Loved By The Vampires

by Lilly Wilder

  “There’s no time to take him anywhere,” Renwick shook his head nervously.

  “Even if there was, I doubt they’d let us go anywhere,” Kellam suddenly interrupted, his gaze focused on something happening outside.

  “Who?” Mina asked.

  “Whoever killed Dante is here,” Kellam moved away from the window and pulled the curtains. “They’re just toying with us. Waiting for us to get cozy and then they’ll probably attack. What happened to the others?” he asked the guys.

  “We’re the only ones left,” Hendrik shook his head solemnly.

  “What do you mean?” Mina was shocked. “Everyone is dead? What happened?”

  “We got attacked,” Hendrik explained. “I think someone betrayed us, someone on the inside. I just kept seeing people fall down, attacked out of nowhere, then they got Raphael, and we somehow managed to get to the house.”

  Raphael coughed violently, interrupting him. Renwick turned him to the side but the blood on the floor was visible to everyone. Raphael was dying. If they were going to do anything, they needed to do it now. There was not a second to waste.

  “We can’t go anywhere,” Mina was frantic, “so, we can’t get any help. Is there anything we could to do help him?”

  “Actually…” Kellam started, at his wit’s end.

  “What is it?” Mina shouted. “Tell me!”

  “The guys can’t do anything,” Kellam shook his head, “but, you could.”

  “What can I do?” Mina shot her question at him.

  “You’re half witch, which means your blood is special. We could give him your blood to drink, it will help him regenerate faster,” Kellam explained.

  “He’s too weak to bite her,” Renwick watched his friend.

  “What do I need to do?” Mina asked, without the slightest doubt in her mind. “We could just pour it down his throat, would that work?”

  “It should,” Kellam nodded. “But, Mina…”

  He grabbed her by the elbow, to pull her close to him. What he was about to say to her wasn’t easy.

  “He’ll need a lot,” his voice was almost down to a whisper, “I’d help, but my blood wouldn’t regenerate him fast enough, only yours would, and there is no time to waste, he might die any second.”

  “How do I do it?” she asked, her voice confident and sure.

  She wasn’t afraid of losing blood. She was more afraid of losing Raphael.

  “You’ll have to cut your wrist, that’s the only way your blood will flow quickly enough.”

  Instead of a reply, she rushed over to the kitchen and grabbed the biggest kitchen knife she could find. She ran back to the room and sat down by Raphael’s side. His eyes were half closed. His breathing was down to a barely audible wheezing. Time was running out. Her heart was beating like crazy but she felt no fear - only love.

  She got a lighter out of her pocket and sterilized the knife with the flame. No one was speaking, just closely following her every action. They were all hoping that no one would attack them right now. Mina took a deep breath. She pressed the blade against her pale skin. She could see the outlines of dark blue and purple veins. She prepared herself for pain, lots of it.

  Closing her eyes, she slit her veins horizontally and spurts of bright, red blood sprayed everywhere. She immediately turned her arm towards Raphael’s mouth, and the blood kept pouring into it, in time with her pulse. Straight away, she could feel her heart rate rocketing and droplets of sweat formed on her forehead. She felt too weak to hold her hand up after only a few seconds and it dropped down. Kellam quickly jumped to help, holding her arm up, so Raphael could drink the blood immediately, so that not a single drop of this precious liquid was lost. Mina’s head was in his lap. She was becoming paler and paler but as she was getting worse, Raphael was becoming visibly better.

  “Mom?” Mina asked, looking somewhere into the distance.

  “Shit, she’s losing consciousness!” Kellam shouted, pulling her arm back. “We need to stop the bleeding!”

  Kellam knew that a simple pressure dressing wouldn’t be enough to stop the bleeding. He needed a tourniquet. He thought of a belt first but that’d be a poor choice, seeing that it’d be very difficult to apply the right amount of pressure on the skin. He looked around for something else. He found a scarf lying next to a coat on a hanger in the hallway. He broke the umbrella and used the elongated part and a pair of scissors as a windlass. It took some effort on his part but he managed to do it well.

  “Quick, get two blankets!” Kellam shouted at Hendrik, who rushed immediately and found two blankets in one of the other rooms.

  Kellam wrapped Mina in one, while he gave the other one to Renwick, who was still taking care of Raphael.

  Kellam checked his watch. Then wrote the words TK 0133 on Mina’s forehead with her own blood. He needed that to remember when exactly the tourniquet was applied, as the limb could survive for only a few hours, six the longest. That was the latest that they needed to take Mina somewhere where she could get proper medical help.

  A minute later and Raphael stirred. He looked down at his abdomen, lifting his t-shirt.

  “I don’t think you should…” Kellam advised him, but it was too late.

