Vampire's Bargain Book Two

By Odette C. Bell

One word sums up Jeanette’s new life. Complicated. But that one word can’t even begin to describe Tyler. The more she scratches the surface, the more secrets she finds.
But they might be running out of time. That ancient dark force gathering in the roots of the school will be awakened once more. When it rises, it will demand blood. The school will give it.
....
Vampire’s Bargain follows a revenge-driven witch and the vampire pulling her strings fighting to bring down a corrupt magical council. If you love your urban fantasies with action, heart, and a splash of romance, grab Vampire’s Bargain Book Two today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Odette C. Bell
• Release date: Apr 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005800727

Book preview

Chapter 1

He reached for Jeanette’s face, and her stomach fluttered to a standstill. So did her heart, and so did her breath. Hell, her power paused, too.

She had no clue what he was about to do. The look in his eyes….

He locked his palm on her face, and suddenly, her eyes rolled back into her head. What… what are you doing?

You’re seriously injured. You used a lot of magic, too. You need to rest.

With that, she fell against him.

He didn’t let her tumble onto the floor. He quickly secured his arms underneath her, and he lifted her up. He began to carry her away.

But… the memory orb—

Don’t worry. I’ll come back and do that later. Time for you to rest.

He led her to a door, and it opened. After several quick, muttered words, she felt him creating a new staircase. He really was connected to Broadside, wasn’t he? More than that, Broadside reacted differently around him – it felt different, too. Maybe Jeanette shouldn’t be able to discern this, considering her mind was shutting down, but it was the one thing she could concentrate on easily. It distracted her from his thankful grip as he walked her up that set of stairs, muttered something again, and appeared in her bedroom. He rested her down in her bed.

Then he locked a hand over her head.

She felt her subspace pocket opening.

He reached in and plucked up the memory orb.

He stared down at it then over at her. Curious that this thing is only a level 110 talisman. There is only one this powerful in all the world.

And… you’re surprised that I managed to get it, ha? she asked, once more teetering on the edge of unconsciousness.

Don’t get her wrong, part of her desperately wanted to give in to sleep. It told her that when she woke up, everything would make sense again. All the conclusions she’d made about Tyler would slip away to be replaced by her natural suspicion again. And these new tumbling feelings rising through her stomach would depart for good.

But at the same time, she couldn’t slip under, not while he was right there.

He chuckled once, and it was a paradoxically soft but hard move. No, Jeanette. You were the most likely practitioner in all the world to find it.

Why did he say that… as if he believed it? And more than that, knew it for a fact?

Jeanette struggled against unconsciousness more than ever. You….

I’ll be back to help you with your injuries. Don’t worry.

What about yours?

There was a pause, almost as if he was surprised she cared. Then he gave the slightest chuckle. Don’t worry, I have access to potions and power that will be able to fix this quickly.

What… if that ancient vampire comes back?

Now he stopped. No, he froze. It was like he was a lake, and he’d just iced over under a ferocious storm.

Who… who even is that ancient vampire?

A dark secret from the school’s past. One that will remain buried under my watch. Do not worry.

She tried to reach out to him, but he’d already opened a portal to transport back to that dungeon.

Yet he paused. She felt his gaze on her fingers.

She could no longer see him properly. Blackness encroached on all sides. You….

I what… Jeanette?

What happened to your mother? There were a thousand questions she wanted to ask, but that one asked itself.

It rose up unbidden from her memory, and it forced its way through her lips with the power to break any cage.

But it did not have the power to make him answer.

She heard him stiffen. Then silently, he left the room in a cloud of power.

Jeanette… Jeanette teetered there.

If she weren’t already lying down, she would’ve fallen down.

There was no energy left in her body. Fortunately she was no longer bleeding to death, but that wasn’t her point. She….

Not only was there the mystery of Tyler to grapple with, but there was also the mystery of what she’d done.

She had fought off five level 300 weapons.

That struck home, and it was the last straw her consciousness could take.

Jeanette blacked out.

When she woke, nothing would be the same.

Chapter 2

Jeanette woke to a new day. She blearily stared up at the open curtains. It was long past dawn. The rays of early morning were playing over the floor and her bedside table. She stared at the wood, watching the dappled patterns and shadows as if she had no clue what light was, nor why she was awake in the first place.

Her head….

Everything came slamming back into her mind with the power of lightning.

