Crimson Debt: Book 1 in the Born to Darkness series (5 page)

Her incompetence in her new life—or undeath,
whichever you prefer, weighed heavily on my best friend. She had
always been the best and the brightest—the top of the class. But as
a vamp she had finally found something she didn’t excel at and now
it was her entire life. Unfortunately, being a sucky vamp meant she
went hungry a lot, which was where I came in. If anyone had ever
told me I would be a willing donor for a vampire, I would have
laughed in their face. But I couldn’t sit by and see my best friend
starve—especially when her condition was my fault in the first
place.

“Tell me,” I said, patting her knee gently.
“Just say it, Taylor. Has she been hitting you again?”

Taylor shook her head, her long dark hair
swirling with the gesture. “I wish it was only that—I’m used to
being hit by now.” She sniffed. “You know I never broke a single
bone back when I was human? Not even a fracture. But now I’ve had
every bone in my body broken multiple times. Of course, they heal
almost immediately but it still hurts. You know.”

“I know,” I said, my throat tight. God, how I
hated that abusive bitch, Celeste! If Taylor was still human and a
man was doing this to her, we could have gotten a restraining order
and hidden my friend away in a shelter somewhere. But there was no
such thing in the vampire world—it was eat or be eaten and Taylor
was at the very bottom of the food chain.

“Anyway…” Taylor took a deep breath. “Celeste
has guests in town this week. Some important vamps from some other
state and she wants to impress them—especially this one, Roderick.
He’s the main VIP, I guess.”

“Yes…” I wasn’t sure where this story was
going but I was betting I wouldn’t like the conclusion.

“So she…she…” Taylor’s eyes began to fill
with blood tears again. “She’s been loaning me out. I mean, she
gave me to him for the week. Told him to do anything he wanted with
me. And he…” She shook her head. “I can’t even tell you some of the
things he’s been making me do. He’s into bondage and domination and
he ties me up so I can’t get away while he…he…” She put a hand over
her eyes.

“Oh, Taylor.” I grabbed her other hand and
didn’t complain when she squeezed it hard enough to make my bones
creak.

“The worst thing is the sex. He tells me I’m
his whore. And the things he does to me…and makes me do to him…”
She shook her head, unable to continue. “I just…I feel so
dirty
. I wish I was dead but I can’t die. I’ve thought about
staying out after dawn and just letting the sun take care of
business but Celeste can feel it when I’m thinking about it and she
makes me come in.”

“Taylor, no!” Despite her circumstances, I
was shocked to hear my friend talk about suicide. “No, you can’t
mean that. Don’t even say it.”

“Why not?” Taylor rubbed at the tears on her
face, leaving bloody smudges across her high cheekbones like war
paint. “I hate my life now. My entire existence is all about
pleasing Celeste but no matter what I do she hates me. She says I’m
the worst excuse for a vampire she’s ever seen and that I deserve
whatever punishment she gives me because I’m so bad. And now…I’m
nothing but her whore, Addison. You know I was never one to sleep
around but I don’t even have control of my own body anymore. Anyone
Celeste likes can use me. I can’t live like this anymore. I’d
rather be dead.”

“Oh, honey…” I put my arms around her,
feeling like my heart was going to burst. “I’m sorry. I’m so
sorry,” I said, as tears stung my eyes. “This is all my fault.”

Taylor pulled back from our embrace. “What
are you talking about? Of course it’s not.”

“Yes, it is. I should have stayed with you
that night. I never should have gone to that stupid class.”

“You couldn’t know that Celeste would come
and call me to her,” Taylor said gently. “And you couldn’t have
stopped me going out to her even if you had been there.”

“Yes, I could. I would have tied you up.
Called the police. Done
something,
” I said fiercely. “If
only I had been there. And now you’re stuck in this horrible
situation and even though I’m with the VAB—”

“There’s nothing you can do,” Taylor finished
for me quietly. “Believe me, I know how it is, Addison—I’m living
it.”

“If only we could get some kind of
restraining order,” I said desperately. “Find someone who could
make her leave you alone.”

Taylor shook her head. “You’d have to find a
vampire that was a hell of a lot stronger than Celeste and one who
was willing to intervene for me. That’s not going to happen.”

