Bite Me

by Parker Blue

  No, make that six. Two more vamps suddenly came into view, dragging Rick between them.

  Finally, a break—Jen and Rick were together. Now, if only luck stayed with me and helped me take on six vamps at once. I wasn’t sure there was a hope in hell of doing that with everyone coming out alive, but I had to try.

  I stared intently at Rick for any signs that he’d been turned, but his mouth was duct-taped and his arms were held securely by the two unknown vamps. He looked pale, but that could be fear, the situation, a lot of things. I still didn’t know if he’d been made into a vampire or not, but either way, he needed rescuing.

  Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear anything they were saying. And if I tried to climb in the closed window, I’d lose the element of surprise. I worked my way around the side of the house until I found a window into an empty room. It opened silently, and I climbed in, then made my way through the dark room.

  Cautiously, I peered out into the hallway. No one there. I slipped into the hall, keeping the weapons ready, yet hidden behind my back. Without visible weaponry, I might be able to bluff my way past if I came upon anyone. Luckily, I didn’t, and I made it without incident to the room where Jen and Rick were being held.

  The doors were too thick for me to hear anything being said inside the room. Shoot—I had to get inside. I unsheathed the sword, got a good grip on it, and took a deep breath. Lola, sensing upcoming action, fizzed to life in my blood. I let her come more fully than I ever had before. In this, we were united with one purpose. As ready as I’d ever be, I burst in through the door, yelling, “Nobody move!”

  They all froze for an instant and I took advantage of it to close the door and move aside so my back was against a wall and I was facing all of them.

  Alejandro and his three lieutenants were grouped together on the opposite side of the room, with him seated and the three of them behind him. Rick and his captors were to my left, on the other side of the door, and Jen was in the center. Everyone was within range of my sword.

  Taking advantage of their initial surprise, I said, “Jen, come here.”

  Unfortunately, she ignored me, still controlled.

  My words seemed to break the spell for the others and they all relaxed a little, probably because I was alone.

  “Are you mad?” Luis asked, going all aristocratic and snooty. “What is the meaning of this?”

  “Ask Alejandro,” I snapped.

  Alejandro sighed. “I know this looks bad, but your stepfather is being held because he has become a menace.”

  “He threw holy water on two of my men,” Lily said indignantly.

  I suppressed a smile. Go, Rick! “And Jen?” I asked Alejandro.

  “I asked your sister to come in so we could discover who is controlling her.”

  “Have you?”

  “Not yet.”

  I nodded. Just as I’d thought. “Then I’ll just have to start killing vampires one by one until she’s released.”

  Alejandro looked hurt. “I thought we had an agreement. Do you not trust me?”

  “No.” Not where my family was concerned. I aimed the sword at Alejandro to make sure he got the point.

  “Don’t you dare hurt Alejandro,” Jen said.

  “So he’s your controller,” I mused aloud, hoping for confirmation.

  Luis just snorted derisively.

  “Well, now,” Austin drawled. “That would be convenient, wouldn’t it? But she’s bluffing. Or rather, her controller is, through her.”

  Lily nodded. “It can’t be Alejandro. He’s the one trying to change things. He’s forbidden this.”

  I wavered, wondering who it could be. They made sense, but someone had to be lying. The controller could be one of the head honchos—Alejandro, Luis, Austin, or Lily—or even Rosa, who was missing. Then again, I couldn’t dismiss the underlings as possibilities either.

  But I had to choose one, so I chose Luis. I’d never liked his smarmy attitude anyway. “You first,” I said, aiming the point of the sword at him.

  I’d hoped for a reaction, but not the one I got.

  Jen pulled a pistol from her waistband and pointed it at me with both hands. “I can’t let you kill anyone,” she said in a steely tone so unlike my sister.

  “What idiot gave my sister a gun?”

  No one confessed and Jen’s gun never wavered.

  I had to remember that Jen wasn’t in control of her actions, someone else was. “What are you going to do? Shoot me, your own sister?” I hoped there was some small spark of Jen hiding inside, one that would be appalled and be able to break free.

