Of Blood and Sorrow
Christine Rains
OF BLOOD AND SORROW
Christine Rains
Of Blood and Sorrow
Christine Rains | Copyright 2015
Kindle Edition
All rights reserved. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Tagline: She feeds on sorrow. They want to consume her.
Summary: Erin Driscol works the perfect job consoling fellow demons by feeding off their grief at Putzkammer & Sons Funeral Home.
When fledgling vampire Nicolas Reese comes to Erin for help, she learns the truth behind the legends and hides him from his sire and the vampire hunters who seek him. But when the Putzkammers begin to die one by one, Erin is caught between her act of kindness and the need to save her adopted family. Only by facing her own personal demons can she stop the slaughter and still rescue Nicolas from his dark fate.
Cover Design: edhgraphics | Erin Dameron-Hill
For Untethered Realms,
dream without limit.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
Other Books by Christine Rains
Untethered Realms
Acknowledgements
About the Author
The dead man sat up.
I yelped and jumped back, dropping the shoe I’d been trying to jam onto dead Mrs. Lutz’s foot. The shoe clattered to the floor with a noise echoing an exhausted clog dancer. My heart thumped so hard it almost hurt.
Dammit. This couldn’t be happening while I was working alone.
It wasn’t the first time I’d been in the mortuary when a body moved, but it was the first time by myself. Corpses were full of gases that made them twitch, burp, and jerk up. Over the three years I’d been working at the funeral home, I’d seen stiffs do odd things. I hated it when they moved.
A white sheet had been clipped around the man, and it slipped down with a slow unveiling. He inhaled a mouthful of fabric, making it look like an ivory mask forged with a silent scream.
Okay, maybe the guy wasn’t dead. He wasn’t a demon unlike Mrs. Lutz and myself. Yes, demons could die too. But he wasn’t one of our usual clients—he’d been sent from the nearby hospital. The paperwork was Aleo’s and Cort’s responsibility.
The sheet slid off his face.
I cursed under my breath, hastily covered Mrs. Lutz, and raced to his side. I grabbed the sheet just as it was falling off his body.
“Lay back and breathe. You’re okay.”
He stared directly ahead, unblinking. His honey blond bangs tumbled in front of his wide blue eyes. Even with his horrified expression, I could tell he was good looking. A chiseled Nordic beauty, if you could say that about a guy. Pretty with his fine bones. Yet when his head whipped toward me, I noticed something more striking about him.
He had fangs.
“Fuck!”
He lunged at me. Dodging, I rolled under another table and came to my feet near the door. I was fast, but he was faster. Supernatural ninja fast. He grabbed me by the shoulders and slammed me hard against the wall. His screeching cry of victory drowned out my hiss of pain.
My heart hammered, reverberating in my ears. I pummeled him with my arms and legs, but he was as solid as a marble statue. None of my blows fazed him. And he was naked. This was so wrong. I screamed and cringed with the shrillness of it.
It was stupid to scream. No one could hear me. And once this bastard realized what I was, I’d be lucky if he didn’t fuck me up beyond repair. I didn’t want to end up on one of the metal tables myself.
He bent his head to one side and opened his jaws wide. His lips were dry and cold as they touched my skin. Yet that sensation wasn’t as repulsive as his tongue swiping over my jugular. It was smooth as if crafted from velvet. I shuddered and cried out again.
Vile creature. He shouldn’t be here. What was wrong with this world? Even more wrong that when I headbutted him, it only hurt my head.
His fangs scraped over my flesh, but he pulled back, dropping me before they pierced skin. He frowned and then peered around the room. “What the hell?”
I sank to the floor and wrapped my arms around myself, taking a few seconds to muster a bit of calm reasoning as he came out of his frenzy. Though thankful my demon blood wasn’t tasty, the fact I had to deal with a vampire in any way was no compensation. Maybe he wouldn’t hurt me. If I could get him out of here and lock the thick mortuary door, I’d be safe.
There was no protocol for this situation. Aleo never gave me a handbook for how to deal with any of the strange things that happened at the funeral home. We just dealt with them as they came.
“What’s going on? Where am I?” The vampire turned from me and took two stumbling steps forward to rest his hands on the edge of an empty table.
Great. A fledgling. It wasn’t my place to teach him the ways of the dark side or whatever it was a vampire’s sire did. Best if someone staked him now before he gained any real power.
I rubbed my bruised shoulders before standing and sidestepping to where he’d been laid out. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, I nabbed the clipboard from his table. “You’re at Putzkammer and Sons Funeral Home just south of South Bend, Indiana. And you,” I said as I glanced down, “Nicolas Reese, are a vampire. You need to leave now. We don’t house your kind here.”
Calm voice. I sounded in control. Mostly. Just as long as he thought it so.
“I’m dead?” Nicolas blinked.
“Not exactly. You’re undead, and you have to leave.” I pointed to the exit. My hand didn’t shake. Please, just make the vampire go away.
