Blood

by K. B. Ladnier

  “Everybody stay down and get your weapons ready! They’re coming!” Hollis shouted at us.

  Vex quickly pulled himself off me and reached behind his back, only to pull out none other than Betty.

  “Seriously?” Sloan and Abraham asked him in tandem.

  “You brought the damn hammer and not a gun?” Sloan added.

  “You are about to learn just why I call this beauty Betty, my friends,” Vex replied.

  Suddenly, the sound of loud screeches and hissing filled the air, signaling the beginning of the fight.

  “Teams one, two, eight and ten, move in!” Hollis ordered into his radio before he and Agent Bentley stood and began opening fire. The rest of us stood and held up our guns. Abraham and Sloan immediately firing.

  There was a horde of at least thirty vampires heading in all directions, most of them changing course when the guys started firing at them. Just as we expected, each and every one of them were dosed with BloodLust. I shivered in fear at the sight of some of them. While most looked like Vex had with just the eyes and excessive saliva, several looked half-starved and like their faces and bodies were caving in on them. They looked more like zombies with fangs than vampires.

  “Let’s kill some vamps!” Vex shouted with glee, jumping over the wall.

  “Vex!” all of us shouted as he ran into the fray, his hammer immediately connecting with the closest vampires.

  “Lucy! Now would be a good time to start shooting! Vex will be fine!” Sloan shouted at me.

  I dragged my eyes away from Vex fighting. “You’re right, sorry.” I took a deep breath in, steadied my hand.

  Then fired.

  Left and right vampires blew up in clouds of ash and dust. I wasn’t sure which I was taking out and which Sloan and Brahm were. Agent Bentley and Hollis were now facing behind us as the vampires must have gotten around without us noticing. One came at Sloan from the side in his blind spot, but I saw him just in time to shoot just over his shoulder.

  “Shit!” Sloan yelled when the bullet whizzed past him. “Good shot!”

  “Thanks!” I shouted back.

  Over Hollis’ radio, men shouted that they were being attacked from behind and losing ground fast. It made tonight feel like the night I was taken, threatening to bring back that same panic I felt.

  “Alright! Fuck this!” Agent Bentley yelled. He threw his gun down and let out a sound that was far more terrifying than any growl I’d ever heard from Sloan. His body began to vibrate and grow, ripping his uniform shirt to shreds. His skin began to darken and grow tiny follicles of jet black hair. His face elongated and knees bent unnaturally backwards. His shoes exploded from around his feet and massive horns protruded from his head.

  In an instant, a beast that was half man and half bull towered over us; he was at least eight feet high, his twisted horns adding and extra foot and a half. Cloven hooves now were in place of his feet and thick, black claws tipped Agent Bentley’s massive hands. His physique still mirrored a man, but his face was all beast. The only surviving material of clothing were his pants, which thankfully looked expandable. In my wildest dreams, I never thought I’d see such a creature standing before my eyes.

  “Oh, my god...” Sloan said wide-eyed next to me.

  The bull shifter jumped clear over the wall we sat behind and began to charge at the closing in crowd of drugged vamps, which only seemed to have grown in number from just the thirty that originally came up from the sewer.

  Vex suddenly appeared at my side, his clothes, face and trusty hammer Betty, all coated in blood and ash.

  “Let’s play follow the leader. We’re getting overrun here and he seems to be clearing a path for us,” Vex said cheerfully.

  We didn’t need telling twice. The five of us jumped the wall and followed Agent Bentley as he pummeled his way through the horde, clawing, stomping and ramming them along the way. It was almost as if it took him little to no effort to take out five at a time, each hit an instant kill. I fired two rounds before the gun clicked, letting me know I was out of ammo. I quickly grabbed my extra magazine from my pouch as I ran, ejecting the spent one and sliding the new one in.

  Unfortunately, as I changed it, my foot caught a tree root. I tumbled down hard, landing on the palms of my hands and on my knees. Everyone but Agent Bentley stopped, Hollis grabbing my arm to lift me.

