Sacrifice (Revelations Book 1) (3 page)

"No, she isn't. I don't believe that. They did this on purpose. They knew if we pulled out all the demons she would react like she did. They had a purpose. The demons have been gathering outside of Dusk for quite some time now, you know this."

Nico groaned. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Bullshit, you've been out patrolling, killing demons who get too close to town. I've watched you, you are protecting these people from the threat and you know it is out there. Those demons are waiting for the Gates to open. So what do they do? They find the key, but they can't kill her, they aren't the ones who are supposed to kill her. God created this girl specifically so the Gates couldn't be opened because his servant would never kill an innocent girl, you are that servant. Like it or not. They found a loophole. They stuffed the poor girl full of demons, you exorcised them and what happened?"

"She turned."

"Right. And your first instinct was to do what?"

"Kill her..." His words trailed off as it dawned on him. He was being played. "I'm no one's pawn, not yours, not God's, and not Satan's. She needs to die because she is a vampire, she's already dead. I'm pretty sure undead doesn't count as living. I get you believe all this, but think about your daughters and this town. You can't keep a newly turned vamp around here and just pray nothing bad happens."

"My daughters will be fine. And I don't believe she is actually dead, nor do I believe she is a true vampire. You may not be a pawn of Satan but if you kill her you've done exactly what they wanted you to do. What would you call it?"

"I call it doing the world a favor. You're welcome." Arveda glared at him over her cup. Nico glared right back. "Isn't that why you called me here? To do what you couldn't do? Admit it, Arveda, you want her dead but you are too bound to your faith. You need someone like me to come in and do it for you to keep your hands clean."

"No. You're wrong. I called you here because we needed your help. Humanity needs your help."

"If I'm the one who kills her then why in the world would you want me anywhere near this girl?"

"Because God demands it."

"That's a cop out and you know it." Nico slipped his flask back into his jacket and scrubbed his hand over his tired eyes. "What aren't you telling me, Arveda?"

"A lot. To be honest. But it’s all stuff you don't need to know right now."

"That's an even bigger cop out." He shook his head. "Fine. I won't kill the creature. Happy now?"

"Not exactly."

"What now?"

"Well, she can't stay here. She needs protection and she needs to be carefully observed. More importantly she needs to learn what her part in this is."

"So teach her."

"I can't. We can't. We are magick users, not fighters."

"Hate to break it to you, but she isn't a fighter either."

"But you are."

"And your point is?"

"Train her to fight demons. Teach her to help us until I can figure out what happened to her and reverse it. She is meant to fight in this war."

"Not a chance in hell."

"You have to."

"Why do I have to?" Nico paused and held up his hand. "Let me guess, because God demands it."

Arveda nodded. "Exactly."

Grinding his teeth, Nico sighed. It was obvious Arveda was going to keep driving the same point home every time he asked something. No point in continuing this any longer, he finally sighed. "Fine, I'll train her. Are we done here now?"

"Not quite."

"What more do you have to say, woman?"

"She can't stay here."

"Okay, and?" Arveda gave him a blank stare. His eyes widened. "Oh no. No, no, no. There is no way in hell I am playing vampire baby sitter for you."

"You have to. You can teach her how to protect herself from the demons. Plus, you’re the one who’s worried about her eating everyone. This way you can keep an eye on her."

"It's not happening. I won't do it."

"You will."

"Why?"

"Because God commands it."

Nico snapped in frustration. "My God, stop saying that!" The tension knotting in his muscles from holding back his anger ebbed, he wasn’t going to let Arveda get any further under his skin than she already was. He took a deep breath before arching a brow. "Do witches have a direct line to the big guy upstairs now?"

Her eyes flashed red and he tried to repress the instinct to flinch in the presence of the Striga’s anger. "Do not lump the Striga in with common witches. We are of royal blood, we served the cloth, we serve God, and even though we have been cast out by the church, we still do His work. You call us hags and witches, but your Popes used to consult with us. We were the mystics of the Catholic Church and we held every honor the church could bestow. Do not, for a second, think I stand around my cauldron tossing in puppy dog tails and eye of newt while lifting up praise to Satan or any pagan gods. As much as you are a servant and an instrument of God so am I."

