Bad Blood

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  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

  Epilogue

  Praise for the Blood Coven Vampire Novels

  Girls That Growl

  “An amusing teenage vampire tale starring a fascinating high school student . . . Young adults will enjoy growling alongside of this vampire slayer who has no time left for homework.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “A fast-paced and entertaining read.”

  —Love Vampires

  “A refreshing new vampire story, Girls That Growl is different from all of those other vampire stories . . . a very original plot.”

  —Flamingnet

  Stake That

  “A fast-paced story line . . . both humorous and hip . . . A top read!”

  —Love Vampires

  “Rayne is a fascinating protagonist . . . readers will want to stake out Mari Mancusi’s fun homage to Buffy.”

  —The Best Reviews

  Boys That Bite

  “A wonderfully original blend of vampire/love/adventure drama which teens will find refreshingly different.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “Liberal doses of humor keep things interesting . . . and the surprise ending will leave readers bloodthirsty for the next installment of the twins’ misadventures with the undead. A ghoulishly fun read.”

  —School Library Journal

  “A tongue-in-cheek young teen tale starring two distinct, likable twins, the vampire between them, and a coven of terrific support characters who bring humor and suspense to the mix . . . [F]illed with humor and action . . . insightfully fun.”

  —The Best Reviews

  Berkley JAM titles by Mari Mancusi

  BAD BLOOD

  GIRLS THAT GROWL

  STAKE THAT

  BOYS THAT BITE

  THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada

  (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

  Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)

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  (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)

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  (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

  Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196,

  South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

  BAD BLOOD

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  Copyright © 2010 by Marianne Mancusi.

  eISBN : 978-1-101-17121-9

  eISBN : 978-1-101-17121-9

  [1. Vampires—Fiction. 2. Twins—Fiction. 3. Sisters—Fiction.

  4. Las Vegas (Nev.)—Fiction.] I. Title.

  PZ7.M312178Bad 2010

  [Fic]—dc22

  2009038238

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  Prologue

  When Grandma was a little girl, they had these special books designed to teach kids to read called Fun with Dick and Jane. The prose wasn’t very eloquent. See Jane. And the action sequences were rather weak. See Dick run. Run, Dick, run! Not exactly Harry Potter, in complexity, let me tell you.

  Not surprisingly, these not-so-riveting storybooks soon went the way of the dinosaur, with only people like Grandma bringing them up from time to time while reminiscing about “the good old days” (which, if you take into account the two-mile walk to school barefoot in three feet of snow she claims to have endured daily, don’t actually seem so good after all).

  In fact, truth be told, I’d pretty much forgotten about those prehistoric primers all together. That is, until a real-life Jane came into our lives and my boyfriend suddenly turned into a real dick.

  Seriously, the last week or so I’ve wanted to strangle the old guy.

  Oh, and by the way, when I say “old,” I mean it. My boyfriend, Magnus, is literally coming up on his one thousandth and first birthday. Even though he doesn’t look a day over eighteen. And he doesn’t act his age either. You’ll never once hear him going off about the good old days like Grandma. Even though, taking into account his background, he could totally give the old woman a run for her three-foot of snow-walking, barefoot money.

  Magnus, you see, is a full-fledged vampire. In fact, he’s the Master of a major vampire coven. And I, Sunshine (Sunny) McDonald, am his normal, average, seventeen-year-old Massachusetts girlfriend.

  I know, I know, you’re all like, “But, dude, vampires don’t really exist!” Well, believe me, five months ago I would have totally been with you on that. But back in May I had a major awakening of the undead kind that not only left me believing in vamps, but almost becoming one myself!

  Yeah, it was a weird week, let me tell you.

  To understand, you have to know Rayne. My twin. Who’s not so normal and not so average. She and I may be identical on the outside, but on the inside we’re as different as—well, sunshine and rain. (Yes, yes, Sunshine and Rayne—blame our barefoot, commune-living, daisy-chaining mom for those delightful selections.)

  Anyway, all Rayne wanted to do once she got into high school was become a vampire. Don’t ask me why, I still can’t exactly figure out her reasoning. Suffice it to say, she’s a total Goth and you know how they can be about that sort of thing. Anyway, somehow she discovered this ancient vampire coven that had set up shop in St. Patrick’s Cemetery and hooked up with a few of them. Got herself on some waiting list, took a certification course, etc., and prepared herself for the night she was to be transformed into a vampire. (Again, why someone would willingly want to go through all this trouble just so they could drink blood and avoid the sun, I have no idea, but that’s Rayne for you.)

  Problem is, on the night she was supposed to be bitten, the vampire who was supposed to be doing the biting (Magnus) accidentally bit ME instead. I was so not happy about this, as you can probably guess. I mean, imagine if you were told for the first time that not only did vampires exist, but you were about to transform into one, one week before prom!

