A Christmas Peril Read online

  “You gave him permission to drink!” Edith said.

  “Only because you glamoured me into it!”

  My heart beat wildly. As if hearing it, the vampires murmured and pressed closer. Bloodlust honed their red-eyed stares until I felt like the focal point of a hundred laser pointers. Any more attention, and I’d burst into flames.

  Where the hell was Isaiah? Surely, he would have realized by now that I wasn’t locked safely in the car. I frantically looked towards the door, willing my vampire hunter to crash through them. Then again, with this much vamp power in the room, there was no way Isaiah could take them all out. Even Hedda would have her hands full.

  A vampire in a long tailcoat and a pink rose boutonniere shoved his way to the front of the crowd. He waved a sheaf of papers at Hedda. “This female human is not on the guest list, nor is her companion!”

  The agitated vampires crowded even closer. I swallowed, realizing how terrible this must have looked. Although Isaiah and I had followed Hedda’s orders to kill the monstrous rogue vampires threatening the Widderstrom grieve, the crowd before me didn’t look interested in details. To them, I was a known vampire killer who had crashed their party and was attacking the guests.

  “We were invited,” I said. I struggled to stay calm, but even my discipline as an actress couldn’t keep the tremor out of my voice. “I can prove it.” Then I realized that I couldn’t. The invitation was with Isaiah who was probably still chasing the woman who’d defaced his Jag.

  “I can explain,” I said, desperate to ease Hedda’s doubts. One word from her, and I’d be the buffet table. “Isaiah will back me up, but right now he’s chasing down one of your humans who vandalized his car.” The vamps stood perfectly still. I couldn’t tell if this was a good sign or not. “She’s the one in the metal stiletto heels, and she’s been harassing me since I got here.”

  To my relief, more than one vampire nodded in recognition. Maybe I could get out alive after all. If Isaiah would just show up with the vandal and the invitation, I’d be fine.

  I nearly sobbed in relief when the vampire guards opened the door. But when I saw the newcomer, I sobbed for an entirely different reason. It wasn’t Isaiah; it was Cornelius, the vampire who’d gotten the wrong end of my holy water spray.

  He was led in by two other vamps because his eyes were nothing but blackened pits leaking red tears. My jaw dropped. I’d blinded him! I knew holy water was a powerful weapon, but vampires regenerated quite well. I’d never suspected that a light mist could cause such injury. What if the damage was permanent?

  The crowd parted as he stumbled his way to the front. Hedda looked on in horror. “Cornelius!”

  “I told you!” Edith crowed. She raised her voice even louder. “Now the question is, Hedda, what are you going to do about this human?”

  My spirits sank even lower. Hedda was in a terrible position: coming to my defense would make her look weak in the eyes of her grieve. But punishing me would break her own rule: that no one was to hurt me.

  I held my breath as Hedda’s eyes traveled from Cornelius’s empty eye sockets, to me, and finally to the members of her grieve. My body shook with the need to run away, and an unbidden tear traced a line down my cheek.

  “Cornelius, is all of this true?” Hedda nearly whispered her question.

  Tell her, I silently begged the blind vampire. Please make her understand!

  Cornelius, however, gave a resigned nod. “Yes, it’s true.”

  A sudden pounding made everyone turn towards the barred doors. Vampires were never afraid, but the outraged voice from the hallway did make a few of them fall back a step. “I said, LET ME IN NOW!!”

  One more pound and Isaiah burst into the room. He, too, was generally not afraid, but the shock of all the red-eyed stares made his own eyes widen until the whites stood out. “What’s going on here?” When he spotted me on the dais, he plowed his way to the front of the crowd, throwing his shoulder against anyone who got in his way. In a moment, his large hands were holding my small ones.

  “They say she attacked Cornelius,” Hedda said, nodding towards the injured vampire. Her second in command must have been hurting because when someone brought him a chair, he immediately sank onto it. If rule number one for vampires was to never show emotion, then number two was to never show weakness. Especially not in front of humans. The blistered, black craters of his eyes turned in my direction. I tightened my hold on Isaiah’s hand.

  “She’d never do something like that!” Isaiah growled.

