by R A Baker
I could feel Sven’s blood fading. “Sven, you’re going to have to take over.” He came over and took the arm I had been holding. I sat on the bed with Erick who held me as I convulsed with chills. It was definitely coming off the blood that was making me shiver and shake.
After the blood was gone from my system I gagged on the amount of blood that was all over me. I leaned into Erick and said, “I need to shower.” He nodded but didn’t let me go, keeping me on the bed. Todd waved to us. I guess we were free to shower.
Erick helped me into the bathroom. He turned on the shower for me and took off my robe. He disrobed as well and pulled me into the shower stall. I sank to the floor and hugged my knees. Erick kneeled down beside me and held me for a long while. “It’s okay, Katja.” I nodded. I really didn’t think it’d be okay.
I was feeling better as the hot water soaked into my body and raised my internal body temperature. It seemed that vampire blood actually made me colder.
We washed the blood from our body and hair and stepped out of the shower. We grabbed fresh robes and stuffed ourselves into them then walked into the bedroom and found that the vampire was still tight lipped.
I had an idea and I knew the guys would be opposed to it. I couldn’t speak out loud of what my plan was without tipping off the vampire so I grabbed my cell phone and Todd’s and texted him my plan. He read the message and just about passed out from anger.
“Calm down, Todd. I don’t plan on playing fair.” My reassurances didn’t ease his anger. When he showed the text to the others they got angry too, all except Sven. He smiled at the text.
“It’ll be the best way to get the info, Todd.” He heaved a long suffering sigh and nodded. Sven and I walked out of the bedroom and into the living room.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Katja?”
I thought about it for a second and said, “Of course. If I wasn’t, would I have suggested it?”
“No. I wanted to make sure since you’ve already had one dose.” He twisted his lips at me.
“How many doses before I turn into your slave?”
“Probably a lot more.”
I frowned at him. “You don’t know?”
“I’ve never tried to make anyone my slave before. I don’t think it’s right.” I gave him a hug. He was so proper. He chuckled and hugged me back. “Ready for this?” I sighed and nodded. He bent his head and bit my neck.
This time it was just to get blood, no funny business. He pulled back and bit his wrist and put it to my mouth. I drank down his blood. Gagging at first and then pulling his wrist tighter to my mouth. I could hear my guys in the room talking to the vampire. They were talking about what I was going to do to him. The bad vampire didn’t seem concerned.
Sven pulled his arm back as the wound healed. I looked into his glowing blue eyes and growled. He kept his hands at his side until he was sure that I was under control and then kissed me. I kissed him as hard as I could. He pulled back and licked the blood that I’d drawn from his lips and smiled. “You’d make one hell of a vampire, Katja.” I laughed and walked into the bedroom.
Todd was standing in front of the vampire. I pulled him aside and kissed him. He let out a small pain sound. I pulled back and muttered an apology. He wiped at his mouth smearing the blood that I’d drawn. “I really am sorry, Todd.” He nodded and pulled me to him. I licked the blood from his lips and kissed him, gentler this time. We parted.
I stalked up to the vampire and put my finger on his chest. “I have a deal to make with you,” I growled out.
He had been calm when Todd and the others were around him but now fear colored his pale brown eyes. “What is your deal, slayer?”
“I draw your blood first and you tell us what we want to know.” I gave him a moment to think about it.
“And if I draw your blood first, slayer?”
“Then you go free.” I didn’t look back. I could hear them suck air at the deal.
“That sounds fair, slayer.”
I nodded. “The other part of that deal, vampire, is if you do draw first blood and you go free, we reserve the right to kill you later.” He nodded.
I moved away from him and walked into the living room. This was going to get messy. I just hoped the cops weren’t called again, especially while we were fighting. Todd walked up to me. “Kat, maybe we should take this outside.”
“What’s to say he won’t run?”
The vampire walked out of the room with Sven holding an arm. “I won’t run, slayer, I want your blood.” I gulped. I was thinking this was one stupid idea.
