Blood Wars

Chapter 3

Taryn, Dorian, and Crux turn to me as I make my way towards them. My scent reaches them before I do. 

"That was an amazing speech, Kara." Taryn's wide, clear eyes brim with admiration. I give her a quick nod.

"Thank the universe for that." Charlotte walks up to our group. "If you arrived any later, I would've had to step in. My words aren't as biting." She crosses her arms. 

My mouth tugs into a frown. "Get used to it quick, Charlotte. I need you to step up." 

"Right." She nods, her false confidence wavers. 

My eyes scan the area as Dorian talks fighting techniques. The affects of my words still hang in the air, a veil of energy. My vampires have resumed. Drinking, smoking, snorting, dancing, grinding, living. No one lives more than the dead. 

"Should we make the rounds?" I pull my attention back to Charlotte. She rakes her ivory fingers through her choppy hair, as black as mine save for the chunky streaks of violet. 

"Let's do it." I take a step forward, but jerk back as Dorian's hand clasps my wrist. He swiftly pulls me back so his lips are aligned with my ear. 

"Do you have any more velvet speeches in your arsenal, or do you need me to bail you out?" 

I don't even have to look at him to see the bastard's devilish smirk. Before he can let out his signature throaty chuckle, I whip around facing him. I grab the material of his blue sleeveless tank top and twist it into my fist. "My dearest Dorian," I hum. "When I need someone to give a pep talk about being second best, I'll send you in." I give him a condescending peck on the cheek before following Charlotte on the floor. The harmonious sounds of cackles from my friends and the few vampires around them follows me.  I don't fight the wicked smile from spreading. 

Charlotte approaches a group of three vampires. I nod my greeting to Brynn and a vampire with mocha skin and long braids, whose name I do not know. Before I can ask his name, a strange scent floods my senses. I tilt my head as I study the vampire next to Brynn. Although the term 'vampire' I use loosely. He doesn't quite smell like a vamp. The scent of human lingers on his skin. "Brynn who is this?" I ask. 

"Oh. Kara, this is Connor, my boyfriend." She gulps and I arch my eyebrows. 

"A new boyfriend?" I inquire. "I don't remember him the last time I saw you."

"Yes. Our relationship is recent." She tries to evade my questioning, but my patience is thin tonight. 

"You turned him." I state.

"I-" She stutters over my bluntness. "Yes. I turned him. He's a vampire now."

"Right." I blink. "For how long?"

"Um."

"How long Brynn?" Letting my words snap, rather than her neck. 

"Eight days."

"He's practically a human." I circle him and watch his eyes dart in a dozen directions, tactfully avoiding my gaze. 

"But he's not." Brynn argues.

"We're months away from a revolution and you picked now to build yourself a new set of fangs?" Charlotte chimes in, picking up on my thoughts. 

"Has he even fed yet?" I run my fingers across the hollow of his throat and I feel him tremble. 

"Yes." Brynn replies.

"You've hunted?" I look at Connor, silently challenging him to break eye contact.

"He's fed on human blood." Brynn answers. 

"I was asking your pet." I hiss at her.

"You stalked human prey? Took them down? Sunk your unstained fangs into their veins and let their blood course through you?" He opens his mouth to speak but coughs instead. I hold his gaze. 

"No," he finally chokes out. "Brynn gave me the blood." 

I step around him so my chest is to his back and  I casually place my hands on his shoulders. Both he and Brynn stiffen. 

"Connor. Can you hear that?" 

"What?" His voice breaks.

"Focus. Not too far off from here... just a few miles down the road. A teenage girl is walking through the night alone. Her footsteps sound uneven. She's slightly tipsy. Perhaps she got separated from her friends. It'll be an easy kill." I coax. 

"But..." he stammers. 

"You want to be a vampire, prove it." I release him and step out to face him again. 

"You can do it, Connor." Brynn encourages. The newly turned looks between us. 

"She's just an innocent teenager though." 

"And? What, do you think you were gonna stalk the alleyways and prey on low lifes like some kind of immortal vampire superhero? Then you picked the wrong crowd. Make your choice. The girl or you." I can see the intent in his eyes. 

"I'll teach him to hunt." Brynn chimes in.

"He's practically human, Brynn. I can't believe you would pick now to try to turn a human." 

"Adding to our numbers can only help us." 

"Were you not listening? It's not about numbers, it's the quality of our army that will win our freedom. I've created an elite team of vampires." I let my gaze drip over the vampires in the room before whipping my eyes right back to hers. "Or so I thought." 

"But Taryn is okay," she mumbles so low that if I wasn't a vampire, her words would not be audible. I feel my eye twitch and send her a glare, debating even giving her a response. 

"You have no idea what you're talking about." 

I give Charlotte a sharp nod and she reads my intent. The violet and raven haired vampire glides to the other side of the freshly turned vampire. The music in the background never stops but it still feels as if the room falls silent as every pair of eyes focus on the scene. The walls fill with the sound of Brynn's screams as Taryn and Dorian restrain her, the sound of our razor teeth slicing into the ex-human's flesh and latching on to the veins- our gateway to the sweet blood. And loudest of all- the fear of our young victim. Fear does have a sound, and it is the most melodious sound my ears have experienced in almost two centuries. 

My hunting session from earlier in the night was more than enough to sustain me, but with my army of quasi-skeptical vampires, I'm not giving up the opportunity for a show. The body grows limp and Charlotte and I unlatch our fangs. His shell of flesh and bones drops to the floor. I step away, never giving his remains- or Brynn another glance as I leave the room, followed closely by my most trusted inner circle.