Scorned (29 page)

But that dark place deep inside me started
to wake and it told me things I didn’t understand.

The vampire kept slashing at Eddy’s naked
upper body until cries of pain tore from his throat in ragged
gasps. There was blood everywhere, more blood than I’d ever seen in
my life. Roman kept screaming in my head as he watched the show
with eagerness in his eyes. It sickened me. Eddy screamed his pain
through clenched teeth and I knew he didn’t want me to see him this
way. That sickened me. Laied shouted demeaning obscenities in his
forgotten language and slashed at Eddy with his hand, then licked
it clean. That sickened me. The rest of the vampires watched with
rapt attention as Eddy was beat and bloodied. That sickened me
too.

“STOP!”

I meant to shout at Roman, but it came out
of my mouth instead of staying in my head. Roman’s screaming
stopped, Eddy’s cries stopped, and I buried my face in my hands,
willing myself not to cry or hyperventilate or throw up. My stomach
and my heart were in my throat and I thought I’d choke on them
both.

“You beg for this animal’s life?” Laied
asked, but he sounded strangled, no longer confident and angry. Was
he scared? I looked up from my hands. I knew my face held disgust
and grief. I nodded. His hand was still poised to strike and the
other three vampire masters stared at me with a look I did not
understand. I turned to Roman and his face had turned ashen, paler
than it had ever been.

“He doesn’t look like an animal to me,” I
said softly.

“No.” The vampire turned to Eddy, whose face
was once again pointed at the ground, and said, “Show the young
lady what an animal you are.”

Eddy needed no other prompting. He walked
around the large table, wincing in pain with each step. His upper
body was covered in blood so that there wasn’t a spot of clean skin
left except for the right side of his face, and I saw the deep
gauges Laied had made.

As I watched, Eddy took a deep, resigned
breath, and melted into a beautiful, black-on-black jaguar. It was
instantaneous like there was no effort in it at all. His black coat
shimmered in the flickering candlelight and I looked into his
yellow-green eyes. We shared a moment in that look, like he was
saying, “Now you know my secret and you’re going to wish you
didn’t.”

I was shocked speechless by the
transformation, and when he transformed back, so fluid and simple,
I was even more impressed. No blood, though there were still deep,
dark wounds on his flesh.

“Give me a reason why I shouldn’t beat him
all over again,” Laied said. He leaned on the table and gave a
fang-showing grin. “What will you give me to stay my hand?”

I blinked.

I have to bargain for it?

“
Yes, LeKrista.”
Roman sounded
tired.

“
Well, what do I do?”

“
Bargain.”

“Well,” I said. “I don’t know.” Roman
deflated beside me and shook his head. “I’ll need to think about
it. At least until this thing with Perdita is over.”

The vampires were staring at me.

“
What did I say?”

“
They’re confused.”

“
What are they thinking?”

“
I don’t read their minds. It is
considered rude.”

“
I wish you’d give me the same
consideration.”

“Very well,” Laied said. “Shall we say three
weeks?” He flicked his wrist at Eddy and sent him back into his
shadowy corner.

Sometime later I woke to Roman shaking
me.

“No,” I groaned. “I’m sleeping.”

“LeKrista, you were snoring,” he said
gently.

“I’m sorry. I’ll stop.” I tried to pull free
from his grip, but he wouldn’t let me go.

“LeKrista, let me get you home so you can
rest. You’ve had a long night.”

“You put me to sleep on purpose,” I
accused.

“Dawn is coming.” Those three words held
longing.

Way to avoid the subject.

Roman lifted me from my seat, and my arms
wrapped around his neck of their own accord. He said his farewells
and we were gone.

I was asleep again by the time we got back
to house, but I woke up when he set me on my feet outside the
bedroom door. “Good night, LeKrista,” he whispered and he leaned in
to kiss me. I reacted the only way I knew how. My right arm swung
on its own and the slap stung me as much as I hoped it stung Roman.
It caught him off guard and he straightened, looked at me, and
grinned. He flashed enough fang to look dangerous.

“You’ve already caused enough problems.” I
stepped backward into the room and closed the door in his face.
When I turned, Pierce was barely an inch away. I yelped.

