Reborn in Fire Read online

  I was hesitant; guessing his idea of fun was probably very different from mine. "What part would that be?" I asked nervously. Mike even grimaced a bit which spiked my nerves even more.

  "Hunting," Daniel said simply, his smile lighting up his otherwise serious expression. I gulped which reminded me of the burning in my throat.

  Oh boy.

  Chapter Three

  “Let me go!” I screamed, fighting against the arms that restrained me. “I want it!” My gaze was locked on the human in front of me.

  We were in an abandoned building on the dead side of town, miles from any other humans besides the young woman a mere five feet in front of me. She was frozen with her eyes wide with terror. She was backed against the wall with Daniel watching from a few inches to the side of us. Michael had my elbows locked behind me in a firm steady grip that never loosened. I had been kicking and screaming trying to claw my way to the girl since Daniel had brought her into the building, but Michael was stronger and faster than me.

  "I need it," I growled in a low voice. I twisted and pulled again against the grip that restrained me. I shrieked out several times in pure madness driven by my thirst. The scent of the girl's blood was all around me, choking me.

  "Daniel." I heard Michael grunt behind me which made me thrash more against his hold. My eyes were locked ahead until Daniel stepped in front of her. I growled straining to see my target behind him, but he was completely blocking her from my vision. He walked up to me slowly with his palms out. It made me want to rip his head off.

  "What do you want?" he asked me simply.

  My lips pressed together into a thin line.

  When I didn't answer, he raised his voice. "What do you want?" His words were amplified by the walls of the empty building. I flinched as it sliced through the pain in my head. "Who do you think she is?" he asked, stepping to the side just an inch so that I could see her again.

  I was livid. I strained forward more, futilely trying to reach the human. "Blood," I managed to rasp out, focusing on the pulsing vein in her neck. Daniel stepped in front of me once more. I fixed my glare back on him.

  "Wrong," he said sternly. He bent to stare into my eyes. "Her name is Candis. She works hard at her full-time job as a department store manager to care for her nine-year-old son. She's a single mom and wants nothing more in the world than to be able to come home and care for her child so that he will be able to grow up and live a good life."

  I shook my head, trying to tune out his voice, but it wasn't working.

  He continued on, "Picture a nine-year-old boy waiting for his mom to come home from work." Unwanted images flashed through my mind. He kept going, "Picture him when she never does. I want you to see that little boy staring down at his mom's dead corpse."

  "Stop it!" I screamed loudly, squeezing my eyes shut as images of my own little brother flooded through my head. Brandon, Brandon, Brandon. His name echoed all around me. Pain radiated from my chest, and my body sagged in Mike's grip. I opened my eyes to see that Daniel had stepped out of my vision. The girl was still standing there with her terrified gaze locked on me, but I could no longer make myself go towards her even though the grip on my arms had loosened. All evidence of my thirst was gone, though her scent still floated around me. When I looked at her now all I saw was Brandon. I couldn't hurt her.

  I fell to my knees on the ground, and Mike went down with me. I heard Daniel murmuring something and then heard footsteps walk out. Without looking up, I knew the girl was gone.

  I felt an arm go around me, not to secure but to comfort. I looked up to see Mike sitting close beside me. He had released my arms and now had a comforting grip on my shoulder. I wiped a hand over my face and tried to pull myself together. I felt so defeated. I pressed a hand against my chest where it still ached.

  For a long time, we sat there in silence as I tried to get a grip on myself. Michael’s arm stayed around me, anchoring me. It was only when footsteps echoed through the building that we moved to stand. Daniel strode back inside with the young woman nowhere to be seen. He walked up to us.

  "Who’s Brandon?" he asked me softly.

  My eyes flew up to his, wide in surprise. I didn't even remember saying his name; although, I hadn't really been paying any attention to what had been coming out of my mouth. My eyes found the ground, and I shifted uncomfortably. I hadn’t planned on them to know, at least not this soon.

