38. Wren

CHAPTER 38

Wren

B lood.

The word rang in my ears as I stared down at Vee. Except she wasn’t Vee anymore. She was a pile of reddened flesh and sinew, with grey-white bones visible through her peeling skin.

And she was my friend.

She’d come here to save me.

“How much blood?” The words stuck in my throat, but I choked them out.

“Honestly, I don’t know.”

People donated blood in hospitals every day, didn’t they? I could live without keeping all of mine. The prospect of being vampire food terrified me, I wasn’t going to lie, but the thought of leaving Vee in this state was a hundred times worse. I didn’t want to lose a friend. Yes, realising she wasn’t entirely human had been a shock, but today, I’d also learned there was true evil in the world. And I’d rather hang out with the good team of supernatural beings than risk dying at the hands of the bad.

My arm trembled as I held it out .

“I don’t know what to do.”

“Hold your wrist to her mouth.”

It took a moment to even work out where her mouth was, but suddenly one of her eyes opened, and I saw a spark of hope among the bloodshot veins. Sharp teeth pierced my skin, but it didn’t hurt. I’d expected it to hurt.

Vee drank greedily, and one slimy hand came up to hold my arm. Her grip tightened when Blane pried her away from me. I staggered backward, and Joseph caught me by my armpits.

“That’s enough. No more,” Blane said.

“I can’t…I can’t…” Vee’s voice was the whisper of a breeze through the trees, so quiet I had to lean close to listen. My blood had helped, but it wasn’t enough. And now…now my wrist had healed. I’d expected the wound to keep bleeding, but the holes closed up as I watched and there was nothing but unblemished skin.

“She needs more.”

Blane shook his head. “It’s not safe. We’re not risking your health.”

“Then…Lola.”

“I can’t.”

I understood what he meant: that he wouldn’t ask her. That he couldn’t ask her. Guilt had finally caught up with him, guilt for violating both my and Nevaeh’s trust, and remorse had hit at the worst possible moment.

Which meant it was down to me.

I stroked Lola’s hair. She was taller than me, even barefoot, but she was no woman. Inside, she was still a little girl, and using her would leave me racked with guilt too. But better to offend my conscience than to let Vee suffer.

“Lola, you need to give Vee your wrist.”

“I don’t wanna.”

“It won’t hurt, I promise. Vee really, really needs you. ”

“It’s yucky.”

“Close your eyes.”

Maybe I’d go to hell for coercing her into this, but if Blane’s sister ran the place, then that might not be too bad. I kept telling myself that this wasn’t really Lola’s body, that we’d set out down this dark path so she could be a normal four-year-old girl again.

Vee bit into her wrist, and Lola giggled.

“It tickles.”

“Only for a minute.”

Vee was getting stronger—I could see it in the way she fought Blane when he decided she’d had enough from Lola—but she wasn’t healing. Why wasn’t she healing? The concern on Blane’s face was all too obvious.

“I’ll bring Caria,” Joseph murmured.

“She’s at the back of the house,” I told him. “We were in a room overlooking the pool.”

After he left, Blane and I looked at each other, and he answered my unasked question with a shrug. What if it’s not enough?

“Could you or Joseph…?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Not Joseph. He doesn’t even bleed if you cut him.”

Vee was pitiful. That was the best word to describe her. She’d always been so friendly and full of life, and now she was knocking on death’s door, but he wouldn’t let her in. Watching her struggle, I understood the true meaning of the phrase “ignorance is bliss.” If I’d never found out about Dom’s affair, if I’d stayed in Wyoming, I might not have been happy, but I would have been oblivious to this dark new world I found myself thrust into.

Joseph dumped Caria at Vee’s side, and if there was one thing to be grateful for, it was that the drugs hadn’t worn off yet. She had no idea what was going on.

Vee drank, and I gripped Blane’s hand as Vee’s shallow, ragged breaths became deeper.

“Is that good?” I asked.

“I think so.”

But Blane had to stop her. After everything we’d gone through to save Caria, sacrificing her wasn’t an option, which left only one possibility. Himself. And we didn’t have time to agonise over the pros and cons—sound travelled, and even though we were out in the desert, there was a chance that the cops were already on their way.

Joseph checked his watch. “Hurry up and make a decision. You know if Great-Uncle Tiberius were here, he’d do it.”

“You’re not exactly selling this. Remember when Great-Uncle Tiberius created the cencorn? I heard that was something to do with angel blood.”

Cencorn? “Dare I ask what that is?”

“Half man, half unicorn, constantly grumpy, great hair.”

Vee groaned from the tanning bed, and I couldn’t even offer her a hug.

“Just do it,” I said. “We can’t leave her here, and we can’t stay either.”

Blane gave the heaviest sigh, muttered words under his breath that might have been a prayer or a curse, and offered Vee his wrist. He winced when she bit. Gritted his teeth as she drank. And like magic, her skin began to reform, pale, so pale it was almost translucent. Her hair came back, although now it was blonde rather than turquoise. Vee became Vee again. She didn’t grow horns or hooves or claws. No, she sat up, blinked a few times, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Yeuch. You taste disgusting.”

“You’re welcome. ”

She closed her eyes for a long moment and worked her neck from side to side. Bones popped.

“ Mon Dieu ,” she whispered.

“It’s okay.” Blane smoothed her hair. “You’re okay.”

“Voltaire was here, and I couldn’t… He grabbed me, and he’s stronger than ever.” A sob burst from her. “I have to get out of Vegas.”

“We can discuss that later.”

“What if he’s still here? What if he’s hiding downstairs? Or outside?”

“He left. His car is gone.”

“No. No, he wouldn’t just…” Vee gasped. “We need to go. Right now. Run.”

“Is running a good idea?” Blane asked. “Three humans have each lost over a pint of blood, and until two minutes ago, you were more or less dead.”

“You don’t understand. The only reason Voltaire would have left was so he could hurt me more. He called the cops, I know it.”

“To his friend’s home?”

“Voltaire doesn’t have friends. He has people he uses and then throws away.”

“He didn’t seem to like Laurent much,” I put in.

Blane didn’t hesitate any longer. “Find Vee something clean to wear while Joseph and I fetch the vehicles. Wait by the gates.”

Then he disappeared. He took Joseph by the arm, stepped forward, and vanished into thin air. Vee’s jaw dropped.

“You never saw him do that before?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No. You?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Can we go home yet?” Lola tugged at my hand. “I don’t like it here.”

“Sure, we can go home.”