The Outcasts Page 8

  “Find anything useful?”

  My hand stilled on the top of the laptop and all I could think about was how glad I hadn’t typed in El Diablo.

  Chapter 13

  GABRIEL AMBLED AROUND THE desk to stand behind me, blocking my attempt to get away from his expensive cologne-wearing self. “You wouldn’t want to endanger your friends.” He paused briefly to reach past me and close his laptop. “Or your mother, would you?”

  I shoved myself as far away from him as I could get without crawling under his desk. “Are you threatening me?” It came out more as a squeak, definitely not as confident as I wanted it to sound.

  His smile withered. “You disappoint me, Larna. I don’t have to threaten you. If you’re a target, who else do you think might be one as well?”

  I didn’t think I had been as willing a participant in coming here as I first thought. Everything seemed so hazy. I’d attributed it to being clobbered over the head. All of the questions on my mind came tumbling out now. “How did I even get here? Where’s my dad? Who was that fanged hulk who attacked me?”

  He inched closer, “Have a seat.”

  It wasn’t a request. But he wasn’t going to give me any information unless I calmed down and started to listen, so when he backed up in order to let me pass, I did as instructed. He turned to a tray next to his desk, and I watched him pour dark liquid from a fancy looking decanter into two glasses. “This will help.” He handed me one of the glasses as I pulled up a chair and took it without complaint.

  He hadn’t killed me yet and he had plenty of opportunity to; I didn’t think he’d poison me after he’d already gone to the trouble of saving my life. After a minute of silence, I took a sip. I drank because there was something in his eyes that told me I would be forever changed by what he was about to share with me. I hadn’t eaten and it was early, but I needed something to steady my nerves as I thought about Gabriel’s inhuman strength and the imposter Librarian’s teeth. The liquid burned as it hit the back of my throat. Warmth spread down to my belly. I coughed and he gave me a placating smile as if he expected me to react this way.

  “Let me start at the beginning.” Gabriel took a long slow sip of his drink. “You understand who… what… that man was who attacked you?”

  I shook my head and squeezed the glass between my shaking hands, watching as my knuckles turned white. Something told me I didn’t want to know, and I wasn’t going to connect the dots for him. There was a word I refused to say even in my head because it was just too ridiculous.

  “There are plenty of stories—folk-lore, myth, and some of it is even true.” After a beat he added, “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance of knowledge; it is the illusion of knowledge.”

  I finished my drink in one gulp and gasped at the sudden harshness of it burning at the back of my throat. This stuff was not as smooth as my dad used to say it was. “Let me stop you right there.” I glanced around at his immaculate office and gestured to the oil painting hanging on the wall behind him. It depicted an angelic looking warrior seated on a horse, galloping toward a red horned demon with a dagger held aloft in his hands. “I don’t believe in the supernatural. There is no existence of extraterrestrials or ghosts or spirits, and if you try and convince me that vampires exist, too, I won’t believe you.” The word I had been trying to avoid saying had slipped out, but it was rather reassuring to deny something that had been staring me right in the face this entire time.

  I wasn’t sure where this confident side of me had been my entire life, but I think the liquid courage was helping.

  “I prefer ascended beings.” It slipped out of Gabriel’s mouth like honey dripping off a spoon.

  “Excuse me?” I croaked. This was not the confirmation I had expected. What I had expected for him to say was, ‘that man that tried to kill you was a deranged lunatic escaped from prison and I’m a millionaire vigilante seeking justice for those who can’t fight. Please be my comedic sidekick.’ Maybe that story I could buy into.

  He shrugged like this was an everyday sort of conversation he had with people. “I am one of those ascended beings. Or rather, what you know in today’s culture as a vampire.”

  I laughed. This was preposterous, but still I couldn’t help wondering how he had been so fast at the library. And then there was the matter of that man’s elongated incisors that sort of convinced me too. Damnit. My stomach did a flip and acid burned the back of my throat.

  “So you…drink blood?” I quipped. “Like as in, I want to suck your blood.” I did air quotes and barked out a nervous laugh. It sounded even worse saying it out loud in a joking manner.

