Tempt Me When the Sun Goes Down (17 page)

“It ain’t hope if you end up dead in the bargain,” Rob scowled.  “You want to pitch in, get that Sire of yours to lend a hand.”

“Yeah right, like I could convince Carys to do anything,” Bishop snorted.  “I can guarantee you this whole field trip just took a nosedive in her interest level.  She’ll be demanding I drive her back to Vetis the instant I get back to the car and I’m inclined to agree with her.  Let’s chalk this up as another dead end and try to think of something else.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re not the one dying,” I shot back at him.  “Look, it’s my decision and I’m not ready to discard any possibility yet.  We need all the help we can get, Bishop.”

“I prefer help that doesn’t want to cut your heart out,” he muttered.

“Where else do you think we’re going to get help from?”  I threw my hands up in exasperation.  “Don’t you think Carys has already been up and down this road before with no luck?  I don’t see people lining up at our door to help save a vampire’s life.  We’re running out of time and I’ll do anything I can to break this curse before it’s too late.”

Bishop made a noise that sounded halfway between a growl and a groan before he stalked off in the direction of the car without another word.  I let out a long breath, turning to Rob who’d fallen silent. 

“I won’t let you do this,” he said softly before I could say anything. 

“Well, it’s not up to you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.  She said
I’d
have to be the one to do the cutting, remember?” 

He had me there. 
Frackety frak.
  Experience had taught me that Rob could be very stubborn when he wanted to be, how in the heck was I going to convince him to cooperate?  Unless…  “What if we could test it out ahead of time, to see if I’d survive?”

“You want me to practice cutting out your heart?  No deal,” he snorted.

“No, I don’t mean on me.  There must be some other vampire out there that deserves a bit of creative knife play.”

“You suggest we snatch some vamp off the street and do a bit of experimenting?”  His brows rose in surprise, but I could see the wheels turning in his head, he was actually considering this. 

“It sounds better than waiting to see how it works on the night of the dark moon or whatever it was she called it.  I know it sounds barbaric, but it might be the only way to see what we’re getting ourselves into and we have a couple of nights to try and figure it out.” 

Rob stared at me a long moment, his expression unreadable.  “Huh.  Who knew you could be practical about something like this. I would have thought you’d be more squeamish.”

“I didn’t volunteer to do the cutting myself,” I pointed out, picking up his hand to give it a squeeze.  “Rob, as much as I want to break the curse and end this thing, I don’t want to die either.  We’ve got the time, let’s get all the information we can so we go into it with our eyes open.  Forewarned is forearmed and all that.”

He nodded, reaching out to cover my hand with his.  “I’m not going to cut your heart out,” Rob said softly, his hazel eyes holding mine. 

“Let’s get back to London.  We have plenty of time to argue about it later.”

The night wasn’t even halfway over by the time we all returned to Vetis, the trip taking slightly over an hour at that time of night once we hit the main highway again.  The car ride went by fairly fast, with Carys the only one babbling, the rest of us lost to our own heavy thoughts.  I could feel Rob’s disapproval coming off of him in waves, even from the back seat, but what choice did I have?  

Carys immediately disappeared inside to
wash off the stench of the road
, but Bishop materialized by my side the instant I stepped out of the cramped car. 

“Promise me you’ll put this out of your head,” he said in a low voice, blocking my path.  “No spending the rest of the night trying to figure out a way to make this work.”

“Bishop, you should know, I’m not letting this idea go, not yet.  Not when we’re this close.”

“I thought we’d already established that this is way too risky?  You can’t tell me you’re on board with this,” he said, looking to Rob. 

“She already knows my feelings on the matter,” Rob replied, his shoulders stiffening.  “Not that it did a bloody bit of good.”

“Look, we’re going around in circles about this,” I spoke up.  “If you really want to help, try convincing Lady Carys to pitch in.  She’s the one who has the best chance of surviving this.”  I held up my hands from the inevitable protest that was about to come.  “No, I get it, she’s not selfless type.   Which is why I’m doing my best to come up with a way we can beat this thing and all live to see the end of it.”  The whole idea of experimenting on another vamp to see if they’d survive the procedure was designed to alleviate Rob’s fears, I’d already committed to going through with the ritual in my heart.  They didn’t have to know that yet though.

Bishop laid a hand on my shoulder.  “Just promise me you won’t do anything without telling me about it.  If you do decide to go through with it, I want to be there.”

“Fine, as long as you promise to abide by my decision, no matter what it is.” 

“Alright, I will,” he nodded solemnly.  From the look on his face I could tell it was a lie, but in that instant, I loved him for it.  “But in the meantime, let’s see if we can figure out an alternative.”

“Actually, I think I already have a plan.”

