Almost Human (16 page)

Alaric shrugged. “Well, we could use his
help. He’s incredibly powerful. Also, he’s more than likely right.
And you would have to feed eventually anyway.”

Dagger knocked on the door and poked his
head in. “What’s up? Has everyone fed?”

Alaric nodded. “We were talking about what a
pain in the ass Nyx is.”

Dagger stepped into the room. “Yeah, all my
fledglings are like that. I don’t know why.”

I snorted. “Maybe because you’re like
that.”

He shrugged. “Could be. So are you ready to
take a little of my blood.”

“I guess.”

He pulled a shot glass from his pocket. “I
think its best that you don’t take from the source, because that
will probably make Alaric territorial. Also, I’m not sure either
one of us could handle that. We need to control the dosage. Too
much will probably drive you mad.”

I bit my lip. This was starting to sound
like a bad idea. I felt like a coward. “Are you sure I have to take
your blood? If this is going to turn into a problem, maybe it’s not
the best idea.”

He sighed. “Yes, you have to. You don’t have
enough power without it. And you won’t be able to stand up to the
evil that we’re summoning. All possibilities seem better with
this.”

He slid his knife over his wrist, and then
pressed on the cut to get more blood to flow. It seemed thicker
than normal. The smell even seemed wrong. He offered me the glass.
I took it and stared at the contents.

“Hurry, before it eats through the
glass.”

I must have looked horrified because they
both burst out laughing and I scowled at them.

Dagger sobered first. “Sorry, Kori. I had
to.”

I downed the shot and nearly choked on it.
“Holy shit. That burns like cheap booze.”

Dagger grinned. “And I’m told it can hit the
system like ecstasy, which is something Alaric should enjoy.” He
winked at him. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

Heat roiled in my gut. I screamed as I tried
to breathe past the pain. Something was wrong.

“Alaric!” I grabbed his arm and he jerked
back, a perfect imprint of my hand on his forearm. I wasn’t
imagining this heat. It was really happening. I was cooking from
the inside out. Burning in hellfire. Pain overwhelmed my senses and
that’s when I felt it. Cool relief. A creature lurking under the
surface, tempting me by offering me reprieve from this torture.
Everything went white and it whispered to me, luring me to the
darkness.

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you. I can
save you from this pain. It’s not right for them to burn you like
this.”

I shook my head. “They’re not burning
me.”

It laughed. “Yes they are. Putting me in you
where I’m not supposed to be. It was naughty. Well, I suppose it’s
more like creating me, rather than putting me inside you.”

I blinked, and when I opened my eyes I was
sitting on the banks of a deep, still pond. I looked into the water
and my reflection stared back at me. If I’d had pitch black eyes
without a bit of white in them. The woman under the water wore a
dress of deep blue silk that hugged her form, the deep V showing a
generous bit of her breasts as it dipped to her naval. Her hair was
a little wild and she radiated evil like a physical thing.

“I was always in you. That little seed of
darkness waiting to swallow you up. You should give in to me. You
live on violence. Thrive on it. We could hurt the people who made
you a vampire.” She smirked. “Don’t you want to hurt them? We could
have a lot of fun with it. They’re torturing you after all.”

Her alluring voice slid past the roaring in
my head. It was the only thing I heard. She was right. I’d been
turned into a vampire against my will. Had her put in me against my
will. I should make them pay.

Wait. That wasn’t right. I’d volunteered for
this. It was the only way to save people I cared about. I shook my
head. No, they had to do this. It was the only way.

“The only way for what? Surely they didn’t
have to put this fire in you? They did it on purpose.”

I nodded. I understood now. They had. Alaric
wanted to punish me. “How will we make them pay?”

She shrugged. “Well, sit up, and reach into
Alaric’s chest, and pull out his heart. It’s so easy to do. You
can’t imagine how much power they’ve given you. Their mistake.”

For some reason hurting Alaric felt wrong.
“No.”

She pouted her full, red lips. “No?”

“I can’t hurt him.”

Fire blazed through my body and I fell to my
knees. Tears trickled down my face.

“Then how about we start with Dagger. He’s
evil. Truly evil. He needs to die. Do you know how many innocents
he’s killed? The kinds of people he’s been around? He’s the devil
and you know it. You could tear his head straight from his
body.”