“Vampires don’t exist.” He shook his head and straightened up. “What is this, some sort of elaborate joke? Did Hessa set this up?” He smiled, seemingly unaware he was flashing his fangs.
“Obviously they do exist, and you’re one of them.” I scanned the rest of his information. The cause of death wasn’t much of a surprise. Vampires were notoriously immoral bastards. “Drug overdose. That’s how you died, well, officially. Some lucky vamp must have had quite the potent cocktail.”
“A cocktail? Really? Surely you can come up with better lines than that.” This time he did laugh. “I’m breathing. I feel great. Hungry, though. Where’re the cameras?” He did a slow spin and waved at all four corners of the room. He did a teasing shimmy, unconcerned about his nakedness.
His long legs and chiseled abs, oh so sexy. Desire sizzled in my veins. Heat
rose in my cheeks, and I hid behind the clipboard for a few seconds.
I silently cursed the vampire’s charms and put some distance between the two of us. Preferably that would be a hundred miles, but until then, he needed pants. Pants to cover that gorgeous… dammit. Don’t look. Just don’t look.
I reached down into a cupboard, pulled out a shirt and trousers, and tossed them in his direction. I gripped the edge of the cupboard until my knuckles whitened. Eyes to the floor. Lovely clean tiles.
“Put on some clothes. There are no cameras. Go find Hessa or whomever you were partying with.” Let someone else convince him of the truth. It wasn’t my job and all Aleo would care was that I got him out of here with no trouble. Having worked with the Putzkammers, I’d seen the aftermath of vampire attacks. Bodies so ravaged they couldn’t be pieced back together in any recognizable form. I’d heard even more horrendous stories.
So why was I peeking at him?
Nicolas stretched his arms above his head before bending down to pick up the clothes. “You just conveniently have some clothes too, hm?”
Just put them on! “We rent them out to clients.”
“What? Those clients?” He gestured to the other two bodies with his head.
“They’re dry-cleaned after each use.” I rolled my eyes. A dead guy complaining about clothes used for dead guys. I almost laughed, but when I found myself staring too much again, I was reminded of the seriousness of the situation. Really, I should be freaking out—why wasn’t I freaking out?—but all I could think about were those sparkling blue eyes.
He shrugged and slipped into the clothes. They were baggy on him, but somehow flattered his trim body. He was buttoning his shirt when he growled and sped across the room. He went from amused man to feral animal in the blink of an eye. I had no time to dive out of the way. He pinned me to the floor, and I flailed to no effect.
My desperate strength meant nothing to a hungry leech. All those self-defense classes felt like a waste. Too many late night cop shows filled my head with victims getting in lucky shots. There were none when it came to vampires.
His open mouth met my neck and his fangs thrust in. In the same second, he threw himself off me. He gagged and shook himself.
Didn’t like that, bad boy, did ya?
I scooted back, pressing my hand to my neck. A single drop smeared, but it healed quickly. It hurt less than his grip, but my stomach roiled. He’d bitten me. And, oh god, if I shooed him out the door like I’d been planning to, he’d find someone else to feed upon. They wouldn’t be so lucky.
Shit!
“I don’t do the hard drugs, I swear. But damn, whatever they gave me, this is some freaky trip.” Nicolas took a step toward me and offered a hand. His expression softened. “Here, let me help you. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No.” I pushed away from his proffered hand. I had to get away. “I’m fine. You’re high. You’re right, it is a joke.” I could not unleash a new vamp on the city. What had I been thinking? Oh yes, I hadn’t been thinking. I just wanted to save my own ass. “Let me go get the others. Just stay here.”
“Okay, okay.” He held up his hands and moved away from me. So smooth and oddly hypnotizing. “I’m sorry. Whatever’s going on, I’m sorry. Thank you for the clothes…” He looked to me for my name and my eyes met his.
“Erin.” Dammit. I tore my gaze away as I stood. “Wait here. I’ll go get you some help.”
“Thank you, Erin.” Nicolas ran his hands through his hair. He froze, then repeated the motion. He stared down at his hands, curled and flexed them. Placing one on his chest, he let out a small groan. “It’s true, isn’t it?”
“No, you’re stoned, remember? Bad trip. Just stay here.” I inched toward the only door and prepared to race up the stairs and call for help.
“There’s no heartbeat. No drug in the world could trick a mind about that.” A moment before, hunger drove him. This time, his handsome face twisted with fear.
He bolted for the door. A blur under the fluorescent lighting. No time to think. I threw myself in his way. I didn’t even get to shout for him to calm down before I was smacked aside like an annoying gnat. I slid across the floor and crashed against one of the tables. Pain sliced through my back.
The door squeaked closed. Then it was silent except for my heavy breathing.
Nicolas was gone. The throbbing of his bite a reminder of his vile nature.
“Shit.” I groaned as I rose and raced to the phone near the exit. Pressing the quick dial button for Aleo’s cell, I laid my forehead on the cool tiles of the wall.
