Blood Pool

Chapter Three

The sun began its descent across the sky of Seacrest, the main village of Mirabelle, during Bo and Raven’s meeting with Mayor Dubois. Walking outside, they noticed the intensely colored lights in radiant oranges and vibrant purples that outlined the shops and homes. Old-fashioned street lamps dotted the walkways as a small number of shopkeepers closed up for the evening. The couple strolled over to The Bed and Brew, which was located around the corner from Town Hall.

The fragrance of burning leaves was a familiar scent at this time of year. Smoke from warm fireplaces filled the autumn air as the two walked from the parking lot to The Bed and Brew. The sky was clear and the moon was waxing, every day swelling until the full phase. They both felt the pull from la bella luna. Bo let his arm rest protectively around Raven’s shoulders as they entered the restaurant.

He wondered why she hadn’t brought up his marriage proposal, but thought it best to let her mull it over. He imagined a very different response, one that included jumping for joy and smothering him with kisses-which would then, undoubtedly, lead to an incredible evening of lovemaking. Alas, that was not how it played out, and Bo considered whether she might actually turn him down.

His family originally had wanted him to pair with Bethany Logan. Eventually, they realized his heart belonged to Raven. Regrettably, Bethany still had her canines set on Bo. Bethany made no secret of her goal to mate with Bo and become his alpha female. Bethany even told Bo that if she had to, she would tolerate the Lamai, so long as Raven knew her place as second in line.

Bo held the door open for Raven in a courtly manner and the two entered. Candles lit the oak-lined dining room of the Starrs’ establishment. It was a lovely two-hundred-year-old bed and breakfast, and home of the island’s first brothel. Huge hurricane lamps occupied the four corners; each had a rune symbol of protection painted on it. A large fireplace strategically placed in the center warmed the whole room. Tapestries and antique sconces lined three of the four walls, creating an air of medieval magick. A mosaic tiled bar took up the entire length of the other wall. The pub-style restaurant was always busy, and the meals were always delectable.

“How nice to see you two together,” Julianna called in a singsong voice from across the room. She gestured for them to join her at the bar. “I’ve been expecting you, Raven. Hello, Bo.”

“Julianna, always a pleasure,” Bo said, pulling out a stool for Raven.

“Bo, you’re as handsome as ever. You’re one lucky woman, Raven Strigoi. He’s scrumptious! You have any brothers as handsome and hunky as you are, doll?”

Bo flushed with embarrassment, and Raven laughed good-naturedly. There were some women, Bo noticed, that Raven tolerated flirting with her man, while others caused her incisors to extend. Bethany triggered the latter.

Julianna inspected Raven. “As always, you’re working too hard, Raven.” She bobbed her head down behind the bar and popped back up. Her copper hair was meticulously coiffed, as always. She held a large bottle of absinthe in one hand as she signaled Mordred, the bartender, to bring over three glasses.

“Jules, you never age. What’s your secret?” Raven teased, looking over the velvet-clad witch as she skillfully poured a bit of the Green Fairy over cubes of sugar into ice-cold water.

“You’re about to drink it, honey.” She laughed, her blue eyes twinkling. “The usual?”

Raven licked her lips and winked at Julianna. “You have the best steaks, of course-marinated Porterhouses, and a side of your smashed potatoes.” Raven smiled as Bo put up two fingers, his full lips curled into a sexy smile.

Julianna pushed the kitchen’s worn double door open to peek in. In the kitchen her daughter Bridget reigned as queen. “Two marinades with the works, Jet.”

Bo could sense that Raven was feeling warm and fuzzy inside as she sipped the emerald liquor. He dreaded bringing up the horrid business that brought them there in the first place. It was a lovely night, he was with Raven and they were about to enjoy a wonderful meal. However, death also seemed to be his constant companion, and he knew, eventually, that it would demand its comeuppance.

“Enough small talk for now,” Jules whispered, moving a cornucopia to the side. “You need to take care, Raven. There is serious magick-evil magick-in the air.” The crone brandished her slender hand over the three glasses filled with the absinthe. Brilliant sparks flashed above them. The fluid in Raven’s glass changed to crimson. Bo looked in both fear and astonishment at Jules.

“What are you saying, Julianna?” he asked.

The liquid turned back to green-or could it have been an illusion of the candlelight?