“Okay.” I huffed and walked back into the bedroom. I grabbed my skirt and blouse and changed. I walked barefoot back into the living room. The guys had slipped into their slacks. They were barefoot as well.
We left the penthouse and took the elevator to the ground floor. We walked outside. It was freezing. My feet stung when they hit the cold ground. I ignored the pain and continued walking until I found a park that wasn’t well lit. I could see just fine with Sven’s blood running through my veins but I didn’t know for how long. I needed to get this fight over with.
Before I could start Sven walked up to me and put his wrist to my mouth in such a way that it looked like he was cupping my face. I drank from his cut wrist and stepped away from him. I tried not to growl at him again but one slipped from my lips. He chuckled and walked away. My guys formed a circle.
The vampire and I circled each other. He growled and lunged at me. I let his momentum carry him over me as I hooked his arm and slammed him to the ground. He pulled on my arm and sent me flying into the park bench. All the air in my lungs went out in a gasp as pain flared through me. The vampire grabbed me around the throat and lifted me. I struggled against him. He bent his head to me. I smacked him hard enough for his teeth to slam together. He growled again. I growled back. He threw me back to where we had been. I landed on the ground with a huff and gasped as a stick sliced open my back. I put my hand behind my back and grabbed the stick, breaking a small bit off in my back.
The vampire was on me. I pulled the stick from my back and shoved it into his chest, luckily on the right side and away from his heart. We still needed information. He gasped and looked down at his chest. I knocked him off me and straddled him. I bent low to his face and said, “I drew first blood. Tell us what we want to know.”
He sighed. “What do you want to know?”
“Who sent you?”
He smiled and the smile sent shockwaves through me. “I was sent by Sadant.”
I clenched my jaw. “Don’t lie, vampire. Sadant’s dead.” He just laughed.
I pulled the stick from his chest making him gasp. I put it over his heart and started to push. Sven was on me in an instant. “What the hell are you doing, Sven?” I snarled.
“You can’t kill him yet. We still need information.” He kissed me. I blinked at him and kept my mouth closed tight. He pulled back and said, “Don’t kill him yet, Katja.” I nodded. He got off me and helped me up. I walked over to the vampire. He was still lying on the ground. I looked down at him and smiled. He growled.
I went back to straddling the vampire. “What’s your name, vampire?”
“You don’t need to know. If you’re going to kill me you should do that now, slayer. I can feel you weakening.”
I sighed and looked back. The guys were standing a few feet back. “Todd, if you have something you need to know, I suggest you ask now.” I turned back to the vampire and held the stick over his heart.
He laughed as I pressed into his skin. “You won’t kill me, slayer. Your boyfriend asked you not to.”
“Don’t push me, vampire. Right now, I don’t care. I’ll rip your throat out like I did your friend.” I removed the stick from his chest and licked the blood from the wood. Fear rolled through him.
“You aren’t supposed to have bloodlust, human.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Apparently, you don’t anything about me, vampire.”
“Why did you attack us?”
The vampire rolled his eyes from me to Todd and said, “I was given my target.”
“Who sent you?”
“Sadant.”
We both rolled our eyes at the vampire. “Yeah, right. What’d he do come back from the grave?”
“He’s alive in another way.”
We blew off his comment. Sadant was dead. Antreas had made sure that he was dead. I had made sure that the bastard was dead.
I looked at Todd and asked, “Can I kill him now?” Todd nodded. I took the stick from his chest and tossed it away. I lifted off the vampire and punched his chest and straight through to the ground and used my other hand to rip his throat out.
I got off the vampire, walked a few feet, and collapsed. Todd and the others came up to me. I looked at them from the ground and waved them off. The light from under my guys’ skin faded as I watched. I started to shiver as the cold ground seeped into my body.
Sven helped me up and hugged me to him. I stepped back and saw the blood on his clothes. I looked down and saw that it was from me. I was a bloody mess. I sighed.