How could I have let a newly risen vampire loose on the city?
Aleo inspected my neck for the third time. I stood still as he did so, even if his three sons—Cort, Paul, and Connor—did not. Each of them paced and fidgeted in turn. My fingers twitched, itching to do something, anything. The wound had healed, but there could be someone out there being drained to a dry husk at that very moment.
“You’re not feeling any effects from the bite?” A German accent twisted Aleo’s flat Midwestern tone. At least I thought it was German. He never talked about his life before he opened the funeral home.
“Nothing. He barely pierced me,” I said. No effects from the bite, but I wasn’t going to mention how distracted I’d been by the vampire’s charms. His bare-to-the-world charms.
“That’s what she said.” Connor smirked. Always the joker.
“It is what she said.” Cort threw his youngest brother a sharp look. Connor rolled his eyes as the joke was lost on Cort.
“Shut up, both of you. Erin was attacked. Show some sympathy.” Aleo directed me to sit down, gentle even as he snipped at his boys. I might not be his daughter, but I was always treated as such. Pampered too much sometimes. A delicate princess I was not.
“I’m fine, really,” I assured them for the twentieth time. I loved them like they were my own family, but they fussed too much. I wrung my hands, detesting the feel of my cool dry skin. Skin so much like Nicolas’. “Someone needs to get out there and make sure the vamp doesn’t go on a killing spree. He was hungry enough to have a go at me twice.”
“The newly risen are like that. You leave handling the vampire to the professionals, dear.” Aleo fondly laid a hand on my shoulder. His smile strained at the corners of his mouth. “What you did was the right thing to do. You couldn’t have taken him on.”
No, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t responsible. I could have done something, anything other than thinking about how to get myself to safety.
“Chances are Mister Nicolas Reese will go home.” Paul tapped the clipboard with a bony finger. His long face was paler than usual. “He lived with his mother, no siblings, father deceased. If he manages to get home, there will only be one victim.”
I cringed at his casual tone. There were moments when Paul could be colder than the caricatures of morticians on late night crime dramas. But I knew him better than that. The guy could be a sweetheart.
Except tonight. The hatred demons had of vampires made us all cold. “One is too many. And considering he had no money, it’ll be the first human he sees. What if that’s a child?”
“It’s a school night. Children will be home. Don’t worry yourself.” Aleo’s lips thinned and his face tightened.
It wasn’t my fault that a vampire ended up in their mortuary. But if I’d only acted sooner, locked Nicolas in while he was still disoriented. The business had a reputation to maintain and vampires were bad for business. No demon in their right mind would ever have anything to do with one of the undead.
“Wasn’t he a druggie? I think it’s a better chance he’ll be heading out for his next hit.” Connor shrugged. He was the youngest of the Putzkammer brothers. Cort and Paul were high achievers while Connor was content to sleep in every day and drive the hearse when needed. Though, he was far cleverer than anyone else considered him to be. I should urge Aleo to tell the hunters to seek Nicolas out upon that suggestion. Just as long as they foun
d him sooner than later.
“Not that you know anything about such things, right?” Aleo’s eyes narrowed at Connor and then pulled his cell out of his pocket. His fingers were swift as they typed and sent a text message. “They’ll find him any which way. He couldn’t have gone far.”
“Nothing we can do now. Just glad you’re all right.” Cort bent over and kissed me on the top of my head. Chaste yet warm. He picked up his jacket from where he had tossed it over the back of a chair. “I need to get back to my friends.”
“You mean your date?” Connor teased. He walked over and held up his fist for me to bump. I rapped my knuckles against his. “Yeah, glad you’re okay, E. Vamps are fu— suck. They suck, and not just in the blood sucking way either.”
“Thanks,” I replied with a little smile. Connor was my best friend extraordinaire. At least that’s the title he liked to use, and I more than happily let him. It was well deserved.
“And it’s not a date if five of our friends are there with us.” Cort corrected his brother.
“It could be.” Connor grinned and waved as he slipped out the funeral home’s rear entrance with Cort.
“Well, I should get downstairs. See if anything needs my attention and then do up the paperwork. Thankfully, Reese’s mother requested a closed coffin and cremation. No need to explain a missing body.” Paul reached over and gave my hand a squeeze. “Anything. If you need anything at all, I’m here for you.”
I nodded with a quiet thanks, and he disappeared downstairs. Being the funeral home’s only licensed mortician, he spent the most time down there and, on nights like this, looked like it.
“You’ll be okay tonight? You know Bolona and I don’t mind if you stay over.”
If Aleo and Bolona had their way, I would live at their house. They were the family I never had and they could be smothering like a real family. I shook my head.
“I’m all right.” Though I doubted I’d sleep tonight.
“I’m driving you home. Tomorrow will be a better day, dear. Three funerals. You’ll feed and everyone will feel better.” Aleo fetched our jackets and led the way to his car.
