Vengeance in Blood (Book 2): Tribulations (18 page)

Walking to the massive head, Besseta kicked it, spinning the body. “Fucking whore, I didn’t tell you that you could pass out! Wake the fuck up. See what happens when you threaten my husband, bitch! This is just the start!”

Besseta spun around, and Maliki and Tiffany almost took off running. The only reason they didn’t was because both thought that might set her off on them. In a casual stride, Besseta walked over, and both shivered, seeing her eyes glowing white with a slight green haze. She was covered in blood and then noticed both her hands were broken. The skin over Besseta’s hands quivered as the bones realigned and straightened out.

Stopping in front of them, she nodded back to the battered body. “Bitch better rectify, threaten my husband,” she said.

“Well, you certainly showed her.” Tiffany smiled as her heart rate continued to speed up.

“Oh, I’m just starting on that whore. When I find her, I’m going to show her pain.”

Tiffany nodded. “Serves her right. That slut had it coming.”

“Ah, Besseta,” Maliki said, and she whipped her head around to glare at him. Looking at the glowing eyes, Maliki fought not to urinate on himself. “Is the pack coming?” he asked gingerly.

“They stopped when the slut passed out. She thought I would stop if they got here,” Besseta snorted.

Carefully, Maliki cleared his throat. “Are they close?”

“They’re in the panhandle of Texas. A few others are in Arkansas; they can get here before morning.” She shrugged as they all heard the slowly healing bones pop in the werewolf.

“B-Besseta, I really hate to ask,” Maliki stuttered and stuck a finger in his collar, running it around his neck to try to loosen it. “Can you hear what the man is thinking?”

“When Elizabeth is not screaming or crying, but I don’t understand it. Even Elizabeth said I couldn’t because I was hearing wolf,” Besseta told him.

Watching Besseta, Tiffany sighed, seeing the bright glow coming from her eyes starting to dim. “Besseta, if he changed back, do you think you could understand?” Tiffany asked.

“Why in the hell would we want to do that? The connection would be broken if he changes back. Elizabeth kept trying to make him, but I broke his bones, and that broke his concentration,” Besseta huffed.

“Yes, that would break my concentration,” Maliki said, nodding as he looked at Tiffany, who agreed. “Besseta, the thing is we can get some information out of the man, like if there are any vampires planted in the League that are going after Kenneth.”

Besseta spun around. “I’ll beat the bastard till he changes back,” she said, walking over.

Not even letting the thought of grabbing Besseta enter her mind, Tiffany ran around her and stopped in front of her. “Besseta, you don’t have to; Maliki can do it.”

Besseta turned to Maliki with her glowing eyes getting brighter, and this time, he felt something warm running down his leg. “You said you can’t put thoughts in people’s heads?” she asked.

“I can’t, but if I touch someone, I can make them do what I want, but when I let go, it stops—animals even,” he said, forcing a smile.

Suddenly, Besseta disappeared, and another scream erupted in the night. Turning to the werewolf, they found Besseta latched on its neck. The scream started to weaken and wobble then stopped. Climbing off the body, Besseta turned around. “Bitch was waking up,” she said with blood running out of her mouth and her eyes glowing bright again.

“The nerve of that whore trying to wake up from your thrashing,” Tiffany said as sincerely as she could without trembling.

A bloody smile filled Besseta’s face. “That whore has never felt pain like that before.”

“Well, it was long overdue for that sk-an-ky slut,” Tiffany struggled with the words as her breathing accelerated.

Motioning with her head, Besseta commanded, “Maliki, wake the bastard up.” Maliki nodded, taking off one of his gloves. “You even make a motion to me, and I’ll break your back,” Besseta told him.

“I would never,” Maliki gasped. “Have I ever even tried?”

“Luckily for you, no,” Besseta said, walking up to the head and kicking the broken jaw.

Placing his hand on the body, Maliki looked at Tiffany. “You have him, right?”

“Yes,” she said as the body shuddered, and Besseta kicked it again. “He’s just changing,” Tiffany told her.

“I know, but I want him to know I’m still here,” Besseta replied, watching the limbs contort as they shrank. The bones popped as they returned to a human’s physique. Besseta was amazed how long it took and got bored. “When can I hit him?” she asked.

