Scarlet Dusk (24 page)

“Hours,” Zane’s eyes had gone wide as she’d explained her theory to him.

Zoey looked up at him, “What?”

“Remember when you took me out to the gas station for junk food after Maledictus was taken out of me?
How I’d suddenly freaked out and told you to stop the car?”

“Yea?” Zoey frowned.

“It was Celine,” Zane confessed. “I could’ve
sworn
I’d seen her watching us from the sidewalk, but by the time I’d gotten out she was gone.”

Zoey shook her head, “So soon after…? How could she possibly have known?”

“So, are those the results of what they found then? What do they say?” Zane narrowed his eyes, feeling more than enough suspicion now from Zoey’s rundown.

He
had
felt something off with Celine.

“I can’t believe it…” Zoey gasped, “
It was worse than we’d ever expected…”

“What is it?” Zane asked.

“Everything…
everything
has been connected, Zane. Keith, your turning, Maledictus, EVERYTHING.” Zoey shook her head, “Celine and Kristine had been working for Keith since the beginning; since he’d caught Celine feeding from and siring a human,” she looked at him, biting her lip. “You, Zane; she was caught with a group of other vampires feeding from
you
. It says here that Keith used this to blackmail her and Kristine into working for him—helping him climb to power—and…” Zoey shook her head, “And she’s the one that warned the taroe tribe that you and Raith were coming; she
planned
to have you two killed up there! Zane, this is bad! Very, very bad! We need to get the others and get them up to speed, but first…”

Zane’s face had paled under the onslaught of the news, but he’d nodded, knowing what Zoey was thinking. “First we have to save Serena.”

“JUST LOOK AT THAT; JUST FUCKING
LOOK
AT that,” Maledictus chuckled, not noticing in his self-satisfied stupor that Serena hadn’t laid her eyes on him since she’d come to in the house.

She had no idea
where
they were, or
whose
house it had been, but the alluring scent of blood was everywhere and that was evidence enough of what had happened to them. When she’d come to, she was already shackled in the bathroom, Maledictus explaining that, since she refused to feed, running water and a toilet was all she’d need until she decided to comply to his wishes.

The circumstances hadn’t seemed quite so bad until Maledictus had decided that he needed a shower.

“Hells-fucking-yes, bitch! It’s all growing in nicely,” he mused further, admiring his new tail, which, judging from the nub it had been several hours earlier when Serena had woken up, meant that his abilities to change his shape and regrow missing limbs were growing stronger. He’d also, after seeing how much he liked his new left arm, decided to tear his right one off so that he could grow another new one just like it.

Though she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of looking, Serena could see through her peripheral vision that the new arm was already half-formed.

“For the life of me, I don’t see how you can resist all of
this
and continually hold out some fucking hope about Zane,” Maledictus’ voice was getting more irritated as he engineered the path of his mood from manic and malicious to enraged and murderous. Yet, no matter where his seemingly bipolar delusions took him, he seemed intent on harboring the ongoing delusions that he was, in any conceivable fashion, desirable. “Fuckwads like Zane and all those little shits are a dime-a-fucking-dozen, but those like you and me, buttercup baby,
we’re
golden; we’re the cream of the fucking crop; we’re out-fucking-standing!” he filled his mouth with water from the shower head and spit it across the distance between them, making Serena retch and struggle to move out of his range while keeping her breasts hidden by the hand towel that he’d left for her. “And
that’s
why I’m so certain that our spawn will be
perfect
!”

Serena couldn’t hold in her disgust by that point, and, thankful for the toilet, threw open the lid and vomited.

Just hold on,
she thought to herself
and
her unborn child.
They found us once already, and your dad’s too damn persistent to just give up. You and I just gotta hold on just a little bit longer. You hear me, kiddo? Just put up with this cocksucker for a little bit longer, and we’ll be home free and making Daddy’s life miserable. I swear it.

“You know, you seem different suddenly,” Maledictus said, his voice low and curious. Turning towards her, Serena could hear the talons of this feet clacking against the bottom of the tub. “The puking thing I’ll accept—it’s hard to be in the presence of all
this
without feeling nauseated by the reality that everybody else is a total shit-pile by comparison—but you’ve barely said a word since you woke up, and you seem awful bashful ‘bout shaking those titties all of a sudden. What’s gone and turned you into a stoic fucking prude, huh? One close call with Zaney-boy and suddenly you’re a changed woman?” He leaned in closer, sniffing at the air, “Or is it something else?”

“Maybe I just don’t feel like talking,” Serena let her voice reverberate in the toilet bowl, not caring if Maledictus could understand her or not. “Maybe I’ve just got nothing else to say.”

“Well fuck me up the ass with a squeak-toy and call me a clown car!” Maledictus spat and turned back to his shower, “Pardon the fuck outta me for thinking I’d never see the day that the relentless snarky backlash and bitchiness from the
queen
of snarky bitches would ever turn to bitter silence. Seriously! I’ve heard pussy-farts with more lip than you right now, and I was so certain that the change in scenery would spark some fresh wit from you.”

