An Unhuman Journey Page 3

  She nodded and I said, “Well, I approve. I know you’re going to experiment around at some point, and I hope you’ll feel free to talk to me about it when you do, but for now, I think you made the right choice with Josh the Jerk.”

  She stopped off at a friend’s house when we left the restaurant, but I went home for a long soak in my tub. It’d been a rough weekend.

  Chapter 3

  Monday morning came much too early and I was tempted to slice my alarm clock in two with a quickly made knife-of-light. I reminded myself I’d just have to buy a new one, though, and turned it off the normal way before I stumbled to the shower.

  I drank every bit of the coffee in my mug on the drive to work, and stopped at the deli down from my office and had them fill it for me again. I also bought a box of a dozen pastries, and put it in my very large purse.

  I should probably downsize again, and probably would at some point, but for now I enjoyed having a change of clothes, extra ammo, and plenty of snacks with me.

  The coffee had gone straight through me, so I stopped in my office bathroom before depositing my things at my desk. I wasn’t on my toes for an attack in my office a little before nine on a Monday morning, but who is? I mean, besides most of the long-lived supernaturals I know.

  They had me before I knew what was happening, my arms held in place and a hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming or breathing. The wall behind the bathroom door was a big, dark gaping hole, and I was dragged backwards through it and thrown into a cage as I gagged and almost puked everything in my stomach. The smell in this place was wretched.

  Fires blazed all around us, and the flickering light didn’t help my nausea. I closed my eyes and took an instinctive deep breath to try to center myself, and immediately stopped breathing altogether. Deep breaths were a bad idea in the sulfurous rotten-egg stench. I still had my coat on, and I pulled it over my mouth and nose. The stench was still there, but not quite so bad.

  My conscious mind knew it was sulfur, but the smart part of my brain supplied the archaic terminology — fire and brimstone.

  I was in the fucking Underworld. The hole in my bathroom wall had been a fucking gateway to Hell.

  I got enough of a handle on my equilibrium to pay attention to what the people around me were doing, and as the heat from the fires dissipated, I realized they’d put me in an energy bubble.

  I could break it with my energy, but I also remembered I needed to hold onto my energy so the vibrations of this place didn’t take over my aura.

  The cage looked formidable, with huge bars as big around as my wrist and only a few inches apart. It was quite large, perhaps six by four feet, and tall enough I might be able to stand without stooping.

  And I still needed to pee.

  There were at least two dozen men standing around, though I could only see a few of their faces in the uneven, flickering light — and I recognized no one.

  My gun was fully loaded, plus I had a magazine on my belly band and two more in my purse — twenty-five shots counting the one in the chamber. Now wasn’t the time to start shooting, but there might not be a better time later. Especially if they decided to search me and strip me.

  I slid my coffee mug’s top open and drank. The cold was starting to get to me now that they’d put me in the bubble, plus I might not get anything else to drink for a while. Mordecai had said to only drink from flowing water.

  I had several thousand calories in my purse — treats I’d intended to put out for my patients — and they’d come in handy in this god-forsaken place.

  And it was literally a god-forsaken place, because the man I knew who used to be a god couldn’t come here. I rolled my eyes at myself before I decided perhaps someone needed to talk. I’d assumed one of my captors would, but they were just staring at me.

  “Why am I here?”

  “Because we wanted you. We want you.”

  I focused on the man who’d answered. He wasn’t especially big, but his short pants reminded me of a pirate’s cropped breeches, and he was shirtless. He was sweaty, and the fire glinting off his muscled upper body looked like a scene from a movie with excellent special effects.

  His boots reminded me of something a Roman gladiator might’ve worn — more sandal than boot, but with plenty of support. As hot as I’d been before they put the bubble up, regular boots probably weren’t an option here.

  “Who are you and why do you want me? What do you intend to do with me?”

  He stooped down to my level and I could see the menace in his face. No matter he was being conversational and not especially nasty — this wasn’t a nice man.

  “We are Celrau, and you will be soon, kitten.”

  I ignored the last part and focused on the middle. “The Celrau can’t make new vampires.”

  “Not in the human realm, but the Concilio has no authority in the Underworld.”

  His words sent a chill through me, first for myself, but also for the implications. If the Celrau had moved here to create an army, then the whole war-between-good-and-evil thing just took a horrifying turn.

  I needed an escape plan, and knowing their plans might help me form one. I had no idea where I’d run if I got away from these particular men, but I’d figure that part out once I got away. “It’s going to be kind of hard to bite me with me in a bubble and a cage, isn’t it?”

  His grin made him look even more wicked. “We’ll get to you safely, kitten. All in good time. You’re in what’s known as a circle. Humans can’t get out of them or throw things out of them. If you touch it, it’ll burn you and we don’t have traditional first aid down here so be careful. We’ll let you out of the cage later, but we needed to be sure you didn’t hurt yourself on the circle before we explained it.”

  So, they didn’t know I could break the circle. That was certainly good news.

  “I was headed into the bathroom when I was grabbed. I didn’t have a chance to use it. I don’t suppose you have facilities down here?”