>< ><
We burned the body and went back into the hotel. The guys surrounded me from the receptionist. We walked into the room and looked at the bodies in the corner. They had started to smell in the warm air. I heaved another sigh. “What are we going to do with the bodies?”
“I’ll take them out.” Sven started toward the bodies. I couldn’t let him take the bodies all by himself. There were two bodies that we had to dispose of. I had no idea how to get the bodies from this floor to the bottom floor without getting caught. Sven took care of that. He opened the window and flew out with one body. I looked out and saw him drop the body by the one we’d burned.
He flew back into the window, taking me out in the process. I wasn’t hurt since he swept me into his arms and landed on the ground with me on top. He kissed me and let me roll off him. I shook my head in disbelief. He took the other body and dropped it by the other two. He lit them on fire and watched as they burned.
When the bodies were burned to ash and scattered on the wind, Sven walked back into the hotel. I shut the window and looked at my guys. They were sitting on the couch with their backs to me. I walked around and stood in front of them. “How could you do that, Kat?”
I stared at Todd in dismay. “I did it so we’d find out what was going on.”
“You could have been killed,” Trace said quietly.
I looked at Erick and said, “Well? Aren’t you going to bawl me out too?”
“I am not. I don’t agree with your methods but you didn’t die so I can’t truly be angry with you.” He looked away and stared at the door.
I turned and saw that Sven had entered the room. I smiled at him. At least he understood my methods even if the others didn’t. He closed the door and came up to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
I leaned into him for a moment and then pulled away and walked up to Todd. I held out my hand but he just looked at it. “Are you going to be angry with me for very long?”
“I have every right to be angry, Kat.”
I frowned at him. “Why?”
“You shouldn’t have had to risk your life. I should have been the one to risk my life.”
I held up my hand. We had to get one thing straight. “Look, you can’t put your life at risk. You’re the vampires’ king. Even if there are some growing pains at the moment, they still need you. I’m your enforcer,” I pulled my shirt sleeve up and showed him the tattoo again. “I’m supposed to put my life on the line. That’s what this tattoo means, Todd.”
“It shouldn’t,” he said as he sulked.
I didn’t like seeing him upset, I wanted him happy. “That’s the way things are, at least right now, Todd. I don’t mind putting my life on the line for you guys.” I didn’t say that it made me feel better that I was a woman and strong enough to take out several vampires.
“You should,” Todd whispered. I clenched my teeth and fisted my hands.
“Did you want to have a fight, Todd?” I asked through clenched teeth.
He looked at me then. “I don’t want to fight, Kat. I just don’t see how you can be so…so blasé about the whole thing. How can you have just killed three vampires and worry about fighting with me?”
I unclenched my fists and laughed. “I don’t like fighting with you, any of you. I just want you happy. Besides, this is what I do. Now, anyway.” I sighed and plopped down on his lap. He jumped and then wrapped his arms around my waist. I kissed his forehead and leaned my head against his. “Why don’t we try to get some sleep, huh?” He nodded against my head but didn’t move. I started out of his lap but his arms tightened around me.
“I was scared, Kat,” he said quietly.
“About what, Todd?” Like I didn’t know.
“When you went up against that last vamp and he threw you into the bench, I thought that was it.”
I frowned at him again. “What do you mean? I was fine. A little hurt but fine nonetheless.”
“That’s just it, Kat. You were hurt. You could have been killed and there would have been nothing I could have done to prevent it.” I sighed. We were going to get into this again.
I pulled myself from his lap and stood facing him with my hands on my hips. “Todd, listen to me. You really can’t think like that. You have to accept that I may get hurt beyond repair. Even Sven’s blood might not be able to save me. You have to deal with it this way, Todd. I can’t be hindered by your fear. I need to know that you’ll go forward even if something happens to me.”
