No Man's Land (17 page)

Silver helped as it burned, and the pain it caused distracted a vampire enough to gain an edge over him. Everything else would work only if you were fast enough and strong enough to reduce them to small chunks before they could kill you. With modern technology, even a human could kill a vampire. In fact, a human mob could take one out with axes and guns as long as the vampire didn’t escape and run for safety. And Kelly was pretty sure werewolves could kill them too. She thought of Jaq with a twinge of guilt then shook her head. No. She’d apologize later. Right now, she had work to do.

Finished with darts, Kelly eyed the remaining bits of silver. Inspired, she took out the large metal washers and melted silver onto the rims. It was tricky work, and the silver slopped over onto the sides of the washers. She’d need to either use a slingshot, or be very careful if she pitched them with her hands so as to not burn her fingertips. Looking out the window, she eyed the rising sun. She could catch a few hours of sleep and check the traps before donning her new black pants and heading to Dale’s, or she could just get it out of the way now.

Kelly was dragging, but it was better to push on and sleep later. She hadn’t had a decent amount of human blood since the incident at the strip joint. The feeling of deprivation was starting to become familiar, even manageable, as if she could carry on at the edge of starvation forever. Shaking her head, she gathered her supplies and headed into the woods. She’d just need to push on and hope some caffeine during her shift at Dale’s would help her make it through the night.

Kelly surveyed each trap. They were all empty.

On one of the paths, Jaq had constructed a drag noose and used sticks to create a fence that would hopefully channel her prey into the noose. They’d attached small wire nooses at short intervals along its length. Jaq had called it a squirrel pole, but there were no dangling, hanged squirrels ready for consumption.

Kelly also checked the deadfall trap before heading back to her trailer and crawling into bed. Nothing.

No human blood, and the prospect of any in the near future was bleak. No fresh animal blood, either. Kelly just couldn’t face any more of the old cow blood Jaq had stuffed into her fridge. With her head throbbing and hands shaking, she shivered in her blankets and slept fitfully until it was time to get ready for her new job.

****

“You look like shit,” Dale told her as she walked through the door. It chimed merrily, causing Kelly to rub her head. “You got that stomach thing going around?”

“Insomnia,” she told him. “I didn’t sleep at all last night.”

With a dozen cups of coffee, she managed to make it through the night, depleting her meager tips to buy a rare burger to eat on her way home. There was no Jaq on her doorstep, nothing inside her trailer to indicate the woman had been there at all since she’d last seen her.

She practically cried with relief when she saw a small groundhog caught in one of her traps. Slicing its throat, she drank, being careful not to spill any of the precious blood. It didn’t do any good. She was just too far gone for animal blood. A wave of depression crashed over her. Was this going to be the last night of her life? Even if she managed to find a way to get a small bit of human blood before dawn, this was the future she faced. Existing day to day, always worried about where her next meal would come from, and getting the majority of her blood from animals. Living in exile away from other vampires, trying to fit into a human world and surrounded by werewolves. Kelly imagined decades of this existence, centuries actually, and thought again about the fillet knife. Was there any joy, any satisfaction in this kind of life? Maybe Jaq and the others were wrong. Maybe her family would send for her. Maybe they would eventually take her back if she proved useful.

Shaking her head, she walked back to her trailer. She was so exhausted. And hungry, and depressed. It was still early, but if she went to sleep now, it might help her mood.

As soon as she approached the trailer, she realized that sleep would need to wait. A vampire was inside. A vampire with an aura. Drat. Rube was here. Here for information she didn’t have. Kelly hesitated. Would he kill her? Give her more time? Either way, she had to find out.

The aura grew stronger as she neared her front door. The asshole was back. Let’s hope this time he brought some blood.

She walked inside and instinctively assumed a respectful position. It was like forcing rusty bolts to turn to lower her head and place her hands behind her when she really wanted to rip his head off. Not that she could even open a jar of pickles at this point.

“Hello, Kelly,” Rube said. His tone seemed uninterested, as if he’d had a chance encounter with her on the street. “Everyone is quite surprised you’re still alive, myself included. Not that I’m particularly displeased about it. You’ve won me quite a bit of money with your dogged survival.”