  “It’s really more over here than down here, but you aren’t the first to use the adjective.” He motioned toward my feet. “The floor is slightly sloped, so move to your right and go at the edge of the cage. It’ll stream away from you and then the circle will take care of it.”

  Luckily, I was in a flowing, loose skirt and boots today, so it would just be a matter of pulling my underwear to the side and going without exposing myself. However, I didn’t need to go quite that bad, yet. Perhaps some of the men would get bored and leave soon.

  “Good to know. Do you have a name?”

  “I am Aquila, and I will be your sire. Tell me what you know of us?”

  I wanted to snarl and be hateful, but he was being conversational at the moment, so I chose to respond in the same casual tone. “You have to kill someone once a month in order to live. On the new moon. If you’re a hundred years old, you’ve killed a little over twelve hundred people.”

  “I am nearly thirteen hundred years old.”

  It was too early on Monday morning to do the math, but I thought that might mean he’d killed around fifteen or sixteen thousand people. Fuck.

  “Once we’ve exchanged enough blood,” he continued, “I’ll be able to control you. Depending on how strong you are, I’ll have control for two to ten years. I intend for us to be friends and colleagues, so I hope to be as nice I can during the process. If you don’t fight me, we’ll get along fine.”

  I’d die before I killed an innocent, and I knew better than to think I’d be able to find twelve or thirteen serial killers a year who needed to die. My instincts told me Aquila didn’t need to know this just yet, though, so I nodded.

  “I was hot before you put the circle up, but now I’m cold. I don’t suppose there’s a happy medium?”

  He smiled again, and I really wished he’d stop because it creeped me out. “I like you. I knew I would, but instead of getting all emotional and crying, you’re asking the practical questions. It’s more than I’d dared hope for.” He looked
around me a few seconds before meeting my gaze again. “I made this circle, which means I can pass through it without breaking it. I can bring a bucket of brimstone in and set fire to it, but without proper ventilation it’ll be pretty rank, and you aren’t used to the smell yet. You’ll likely get sick to your stomach again when the circle comes down.”

  I shook my head. “I can be cold a little longer. I have some yoga pants in my purse, and another shirt, so I can layer up a little if I need to. What do you have to do to turn me?”

  “Bite you, have you ingest some of my blood, wait a half-hour or so, and then drink you down and take your essence into me. I’ll dribble some of my blood into your mouth just as you’re at the point of death, and you’ll transform. The trick is that it has to be done on the new moon, and you’ll have to kill immediately in order to survive. I’ll take hold of your willpower the first couple of times so you have no choice but to drink someone until they’re dead.”

  I pushed my fear and revulsion to the back of my mind and focused on right now. I had to escape, and that wouldn’t happen if I let my terror paralyze me. “When’s the new moon?”

  “I’ll do the deed in about forty Underworld hours, give or take. We’ve created a sanctuary near the boundary of this realm and the human one, so when the gateway is open there’s enough of the moon’s influence to let us survive in this place. I’ll send one of my children in shortly to drink from you, and I can use my connection to him to begin my journey with you.”

  Was he wary of coming in until he could figure out what I was capable of? Should I kill the vampire he sent in, or fight and pretend to be helpless? No, they knew I had skills or I wouldn’t be here. Plus, Mordecai had warned me against killing anyone here, but I had a feeling the Celrau would be hard to kill. I needed to fight and at least pretend to show what I could do, but in a way that made Aquila feel confident he’d be safe entering the circle with me.

  I pulled an apple turnover out of my purse and went about eating it — washing it down with coffee as I went. The coffee was warm and I needed the heat.

  When I finished the turnover I told Aquila, “If you’re planning to try to get along with me, perhaps you can send the audience away so I can relieve myself?”

  He lifted an arm, made a shooing motion behind him, and two thirds of the room emptied. “I’m sorry, I can’t leave you totally unguarded, but I hope this shows my good intentions?”

  I didn’t respond, just squatted as best I could at the edge of the cage and closed my eyes to convince my bladder to relax. I’d expected the liquid to boil away when it hit the circle, but it evaporated on contact.

  I had a few napkins in my purse, and I used one to wipe, then wadded it into a ball and tossed it towards the wall of energy. It hit the ground, rolled to the edge, and burst into flame before dissipating to a few ashes in a mere second.

  Okay. Touching the circle would be bad.

  However, I was assuming I could break it with my sword or half-staff, as I’d done the one made by the Celrau in the battlefield.

  I probably shouldn’t attempt using my gun to shoot through it, though.

  “Do I want to know what else you have in that purse, kitten?”

  “I have a few ink pens. I’m wondering if you’d bleed to death if I stabbed you in the carotid.”

  He shook his head and gave me a patronizing smile. “There’s the spunk I was told of. You’ll just have to try it and see, kitten.”

  “Aquila, so you’re… Roman? Italian?”

  He nodded. “Long ago in a faraway land, yes.”

  “Are you in charge? Or following someone else’s orders?”

  “I’m in charge of this operation and I’m in charge of this room. I won’t tell you our entire power structure just yet. I’ve been warned to handle you carefully, and your questions lead me to believe you’re attempting to form an escape plan.”

  “Wouldn’t you, if you were the one in the cage?”

