Fractured (The Deep in Your Veins Series Book 5) (3 page)

“It matters to me.”

“It was
my
business.”

“Which makes it mine.”

“Honest to God, Butch, you’re like a thong—always up my ass.”

“Now that that’s over and done with,” began Jared, “maybe we should share our news with them.”

“Fine.” Sam turned to us. “I actually can’t believe I’m going to say this…A vampire is feeding info about our kind to humans.”

“You’re shitting me,” breathed Damien.

“The internet is regularly monitored for activity that might concern vampires,” said Jared. “If a human reports something they weren’t supposed to see or knows too much, we work to cover it up. There are a lot of websites and blogs set up by humans who are convinced we exist and have their own theories about us. These sites and blogs are checked to be certain that nothing too factual is out there—some are even hosted by humans claiming to be vampires. I don’t know whether they’re delusional or just doing it for fun.

“A new blog has started that raised some red flags for two reasons. One, this person claims to be a vampire and, going by the articles he’s posted, he’s telling the truth. He talks about the different breeds of vampires, our strengths and weaknesses, and—though he hasn’t mentioned any names—he even posted information about the Grand High Pair.”

Ava gasped. “Oh, fuck, no!”

Sam’s smile was a little on the feral side. “The bloke even went as far as to reveal that I’m a hybrid.”

Well, hell. “Why would he do this?”

“He claims he was Turned without his consent and hates what he is,” said Sam.

As someone who had also been Turned against their will, I could understand why he might feel bitter or resentful. Still, in spite of my anger, I’d never once even considered exposing vampirekind.

“Tell me you’ve crashed the blog,” Reuben fairly growled.

“We’re working on it,” said Jared. “Personally, I don’t think we need to worry. The blog has had a lot of views, but the content isn’t being taken even the slightest bit seriously. Lots of disparaging comments were left by humans who think his claims are ‘too farfetched’ and ‘he’s living in a fantasy land.’”

“Once Mona and Cedric have the IP address, we’ll get him,” said Sam, referring to The Hollow’s very knowledgeable researchers. “At least it will give us something to do.” Many of the males inclined their head, seeming slightly cheered by the idea. “One last thing before we wrap up the meeting. Girls, I was going to wait until your squad was fully formed to do this, but it’s taking longer than I hoped it would.”

There had been several try-outs where vampires had been invited to partake in tests. But Sam hadn’t chosen any of the candidates for the squad. She needed three more.

She looked at the males as she said, “You can all leave if you want.” They didn’t. Sam snorted before turning back to me and the girls. “You know Luther has visions. Well, as part of his gift, he can help others have a vision. We offer for new squad members to get a glimpse of what’s ahead—it often helps prepare them for something. Only
you
would see the vision, not Luther. And you won’t be expected to share it with anyone. Be warned, there’s a possibility it won’t make much sense. Mine sure bloody didn’t. But the offer is open if you want to accept it.”

Paige twisted her lips. “I’d like a peek into my future.”

“Could be interesting,” said Maya.

I was about to say the same when Butch’s hand clamped around my wrist. I lifted a questioning brow at him.

“Don’t,” he said, voice low.

I frowned. “Why?’

“Sometimes it’s best not to know what’s coming.”

“Maybe. But I’m curious.” And I wasn’t good at letting things go if they intrigued me.

“Visions aren’t always pretty.”

“Yours was bad?”

“No, but I know someone who’s vision
was
bad and I’ve seen how it haunts him. Sometimes the future shows us something we’d rather not see.” His hold on my wrist loosened, and his thumb started to circle my pulse. “The vision could be something that’s tomorrow or centuries ahead of you. Do you want to spend all your time waiting for it to happen? It’ll influence every decision you make in the meantime. As time goes on, you’ll start wondering if it’s really going to happen; if maybe you changed the future somehow. Do you want to live like that?”

“What about you, Imani? Are you interested in a vision?”

I double-blinked at Sam. “Um…”

Her aquamarine gaze rested on Butch’s hold on my wrist. “All right, boys, time to go.” She waved a hand toward the door. Being nosy bastards, they didn’t leave happily. Evan, Salem, and Chico were rather put-out when their mates insisted they leave.

Butch lingered long enough to speak into my ear. “Say no.” Then he was gone.

As the door closed behind him, Luther gave me a pointed look. “Do not let anyone influence your decision. Many visions prove to be helpful. I think of them as warnings. They show us what will happen if we remain on our present course. Others are simply to prepare us for what’s ahead.”

