Blood Sacrifice (The Blood Sisters Book 3) (2 page)

Glancing
back to make sure Amanda returned to the table, Jessica hid inside the
bathroom. She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed Aunt Gwen.

Biting
her lip, Jessica paced. The phone rang and rang. C’mon, Aunt Gwen. C’mon…When
voicemail answered, her heart sank. “Aunt Gwen, we have another Amanda problem
and it’s the size of Pittsburg. If you’re not dead or possessed, call me back.”

 Ending
the call, Jessica caught sight of her reflection. Worry lines were growing
around her lips and black circles lurked under her eyes, something had to give
soon. Exhaustion was wearing her thin and it wouldn’t do her any good

They
had no choice but to get some rest. As much as Jessica hated to leave Duncan in
Vain’s care a moment longer, she couldn’t assault Sin Town with her tank on
empty.

“I’m
sorry, Duncan,” Jessica whispered. Her heart was
rife
with pain. She hoped he could hang on a little longer. She was
coming; she wouldn’t stop until he was free and if Vain hurt him—if Vain killed
him….

Jessica
would choke the life out of her with her bare hands.

The
motel off of I-70 W had lights burnt out on its vacancy sign and the carpets
were worn in the middle. Amanda had stayed in worse—even if the smell of mint
barely covered up the scent of cigarettes.

It
was clear from how Jessica slumped into the bathroom, that she needed sleep.
She was in the worst state of exhaustion Amanda had ever seen, and, considering
Jessica hadn’t slept since the mark of Lourdes was removed, Amanda couldn’t
really blame her.

Amanda
leaned against the wall next to the bathroom, able to hear Jessica dropping her
boots to the ground. The exhaustion her sister felt, penetrated the wall,
cresting
like a gentle ocean wave. Poor
Jessica, Amanda worried about her something fierce. No one could keep this pace
up forever, and Jessica had been at it for too long.

From
next door came the vibrations of sex, as two people went at it like mad
banshees. Down even further, Amanda could tell there was a couple shooting up
drugs. She didn’t know how she sensed things that far away, but she had a
feeling it had to do with the pain racing up her arms.

She
turned them over and gazed at her wrists. Like a puddle of ink, a black welt
was trying to grow across her skin, but her healing powers kept it at bay.
Driving back the magic or poison, whatever Lourdes had passed to her. Amanda
didn’t know how much of it her body could heal. She was already exhausted and
the strain inside of her was pulled so tight.

When
Jessica opened the bathroom door, Amanda jumped and stood up straighter. She
pulled her hair behind her ears as Jessica flopped toward the beds. She
struggled to pull her leather jacket free and Amanda grabbed a sleeve and
helped her.

“Thanks,”
Jessica muttered before she collapsed onto one of the twin beds in the room. She
tucked the blue pillow under her head. “Feels like heaven.”

Amanda
sat beside her on the squeaky bed. “Thanks for getting Joseph his own room. It
doesn’t seem right to drop him off in the middle of the night.”

It
didn’t feel right dropping him off at all, but maybe Jessica was right. Maybe
their lives were too dangerous for him. They were headed to Sin Town and Amanda
didn’t know what they’d find there. It could be anything, its reputation
preceded it. Demons and hexes, henchmen and humans so distraught they were cut
off from the world. A place like that needed healing—a cleansing.

The
elephant in the room, of course, was what was happening to Amanda. Something
deep inside of her wasn’t right and it was clawing its way to the surface.

Jessica
opened one eye and peered at Amanda. “It’s only temporary.” Her words were
slurred as she rolled over under the thin blanket. “Tomorrow when they realize
that credit card is stolen; all three of us will be in a heap of trouble.”

“We’ll
be out of here before that happens.” Amanda stood from the bed. “I’m going to
go out and get a soda, okay? It’ll just take a second.”

But
Jessica didn’t answer. There was only a light snore and Amanda took a moment to
lightly stroke her sister’s hair back. Jessica would worry about her tomorrow,
that was a given. For now, big sister needed her sleep and to take care of
herself. Even before becoming a prisoner in the underworld, Jessica had been
tired.

Not
that she would ever admit it.

But
Amanda’s bones were jumping, she needed to stretch her legs and she’d seen a
soda machine by the front office when they checked in. She crept outside where
a light rain drizzled down. Amanda kept under the canopy to keep dry and
skulked
the
outer rim toward the flashing
VACANCY sign. Sliding her coin purse open, Amanda took out five quarters and
dispensed them into the soda machine one at a time.

