My Heart be Damned (19 page)

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Dad asked, pulling up behind Cindy’s beast-mobile in the drive.

Daniel stayed silent, but I could see the awe in his eyes. I could bring my friends over here and not feel ashamed, but I wasn’t about to admit that.

Cindy appeared beside Dad’s window and, like an excited schoolgirl, gestured for us to get out and follow her inside.

“I hope you don’t mind,” she said as she unlocked the front door, “but I decorated your rooms for you. I was a little excited about you coming to live with me.”

“How do you afford a place like this if you’re only a temp?” I demanded, not bothering to wipe my feet like she and my dad had done before stepping inside.

“My late husband left me this house. It’s not pleasant, losing a spouse, but it’s just another thing your father and I have in common.” I stayed silent, not liking that I now felt sorry for her when she was supposed to be the enemy.

She started forward, showing us around the ground floor, which consisted of a small bathroom, a utility room, Daniel’s bedroom and her work office. Daniel’s bedroom was perfect for him; blue walls with a double bed and pine furniture.

The second floor had a large living room with a wide screen TV, an L shaped sofa, but not much else. The kitchen was enormous and had a breakfast bar like our old one.

The third floor held a modern bathroom, Cindy and my dad’s room and my bedroom. I held my breath as she pushed open the door.

It was...pretty. Not quite me, but it was a start. . She’d left the walls white, and all the furniture was white too. She’d given me a princess bed. It was big – a plus – but had pink silk sheets, and a pink canopy – which wasn’t good. I had a little flat screen TV on a chest of drawers opposite my bed, and she’d bought me another iMac, also pink, which sat on a long desk/dressing table.

“Thanks,” I mumbled. “It’s nice.”

“I’m not going to bombard you both with rules on the first day, but I do ask you don’t stick anything to the walls or touch the walls in any kind of way. I have a thing about walls.” She laughed nervously, and Dad rubbed her back in an affectionate way.

“
Er
, okay. I’ll go get my boxes now.”

“Do you need a hand?” Dad asked.

“No, I’m fine.” I shoved past him and jogged down the two flights of stairs to the front door. With my extra strength, it didn’t take me long to load myself up with boxes and carry them upstairs. Then, with my door locked shut, I settled in to unpack.

After a few hours of
labor
, my room – my masterpiece – was complete. I took a step back, standing by the door, taking it all in at once. My new bedroom. Was it possible that my life was somehow going back to the way it used to be? Back to when training and focusing on my Hunting was the first priority. As though my phone was listening, it rang, vibrating along my desk. Marshall.

“Missed me?”

“Infinitely. You busy moving house and all that?” His voice warmed me in a way I’d never experienced.

“Yep. I’m all done.”

“What’s the house like?”

“Nice. Better than before.”

“Maybe I’ll get to see this bedroom.”

I blushed. “Yeah right. Anyway, what was the purpose of this call?”

“To see you, of course. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

If he wasn’t being so obviously sarcastic about it all, then I’d have been flattered. “Sure you can’t.”

“I want you to meet that friend, remember,” he said. “Tell me where you live. I’ll come get you.”

“
Erm
...” I walked over to the window above my bed and peered outside, looking for the street sign. “Clove Crescent. It’s in Shepherds Bush.”

“You’re right by me. See you in five.”

The phone went dead. Five minutes? Exactly how close was he? I stared down at my dust-covered clothes and rushed over to the mirror. My hair was messy, hastily tied back as I unpacked. I didn’t have time for a shower. I barely had time to change. Swapping my jeans for cleaner ones, I pulled out my hair tie, ran a brush through it, and shoved a grey blazer over the top of my white vest top.

My phone rang again just as I was sliding on my Vans. Marshall was already here.

Downstairs, I could hear Dad and Bitch Face laughing over the TV. If I told them that I was going out, there was a chance they wouldn’t let me go. Hoping I wouldn’t be too long, I pulled open my bedroom window, climbed onto the sill and thanking God there was a large tree right outside, leapt onto one of the branches, and slid down. Piece of cake.

“Nice house,” Marshall said, staring back at it from his spot down the road.

“Thanks,” I said, jumping in the car and tugging on my seatbelt. “Now let’s go before someone looks out of the window and catches me.”

“I thought my days of helping girls sneak out to see me were over.”

“You’re funny. Remind me to stop laughing.”

“Will do.” I turned to look at him, noticing another fresh bruise on his cheek and a cut on his forehead.

“What happened to your face?” I asked.

“Ran into some Damned yesterday. Nothing I couldn’t handle.” He leaned forward and turned the music up. Sighing, I leaned back in my seat and tried not to look at the splotches of
color
ruining his gorgeous face.

Chapter Eighteen

Helping Hand

Wherever this friend lived, we drove pretty far to see them. On the way, we spoke about everything except his fight with the Damned. For something he claimed was no big deal
, he was mighty cagey about it.

Finally, we arrived in a small town situated in the middle of nowhere. The skies had opened and rain crashed down on us, pouring with a vengeance. Marshall parked his Honda outside of a small cottage. To me, it didn’t look as though anyone was home. Every window was pitch black. Marshall turned off the engine anyway and climbed out.