* * *

We decided to call a brief meeting to bring everyone up to speed on the new developments instead of having to re-tell the tale over and over again.  Soon Lee, Gunnar, Maggie, Bishop, Tucker, Rob, and I gathered in my sitting room, eager to hear about the possible breaking of the curse and testing out whether or not a vampire could survive having its heart cut out in the first place.  Carys was off with Jakob and Nelleke, who we’d purposely left out of the meeting.  You could never tell how the
Ellri
might take the situation, and after getting so close, I couldn’t stand the idea of him spoiling it for us. 

It turned out I didn’t have to take care of the testing.  Bishop was completely on board for trying the experiment himself.  Well, not himself – as in cutting into his own chest – but for capturing another vampire and cutting out a piece of their heart to see if it could be done.  It seemed a gruesome duty to undertake, but Bishop assured me solemnly that he was up to the task.  A bigger surprise was the fact that Tucker had volunteered to go with him.  Lee offered to go along and make sure everything went alright and for some reason that made me feel a lot better.  The three of them hunkered down to come up with a plan of action and from the glint of excitement in their eyes, I half expected the boys to change into commando gear with greasepaint on their faces. 

I could tell it bothered Rob not to be included in the venture, but despite another feeding when we got back to the house, he was already feeling weaker again.  He did a good job of not letting it show, but I could tell from the way he moved, he was in considerable pain.

“Alright, that sounds like a workable plan.”  Bishop straightened, rubbing his hands together in satisfaction when they’d hammered out a few details.  “We’d better get a move on.  I want to have plenty of time to watch how the subject reacts before dawn.”

“You guys all set then?” I asked, following them to the door.  “What’s the plan?”

Lee and Bishop traded looks.  “It’s probably for the best if you don’t know, darlin’,” Lee smiled.  “Leave it to us.  We’ll be back in no time.”

“At least tell me where you’re going in case something comes up.  Are you going to be taking a vampire down into the lower levels?”  It made sense, there was an infirmary and a lab down there, that seemed suitable for such an experiment.

“No, we’re going into the city to hunt for a likely prospect,” Bishop replied.  “I think it’s best if we keep what we’re doing away from prying eyes.”

I could understand that, but it was likely to prove harder than they’d thought with so many vamps leaving town.  “Still, it seems like a perfect excuse to let Aubrey in on what we have planned, don’t you think?  He’s been dying to make things up to me since the whole torture debacle,” I joked, and there was a general assent of laughter in the room.

“Now there’s a likely chap for having his heart carved out,” Rob agreed with a bloodthirsty grin.  “I still bear the scars for my last visit to Vetis, thanks in part to him.”

“I owe him a thing or two over that myself,” Bishop said with a grim smile.  “But no, it has to be someone younger, closer to Anja’s age.”

“Right, but my real age or how old my blood tests?”  There were some things I had a much better tolerance to thanks to Jakob being my Sire, but others I responded to like any other younger vamp. 

“Seems to me we’ll have to split the difference the best we can,” Lee shrugged.  “It’s either that or try and slice a few different vampers at once, see what kind of results we get.”

“No, I don’t want you to do that,” I replied, hoping to squelch that idea right from the start.  I already felt bad enough about them preying upon an innocent vampire to start with, let alone a few of them.  “Let’s see what happens and hopefully, we won’t need a repeat performance tomorrow night.”

“We’ll keep you posted,” Bishop nodded, and I caught up to him by the door.

“Be safe,” I said softly, putting everything I was feeling into those two words. 

Bishop’s answering smile eased the doubts swirling in my stomach.  “Don’t worry, Anja, we’ll take care of it.  You can count on us.  Right, fellas?”

“R-right,” Tucker grinned, giving Maggie a half wave as he stepped through the door.

“Damn straight,” Lee chimed in, settling his hat atop his head.  “Don’t you fret none, darlin’.  We ain’t none of us gonna fail ya.”  A bristly kiss on my cheek and he was off with Tucker, talking about the best way to bag a vamper as if he had personal experience in the matter.  Not the smartest conversation to be having in the halls of the Vetis House, but I couldn’t fault his bravery. 

“Try not to worry, we’ll back before you know it,” Bishop said, leaning in to kiss my cheek much as Lee had, only his lips lingered slightly longer – or was that my imagination? 

“Who me, worry?” I waved him off with a smile that lasted until the door shut.  “Might as well ask me not to picture a purple hamster.”

You’re picturing one now, aren’t you?  Yep, me too, just like my stomach clenched into a ball of worry the moment they were gone. 

* * *

“We did it!”  Tucker’s voice was triumphant with no sign of a stutter, as they returned much, much later.  Gunnar and Maggie had already gone to bed, and Rob and I had settled in on the couch to watch
girly movies
, as he liked to put it.

Instantly bounding off the couch, my grin was a mile wide as Bishop came in right on his heels, looking as giddy with success as Tucker did.  Lee brought up the rear, looking less jubilant than the pair but happy nonetheless.

