Page 18 of Bite of Sin

Norman was number one on my hit list, but he would be difficult to get to. He left the city regularly, but never without a convoy. Getting to him would take a lot of careful planning. But I’d kill him. I didn’t care how important he was to the city or the government. I didn’t give a fuck if I died doing it. As long as I buried him first.

Norman was the long game. Until I could plan that, I could sate my need for revenge with the creatures that had started this whole mess. Thevampireswere the reason we lived like this. Before they’d tried taking over, the world had been different. Not that I’d ever witnessed it. But the older people would tell stories, and I’d listen for hours.

I wasn’t sure how many vampires were in this area, but since I had nothing else to do, I was going to find out. I’d killed more than a few in the three years I’d been exploring outside the city. A couple times by myself, but usually I had Warner or Helena with me. I had enough supplies to be okay on my own if it was only one vampire. They usually hunted alone anyway.

With renewed energy, I finally sat up and grabbed my bag. After unzipping it, I slowly took out each thing, one at a time. Warner had thought of everything. I had a couple of wooden stakes. A small handgun with an entire extra case of wooden bullets. There was a bag of dried-up hawthorn flowers, along with some berries. A knife small enough to keep in my boot.

After taking the hair tie off my wrist, I pulled my hair up, realizing how greasy it was from not washing it for three days. I’d have to go to the river soon. I stared at the weapons, recalling my training.

There were three ways to kill a vampire.

Wooden stake through the heart.

Cut off their head.

Tear out their heart.

I’d only ever used the stake for my kills. Even if I was larger than my five-foot-six frame, it was still the best way to go since vampires were stronger than humans. We had to get the element of surprise. The hawthorn plant helped with that. They were toxic to vampires. Not deadly, though.

Hawthorn plants also helped against the mind control vampires could use on humans to do their bidding. We called it entrancement, although there were a few other words to describe it. Whenever a vampire would look a human in the eyes, it only took seconds for a human to fall under the vampire’s control.

Hawthorn made that impossible. I had to either have it on my body or ingest it for it to work. It had come in handy twice when fighting against a vampire. If I drank it, it would stay in my system for a few days, but I always had it on my body too.

While planning on what to do next, the conversation with that vampire bubbled to the surface. Pax was his name. I hadn’t forgotten what he’d said about vampires saving the humans who bled black. Whether it was a lie or the truth, I had to admit, the question wouldn’t stop plaguing me. If I ran into any vampires, I might be able to question them if I was able to gain the upper hand.

I pulled out the last two items. A large container of lotion and a small bottle of spray. My eyes widened in surprise that Warner had these on hand. They were only for the PARA officials who left the city. It allowed us to be near vampires without them smelling our blood. The lotion masked the scent, and the spray was an extra layer of protection.

PARA had spent years perfecting the recipe, and after many errors, they seemed to have gotten it right. It let humans walk outside the cities without having targets on their backs. By sight, it was impossible to tell the difference between a human and a vampire. They relied on the smell of our blood. The lotion stopped that, allowing humans to roam on foot if they could keep up the pretense of being another vampire.

I nearly jumped when thunder cracked through the air. I’d been so focused on my growing plans that I hadn’t even noticed how dark the sky had gotten. I hurriedly shoved everything into the waterproof backpack, not wanting anything to get wet.

“Check over there.”

I froze, my heart falling to my stomach. Creeping over the wooden boards, I peeked over the edge, seeing two soldiers striding through the trees. Both were wearing black clothes, and they had guns in their hands. They were moving fast, most likely trying to search before night fell.

Rain began falling as I slipped my bag over my shoulders before quickly climbing down the ladder that was luckily on the opposite side of the tree from where the men were scouting. My mind raced over options for what to do next, and Warner’s words about the abandoned city repeated in my head. PARA might check there too, but there were a lot more places to hide in buildings than out here in a forest.

I snuck a glance around the tree, and when the men were focused in a different direction, I ran the other way, staying as low as I could. My racing heart slowed as I got farther, hearing no sign that they were following. I could have used my weapons on them, but I’d rather save those wooden bullets for the vampires.

The rain came down harder as I ran, and I didn’t slow my pace. I didn’t have to worry so much about vampires during the day, but there were rumors that they could come out when the sky was cloudy, so I kept a lookout for anything moving. Plus, sundown was coming at any time, and I had no idea when, since the sun wasn’t out. The abandoned city was a good three miles from here, and I focused on my breathing, not wanting to stop unless I had to.

My lungs were begging for relief, my body covered in sweat despite the rain, when I finally got out of the trees. I halted, sucking in breaths as I peered at the city that was just on the other side of an old road. There were buildings spanning as far as I could see, and I felt calm for the first time in days. It wasn’t perfect, but I could easily find a place to hide out for weeks here.

After adjusting my backpack, I walked toward the buildings, fully set on planning my revenge.

Chapter7

Kali

I’d barely made it across the wide road before voices cut through the wind. The rain had slowed a little, and I wiped water from my face as I swung my gaze to the side, looking for a place to hide. Before I’d made it even two steps, a deep voice cut through the air. Fear washed through me. I didn’t think the sun had set quite yet, but maybe vampires were out because the storm was blocking out the sun. I figured I’d have more time to find a hiding spot.

“What do we have here?” he asked, the excitement in his voice making a chill run down my spine.

I wasn’t in the city yet, and there was nothing around me at all except for flat roads. I could possibly make a break for the buildings, but if it was a vampire behind me, I wouldn’t be able to outrun him. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, and I closed my eyes for a second, remembering my training. This wasn’t the first time I’d faced a vampire, and unlike when that one named Pax had cornered me, I had my weapons this time.

I spun around, my heart pattering when I realized there wasn’t one vampire, but two. They were both staring at me with hunger in their eyes, making it obvious they’d already smelled my blood.

“One of Impulse’s girls?” the one with blond hair asked. His question was clearly for the other vampire, and I shuffled back a couple of steps when they glanced at each other. I had a stake in my boot but didn’t want to pull that out until one of them got close enough for me to use it. The gun in my bag would be the most beneficial since there were two of them, but they’d get to me before I’d be able to dig through my bag for it.

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