Sacrifice (Revelations Book 1) Read online

  After a moment the realization set in. "You knew?"

  "Yeah, why do you think I live in this godforsaken hell hole. I have family to protect, I don't ever want to see the Gates open. I left everything behind to be here, to try to protect everyone. If this vampire is the key, then you need to make sure it isn't unlocked."

  "Don't worry, the only way it's opening is if she fangs out and starts killing people."

  "Let me get this straight. Her going on a killing spree will unlock the Gates?"

  "No, me killing her is what will unlock it."

  The wolf stopped and cocked his head to the side. "Wait... If she's a vampire, then she's already dead."

  "Not exactly. The hag says the girl wasn't actually killed. Someone put a spell on her, it gives her all the traits of a vampire. I guess they really wanted to make sure I killed her so they fanged her up and sent her here."

  "Then you can't kill her, not ever."

  "The hell I can't. If she goes nutzoid and starts killing people, I will put her in a grave quicker than God smited Sodom and Gomorra. We will just have to worry about the Gates opening and stopping the demons afterwards."

  Lobo shook his head. "You can't be serious?"

  "I am."

  "You are too damn prideful for your own good. You can't allow the Gates to open."

  "And I'm just supposed to allow some fledgling vampire to go on a killing spree because she can't control her baser urges?"

  "That's a load of shit. It’s just a rumor the vamps spread to cause fear in humans. Newly made vampires are able to control themselves unless..."

  Nico's gaze met Lobo's, he almost didn't want to hear the rest but he had to ask, "Unless, what?"

  "Well, if a newly turned vampire is tortured, mistreated, or starved, then they will turn rabid. You know, just like a dog, it's only as tame as its master makes it, so to speak." Nico caught a glimpse of his own pale complexion in the mirror behind the bar as the color drained from his face. The wooden bar groaned in protest as Lobo gripped the edge and lowered his voice, "For fucks sake, Nico, what did you do?"

  "I tied her to the bed with holy rope and left her there." Nico paused and added, "After threatening to kill her."

  "Dick."

  "Yeah. I know. But those fangs, they’re unnatural and when some creature flashes them at you you’re first instinct is to protect yourself."

  "You know, you might be the shittiest friend I've ever had. I have fangs too, you know." Lobo grabbed another shot glass and filled it up for himself. "So why haven't you ever tied me up and threatened to kill me? You know, I'm one of those unnatural creatures." He placed the bottle on the bar and stood back with his arms folded waiting for an answer.

  Nico rubbed the back of his neck. "Hell, I don't know. I guess, you're different."

  "I get you’re jaded, it's your shtick and all. But as your friend and as one of these quote unquote abominations, it's really hard not to take offense to every other word coming out of your mouth."

  Nico nodded. "I know, and I'm sorry. I don't mean any offense."

  "But it is offensive, Nico. You and I have been through some hard shit together. Remember when we took on that hive of ghouls? Man," Lobo rocked back on his heels laughing, "that was some good times. We work well together, we’re friends, and I respect you, but I've never thought of you as a racist. I mean, we've always been cool."

  Nico wiped his hand over his face and groaned. "You can't call it racism, Lobo. Vampires, demons, ghouls, those aren't races. I just don't like evil things, especially vampires and you know why. Besides, you aren't evil."

  “I’ve done things other people would have killed me for.” Lobo paused. "People think I am evil. People who think like you do."

  "What does that mean?"

  "People who think the world is only painted in black and white."

  "Look, I don't know what to tell you. Those things, those demons, they kill people. Vampires feed on people. Ghouls eat people."

  Lobo interjected, "Wolves kill people, Nico. More to the point, werewolves kill people."

  "Yeah, I know. But you're different."

  "Why can't this girl be different?"

  "Because... Because she can't be. Just like your buddy, Alex. He's a vampire, they are all evil."

  "Hypocrite."

  "Yeah, I'm that too. Add it to my resume."

  "Are you going to fix this or is your pride more important? Or is there more to it?"

