Broken Heart 02 Don't Talk Back to Your Vampire (28 page)

"You've been cured of the taint, Eva—or haven't you noticed?"

I had noticed that I felt normal. The lethargy and confusion that had plagued me ceaselessly two days ago had disappeared. "Cured? That's impossible. There is no…" My voice trailed off. There was a cure.

The one that had worked for Lorcan. Had I been transfused with royal lycan blood, too? You'd think that would be something I would remember—if not doing, at least agreeing to do.

Koschei's amber eyes snared mine. I couldn't look away. I felt as though I was falling into that gaze until I was surrounded by jade, floating in it as though it were an ocean. I felt buoyed and safe.

"I command you to remember," said Koschei in a familiar voice that was so soothing, so compelling.

"Remember all that you have done."

Memories flashed.
Lorcan loves me, begs for death
. The images flip forward.
Lorcan and I make
love. I tear out his throat, drink his blood
.

Oh, my God.

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"It's not true," I whispered. "I would never do that." But I knew that I had. No wonder Lorcan had imprisoned me. I had tried to kill him.

"Those who suffer from the taint lose their ability to differentiate between reality and fantasy. I found it easy to get inside your mind and make you see what I wanted." He grinned. "You've done an evil act, Eva. Oh, don't be so horrified. Think about how you have a comparison for our opposing viewpoints."

"I was coerced."

"Interesting, that. You coerced Nefertiti to get what you wanted."

I resisted the urge to defend myself. I wasn't a bad person. I did what I had to do. He was confusing the issue, trying to make me think I was like him.

"Why would you want me to hurt Lorcan?"

"I didn't want you to hurt him. I wanted you to rip out his throat." He leaned back and crossed his legs.

"But something interesting happened. His blood cured you of the taint."

Hope wound through me. Did Lorcan hold the key to a real cure? Koschei could say whatever he liked.

I wouldn't believe I was healthy until Stan himself gave me the news. Just like I wouldn't believe Tamara was okay until I saw her with my own two eyes.

"Lorcan's holding the key for the taint would've been a problem if not for you. Now I can kill him and keep you."

Koschei was not just evil—he was insane.

"You can't be sure my blood will cure the taint. Lorcan may be the direct source."

"We can do tests on him while we torture him to death. Two birds with one stone."

My terror was overwhelming. I didn't trust that my thoughts were my own. Koschei was powerful; he might be able to monitor my attempts to connect to Damian. I wouldn't call Lorcan—he would try to rescue me and be killed for his efforts.

"Of course, we will do the necessary tests on you first." He rose suddenly and held out his hand to me.

"Come, Eva."

I didn't want to get up. I didn't want to obey him. But I found myself rising and taking his hand. My entire body tingled, then
pop
! We were standing in a dimly lit and dank basement. I could sense that there were things in the room—boxes stacked against walls, tables just outside the rim of light from the single bulb. We walked through this part to another section, which was brightly lit.

A man was chained to the wall. He looked like roadkill and smelled worse. His hair was stringy and oily, and he wore nothing but a pair of black boxers. The moment he saw Koschei, his eyes went red and his fangs emerged. He screamed and struggled, but his words were incomprehensible.

"Let me introduce you to Ron. He was the leader of the Wraiths. Now he's just a pathetic vampire dying from the taint." Koschei waved at Ron as if he was merely the busboy and the basement was a country club. "By the way, he's the one who infected you."

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My stomach jumped in revulsion. Oh, God. This poor soul had bitten me? For the first time, anger flared, burning away some of my fear. "Why did you give me the taint?"

"Haven't we established I want to kill Lorcan? And I couldn't get to him, so I figured I'd kill some of his happiness first."

"Two birds, one stone," I muttered. "I get it." Giving me the taint was a backup. If I failed to murder Lorcan, I would still reinfect him. Instead, Lorcan's blood had healed me.

We continued walking, but I was reluctant to delve farther into the dank space. It smelled terrible and felt oppressive. I prayed that my daughter was not being kept in this place. Where was she? She must be so scared.

"Master?"

"Oh, look," said Koschei. "It's my newest walking refreshment stand."

We turned to face the man who'd called to Koschei. I nearly retched. "Charlie?"

My former donor looked awful. His clothes were stained and torn, his hair was dirty, and one lens of his glasses was cracked. But his color worried me the most. His skin was grayish white; he looked like a walking corpse. Even though he was the reason I had been drugged and given the taint, he had been my friend. I didn't want him to suffer.

"What did you do to him?"

"I would think that after his terrible betrayal, you'd be grateful I'd punished him."

"You punish those who do your bidding?"

He shrugged. "I didn't glamour him. I told him that if he did as I asked, I would give him… you. And the fool believed me." His grin flashed. "In his greed to possess you, he put aside his principles. Isn't that evil?"

"Only if desperation is evil."

