Invincible (A Centennial City Novel) - By Fionn Jameson Page 0,94

do I know about having kids, right?”

I closed my eyes as the ugly pulsing in the back of my head threatened to take me back down into oblivion. “That was unnecessary of me. I'm sorry.”

I felt him move closer, felt his breath move the hairs on my temple. “Oh yeah? You really sorry, hm?”

My stomach heaved and for a moment, I really thought I was going to lose everything I had in his lap. “Please. Stop the car.”

“What? Stop the car? Why?”

I rolled in his lap and ended up on the other side of the car, forehead smashed against the cold window. “Just do it!”

I was already fumbling for the door and when the car screeched to a stop in the middle of late night traffic, I was halfway out the door, throwing up nothing but bile.

Horns honked, making my head pound even harder, which in turn caused the nausea to swell to truly magnificent heights.

Someone rubbed my back, murmuring something gentle.

Was it Ryder again? Probably; even through the sickly sweetness and asphalt, I could still smell stargazer lilies.

“Watch it, fuckwads!”

A large black truck screeched past us, the wheels dangerously close to my hanging head and the rubbing ceased for a moment.

“Are you feeling better?”

I nodded. I didn't even have the strength to say anything.

He held out a white silk handkerchief and I wiped at my mouth.

“Do you want us to stop?”

I shook my head. I didn't think I had anything more left to throw up.

He drew me back into the car, movements surprisingly soft, and I laid my head back on the headrest, staring up at the fabric underside of the car roof.

I matched eyes with the driver in the rear-view mirror. Black eyes, just like mine, but tip-tilted at the corners, dark, strong brows set in a perpetual scowl.

“Is she ill?” he asked, in a surprisingly low voice.

You didn't meet a lot of Asians with low voices.

Ryder put a hand on my forehead, for whatever reason. His touch was cool. I knew he was a corpse, just the walking dead, but he didn't feel like it.

Gods, I was tired.

“Seems okay, Van. I'd say we're good to go,” he said to the driver who turned off his hazards and accelerated the car in a smooth motion.

I was having a hard time trying to focus. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and sleep for the next couple of months. “Where are you taking me?”

“The Black Masque,” he said, still looking at me closely.

“Noir?”

“Fenrir and Vincent came for him. They went to see how bad the damage was at Noir's place.”

“And Annabelle?”

Ryder sucked in a breath and then shook his head. “I...Honestly, I don't know. I don't fancy being her, though, when Vincent catches up to her. She's been part of the square for at least twenty years. Noir and Vincent aren't going to take her betrayal easily.”

The driver took a left and I was proud of keeping my body under control. The dull thudding in my head was starting to lessen. “She took Jason. She's being manipulated. There's someone else pulling the strings.”

The vampire's face was immobile. “I don't know anything about that.”

Vampires were damn good liars. I should know. “Don't you?”

He turned away, as though he couldn't stand to look at me anymore. “Vincent wants you out of trouble. For now, anyways.”

Vincent wants you out of trouble.

“No.”

I felt the driver's eyes on me as he continued to drive silently.

Ryder shifted. No seat belt for him. No seat belt for the driver, either. Vampire? He didn't feel like one...

I considered testing his aura, seeing what color his soul ran, but decided against it. I needed my strength. Whatever secrets Van had, he was more than welcome to them.

After tonight, I would never see these vampires again.

“What do you mean no?”

“I mean, no,” I repeated. “I'm not going back to the club. I need to find Jason.”

I heard Ryder swallow audibly. “Um. That's...that's really not a good idea.”

I met the driver's eyes. I think I spoke more to him than Ryder. “Find me a car. I have to find...my master.”

My master.

Was honor worth dying for?

I promised Jason my life.

I was his Ailward.

And if it killed me, would I be okay with it?

Last week, I hunted vampires. Tonight, I hunted one to save his life.

I felt a smile tug at the corners of my lips.

Indeed, life was strange.

Or maybe it was just my life that was strange.

Ryder shook his head. “No way. Not happening. Do you have any idea