His lips moved against hers and she could feel his muscles tighten under her fingers. Pushing him onto the bed, Blue crawled up over his body, snaking her hands into his long blonde hair and tugging until he moaned. She didn’t have time for this, but something in her was desperate.
“Please don’t go.” He pleaded in a whisper against her lips.
She shushed him with deeper kisses as his hips shot off the bed of their own volition. Peeling his shirt off was easy and quick. She dragged her hands over the hardness of his chest and kissed her way down the side of his neck. Dresden had not a single ounce of fat on his body, but was quite a bit more muscular than she’s originally thought.
Shimmying out of her leathers, Blue seated herself on his lap, never breaking their kiss. She desperately hoped that Ronnie wouldn't walk in on them, but that errant thought was shoved from her brain when Dresden pressed into her. Blue shuddered against his chest as they moved together as one. The room was stiflingly hot and his skin against hers was hotter. Her fingers gripped his hair so tight, she wondered if is was painful for him, but the noises he made told her he was beyond pain.
Dresden pulled back, looking into her eyes as she moved in his lap. His pupils were blown out now, heated and dark with want. She could see something else there in his eyes too, though she tried her hardest to ignore it. Peppering kisses over his face, she picked up her pace. She was becoming desperate. Suddenly, Dresden flipped her over, slamming her back against the mattress and burying his face in the crook of her shoulder. He was breathing heavily and panting her name between every kiss.
For a brief moment, Cole and Jaspers faces flitted through her mind, but for some reason it didn't bring pain or guilt. What she felt for Dresden matched what she felt for the other two completely. She also knew there was a big chance she’d never see any of them ever again. Sadness overcame her, driving her wild with desperation. She was in a frenzy as Dresden brought her to the height of pleasure.
When it was all over, they were both exhausted and Dresden had fallen into a deep sleep beside her. She let herself lay there for a few long moments, just staring at his relaxed face as he slept soundly. She thought back to when she had first seen Dresden, back before she knew his name. She remembered the burning hatred in his eyes as he glared at her from across the room. Now though, thinking back she wondered if she may have misread that hatred.
Blue slipped out of bed silently. Dressing in her leathers, she strapped her weapons back on before glancing back at him one last time. She walked swiftly through the halls of the school, realizing now that the sun had already set and most of the students were settled in for the night. Every now and then though, she’d pass someone lingering in the hallway. They’d watch her pass with curiosity and barely veiled remnants of their initial distrust.
Ignoring them, she found herself slipping into Zions classroom, creeping on her tiptoes, desperately hoping the gangly man would be off somewhere else at that hour. Luck seemed to be on her side because all of the lights were off. Her eyes latched onto the weapons wall, locating the whips easily. She knew it was a crime to steal something that didn’t belong to her, but the custom ones Zion promised her hadn't come in yet. She’d feel better though, having silver whips in her arsenal.
“What are you doing?” A voice cut through the silence of the room, startling Blue so badly that she dropped a whip to the floor, letting it clatter and echo.
Jewel stood there at the doorway, arms crossed, dressed like she’d only just left the gym. Blue gathered herself and picked the whip up off the floor and hooked it with the other on on her hip before securing her jacket over them for concealment.
“You’d think it'd be obvious.” She grumbled, trying her best to be as nonchalant as possible. She’d been caught, she needed to tread lightly.
“You're going to Seattle aren’t you?” Jewel asked, accusation in her tone.
“What's it to you JJ? You wanted me out of here right? Well congratulations, you got your wish.” She tried to push past her.
“You're going to die, you know. I’ve seen the reports, it's a mess over there.”
“I think I can handle myself, now let me pass.” She snapped, trying to step around her.
Jewel got in her way once more and Blue had the urge to punch her right in her cute upturned little nose. The girl had been nothing but annoyance since she’d gotten back and now wasn’t the time for this shit.
“Move, Jewel, before I make you.” Blue warned, but the girl only laughed.
“But what will I ever tell my cousin? How am I supposed to explain that I let his girlfriend go off to commit suicide?”