  Nico downed the last of his drink. "I'll fucking fix it. So glad you've got my back in all this."

  "But is there more, Nico?"

  "No, there's nothing more. She's just a vampire, I'll go fix this, and hopefully things can get back to fucking normal around this place."

  "What's normal exactly?"

  "You pouring the drinks instead of playing Doctor Phil for starters."

  "I think you just don't like someone pointing out the flaws in your logic."

  "Yeah, yeah." Nico slid the empty glass over to Lobo and pulled out his flask, topping it off from the bottle still on the bar before slipping it back into his pocket.

  Lobo was silent until Nico pushed his stool back. "You might not think it’s true, but I really do have your back. And when you are on the wrong path I will always call you on your shit."

  "That's a two-way street, my friend. One of these days you're going to have to suck up your pride and fix shit too."

  "Yeah, I know, but not today."

  Nico stood up and kicked the stool back under the counter. Now he was going to have to go back to his house and find a way to calm down a pissed off vampire.

  Time to man up.

  Easier said than done.

  He had a feeling asking Abigail for forgiveness was going to take a toll on his resolve. That single thought alone had a part of him stirring, wanting to lose himself in those deep brown eyes of hers. His mouth watered. He snatched the bottle from Lobo's hand and took a long hard pull. Liquid courage was going to have to be enough to get him through this ordeal, God knew he didn't have the willpower to combat both his desire to destroy a monster and claim the woman it was inside of.

  "Keep my bar stool warm, if this goes badly I'll be back to drink you clean out of all of your back stock."

  Lobo snarled. "Then let's hope it doesn't go badly. You aren't the first male in history who made a mistake and had to go suck up his pride to apologize."

  "No, but I have a feeling it won't count for much after the way I treated her."

  "Just don't treat her like that anymore. It's not hard to be a decent person, Nico. I know you haven't had much practice at it, but just try to not be a dick."

  Nico waved off the comment as he headed back out of the bar and in the direction of his house. "Time to suck it up."

  He purposely found a longer route home. This time when he passed by the church he stopped. It had been years since he’d taken time to look at the building. Today it seemed less shabby than usual. Before where he'd only seen missing shingles and rotted wood, now he saw a glimmer of hope. "Is this what you want me to do? Protect a vampire? Why?"

  The sunlight glanced off the broken cross on the roof giving a subtle shimmer to the visible waves of heat radiating from the structure. "Fine, but what the hell am I supposed to do with her?"

  A raven squawked from the bell tower and Nico rolled his eyes. "Now I'm worthy? Now that you need something from me? Where were you when I was cast out and labeled a devil worshiper? Where were you when my car died in the desert? You know what, fuck you."

  The broken shutters on the church rattled and Nico glared. "You could have helped me out. Instead you abandoned me. Now that you need my help I'm suddenly worth the trouble? Well whatever I end up doing I won't be doing it for you."

  He threw the bottle at the side of the building, smiling at the satisfying shatter of glass that rang out and walked away. Having conversations with the God who let him rot in this desert for the last ten years wasn't high on his list of things to do. Neither wa
s protecting some vampire, but apparently it’s what he was supposed to be doing. And in the end he knew he would, but not for God, and not for Arveda. He'd do it for himself. Fuck everyone else.

  He kicked at the dry dirt beneath his worn out soles and shoved his hands into his pockets as he made his way down the street. His feet sounded heavier than he intended when he stomped up the rickety stairs to his house. His hand hovered over the door handle. Last thing he ever wanted to do was ask for forgiveness from a vampire, but maybe Lobo was right. Maybe the old tales were just that? Tales. Maybe he could make a difference with this one, maybe he could save her. He'd take redemption wherever he could find it, even if it was with some vampire.

  Entering the dark house, he could hear a soft hiss the minute a sliver of light hit the floor. Nico shut the door quickly. "Easy there."

  Abigail made a guttural sound from the bed. "You here to kill me now?"