She jerked up. She expected to sway, but she didn’t. Immediately her prying fingers pulled up her top, and they checked her injury.

It wasn’t there. She didn’t even have a scar. Holy crap. She’d been stabbed twice. Both had been mortal injuries, but now they were gone? Just… how much magic had Tyler wasted on her?

Tyler….

She ran for the door. She went to open it but realized she was still in a bloody, ripped uniform.

Plus, even if she ran out, it wasn’t like she knew which room Tyler’s was. And it certainly wasn’t as if he’d let her in, even if she knocked and screamed his name.

She jammed her nail into her mouth. Then she heard her phone on her bedside table.

It vibrated, reminding her she had a message.

She rushed over. She plucked it up.

You will take it easy today. It is Sunday.

That was it.

To be fair, she needed to be reminded of what day it was. She’d fought Friday night, which meant she’d slept all the way through Saturday.

But who cared about that? Tyler had sent the message this morning, which meant he was fine.

Jeanette struggled through a deep breath, then turned and sat on the edge of her bed. She palmed her face, then quickly let her fingers drop. Then immediately, she shoved a hand into her subspace pocket.

It didn’t take much clutching before she found her memory orb.

Tyler… had returned it.

She was his familiar. Her weapons were his weapons.

Still, she could remember what he’d muttered, that there was only one of these as powerful as hers in the entire world. It would’ve been easy enough for him to claim it.

He hadn’t….

She sat there on the edge of her bed for way too long, rubbing her face. She stared at the long rays of sunshine making it in through the beautiful window by her bed. And she would’ve remained there had someone not knocked on the door.

Not remembering the fact that her uniform was splattered with blood, she walked over and opened it.

And there stood Kate.

She looked so thankful for the fact that Jeanette had answered. Then her eyes almost exploded at the sight of Jeanette’s uniform. What—

Jeanette quickly grabbed Kate’s hand, yanked her into the room, and closed the door.

Kate turned. What the hell happened?

Jeanette pressed her lips together, then shrugged. Ah….

Seriously, you just disappeared for a day. I was so worried about you.

Jeanette blinked. Really?

She tried to hide her surprise, but couldn’t, because Kate, though she rocked forward to grab Jeanette’s hand, paused, and a peevish expression crumpled her face. Yeah, I was worried about you. Because we’re friends, remember? she prompted, voice about as hard as a drill sergeant telling you to get up and try again.

Jeanette grabbed the back of her head and let her fingers slide down. I’m sorry. I was kind of unconscious for most of the weekend.

What happened? Kate demanded, and from her tone, it was clear that she would not ask that again.

Jeanette had no idea how much she should tell Kate. But it was by now clear that Tyler knew about her.

… Jeanette couldn’t bring Kate into this world, right? Tyler might do something… right?

Wrong, some part of her answered immediately, and it brought with it the image of Tyler staring on at Helena in total cold anger.

It wouldn’t take much at all for Jeanette to recall Tyler’s dead words, nor the festering wound at the heart of his soul.

All of this had something to do with his mother….

His mother….

Her eyes widened, and she pushed forward. What do you know about Tyler Solomon’s mother?

Ha? Kate was clearly surprised at the sudden question.

Do you know anything about her? Or do you know where I might get some information on her? It sounds like—

It sounds like you don’t know anything about him, even though you’re his familiar, Kate chided. Then she rubbed her face, walked around Jeanette’s room for a bit, marveled at the view, then came back. She was killed. Or at least the PC version was that she lost her life.

Jeanette’s eyebrows flattened. Sorry, what do you mean the PC version?

I shouldn’t know about the real version, but I do because of my grandfather.

Why?

He works for the ministry. Sorry, worked for the ministry, her voice dropped in that way someone’s does when they’re remembering an unfortunate death in the family.

Right, Jeanette muttered quietly. But—

She was executed. The official version was that she died protecting her son.

Executed? Why?

I’m sketchy on the details, but it has something to do with a crime against vampires.

Do you have any idea—

Kate shook her head.

It has to be something big. It has to— she stopped immediately, realizing she couldn’t discuss this without her vampire’s permission. She bit her lip.

Kate, of course, saw and understood the whole thing. She crossed her arms. Are you going to tell me anything about what happened to you over the weekend? I was worried sick.

Jeanette actually let that sink in. Another human being had been worried about her….

No, she wouldn’t include Tyler in that equation, considering he very much wasn’t human.

