Chapter 10

Vycandor broke the silence first. "What are you doing here, Jade?"

She paused before answering to swipe a fringe of heavy black bangs out of her face - fingers curled under like a paw so as not to gouge out her eyeballs. I couldn't help noticing how each of her long fingernails had been purposefully sharpened to a deadly point.

Hunger replaced fear as she stepped forward, invading the crap out of my personal space. "I got a whiff of violence, so I decided to follow you."

Narrowing my eyes, I glanced over at Vycandor. "What does that even mean?"

He gave a small smile. "Jade is a Watcher, but she's also a Drinker. Her kind are attracted to violence like bees drawn to honey. If possible, they feed on it even more than..." His voice trailed off as if trying to find the right word.

"Blood," Jade finished for him. "We feed on blood, among other things. Unlike you Drainers," she purred, narrowing her green eyes to slits, "we don't play with our food. We're also not afraid to get all up close and personal with our...victims."

I swallowed hard. "You mean, cannibalism." Suddenly losing my appetite, I dropped my pizza dog on the floor.

Jade eyed me with bland curiosity. "You singed my tail, Sparks. What's up with that?"

"The name's Chaos, you flea bag."

Vycandor moved beside me possessively. "This doesn't concern you, Jade. Go home."

Pouting prettily, she kicked a stack of nearby newspapers. "No fair. You never let me have any fun. Why can't we go hang out and chase cars like old times, V?"

I glanced up at Vycandor's painfully handsome, yet animalistic face feeling a ping of jealousy. These two obviously had history. I suddenly felt like a third wheel. "Uh huh. Riiight. Well, I'm not here to judge. If you two are finished with your happy reunion, I have a planet to save. So if you'll excuse me, I've got to find Doctor Drool, get him to create a cure for an upcoming episode of Teenage Angels Gone Wild, and then unleash some much needed payback for what that bloodsucking monster did to me."

Robbed of speech, Vycandor and Jade gaped openly at me.

Realizing I'd let the kitty out of the bag, I couldn't help but cringe. "Holy crap. Did I just say all that out loud?"

They both nodded in unison like good little bobble-heads. Blushing furiously, I spun around on one heal and stormed outside. I didn't enjoy sharing the fact that I'd ever been anyone's victim. Let alone Doctor Drool's.

A welcomed blast of arctic air calmed the twisting flames burning in my chest, but failed to erase my Kool-aide cheeks. Grabbing a lock of crimson hair, I pulled it across my matching face to hide.

Following me outside, Vycandor pressed one hand against the small of my back, before reaching to expose my bare neck. Icy fingers played along my collarbone making me shiver against my will.

"Chaos..." His deep voice trailed off as sharp teeth grazed my skin. At first, I thought he might bite me again. Instead he kissed the sweet spot under my ear lobe, sending a hot tingle of need coursing through my entire body. "Why didn't you tell me this wasn't a rescue mission?"

I pulled away, frustration welling up inside me. "Because I didn't think you'd be willing to help me if you knew the truth."

He looked at me fiercely. "What is this all about?"

I took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. By now Jade had joined us. Climbing up on top of the Mustang, she stretched out lazily on the hood to sun herself like a...well, like a cat that's what.

I told Vycandor everything. Absolutely everything, from when Doctor Drool abducted me, to him draining me of blood and planning to use it to cure cancer, to me escaping, to needing him to create an antidote to reverse the effects of the neurotoxin. I let it all out like word vomit that left me feeling completely exposed. Especially the part about me being immortal.

Once I'd finally finished my tirade, I actually felt better. The truth shall set you free, and all that shit.

Glancing up at Vycandor, I tried to gauge his reaction. He glowered back at me and let out a long hiss from between his pointy teeth. "Do you even know where this guy lives?"

The venom plain in his voice promised that I wasn't the only one planning to dish out some much deserved revenge.

Before I had a chance to answer, Jade jumped off the hood. "I do." Vycandor waved her off impatiently like an annoying insect. "Look," she insisted. "I don't know what caused everyone to go Looney-tunes and embark on a feeding frenzy. Well, everyone except us creatures of the night. All I know is that I smell violence, and it's coming from Sparks here." She paused to sniff me. "I can definitely lead you to who did this."

"You know, Jade..." I began to formulate a plan in my mind. "I could use your help..."

Vycandor seethed with unexpected hostility. "No. Absolutely not. I forbid it."

I gave him a look. "What? You don't even know what I was going to say."

"I don't care." Pointing over his shoulder, he said, "Do you know what she is?"

"Yeah. She's a were-panther." I didn't know how I knew, just that I did.

He shook his head fiercely. "No. Besides that. Do you know who she is?"

"I give," I replied, throwing my hands in the air. "Who is she?"

"Jade is the closest thing our kind has to royalty. Her father rules over all the Drinkers and Drainers, and everything in between, like a tyrannical king. Trust me, no one but her dares to make a single move without him knowing about it. As heir to the throne, Jade is what's known as a purebred. She was born, not bitten."

"Goody. She's a princess." I clapped my hands together in something close to glee. "Even better. Her blood won't be watered down."

He took a shaky breath. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"In order to create the antidote, Doctor Drool is going to need to isolate the toxins in your bloodstream, and then compare them to a blood sample of Jade's that hasn't been affected by the poison. It's basic Chemistry 101."

I decided to leave out the part where I'd failed Chemistry.

Vycandor licked his lips. "How do you know her blood hasn't already been poisoned?"

"I don't. But I also don't know that it hasn't." He didn't seem convinced, so I added, "You heard Jade. Her kind weren't affected by the eclipse. All I know is that if we don't at least try, none of this is going to matter anyway. Soon the neurotoxin is going to trigger a transformation that turns the Angels of War into diabolical killing machines. Once that happens, there's no turning back. The balance of power will be forever tipped in the Dark Ones favor, and then it's lights out for us."

Jade cleared her throat. "What are we waiting for?"

Vycandor eyed me carefully. "I'm warning you, Chaos. You're immortal. Jade isn't. She absolutely cannot get hurt. Period. You don't know what will happen if her father finds out we put her in danger. I fear this is a really..."

"Blah, blah...bad idea," I interrupted. "Blah, blah...consequences. I know, I get it. What choice do we have?"

When he didn't respond, I knew I'd won.

Point for me.

But the battle was far from over.