The Vampire and the Scorpion (Blood and Venom Saga #1)

4. Four

Four

I sat on the edge of the sofa, shaking so violently I was sure my bones were vibrating. I’d pulled on my coat. Though suited to protecting me from the winter’s cold, it was useless as a shield against my assailants. My eyes darted between Austin, who sat on the edge of the bed, and Madigan leaning in the doorway, long legs crossed and arms folded, surveying me with cold, grey eyes. Only an inch taller than Austin, he filled his suit far better than Austin had. In fact, it was only now that I noticed his tailcoat was identical in style—thin tails, pointed lapels—but was jet-black, and looked tailored to fit him perfectly.

“Mr Madigan, I was desperate—” Austin said, but Madigan raised a white-gloved hand, silencing him.

“You’re a bloody fool, Austin.”

Madigan ran his long fingers through slick, dark hair, exhaling through flared nostrils. What was he thinking about? What to do with me? Or Austin?

“I’m so sorry.” Austin’s voice shook, mirroring his trembling hands. “This was my last chance. I heard Ivan talking about how he’d kill me if I failed harvesting.”

“He will kill you anyway if he finds out about this.” Madigan ran his fingers through his hair a second time, yet spoke with an eloquent, measured tone. With an accent like his, he could be mistaken for royalty.

My mind raced with questions. Who was Ivan? What did they mean by harvesting?

My stomach dropped.

I darted forward to the fridge and tugged the door open. My knees weakened at the sight of vials containing a deep-red liquid.

Blood ...

A hand seized me by the scruff of my coat, wrenching me back, and sent me hurtling to the sofa. The way Madigan could throw me about like a doll left me nauseated.

“Who the hell are you wack jobs?” I said in a strangled gasp, but was gagged beneath a glare so frosty my skin prickled with goosebumps.

“It seems we have two choices,” Madigan said, turning his attention back to Austin. “Either you flee, now. Or...” he paused, glancing at me with a grim expression. “We take some by force. I am loath to do it, but under the current circumstances—”

“Can’t I have some of yours?” Austin nodded towards the fridge.

“My supply is days old.” Madigan shook his head, running a gloved hand over his chin. “Ivan would know it’s not freshly harvested.”

Austin turned his clammy face to mine, looking at me like a starving dog eyeing fresh meat.

“I will scream,” I said, adrenaline pumping through my veins. “If you think I’m going to let you take my blood without a fight, you’re dead wrong. What sort of sick fetish is this, anyway? Vampirism or something?”

“I’m just a familiar,” Austin said, but that just spawned more questions.

“What the fuck does that mean?” I asked, but before he could elaborate, Madigan was addressing him again.

“What do you want to do, Austin? The decision must be yours. And make it quick. Dawn will soon be upon us, and I cannot help once the sun rises.”

I looked at Austin through pleading eyes, praying he would make the right choice. He pursed his lips together, but this didn’t stop the lower one from trembling.

“I will leave.” His voice was hoarse, like he was trying to suppress tears. “I’m not forcing anyone to do anything.”

“Fine. We had better hurry. Get a bag packed. Essentials only. You must travel a great distance to stand a fighting chance. Understand?” Madigan now turned his attention to me. “You, girl. Get yourself dressed.” His flinty eyes scanned over me, wrinkling his nose, as though looking at something miniscule and disgusting, like a maggot. I didn’t need telling twice—I had to escape these sickos.

It was a squeeze manoeuvring in the cramped space. Austin grabbed various things and shoved them into a bag, while I searched for the clothes I’d abandoned and tried to dress without exposing myself. Fortunately, neither of them seemed the slightest bit interested.

I was pulling on my shoes when a noise made all three of us freeze. Austin looked paler than ever, Madigan’s scowl intensifying.

A knock on the door.

Madigan growled in the back of his throat, retrieving the key from his pocket to unlock the door. It swung open. I stood on tiptoes, peering over Madigan’s shoulder and into the face of the unhealthiest-looking man I’d ever seen.

