Frost Burn

  “None of them are,” he murmured. “But I imagine without that influx it must have been brutal.”

  Going on his own experience with how excruciating the transformation was, and the strained look on her face, he imagined it had been far worse for her. Julian rubbed at his forehead as he tried to process what she’d just revealed. Six hundred years and he’d never heard of anything like this; six hundred years and he was still able to be surprised. It would have been amusing; however, this situation was anything but.

  “Do you have any other abilities, besides being able to master souls?”

  “No, it’s the only thing I can do.”

  “What happened when you woke?” he inquired.

  Her forehead furrowed, the red of her eyes deepened further as her fingers rubbed at the scars on her palms. “It was still night when I woke again. I was still pinned to the floor. I remember everything being strangely quiet and loud all at once. I’d died listening to the screams and I woke to the booming tick of a clock on the second floor of the house. My head throbbed; my skin felt as if someone had peeled a layer of it off. I could feel my blood congealing at my back but more than that I could smell the blood of everyone else…”

  “And you were hungry.”

  A muscle twitched in her cheek, tears pooled in her eyes before she blinked them away. “I was hungry,” she said in an ashamed whisper. “I felt like I was being consumed by flames, as if the hunger was eating me alive from the inside out, and there was nothing I could do to sate it. My fangs dug into my lips and tore at my mouth. A part of me knew what I’d become, all I cared about was stopping the incessant burn though. After what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes, I succeeded in ripping my right hand over top of the blade still embedded in the floor. It tore my hand open further, but I didn’t care. I was mindless, crazed.

  “I pulled the other knife from my left hand, and then the one from my stomach. Before I knew what I was doing, I crawled over to Betsy, and I began to feed. I took what little was left in all of their bodies before turning to what was still drinkable on the floor. I was like a wild creature, a monster.”

  “You were a newly turned vampire who already had a thirst for blood before you were turned. There was nothing you could have done to stop what happened, Quinn. Stop blaming yourself for it.”

  Her strangely colored eyes were pitiless as they met his. “My uncle raised me like one of his own; he loved me like a daughter. He protected me more than either of his children. It wasn’t a clock I heard upon waking but the faintest beat of his heart. A beat I stopped when I sank my fangs into his neck.”

  This wasn’t shocking to him. He’d seen many a new vampire awaken and go on a rampage. The only two he knew who hadn’t gone straight for human throats were Annabelle and Cassie. If there had been puddles of human blood and bodies lying around them, it may have been a completely different story, at least for Annabelle. Cassie only had one mission upon waking and that was getting to Devon.

  “Was your uncle going to survive his injuries?” Julian inquired.

  “What does that matter?”

  “It matters because it means you didn’t kill him. Maybe he was still alive when you got to him, but you are not the reason he’s dead now. I know you don’t want to hear this; I know you’ll continue to blame yourself, but just keep reminding yourself that you didn’t kill him. Maybe one day it will sink into that thick skull of yours. If those vampires had never walked into your house you would still be human, well mostly, and your family would still be alive. You’re not to blame here, they are.”

  Her face remained impassive; he knew it would take more than his words to get through years of her self-inflicted shame, but he would do everything he could to help her stop blaming herself for things far beyond her control.

  “Was he going to live?”

  “No.”

  Her response was stony; a muscle twitched in her cheek when he rose to his feet and deliberately advanced on her. She was exposed right now in a way she never had been before; he was afraid she would bolt if he approached her too quickly. Thankfully, she remained where she was and didn’t pull away from him when he took hold of her hands and held them out before her.

  His thumbs traced over the two-inch long scars marring her flesh. The scars ran across the centers of her palms; they had faded enough that they weren’t raised up anymore. He turned her hands over and saw the same faded lines on the other side.

  The pain and helplessness she must have experienced caused anger to swell within his chest. He would gladly help her find the vampire who had done this to her. What he would do to that vamp would make what was done to her look like a day at the carnival in comparison. He’d make the man watch as he leisurely carved him into pieces; make him see parts of himself no one was ever supposed to see, and no man ever wanted removed.

  “Why didn’t the scars heal during your transformation?” he inquired.

  Her hands twitched in his, but she didn’t try to jerk them away. “They started to.”

  He studied her as he waited for her to explain, but realization dawned on him. “You didn’t allow your flesh to heal.”

  “I gathered the bodies of my loved ones, and took them to a nearby lake to bury them by the shore.” Her voice was flat when she said this, but a single tear slid down her cheek. “I returned to the house to gather what I would need, but the sun came up before I could go. Trapped there with the realization of what I’d done, I put the knives back into my palms and stomach as I waited.”

  “Why?”

  The haunted look in her eyes pulled at his heart when she met his gaze. “Because I deserved it.”

  Julian’s hands clenched around hers. He didn’t argue with her though, she wasn’t ready to believe she hadn’t deserved it. “Did the police come?”

  “No one came, not for me.”

  He would have come for her, but he kept the thought to himself. He didn’t even know where it had come from. “When did you leave?”

  “At nightfall, and I never looked back.”

  His fingers traced over her hands again. “How long did you keep these wounds open?”

