“No!” Garron couldn’t stand it anymore. Deep inside he felt the beast that had slept within him for years boiling to the surface. Dimly he understood that his dr’gin was rising, that the implant in his neck was no longer working to keep the monster in check, but he didn’t care. All he could feel was rage that this bastard had dared to threaten Tess. All he could see was the cut on her face. All he could smell was her blood and fear hanging in the air and that scent, more than anything else, was making him crazy.
It’s coming! he thought. It’s coming and I can’t stop it.
I don’t want to stop it.
Then he knew no more.
* * * * *
Tess gave a muffled gasp when Garron changed. One moment he was himself—a big, muscular guy with black hair and glowing turquoise eyes—and the next moment he was a completely different creature.
It happened so fast she didn’t see the transformation, even though she was watching. But suddenly, there in Garron’s place, was a creature bigger than the biggest grizzly bear standing on its hind legs. Its fur or feathers—Tess couldn’t tell which—were pure white, almost seeming to shine in the dark cabin, and it had razor sharp talons that curved into cruel hooks like an eagle’s.
When it turned its vast, leonine head, Tess saw that the only thing it had in common with Garron was its eyes—they were a deep, pure, glowing turquoise that shone like search lights as it studied her and Pierce.
There was a moment of pure, breathless silence as the dr’gin seemed almost to float before them in midair. For some reason, gravity didn’t appear to affect it which gave the whole encounter a slow-motion, dream-like quality.
That was until it opened its mouth and roared.
Curving, knife-like teeth glinted in the moonlight and a sound that was a cross between a lion’s roar, an eagle’s shriek, and the loudest alarm claxon Tess had ever heard split the air—and felt like it split her eardrums as well.
She screamed behind the piece of duct tape Pierce had slapped over her mouth and writhed in his grip.
Perhaps stunned by the noise, Pierce loosened his hold on her and Tess was at last able to break free. Clapping her hands to her ears, she stumbled backwards, tripped and fell against the couch.
To her right, Pierce was also retreating.
“Holy fuck,” he breathed, his eyes wide with fear. What the sight of an angry Kindred warrior had failed to do, the dr’gin accomplished effortlessly—clearly Pierce was scared to death.
But as Tess knew from experience, her ex was even more dangerous when cornered. She watched in horror as he dropped the knife he’d been using on her and pulled a gun out of his belt.
“Come on, you fucker,” he hissed, aiming right at the brilliant white hide.
“Watch out—he’s got a gun!” Tess shrieked—or tried to. To her horror, she realized she still had the duct tape over her mouth. She clawed for the edge of it as Pierce advanced on the floating dr’gin. But before she could rip the duct tape off, the white beast roared again and flowed forward with a sinuous grace that seemed to belie the laws of physics.
There was a loud bang and another deafening roar. To her horror, Tess saw that a dark crimson patch had appeared in the white feather-fur covered hide and was quickly spreading.
Yet the gunshot wound didn’t slow the dr’gin down a bit. It gave that alarm-claxon roar again and came straight at Pierce with its curving fangs spread and its claws extended.
“Fuck!” he shouted and fired again. And again and again.
Three more crimson patches appeared on the pure white hide but the wounds only seemed to make the dr’gin angry. It flowed forward, losing none of its animalistic grace, as Pierce staggered back, trying to get out of its way. Suddenly he tripped and fell flat on his back.
The dr’gin pounced.
Tess watched in horror as it grabbed Pierce’s right leg, the curving talons sinking deep into his flesh, while its impossibly long fangs closed around his ankle. There was a crunching sound and his entire foot, still clad in one of the expensive Italian driving loafers he loved, suddenly disappeared into its red maw of a mouth.
Pierce shrieked with horror as he stared down at the spouting stump where his right foot had been. He scrambled backward but the dr’gin was by no means satisfied. It flowed forward, going for another bite.
