Deadly Sin (Cassandra Farbanks) (27 page)

“I was being selfish. When the Were said he remembered something after you touched his chest, his heart – I knew my power had bled over all of us. I wanted to remember what I may never experience again.”

I had no real answer to that and nearly choked on hot eggs in reaction. I swallowed and decided incensed anger was my path. If I tried to be understanding, he might think he could pull this shit on me again. So I defended myself with my weapon of choice, bitchy sarcasm.

“You need to get a girlfriend. Find a constructive use for all that energy.” Jareth snorted.

“And who would you suggest?” I hadn’t expected him to take my suggestion so seriously. While he dusted down his pants I thought it over.

“Aribella, it might take you sometime to get her out of her underwear but that’s more to do with her dressing like a Victorian not willingness.” Jareth smirked and focused his eyes on me.

“What if the woman I want is spoken for?”

I did my best not to blink and keep a neutral face while eating more of my burned breakfast.

“Then you forget her and move on. Everything has its time.”

“Indeed,” he said straightening himself and pulling his glove back on. Jareth wasn’t quite as in control of himself as he pretended. As an
Empath
, he could feel the emotions of everyone around him, channel them, funnel them off or make you feel what he pleased. He kept his cool mostly and everyone around him kept theirs. It was admirable in a leader. A leader who can’t keep his head soon finds he has no people to lead. A man can only keep his own emotions pushed down so long. Bottling them up while the day to day emotions of everyone else shook it up, eventually the cork was going to pop. I thought he was too busy feeling everyone else’s emotions to have any himself. It almost made me feel sorry for Jareth, almost.

“I think I’d like to finish my breakfast in peace,” I said tartly and focused on my plate.

“Very well. Vincent is in the rising room until arrangements can be made. Sienna would probably appreciate your condolences.”

Jareth swept out of the kitchen. I tried to eat but slammed my fork down. Damn him. I’d sent a blow to Jareth’s ego and he knew how to hit me back. He knew exactly how I felt about all of it. He’d zeroed in on the guilt like a guilt seeking missile. I tossed the omelet into the trash. I hate to waste food but I was utterly unable to eat through the chard crust. I headed instead for the rising room.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The rising room was as dark as I remembered. The red lights were on full so I could see the outline of the central space through the gauzy curtains. I pulled them aside to step onto the rich red square of carpet that created the inner space. Soft notes of music circled the air as chairs circled the carpet. A small coffee table held some magazines. It was a bit like a waiting room meets that small room at the back of funeral parlors where you can view your loved ones.

Sitting on struts in the middle of the room was a large black lacquer coffin, right out of some black and white Dracula movie.

When a member of the kiss made a new, little vampire, this was where they laid them out till they rose to their new life. Most of the upper members of the kiss would take the surrounding chairs to witness the rising. They would greet the new vampire, offer him some older vampire platitudes and carry on with their night. I imagined it to be very intimidating to wake up to. I took slow steps towards the coffin. The last time I came in here Sienna lay in the coffin, waiting for me to free his soul from a demon so it could reanimate his body and he could rise again. This time as I peered over the edge it held the body of a man draped carefully from torso to feet in a white shroud.

His skin was pale and had been cleaned of the blood that had marred it. They even managed to mend his wounds. His black hair fell around his face, making him almost seem like an angel sleeping. Vincent and I hadn’t really been friends, but I’d liked him despite the fact that he regularly smelled like an ashtray and made inappropriate remarks about me. I was going to miss him. I reached out and moved a lock of his hair into place, trying to ignore the ice cold touch of his skin against mine. Someone had turned the thermostat down to keep the dead odor at bay.

The music stopped and I searched for the source. For the first time I noticed the grand piano on the other side of the curtains, in the top corner. I could only pick out the shape of the white keys like a disembodied Cheshire cat grin in the darkness. I walked to the edge and raised the curtain with a sweep of my hand. The spill of red light made Sienna’s hair look even more like blood. His face was drawn, pained. The faintest trace of pink tear tracks on his pale cheeks.

“Sienna, I am so, so sorry.” I blurted without really thinking about it. Sienna put down the cover hiding the keys away.

