The Blood Boss by Davidson King

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jayce

“Germaine was looking for your sigil, why?” I asked one morning as I ate breakfast in the dining hall. Cain was drinking a “Bloody Mary,” and the humor wasn’t lost on me.

“Rogos feels like he needs more vampires on his side. He believed if he branded some with my sigil and killed them, vampires would turn on me, thinking my mark on them was what got them killed. But Germaine couldn’t find it.”

“So he thought if he took me to Rogos, it would be better than the sigil?”

“That’s what he told me.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if Germaine and Natalie were still alive, but I thought if Cain wanted to tell me, he would.

“Yes,” Cain, watching me, answered my unspoken question, but I wanted to be sure.

“Yes, what?”

“They’re still alive.”

The bite of food turned to ash in my mouth. I’d wanted to know for so long, but knowing made it worse.

“Are they here?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

“Cain, please just tell me. Everyone treats me like some delicate flower when I’m not. I can take it.”

“Jayce, these vampires wanted to kill you or have you killed. Your life meant nothing to them when money and power were dangled in front of their faces. For that reason alone they are still alive but slowly dying.”

My fork dropped from my hand making a loud clatter. “You’re making them die slowly?”

Cain huffed and bowed his head. “I’ve gotten everything out of them that I need.”

“So, then, end it. Why make them suffer? Aren’t you the one who told me that vampires are drained when they are ordered to die? Some sort of circle of life?”

His head jolted up, and I could see his anger flickering across his face like a wildfire. “What they did does not grant them that kind of peace, Jayce! If Rogos had asked them to kill you slowly, they’d have done it for materialistic things, and you’re priceless, Jayce. You have all the value.” Reaching out, he grabbed my hand. “I’d die a million times if it meant you’d live in peace.”

“Oh, Cain.” I rose from my chair and gracelessly collapsed in his lap. “You can’t keep them alive. Killing them slowly is killing you in return, and that’s something I’m not okay with.”

He kissed the curve between my shoulder and my neck. “Very well, Jayce. I will—”

“No.”

“Pardon?”

I stood and held out my hand. “We will go do it together. You don’t have to carry every heavy burden on your own.”

“Jayce, you shouldn’t have to see them.”

“And you should?”

“I’m in charge of them. This is my job, a responsibility I must always follow through with.”

Leaning down, I kissed his forehead and took his hand. “You just never had anyone willing to follow beside you. Now, come on.”

He squeezed my hand and stood. He never let go, opening doors with one hand, and together we went through rooms and along corridors. We walked down a narrow flight of stairs, to the depths of the house. There wasn’t a lot of lighting, but with Cain linked to me, I was okay.

“Wow,” I said as the large wine cellar came into view. There were hundreds of bottles, barrels, and glasses.

“In all your meandering, you never saw this?”

I shook my head. “I knew you had one, but I never made it down here.”

He nodded and walked even deeper into the pits of darkness until we came to a crimson door.

“Before we go inside, I need you to listen to me.”

“Of course.”

“They aren’t your friends. Natalie might try to appeal to the goodness in your heart. Germaine will likely plead for forgiveness. You need to be strong. They are dying and they know it. They can’t be redeemed, and they can never be trusted; death is the only option for their crimes. You must, must, not interfere with my judgment.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

He nodded and opened the door. A bright light turned on, forcing me to squint. After they had a chance to adjust, the room came into view and against the wall, chained about a foot apart, were Natalie and Germaine.

Natalie’s usual perfectly pinned hair lay in tangled knots, makeup dripping from her ashen face. I could see missing fingers and tears on her skin. I knew vampires could heal, but if they weren’t given proper nutrients, it would take a long time or eventually they’d die.

Germaine’s eyes were closed; he was in way worse shape. A hand, foot, and ear were gone. Burns marred his dark skin, and his silver hair was matted and dirty.

“Jayce,” Natalie whispered. “Help me, please.”

Cain wasn’t watching them, no, he was monitoring my every emotion.

“I didn’t come here for you, Natalie, or him.” I tilted my chin toward Germaine, who lolled his head my way. “I came to help Cain seek closure. Killing you slowly, while a fitting punishment for your crimes, is taking a piece of him with you.”

“Why are you here, then?” she asked, sneering.

“To end it.”

Cain went over to a closet and pulled out an ax. When he went closer to her, I stopped him.

“Wait.”

He did but was obviously confused. I stepped closer to Germaine, who glared at me through one good eye. “You told me Rogos warned you not to let me sing, that if I did you’d be doomed.” I found no joy in this, but I didn’t want Cain to carry these deaths when he’d been carrying so many already. “Rogos was right.”

I’d figured out a lot about who I was, and since the spell to hide and protect me had dissipated, my powers had only grown. Now it felt like a vibration through my body, calling to me to let loose. Fear had been the sole reason I’d restrained myself, but I wouldn’t be its victim any longer. Cain, being unaffected by my songs, was lucky. He would never be hurt by them.

