Page 80 of Taste of Death

“No, it’s okay. But I should do a death ritual in front of Rathka once it’s done. He oversees death and the afterlife, the opposite of Temkra. She’s all about life, vitality, fertility.” I was rambling, stalling. “But anyway, I can’t focus on any of that right now.”

I finished with my buttons and then fiddled with my sleeves, rolling them so they were secure just above my elbows. Amy took my arm, wrapping her hand around my bicep while she stood calmly at my side.

“I know this isn’t easy, but you’re strong enough, Novak. You always have been.” She gave my arm a gentle squeeze. “And I’ll be right there with you.”

Just like that, my fidgeting nerves left me. A resolute calm washed over me, like I had slipped beneath the surface of a glassy lake.

One final act of duty. One more sacrifice until I could wash away the stain of Rathka’s Order and start anew.

“Let’s go,” I said, heading for the bedroom door.

The smell always hit first.Rotting leaves, rotting flesh. So much death and decay. I gave Amy a folded handkerchief from my pants pocket.

“Cover your mouth and nose with that,” I said. It had traces of my cologne that would hopefully be easier on her senses.

A low, rattling growl came from the darkness, the noise startling Amy.

“He can’t hurt you,” I assured her before flicking the light on.

Evin was already pressed up against the bars of his cell. He probably scented Amy the moment she walked in. She was a fresh meal in his curse-stricken mind.

“Oh my God.” Amy’s voice was muffled from the cloth over her mouth. “He’s...he used to be a vampire?”

“Not just any vampire,” I said flatly. “The heir to Rathka’s Order. A devastatingly handsome bachelor who had everything.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “And yet it was never enough.”

The creature bared his teeth, long rows of jagged broken fangs, and let out a screech as he swiped a skeletal-thin arm through the bars. His claws were long, black, and filthy. Probably riddled with infection that had nothing to do with the Curse.

“He was your bully.” Amy stated it matter-of-factly, all traces of fear gone from her voice. “Seems like his outsides finally match his insides.”

She wasn’t far off from a prevalent theory about Rathka’s Curse. Many believed the sickness was divine retribution for all the harm they had caused. The biggest offense being forcing draitrium on lower-class vampires and sending them off in broad daylight to fight the werewolves centuries ago. Those who didn’t burn from sun exposure became hopelessly addicted to the drug.

Some believed Rathka was so angry about this mindless slaughter of his sister’s children, in his name no less, that his curse was simply a revelation of our true natures. He pulled back the curtain on our attractive features, our wealth, our pride, and genteel manners, and revealed Rathka’s Order for the cannibalistic monsters they tried to hide.

I didn’t fully buy into all that. My mother came from a different clan, and there were a few others not of my bloodline that were affected by the Curse.

But Amy was spot-on as far as my brother was concerned. He had been an awful, ugly person to everyone in his life, and now his exterior matched his personality.

That still didn’t make him any easier to kill.

My hand went to Amy’s shoulder and gently squeezed. “Don’t come any closer than this.”

“Okay.” She grabbed my hand, holding on as I left her side until the last possible moment.

Evin snarled as I approached his cell, his twisted spine cracking as he followed my movement. A long black tongue licked his teeth, because he didn’t have any lips to speak of.

I looked away only to grab the silver dagger from the shallow drawer of my work table. When I unsheathed it, Evin let out a long, wailing screech that made my eardrums ache. He grabbed at the bars and pulled, scrabbling as if to climb his way to escape, but it was no use.

“You know what this is?” I held out the blade, letting it catch the light. “So you are still in there.”

The monster screamed again, chomping his jaws like he wanted to devour me right then. I had never seen him act this erratically before, and a knot of guilt formed in my gut. After fifty years of observations, tissue samples, and examinations, I never truly attempted to communicate with him.

Amy seemed to sense my hesitation, her eyes catching mine from where she stood in the entryway. I saw no judgment there, only support. Even if I couldn’t bring myself to use the blade, she would remain at my side.

The reminder of her quiet strength made me resolute. I held the dagger next to my thigh, watching the monster watch me.

“Even if I did try to communicate with you, what would we talk about?” I said. “You never said a single word to me that wasn’t belittling.”

His jaws clenched hard enough to crack some teeth, but those sunken eyes were dull, lifeless. Evin always had a glimmer in his eye, an arrogant light twinkling from his dark, filthy soul.

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