“Vincent always liked when I would play for him. It would help him sleep.” He stood and walked passed me to where the body lay. Sienna leaned over him and kissed his head. “Sleep well my boy.” I followed close behind him.

“I’m so sorry,” I repeated, unable to think of anything else to say. I watched the muscles in Sienna’s arms tighten as he gripped the edge of the coffin.

“Jareth tells me that I cannot be mad at you. That you were all enchanted. That you neither drove nor could control what happened.”

“As true as that may be, it does not assuage my guilt.”

“Vincent was quite smitten with you, although you would never have noticed that,” he said, his voice a little choked. “He and Tarquin have been my companions for ten years. Tarquin will not feel complete without him.”

“Tarquin has already showed me how he feels,” I said quietly, touching the cheek he’d slapped as if the sting was still fresh. Sienna turned to examine my face.

“You are not injured?”

“I don’t bruise easily but it still hurts.” Sienna nodded and with hips swaying strolled to only inches from me. He didn’t look angry or vengeful. He just looked sad. My entire body tensed expecting him to hit me as well – part of me wouldn’t argue that I didn’t deserve it.

“I chose to believe that Vincent died in the arms of a beautiful woman, which is a way I think he would have liked to go.”

“Yes, but I think he would have imagined himself at ninety-seven. She would have been blonde and he with a dodgy ticker.”

Sienna barked out a little laugh. His hand rose and he placed it down on top of my head. He patted it.

“You are a very good girl Cassandra. Despite my trying to blame you, I cannot. Your heart is so big and you feel so much guilt for forces you could not control. I will let you have a few moments to say your goodbyes.” Sienna left me alone in the room with a corpse.

I took deep breaths and told myself it wasn’t as if I hadn’t done this before. I’d had to stand over my mother like this and say goodbye. I watched her as now I watched Vincent, hoping any minute she’d take a deep breath, open her eyes and laugh. Tell me it had all been a mistake. I felt the tears slowly roll down my face and splash on the simple cloth that covered him.

“Vincent, I wish…” That I could take it all back? Give him back his life? That he’d never been in that stairwell? “I told you smoking was going to turn out to be bad for you.”

I turned to leave when I felt a tug on my sleeve. I looked back over my shoulder to see if it caught on something. The shirt sleeve was pinched between two white fingers. Vincent’s blue eyes opened, slowly, lazily.

“Vincent? You’re all right? It was a mistake?” I turned to the door to yell for Sienna when my voice died in my throat. No, Vincent was dead. He had no pulse and his pallor was icy cold. A low growl rumbled out of his throat. That only meant one thing. Vincent was rising as a vampire and was going to be ferociously hungry.

I pulled my arm away harshly, ripping the sleeve off at the seam. He sat up with it still dangling from his hand. I stumbled and made a leap for the door. Vincent was fast pulling me to the ground. I hit with a thump that made the side of my face ache. He spilled out of the coffin. My voice screamed as loud as I could, but I’m not much of a screamer. I hoped it was enough to alert someone while I dealt with the vampire straddling me. I didn’t want to hurt him. I’d already gotten him turned.

“Vincent? Vincent. Stop, its Cassandra.” Vincent’s eyes were mad with thirst. He couldn’t hear me and sunk his fangs into my neck. He curled around my body like a greedy infant. All I could hear was him taking huge mouthfuls of my blood and the slowing thud of my heart. Could a vampire drain me to death? I raised one hand and wrapped it into his hair. God, he was a noisy eater. I push him away. If he detached he could take a large chunk of my flesh with him. I stroked his hair softly.

“Enough Vincent, please. It’s enough. Stop now.” He kept up the greedy sucking and I felt my body start to grow weaker. I hadn’t even recovered from the last donation I’d given. His teeth in my neck hurt like a son of a bitch, but even that was beginning to fade.

The door burst open. Jareth, Sienna and Aram filled the frame. I giggled as my head lolled back.

“The three musketeers.”

“Vincent, enough. You have to stop,” said Sienna, the first to grasp the situation. Vincent ignored his old master. Aram bent down by his head latched to my neck like a limpet.