"You are so droll." Koschei grabbed Charlie by the shoulder and sank his fangs into Charlie's neck. My friend's eyes glazed over, his hands pushing ineffectively at the vampire. After he was done drinking, Koschei grinned at me again, his teeth red with Charlie's blood. "Would you like some?"

My gorge rose. "Leave him alone. Please."

"How prettily you beg. No. No. I have claimed Charlie. He is my donor, drone, and doormat. Aren't you, my boy?"

"Yes, Master."

His dull gaze swept over me without a flicker of recognition. Is this how his life had been for the last few weeks? I pressed my hand to my roiling stomach.

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"The more blood you consume, the stronger you are," said Koschei. "The Consortium doesn't reveal that tidbit to its Turn-bloods. No, they are all about humane eating habits and keeping their humans alive. I don't understand all the fuss. There are more than enough humans to feast on whenever we choose."

"You're despicable."

Koschei pulled a handkerchief from his shirt pocket and dabbed at his bloodied mouth. "I tire of your hypocrisy, Eva."

My body was incapable of showing physical signs of fear, but terror and horror bloomed fully. I wasn't an ass-kicker or a smart aleck. I wasn't pretty enough to enamor Koschei and I wasn't brave enough to run away. And even if I'd had the nerve, I would never leave Tamara.

Feeling sorry for all of us standing in Koschei's torture chamber, I watched Charlie shuffle away. My heart broke for him. Then my gaze drifted to Ron. He had expended his energy. He sagged against the wall, his eyes closed. Drool dripped off his chin.

"I was abandoned in a prison cell," I said. "Nobody knows I'm gone. And if they did, nobody cares."

"Pity Town ahead," droned Koschei. "Population: You."

Lord-a-mercy, he was nuts. He grasped my elbow and led me to a shiny metal table.

He patted the table and I shook my head.

"Sit down, Eva."

His tone was beautiful, persuasive. I hopped onto the table because I couldn't resist his command.

Another man came from the shadows. He was short and stooped, with balding gray hair and beady black eyes. Dressed in a coat similar to mine, he studied me as though I were cream and he the cat.

Though he was old, he was a vampire; his fangs glinted as he smiled.

A square metal table filled with mundane supplies such as cotton swabs and surgical instruments such as scalpels sat on the right. He plucked four gloves from the box and put them on.

"Otto, this is Eva. It appears that her failure to murder Lorcan was not a complete loss. In her veins we will find the cure for the taint."

"Excellent," said Otto, his German accent thick. "I look forward to… examining her."

Eva! Where the bloody hell are you?

I didn't answer Lorcan's sudden, urgent plea when it popped into my mind. Instead, I let Otto take the
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scalpel to my wrist. The blood welled and he swabbed it, then put the long cotton swab into a plastic vial.

The cut stung, but it healed quickly.

He cut again, three quick strokes up my arm.

I cried out. The slicing of my skin hurt. I wasn't brave, not at all. I hated to be in pain. But I wouldn't betray Lorcan again. Not after what I'd done to him. How could he ever trust me again? How could I trust myself, knowing that I was that vulnerable? If I could be glamoured into hurting Lorcan once, then I could be again.

What's wrong? I can feel your pain.

I didn't respond. I wished he would go away.

My heart is within your heart. I will not give up on you. Do not give up on me
, a stóirín.

Oh, no. Not the poet. I resisted his mental pleas. I wanted more than anything to be rescued. I refused to trade my life for his. But I would trade Lorcan for Tamara. Nothing was more important than my child, not even the man I loved.

Otto seemed to enjoy taking the scalpel to me, especially when doing so elicited a pained response. Yet I could see no purpose in his efforts. Finally, Koschei put a hand on the old man's arm. "You can play later, Otto. Once she serves her purpose, she's all yours."

Otto didn't seem particularly happy to have his fun cut short, but he took a syringe from the table and prepared it. Then he swabbed my neck with alcohol and jabbed the needle into my carotid artery.

OUCH!

I'm sorry that I locked you up, Eva. After you drank my blood, we were afraid you would change
into a hybrid. I didn't abandon you. I swear it.

I wanted to reassure him, but I suspected Koschei was monitoring my thoughts.

"Why do you want Lorcan to die?" I asked Koschei.

Otto took another jab at my neck, and I flinched.

Koschei's eyes didn't flicker. He neither enjoyed nor empathized with my pain. "He killed my daughter."

"Well, he killed me, too, and you don't see me seeking revenge."

He shrugged. "I have made many vampires, but of the children born to me, only one remained."

"Ina?"

"Ah. You read the old stories." He leaned a hip against the table and clasped his hands. "I managed to Turn her. I lost everyone dear to me, all but her. Vampires must maintain relationships to keep our humanity. We must exercise our emotions, if you will, or we turn
droch fola
. Lorcan killed that connection when he took Ina's life."