“We shouldn’t need to, Besseta,” Tiffany tried to reason with her.

“He’s awake,” Besseta said, walking down to the head. Looking down at a naked man who was around seven feet tall, Besseta raised her foot and stomped his face. “Open your eyes before I pull them out,” she commanded, and the man obeyed.

Tiffany shivered, seeing the abstract fear in his face as he looked at Besseta. “Please,” he begged, and Besseta stomped his face again, this time knocking out teeth.

“I never said speak,” she said, giving an evil grin. “Oh, this is cool. The pack knows this.”

“Do I have any traitors in the American League?” Maliki asked.

“One. They are about to send two of the ones you lost back,” Besseta told him.

“Who’s the one?”

Besseta shook her head. “He doesn’t know his name. He’s a sickly looking male with almost white hair.”

“Thomas,” Maliki growled. “He’s a guard on the council.”

Besseta started firing off questions interrupted only by occasional stomps to the body. Tiffany and Maliki just kept their mouths shut, knowing the only purpose of the stomps was to appease Besseta on some demented level.

After an hour, Besseta stared down. “How old are you?” Nodding as if impressed, she asked, “Then you must have come from the island?”

Maliki sucked in a breath but held onto the man’s arm. “Really,” Besseta said. “So she joined with you because you are the most powerful of your kind,” Besseta said, looking at Tiffany and Maliki then back down. “If you’re so powerful, why are you broken like a bitch?”

Watching, Tiffany wanted to laugh, but she didn’t like seeing what Besseta was capable of. “Fuck that whore. I don’t care if you love her; I’m going to pull Elizabeth’s fucking arms off and beat her to death with them,” Besseta growled. “I don’t give a shit if she was one of the rulers; the whore is going to die a slow and painful fucking death. This was only the first part,” Besseta told him.

Tears ran out of the man’s eyes. “I didn’t tell you to cry. I will pop them out,” she warned. “How many—what did you call them? Cubari? That’s what the incubi and succubi call themselves?” she asked. “Oh, that’s how they were referred to in their kingdom,” Besseta mocked.

“Bitch, this is my kingdom, and that whore is dead already. She just happens to be walking around on borrowed time,” Besseta informed him. Just staring down at him, Besseta let the thoughts flow through her. When they started repeating, Besseta looked at Tiffany and Maliki.

“Feed, and kill it,” she told them. “Maliki, one of the League is already dead. Don’t go back to Baton Rouge; they are waiting for you but can’t find your boat. That’s what this one is doing here; he caught your scent near the Mississippi,” Besseta said, raising her foot then stomping the man hard, knocking him out. Maliki and Tiffany both lowered their mouths to the man and drained him.

Lifting his head and wiping his mouth, Maliki looked at Besseta, still shocked at the news. “They want you alive, so be ready for that,” Besseta warned. “You need to go and warn the others. They have drones coming for them, and the cubari know where some are.”

“How many cubari are involved in this?” Tiffany asked, wiping her mouth and feeling much better.

“All of them,” Besseta answered. “I didn’t get a number, but it’s a lot of faces. Way more than several dozen.”

Dejected, she asked, “And they’re all working together?”

“Yes,” Besseta replied. “Tiffany, you should know they killed Herotho.”

Tiffany started to collapse, but Besseta darted over, catching her. “Why?” Tiffany cried.

“To punish Maliki for killing that succubus and you for getting away from that incubus,” Besseta told her. “I don’t know which one or how, but they touched Herotho and told him to kill himself, and he did.”

The tears stopped as Tiffany stood, and the very air started to crackle. “Where is that whore?” she asked.

“You think I would be here if I knew that?” Besseta asked. “If it was Elizabeth, you can have her after I’m done; I swear I won’t kill her.”

Thinking hard about that, Tiffany finally nodded. “I agree since you found me the truth. We need to get home, and Maliki, you need to go now.”

With his head hung low, Maliki walked over to the table, gathering the stuff they brought for him. “I’m sorry, Tiffany. He was the only friend I’ve ever had. I will contact you and—” he stopped and wiped his face. “Seeing you and Herotho, Tiffany, I thought I could find me someone like that. I had a friend, so anything was possible, right?” Not waiting for an answer, Maliki disappeared in a gust of wind.