“I’m not his girlfriend.” She grumbled.
“Oh yeah? Then why does he look like a wounded puppy every time he watches you? Why did I see him tackle Cole Harlan to the ground in the kitchens?” She tapped her chin with her finger.
“Speaking of, does he know you're cheating on him with the Jasper and the Wolf?”
“Get out of my way Jewel, I don’t have time for this.”
“Then again, your family never was very trustworthy, just ask my dad...oh wait.” She sneered.
“Don't you ever get tired of this? You know none of that was my fault, or Harlow's. What happened was a horrible accident…”
“No!” Jewel interrupted. “Stop lying! Your family ruined everything!” She screamed and her shrill voice rang out through the room, making Blue cringe.
“On second thought…” Said Jewel with a humorless laugh. “Maybe you should go to Seattle. Let the problem take care of itself for once.” She moved aside.
Blue wanted to stay and defend herself, but there was no time. It was approaching the twenty four hour mark, but she didn’t plan on letting it get that far. With one final look into her childhood friends sad brown eyes, Blue smiled softly, causing Jewels eyes to widen a fraction.
“Goodbye JJ, stay away from Seattle.” She told her as she fled the room. She gave her no opportunity to respond before fleeing into the night.
Thirteen
It didn’t take long to reach the city, especially after hotwiring an instructors car and doing ninety all the way from the Okanogan to Vancouver.
Instead of heading straight for Seattle, Blue decided to pay a quick visit to Greg at ‘One For The Birds.’ Logically thinking, she had no real idea where to begin her search. Harlow could be anywhere and Seattle was a pretty big place. She needed to be smart.
Greg's place looked just as run down as ever, but for some reason, Blues body was suddenly flooded with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. She hadn’t been gone very long, but the homesickness she felt every day at Arcane had been something that surprised her.
Knocking on the door five times swiftly and one time three seconds later, Blue tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Greg.
“Hold your horses, I’m comin!” He grumbled from the other side.
Blue smiled to herself and she listened for the familiar clicking of Gregs many locks. The door swung open and she was greeted with a familiar head of bright hair and a pudgy face that hadn't seen a razon in weeks.
Greg's eyes widened. “Blue Jay? Is that you?” He asked, pulling her into a tight hug.
Outstretching his hands, he held her at arm's length, looking her over as if for some invisible injury. “What the hell er’ ya doin here, girl?” He grumbled as he pulled her into the shop.
Things were just as she remembered, the red heat lamps stifling her, but lighting up the room with a dull glow. Weapons were strewn about the place, lying on table tops while mannequins held up the latest body armor. She couldn’t help but remember that final day before leaving for Arcane. She’d been so filled with excitement and wonder at the prospect of attending her dream school. She still was, to be honest. If she were to make it out of this mess, she planned on returning to the school to finish out her studies. In the back of her mind, she knew there were three other reasons she longed to return...but she wouldn't let herself dwell on that now
, not when Harlow needed her.
“Afraid this isn't a social call Greggy, shits going down.” She warned as she plopped onto a rickety looking barstool.
Greg grumbled as he ambled over to a wooden table, knocking papers to the ground and grabbing a tankard of beer before plopping down in his chair.
“This have anything to do with what's goin on in Seattle?”
“Oh, for the love of…” She muttered. “Does everyone know about this? What's happening Greg? Why now?”
“Hell if I know, kid, but if I were to hazard a guess, I’d say them bloodsuckers are gettin restless. Desperate, I tell you.”
“I'm heading there.” She told him and he just shook his head as if it had been expected.
“Wouldn't have expected any less. Your sister was here just the day before last, lookin for a little somethin special.” He nodded towards the back wall holding various styles and types of stakes and daggers.
“Shit, I knew it… Greg, did she tell you where she was going?” She asked desperately.
“Said somethin about checking out that school...you know, the one on the news.” He shook his head sadly. “Pity, all those kids...they didn’t stand a chance.”
