Page 10 of Watch Me Burn (Sanctuary #1)

CHAPTER 9

BLOOD

I didn’t know much about Alaska before I got shipped off here with Elise. It doesn’t take long for me to realize that all the research in the world wouldn’t have prepared me for Dyea.

It started with Mayor Lou. If I thought a skunk shifter—like, he’s a man sometimes, and then he turns into a skunk —was the weirdest thing I’d find in the village, I couldn’t have been more wrong. In fact, once I got used to the smell… well, kinda… I understood why he was picked to be in charge in the first place. He’s friendly and welcoming, from showing us our assigned house and helping us unpack to giving us a tour our first day, introducing us to everyone who came out to say hi to the new arrivals.

Then we met Jenny, who seemed nice enough until Elise flashed her fangs in her smile, the young brunette yelped, then keeled over. One second she was on her feet, the next she was on her side, arms and legs outstretched, visibly dead.

Only she wasn’t dead. Jenny is an opossum shifter, and when something spooks her, she plays ‘dead’. Facing an unfamiliar vampire was enough to set her off, and when she woke up again twenty minutes later, she sheepishly tracked us down to apologize and welcome Elise to Dyea.

There was also Kevin, who is a hedgehog shifter, and Haley, who turns into a bunny and has the white hair and pink eyes in her human form to prove it. Oh, and I can’t forget the ornery Gertie, who is a porcupine who shoots quills out of her hands if anyone comes too close to her cabin.

Turns out, Dyea is a sanctuary for a certain type of shifter: prey animals who don’t fit in anywhere else. There are still some predators, too. At least seven vampires who call the sanctuary home, though they keep to themselves mostly; themselves, and their respective human donors. No other witches, though Mayor Lou makes reference to other supes who don’t really interact with the rest of the community. Supposedly there is a centaur living in the woods nearby, and a yeti that prefers his space further into the wilds.

And then there’s Conall.

Freaking Conall.

We’ve been in Dyea for a week. For the most part, I’ve done what I came up here to do. I didn’t want to test the rules too soon, so I haven’t gone searching for the underground caves or the fire opal yet, but I’ve held onto my temper. It’s not that difficult. As Elise’s human, I’m practically invisible. The villagers all have been told the same story: Elise is hiding out from a male insistent that he is her beloved. I’m here to feed her. Since that seems to be my only purpose, all of the other villagers act like I’m not here.

All of them—except Conall, who acts like my presence is an insult to him.

I don’t know who he is. What he is. The more I catch him following me around the village, the more I can’t shake that he knows I’m hiding something. Worse, if there is a witch hunter hiding somewhere near Dyea, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was him.

Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking because, if he was, I could at least explain why I seem to annoy him as much as I do.

Especially since the feeling? Totally mutual.

With a little more force than necessary, I set the two bottles I’m carrying down on the coffee table in our living room. Elise is curled up under a blanket, reading a book she borrowed from the village library. As the bottles hit the wood, she glances up, an amused smile tugging on her lips.

“Have a nice trip to the commissary, sweetie?”

I huff, and Elise laughs.

I point at her. “It’s not funny.”

Her eyes dancing in amusement, telling me just how funny she does think it is, Elise uses her finger as a bookmark. “What did he do today?”

That’s the problem. Conall doesn’t do anything. Not really. As the head of security, he takes it upon himself to patrol around the village borders, making sure no one is starting any trouble or sneaking out. It’s just that, whenever I leave our shared cottage without Elise, he’s there . Like he’s my shadow.

Has he said a word to me? No. But unlike the others, who look right past me, I know he’s watching me. I know he sees me. Always with this slightly puzzled, slightly pissed expression on his face, and just when I want to flip him off and tell him to leave me alone, he does something inexplicably nice.