Sebastian nodded. “He’s right, Imani. Butch probably means well, but this has to be your decision.”

Sam rubbed her hands together. “Right, who’s first?”

Ava raised a hand high. “Me!”

“All right, come on. All of you remember that your vision is for
you
and you alone. No one will ask you to share it.”

Intrigued, I watched as Ava took Luther’s hand. Her eyes closed, and then nothing. Her expression didn’t change, she didn’t tense or anything. Just stood there, very still.

Maybe twenty seconds later, Ava’s eyes flipped open and she took a long breath. “Whoa, that was freaking weird.” She smiled. “Salem is going to
love
this.”

Paige went next. Then Cassie, Maya, Jude, and—after a little hesitation—Alora. Paige and Maya were confused by their visions while the others seemed…not happy, but not worried. None shared exactly what they had seen.

Luther then turned to me, hand held out. Butch was gonna be disappointed, but I couldn’t miss out on this. Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward. No sooner had I took the offered hand than I was hit by the feeling of being sucked into something.

It was pure black for a few seconds. Then it was light, and I was surrounded by smoke. My eyes itched like hell and,
fuck
, I was hurting. My chest burned like a son of a bitch; something warm and wet was covering my top. I didn’t need to look to know that it was my blood. I could smell it. Just as I could scent fire, burning flesh, and the familiar scents of the rainforest that surrounded The Hollow.

Hearing a guttural growl among the shouting, roaring, and screaming, I squinted at the thing coming at me through the smoke. Then my eyes widened. Shit, that—

I was back in the conference room.

Feeling like I’d been shot out of a cannon or something, I blinked repeatedly as I took in large gulps of air. My eyes no longer stung, and I could see that I was surrounded by a group of very concerned faces.

Paige pulled me into her side. “Sweetie, you okay? You don’t look so good.”

I fought back panic, swallowing hard. “I’m okay.”

“No, you are not,” said Sebastian, frowning. “Sit down for a moment.”

I flopped into one of the seats and gratefully accepted the vanilla-flavoured NST that Paige pulled out of her purse.

Alora brushed my hair away from my face. “Wanna tell us what you saw, honey?”

Finishing the NST, I looked up at Sam. “Dragons. I saw dragons.”

CHAPTER FOUR

(Imani)

“Dragons?” repeated Jared, incredulous.

After my announcement, Sam, Luther, my squad, and I had walked out of the rear of the mansion, passed the beautiful gardens, the pool, the private beach, and to the enclosed training arena. The interior was much like a large horse paddock. Each wall was marked from A – D, which represented north, east, south, and west. It was surrounded by a large seating area which featured a VIP box on the middle tier.

Inside, Jared and the males had already begun the session. Now they were all circling me, their faces in different stages of confusion.

“That’s what I saw,” I told him.

“Tell him the rest,” urged Sam.

“We were in the rainforest. There was smoke all around us. I could hear growling, roaring, snarling, and the crackling of fire. People…people were screaming. I could smell blood and flesh burning. A dragon was coming toward me just as the vision ended.”

David, the youngest but most powerful of his squad, said, “You’re saying dragon shifters are coming to The Hollow to battle with us?”

“It would seem so,” said Luther, who was put-out that he hadn’t seen the event in a vision of his own. “I do not suppose you have any idea of when this will happen?”

I worried my lower lip. “Sort of. I can’t give you a timeline, but I can tell you that I had something with me that I don’t own yet.” I’d been wearing a Harley Davidson vest. It was pretty cool, despite being drenched in blood.

“So this isn’t going to happen until you actually have it,” said Sam. “Well that’s better than nothing, because it tells us that the dragons aren’t on their way here. As soon as you come into possession of whatever that item is, you call me.”

“Why would they come here?” Paige asked.

“Dragon shifters do not like our species very much,” said Luther. “It was once believed that dragon blood could cure vampirism. It is not true. Nothing can cure it. But for a long time, vampires captured dragons and drained them of blood in their attempts to create a cure.”

Max skimmed a hand over his military haircut. “No wonder they hate us.”

“Still, I do not believe they would senselessly attack. If they are planning to come here to fight us, they must have some motivation.” Luther sighed. “But, since each preternatural species is insular and private, I do not know enough about dragon shifters to be certain.”

I cleared my throat. “I know someone who does.”

Jared immediately asked, “Who?”

“The Master Vampire of my nest.”

Eyes narrowing, Sam stilled. “I think we should have this conversation in private.” Probably because she knew I’d never been open about my past, and she figured there was a very good reason why.