  But it didn’t work. Jen pointed the gun at her father. “No, I’ll shoot him. Or myself.” Grinning something more like a grimace, the expression clearly forced onto her face by someone else, she held the gun to her head. “Nobody move or the little girl gets it.”

  The effect of the controller’s words in Jen’s mouth was chilling. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind now that Jennifer was controlled, obviously by someone in this room. That let Rosa out as a suspect.

  “Coward,” I accused the controller through Jen. “Reveal yourself and stop hiding behind a young girl.”

  Jen continued to smirk. “No, I think it’s more fun this way.” She pulled the hammer back on the pistol, still holding it to her temple.

  “You don’t want to do that,” I said quickly. “If you kill Jen, I’ll make sure you and everyone else in this room dies a horrible death.”

  Jen laughed. “Not before one of us gets you first.”

  “Us?”

  “Oops. Didn’t I mention I have allies in the room?”

  The vamps all froze, their gazes darting around the small space as if wondering who was on which side. Now no one was certain of anyone else. Well, at least I wasn’t the only one in the dark.

  Unfortunately, they all did the darting gaze thing. The controller was too clever to let himself be caught that way.

  But since he hadn’t killed Jen yet, he must have a reason. “What do you want?” And who was I talking to? This was incredibly strange, speaking to Jen as if she were a monster, not knowing who I was really dealing with.

  Jen’s eyes narrowed as she channeled her master’s emotions. “You. I want you to suffer, Slayer. You’ve caused me nothing but trouble, you and your sister. Made me tip my hand too soon.”

  I flicked my gaze back and forth among all the vamps. Which one was it? It could be any of them, but I’d bet on Alejandro or one of his lieutenants. But if I chose wrong, killed the wrong vamp, the real evil in the room would pull the trigger and Jen would be dead. Unacceptable.

  I stalled for more time. “If you didn’t want me to come after you, you shouldn’t have taken my family.”

  Rage erupted on Jen’s face and she shoved the gun harder against her own head. “Jennifer learned too much too soon. Then you and that sorry excuse for a man came sniffing around and made it even worse.”

  At first, I thought she meant Dan, until I saw Jen remove the pistol from her forehead and level it at Rick. Rick, whose eyes pleaded with me to save his daughter.

  I’m trying, aren’t I?

  Unfortunately, his and Jen’s faces were the only ones in the room that showed any expression. How could I figure out which vamp was the controller?

  “Maybe I should just kill you,” Jen muttered, and the gun swung toward me.

  But before I could do anything, Jen swerved to look at the door. Two other vamps came in, dragging two more prisoners—Dan and Fang. Both were completely subdued by their captors, Fang in a cage, and Dan in a headlock with his mouth shut by duct tape. But they hadn’t been captured quietly. The vamps looked a bit worse for wear.

  YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE LEFT ME, Fang whined, pacing the limits of his tiny cage.

  Sorry, I didn’t want you in danger. Didn’t want this. My heart sank. I’d hoped someone I cared about would survive tonight, but it was looking less and less likely all the time.

  The two newly arrived vamps looked ar
ound the room curiously, but settled on Alejandro. “We caught them trying to sneak in.”

  Jen grinned, her pistol wavering back and forth between Rick and her two new targets. “Excellent. So who’s gonna buy it, Slayer? Your partner, your stepfather, your sister, or your little doggie?”

  Alejandro shouted, “Shield them.”

  All of the vamps moved, but halted when Jen yelled, “Stop— or one of my people will stake you.”

  Once again, they didn’t know who was on which side, and obviously no one wanted to take the chance of getting staked to save a mere human.

  “Choose one,” Jen barked at me.

  “No.” Impossible.

  “Then I will.” Using the pistol to point first to herself then the other captives in turn, she said, “Eenie meenie, minie, moe . . . ”

  No, this couldn’t be happening.

  Alejandro made an abortive movement, but Austin restrained him, saying, “I won’t let you put yourself in danger.”

  I didn’t know where this nursery rhyme would end up, but none of the choices was even thinkable. I had to take action, had to kill the controller. They all appeared to be on the right side, but one was lying. Who was it?