  “You okay, Lucy?” He asked, the others pushing their backs to us as they continued shooting.

  “Yeah. I’m good.”

  We were about to start running again, but we got too cut off from Agent Bentley. He was now a couple hundred yards ahead of us fighting an even bigger horde of vampires with at least fifty of the team members. We continued to fire, but I ended up running out of bullets.

  “Damn it!” I yelled. “I’m out!” I holstered my gun and crouched tightly behind Hollis and Sloan, Vex and Abraham taking up residence behind us to shoot and hit any vamps coming at our backs. With how fast we were all losing ammo, our chances of winning this fight were looking grim.

  And for the first time that night, I felt terrified we wouldn’t…

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  We slowly picked our way through the crowd, making our way through at a snail’s pace and watching in horror as more of our allies fell. Sloan finally threw his gun down and pulled out one of his own, finally out of ammunition as well.

  “Black Betty bam a lam! Ooh Black Betty!” I heard Vex singing beside me as we moved.

  I noticed he sang that part specifically as his hammer connected with a vampire, suddenly making the namesake of Betty dawn on me. “That’s how you named her?” I shouted at him.

  He laughed and winked, continuing with his singing.

  We finally reached the others, but the fight was looking grim. What was once us and eighty men, now looked more like us and thirty. I only hoped that the others were just fighting elsewhere and not dead.

  A group of ten vampires suddenly rushed through the crowd, all of them bigger and stronger looking than the rest in the horde. They carried massive chains over their backs and were headed straight for Agent Bentley. I shouted over the noise at him, but it was useless.

  The vampires threw the chains at him, entangling him in a vice-like grip and pulled him down hard, gaining a loud, pain filled grunt from the bull shifter.

  “Enough!” A voice boomed over us all, silencing the screeching vampires attacking us.

  It was as if the very air shifted in an unnatural way as we all saw Bellamy crossing into the park a few hundred feet away. At his back, more vampires ranging in number from a dozen to twenty-five. It seemed that no matter how many we killed, more would just replace the fallen.

  And by the look of triumph on Bellamy’s face, we were losing the battle.

  Suddenly, the vampires that were once closing in backed away and surrounded us in a circle. As Bellamy got closer, they moved out of the way to let him through.

  “I’m surprised your little army has taken out so many of mine. You really should give yourselves a hand.” He continued clapping with that same smug smile.

  He made his way into the circle we were all corralled in, stopping just outside the line of vampires on the edge. Our group kept our weapons up, not caring if we were outnumbered or taking any chances lowering our guard.

  Bellamy sighed and lifted his hand.

  All of our weapons were yanked from our grasps; even the ones attached to everyone’s hips and vests were taken then thrown over the crowd of vampires by an invisible force. I rubbed my finger absently where the trigger of my gun had caught on it as it was pulled from me.

  Shit…he has fucking telekinesis…

  Everyone stared in shock, including Vex. He obviously hadn’t known that Bellamy could do that.

  “I see you are still alive, Vasiliy,” Bellamy said to Vex with a wicked grin. “I’m rather curious how either you or your progeny managed that feat.”

  Vex’s hand rested on the small of my back, his hand bunching into the back of
my shirt. “Lucy just managed to outsmart your hold over me is all. You didn’t quite think through that plan of yours.”

  “Apparently,” Bellamy replied in a bored tone.

  “Stop this, brother,” Abraham said, coming out from behind where Sloan and Hollis stood. “Even if you manage to kill us all, humans outnumber us ten to one. Your power and pull won’t help you win what you’re after.”

  “You being a part of this little crusade of theirs doesn’t surprise me, Abraham. You always were weak for the humans and lesser of us all. You’re no brother of mine. You’re just the son of a whore my father reared when my mother passed. Nothing more.”

  “It is not weakness to care, Bellamy!” Brahm shouted back as he took another step forward. “Even when you yourself were human, you acted like everyone was beneath you. It wasn’t true then and it isn’t true now. Our father was ashamed of you for how you acted! How you became the monster on the outside that you always were on the inside!”

