I’m here as Holly Day today. It’s always a bit weird to visit my own (other pen name) blog, but here we go! 😊 A few days ago, Rufus the Dead was released. It’s a story I wrote for Kiss Your Mate Day, and at first, I planned on writing a shifter story, but…  

It sounds like a story for Kiss Your Mate Day should be about shifters, right? But we have a vampire and a psychic who are mated through a blood bond. Jaki, our psychic, has no idea what it means, and while Rufus does, he doesn’t explain it. At least not until he’s forced to.  

Rufus has claustrophobia and seven years ago, he was staked and put in a coffin. While staked, a vampire is unable to move but fully aware of what’s going on around them. When the coven leader wants someone to form a blood bond with a psychic, everyone but Rufus refuses.  

It’s not that he wants to be mated to a person he’s never met, but it’s a chance to get out of the coffin.  

So we have an arranged mating, a psychic with a traumatic past, and political plots within the vampire court. Below you can read the first chapter, but you’ll have to read a bit more than that until you get to the kissing part 😊 

Rufus the Dead

Rufus will do anything not to remain staked in a coffin, including stealing a psychic and forming a blood bond with him. 
 
Rufus Mabuz was a badass assassin until his coven leader had him staked and stored away in a coffin for seven years. He was still a badass assassin, only he couldn’t move. Then one day, the coven leader makes him an offer — bond with a psychic or stay in the coffin for years to come. 
 
Jaki Sage is kept prisoner together with a group of psychics. He’s a psychic too, but a crappy one. He can’t foresee anything. The only thing he can do is look back in time to see what the weather was like around a certain event. Not useful. But then his friend, who can foresee things, tells him to go with Rufus the Dead. 
 
Rufus isn’t sure why he’s stealing a psychic and forming a blood bond with him, but anything is better than being staked. Jaki might not know much about vampires, but he thinks he’s better off with Rufus than if he hadn’t run away with him. But then the coven leader demands he uses his skills to find someone, or she’ll put Rufus back in the coffin. How will Jaki be able to find anyone when all he can see is weather?

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Chapter 1

Jaki Sage looked at the bare white walls. His heart was thudding uncomfortably in his chest, and he had a bad feeling.

“So, a vampire?” Minerva, his roommate, looked at him from her cot. Her last name was also Sage, but they weren’t related. He didn’t think so, at least. They looked nothing alike, and everyone in this wing of the house of horrors was named Sage.

“It was what the warden said.” He’d taken Jaki aside and informed him there had been a last-minute booking of his services, and the person coming was a vampire. They rarely had vampires here. Jaki had never met one. The reason the warden had told him before it was time to go was to frighten him, but the warden didn’t make idle threats. He didn’t have to. Minerva and Jaki hadn’t named the facility the house of horrors for nothing. There was no point in lying, since many of those living here would be able to pick up on the lies.

“Lucky you. They’re super-hot. All that raw sex appeal, and they’re freakishly strong.” Neither of them cared about sex appeal, so this was her attempt to distract him. She gave him a weak smile, then winced as her already split lip started seeping again. The last customer couldn’t have liked her prediction.

Jaki would most likely look about the same way when he got back. He couldn’t predict the future, which was why people came here. They paid the warden crazy amounts of money to get answers to questions, and Jaki couldn’t give answers.

“Yeah, a good chance of getting killed, right? Displease a vampire.” A knot grew in his belly. The warden didn’t normally invite vampires to the facility. Maybe he was afraid they’d kill his precious seers. Not precious as in something he cherished, but precious as in worth a lot of money. That must be why he gave Jaki to the vampire. He wasn’t worth nearly as much as the others.

She huffed. “They could snap you like a twig, but I don’t think they’d kill the merchandise. Too pricey.” She was quiet for a few seconds. “Is it a private session?”

Sometimes, depending on how wealthy the client was, they could be left alone in a room with the seer. The official reason was that no one other than the client would hear the prediction, but that was only part of it. The other was that the facility was moonlighting as a brothel.

“I don’t know.” Nausea built inside. Private sessions weren’t good. Both because people, for some reason, believed all psychics were women, and because Jaki was neither a psychic nor a woman. It often left the client disappointed, and… yeah… It was better not to worry about it until it happened.

There were a few other men in here. Prophecy and Thanatos had the room next to Minerva’s and his, but he seldom saw them anywhere other than in the canteen. He only ever spoke to Minerva.

She looked at him for a long time before holding out her hand. He hesitated. They never touched, but the poor thing had seen better days. Glancing out into the corridor through the window in the door to make sure no guard was watching them, he stepped closer and gently took her hand in his.

The moment he did, her eyes turned white. Irises and pupils disappeared, and she spoke in a hollow voice. “You must leave with him.”

“What?”

“Rufus the Dead.”

Oh, goodie. “Why?”