  "Okay. I won't ask," Daniel said, noticing my reaction. "He's your emotional trigger. When the thirst consumes you, nothing will bring you back except for him. He's your humanity when you have none. You must train yourself to envision him whenever you feel like you’re losing control. We can teach you another way to feed off humans. You don't have to kill another person again."

  My head snapped up at his words and relief spread through me. "I don't have to kill people?" I winced. My voice was rough and scratchy from screaming. Daniel met my hope-filled eyes and nodded. Determination filled me as I stood. Daniel and Mike straightened up with both their eyes on me. I met their gazes. "Teach me."

  ~~~

  "Focus on your humanity. Focus on Brandon," Mike reminded me as I readied myself. Daniel had the young woman from before back in front of me. I thought he had brought her home before, but he only kept her out of my range of senses. She was completely calm, unlike last time. She watched me with a blank expression which made me wonder what Daniel had done to her. He had one hand on her arm and was studying me closely. They had explained what to do, but I was still unsure of myself.

  I stepped closer to her so there were only a few inches between us. I clenched my fists at my sides as the smell of her blood assaulted my senses. I breathed out and looked at the girl. Brandon's voice whispered through my head from a distant memory:

  You’re the best person I know. I love you.

  I could do this. I closed my eyes and channeled my control through the memory of my little brother. Slowly, I leaned forward until my lips were pressed against the pulse of her neck. I swallowed hard, picturing Brandon clearly in my head. I parted my lips and nicked her skin with the tips of my teeth. It felt like I had done nothing, but blood immediately started dripping onto my tongue. I closed my lips over the small wound I made quickly. My hands closed on her shoulders. I sucked deeply, wanting more. A growl slid from my lips as her blood flow slowed. It wasn't enough.

  Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder which made my temper spike until a voice reminded me of myself. "Brandon." It was all they said, then the hand on my shoulder was gone. It was enough. I pulled back from the girl, aware of the world around me again. I licked over the small nicks I made like I was told to do and watched, mesmerized as her skin knitted itself back together again. It was true. We had healing abilities for humans just like our bodies could heal themselves. The wound had healed back to normal in a matter of seconds. I stepped back from the young woman and turned to see the guys’ verdict. They were both smiling and Daniel even looked impressed.

  "I did it," I announced proudly even though it wasn't necessary. I was filled with hope. I had been able to control the monster with only a little help. They nodded seeming very pleased with my performance.

  My mood changed when Daniel spoke up. "That was great. Maybe because you have such a strong emotional trigger. Most who are turned have nothing left in their human life. Either way, that’s the best control I've seen in a neonate in a long time," he said.

  Something inside me snapped. I flashed over to him and slapped him hard across his cheek. Mike stood gaping at me.

  Daniel cursed, turning back to me with a glint of anger in his eyes. "What was that for? I was giving you a compliment!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up.

  I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him a stern look. "I. Am. Not. A. Neonate." I pronounced each word through gritted teeth.

  A laugh suddenly rang throughout the building. Both Daniel and I turned in surprise to see Mike howling with laughter. It was a nice sound. My lips turned up in response an
d a giggle escaped my lips.

  Mike calmed down enough to muster somewhat of an apology to an offended looking Daniel. "Sorry, Daniel but you kind of deserved it. I'm just glad she had the nerve to do it which I'm not surprised she did. To be honest, I was kind of waiting for it. You had it coming." He chuckled and held his hand up for a high-five, looking to me. I smiled wider and slapped his hand with mine. I was glad someone agreed with me.

  "Yes. Very funny," Daniel grumbled, leaving us to go over to the young woman still frozen where we left her.

  “So, this is how vampires feed without the number of human deaths skyrocketing?” I asked.

