Descended by Blood (16 page)

“Please...stop.” It sounded like Mirko was choking. He grabbed my arm, and only then did I look over to him. His tanned face had gone pale.

I released Zack, and he and Mirko both gasped for air. I wiped at my nose and came away with bloody hands.

“Ace!” Mirko yelled when he could speak.

Zack remained huddled on the ground coughing and keening between ragged breaths.

Ace turned the corner at vampire speed and made an immediate stop in front of us. “Whoa. What did you do to her?” he yelled at Zack.

“She did it to him,” Mirko said, standing up straighter. “He’s the mole. Get him out of here.”

Ace hefted Zack up by his arm and dragged him away.

Mirko peered at me in a way he’d never done before. It was fear. He was afraid of me.

All of my energy evaporated, and I slid to the floor, sniffing and wiping at my face.

“You have to be careful,” Mirko said, bending at his knees. “You possess a lot more power than I’d ever imagined was possible. We have to train you.”

“No,” I said. I was done, and I most certainly was not going to start training this power that reared its ugly head.

“You have to. It’s too dangerous if you don’t know how to control it.”

“You.” I glared at him. “It’s because of you I have this problem to begin with.” I thrust my bloody hands in front of him. “Just flash your fangs, Brooke. Come on. Trust me,” I said, mocking his words. “None of this would have happened if you hadn’t forced it out of me.”

Mirko ignored me. “A few seconds longer and your brain would’ve been mush.” When I didn’t concede, he tried again. “Think of Jaren or Kaitlynn. What if they were the ones to come down this hall and not me? They’d be dead. Simple as that. You broadcasted too much, too far. I’d be surprised if a couple of humans hadn’t felt that throughout the building.”

I squared my shoulders. “Fine,” I said between gritted teeth. I never wanted to hurt Kaitlynn or Jaren. I wanted their safety more than I wanted to be done with everything. I’d suck it up for them.

17

I Felt That

“Great. We leave now,” Mirko said, standing and pulling me up by my arm.

“Why do we have to leave?” I planted my feet.

“Because I’m taking you to someone who will train you properly.”

“Uh-uh. First, I clean up.” I pointed to the mess that had dried on my face. “Then you’re going to tell me every little detail about where we’re going, what we’re doing, my training—everything from here on out. You get me?”

The corner of Mirko’s lip curled, and he raised his hands in surrender. “Whatever you say, Slatki.”

I turned around and advanced toward the bathroom.

“Nope.” Mirko pulled me by my waist. “You’ll use mine. Let’s try to keep this contained as much as possible, huh?” He steered me by my hip and strange things happened in the pit of my stomach.

We turned down the hall that led to the men’s bathroom. Mirko stopped in front of his door and unlocked it, pushing the door open. He turned on the light, soaking the room with an ambient glow.

“Whoa.” Mirko’s room differed from anywhere else in the building. They must have knocked down walls because his room was cavernous. He’d decorated it with soothing, rich burgundies and inky blacks. The colossal bed rested in the corner and was covered with a comforter so buoyant, I ached to lie down on it.

“No wonder you didn’t want to trade rooms,” I said, following him toward the back.

He chuckled and turned on the bathroom light. Bright rays flooded the room. “You don’t have time for a shower, so just wipe yourself down,” he said, handing me a dark towel.

I took the towel to the sink and put it under a stream of warm water from the faucet.

“Aww!” I screamed, bending over the sink from a pain so fierce, I almost blacked out.

“What is it?” Mirko asked, easing me to the floor.

I couldn’t speak. All I knew was the pummeling torrent inside my head. It engulfed me, drowning me. I felt something cool touch the back of my neck, and then I felt nothing.

* * *

When I woke up, I was lying in the back of the Tahoe. The pain was gone, but we were moving. I looked in the front, and the passenger seat was empty. Mirko drove, but he looked back at me. “How are you feeling?”

I sat up, wondering where everyone else was. “Where’s Kaitlynn? And Jaren?”

“They’re staying at The Base. So, much better, I presume?”

“Why didn’t she come with me?” I was torn about wanting Jaren to come, but I was set on taking Kaitlynn.

“You can’t have her around while you’re trying to hone in your ability,” he said matter of fact.

“You don’t understand.” I tried to calm down. “I
have
to have her with me.” She was the last thing that tied me to who I was before my life as I knew it had ended.