The
cola button lit up. She bent over to retrieve the can of soda after it
clinked
to the bottom. She pulled back the tab
with a snap and enjoyed the refreshing bubbles trickling down her throat. When
someone behind her coughed, Amanda spun and nearly spat out her soda.

It
was the front clerk guy—unshaven and in a flannel shirt that stretched across
his beer belly. Amanda choked down her soda. “Hello. Thirsty.” Nervous laughter
flittered
out as the carbonated bubbles
tickled her nose. Amanda spun the can in her hand to show him.

“Sure,”
he twirled a toothpick in his mouth and Amanda’s heart panged as she thought of
Duncan. “You can afford that soda, but not the rooms. Your credit card came
back declined. So either you give me another form of payment, or you guys clear
out tonight.”

Tonight?
Jessica needed sleep. They couldn’t clear out. They just couldn’t. “I…we’ll get
you the money, okay? I promise. I never break a promise.”

He
shook his head with a snort and the heavy aroma of beer drifted off him. “Can’t
take a promise to the bank, sweetheart. You’re out. Fifteen minutes or I call
the cops.”

“Please!”
Amanda chased after him as he headed back to the office. “My sister really
can’t go another night without sleep. Have a heart! I’ll send you the money.
Even a little extra if you just—.”

“That
is my being generous, princess. You’re lucky the cops haven’t thrown you out on
your asses yet.” He pushed the office door open and Amanda followed him inside.

Sweetheart.
Princess. Who did this guy think he was?

Amanda
grabbed his arm and tore the toothpick from his mouth. His eyes widened as she
tossed it to the ground. “You’re going to let us stay the night. We’ll clear
out first thing in the morning. I promise you.”

“Who
the hell do you think you are?” He gripped the front of her shirt and yanked
her forward.

Amanda
yelped and thought to
retort
the queen of
hell, but she really didn’t want to be the queen. She didn’t say anything, but
her vision spun. Her own breath echoed in her ears as a vision of a little boy
appeared in her mind. He was cowering in the corner and crying. A big man in a
white beater shirt wielded a wide wooden plank against the boy’s hide.

Despair
and grief washed over Amanda and she let the man’s arm go. Everyone had their
own pain.

He
backed away from her and slammed into the cluttered front desk. “You some sort
of angel or something?”

Amanda
shrugged. “Let’s go with the ‘or something’.”

He
gulped and nodded hard. “Stay as long as you want.” He stuffed her hand full of
coupons for the diner across the street. “Breakfasts on me and your rooms…do
n’t
worry about the bill.”

Amanda
cringed. She didn’t want anything for free. She certainly didn’t want to go
around convincing people things had to be ‘her way’. Jessica needed her rest,
but that didn’t really make it right, did it?

“That’s
really not necessary. I’ll send the money.”

“Your
money isn’t good here.” He walked past the front desk and pulled back the
beaded curtain to head into a small living room. “The booze, the beer. I’m like
my old man, but it stops tonight. I swear.”

He
turned to her with tears in his eyes. “I swear.”

Amanda
felt woozy as he slipped past the curtain. She didn’t know what he felt, what
she had done to him, but it had been strong, powerful, and it left her head
spinning with a light gnawing headache. Outside the window, the land changed.
The simple green landscape turned a bitter red and the lush grass turned into a
dark smoldering cavern.

What
she was seeing couldn’t be real. It couldn’t.

Pain
surged up her arm. Amanda moaned and grabbed onto the door’s handle to keep
from falling over. The black veins were growing up her arm. This time it
wouldn’t be slowed. Like an ink stain it rushed up her arm, traveling up her
elbow and made a beeline for her shoulder. No, no this couldn’t happen.

Amanda
wasn’t ready. They hadn’t gotten Duncan yet. He was still captive and Amanda
had to help him! Plus, well—she didn’t want to go. She wasn’t ready. Amanda had
a life to live and that didn’t involve running the underworld!

She
gulped and her heart surged with a flurry of beats. Swallowing hard and taking
a deep steady breath, the healing vibe in her gut radiated out. Slowly the
black vein on her arm began its retreat, pulling further back until it was a
single pinprick on the palm of her hand.

