Another Way To Bleed (Midnight Assassin) Read online

  Another Way To Bleed

  Susan Harris

  Copyright © Susan Harris 2012

  All Rights Reserved

  The right of Susan Harris to be identified as the author

  of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the

  Copyright, Designs and Patents act 1988.

  This edition published in Great Britain in 2013 by

  Bright Wood Press

  ISBN 978-1490917702

  For Pops

  Until we go fishing again.

  For LJ and Taylor

  for reminding me how to smile.

  Acknowledgements:

  Writing is very much a solitary process but there are a few people that I have to thank that made this all possible.

  First I have to thank Kay Gallear and everyone at Bright Wood Press for believing in my book and giving it the proper release it deserved. I know this would not be possible without your devotion to your authors and I am eternally grateful

  Also a very special thank you to Art is Life: Cover and Art Design for my wonderful cover and to Hot Tree Editing for making Another Way to Bleed so much better.

  Mam, you are my strength and my courage, without you I would not be where I am today. Thank you for nurturing my love for books and writing, and for never giving up on me, no matter what. Love you.

  Dad, because I will never find the words to say it, I'll just have to let the Foo Fighters do it for me. “There goes my hero, he's ordinary.” Love you.

  To the best friends a girl could ask for:

  Shelly, my oldest and best friend, no matter how much time passes we will always be those two girls hiding in your room with our Sylvanians. I could never have asked for a better bestie.

  Helen, my partner in crime. Most of the best moments in my life have happened since I met you. Love you to death girl... here's to many more years of mischief and mayhem.

  Karen, we've been through a lot together, you and I, and I would never have come out the other side without you. You saved my life once and I can never repay you but I can sure as hell try. Some things can't be broken and our friendship is rock solid.

  Trina Lucey, for being the optimist to my pessimist. xx

  To my fellow avengers! Thank you for proving that people don't need a cape and tights to be superheroes... I don't have to name names ye all know who ye all. We've always got each other’s back no matter what. :-)

  To my wonderful grandmother Josie, for showing me just how strong women can be.

  To uncle Michael, for all the times you made me go to bed when a horror was on TV, making me only more curious and now people have someone to blame for my taste in music since it was you who gave me my first tapes way back when.... and I still have my Zig and Zags xmas number 1 and Meatloaf's – Bat out of Hell. xx

  Anyone I may have forgotten, there is always book 2!!!

  And finally, to the English teacher who told me I would never be a writer..... I guess you were wrong, weren't you?

  2015

  She stared into the darkness. She could smell the dying embers of hellfire that was raining down amongst them. She gulped in short, shallow breaths, knowing that they would sense the slightest imbalance in her posture. Tears flowed from her eyes as Cassie tried to drown out the cries of her dying coven. Helena had told her to hide, that she had foreseen how important it was for her to live, no matter who else had to die.

  Cassie could taste blood, not her own, but that of the blood that was spilled in her home. It was something she had always been able to do, smell someone’s particular scent, taste it on her tongue. She prayed to the Goddess to keep her safe, or at least make her death quick. A rumble of thunder crashed from above as another angel fought a demon, a now daily fixture as they headed towards the end of days. The whole house shook with such force that Cassie braced herself to fight as shadows danced outside the closet door. She clutched the sword with both hands, preparing herself to fight as wood cracked and the door frame was torn from its hinges.

  Looking up, Cassie stared defiantly into the eyes of the monster that had once been her mother. “Cassie, darling put down that silly, old knife and come give your mother a hug.”

  The vampire in front of her smirked, its fangs sharp and blood stained. The vampire’s eyes were red with thirst; Cassie knew that the mother she once loved and adored was long gone. Summoning all the courage she had, Cassie inclined her head before saying, “Come on then, bloodsucker. I ain't got all night.”

