by J. C. Diem
Covering my face with both hands, I felt trapped and not just because he had his arms wrapped around me with panicky tightness. “Ok. Fine. You can come with me on one condition.”
“Anything, my liege.” Gratitude shone from his beautiful face.
“Stop calling me ‘my liege, my Queen and your highness’. I’m not anyone’s ruler.” Geordie would rupture himself with laughter when I told him about this. “My name is Natalie.”
A frown furrowed his perfect brow but he eventually nodded. “I will try, my…Natalie.”
“Good. Finish getting dressed, I want to get out of here before they decide to riddle our corpses with bullets.”
Footsteps approached shortly after Nicholas pulled his jacket on. He’d left his filthy shirt on the ground, deeming it to be unfit to wear. His chest and abs were displayed each time he shifted and I forced my attention towards the door.
I was ready for anything when it swung open. I was surprised to see that Colonel Sanderson himself had come to see us off. His expression was gravely formal. To my relief, he wasn’t pointing a bazooka at us. I wasn’t sure even I’d be able to survive one of those. I’d seen the remains of the imps that had been targeted and they’d been melted lumps of blackened meat.
Sanderson offered me his hand and I took it, careful not to crush any of his bones as we shook. “On behalf of the human race, I’d like to thank you for your assistance at putting an end to the monsters.”
“No problem, Colonel. Call me anytime strange creatures rise up and try to take over the world.” I meant it as a joke but he nodded solemnly. “I guess Nicholas and I should be going now.”
“This way, I have a vehicle ready for you.” We followed the Colonel downstairs to the parking area. A dark blue, nondescript sedan was waiting for us. “No offense, Natalie, but I hope we never meet again,” the American said with all seriousness when we reached the car.
“Yeah, me too.” If we did, it would either be due to some other kind of disaster or because he’d decided to eradicate me and my kind.
Nicholas insisted on driving so I climbed into the passenger seat. I waved to Sanderson and he lifted his hand in response. His expression was hard to read but I believed it was a mixture of relief and regret. It was the regret that bothered me. He’d had three vampires in his clutches and had let us all go instead of keeping us to see how and why we ticked. His government would probably be less than happy with him for allowing us to go our merry way.
I kept checking to see if we were being followed as the kilometres passed but I didn’t spot a tail. My new minion followed my general directions and we ended up back in the large town where my friends were hopefully still safe and sound.
“Stop here,” I said and Nicholas eased into a parking space. “We’ll go the rest of the way on foot.” There was a good possibility the car was bugged so we it was only sensible to leave it behind. We sprinted the last few kilometres to the small and shabby hotel.
Sending out senses that were no longer blocked, I located four vampires on the second floor. With Nicholas at my back, I took the stairs and pounded on Gregor’s door. It was yanked open a second later and Luc’s relieved face was the first thing I saw. I grinned at him then rudely pushed him aside and entered.
Yanking Nicholas in after me, I gave my friends a quick explanation. “Everyone, this is Nicholas, just in case you don’t already know him.” Geordie’s upper lip lifted, indicating he did know the newest addition to our group and that he didn’t like him very much. Igor gave the courtier a cautious nod. Gregor’s face was uncharacteristically blank, hiding his emotions. “Nicholas is the guard who buried me in consecrated dirt and gave Igor the map,” I elaborated. “He’s on our side so play nice.”
Geordie opened his mouth but I’d run out of time to stick around and answer his questions. I had to do something about my flesh hunger or I was going to embarrass myself horribly.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Grabbing Luc’s hand, I tugged him out into the hallway and sped up the stairs to the fourth floor. He wore a bemused smile as I waited impatiently for him to unlock the door. “I take it your flesh hunger has risen?”
“In the worst kind of way,” I confirmed. “You’d better take your pants off quick or I’m going to tear them to shreds,” I warned him. I reached back and struggled to undo the laces of my suit. By the time the leather suit hit the floor, Luc was already lying on the bed crooking a finger at me invitingly.
Leaping through the air, the bed groaned in alarm when I landed in a crouch over Luc. He braced himself an instant before I enveloped him and I began to ride him hard and fast. Dents appeared in the wall as the bedhead slammed into it repeatedly. One of the legs buckled and we were tossed to the floor. Luc rolled until he was on top and winced when my legs slid up around his waist. I eased up on the pressure and he rewarded me by dipping his head and taking a breast into his cold yet talented mouth.
“I missed you, Ladybug,” he mumbled then nipped me almost hard enough to break the skin.
“Me, too.” I groaned then tried not to snap him in half with my legs as he thrust even harder and deeper. If I’d still been alive, my back and butt would have burst into flames from carpet burn.
He nipped my other breast then sucked it deep into his mouth and that was enough to push me over the edge. My girly parts almost sighed with relief when my first orgasm hit me. Several more rockets went off before Luc finished up and slumped over my inert body.
“Did I break anything this time?” I hadn’t heard any bones snapping but I’d been distracted by my own need.
Rolling onto his side, Luc went up onto one elbow with his face resting in his hand. “Only a couple of my ribs.” From the quiet pops and crackles, they were already healing. “You were very gentle considering your level of need.”
“I was pretty desperate,” I admitted sheepishly.
“Why did you not sate your flesh hunger on Nicholas?” Luc studied me calmly, unaware how badly his question stung.
“Do you want me to use other guys for sex?” I asked him bluntly. We’d never had the discussion whether we were exclusive or not. We weren’t exactly dating in the conventional sense of the word.
Circling my nipple with his fingertip, he shook his head. “I very much do not want you to share yourself with anyone else. I was simply wondering why, after I betrayed you countless times with the Comtesse, you did not return the favour.”