  “That part of the myth is true,” he admitted.

  The room started to spin and it wasn’t just from the drink he’d given me. My newfound confidence slipped as doubt creeped in. “You have shown me no proof. Am I supposed to just take you at your word?” I bit down on my tongue thinking about how those were probably going to be my famous last words.

  Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose as if he were dealing with a recalcitrant child. “Why are you making this so difficult?” When his eyes flicked back up to meet mine, they churned, changing from their normal inky black to a fiery blue—until the darkest parts of his eyes were replaced with the unnerving sparking sapphire light.

  Yup, he was a vampire.

  Chapter 14

  I RUBBED THE COLD from my arms, trying to digest everything.

  “There’s a weapon—a dagger.” He flipped the Bible closed. “Your father has it in his possession and I would like it back. Jack has a very annoying knack of making my life harder than is necessary.”

  Even though they both knew each other, hearing Gabriel use my father’s first name with abhorrence, shocked me. “What does my dad have to do with any of this?”

  “We’ve come to the heart of the matter, now haven’t we?” he said. “Your dear old dad stole the dagger and I want it back.”

  I ran my glass back and forth between the palms of my hands in thought. I knew better than to take him at his word, but there was sincerity in his voice that seemed to ring true. If I’d learned anything about Gabriel, it was that he didn’t like to share the whole truth. That and his vagueness were wearing on my nerves. My dad would never steal from anyone unless he had a very good reason, so, after a few minutes, I asked, “Why would he do that?”

  “Your father desires power.” When his eyes met mine I couldn’t help but feel the hate and anger radiating off of him, but his sterility is what troubled me more. That coldness was a desire for revenge.

  What else had my father done to Gabriel to make him so mad? I shivered and shook my head in equal parts disgust and incredulity as comprehension started to dawn on me. He needed me but not for the reason I first thought. “I’m here because you want to make a trade for the dagger?”

  He sniffed in indignation. “Yes.”

  “Back at the library—it was all just a show, so I’d trust you?” I asked.

  His eyes shimmered and swirled blue but then faded back to his normal dark-as-night hue as he shook his head. “You can thank your father for the danger he put you in. He sold you out.”

  Dread welled up in me as I realized he was telling the truth—it was in that gloating smile of his. The way his lips curled like he’d revealed his dastardly plan to destroy the planet. He’d been waiting to get back at my dad for a long time and this was how he was going to do it, by confessing his plans to me like he was confessing to a priest. The feeling of being betrayed by someone who used to love you was way worse than that victorious smirk plastered across his face. He seemed to relish the fact that I’d been rendered speechless, as if by hurting me, he hurt my father, too. The joke was on him, though, my father probably didn’t even care that Gabriel’s plan sickened me. If Gabriel’s intention was to smash my world up into itty-bitty bits and pieces and toss it in the trash, he’d done a bang up job. That feeling of being crushed beneath the weight of something I’d always known, hit me. My f
ather really did hate me. I felt sick.

  The glass slipped from my fingers and fell to the floor. I managed to speak, despite my tight throat and the sudden threat of tears. “This dagger is priceless?”

  “It’s more than just priceless,” he admitted.

  “What do you mean it’s more than just priceless?” This was all too much. I rubbed at the cut on my head, which had started to throb.

  He tapped a finger on the desk in apparent agitation. “Let’s just say I need that dagger back, Ms. Collins.” When I didn’t respond, Gabriel continued, as if trying to prolong my torment. “Your father let it slip through the grapevine, to the real threats out there, that you possessed the dagger. Which put you right in the middle of—” he held his hands out. “Well, all of this.”

  A sudden thought struck me as I struggled to remember how I had gotten here in the first place. Maybe he had other powers I hadn’t even contemplated. “You can manipulate people—like telepathically or something. Can’t vampires do that?”

