Blood Sacrifice (The Blood Sisters Book 3) (5 page)

Kneeling
over the stockade whipping bench wasn’t the manliest thing in the world, but
Duncan didn’t have much choice in the matter. His hands were cuffed beneath the
base and his chin dug into the
pleather
material across the top pad. Duncan’s mind swirled as he listened to Vain’s
high heels click.

She
circled in front of him and placed a fist on her hip. No longer in her silver
catsuit
, which had always been her trademark,
now she wore a pair of stiletto pumps, fishnet stockings and a dangerously
tight corset. In other words, Vain was dressed in her finest working girl
outfit.

“You
haven’t called out once, Duncan.” Her voice purred with disappointment and
circled from behind.

“Guess
you’re going to have to try harder then, aren’t you?” Maybe it wasn’t smart to
goad her on, but Duncan couldn’t help himself. Being in the same room with her
angered him. Knowing her hands could touch him, caresses him anytime she
wanted, sickened him. Worst of all, he put himself in this situation. He
subjected himself toVain’s mercy because he, what, thought he would be able to
escape so easy?

The
heat of Vain’s legs pressed up against the naked flesh of his thighs. The
softness of her bosom pushed into his back and her fingernails traced up his
arms. Something was sharp, so sharp about her nails and like sandpaper. they
scratched his skin. Duncan bit his lip to keep himself in line; it was about
the only thing that actually worked.

She
grabbed his hair and
reeled
his head back
sharply. He allowed himself a quick grunt. “It could be a lot more fun if you
took these handcuffs off?”

Vain
licked his jawline all the way down to the nape of his neck. Her saliva had the
stench of betrayal and corruption, and Duncan’s skin rejected the idea of her.
None of it felt good, nothing about it turned him on, even in the least. “And I
can trust you not to run away? To play fair?”

She
tilted his head with a finger. Leaning forward over his shoulder, her lips
grazed his. Duncan closed his eyes to keep the sickness at bay. He parted his
lips and allowed the delicate tip of her tongue, like Satan’s forked tongue in
spirit; lick the corner of his mouth.

“Where’s
the fun in fair, Vain?”

Vain
laughed. “No fun at all, but if you try
to escape I’ll be forced to catch you. Forced to punish you. Is that what you
want?”

She
took the key from one of the buckles of her corset and knelt in front of him.
It dangled from her teeth as she ran her hands down her curvy sides, as if
somehow that would entice him. Like watching a cow make love to itself on the
way to slaughter, no Duncan wasn’t turned on.

His
lip wanted to turn up with disgust, but instead he practiced a sly smile. “Go
ahead, baby,” he whispered. “Let’s get the real party started.”

“And
this time you’ll be a willing participant in bed? And not a wet doormat?”

“You’ll
never know until you try,” Duncan purred. It must have been enough, because
Vain slid the key into his handcuffs and let him go.

His
arms were tingling. Duncan’s back straightened and he rubbed his wrists
together. They felt like they were on fire. He stood slow, first on his left
foot, and then on his right. The room was spinning and his forehead felt as if
it took a dip of lava. Duncan leaned on the spanking bench for a brief second
and gazed at Vain’s face.

Her
lips were pursed together as if he were a tasty ice cream cone on a hot summer
day, but her face separated into many clones. They swirled in his vision like a
kaleidoscope. Duncan didn’t know what was happening to him, but his arms were
shaking.

Something
had poisoned him. Her fingernails? Her kiss?

“A
little of both actually,” Vain said as if he’d said it out loud, but had he?
Maybe he had said something.

Duncan
tried to walk, but he tripped and fell at the foot of the bed. He clawed at the
mattress and pulled himself up. “I just need…. a minute…”

“You
think I don’t know when a man is trying to play me, Jasper?” She approached and
in her hand, a riding crop, but this one had steel welts along the paddle. He
was pretty sure it had his name on it.

Vain
knew he was up to something and was going
to make him pay.

Duncan’s
cheek rested against the bed’s black lace bedding. “Wait…let me…explain.” His
words slurred together. He knew what he needed to say, so why didn’t he say it?
The poison was playing games with his mind.

Vain
stood over him with her legs spread wide. She grabbed his arm and rolled him
over until his head thumped to the floor. “Truth serum, partially. You’ll tell
me things you never would before and now you’ll be susceptible to suggestion,
dear boy. You’ll see and hear whatever I want.”