He shifted nervously in his seat. He knew the Striga held a high order in the church centuries ago but it always threw him for a loop when she reminded him that even after all they'd been through they still served the Almighty. It made him feel like a downright ass for turning his back on God. Though in his defense the Church could go screw themselves. "So you're telling me God commands this of me?"

"Yes, he does."

"Got any proof?"

Again she pinned him with her gaze. "I don't need proof, I have faith his words will reach your cold, drunk heart and you will do what is right."

He gave a forced laugh. "Way to sell it, Arveda. You already said she won't hurt anyone under your roof because of your spell. Tell me why she can't stay here."

Arveda took a moment, as if pondering how much she should tell him. Eventually she spoke, "It's true if she stayed here she would be held in check by my spell, but she needs to see she can control her actions and she can resist the blood cravings on her own. She needs to find faith in herself, then she'll know she won't hurt anyone. And to be perfectly frank, you need to see it too." She took another sip of tea and added. "She won't ever prove anything to you or herself if she is stuck under my roof with my magick."

He wrestled with the idea. Pursing his lips and rubbing his hands together as he worked out the pros, and there were very few from what he could see, and the cons, which in his mind were significantly tilting the scales. He looked up to see Arveda watching him, as if studying him like a book.

Ignoring her, he closed his eyes. Searching for something, some explanation or direction he should take. Nothing helped. While Arveda ran on pure faith, Nico couldn’t muster up one kernel of hope. His head bowed, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t live with a vampire or help in this fight.

He was about to open his mouth when something flashed in his mind. A scene of light pouring down from the heavens. He stood there staring at it for what felt like an eternity. Its warmth washed over him. The light receded and he opened his eyes to see the smoldering bodies in the fireplace and the low-glow of embers casting a muted orange color to everything the light touched. He sighed. "Fine. I'll take her, but if she goes after anyone I'm putting her down and we can just deal with the damn Gates on our own."

Arveda held up her hand. "I'm so pleased you can look at this objectively, Father." Her sarcastic tone set his teeth on edge, but he didn't have a chance to get in a retort. Arveda was already moving ahead with her plans. "Before you two leave let me inspect her. I want to make sure my theory is correct."

"Theory?"

"I don't think she was bitten. Like I said, I don't think she is dead. I do believe we are merely meant to believe she is dead." She stood up and headed toward the back of the house. "Remember her blood has to be spilled here in Dusk by you in order to open the Gates. I don't think they would have been reckless enough to mistakenly kill her somewhere else and then set all this up. They're stupid, but not that stupid."

If it weren't for her fangs and the image in his mind of her latched onto an arm less than an hour earlier, Nico would almost call Abigail attractive. Hell who was he kidding? Even with the bloody image she was still gorgeous. Arveda led her out into the living room where Nico waited. Now cleaned up, the girl's long brown hair fell in soft waves to her mid-back, her eyes were big and brown, she damn near looked innocent... Except for those fangs. He couldn't see them right then, but he knew they were there.

The sisters dressed her in typical Striga attire which meant a short skirt and a tight fitting, cropped tank top. She looked out of place as she absently tugged at the short hem of the skirt. The Striga didn't care if they came across as provocative, it was just their way. And God help any man who assumed just because they dressed a certain way it meant they were easy. They never allowed a man to touch them without permission. If one tried they'd find themselves in a world of hurt.

The problem was the woman standing before him wasn’t a Striga and the clothes didn't fit her appearance. If innocence was a fashion statement this girl would be wearing it from head to toe. But she wasn't innocent. She was dangerous. Nico's mind was made up on her classification. She was a vampire. Plain and simple. Even still, his body hardened as he drank in the sight of her standing there. His muscles tensed. Nothing in nine years had gotten a reaction out of him; not booze, not loose women, not even Meri. But laying eyes on this blood-sucking creature was the one thing making his body roar back to life.

Arveda cleared her throat, drawing his attention away from the woman. "I was right, Father. The girl hasn't been bitten. She does indeed have fangs, blood cravings, and no heartbeat. But she isn't dead."

"If she doesn't have a heartbeat then I'm pretty sure it means she is, indeed, dead," he interrupted.

A tick worked in Arveda's jaw. "Think of it as suspended animation. Someone has found a way to suspend her heartbeat, they found a way to make her appear like a vampire, but she isn't one. At least not in the traditional sense. She seems to have all the physical attributes and probably all of the weaknesses, but underneath the cloak of magick surrounding her I do believe there is still a heart that can beat."