“You haven’t told me who lives here,” I said, closing the car door behind me. “Or anything about him.”

“All you need to know is that he can be trusted, and he’ll help us if he knows how. We’re here to find out if he knows why you have a bounty on that pretty head of yours.”

I shrugged out of my blazer and held it above my head, protecting the rest of me from getting wet.

The closer we got to the cottage, the more I convinced myself that Marshall had somehow gotten the address wrong. No one lived here. The grass had overgrown and neared my waist. Newspapers and trash lined the front step of the house, and none of it looked disturbed.

“Marshall,” I started. “Are you sure?”

He held a finger up to silence me. Then he reached forward and tapped on the door in some kind of rhythm. Kind of like tap, tap, tap-tap-tap, tap. Weird. Yet, no more than a couple minutes later, the door swung open revealing an extremely old man.

“Marshall,” he greeted warmly.

Marshall stepped over the litter and hugged the man tightly. “Albert. It’s been a while.”

“Come in, come in!” Albert stepped back, allowing us the room to walk past him. It was only once we were standing inside that I
realized
why all the windows were pitch black. Thick black curtains covered each window, which were pulled tightly closed.

Muttering something about tea, Albert led us into a small kitchen where a roaring fire gave off a lovely heat. I dumped my blazer on the chair in front of it, hoping the fire would help it dry.

“Tea? Coffee?” Albert offered. He turned from the stove where he’d just set a kettle and stared at me. One of his eyes was brown, but the other was a brilliant blue. He was bald in the middle of his head but still had tufts of white hair just above his ears.

“Albert, this is
Amerie
.” Marshall stepped towards me. “The Hunter I was telling you about.”

Albert nodded. “I know who she is.” He smiled at me. “You’re very pretty. Tell me, sweetheart, what is your advantage?”

“My advantage?” I repeated.

“Strength,” Marshall answered. “Her skill needs working on, but she’s got a lot of power behind her hits.”

Albert grinned a toothless grin. “Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.” He turned back to the kettle, which was now whistling. “Sorry, did you want tea or coffee?”

“Tea,” I said. “Milk, two sugars.”

“Just the way I like mine,” Albert said with a chuckle. He grabbed a tea towel and lifted the kettle off the stove. Then he set about making our drinks.

“You okay?” Marshall asked, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

“Fine,” I lied. Really, this old man intimidated me, and I didn’t know why. How did he know about Hunters? And, what was he so paranoid about that he made it look as though no one lived in his house? I watched him warily, my whole body tense.

“Here you go,” Albert said, turning around and handing me a small, china mug. “Sit down, please. And let me know if you need anything else.”

I took the tea, and sat down on the chair on which my blazer hung. The heat on my back was incredible, easing the tension in my muscles almost instantly.

“Albert,” Marshall said, taking his tea and sitting next to me, “you know why we’re here. You got anything you want to tell us?”

The old man sat opposite us, gently setting his tea down on the wooden table. His eyes flashed towards me, and he grinned again.

“You have quite the bounty on your head. Even if I didn’t owe Marshall a
favor
, I’d still be inclined to find out why. It’s not often the Damned go out of their way like this for just one, new Hunter.”

I gulped, the mug trembling in my hands.

“I was able to find out, from a very reliable source I might add, why there is a bounty.” He slowly picked up his mug and took a long sip. “This tea is
marvelous
, if I do say so myself.”

“Albert,” Marshall warned.

“Oh, sorry. Sometimes I drift off topic – don’t I, Marshall?” When Marshall didn’t say anything, Albert continued. “I take it that you’ve heard of Seal?”

I nodded. “Yes. The Damned that keep coming after me always mention that name. Seal is the one who offered the bounty, right?”

“Correct. And Marshall has also told me that you know Seal was the one who killed your mother.”

I tried not to wince at how casually he spoke of my mother’s death. Afraid my voice would crack if I spoke, I nodded again.

“Your mother’s death was no ordinary attack,” Albert said. “Do you remember what the doctors told you her cause of death was?”

I remembered everything the doctors told us, word for word. “Yes.”

“Blood loss,” Albert said for me. “Extreme blood loss.”

I gaped at him. “How...how did you?”

“Her blood loss wasn’t a result of her injuries, per se. She was actually drained of blood. They needed Hunter blood, and, unfortunately, Seal had a huge vendetta against your mother.”

I stared at the old man for a few moments, trying to get my head around his words. The doctors had told us that they couldn’t save her because the blood loss had been too severe. They never told me that she was drained of blood. Then, I
realized
what else he’d said. Seal knew my mother – had a vendetta against her. Why?

Like a fish gasping for water, I opened and closed my mouth a few times, words failing me. Marshall’s hand closed around mine, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Why did they drain her?” he asked.

Albert lifted a finger. “Ah ha! Now that is the question. They needed Hunter blood for a ritual they’re carrying out. But guess what? Your mother was smart, sweetheart. Somehow, she got away before they could get all the blood they needed. She stopped the ritual.”

