Friction (The Frenzy Series Book 4) (10 page)

I turned away, my stomach in knots. “What’s wrong, hybrid? Weak stomach? Everything must be fed. It’s the cycle of life,” she teased. “Let’s go inside. The others are waiting and I want to get out of these awful clothes.”

She motioned toward her jeans and shirt as she walked across the bridge to a pebbled pathway. We walked up a set of stairs to the entrance of the house. The Manor was a mansion, a castle of the most unimaginable wealth with the most unspeakable atrocities kept inside its stone walls.

Glossy tile and red carpet, paintings that were taller than the walls of my house, tapestries woven of intricate portraits, vases that could hold trees. Everything was bigger, grander, and shinier. The vampire who brought me here led me to a sitting room and told me to wait, and then she ran up a staircase we’d passed upon entering.

It wasn’t long until the news of my arrival spread throughout The Manor.
The hybrid is here!
And it wasn’t long until I knew exactly who’d been spreading the word about me around the neighboring settlements. It was no surprise. The women of The Manor craved power, and he wanted that above all else, no matter the price or who had to pay it.

Three women, including the one who captured me, entered the room. Two of them wore elaborate gowns, one gray and the other a deep, blood red. They were beautiful, with ruby lips and jewels dripping from their necks.

“I’m Marta,” offered the one who wore gray. Her hair was as black as the night sky, straight and shiny as silk. Her skin was caramel and she somehow looked younger than I was. There was an innocence in her face that betrayed the coldness of her stare. She stepped toward me and extended her hand, but I took a defiant step back. She smiled, revealing long, pearlescent fangs. “And this is Elise,” she added, gesturing to the one in red. Elise stared at me with a curled upper lip. I could smell her displeasure and the perfume she’d bathed in that morning. Her hair was like Mercedes’ used to be; blonde as butter and hanging over one shoulder in soft waves.

My heart pounded. I couldn’t stop worrying about Tage. Wringing my fingers in my skirts, I ignored the women and stared at the rich belongings that surrounded us. While the finery inside was opulent, on the other side of the walls was nothing but death and decay. The putridness that surrounded this place was nowhere inside The Manor itself. It smelled like fresh flowers and... live humans.

Where were they?

The woman who brought me here stepped forward, still clad in her jeans. “I’m Lydia. Pardon me for not introducing myself sooner, but we had no time for pleasantries this morning. Tell me something.” She skirted the furniture and stood beside me. “Where is Roman? I hear he’s human now.” She grinned widely but I wasn’t sure if she was happy about the news or wanted to feed from him. Probably the latter, knowing Roman.

My blood began to boil. “Why did you bring me here?”

She began to answer, opened her mouth to form a word and then stopped, her smirk falling from her lips. Lydia’s eyes flashed and darkened with anger. “Gregor is dead,” she told the other two women.

I smiled. Tage had ended him. He would get rewarded for that later. “But he’s your best runner,” I parroted. Lydia’s claws scratched pathways across my cheek. I launched myself at her, forgetting the belt, overwhelmed by rage. It was only when I knocked her down and bent toward her, that the metal teeth reminded me of their presence.

Lydia screeched, “He
was
my favorite!”

“That’s enough!” Elise said from behind me. Something sharp pierced my neck and I clasped my hand over it as things became fuzzy. I knew immediately what she’d done.

“Belladonna.” I could smell it and feel the poison begin to filter into my blood. My heart pumped it faster through my body, spreading the poison evenly.

“Word on the street is that it has quite an effect on you. Right, Pierce?”

As Elise helped me stand, Pierce stepped into the room. His hair had been cut short, making him look too much like his brother. My vision swam and my head bobbed, too heavy for me to lift for long.

“Remove the belt,” someone said, to which Pierce pushed something on the side and it unclamped. He eased each metal tooth from my waist, one by one. I could feel blood pour from each wound, soaking into my dress—the dress Maggie made for me.

“You ruined my dress,” I slurred. “You’ll pay for this.”

He smirked. “I highly doubt it.”

I could sense her distress. She wanted me to leave, but didn’t want to go with them. The asshole chasing me was a cocky bastard, but so was I. I led him through the woods, blurring through trees, up and down hills and across streams and outcroppings of rock, and that was where I got him – near the den of the coyotes Saul and I hunted for the people of Mountainside.

Dropping down over the hill onto the rocks, I ducked back into the den and waited as he jumped down after me. Then I pounced. I drained him as he kicked and thrashed, fighting to squeeze my hands, throat, and head tighter and tighter until he lost strength and stopped fighting. I kept drinking until I was beyond full, until there was nothing left of him but an empty husk.

I had to go back for her, but I knew I needed help. The vamps of The Manor were nothing to toy with. They wiped The Glen off the map, along with almost every creature in the entire area. Having depleted their food source, it wouldn’t be long until the residents of The Manor ventured farther to find food. I couldn’t take them on alone and had no idea how many we were up against to begin with, but Roman might.

Pumping my arms, gut full of fresh blood, I ran toward Mountainside. I knew Roman would have the answers I needed, and we had to get her back.

Her emotions ranged from angry to worried, but at least she was okay. I just hoped the guy I just drained had no blood bond with anyone, or else they would quickly realize he was gone and Porschia would pay the price.

The guards didn’t have time to oppose me. The gate had already been opened up for a man pushing a small cart of wood, and I ran inside past them and straight to the rocky dwelling where Roman lay. Saul and Mercedes were outside but followed me in.