"So what does any of this mean? Can she go in sunlight? Is she going to go on a killing spree? Tell me what I'm working with here."

"I don't know, Father. We'll just have to wait and see. Whatever it is, it was cast using dark magick. I am sure of it. Which means we're in a world of trouble. If they've figured out how to make humans into vampires without having to bite them first they could build an army of human-vampires and outnumber us."

"Well, then I suggest you get to work on how to stop them while I play babysitter." Nico nodded towards the door. "I'll take the creature with me, but you better fix this fast, hag."

The girl started to take a step and then stopped, defiantly lifting her chin up. "I have a name and it is not 'creature'. And I don't want to go with you."

"Hell, you don't even know what your real name is. And for the record I don't want you to come with me either, but it seems like both of us will just have to suck it up and deal. Got it?"

Arveda gave her a sympathetic nod. "Go with him, Abigail. He's mostly all talk, just ignore it."

She sighed and reluctantly followed after Nico. He grabbed Meredith's keys from the hook on the wall and threw the door open letting the fresh morning sunlight wash over him. The smell of burning flesh and the screams from behind him made him go still. He turned to see Arveda pulling Abigail back into the shadows. The old Striga glared at him. "Shut the door, now."

Nico slammed the door and wiped his hand over his face as the Striga huddled around and chanted their healing words over the girl. Despite his assertion that she was a creature who should be put down, he felt like an ass. He should have been cautious. Life with this girl was going to be an adventure and not the good kind. This adventure would require pulling an all-nighter at Lobo's just to get through the day.

The sliver of sunlight that touched Abigail’s skin burned her in a matter of seconds. Her skin still looked pink and irritated even after the Striga used their healing magick. Nico had to give her credit, she didn't complain. Not once.

At his suggestion, the Striga managed to find a sleeping bag and a pile of extra blankets to shield her from the sun. It took Arveda a few minutes to talk Abigail into voluntarily climbing inside the sleeping bag. As soon as she was secure, the Striga cocooned the blankets around her for extra protection before Nico carried her outside. There was no guarantee she’d survive with only a few layers of material between her and the death rays of the sun, but they had to know what they were dealing with and the only way to find out was to try. She was reluctant, but he would have been more worried if she hadn't been. He placed her in the trunk of the car and hoped the extra layers of metal would help just in case the blankets and sleeping bag didn’t shield her completely.

Arriving at his broken-down house he got out of Meri's car and opened the trunk. "We're here, I'm carrying you inside now."

"Okay," was her muffled response.

He flung Abigail and the blankets that covered her over his shoulder with a grunt and lugged her inside, kicking the door shut behind him. "Stay in there while I cover the windows."

It didn't take much to darken the house, he'd never cleaned the windows and ten years of grime built up a nice layer of protection. To be safe, he hung a blanket over the windows before unpeeling the layers of fabric off of her. Abigail flinched.

"There's no light in here. Don't worry."

She ignored him and stood up, inspecting the house which made him more uncomfortable than he wanted to admit. When she pinned him with a stare he stopped moving and held his breath. His first instinct was to find a weapon just in case she decided to make a meal of him. But she spoke instead of attacking. "Why do they call you Father?"

"Because Arveda is a bitch." Okay, not the best answer, but it was the first thing out of his mouth. Abigail silently waited for a better explanation. As far as he was concerned she could keep waiting because it was all the explanation he wanted to give after the night he just had.

"Why do you hate me so much?"

Nico inhaled and blew out slowly. "I hate you because you are an abomination and you're going to eventually give in to your blood lust and kill a whole lot of people."

Her brow wrinkled. "How can you be sure?"

"Because evil is evil. You can dress it up, give it a pretty name, but eventually all evil turns. You'll give in. You’ll be hungry or angry and you'll snap. Now," he held up his hands, "I'm not saying this to be an asshole. It's just the facts. You're a vampire. You are a minion of Satan and sooner or later shit is going to get bad."

"You're here to end me when that happens."

He expected it to sound like a question but Abigail stated it as fact, she had no illusions he might spare her which was good. "Yes."

"Then why not just do it now. If what you say is true, then do it. I don't want to live like this. I'm a good person—"

He cringed at the word. “You are not a person, get that straight."