I snorted. Somehow I doubted I was capable
of hurting Dagger. Even if I could, I suddenly didn’t want to. Like
some of my anger had washed away. Imaginary little needles forced
themselves into my skin.

She stomped her foot and I almost laughed.
She was a petty, little child. That was my inner demon presence? I
was almost ashamed. “I have to do something. I’m so restless. Let
me out, Kori. I’m your real self. I’ve been trapped in here for so
long. I need release.”

I nodded. “Release sounds good.”

“So let me hurt someone.”

Everything became clear. She was trying to
seduce me. She wanted me to kill. To go dark side. I couldn’t blame
her. In a way, it was her job. But she didn’t have me convinced
that she was a part of me. She might have access to some of my
darker impulses, but she was playing with them. Would I battle her
always?

“How about another kind of release?”

She growled. “No, that won’t work. I demand
blood on my hands. The feel of entrails sliding through my
fingers.”

I smirked. “Well, I won’t let you have that,
so suck it up, bitch.”

She roared with fury. Agony shot up my
spine, but I left her world. I was back on this rock hard bed, the
touch of the fine silk sheets was ripping me apart. Cool hands were
on my face. They were the only thing that wasn’t causing me pain. I
opened my eyes. The bright lights stabbed into them, but his face
was there.

“Alaric?”

His gaze darted to mine. “Are you with me?
You tried to kill me. I had to hold you down.”

I sat up and my head swam, black spots
blurring my vision. “I did?”

“Yes, you punched me so hard in the chest I
think you broke something.”

A sickened feeling crept into my gut. I’d
tried to kill him. Was this creature something I could fight off?
What if I fell asleep and she got to me again, while I was relaxed,
and I tried to hurt him. I trembled as Alaric wrapped his arms
around me.

I tried to push him away but he wouldn’t let
me. “I could have killed you.” He forced my head against his
chest.

I rubbed my face in his shirt, enjoying the
soft feeling. It all felt incredible on my skin. “God, why do you
smell so good?”

I nuzzled the crook of his neck and nipped
him with my fangs. He jumped, but when I started to suckle his
throat he groaned. He moved my legs so I straddled his hips and ran
his palms up to fondle the curve of my ass. His cock rapidly filled
the space between us.

I ran my hands up his chest and over his
powerful shoulders. I’d never realized how much I appreciated his
body. It was hard and perfect. Not too muscular. I balled my hands
in his shirt and ripped it from his back. He growled, encouraging
me. I ran my palms down his chest and abs. So perfect.

I fumbled with his zipper and his hot, hard
cock sprang out into my hands. I stroked up and down the length of
him gently. Too gentle to do anything except drive him crazy.

He groaned. “Are you just going to
tease?”

I smirked. “Well, not forever.”

“Cruel woman.”

Instead of letting me continue he grasped my
wrists and gently pulled me off of him. Once I’d released him, he
tossed me onto my stomach. I gasped and he placed himself between
my legs, grasping my hips and tugging them to him before I could
sit up.

“Sorry, love. I think given the
circumstances if I let you have the control, it would be a mistake.
You did try to rip my heart out.”

He was right. He needed to protect himself
from me. I could hurt him if he wasn’t paying attention, and the
thought made my blood run cold. I was glad one of us hadn’t lost
our head in the heat of the moment.

I nodded. “You’re right.”

He kissed the back of my neck and pushed
himself off me. His hands lingered on my body, sliding down my back
to the curve of my ass before he stopped touching me. “On your
hands and knees.”

I pressed myself up and he sucked in a
breath. “That is a pretty sight.”

I glanced over my shoulder and smiled at
him. “Thanks.”

He rubbed his cock between my labia before
pushing it inside me. I gasped at the feeling of being stretched by
him. He slipped his hand around my body to rub my clit as he thrust
faster. The pressure built in my pussy. I cried out and bucked
against him, urging him faster.

The knot of pleasure forming deep inside me
broke and I screamed his name as my vagina pulsed around him.

He growled through clenched teeth and I felt
his warm come shoot deep inside me.

He flopped down on the bed next to me,
pulling me to him.