“I’m saying that someone is out to hurt the magickal beings of Mirabelle Cove, and Raven will be in the middle. You need to take care also, Bo.” Julianna fingered a small gourd, which poked out of her centerpiece. “I can’t see too many specifics. I’m sorry. Certain things I cannot see, no matter what magick I try to conjure. That can only mean a powerful being is using protective shields against prying eyes. I can see, though, that there will be more bodies like the missing man at your morgue, and…something unexpected is coming your way. Things that have been buried will resurface.”

Bo wasn’t surprised Raven didn’t bother to ask how Jules knew about the dead body. She was a witch, after all. Mordred, a handsome young man with strawberry-blond hair, slid their plates over. They overflowed with thick, juicy steaks, garden greens and chive-with-cheese smashed potatoes. Bo began to feel the absinthe relaxing him after a long, harrowing day. Should a mortal take a taste of Emerald’s absinthe, it would be the trip of a lifetime, but for the magickal beings of Mirabelle Cove, it had the same effect as potent liquor-a very potent liquor.

Jules stared intensely at Raven. “Did Frank tell you anything else?”

“No, nothing-is there more?” she asked.

“He told us to come speak with you. Are you certain there’s nothing more you want to tell us?” Bo probed.

Julianna sighed, appearing puzzled. “Detective, you’ll have to ask Frank. I’ll let you two eat in peace. Do you want a private table?” Jules pointed to a vacant booth in the back. The cubicle was by a window in a secluded corner, lit only by the orange scented candles on the center of the table. They decided to sit there.

“That was weird,” Raven said as they walked toward the table. “Is it me, or did it seem as if she was hiding something?”

Bo agreed. “Something is up. I’m not so certain it was that she was hiding information. I think she has information she feels…obligated to conceal.”

“You mean like a confessor, or doctor-patient confidentiality, or attorney-client privilege?”

“Yes, my love, exactly like that.” Bo stood while Raven slid onto the sleek leather seat then sat across from her.

Raven took a slice of warm peasant bread with sun-dried tomato and dipped it into the rosemary-flavored oil in a small cup on the table.

“Mm…this is fantastic. Try a piece.” Raven offered Bo a bite as she chewed the flavorful bread.

“I’ve suddenly lost my appetite,” Bo said, looking into her eyes. He wanted to protect her, to keep all the dangers of life far away from her. Realistically, he knew that wasn’t possible, but he still held that wish nearest to his heart. Bo was a powerful man and a vicious wolf. Police training and animal instinct were his tools, and he planned to use them to their fullest capacities to shield the woman he loved from any and all predators.

Her eyes flashed like lightning. “Are you worried about me?”

Bo caressed the silken skin of her face. She felt soft and inviting. “You promise to take precautions? Do you have my medicine pouch?”

Raven pulled the tiny, suede beaded bag from under her blouse. “Close to my heart, Boo.” She smiled and started slicing into the meat, watching the blood ooze out and into the potatoes. “Maybe you can meet with your grandfather. I wonder if he’s had any visions. Have you spoken with him lately?”

Bo rubbed his boot against her leg under the table while she fed him a piece of meat.

“I’m due for a visit,” he said while chewing the tender porterhouse. Raven’s eyes sparkled in the candlelight. They ate the rest of the meal in silence, comfortable enough with each other to allow the quiet.

Leaves danced outside the window. “You want dessert?” he asked as he reached for her hands. His were on fire, as was the rest of his body. He was getting uncomfortable sitting so close to her and having to resist groping her.

“No, thanks.” The room began fading away, and Bo knew the time had come for them to leave. The closeness, the absinthe and his desire to look after her were all converging. Raven stood while he pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and left it on the table.

The car ride back to Raven’s home was quiet, with the exception of a few indiscriminate moans. They could barely keep their hands still for a single moment. Each caressed the other. Bo couldn’t tear his gaze from the woman who’d stolen his heart many years ago. Which made it challenging to drive.

He’d always thought she wanted nothing more than to marry him. But he also worried. How would the clan of shape shifters feel about their coupling? Would Raven question his ability to cope when the wild blood that surged through his veins called out for him and he disappeared, again without a word? Not to mention that Bethany would still be in the pack.

As they entered her house, their urgency grew. Only their desire existed in the dark. In one long stride, Bo moved toward her, his arms outstretched, but Raven backed away.