When he was gone, Besseta looked at Tiffany. “We can’t run home; there are werewolves spreading out, trying to track us. We will have to fly home.”

“How will we get to an airport?” Tiffany asked.

“I’m stealing a car, and we ride with the windows up,” Besseta told her as she walked over to the table, grabbed the recorder, and pulled the one on her off. “I don’t want to risk them crossing our trail.”

“Completely understand,” Tiffany said, walking over. “How the hell do you steal a car so we can get home?”

Chapter 11

As it turned out, stealing a car with Tiffany was extremely easy. After that, Besseta drove east to Atlanta. On the ride over, she called Kenneth and told him as much as she could and their plan to get home. Kenneth was just happy to hear Besseta was okay and wasn’t worried about the rest for the moment. For the hour Besseta talked to Kenneth, Tiffany wanted to grab the phone and tell Kenneth her perspective on what happened but just rode in silence.

When they reached Atlanta, it was already night again as they left the stolen car in a parking lot and took a cab to the airport. With a bad storm over Chicago, flights were delayed, so controlling her temper, Besseta bought tickets for a flight at three a.m.

Leading Tiffany to a waiting area, Besseta pulled out the notebook and started writing all the thoughts she had heard. As Besseta wrote, Tiffany just watched her and could feel the tension pouring off Besseta. On the ten-hour ride over, neither said more than a dozen words to the other.

After watching Besseta write for five hours, Tiffany calmly cleared her throat and said, “Besseta.”

“Yes,” Besseta answered without looking up.

“Kenneth will be fine,” Tiffany told her. “They won’t find him.”

Putting her pen down, Besseta looked up, and Tiffany could see the anxiety on her face. “What if they do?” Besseta asked in a trembling voice.

Sighing, Tiffany replied in a neutral tone, “Well then, Besseta, I’m sorry to tell you they will not know when or how, but we will kill them all very slowly and with much pain.”

The corners of Besseta’s mouth twitched as she looked at Tiffany’s serious expression. “I think I got that point across,” she said, trying not to smile.

“Yes you did,” Tiffany agreed, nodding with a straight face. “But for something like this, I feel a more aggressive thrashing is in order.”

Leaning back in her seat, Besseta grinned. “I don’t know. It took everything I had not to disembowel that wolf.”

“If they threaten Kenneth, I don’t think you need to corral those tendencies for future reference,” Tiffany said, ending in a grin. “And if you don’t mind, I will lend a hand, just not standing real close to you.”

Stretching her arms over her head, Besseta laughed. “Yes, I don’t think standing close to me would be very wise.”

Seeing Besseta laugh eased Tiffany’s tension as she stood up and moved over beside her friend. “You want to talk about it?”

Besseta shook her head. “Not really,” she admitted. “I never felt anger like that before, not even when my family was killed. I was heart stricken when it happened, not filled with bloodlust.”

“Very understandable,” Tiffany said, reaching over to hold Besseta’s hand. “You have something worth fighting for.”

Looking down at her lap, Besseta’s long, curly hair fell over her shoulders, hiding her face. “Kenneth’s going to think I’m a monster,” she said in a whisper.

Tiffany laughed. “Oh Besseta,” she snickered. “You really think that?”

“I was a monster,” she moaned.

“No, you weren’t. Someone threatened your love, and you let them know the consequences. About Kenneth thinking you’re a monster, I can tell you it would be easier to convince him the Earth is flat.”

Looking up at Tiffany through her red curls, Besseta asked hopefully, “You really think so?”

Reaching over with her other hand, Tiffany brushed Besseta’s hair out of her face. “Of that, I can be certain,” Tiffany said with confidence. “He will only complain that you could’ve been hurt.”

“I didn’t care,” Besseta admitted.

“I know, and that’s what will upset him,” Tiffany said, smiling. “And you can’t be mad about that because if he did something comparable for a human, you would be just as upset.”

“Yeah,” Besseta groaned and leaned over, laying her head on Tiffany’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I frightened you.”

Tiffany laughed and caressed Besseta’s head. “You do know you made Maliki so frightened he urinated on himself.”

