A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends #1)

because they hinted at it.”
    Clare sat up, interested. “Start from the
beginning. How did you get away from Layla ?”
    I recalled my escape with the Shadows’
help. “Devon had a smug look on his face when he told me I had Amber to thank
for the jail break. She made some kind of deal behind your back.”
    “You think Amber made a deal with them?
That’s impossible.” Kieran shot me a disbelieving look.
    “I’m truly sorry,” Clare said. “We were
working so hard on a plan to rescue you because you know I’m not keen on mourning
and wearing black. It just doesn’t suit me. But I swear I’ll fix this. I’m
calling Cass.” She walked to the door, then turned. “Did you get her the
ambassador position?” At my nod she left. At least some of us got what they
wanted. I snorted and rubbed a hand over my face.
    “Clare’s right. We didn’t mean to let Amber
slip away,” Kieran said. “We were so focused on you. If anything happened to
you, I don’t know what I’d do.”
    “I know that.” My voice betrayed my
irritation. It wasn’t addressed toward my brother but toward myself. I should’ve
locked Amber in her room when I had the chance.
    Kieran didn’t seem to hear me. “I was crazy
with grief, man. I couldn’t think straight. I couldn’t imagine living the next
millennium without you. Who’d keep me in line? Who’d tell me to stop driving
like a maniac?”
    I smiled as Kieran jumped up from the sofa
and grabbed me in a brief, awkward hug. “You have a good heart, even if it
doesn’t beat,” I said. “Okay, you can let go.”
    Kieran laughed and pushed me out the door. “Go
take a shower. You look like crap, and smell even worse.”
    How could I indulge in the luxury of hot
water when I didn’t know what happened to Amber? She might be cold or hurt, my
life-long enemies savoring the pain they could inflict on me by harming her.
    “If your mate were hurt, you’d know it. You’d
feel it,” Kieran said. “Go on, take a shower, or I might end up pouring a bucket
of water over your head.”
    Kieran was right. With a sigh, I retreated
to the privacy of my bathroom and peeled off my torn clothes. In the bright
light the wounds looked worse than I thought. They’d heal in a few days, but
not if I didn’t feed. Like on cue, a sudden pang of hunger washed over me, but
I decided my immediate needs would have to wait, at least until I had scrubbed
myself clean.
    Under the hot stream of water, I rubbed at
the dried blood until it trickled down in thin, pink rivulets, then dried myself
off with a towel and pulled out a bag containing donor blood from a fridge
hidden in the compartment of my closet. The blood tasted of nothing, but it soothed
my physical hunger. The need to drink right from the source still persisted
though.
    I ripped the bag open and drank, the smell
overwhelming me. I hated it because it lingered on my skin. It was almost
impossible to wash off. In my early days as a vampire, I’d tried to convince myself
that its constant presence was nothing but a disturbing side effect of
immortality. In those days, I’d wanted to love it, gorged on it with Rebecca by
my side. Blood’s power, and being strong makes up for everything that’s gone
wrong in life. Or so I told myself—until I killed Rebecca. It was a
matter of survival. If I didn’t kill her, she’d have killed Blake. I couldn’t
let an innocent die, so I shared my blood with him, turning him into a vampire.
    I finished the last drop of blood and threw
the bag onto the burning logs in the fireplace. Thinking about the events that
happened a long time ago, I felt a peculiar relief, wondering how little they
meant to me now.
    “Memories can’t be laid to rest,” I
mumbled.
    “But you can learn to forgive yourself,”
Kieran said from the door. “Give yourself a break, bro. I promise the demons in
your head will still be there, waiting for you, tomorrow night. Cass is downstairs.”
    I slipped into a clean pair of jeans and a
shirt, and followed my brother out. “She’s as fast as a spreading bushfire. I’ve
got to give her that.”
    “Yeah—” Kieran smirked “—a
little too fast. It’s like she’s always where there’s trouble.” I nodded, realizing
my brother was right.

 
    ***

 
    Cass and Clare were seated on the sofa,
whispering as far away from Blake as possible. As soon as Kieran and I stepped
through the open door, they stopped. Cass turned to watch me, her green eyes
glinting