Page 114 of Claimed By Blood

After how different New York became in my absence, I expected my childhood home to have been turned into a shrine to vampirism. A modern glass and steel monument in place of the sleepy little village from before. Hell, given how people are forced to worship Cain, I wouldn’t have been surprised to find it a city for pilgrims with a statue of him rising a hundred feet into the air in the centre.

But as we drive along the single track road that forms the entire settlement, past run-down houses and hungry gazes, I realise I couldn’t have been more wrong. If anything, it has shrunk, becoming more of a run-down hamlet than a village.

What houses and shops remain are fortified to within an inch of their lives. The few people still lingering around are busy rolling down thick metal shutters, glancing furtively at the dimming light of the setting sun in the sky beyond.

“I don’t understand,” I whisper, looking over at Immy. “This is the place he built his empire from. Surely…”

I don’t expect much of a reply. The awkwardness caused by her angry outburst on the plane hasn’t disappeared, despite hours on the road together. She apologised, but there was no taking back what she said. Neither of us knows what to do now that she’s exposed her true thoughts.

So I’m surprised when she shrugs, shrinking in on herself. “I haven’t been back here since…”

Her sudden shift from bitter, silent anger to shameful awkwardness makes no sense. “Since what?" I prod. “Since you were released?”

Immy’s hands fist around the ends of her coat sleeves. “Since Cain let me loose on the villagers after he released me. I slaughtered a lot of them.”

My frown deepens as I mull over her explanation. “Why?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. I woke up, and I was set loose. When I’d done enough damage, I was contained and unleashed on the next village. He said he was trying to find a use for me.”

But what purpose does destroying this place and keeping it so impoverished serve? Why would Cain try to erase this place when his narcissism normally drives him to aggrandise his personal history?

“It’s becauseyoubetrayed him here,” Immy growls, answering my unvoiced confusion. “I thought you were supposed to be able to figure out his every move. You were apparently born here, and you betrayed him here.Youare the one thing that makes him hate this place, and the reason why these people have been abandoned by everyone. They’re not on any map. No government will claim them, no centralised services will help them. They’re fair game for the lycans, ghouls, and vampires in the area to terrorise. In fact, every few years, Cain orders a purge, where the humans who live here are hunted and their homes looted. He gifts participation to the vampires who’ve pleased him and treats it like a tournament. There areleader boards.”

She scowls in disgust.

My lips purse together, and I stare out of the window silently as guilt overtakes me. “But the humans had nothing to do with any of that…”

Not that it would matter to Cain, who has always viewed mortals as little more than animals.

“There’s one hotel, and surprisingly enough, they don’t allow immortals,” Finn mutters, shattering the conversation. “I wonder why.” His sarcasm is sharp enough to cut, but thanks to the thrall bond, I can feel the shame and sadness beneath it all.

None of us like the picture Immy has painted.

“We can make camp in the ruins of the old manor,” Gideon grumbles, without looking back at me. “It’s far enough away that we shouldn’t cause the humans any distress.”

“They won’t even know we’re here.” Frost rubs the back of his neck.

“Until we come sniffing around and politely start asking them all if they’re witches in hiding,” Finn mutters and then turns to me. “Before I forget, I need a sample of your blood to test.”

“What? Why?”

He shrugs. “If we can isolate your DNA, we might be able to discover what markers indicate someone is a witch. It’s a long shot, because vampirism alters a person at a genetic level, but if you’ve become a hybrid, those markers will still be there. All humans nowadays are indexed and catalogued. With that knowledge, we might be able to locate any remaining witches who are in hiding.”

“And they might be able to kill Cain.” Alleviating the pressure on me to learn magic and do so. “You’re a genius, and I love you.”

I don’t mean for it to slip out, but his easy grin undoes me. “I know, and I love you too.” He says it so effortlessly, but it still makes butterflies dance in my belly. I’m so distracted by his confession that I almost miss his next words. “Now, blood, please.”

He passes me a science beaker, and I shake my head, wondering where he got such a thing.

I’m beginning to learn the resistance can get anything they need, despite Cain’s influence. My sire rules through fear, and that creates a perfect breeding ground for rebellion.

I score my wrist with my fangs and Draven tenses in his sleep as my blood rushes forth, dripping into the beaker. Immy stares at the dripping wound with a kind of quiet pensiveness that makes me feel uncomfortable. When did she last feed? Is she struggling to find blood now that we’ve left Egypt? I never even thought about it, and I grimace as I realise what a bad sister I’ve been.

When it’s about halfway full, I seal the wound with my tongue and pass the beaker to Finn, who carefully divides it into three smaller vials, before capping each one.

“Perfect. I’ll send one off to the labs for testing when we get back to civilisation, and we can keep the other two for emergencies.” He opens the door to the mini fridge which the resistance supplied with the van, revealing a dozen blood bags stashed safely within, and tucks my little vials on the top shelf.

I expect Immy to speak up and ask for a bag, given her blatant hunger, but she says nothing. I frown, but don’t bring it up. She’s an adult vampire, I remind myself. She knows how to ask for blood or find her own.

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