Page 17 of Cursed Gift

My gut wrenched again, and I breathed through the sickening feeling.

From the outside, everything was beautiful. I could imagine Li walking up to this building only a week ago and having no idea what he would find on the inside. All his family, dead. It was amazing his body didn’t just shut down when he saw that.

Mom always said vampires had the strongest will to live of any species. We were like rabid sharks when it came to survival. We didn’t want anything taking us down. I felt that, in some ways, but I was also still part human.

In either case, the whole idea of this happening was unimaginable.

Alexei rubbed my shoulder. “Be strong.”

I placed my hand on his leg, and he reached down to link our hands.

The hired car pulled to a stop in front of the massive building in the epicenter of the commune and we got out. We assembled ourselves at the front while my parents went over last-minute directions. They told the cars to wait for us while we went inside after slipping them enough money so the drivers were sure not to complain if we took too long.

On my left, I saw Rafe and Calen sticking close to one another. Theo and Felix were beyond that. I tugged on Alexei’s hand and positioned ourselves behind Theo and Felix. Theo was giving Dumont a wide berth, and I wanted to reassure them both. It wasn’t fair to Felix in a way. It wasn’t as if he was the one who’d tried to take us out all those years before. Should we all be punished for the wrongdoings of our ancestors? That didn’t seem like a solution.

Repositioning us worked though.

Both Theo and Felix seemed to relax with the extra precautions. Papa Nic and Li went in first while my mother and Connor were the last. As soon as Li opened the main door, a sickening odor wafted out. It was indescribable. Putrid. Disgusting. It made me gag, but out of respect for Li, we all kept our mouths shut. It was his family in there decaying to nothing. The least we could do was not mention the smell.

Li gave us a quick rundown of the layout of the main room when we walked in. His hushed whispers cut through the eerie silence like a blade through air. Nicolai motioned for the rest of us to search the room to make sure we were alone. Alexei and I kept close to Felix and Theo but went out separately to check a few anterior rooms and then worked our way back inside to the center of the ceremonial room.

There. That’s where they all were.

The room buzzed with flies. It made me sick to think our bodies would look like that after our death, just orifices without spirit or feeling. Alexei grabbed my hand again. Li was already there in the middle, squatting next to a male body. I recognized him as his brother.

How sick with sadness Li must feel right now.

Next to him, at the front, was another male body.

Su.

My teeth clenched as I saw the dried blood spilled out amongst them. The gashes in their skin like claw marks.

Mother moved forward first, putting her hand on Li’s shoulder. “We’ll find out who did this. I promise.”

I loved my mother in that moment. To give someone such hope in a time of despair filled me with courage. I walked forward and crouched down next to Li. I placed my hand on Su’s forehead. He was cold, grotesque almost. But still, he deserved to be mourned as someone who loved him would’ve mourned him. Most of his whole clan was gone, but that didn’t mean he shouldn’t be properly said goodbye to.

I sucked in a breath and looked up to the ceiling, saying my prayer for his spirit. That it was in a much better place now.

Though we crouched, or sat, or stood still for some moments, eventually, Papa Nic got antsy. He cleared his throat, breaking all of us out of our reverie. “We need to look for evidence, then we’ll help Li lay the bodies to rest.”

Around us, the mates got to their feet first. Since we’d declared the building empty of threat, we all spread out individually.

I looked around the room wondering where to start. Entrances? Exits? Windows? Doors? In the immediate area, I didn’t see anything that needed more attention. No distinguishable tracks like we found near the perimeter of The Fort. I closed my eyes and tried to think. Went back to the vision in my head. Was there something about what I saw before that would lead me somewhere in this room?

A white column kept flashing in my head. They were beautiful. Almost ancient Greek-like. When my eyes opened, I knew what I would see. There were columns all around this room, just like my vision. When my eyes fluttered open, I saw Felix already standing next to one, his eyes turned toward the ceiling. I followed his gaze up and saw skylights high in the roof.

I stepped forward, carefully avoiding any limbs or torsos draped about. When I got closer, Felix heard me coming. His gaze turned away, and he moved from the spot.

“Wait,” I called out.

He did so. One foot in front of the other as if he couldn’t wait to leave the area.

“Did you find something?”

He shrugged, not turning even though I was talking directly to him.

“Felix…”

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