A Christmas Peril Read online

  After a cheer that made the floorboards tremble, a vampire rose and mounted the stairs. His monocle, bushy, gray mutton-chop sideburns, and waxed mustache made him as much of an antique as the Whitney’s stained glass windows. He took Hedda’s hand. “We have a special gift to offer. If you would follow me, please.”

  Hedda inclined her head and allowed the man to lead her to the ballroom. Like iron filings to a magnet, the rest of the grieve followed.

  I nearly yelped as someone put an arm around my waist. Isaiah. I gratefully leaned against him as he guided me into the stream of guests. “Let’s do this and be done,” he muttered.

  The ballroom barely contained all of the guests, but luckily Hedda and Mr. Muttonchops stood on a dais, giving everyone at least a partial view. Once again, Hedda looked my way. This time, her brow creased in a puzzled frown. Had she sent the invitations without expecting us to show?

  I wanted to ask Isaiah, but Mr. Muttonchops began to speak. He had a nice tenor voice which was only slightly dulled by his lack of soul. “Dear Hedda, we offer you a few humble gifts. We hope they please you.”

  I held my breath as four young women in evening gowns gracefully ascended the stage. All of them wore a red ribbon around their necks. They stood in a row behind Hedda and Mr. Muttonchops. The moment Mr. Muttonchops swept his hand at the women, realization struck. These women were the humble gifts! I sagged against Isaiah, counting on his strength to keep me upright.

  “We hope you might find another blood partner to sit by your side,” Mr. Muttonchops said.

  Isaiah’s back stiffened as did Hedda’s expression. Vampires were experts at holding poker faces, but the offer of a new partner had cracked her calm. Her former partner had been the love of her life, yet the grieve expected these ‘humble gifts’ to take the place of what Hedda had claimed to be genuine love.

  For a moment, I thought she’d decline, but she immediately regained control. With a slight smile, she nodded her approval and walked in front of each of the women. The four were lovely, in a haughty, super-model way. When Mr. Muttonchops asked them to introduce themselves, they said their names along with their occupations: violinist, dancer, painter, and novelist. Because artists have more shine than other humans, these four would be succulent morsels to a vampire who needed soul to survive.

  Hedda regarded the women for several minutes before taking the hand of the dancer: a tall woman with a graceful neck whose bare shoulders shimmered with gold powder. Jealousy hardened the smiles of the unchosen. There were no gracious losers here.

  “Thank you, Cornelius. I accept your gift,” Hedda said with a genuine smile. “You do me a great honor.”

  So much for true love. Hedda had sworn that Marcella, her previous partner, had been her one and only, but apparently in the vampire world, one and only meant easily replaceable. Well, good luck, sister, I thought to the new blood partner. Once your soul is gone, you’ll be kicked to the curb along with all the other used-up, soulless blood partners.

  Isaiah’s eyes were hard and flat. He wasn’t any happier about this than I was.

  Now that Hedda had been given her present, other vampires began bestowing gifts as well. I’d thought they would pair up – one blood partner to one vampire – but instead, the humans and vampires gathered into groups comprised of several vamps and their humans, acting like nuclear families at a large reunion. The brunette who had tried to touch me grouped together with another vampire and three human partners, but the largest collection was led by Cornelius, the vampire with the gray, mutton-chop sideburns.

  I nudged Isaiah, and he nodded thoughtfully. Neither of us had guessed that there were hierarchies within the grieve.

  As the presents were exchanged, the vampires looked on with indulgent smiles while their humans squealed in delight. The packages contained furs, keys to new cars, keys to new houses, and boxes in Tiffany blue. A young man shouted for joy when he opened a card. “My own, private box at Joe Lewis Arena!” he bragged, holding up the pass.

  I wasn’t fooled by the revelry. The humans acted happy, but it was a sham. Many of them had lost so much soul that their eyes were empty, and their smiles hollow. Having your soul drained meant losing your joie de vivre. Still, to these blood partners, having half a soul was fine as long as they had season tickets to the Pistons or a brand-new Cadillac.

  It wasn’t jealousy that drew a tight line across my forehead, but disgust. I might live in a rented house, scramble for grocery money, and drive a broken-down jalopy, but at least I was my own woman.