“Change in scenery?” Serena heaved again, shaking her head, “Do you
seriously
think that girls are at home flicking the bean to fantasies of a mutant Kermit the frog bathing their festering body modifications in a poorly ventilated bathroom?”

Maledictus laughed. “Now
that’s
the snarky bitchiness I was expecting. Certainly took you fucking long enough, you tease-happy bitch!”

“Sorry to disappoint,” Serena rolled into a sitting position and rested her head against the wall. “I’d hate to think that, when Zane finally fucks you up, your last memory of me would be
anything
but me reminding you how fucking much I hate you.”

Just a little longer, baby. Just hold on a little bit longer.

“And the chase is back on,” Maledictus laughed, finally shutting off the shower and stepping out of the tub. “I hope you don’t mind me saying so, buttercup baby—not that I particularly care if you
do
mind—but I’m pretty sure it’s
because
of Zane that you’ve gotten so soft.”

Serena glared at him, offering him the first eye contact since she’d woken up. “I’ll admit that Zane’s changed me, you disgusting fuck, but believe me… it’s
only
been for the better!”

ZOEY FOLLOWED ZANE
TOWARDS RAITH and Nikki’s room. She could feel the tension rising off her friend’s aura, and she rested a hand on his shoulder and gave gently squeezed it, stopping him from walking any further.

“We need to stay focused right now,” she shook her head. “Which means you
need
to let go of the past
and
Celine for now to do that.”

“I’m not worried about
Celine
right now,” Zane sneered, “That conniving little bitch can rot in whatever fresh hell she’s planted herself in for all I care! It’s Serena I’m worried about!”

Zoey nodded,
“And we’re going to save her now. No more waiting.”

“‘No more waiting,’” Zane smirked,
“I like that. It feels a lot more satisfying to hear than ‘have hope.’”

Zoey laughed, “Well, let’s just agree that both are good in their own ways, shall we?”

“Fair enough. I just hope that Raith was able to work more of his atlas-magic to figure out where Maledictus is hiding out now,” Zane sighed.

“
I don’t think we’re going to need much magic—either real
or
atlas-related—” Zoey smirked at him, “Or have you
not
been hearing the buzz?”

Zane frowned, “What buzz?”

“Word on the street is there was a
massive
attack on a small neighborhood house. Family was terrorized—most of them killed—and an auric who had been nearby called in a report that said that ‘the devil had stolen their house.’”

“Holy fucking shit,” Zane shook his head, “That psychopath doesn’t believe in subtlety anymore, does he?”

“It would certainly appear not. Oh, and there’s one more thing,” Zoey smiled, her eyes lighting up.

“And what’s that?” Zane raised an eyebrow.

“Call this an incentive—I won’t give away any details—but Serena’s got some big news waiting for you,” Zoey winked.

“What do you mea—”

“Zane? What’s going on?” Raith’s voice interrupted their conversation as he stepped up behind them.

“Come find me
when you two are finished,” Zoey grinned.

Sighing, he watched his blue-haired friend skip away as he turned to Raith, who looked just as curious as Zane was feeling. He shook his head, preparing to tell Raith
exactly
what he’d just found out himself.

“That’s fucked up, man,” Raith sighed. “Nikki will
be glad to know though. She was starting to think that the entire curse-thing was her fault.”

“Why would she even think that?” Zane shook his head.

Raith looked up at him, “Do you really think you’re in a position to judge the unnecessary burdens people put on themselves?”

Zane frowned at that, looking down. “You’re right…”

Raith shrugged, “No worries. That’s what best buddies do; they bust each other’s balls when balls need to busted. So consider your balls busted and know that I’ve got your back, mate.”

“Thanks, Raith,” Zane smiled. “
I really can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.” He sighed, turning to press his head against the wall. “So Zoey said that there was a bunch of talk about an attack on a residential home that’s obviously Maledictus. You heard about that?”

“You’re joking, right? There might not be too many people wandering the halls of the clan right now, but it’s kinda hard to miss the chatter. The address is everywhere if somebody knows what they’re looking for, but nobody has the balls to go near there after what they’ve heard.”

Zane smirked, “Well I guess I should thank you again for busting my balls, ‘cause now I don’t need ‘em to just mosey on in, I suppose.”

Raith laughed, “I’m not sure it works that way, but I still love the way you think.”

“So I take it you’re in?” Zane looked over, hopeful.

“
Fuckin’ A, mate! You helped bring Nikki and me back together, the least I can do it return the favor. Besides, I owe Serena a
major
debt of gratitude.”

Zane frowned, cocking an eyebrow towards him, “You do?”

“You know it! See, that girl went and turned the mopey asshole that my best friend had become into a total badass hellion,” Raith winked.

“
Total badass hellion, huh?”—he smirked as Raith nodded—“I like the sound of that, I guess I owe Serena a pretty major debt too, then.”

Raith smirked and slapped his shoulder, “Glad to hear you talking some sense. Now, let’s go get the others and save your woman!”