Blood Cursed by Erica Hayes

without some grubby guy thinking I’ll blow him in the back room for twenty bucks. Was that so much to ask?
    I found another stool, keeping my eyes down, and stupid tears crept into my nose. Jasper would’ve torn that guy’s head off.
    Yeah. Big Em, my ghostly better self, snorted at my shoulder, her matter-of-fact tone caustic. Because it cost Jasper a lot more than twenty bucks to get you to suck him off.
    I flushed and wiped my eyes. You know what, Big Em? Sometimes you can just keep your know-it-all mouth shut.
    The blond bar guy brought my champagne, and I drank deep, the alcoholic fizz warm and urgent inside. It didn’t soothe me. Persistent male fingers slid over my shoulder, and I shrugged them off impatiently. Tattoo Boy didn’t know when to give up. “Look, I’m not selling, okay?”
    “Pity.” Hot lips drenched my cheek in stale blood-scent, and fingers snapped tight like cruel jaws on the back of my neck. “Guess we’ll just take it for free, then.”
    My pulse jiggled cold. Dark husky voice, dusty blue hair snaking over my shoulder. Tinkerfang, my new vampire buddy.
    “Get off me, freak.” Metal clattered as I shoved my stool back, trying to break Tinker’s grip.
    But I just banged into a hard shoulder. Paris snarled, teeth shining, golden fury glittering her eyes. “You murdered our friend, slutfae.”
    My nerves knotted cold. “What? No! I didn’t hurt him, I just—Guh!”
    Tinker gripped my throat, sharp nails slashing, and dived in to lick my blood from his knuckles with a lust-drunk hiss. “He’s dead on the floor, bitch. What’d you give him? Huh? Cut your sparkle with drain cleaner?”
    I struggled, sharp heels slipping on the metal floor. “No! Get off me. I didn’t do anything!”
    But guilt trickled like hot honey over my skin, and with an ugly jolt, I realized I had.
    In my mind, that glowing scarlet jewel crushed once more in Kane’s fist. That horrid deathly squelch, soul-blood’s dark shine on his lips. That was the vampire boy’s, was it? he’d said.
    Jasper gave Kane the gemstone I stole, and now the vampire I’d stolen it from was dead. Kane ate his soul. Because I was too dumb to realize Jasper was playing me, some guy I didn’t even know—some ordinary, horny, blood-drunk kid who never did me any wrong, only took what I was offering—was dead.
    Tinker bared his teeth, a hungry dog’s grin. “Oh yes, you did, princess. And I’m gonna chain you up and bleed you till you die. Could take weeks.”
    I choked and scrabbled at his hand, scratching his skin bloody. His meaty virus-stink wormed hot and sick in my mouth, but determination burned hotter.
    Sure, their friend was a rude, dirty scumbag who bought blood from desperate girls. Didn’t mean he deserved to die.
    But neither did I.
    I forced my jaw tight and jammed my knee into Tinker’s balls.
    He cramped over, gasping, and his grip faltered. I slammed my metal heel into Paris’s shin. Skin ripped, a bloody splatter. She yowled like a wounded cat, and I pulled free and dived headfirst into the undulating crowd.
    Fangs slashed at my ankle, but I kicked free and tumbled onto my face. The grimy metal floor smacked into my cheek. My teeth sliced my lips. A knee crushed my ribs. My hair yanked tight under stumbling feet, smearing in the dirt. I didn’t care. I hauled myself up on nerveless wings and ran, shoving shoulders and limbs and trailing wings from my path.
    Behind me, Paris and Tinker snarled, and metal furniture clanged. I fought a path through the sweaty crowd, between wailing fairies crazy on sparkle-drenched drinks, a pair of troll boys kissing, a lithe scarlet-haired firefairy on his knees, going down on his girl right there on the dance floor, her skirt wrapped around her hips and his lips shining wet. No one gave a damn about me. No one would help me, not a stupid bloodfae whore.
    Sticky hair plastered in my eyes. I dragged it back. At last, I broke clear and hurtled toward the front door.
    The