  She swung the sword towards the creature, just like she had been taught, but it side-stepped her strike. They went toe to toe with one another. The vampire reached Cassie before she could avoid her, and raked a claw from Cassie’s left eye to her mouth. Cassie gasped with pain but never eased up on her assault. A sudden noise behind them distracted the vampire, momentarily, before she turned back to face her daughter. Cassie took the opportunity and swiped the sword one last time, slicing the vampire’s head clean off. Her mother’s eyes opened wide in shock before her body dissipated into ash

  “Goodbye, mom,” Cassie whispered before dropping to her knees, sobbing with her head in her hands.

  Chapter One

  2020

  The night was eerily quiet with no stench of death in the air. Luka took the moment to sit on the edge of the building, his legs dangling over the edge, and watched her. He looked on as his hunter tossed fitfully in her sleep. He closed his eyes in response. Immediately, he was witness to her nightmares; the reoccurring nightmare she had been experiencing ever since she had avenged her mother’s death some months ago filtered through her mind. He bit back the urge to go to her, to just take his Cassandra in his arms and hold her until all her nightmares were banished. But he couldn’t, not yet. The pull was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore, yet he still sat on the ledge each night waiting for her to be ready.

  The world had changed many times over since he was turned, but the only memory that seemed to invade his own dreams was the vision of Cassandra when he had found her, bruised and bloodied, standing in shock as she stared at her slain mother. He had scooped her up and taken her back to his own home. He had given her shelter, food and training; taught her to fight, not only with her gifts, but with her strength. She had excelled in arm to arm combat, her lust for vengeance coursing through her veins. And Cassie was eager to learn. He had trusted no one but himself to teach her, and as the days flew by, he had become increasingly fascinated by her. She was an anomaly: half witch, half demon... yet no one was certain of who her father was...that was a secret that had died along with her mother.

  A distant rumble of thunder echoed around the almost empty city streets. Luka could feel the morning sun's arrival, his muscles tightening in anticipation. He stole one more glance at his beautiful, deadly assassin, as she sat up from her nightmare and turned in his direction. Once again, it was clear that she had sensed him, but as she peered through the window, all trace of him was gone.

  Cassie wiped the sweat from her forehead and threw back the covers. The morning sunlight was warm against her face; she closed her eyes in appreciation. She guessed Luka was long gone; his ritual had been going on for weeks, as if he were afraid that she would eventually break and the bloodshed of her past would consume her, making her as dangerous as the monsters she hunted. Yet on the nights when she fought sleep and pleaded with him to come to her, he left her bed cold.

  Chicken! She sent the thought to Luka, but once again she received the cold shoulder. It was hard to figure him out: how he made her blood race with simply the knowledge that he was near. Yes, he saved her life. Yes, he had given her vengeance, but what did he get out of it? Any of his vamp lack
eys could do her job.

  Cassie had asked him once why he kept her around. He had answered her in a simple, matter-of-fact tone that drove her mad. “Because, Cassandra my dear, Helena told me something about you many years ago, before you were born, and I'm intrigued to see how it all works out.”

  Helena had been her coven’s seer, everything she had foreseen had so far come to pass; her mother's conversion and her death by Cassie's hand; the reawakening, where all the world became aware again of the witches, vampires and werewolves, causing the vampire elders to decree that all cities would have a Keeper, would follow their laws or be punished by death. All of it had happened. This made her even more dubious to what exactly the seer had foretold.

  Stifling a yawn, she stood up and stretched out, a dull ache still tearing at her ribs. Glancing in the mirror, she brushed her hair from her face, a fiery red streak still lingering in her hair as a result of using her demonic powers against the monster that had converted her mother. She hadn't been able to access them fully, apart from a few ‘accidents’ since then, but tonight she was due to begin her ‘lessons’... ordered ‘of course’ by Luka. Luka. Even the thought of him sent shivers down her spine. Would he actually make an appearance? Why was he keeping his distance? And why was she so eager to walk into the lion’s den and let him devour her?