  At the word ‘vampire’ he shot me an annoyed glance and stood. He was behind me before I could blink, sending me a message which was received loud and clear. “You are a lot smarter than Jack let on—”

  “You made me come here, didn’t you?” I felt the twist of trepidation in my chest, but I couldn’t stop now. “I told you no, that I wouldn’t go with you, back at my hotel room. Something tells me you don’t get told to shove it a lot.” It was my turn to grin in triumph. “I forced your hand…”

  I wanted to turn and look him in the eyes, to gauge his response, but I was way too chicken for that. Plus, he was standing so close that the hairs on the back of my neck were beginning to rise. I wanted to scoot forward or shrink into a little ball on the floor, but that would require me to have a lot more room—so instead, I stayed extremely still; even keeping my breathing as shallow as possible. I was fairly certain he wouldn’t hurt me because he needed me, but I wasn’t going to bet on it. And I certainly wasn’t going to point out the fact that if my dad truly did hate me, he wasn’t going to trade me for this priceless weapon. Why sell me out? Why would my father tell the other nasties out there about me possessing this thing? Was it because he wanted power? That was just as unbelievable as anything else Gabriel had told me.

  Gabriel spoke, bringing me out of my reverie. “Yes, you did. You weren’t falling for my…” he dramatically twirled his hand in the air. “Coming to the rescue routine. I think I laid it on too thick.”

  I shook my head in revulsion. “You had that guy attack me?”

  “I didn’t have to. I knew it was only a matter of time before you’d be attacked. I only had to sit back and wait.”

  I felt him lean closer and I sucked in a terrified breath. When he didn’t make a move to kill me, I blew it out, “You have this power to make me do anything you want and you asked me to go with you? Why not just pick me up from the airport and whammy me and then trade me for the dagger?”

  “Because this is a lot more fun.” I could feel his cruel smile on the back of my neck. He decided what happened. He was in control. The thought of being manipulated into doing something and never knowing you’d done it sent a sliver of icy fear coursing through me. He could make me dance a jig, join a band (that one wasn’t that bad), assassinate the prime minister. Whatever he wanted, and I’d probably smile as I did it.

  What would I do with power like that?

  My eyes darted around the room. I wouldn’t make it two steps. I’d seen how fast he moved. Was he planning on killing me? What was his end game?

  “You think you can outrun me?” he mocked.

  I was used to being teased, made fun of, looked down upon and unappreciated; those things were all in my wheelhouse. For most of my life, people had called me fat. Those people I could handle. But monsters and shifty-eyed creatures were something else entirely. I felt anger beginning to boil just underneath the surface.

  “Don’t like it when people make fun of you, do you?” he taunted.

  It was as if he read my mind, but there was nothing mystical about it. Anyone who knew a thing or two about body language could tell by the way I balled my fists by my sides that I was upset.

  “How would you like to make it stop?” he purred. “You’re smart, intuitive—beautiful…”

  My heart beat faster and blood rushed to my head. I wanted to tell him he was full of crap; that he could shove it where the sun didn’t shine, but I hadn’t expected a compliment out of him, either. I clamped my mouth shut and bit down on my tongue. What was he getting at?

  “Have you dreamt of being powerful? Getting approval from your peers? Maybe standing out in a crowd? Men would fight over you—fight for you. You want to be strong? You can have all of that, and so much more. Believe me, I know. You don’t have to do anything, except say yes. It’s that simple.” He leaned in so close I could feel his breath in my ear. “Imagine a world where no one made fun of you, where instead, they bowed down to you. People would do anything for you. They would want to be you. You can get revenge on those who have bullied you, such as Madison Bristow…”

  I snapped my head up and sucked in a deep breath. How did he know about Madison? After what seemed like an incredibly long stretch of silence, I asked, “Are you offering to turn me into…” I couldn’t even finish the sentence. This sudden change of topics had completely thrown me for a loop.

  “Would that be so bad?” Gabriel cooed.

