City of the Fallen (17 page)

“Why?”

“We’re trying to figure out the perfect combination of nutrients
for us
,” the vampire—Cyrus?—answered. “So far, it hasn’t quite worked. We’re close, but something’s missing.”

Marcus shifted slightly next to her and his arm brushed hers. The electricity of the touch was enough to get her attention and make her turn towards him. He seemed different, as if the whole world had suddenly tipped on its axis and he had been staring at it while it was happening. There was a deep light coming through his eyes—not from, but through them, from somewhere deep inside—and the instant she focused on them, something hit her. She blinked, trying to absorb the emotions and the knowledge he was letting out.
Can you keep a secret, Belle?
he had said. Never in a million years could she have imagined the magnitude of the secret he’d been holding.

“Is this for the rabids?”

Marcus held on to the answer for a few seconds, as if he was trying to pick the right words. She desperately wanted to urge him on, hurry up the information.

“That wasn’t our original intention for it,” he finally said. “We were just hoping to find a blood replacement in case…” He paused again, his voice softer. “In case humans became extinct at some point.”

The words hit her hard and rocked her to the core. So they were worried about it too. The extinction of the human race. She had been so consumed by the fear of it becoming a reality that she hadn’t even thought about the possibility of the vampires worrying about it too. If humans disappeared, vampires were doomed. It was such a simple, basic truth and yet it hadn’t even crossed her mind all this time.

It was more than just the realization of what he was saying. It was the sudden understanding that they had a common goal: keep humanity alive and thriving. Maybe the reasons for it were vastly different, but this secret, this lab, could somehow hold the key to the future of humanity.

When she finally spoke, her voice came out shaky. “So this would make us… unnecessary?”

“No,” he said before she’d finished speaking. “Even if we figure out how to make this artificial blood work, it’s not meant to completely replace humans.”

“Why not?”

“Because it will only provide us with nourishment,” he said, his voice soft. “Drinking from humans brings other pleasures.”

A buzz resonated in her ears before shooting down to her chest and grabbing a hold of her stomach.
Pleasure
. Her mind flashed back to Marcus moaning while rocking inside her, his teeth grabbing a hold of her neck or her inner thigh. The look of ecstasy in his eyes had been as much about her body as about her blood.

She blushed and turned her gaze towards the lab. The puzzled look in the vampire’s face was very telling. For whatever reason, she was different. Not only couldn’t she be charmed, but all of a sudden she had been given entry to the forbidden kingdom. A kingdom so ancient she could barely manage to grasp bits and pieces of it.

“What about the rabids?”

Marcus and Cyrus exchanged looks, but it was the king who answered. “We don’t know yet, but we’re hoping the void can be reversed.”

The scientist in her took over immediately. “If the void is only caused by a lack of nourishment, rather than by some sort of virus, it should be reversible with enough blood.”

Marcus’ lips curved up slightly. Almost a smile, but not quite. “And that’s why you’re here.”

He had been waiting to break the news since back in his room. Now that he’d done it, it had just the effect he expected. She froze, her mind clearly going in a million different directions.

“Me?”

He didn’t answer right away, partly because he wanted to give her some time to figure it out. But also because Cyrus seemed more than intrigued with Belle and Marcus wanted to make sure limits were set right there, right then. His eyes flashed into darkness for a second, and Cyrus immediately stepped back. It was just a small step, maybe a fraction of an inch—but enough to let him know the lines had been drawn in the sand.

When Marcus turned towards Belle, his eyes were back to a soft silver.

“I was hoping you’d be interested in joining the scientists here at the lab.”

A cloak of silence extended over the room. He knew all vampires in the lab had been hanging on to every word of the conversation. Since they could hear him from the other side of the room without any effort, they had all pretended to be focusing on the task in front of them, although he knew for sure the king walking into the room with a human was eventful enough to surpass anything else. Now that he’d stated the actual reason for bringing Belle down there, he could feel the mix of surprise and concern breathing over the space.

“What?” Her voice came out small.

‘We need somebody who has a better grasp of human physiology than we do,” he said.

Understanding washed over her face.
Beautiful
and smart
, he thought. Then he pushed the thought away.
Also fragile as any other human.

She shook her head and wavered slightly. He immediately extended a hand and grabbed her arm, offering a steady anchor. A soft electric charge passed between them where their skin touched. The effect she had on him still surprised him. He had expected to enjoy her, to feed on her once or twice, and then get bored. But the more time he spent around her, the stronger the connection seemed to become. And that electricity, that whirl of energy that connected them every time they touched… It was just getting stronger by the minute.