She sucked her lips in and chewed them. Look… Helena and Jason won’t be a problem again—

No, because they transferred, Kate spluttered quickly. It’s the talk of the school. They transferred Saturday. No warning. It’s insane. They’ve gone from practically running the school, to leaving without any explanation. It’s left a real power vacuum. Some of the more upstart vampires are trying to fill it.

Jeanette’s lips twitched into the slightest smile.

Why? She didn’t really know. Maybe she’d harbored the fear that Tyler would just kill Helena and Jason. Or maybe it was something much deeper than that.

Jeanette had finally made a difference.

She rubbed her wrist. It was unconscious. It seemed to happen whenever she thought of Tyler, but Kate was the kind to pick up every single slight move, no matter how apparently innocent.

She frowned. Are you gonna tell me why you’re Tyler Solomon’s familiar? You don’t have to. You probably can’t. But—

It’s a pretty long, twisted tale. And trust me, you don’t want to know. But… thanks.

Kate frowned. For what?

For Friday. If you hadn’t helped me… she trailed off. Again, she didn’t know what she should say. That they’d broken apart the human trafficking ring? That together, they’d made a real difference?

She sucked her lips, then turned.

She wanted to get some fresh air. She reached for the door handle, but Kate spluttered, shot in close, and grabbed her wrist. You serious?

I’m kind of hungry, and I’m desperate to get out on the grass. I need to stand outside among some trees in nature.

Preferably while you’re not splattered with blood though, right? She pointedly stared down at Jeanette’s top.

Jeanette let her head jerk down. Then she snorted at her own stupidity. Crap. I’m glad I’ve got someone like you around. The words slipped out. She didn’t retract them. Because they were true.

Kate got a certain look in her eyes.

Jeanette turned. She reached her dresser, and she rummaged around in it. She soon found a uniform top, changed into it, switched her pants too, and headed out with Kate.

By now it was clear to the other students that they knew each other. Which just made them easy targets.

Several vampires were standing near the wall, and as they strode past, one of them tried to trip Jeanette up.

She easily jumped over the move, turned quickly, shoved her hands on her hips, and glowered at the guy. Technically Tyler hadn’t told Jeanette that she could act tough now. But nor had he told her that she needed to continue to play the weakling.

So trust her, the stare she shot that vamp was as hard as diamonds.

The guy actually spluttered. But then his lips quickly ticked into an angry snarl. Have you got any idea who you’re looking at, witch? He hissed that like it was the worst insult in the world.

A smalltime vamp, she hissed back.

He shoved off the wall, muscles bristling, eyes sharp. I wouldn’t be that lippy to a member of the Aeros.

Jeanette arched an eyebrow. She looked at Kate.

But Kate just shrugged.

And who the heck are the Aeros? Jeanette demanded.

You don’t keep your ear to the ground in this school, do you? We’re the up-and-coming. I’m gonna remember this, he said as he jolted forward, shoved his hands into his pockets, and snarled in her face. You are on the list. With that, he walked off, his friends in tow.

Jeanette snorted. List? She looked at Kate, but Kate shook her head and shrugged.

Like I said, now that Helena and Jason are gone, it’s left a bit of a power vacuum. I guess they’re just one of the up-and-coming gangs, that’s all.

Jeanette heard one word, and she wanted to scream. Really, gangs? Dealing with Helena and Jason had been bad enough. If 100 other bad vampires popped up their heads to replace them, then Jeanette would have her work cut out for her.

As she walked the halls with Kate, she kept her ear to the ground. She didn’t just monitor the conversations around her, but she listened to what was not being said.

No one really mentioned Jason and Helena anymore. All they cared about were two gangs. The Aeros and the Firebrands.

Childish names, if you asked Jeanette. She would’ve imagined that a bunch of bloodthirsty vampires would come up with something a heck of a lot more dangerous.

While they weren’t that good at branding, they seemed to be pretty good at gathering members.

As Jeanette walked down the halls, she saw several people with slight changes to their Broadside emblems on their blazers.

The Firebrands had more fire around the school shield, and the Aeros had cast some kind of shimmering enchantment on their emblems that made it look as if air was rushing through it from every angle.

So damn childish, she snarled as she got down the stairs into the atrium.

Yes, sure, childish with an edge. Kate didn’t speak that loudly. She pushed close to Jeanette, brushing up against her arm.

Jeanette turned