But
the moment the healing energy stopped its pulse, the ink stain spiraled out
again, like a spider web on the palm of her hand.

Amanda
massaged her hand and felt the black veins as if they were raised up like
brail
. Her skin didn’t feel like it should
anymore where the veins were created. To keep it at bay her healing energy
would need to be active all the time and not in a passive way. As in, she had
to concentrate just to keep it under control, way.

That
would be exhausting and eventually it would become all consuming.

How
could she do this? How?

****

It
took more than a few minutes for Amanda to feel strong enough to head outside.
The landscape was back to normal and whatever had swelled in her vision was
replaced with a cloud of golden dust. Like a torpedo it rocketed down to the
Earth and with a slam, landed on its bare feet in front of her.

Amanda
jumped back across the pavement, her hands clutched together. It was Miriam,
the angel she’d freed from Vaughn. The angel’s wings folded down against her
back. She stepped toward Amanda with a menacing scowl. Her eyebrows pinched
together firmly and her eyes narrowed like a sharp blade.

Her
voice echoed against the mountains in the distance. “You saved the world,
Amanda Blood, from the likes of Lourdes. It isn’t fair, it isn’t right, but the
underworld needs its queen.” Her hand rested on the hilt of her golden sword.
“You will go to Hell one way or another. I prefer we do this the easy way.”

Amanda
held up her hands and stumbled
backward
.
“Wait, please!” Her heart was in her throat. She wasn’t ready. Would she really
be cast away as if she were an evil plague?

Miriam’s
steps were slowed as a wall of wind slammed into her. “Already you’ve harnessed
more power than any human has a right to. You must head into the underworld and
it is my job, my responsibility to send you there. Or else the others will come
for you, child, and they won’t care if you suffer as, I do.”

Her
heartbeat wouldn’t be slowed. It quickened and Amanda searched for an answer.
She couldn’t go without saving her friends and saying goodbye—how would she
ever say goodbye to Jessica? Oh, her heart was heavier with grief than it had
ever been before. “I can hold on a little longer, I beg you, Duncan—.”

Miriam
smirked. “Can you? I don’t do this with happiness, trust me. You saved me and I
didn’t know how things would go, but now it’s written in the stars, Amanda. You
are the new queen. You must
descend
to
the throne or chaos will leak from Hell onto Earth.”

Amanda’s
eyes widened. Certainly she didn’t want that for the planet. If she could stop
that, she would. “But Duncan…he’s being held prisoner. I can help him. I can,
please. I’m just asking for a little more time. Then I’ll go.” Amanda swallowed
hard. “I’ll go willingly.”

“The
call of the underworld can’t be ignored for long.” Miriam stood up straight,
but at least her hand no longer hovered on the hilt of her sword. “I can give
you no longer than thirty-six hours. Your presence will be like a magnet to
evil. They will want to serve. Your presence puts your loved ones in danger.”

“You
no longer serve your friends, Amanda Blood. No longer of the light. You’ve
inherited darkness through the blade of sacrifice. The world owes you a
gratitude that can never be spoken.”

Amanda
gulped and stared at the angel. Her words couldn’t have hurt her more if Miriam
tried. The idea that she would hurt Jessica? Duncan? Those she only wanted to
save? All her life all Amanda had wanted to do was help people. To serve good,
but now she was being told she was of pure darkness?

It
wasn’t right. Wasn’t fair.

“I
won’t resist, I promise. As long as I first can go to save Duncan. He deserves
our help”.

Miriam
nodded. “Your sister will resist. She will never let you go willingly. Heaven
has seen the fight she will put up and it must be avoided. You must keep the
truth from her. The balance of power is more important than one person. I’m
sorry, I wish you were not that person, because of all that you’ve done. The
help you gave me and those I serve, but heaven is on standby. They will stop
Jessica if they must. By any means necessary”

Her
words rung in Amanda’s ears. She had to lie to Jessica? The one person who knew
her better than she knew herself? There was no other choice but to nod. “I
know,” she said, but her voice quaked and the sob rocked in her throat.

“Thirty-six
hours. Get Duncan out of Sin Town and stay far from Vaughn’s host, Joseph. He
will only bring you trouble.”

Amanda
thought to ask her what she knew, but she was gone. Miriam shot through the air
like a rocket. One moment she was there and in another moment, she was gone.
Coasting through the sky, she left a
trail
of gold glitter in her wake.