  “It is a way, but at the Lank, we have supplies of blood bags,” Mike explained. My nose wrinkled in disgust. He chuckled. “It may not sound appealing at first, but they’re not bad. This is basically a transition step between killing and blood bags. We don’t exactly look down on feeding of humans, but we try to avoid it if we can. Don’t worry,” he said when he saw my expression. “It’s usually an easy transition to make.” I nodded, already feeling comforted. His eyes stayed on me for so long that I dropped his gaze and glanced over to where Daniel was talking with the human.

  He was stroking her face gently, bringing her eyes up to meet his. He started talking softly.

  "What's he doing to her?" I asked Mike, keeping my voice to a whisper. "Why is she acting so..." I was listening to Daniel whispering comforting words.

  "Controlled?" Michael suggested. I nodded. "It's called compulsion. In layman terms, it's mind control." I turned quickly to Mike, looking at him with wide eyes. Surely, I had heard wrong. He ran a hand through his hair as he answered my startled gaze. "All vampires have the ability to use it. It just comes with the territory." He shrugged like it was no big deal.

  "And it's time you learned." Daniel's voice pulled me from our conversation.

  I glanced back at him to see that he was facing me, gesturing for me to come and stand in front of the girl. I hesitantly stepped forward. Daniel impatiently grabbed my elbow and steered me so that I was directly in front of her. I stumbled slightly on the way over and I heard Daniel mutter something under his breath. I scowled at him, but he ignored me.

  "You need to stay focused without breaking concentration. Keep eye contact at all times and just say what you want her to do like to stop screaming."

  "But she's not screaming," I pointed out which was the wrong thing to say.

  He took the girl's chin and made her look at him. "You can speak now," he said simply. His voice was soothing.

  She blinked a few times as if coming out of a daze. Her wide eyes found our faces. Before I had time to even react, her scream pierced the air, echoing all around us. I winced and gave Daniel an annoyed look. He seemed unfazed as he gestured toward the screaming human. I grimaced, staring at the girl. I tried to remember his instructions through the noise.

  "Stop screaming," I said nervously which only managed to make her scream louder. I flapped my hands at her as if I could force her to be silent. "Please, stop!" I said frantically. It wasn't helping anything. She had begun to wail even louder if it was possible. I took a deep breath which only bothered me slightly now with a human so near. I met her eyes and kept my voice low, but firm just like Daniel had. "Be quiet." She stopped almost immediately. I breathed out in astonishment for myself. My lips lifted in a small smile at my accomplishment.

  Daniel clapped his hands together once and smirked. "Congrats. You've learned the basics of being a vampire," he remarked, pulling the girl away and started walking out of the building. I heard the motor of the SUV he arrived in startup outside and fade quickly away.

  Mike walked over to join me as I walked outside to stare at the retreating taillights. "Don't let him bother you,” he assured me. “We've just been through this many times. You should be proud, though.” He clamped a hand on my shoulder encouragingly. “You've learned faster than anyone else I've been there to teach. Maybe it's because you already have more self-control than a neonate because of what you've experienced the past couple years or maybe it’s what Daniel said. Most vampires we train don’t have a human life left to hold onto."

  "If he hates neonates so much, why doesn't he ask for a different position?" I asked as if it was the obvious answer.

  Michael shook his head. "He doesn't hate this position. He's just...complicated. But he wanted this job in the first place no matter how he ended up here.” He smirked briefly, and I remembered what they had said before about Beck putting them on neonate duty for something Daniel did. “He wants to help newborns. He's actually very passionate about it. He just has a tough exterior." He shrugged.

  I sighed. I knew about having tough exteriors. I shouldn't judge him for something that I did myself. I shifted from one foot to the other restlessly, never feeling fully relaxed. “Did you two just kidnap that woman from her job or something?” I asked to distract myself.

  He laughed. “No. Don’t worry. Daniel probably just picked her up from the street. He’ll compel her to forget this and go right back to wherever she was going.”

  “A random woman off the street? So, was that whole her having a kid thing a lie?”

  Mike shrugged. “Yeah. We would never make someone suffer like that. She was in a dreamlike state through most of it except for when Daniel let her fear seep through that state and even then, it was her subconscious doing it. She wasn’t aware of it.”