  “I reopened them every day for a month.”

  “Quinn…” he breathed.

  “They are my reminder of what I must do, the mission I have, what I have lost, and the atrocity of the acts I committed.”

  “They’re your punishment.”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you still reopen them?” he demanded. She shook her head but wouldn’t look at him. “When was the last time you reopened them?”

  “Six months ago.”

  She’d spent five and a half years reopening her wounds; years atoning for sins she never should have been made to pay for. “I’m sorry for what happened to you,” he told her honestly.

  “Don’t,” she whispered. Her lower lip trembled but she stalwartly held back her tears as she shook her head.

  He clasped hold of her face with his hands and leaned forward to kiss her forehead, her nose, her cheeks, before finally pressing a chaste kiss upon her lips. “I can’t take it away from you but I will make sure it never happens again.”

  A single tear slid down her cheek. “You can’t promise that.”

  “Yes. I can.”

  The fire slid away from her eyes as her gaze searched his. “No one else can ever know what I did.”

  “I have to tell Luther and the others what you are. They need a better understanding of your ability, and what we may be up against if someone else were to realize what you are. No one else will ever know about the events that transpired after your transformation.”

  She closed her eyes and nodded. Lifting her face, he kissed her tenderly on the lips again before pulling her into his arms. He held her against his chest as she buried her face in his neck and leaned into him. She didn’t let another tear fall free, but he could feel her sadness in the limpness of her body and the fingers digging into his back as she cuddled closer.

&
nbsp; “Do you mind if I tell Luther your last name? He won’t let anyone know you’re alive. It’s definitely better your family line remains dead to any other Hunters or Guardians.”

  “You don’t trust them?”

  “I don’t trust many people, but I do trust Luther and the others with my life. I know they will keep you safe, and I think it would be good if Luther knew as much as he can about you.”

  She bit on her lower lip when she looked up at him. “It’s Martin.” He smiled as she gave another sign of trust in him. “And yours?”

  “Aasen.”

  Her eyebrows rose. “Unusual.”

  “It’s Swedish.” He tugged at his hair. “I told you this was all natural.”

  Her chuckle caused pleasure to spread through him as she rested her head on his chest again.

  “She’s a what?” Chris slumped onto the bed in Luther’s hotel room. “Is that even possible?”

  “Apparently it is because she exists,” Julian replied. He stepped out of the room and glanced down the street toward the increasingly packed parking lot of Clint’s bar. He hated the idea of leaving her there unprotected, but he had to speak with the others about what he’d learned tonight. She would be fine on her own, but he still much preferred to have her in sight.

  “Now I don’t feel like as much of a freak,” Zach said.

  “She’s not a freak,” Julian snarled. “And if you ever call her that I’ll tear your tongue out through your throat.”

  Zach’s eyes widened, he took an abrupt step back. “Julian behave,” Melissa admonished. “He’s only kidding, Zach.”

  “No. I’m not. And if you think I am then just try me.”

  An awkward silence descended over the room. He could hear the increased heartbeats of those surrounding him. Maybe his reaction had been a little too volatile, but he continued to stare at Zach.

  Luther covered his mouth and gave a little cough before stepping forward. “It’s fascinating indeed, but we’ve dealt with a Hunter turned vampire before. This isn’t so different. I’ve never heard of a vampire being born before though.”

  “No one has,” Julian said. “It’s never happened before, at least not to my knowledge.”

  “Did you ask Devon about it?”

  “I spoke with him earlier. He has no knowledge of it ever happening either.”

  “How is it possible that she survived? Wouldn’t her mother’s heart have stopped beating when she was turned?” Chris asked. “Wouldn’t Quinn have died too?”

  They all looked to Luther. His mouth pursed as he tapped his foot on the ground. “As a Soul Master she may have been able to pull on the life force of her mother, which could also explain her rapid growth in the womb.”

  “She could have done that, as a fetus?” Melissa asked in disbelief.

  “It’s possible, and most likely what she did, since she was born with a heartbeat.”

  “Wow, just wow,” Chris breathed. “It explains why you felt so much more power coming from her. Is her Soul Master ability the only one she has, or is she able to do other things, like Cassie?”

  “It’s the only thing she can do,” Julian confirmed.

  “Good,” Chris said. “I’ve known Cassie my whole life; the things she can do still unnerve me a little.”

  Cassie’s ability had unsettled him in the beginning too, it still did. No one should have that much power, but if anyone could handle it, it was Cassie. “If the vampires learn about Quinn, they’ll come after her with everything they have. If they also learn what Cassie is capable of, they’ll see her as a way to counteract Cassie,” he told them.

  “Wait you don’t think Quinn would be able to kill Cassie, do you?” Melissa demanded.

  Julian shook his head. “No, I don’t. She doesn’t have that much power, but that won’t matter to them. They’ll see her as a Hunter turned vampire who they might be able to get their hands on. One that they might be able to twist to their way, and a Soul Master is a powerful asset to begin with. You’ve seen what she can do. Imagine if that power was warped and fueled by death and blood. Quinn is good at heart, but we all know how brutal a vampire can be, how they can twist and manipulate things. And if they’re unable to bend her to their will, they’ll kill her.”

