Vampire Secrets: Book 2 (Blood and Snow Season Two) (9 page)

“I told you normal was overrated
,” he said, taking my chin in his hand.

I looked away, surprised by the intensity coming off him. It also bothered me to realize that he was no longer just a random man with the red eyes from my dreams.
But Christopher. The Hunter.

He raised his other hand and I followed it with my gaze as he tore a gash in his wrist with one of his fangs.
“You need my blood. I know you need it. So, before it’s too late, drink my damn blood.” He forced his wrist against my mouth.

I resisted, squeezing my lips together, but he pressed harder and his blood got in. As soon as the tang touched my tongue, my heart raced. It beat so strong
I thought it would rip through my chest. I swallowed. And swallowed some more. His blood tasted incredible. It didn’t take long to realize he’d been right. I’d been parched for weeks. Literally dying of thirst. Not for water or any other liquid a human required, but for blood. His blood.

I dropped my katana and took hold of his wrist
with both hands, pressing it deeper into my mouth.

“That’s it,” h
e said.

My parents had refused to let me drink
from him before. I thought it had to do with the fact my mom drank from him when she was younger. That maybe it was an awkward situation or something.

A
s his blood soothed my throat, basically brought me back to life, I decided that was crazy. His blood was like none I’d ever tasted, an exquisite combination of power and sensuality. With each pull, my body became stronger. I could’ve kept drinking until the vampire was dry, but I knew that wouldn’t do. I released his wrist and looked up. Christopher smiled. “You look better already,” he said, brushing some hair off my face.

What could I say to that
? I knew he was right. I felt better. Not a hundred percent—I still didn’t have my wings—but I no longer felt like a shell of the person I used to be. “I don’t understand. No blood has ever affected me like yours. How? Do I have my powers back?”

Christopher winked. “I would think so.” He picked up my sword a
nd held it out. “Go find out.”

I smiled, taking a deep breath. And knew. Immediately. I could smell
… everything. His blood. The scent of the soap he’d used to shower, a light dusting of cologne, and so much more. I stretched my abilities further and realized I could smell Troy’s blood and my dad’s. I did a little dance.

Christopher laughed.

I probably should’ve been embarrassed, but I wasn’t. I couldn’t help it. I’d never been so happy.

I could see, even in the dark, the color of his eyes.
They were no longer red, but a dark green.

“Hurry,” he said.

“Fine.” I turned away, heading toward Troy and Peter, and the battle that still raged.

Then I remembered I hadn’t thanked him
. “Hey, tha—” But I stopped.

Christopher was gone.

I had no doubt I’d see him again. He still needed to explain why he thought we were betrothed. My mom and dad would never allow that. Ever. My dad would kill him before he’d allow Christopher and me to be married. If he ever found out I’d drunk the vampire’s blood, my dad might kill him anyway.

And my mom…
I shuddered involuntarily at the thought. Christopher would probably wish for death after my mom finished with him.

I’d deal with that later. First I had to go help Troy and my dad.

Chapter 6

We didn’
t capture any of the Akuma. Troy, Peter, and I decapitated them all. Once their heads were severed from their bodies, they fell apart, shriveled up and dissipated.

Emotionally, it was difficult to kill, but I got over it quickly.

Christopher’s blood pumped through my veins and the more I fought the stronger I became. If I‘d thought it was appropriate I would’ve cheered. My vampire abilities were back in force and I used them to their full potential, grateful I could actually help.

Troy and Peter noticed too.

After the last Akuma was beheaded, Troy came over. “Jack, you kicked ass.” He held up his hand for a high five. I didn’t leave him hanging.

“There’s my girl,” Peter said, pulling me into his chest for a hug
.

“Thanks,” I said, enjoying the compliments. When I pulled back, Peter
squinted, staring at my mouth. “You’ve got blood,” he pointed, “right there.”

“Oh?” I
wiped it away with my shirt, knowing it wasn’t any of my own, or the Akuma’s. They didn’t bleed. That meant the blood was Christopher’s.

“Let’s go,” Troy said. “I need a shower.”

Peter nodded. “You two go ahead. I’m going back to Sharra. I need to check on Snow.

I squeezed Peter’s hand. “Tell
Mom I love her, please?”

He squeezed back. “Of course.” Then he was gone. I had no idea how he did that. He wasn’t a vampire. He was no longer human. Again I questioned what
sort of creature he’d become.

“Jack?” Troy called
, interrupting my thoughts. He must’ve noticed the flush on my cheeks or the happiness radiating from my eyes. I could feel the difference at having Christopher’s blood beating through my veins. “You’re different. What—”

“Race you back?” I started running, my vision crystal clear in the da
rkness and my speed at full throttle. I didn’t want to lie to Troy but I didn’t want to tell him what I’d done either.

“Dude.” He was surprise
d.

“Hurry.”
I laughed and kept running.

He
was gaining so I stepped it up, hurtling and dodging tombstones. I was going to win. I knew it.

But a
name engraved on a large gravestone seemed to jump out as I passed, and I slid to a stop.

Abby Jones.

I moved to stand in front of her grave. Thankfully the dirt and grass in front hadn’t been disturbed. The Akuma elf who had killed Drake said the Mistress sought out evil.

Abby hadn’t had an evil bone in her body.

Her honey brown hair, dark hazel eyes, and freckled face came to mind. I hadn’t known her long, but we’d become friends. She loved to read and had hooked me on
The Vampire Diaries
. I was beyond heartbroken that she was gone.

