A Bite of Christmas Cheer

by Thea Dane

  “Crane, she has two slayer kits on her.” The one vampire who found the kits held up the box they were contained in.

  For some reason that made Felix smile. “Bring her inside.”

  They took her past the gates and into the doorway of the building. She almost gagged from the musty stench inside. Her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness. Felix walked in front of her. “What do you want with me?”

  “I could ask you the same question since the hidden cameras on my ship caught you spying down at the docks last month. You were trying to see if Trevor’s gang was still around.”

  “So you did let the gang harm the crewmen.”

  He ignored her. “I had my suspicions about who you really were. The kit my guys found on you confirmed it.”

  He kept walking until he arrived in the main floor of the factory building. In the center was a single old chair. Felix ordered the other vampires to force her to sit down. The one shoved her in the seat. Then he found some rope and proceeded to bind her wrists to the chair.

  Felix waited and watched them, patient. Then he did a slow walk around her chair like a tiger surveying its prey before it moved in for the kill. “Well, Violetta. Soon you and I will have a real talk.”

  Chapter Ten

  Felix and his vampire cronies took Violetta’s phone. Then they left her in the chair for what seemed like hours. They didn’t give her anything to eat or drink. Once, one vampire came and untied her so she could use the “bathroom” in a bucket in a corner. It was a miracle he even turned his back to give her privacy. She never felt so humiliated and so alone. Was she going to get out of here alive?

  It seemed like several more hours passed. The sun went down, no longer providing a light through the grimy windows out of the factory.

  Felix returned into the room. “My guys are guarding the entrance. It’s just you and me now.” He stood over her and peered down menacingly. “Ready to talk?”

  She stared at him.

  He laughed. “So Lee’s little human assistant has a secret identity. Does he know who you really are?”

  Violetta didn’t answer.

  “Your silence says it all.” He opened her slayer kit and removed one of the wooden stakes. He held it up to the dim light from a single bulb fixture. “I wonder what Lee would say when I show him his right hand woman was ready to stab him in the heart when he least expected it.”

  “Are you trying to get into his good favor again after you broke the Bloodbound Code by harming humans? It won’t work.”

  “I don’t care about the code. Just like I don’t care about some privileged boy with fangs who got his start in a castle.” He returned the stake to the box and set it aside. “Lee wants to make us all subject to you weak ass humans.”

  He stopped talking all of a sudden and lifted his head. Violetta felt the hair stand on the back of her neck. There was a loud crash at the front of the building followed by the splintering of wood and breaking of glass. She heard male screams. Then several vampires came storming into the main room. She recognized their Bloodbound guard insignia on their uniforms. The leader marched forward to Felix. “Felix Crane, your men are dead. Stand down or be killed.”

  Felix sighed and raised both hands in the air. “How did you find me?”

  “We have a tracker on every car owned by Desmond Industries. Once we found Harry’s car, we then followed the second set of tire tracks to this building.”

  The guards surrounded him. The leader produced restraints and bound Felix’s wrist. “You’re in code violation of suspected bribery and the kidnapping of an employee.”

  “Lee may not want any association with her when he finds out she’s a slayer.” Felix pointed with his chin at the cardboard box on the floor. “Check out her kit. I did Lee a favor by hunting down his would-be assassin.”

  Violetta’s chair scraped the floor as she tried to move. “Don’t listen to him. He’s lying. I was going to give both of those kits back to my brother Vince.”

  The guard’s leader glanced at her before heading over to inspect the contents of the cardboard box. None of this looked good at all for her.

  “Please let me explain.”

  The guard stood with the kits and showed them to the other members of his group. He turned to Violetta with a grim hard look on his face. “Untie the woman from the chair, then put her in our restraints. We’ll take her with crane. They’ll both go before Desmond to stand trial.”

  LEE FINISHED THE LAST rep and set the barbell back on the rack in his personal gym. He didn’t go into the office at all that afternoon. Instead, he used the better part of the day to prepare for his coronation. He inspected his ceremonial garments before sending them to the arena. Then he held a teleconference with the guards and Nicholas. His second-in-command was already on site. They were waiting on him to arrive in the evening.

  He decided to pound another set of weights in the gym. He needed something to blow off steam in anticipation of tonight’s event and to take his mind off of what happened last night at the gala between him and Violetta. The first part was somewhat easy. The latter, not so much.

  He recalled every word of their argument, how he attempted to show her why they couldn’t continue being together. To protect her, he told her she was just a fling. The look on her face afterwards felt like a kick to the chest. He hated himself for saying those harsh words, for lying to her. She wasn’t a fling at all. You didn’t show a fling all your passion and emotion. You didn’t tell a fling what they meant to you. You didn’t give a fling your heart.

  He wiped sweat from his face and threw the towel into the laundry bin. What was done is done. He kept telling himself, hoping he could get to a point where he could believe it.

  Lee showered and dressed in black pants and a shirt. He’d put on the ceremonial robe once he arrived on site. He picked up the keys to his Porsche on the end table before heading to the elevator to get to the garage.