  "No." He flipped the light switch and blinked as his eyes adjusted. She was still tied exactly where he'd left her, not that he expected anything different. The only difference was her posture, instead of sitting she was awkwardly lying down and wisps of smoke danced around her. He approached her cautiously and held up his hands. "Alright, I might have overreacted a bit."

  "Overreacted?"

  "Yeah, sorry." Nico untied the rope and took her wrists in his hands. His chest tightened. All around her petite wrists were burns where the rope had been. “I’m sorry.” He never stopped to think about what the holy item might do to her. Now he really was the bigger evil here. "I made a mistake. You have to understand this is completely out of my element. I mean you are..."

  "An abomination."

  "Yes. No." He shook his head. "You are something new and I have no idea when," he paused and quickly added, "Or if you will turn. Right now I'm flying blind. I mean, hell, you look like some cute little harmless college kid. Probably a sorority girl. Good student. Popular. But all of that's just on the surface and in your past. Now, whether you like it or not, you could kill everyone in this town if you so much as wake up on the wrong side of the bed. I can't let anything happen to these people. As much as I don’t like to admit it, these people took me in and saved me when I should have died. I swore to protect them."

  She nodded. "I understand. But I don't want to hurt anyone."

  "We’ll need to call a truce. For now, until we can figure out how to reverse this spell or whatever it is." His hand was still holding her wrists. He lightly traced his thumb near the burn marks being careful not to touch them. "The Striga and I will do all we can to return you to being a normal college girl. I swear it." His fingers danced lightly over her skin until she hissed and he moved his hand away.

  She peered up and held his gaze, making him uncomfortable. "And if you can't fix it?"

  "Abigail, we'll figure something out. I promise." He wiped his hand over his face. "Sorry, I can't call you that name, it sounds like a nun's name."

  "Well, it's the only name I've got."

  Nico made his way to the bathroom and returned a moment later with some ointment. He ran his fingers over the burn marks on her wrists coating them with the salve even though they were slowly starting to heal on their own. "We'll think of something," he muttered.

  His thoughts were lost on the feel of her skin. It unnerved him how soft it felt, it was inviting. The part of him that found her mouth-wateringly attractive reveled in the silky feel of her skin against his. He was certain he was going to burn in Hell for lusting after a vampire and wanting to stake her all at the same time. There was no denying the fact most of the blood had rushed to one single part of his body just by being near her. It made him hate himself more, but for this little window of time he would allow himself to enjoy it. "How about I just call you Abby?"

  She offered him a small smile. "I’d like that."

  He was just starting to feel at ease with the whole situation when a growl came from her. The look of fear on her face as she clamped her hand over her mouth snapped him out of his introspection.

  "Shit." Nico stood up and reached for his pinon stake on the table. "Abby? You okay?"

  She kept her mouth covered, but shook her head.

  His hand curled around the stake.

  The growl echoed around the room again and Nico's eyes went to her stomach. "You're hungry, aren't you?"

  She shook her head again.

  "Abby? Tell me the truth."

  Her eyes cast downward as she nodded.

  "Okay. We need to think of something. If you get too hungry you could become—"

  "A monster?" she whispered through clenched teeth.

  Nico walked over to the kitchen and paced the open area. "Yeah."

  CHAPTER FOUR

  "Father?" Abby's voice cracked as she edged off the bed and peeked around the corner to the dingy kitchen to find him pacing back and forth between the small table and the counter.

  "Don't call me that."

  "I don't know what else to call you."

  Nico rolled his eyes. "Find something else."

  "Well, you did an exorcism and you wear a priest's collar-thingy." She scrunched up her nose. "It's all I have to go on. And the Striga call you Father, so I kinda figured you are a priest."

  He stiffened. "Not anymore."

  "Then why the outfit?"

  "It's habit. And it's called a Roman collar."

  "What do I call you then?"

  He slipped the white collar off and placed it on the table. "My name is Nico. The Striga only call me Father to insult me."

  "Why is it an insult?"

  "Because I was kicked out of the Church."

  She let out a small breath and blinked, looking around the house. "So is that why you live in this place?"