He was my height, looked to be in his thirties and dressed in raggedy, old-fashioned clothes. He was bald, and as pale as death. Beneath the shadows of his narrow eyes, his cheekbones stuck out like a pair of blades above the sunken flesh of his cheeks. He looked like a corpse.

“Len,” the dead-looking man addressed Madigan. “There’s been talk of a disturbance. I didn’t realise you were involved.” His voice was higher than I had been expecting. His thin lips split into a smile that held no warmth.

“There is no disturbance here, Dominic,” Madigan said bluntly, but the newcomer had already spotted me, and his smirk widened into a malicious grin.

“I doubt that.” The man named Dominic didn’t seem to blink much, and that evil smile suggested he knew exactly what had transpired. “You’ve gained a new friend. I’m guessing this is who Austin tried to harvest from?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Madigan snapped, closing the door, but Dominic yanked it open again.

“It’s sweet that you’re trying to cover for him,” he said, his tone dripping with heavy sarcasm. “I’ll remember to tell our master of your loyalty to the boy. I’m sure he’d be touched to hear you’ve befriended his familiar. But rules are rules, and Austin has broken them.”

“I’m begging you,” Austin’s small voice chimed in. “Just one more night.”

“I am sorry”—though he didn’t sound sorry in the slightest—“but Master Ivan returns tonight, and he made his wishes to me quite clear. He would return to find you had completed your task, or he would return to your execution. And unlike you, I keep my word to our master.”

He clicked his fingers and two figures that had been hiding in the shadows appeared at his side. One was short, had a mass of wild hair, and dressed in a black, leather jacket and biker boots. His hands were in his pockets, emphasising his hunched, rounded shoulders. The other, by contrast, wore a blazer over a turtleneck, his hair so tidy it appeared he’d just visited a barber. Head held high, he wore a bored, lazy expression, looking away as though the unfolding events were beneath him.

“Now then,” Dominic said, spreading his arms to gesture to his new companions, “are you going to let us do our job? Or will I have to report you to Master Ivan, too?”

Madigan didn’t move, clenching and unclenching his fists, his knuckles cracking. But with a growl, he stepped aside, allowing the two henchmen inside. The small caravan quaked as they wrestled Austin to the floor, knocking me back onto the sofa in the commotion. I wanted to call out, to tell these thugs to leave him alone, but my voice had disappeared, lost deep in my throat.

“Let me go!” Austin screamed, squirming in their grip, limbs thrashing. The mugs we’d set aside crashed to the floor, splattering cold, half-drunk tea over the worn carpet. With ease, they pulled Austin to his feet and hauled him outside. I swayed, putting my hands to my face, then through my hair, nervous energy pouring out of me. All the while, Madigan kept his eyes fixed on Dominic, shoulders tense, rising and falling with each breath. Neither of them moved or said a single word until Austin’s screams finally faded as they dragged him away.

“What are your plans for the witness?” Dominic’s ravenous, black eyes widened as they fixed themselves on me.

Blood drained from my face, leaving me light headed.

“We’ll dispose of her, too,” Dominic said. “Unless you want to take her for yourself?”

My heart stopped.

“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice almost inaudible, as though a hand was constricting my airway. Neither of them acknowledged my question.

“Perhaps Master Ivan would like a replacement?” Madigan asked.

“I doubt it. Not after Austin’s ineptitude, and I don’t need another familiar. Neither do Jacob or Sebastian.” He jerked his head in the direction his henchman had dragged Austin. “We each have one. You’re the only one who doesn’t. Can I assume from your refusal to take one in recent years that she’s of no interest to you?”

Madigan looked over his shoulder, his attention now on me, one of his eyes twitching. I blinked at him, unsure how I wanted him to respond, yet I knew my fate rested with him.

Sighing, the tight muscles in his face relaxed before turning back to Dominic.

“It will be up to her. In any case, it would need Master Ivan’s approval before we accept her into the coven. Allow me to discuss it with her and you’ll have your answer by sundown.”

“I want an answer now.”

“You will have your answer by sundown,” Madigan repeated through a clenched jaw. Both men stared each other down, waiting for the other to give an inch.

“Fine.” Dominic’s twisted smile was now replaced with a glower.