“You’re a monster,” Natalie snarled. “Every day you live, it throws off the balance. You need to die for all of us to live.”

Whether she was correct didn’t matter; she’d forfeited her rights when she betrayed Cain.

I retreated and took Cain’s hand once again. The power of my song was determined by the emotions behind it; I had been able to figure that much out when I was at Gibson Peak with Cain and that Triton. So, I closed my eyes, thought of the love I had for Cain and how these two tried to take him from the world. Feeling murderous rage wasn’t hard after that.

I never opened my eyes, and as I sang, Cain’s hand tightened in mine. Ignoring Natalie’s screams and Germaine’s anguished cries, I kept singing until there was silence.

“It’s over,” Cain whispered into my ear. I never opened my eyes—I didn’t need to know what they would look like. I turned on my heel, and with Cain’s fingers entwined with mine, we left the room and the true monsters behind.

Later that evening, while Cain was working in his study with Emil and Petru to devise a plan to lure Rogos and Sable from the sea, Margarite came into the library, where I’d been reading. After she’d kept me safe in the pantry closet, we found ourselves talking, learning about each other.

“Hey.” I smiled and gestured for her to sit. When she didn’t, I knew this wasn’t one of our chatting sessions.

“Jayce, you have a visitor.”

I closed my book and rose from my seat. “Who?”

When Margarite moved to the side, Sibell stood behind her. While I had called her when I needed help, I hadn’t seen her. I knew Cain had spoken with her to thank her, and I’d messaged her to let her know I was okay and healing. I’d known at some point I would need to come face to face with her to thank her properly for saving me, but it was something I’d been able to put off.

As she stood there, I realized how much older she looked since I last saw her, and I felt torn. Part of me wanted to hug her and the other felt the need to keep a healthy distance.

“Thank you, Margarite.”

“Would you like me to stay?” Margarite narrowed her gaze at Sibell, and I chuckled.

“You’re becoming quite the protector. I think we’ll be fine, though.”

The entire time it took Margarite to exit the room, she watched Sibell. When it was just the two of us, I gestured for Sibell to sit.

“How are you feeling?” she asked as she sank down onto the couch.

“Sore, but better.”

“I have a balm that would help the bruises heal quicker…if you’re interested.” There was no hiding her uncertain demeanor.

“That’s kind of you, thanks.”

She nodded and took a breath. I could have given her a lifeline, but I really wanted her to direct this conversation. After all, she came here.

“I often find myself thinking, had you never come here to pay a debt for your father, met Cain, any of this, if you would have believed me if I’d told you to stay away from him.”

“I would have,” I answered without hesitancy, knowing she was right. She’d never given me reason to doubt her.

“Because you trusted me then.” It wasn’t formed as a question.

“I had no reason not to.”

“Jayce, I never lied to you about Cain. He never came up until you were here. In my wildest imaginings, never did I think you’d end up here.”

“On that we both agree. And while you never lied to me about Cain, you omitted a lot once I was here. The thing is, Sibell, you presented yourself as something completely different than who you are.”

“No.” She shook her head. “Never with you.”

“Especially with me.” I sighed and moved closer to her. “You were great to me growing up, I believe you truly did love me, probably still do. But it was shrouded in a promise you made with a queen and a god. And hearing the horrors you did to Cain? Sibell, I feel like I don’t know you.”

“It was a time so long ago, impossibly different than now. Earth wasn’t at risk of collapsing into itself.”

“Look, Sibell. My whole life has changed, some for the better, some for the worse. I called you, and you stepped in to make sure I was safe. I thank you greatly for that. I doubt I’d be here if you hadn’t.”

“Because I do love you, Jayce.”

“I know, but—”

“You love Cain, and you’re carrying his burden with him, aren’t you?”

I nodded, unable to explain it all.

“Love is a powerful thing.” Her eyes were sad, though she smiled. “I can’t change the past, and I’ll admit I never looked at The Blood Boss in a flattering way, ever. I felt you being here would have you tilting to the side of darkness, but instead you’ve brought great light into his life.”

“I find myself wondering if my biological father, Rigil, thought that about my mother when he saw her at first. Knowing she was a Siren and their intentions being ugly. Then seeing she wasn’t what he was told.” Sadness and despair sat heavy on my heart, but anger pushed through. “History teaches us that the monsters are from the pits of Earth, and the gods and angels and whatever from the skies saved Earth. Truth is, hatred toward each other has always been a thing. People like Rigil and Asherah and Cain and me, we prove that it doesn’t need to be how things are.”

She reached out and took my hand. “You’re a wise one, Jayce. So much like your parents.”

“I’ve had two sets of those and learned that love is felt, not seen. I feel the good and the love in Cain, and that’s all I need.”

“Then I shall learn from you.”