Shade's Loss

by Christina Worrell

  “You should rest in bed while we can, that is a lot of history to absorb.”

  Shade yawned and agreed. She would force him to explain more at a later time.

  “If I lay down would you keep talking to me, explain more. I understand it pretty well. I have got so many questions though,” She said going to the bed.

  “For a newborn you are astute and well behaved. I could not have asked for a better pupil. I am inexperienced with this. Gideon is a werewolf and can only explain so much to me about vampires. When I was to rank up to the next level then another vampire would have shared everything I needed to know and I would have been there to see it happen for someone else,” Damon complied and explained, sitting on the vacant bed on the side closest to her.

  Shade tensed up at first worried he was coming to her bed. Damon was well aware of how bad an idea that would be, as much as he wished it otherwise.

  “I think the demon attacks are because the Royals fear me so much and they have plans to have me assassinated before my millennia mark, therefore we are both in serious trouble. Now I have converted another who has received the gene and is a Daywalker.”

  “We are indeed screwed vampire,” Shade said, getting comfortable.

  Damon gave her an odd look on her choice of words.

  “Indeed little one…”

  Shade was closing her eyes and breathing evenly. She was not sleeping because she had no choice but with all the chaos and dying recently she was completely done in. She couldn’t handle anything more without giving her brain some time to accept things. As she floated just at the border of consciousness she thought of Damon’s heartrending and stormy eyes swirling lividly with pain and misery. It touched her somewhere inside, somewhere no one had ever reached.

  Somehow she had come to accept his never ending patience and protection. She was letting him in, learning to trust in him. Only it seemed that if things did not go their way he would be torn from her as well.

  Damon was aware of her internal debate while she dozed off. As her Sire he could tell when she was in pain, hungry, or intense in some kind of emotion. Such as now she was finding peace and safety within and he hoped it was because she was coming to see him for who he really was, well not the monster but the diligent protecting Master who would die for her…

  Damon would not sleep. If they had been followed then it would be imperative that he stayed on his toes. He would protect her with his life.

  Damon also was expecting a phone call from Gideon unless he was compromised.

  He paced by the door until he was sure she was truly out of it. He would only be gone for a moment. He needed to be at his best, strongest, to take care of her and get them out of this.

  He took his car into the heart of the city and found a seedy night club that advertised the atmosphere he preferred for this. Inside, the beat of the music hyped up the adrenaline. The dark corners offered the secrecy he needed and found ideal. The Techno Necro music was of course thunderous enough to make eardrums hemorrhage but that is how the current generation apparently liked it. A moment later he found an empty table in a shady corner and a willing girl who abruptly joined him. She posed as he looked her over. She did not seem to have multiple bites, either she was a virgin to this or she was careful.

  “What’s your poison sexy?” She purred, checking her nails.

  He growled deeply. The DJ skipped to the next song that started out with a hyper beat, the strobe lights changed tempo to match.

  “Le Baiser de la mort?” He whispered into her ear, awaiting the correct response.

  If she was aware of vampires and their needs she would understand the code word he was asking.

  “Oui.”

  She replied with the correct response allowing him to drink from her. Only certain humans were allowed this knowledge. Apparently she had earned her right of this or she was not human.

  Damon did not want to talk or touch but these girls were usually chatty. Thankfully this one seemed quiet and knew exactly what he wanted. The girl played her part.

  She tilted her slim tattooed neck and smiled saucily up at him, winking. He dove in and took what his body screamed and hungered for. Hundreds of years had taught him to be gentle and arouse his food first making them willing, but he was in no mood.

  She whimpered but did not protest. It was apparent that he was not the first person to drink her blood. It was popular now of days as long as it was kept secret and controlled, and it was money in her pocket. Of course most of her customer’s hands would roam her body and give her some kind of pleasure first, distracting her from the pain.

  Damon took a pint of her blood and slipped a hundred into her leather bra before he helped her into the seat behind him. He asked a nearby waiter to bring her an Appletini and slipped a twenty into the waiter’s reaching hand.

  He hurried back to his car and checked his watch. He was getting faster at feeding now. Eight minutes to the dot. The female would not be able to describe him other than a white twenty year old in dark clothing. That described millions.

  Damon sped back to the hotel closer to the speed limit than he was used to doing. He could not afford time-wise to get pulled over or the attention it would raise.

  He arrived back to the motel in less than twenty minutes.

  Damon was drained of energy but the blood had put him close to normal. It was not the amount his body needed. The blood bags would never get him fully satisfied. It would take maybe ten or more. Shade though could be satisfied with two at a time.

  When he unlocked the door and walked into the dark room his senses spread out to take in any and everything. He heard gentle breathing of a sleeping person, Shade. He also smelled her enticing scent and saw the small hill on the bed. Nothing else stood out. They were alone and she was safe.