  Raphael revealed the wound. It was amazing. Kellam never even imagined that it could heal so quickly. Raphael looked at his wound, then at Renwick, then at Mina, lying unconscious.

  “What happened!?” Raphael rushed over to Mina and showered her face with kisses.

  “She gave you her blood,” Renwick explained.

  “What?” Raphael closed his eyes, and pressed his cheek against hers. It was cold. “Why did you let her do that?”

  “Because you would have died otherwise,” Kellam told him gravely.

  “So, you pushed her to the brink of death?” Raphael growled.

  “She did it because she wanted to, no one made her,” Kellam explained. “You should show more gratitude.”

  “Um, guys?” Hendrik had overtaken the window lookout but the expression on his face wasn’t promising.

  They all turned to him, on pins and needless.

  “Maybe you’d best leave that chat for later, because we’ve got company…”

  The moment he said those words, someone knocked on the door. It was ridiculous under the circumstances. Here they were, expecting someone to barge in and the enemies chose to knock on the door politely.

  They all looked at Kellam. Raphael stood by Mina’s side. Kellam waited. He had no idea what he was waiting for. Maybe he wanted to buy some time, maybe he was waiting for a new idea to pop into his mind. He was lost and they all turned to him for guidance. He couldn’t freeze now.

  The knock was heard again.

  “Why aren’t they blowing the door open?” Renwick whispered and Kellam shushed him.

  “Wait…” Kellam muttered.

  A second later and the door swung open, as if a bomb had exploded right in front of it. Dust and debris swirled in the air, making it hard to see. Raphael shielded Mina’s slumbering body with his own, bending over her. The rest of the guys moved a little back, covering their eyes. A few seconds passed before they could all open their eyes again.

  When Mina regained consciousness, the first thing she saw was Raphael bending over her. His face was right next to hers. She tried to smile but was too weak. She glanced at her arm and saw the tourniquet.

  “Someone did a nice job,” she thought to herself, unable to speak a word.

  She turned a little and saw the rest of the guys.

  “What’s… happening…” she managed to mutter, before a figure appeared in the door.

  The light shone on its back, so no one could recognize who it was. For a few seconds, he just stood there, tall and lanky, as if he was waiting for a formal invitation. The light behind him died down a little and, now, he was illuminated by the light coming from within.

  Mina didn’t recognize his face, but she recognized his
tattoo. It was the same vampire ankh tattoo she’d seen on the guy from the Barracuda, when she went to meet up with Emile.

  “I know him…” she whispered to Raphael, who looked at her, then back at the guy.

  She wasn’t sure if any of them recognized him.

  “What? No welcoming committee?” the guy spoke and she immediately froze upon hearing his voice.

  “What are you doing here, Karpov!?” Kellam growled at him, standing in front of his sister and Raphael.

  Thorne, Hendrik and Renwick did the same. Mina was barely conscious, using the last morsels of her energy to remain awake, to find out who was really behind this whole thing.

  “I see Goldilocks isn’t feeling all that well,” Karpov hissed, taking a step inside. “But, she’s obviously much better than our good friend Dante over there.”

  The floor creaked underneath his leather soled boots. He was pale and looked as if he’d just gotten out of the hospital. His frame was weak but Mina and the rest of them knew better than to underestimate his strength simply based on the way he looked.

  “You killed Dante?” Kellam asked. “Why?”

  It didn’t make any sense. They could have worked together, seeing they were already on the same side. The dark side.

  “He was becoming a nuisance,” Karpov shrugged his bony shoulders, taking another step towards them, shortening the distance. “I bet you are all wondering how I knew you were all here.”

  Kellam just eyed him, knowing that he could attack any minute. This monologue was just a distraction. He probably had his goons outside, waiting to do his bidding and attack the moment he gave his orders and with Mina down, there were only five of them - not nearly enough.

  “You had a mole,” Karpov continued, “I was in on your plan from the start, from the moment your sweet Goldilocks stepped foot into that grimy bar, up to the point where you all headed over here thinking you’d be fighting Dante. How ridiculous you all are, really.”

  “What do you want, Karpov?” Kellam snarled at him. He wasn’t much of a talker.

  “You know very well, vampire slayer,” Karpov purposely refused to say his name. “I want the book.”

  “Or what?”

  “Or I will kill every single person in this room, except for you. I will allow you to live, knowing that the blood of your sister is on your hands.”

  Those words sent shivers down Kellam’s spine. Mina heard them as well. She swallowed heavily. She was in no condition to fight. They would have to defend her. That thought burned furiously inside her mind.

  She knew that there was a battle raging inside Kellam. He had to protect the book, he was sworn to protect it with his life but was he willing to give the life of his sister for it? She wanted to shout at him that her life didn’t matter, the book was far more important but she had no strength to do any of that.