Somehow Tess scrambled onto the couch and drew her feet up, breathing hard as she watched the scene playing out right in front of her. Pierce was literally at her feet, just in front of the old plaid couch, and though she didn’t want to see what was coming next, she found her eyes were glued to the action—unable to look away.
“Leave me alone!” Pierce yelled hoarsely. “I won’t…you can’t…” He raised the gun again but before he could pull the trigger, the dr’gin lunged forward and engulfed his hand and most of his arm in its massive mouth. There was another dull crunch like a thick celery stick being broken and suddenly his elbow was nothing but a bloody stump. The dr’gin chewed twice then swallowed everything—even the gun—before coming back for more.
Pierce shrieked, his face going gray in the moonlight. His big body fishtailed across the floor like someone having a seizure but there was no escaping now. The dr’gin took his other foot and calf next…then it bit a huge chunk out of his torso. Slippery ropes of intestine spilled out of the gaping hole in his side and blood sprayed in a crimson-black arc, spattering the couch, the wall, and Tess, who was still watching mutely with wide eyes.
“My God, oh my God,” she whispered, squeezing herself into a ball. She had hated Pierce for a long time—he had hurt and abused her and betrayed her trust more times than she could count. But never, even in her most vivid revenge fantasies, had she imagined watching him be eaten alive by a hungry beast.
“Tess!” he gasped and she saw that somehow he was still breathing, still alive even after all the blood he had lost. How was that even possible, she wondered numbly. How could he survive when the dr’gin had eaten over half of him?
“Tess!” he said again, blood bubbling from between his lips. “Make it…stop. Can’t…you can’t…let it…hurt me. Kill me…”
Tess shook her head, her blood-spattered hair flying. She couldn’t stop the dr’gin now—no one could. She remembered what Garron had said about its insatiable appetites when it first emerged. It was going to eat its fill and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
“Tess!” Her ex sounded angry now. “Tess, you can’t—”
At that moment the dr’gin lunged forward and took his entire head in its vast mouth. There was a muffled shriek and a snapping sound and what was left of Pierce’s body went into one last, violent spasm. Then he went limp in the dr’rin’s jaws and there was nothing but the wet, messy, crunching sound of the beast feeding.
Chapter Thirty-six
Tess didn’t know how long she stayed there, huddled on the couch in a ball. It was still dark outside and she felt like she had fallen into a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. She put her hands over her ears but she couldn’t shut out the sounds. The wet ripping of flesh being torn and the dull, muffled crunching of bones being ground between those knife-like teeth bored into her head. Her heart pounded and she knew she would never be able to forget those noises—or the sight of her ex husband being messily devoured.
The dr’gin paid no attention to her as it fed. It reminded Tess of a hungry dog gnawing a bone or licking a plate to get every last little bit. It occurred to her numb brain that this would be the perfect time to run. She could climb over the back of the couch and slip quietly out the front door which still stood ajar, letting in a narrow ribbon of moonlight like the path to freedom.
But she was frozen in place. Though she told herself repeatedly to get up and go, she couldn’t make so much as a finger twitch. She was curled in a ball, her knees drawn up to her chin and her arms wrapped around her legs, her eyes wide and staring as she watched Pierce disappear into the dr’gin’s red flecked maw.
Oh God, she
thought numbly, watching as the long, red tongue licked up every last scrap of flesh from the sodden carpet. Oh God, oh God, oh God…
The scene of carnage went on forever—a never ending loop of gore and horror that wouldn’t stop. Tess had no way of measuring time anymore. It seemed like hours since she’d first been awakened by the sound of a scratching at the door—days since she’d stood there and watched Garron turn in the blink of an eye from his normal self to this ravenous, mindless beast.
Then, suddenly, she realized the dr’gin had finished its meal. Not a shred of Pierce remained except for the gory patch on the carpet where he had been devoured.
The dr’gin lifted its head, sniffed the air…and looked directly at Tess.
Oh God…oh my God! Why didn’t I run when I had the chance?
