Page 80 of Cursed Lifeline

“Then I need to kill her...” Caelum shouts, beginning to rise from his position on the table before Felix firmly pushes him back down.

“You have never been trained to kill,” he angrily hisses. “We have no clue who this vampire is. Or why they’d attempt an act like this on my train when I cherry-picked the crew myself. They know the history and what’s at stake. It doesn’t make sense.”

“True, he doesn’t know how to kill,” Evangeline says as my body sways. I pinch the bridge of my nose, and stars flood my vision. The smell of the tonic, her potions, and Caelum’s blood on my hands makes bile violently rise in my throat. “But she does.”

I drop my hand and open my eyes to see Evangeline nod toward Esme.

“Absolutely not!” Felix shouts.

“Why not?” Esme argues, bouncing quickly to her feet.

“Because you haven’t been trained yet,” Felix seethes, rounding the table and taking her by the shoulders. She throws them back confidently, bravely, as my stomach churns. “I won’t lose you, not when I just got you back after...”

“I won’t let that happen,” she smiles softly, placing her hand on his chest. My vision goes black; I swear I’ve passed out, until surprisingly, I come to when I hear my cousin say, “I know I have a lot to learn, and my memory is only slowly returning, but I can help him.”

Felix glances at Caelum spread out, near death, on the table. Then, he hesitantly looks at Evangeline who gives him an encouraging nod. Finally, his eyes fall on me.

“What do you say?” he asks.

I open my mouth to respond but close it immediately, gagging on the rising sickness inside. I blink rapidly as the room sways before me. The four people in front of me blur. I haven’t had a drink since the night Felix found me at the Moulin Rouge, but right now, if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear I was three bottles deep and well into a fourth.

“I think...” I manage to slur before the room takes one giant whirl; my mind goes blank, my vision turns black, and my legs give out underneath me.

The last thing I hear is Felix’s condescending voice cursing over me as he says, “A watcher who’s easily sickened by the sight of blood. We’re more doomed than I fucking thought.”

Twenty Eight

Esme

song: born of this | the score

“I’ll need your dagger.”

“You’ve got one already,” Felix growls, turning away from me as I reach out to disarm him. “And a spike. No need giving you more ammunition you aren’t trained to use yet. Especially since, if things turn out not in our favor, everything you bring into battle can be used against you.”

I frown at him and step out the back door onto the platform at the back of the caboose. The moon is high, and the air is still. I get the sense that someone is waiting, watching. Looking over my shoulder, a shiver trails down my spine.

“If you’re still stubborn enough to go through with this, remember there are three rules,” Felix demands as he steps out into the night with me. “Know thyself, know the enemy, and never let your opponent pick the battleground.”

Glancing back over his shoulder, Caelum trembles in the corner of the caboose. Evangeline sees to Alfred, making him sip some juice to raise his blood sugar in hopes he won’t faint on us again. Rolling my eyes, I turn towards Felix and ensure I am shielded from the view of the others as I raise my skirt. Quickly strapping the stake to my right thigh, my lonely dagger to the left, I glance up and watch Felix’s eyes heat. He wets his lips as his ravenous focus remains diligently trained on my exposed skin.

Breathing in deep, he closes his eyes and whispers, “Commit. Focus on what you have to do. Exhale sharply with every punch. It’ll bring your fists more power. Never cover your eyes; never let your opponent out of your sight. Lean into them and...”

“Like this?” I tease.

Placing my hand on his chest as I finish tying the weapons to my bare skin. My lips hover a breath above his and his eyes flash open.

“Felix,” I purr his name, and I swear the Prince of the Damned trembles under my touch, “Trust me, I’m focused,” I whisper against his lips, never taking my eyes off his.

His hungry gaze fuels me. Gives me confidence.

Leaning in further, I say, “I know you’re worried,” my hand lowers, and I grasp the hilt of the dagger he’s suddenly forgotten about slung carelessly at his side. “But there is no way I’m going to be able to remember everything you’re telling me. Especially when I’m trying to think about getting Caelum set up for a kill shot.”

I start to back away, but his right hand lifts, and he harshly grabs the back of my neck, keeping me in place.

“When you died,” he sighs, “I made us both a promise to always keep you safe in your next life.” His left hand firmly grips my hip. I grasp the weapon at his side and smile when I realize he has no clue what I’m up to. “I don’t feel like I’m fulfilling that promise when you have no training whatsoever, and I am letting you walk right into the hands of the enemy.”

“You mean, kind of like the enemy who has his hands all over me right now?”

---