She
knelt down on his torso, her fingers dancing down his naked pelvis. “Right now
what I want is you.”
Vain
blew against
his lips and Duncan shuddered as if a draft blew against him.

“
Now things are going to get really fun,” Vain said. She grabbed a red wig from
the dresser and put it on. She was careful to tuck her dreads beneath it.

When
she turned to him, for a second Duncan thought she looked like Jessica, but it
was a lie. A trick and it was never more obvious to him how childlike Vain
really was. Not in a sweet and innocent way, far from it, but Vain really
wanted love. His acceptance. She just went about it all wrong.

Vain
ran her fingernails along his torso. “Whisper my name, lover. Tell me who you
see.”

Duncan
chuckled, even as the pain of his broken rib burned beneath his skin. “You’ll
never be half the woman Jessica is,” he whispered.

She
snarled and struck his cheek. “Clearly this is going to take more work than I
expected.” Vain rolled the tube of lip gloss in her hand. Inside the tube,
transparent gel glittered with gold specks. “But don’t worry, Jasper.” Bent
over, her hot lips touched his. Her breath was sweet as watermelon, but beneath
that was something much worse.

“I
have time,” Vain snarled. “You’re not going anywhere.”

The morning brought a feeling of
restfulness, something Jessica barely remembered, but as they gathered their
things and loaded up the car, Jessica noticed Amanda held herself more rigidly
than usual. She kept tucking her flowing locks behind her ears as if she
jittered with nerves. Something she hadn’t done since they were teens.

Joseph was quiet during checkout
and at breakfast. Jessica couldn’t believe that the guy at the front desk was
going to let them go. There was no way that their credit card went through.

Once safe behind the wheel of the
car, Jessica asked her about it. Amanda giggled nervously. “I guess luck is on
our side.”

“Luck is never on our side,”
Jessica reminded her. “Is there a reason why you’re so giggly?”

“Just ready to get this show on the
road. It’s put me in a good mood, okay?” Amanda’s voice rose in defense.

“Hmm,” Jessica smirked. Maybe
that’s all it was. Maybe she was just nervous about this queen of the
underworld thing, but if that’s all it was, Jessica wished Amanda would say so.
None of that explained the piece of cloth Amanda wore around the palm of her
hand.

Since when did Amanda need a
bandage, one way or another?

“You hurt your hand?” Jessica
asked.

Amanda jumped as the car careened
over a speed bump. “Just…a little. I pierced my skin on the soda machine last
night.”

“And you can’t heal it?” Jessica
raised an eyebrow.

“Can you just leave it alone?”
Amanda’s voice was strained. “Please. Just for today.”

“All right,” Jessica signaled to
turn left toward the homeless shelter they were bringing Joseph to. “I didn’t
mean to upset you.”

“I’m not upset,” Amanda said, but
her
high-pitched
squeal of a voice meant
she was on the verge of panic.

“I would just think if something
was wrong, you could tell me. You did bring me back from the underworld. I’m
here. You’re here. We’re in this together, Mandy.”

Jessica threw a glance at her
sister, but couldn’t reach her. Amanda was staring out the window, her
expression was vacant. Almost as if she was thinking of something so scary, she
wanted to shut Jessica out.

To say it scared Jessica was an
understatement. A rush of cold ran up her
spine
and Jessica shuttered, unable to control herself. “When you want to share, you
let me know,” Jessica said.

Amanda bit her lip, and gazed out
the door at the rush of buildings as the car whizzed through the city streets.
“Maybe later.”

Was she nervous about Sin Town? Was
she nervous about the underworld? It wasn’t like Amanda to under share—usually
her problem was the exact opposite.

After a few more minutes they
arrived at the shelter. Pulling the car over to the curb, Jessica slid the
gearshift into park. She popped the trunk and took out a suitcase to give to
Joseph. He was eager to get out of the car, and, with the tone Amanda set that
morning, Jessica didn’t blame him.

“You’re sure about this?” Joseph
asked once they stood at the rear of the car. Jessica fished luggage from the
trunk amid a clank of weapons and
armory
.