“You will die.”

Sweat threatened to break out on his skin. Fuck. He didn’t want to die. He might say he did, but if it’d been true, he’d have ended himself a long time ago. No one spent their entire life locked up in a horrid facility without trying to kill themselves if they truly wanted to die. “I’ll die if I stay?”

Between one blink and the next, her hazel eyes were back in place.

“What the fuck, Minerva!” She was capable of one prediction a day, as were most seers, which meant she hadn’t made one between the time she’d left the room this morning and now, but she’d gotten beaten half to death. Which meant a guard must’ve done the beating. They wore gloves to prevent unwelcome triggers. Had the client beaten her, it would’ve forced her into a prediction. Granted there was skin contact, of course.

“Did you save your prediction for me?” He was a mix of furious and worried. He never wanted her to get in trouble for him.

“Prophecy told me to.”

Of all the stupid names of the people living here, Prophecy had the stupidest one. Not his fault since they didn’t get to pick their names, but the stupid name combined with him always sucking up to the warden and the others working here made Jaki want to hit him. Stupid fucker.

“You took a beating because of something Prophecy said?”

“Was it worth it?” She grinned, then winced and dabbed at her lip again.

“I don’t know. You tell me!” He hadn’t meant to snap, but damn.

“What did I say?”

“You said I must leave with Rufus the Dead, and that I will die.”

“That you will die if you go, or you’ll die if you stay?”

“You never said.”

“What? It seems like an important question to answer.”

Jaki snorted. “It was short. You said: You must leave with him. I think I replied with something smart, like what?” He gave her a quick smile because damn, he’d been around seers long enough to know not to waste time on stupid questions. “And you said Rufus the Dead. I asked why, and you told me I’ll die.”

“You will die? With emphasis on will?” She frowned.

“Yeah. I tried to get you to answer if I’d die if I stayed, but you woke up before you could answer.”

“Way too short. No wonder the warden is displeased with me if that’s what my predictions are like these days.” She changed position and grimaced. “It can’t be what Prophecy wanted you to hear.”

“Since when do you talk to Prophecy?”

“He offered me his Snack Pack in the canteen, claimed he didn’t like chocolate pudding.”

“Huh, always knew he was insane.” They got dessert once a week and only an idiot would pass it up.

“Yeah, I think he lied to have a reason to talk to me. He looked pale, and there were tiny drops of sweat forming on his upper lip. I believed he was sick, but maybe he was having a vision. He can remember them, you know. He doesn’t need to speak while he’s having them.” Jaki had heard about it, but he did not care.

“He can do it without touching. It’s much harder for him, and touch still triggers a prediction, but he could be alone in his room and still make a prediction. So cool.”

He didn’t like the admiration in her voice. Prophecy was an idiot. Sure, he was good at what he did, good enough for Jaki to hear the whispers despite paying little attention to the others’ skills in this place. Jaki wasn’t measuring up; it was all he needed to know. The others saw visions or did what Minerva did. All he could do was tell people what the weather had been like on specific days. A useless skill, and he was surprised the warden hadn’t gotten rid of him a long time ago. Maybe it was what he was planning to do now, by giving him to a vampire.

The door rattled, and Jaki jumped away from Minerva. Touch wasn’t allowed since most were triggered by it—like Minerva. She had to touch the one she was giving a reading.

One of the big burly guards filled the doorway. “Time to go.” He glared at Jaki.

Jaki sent a pleading glance at Minerva. He didn’t want to go. Nothing good ever happened when he was with a client.

“It’ll be fine.” She nodded at him.

“You said I’ll die.”

“Raw sex appeal.”

“Yeah, Rufus the Dead sounds sexy as hell.”

She laughed but it ebbed into a hiss, and the last thing Jaki saw as he left the room was her clutching her side.

* * * *

Jaki’s steps echoed in the deserted corridor. The beige linoleum floor matched with the white wall gave him the creeps. He’d never seen anything else. Not anything he could remember, at least. He wasn’t born here, so he must’ve seen a real home at some point.

They were moved frequently, a few times a year, but the buildings they were taken to always looked the same. He didn’t know how many different locations they’d been in, but he suspected they were underground since there were no windows anywhere, and his senses were crippled. He’d tried to explain it to Minerva once. It was as if he wasn’t supposed to be buried, he had to be in the weather. Being kept from it clipped his wings.

On moving day, the guards would walk around at night and give them a sedative, and then the next time they woke, they were in a different place. Sometimes the room was a mirror image of the previous one, sometimes not, but he was always placed with Minerva, for which he was glad. If the warden knew how much Minerva meant to him, he’d use her against him. But many psychics couldn’t handle change well, so they seldom split roommates up.

The guard stopped in front of a gray, windowless door. “One hour.”

“What?”

“Private session. One hour.”