She tossed her jacket onto the chair nearby, walking backward toward the bedroom. He followed, flicking one button of his shirt after the other. Raven followed suit, taking off her blouse just before releasing her breasts from the lacey bra. Bo watched as she dropped it to the floor. Her breasts shone like polished ivory in the moonlight which glided through the windows.

She seductively bit her full lower lip, wiped the drop of blood that dripped onto her finger and offered it to Bo. He seized her wrist and pulled her close to him. His mouth covered hers and he tasted her blood, causing his craving to overtake them both.

Finally separating, she unbuttoned his jeans and pulled them off. She guided him to the edge of the bed and sat him down as she slowly removed the rest of his clothes. Then she proceeded, methodically, to strip for his eyes only.

She slithered out of her navy pencil skirt, kicking it over to where he sat. She ran her hands up to her breasts and cupped them, offering a taste. As he leaned forward, she pulled back.

“I’m not finished yet,” she whispered, her voice husky.

Her finger trailed around her nipple, and he gasped as her slender digit slid down to her red lace panty. She took the elastic and ran her hand around her waist, sliding one side down, then the other. Bo’s breath was ragged, his body taut with anticipation.

Bit by bit, she wiggled out and caught the red garment on the edge of her painted toe before flicking it into his face. He smiled and breathed in her essence, moaning with delight. She stood before him in only her open-toed pumps, an ivory goddess.

His sex was hard, and she knelt before him, taking a taste.

“Lose the shoes, my love,” he whispered, moaning with the pleasure she provided between her lips. She kicked them off as she held his penis, kissing the tip then traveling up his chest with hungry lips. She nicked a spot and sucked out a bit of his blood. His hands worked their way from her bottom to her breasts, finally taking one at a time inside his mouth, playfully teasing and tasting. He felt her go limp and grabbed her. With one swift move, Bo had her on her back in bed.

He leaned, poised, ready to enter her. “What do you want from me, my love? Tell me and I’ll do it-whatever it is.”

“Love me, always, meu dragoste,” she panted, holding him as close as she possibly could.

“You never called me that before. I do love you. I want you to be mine, always. Marry me, bear my children, be my mate.”

A smile reached across Raven’s face. “I’ve always been yours. Take me. Don’t ever leave me,” she murmured, pushing him deep inside her, pushing herself upward to meet him in rapture and delight. Despite the fact she was half Lamai, he felt her warmth as he joined with her. He couldn’t imagine his life without her in it.

They tussled between the blankets of Raven’s bed, trying desperately to merge with each other completely.

“I want us to work this time, cante skuye. Promise me we’ll make it work,” he murmured in her ear as he plunged deeper inside her. Her eyes were taking on the silver hue that indicated she was near orgasm.

“You know I’m yours,” she moaned.

She licked at the spot on his chest where she’d extracted some of his blood. His hunger for Raven surpassed all other feelings.

He took her head gently between his hands and delved into the seat of her soul with his spirit. Their gazes locked onto each other, soul to soul, they united.

“Why did you want to be with that other man, then? At Blood Pool, I felt your emotions.” His heart went cold as he thought about the way she’d acted.

“You felt only my hunger, meu dragoste,” she confessed.

“Hunger for me and only me,” he said, half-pleading, half-demanding, and then he kissed her. He covered every part of her with his energy possessing her. His lips traveled across her neck and down to her breasts. As his tongue flicked at her hardened nipples, she arched backward, her fangs extended onto his exposed neck.

“Do it,” he commanded.

“I’m afraid.” She ground her hips feverishly into his. A tear escaped her eye. Her lips were swollen from the force of passion that raced between them as they nibbled and kissed.

“Now, Raven,” he pleaded.

She bit down into his neck. His body spasmed and his life force poured into her.

“You’ve always been my love, since the beginning,” Bo crooned. “Marry me.”

She swallowed his blood. “I will,” she answered.

Raven merged with him so that there could be no doubt. Her soul entered his heart. At the point of climax, there was only love.

The phone rang, breaking the silence of the early morning.

“I hate to bother you again, Doc. We have another body. Looks to be the same situation as yesterday. No outward sign of trauma, but he is dead. Davis picked him up early this morning,” Bianca reported as Raven wiped the sleep from her eyes.

