Almost Human (5 page)

When he pulled away I moaned in protest
before I could stop myself. Slowly, my brain returned to me.

I had to swallow twice before I could speak.
“I can see how people get addicted to that. It’s like hours of
foreplay in sixty seconds.”

His tongue caressed the wounds, causing
another erotic jolt to run through my body. “I can do more. I could
bring you with one bite, and my powers. And if I bit you while I
pumped into your body, it would blow your mind. I could demonstrate
both methods.”

He raked his teeth gently across my throat.
“N-no, thank you. You’ve gotten your blood. Now why don’t you leave
me be?” My mind might be set against him, but it seemed to have
very little control over my body. The idea that he had all the
control was more terrifying than his bite.

He nipped my ear. “But we haven’t gotten off
yet. That’s where the real fun is.”

“What happened to hating me? A few hours ago
you were willing to kill me and now you want to be fuck buddies?
Are you bipolar?”

He pulled back enough to meet my eyes. “I
only wanted to kill you because you’ve tried to kill me and Casey,
and want to butcher my family. Believe it or not, I don’t kill
anymore, and I don’t actively hunt witches and vampire hunters like
my brother Jairdan does. I want to be left alone.” He frowned.
“However, I have no idea what I’m going to do with you now. If I
let you go, you’ll simply come back with a larger force to try and
kill us.” He shook his head. “I need to talk to my brothers.”

He levered himself off the bed before
pulling on his pants and walking to the door.

“Wait. Alaric, let me go. I won’t come back
for you. I swear.” It was one hell of a big lie, but I had to
try.

He flashed me a sad smile. “I can smell the
lie. Hell, I can feel it since I’ve had your blood. Sit tight. I’ll
be right back.”

As soon as he left the room I started
pulling on the handcuffs. With my increased witch strength I could
probably break them, or the thin, wooden post in the headboard. The
only problem was that the sound would go off like a gunshot and
bring the vampires running.

Not what I wanted because I was pretty sure
when I stood up I’d have a giant, blinding headache and sore
muscles. Not to mention the hole in my leg. I craned my neck to try
and get a look at it, but since it was on the back of my thigh, it
was nearly impossible. There was a bandage wrapped around my leg
that would cover it anyway.

I was in my tank top, underwear, and nothing
else. None of my clothes were in sight. It seemed that even if I
managed to get out of here without alerting the vampires, I’d
certainly make an interesting spectacle for the neighbors.

I heard raised voices from somewhere nearby.
I stilled and listened as hard as I could.

“We need to kill her. Alaric, go back in
there and drain the bitch dry.”

Casey’s voice interrupted him. “Jairdan, no.
That’s my big sister you’re talking about. She practically raised
me.”

“I love you, sister-in-law of mine, but she
would kill us all if she got the chance. Including you.”

“No. You’re wrong. She was hesitating. If
I’d had a moment longer to talk to her, she probably would have
left. Alaric, back me up.”

There was a long pause. “I can’t, Casey. She
loved you, but now she thinks you’re a monster. I think she would
have done it. She might have never been emotionally stable
afterward, but she would have done it because she thinks she’s
morally obligated to.”

“Misha, please, talk to them.” I could hear
the tears in Casey’s voice and it hurt my heart.

“Casey, sweetheart—”

“No. Don’t ‘sweetheart’ me. And if you try
to hug me again I’ll kick you. This is my sister you’re all talking
about murdering. Alaric, surely you get family loyalty, if no one
else does.”

There was a sigh. “I guess we don’t have to
kill her. We could turn her. We’ll hurt Casey if we kill her.”

Someone growled loudly and glass shattered.
“I don’t like that idea. She’ll have too much power.”

“Besides, she wouldn’t want that,” Casey
said.

“Well shit, Casey! What do you expect me to
do with her? Keeping her chained up in my bedroom isn’t an option.
Well…no, no it’s not an option.” I could tell he was grinning from
the tone of his voice.

“Alaric, are you attracted to this witch?” I
could hear the disgust in Jairdan’s voice.

“There is something alluring about her,
yes.”