  Bellamy rolled his eyes. “Your pretty words and insults still mean nothing to me, Abraham. They may work on that little slut you have for a progeny, but they’ll never work on me. It’ll make for a nice night, having you to kill on top of this little victory.” He started to walk closer to us.

  A slew of growls and hisses came from our group, nobody liking his closer proximity.

  He smiled wider and stopped, his hands going behind his back and back straightening. “However, I shall be merciful. I have a proposal to offer all of you.”

  “We don’t care for your proposals and empty promises!” Bellowed Agent Bentley from beneath the chains, struggling to yank them off again.

  Bellamy clicked his tongue and waved his finger at him. “Don’t jump to conclusions bull shifter! You may regret not taking the deal.”

  “Out with it then. We haven’t got all night,” replied Vex with a bite in his tone. “No one wants to hear your voice as much as you do.”

  “Fine,” Bellamy responded. “I want you, Vasiliy. You come back to my side with your little whore and take the BloodLust. Both of you will be under my control and do as I wish you to, and the others will leave me be. If this happens, I’ll let this little party of yours live, and then continue on with my plan.”

  I wanted to smack the bastard!

  I must’ve moved forward as I stared him down with a glare, because Vex’s hand shifted and grabbed the edge of my shirt to hold me back. When I stared down at his hand, one of the lights from the light posts close to us glinted off something metal in my boot.

  My dagger!

  Bellamy hadn’t managed to pull it out of my boot because of how tightly jammed in there it was. I quickly averted my eyes from it, hoping Bellamy hadn’t seen my victorious smile at still having it. A plan began to quickly form in my head; one I hoped could save us all.

  Hollis, Abraham, and Sloan moved in closer around me and Vex protectively.

  “No deal, Bellamy. We won’t give you them,” Abraham answered through gritted teeth.

  “You really should weigh this offer more thoroughly, Abraham,” Bellamy said, his smile disappearing completely. “It is quite generous on my part. I could easily kill you all with a flick of my hand, yet here I am, offering you all your lives in exchange for just two of you. Not to mention, the others that haven’t joined the party.”

  They were still alive! I internally sighed. There was still hope that this could all be turned around. That was, if I could pull off the idea that was racing through my mind.

  “Every life matters as much as the next, Bellamy. If you were capable of understanding that, you would know why we can’t take that deal. We would rather all die trying to take you out, than live with the consequences taking a deal like that would do to our souls.”

  Bellamy laughed heartily. “Souls? A vampire has no need for a soul!”

  “You’re wrong!” I shouted at him, deciding it was time to act.

  All eyes turned to me.

  Bellamy’s brows raised in surprise. “Am I, little girl? Who are you to say I am wrong, when your entire life has merely been a blip in time to the years I have existed?” He walked closer, his eyes burning with rage at my daring. “Your knowledge and intelligence is vastly outnumbered by my own. I’ve walked this earth for over three thousand years, watching vampires of all ages turned to ash by humans before my eyes simply for being what we are! Humans, who are the weaker race with their limited power and pathetic idea of souls that they cling to! They are food to us! We don’t need souls because we are already the enlightened race! You should be pitied for your lack of understanding, girl!”

  I crossed my arms in defiance.

  “You’re still wrong,” I argued back.

  Vex grabbed my arm and squeezed. “Lucy. Enough,” he whispered.

  I pulled my arm from his hold and took a step forward, the others trying to grab at me, but I pushed their hands away with determination.

  “Vampires have just as much of a soul as humans,” I continued. “Why do you think Vex didn’t kill me when he had the chance? Sure, he tried a few times, but he tried not to more. That is because his soul resonates with my own. He knew deep down that killing me was not what he wanted. It was what you wanted.” I stepped closer, leaving barely a few feet between Bellamy and myself.

  “Lucy!” Sloan and Hollis shouted at me in warning.

  “We have souls and we do need them. We feel just as deeply if not more so than when we were humans. You are the one without the soul, Bellamy. It is you that is pathetic and should feel pitied.”