Well at least he wasn’t planning on killing her in a fit of pique for having lost a bet.

“Personally, if you were to croak in three days, I’d be a rich man, but it’s not up to me. Boss wants to see if you can still be of value to us or not. Let’s see what you can do.”

Rube reached in the pocket of his black cashmere coat and pulled out a bag. It was full of blood. Kelly’s eyes shot to it, and her mouth watered. Struggling, she pulled her eyes away and tried to keep from trembling with desire. He was either intending on teasing her with the food only to deny her, or she would need to earn it in some way. Either scenario sucked. And either way, she wasn’t about to let him see how much she wanted the contents of that bag. As if sensing her inner struggle, the vampire squeezed and rolled the bag in his hand, molding it in an almost sensuous way. She fought to keep her eyes averted and swallowed heavily.

“Been eating any more bunnies?” His tone relayed amusement and disgust, as if he were enjoying a particularly gruesome horror movie with her in the leading role. She felt her temper snap to the surface.

“You should try them sometime; they’re quite good.”

Her reply was beyond rude, and she regretted it the moment it left her mouth. They were hardly going to think she’d learned her lesson and bring her back into the fold if she continued to act like this. Maybe it was the hunger and lack of sleep fueling her recklessness.
Or maybe I’ve just had enough of being jerked around by these entitled assholes
, she thought.

His aura flared. It felt like a whip across her.

“Watch your tone,” he warned.

A few moments passed while he continued to tempt her with the bag of blood.

“What additional information do you have for me?” he finally asked. “The Master was pleased with your information on the movements of scouts probing our borders, but now I need more. Did you find and interrogate one of their scouts as requested?”

“There was one a few nights ago, but he was across the border before I could capture him.” Well, before Jaq could catch him. Still, it sounded like she was at least making progress.

Rube made a tsk noise. “You must not fail, Kelly. You do understand what’s at stake here?”

She nodded, although she wasn’t sure if he was referring to the family or her own personal future. Although in her particular situation, they were kind of one and the same.

“The Master would also like you to gather information on Kincaid strongholds over the border in Virginia, as well as the names of any spies they’ve placed in our territory. Probe the border and find out.” He rolled the bag of blood between his palms. The red of it caught in the moonlight, and she couldn’t help but glance longingly at the bag. How could she possibly do what he asked? Kelly felt like that woman in the fairy tale, commanded to spin wheat into gold. Where was Rumplestiltskin when she needed him?

“I’m a casino manager,” she said, unable to keep the frustration from her voice. “Not James Bond. Surely you have someone more qualified than me to do your spy work, or does this particular job require a defanged vampire skilled in eating rabbits?”

She found herself instantly pinned against the fridge, his hand gripping her jaw, and his aura a flame against her skin.

“You are very insolent for someone on the verge of starving to death,” he snarled. “You should be begging me for a way to prove your value, to show me a good reason we should bring you back into the family.”

His words were like a cold splash of sanity on her pride.

“Please, Sir. I do want a way I can earn your trust again. But I’m not skilled to do this. I can’t do this task,” she said, hating the desperation in her voice.

“Then perhaps you should learn some skills. You’re a smart girl.” His fingers tightened again on her jaw, and he smacked her head against the refrigerator door. “I suggest you consider how you can perform this task while hunger eats at your sanity.”

Letting her go, he tore open the bag of blood and poured it down the sink drain, rinsing the basin then leaving the trailer.

She knew better than to check the sink for any stray blood, but she did anyway, climbing onto the counter and licking the stainless steel. After she’d covered every inch, she wept and curled up on the counter in a shaking ball. If anything, the few tastes she’d gotten had made her hunger worse. Muscles cramped deep inside her body, desperate for more.

Finally she wiped her eyes and climbed down, holding the edge of the countertop for support as a dizzy spell hit hard. This was the worst she’d ever been. Even if a human walked through her door right now she doubted she could catch him. Would she wake up in the morning? Maybe that was for the best; a peaceful passing in her sleep as opposed to thrashing on the floor as her body attempted to devour itself.