“I can’t, Katja,” he whispered and looked down. I saw a tear plop onto his lap. My heart clenched at the emotion. I kneeled beside him and looked up. He had tears streaking his face and pooling in his lashes. I pulled him to me and hugged him. I looked at the others. Trace and Erick were looking just as sad but without the tears. Sven was standing against the door and watching us. He didn’t look sad so much as gloomy. If something happened to me, Erick would be dead but at least Trace and Todd could go forward with Sven. That is, if Sven and I haven’t bound ourselves to each other in some way.
Todd laid his head on my shoulder, his tears staining my blouse. I held him while he cried softly. I blinked back the tears that clouded my vision and tried to find a way to lighten the mood. Todd pulled back and wiped the tears from his eyes.
“Please don’t be sad, Todd. It’s really my fault that you’re in this mess.” He gave me a look. “If I hadn’t gotten you into the whole thing with Antreas, you’d never have had to worry. I would’ve…” I stopped before I said, ‘I would probably have been dead.’
“You mean, you would’ve been dead, right?”
I pursed my lips and nodded. “Yes, Todd. I wasn’t going to say it but yes. If I hadn’t taken out Antreas, I would probably be dead.”
“You still might be, Kat. This is beginning to border on the ridiculous. You’ve been captured, tortured, captured again and tortured. If Sven hadn’t found you, you’d probably have been dead.”
I rolled my eyes. “Todd, stop. You can’t do this to yourself. If you keep looking at it this way, we’ll never win and you’ll probably get killed in the process.”
“She’s right, Todd.” I looked at Sven. He came up to me and put his arm around my waist.
“Don’t talk to me right now, Sven.” I hadn’t heard that much anger color Todd’s voice in a very long while, it was nearly venomous.
I stared at Todd in disbelief. “Don’t get angry with him, Todd, he actually helped. A lot.”
“For that, I’m grateful. But to allow you to endanger yourself…I can’t deal with that right now,” Todd said as he got off the couch and left the room.
I started after him but Erick stopped me
. “Let him go, Katja. He needs time to adjust.” I frowned at him and sat on the floor by the TV.
“You don’t need time to adjust?” I asked while switching my gaze from Trace to Erick. They smiled at me.
“Kat,” Trace started. “I adjusted to your…ruthlessness from the time I saw you take out that vampire when we were ambushed.” He blinked and looked like he was going to say more but kept his mouth shut.
I stood up. I needed to make sure that Todd was okay. I didn’t like that he was upset. “Katja, don’t.”
I turned on Erick. “I need to, Erick.” Sven grabbed my arm. I looked down at his hand on my arm and then slowly to his eyes. “Let go,” I spoke quietly. He shook his head. I didn’t want to hurt him but I would if I had to. “This is the last time I’ll ask, Sven. Let go.” He refused. I didn’t think about what I was going to do I just did it.
I yanked on my arm and immediately turned direction and shoved my palm into his chest. He flinched but didn’t let go. His hand tightened on my arm painfully so. I tried not to whimper as the pain became almost intolerable. Why were they keeping me from Todd? What was going on that I didn’t understand?
“If I stay in here you have to tell me what’s going on. What is it that I don’t understand?” I looked at each of them, Erick shrugged and Sven let my arm go. “Now, tell me.”
“Kat.” I turned around and found Todd standing in the doorway. “I’ll tell you.” He walked up to me and tried to hug me but I walked away.
I stood behind the couch and watched him. He was still sad and the tiredness that I had seen from him when this whole thing started was there, weighing him down. “Explain, Todd.”
“We’ve known each other almost our whole lives. We’ve been together through high school.” I smiled at the memories. “We married when you came back from the military. We might have divorced but I never stopped loving you, Katja. You’ve been my soul mate from the moment I laid eyes on you.” He stopped talking for a moment. I breathed a sigh as I thought of our life together. What would it have been like for us if we’d never gotten together? Would he be safe? Would he be in more danger? Would he be dead by Antreas’ hand? Those were questions I had zero answers for and I didn’t like to think of them.