I sucked in a deep breath. My mum was incredible. Even dying, she put the world first.

“Is the ritual stopped for good?” I asked.

Albert frowned. “I’m afraid not. I guess you can say it’s on pause. They can’t complete it without a full body’s worth of blood, which is why he has put the bounty on your head.”

“I don’t get it...”

“They need more blood. The only way they’ll get more blood to add to what they’ve collected, and, therefore, complete the ritual is by finding a matching donor. And who would match better than her child?”

I gaped at him. “They want to bleed me out?”

“She might not be a match,” Marshall pointed out.

“She will be. Hunters within a bloodline all share the same blood. You should know this, Marshall.”

“What happens if they get my blood?” I asked.

Albert stood up so quickly, I jumped in my chair, knocking over my tea. “Marshall got me something that I could probably find that information out from it. It has been...most helpful.” He stared down at my tea. “Please go into the bathroom and get something to clean this up with, Marshall? And put some arnica on your bruises while you’re in there.”

Marshall hesitated.

“Go on, now,” Albert snapped. “I’m not going to hurt her. I doubt that I could, even if I tried.”

With a heavy sigh, Marshall stood and stalked out of the room, dipping his head slightly to fit through the doorway. I turned to
apologize
for spilling the tea, and fell back. Albert was standing right next to me, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.

“No, no it’s fine. I’m a little jumpy. New information and all that.”

He nodded, resting his hand on the back of my chair. “He’s very protective over you.” Albert gestured in Marshall’s direction. “He either doesn’t want you to be alone with me, or me to be alone with you. I’m not sure which one it is.”

I scoffed. “Well, I hardly know anything about him that would be an interest to you.”

Albert nodded in contemplation. “Marshall is a lovely boy. I only wish my own son was as good to me as Marshall is.” He sighed. “If only he would quit that ridiculous hobby of his. I mean cage fighting? It’s vulgar. But I guess it’s a good way of making money if you can fight.”

“Your son cage fights?”

Albert’s eyebrows narrowed. “My son? No. Marshall, dear.”

“Marshall cage fights? That’s where his injuries come from?”

“Oh.” Albert’s face dropped. “He didn’t tell you. Well, I guess it was me Marshall was wary of.”

“Why does he fight?” I demanded, unable to move past it.

“Money, of course. The root of all evil. By the look on your face, I take it that you’re unhappy with this hobby too?”

I nodded. “Well, yeah! He’s fighting dirty! Of course, he would win. Humans wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Albert turned to grab a packet of cookies from the counter before sitting back in his seat. He offered me one, which I quickly refused.

“He doesn’t fight humans, dear. You misunderstand. It’s an underground fighting ring full of Damned. They all flock there and pay money to watch each other fight. Winner gets the money. Loser doesn’t.”

Though it made the situation only marginally better, I was still angry. That was the kind of hobby you kept a secret because you knew it was wrong. He had a right to feel ashamed.

“There was this cloth in there. Will it do?” Marshall called from the doorway, changing the atmosphere. I stared up at his bruises and cuts, wishing I hadn’t spent so much time worrying about it.

“Thank you,” Albert said, as Marshall handed it to him. “Now sit down so I can tell you both what the ritual is for. You’re going to want to concentrate.”

Marshall sat with a heavy thud next to me, and subtly, I edged away from him.

“A long time ago, I translated a book that spoke of a ceremony that allowed souls from Hell to come up to Earth without having to find a human host. It didn’t say much
more than that and I looked into it for a few years, fretting that it was indeed true, and the world would change forever. You both know that not even half the souls that make it up here ever find a permanent host because they can’t find someone genetically suitable. This is why this ritual would mean so much for them.” Albert sucked in a breath, his hands gently cleaning the spill without him really paying attention to it. “But I couldn’t find a single concrete detail, and I gave up looking. I determined it to be a myth and sold the original book. But I was wrong.”

My eyes widened in fear.

“You have every right to look afraid,” Albert confirmed. “Up until recently, I still thought it was a myth, but when Marshall came to me, asking me to look into your bounty, I stumbled across the truth. Seal has uncovered the lost ceremony, and he is set upon bringing Hell on Earth.”

“This is bullshit,” Marshall hissed. “How can that even be possible?”

“The ritual allows the soul to manifest a body upon coming to Earth, and not a human body either, but a Damned form. It’ll look as menacing and evil as the soul actually is. Deformed, awful looking monsters. Nothing that human eyes should ever have to see. Human limitations won't hinder them, either. They’ll be unstoppable. Imagine a scenario where the Damned would surpass all humans and Hunters. It would be the destruction of your Hunter bloodline as we know it.”

“And my blood is the only thing stopping this ritual? They couldn’t just find another Hunter?” I asked.

“They’ve already started it, so they need your blood to finish it, and I don’t know for sure, if your blood is the only thing stopping it. I know it’s a significant factor. I do think they’re missing one other key factor, though. They’re not trying as hard as they could, to drain you,
Amerie
.”