I knew she was right. Vamps are like
lions—they all have their own territory and boundaries and they
generally leave each other alone unless one of them is making a
hostile takeover. In which case, you’d better get out of the way
because they don’t pull punches.

But then I remembered what she’d said.
Someone stronger than Celeste.
To my knowledge there was
just one other vampire in the entire state who fit that
description.
Oh no…
I moaned to myself.
Surely not. Not
him…
But there was nothing else I could do, nothing else I
could think of. I was stuck.

“Can you stay here tonight…er, today?” I
asked my friend but she shook her head.

“No, I’m expected back in an hour. Celeste
didn’t want to let me go at all but Roderick had some meetings to
go to so he wasn’t…wasn’t using me at the moment. I think she only
lets me come see you at all because she thinks it hurts me to
remember my former life.”

“Does it?” I asked.

“Not as much as forgetting would. You’re all
I have left, Addison. Mom and Dad won’t see me anymore since they
got so religious—they say I’m the bride of Satan. And you know I
never had any other close friends.”

I patted her back. “We’ll be friends as long
as we’re alive…” I suddenly remembered that she wasn’t technically
alive but it sounded wrong to say 'as long as I’m alive and you’re
undead' so I just shrugged. “Er, you know what I mean. And don’t
give up hope or do anything crazy because I think I have a
plan.”

Taylor shook her head listlessly. “I
appreciate it, really I do. But I don’t think anybody can help me
now. I just have to…just have to endure it. Roderick is leaving
town in a month or so. Maybe things will go back to normal then.
Assuming Celeste doesn’t give me to him permanently, that is.”

“She wouldn’t.” I felt like my heart had
jumped up in my throat.

Taylor shrugged tiredly. “She might. She
might do anything—you know that.”

“I know,” I said, filled once more with
helpless rage. It was completely unfair that my friend had lost her
rights as a person, her dignity, and her self-respect just because
she’d been turned into a vamp. Eventually I was hoping there would
be some legislation passed to protect the rights of the newly
turned but people still viewed vampirism as a choice—not as
something that could be done to you against your will.

“I have to go.” She started to get up but I
pulled her back down.

“When’s the last time you fed?”

Taylor looked uncomfortable. “Not that long
ago. I’m fine, really.”

“You’re not fine,” I said, eyeing the copious
red streaks and smears beneath her cheeks. “You lost about a gallon
just now crying.”

She shook her head. “I didn’t come here for
blood, Addison. I just needed to talk about it…to say it out loud.
And honestly, I feel better now.”

“You’ll feel better if you have a quick
bite.” I shrugged out of my suit jacket and offered her my arm.
“Here, do the inside of the elbow this time. I think the veins are
better there.”

“I shouldn’t.” But she was hungry—I could
tell. She was eyeing the thick blue vein that ran along the inside
of my right elbow like a starving man eyes a steak.

“Do it.” I thrust my arm under her nose,
steeling myself for the pain. From what I understood, some vamps
were able to make this a pleasant experience—even pleasurable—but
it never was with Taylor. It just hurt like hell—not that I would
ever tell her.

“You’re sure?” she said, giving me an
apologetic look. It was the same look she’d used to give me when we
split a dessert at a restaurant and I told her to take the last
bite. The memory hurt my heart and I pushed my arm closer to her
mouth.

Without asking again, Taylor bared her fangs
and sank them deep into my vein. I managed not to yelp aloud but I
bit my lips so hard I could taste blood on my tongue. It was like
being stabbed with two sixteen gauge needles by an inept nurse.
Luckily with my pale skin, my veins are easy to find or Taylor
might never have gotten any nourishment—she seemed to lack the
instinct other vamps had for finding blood vessels no matter how
deep or invisible they were.

In the beginning it had been excruciating
when she used to have to bite over and over to get into the vein
just right but lately she’d been getting a little better about
hitting the target on the first try. So maybe she
was
learning, just very slowly. Too bad it was Celeste setting the
curve for this particular class.