But it was too late now. Pierce had been nothing but an appetizer—now she was going to become the main course. She stared numbly into those glowing turquoise eyes as the dr’gin flowed toward her. Its brilliant white feather-fur was stained and splotched, flecked with gore from its feast. As she watched, its long red tongue came out and licked delicately around its mouth. The gesture reminded her of a cat trying to get the last bits of cream from its fur only the dr’gin was savoring the last few drops of her ex-husband’s blood.
And he really is my ex now, she thought. Even if he refused to sign the divorce papers. He’s dead and digesting in the belly of the beast. You can’t get much more ex than that.
A hysterical bubble of laughter rose in her throat at the thought and she clamped a hand over her mouth to keep it from coming out. She didn’t want to startle the dr’gin into any sudden moves. Didn’t want to scare it. It was still staring at her, moving closer and closer. Tess felt like she had a tiger or a great white shark stalking her.
Going to die, she thought, her heart pounding so hard it sounded like a drum in her ears. Oh my God, I’m going to die and it’s going to hurt—a lot. Pierce’s death kept replaying over and over in her mind’s eye. The way the dr’gin had eaten him piece by piece, almost like a cat toying with a mouse. The screaming and shrieking and begging and blood… Were those same screams about to be torn from her throat? Was the beast that Garron had carried inside him for so many years—the beast he had warned her about—going to be the last thing she saw before it bit her head off?
I understand now, she thought as its large, leonine head rose to the level of her own. I get it, Garron—I see why you were willing to give up ever feeling again. To give up all your emotions. Anything to keep this thing inside of you from getting out. Anything to stop what just happened from happening.
The dr’gin’s eyes were boring into her own now and Tess found she couldn’t look away. It was almost as if they were in some kind of weird staring contest—as though the beast was looking into her somehow. What was it seeking? And what would happen if it didn’t see what it was looking for?
Tess sat there, barely daring to breathe, her heart jack-rabbiting in her chest. The glowing turquoise eyes filled her vision and the air was heavy with the metallic scent of spilled blood. She was cold all over and her stomach ached as though she’d swallowed a fist sized block of ice that wouldn’t melt.
Oh God, I hope I’m not going to be sick…
Suddenly the air around the dr’gin shimmered and Garron was standing there, completely nude and covered in blood. He loomed over her in the darkness, huge and muscular and somehow menacing. He was utterly silent…and rock hard. The club of his cock throbbed between his thighs, standing at attention as though the act of carnage he had just committed had made him incredibly aroused.
Tess blinked, unable to make her mind understand what was happening.
“G—Garron?” she stuttered uncertainly. “Wh-what…?”
Before she could finish her question, he leaned forward and seized her by the shoulders. Tess gave a muffled shriek as he dragged her up off the couch as easily as a rag doll and crushed her to his broad, blood-stained chest.
“What are you doing?” she gasped. “Stop—stop!”
His eyes were still wild—still feral—and again he didn’t answer in words. Instead he slammed his lips over hers and kissed her, thrusting his tongue into her mouth while he ground the hard shaft of his cock against her belly.
Bile filled Tess’s throat as a metallic taste spread across her tongue.
Blood, oh my God—that’s blood I taste on his lips! Pierce’s blood! He just chewed him up and lapped up his blood and now he’s kissing me! Ugh!
She ripped her mouth away from the big Kindred’s and spat on the ground.
“Stop it! Get away from me! Leave me alone!” She wanted to kick him between the legs but he was holding her too close, still grinding his shaft against her like he wanted to fuck a hole right through her nighty. “Get off me!” she demanded.
Garron paid no attention. With a low growl, he began to rip at her blood-stained nighty. The fragile lace tore easily under his big hands, baring her breasts.
“No, please!” Tess shoved at his face with both hands when he ducked his head and tried to capture one of her exposed nipples with his mouth. “What are you doing? Why are you doing this?” She began to be really afraid—even more frightened than when she thought his dr’gin was going to eat her. What was wrong with the big Kindred? He acted like a man possessed—like he didn’t care if he hurt her.
