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  BLOOD LIKE ICE

  MISFITS OF MAGIC: BOOK TWO

  LEE HAYTON

  Copyright © 2018 Lee Hayton

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  About the Author - Lee

  Chapter One

  When Miss Tiddles dropped to the floor, I knew that the entire mess had gone too far. She reached for Asha instead of me, but I suppose my fangs were showing. Good thinking, Norman. Scare the hell out of her, why don’t you?

  You’d think I would have been clued in to the failure of our ‘grand plan’ before that. The absence of school-aged children and the plethora of middle-aged men should have been enough of a tip-off, but it took me a while.

  That’s what a stay in the slave pits had gotten me. It twisted my brain so that I couldn’t think straight. Leastways, that was what I blamed it on.

  My friend, my pet, crumpled to the ground and I didn’t need to go searching to know she was dead. Asha jumped down after her a second later. Good for her. It was nice that she got the opportunity to give that body of hers a solid workout. It was so wasteful for it to spend days just seated on the couch.

  Three things occurred to me in rapid succession.

  First, I realized that we were not ‘turning’ the people we should have been.

  Second, the newly turned vamps were in no way under our control the way we’d been promised.

  Third, the conference center had one door in and one door out. The most straightforward set up in the world from which to spring a trap.

  I didn’t need to wait for fourth to get the hell out of there.

  Outside the ballroom of horror, the elevator beckoned. Just for a split-second, mind, then I put my thinking cap on. That way was a giant nope. I had no desire to jump straight from one trap into another—I’d done that my whole life. The stairs were just another cage, albeit one with more scope.

  Although I was right about the doors in and out—guards were already manning them, no doubt with reinforcements on the way—nothing stopped me from going through the windows. The long one mounted near ceiling-height along the length of the main corridor suited me nicely. I turned my arm into a battering ram and tried to avoid a shard accidentally stabbing into my heart.

  I don’t know for sure if glass worked the same as wood nor was it something I had any wish to try.

  The window was near the roof indoors but let me out at street level. As I ran along the back wall of the conference center, hoping the high brick wall had a gate to smash through, the night swelled with sounds.

  Chief amongst them were the soldier’s boots, stamping in unison on the ground as they marched.

  I’d been late to see the trap, but not too late to escape its clutches. I tried not to think of all the other poor buggers left inside.

  “Hey. Psst.”

  My chest collapsed with hollow regret as I recognized the voice. Dammit. Of all the vampires to survive, could fate really be so cruel as to let Jimmy live?

  Yeah, it could.

  “Hey,” he called out again, increasing the volume because mindfulness wasn’t his strong suit. I ran over to his side and clapped a hand over his mouth before his ignorant bellows could draw the soldiers near.

  “Let’s just get over the wall first,” I whispered into his ear. “Then we can talk all you like. Until then, zip it. Okay?”

  Jimmy nodded, but that didn’t mean he’d understood. After the few days I’d spent chained next to him in the pit the only thing that astonished me more than his inappropriate happiness was his ignorance of any given situation. Just to be on the safe side, I kept my hand clamped tightly to his face as we walked the length of the high, brick wall.

  No gate. No luck. I let my hands drop and spun on my heel, seeking another solution. Outdoor furniture would get up high up enough to scale the wall, but the legs chained to the ground would be an impediment. I looked at Jimmy, a full-grown man to my oversized boy figure and decided that it still might work.

  Neither of us had been fed since the escape from the slave pits. The men—okay, and one woman—I’d attacked inside had their blood drained but only long enough for it to comingle with mine and then be injected straight back into their neck. I’d probably lost more than I’d gained. My head swam with the lack of food.

  “Do you think you can pull those chains out?” I asked Jimmy, pointing to the target.

  He shrugged, then shook his head. “I dunno. I’m feeling a bit weak at the moment. How ‘bout you?”

  “Yeah. I’m feeling the hunger. But if we can just break that free we can use it to jump over the fence.”

  Jimmy frowned at me, unsure of something. I sighed. What part of that simple plan could he possibly not comprehend?

  “Couldn’t we just use the side gate?” he asked, pointing back at the edge of the hotel. I followed his finger and saw a wrought iron structure sitting wide open. It had been behind me when Jimmy first called out.

  “Sure,” I said, not bothering to justify my error. “Lead the way.”

  He gave me a tentative smile and walked in front of me, hurrying to a jog as the sound of screams began to issue from indoors.

  Beyond the gate, a path led around the side of the conference center, spitting us straight out onto the main road. I grabbed at Jimmy’s arm, but he was already hanging back. He might be thick, but even he had the brain cells to work that one out.

  “Turn your shirt inside out,” I said. Even though the streetlights didn’t penetrate far down this side of the hotel, they were enough to show that Jimmy was splashed with blood. I looked down at my own chest. Sure enough, I needed to do the same.

  “We can’t go out on the street like this,” I said as turning the shirt inside out did nothing to disguise the blood.