Abigail's eye flashed full of rage. "I am. Right now I am a person and I am a good person. You want me to change, you want to kill me, but you're a coward and need a reason. You're going to push and push until I snap and cross a line."

"Damn straight I am. I know what is lurking under the surface, and I will protect this town and these people from you." Abigail sneered. The moment she did he could see her fangs. Nico’s blood began to boil "And that starts right now. I'm not letting you out of this house. Got it?"

The fear in her eyes shocked him, but his anger shocked him more. He grabbed her by the wrists and dragged her to the tattered mattress he called a bed and flung her down. Taking out a silk rope from the nightstand, he wove it around her wrists and the bedpost.

She struggled against his grip which only made him lock on tighter. “Let go of me.”

"You won't hurt anyone,” his voice shook with rage, “I’m going to make sure of it. Don't fight the rope. It's blessed. Struggling will only make it tighten more. The windows are darkened and you'll be safe here, but I need a damn drink. While I'm gone you just sit there and get those fangs of yours under control or I'll find some pliers and rip them out by the root. Understand?"

Bloody tears gathered in the corners of her eyes as she glared up at him. Nico froze. A vampire crying? He’d done that. His stomach tightened and his throat felt thick as he swallowed. She kept her mouth clamped shut and her petite body trembled as she dipped her head down to wipe away the bloody tears with her bound hands. He averted his eyes when her hands started to shake from the shock. He imagined it was shock anyways, God knows he’d be having a breakdown if he started crying blood. Now he felt like a dick, but he was doing this to protect everyone. Surely that had to count for something?

A small part of him wanted to console her, but the thought of apologizing to a monster was just the dose of reality he needed. He stamped down the sympathetic nagging voice in his head. The little sliver of a conscious must have been left over from his priest days, and it was unwelcome. He didn’t need to feel guilty about what he’d done, he needed a drink. Risking one last glance at the vampire tied to his bed he clenched his fists and a cold sweat broke out over his neck. She was still staring in horror at her bloody hand. Nico took a deep breath and headed for the door. “You’ll be fine. I’ll be back later.”

As soon as he stormed out of the house, Abigail let herself slump against the bed rail and sobbed. Crimson tears dripped on the gray pillowcase beneath her. Crying blood was the final straw, the last in a quick succession of life-changing events she had no control over. This man frightened her. He hated her and she hadn’t done anything wrong. She had been frightened to the point of being petrified. Even as scared as she was no part of her wanted to kill him. Run away, yes, but not kill him or anyone else. If anything should have brought out the vampire urges in her it should have been being manhandled by a drunk priest and tied to a bed.

She took several deep breaths. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she whimpered as her body was wracked by involuntary tremors. With a spinning mind and tingling limbs she sniffled and tried to focus on what was to come instead of on the debilitating fear that was threatening to take her over. This man hated her so much and for some reason she was being punished even more by having to live with him. She couldn't imagine how bad she had to have been in her previous life to deserve this much bad karma. She tried to focus on his face during that brief moment when he looked at her as if he were sorry for what he’d done. If she had to cling to something it would be the hope that maybe, just maybe, there was goodness inside him. Hidden very deep below the surface.

"Please, God, help me," she whispered. Deep down she knew she shouldn't expect anything, if the God she prayed to was the same God the priest served then she was fairly certain he wouldn't be granting her any miracles.

"Please, somebody. Help."

The only answer she got in return was the far off squawk of a bird. "Guess I'm going to have to get used to silence." The only one listening to her now would be herself and the occasional bird. For whatever reason, the women at the Striga House had sent her away with the Priest. As nice as they were to her it didn’t really feel as if anyone was on her side. If they were, then why would they leave her in the care of such an awful man?

Lulling her head back she did her best to ignore how the ropes were starting to burn. Struggling would do no good, she was certain he hadn't been lying when he said fighting would only make it worse. Instead she hummed softly to herself and found the most comfortable position she could to get herself through the day.

Everything she’d been through since waking up, and what she couldn't remember from the night before, had drained her. Even if she couldn't remember it, she could feel it. Her body ached like she'd fought a heavyweight boxing match. And not knowing what had happened, not knowing who she was or where she came from was even harder. Vampires shouldn’t feel sad, should they? She could recall several stories where the vampire characters felt no emotions at all. And at this point Abigail was overflowing with emotions.