“Hey, Stace,” he said, and I knew he
couldn’t be too mad if he used my nickname.

“Hey,” I sighed. “I guess I need to get to
explaining.”

“You can wait until you’ve slept if you’d
like,” he answered and I searched his voice for any sign that when
I woke up he wouldn’t be there again, but he added, “I know
something bad happened tonight. You can tell me now if you’d like,
but all I needed to know was that you were okay.”

I nodded and began to strip on my way to the
bed. “I was kidnapped by a vampire. And then he tried to kiss me.
You should kill him.”

“It would be my pleasure.”

I woke to the smell of pancakes and rolled
over to find Pierce sitting next to me with a tray of food. The
tray looked ancient with ornate, etched legs and a hand painted
scene of a family on a picnic. Orange juice sloshed in a glass as I
moved and I smiled at him. “For me?”

“Yep. Hungry?”

“Starving!” I shoved a piece of buttered
toast in my mouth and chewed like I hadn’t eaten in weeks. I
stabbed at some eggs and ate two pieces of bacon.

“Slow down or you’ll choke,” Pierce
warned.

“I’m hungry,” I said and started in on the
pancakes. I was halfway through when I said, “I died last night.” I
kept chewing, but somehow the food lost its flavor and I just
wasn’t hungry anymore.

“What happened?”

I explained what happens when I fly with
Roman and how we’d flown so fast that I couldn’t catch my breath
and my heart stopped.

“How did you come back?”

“Adelina gave me mouth to mouth,” I could
tell he was glad it wasn’t Roman, “but I don’t think that’s what
brought me back.”

“What do you mean?” Pierce bit off a piece
of extra crispy bacon.

“I saw a man while I was dead. I don’t know
if it really happened or not, but he said he’d bring me back
because I had more to do for him.”

“Like what?” Pierce watched me
carefully.

“I don’t know. He didn’t say. I don’t think
I want to talk about this anymore. Can we pick it up another
time?”

He kissed me on the forehead. “Finish
eating.”

“I’m done.”

Pierce picked up the tray. “I’ll take it
back to the kitchen. Drink the orange juice though."

I took a quick shower and dressed in a pair
of nicely fitting jeans and a long-sleeved top supplied by Roman
that looked just like one of my own, but made from better material.
It was a deep purple and plain but I liked the way it fit. Over the
back of one of the chairs in front of the fire was a leather jacket
lined with red silk. Gold buttons with a weird symbol adorned the
front. It was a combination of symbols I'd seen before- the symbol
for the Roman way to the gods and the snake on a pole that
symbolized health and rebirth. Matching knee-high boots with gold
buckles sat on the floor with a note in Roman’s scrawling hand that
read
, “My sweet, I believe you will need these today. It is cold
and the snow is deep. Enjoy a day of shopping.”

These I was keeping, no matter what Pierce
said, and I would definitely enjoy a day of shopping. I put on the
coat and the boots and bounded down to find Pierce in the kitchen
finishing up a few dishes. “Ready to go shopping?” I asked.

“Where’d you get those?” He leaned against
the sink and folded his arms over his chest. So comfortable, so
relaxed. I went to him and put my arms around his waist.

“Roman. I’m keeping them.”

“I think you should. They suit you.” That
was his way of saying I look super sexy when there were others
around. I didn’t notice anyone else until Adelina and Calliope came
up from the living room.

“Good morning,” Calli smiled. “Ready to go
into town?”

“Shopping day,” Adelina said. “Well, what’s
left of it.”

I frowned. “What time is it?”

“Almost two,” Pierce answered. I thought
there might have been some tension in his voice, but he hid it well
if there was.

Breckenridge was an adorable town of
ridiculous souvenir shops and I wanted to buy everything. As it
was, I bought several t-shirts for myself and several more for
gifts. In one store, I found a jaguar on a key chain. Whatever
possessed me to buy it for Eddy I’ll never know, but I did. Even
though it was largely overpriced.

The sun was beginning to cast long shadows
by the time we got back to the house. I went down the stairs into
the living room where I heard beautiful piano music and stopped
dead in my tracks. Six people sat on the long sofa. All I could see
were the backs of their heads, but I knew those heads. When I
entered, they playing stopped.

