Pablo led the way into the office. He carried Thomas all the way over to the desk, pressed the button that opened the secret door, and then headed down the stairs. I followed him, feeling like a weakling all the way. I wanted to help so bad, but I knew there was little I could do. I would only make it harder to get down the stairs if I tried to help.

He took Thomas to a middle cell. Pablo was quick to dump him on the cold concrete and back out of the cage. He slammed the door closed, locked it, and wiped his hands on his robe. He was sweating.

I stepped aside as he hurried out of the basement. I could feel both Davin’s and the woman’s eyes on me, though neither spoke. I ignored them and stared at Thomas where he lay.

He was twitching ever so slightly. I wasn’t sure if it was just normal trembling from the silver or if he was actually trying to move. His eyes blazed as he watched me. I felt horrible. I knew what it was like to have silver tainting your blood, trying in vain to move, knowing you can’t defend yourself. It was a nearly unbearable experience, one I never wanted to repeat.

A few minutes later, Jonathan came down, dressed in his own clothes. He had exchanged Lei’s sweats for a pair of black slacks and a white button-down shirt. His glamour was back in place, making his head whole again.

“We’ll have to wait,” he said, stopping beside me. “Since he had the knife in him the entire ride, it will take longer than normal for him to break free of the silver’s hold.”

I bit my tongue to keep from saying something nasty. How hard would it have been to take the knife out of him before dumping him in the trunk?

“Why do you think it happened now?” Jonathan asked.

“What?”

“Why did he start acting this way all of a sudden?”

“You mean acting like a savage form of Thomas?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know. I wish I did.”

Jonathan scratched at the side of his head. I noticed a few scrapes he had obtained during the battle. His shirt was long-sleeved, so I couldn’t tell if he had been hurt badly or not. I hadn’t thought to check before.

“The others acted like werewolves doing their master’s bidding,” Jonathan said. “They seemed organized, willing to fight together. I didn’t believe it until I actually saw it in person.”

“But why?” I kept coming to that. I really wanted to believe Thomas was getting better, but it was hard. Looking at him like that, paralyzed, eyes full of hate, it was hard to believe he was anything more than a monster.

Then again, weren’t we all?

“Instinct,” Jonathan said. “It has to be the reason. They are falling back on what their bodies had been trained to do.”

“And what if it’s more?” I shook my head. “What if he’s in there, knowing I did this to him?”

Jonathan moved closer but didn’t touch me. “He is long gone,” he said. “As much as both of us would like him to still be in there, it just isn’t feasible. His mind was lost the day he was tainted.”

I had to contain my rage. I knew what Jonathan was saying was probably right. Deep down, I knew the chances of Thomas turning into the brother I once knew were slim.

But I didn’t care. I had to believe we could fix this. Somehow, someway, we would bring him back.

We stood in silence, just watching Thomas. Davin coughed a few times and I vaguely wondered if they had given him his blood yet. He deserved that at least.

Thomas’s arm twitched and I quickly knelt by his cage. He couldn’t really move yet, but it was close.

“Thomas,” I said as gently as I could. “It’s me, Kat.”

A low growl came from his chest, but that was the only sign that he heard me.

“Thomas.” I kept saying his name, hoping it would trigger something. “Listen to me carefully. Can you do that?”

A foot jerked, the growl came again. My lip trembled as I tried to get out the next words. I hated seeing him like this. It tore me up inside like nothing else.

“We’re going to help you,” I said. “We’re going to do whatever it takes to make sure you come out of this. You can have your life back, Thomas. I will make sure of that.”

“He’s a beast,” the woman said from her cell. “Kill him now and do us all a favor.”

I did my best to ignore her. What did she know?

“Thomas,” I said. “Do you recognize me? Do you know where you are?”

Thomas’s upper lip lifted, exposing his fangs. Saliva, mixed with blood, dripped from them. His clawed hands bunched into fists, but he couldn’t otherwise move.

The woman laughed then. She pressed herself to the bars, facing us. “The Hand has a way of showing us what is to be tolerated. This abomination is His way of showing us that you all are nothing more than animals.”

I couldn’t stand the sound of her voice. It pierced straight into my head, brought out the raging beast I tried so hard to keep under control.

I leaped to my feet and charged her cell, blood spurting from my gums as my fangs dropped. I snarled at her as I snaked a hand through the bars and grabbed her by the throat.

“Kat, no.” Jonathan started toward me. I turned to face him, baring my teeth. His eyes widened and he froze. Smart man.

I turned back to the woman, pressing my face as close to hers as I could manage. I could almost smell her blood. “That is my brother,” I said. “Open your mouth again and I will rip out your tongue.”

The woman smiled, her face turning a deep shade of red. I squeezed harder and her smile faltered. For a second, she looked scared for her life, but she quickly steeled herself, her face going blank.

I eased my grip and her color returned to a less alarming shade of red. She took deep, gasping breaths, though she tried to hide it. I started to turn away, but she grabbed me by the arm.

“Animals,” she said through gasps. “You are damned.” She smiled at me. “Your brother is no better than a dog now. Do you let him ride you like one?”

I snapped. I grabbed her arm and yanked her so hard against the bars, she screamed. She kept her grin in place, even as I latched my teeth into her wrist.

“Kat ...” Jonathan pleaded, but I was oblivious to him. He was smart enough not to touch me. If he had so much as brushed a finger on my back, I would have torn him apart.

I sucked at her wrist, taking in the blood that would both replenish and heal me. It was all I could think of, was all that mattered.

The woman laughed, a maniacal sound. “Proof,” she said. “A demon lives in you. Dance with him for as long as you can. Your time will come.”

I screamed, ripping my fangs from her wrist. She opened her mouth to say something else, but I couldn’t stand to hear another word from her lips. I grabbed her by the throat, relishing in the feel of her pulse pounding against my hand.

Everything fell silent for a heartbeat. Our eyes locked and I knew right then I would kill her if she said another word.

“His gra—”

I squeezed.

My fingers burst through her skin. Her eyes widened, but that grin never left. I let go of her arm and yanked with all my might at her throat. Gristle and gore tore away. Blood splattered on the front of my clothes, over the cell bars, over the floor.

She fell to the ground, gurgling. I tossed the chunk of flesh through the bars at her. It landed on her chest, a bloody pulp of a mess. She opened her mouth and more blood poured out.

Then her eyes dimmed and she fell still.

I looked down at my hands, at the blood covering them, and instead of hunger, I felt disgusted. There was skin under my fingernails, blood all the way up my wrists, nearly to my elbows.

I turned and fled the basement. Jonathan didn’t try to stop me. I brushed past him and nearly tripped on the stairs as I ran up them, trying my best to put what I had done behind me.