  Tears stung my eyes. He had so much faith in me, but I’d lied about being weaponless. “I did hurt him – ” at this, Isaiah’s eyes grew even wider “ – but accidentally!” I jabbed my finger at Edith. “She was going to feed from me!”

  Edith smiled silkily and smoothed her hair. “After Cassandra saw the gifts that the other humans were receiving tonight, she offered herself to me.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Anyone can tell by looking at her that she is desperately poor. Where did you get that dress, my dear? Salvation Army or Goodwill?” Several vampires tittered.

  My face burned. The bitch! “I never – ”

  She cut me off. “You did. Don’t deny it now. And when I turned you down, you attempted to attack me. Only instead of harming me, you blinded Cornelius.” The grieve growled in response.

  A glance at Isaiah told me that he wasn’t buying a word of it, but Hedda frowned thoughtfully and put a finger to her pursed lips.

  “Hedda invited known vampire killers to this party, and this is the result!” Edith cried. Several in the audience murmured in agreement, and I realized it wasn’t just Isaiah and me who were under suspicion.

  “Don’t you see? She’s plotting a revolt!” I cried. “She wanted to use me as a bribe to persuade Cornelius to take over the grieve.” Several hisses cut through the air. “He refused, and that’s when she went for me.”

  “Liar! I’ve served Hedda as well as any of her host.”

  It was my word against hers, but if I knew vampires, none of them would listen to me. Both Hedda and Cornelius remained maddeningly silent.

  “You’ve got to believe me,” I begged.

  Isaiah face remained calm, but his hands were shaking. “Let’s get out of here,” he muttered. The moment we tried to step off the dais, however, vampires blocked our way.

  “Justice must be done!” Edith shrieked. “Hedda, Cornelius’s mutilation cannot go unpunished.”

  To my horror, Hedda nodded. Her eyes weren’t red, but they were as flat as the backside of a mirror. “Cassie, I had considered you a friend of the grieve.”

  “So did I,” I shot back, “but if this is how you treat your friends, forget it!” I’d been right before. Vampires never thought of humans as anything other than milch cows. There could be no friendship between us. I shifted my glare to Isaiah. He’d been foolish to ever trust them.

  Hedda didn’t blink. “I won’t allow this injustice to stand. Something must be done to put it right. What do you recommend, Cassandra?”

  I swallowed. Did she really expect me to choose my own fate? I wiped my sweating forehead, wishing I’d never agreed to go to the damn party. I should have listened to Andrew! My knees had begun to tremble so hard that I was in danger of toppling. I offered Hedda a final, silent plea to save me. To my surprise, her flat stare changed. In the space of a second, her eyes softened and she gave the slightest of nods. She knew of a way out! If I was clever, I could save us both.

  Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling clever.

  To stall for time, I once again stated my case, doing my best to ignore the vampires who crept closer and closer. Isaiah, watched the crowd, too. His muscles were tensed, ready to spring. The only person impervious to the drama was Cornelius. I regretted that he’d gotten my holy water in his eyes. He’d been trying to defend me! In fact, he’d been trying to defend Hedda as well. He was a good vampire. Well, as good as they got. His fate was too cruel. I wished there was something I could do to help him.
r />   The answer struck like a lightning bolt. I could do something! It wouldn’t be easy, but it would save us.

  I stood taller. “I will give my shine to Cornelius in order to help him heal.”

  “Cassie, no!” Isaiah protested.

  “It’s the only way.” When Hedda’s lips twitched upwards, I knew I’d guessed her idea.

  Isaiah, however, wasn’t in on the plan. Still holding onto me, he jumped from the dais, determined to help me escape. When a young, burly vampire blocked his way, Isaiah landed a punch in the vamp’s face. Blood gushed, dousing my dress. Several other vampires leaped onto my hero’s back, and Isaiah shook them off with a roar. He caught another with a blow to the jaw, and a third in the nose. There was a grisly crunch followed by a spray of blood across my face. I kicked off my shoes, ready to lend a hand, but it was pointless. Isaiah’s efforts were heroic, but there were simply too many vamps. Within moments, he was pinned, and I was back on the dais.

  “Bring Cornelius forward,” Hedda demanded.