Softly shrugging, she said, “I don’t care. He’s an ass.”

“Besseta,” Tiffany said and paused. “I fear I’ve passed my feelings about Maliki to you. In truth, he’s not that bad,” she admitted and started caressing Besseta’s head again. “When I see or think of Maliki, I can almost see Herotho again, expecting him to show up. They were good friends and enjoyed each other’s company. Even then, I enjoyed Maliki’s company.”

“He’s still an ass,” Besseta said, closing her eyes as Tiffany stroked her head.

“He can be,” Tiffany agreed, letting out a chuckle. “Before he killed the succubus, Maliki was rarely an ass. Only when he tried to act like a general again. After that, he was scared and started the face you see now. He is cold to push others away so he could see anyone wanting to get close to him.”

Lifting her head, Besseta looked into Tiffany’s eyes. “I would never hurt you, Tiffany,” Besseta stated. “You were scared about that.”

“Ah, well, yes I was, Besseta,” Tiffany nodded. “You were systematically breaking every bone in that werewolf’s body.”

Besseta looked away. “Yes I was, but Elizabeth was connected to that wolf, and every bone I broke of the wolf, hers broke.” She gave a small smile. “I could hear her thoughts to others around her wherever she was. She begged for me to stop, but I didn’t.”

“Oh Besseta, if you’re asking for forgiveness, I can’t give you that because I wouldn’t have stopped either.”

“Really?” Besseta asked, shocked.

Tiffany took a deep breath. “Oh, I can guarantee you I would have probably done much worse,” she admitted. “Though I don’t know if I would’ve used the language you did.” Tiffany smiled.

“Well, Elizabeth doesn’t like to be degraded with words, so I need to learn some more vile expressions,” Besseta admitted. “She’s used to her subjects worshiping her.”

Reaching over, Tiffany pulled Besseta’s head back down to her chest. “Then we shall both study new vile expressions to verbally degrade and violate her with atrocious dialogue.”

“I love you, Tiffany,” Besseta laughed, hugging her.

“Oh, little Besseta, I love you too,” Tiffany sighed, glad to see Besseta back to herself. “Besseta, will you tell me how you copied William’s ability?”

“You’re going to think I’m a monster,” Besseta moaned.

“Never, little Besseta,” Tiffany assured her. Taking a deep breath, Besseta started talking. She explained how she discovered how to do it and experimented on another then what she did to William and the last one.

Tiffany was impressed with the detail Besseta took to recreate the same situation. When Besseta was done, she just kept her head on Tiffany’s chest. “That’s all you did?” Tiffany clarified.

“That’s not enough?” Besseta asked. “I did more than kill our kind; I drained them.”

“Our kind, pfft,” Tiffany huffed. “Besseta, if you think I haven’t killed some of our kind for less than that, you are mistaken,” Tiffany informed her. “And to let you know, Besseta, I’ve tried what you did more than once, and it didn’t transfer any ability to me.”

“Huh?” Besseta asked, sitting up.

“I tried that,” Tiffany admitted. “I kept one vampire alive for over a year, feeding off him regularly, and I never got his ability to control animals.” Besseta’s eyes got wide. “Oh, he was an ogre. He used animals to lure kids to his cave so he could feed,” Tiffany explained.

“If you did it—”

“More than once,” Tiffany added.

“Why didn’t you get any of their abilities? Did you have them exposed to sunlight?” she asked.

“Two of them,” Tiffany answered.

“Um,” Besseta bit her lower lip, “just how many have you tried it out on?”

Tiffany looked up and thought for a second. “Oh, I’m sure over a dozen,” she said, and that made Besseta feel better.

Giving a frown, Besseta asked, “Well, why did it work for me? Think it was because I kept them under UV constantly?”

Thinking for a second, Tiffany shook her head. “No.”

“Well, how come I did it?” Besseta asked, confused.

“Think, Besseta,” Tiffany said, squeezing her hand. Seeing Besseta wasn’t making the connection, she explained, “That is one of your abilities.”

“To take others’?”

“Yes, it’s not so hard to believe. There were rumors one of our kind had that ability long before you were born,” Tiffany said. “Each time the virus is passed, a small portion is changed in the host. In you, the virus has adapted to incorporate the gene responsible for abilities of others.”