Like today. In the village, there is a commissary, where prepared food and some goods are imported from the human world at a huge mark-up. Then there’s the canteen, a small kitchen where the village chefs serve daily meals for cheap. We have a small grocery for fresh food that’s even more expensive than the commissary, stocked with food from Gladys, another witch who—wither her grandson, Charles—is our point person to get in touch with the covens.

I went to the commissary because I needed shampoo. I grabbed a bottle, muttered when I saw that they didn’t have any conditioner, and went to the counter to pay. I saw Conall slip into the small store after I did, did my best to ignore him while I was shopping, and left as soon as I was done.

I hadn’t made it three houses away from the commissary before he was catching up to me, his long legs eating up the snowy ground before I could get away. Without a word, he tapped me on my shoulder, shoving a matching bottle of conditioner in my face.

So startled, I didn’t even ask where he got it from, or how he found conditioner in the store when I couldn’t.

Instead, I blurt out, “Did you steal this?”

Obviously Conall didn’t steal it. He bought it for me, and looked almost insulted when I tried to pay him back for the bottle.

When I’m done telling Elise about how he stalked off, leaving me holding the shampoo and conditioner while resisting the temptation to bean him in the back of his skull with one, all she says is, “That was nice of him.”

“Nice?” I echo. “He’s fucking with me, that’s what he’s doing.”

“He’s a supe, Bridge. That’s what most males do.”

I’m not so sure about that. I’ve met vampires and shifters, and none of them have acted like Conall has. As for his being a supe… I don’t know what kind he is. Unlike the others, it’s not obvious, and that only adds to my suspicions that he’s something completely different.

So long as he isn’t a witch hunter…

“I don’t care. Doesn’t he know what happened to the last guy who was skulking around me? Following me around?”

He doesn’t. Of course he doesn’t. We’ve gone to great trouble to hide that from my new neighbors, and no matter how much he annoys me, he hasn’t done anything to deserve being barbecued.

Not yet.

Elise sobers a little. “How’s the fire?”

“I’m good,” I promise. “No temper. No fire. I’ve been on my best behavior.”

“I hope you’re going to stay that way.”

I want to tell her that I’m not going to start any shit. I can’t. The truth is that I have been waiting until our arrival doesn’t feel so fresh to the others to start my search for the underground caves. The more I’ve noticed that I’m invisible here, the more I don’t see any reason to continue waiting.

Then Conall does something like today, reminding me that he is watching, almost as though he expects me to leave the borders of Dyea as soon as I can.

It’s those stupid rules. Mayor Lou allows Conall to dictate what us villagers in the sanctuary can do, and leaving the protection of the hidden community is a no-no. I don’t see why it matters. So long as the magic lets me back in, I should be okay. It’s not like I plan on wandering around the woods. I need to find the caves, then explore underground for the fire opal.

I’m just gonna have to go. Maybe wait until Conall is busy doing something else for the mayor, then sneak out. It’s not like he goes house to house, checking on every resident. I have to hope I can sneak back in, but I’m not worried about that.

I can’t let one guy stop me from getting my hands on that crystal.

And as much as I love Elise, I can’t allow her to keep me from going, either.

I asked her if she wanted to join me. She vehemently shook her head, apologizing profusely while adamantly refusing to go in search of the caves. Her reaction was so unexpected, I decided to drop the subject our first night in Dyea, and we’ve been tiptoeing around it ever since.

Elise agrees that I need the fire opal. She just can’t bring herself to go with me, though she did offer to make a distraction to allow me to sneak in and out if necessary.

I’ve been thinking a lot about it these last few days. And since I don’t want to think about Conall anymore, I ask her something that’s been bugging me for just as long.

“Is that how you died?”

I surprised her. I don’t think she expected me to ask that. To be fair, I didn’t intend to. But now that I have, I legitimately want to know.

“What?”

I’ve only known that Elise is a vampire for a little over a week now. I’ve been dying to delve into her past and ask her about it since she admitted she’s seventy-two , but I got the vibe that I was pushing the bounds of what was appropriate in the supe community by asking her age. Probing the topic of her death? What made her into a blood-drinking supe? That definitely seems like one of those things that you just don’t do.