  Luckily, Magnus was as mortified at his mistake as I was about my impending undead status. So we ended up working together to figure out a cure. (Which involved a trip to Europe, a kick-ass Glastonbury festival, the Holy Grail—yes, the real one, not the Monty Python DVD—and a whole other adventure, b
ut that’s another story.) Luckily, we were successful and before the prom was over I was mortal again.

  In the meantime, Magnus and I fell in love and we’ve been dating ever since. Sure, it’s a little weird to have a nocturnal, blood-sucking BF, but really, most people go on dates at night anyway, and the blood thing is a whole lot more hygienic and civilized than you might imagine. (And no, he never drinks from me. Ever. I mean, ew! They have screened, paid donors for that kind of thing nowadays.)

  And Rayne—well, what can I say about Rayne? She was pretty bummed she lost her chance to become a vampire. Even more so when she found out she was destined to become a vampire slayer instead. Luckily for her, there are good vampires and bad vampires and she’s only commissioned to take out the bad ones. So she sharpened her stake, embraced her destiny, and proceeded to slay baddie vamp Maverick, who was trying to poison the Blood Coven with this awful virus. (Again, a whole other story!)

  In the process, Rayne got infected by the virus herself and to save her from an untimely death, her new undead BF, Jareth, turned her into a vampire as well. So now Rayne’s got her wish. Sort of. She’s currently a kind of half-vamp, half-slayer. She has none of the vamp superpowers (because of the virus), but unlike regular vamps she has no problems with the sunshine (which helps since she still has to graduate high school).

  For me, being a vampire’s girlfriend has been a good gig so far. In fact, up until now, I’ve had few complaints. But now, everything’s different. Since she came into town. Magnus’s newly assigned blood mate, Jane.

  But I’m getting ahead of myself here . . .

  1

  “So, should I or shouldn’t I?”

  Rayne groans and throws herself back on my bed. “Do you think just maybe you could contemplate your potential deflowering without taking a public opinion poll this time?” she asks. “I’m trying to memorize these cheers for tomorrow’s game.”

  “Oh fine. I see how it is.” I frown. “You always have some excuse on why you can’t help your dear twin sister in her time of need. What was it last week, again?”

  “Saving our town from rampaging werewolf cheerleaders.”

  Oh. “Okay, there was . . . that,” I admit. “But still! You can’t tell me a few extra minutes of rampaging would have really made that big a difference. Sure, maybe we would have lost a Star-bucks or two to the wolves, but would it really have hurt the townspeople to have to walk one extra block for their triple venti dry soy lattes?”

  “Look, if I hadn’t saved the town from the rampaging, there would be no decision for you to make,” Rayne rationalizes. “Except maybe if you were going to cheap out with the pine box coffin or cough up the cash for the deluxe model. Which technically wouldn’t be your decision at all, since you’d be the one lying in it. Dead. So how about cutting me a little slack here?”

  I frown. So much for a sweet, caring twin sister to assist me in my time of need.

  “Look, it’s not that I’m not here for you, Sun,” she adds. “It’s just that we’ve been through this like five gazillion times already. I’ve given you advice. You’ve ignored it. Which is fine. I’m not bitter. After all, it’s your decision. Your life. But don’t keep asking for what you’re not going to listen to anyway.”

  “I know, but . . .” I’m totally whining, but I can’t help it.

  “But what? If you think you’re ready and Magnus is the right guy, then go for it. If you’re unsure, then wait. This is not rocket science. It’s not even seventh-grade blow-stuff-up-in-a-test-tube science.”

  “You’re right.” Not that acknowledging this makes the decision any easier.

  Rayne peers at me suspiciously. “What’s really bugging you, Sunny? And why are you having this conversation with me and not the vampire in question?”

  I sigh. “I don’t know. He’s . . . out.”

  “Again?” My sister raises a disapproving eyebrow.

  “He’s Master of the Blood Coven, Rayne!” I remind her, a bit defensively. Probably because this isn’t the first time we’ve had this conversation. Like the sex thing, it seems to come up a lot.

  “He’s got a ton on his plate. I mean, you try running a coven of nearly a hundred vampires, not to mention the newbies in training who joined after the Blood Bar incident last spring. And then there’s the whole big consortium thingy he’s getting ready for. And ...”

  Rayne gives me a sympathetic look, which I hate. The last thing I want is for someone like her to feel sorry for me. My life is fine. Great, actually. So my boyfriend’s been a little preoccupied lately. Things will calm down after the consortium is over. No big deal.

  “Sunny, if you’re afraid of losing him, you need to have a talk, not sex,” my sister says gently. “Don’t you think?”

