Chapter 28

RED

O ctavia is panting by the time I've finished coming and released her out of the broken restraints. Her eyes are harried rivers. They flow with a torrent of tumultuous emotion.

She's pissed and aroused in equal measure, and for the first time since she tried to take my memories, I'm less resentful towards her.

Who knew an eye for an eye has some merit after all. She rubs at her wrists, there's a patch of skin so raw I'm amazed it didn't break.

It must have, though; she heals fast enough for the wrist to be fixed already. She must have found it exceptionally hard to watch me take instruction from another. And that thought makes another smile spread across my lips. Perhaps I'm more of a sadist than I realised. Something ruffles against my skin. I hesitate as I unclip the broken ankle cuff. My finger hovers over her calf.

"What's wrong?" Octavia says, her voice strained.

I frown, looking up at her. "Do you feel everything a little... well, more, now?"

"It's because of the bond, I think," she replies.

"I see." I close my eyes and concentrate until I can sense more of her, more of us. I think I'd been so cross I was trying to block it out. But in this focussed state, I detect another heartbeat under my skin. It's an alien sensation, like a splinter, but it fits so naturally, the same way the last puzzle piece slides into the picture. And there's something else. Further away, separate. Like it's in the air.

I stand up and grip her arm.

"Red...?" Octavia asks, her tone dropping into a warning.

"Don't you sense that? There's something wrong. Like a tension in the atmosphere. It's electric but not the good kind. I can't explain it."

I release her arm but wobble on my feet as I get dressed.

"You're hungry again?" she asks.

"No."

"Verity," she snaps. "I know you're hungry, you can't hide it from me. Besides, your skin has paled."

"I mean, yes, I am. But we don't have time, I'll eat later," I say, turning to the room to locate the anomaly.

I scan the dim crowd, but my vision isn't as good at Octavia's and it's really dark in here. My body starts moving without me consciously controlling it.

"Red," Octavia barks. She must throw on her clothes behind me because she speeds up to me in a rush.

She scans the crowd and then a hiss escapes her lips. "Shit. I sense it now, too. Front door."

She rushes off ahead of me to try to handle the situation. When I catch up to her, I see it's a scuffle and some of the tension I was holding drops out of my shoulders.

"Find them!" a human shouts.

My head whips around as I process what he said. Who is he looking for?

"Mike's got one of them outside," another man shouts.

Prickles run up my arms. Something tells me this isn't a club fight. Whispers ripple around me. Layers and layers of words rushing and whistling until I find the kernel at the heart of the hubbub.

"Get the dhampir before the vampires claim her."

My blood runs cold.

Octavia has disappeared into the ruckus by the front door, and I'm suddenly very aware that I'm all on my own. I have to get out, I want to make sure Lincoln and the other two are okay. I sweep around to the other side of the club, through the staff corridors and out the back exit.

But the Whisper Club is either not on my side today or it's distracted with what's happening at its other entrance because it deposits me in the main fucking market area.

I bang on the door, and Broodmire appears. He grimaces at me.

"Sorry, Red," he says.

"Help a girl out next time," I say and dart into the crowded market as he's already vanishing back into the door to reappear no doubt on the other side where Octavia is.

"Fuck me," I say.

The market is crammed full of people, human and vampire alike. I don't see any hunters. But as soon as I think it, a squad appears at the far side of the market square.

Dozens of humans protest with placards, more vampires do the same. All are jostling and shouting at each other. I can't tell who is on whose side at this point. It's a jumbled mess of bodies and an undercurrent of seething rage that continues to bristle along my skin.

As I step down into the crowd, I notice Talulla being manhandled. She's putting up an excellent fight, but she's completely overpowered. There are three vampires to herself, and Keir is right next to her, being dragged away by several hunter nobles.

The fuck?

I'm sprinting before I can question whether it's sensible. I pump my arms as my vision speckles, and I regret not having taken another dose of blood. It was a mistake.

But there's no time to worry about that. I shove people and vampires aside as I force my way through the growing crowd. Even as I make my way across the market, the mass of bodies seems to swell. This isn't good.

Talulla is throwing roundhouse after front kick; Keir is trying desperately not to injure the humans who are grabbing for his arms and legs. They manage to find purchase and he's lifted into the air.

What the ever-loving fuck?

There are as many protesters holding signs for the cure and dhampir as there are against it. But where they're usually in neat clusters either side of the square, they are now a seething mass of bodies slamming into each other. Fists and feet flying.

Talulla is screaming as a vampire pins her arms to her body and hoists her up.

That's when the real shit kicks off. The humans holding Keir and the vampires holding Talulla round on each other as I come careening into their area.

"Give the dhampir to us," a vampire I vaguely recognise says. And then it clicks. It's the noblewoman from Cordelia's, Lady Net-something.

"Give the dhampir to us," a human retorts, his hair slicked back and as greasy as his stare is potent.