  "Something like that." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Didn't we have a problem of you being hungry to focus on, not my life choices?"

  "Right, what can we do about it? I'm starving."

  "Well, you're going to have to eat something."

  "Like?"

  "How's a cheeseburger sound?" Abby clamped her hand over her mouth as the sudden urge to gag hit her. "I'll take that as a no."

  "Blood. It's the only thing I can think about." She darted her tongue out and licked her lips. "I can't help it."

  "I can't let you just feed off this town like a tick. We need a plan." His eyes went to the sink. Abby watched as he pulled out a knife, giving it a quick rinse under the tap before he rolled up his sleeve.

  "No." She shook her head but couldn't pull her gaze from the beating vein in his wrist.

  "You've got to eat. There's no way around it. Whoever did this to you wanted to ensure I'd stake you and open the Gate. We've got to figure out how to feed you until we can fix this."

  "Wait. What Gates?"

  He held the knife over his wrist. "Arveda didn't fill you in? You are the key to opening the Gates of Hell. Well not so much you being the key, but you dying is the key to opening it."

  "The Gates of Hell are a real thing? Like actually real?"

  "Yep and they are right here in our quaint little desert hell-hole. Fitting, isn't it?" He dragged the knife over his wrist and gave little indication it hurt. Although from the way he bit his lip it must have been painful. "Now, are you hungry or what?"

  She reacted faster than she imagined possible and had his wrist in her mouth before he finished moving the knife. Her soft lips clamped down as her tongue teased the cut on his wrist to milk more blood from the wound.

  She could feel his pulse pounding against her lips, his body drew tight and the slightest satisfied moan escaped his lips. Abby could feel heat boiling inside of her as she dropped to her knees.

  She pulled harder with every suckle. His pulse throbbing beneath her lips made her body quiver with unrelenting pleasure. His hands tangled in her hair. She expected him to pull her off, but instead he moaned again and kept her pinned against him.

  Every inch of her body was on fire. She wanted to claw the clothes from
his body and ravage him right there in the kitchen. Wetness pooled between her legs as the thought of sex and blood filled her mind. She kept her hands locked on his arm because she knew if she were to touch him anywhere else she wouldn't stop until they were both naked, bloody, and spent. Every squeeze of his hand in her hair made her mouth water more.

  This isn't right.

  The ex-priest shouldn't be enjoying this. He hated her for being a vampire. And yet here they were. She had to stop it and yet no part of her wanted to release him. Finally, she found the strength to pry her mouth from his wrist. Abby flung herself back, as far away from him as she could get and crashed into the wall. The old plaster crumbled as she crouched down and snarled.

  Nico had his stake back in his hand and even though he hadn't been the one to fling her like a rag doll across the room, he was visibly unnerved. Wiping the beaded sweat from his brow his voice was shaky. "That was intense, I... Um... I think we probably shouldn't do that again."

  "What happened?" She was still confused and disoriented.

  Nico let out a ragged breath. "One minute we were..." He paused. "Well, you know. And then you took a giant leap back like something scared you." She blushed deeply and couldn't meet his gaze. "And it's probably a good thing you did. Clearly I wasn't in my right mind a minute ago. So, new rules. I'll feed you, but not like that. Never again.”

  She cringed at his words suddenly feeling dirty. "But you offered."

  "I know." He pulled a cup out and held his wrist on the rim, letting it slowly fill up the container. To say fill up would be an overstatement, Nico only squeezed out enough blood to line the bottom of the glass, no more than few teaspoons. "This is the deal. I will feed you, but you can never bite anyone. Not even me. We don't know what kind of effect it might have on you. We’ve already seen what kind of effect it will have on a human. Let's just be safe. No matter what, little creature, you don't ever bite anyone. Do you understand?"

  She wiped the back of her hand over her mouth and nodded. She was nauseous and shaky. This time it wasn't hunger, it was shame. He was back to calling her names and watching her like she was a monster. She felt small and disgusting and yet she hungrily eyed the liquid in the cup and could feel her fangs aching for a drink. "I understand."