  Even if I chose correctly and killed the controller, his minions would probably tear the humans limb from limb.

  “ . . . if he hollers, let him go . . . ”

  The demon inside me urged me to do something, anything. I couldn’t contain this frustration, this lust for revenge much longer.

  So . . . why contain it at all? If I enthralled the controller like he was enthralling Jen, I’d have all the control.

  But if I used my power with so little chance of directing it at only certain men, Dan would be caught by Lola just as surely as the rest.

  I had no other choice—Jen was nearing the end of the rhyme and it looked like he would be the first one killed. Better alive and pissed than dead.

  For the first time in my life, I used my power. Not only did I loose all restraints on Lola, but I put force behind it and pushed, willing the men to feel desire and find me irresistible.

  Powerful, feeling totally in charge, I commanded, “Freeze.”

  It succeeded beyond my wildest dreams as every man, totally enthralled, did exactly as I ordered. I could feel the power within me reach out to all of them, compelling their obedience, enjoying their worship of Val Shapiro.

  It was as if I had live wires of energy connecting me to each man in the room, whether dead or undead. Where each “wire” entered their bodies, it fanned out in strings of power to touch and penetrate each of the seven chakras, the sacred energy centers of their bodies. Through these invisible lines of power, I felt as though I could pluck a string and feel it vibrate throughout their entire being.

  But it was strongest in the second chakra, the one related to sexuality. Experimentally, I strummed the strand that led to that energy center, but I didn’t have enough fine control to choose just one. Instead, the power thrummed through every man in the room, freeing their desire, sending their dark, powerful need roiling toward me like an out-of-control tidal wave of lust.

  I braced myself for the onslaught, but Lola knew just what to do with it, channeling the powerful slap of desire into the starved power centers of my own body, soaking it up like a sponge.

  Somewhere deep inside, I felt sickened by the fact that I could control them like mindless puppets, but I couldn’t help but exult in the raw power and energy flowing from them to me, feeding my starved senses.

  HOLY CRAP, Fang said in awe. DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING?

  Forcibly, I brought myself back to the here and now. Though it had felt like hours, it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds.

  Jen turned toward me, eyes narrowed, and pointed the gun at me. “What’s going on? What did you do?”

  Only a woman controller would ask that question, be able to ask that question right now. Without hesitation, I swung my arm back and lopped Lily’s head off.

  Dan’s ex-fiancée’s body crumpled to the ground, her head dropping next to it as she bled on Alejandro’s pretty rug. Strange, there wasn’t as much blood as I expected. But it was one of the grosser things I’ve ever had to do to get my sister out of a scrape.

  Fang sniffed her. THAT’S ONE WAY TO END AN ARGUMENT.

  Jen staggered, looking dazed, then stared at the pistol in her hand. She dropped it as if it were a poisonous snake. When it hit the carpet, it went off, hitting one of Dan’s captors in the knee. But the vamp was so intent on me, he didn’t even notice.

  I hoped he wasn’t one of the good guys. Either way, he’d heal fast.

  “Jen?” I said again, letting the sword point fall.

  My sister rushed toward me and threw her arms around me, sobbing and clinging. “Thank you. Oh, thank you for saving me.”

  Okay, that was the real Jen. Incredibly relieved, I hugged her back, finding it a little easier to control my puppets now.

  Lieutenant Ramirez burst into the room, followed by about two dozen men. But they weren’t cops. Startled, I recognized some of the bartenders from the club. These were all Micah’s friends—part demons. Lola reached out greedily to gather them to her as well, but I stopped her. I could barely handle the ones I already had in thrall.

  “What’s going on?” Ramirez demanded, looking surprised when no one moved. They all remained intent on me, waiting for my next command.

  “Uh, they’re under my control,” I said sheepishly as I released Jen. “All but Lily who’s dead now.” I wouldn’t apologize for that—Lily deserved what she got.

  “So I see,” Ramirez said dryly and signaled to his men to stand down.

  They milled around, staring curiously at the enthralled men and giving Lily’s headless body a wide berth. Surprisingly, I was able to maintain my hold without effort, though it felt odd to be so hyper aware of so many men at once.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked Ramirez. “Aren’t you the one who said you couldn’t help me?”