  All of the questions were giving her a headache. Glancing at the clock, Cassie sighed and headed back to bed. Hopefully, she could get a few more hours sleep before the nightmares returned. Now that Luka was gone, she pulled the curtains closed, but not before she gave a wave to the lycan that now guarded her. She lay back down. As her eyes began to close, Cassie was sure of one thing. With all of her unanswered questions, Luka was the key, and if he wasn’t going to come to her, she was just going to have to make him.

  Just outside the city's gates, deep in the woods that had grown around the devastation, in an area still darkened from the morning sun, the demons stood preparing for the summoning. Cloaked in floor length, red hooded robes, they readied their circle, lighting the candles and placing the fresh bones around the altar. The tallest of the demons cleared his throat and spoke gruffly to the other two in a thick Eastern accent. “Let us begin.”

  It was only then that the grotesque demons turned their attention to the young girl slumped by the tree, her hands and feet bound. Her eyes were wide in fear and her breathing laboured. Her honey blonde hair lay loosely against her naked skin. She shivered as a demon grabbed for her, his coarse, scaly hands holding her up before laying her on the makeshift altar. He removed the ropes, but she remained still, her fear paralyzing her. Closing her eyes, she prayed in silence, although she knew that now, not even God could save her.

  The three demons joined in a circle and began to chant in a language that had almost been long ago forgotten. The earth began to tremble, as if the soil was trying to fight against their dark magic. The tallest demon removed the hood of his cloak, revealing his scarred face and missing right eye. He nodded to the others, who in turn removed their own hoods.

  “Abyssis abyssis invocat, abyssis abyssis invocat,” he began to recite.

  “Hell calls hell. We summon you, oh dark mistress. Come forth from below and live again. With our sacrifice, with the blood of the untouched, the pure, spring forth from the earth, our Queen.”

  With precision and accuracy, he pulled a blade from his cloak and in a clean strike, slit the young girl's throat. Her blood trickled down her skin, flowing from the altar, seeping into the earth below, and dripping slowly onto the carefully placed bones. The earth groaned, and the bones shook. The demons continued to chant.

  “Abyssis abyssis invocat”

  “Abyssis abyssis invocat”

  A swirl of black smoke rose from the earth and flowed into the bones. Shaking from the power that surged into them, sending them clashing into each other. They began to take shape, flesh spreading out over the bones, veins and blood beginning to flow beneath the growing flesh. Bones cracked as they melded together and when the smoke dissipated, a beautiful, blood soaked woman stepped out from the circle. The demons dropped to their knees, bowing their heads in reverence. She glided forward with the grace of a swan, and placing a finger under the ring leader of the demon’s chin, she pulled him up to her.

  “So it was you, Darius, who has awoken me?” she spoke, her voice sweet, but her tone laced with poison.

  “Yeeess, my Queen,” Darius hissed, the confident summoner now at a loss, stumbling over his words. “It is time.”

  She tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow, reminding Darius of a snake waiting to strike its prey. With a quick flick of her wrist, the other demons’ flesh was ripped from their bones; their bodies turned to dust, all before a sound could form in their mouths. With a sickening smile on her face, she sauntered over to a shocked Darius, who had instinctively taken a few steps back, and planted a kiss on his cheek. She turned and gazed up at the blood moon. “So, she has awakened the demon inside her at last…Yes, yes I can taste it in the wind. Oh, such power...such anger...oh, this century is going to be so much fun.”

  She giggled to herself and motioned for Darius to follow her as she walked towards the city's gates, still naked and still covered in blood.

  Chapter Two

  Cassie Murphy took a step outside of her apartment block and gazed up at the sky. The moon was blood red, casting shadows around the city's streets. She could taste the coldness of the night, even though she no longer felt it. The humans had long since retired to the safety of their beds; Luka's strict curfew ensuring that most humans stayed safe. Mostly... except for a few in-the-loop humans, the only things that came out at night were creatures of the supernatural variety. I guess that’s where I fit in now, she thought.