Garron didn’t answer any of her questions. Instead he kissed her again, forcing more of the hot, coppery, nauseating taste of Pierce’s blood into her mouth. He palmed her breasts and rolled her nipples roughly.
Tess gasped as pain and fear surged though her. Why was he doing this? He was acting just like Pierce!
Just like Pierce… Suddenly she knew that begging and pleading wasn’t going to get her anywhere. After all, it never had with her ex.
Tess pulled away from his savage, bloody kiss and slapped him as hard as she could across the face.
The message seemed to get through at last. Garron dropped her back on the couch abruptly and took a step back. His eyes were wide and glowing and still filled with hunger—a hunger that turned Tess’s stomach. He started to reach for her again, apparently changing his mind, but she drew away from him.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked in a trembling voice, wiping her lips on her arm to get rid of the bloody taste Garron had forced into her mouth. “How could you act like that? You promised…promised you would never hurt me. And then you go and almost…almost…” But her voice broke and she couldn’t finish the sentence. Couldn’t admit, even to herself, that Garron had been well on his way to sexual assault.
The hot tears stinging her eyes seemed to get through to the big Kindred as nothing else had. Some of the hunger faded from his glowing eyes to be replaced by something that looked like shame.
“So…rry.” His deep voice had an odd, halting quality as though he had somehow forgotten how to speak and was trying desperately to relearn. “Just…need…you.”
“Well you can’t have me. Not like this. Not after what…what I just saw you do.” Tess motioned to the blood spot on the carpet. “I mean, I’m grateful you saved me but I just saw you rip…rip Pierce to…to shreds… and…and eat him.” Her voice wavered—speaking the words seemed to bring everything back in vivid detail. Her ex-husband’s shrieks and cries, the wet sounds of his flesh ripping, the bones crunching… “I can’t…I just can’t,” she whispered. “Not like this.”
“Un…derstand,” Garron muttered hoarsely. “So…rry.” Suddenly his big form shimmered and the dr’gin was there in his place, its feather-fur floating gently in the air currents like pure white seaweed below the surface of the ocean.
“Garron?” Tess drew back from the beast. “Please, I—”
But she didn’t get a chance to finish her plea, because the dr’gin turned and left the cabin. It flowed out the door in a river of silky white feather-fur and was gone into the night.
Garron and his dr’gin were gone.
Cha
pter Thirty-seven
Becca wasn’t sure what to expect when she turned on the viewscreen hanging on the wall of Sophia’s living room. The communications officer had told her little about the nature of the call but he had apparently thought it was important enough to route it from the main viewing room where most off-ship communication was received to a private residence.
Sophia and Sylvan had gone into their bedroom to give her some privacy and Truth was waiting in the hallway outside for the same reason. Far was back at their suite, making something to eat for the three of them but Becca suddenly found she had no appetite. For some reason, she had a bad feeling about this call. A really bad feeling…
Everything’s going to be fine, she told herself firmly. Tess probably just needs a shoulder to cry on. Sylvan had told Sophia, who had in turn, told the rest of the girls about the awful choice Garron had been forced to make. She could scarcely imagine giving up all emotion for the rest of your life but that was apparently what Truth’s brother had chosen to do. Anything to keep his dr’gin contained. Remembering the huge, frightening creatures with their glowing eyes and knife-like teeth and claws she had seen on Pax, she couldn’t blame him.
Despite her self-pep talk, her finger shook as she pressed the button that brought the viewscreen to life. It flickered and suddenly Tess’s face came into view. But this was Tess like Becca had never seen her before.
Her hair was wild for one thing and it was sticking up on one side, as though it had gotten wet and dried that way. Her face was pale and spattered with blood and the white lace nightgown she wore was torn and splotched with gore. She clutched it closed around her breasts and the hand holding it shook.
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