Eventually she'd have to figure out what kind of creature she was. She wasn't emotionless like some literary vampires, but she also burned in the sunlight which was a tell-tale sign. She was a contradiction, an emotional, pain-filled vampire who didn’t want to kill anyone. She didn’t know who she was--memory loss was a bitch. Her new babysitter was a royal dick. And all she wanted was someone to help her out of these burning ropes.

She tried to think about something else, something other than what was happening to her, but try as she might, her mind kept wandering back to her captor, the priest. He didn’t look like any priest, at least not anything like the image her mind drew up when thinking of a priest or pastor. He was young, not as young as she was, but he couldn’t be more than mid-thirties. His brown hair was short, and his eyes were the lightest color of green she’d ever seen. Like mint ice cream. She gave an involuntary gag at the thought of food. He reeked of alcohol, his attitude was sour to put it mildly, and yet the moment she saw him something stirred deep inside her soul. It was a strange reaction to have toward someone who wanted to kill you, but it was there nonetheless.

His muscles had strained under his shirt and she had taken notice of his hands, rough and cracked like he worked with them a lot. He seemed more likely to pound a person into the ground than to hold communion. She shook her head. She couldn’t think about him anymore. He’d tied her to a bed and threatened her, there was no way she was spending any more time thinking about those eyes of his or any other part of him.

Nico wished the walk to Lobo's was longer to give himself a chance to work off some aggression, but it took less than five minutes to reach the front door and he was still stewing as he approached the bar and gave it a knock to get Lobo's attention. He knew the wolf had heard him before he even opened the door but today of all days Lobo was going to make him work a bit before handing him a drink.

"You know I don't start serving until eleven."

Nico rolled his eyes. "I've spent the last day and night exorcising demons, as you well know. I think it's earned me a mid-morning drink."

"Yeah. How'd it go?"

"It was all rainbows and kittens. How the fuck do you think it went?"

"Well, you reek of vampire. I'm guessing it didn't go well."

"That's an understatement. Got the vamp at my place right now because the old hag said I can't kill her."

Lobo stopped mid-pour and arched a brow. "Why wouldn't Arveda let you kill a vampire? Striga have no more love for most blood suckers than you or I."

Nico snatched the glass and downed the contents before sliding it back for a refill and shrugged. "I have no idea, she just said this one is special. Whatever that means."

"Bullshit. In order to convince you to not kill a vampire she would have had to give you one hell of a good reason, otherwise the thing would be dead." Lobo filled the glass again and cleared his throat. "So what exactly did she say?"

"Same old Striga bullshit." Lobo's hand started to shake and Nico couldn't help but laugh. "Calm down, Wolfman. It's not that big of a deal. Arveda just said the girl is the key to opening the Gates of Hell which happens to be somewhere in town."

"The church." Lobo’s nonchalant tone made it sound as if this was all common knowledge. “In the cemetery to be more precise.”

After a moment the realization set in. "You knew?"

"Yeah, why do you think I live in this godforsaken hell hole. I have family to protect, I don't ever want to see the Gates open. I left everything behind to be here, to try to protect everyone. If this vampire is the key, then you need to make sure it isn't unlocked."

"Don't worry, the only way it's opening is if she fangs out and starts killing people."

"Let me get this straight. Her going on a killing spree will unlock the Gates?"

"No, me killing her is what will unlock it."

The wolf stopped and cocked his head to the side. "Wait... If she's a vampire, then she's already dead."

"Not exactly. The hag says the girl wasn't actually killed. Someone put a spell on her, it gives her all the traits of a vampire. I guess they really wanted to make sure I killed her so they fanged her up and sent her here."

"Then you can't kill her, not ever."

"The hell I can't. If she goes nutzoid and starts killing people, I will put her in a grave quicker than God smited Sodom and Gomorra. We will just have to worry about the Gates opening and stopping the demons afterwards."

Lobo shook his head. "You can't be serious?"

"I am."

"You are too damn prideful for your own good. You can't allow the Gates to open."

"And I'm just supposed to allow some fledgling vampire to go on a killing spree because she can't control her baser urges?"

"That's a load of shit. It’s just a rumor the vamps spread to cause fear in humans. Newly made vampires are able to control themselves unless..."