  Isaiah tightened his arm around my waist. Okay, almost my own woman. Having my sexy vampire hunter in my life was all I needed to make me happy.

  Four

  I waited impatiently as Hedda worked the room, hugging some members of her grieve and offering kisses to others. She even greeted the two vampires who had begrudgingly showed her obeisance. The pair smiled at her, but when she walked away, they stared daggers at her back.

  Isaiah and I were the last to be greeted. Hedda shook Isaiah’s hand, but hugged me and pressed her cold lips to my cheek. “Cassandra. Such a pleasant surprise,” she murmured.

  “As pleasant as the grieve giving you a new blood partner?” I didn’t bother keeping the bitterness out of my voice.

  “I must feed to live, Cassandra. It’s the reality of my life.”

  Before I could comment, she took my arm and drew me out of the crowded ballroom. Isaiah followed. Hedda led us through a doorway and into what must have once been a library. When the door was firmly shut, her brow puckered once again. “I hadn’t expected you this evening.” Her statement was polite, yet frank. She looked more worried than angry.

  “Someone did.” Isaiah pulled an invitation from the inner pocket of his tux.

  Frowning, Hedda read the invitation, her finger tracing the handwritten note at the bottom of the printed card. “I didn’t send this.”

  My mind flashed to the ugly words written in the bathroom. Isaiah and I weren’t expected at the party, and we certainly weren’t wanted. I knew that this night would end up complicated!

  “I’m not sure what’s going on, but for your own safety, I think you should leave,” Hedda said.

  “What about your safety?” Isaiah asked, tucking the invitation back into his pocket. “I noticed a few of your members look unhappy.”

  So I wasn’t the only one who had noticed that the Widderstrom grieve wasn’t as peaceful as Hedda made it out to be.

  Hedda’s lips thinned, and she tilted her chin. “That is none of your concern.” Her eyes flashed red before returning to their ordinary brown.

  Inwardly, I sighed. Of course she’d see it that way. Grieve business was meant for vampires only. I glanced at Isaiah. “Ready to leave?”

  He nodded and took my arm. “We didn’t mean to crash your party.”

  “No harm done,” Hedda said. “I wish you both a Happy Christmas.” Then, with a silent speed that only vampires could manage, she slipped from the room.

  I raised my eyebrows at Isaiah and grinned. He smiled back, the tension draining from his eyes.

  “Can we go to Taco Bell?” I asked as we left the restaurant and waited for the valet to bring the car around. Now that I was away from the drama, I was suddenly starving.

  He laughed. “Whatever you want.”

  After a few minutes without getting our car back, Isaiah tugged on his lower lip. “Something’s wrong.”

  My stomach dropped like a lead weight. I hadn’t come this far to have the night turn sour now! “Maybe he can’t find it. There are a ton of cars here.”

  A moment later, when the valet jogged up to meet us, my stomach dropped even further. His eyes refused to meet either Isaiah’s or mine, and he jangled the keys nervously. “I’m sorry, but there’s been a problem with your car.” He quickly added, “We’re fully insured, you understand. I’d be happy to call a tow truck for you.”

  Isaiah pushed the man aside without a word and strode into the parking lot. I scr
ambled after him, wobbling in my heels. The Jag was parked along the restaurant’s wall and partially lit by the light spilling from the windows. The car was lower to the ground than I remembered, and someone had scratched words into the paint. With a sick lurch, I read the same, vicious messages that had been scrawled on the bathroom mirrors.

  Isaiah knelt down for a look. “The tires have been slashed.” He angrily slapped his thighs when he stood. “Dammit! Why are people always messing with my ride?!”

  Luckily, Isaiah was too angry to notice what the words spelled. If he had, he would have marched back into the party and started cracking heads until he found the person or vampire who’d written them. Although those insults burned, all I wanted to do was leave. I’d had enough excitement for one night.

  Isaiah pinched his forehead between his thumb and forefinger. “I might as well call Perry to pick us up.”

  I grabbed Isaiah’s arm when I heard the clack of metal heels on pavement. It had to be the same woman from the bathroom! If she was angry enough to write words on the mirrors, no doubt she was up to wrecking Isaiah’s car. Those knifelike stilettos of hers probably caused all the damage. “I think that’s her. Our vandal.”

