Blood Sacrifice (The Blood Sisters Book 3) (12 page)

“Step
back,” Jessica warned her and held the
shotgun
up. She pitied them, but it didn’t mean she wouldn’t defend herself.

They
scurried back like ants and retreated to the shadows, but this place was all
shadows. It plagued Jessica’s mind; how soulless this place really was.
Continuing down the road, the buildings were lined with laundry, hung out all
the windows, except for one. A big brick building with a werewolf knocker on
the door. Above it, a wooden sign in golden leaf letters spelled out
The
Vampire Kiss
.

Duncan.

Jessica’s
heart jumped with anticipation as she yanked on the door. It wouldn’t budge. Well,
Jessica gripped her shotgun tighter, time for her old friend to get to work.

Hannah
couldn’t believe what she had allowed to happen to her body. She couldn’t
believe what she had done.

Her
body rocked with silent sobs as she sat on the edge of the bed. This time, her
client was a demon and his lips traced down her spine, his hands gripping the
flesh of her hips. “You’re beautiful, sweetheart. I had no idea that such a
sweet young thing could dominate like that in the sack.” He looked more like
man than a demon and Hannah was grateful for that as he touched her chin.

He
brought his mouth over to hers and Hannah swallowed back the sickness that grew
in her throat. His eyes churned with maggots and his soul, well, it didn’t even
exist. She closed her eyes as they kissed. He took her with greed, his hands
pushing against her breasts and his breath hurried with excitement.

A
slight knock at the door signaled it was over. Thank God, it was finally over.
Hannah would never get her insides clean, that much was sure.

“Time’s
up,” Hannah whispered and pulled her head away. Her face angled down, she could
only see how her hands gripped the black sheet covering her body.

“You
can call me
Markus
,” he whispered against
her cheek. “You’re going to be my new regular girl. You’re the glimmer in my
eye, sweet stuff.” His long serpent like tongue licked her neck and it was all
Hannah could do, to keep from calling out in horror.

He
left the room first and Hannah relaxed as soon as he left. She put her
stockings back on and then the revealing little outfit she wore, all the while
her shoulders rocked gently from her sobs. Hannah’s tears flew so hot and
violent; she couldn’t see the corset as she tied it around her waist. Her hair
was a mess, she knew that, but at least it was over. At least everything was
finally done.

She’d
had to do it to obtain her freedom.

But
still she could feel him wiggling inside of her.

She
had to get Duncan out of here, because he had tried to save her. He had been
nice to her and it had been so long since anyone was nice to her. Vaughn used
her. Worse than that, he assaulted her. The more she cried, the harder he went.
The more he made sure it hurt.

And
Vain, what she did was a criminal. A sin. Vain was a woman and still she
enslaved Hannah and acted as if it was for the best? As if she had Hannah’s
best interests at heart. So Hannah had done what she needed to do, but her skin
burned at the memory of the demon’s touch.

That
would heal. That, she would forget with time, but what she did to him? How her
body responded to having sex with that pig of a creature? Hannah might never
forget that.

Never,
but to be free of this life and to get far away from Sin Town, it had been
worth it.

Hannah
wiped her face clean and with a deep breath, sauntered from the room. The hall
was empty. Curious, Hannah stepped into the lobby, but was cut off by Morgana.
Vain’s hellhounds barked and snarled at her ankles. With a quickened heart,
Hannah jumped back.

Alarmed
and scared she licked her lips.

Morgana
smiled. “They really don’t like you. Must be that sweet naïve vibe they smell
on you. I’ll tell you Hannah, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Oh?”
Hannah tried to control her shaking breathing. If Morgana suspected what she
was up to…

“But
the client loved you. He never
raved
like
that. Not even about me.” Morgana handed Hannah a blade. The overhead lights
glistened over the sharp tip and the hilt covered in black leather. “Congratulations,
darling. Welcome to the family.” She leaned in and kissed Hannah full on the
lips.

Her
lips were soft, pouty, and so warm. They even tasted of watermelon. Hannah
couldn’t help being pulled in by the seductive nature of Morgana’s hips pushed
against hers. She kissed Morgana back, resting her free hand on the base of the
woman’s neck.

“You’re
going to be so much fun. Come with me, I have a surprise for you that you’re
going to love.”