It was a sobering realization.

Not only the fact that he was enthralled by a woman this much, but also the fact that the enthrallment was growing, feeding on the energy between them. He suddenly felt very tempted to pull her away from the lab and the hungry eyes around them. An almost uncontrollable need to stake a claim over her, take her back to his room and keep her all to himself.

He ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath.
Focus.

Belle’s fingers slid over his arm as if they belonged there. It felt like an incredibly intimate gesture, the move of a lover who wasn’t afraid of letting others know she belonged to somebody. Or maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him—in which case he had to believe the warmth exuding from her was also a lie.

“I think… I think I can help,” she finally said, and he believed her.

He turned his face towards Cyrus and saw the look of fascination in his eyes. If there was ever any doubt she was Marcus’, the last few seconds had to have been confirmation enough. Most of the vampires there had never seen him with a pet, because the few he’d had never been more than that, pets. He was beginning to realize Belle was a lot more. And while her blood was intoxicating—even now, he could smell the excitement running through her veins, making him ache for a taste—it was everything else she was that it was the most intriguing. Not being able to charm her was frustrating, but it also made her superior to others. In a way, it made her closer to him. Impenetrable and unique, that was what Belle was. And the challenge of figuring it all out was proving far more exquisite than he could’ve dreamt of.

“She’ll be safe down here, My Lord,” the vampire said and Marcus was glad he didn’t have to explain anything else.

He turned to Belle, who was glowing with excitement. This was her turf, what she knew, and probably what she missed.

“Why don’t you let Cyrus show you around for a while? They’ll escort you up in a couple of hours. See what you can do, if anything, to help.” Then he paused for a second and his eyes scouted hers. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

She nodded with resolution. “Oh, yes. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

He doubted she had meant for the words to hurt him, but they stung anyway. He had a moment of second-guessing himself, where he wondered if giving her space and time away from him was a good idea. The idea bothered him and when he grabbed her arm to let her know the rules, his fingers closed on her skin a little too tight. Sharing her with others wasn’t something he wasn’t looking forward to, as irrational and insane as that was. But he was also afraid that without a solution, without a touch of magic from somewhere unexpected, the world was running out of options.

It took him a second to realize he was clenching his teeth. He wanted to tell her that she was only allowed down here because he was being generous. Let her know that he had the power to take it all away if he felt her slipping away from his grasp.

Instead, he let go of her arm and took a step back. “Upstairs in three hours,” he ordered before disappearing into the darkness of the tunnels.

~*~

Marcus had turned around and stomped out of the lab before she had time to realize what had just happened. Somewhere in the tangle of thoughts rushing through her mind, she had missed something.

“Isabelle,” Cyrus interrupted her thoughts. “Let me show you what we have.”

She turned around to face the vampire and nodded. She was already in the belly of the beast.
Might as well play along
, she told herself.

“Have you tested the blood?”

Cyrus nodded. “As much as we can in machines.” He paused for a second, unsure of what to say next. Or maybe measuring his words as to not say too much. “We’ve also… tasted it.”

The words had no impact on her. Funny that less than a week ago, they would have sent chills down her spine. Now it was just data, numbers and words she was being fed for processing.

“And?”

The vampire looked at her with hesitation. “There’s something missing.”

She pointed towards the microscope, as if asking for permission. Cyrus nodded and she got closer to take a look through the eyepiece. The cells looked normal—exactly as you would expect from real human blood.

“They look fine to me,” she said.

“They do, but they for some reason they don’t provide satiation,” he said, and then scrambled to find additional words. “We’re still hungry after drinking it.”

She remembered Marcus words.
Human blood brings other pleasures
. “Could the lack of satisfaction be psychological?”

“No,” he said with a light frown. “We thought the same thing at first, but it’s more than that. Think of it as being extremely thirsty and drinking water, only to find out it does nothing to quench the thirst.”

She looked through the microscope again, searching for any small variation that would indicated a mistake, a failure in the composition. There was none. “Have you played around with the red and white cell blood content?”

“Some. We’re trying to stay as close as possible to the original.”

She shook her head slightly. “That might be a mistake. Fresh blood is alive, in a way. It contains a certain amount of hemoglobin because we’re breathing and that keeps the oxygen flowing at a constant pace. A true substitute, a replacement, might need to account for the difference, especially if you’re storing it.”

Cyrus’ eyes flickered. Then he pointed towards the large refrigerators and storing tubes in the back of the room. “Lead the way,” he said.