  I’m not gonna lie; there was a second where I actually considered how it wouldn’t be so bad. Revenge—now that was something that made me pause. Who wouldn’t want a confidence boost? Especially someone with my body type—chunky—and that was the nice way to describe me. I imagined myself going back home: thin, strong, and powerful. Corinth would trip out. I would deserve to be with him if I were leaner. We’d be more of a match if we were the same body type. I wouldn’t be the ‘poor girl’ he’d settled for. Suddenly, I realized this hand been my hang-up with dating him all along. What would Amber say if they saw me skinny? My mom would freak. She’d be so proud, and that wasn’t something I felt a lot.

  And what had my father ever done for me, anyway? My eyes moved to the now closed Bible on Gabriel’s desk. I shivered as guilt struck me.

  “Let me get this straight.” I licked my lips. “You want to turn me into a vampire? To join your ranks or something?” I couldn’t help but furrow my brows in confusion. “Why?”

  “I think you have potential.” Gabriel left me to my thoughts, having moved to the other side of his desk to re-fill his drink.

  My answer should have be an unequivocal ‘no’ right from the start. I should have been able to tell him to shove his offer where the sun don’t shine. But there was a small part of me that wanted to know why Gabriel thought I had potential. I quickly tried to shut down that line of thinking. Nothing good could come from low self-esteem, that much I knew. Even if my father really had chosen to sell me out for his own personal gain, I would never choose to be anything like him. Desiring power wasn’t going to run in my family. Would my father even care if I joined Gabriel? This was what really bothered me. He didn’t care. My father had put me in this situation. Well, maybe this was how I pulled myself out of it, by saying yes.

  “What about my family and friends? Will they be safe?” I finally asked.

  Gabriel’s hand stilled on the bottle he’d already started to tilt mid-pour. Turning to me, he lifted an eyebrow as a small smile played on his lips. “As long as you consider my offer, your friends and family will have the same protection as you… something your father could never make good on.”

  “I just want to go home,” I whispered.

  Gabriel sighed as if he were frustrated by my non-answer. “Your father has abandoned you. Was he there when you graduated? Did he greet you when you got off the plane? He knew you were here this whole time. He let you fall right into my hands, and you’re okay with this?”

  “If I say no, are you just going to let me go? Leave my f
amily and friends alone? Do I even get a real choice in the matter? I mean, couldn’t you use your powers of persuasion anyway, without me even knowing?”

  He shrugged, and that shrug told me he everything. It said, probably.

  Chapter 15

  VAMPIRES—ASCENDED BEINGS—OR whatever you wanted to call them, existed, and I was surrounded, held hostage against my will to await my fate… except maybe it was time I took fate into my own hands.

  I wandered the halls aimlessly, trying to explore as much of my lavish prison as I could in order to find an escape. So far, I had been left to my own devices. That didn’t mean I wasn’t on guard and on edge the entire time. Even though I was pretty sure I was alone, I still felt eyes on me, which meant I was probably being watched without even knowing it. Who knew what other types of weird abilities these guys had? Maybe invisibility was on that list, although, if Gabriel did possess invisibility, he should have led with this first because I probably wouldn’t have turned him down.

  What I did know for sure, was that vampires relieved people of their own blood, and I wasn’t in a particular hurry to lose any of mine.

  Being blatant about trying the window latches wasn’t a good idea, so I tried to memorize how many windows were in each room. The problem with that was I’d only been in one room, and it was the downstairs foyer. At least finding a weapon wouldn’t be a problem. Everywhere I looked, there were polished suits of armor, swords, rifles all types of ancient looking weapons. Most of them were preserved safely behind glass or mounted on walls, but some of the muskets and a few rare looking knives were out in the open—on display for anyone with sticky fingers to grab and saunter off with. No wonder my dad had been able to steal this one-of-a kind-dagger from Gabriel. It made me wonder why he wasn’t worried about any of his guests using the weapons against him. Something told me he’d been collecting for a very long time. Maybe it was a message sent to his captives: freedom is yours for the taking… if you think you have what it takes to gut someone. Which I was positive I didn’t. Or maybe he wanted to flaunt the fact that he was so confident of his house guests not turning on him that he kept them out in the open.