Page 75 of Of Spindles and Nightfall
“Aye, miss. I got mixed up with the wrong people. I thought I’d make a fast profit… But that’s not an excuse. The person I killed didn’t deserve to die, and now I be paying for my misdeeds with my life.”
Could he be saying what Zarathos told him to say? But no, he had the mark on him. On his neck was the branded skull and cross bones of a killer. Those who were condemned murderers bore that symbol. It looked scorched and painful, much like the condition of most of her body.
He stared up at her with pleading eyes. “But my family, they’ll be left with nothing. Nothing but my dirty name and I’ve got small ones, miss. Three of them. I need to leave them with something.”
“What does your family have to do with this?”
“He didn’t tell you? The demon king offered to take care of them, give them a hefty sum of money if I allow you to feed off of me.”
Aryana blinked. “He did?”
“Yes, miss.”
Zarathos knew her rules. He knew this man was a murderer, that he met her requirements on its own, and yet he’d offered the man the deal. Why? Was the demon king able to have compassion for this person? This human who Zarathos saw as being beneath him?
“And you want me to feed off you? You want to give me your blood for your family?”
“I am a dead man, miss. This is the last thing I can offer my family. To make amends before I go.” He drew his collar back, exposing his throat. “Please, you’d be doing me a favor.”
Who was she to stand in the way of this man’s atonement? She pushed herself off the wall, the gauze on her body straining at the fire in her muscles with each movement. She pressed her teeth together and fought to hide how each step was agony as she came up next to him. Reaching out, she tipped his head to the side, taking in his scent, the desperation, the slight sense of fear, and still noting the determined clench of his jaw.
Her mouth flooded with saliva, a ravenous clenching in her stomach. Sheneededhis blood.
“Will it hurt?” he asked.
“Only slightly at first,” she forced out in a rough voice. “Then the venom will take control and you will feel nothing.”
“Then… I want you to take it all.”
She stilled. “Pardon?”
“End me,” he said. “Heaven knows it will hurt less than hanging from a rope, and no offense, but you appear as if you could use the blood.”
Aryana spent her time being an instrument of justice, because even though she loathed taking blood from humans, she had to do so in order to survive. How many times had she thought of letting herself waste away into nothing to spare the humans her wrath? But she could never do it. So she had gone after murderers and rapists, those on whom she was able to impose some amount of recompense. But even this man, this murderer, showed remorse, and was willingto die for his sins. While she… She swallowed a thickness in her throat. But in this instance, if she managed to exact both justice and mercy, she might surpass being simply a vampire.
“Lay on the bed.”
A sadness filled his eyes, but he displayed no regret. He nodded, and the mattress underneath him creaked as he spread his large frame over it.
“What is your name?” No matter how badly she hurt, no matter how badly she craved his blood, she wouldn’t let this happen quickly. Aryana would remember this experience.
“Bartholomew, miss, but my friends always called me Barty.”
“Barty. Is there anything else you’d wish to say or do before I start?”
“Yes, miss. I mentioned to you I already killed a man, but I also stole from my best friend two marks, when we was boys, and spent too many nights at the saloon when I should have been home with my wife and kids. I robbed a wagon of its goods. A farmer. He didn’t deserve it, and yet I did it.”
Aryana had expected him to say something, but definitely not a confession. “Why would you tell me this?”
He shrugged. “Feels like I should tell someone. Will you… will you forgive me?”
She remained still, her heart twisting. Her words came out in a hoarse whisper. “I’m not the one who can forgive, sir.”
He gripped her bandaged hand, causing her to flinch. “I should like it all the same.”
She forced a nod, her throat clogged with both thirst and emotion at once. “Then I forgive you. May you leave this life free of guilt.”
Relief brimmed in his eyes, and a tear leaked down his cheek. “Thank you.”