“Stop,” he growled. The sucking stopped and Vincent rolled his eyes up to Aram. “Let her go.” Vincent pulled back, his mouth slack, fangs extended and my blood smeared over the lower half of his face. His pink tongue darted around trying to lap it all up.

“Enough,” said Aram in an authoritative voice. The same voice used when telling me I belonged to him. I giggled again.

“But she tastes so good,” he said in a pleading voice. Jareth now knelt by my head and touched my neck. He checked my pulse.

“It’s steady,” he said. I watched him place his bloodied fingers in his mouth. He shuddered. “She does taste good.” Both Aram and Vincent growled at him. I felt my spine arch as the flesh on my neck began to slowly knit back together. I whimpered with the new pain. Aram mistook my noises as fear.

“Vincent, back away, off my Cassandra.”

“Cassandra?” He backed off, appearing to just acquaint my name with the woman he’d been feeding off of.

“Drink!” said Sienna handing him a bottle of what looked like donated blood. Vincent took it but held it motionless. Something like himself was creeping back into his eyes.

“Is she all right?”

“Drink!” Aram, mopping at my neck wound, snarled in response. Vincent put the bottle to his lips and glugged from it. After a minute he was totally enraptured.

“You’re his maker,” I said to Aram in a wheeze. Aram looked at Vincent then back at me.

“It appears so, though I don’t recall turning him. If I had any idea, you would not have been allowed alone in the room with him.”

“Um, why am I naked?” Vincent finishing his snack looked down at himself. I giggled again.

“The naked vampire…sounds like Jamie Oliver gone preternatural.”

“Who is it she talks about?” asked Jareth.

“I think she’s delusional from the blood loss.”

“I think CJ keeps a supply of those sports drinks. She should have one or two.” I tried to sit up but didn’t quite manage it. My head spun like I’d been twirling in circles. The room tilted at unpleasant angle and I felt like puking. A vaguely neon-colored bottle was placed to my lips and I felt the liquid spill down my throat. It seemed to bypass my tongue completely. After a minute my stomach stilled, as did the room. The empty bottle was pulled away from me. I looked up at Aram blinking my vision into focus.

“Another?” he asked. A second bottle was pressed to my lips. After the first few mouthfuls I gagged able to taste again, and spat back into the bottle.

“Ugh, enough.” I pulled my hand up, scrubbing at my mouth with the intact sleeve.

“Cassandra, you must. You’ve lost much blood.”

“No,” I said pushing it away. “I’ve not eaten in days. All you’re doing is making my stomach all sloshy. I need a cheeseburger.” I managed to sit up. A shadow fell across us from someone else blocking the light from the open doorway.

“What’s going on?” asked Tarquin in a timid voice. I turned to look at him. He was carrying two plastic bags stuffed with clothes. He dropped both when he saw his brother adjusting the sheet to cover himself better. Tarquin dropped to his knees and threw his arms around his brother.

“You’re okay? You’re all right?” Tarquin sobbed softly against his shoulder. Vincent’s reaction was typical of most young vampires. His fangs peeked out from under his lip and he nuzzled his exposed neck. Tarquin froze, but Sienna was quick to haul him out of the way. Vincent hissed. Tarquin was confused, wide eyed as he looked at the twisted visage of his twin. Sienna placed two pale hands on either side of his face, turning him to look at him.

“Tarquin I have a new task for you,” he said. I could feel the power in his voice. “We need sustenance for Cassandra, cheeseburgers. Fetch these and come back soon.” Tarquin nodded slowly pushing up to his feet and stumbled out the doorway.

Chapter Twenty-Three

I ate six cheeseburgers, two packs of fries and two milkshakes before I felt better. I sat at the table in Jareth’s suite rubbing my full belly and feeling strength begin to course back through my body. I called Trinket to let her know I was okay and sent her to Truth for her own protection. The last thing I wanted was for Rin to try to use her against me, as a hostage. Trinket had protested at first, but I forced her to hear my side and she agreed to go. Now all I had to do was figure out
what
I was going to do.