  Damon knew he risked everything leaving her alone. He also needed to be strong for her. Damon had a gut feeling that the demons were hot on his trail. They could not stay in one place long.

  He wanted nothing more than to curl up around her. Not for sexual reasons, it would comfort him and he would feel she was a safe as she could be within his arms.

  Damon settled for pulling the chair from next to the window and quietly putting it on the right side of the bed where Shade was closest. He could watch her sleep and if anything happened he would be only arm’s length away.

  She was nearly fully vampire. His blood had worked its way through her system and healed everything. It had changed her from the fragile human she had been to the strong immortal she was becoming. It would be a year before she reached a decent level of strength. Over time all vampires grew faster, stronger, and more deadly. At the thousand year mark it was nearly impossible to kill one. They had to be asleep otherwise the vampire would be on you and have torn your to shrimp size pieces.

  He had managed to take on and kill the one who had made him. He knew it was luck more than anything and the fact that his maker was a newborn rogue.

  He was more than grateful that Shade was not insane but with her being a Daywalker she would always be on her toes. Others would hunt them down to extinction so he had figured that he would have to fake his death somehow and convince people she was not his. He was not her Sire but only her Master. He had found her wandering alone and took her in. Then as his Master Gideon did for him, he would have to claim her and she would more or less have Gideon as her Master. In truth they would be on the run.

  One theoretically dead Daywalker and a vampire who had two Masters, he of course would train her and keep her with him until he found a way to take out the vampire overlords.

  Deep down he had begun to realize that his destiny was linked with this absurd plan and that the royals needed to balance things out more. Allow more Lykanthropes to be in charge. Ones like Gideon needed to step up. Without a more balanced system things were in a very morbid fashion. To kill innocent Lykan’s such as Mikhail was wrong. He had been turned against his will and to take his life so that vampires stayed in charg
e was immoral genocide.

  Shade was whimpering at some dream or nightmare. He started to go to her and then remembered Mikhail’s words. Would she be comforted or terrified by him?

  His sexual emotions had been what set her off last time. Could he rein that in so she did not sense it and be able to comfort her? If he thought of her as a child and made himself blind to her beauty then yes.

  He moved the chair back and gently lay next to her. She was shaking and jerking now. He pulled the yellowed hotel blanket up over her shoulders and pulled himself over to her and curved himself around her. His free arm he wrapped around her and the other he inserted under her pillow so that she was lying on his arm. She tensed for a moment then rolled into him and sighed. She whimpered his name once and fell back to sleep.

  Either he was the nightmare or she knew somehow he was there with her and he comforted her as he had intended.

  Damon had gotten only vague flashes of panic and wondered if it was the Coach Roberts who had entered her dreams again.

  He growled as vengeance burned within him. He would send either a demon his way sometime or he himself would haunt the man. Shade was his and he protected what was his.

  He felt her stir and decided to leave her now before she woke fully. He would bring her more blood.

  He used the microwave to nuke the bag slightly so it was not chilled from the cooler. She was running low on blood and he hoped they made it to Amelia’s before they ran out.

  Shade was just sitting up as he brought the bag to her already ripped at a corner as she liked. She unconsciously smiled at him and when she realized that she looked down. He held the bag out to her and she accepted.

  She gulped down the entire bag and only a small trickle escaped down the corner of her mouth. The breath left his body at the sight. He wanted to lick the drops away. Thankfully she was not aware this time. He turned quickly, grabbed his backpack and shut himself into the small bathroom.

  A cold shower would tame the beast. Her elfin beauty and grace was too much at times.

  He had gotten up just in time. If she had woken and smiled at him in his arms then things would have been much different.

  The water was ice cold as he had wished. At least she would have enough hot water. Cheap motels had one hot water heater shared between two rooms.

  As he dried off he glanced at the scars on his stomach and grimaced. They were distorted at an angle across his abs circling around to his ribs. A feral had hurt him so badly he lost a lot of blood and did not replenish it in time to stop the scaring. He had killed the other two but the third was on him before he could finish them off. Their maker he found a week later. He made sure the maker had been paid back for the scars. His ribs could be seen through the shredded meat. He looked like a chainsaw had torn him open. He had passed out after calling the cleaners who had nearly destroyed him in their cleanup.

  He had made it out on his own so they ignored him. The scars were superficial only. The damage done but they did not bother him any.

  He pulled on his black baggy jeans and a black heavy metal shirt, covering the stomach scars. Amelia knew of those of course. One of the times they were alone she had convinced him to remove his shirt. She never asked again after that.