  “Get in the car and lock the doors. I’ll be right back.” Isaiah shoved his phone into his pocket and strode off after the woman. He wouldn’t hurt her, but he’d scare her into regretting that she’d ever tangled with us. Or his car. I would have felt sorry for her if I weren’t so angry.

  Suddenly, something plowed into me with the force of a freight train. I was thrown over a shoulder and whisked away so quickly that my surprised protest never reached Isaiah’s ears.

  I’d been abducted by vampires before, but it’s not something one gets used to. It’s like traveling blindly at warp speed. One moment, you’re on familiar turf, and the next, you’re on their turf. Before I could utter another cry, I was deposited in the kitchen of what appeared to be an abandoned house. Street light fell through the broken windows, giving me a view of the crumbling neighborhood surrounding us. I had no idea where we were, only that the warmth and laughter of the restaurant were very far away.

  Facing me was the brunette in the sheath dress; the one who’d tried to touch me. Her eyes blazed red with hunger, and the tips of her fangs protruded between her painted lips.

  She shoved me hard against the wall, pinning me like a wriggling butterfly to a corkboard. I opened my mouth for one more scream, but then she hooked me with her red eyes. My protest died unspoken. It was those scarlet irises. I couldn’t look away.

  She loosened her grip a tiny bit. “Just relax, Cassandra. Relax.” Surprisingly, her voice was soft and kind. My frenzied struggling slowed down as my body responded to her suggestion. “This won’t be unpleasant. Enjoy the ride.”

  Her hypnotic stare was like a dose of laudanum. The dark, abandoned house, the stink of mildew and urine, the dank, cold air…all of it grew distant. My head buzzed pleasantly. My body loosened, and my arms grew tingly. My hands dangled loosely at my sides as if they weren’t connected to the rest of me. I giggled. “Look, I’m a puppet!” I said, lifting my limp arms in unison. When my knees wobbled, the vampire tightened her arm around me so that I wouldn’t fall over.

  “This better be important, Edith! I don’t like being dragged away from my family like this.”

  I recognized the voice. It belonged to the vampire with the gray, bushy sideburns who had given Hedda her gift. “Hello,” I said. I kept my eyes on Edith’s, but offered the newcomer one of my floppy hands. “Cassandra Jaber. Nice to meet you.” My lips had grown Novocain numb, so the S sounds came out like ‘th’. I’d been in better control moments after having my wisdom teeth pulled.

  Scrabbling underneath my preternatural calm, a scream struggled to break free. Alarm nibbled the edges of my mind. I should be running away, not acting all civilized and polite. Still, the red, hypnotic eyes calmed me, making me more pleasantly giddy than the champagne had.

  “Look who I brought you, Cornelius” Edith said.

  The older vamp started, then took my hand in his cold one. “Cassandra Jaber.” Awe softened his voice. “The human who can regrow her soul.” He smelled good: of leather and cologne with just a hint of pipe tobacco.

  The brunette smiled. “She’s a very special gift. For you.”

  He dropped my hand. “I can’t do that.”

  “Hedda said no one can feed on her without her permission,” my captor said, “but I’m sure she wants you to.”

  “Of course I want you to!” I gave a lopsided grin.

  “You’ve glamoured her,” Cornelius said. “She doesn’t know what she wants.”

  Edith huffed, annoyed. “What do you care for Hedda’s rules anyway?”

  “I care deeply about her rules.”

  Edith intensified her stare, her red eyes burning twin holes into my brain. “She really wants you to do this.”

  My mind was now fuzzy at the center as well as the edges. “That’s right,” I agreed. I nodded, my head wobbling like an enormous sunflower on a very thin stalk. “I want you to.” Wait a sec, my inner voice cautioned. Think about this. Slowly, my addled brain made sense of my offer. “No. Stop! No, I don’t want you to.” Didn’t I? I couldn’t remember. “What are we talking about again?”

  Cornelius sighed. “Return her to the party where she belongs.”

  “You can’t turn this down!” Edith argued. “Think of how much strength you can glean from her!”