“I need to go after her… I’ll start there, thanks Greg. I should be heading that way. I’ll swing by on my way back to Arcane okay?” She stood to take her leave, but Greg stood abruptly.
“Now hold on just a second there, before you go all renegade Slayer on us, I have a little something for you…” She followed him to the back of the room.
“What are you talking about? I didn’t order anything.”
He waved her off. “Bah! This ain’t for sale, made it just for you no charge.”
Even before she knew what he’d made, she couldn't help the tears that suddenly pricked her eyes. Her life had been a difficult one. People rarely did things without expecting something in return. She’d never really been gifted with anything just for the hell of it, so Greg had no idea just how touched she was by the gesture.
In the back of the dingy room, he led her to a free standing mannequin. Her eyes widened as she stared at the outfit, handmade just for her. It was midnight black, the material looked like kevlar but as she reached out to stroke it, it was soft as silk to the touch. The sleeves were long and the pants were tight, the same material as the top. Two tactical belts wrapped around the waist, complete with slimmer stake holsters, and two small hooks on each leg, perfect for securing her silver whips.
“How did you…” She tried to say but she was too choked up.
“Think nothin of it. I just want you to be safe out there. Gave one to Harlow as well before she left for Seattle.”
“I don't know what to say, Greg...thank you. I can’t believe you did this for us.” She told him genuinely. “Mind If I use your bathroom and get changed? I plan on being in Seattle before the dawn.”
“Sure thing, just say bye to ole Greg before you leave okay?”
Saluting him, Blue carefully removed the outfit from the mannequin, bringing it into the bathroom to change. She gently folded her clothing into a neat pile, settling it on the nearby shelf, promising herself she’d be back in no time to retrieve them.
✽✽✽
Seattle was chilly that night. The wind whipped her hair so hard, she was forced to secure it in a ponytail as she stood in the center of the football field.
The field was torn up, surrounded by yellow and black caution tape. Blue could see the dark stains, crusted into the grass, remnants of the massacre that had taken place only nights before. Her chest ached as she pictured all those humans and the bone deep fear they must have felt in those moments. Only a handful of them were even aware that Vampires actually existed, and not in the romanticized way that movies led them to believe. She didn't envy the humans their ignorance. They had no idea that death could come from any dark shadow at any moment in time.
She could smell the coppery tang of congealing blood, but it did nothing too lessen the scent of rotted flesh. The smell was too familiar for her to mistake it for carnage. She knew she was smelling a nearby nest. It was eerily quiet as she stood still, sniffing the air. As a Slayer, her senses were trained to hone in on her one and only prey. Vampires were like a beacon to her, the thing she was born to hunt. She could smell one from a long distance if she tried. At that moment, in fact, she knew the nest was close.
She walked in circles through the campus for what felt like hours, sniffing the air like a crazy person. She desperately hoped that the school didn't have cameras or she’d probably end up on a list somewhere. Inside the gymnasium, Blue closed the door behind her, letting the metal slam loudly in the silence. It was dark and the emergency lights reflected off of the hardwood floor of the basketball court. She bypassed the bleachers and headed straight for the boiler room. She knew she was heading in the right direction because the smell of rot was only growing stronger. The smell was so potent that she could tell the nest was new, the Vamps had massacred the students and now it seemed like they’d taken up residence beneath the grounds.
✽✽✽
The boiler room was right below the lockers and it was hot and humid, filled with smell of gym socks and grease. But underneath that was then scent of rot and decaying flesh. ‘Bingo,’ she thought triumphantly.
She took the stairs from the boiler room, sinking lower beneath the high school. A manhole cover lay in the center of the cement floor and Blue quickly opened it up and without hesitation, dropped down into what was unmistakably, the sewers.
She fought a gag as she slogged through the muck. Vamp smell, she could handle but human excrement made her heave. She had the urge to call out to Harlow, but experience told her to shut up and keep the element of surprise on her side. The tunnels were long and dark and her footsteps echoed soggily against the cement walls. After about thirty minutes of searching and finding nothing, a low screech sounded through the cavernous halls and her adrenaline spiked. ‘Gotcha fuckers.’ She took off in the direction of the screech, making sure to be light on her feet the entire way.