Not
another surprise. Hannah didn’t think she could take any more surprises, but
she followed Morgana back out into the hall. What choice did she have, really?
If she was going to get Duncan out, she had to go along with Morgana’s little
plans.

Morgana
took a key from her cleavage and unlocked the door to the master bedroom.
Hannah followed her inside, happy at least the hellhounds hadn’t followed them
down the hall. Those beasts were foul, angry, murderous monsters. Morgana
stepped inside and begged Hannah to follow with her soulful eyes. “Step inside.
Your surprise is right here.”

Swallowing
hard, Hannah stepped inside the luscious bedroom. Her feet met the carpet and
Hannah’s eyes fell on Duncan. Bent down, on his knees, his hands were tied
behind his back and the look on his face said for her to go. To run.

Hannah
was helpless to do either as Morgana slammed the door shut. She leaned against
it with her hips tilted and her slender arms crossed. “Surprise.”

****

He
couldn’t move his arms, but Duncan craned his head to meet Hannah’s eyes as she
entered the lion’s den. Hannah’s mouth opened, but Duncan shook his head with
urgency

.
Don’t do it, girl. Don’t say anything about me. Keep it to yourself and we’ll
just pretend I was acting alone
.

Duncan
wished his eyes could convey that much, but Hannah was smart. He believed she
was anyway; he barely knew her. She’d survived Vaughn and Vain so far. Her
survival instinct was strong, so Duncan had to believe she’d figure this out
too.

If
only he could send her a message.

Hannah
turned just as Morgana slammed the door shut. “Surprise,” Morgana hissed and
tilted her head. “Two conspirators against Vain, is that it?”

Hannah
glanced between them and her hand gripped the hilt of blade tighter. That’s it,
be ready to defend yourself. Duncan was ready to move, if Hannah gave him a
mere moment to catch Morgana off guard, he’d lunge for her and pin her against
the wall. He had to be sure Hannah would react. Had to be sure she was ready
for what was going to come.

“There’s
no conspiracy,” Hannah said with a throaty breath of air.

Morgana
smirked. “Oh, I’m sure there isn’t. That’s why I caught him sneaking his head
out the door? That’s why Tasha saw him doing pushups, because he is so under
your thrall? Because you’ve won him over as his sister?”

“It
was working.” Hannah’s nose flared and the emotion of fear tried to break
through the calm of her face.

Morgana
stepped forward, her hand extending to grab Hannah’s throat. Hannah backed up
and swatted Morgana’s hand away. “I did everything you asked. I’m on your side.
Vain’s
side. I pleasured that demon and…I loved it.” Hannah swallowed
hard. “My body loved it. I had the real power, Morgana. Not him. Not you. Me.”

Duncan
couldn’t believe her words, but Hannah didn’t appear to be lying. His heart
broke into a thousand pieces for her. So sorry, girl, if any of that was true.
He thought it might have been from the sadness lingering in her eyes.

Morgana
smiled. “Then you’ll have no problem using that blade on him, will you?”

Hannah
snorted and glared at Morgana and her eyes turned to Duncan. He widened his
eyes and tried to convey everything he thought. It was hard. He couldn’t be too
overt or Morgana would suspect.

“But
Vain…” Hannah said.

Morgana
snorted. “Her plan isn’t going to work. It never was. It was too filled with
revenge, vengeance. The likes of Jessica Blood can’t be killed, even by Vain.
She’s just too blinded by hate to see it. We’ll tell Vain he died trying to
escape. She’ll be made to understand when she sees what I’ve made you into.”

Hannah
raised her hand and stared over at Duncan. That’s it, here they went. Duncan
had to trust she really wasn’t going to kill him just to survive. Of course,
there was always a chance, but in his current situation, Duncan couldn’t fight
them both off at the same time.

She
stared him down and Duncan raised his head to meet her eyes. He nodded his head
and saw the tremble in Hannah’s chin. Her hand angled the blade and Hannah’s
mouth parted. She screamed a battle cry he didn’t think she was capable of.

He
braced himself as Hannah pivoted on her heel and thrust the knife at Morgana,
but the temptress arched her back, twisting out of the way. The blade merely
tore through her dress and Morgana’s eyes lit with rage. “Oh honey, how I was
hoping you’d do that.” Morgana pulled her hand back to punch Hannah and Duncan
knew this was it.

He
seized the opening.