  “And why would I need strength at a Christmas party?” His question held a knifelike edge.

  “To claim your rightful place, of course.” She whispered, but every word rang clear. “You are the heir to the Widderstrom grieve. Not Hedda.”

  Cornelius didn’t move.

  “She stole what was meant to be yours on the night she murdered the grieve’s appointed leader.” Edith rubbed her tongue along her fangs. “But with this woman’s soul and blood, you’ll be stronger than Hedda. You can overpower her. Tonight is perfect because she won’t expect it.”

  Edith was so impassioned by her own vision that she turned to face Cornelius. With the break in eye contact came an instant release of her glamor. I snapped awake.

  Cold sweat broke out over my body as I realized what I’d nearly consented to. I had to get out of here, and fast! But where was here? The restaurant was nowhere in sight. Neither was Isaiah. And without my weapons, I was screwed. If only I had kept my stakes!

  The moment my hand touched the rhinestone pin on the waist of my dress, my mind clicked. I still had the holy water! I slipped my hand around the metal spritzer. I was crazy to think I could fight a pair of vampires with nothing but a mist of holy water, but maybe, just maybe, it would give me the edge I needed. At the very least, I wouldn’t go down without a fight.

  “Doesn’t she smell delicious?” Edith murmured. She lifted my wrist to her lips. I shuddered as her cold, wormlike tongue caressed my skin. “If we’re gentle with her, she won’t remember a thing.”

  “Let her alone!” Cornelius grabbed Edith’s shoulder and spun her around.

  “Why? Have you changed your mind?”

  “No! I don’t want you disobeying Hedda and shaming the grieve.”

  Edith hissed, furious. “Coward! If you aren’t man enough to take what was stolen from you, then I will!”

  She turned back towards me, and when her cold, slippery tongue tasted my wrist again, I jerked the water from its hiding place. “Stay away from me, or I’ll spray you!”

  Both vamps hissed and backed up. Perfect. I slowly retreated, holding out the small, metal canister as if it were a loaded gun. “I’m leaving now,” I said. “Don’t try to follow.”

  If only I knew where I was! I turned my head slightly to get my bearings, and that’s when Edith pounced.

  Instinctively, I pressed the button on the small canister, releasing a blast of pressurized holy water. Edith flashed a nasty grin as she dodged my only weapon. Unfortunately, Cornelius had lunged as
well; not to hurt me, but to drag Edith away from my neck. The mist of holy water got him right in the eyes. He screamed and clutched his face. Smoke billowed from beneath his hands.

  Edith seized my arm so hard the pain drove me to my knees. “Bitch! You’ll pay for this.” I squeezed my eyes shut, already saying a final prayer. Instead of biting me, however, she hauled me to my feet and sped back up the street. Within moments, she was dragging me through a back door of the restaurant, up a narrow flight up stairs, and into the crowded ballroom. I hadn’t even caught my breath by the time she’d pulled me onto the dais. Her grip was like a steel handcuff. Unbreakable.

  “I’ve caught an assassin!” Heads turned in our direction. “This woman attempted to murder Cornelius!” Edith’s eyes glittered red.

  The red was immediately reflected in the eyes of every vampire in the room. All at once, each of them was very, very angry at me.

  Five

  I knew I was in trouble when the human blood partners were ordered to leave the ballroom. When the doors were locked and guards posted, I started shaking. The scene had gone from Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men to Evil Intentions in under a minute.

  Hedda was by my side before I could blink. “What’s the meaning of this?” she demanded. Luckily, her wrath was turned against Edith and not me. Even so, my legs wobbled. I started to reply, but Hedda cut me off with a wave of her hand. “Explain,” she ordered my captor.

  The woman smiled slowly, exposing lethally sharp fangs. “This human blinded Cornelius with holy water.” She held up the spritzer. I hadn’t even realized she’d taken it from me.

  Hedda drew back. “I don’t believe it.”

  “It was an accident!” I protested. “Edith was about to drink from me, and when I tried to stop her with the holy water, I sprayed Cornelius instead.” I pressed my hands to my throat as the weight of the vampires’ eyes hit me. They all wanted a taste of me, and right now, there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop them.