"How do you know you're holding the dhampir?" Lady Netterley says.

"I don't. That's the point. We want all of them safe and in our protection," the human says.

"Your protection?" Lady Netterley scoffs. "You're what they need protecting from."

The human's eyes darken. "Us?" He throws his head back, laughing a dark, and ugly deep in his throat. "How fucking dare you. The dhampir is our birthright. They share our DNA."

The vampire rounds on him, shoving the still struggling Talulla into the arms of another vampire.

"Hunters may have once been dhampirs. But you're certainly not anymore. You're weak. Pathetic. This is a new dusk, a new night, and the new dhampir belongs to us. They will be half vampire. They have to turn, become one of us. Whether you like it or not, that means they have to choose us. And we will see to it that they are part of their rightful community."

The human nods at several of the other men around him. They drag Keir off in one direction as the space is filled with dozens of other humans. And this time, they're all drawing weapons.

"Over our dead bodies," he snarls.

Lady Netterley sneers, turning her elegant, beautiful features bestial and terrifying. "That can certainly be arranged."

She draws back her lips, her fangs descending.

"STOP," I bark, moving into the space between them. "In the name of the Chief, I command you to stop. There will be no bloodshed. Unhand Keir Thomas and Talulla Binx at once."

The vampire cocks her head at me, as a sinking intensity winds its way around my gut.

Fuck, she recognises me. Lincoln catches up and appears at the edge of the market square. Our eyes lock for one brief second, before one of the humans catches sight of him and nods at half his men.

Lady Netterley spots Lincoln a second later and then all hell breaks loose.

The market seethes like a hornet nest; there are humans and vampires everywhere.

Half the time I'm throwing kicks and punches and the rest of the time I'm ducking and diving and rolling out of the way to evade being captured.

The confusion is fraught because there appears to be no one dying and minimal bloodshed. This isn't vampire attacking human.

This is vampires and humans trying to kidnap potential dhampirs. I have to get out of here and get Talulla and Keir out too.

"Lincoln!" He's occupied fending off yet another assault. "LOOK OUT!" I scream as someone slings a lasso-type rope around his torso. My big friend and confidant crashes to the cobbles as both a hunter and a human pile on only to be ripped off by two vampires.

This is fucking madness. Someone grabs hold of my arm. "You're one of them too," she shrieks, followed by, "FATHER!"

"I'm so sorry," I say and pull my fist back. The punch lands square on her jaw, knocking her out cold. She drops like a stone to the ground, releasing me as I leap over a group of people brawling and reach Keir. I aim a kick to one man's knee from the side knowing full well the kneecap is going to dislocate. I feel bad for about half a second, but he is trying to kidnap Keir, so like... too fucking bad, mate.

It's enough of a dislodge for Keir to twist himself round and use the body of the man holding him to leap free.

"Talulla next," I shout and together we fight our way through the crowd to the vampires trying to exit the square with her.

"I don't have any stakes, this is going to be messy," I say to Keir.

"I've only got one."

"Keep it, my fists are hungry." I dodge around two protesters fighting, both of them slamming their placards against each other like swords.

Fucking morons. It's like the square is possessed.

"You take the one on the right, I'll go left," I say. Keir fist bumps me, and we launch an attack.

I leap onto the back of the vampire holding Talulla's legs. He can't expect it because he unceremoniously drops Talulla's legs and her feet slam to the ground. It's enough of a dead weight that the torso of the vampire holding jerks. His grip slips and she crashes to the cobbles. Before he can re-grab her, she's rolling out of the way and swinging her legs around, taking him out where he stands.

It goes well. For about three seconds. And then another three vampires appear, and I know we're completely screwed.

Someone grabs both of my legs, locking their arms around me and tackling me to the ground. I can't get out because his grip around my feet is like concrete.

I land blow after blow to his head, but he laughs at me as blood splatters the ground and his wounds heal before my eyes.

"Fuck."

A rich iron scent drifts on the air. My head snaps up, searching for the source. While Talulla is defending herself, she too, is weaponless, and she's bleeding from her arm and cheek. The blood is making the vampires practically drool. They're not the only ones. My mouth fills with saliva.

Keir is throwing punches, but he too is injured, the arm holding the stake is hanging limp and one of his legs is unstable.

Shit. We're not getting out of this alive if something doesn't shift.

There's a flash of blonde and a rushing sound and suddenly the vampire pinning me to the ground is flying through the air.

"What the fuck?" I try to catch sight of which vampire is helping. But they're moving too fast.

It's not Octavia. The hair is too blonde, the body too small. That's when the blood drains from my face.

"Amelia?" I shriek.

Oh gods, no. She's not trained. She'll get hurt. What if someone stakes her by accident, thinking it's a vampire against us?