Jumping
to his feet, Duncan was in a full on run before his feet landed on the carpet.
Tossing his head to one side, he lunged into a tackle. His shoulder slammed
into Morgana and the full weight of his body followed through. She crashed to
the floor with a cry; Duncan couldn’t stop his forward momentum and slammed
into the side wall with a loud thud.

“Ugh,”
Duncan mumbled from behind his gag.

Hannah
pulled it from his mouth and the red fabric swung around his neck. “Duncan!”

“Cut
my ropes. Get down!”

Morgana
was rising to her feet. She picked the blade up that Hannah had dropped and
lunged for them. Swinging wildly, as Hannah fell to her knees, Duncan leaped
over the young woman and his bare foot met Morgana’s chest center mass.

Her
gleaming teeth snarled at him. “You’ll never get out of—.”

Duncan
slammed his forehead into her nose and it shut her up as she fell to the ground
clutching her bleeding face with both hands. The blow made the room spin and he
fell to a knee. Regaining composure, he twisted his shoulder and dropped his
should onto her neck, crushing Morgana’s windpipe.

Hannah
scrambled behind him on all four and cut the ropes that kept him bound
together. He rubbed his wrists with a bit of thanks. “You ready to get out of
here?”

Hannah
nodded. “Are you kidding?”

He
grinned and rose to his feet, taking the blade from Hannah. He opened the door,
peered outside. The coast was clear, he took her hand. “Stay close to me and
you’ll be fine. You hear me?”

“But
how are we going to get out of Sin Town?”

One
thing at a time. Duncan tried to think of something encouraging to say when he
heard a burst of gunfire. There was no way it could be Jessica. No way. But
still, his heart knew it to be true.

She
was here.

The
front door shattered and Jessica Blood stepped inside the grand foyer of The
Vampire Kiss. Giant chandeliers hung from the ceiling and cast prisms of light
against the black satin walls. Behind the hostess podium a woman of exceptional
beauty stood. Her skin shimmered like pearls cast along the ocean and each
tendril of black hair coiled perfectly around the nape of her neck.

Her
lips were the color of desire, like the dress of a beautiful maiden and the
mere appearance of her made Jessica’s knees tremble.

“You
can’t be in here,” the rare beauty huffed, but her voice was enchanted, like a
child’s song.

Jessica
recognized the signs of magic and a warding spell. This whole place was just
one big con. She couldn’t abide that. Lifting her shotgun, Jessica fired into
the chandelier. Jessica buried her head into her jacket and protected her face.
Glass shards rained down from the ceiling and pelted off her clothes and boots.

The
hostess
cowered
, feeling at her sinking
complexion. Her skin sagged and her hair’s shine dulled like yesterday’s beauty
pageant queen. “What have you done!” She turned and ran toward the bar
entrance, but Jessica grabbed her by the shoulder and tossed her against a
wall.

The
woman tumbled onto a sofa. Her fishnet stockings sagged around her ankles and
the blue feathers she wore on her ass were now twisted and comical.

“Stay
put,” Jessica said. “Or else you might get hurt.”

“Like
it matters?” the woman cried. “After what you just did, nothing else matters!”

Her
heart wasn’t exactly broken up about it, because it was shattered. Already
destroyed. Jessica couldn’t think about Amanda or anything else. Just had to immerse
herself in her work. Forget everything else for a little while and just focus
on Duncan.

Duncan.
Her heart sped up with anticipation as she stepped into the bar. “Get her!”
Someone yelled. “Go get her, boy!”

Jessica
tucked behind the wall as the fierce barking of hellhounds broke out. Figures,
Jessica thought and aimed her gun. Two huge beasts lunged, dainty diamond
collars around their necks as if they were nothing more than simple house pets.
But their mouths snarled with fangs and globs of white saliva dripped from
their tongues. There was nothing normal about their beady red eyes that glowed
straight from the pit of Hell itself.

As
one crossed over the entryway, Jessica fired into the hellhound’s skull. Brain
matter flew out the back, as its body fell. Probably never even knew what hit
him, but the next one snarled. Crouched on its hind legs it growled and sprung
for Jessica’s face.

Backing
up, Jessica fired, but the hellhound’s soaring body crashed into her and
knocked her down. Winded, she rolled the dead mutt off of her and gazed into
the bar. Demons and humans alike were watching her.