  Jimmy gave me a concerned look in return but nodded. We wouldn’t get past the first person before they raised the alarm. Even without our pale skin and glowing pink eyes, being covered in blood wasn’t an advertisement for safer living.

  “What about the trashcans?” Jimmy pointed to the four sitting on the side of the hotel. A dumpster, further along, held more refuse, but these were also overflowing.

  I stared at them for a moment, considering the possibilities. An old memory edged forward in my head. Oscar the Grouch.

  In the end, I shrugged. “Even if we could fit in the cans to hide, someone would find us eventually. Imagine if somebody lifted the lid in full sunlight.”

  The thought was enough to make me shiver.

  “Not to get in.” Jimmy walked over to the first one and picked it up, hefting it high until it covered his entire chest. “We carry them along until we can find another place to hide. No one will look twice.”

  I clapped him on the shoulder and picked one up. It was heavy, but even in my weakened state, I should be fine for a few minutes. After that… Well
. After that could take care of itself.

  “Ready?”

  Jimmy yelled out “Yes” so loudly that I would have slapped him on the shoulder if I hadn’t been carrying the trashcan. Pulling the large drum tightly against my chest. I stepped forward and turned the corner out into the street.

  It was only early evening. Twilight, if you wanted to get all fancy about it. The last rays of the sun were still sending pastel shards of light dancing across the horizon. Even that small amount of sunlight made my stomach ache. Or perhaps that was just due to the lack of blood.

  I scanned the path in front of us as best I could, what with the trashcan lid mostly in the way. Jimmy would have a better view, but whether he’d recognize an opportunity was a harder call.

  An alleyway slipped stealthily between two buildings, issuing a siren call of shelter. I shook my head. If we went down there, it would just look suspicious. Who used an alley except someone on the wrong side of the law?

  A small row of corner shops offered a better cover. We walked along the driveway leading to the back where a sign proclaimed there was ‘Extra Parking.’ I put down the trashcan next to another overflowing dumpster, shaking my arms as my muscles twitched and gibbered.

  From the back, it was hard to tell the provenance of the shops out front, but I poked my nose into the dumpster for a better idea. Food scraps from a restaurant. Expired containers from a mini-mart.

  A dead body.

  Chapter Two

  I jumped and took a step back, skidding on a piece of rotting garbage that I didn’t want to examine closely. When my backside hit the concrete, I lay there for a second. Catching my breath from the fall, yes, but mainly from the shock.

  It couldn’t be true. My eyes were playing tricks on me.

  “Hey!” The alarm in Jimmy’s voice sent it shrieking an octave higher than normal. “Hey, lady. You want to get out of there.”

  After rolling onto my stomach, I found it easier to push myself up to my knees. I closed my eyes for a second, hearing the increasing pitch of Jimmy’s breathing. Before he could turn into a teakettle, I staggered to my feet and moved over to his side.

  The body in the dumpster hadn’t moved. I gave it a quick prod with my finger in case it was a mannequin scaring us half to death but already knew it wasn’t. The flesh gave under my fingertip in a way that even the high-end store dolls wouldn’t.

  “We need to help her out of there,” Jimmy said, grabbing one of the woman’s hands. “Do you think there’s a hospital nearby?”

  I started to shake my head, pulling back on his shoulder, then saw a faint pulse in her neck.

  Okay, fair point. It appears Jimmy had pegged her state of being more accurately than me. “Okay. I’ll take her legs, and you take her arms. On the count of three.” My hands easily fit around her ankles, since she was so slim. “One. Two. Three.”

  We lifted her up, only just managing to clear the edge before her weight overpowered our grip. Although I tried to maneuver under her, mostly she fell on her side on the concrete, wedged up against the filthy dumpster wall.

  “Is she okay?”

  Jimmy shifted from foot to foot, running his hand through his hair, even though it was now covered in filth.

  “Just give me a minute. I don’t know that much about human injuries.” I gave her a quick scan from head to toe, not seeing any blood or bones poking free. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”

  She belched and groaned, turning to one side. A noxious cloud of alcohol fumes tinged with sour notes of bile floated toward me. Ugh.

  “Hey, love.” I gripped her shoulder and gave her a shake. “Are you okay?”

  The lady winced back from the noise, eyelids fluttering. Well, at least she was getting closer to conscious.

  With the immediate concern of her being dead or injured out of the way, I remembered what we were doing back there.

  “We have to get a move on,” I said to Jimmy. “They’ll soon trace us down here if we stay.”

  “We can’t leave the pretty lady on the ground,” Jimmy said. His voice was so indignant that I took a step back. “She needs to get to a hospital and get all fixed up.”

  “I think whatever is wrong with her, she brought on herself.”

  But Jimmy ignored that, squatting down beside her and gently patting on the side of her face. “Hey, lady. You awake now?” He leaned closer and talked louder when she didn’t respond. “Do you need us to call the police?”

  At that, the woman abruptly sat upright and scooted back until she struck the dumpster wall. “What? Who are you? Who’s calling the police?”