  Bellamy bared his fangs with a snarl and brought his hand up, slamming the back of it against my face and sending me to the ground in a crumpled heap.

  It hurt like a bitch, but he played right into my hands. I subtly slipped my knife from my boot, tucking it into my sleeve. All while I used my other to wipe the blood from my lip as a distraction to where Bellamy’s eyes would go. The others tried grabbing for me, but Bellamy waved his hand and knocked them all back.

  “You are a fool girl!” He said as he loomed over me, his hand pointed at me like I was an insolent child. “I will take great pleasure in making you bend to my will.” He sneered.

  He looked around at my people and smiled maliciously. “The deal is off the table. I will just take my progeny and his then make them watch as I kill you all. Grab them!”

  The vampires converged on them, hissing and snarling as everyone tried to fight. Bellamy leaned down and grabbed me by my throat, spinning me so my back was pressed against his front and holding me there. His grip on my neck tightened and angled my head to watch as my men and everyone else was captured.

  Abraham was looking to be the hardest to grab, as it took ten vampires to subdue him.

  They were all placed on their knees facing me and Bellamy; except for Vex who was grabbed and taken to Bellamy’s side behind us.

  “Now, my pet,” he whispered into my ear. His breath was foul and stale as the odor of it filled my nostrils. “You will feel my blood within your veins then beg me to take you under my influence.”

  I had prepared myself for what was about to happen next, knowing it was a possibility when I formed this crazy plan. What I hadn’t prepared for was the burning sensation that filled my veins when Bellamy stuck a syringe into my neck and pushed down the plunger.

  I gritted my teeth through the incendiary effects, knowing I had little time to act.

  My men shouted for me in fear as my body began to convulse, gaining a triumphant laugh from Bellamy as he held on. It was hard to get a grip on the blade as my hand shook, but thankfully, the handle slid perfectly into my grasp.

  I mumbled in a shaking voice to Bellamy. He stopped laughing and turned me, leaning his ear down to my mouth.

  “What was that, pet?” He chuckled.

  “Give my regards to the earth,” I whispered with venom.

  Without hesitation, I plunged the silver dagger into his chest right where his heart would be.

  He stilled and let
go of me.

  I fell to the ground and watched through the pain as he stared in horror at the blade burning into his chest.

  “No!” He yelled, lifting his hands to stare as they began to turn to black ash, crumpling away. His chest soon following.

  “NO!”

  He lifted his hands and his body erupted into dust, blowing away with the breeze.

  My body immediately stopped convulsing and all the surrounding vampires collapsed at once, freeing all my people from their hold.

  I heard my name being called, but it was like my head was submerged underwater. My vision tunneled and the world went black.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  I came to in the back of the hummer we had arrived in.

  Vex and Sloan were talking to each other as they sat on either side of me, my head in Vex’s lap and my feet laid across Sloan’s. I was so comfortable here; I didn’t bother alerting them to my being awake. It had been so long since I felt this safe; I didn’t want to give it up so soon.

  “I can’t believe she did that. How the hell did our little vampire outsmart an Ancient?” I heard Sloan ask in disbelief, his hand running up and down my leg in a soothing manner.

  I held back the snort of laughter at his tone. I loved when I surprised Sloan with my actions.

  “She surprised us all,” he replied as he massaged his fingers in my scalp. I could feel his eyes on me as he continued. “The fact of the matter is, Lucy has always been special. She’s a light in the dark for us vampires, glowing and good with that pure fucking soul of hers. I knew I felt it when I first saw her, and witnessing it tonight as she dusted my maker was a sight to behold.”

  “I second that,” agreed Sloan. “How long do you think she’ll be out?”

  “Not long. The drug is actually much more of a sedative, but that was countered by the compulsion of Bellamy’s blood in the mixture. Now that he’s dead, that influence over the real effects of the drug has worn off. She’s just sleeping, but she’ll wake soon.”

  Footsteps sounded, letting me know the doors were opened in the vehicle.