  “Tell him…” she whispered into Raphael’s ear, pulling him down by his elbow. “Don’t… give… the book…”

  Raphael moved her hair from her sweaty forehead. She was even paler than a minute ago. He hoped that the tourniquet was doing its job at stopping the bleeding, if only for the time being. Once this shit storm was over, they needed to get her to the hospital, or anywhere where she could get proper medical help. He shuddered at the very thought of what could happen if they didn’t.

  “The book isn’t here,” Kellam said, sounding a bit uncertain.

  “Well, of course it’s not here in this house!” Karpov roared with laughter. “But, you know where it is.”

  “I do…” Kellam swallowed heavily.

  “Then, you’ll take me to it.”

  “What guarantee do I have that everyone will be safe?”

  “None,” Karpov shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

  “Then, why would I give you the book?” Kellam snarled.

  “Because, you have no other choice,” Karpov said, knowing he was right.

  Mina was barely able to follow what happened afterwards. She saw Kellam leap at Karpov. Obviously, Karpov wasn’t expecting this but the surprise factor gave them all an advantage. Hendrik and Thorne helped Kellam but Karpov was able to call for backup and, within seconds, the room was filled with snarling vampires, who seemed out of their minds. They were foaming at the mouth, biting whatever was in their way.

  “Watch out! Don’t let them bite you!” Kellam shouted, fighting off the avalanche of oncoming vampires, who seemed to be constantly pouring in through the open door.

  Raphael managed to pull Mina to safety in a corner of the room, and placed a big table in front of her. He remained there, making sure no one hurt her. Mina was able to see what was going on but she was unable to move. Her arm was on fire and fever was shaking her violently. She knew that the best way she could help them right now was to stay put and not try anything.

  Kellam managed to get to Karpov again and the two were rolling on the ground. Despite his weak looking frame, Karpov was incredibly strong. Kellam was barely able to subdue him, as Thorne and Hendrik tried to keep the vampires off of him.

  All of a sudden, Mina heard snarling right next to her ear and she pulled away just in time. This sudden jerking motion caused so much pain, that she lost consciousness.

  The last thing she remembered was Raphael fighting off a horde of vampires, with Thorne, Hendrik and Renwick by his side, as Kellam had his hands around Karpov’s neck. Then, it all went black…

  Chapter 21

  When Mina woke up, she realized that she was lying in what appeared to be a make shift hospital bed. Her right hand was connected to an IV, which was slowly dripping precious liquid into her wounded veins. She looked around. It was a small room, with several cabinets, all of which had red crosses drawn on them. A big window opposite her was closed, with curtains drawn, but she could tell that it was sunny outside. She wished she could open the window and let some fresh air in.

  However, the moment she tried to get up, she realized that she was still too weak to move. She immediately became dizzy and her head dropped back onto the pillow. She had to close her eyes, to make the light-headedness go away. When she opened them again, she saw Kellam standing above her.

  “Hey, sleepy head,” he smiled at her.

  It was so good to hear his voice. It warmed her heart. Instantly, she remembered what had happened and her heart ached.

  “Raphael?” she said his name, with dreadful fear.

  “He’s fine,” he assured her, nodding gently. “And it’s all because of you.”

  It was then that she noticed that his right arm was in a cast and there were several bandages on his head and neck.

  “And you?” she asked.

  “I’m okay, too. We all are,” he spoke calmly, assuringly. “The only thing you need to focus on right now is getting better.”

  “Where are they?” she asked, instead of a reply. “I want to see them.”

  “They’re right in front,” he looked back at the door, but the glass part was too murky to see anything through it. “They haven’t left your side since we got here.”

  “Can they come in?”

  “Of course, if you feel well enough to see them,” he nodded.

  “Please, send them in.”

  She looked at the door eagerly. He went out and told the guys to come in. Kellam himself stayed out for a little while, wanting to give them all some privacy. The guys rushed in, gushing over her, showering her hands and face with kisses. Then, they got comfortable around her.

  “We’re so glad you’re okay,” Hendrik was the first to speak.

  She smiled at them all. She’d been so worried that something had happened to them. She didn’t know if she’d survive such a loss, not now that she’d finally found the persons who made her so happy.

  “You gave us quite a scare there,” Raphael grinned.

  “I gave you a scare?” she teased. “What about you?”

  “Oh, that…” Raphael gave a dismissive half-shru
g, “that was just a flesh wound…”

  Hearing that, they all started laughing.

  “So, is anyone going to tell me what happened?” Mina wondered, trying to prop herself up a little but she couldn’t.

  Thorne jumped to her aid, lifting her up, while Renwick fluffed her pillow.

  “You know, I could totally get used to this,” she smiled.

  “Wait ’til I go get you breakfast and some coffee,” Hendrik added and they all laughed again.