My face scrunched up at hearing he’d had sex ‘countless’ times with the praying mantis. “I guess I’m just not built that way. Nicholas is very pretty but you’re the one I’m in lo-” I broke off my confession before I could finish it.
“You do love me,” Luc said with a smile then leaned down to plant a kiss on my forehead. “I am glad that you feel the same affection for me that I do for you.”
Our moment of near perfect happiness was spoiled when a phone began to ring. Luc snatched up his pants and pulled out his mobile phone. “It’s probably Geordie complaining we were too loud again,” I said snidely.
“Hello?” my companion said cautiously after checking the number and not recognizing it.
“Lord Lucentio, please put Natalie on the phone,” a female voice with an Asian accent said.
“How did you get this number?” Luc asked even as I held out my hand for his phone.
“Natalie will explain everything in a moment.”
He handed me the phone and I held it to my ear. “Hi, Kokoro,” I said before she could speak.
“Have you now also become a Prophet?” she asked me.
“No, I recognized your voice. You have excellent timing, by the way,” I told her dryly.
I heard the smile in her voice as she replied. “I thought I would let you finish before I called.”
Covering my face with my spare hand, I tried not to become completely overwhelmed by humiliation. “What can I do for you?” I asked her pointedly.
All humour fled and she answered me seriously. “I had
a vision a short time ago and felt that I should warn you immediately.”
“What did you see?” I so very badly did not want to know the answer to that. I had taken down the bad guy, my job should now be done.
“Do you remember me telling you of the First’s ten followers?”
“The ones he had a falling out with and ended up banishing?”
“Yes. It seems he didn’t just banish them but had a fate far, far worse than that in store for them,” Kokoro said gravely. The memory of the cave painting with the ten stick figures beneath the ground surfaced. “In my vision,” she explained, “his ten followers had grown jealous of his power. They plotted against him, planning on killing him and assuming control over all vampires.”
“Everyone wants control over all vampires,” I muttered. Everyone except for me, that was.
“They almost succeeded,” Kokoro continued. “If the First hadn’t been so paranoid by then, his followers might even now be running a vast empire of our kind.”
“I saw a picture the First had painted in his lair and it looked like he ordered them to bury themselves,” I said uneasily. “It looked like their punishment was to slowly starve to death.” It was a horrible fate for any creature but especially cruel for beings that could take centuries to die.
“Yes, that was his plan. What he didn’t know is that they didn’t die. The alien blood in their veins is still strong and has sustained them for all this time.”
I tried to imagine why this vision had caused her to call me in a panic. Then a chill went up my spine. “Now that the First is dead, they aren’t bound by his orders anymore, are they?”
“I am afraid not,” she said gravely. “They are already beginning to wake after forty thousand years of slumber. When they rise, they will hunger for both blood and flesh. Soon, they will create a plague of stronger, faster vampires whose blood is far more virulent than ours. It took centuries for the First and his ten followers to gain control of their hungers. The new fledglings will have the same lack of restraint. I fear the humans will face another catastrophe and this time their guns and explosives won’t be enough.”
“Why not?”
“They will simply not be quick enough to keep up with our new kin when they attack.”
“They’ll need my help again,” I concluded and felt the weight of responsibility I’d only just thrown off settle around my narrow shoulders again.
“They will require all of our assistance,” she corrected me. “The Emperor would like to speak to you.”
After a short pause, a young male voice was speaking to me. “Natalie, congratulations on your success at dispatching the First.”
“Thanks, Emperor.” I was genuinely pleased to speak to the kid again but the circumstances weren’t exactly ideal. “So, do you want to come to our place or should we come to yours?”
“I believe it would be safest for us all to meet somewhere in the middle.” At ten thousand years old, Ishida was far wiser than the twelve year old kid he appeared to be.
“I’ll have a chat to my team and see if they can think of somewhere safe we can meet. By the way, the suit was fantastic during the fight.”
“I knew it!” he said enthusiastically. “What shape is it in now?”
“It’s a complete write off,” I admitted with regret. “I have two black suits left now and they’re holding up ok.”
“I will have replacements made for you,” he promised. “Call this number when you have chosen our meeting place.”
“Ok. Bye.” I was pleased that he trusted me enough to find a suitable location. The Japanese vamps had been conditioned to believe that all Europeans were their enemies. I wasn’t European but they’d still lumped me into that category when we’d first met.
Luc was waiting with one eyebrow raised when I handed him back the phone. “I take it that destroying the First has somehow unleashed yet another problem?” He’d overheard the conversation but he didn’t know the complete story yet. It would be my distinct displeasure to fill him in.
“You could say that. Let’s join the others and I’ll explain everything.” Climbing to my feet, I dressed in some of the clothing I’d left behind in the room. The bed was destroyed and cracks had developed in the walls but I had a feeling we weren’t going to be here for much longer anyway.
If Kokoro’s vision was right, ten mummified, starving vampires were about to rise up from the earth and I had no idea where they’d been buried. Our mission would be to locate them and take them down before they could create an army of infectious, rabid vampires.
Don’t worry, I reassured myself, pretty soon the news will be full of sudden mass disappearance of humans again. That would be our first clue of where the new threat was located.
I’d thought that killing the First would be the end of my battles but I’d been wrong. Death, the deceitful bitch, had more in store for me. It will never be over, I mourned. I’d have to keep on killing until every last threat on the planet was gone.
One of the visions I’d had recently tickled the back of my brain. I’d sensed something incredibly ancient and infinitely hungry buried beneath the earth. If the vision was true, then I at least had an inkling of where the new threat would soon arise. It looks like I’ll get to travel to yet another country I’ve never been to.
Being Mortis had already taken me far from my homeland of Australia. Just how far would I have to travel before this would all finally be over?
The End
Also by J.C Diem
Death Beckons
Death Embraces
Due for release in October 2013: Death Devours
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