“Slatki, it’s just not possible. You want her safe, and right now, you are more harm to her than you’re aware of.”

I breathed in short, ragged puffs of air.

“She understood. She’ll be there when you get back.”

He couldn’t know that for sure. Especially if this took longer than what her mom would allow for her to help me with my
grandma’s death
. “I need to call her.”

Mirko pulled out a sat phone and dialed. “Ace. Yes, she’s awake. Put her on.” He handed the phone back to me.

“Kait—”

“Brooke? Are you all right?” Kaitlynn said, concern in her voice.

“I feel better. But you stayed.” I tried not to, but I sounded wounded.

“I know. Mirko explained what happened in the hall. Brooke, I felt it. What you did to Zack, I felt that.”

Guilt sliced through me. I knew in explicit detail what I was doing to Zack. Hearing that an ounce of what he felt had touched Kaitlynn made my stomach sour. No, it went deeper than that. It tore at my soul. “I’m so sorry.” I knew right then she shouldn’t be anywhere near the monster I’d become.

“It’s okay. You didn’t know. Mirko’s going to help you learn to control it, so listen to him, please?”

Listening to him got me separated from her. “Mm-hm. Are you going to be okay staying there?”

“Yeah. I think so. Some guys came and took Zack away, so we don’t need to worry about him anymore.”

“What about Jaren? What does he think about all of this?” I had to ask. I still cared for him.

“He wasn’t too happy about not going with you, and he didn’t like the idea of you going alone with Mirko, either. But they didn’t really give him a choice.”

I looked at my palms and noticed they had been cleaned. “What about the other stuff? What did he say about that?”

“Oh, he was furious with them for not taking the proper precautions with your power. He said that they should’ve known since they know a lot more about this vampire stuff than we do.”

“Oh, God,” I said, wiping hair away from my face. I didn’t even want to know what he thought about me now.

“And I’m on Jaren duty, so you focus while you’re at…wherever it is you’re going.” I didn’t know whether I should tell her thanks or to not worry about watching him. He broke up with me, and I already told him everything I thought about it, anyway.

“Thanks,” I said because I would probably be wondering about it regardless.

“Hey, Slatki,” Mirko said, cutting into my conversation. “We’re almost there, and I’d like a chance to talk to you before we arrive.”

I sighed. “Well, Mirko needs to talk to me, so I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

“All right, and try okay? Really try to get your power thing in control.”

“I will. I’m so sorry about that. Honestly, it makes me sick.”

“I’m fine. I love you, so take care.”

“Love you, too, and be safe.”

“Bye.” And the only sound left was of the car’s tires spinning on the freeway.

“What did you need to tell me?” I handed Mirko’s sat phone back to him.

“First of all, how do you feel?”

“Tired. Sad that Kaitlynn felt what I did to Zack.”

“It was nowhere near what Zack felt. She felt aches throughout her body, and she had a hard time breathing.”

“Hmmm.” Still, that was too much for me. “What about Zack? Does Jelena know you’re helping me?”

“I don’t think so. We’re lucky he’s prideful. He planned on bringing you in and being the big hero. He didn’t want to take any chances Jelena would send someone else in for you.”

“Well, that’s good.” I looked down at my palms again. “Did I finish cleaning my hands?” I looked in the rearview mirror at my reflection. “And my face?”

Mirko’s eyes flickered with an emotion he hid too well for me to get a read on. “No, I did that before I grabbed the others.”

I couldn’t remember any of that. “How did you get the pain to stop?”

“I knocked you unconscious,” he said, curling his lip.

My eyes widened. “You punched me in the head?”

“No. Pressure point,” he said, pointing to the back of his neck.

Ah. The cool pressure I’d felt. “Well, thanks. But where are you taking me and why?”

“I’m taking you to Lijepa. She’s what I guess you’d call a savant when it comes to powers.”

I tilted my head.

“She can sense them. She explained it to me at one time that she can taste what someone’s power is. They each have a flavor, I suppose.”

“And how’s that gonna help me control it?”

“Lijepa’s very old. She’s trained many Pijawikas in their power.”

I scrunched my nose. “She’s Pijawikan?” I wasn’t having very good luck with those.

“Yes, but the ones you’ve met so far haven’t been good ambassadors. I think you’ll like Lijepa. Plus, she’ll be able to tell you the degree of your power, and if anyone can teach you how to control it, it would be her.”