  I wouldn’t have thought it possible a few moments ago, but her voice was even more full of fear than mine.

  “Nobody is calling the police,” I said, staring Jimmy straight in the eye. “Look, lady. We just saw you in the dumpster and tried to help out.” She shook her head at the statement, though whether it was in denial or from lack of memory, I couldn’t tell. “We’ll be on our way, now. Nice to meet you.”

  “Wait!” The woman reached above her head, searching for the upper lip of the dumpster side. When she couldn’t find it, she bent forward onto her hands and knees, mimicking my own attempt from a few minutes before.

  “I need to get somewhere. It’s urgent. Can you give me a ride?”

  Now upright, she leaned back against the dumpster and put a hand up to her hair. The tight blonde curls framed her face like an angel. Except for the straggling strands of spaghetti hanging down to rest against her cheek.

  “We don’t have a car, ma’am. Sorry we couldn’t help.”

  I backed up while talking, gesturing for Jimmy to follow me. The longer we stayed here, the more likely that the soldiers sorting out the carnage at the convention center would have time to look at footage while searching for stragglers. We needed to get gone.

  “I have a car, but I can’t drive in this state.” The woman shoved away from the bin, holding her hands out to either side in balance. “The keys are in my purse.”

  Jimmy stepped back to the garbage as though she’d issued him with a direct order. He sifted through the top few layers of detritus then gave a cry of triumph, holding the small bag aloft.

  “That’s the one, thank you.” The woman reached out to grab it and missed, toppling to one side. Jimmy caught her with his free arm, pressing her close against his chest. The look he gave me was pleading. Like a little boy going to his mom with a kitten and saying, “Can we keep it, please?”

  This kitten would be a lot more trouble than a little pet. On the other hand, to drive straight out of this mess was a temptation I couldn’t resist.

  “Where’re you parked?”

  “I’m just down the road a wee way.” The woman turned, looking for some directions. She pointed toward the comparatively well-lit street. “If that’s Montgomery then I’m just a few blocks over on Clydesdale Street.”

  I had no idea what the road was called but nodded just the same. The ruse with the trashcans mightn’t work for the second time, but escorting an obviously drunk lady back to her car could.

  That, or someone might call the police as soon as they saw us. One of those.

  “Let’s give it a shot, then. Jimmy, you help the lady to walk along.”

  I fell in behind them both, ostensibly to catch her if she fell backward. In reality, to let her shadow fall over the worse stains of blood.

  “What’s your name, love?” I asked. She turned and eyed me warily, seeming to notice for the first time how young I looked. Whether she understood the pale face and pink eyes, I didn’t know. If the lady realized we were vampires, she showed no signs of caring.

  “My name’s Erika Blumenthal. Do your parents know you’re out, sweetie?”

  “It’s only just gone eight, Miss Blumenthal. I don’t think they’ll be too worried for a few hours yet.”

  She giggled, though at what I couldn’t work out. The first street sign we passed confirmed that her sense of direction was spot-on.
Montgomery Street.

  “Lucky you found me. I vaguely remember trying to find something around behind the shops there and the next thing, I’m asleep!”

  I shook my head. What in hell’s name could anybody be reaching for in a dumpster that would lead them to fall in? Her purse, maybe? Who knows. Asha, too, was always doing things that seemed strange to me. Women were just different, that’s all.

  The car was a small shopping basket of a vehicle. Jimmy opened the front door and squeezed through to the back, taking up the entire seat.

  “Aren’t you driving?” I asked him, a gentle reminder. Turned out to be a wake-up call instead.

  “I can’t drive.”

  Erika threw her hands up and cackled with forlorn laughter. I grabbed hold of her purse and fished out the keys from a mountain of lady stuff I’d rather not know about.

  “I can drive, then.”

  “You?” Erika stared at me with open curiosity. “But aren’t you just a kid?”

  “I have a rare disease,” I said, ushering her into the passenger seat. With Jimmy filling up the back, she had to scoot the chair all the way forward so her knees pressed hard against the dash.

  “It means that I look the same way I did when I was in my teens. I’m plenty old, though. Probably older than you.” I paused for a moment, slipping in behind the wheel. Ladies liked compliments, didn’t they? “Though you’re so young and pretty, that wouldn’t be hard.”

  She collapsed into a fit of giggles that developed into a hacking cough. At the end, Erika opened the door and threw up straight into the gutter. When she closed the door again, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she slurred, “Better out than in!”

  My stomach shriveled up even further. Although my eyes were growing far too aware of the pulsing vein in Erika’s neck, there was no way I wanted to suck the blood out of her. At the moment, it would probably be enough to see me hungover for the next week.

  “Where to, love?” I said, aiming for the cheeky banter of a cab-driver. Probably missing, too.

  “Just head up here, all the way to the end, and then you’ll be on Alders Road. It’s not far from there. Two rights and a left.” Erika paused for a moment, then giggled again. “Or two lefts and a right. I’m sure we’ll sort it out.”