“You
killed her pets! You killed the Mistress’s favorite toys!”

An
old man with wrinkled skin grabbed Jessica and shook her back and forth. He
must’ve been there awhile, considering the leather hot pants he wore, and there
was a collar around his neck. Have some dignity, pal.

Jessica
pushed him off, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. “You need to pay for
what you did!” He snarled and snapped his jaws at her face. Humanity? No, there
was little of that left. Little to none.

She
couldn’t stomach killing him, so Jessica hit him in the face with the butt of
her gun. When he fell
backward
, Jessica
tripped him. The fall knocked him unconscious, which was probably the luckiest
thing that had happened to him all day.

Rising
to her feet, Jessica gripped her
shotgun
and strolled into the bar. “Anyone else want to cross me? Anyone else want to
try to stop me?”

No
one at the bar moved. Humans stared at her angrily, but the demons just went
back to nursing their drinks. Jessica took careful steps as she moved through
the bar. Her gun swept along the counter and she eyed everyone with a hardened
glare so they wouldn’t think of making a move. Good boys, no one wanted to give
it a go, especially not the demons. They knew her face. They knew what she’d do
if they even tried.

As
she approached the curtain covering the hall, a woman ran by, in heels that
were way too high. Her steps were short and she swayed on her feet. “What
happened?” She had been crying and the mascara ran down her face. Once, she
might have been pretty, but now her skin was
gray
around the eyes and she had extra rolls of skin squishing around her bra.

There
was also a giant bruise on her cheek. Jessica touched it turned the woman’s
head. “Who did this to you?”

“A
demon. Back there. When the spell was broken and he saw I was no longer
beautiful, this is what he did to me.” The woman sobbed. “I can’t live like
this. I can’t!”

“Sit
at the bar. Get a drink. It’ll all be over soon. You’re getting out of here.”

“This
is my home,” the woman’s eyes condemned Jessica. “Did you do this? Did you
destroy our home?”

Hopeless.
Maybe one day she’d thank her, but Jessica, wouldn’t hold her breath. Jessica
pushed past the curtain and walked down the hall. One of the doors slid open
and Jessica held her breath. Duncan?

No,
it was just a
muscle-headed
demon who was
way too tall and way too wide. He sneered at her and removed his sunglasses.
“You see which way the wench went?”

“Yeah,
that way,” Jessica thumbed down the hall, “but you’re not going to hurt her.”

“No,
huh? I’m going to kill her and I’m going to find that bitch Vain—.”

“Vain’s
already dead. My sister killed her.” Pain welled inside Jessica’s chest. “And
now, I’m going to kill you.” Her boot lashed out and caught him in the chest,
but it was like hitting a brick wall. He barely budged, as he caught her leg,
and pulled her in real close.

“I
think I could get used to you,” he leaned forward as if to lick her. He was despicable
and filled with corruption. It slid through every pore on his face.

So
Jessica blew it off.

She
fell forward onto him, Jessica braced her hands on the floor so not to slip
into the goo that was once his brain—for lack of a better word. Now that the
maggots and beetles had been broken apart, they retreated to every corner of
the room.

Standing,
Jessica snatched her
shotgun
up. She
heard footsteps rushing toward her. Not in the mood for any more standoffs,
Jessica pivoted on one heel and aimed her
shotgun
.
Her lip trembled as she gazed into Duncan’s face.

He
was alive. He was here.

The
joy of seeing his face again cut through her sorrow.

****

He
froze with his arms up and his blue eyes sang to her soul. Her insides were so
unsure, so nervous, that it took Jessica a moment to lower her gun. It took him
even longer to lower his arms. Duncan wasn’t alone, a young woman was with him,
and Jessica couldn’t even look at her. Couldn’t even imagine what they were
doing together.

Her
heart roiled with pain and the heartache of losing everything slammed into her
body. There was so much she had to say. So much to apologize for. Jessica
didn’t know where to even start.

But
he was walking straight for her. Jessica didn’t know if she should
cower
or if she should run. She hadn’t seen him
since she lost the mark of Lourdes on her soul and didn’t know how he’d react.

How
she should act.

Instead
Jessica stood in front of him and awaited his judgment—vulnerable and afraid.
She’d take whatever he lashed out. He was alive, so maybe that was all that
mattered. If Duncan wanted to lash out at her for all the evil things she had
done, she’d take it.