“Excellent. Now, if you will excuse us, we have much to discuss. You should return to your camper. It’s getting light.” Before Dominic could argue further, Madigan slammed the door shut.

An oppressive silence filled the caravan as Madigan pinched the bridge of his nose, shut his eyes, and let out a long breath. Rather than acknowledge me, he looked at the double bed, the duvet still crumpled and covered with blood. My blood.

“Stupid boy...” he said under his breath and pulled the bedding away. I felt as though I was imposing myself upon a private moment.

“Excuse me,” I said. “What is going on?”

He didn’t reply immediately, but continued to remove the bedding. “It’s quite simple really,” he said once he’d stripped the bed bare. “You will become my familiar, or you will die.”

My mouth went dry. “And what exactly does that entail?”

But Madigan was now preoccupied with the green suit crumpled in the wicker basket. A guttural sound emanated from his throat as his long fingers traced over the rip on the waistcoat.

“I said, what does that en—”

“Does it matter? What part of ‘ you will die’ is difficult to understand?” He sniffed the tailcoat. “Ugh... tobacco...” He whipped his head around to look at me, “Did you wear this? You smell just as bad. You’d better quit that filthy habit.”

“Dying is the only bit I understood,” I said, ignoring his jibe. “Had it not occurred to you that perhaps that would be my choice if the alternative means serving you?”

The words bubbled out of me before I could stop them. As intimidating as Madigan was, his rudeness was getting under my skin.

Madigan stopped what he was doing and fixed me with a long, hard stare, eyes narrowing, before answering, “A vampire’s familiar is like a servant. You are correct: your job would be to serve me. Usually, familiars collect blood on their master’s behalf and if they cannot do so, they will offer their own.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that you are a vampire?” I said witheringly. “Go on then, show us your fangs.”

In a movement too fast for my eyes to follow, Madigan crossed the caravan and was now towering above me, my cheeks in an unyielding grip of his white-gloved hand. I grabbed his wrist, trying to pull his hand away, but it would have been easier to uproot a tree. My stomach flipped, a wave of panic rippling through my body.

He put his face close to mine and hissed, “I think you have been watching too many films, ignorant girl.” The grip on my cheeks intensified.

“Ok... I believe you!” I could barely spit the words out.

Madigan looked into my face, a sceptical eyebrow arched.

“You’re a vampire, I believe you!” I said again.

Madigan’s nose wrinkled and lips pursed together before releasing me. I rubbed my cheeks, already aching from the pinch of his fingers.

My heart felt lodged in my throat, pounding, yet suffocating.

Vampires... Real vampires... Could it be true? Dominic could certainly pass for one. A flashback of his twisted grin made me shudder.

“We drink little,” Madigan said as though the confrontation had not happened. “A mouthful or two per night is sufficient. Obviously, a familiar would feel weak if fed from regularly, which is why they’ll harvest from other humans. Most importantly, it must be done without getting caught. We never, ever , bring humans back to our home. That’s just one mistake Austin made tonight.”

“And making a mistake is a death sentence?”

“In Austin’s case, yes. It depends on a few things. One of which is your master. Austin was the familiar of Ivan. Our coven’s leader. He doesn’t forgive mistakes easily.”

“What is a coven?”

“Look,” Madigan said, pulling fresh bedding from a cupboard, “you will have many questions. Some will take time to answer. Time I am not willing to grant right now. The sun is rising and I need my rest. You know enough to make your choice, so I suggest you think on it, get some rest, and give me your answer when I wake.” He threw the dirty bedding in my direction. “You can sleep up that end. That sofa can be fashioned into a single bed and there’s a curtain for privacy. Do not disturb me before nightfall.”

“What makes you think I’ll stick around that long?”

“You really do have a death wish, don’t you? If you think escaping Dominic will be that easy, go ahead. Run. See what happens.” He seized the curtain up at his end and was about to pull it around his bed, when he said, “I forgot to ask, what is your name?”

“Ava Monroe.”

“Miss Monroe,” he acknowledged with a slight bow of the head, “My name is Leonard Madigan.”

And with that, he drew the curtain, ending our conversation and leaving me with a harrowing decision.