Jairdan grunted.

“So what are we going to do?” Misha
asked.

“I don’t know yet. Let me think about it. In
the meantime, Jairdan, you’re not to touch her. You’re not even
allowed in my room. Understood?”

“I hear you. I have my own problems to take
care of.”

“Good. Now if you’ll all excuse me, I need
to take a fucking walk.”

* * * *

I gave up trying to get out of the
handcuffs. The house was way too quiet now. It seemed the boys had
settled down in preparation for sunrise. Maybe when the sun rose I
could break the cuffs and escape. Vampires were lethargic during
the day, particularly in early morning.

A small, soft hand covered my mouth and I
jumped and squeaked. The hairs on my arms stood on end as the
creature’s magic brushed my skin. Vampire. I hadn’t heard or sensed
anyone come into the room. It was pitch black, so I wasn’t
surprised I hadn’t seen them.

“Shhh. Kori, be quiet. I have to get you out
of here without them hearing.”

Casey’s hand moved, and I heard the jingle
of keys.

“Casey McCormic, you scared the shit out of
me.” I hissed under my breath.

Her apology was barely audible.

The cuffs loosened and she pulled them off.
I sat up and rubbed the wrist without the cast on it. It was
bruised and rubbed raw, but not cut. Casey grabbed my arm and
pulled me from the bed.

“Casey, I can’t see a thing. I’m going to
stumble into something.”

“You won’t. I can see perfectly, and when we
get to the window I’ll open the shades and the moon will have to be
enough for you to see by.”

She stopped moving. “Stay right here.”

I heard the rustling of fabric, and then I
could make out some of my surroundings from the silver-blue light
filtering through the glass.

She pushed open the window as silently as
possible and the cold breeze hit my partially clothed body. “Fuck.
This ought to be fun.”

She practically shoved me onto the shingled
roof. “Hurry. It’s only a matter of time before Misha discovers me
missing. He’ll know what I mean to do. Hell, I’m surprised he
didn’t think of it before now and guard you.”

“What about my clothes?”

She shook her head. “I’ve got no idea where
they are, and you don’t have time to dress.”

The shingles rubbed against my thighs like
sand paper as I slid all the way out the window. “Why are you
letting me go?”

“I can’t sit by while you’re killed. And if
you were turned, you’d kill yourself. I couldn’t bear that either.
Now go. Be careful when you jump to the ground. We’re on the third
floor.”

I slid a little farther and hesitated. If
Casey were some undead monster, wouldn’t she want me dead? Or at
least not have a problem with the thought. Was everything I’d been
raised to believe a lie?

“What are you waiting for? Alaric will be
back soon. You have to go now.”

I turned around and clasped her hands in
mine. “Come with me. We can get away from these vampires, and
Mother. You’ll be safe.”

Her mouth dropped open, then she rolled her
eyes. “Took you long enough to see the light.”

I brushed her bangs back from her forehead.
“It’s probably a mistake, and if you kill me there will be one less
idiot in the world, but I can’t leave you here.” I tugged on her
hand. “Come on.”

She nibbled her bottom lip. “I
can’t. The only reason I didn’t commit suicide is because I have
Misha. I love him, and he worships me. If I killed myself, it would
be like killing him, and I could never hurt him.” She shook her
head. “If I left, he would never stop looking for me, and I don’t
want to live without him.”

She kissed my knuckles and
released my hand. “I love you, Kori. Now leave, and never come
back. I won’t be able to free you a second time. I’m safe and happy
here. Those are two feelings I’ve never had before.”

I understood that completely. I’d
never been safe or happy at home. Mother was an ice block, who
tended to bring the vampire hunting business to our doorstep. Even
at home, we’d always been armed to the teeth. Even if I couldn’t
understand how she could feel safe with these creatures, I had to
leave her with them.

I sighed. “Mother will never stop
gunning for you.”

“
The boys will keep me safe. And
Misha and I might move away until Mother dies. The time will be
nothing for us, but…”

“But what?”

“I wanted to stay close to you. In
case you ever needed back up. I know I’d feel if you were in
trouble, especially now.”