I nodded, hoping he was right.

18

The Man of Your Dreams

I sat up against the leather in the back seat, nervous about meeting Lijepa. I didn’t have much time to stir about it, though, because before I knew it, we were driving into the mouth of a canyon. The trees weren’t as vibrant here as the ones in Virginia. These leaves
looked
like they were dying. Brown and brittle.

Mirko followed the narrow road and soon turned down what looked like a service road. It was small, meant to only fit one car’s width at a time. When the trees opened up, I spotted a cottage up ahead. It appeared old, like it belonged to the mountain. Stones made up its siding, and the roof matched the earth’s tones. Twigs and brown stems lined the front and probably made for a beautiful garden in warmer weather.

Our tires crunched against the gravel road as Mirko drove up alongside the cottage and parked. I climbed out after he did. He reached behind the driver’s seat and pulled something up from the floor.

“My bag! Thank you,” I said, reaching for it. I couldn’t believe he’d remembered to bring it.

“Well, I am the man of your dreams. You just don’t know it yet.”

I rolled my eyes. “Can we get this over with?”

He grinned and then led me to the front door. He knocked, and we stood outside for a minute. I was about to ask him if he called this lady beforehand, when the door creaked open.

A beautiful woman stood on the other side. She had blond hair and high cheekbones. Her skin was flawless, not a wrinkle or crease on her face. She looked...ageless. But then I noticed it in her eyes. They gleamed with an intelligence that spoke of many lifetimes.

“Come in. Come in,” she said, stepping aside. Her home was stunning. She’d decorated it with porcelain knickknacks that had the same faded topcoat found on many antiques. She had placed many of these porcelain gems on white shelves hanging from the light green walls. A rich mahogany armoire slumbered against the side wall, its doors gone, and books with spines reminiscent of the earliest in print sat on the shelves. It was evident that Lijepa had placed everything with great care.

She shut the door behind us. “I’m Lijepa, and you must be Brooke.” She said my name with reverence.

“Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you.” I stuck my hand out, and she pulled me in for a hug. I stood in her embrace, stunned, but I quickly relaxed. She smelled like chamomile tea and comfort.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” she said, pulling away from me. She had an accent similar to Mirko’s, but it sounded more refined. “Please, have a seat.” She pointed to a striped Victorian sofa.

I followed Mirko and sat down, placing my bag on the floor beside my feet. “Thank you for taking us in like this.” I wasn’t sure of the arrangement Mirko had made with her, but it seemed like the proper thing to say.

She replied with a graceful nod and a smile. “Would either of you like some tea?”

“No, thank you,” Mirko said and turned to me.

“I’m good. Thanks.” Vampires could drink stuff other than blood? Interesting.

She sat down on a chair across from us, modern in design, but it complemented the sofa.

She crossed her feet at her ankles and angled toward me. “I understand you’re nervous, but I also understand you are very limited on time.” She raised her eyebrows for my confirmation.

“Uh, yeah.” I looked at Mirko. “I just really don’t know what to expect.”

“I see. How about we start by me telling you something about myself first? Would that make you feel a touch better?”

I nodded.

“Well, dear. I am very old, as I am sure Mirko has told you,” she said, tilting her head toward Mirko. “I generally prefer to stick to myself up here, in my woods. It’s beautiful and peaceful, and I’ve paid my dues in politics. This is sort of my version of a retirement.” She smiled.

I smiled, too. She didn’t look old enough to retire.

“Mirko told me about what happened back at The Base, so I understand if you’re tired, but I’d like to hear from you about what happened.”

I wasn’t sure that I wanted to tell anyone about it, but Mirko thought she could help me, and she seemed nice enough.

“Well, there was a vampire, a Pijawika,” I corrected. I didn’t want to offend her already, and I was nervous about what I did, so I had a hard time finding the words. “He pushed me up against the wall, trapping me, with his arms on both sides of me. He told me that Jelena, she’s the lady that’s after me. Well, that she was going to set things back to the old ways, and that I would be her catalyst.” Lijepa’s eyes grew sharp, and I continued. “He said something about money, and the Mafia and Microsoft. And that if I went with him, we’d be in a good position with her, and if I didn’t, things would be bad for me and those I cared about. Then he kissed me—”