It wasn’t until she rounded a corner that she came to an abrupt stop. Clasping her hands over her mouth to keep the scream in, Blue stared at the macabre scene before her in utter horror. She gagged, heaving as silently as possible into the sewage below. Bodies upon mangled bodies were stacked atop one another like piles of discarded laundry. Each one covered in blood, excrement and torn rags that used to be clothing.
There had to be at least a hundred bodies within her direct line of sight and she fought a wave of tears that she could feel brimming behind her eyes. She blinked them away, refusing to break because she had a job to do, an older sister to locate. Picking her way from pile to pile, Blue fought her gag reflex as she flipped over corpses, searching out her sisters familiar face. Every time she did, her heart would leap into her throat only to crash back into her stomach when she discovered it wasn't Harlow.
The further in she went, the more disorienting the place became. It was a mass tomb, filled to the ceiling with the dead and clogging the air with decay. So many lives had been lost to these monsters and Blue couldn’t help but feel responsible. Logically she knew it wasn’t her fault. One Slayer couldn't be held responsible for this amount of carnage.
One moment she was standing upright, the next she was knocked into a pile of bodies, a heavy weight fell down on her shoulders as she clawed at the Vamp who'd just ambushed her. The thing screeched and swiped a her face, all the while its teeth snapped at her like a rabid salivating dog.
The monster smelled of mildew and souring meat, its hair was stringy and once upon a time it may have been long and blonde. She couldn’t tell if the thing had once been a woman or a man, but it didn't matter . Getting back to her feet, Blue slipped her whips from the loops sewn into her pants and snapped one out with practiced finesse, ripping the Vampires head right off of its shoulders.
She had no time to rejoice however, because another dropped the ground before her. Blue gri
pped the whips, flinging them out as a warning, grazing the rotted flesh with its silvery tip and causing the Vamps congealing blood to ooze out slowly rather than spurt like a humans would. This was why Vampires craved human blood. They could no longer create new blood of their own, so they survived off of the life force of living creatures.
It shrieked and scrambled back when suddenly it threw its head back ward and screamed as loudly as it could. ‘Shit, fuck!’ Blue cursed frantically. It was calling for the others. In seconds, the sewers were filled with answering shrieks of the bloodsuckers further inside. Blue wasted no time snapping off the head of that Vamp too before the others got closer. She could hear their pounding footsteps and scratching fingernails along the walls as they slogged through the sewer water.
"B-blue Jay..." whispered a cracking, weak voice from somewhere above her.
"Har?!" She called out frantically. "Harlow where are you!"
"Up here..." The voice called out. Blue looked up, startled to find her sisters familiar face, hovering overhead peeking out from a small alcove in the ceiling.
"Harlow what the fuck, what are you doing up there?"
"Oh ya know...the usual" she attempted a bad joke. Blue couldn't help but laugh, deliriously happy to find her sister alive.
"Don't you move, Har, I'm gonna get you down from there but you have to be quiet. There's a lot of them coming and I can't fight them off if I'm worried about you. " She whisper yelled.
"I'm sorry Blue Jay... I'm hurt, or else I'd be helping you. But my arm... I think it's actually broken if you can believe it."
Blue raised her brows at that. It was extremely hard to wound a Slayer. Only Vamps were strong enough, so whatever had done that to Harlow had probably meant to kill her.
"Just sit tight." Blue warned as the shrieks came closer.
Shadows filled the tunnel as about thirty Vamps rounded the corner. Blue cursed aloud. She’d never taken on this many alone. Four or five? Sure, but thirty? She had absolutely zero hope's of making it out of this alive, but as long as she took out as many as she could while she was still breathing, maybe Harlow could crawl to safety.
Blue Blooded: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Arcane Academy Slayers: Book 1 ) Page 10