Jared nodded. “We’ll discuss this in my office.”

“Wait!” said Paige, but Jared teleported Sam and I out of the arena and to their office. The space was seriously cool. White walls, white floor tiles, a stylish oak desk, leather chairs, an ultramodern computer, and huge glass windows. Sam sat at her desk while Jared leaned against the filing cabinets that were built into the wall.

She gestured for me to take the seat across from her. “Tell us about your nest.”

“I’m guessing you did a background check before hiring me. How much do you know?”

Sam nodded. “Mona and Cedric tracked you to Lazarus Cray’s line.” He was a very old, powerful, and widely feared Master Vampire. “Your Sire is Marco, his best assassin. And you’re the first vampire Marco ever created.”

Just hearing Marco’s name made me grind my teeth. “Yes.”

“You fled from your Sire and severed your blood-bond using your gift,” added Jared. Sam was a seriously lucky girl, because he was honestly the personification of sex. Oddly enough, though, he didn’t hold the same appeal for me as Butch did. “What we don’t know is why you did that. Did he hurt you?” There was a promise of retribution in those words.

“I met Marco when I was human. We dated for a while. Many Kejas can put humans in a trance before feeding from them, so that the humans have no memories of the event. He put me in that same trance, and then he Turned me. One minute I was human, the next I was in agony and going through the transition with absolutely no idea what was happening to me.”

That made the mercury glint to Sam’s irises flare—it was the marker of a hybrid. “Unfortunately, that happened far too much until we gave it a death sentence.” She flicked her dark hair over her shoulder. “What happened after that?”

“Like all newborn vampires, I was struggling with bloodlust and fighting for control. And he just dumped me on Lazarus.”

Jared’s face hardened. “He
abandoned
you?”

“Yep.” As if it wasn’t bad enough that he’d effectively stolen my life from me, he’d then carelessly put me aside. Sires typically monitored their vampires while the person went through the transition, overcame the bloodlust, and their gift surfaced. “I was in shock, I was scared, I was confused, and I was surrounded by people I didn’t know. All I wanted was to go home. That was all I kept saying—that I wanted to go home. Lazarus said I couldn’t, but that he’d teach me control so that I could exist in the human world if that was what I wanted.”

Jared’s forehead creased. “If Lazarus was watching over you, he must have seen your gift manifest itself.”

“He did.”

“But he didn’t make you stay?”

“I thought he’d go back on his word when he realised what a good weapon I’d make.” After all, I could be used to separate mates against their will. In fact, a vampire had tried forcing me to separate Sam and Jared by using Paige as leverage. “He didn’t. Like me, he and his sister were Turned against their will. So maybe he took pity on me. I left, and I severed my bond with Marco. He didn’t try to track me.”

“Are you sure?” asked Sam. “You’re not just one of his vampires. You’re
his first-born
. That’s pretty significant.”

It was, which was why a lot of acknowledgement and respect came with being a first-born. We, for whatever reason, were the inspiration that led to our makers starting their own line. It was a serious thing to run a line and it involved a lot of responsibilities. To become one was a huge decision. First-borns were the catalyst of that decision, and so they were deeply respected and their Makers tended to have a soft spot for them. As such, it was odd that Marco would just overlook my existence. “I know, but he never came looking for me.”

“I was going to ask if he Turned you because he cared about you and wanted to keep you,” said Sam, “but if that was true he wouldn’t have abandoned you or let you go.”

“Marco doesn’t care about anyone other than Marco. Given everything, I’m sure you can understand why I ran from him.”

“You didn’t just cut your ties with Marco, you cut yourself off from the entire nest,” Jared pointed out. “That left you very vulnerable; completely without protection. Why would you do that?”

It seemed melodramatic
now
but… “You have to understand that at the time, I still didn’t see myself as a vampire. I was convinced I could return to my old life, pretend to be human. Both Lazarus and Annalise warned me not to cut all contact, but I just wanted to be away from that world. I didn’t listen to them.

“Once people heard of a vampire that could sever bonds, I was hunted. I had no protection, so I became a drifter. Paige was sent to track me, only she joined me instead of taking me to her Sire. In return, I severed her bond with him so she could be free. That was all she really wanted. To be free.”

Sam leaned back in her chair. “Have you had any contact whatsoever with anyone from your nest since leaving?”

