Fractured (Deep In Your Veins, #5)(41)

“One developed a stronger craving for blood while at the same time aging even faster than Pierce’s cousin. She died when her organs shut down. The second vampire didn’t age at all, but he became so weak and frail that he fell into a coma and died.”

I took Imani’s hand, trying to calm the panic that was riding me hard. “What about the last volunteer?”

He looked pained. “As with the others, the reversal partly worked. But whereas they died mid-transition, he didn’t. However, his mental state remained that of a partly formed vampire. Consumed by bloodlust, he was more animal than man in his way of thinking. Saw everything as prey. We had to kill him.”

Shell-shocked, Sam gaped. “You’re saying that there’s a chance that Imani could find herself either dead or stuck mid-transition, consumed by bloodlust?”

“Yes,” sighed Lazarus. “I’m sure you remember what that’s like.”

I couldn’t recall every moment of the transition, but I remembered the bloodlust, the pain, the confusion, the high sex drive, and the pressing urge to hunt.

Salem asked the question haunting me, a question I couldn’t bring myself to voice. “So either way, she’s going to die?”

“It is likely.”

The words hit my chest like a f*cking sledgehammer, causing the breath to explode out of me. No. There was no way I’d let that happen. No. Fucking. Way.

Lazarus sighed again. “I feel responsible.”

Right at that moment, I was holding him responsible. “You should,” I spat. “You knew the serum didn’t work, knew what it could do, but you didn’t get rid of it!”

His eyes squeezed shut as his face pinched in pain. “I did not for one moment think it would ever be misused this way.”

Jared raised a hand. “Butch, I understand you need someone to blame—”

“Imani isn’t like the others! She didn’t volunteer to take part in any trial!” I turned to Sam and pointed at the floor as I demanded, “Get Paige in here. She can fix it.”

Teeth biting down on her lower lip, Sam looked at Imani’s arm. “There’s no point, Butch, Paige can’t do it.”

“She can.” If Paige was able to remove the taint of the Reaper’s Call, she could fix this.

But Sam shook her head. “Paige heals by taking an injury and passing it to someone else. Imani doesn’t have any wounds. The prick from the needle healed. Without a wound…”

Fuck. I swallowed hard, and the movement hurt. “So how do we get rid of it? Don’t say we can’t. There are thousands upon thousands of vampires out there. At least one must have an ability that will somehow combat this.”

“I’ll have Mona and Cedric look into it,” said Sam.

“Look into it?” I clipped. That was it?

“I know you want something done right here, right now. So do I, believe me. But at this moment in time, we have no bloody clue how to fix this. We will find a way.”

I looked down at Imani; she’d now passed out. “We need to take her back to The Hollow.”

Fists clenched, Salem spoke. “What I want to know is, who the f*ck did this?”

“I would like to know the same.” Annalise’s voice was as hard and dark as her expression.

“It had to have been Marco, Juliet, or Tait,” I said. “No one else here would have a motivation to kill her.” And that was exactly what the person who was responsible intended when they gave her the serum. And that was exactly why they would die. But they wouldn’t die easily. Or slowly. They’d pay in the worst way—I’d make sure of it.

Jared turned to me. “You were behind her outside in the crowd. What did you see?”

“We got separated. It was only for a second. When I got back to her, she told me something had pricked her arm.”

Just then, the parlour door opened. Marco, his consorts, and a few other vampires strolled inside. My already pounding heartbeat accelerated and my fingers retracted so they were almost claw-like. I tensed, ready to lunge and kill. I didn’t know which one of the f*ckers was responsible and nor did I care. If they all had to die just so the culprit would be punished, so be it.

Salem came to my side and said quietly, “Don’t. Stay with Imani. Guard her while she’s vulnerable.”

I was pretty sure Salem had chosen those very words because he suspected they just might penetrate the rage hazing my thoughts. He was right. I took a deep breath, searching for some element of calm.

Marco didn’t notice my struggle as his gaze went straight to a trembling Imani. “I heard she was carried inside. What’s wrong with her?”

I bared my teeth. “You know.” The words were almost animalistic.

Ava took a threatening step forward, only to have her way barred by her mate’s arm. “And so do your bunnies.”

Ignoring us both, Marco looked at Lazarus. “What’s wrong with Imani?”

It was Annalise who responded, her eyes on Tait. “Someone injected her with the latest serum.”

Marco sucked in a breath. “No.”

Energy crackled in the air as Sam also honed in on Tait, her irises glowing. “Was it you?”

The bitch blinked. “Me? No. I’ve been with Marco and Juliet all night. Ask anyone.”