Eddy turned to look at me and sneer. “Well,
if it isn’t the vampire bait,” he said, and his voice was nastier
than I’d ever heard it. The rest of his people were there. The
African Princess Bomani sat next to him, looking lovely as always.
Next to her was Amber the super model and her protegee. On his
other side was the Hawaiian Dayla, the meanest of them all. I
noticed that the blonde twins, Parashie and Maaren, weren’t with
him.

Roman sat comfortably behind a grand piano
in the corner.

“
What have you done? Why are they
here?”

“
They are here to help protect you, my
sweet. I am determined to keep you safe, and they will be
invaluable help in doing just that.”

“
If they don’t kill me
themselves.”

Out loud Roman said, “I believe you know
everyone?”

“Unfortunately.” Eddy turned and sat with
his knees on the seat and hands on the back of the sofa. He leered
at me through yellow-green eyes, and I felt Pierce tense behind
me.

“You think you’re too good for us now,
LeKrista? Now that you know what we are?”

I swallowed. “All of you?” I asked. “You’re
all...”

“Shape shifters.” Eddy leapt over the back
of the sofa and landed neatly on his feet an inch away from me. He
sniffed at my hair like he was trying to decide whether to eat me
or just play.

“You’re the one who’s made it a problem,
Eddy,” I said. “Not me.” It never really mattered whether I stood
my ground with Eddy or backed down from him, he always had
something to say. Today I stood my ground. Eddy’s girls stared and
Roman watched from across the room. Today, with Pierce at my back,
I wasn’t going to back down. Maybe tomorrow when there was no one
else around, but today I needed to stand my ground.

Eddy reached for me and snatched me up by my
arm. Claws grew from his nails and he dug them into my flesh. I
screamed and blood poured over the white carpet. He lifted me by my
arm and slammed me through the wall behind me.

The image flashed just before Eddy reached
for me so I dodged out of the way and he grabbed Pierce instead.
Pierce grabbed Eddy’s arm so fast that Eddy hesitated. They looked
at each other for a moment. Pierce’s eyes said, “If you toss me,
you’re coming with.” Eddy dropped his arm and turned to me again.
Eddy had never been violent before. I backed away trying to put as
much space between us as possible.

“
What’s he doing?”
I shouted silently
at Roman.
“Why is he attacking me?”

“
He is testing you, my sweet. I won’t let
him hurt you, but you must prove yourself to him.”

“
Oh my god, Roman! Why did you bring him
here? I thought you were supposed to be keeping me safe!”

Eddy pounced. I never knew how graceful he
was, but when he leapt, his back legs bent and pushed him off the
ground into a graceful arching swan dive. I had a moment to
appreciate what he was made of, before I ducked just in time. His
stomach grazed my head as he passed over, just barely caressing the
top of my hair. Eddy shifted into his jaguar form as he touched the
ground, from his hands to his feet, so it looked like someone had
used an etch-a-sketch on him. He turned and looked at me, growled
low in his throat, then let loose an animal scream that sent chills
down my back.

“Roman!”

I thought I was screaming, but it was
Pierce. He was furious. His voice had dropped several octaves so it
rumbled like thunder. “What are you doing?”

“I am doing nothing.” Roman kept his voice
carefully devoid of anything that might get him in trouble.

I felt a hand on my arm and I tried to pull
away.

“It’s me, Stace,” Pierce said, even though
his grip tightened enough that it was almost painful. “Go stand
against the wall. I’ll handle this.”

“But-”

“Go.” There was a finality in his voice that
wouldn’t be argued with and I wasn’t the only one who heard it.
When I stood and looked up, everyone was looking at me like they
were surprised Pierce could be so in control.

I did as I was told and stood with my back
to the wall by the stairs. Pierce faced Eddy who growled. His tail
twitched back and forth, angry and irritated.

“Mine,” Pierce growled. Eddy let out another
piercing scream and leapt on him. I screamed, afraid for Pierce. I
didn’t want to lose him, not now that we’d made up. I’d already
lost him once temporarily. I didn’t want to lose him for good. I
wouldn’t survive that.