Fuck. One hour? Predictions lasted no more than a few seconds, a couple of minutes if the client booked someone good, which Jaki was not. “What should I do for an hour?”

The guard gave him a blank stare. “Whatever he tells you to do.”

He. Great. It was almost always a he, so no surprise there. But the hes coming here almost always expected a young pretty girl to step through the door, and Jaki wasn’t young, he wasn’t pretty, and he wasn’t a girl.

With a deep breath, he pushed open the door.

Inside sat a badly scarred man with long copper hair that hung in matted tresses, and Jaki did his best to suppress a shudder. Raw sex appeal? Minerva must’ve hit her head—or had someone hit her head for her. The man looked like a monster in severe need of a shower and a haircut.

“One hour.” The guard closed the door, and the sound of the lock sliding into place filled the air. Fuck. Jaki’s pulse sped up, and fear urged him to try to claw his way out of the room.

Seconds ticked by as he stared into the guy’s eyes while he stared back.

“You’re the seer?”

“Not really.”

“I paid to see a seer.” His lips looked hard. Maybe it was the scars making them look as if they were trapped in a permanent sneer, but Jaki couldn’t look away.

He filled his lungs as he tried to make up his mind about how to play this. Should he be pliant and accommodating, or should he try to get the beating over with as soon as possible? If he provoked him into hitting him, he could go back to his room, and he and Minerva could nurse their injuries together. “Dude, you paid for an hour. Which means you paid for a whore.”

The man blinked at him, then sharp teeth made an appearance. “I paid for a meal.”

Crap.

“A meal?” Jaki did his best to ignore the way his voice cracked. Vampire. Had he forgotten the guy was a vampire? Must have. Provoking a vampire couldn’t be smart in any scenario.

“I paid for a prediction and a feeding.” The scars made him look sinister, perhaps more so than he’d intended. Jaki wouldn’t bet on it, though.

How bad could being bitten be? Pretty bad. “Will it hurt?”

“Yes.” His eyes were cold. Not great, but better than if they’d been filled with lust. Jaki didn’t want people touching him. He’d never been vampire snack before, but it could hardly be worse than being a vampire whore, right? And it didn’t look like Mr. No-Sex-Appeal-Whatsoever was looking for a fuck. Small blessings.

“Okay, you want to ask your question first or do the munching first?”

The man’s eyes widened a fraction. “You said you weren’t a seer.”

Jaki held up his hands. “Atmokinesis. I can’t speak a prophecy. I can’t predict the future.”

The man didn’t move, didn’t breathe, which was unnerving. “Atmo… what does it mean?”

Yup, it was a crappy skill or real atmokinesis would’ve been cool, but Jaki couldn’t control the weather. “What’s your name?” If someone was going to eat him, he’d like to know the name.

“Rufus.”

“Rufus the Dead.”

If he believed the man had been still before, it was nothing compared to what he was now, and Jaki’s heart blocked his throat. Damn his stupid mouth.

“How did you know?” Something deadly crept into Rufus’ eyes, and Jaki fought the urge to fling himself at the door. It was locked, so it would be of no use.

“I didn’t.”

“Few know that name. How did you?” He took a step forward, and Jaki took one back.

“I didn’t. Minerva, my roommate, said I was to go with Rufus the Dead. She’s a seer for real.”

Fangs peeked out from underneath Rufus’ upper lip, and despite telling himself to look away, Jaki couldn’t.

“Then I want her.”

“Yeah… She’s out of commission.” Since she’d used her prediction on him.

“I don’t care. I want her.”

Jaki gestured at the door. “You have to take it up with the warden.”

“And he’ll give me someone else?”

Rufus looked at him as if it was something he should be able to predict. It was, but not thanks to psychic powers. “My guess is nope.” He popped the p.

“Your guess?”

“Look, I do atmokinesis. I can’t tell you what the warden will do.” Though he could bet an arm Rufus was stuck with him for the night—or the hour at least.

“I paid for blood and prophecies, not… atmo-shit.” The snarl was impressive, and Jaki nodded in an attempt to placate him.

“Okay, ask the warden.”

Rufus narrowed his eyes. “But the answer will be no.”

“Yeah. He’ll say no.”

“You know or you’re guessing?”

“He never lets anyone exchange the psychic they’re with. If he agreed to swap out the merchandise if someone was displeased, then he wouldn’t make any money off me, would he?” Jaki tried for a smile, which Rufus ignored.

Instead, he walked over to the door and banged on it. Jaki took in the long, black overcoat and black Doc Martens boots and almost snorted. It didn’t help that he was massive and wore a white ruffle shirt underneath the unbuttoned coat with a hole over his heart which was soiled by what looked like dried blood. Fuck, had he been staked or was he coming directly from a dress-up party?

The guard opened the door a couple of seconds later, which meant he had to have been standing right outside, listening to them. Pervert.