  Snow was falling when he drove the car out of the garage and onto the street. Though it was Christmas Eve, the city blocks still had last minute shoppers scrambling in the cold to find that one perfect gift. The street light posts were decked with gold lights. He drove through downtown and saw the office buildings outlined in red and green lights. The city Christmas tree stood out like a beacon in the square.

  He turned down the road to head into the next district. There, he reached the theater and parked his car in the area designated for him on this night. When he went inside the building, guards were waiting to take him underground for the event. Their captain stepped forward.

  “Sir, something happened that needs your attention.”

  “Now? The coronation is in less than an hour.”

  The guard looked uncomfortable. Sweat was on his brow. “We found Felix Crane. We located his hideout this evening on the lower west side of town. He’s been brought in.”

  “Good work. Where are you holding him now?”

  “In the new underground cells. We weren’t sure what you wanted to happen to him tonight.”

  “He’ll stand trial before the council. Tell your men they did excellent tonight.”

  “Sir.” The captain remained standing before him. “There’s something else you should know.”

  “What is it?” He saw the captain of the guard fidget. What in hell’s name was going on with him tonight? He wondered the same for the other guards who shuffled on their feet.

  “When we found Felix, we also found your assistant.”

  His senses heightened at the mention of her. “Violetta? Why would she be in Felix’s hideout?”

  “He caught her. He said he wanted to bring her to you in exchange for a pardon.”

  “If he thinks he can bribe his way out of a crime by committing another—”

  “I don’t believe he committed a crime, sir, at least not by holding your assistant.”

  Lee glared at him. “You had better start making sense because it sounds like you’re making an accusation about Vi
oletta.”

  The guard stepped back from him and took what looked to be a wooden box from his backpack. “We also found this.” He opened the box to reveal the contents of a slayer kit, complete with a wooden stake.

  Lee snatched the kit from him and got a closer look. Sure enough, the kit was laced with Violetta’s scent. Her initials were carved into the underside of the lid. He turned the stake over and saw the ash wood had the exact lines and color as the one used to kill Trevor Nilsson.

  He felt an invisible hand clamp around his throat. His assistant, the woman with whom he shared some of the most intimate details of his life, the woman who shared his bed, was a slayer. “She was the one who killed Trevor.”

  “She had another kit on her, too,” the captain provided more sickening revelation. “She said it belonged to her brother, Vince.”

  “Vince.” He remembered the name of the slayer who had been attacked by the vampire gang a couple months ago. “Of course.” Trevor’s gang was responsible for beating Vince. Violetta interviewed for the job less than two weeks after her brother had been hospitalized. “She was out for revenge.”

  “We have her in one of the cells.”

  Lee faced him. “Show me where she is. Right now.”

  The captain nodded. “Follow me.”

  Lee went with him to the door leading down into Briar City’s network of tunnels. He descended the ladder and moved on quick feet, keeping up with the guard captain to reach the new holding cells. They were close to the arena where his coronation was to take place. Lee heard multiple voices of the coronation attendees in the distance, but he quickly took his attention away from them. Violetta was his sole focus.

  Soon enough, he could smell her scent in the corridor. The guard led him to a small cell, held fastened with a new padlock and guarded by one of the regiment.

  “Give us a moment,” Lee ordered both males as he came up to the bars of the cell. While the guards obeyed, his keen eyesight focused on Violetta’s outline inside the cell. “Come into the light.”

  He heard her move. She came up to the bars, about an arm’s length away from him. Lee wasn’t prepared for the physical reaction his body produced upon seeing her. His blood pressure spiked. His skin produced hot and cold sweat. He experienced anger. Caution.

  Pain.

  “I saw your kit. You’re a slayer.”

  She didn’t deny it. Instead, she raised her face to stare directly into his eyes. Lines of distress marked her brow. Her eyes were reddened as though she’d been crying. “I was a slayer. Not anymore.”

  Concern rose up in him. Had Felix hurt her? Then he remembered what she was. Even so, he still felt concern. “Are you injured?”

  She shook her head. “I got pushed around a bit by Felix and his men.”

  Lee fought to tamp down the rage building within from learning that Felix had been rough with Violetta. The son of a bitch would pay. But no matter how he battled the conflicting thoughts, he had to get to the bottom of this first and foremost. “Why did you come to me in the beginning?” Even though he already knew the answer, he had to hear it from her lips.

  She gave a deep sigh. The stark cold air revealed her puff of breath. Her eyes didn’t waver from his despite the slight tremble in her hands. “I planned to slay you. That’s why I interviewed for the job, so I could get as close to you as possible.”

  “For revenge.”

  “Yes.” She flung the word from her mouth as though it were a barb she ingested by mistake. “I got caught up in my family’s revenge scheme.”

  “What do you mean, caught up? You meant to kill Trevor, didn’t you?”

  “It was in self-defense when I went exploring the tunnels. I didn’t know he was the gang leader until after you took me to witness the gang’s trial.”

  He weighed her words and sensed she was telling the truth. Still, another fact left him feeling cold. “You found out and you still planned to kill me. You kept it in the back of your mind days after we left Club Onyx and after we had sex. Am I wrong, Violetta?” A desperate part of him wanted her to tell him that he was.

  Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She hugged her shoulders. “No, you’re not wrong.”

  She might as well have spit in his face and then slapped him. The truth stung hard. “You attempted a hit on me to avenge your family even after I trusted you with mine.”

  This time the tears rolled down her cheeks. “When you punished the gang, that’s when I started to realize I couldn’t go through with it. I told my family you were different and I wouldn’t slay you.”

  “And what if I hadn’t punished them? They injured your brother but they didn’t kill him. Would you have still wanted to get revenge on me?”

  “You have to understand, I was following strategy in my family. You were going to be vampire lord. We thought that we could send a message by...by...”

  “By taking the alpha out. You can say it. Say how you really feel.”

  She stopped crying and met him with a sudden fire and defiance in her eyes. “That’s not how I feel now. I was wrong in the past. I kept telling myself I had to do it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because there are vampires in this city who think humans are nothing but a food supply. They don’t care who rules over them. They’ll do whatever they want.”

  “That was something I vowed to change once I became lord of this city.” Lee discovered his voice had become quiet.

  A long silence occurred after. Lee felt no peace after hearing her admit her past intent to slay him. He didn’t feel the clean burn of anger, either. Only regret and the heaviness of his own pain. He turned his back on her. The guards stood at the very front of the area. He was sure they tried to eavesdrop. He had to regain control of himself and his mind. “I have to judge you at trial. You’ll have your sentence then.”

  He left without looking back. He was sure if he did, he wouldn’t have made it to the entrance of the holding cells. Lee stopped in front of the guard. “The temperature is below freezing down here. Move her to another room before she becomes unable to stand trial.”

  “Another room, sir?”

  “You heard me. Find another room below the theater that’s not a cell. You can keep her locked in it until it’s time for her to be brought out.”

  The guards looked at each other before they nodded.

  Lee left them and continued walking to another tunnel network. This one took him to the area where he was supposed to get ready for his coronation. His ceremonial robe was waiting for him, along with his mother.

  “Oh, why can’t I get HHD down here? I’m in the city for goodness sakes.” Salome scowled when she looked up from fussing with the slow internet connection on her tablet. “Leeland, there you are. I started to worry. I’ll leave so you can get ready.”

  “Before I head out there, you need to know this.”

  Lee explained to his mother what Violetta did. Then he watched a reaction on her face.

  “She was the one who killed the guard?”

  “She’s a slayer. Felix’s men found her this morning. She had her kit with her. Her family wanted her to kill me next, but she said she refused.”

  Lee tried the tune out the laughter and Christmas carols coming from the theater above their heads. The joy he heard from above was a far cry from the bitter darkness he felt in his heart at that moment.

  “In that case.” Salome’s eyes narrowed until he saw the slimmest bit of irises. “You are about to be lord of this city. You must establish loyalty and command respect from those beneath you.”

  “She’ll be brought to trial in a moment.”

  “No trial. Kill her yourself.”

  VIOLETTA WAS SURPRISED to learn she was being transferred from a holding cell into another room. As she waited there for her trial, she heard a clamor at the front of the locked door. A burly, barrel-chested guard entered, key ring in one gloved fist. “On your feet.” His command was harsh and rough as sandpaper. “Let’s go. It’s time
for you to stand trial.”

  She rose on shaky legs. Her body was bruised, cold, and slow to cooperate.

  “You heard me, slayer. Move.” The guard made a motion with his free hand that made it look like he intended to be judge, jury, and strangler if she didn’t move fast enough.

  She stepped towards him. Her left foot had fallen asleep while she sat huddled on the frigid floor against the cold. The nerves came to life when she put her full weight on it, sending pins and needles shooting up her calf and hamstring. “Ah, my leg.” She stopped to massage the muscles.

  The guard, impatient, snatched out an arm and hoisted her off the ground. The hard metal buttons of his shoulder epaulets dug into her stomach as he carted her from the room and down the tunnel corridor.

  She heard the echo of many voices coming from the distance. The vampiric energy contained within this place was off the charts, overtaking her other senses. So many of them all in one place. There was no chance of escape. This was it, the end of the line. Time to stand before Lee and the other vampires while her method of death was to be decided.

  The shouts got louder as the guard hauled her into the pit. Violetta lifted her head and saw the vampires standing behind the metal fence. Some bared their fangs at her while others laughed, pointing to her dirty clothing. She smelled blood all around. Whether it was from them getting drunk off it or a life had recently been taken in this place, she couldn’t tell.

  The guard took her off his shoulder and set her on the ground. Her foot still cramped. She lost her balance and fell to one knee. The crowd erupted with laughter.

  “This is the slayer who got Trevor? He must have been having an off night” A male from behind the fence cried out between bouts of laughter. “She can’t even stand.”

  The guard who carried her marched forward and grabbed the metal cage in front of where the male vampire stood. “Trevor was still a Bloodbound Guard. Watch what you say or I’ll grind you through this fence myself.” He rattled it hard for emphasis. That got the male vampire to stop laughing and quiet down.