  “We talk,” I retort. “We talk all the time.” My cell starts ringing. Saved by the Kanye West ringtone. “See? Here is he now!” I make a show of pressing the TALK button to prove my point. Rayne just rolls her eyes and exits the bedroom. A good thing, too, since the caller on the other end isn’t actually my boyfriend, but my friend Audrey, asking if I want to go to a party with her tonight.

  “Sorry, Aud,” I say regretfully. “I think I’m going to stay in. I’m . . . not feeling a hundred percent.”

  “Aw, come on, Sun. You never come out anymore,” Audrey begs. “You’re always with your boyfriend.” She pauses, then adds, “Hey, why don’t you see if he wants to come, too? There’ll be a bunch of football players there. Did you hear Mike and Trevor are back? It’s so weird. They don’t even remember where they were the whole time they were missing.”

  I chuckle. If only they knew they spent the last month in a rogue werewolf cave on a Northern England mountainside. Though I wonder if they’d admit it, even if they didn’t go under memory reorganization by the other werewolves.

  “So what do you think? You and Magnus want to come?” my friend presses.

  I shake my head regretfully, then realize she can’t see my movement over the phone. As much as I’d like to go, there’s no way Magnus would want to go to a high school party, filled with annoying, immature high school boys. He may look like a teenager, but he’s over a thousand years old and way past his keg party days. If I dragged him to one of those I’d never hear the end of it.

  “Sorry, Aud, I’m going to have to pass,” I tell her, trying to keep my voice light. “Next time.”

  “Sure. Whatever. Later.” Audrey hangs up the phone.

  I stare down at the disconnected cell, feeling sad. Audrey’s the only one who still calls me these days. The only one who hasn’t given up on me from my old life, pre-vampire. The rest of my friends dropped off over the summer, when I was so in love with Magnus and we were hanging out every day and I had no time to call them back. Sure, they still say hi in passing in the hallways, but I’m never invited out with them. I only see the photos the next day, tagged on Facebook, without me in them.

  I have my sister, I suppose, but she’s a vampire now and so into her new world—always attending coven events and seminars that I can’t get into due to my still-mortal status. (And wouldn’t want to even if I could. I mean, Blood Letting 101, anyone?) And Jareth has plenty of time to spend with her, not being the Master and all.

  My cell rings again. This time I look at the caller ID before answering. My heart leaps to my throat as I realize it’s Magnus. He’s calling! Thank God. I was beginning to think I’d be spending yet another night alone in my room.

  “Hey, baby,” I coo into the phone. “I was just thinking about you.”

  “Good thoughts, I hope,” he teases and I can hear a smile in his voice. He’s in a good mood, thank God. He’s been so grumpy lately, with all that he’s been dealing with. I never know how he’s going to be when I talk to him.

  “Oh yes, very good thoughts,” I purr. “Am I going to get to see you tonight?”

  There’s silence on the end of the phone. Crap. I shouldn’t have asked him that. I shouldn’t have pushed. Isn’t that what the sel
f-help books say? Let him make the first move? Does that still apply after you’ve been going out for nearly six months?

  “Um, actually tonight I have some meetings,” he confesses at last, sounding regretful. “But I was thinking . . . tomorrow night?”

  My heart sinks. Out of the entire lonely week, tomorrow is the only night I have plans. I’m supposed to go see my sister cheer at the football game. My whole family’s going to be there and there’s no way Mom’s going to give me a pass on this one. She even made reservations at Olive Garden, my favorite restaurant.

  “Er, tomorrow’s not so good,” I confess. “It’s homecoming and I’m stuck with the fam watching Rayne cheer.”

  “A football game?” I can hear the distaste in his voice. Damn it.

  “I’m free any other night!” I add, hopefully. “Sunday? Monday? Any night next week?”

  “Sorry, Sun. I’ve got meetings up until the convention and then we’re heading out on Tuesday afternoon. I’ll be gone through Sunday.”

  I let out a frustrated sigh. So Saturday night it is. I wonder how much Mom would kill me if I bailed . . .

  “Wait, why don’t you come with us?” I ask, an idea coming to me. “We’re going to Olive Garden and then the game. It’ll be fun.”

  Yeah, Sunny, I’m sure it’d be a great time for him. As a vampire, he doesn’t eat and he hates football more than life itself.

  “How about . . .” He’s thinking. “How about I meet you after the game? It can’t go too late, right? We’ll spend some time together then.”

  “Sure. Perfect!” I agree eagerly. “Awesome.” Mom has to be cool with that. Do the family thing, then the boyfriend thing. Perfect.

  “What if . . .” Magnus sounds hesitant, which speeds up my heart rate all over again. “What if I got us a room?”

  I almost drop the phone. “A room?” I squeak. “Like a . . . hotel room?”