But fuck it. I’m surrounded by supes now. Other vampires. Shifters. And unless my gut instinct is off, a witch hunter in disguise. Not only that, but I was ready to sign on to become Elise’s breakfast and dinner. Sure, unless she wants to scald her tongue, my blood is obviously out, but the offer should count for something, right?

“The cave,” I tell her. “You seemed pretty spooked when I mentioned exploring the caves together. Is that where… you know… it happened? Or was it just really dark before you came back like this?”

“Like this?” she echoes, sitting up against the couch, her book forgotten. Her brow furrows, but her features are as flawless as ever, and the wrinkles are barely there even if expression gaze is clearly confused.

“Yeah. A vampire. One of the undead.”

“Oh, no, sweetie. I didn’t die to become a vampire.”

Really? “So you’ve always been like this?”

“Since birth. My parents were both turned vampires, but after they were bonded mates, they had me. But you’re right… it’s silly.”

“It’s not, Elise. Go ahead.”

She blows out a rush of air. “I had a nanny when I was very young. She was a human woman who knew she worked for vampires. She thought she was helping… and she put me to bed in a coffin she bought for me while my parents were away.”

I already know that vamps sleep in regular beds, not caskets. “Oh, no.”

She nods. “The lid fell. It got stuck. I was three-years-old and trapped in the dark. I didn’t die… it takes a lot more than that to end a vampire… but it took two days before she got me out. I know it’s been years, but the dark…” She grabs the blanket covering her, worrying it with her fingers. “I want to help you, Bridge, and I will. But I can’t go down there.”

Humans, witches, or vampires, we all have our trauma, don’t we?

“I’m not going to ask you to do that.” Due to my own issues, I hate driving in the rain. The dark? Like the cold, it doesn’t bother me. “Keeping Mr. Grump from noticing I’m gone is good enough. That’ll definitely help me.”

“Mr. Grump?”

I shrug. “Fits him, doesn’t it?”

“Just make sure he doesn’t hear you say that. A male like Conall… he might think you’re flirting with him,” teases Elise.

“He wishes.”

The look Elise gives me tells me that she doesn’t think I’m wrong, but the humor written on her face disappears as quickly as it came suddenly when she sucks in her cheeks. For a second, she looks like she’s in pain, and I frown.

“Elise? You okay?”

“Um. Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just… did you find out about the blood?”

Oh. Right.

Crap.

“I asked, hon.” Shaking my head, I tell her, “They don’t sell blood bags at the commissary.”

Elise’s smile tightens as she shrugs. “It was a long shot. I didn’t think they would, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

Shortly after arriving in Dyea, we realized that there are quite a few luxuries we’re going to have to go without. And while it’s worth it for the security that comes with the hidden town, the biggest sacrifice is Elise’s.

Simply put: she has no access to blood.

We knew that going in. All of the other human donors are claimed, but I didn’t think it would be a problem since Thorn was mailing her a cooler full of blood bags. Then they didn’t show, and we didn’t know how to ask about the delivery system without admitting she was expecting blood.

After all, that’s why I’m here, right? To feed Elise?

Sinking down on the couch next to her, I cock my head just enough to show her my throat. I tap the vein. “Go on. Have a sip.”

“Bridget?”

“What? So I’m a witch. I’ve still got blood, and you haven’t had any in, like, a week. I’d be snapping people’s heads off if I went hungry for half that time. I’ve got blood. Take some.”

She licks the point of one of her fangs. “If I could ask anyone else…”

But she can’t, and we both know it. “Don’t worry about it. Now… just to make sure. You can bite me and it’s not gonna start any kind of blood exchange, right?”

A hint of a tease touches the corner of her mouth. “Afraid you might make Conall jealous?”