“You actually did it?”  Rob’s brows came up in shock as he looked from Tucker to Bishop.  “You not only found another vampire, but managed to cut out his heart?”

“You make it sound like you didn’t have any faith we could pull it off,” Bishop frowned.

“I didn’t,” Rob retorted, his mood not the best despite the good news.  While they’d been gone I’d supervised another feeding for him, but he was definitely moving slower than he should be.   “How’d you find a vampire willing to cooperate?  I’m assuming you didn’t let on you were looking for someone to play butcher with?”

The color drained from my face as the logistics of what they’d been up to finally sank in.  “Tell me you didn’t kidnap some poor vamp off the street and cut out his heart without telling him what was going on!”

Tucker and Lee had the good grace to look a little sheepish.  “We bribed him,” Bishop replied, unconcerned. 

“Bribed him?” I blinked, not having expected an answer like that.  “With what?” 

“You’d be surprised what the almighty dollar still buys,” Lee drawled, settling heavily onto the couch.  He looked beat.  “Or pound, actually.”

“Sure but… he was really fine with you cutting into him for money?”  Who would agree to such a thing?  “How much did you promise him?”  My mouth fell open when I heard the figure.  “Shut the front door…”

“What else did you want me to do?” Bishop shrugged.  “We had to make sure he survived, right?  That means we have to keep him under observation for a while.  That means we needed him cooperative.  The important thing is, he survived.”

“He’s still alive then?”  Rob looked as incredulous as I was.  It seemed almost too good to be true.

“Y-Yeah, he survived,” Tucker grinned from ear to ear.  “Or he was a half hour ago when we left him.”

“So where is he now?” I asked.

“He’s in Bishop’s apartment in town, locked up tight,” Lee volunteered. 

“And he’s honestly alright?” I couldn’t keep the skepticism from my voice and Bishop started to lose his temper. 

“No, we’re lying to you,” he muttered.  “Look, we cut out a big chunk of his heart and he didn’t exactly like it, but he’s alive.” 

“Or undead.  Whatever you want to call it,” Tucker jumped in and Bishop nodded, already halfway to the bar. 

“I think it’s time for a celebratory drink,” he declared, helping himself.  He was right on that point, this was definitely a cause for celebration.  I turned to Rob who looked less than thrilled by the news. 

“I want to see it,” Rob demanded.

“See what?” asked Lee.

“The heart, I want to see the piece you cut out of him.”  A grisly request, but I could understand his need to see it, there was a lot at stake. 

“We didn’t bring it with us,” Bishop replied. “But if you’re so hot to see it, you can come back to my place and check it out.”

“I will.  I want to take a look at this fella too, talk to him,” Rob insisted and Bishop shrugged, refilling his glass with scotch.

“Sure, we can go whenever you want.” 

“Tomorrow, go tomorrow night,” I interrupted, knowing Rob wouldn’t be able to last much longer until he passed out asleep.  He was already running on fumes as it was. 

I listened to them chat about how it all went down with half an ear, but mostly I was thinking of bigger picture things.  Rob wouldn’t be satisfied until he saw the piece of heart and talked to the guy himself; I knew that as much as I trusted the sun would rise in the morning.  But he would see it and touch it with his own hands and then he’d have to admit it could be done.  We’d argue and probably scream at each other about even thinking about attempting the spell, and I’d have to cajole him into it of course, but it could be done.

A smile curved my lips as I watched them rehash the night’s triumph.  It was going to hurt like hell and it might take weeks or even months before I was fully healed – but it could be done. 

We were going to break that curse.

* * *

“Are you out of your fucking mind?”

I had to turn the volume down on the laptop when Carter’s voice scraped the max of the speakers.  “Ugh, I knew I shouldn’t have told you about this,” I muttered.  I should’ve known I wouldn’t have his support in this.

“Yeah, because you know I’ll call it as I see it, and this is a fucked up plan.  Cutting out your heart?  Who does that?”

“I do.  Or at least I will the night of the new moon.”

“That’s it, stay put, I’m hopping on the next red-eye to London to straighten you out.”

“You can’t, remember?  I compelled you to stay out of England.”  A good thing too, I didn’t need another person telling me what to do and Carter was a force to be reckoned with.

Carter made a noise of frustration and I thought he might hurl his laptop across the room for a moment.  But then he got a hold of himself, his eyes pleading as he stared into the webcam.  “You can’t do this, Anja.  It’s straight up suicide.”

“I don’t have a choice, it’s the only way.”

“The hell it is.  Look, did you patch things up with Rob?  Are the two of you together again?”

“Well, no, but...”

“Then get Jakob to compel you not to love him anymore and put the poor guy out of his misery.  Then you can come home where you belong.”