  Chris shuddered at his words, Julian’s hands fisted, but he managed to keep his temper over such a notion covered up. Or he believed he did but when he turned his head, he found Melissa watching him with assessing eyes.

  Luther lifted his glasses to rub at the bridge of his nose as he spoke, “With her knowledge of the Hunter line and her strength, she’ll be a double threat if the vampires get their hands on her.”

  “It doesn’t change anything,” Chris said. “We already knew she had to be protected.”

  “True. A born vampire,” Luther said. “Amazing. How was she changed into a full vampire? Who changed her?”

  “The vampire blood already in her from being born, and from her Hunter heritage were enough to bring her back when she died,” Julian answered.

  “How did she die?” Chris asked.

  “Vampire attack.”

  “Awful.” Melissa gave a sad shake of her head. Aside from him, everyone in this room had lost at least one of their parents to vampires. Most of them had lost both. “What of the family who raised her?”

  “They were killed in the same attack,” he answered.

  “The Hunters have never had an easy life, or a lengthy one for that matter. Hers was made doubly difficult because of the circumstances of her birth,” Luther said. “We cannot allow them to get their hands on her, Julian.”

  “I’ll kill anyone who tries,” he vowed. “Her last name is Martin. I don’t know if that will help you in any way.”

  “I remember seeing a Martin line in one of the journals. I’ll look into them. Her aunt and uncle were assumed to have died in a fire?”

  “Yes. I can find out their names if it will help.”

  “No, her last name is enough info to be able to locate them.” Luther walked over to join him in the doorway. “I need a shower, and I’ll take a look through the books. I don’t think info on her family will help in this situation, but it can’t hurt. I’ll join you at the bar shortly.”

  Julian watched the smaller man walk away from the door. “I have to get some clothes.”

  He didn’t bother to look back at the others as he walked out of the room and down the row of rooms to the one he’d yet to sleep in. He watched the people gathered outside the door of the bar, smoking. Quinn briefly materialized by one of the windows, she delivered a round of drinks and turned away swiftly. He couldn’t help but smile as he watched the sway of her hips.

  Slipping into his room, he tossed a few articles of clothing into a duffel bag. He didn’t acknowledge Chris or Melissa when they appeared in his doorway. Turning away from them, he walked into the bathroom to gather his toiletries. Chris was leaning in the doorway when he reemerged from the bathroom.

  “You like her,” Melissa stated as Julian tossed his deodorant into the bag.

  “Who?” he asked.

  “Quinn,” Chris replied. “You like her.”

  He zipped up the bag. “I like many things, Christopher.”

  “I’ve touched a nerve.” Julian glared at him; Chris only smiled more. “You only ever call me by my full name when I aggravate you.”

  “I must call you by it all the time then.”

  “Shockingly, no. You like her.”

  Julian lifted the bag and tossed it over his shoulder. “She’s a nice girl.”

  “She is.” Chris folded his arms over his chest. “And you think you don’t deserve her.”

  “Don’t try to read me.”

  “I couldn’t if I tried; you’re too old for that. I’m not a moron though. You like her, and it scares you.”

  “Nothing scares me.”

  “She does.”

  “Christopher…”

  “You’re worried you’ll lose her or hurt her in some way,
” Melissa interjected. “You’ve never felt like this about anyone before.”

  “First off, you’re both really starting to grate on my nerves,” he growled. “Second of all, are you forgetting I loved Cassie?”

  “No,” Chris said. “Come on, admit it, you let yourself love Cassie because a part of you always knew she could never be yours. It was easy to let yourself love someone when you already knew the outcome. But Quinn, she’s a mystery to you. She’s not a monster, and she’s not unattainable.”

  “You’re pretty bored lately aren’t you?” Julian asked.

  “You can pretend to deny it all you want, but we know the truth and so do you,” Melissa said.

  Julian refused to think about their words. “Whatever helps you sleep at night,” he told them as he strode across the room. They both stepped out of his way. “I’m going to drop this off at Quinn’s place, and then I’m going to try and hunt down whoever is killing in this town. Go to the bar and keep an eye on her.”

  Julian would have much preferred to be the one watching over her, but after their words he needed some time to himself. “We will,” Chris said.

  “Make sure she stays safe.” He hadn’t intended them to, but the words came out a snarl.

  “Of course,” Chris replied.

  Julian turned away from them and strode rapidly down the wooden walkway running along the front of the motel. “Julian.” He turned to look back at them. Melissa stepped forward as she continued to speak. “Just so you know we said you liked her; you’re the one who brought love into this.”

  Julian’s upper lip curled into a sneer. Chris’s laughter trailed behind him as he hopped off of the walkway. Melissa waved at him before turning and following Chris. They both whistled innocently as they strolled toward the bar.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Over the next week, Julian spent every night trying to find the person who had touched him the night of the fight, but the more he looked the more frustrated he became by it. Or perhaps it was his purposeful separation from Quinn frustrating him. The others watched over her at night, and he still slept on her couch during the day, but there had been little interaction between the two of them.