Taylor sucked hard, drawing the blood out in
slurps like someone sucking a thick milkshake through a straw. I
sat rigidly beside her, biting my lip and holding as still as I
could. I didn’t like it any more now than I had the first time I
had offered her my blood and it wasn’t just having her fangs
stabbed into my flesh that bothered me.

Aside from the pain, it gave me a squirmy,
uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach to let my best
friend feed on me. I couldn’t explain it except to say that it felt
a little like bugs were crawling over my skin. Of course, I would
never tell Taylor of the discomfort I experienced—she would feel so
bad she’d refuse to take my blood and if she did that I was certain
she would starve. I didn’t need that on my conscious along with my
other load of guilt.

Finally she finished. Just in time too, I was
starting to feel light-headed and a little sick to my stomach. I
forced myself to smile at her as she licked the ragged, bleeding
gash she’d made in my arm to seal the wound. It stopped bleeding
but it still looked awful. I suppressed a sigh. I was never going
to look good in short sleeves or a bathing suit again.
Right,
like you go to the beach so much.
Which was true. With my fair
skin, I burn like…well, like a vampire in the sun. So despite
living in Tampa, I stayed off the beach. Which was why I needed to
stop feeling sorry with myself and get to bed. Another long day
tomorrow and all that.

But as I saw Taylor to the door and gave her
a final hug, I knew there was something I needed to do first.
Pulling out my cell phone, I fished around in my pockets until I
found the private number Corbin had sent his flunky to give me. I
was practically grinding my teeth in frustration as I punched it in
but really, what else could I do?

“Hello?” came a deep, smooth and
all-too-familiar voice.

“I need to see you,” I said, forcing the
words out. “I have…damn it, I have a favor to ask.”

I’d been rehearsing my speech for hours—ever
since I’d hung up the phone with Alec Corbin the night before, in
fact. But the minute I saw him, the words dried up in my
throat.

Though it was only six in the afternoon, he
was up and about, lounging behind a carved glass and teak desk that
looked like it had cost as much as a luxury car, wearing his usual
jeans and t-shirt combo. Corbin was one of the rare vamps who
seemed to feel comfortable in casual clothes—or maybe he was just
so powerful he didn’t feel the need to dress up for anyone.
Whatever the reason, I had to admit that Hanes looked as good on
him as Armani did on anyone else. The plain olive green t-shirt he
was wearing emphasized the width of his broad shoulders and made
his pale skin look almost tan. Around his neck was a thin gold
chain with a small copper coin attached to it like a charm, and his
hair, as always, was perfect.

I felt dowdy in contrast, despite the fact
that I had come dressed in my best black suit. I didn’t know if it
was the perfect planes of Corbin’s face or his exquisitely toned
body, but I always felt like a grimy little girl in his
presence—which might have accounted for some of the hostility I
felt for him. He claimed to be attracted to me but really, how
could he be? I’m not bad looking but I’m not a model, either. I
have way too many freckles and I’m too short and pleasingly plump
to ever carry off the “I’m a sexy stick insect” look that the
fashion industry seems to favor. Sternly, I reminded myself that I
wasn’t there to strut the catwalk—I just needed Corbin to help me
rescue Taylor. So I tried to give him a professional smile as I
stood in front of his desk.

“Addison, what a pleasure to see you again so
soon. I was afraid I would have to wait another long month before
our next meeting.” He gave me a polite smile—no fang showing this
time—and steepled his long fingers on the desk in front of him.
“What can I do for you?”

I took a deep breath. “I… have a proposition
for you.”

He arched one eyebrow. “I’m intrigued. Go
on.”

I wished there was some way to sugar coat
this but nothing I could say would make it any easier. So I just
dove in. “I have a friend who was, uh, brought over against her
will. She didn’t want to be a vampire, it was forced on her. And
now her maker is abusing her. Making her do horrible things.”

Corbin gave me a completely unsurprised look.
“And?”

“And?” I said, irritated by his lack of
sympathy. “
And
I need your help. I need someone who can
force my friend’s maker to let her go or at least stop torturing
her.”

He frowned. “I do not think you know what you
are asking. The bond between a maker and his or her fledgling is
incredibly strong. To intervene in such a relationship and break
it…that is almost unheard of among our kind. It would be like a
human taking a child away from its parent.”