She propped her head in her hand as she lay on her side. “Are you certain he’s dead?”

“Well, Davis pronounced him at the site. By the way, it was at The Bed and Brew this time.”

Shock coursed through her. Someone was trying desperately to send her a message. It had to be-first Blood Pool, and then The Bed and Brew. Both were places where Raven and Bo had been earlier in the evening.

Raven sat up in bed as Bo’s arm encircled her waist, pulling her toward him. She felt his erection hard and ready for her.

“I’ll be right there.” Raven hung up the phone.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he murmured, grasping her bottom.

She grabbed the edge of the bed with one hand and held herself steady with the other as he entered her from behind. His hair tickled her back while he nipped at her neck. The urgency of his lovemaking showed her how he wanted to claim her.

She abandoned all thought, hurtling down the road to ecstasy once more with him.

Davis put the final few stitches into the John Doe as Raven typed up the autopsy report. John had lost approximately four liters of blood. How? Well, that question wouldn’t be so easy to answer. Raven noticed a puncture mark by the femoral artery and noted it in the autopsy report. Whatever happened, whoever did it went right for a main artery. It was a single puncture mark, not a bite mark.

Detective Joe Menendez witnessed the autopsy.

“Let’s get an I.D.,” Raven said. “Fingerprints and dental records, please.”

Tracy ordered a full tox screen, and Raven and Davis reviewed the x-rays numerous times. No trauma caused this death-at least, no visible external or internal trauma. It had taken five hours to perform the routine autopsy. Raven had supervised Davis.

“Good night, all,” Raven said as she made her way out into the late afternoon sun. She wanted to stop at the farm stand before heading home. She craved a caramel apple pie, and Nigella’s Herbary and Farm Stand made the best. Nigella was a dear childhood friend who knew all of Raven’s secrets. Nigella also happened to be Bianca’s sister.

Raven started her car, a cherry-red Nissan Altima, and adjusted the rearview mirror after quickly applying a coat of mascara. Something was off. Making her alterations to seat positioning and mirror placement, Raven suddenly noticed she had company, and he was hungry.

Blue eyes stared her down. “Drive, okay? I’m not going to hurt you.” His voice was scratchy and unsteady.

She chuckled. “Me? You’re not going to hurt me?” Her incisors were sharp and long at this point, the adrenaline rush causing them to extend. Her eyes turned platinum. Raven looked back at him. She realized the identity of the man hunched over in her back seat. Adonis.

“Oh, gods! Derrick! What happened to you?”

“I was hoping you could explain it to me.” He wiped his palms on his pants, but he kept perspiring. “I don’t know. We have to go somewhere safe so I can talk to you. Not your place-your boyfriend will be there.” His eyes darted back and forth, and he kept looking behind himself, as if expecting to see someone following. The handsome man from the other night had disappeared, replaced with this pale and anxious one.

She thought of Bo’s schedule for the coming week. “Bo’s working tonight,” she said, gazing back at him through the mirror. He looked awful. His skin was pasty and discolored. The whites of his eyes were yellowed and bloodshot.

“No, he’s supposed to be at work, but he’s not… That little psychic talent I had has improved vastly since we last saw each other,” Derrick said, rubbing his red-rimmed eyes.

Raven drove to the water’s edge by Three Maidens Marina and parked at the end of the lot. She shut off the engine and turned. His aura was blotchy and grey. “Okay, here we are. Talk.”

He became suddenly still. “Am I…like you now? I thought I was dead. I don’t remember much of anything.”

Her heart went out to him. She’d witnessed only a few humans transform into Lamai. It did not appear to be a pleasant change.

“What does your spidey sense tell you?” she asked.

He looked at Raven with an odd expression. She’d aimed for humor and missed by a long shot.

“My psychic sense is telling me I’m in deep shit. Evil shit. You’re somehow involved, but I don’t know any more than that. I wanted to talk to you the other night. I had a dream about you, and it wasn’t good. You were in trouble, big trouble, life-and-death trouble,” Derrick rambled on. “Now, I can’t remember much of anything.”

“Me? Life-and-death? That’s kinda hard. You see I-I can’t die.” Raven pursed her lips and shook her head, hoping to convince him she was an immortal.

Shrugging, he said, “You’re only half-vampire. I thought you were still vulnerable.”

