Page 33 of Blood Taken (Blood Mafia 2)
I shake my head. "Twice with one and once with another."
Maria begins to pace. "What does this have to do with Gerry shooting Daniel?"
"Gerry asked me about sharing blood again. He had a ring Quorana made for him. He could tell I was lying when I said I hadn’t exchanged blood. The punishment for letting the vampires feed is death."
Nicole scoffs. "That's ancient law."
I stop watching Maria walk back and forth and swing my gaze to her. "It's a real law?"
No wonder they didn’t tell Gerry about the picture of me drinking Mateo’s blood.
She nods. "Van Helsing enacted it."
Oh, Beatrice. Beatrice ran off with a vampire. She became one. Van Helsing had to kill her, and he tried to make sure no other Hunter would befall the same fate.
Squeezing my eyes closed, I curse Beatrice for once again being a pain in my ass. First with Mateo's story time and now this.
"Will the others uphold it?" Maria asks, stopping mid-stride.
"It is the law."
Nicole sounds resigned to the fact I will die.
Why do I have to die? It's not like I turned into a vampire.
"This is ridiculous." I snatch a bottle of vodka I commandeered from the cafeteria off my dresser and take a swig. The alcohol burns down my throat and I gag. I hate vodka, but it's all they had.
"It's the twenty-first century. Why are Hunters of the modern day following ancient laws?" I gesture to Nicole with the bottle. "And why are you so defeated?"
Maria wrings her hands. "Once Gerry tells the others, we won't be able to avoid your fate."
I glare at her. "There is no we." Setting the bottle down, I snatch up a dagger Mack gave me and point it at her. "I guess I'll have to kill him first."
Maria is on me in a flash. She yanks the dagger away and stabs it into the top of the dresser—sound familiar?—before twisting my arms behind my back.
"Jesus, you're hurting me."
"You can't go out there and try to kill him, Demi. You're not even at full power yet."
I laugh. "I'm not going to wait to be led to my death."
Nicole comes into view. She places her hand on my cheek, but I jerk away. "No one is asking you to."
"I'm not sure what you're saying."
Maria grips the necklace in her hand.
"No," I whisper.
I'm not ready.
Her eyes soften and she runs a finger over the metal. "If they exchanged blood with you that many times they won't kill you. They can keep you safe."
"You don't understand. I—"
Before I can get the words out she's yanked the necklace off and tossed it aside. Nicole takes in the sudden widening of my eyes with an impassive face. I swat at my mother who dodges my hand and glares at me.
"You'll be safe."