Jessica placed the suitcase on the
pavement. “It’s for your own safety. I know you probably need a crash course in
current events, and I’m sorry we don’t have time to give it to you. But there’s
some money in there. Get a basic job, work your way up. My number is in there.
In a few weeks, call. If we’re not dead, we’ll help set you up somewhere
nicer.”

“You’ve already done too much, but
I can help you. Repay my debt.” Joseph glanced around, leaned in close enough
so Jessica could smell the bacon on his breath. “Vaughn possessed me for a
thousand years. His knowledge has merged with mine. I can help you in Sin Town.
I know I can.”

“You don’t know anything.”
Jessica’s voice edged like a razor. “And you know it. Get out of here before we
get you killed.”

Joseph sighed and his shoulders
rounded. He wanted to belong somewhere, Jessica got that, but it wasn’t with
them. Couldn’t be. Look where it had landed Duncan.

“She’s right.” Amanda’s voice rang
out strong as she crept behind him. “Our fight is dangerous and it’s only going
to get worse. So go, and in a few weeks, Jessica will come help you when she
can.”

Jessica’s eyebrows furrowed
together. Why not, ‘we will come’? Was Amanda becoming fatalistic on her? They
weren’t giving up. Never had and never would.

Amanda turned her back and headed
toward the car. She barely even said
goodbye
to Joe, someone she had been so desperate to help—to save. Everything had
changed once Lourdes was slain.

Everything.

“It’s a bad week for her, I guess.”
Jessica’s voice softened. “I’m sorry, Joe.” Jessica shook his hand. “Be safe
and… stick with the cover story. You’re thirty years old, down on your luck.
Lost your job in the recession. No one will bat an eye.”

He smiled his thanks before he
picked up his suitcase. With a deep breath, Jessica watched him go. She waited
until he reached the front door before sliding back into the car. She started
it up with a quick peek at Amanda. She was massaging her hand as if it hurt and
Jessica’s mind raced. Was her power dwindling?

Was it because of Lourdes’s death?
Couldn’t her sister catch a break already?

“I should’ve told you earlier,”
Jessica’s voice was loud and intruded on the quiet mournful space in the car.
“I spoke with Aunt Gwen and she’s on the case to pick up this relic. It’s called
the Ruby Heart. It can save you from becoming this queen of the underworld. It
can lift the curse that Lourdes’s death put on you.”

Amanda looked up quickly. Her eyes
widened with hope. “Really?”

So that was it, wasn’t it? Why she
was so sullen, why her body was so distressed? Amanda thought she had no choice
but to become the next queen of the underworld?

 “She’s on her way to get it
now. She has friends in high places,” Jessica smirked, “you should know that.”

“What if she can’t get it in time?”
Amanda chewed on her lip. “What if she can’t get it to me in time?”

“In time for what, Amanda?”
Jessica’s voice was soft but serious. “Be straight with me and tell me what
you’re fighting. Let me help you, kid sister.”

Amanda turned toward Jessica with
tears in her eyes. “I can see the underworld, Jessie. It’s all around me and…”
Amanda closed her eyes and shuddered. “It’s calling me home. And I long for it.
I long for it!”

Fear rippled through Jessica like a
stone skipped across a pond. She did her best to sound confident and strong
when she answered, but her heart pounded like a rumble of battle drums. “Your
home is with me. Not the underworld. You be strong and hang in there. We’ll get
through this together.”

Amanda nodded and her hands ran
against her arms. She gazed out the window again and Jessica feared that not
everything was said. Something, a big dark something, still lingered between
them. “Are you strong enough to go get Duncan now?”

“It’s the only thing grounding me
right now.” Amanda’s fingers danced across her arm and Jessica’s eyes were
drawn to the colorful bandage around her hand. “Let’s make tracks to Sin Town.”

Nothing left to say, Jessica
shifted the car into drive and peeled away from the curb. She made an illegal
U-turn and headed back toward the highway. She wouldn’t say it to Amanda,
wouldn’t voice her fears, but Jessica caught a glimpse of the black ink, like a
tattoo, growing on Amanda’s hand.

It peaked out from beneath the
bandage and Jessica thought that was what Amanda was so desperate to hide.
Lourdes’s curse was growing in Amanda faster than she could heal.

Aunt Gwen better hurry.

Jessica applied more gas and the
car sped up as they reached the open road. It wasn’t just Aunt Gwen who had to
hurry.

It was Jessica too.