  I gave him a blank look, letting him know he had lost me.

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, I’m not very good at explaining that part.”

  I sighed as I shifted my weight to my other foot once more. I noticed Mike studying me out of the corner of his eye.

  "So how are you dealing with all this? I know it's a lot to take in, and we've just covered the basics," Mike said. He was probably waiting for me to lose it after today.

  I paused for a minute before speaking. I was prepared to give him a generic "good" answer, but his serious face told me that it wouldn't slide. I decided on the truth. "You're right. It's definitely a lot, but I haven't felt this fulfilled since I turned. It's like, on a subconscious level, I knew I was in the dark, and it drove me crazy without me even realizing it. I'm finally getting the answers to questions I always wondered but didn't think I'd ever get answered. I know I have control now which is something I didn't even think was possible. It's better, but also harder in some ways. I don't have to take another human life again, but I will always be afraid that my control will break. Knowing what I do now, it would be much worse for me if I killed someone because I let myself slip up." I let out a breath, surprised at myself for sharing that much.

  Mike shook his head. "You can't think about that…about your next mistake. It can be hard, but it gets easier. You aren't alone anymore. There will be a lot of other vampires supporting you when we get to the Lank. Trust me. You have nothing to worry about," he encouraged, giving me a confident smile, but there was a hint of worry in his eyes. I had the feeling that he was hiding more than what he was saying.

  In what seemed like no time, the roar of an engine returned. Moments later, Daniel drove into sight. He jumped out, leaving his door open. "She's back on the street with a good memory wipe so we can take the SUV back to the city," he explained as we walked over to the car where he stood.

  When we were coming up here, Michael and I ran while Daniel waited to meet us in a black vehicle. I hadn't understood until he escorted the young women out of the car. My instincts had immediately gone on high, and I had tried to rip out her jugular.

  All three of us climbed into the vehicle with me in the back seat alone. The human's scent lingered, but it didn't even affect me. I sat up a little straighter, both proud and surprised at how much I had changed in a matter of just a few hours. As we pulled onto the cracked asphalt of the road, I leaned forward.

  "Where are we going now?" I asked.

  Daniel cast a sidelong glance at me as he drove. "Now it's time for the real fun."

 
My mouth dropped open at his words. Where was the fun part of this endeavor?

  He continued, oblivious to my worry. "Are you ready to test how much control you have?" he challenged, taking me by complete surprise.

  Immediately, there was a sinking feeling in my stomach. I leaned back against my seat, suddenly not very eager at all.

  Chapter Four

  "Are you guys sure about this?" I asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.

  They laughed and continued to walk toward the security guard at the front of a long line of humans. Daniel had driven us back into Chicago and parked the SUV on the side of a street some ways down from this club called “The Void”. He had given me a brief explanation before jumping out of the car.

  I had no choice but to follow. I was on edge about what they had planned, but all the humans around barely stood out to me. I had learned to channel my senses to focus on Brandon. It still hurt to think about him, but it kept me grounded and kept my humanity present for the most part; however, it didn't mean I was ready for anything Daniel had planned. I hesitated as they got closer to the bouncer of one of the most popular nightclubs in the city, convinced that they were wasting their time.

  Daniel noticed my hesitation and smiled, flashing his teeth briefly. "Don't worry. You're with us now," he said, confidently striding up to the bouncer with Michael at his side. The man was about twice the size of them, but they didn't seem to notice.

  I stood nervously a few feet back, watching. I knew that we had the strength to take out every single one of the humans around us, but it still made me anxious. I saw their mouths move but couldn't hear over the pounding music flowing from the club. The bouncer had a stern gaze, but it lightened as he spoke to Daniel. The man stepped to the side, revealing the door to the club, but still blocking the line of awaiting humans. Daniel grinned as he gestured for me to follow them in.