I shook my head. “No, you can’t
offer me back up. If you start hunting vampires again eventually
they’ll kill you. Leave with Misha.”

She covered my lips with two of
her fingers. “Did you hear that?”

I arched an eyebrow and she
smiled. “Of course you didn’t. Hurry. I think Alaric is
home.”

I took one last look at her. I’d
probably never see her again, and that broke my heart.

I turned and slid slowly down the
roof, cursing as the rough shingles scraped the backs of my thighs
and made my underwear slip into the crack of my ass. I tried to
keep the injured thigh from rubbing the roof. When I reached the
lip of the rooftop and carefully dangled myself over it, I glanced
down. It was still one heck of a drop.

I inhaled. There was only one way
to get through it. I let go and tumbled to the ground. I landed on
my feet, but my injured leg gave out from under me and I sprawled
on my butt. The impact was jarring, but luckily it wasn’t enough to
do any damage.

I rolled over and got to my feet.
I walked along the tree line toward the street. Right before I made
it to the sidewalk, there was a crunch of leaves to my right and I
froze. Someone was hiding in the trees.

Throwing out my magic, I tried to
sense what it was. Vampire. Fuck, was there a convention in town?
His power choked me. This vampire killed—often. I stumbled away
from him and landed on my knees on the sidewalk under a
streetlamp.

A match flared and winked out. I
could barely make out the smoldering end of a cigarette amongst the
trees and then he stepped into the light.

This vampire didn’t even attempt
to play human. His hair was pitch black. Thick, black eyeliner
surrounded his eyes and he had several piercings. He wore a fishnet
shirt and baggy, black jeans. His jacket was draped over his
shoulder.

He snarled, baring his fangs at
me. “I can’t believe Alaric didn’t kill your ass. He’s so
weak.”

I stared up at him. I had a
feeling he wouldn’t have a problem killing me here and now. And
here I was, without a knife to defend myself. I should have asked
Casey for one. She was always armed. I wouldn’t get a chance to
make that mistake again.

“Who are you?”

He took a long drag of his
cigarette and slowly exhaled. “I’m Fallon.”

He flicked the cigarette from his fingers, and it
went spinning into the street. He dropped his coat on the ground
and grabbed the straps of my tank top, hauling me up. He slammed me
back into the lamp post and I gasped as pain lit up my spine.

“I heard my brothers were having a
little witch trouble. Imagine my satisfaction—” He slammed me
against the post again and, before I could stop myself, he was
rewarded with a short scream. “When I show up just in time to find
you sneaking out of the house.”

“I didn’t know they had another
brother.”

“Oh, yes. I’ve been ostracized.
I’m a tad more violent than they like. But, I don’t give a fuck if
they want me around or not. They’re in danger, and so I’m
here.”

He slammed me against the metal
pole again and I cried out. “Now, if you ever come near my brothers
again, I will kill you in some slow, incredibly unpleasant way. Do
we understand each other? The only reason I’m letting you go this
time is because of that touching little scene of family loyalty on
the roof. But you see, I’m loyal to my family too, in spite of what
they might think. Hurt my brothers, and you’ll find out how loyal I
am.”

He tossed me to the ground and I
scraped my hands and knees on the concrete. “Feel free to take the
coat. You make a great peep show at the moment, but I’d hate for
you to get picked up by the cops.”

“Thanks, asshole.” I glanced up to
issue some threat, but he was gone. I shuddered and glanced around.
I’d been scared for my life before, but I was terrified now. I
believed every word he said to me. With some vampires the threats
were all posturing, and they couldn’t do half the shit they said.
But not that one.

I grabbed the coat and put it on. The damned thing
was huge and hung well past my feet. At least I was well
covered.

Chapter Five

My car was gone. Astra had
probably taken it when she had to bug out. Luckily, I found a
prepaid cell phone in one of the many pockets of the coat, along
with a hand gun and a couple hundred bucks in cash.

The cab I’d called dropped me off
in front of Astra’s house about an hour and a half after my escape
from Alaric’s.