  My stomach churned even as I tried to psych myself up. I’d lost my soul to vampires before, and had managed to get it back. I could do so again. Plus, I did owe Cornelius for what had happened to him. A pair of eyes for a soul. It was only fair. Still, I trembled as Cornelius was led, stumbling, onto the dais.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whispered to him. “I never meant to hurt you.”

  He didn’t reply. Closing my eyes, I swallowed and tilted my head back, ready for the feeling of fangs at my neck. His hand caressed my skin, and I shuddered. Make it quick, I begged him mentally. And please, don’t let it hurt.

  One heartbeat passed. Then another. And a third.

  I opened one eye, and when the crowd gasped, both eyes popped open. Cornelius was mending himself. A milky-white caul grew over the blackened crust of his skin. Then, in the space of seconds, the caul withered and fell off, revealing a pair of perfect, brown eyes. There were no scars. No marks at all.

  Cornelius’s eyes crinkled at the edges as he smiled at me. Then he faced the crowd. “Did you really think I was so weak?”

  “Unhand him,” Hedda commanded the vampires restraining Isaiah. Reluctantly, they did. Isaiah sprang onto the stage and gathered me in his arms. “You okay?”

  I nodded and buried my head against his chest. I’d come so close to losing everything I’d worked so hard to reclaim. When a backwards anxiety attack made me shudder, Isaiah held me tighter.

  “I invited the vampire slayers,” Cornelius said. “I knew there was a malcontent in the grieve, spreading rumors and stirring up trouble for our leader.” His eyes zeroed in on Edith. “Now, I know who it is.”

  The vampires who had been restraining Isaiah darted over to Edith and grabbed her. She shrieked and fought, but they held her tightly.

  “You can see for yourselves that Cassandra Jaber is a friend to the grieve. Only a friend would have offered her most precious possession to save me.” Cornelius smiled at me again. “Well done, Cassie.”

  My heart had slowed back into the normal range, but my mouth was still too dry to speak. I nodded dumbly.

  “Now, if there is anyone here who doubts Hedda’s decision to befriend the vampire hunters, make yourself known.”

  Immediately, every knee bent in submission to Hedda. Even those who had been reluctant before dropped to the ground.

  “Never!” Edith said, lifting her head. Cornelius raised his arm, and the vamp nearest Edith went for her throat like a guard dog. I pressed my face into Isaiah’s chest, hiding from the savagery. When I dared to look again, Edith’s body slumped on the ground, and the vampire who’d attacked her was wiping blood from his lips with a spotless handkerchief.

  “I am head of this grieve,” Hedda said. Despite all the drama, she remained calm and stately. “My decisions are law.”

  “My liege,” the vampires replied in unison, bowing their heads. When Hedda raised her hand, the vampires stood. “Let the party recommence,” she said.

  Immediately, Edith’s body was dragged off, and the blood partners were readmitted into the ballroom. By the time I reached the door, the band had started to play and people were dancing.

  Once again, Hedda prevented Isaiah and me from escaping the party by ushering us back into the small library. Cornelius joined us.

  Hedda’s eyes blazed as she turned on her second in command. “If I’d known what you were up to, I never would have allowed it.”

  “Which is why I never let you know,” he returned coolly.

  “Cassie and Isaiah could have been terribly hurt.”

  Or killed, I added mentally.

  “They would have been hurt if I hadn’t interfered,” Cornelius said. “I knew there was an insurgency within the grieve, and I had to ferret it out.”

  “I know my grieve,” Hedda snapped. “Most are loyal to me.”

  “Exactly, my dear. Most of them are. Don’t let your pride blind you to what’s really going on.”

  Hedda opened her mouth to reply, but shut it again. Suddenly, she was all smiles. Not because she was happy, but because she didn’t want Isaiah and me knowing any more about the troubles within her grieve. “I owe both of you a huge debt. Cassandra, once again, I underestimated you. The courage you showed in offering Cornelius your soul marks you as a truly intrepid person and a valued friend.”

  And I’d underestimated the vampires as well. Maybe not all of them were loathsome or untrustworthy.

  “You are welcome to stay,” Hedda said.