  “I couldn’t commit city resources to help you,” he corrected me. “But when my wife got a call from Micah, she badgered me to lead the rescue party in an unofficial capacity.”

  I grinned. “I’d like to meet your wife some day.”

  Ramirez smiled back. “The feeling is mutual. Besides, we did get proof of a sort. Dan and Micah figured out that Lily was behind all of this. His records kept mentioning a ‘Strong Arm’ doing the blessings. Or rather Armstrong—Lily Armstrong. Micah contacted me as Dan and Fang headed here.”

  Oh, no—Dan was still spellbound with the rest of them. I glanced around. “Some of them are Lily’s allies, but I don’t know which.” And I didn’t know how to turn this power off selectively any more than I had known how to turn it on selectively—it was all or none.

  The lieutenant shrugged. “So ask.”

  Duh. Of course. “Those of you who were working for Lily, raise your hands.”

  The two vamps who had held Rick raised their hands, still looking besotted with me.

  “Restrain them,” Ramirez ordered.

  His band of demons jumped to obey, apparently happy to find an outlet for their frustrated adrenaline.

  “Hold them tight,” I cautioned them, “because I’m going to release them.”

  And it was easy enough to do, with the demon inside me completely sated for the first time in my life. With only a little regret, I let them all go and drew the succubus’s energy back into myself. Now that I was no longer so intimately connected to all of them, I felt relief and a determination to talk to Micah. He was right—I couldn’t live my life trying to suppress my demon all the time. I had to learn to live with her.

  The first to snap out of the spell were Austin and Alejandro.

  Austin rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. “Interesting power you have there, little lady.”

  Alejandro stared down at Lily, regret and confusion in his eyes.

  I sighed. “Uh, sorry about the rug.”

&nb
sp; He shrugged. “It is nothing. And I had no idea . . . Why would she do this? She had such potential.”

  Jen, who had finally released her stranglehold on me, answered. “When I was working at the blood bank, I overheard her talking to someone—that’s why she enthralled me. She said she needed you to build the organization with your charisma, but once you had the power base established, she’d take it over and run it her way.” Jen shivered. “I don’t think you’d like her way.”

  That was an understatement. But before I could respond, I was suddenly enveloped in a man’s arms. Rick, freed of all restraints, had gathered Jen and me into a group hug. “Thank God, both my girls are safe.”

  Oh, wow. Was I still his girl? Emotion ambushed me, made me want to cling to him like a child. But I’d been hurt so much. Could I trust this?

  I stiffened and tried to pull away, but Rick wasn’t having it. He squashed us to him and held onto both of us like he’d been terrified he might lose us forever. Not just Jen—me, too.

  I gave in. With Lola blissfully satisfied, I realized that for the first time in my life, I could hug him without consequences. As I clutched him and soaked in the wonderful feeling, I also realized that a normal life had been within my grasp all along. Starving Lola didn’t work. It made things worse. Made her constantly prowl like a cat in zoo cage. But now, in this moment, I could just be Rick’s daughter.

  Thank God he was safe, too—he wasn’t a vampire. But I couldn’t help but say, “I told you not to go after her.”

  He pulled back to look at me. “I know, I know. And you saved me just in the nick of time, too. They were going to force me to become one of them tonight.”

  So that’s who the “blessing” was for. “I’m just glad I was in time.”

  “Me, too,” Rick said fervently. “You were right. You’ve been right all along, and we’ve been very wrong.” He stroked my face. “I’m so sorry, little one. I’ll make it up to you.”

  Tears stinging in my eyes, I said, “If Mom will let you.”

  “Don’t worry—I’ll handle your mother. And if she doesn’t like it, she’ll answer to me.”

  “Thanks,” I whispered in his ear. I appreciated the sentiment, but knew it wouldn’t be as easy as all that. And it would never be like it used to be. “Why don’t you take Jen home? She’s been through quite an ordeal.” And so had he, though he wouldn’t appreciate me mentioning it. “One of Ramirez’s people will probably take you.”