I'm up and on my feet and desperate to intervene and fight and protect her when a strange realisation washes over me. She is fighting to protect me , and she's arguably faster and stronger than me. I stagger back, momentarily shaken by this truth when Amelia stops long enough to shriek at me, "Get them out of here, Octavia is coming..." There's a cut and a bruise under her eye, but by the time she's finished shouting at me, they're healed and she's a blur of frenzied fists and harried kicks.

I blink at the space she occupied, trying to compute the fact that my sister, Amelia, the one I spent most of my adult life looking after is here, now, in the middle of a fray and the one protecting me. It doesn't make sense.

But I'm shoved forwards, and the blow knocks me to my senses. I stumble but correct myself quickly and land a roundhouse kick to the head of the vampire who was lunging for Talulla again.

I grab her hand and haul Keir away from the fighting and back towards the club when I notice Lincoln is missing. I glance back to the edge of the market, but he's vanished. My gut churns but I can't leave him. I won't.

I hold both Keir and Talulla's hands. "Listen to me, get to the tunnels. There's a private station beneath the club. Tell it to take you to Octavia's mansion. Castle Beaumont. You'll be safe there. Tell Wendell that I sent you and that Octavia and I will be right behind you. He'll look after you. Tell him not to let anyone but family in."

"Where are you going?" Keir says, wiping an arm over his mouth and smearing blood across his face.

"I'm not leaving Lincoln."

"I'll help," he says.

But I shake my head. "No. They're after all of us. The more of us in the market, the worse the chaos will get. We need to get all of us out of the sight of the public eye. The fewer there are of us out there the better. Get to the castle and I'll be right behind you. Send for the Chief and I guess Cordelia. If they want us to continue in this fucking charade, they need to get a handle on their people. This is getting ridiculous."

"Be safe," Keir says and pulls me into a hug. Talulla embraces me next and then together, they lean on each other and hobble back into the club towards the tunnels.

I bend down and pick up a cap from a man groaning and holding his stomach. He attempts to put up a fight, but he can go fuck himself. Human or not, he was trying to kidnap me and the rest of the hunters. I'm taking his hat. I sling it on over my head and pull the peak down to cover as much of my face as I can.

Then I find Amelia in the crowd and a smile washes over my face, a warmth fills my tummy and I decide that for once, I don't need to protect her from what's going on.

I don't need to hide things away, she's not a child anymore. She's a grown arse adult... okay vampire, but maybe instead of trying to protect her the entire time, perhaps we can work together.

I sprint into the crowd, calling her name. Her head snaps around. It takes her a second, but I wave from under the hat, and I gesture at the end of the market where I last saw Lincoln.

She nods to indicate she's understood and finishes grappling with the last vampire, then speeds off the direction I'm heading.

When I reach the spot where I last saw him, we're set a little way back from what's left of the brawling crowd.

I think I see Octavia outside the back of her club, but I'm not entirely sure, it's too far away.

Amelia must grasp what I'm trying to assess as she says, "It's her. She's fine, it's under control."

I laugh. "You'll miss those added benefits when you take the cure, huh? I guess not everything is bad about being a vampire."

I nudge her in the arm, and she gives me a smile that very definitely doesn't meet her eyes. A brief frown crosses my brow as I try to work out the issue. But she changes the subject and my focus shifts.

"What do you need?" she asks.

"Lincoln has been taken." Two bleeding men stumble past us, arguing and clutching injuries as we cross out of the market square and head in the direction I last saw Lincoln.

"Whose fucking idea was it to listen to information that came from Castle St Clair," one man spits. "This was fucking ridiculous! The healer bills are going to eat all our savings, and for what? We didn't even secure the dhampir."

"You idiot, we didn't need to secure her. We needed to make her kill someone. That's what the commission said."

My eyes widen, and Amelia steps in front of me to protect me from sight. Her hand slides behind her back to grip mine. Her shoulders rise and fall in the same laboured way mine do.

When they're out of sight she turns to me. "Someone else knows."

"How?"

Amelia kneads her brow. "If I've been doing research, I can only assume that others have too. This has clearly spread across the city. We can't assume that anything we know is secret. Which means you really are in danger."

"As many people hate the cure as want it, it will be fine."

Amelia pouts and flings her arm out at the chaos behind us. "No part of this is fine, Red."

The words of the men who stumbled past us flit through my mind again. ‘We need to make her kill someone.'

Amelia interrupts my thoughts. "Didn't those guys say their directive came from the castle?"

I feel my eyes go wide. "We knew Cordelia was up to something. I guess Octavia was right. Either she's trying to control the dhampir or force them to transition by making us accidentally slaughter a human."

"We don't know for sure it's Cordelia," Amelia says.

"Who else would it be?" I ask.

"That I don't know. I suppose we have no better suspect. But we can't deal with this now. Let's find Lincoln and get him back. Look, carriage tracks."

She points down a muddy path. Together, sisters in arms, we jog down the dark path, united as equals for the first time in our lives.