Troy stopped. “Jack, what are you
…? Oh.” His hands rested on my shoulders. “I’m here, if you need someone.”

“Thanks, Troy.” I appreciated his nearness
and leaned into him.

***

Troy dropped me off at home.
He put his truck in Park, got out, and came around to open my door. “This is totally odd timing. School is crazy. The world is going to crap, but I had a question.” His face was dirty, his short hair rumpled, but his hazel eyes were hopeful.

“What?” I asked, hopping out of the truck.

Troy seemed nervous, but he took my hands. “You know how there’s the Winter Formal coming up at school in a couple of weeks?”

“Um, I’ve seen the posters
.” I hadn’t thought about going. Laeddin wouldn’t go. And I hadn’t considered going with anyone but him. Plus, I figured no one else would ask. I was the school freak after all.

“
Well,” he smiled. It was a goofy half-smile that sent my heartbeat into an unexpected rhythm. “I wondered if you’d go with me.”

“Really?” I was genuinely
surprised.

“Yeah. I’ll dress up in a tux. You’ll wear a pretty pink
princess…”

I snorted.

Troy winked. He was teasing. I didn’t wear pink. Over the past several weeks he’d come to know that. “You’ll wear a pretty dress. We’ll take a limo. Go to dinner. Then hit the dance. Maybe take Grand Pops’ yacht out and watch the sunrise from the ocean.” He shrugged nervously. “The whole thing. What do you think?”

It
sounded really fun, especially the part about the sunrise on the ocean. That was a sight I’d like to see. “Yes. I’d love to.”

Troy let out a big breath. “I’m so glad you said yes. Plan B was going to be a whole lot less
cool, but way more entertaining.”

“Oh, what was Plan B?”

He smirked. “I pull the dragon card and steal the pretty girl.”

I laughed out loud. Couldn’t help it. Troy was funny.
“Well I guess I’m glad I said yes then too. I would’ve hated to pull the vampire card and been forced to kick your dragon ass.”

Troy’s eyes danced with joy. It was good to see him
cheerful again. “After watching the way you fought tonight, it might be possible.”

“Yep.” I flicked him in the stomach.

He flinched, catching my hand in his. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m glad it did. You seem better.”

“Almost,” I said quietly.

“Wanna talk about it?” He gave me a serious look, one that said he cared.

“Yes. I do. But not right now. I need a shower.”
I was covered in Akuma remnants and I wanted it off. I started toward the house.

“You really do.” He waved a hand in front of his nose.

I laughed again, noticing the smell of his blood. It was fragrant, like sandalwood and copper. My mouth watered.

“See ya, Troy.”

“Later, Jack.”

After I closed and locked the front door, I went upstairs and took a shower.
While I towel-dried my hair I went back downstairs and turned on the news.

Big mistake.
It looked like people had gone bonkers. I hadn’t seen any kind of crazy in Salem but then the town seemed pretty laid back.

But i
n the bigger cities, like Boston, people were rioting. Breaking into stores, stealing stuff, stealing cars, and stealing from each other. There had also been a serious surge of murder and random muggings and beatings, all kinds of crimes. It was awful and horrible to watch.

To make matters worse, t
he local station had a countdown button. It was in the upper left hand corner of the screen. A glaring reminder that in one hundred nine days, twenty-two hours, eight minutes, forty-two…

Forty-one.

Forty.

Seconds.

The Earth would go completely dark. That was serious. Weird. And lots of people were scared. Rightly so.

Maybe doing something
as ordinary as going to a Winter Formal was a bad idea. A lot could happen in two weeks. The school might cancel the dance.

Last night, t
he President of the United States had addressed the nation. He’d stated that America as well as several other countries around the world had teams of people working tirelessly to get to the bottom of the problem, that they would find a solution, and all would be right with the world. He told people not to panic, which was a bad idea.

Apparently not a lot of people
believed him.

How could they? I knew about the supernatural. I was a supernatural creature and
even I couldn’t believe something so scary could be fixed.

Total darkness.

There was chaos now, at just the idea of eternal night, but if it really happened? The thought of what would become of every realm filled my soul with terror. I knew the consequences would be immeasurable.

“Church groups are calling
all people to repentance, claiming God is punishing us for our sins…” the newscaster went on.

I co
uldn’t watch any more. Shutting off the TV, I went up to bed. Turning on my beside table lamp, I climbed under the covers. Pulled the comforter tight around my chin. I hated that I was in the house alone.

“Laeddin?” I whispered.

He didn’t appear. I knew it was because he was still in his realm and that I shouldn’t bother him. But I needed him.

I thought about using one of my wishes to make him appear, but I immediately discarded the idea. Who knew what the
penalties would be? So I turned off my light, closed my eyes, and tried to sleep.

It was impossible.

I tossed and turned.

There was a
tap on the windowpane.

I froze.

Could it be an Akuma?

“Jasmine. Open up. I need to speak with you.”

It was Gatsby’s voice. I let out a relieved sob, jumped out of bed and slid the pane open. I’d never been so happy to see an animal in my whole life. “Gatsby.”

“I thought we agreed to leave the window open, vampire.” Gatsby came in, darted off the sill, and walked arrogantly over to my bed. He jumped up and proceeded to curl himself into a ball on my pillow.

I shooed him off. “We did, but Troy said to keep it shut because of the Akuma and the Mistress.”

At the mention of Troy’s name, Gatsby’s ears perked.

I got under the covers and lay back down. “You know who Troy is, don’t you?”