“True, but my father is one of the most powerful vampires around and, although he looks perpetually forty, he’s old-hundreds of years old, maybe even older. He won’t tell me. You could say I have all the benefits of being human, without the pesky threat of death.”

Of course, Raven could die, but not many people knew under which circumstances, and she preferred it that way. Most Lamai guarded that secret diligently. They held a great deal of contempt for those night creatures that gave interviews revealing Lamai vulnerabilities to mortals.

Derrick ran his hand across his sweat-soaked brow. “Where is your father?” he asked, his voice strained.

Raven huffed. “I don’t know. It’s better that way. Better for him, and better for me.”

“And your mother? Is she any part vampire, too?”

“No, she’s dead,” she said bluntly.

“Oh. Mine is, too. Sorry.” He leaned back and closed his eyes, wincing from the pain She knew the transformation was ravaging his insides. “How did your mother and father-h-how were you…?”

Raven was slightly amused. It was a common question, and she’d had it asked of her more times than she could remember.

“I was conceived like any other human. I carry my father’s DNA. Like all species, ours is designed for survival. Usually, the mitochondrial DNA comes from the maternal side, but when a vampire male mates with a human female, the father’s DNA is passed automatically to the child. It’s the opposite of humans. Why all the questions?”

He coughed violently before catching his breath once more. “Courtier de Sang is hell-bent on figuring a way to fi- He-blames…” A sudden shortness of breath stopped Derrick from speaking. The mottling on his face turned an intense magenta. He grabbed at his neck as if trying to pry a pair of hands off of his throat. Raven jumped out of the car and joined him in the back, clearing his airway, feeling for a pulse. It was thready and irregular. The changes were well under way within him. Somehow, someone had infected him with vampire blood.

She knew all the resident Lamai on the island, and each had this or her own method of quenching the immortal thirst. A few traveled to the mainland and helped to clean up the neighborhoods, so to speak. Others were past the phase of needing to feed, and still others had concocted a brew that came from animals due for slaughter. Then there was talk of a synthetic blood soon to become available. Raven had Bo, or Tracy ’s supply from the blood bank.

Raven tried comforting him. “I’m going to get you to the hospital, Derrick.” She hopped back into the driver’s seat and peeled out of the parking lot, heading straight for Seacrest Memorial Hospital.

“I think I need blood,” he whispered.

“Try to relax.”

“This feels so weird…”

“I know. Once we get you to the hospital, I can see about getting you some blood,” she promised.

“How? How can you get me blood?”

“Harvesting blood has become part of the ritual at our Halloween feast. It’s a sacred act that’s taken place on the local farms for hundreds of years. Have you ever attended the ritual?” she asked, trying to keep his mind off the pain.

“N-no. This was going to be my first time.”

“The ritual also insures a plentiful harvest. All the farmers participate-Lamai, fae, shifters, witches and humans. The surplus of blood is stored at the hospital for local Lamai. Don’t worry.”

His face relaxed a bit.

“None of the Lamai I know drinks from islanders. Besides, the counsel forbids the Lamai to transform humans without express permission and miles of blood red tape.”

Derrick’s face tensed once more. “He’ll…k-kill…me…he knows,” he croaked, still grasping at his throat. “He’s very powerful… I-I…”

“Why would he kill you? You know what, let’s save this talk for later. It’s normal to feel the way you do. You’re not dying. Not in any mortal way.” How comforting, she thought.

Derrick gagged. “H-how do you know? What’s going on?”

“You’re changing. This Sang guy won’t be able to get to you, don’t worry,” she falsely promised. Raven knew the workings of magick, and there was always a way around things, but she had to keep Derrick calm. She made it to the hospital in record time.

“You still with me, Derrick?”

She heard him grunt an answer as she pulled in front of the ER. The ER doors slid open. Raven’s gaze darted around the room, searching for someone familiar, but there was no one she recognized. She called out for immediate assistance. A young female resident dropped the chart she was working on, grabbed a wheelchair and followed her outside.

“Dr. Strigoi, what’s wrong?” The woman trailed behind Raven to the back passenger door.

“The patient’s name is Derrick. I don’t have a last name. Pulse is irregular, breathing shallow.” Raven opened the door to allow her access to Derrick.

But he was gone.

Again.