I turned to face him and he kissed my
forehead. “I don’t want to get up.”

I chuckled. “I’m sure Dagger is waiting for
us.”

“Ugh, who cares?”

I sighed and nodded. “I’m sure he wouldn’t
begrudge us a few minutes.”

“Bet he would. He’s not getting laid.”

* * * *

As soon as I set foot on the bottom floor
Dagger was barking instructions about how to set up for the ritual
and thrust a jar into my hands.

I opened it and sprinkled the mixture of
dirt and gods only knew what else in a small circle.

“What is this stuff? It reeks.”

When Dagger didn’t answer immediately I
cleared my throat. “Dagger.”

He glanced up from his project. He was
drawing markings I’d never seen before on the floor in his own
blood outside of the circle I’d created.

“Sorry, I’m focused. Its sand from the last
time I summoned Gideon, and dirt from his plane. It’s necessary to
pull the whole demon through instead of his…soul, for lack of a
better term. Without it, the demon has to inhabit a human, and
their power is greatly diminished.”

“Where did you get dirt from his world?”

He cleared his throat and went back to
drawing on the floor. “I was there. It’s kind of a long story.”

Alaric growled. “Why don’t you shorten it
for us? Explain what we’re doing. All of it.”

He sighed and fell back on his butt, glaring
at Alaric. “To accurately explain what I’m doing you would have to
go through years of training in the religious sect I was raised in
to understand. Unfortunately for you, my civilization and its
practice are long dead. As for how I ended up in Gideon’s world, I
did some dabbling that backfired. It tainted me and landed me on
his plane.”

Nyx licked his lips. “Are you the origin of
the vampire species, D? Are we demonic?”

Dagger snorted, and glanced down. “If I
didn’t know you better, I’d think you were concerned.”

Nyx shrugged and leaned back. “Morbidly
curious.”

“Well the answer is no, I was already turned
when this occurred. As far as I know, vampires always existed,
preying on humans. Though, it wouldn’t surprise me if demons
visited our world at some point and bred with humans to create us.
However, I didn’t do that either.”

He stood and extended his hand to me. “Okay,
I’m done. Hop out, my dear, and we’ll do this.”

I wound my fingers through his and skipped
over the line to stand next to him. “What do I chant?”

“Nothing, it’s best if I use your power to
anchor and enhance mine. I’ll begin the incantation and you focus
on me, and summoning Gideon. Think of nothing else.”

He lifted our joined
hands. “
Gideon, we summon you. Come for—”

Alaric whispered. “In English? Really?”

Dagger growled. “Are you going to continue
to interrupt? Because I could screw you over and go back to Penang.
Sherra isn’t trying to kill my ass, and every second I spend here
is a second I could be discovered by King Macon, not to mention the
fact that I’m about to do something that will risk all your lives
and my sanity. As for your question, yes, the incantation can be
whatever I bloody well please, and the English is for Kori’s
benefit. It will help her focus if she’s not wondering what the
hell I’m saying and my words are reminding her what our goal is. So
shut up.”

“If this will drive you insane, we should
find another way.”

Dagger shouted and turned his reddening gaze
on Alaric. “Silence.”

Alaric flew across the room and slammed into
the wall.

I gaped at Dagger. I hadn’t known him long,
but I had yet to see him loose his temper. Could he handle what he
was about to do? I was starting to doubt it. I tried to pull away,
but his grip tightened painfully.

He flashed me a crooked smile and softened
his hold. “Relax, Kori. I can deal. Go back to concentrating.”

Dagger continued to call for Gideon in
English for a long while. I wasn’t sure when he switched to his
native language. Our palms were slick with sweat, and I felt a bead
roll down the tip of my nose. It was hard to breathe, like the air
was slowly being sucked out of the room.

The wind kicked up, blessedly cool on my
heated skin. I could breathe again. And then the ground shook
violently and I was startled out of my trance. The earth seemed to
moan as the floor cracked in a circle under the sand I’d poured.
Black slime oozed through the crack, sizzling as it ate away at the
wood, causing acrid smoke to fill the air. A glowing, red sphere
appeared with an ear-piercing whistle. The light was so blinding
that I had to look away.