Stunned, Besseta asked, “Have you ever heard of anyone recently that could do it?”

“No, and you can never tell another soul. Others will hunt you: some to kill you, the rest to see if they can take it,” Tiffany warned. “That’s the rumor how the other died long ago.”

“Well, Kenneth knows,” Besseta stated proudly.

“As well he should,” Tiffany smiled. “Are you handling the added abilities easily?”

“Now I am,” Besseta nodded. “But it does take some time. The first time was strength, and it took the longest. It was a decade before I quit breaking things just touching them.”

“So it took you feeding off them for a week before you felt the change?”

Thinking and slowly nodding, Besseta admitted, “About that long. The last one was I didn’t need to feed as often, and I started feeling the change in days.”

Reaching back up, Tiffany pulled Besseta back to her chest, caressing her hair as she thought. “I’m willing to bet you don’t need to feed off them that long,” Tiffany finally said. “I think you only needed to do it once. It just takes your body time to incorporate the new ability.”

“So I don’t need to feed but once?”

“I’m almost positive,” Tiffany replied, nodding. “The volume of the first feed should be more than adequate.”

Thinking about that, Besseta held up her hand. “Tiffany, I’m sure some of the humans I’ve fed on would’ve had an ability. Why didn’t I get them?”

“Their ability was never brought out with the virus. If they had turned and you fed, then you could’ve taken it.”

“Wow,” Besseta exclaimed.

“To put it mildly,” Tiffany smiled. “How long are we going to lay low?”

“At least a few months,” Besseta said, raising her head. “I want to make sure Kenneth is safe before we go out.”

“Agreed,” Tiffany nodded. “Would you be willing to experiment?”

Cocking her head to the side, Besseta muttered, “Huh.”

“Experiment, see if you can incorporate my ability?” Tiffany asked.

Besseta’s pale complexion lost what little color it had. “What?”

“Just to see if I’m right.”

Besseta shook her head fearfully. “I don’t want your ability.”

“Nonsense,” Tiffany said. “It would make you much stronger.”

“It would freak me the hell out,” Besseta corrected.

“Besseta, think. If both of us could use telekinesis, we would be a force that would be very difficult to defeat. Not being modest, but I’m one of the strongest. I’ve seen others, and only one was more powerful, but he’s dead now. One of us could shield as the other attacked.”

Really liking the sound of that, Besseta thought hard. “But I would have to bite you,” she whined.

“I’ll bite myself, and you can just drink,” Tiffany offered, getting excited. Stunned, Besseta jumped back. “Besseta, how do you think I got my blood out to study it?”

Not thinking of that, Besseta reached up, twirling her curls around her finger. “I like the idea, but I’m really scared,” she admitted. “Your ability seems much more powerful than any of the others I’ve taken, and if it does something weird, I can’t take it back.”

“Now that is a valid argument,” Tiffany agreed. “Did you consider that on the others?”

Shaking her head, she said, “No, but Kenneth did.”

“That man is intelligent in many areas,” Tiffany admitted. “We must endeavor to change his mind about attempting the change. His thinking must be persevered.”

Besseta smiled. “I’m going to try but not for that.”

“As will I and not for that,” Tiffany agreed. “That would just be an added bonus.”

“Tell you what,” Besseta offered. “Let’s run this by Kenneth and see what he thinks.”

“Excellent idea,” Tiffany agreed, nodding. “Ah Besseta, do you have any other known quests in Chicago? I’m thinking we may need to take a few home so we don’t have to leave.”

“Now that is a good idea,” Besseta said, getting up and seeing their plane was boarding. “No, I don’t, but it won’t take but a few hours to find some. One thing I can say about mankind; evil is always close.”

Getting up, they walked over hand in hand and scanned their tickets. “Yes, Besseta, it may not be as prevalent now, but evil is still here,” Tiffany said as Besseta led her to first class. “My, these seats are rather big. I would think they would want to put more on a plane and make them smaller.”

“This is first class. The seats in the back are small for me,” Besseta told her, sitting down. “When was the last time you flew?”

“Still just the once,” Tiffany said, sitting down.

Besseta laughed. “A jet is much better than a biplane.”