Shaking from hunger, Kelly walked to the back of the trailer and collapsed into her bed fully clothed. The Master was insane. He couldn’t possibly want her to spy, to capture and interrogate other vampires. That was like telling a baker he needed to sail a ship across the ocean. What in the world gave him the idea she could do this? She’d be killed instantly. She wasn’t a warrior, wasn’t a fighter — she was a casino manager! And by denying her even that small packet of blood, Rube had pretty much ensured she wouldn’t live long enough to do as he asked.

Maybe that’s what he wants
, Kelly thought as she drifted to sleep.

****

Birds sang outside her window, and light pouring through a gap in the cardboard window coverings, hitting Kelly right in the eye. For a moment, she thought she was dead and this was the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, but the severe cramping in her legs and arms told her otherwise. Besides, there probably weren’t birds in heaven, or itchy polyester comforters. Blinking in the sunlight, Kelly heard her door slam and groaned. It had to be her neighborhood alarm clock. Or maybe Jaq?

The thought got her to climb out of bed, only to have her hopes dashed as she heard Melody’s cheerful greeting. Kelly staggered into the main room of the trailer to see her neighbor sliding a plate of muffins onto her kitchen counter. This time, however, Melody had brought most of the neighborhood with her. Four women were crammed in her little trailer, all looking at her with resolute faces.

“What?” Kelly asked with trepidation. Had the humans discovered there was a vampire in their midst? That she was devouring cute woodland animals and had attacked a guy at a strip club? It was bad enough that she was surrounded by werewolves that wanted her dead without the humans joining in too.

“We’re here for an intervention,” Melody told her, taking Kelly firmly by the shoulders and pushing her down onto the couch.

Kelly looked around at their faces. Barbara still had on her nurse uniform from her graveyard shift. Shanna yawned and ran a hand through her sleep–rumpled hair. Margaret looked longingly at the empty coffee pot. Melody stood before her, arms crossed and a determined look on her face. They didn’t look like a lynch mob, but that word ‘intervention’ was disturbing.

“We know he was here,” Margaret accused, before succumbing to her need and starting a pot of coffee. “Did he try and convince you to come back home? Tell you he was sorry and beg you to come back?”

“Did he threaten you?” Barbara asked sympathetically. “Is he going to keep all the money from you? Hurt your family if you don’t come back?”

Oh no. They’d seen Rube. And they were under the crazy idea that he was her abusive ex–boyfriend. Immediately, Kelly’s thoughts turned to Jaq. Had she seen too? She must have. What did Jaq think of her? Just one more thing to drive a wedge between them. Kelly hadn’t even had a chance to apologize and make things right, and now this.

“He was pretty hot,” Shanna admitted. “Did you see the coat he had on? That thing probably cost more than every trailer here combined. He can’t be that bad. I’d go back to him.”

“Shanna!” everyone shrieked, glaring at the young woman.

“You are not going back to him,” Melody commanded, her eyes fierce. “Over my dead body will I let that man drag you off. I don’t care how hot he is, or how sorry he says he is, he’s going to kill you.”

Yes. He probably was.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Kelly said, desperately trying to think of something. “He’s a family member. He just came by to check on me.”

Melody made a disapproving clucking noise. “Sweetie, Barbara saw him smack you around. She saw him push you up against the fridge and threaten you.”

Kelly frowned at Barbara, who was studiously ignoring her and helping fill the coffee maker. The woman had been peering through her windows! Everyone in this state was downright insane, humans and werewolves alike.

“Don’t you blame Barbara,” Melody scolded. “I made her look in the window and tell us. No way I could get my round butt up there to see what was going on.”

Melody could be very forceful, Kelly thought. She would be a difficult person to say no to.

“That man is not welcome here,” Melody insisted. Kelly had never heard her sound so determined. “We are your family now. And we are not going to let him hurt you ever again.”

We are your family now
. Hadn’t Jaq said something similar? The whole idea was absurd. Werewolves, humans, they were crazy. Kelly looked around. The women all smiled warmly at her. Barbara nodded, and Margaret handed her a cup of coffee.