  Growing up in Ireland, especially in Cork had been a wonderful childhood. Her coven allowed her to play, to explore, to be who she wanted to be, and despite the fact she was born and reared in the southern city in Ireland, Cassie never felt she had missed out on seeing the world. But that all changed when her beloved city drowned in blood before her eyes.

  Slinging her gym bag over her shoulder, she made her way across the city. She had a couple of hours to kill before she had to start her so-called lessons with her mystery tutor, so she was going to spend some time on the dance floor. Cassie had been to Luka's club, Box of Delights, nearly every night since Vicktor, but found that most kept their distance from her... probably as a direct order from the Keeper himself. She sighed, a deep frustrated breath. Luka wouldn't come to her, but she could at least do something to distract herself from her nightmares. Typical male pride.

  As she turned the corner leading to the club, Cassie drifted straight past the long line that had built up outside. The massive lycan that guarded the door gave her a toothy grin, his massive hand reaching out to take the bag from her. His gaze swept over her, and he nodded his approval.

  “Hey, Cassie girl,” he purred. “I must say, the boss must have some control if he can turn down your sweet ass every night.”

  Cassie inclined her head toward the lycan and smiled, knowing that his comments were harmless; he flirted with her all the time. She laughed out loud, batting her eyes at the handsome lycanthrope. His eyes sparkled and his dimples were very cute on his modelesque face. As she moved her eyes appreciatively over his well-defined muscles that bulged from his tight black tee, she cast an innocent look at him before replying, “Hey, Bruno, you flirt with me every night.” She leaned in and placed a hand on his broad chest. “But when are you going to do something about it?”

  Bruno opened his mouth to answer her but froze, his eyes widening in pain. Luka. Cassie groaned as the lycan straightened and held up his hands in defeat. “Get in there, Cassie girl, before my mouth and my thoughts get me in anymore trouble with the boss! Damn girl, you might as well have ‘hands off’ tattooed on your forehead.”

  “It’s okay, Bruno. But you know where I am if you’re ever let off the leash.” Cassie patted
him on the shoulder as she walked past, hearing him chuckle as she made her way to the bar. Without even ordering, a drink was placed in front of her; she drank it down in one gulp. And then another. The mixture of scents was overpowering, more now than it ever had been before her demonic powers had combined with her Wiccan ones. Cassie tried to separate them, the jasmine, lemon, strawberry flavours from those of rot, damp and fear, in the hope of scenting the one she yearned to find; that mixture of lavender and death that made her legs shake and her heart beat a little faster, then just like that, she felt him on her skin as if he were standing next to her, his hands on her body.

  He was in his private backroom, a huge pane of tinted glass preventing her from seeing him, but she knew he was watching. Downing another drink, she shrugged off her coat, getting a few enthusiastic whistles from the crowd at the bar. Her snug black jeans fit every curve and the flimsy black backless top left nothing to the imagination, especially with its plunging neckline. The only thing that Cassie worried about now was not falling over in her new six inch heeled boots as she sashayed down the steps to the main dance floor.

  Cassie took in every detail as she moved; her hunter’s instinct would allow no less. Each corner of the club held its own snippet of sin. Whether it was newly converted 90's pop star trying to reclaim his glory days with some fang bangers, or the pack of young wolves howling over one of the cage dancers, every single part of the club was drenched in sin. She could taste it on her tongue. She could feel it seeping into her blood; she wanted to get lost in it.

  The music shifted slightly in beat when she stepped onto the dance floor. An old favourite of hers pumped from the speakers, sending vibrations along the floor and pounding up through her feet. The lights flashed and her body moved in time with the music. Cassie closed her eyes, becoming oblivious to anyone or anything but the music as the Faithless track pulsed in her ears. She wanted to get lost in the delicious scents in the air, to forget, for one night, about her mother, Vicktor and everything else that was fucked up about her life. When cool hands were placed on her hips, she kept her eyes closed, knowing by the hint of ginger and earth, that it was a vampire. It had been such a long time since she had been touched since Vicktor had held her captive that Cassie continued to sway with the music, ignoring all possibility of danger around her.