Jessica
could win back his acceptance if given time, but none of them had time. There
wasn’t enough time. Never really was.

Hot
tears stung her eyes as Duncan smoothed her cheek
where
the scar had ruined her perfect skin. He stared so deeply,
like the intensity of a spotlight on a dark day that Jessica bent under his
intensity. “It’s really you.” The sweet drawl of his voice was perfect—a chorus
of love she hadn’t heard in way too long.

“I…”
Jessica’s words were cut off as he kissed her. He took her in his arms and just
kissed her. It was a promise. A never ending promise between two weary soldiers
ready for something other than battle, but a future? Did she even have one?

Jessica
gripped him tightly with her free hand while her other clung to her shotgun.
She couldn’t let it go even while she drowned in his eyes. She mashed her cheek
against his and the sweet relief of tears cascaded down. “I have so much to
apologize for,” her lips quivered. “The Black Scorpions….”

Duncan
took her face in his hands. “None of that was you. None of it.”

She
couldn’t get off that easily. Jessica just couldn’t. She shook her head to
argue, but Duncan just kissed her again as if he couldn’t keep his lips to
himself. As if being apart from her was too much to bear and his unbridled
acceptance was overwhelming. Her teeth chattered, but she didn’t want to leave
him.

Didn’t
want to stop kissing him.

“I
owe you a lot,” Duncan said, “my sister…what happened when I left your side,
but I never should’ve. I was a fool, Jess, A damned one.”

“She
was your sister,” Jessica whispered and caressed his cheek. She wanted to
remember this perfect moment. It might be the last one they ever had, but to
have so much bliss, even for a moment….

Sister.
Jessica’s heart clenched. “We need to go,” Jessica gazed down and Duncan took
her hand. “Amanda’s…. she’s in trouble.”

Was
she ever not in trouble?

“She’s
becoming the new queen of the underworld,” Jessica shrugged to try to mask her
pain, but it bubbled out around the sides. “We don’t have long. It might
already be too late.”

Duncan’s
face fell and grief washed across his features. She saw it in his eyes and the
way his legs trembled. The reminder of how much he loved Amanda caused her
heart to swell with even more low for him.

 “We
might have one shot. One. If we can get to the Ruby Heart.”

“Whatever
it takes. I’m not leaving you again, Jess. Whatever happens, we face it together,”
Duncan said.

“I
know,” she said simply, a blush of embarrassment spreading across her cheeks.

“Can
I help too?”

The
sweet voice jarred her. Jessica had forgotten about the young woman who stood
off to the side. “It’s too dangerous. We’ll get you out of Sin Town, if you
want to leave, but then you’re on your own.”

“This
is Hannah. She was one of Vaughn’s new girls before Vain ‘rescued’ her,” Duncan
explained. “I would still be a slave to Vain if it wasn’t for her.”

Jessica
nodded with understanding and saw the compassion Duncan’s eyes held for Hannah.
He didn’t need to spell it out for her. Hannah had been raped and Vain rescued
her only to pimp her out. What a true humanitarian Vain was.

“Then
we’ll take you as far as we can.
Vain
won’t be a problem for you anymore. She’s dead.”

Duncan’s
eyebrows rose and she saw what he thought, as clear as if he wrote it down on a
piece of paper.

“Wish
I could claim it was me, but it was Amanda.” Jessica cleared her throat to keep
the tears from forming, but it was damn hard. Like an ocean wave about to
breach the wall.

Duncan’s
lips parted. “Amanda?” His face twisted with as confusion.

Jessica
didn’t want to talk about it anymore. They had already stayed too long inside
The Vampire Kiss. She led them away and she was surprised to find the bar
empty. Well, that was easy, and it also meant things were going in their favor.

Which
meant things were bad. Really bad.

Jessica
hurried through the bar and stepped outside. She skipped down the steps and
stopped where the bar’s former occupants stood. Duncan and Hannah weren’t far
behind. They all stared up at the sky just past Sin Town.

The
sky churned red and orange beams fired through the rolling clouds and turned
them to dust. The illuminated glow spread and unless Jessica missed her guess,
soon Sin Town would be consumed by whatever
hellfire
that was.

An
explosion rocked the ground. Jessica teetered on her feet. She smelled burning
ash and her heart mourned because whatever was happening, there was only one
person who could’ve caused it.

Amanda.