  He sat on the on the edge of the tub to pull on his socks and boots while he thought of her. She was a self-serving and manipulative woman through and through. He saw that only after she asked to mate with him and marry. He refused and she showed her true colors. After a year or so they became friends and she let it go.

  Damon wanted nothing to do with her now, for many reasons. One reason of course was his Shade. His, he asked himself? Well in the sense that she was his ward…

  He used his fingers to brush the wet mess of hair back out of his eyes, the longer locks brushing his shoulders. The black ends curled a little around his fingertips. Damon put his leather cuffs on each of his wrists and went back out to give Shade the bathroom.

  “I did not use the hot water. There should be plenty, there are no neighbors on either side of us,” he told her throwing his bag onto his bed. He would rest while she was in the shower.

  Shade took her bag in with her, but she noticed how sexy Damon was on the way. His hair tumbled carelessly down to his broad shoulders, still wet. His sharp, square cheekbones accented his blue eyes and gave him a fierce look.

  His clothes fit well, snug in the chest and pelvis but the legs were a baggy with large pockets apparently the style he preferred.

  She especially liked the black, studded wrist bands he never went without. His combat boots set the outfit from Goth to dangerous. His eyes flashed with fiery venom most of the time so she found herself usually cowering at his anger. Now he seemed forlorn and she felt drawn to him. Something inside urged her to go to him now while his defenses were down. Show him she trusted him. If he wanted to take advantage of her he already would have.

  If she was ever to do it now was the time. A hug could not be misconstrued as sexual. They needed the contact, especially her. She felt cold inside, scared and missed her brother.

  She dropped her backpack at the bathroom door and turned back to him. His back was to her which made this easier. She walked up behind him casually and put her arms around him. He stiffened but did not move. After a few moments he let his guard down and turned to face her. Shade kept her face against him as he turned to her to avoid his eyes.

  He wrapped his arms carefully around her and pulled her close. She needed comfort and that was all he would give her. She had come to him and he would not ruin this moment, scare her off. She needed him and he would always be there for her.

  Vampires at first, newborns, tended to be either petrified and timid or enraged at being turned. Shade was of the petrified version.

  Shade stayed only another moment before she turned, without looking at him, back to the bathroom to shower. He saw she had helped herself to another bag of blood while he was busy.

  If she had wanted to leave she would have while he was in the bathroom. Of course the sunlight was aggravating to her sensitive skin and eyes and she would avoid it but it was not impossible for her to go out.

  As she would when she was done with her shower, they needed to hit the road. His windows were tinted so they would be comfortable for the ride. For now he would close his eyes but not sleep.

  Damon moved the chair in front of the door as the shower came on.

  He let his eyes drift shut, the burning in them cooled. He had been without sleep for a week or two now. Since before the hunt he had been on when Shade had barreled into him in the park. He was some days grateful to be a Daywalker so that he had a choice on whether or not he slept. He could wake like a mortal at a sound. Regular vampires were lethargic and for the most part literally dead to the world. Their bodies had to shut down every twelve hours to rebuild and refortify for the coming night so they were at their peaks. Same went for the Princes who were all over two thousand years of age.

  He could smell her shampoo from under the door now, something fruity and floral. She was moments away from being ready to go but he needed to rest. He could load the car when she came out.

  Darkness was refreshing, a moment of pure uninterrupted peace. When was the last time he had any?

  He must have fallen asleep because when Shade left the bathroom it sounded as the door slammed causing him to jump up in a defensive position.

  Shade was as startled as he was. He had his wickedly lethal looking dagger with the twisted blade in his left hand and his right clenched and ready for anything.

  Shade’s eyes were round with shock and fear as she took in his stance and blade. She backed away slowly towards the bathroom with hands held up in front of her.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “No, do not be afraid. The door closing startled me, I had fallen asleep it seems. I only meant to wait for you. I am more tired than I thought,” Damon whispered, hoping to reassure her, as he put the dagger away and relaxed.

  Shade glanced be
hind him at the chair which he now put back in its original location.

  They both quickly gathered their gear and headed to the car. Shade seemed tolerant of the sun even though she squinted and blocked the sun as best as she could with her hands.

  Damon noticed her wet long hair straight down her back and lack of makeup. She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. A feeling of longing and fear of losing her arced powerfully through him.

  She ran back in the room and grabbed the two pillows and threw them in the back seat before she climbed into the front passenger seat. She wore all black like him, lots of bracelets and earrings, and kept her backpack in the front with her.

  “Shade, I have thought this over and come to the conclusion that we cannot let anyone know I changed you. I am not your Sire, only you’re Master. I will speak to Gideon and he will claim he is your Master on paper until I can get it taken care of. That is if I do not have to hide out. If anyone knows you are a Daywalker then life will be very unpleasant for us both and that is if they let you live.”