  “Yes, but human females in your situation are usually more prone to tears and begging than pleasant conversation and plotting.”

  “I can call you a cold-hearted bastard and probably manage some tears while I ask you to change your mind and take me home, but somehow I don’t think it’ll help. Is there anything I could do to change your mind? Money? A favor? Perhaps a favor I might wrangle from another supernatural in exchange for my return? I don’t know for sure what I could get them to agree to, but there are a few who might offer something in exchange for my safe passage home.”

  “Sorry, kitten. You’re here and there’s no escape. I’m going to send Donald in to open the cage and move it to the side so you have more room to move around. He’ll get your purse and bring it to me, while he’s in there. I’ll send him in with a few blankets — is there anything else you’d like him to bring?”

  I shook my head and kept my mouth shut. Donald wasn’t getting my purse, but I wouldn’t mind getting out of the cage, and the blankets would be nice.

  Aquila stepped one foot into the circle and it shimmered as it parted, then went invisible again. He had Donald by the arm, and he pulled him in, made sure the other man’s entire body was inside, and let go before stepping back out.

  Donald wore modern day shorts that came to his mid-thigh, and he was nearly as muscled as Aquila. I sat still as he unlocked the cage and opened the door, and then I left my purse in the back of the cage as I crawled out.

  “Bring the purse. You heard the boss.” His voice was guttural, gravelly, as if it hurt to talk. He sounded like the monster I knew the Celrau to be.

  “And if I don’t?”

  “You have to know you’re no match for us. Don’t make it hard on yourself, little girl.”

  I didn’t want Aquila or the other Celrau to see what I did, so I stood and touched Donald’s stomach, and suggestively ran my fingers up his muscled abs and chest until my hand rested on the spot just above his heart.

  His skin was still warm and sweaty and I suppressed a shudder at the contact. I imagined the feel and bulk of the knife in my hand, so it pierced Donald’s heart as it formed, and he gasped as blood poured out of him and he collapsed. I rode him down, doing as much damage to his heart as I could before I absorbed the knife’s energy back into me. I didn’t think anyone had seen what I’d done, but I didn’t look around as I wiped the blood from my hand and arm onto Donald’s shorts.

  No one looked terribly upset, which could mean no one especially like Donald and that’s why they’d sent him in, or it could mean I hadn’t given him true death and he’d come back from the injury.

  I looked at Aquila. “My purse stays with me.”

  He nodded. “For the time being.”

  I worried Donald might come back to life with no warning, so I pushed him toward the edge of the circle, and kept pushing once he hit it and started burning. No one outside the circle said anything as I slowly turned the vampire to ashes, my nose once again held against the inside of my coat to try to keep the burning stench from making me puke.

  I’d notice if the ashes started forming back into a Donald sized shape, and I’d have time to prepare another defense.

  When I finished, I pushed the cage to the other side, retrieved my purse, and sat with my back against the outside of the cage with my feet in front of me as I drank some more of my coffee.

  Chapter 4

  I had no way to gauge time, but it was at least three or four hours before Aquila spoke to me again.

  In that time I’d turned my phone off to save the battery — there wasn’t a cell signal, and if I managed to escape back to my world, I might need to use it to call for help. I’d also tried to telepath Abbott, Randall, Cora, and every other strong supernatural I knew, since I had lots of spare time and nothing to do.

  The Celrau spoke to each other in another language and I wished I knew what they were saying. I ate another couple of pastries and drank the rest of my coffee. I didn’t know for sure how much longer I’d have my purse, so it made sense to eat what
I could.

  “Tell me, do you believe you’ve killed Donald?”

  I shrugged, wrapped up in the blankets Donald had brought in, but still trying not to shiver. “He’s either dead, or out of commission long enough he probably won’t present a problem for me.”

  “So, you don’t know for certain he’s dead? What do you know of us?”

  “Not much. You feed on the new moon and must kill your victim, and the Concilio doesn’t let you grow your numbers anymore. If you’re caught, they kill the vampire who turned the human, as well as their line all the way up.”

  “What did you use to stab Donald with?”

  I shook my head and asked him, “Why did you choose me?”

  “A couple of reasons. You first came to our attention when The Abbott claimed you as his, and then some investigation showed a number of our powerful enemies consider you to be some kind of warrior who might be able to turn the tide during the next war. I’m curious about a human who is regarded highly by people of true power. The circle is holding you, but now that I know how quickly you can pierce our hearts, I’ll take precautions when I come close enough to bite you and turn you. Once you have my blood in you, controlling you won’t be a problem. I’ll do my best to get along with you, until then.”

  “And why? Because you don’t want me pissed at you when I eventually become stronger than you?”

  “More or less.”

  “The blankets help, but I might take you up on the offer of a small fire in here, at least for a little while.”

  He turned to another man back in the shadows, made a motion with his hand, and turned back to me. “The cost of a fire will be drinking some water we give you. We need you healthy and not dehydrated.”

  I shook my head. “I won’t eat or drink anything in this place, not unless I brought it with me. I’ll survive the cold.”

  He shrugged. “As you wish. When you change your mind, let me know.”