“When Lazarus and Annalise watched your ascension via V-Tube, they caught a glimpse of me in the background and also heard you offer me a place in the legion. They contacted me shortly afterwards to pass on their congratulations. Annalise and I now occasionally exchange emails. She’s even invited me to the Binding anniversary of two of their vampires, which is taking place in six months’ time.” Binding formed a powerful psychic connection between two vampires, joined them on a level that far surpassed any marriage or other type of bond.

“You plan on going, even though it will mean facing your Sire again?” asked Sam.

“A year ago, I would have said no. I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere near him. I’m stronger now. I’ve cut myself from my nest for long enough. Lazarus, Annalise, and the rest of the nest are, for all intents and purposes, my family.”

“They are,” agreed Sam. “And maintaining connections outside The Hollow is a good thing. Most of the legion are in regular contact with their nests; life shouldn’t always be about work.”

“You say Lazarus knows about dragon shifters,” said Jared.

I nodded. “Yes. Lazarus is a scholar, and he’s knowledgeable about a lot of things. He admires and respects dragon shifters for their strength, power, and viciousness. I heard that Marco had negotiated a peace treaty between Lazarus and the local dragon drove.”

“You think Lazarus would be happy to share information with us?” asked Jared.

“I don’t see why he wouldn’t,” I replied.

“Then we’ll contact him tonight.”

“He never leaves his home, so he won’t agree to come here,” I told them.

“But I don’t doubt that he’ll invite you there. I’d like to come along.”

Sam exchanged a look with Jared. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that, Imani. How do you think Marco will react to seeing you again? I mean, you not only dared to try to escape him, you were able to do it. You cut your connection to him. He has to be, at the very least, seriously offended and a little embarrassed that you escaped his hold without his permission or knowledge.”

“What makes it more complex is that you’re not just one of Marco’s vampires,” said Jared. “You’re his first-born.”

I blew out a long breath. “I don’t know how he’ll react. I never really understood why he Turned me, or why he then abandoned me. Still, he’ll be pissed that I fled because first-borns are supposed to be flattered that we somehow inspired a vampire to begin their own line. We’re supposed to stay at their side and serve them faithfully. We’re not supposed to run.”

Expression pensive, Sam tapped her fingers on the table. “What about the rest of the nest? Won’t they look down on you for fleeing instead of sticking around as a good little first-born should?”

“While I stayed with Lazarus, they were all pretty nice to me. Probably because they felt bad for me, and because Marco is highly respected.” Even though he was a complete dick. His high status in vampire society was based on both fear and respect, since he’d been a ruthless assassin for most of his vampire life. As his first-born, all that respect and sense of importance extended to me. “I appreciate your concern, but I have to go back there some time.”

A short silence fell. Sam broke it. “All right. You can be part of our entourage, since we’ll be expected to take one for support and protection. I’d rather take a small one, or it will seem like we don’t believe we can protect ourselves just fine.”

Jared nodded. “We’ll take six vampires, including Imani. The question is…which ones?”

“We’ll discuss it later,” said Sam. “Let’s get back to the arena. First, Imani, I want to know if you’re comfortable with sharing your past with the others. We don’t have to go into great detail—we can just give them the bare bones of the story. Or we can tell them to mind their own bloody business, it’s your choice.”

While I wasn’t necessarily comfortable with sharing my past… “They should know about Marco so they know what to expect when we visit Lazarus.”

“As long as you’re sure?”

I nodded.

“All right, let’s go.”

Back at the arena, I gave everyone a very brief summary of my past and informed them that we should be visiting Lazarus in the near future. After stating that she would update them on the situation at tomorrow night’s conference, Sam then started the session.

Not wanting to think about the upcoming reunion with Marco, I put all my focus into training. When we first started, our goals had been simple but tough. First, we had to learn how to channel all our preternatural energy so that none leaked from us. It was an unnatural energy we began producing when we Turned; making our mind and body evolve. If we didn’t know how to hold it inside, we wouldn’t be able to use our gift to its full potential. In addition, it meant that Feeders like Sam could leech off our energy.

Within a month, we had completed our first goal. Then we moved onto our second: improve the use of our gifts. We each learned how to use our ability in different ways. Only then were we able to hit our third goal, which was to learn each other’s gifts inside out; know every strength and every weakness that came with them. That allowed us to learn how to work together as a squad and how to strengthen each other.

On every assignment, I was paired with Paige. It was a good thing for two reasons. One, Paige was very protective of me, just as I was of her. Two, our gifts worked well together. By sifting into a person’s brain with my psychic hand, I could find a vampire’s blood-bond and, well, play it like a guitar string. It both hurt and distracted, which gave the tall, lithe Keja the opportunity to pounce.