“Where’s Porschia?” Saul yelled.

“What happened?” Mercedes asked.

Roman sat up. He still looked awful but was awake and alert. I crouched low in front of him. “Did you know about The Glen?”

He ticked his head back. “What about it?”

“It’s empty. All of the people are gone and the only thing there besides some stray animals—which I’m surprised they haven’t already eaten—were two of your lovely friends from The Manor.”

“Oh, no,” he cursed, holding his hand out for me to help him up. He groaned as I picked him up and sat him on his feet.

“You need to tell me everything you know about them. Now.”

He shrugged a sweater on and quickly pulled it down before beginning, “After Pierce fell to the Infection, a woman approached me...”

“We know the story,” I snapped.

“Not all of it!” he yelled back.

“The note gave me directions to Blackwater and I took Pierce with me. I carried him all the way. One night when we were very close, we came across The Manor. The woman who originally turned me, Veronica, was there.”

“Why do I feel like this isn’t going to be a happy story?”

“Because it isn’t,” he continued. “I was in Frenzy. I’d just carried my brother, who I couldn’t even stand to smell, let alone feed from, about three hundred miles. Hungry and tired didn’t begin to cover it. ‘Insane’ only skimmed the surface of how I was feeling. When I saw her, I snapped. That’s what Porschia doesn’t know. Porsch said to me... I wouldn’t get answers to my questions about her note, about why she did this and what any of it meant, unless I asked the woman who turned me—the woman who wrote it. But I can’t ask her…because I killed her.”

“You drained her.”

“Yeah, and her sister is still pissed about it.”

Mercedes huffed. “Well no wonder! And now the sister has Porschia! Does this woman know that Porschia knows you?”

“I think so, yes.”

“How do you know that? What the hell is going on? What aren’t you telling us?”

“You told us about what Tage said, the Infected in the woods knowing about Porschia? Well, I think Pierce is the one spreading the word about ‘the hybrid.’ He may have left Blackwater, but living in the woods was never his style. I went to look for him after I was made human again. I found some of his things in an old shack, but he was long gone. When the people here said they were afraid, I wondered whether it was of Porschia or of the ladies of The Manor. They’re old and strong as hell. They feed, but not off a drink or two a day; they drain two or three humans
each
per day, sometimes more.”

“How long did you stay at The Manor after you killed the sister? How long before they knew it was you?” Saul yelled.

“I didn’t stay. After I fed from her, I ran like hell. I did what I had to do in order to survive,” Roman shouted, stepping into Saul’s face. “Like you didn’t!”

“How’d they know it was you?”

“They could follow my scent!”

“Why didn’t they come after you?”

“They tried a few times, but for a long time, Blackwater had more vampires. They could attack, but they still couldn’t overcome the fact that we were more powerful in number. Over time they gave up, but I knew that if I left they’d hunt me down.”

“And now you’re human. You’re like bait for them. Even if they didn’t have Porschia, they would come here for you and slaughter everyone in Mountainside just to get to you,” I said, shaking my head.

Roman looked to the rocky roof, bracing himself against the wall. “I thought this would be a simple trip. The people of Mountainside and The Glen are good people, but distrusting. They had seen me before as a vampire, so I thought my presence here would help. I didn’t mean for all of this to happen.”

I laughed mirthlessly. “Well now that it has, what can we do to get Porschia back?”

“We destroy The Manor.”

“And how do you propose we do that, Roman? Are you going to club them? Swing a shovel? You won’t last a minute.”

Roman smiled. “You’re going to turn me again.”

“No. No way. You were hell on wheels as a night-walker. I’d hate to see you in Frenzy.”

Mercedes stepped forward. “Then turn me.”

“And me,” added Saul.

Roman smiled. “These women are incredibly strong, but smart too, Tage. They have hundreds of years of tricks up their sleeves. You can’t win this battle alone.”

“I can’t handle three vamps in Frenzy, either.”

Saul huffed. “Neither can the witches at The Manor.”

I closed my eyes. Porschia always wore her poison ring, even now. “Does anyone have a ring?”

Saul nodded. “I do.”

“I’ll turn two of you, but only once we get close, and the third wears the ring just in case they need to turn.”

Roman shook his head. “If they catch a human, the human dies. If they catch any of us, even if we’re turned, we might die. And they have a special security system, if memory serves me right. You’ll want to change us right before we get there.”

“Fine. I’ll turn you all, but as soon as we get Porschia back, we find a rotter and you change back. Got it?”

They all agreed easily, too easily, and I wasn’t sure if any or all would fight me about becoming human again. Being a vampire was like a high for most; an addiction that wouldn’t be easy to overcome.

Roman turned to me first and smiled. “If you turn us, we can run to her.”

He was out of his mind. “I won’t set you loose in Mountainside.”

“Fine, but you’ll have to turn me as soon as we’re outside the wall or else I won’t make it. I’m weak,” he drawled.

I nodded. “Fine. But you can’t feed from them.”

He nodded and leaned against the earthen wall to keep himself from falling over. “Let’s go get our girl.”

“She isn’t your girl!” I shouted, my words echoing around the small space. Let them all know it. She wasn’t up for grabs. Saul stormed outside and Mercedes followed him.

“How many are we facing?” I asked once they were gone.

“Three of the most vicious women alive, although I’m not sure how many others they have doing their dirty work. When I was there they only had a few slaves, though none lasted long. Pierce is probably there if they haven’t killed him already. He’ll only live as long as he’s useful to them.”