“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 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 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 29
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.
“She awake, yet?” Hollis asked from Vex’s side. I felt his knuckles graze my cheek softly in affection.
“Not yet. How’s the vamp wrangling going?” Asked Sloan.
Hollis sighed. “It’s going. Some of them have woken up. We’ve had to chain a few because they were so deprived of blood during their captivity with Bellamy, they tried attacking us. There were a few though that were just out of it and managed to ask when they could go home.”
“That’s to be expected,” replied Vex. “It’s a shame so many had to die unnecessarily.”
Sloan snorted. “You don’t sound like you believe that.”
“I like a good fight, what can I say? Betty hasn’t had real action in decades and needed to be set free.”
“Seriously, why on earth do you love that thing so much? What made you decide to just pick it up and claim it as an object of your affection?” Hollis asked.
I did my best not to shift as the question caught my attention. In all seriousness, I wanted to know the answer to this just as badly.
Vex chuckled. “I found her the night I left Lucy. In the abandoned loft I left her in, there was Betty. She was under the stairs leading to the basement that I had put Lucy in. I never told her, but I went back there before leaving the city that night. I wanted to feel close to her one last time even if I couldn’t see her. My foot fell through on of the steps as I went to leave and when I pulled it out, a perfectly forgotten hammer rested under the broken step. I grabbed it and held on,” I could practically feel the smile in his voice as he reminisced. “I guess in a way, it was a connection to where I turned the first and only woman I ever loved. Betty became a possession to me that symbolized that. It’s why no one else can touch her other than Lucy. She’s just as much hers as she is mine.”
I couldn’t do it anymore. The beautiful reason behind is strange obsession made me burst into tears.
“You little shit! You’ve been awake this whole time!” Sloan guffawed at me.
I sat up and tried to rub the bloody tears away, but I was just so in awe of Vex’s love for me that they just kept coming in wracking sobs. “I’m s-sorry! I was j-just so comfortable laying here and then t-that s-story!” I threw my arms around Vex’s neck and hugged him tightly to me.
“That was a dirty trick, pet. But I’ll forgive you as long as you promise not to rub your snot on my shirt.” He joked, rubbing circles into my back.
I pulled back and wiped my nose. “You have blood and ash covering you, yet my snot offends you somehow?”
Vex gave me a sexy side grin. “I can handle some blood and ash, pet. But mucous I draw the line at.”
I shoved his shoulder with a laugh.
“Where are our hugs?” Sloan asked in offense. “We love you just as much you know.”
I laughed and threw myself at him, laying an obnoxiously loud kiss on his lips. “You hush. I’ve got plenty to go around.”
“Then you best bring some over here. I just got kicked in the shin by a teenage vamp that woke up from the BloodLust. I think that deserves a kiss to make me better.”
I smiled and climbed over Vex’s lap to jump into Hollis’ arms, wrapping myself around him like a spider monkey. “That’s not exactly how it works, but I’ll make an exception for you any day Mr. Big Bad agent.”
After giving him the hugs and kisses he deserved, Vex and Sloan joined our little group, all of them hugging me in between them.
Bellamy was gone and the BloodLust vampires were set free.
Vex and I got our revenge for what he’d taken from us.
And I had my three men safely clustered around me, loving me more than I ever felt I deserved to be loved in ways I never thought I could be. Life was exactly what I always wanted it to be.
It’d been two months since I killed Bellamy, and life pretty much returned to normal for the most part.
Our stand against the vampires spread like wildfire, making me and my men a bit of celebrities. There were reporters flocking to my and Claudia’s doorstep nonstop for the first two weeks. Thankfully, Vex intervened after getting annoyed with the constant yammering of the people beneath the windows of the apartment. Unfortunately for them, Vex had slightly diabolical ways of dealing with peo
ple he deemed annoying.
He apparently had smuggled a few flash bangs and gas bombs from the weapon room at the station. When he had enough, one day, he jumped from the coffin he bought for my place and grabbed one of each, dropping them into the big dumpster in the alleyway under one of the windows. When it went off, the people scattered like cockroaches, screaming that someone was trying to kill them.
When I heard the bang go off, I startled awake and gave him a chastising look. His response was, “What? I didn’t do it.” Which was clearly, total bullshit, considering he was the only other one there. Subtlety was not Vex’s strong suit.
Hollis wrapped up his case and was given a few rewards from the city for his service to it; Agent Bentley stood right next to him at the ceremony to receive the same ones. He was given a raise in his pay and decided to get a bigger place where all of us could live together. We’d all be moved in within a week. A fact Claudia was not too fond of when we all agreed it was best. Mine and Claudia’s apartment was just too small for three large males and us two.
Speaking of Claudia, she was happy to learn that Abraham decided to live here in the city with her permanently. He didn’t trust us not to get into any more trouble and stated he’d be handling all business from here from now on, only leaving for large board meetings with the people who helped run his business in Las Vegas. Claudia was proud of me when she heard it was me who killed Bellamy. She doused me in a fray of glitter that night when we got home, saying it was the only way to celebrate.
Sloan and I returned to work a few days after the siege.
Ricky, Randi and Ethan were all glad to have us back, saying that the guy they hired in our stead was just fucking shit up. They were happy to finally be able to fire him and get back all the clientele they were missing out on in our absence. After all, I was still the only tattoo artist in the city who could tattoo another vampire. If anything, our recent help saving some of the BloodLust vampires from Bellamy only brought me more clients. A few of which were actually some of the vampires taken.
It took me a bit to convince Vex to let me tattoo him. He was very much against marring his quote on quote ‘beautiful, markless skin’. When he did though, it was only so he could get Betty’s image tattooed on his forearm. That way if he ever lost her, he’d still have a reminder of the night he changed me. It was actually kind of sweet.
Blood and Revenge: Under the Skin Serial Part 4 Page 5