  Personally, I’d had enough. Plus, with the blood drenching my hair and dress, I looked like post-prom Carrie. Isaiah hadn’t fared much better. I hoped his tuxedo was a rental because he’d never get the blood out of it.

  Hedda took my hands in hers and kissed each of my cheeks. “Friends of the grieve, I thank you. What can I give you in return?”

  “How about a new car to replace Isaiah’s ruined Jag?” I meant it as a joke, but Hedda immediately handed over a set of keys. “It’s a gray BMW. Consider it a rental until we have your car fixed.”

  “And the blood partner who ruined my ride?” Isaiah asked.

  Hedda’s smile faded. “I’ll deal with her.”

  “What will you do?” I asked anxiously. I wanted the vandal punished, not murdered. But Hedda refused to reply. I should have known. After all, grieve business was grieve business.

  Isaiah nodded then said the words I’d been dying to hear all night. “Let’s go home.”

  Six

  Isaiah remained silent while we waited for the valet to bring the new car around. Finally, he said. “Where did that holy water come from?”

  My shoulders sagged. I’d been terrorized, nearly fed on, and used as bait. But now I had to admit to lying. Somehow, that seemed worse. “I kind of hid it in my dress.” Then, before he could argue, I added, “It’s a good thing I did! I could have been drained.”

  “Or you could have been attacked by an entire grieve for what you did,” he countered, equally angry. “I told you not to take any weapons!”

  The valet pulled up with our new car. Isaiah and I glared at one another over the top of the vehicle, each of us furious. The staring contest was short lived, however, because he finally looked away.

  “Will you promise to do what I tell you to next time?” he asked when we were both inside.

  “No. Will you promise to stop thinking that vampires are harmless?”

  “No. Most of them are just fine.”

  I harrumphed and crossed my arms over my chest. Still, it was hard to stay angry at someone who had willingly battled a roomful of monsters to keep me safe. “Thanks for the rescue by the way,” I muttered.

  “Any time.” His voice had softened to the warm-caramel sound I loved. He put his arm around me and drove one-handed. “You are a brave woman, Cassandra Jaber. Stubborn and frustrating, but very brave.”

  “And you are a gallant man, Isaiah Griffin. Delusional and pushy, but gallant.”

  I would have leaned my head a
gainst his shoulder if not for the fact that he was covered in vampire blood.

  The clock on the dashboard said it was forty-five minutes until midnight. I decided to give Andrew a call to tell him that I was all right, but I wouldn’t be coming home. After what I’d been through, I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the night with my handsome vampire slayer.

  THE END

  Want to read more about Cassandra and Isaiah? Here are the first two chapters of Stage Fright, the first book in the Bit Parts series.

  Prologue

  My entrance onto the stage of the Cipher Theater was dramatic, but not in a good way. Although I had left for the audition looking like a million bucks, a sudden downpour between my car and the theater had turned me into a tarnished penny. My carefully coiffed hair was plastered to my skull, and mascara ran down my cheeks. Worst of all, I’d left my right heel wedged in a sidewalk steam grate, so I clomped onstage in two different height shoes.

  Praying no one noticed that the water dripping from my dress was forming a puddle on the stage, I squinted against the brilliant spotlight. Seeing into the pitch-black theater, however, was impossible. “Sorry I’m late,” I called out.

  My apology was met with dead silence.

  “Hello?”

  Still nothing.

  My shoulders slumped. The casting director had probably given up on me and gone to lunch. In my mind, the booming voice of Charles Corning, my mentor and favorite theater arts professor, chided me. “An actor should never be late for an audition.”

  I know that, Charles, I thought irritably. I would have been on time if not for the four-car pile-up on the expressway.

  I tried again. “Hello? I’m Cassandra Jaber? I have an audition?”

  A man’s voice said, “You may begin.”

  I sighed, relieved. “I’ll be reading for Blanche.” I’d coveted the role of Blanche Du Bois, the downtrodden heroine from A Streetcar Named Desire, ever since I’d read the play in college. Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure I had a shot. It wasn’t my age – although, I was twenty-four rather than Blanche’s thirty-something – it was the color of my skin. Not many people would entertain the idea of a Middle Eastern actress playing a southern belle. Hopefully, this director was an exception.