Rafaroy: A Cyborg's fighting machine first and only Mate (The Cyborgs Reborn Book 2)

by T. J. Quinn

  Storming out the door, Josh appeared a slightly panicked. Little John followed him.

  Squeaky murmured, “Yes, do go that before our impulsive friend is balls deep in his next conquest.

  Squeaky sat down beside Alek, took out a bag of synthetic blood, and stuck the straw that came with it into the correct spot. He held it up, nodding. “Thank you, my thirst is great.”

  Sitting with their clearly confused guest, Squeaky smiled slightly. Handing him a half-liter Synthetic blood bag, Squeaky spoke casually. “I do not know what you did to these people, but they seem unsure what they should do with you. I am not certain you are safe with the Kalian. I will try to stay with you, my vampire brother, but if he wants to harm you, as you can see, I am no match for him.”

  The man lifted up his chain. “If not for these, I would be more than a match for him.”

  “Trust me, they know exactly what you could do if you weren’t chained. It’s why they chose to drop you using the large animal tranq before they took you. It’s also why they are never going to take the chains off until they decide what to do with you.”

  The other man nodded his understanding, sending his dark shoulder length hair falling over his shoulder. Alex Shardon had an impressive war record, and had received several Medals of Honor for his marksmanship skills, battle tactics, and something called valor in battle.

  Squeaky, put his finger on the scanning plate on his wrist cuff and nothing happened. The man glanced up and he clarified, “Just in case you were wondering, I cannot open your cuffs.”

  The other man’s clear blue eyes gazed into his. “Can you get word to the police?”

  Squeaky frowned, shaking his head. “Not if I want to live. The syndicate we work for has informants at the police station. Honestly, he would know immediately if I betrayed him.”

  Sighing, Mr. Shardon sipped another drink of his Synth-B before responding thoughtfully. “I am wealthy. Perhaps I can buy my way out of this mess.”

  Smiling faintly, Squeaky replied. “They do love money, my friend.”

  Little Joe came back within an hour to relieve him. Squeaky felt terrible for the vampire humans did not know what to do with. He racked his brains to figure out a way out of this situation for the both of them.

  Squeaky spent the entire next day looking for work that would make his wife proud. He pulled up the data stream associated with employment needs in the area and began searching for respectable work. He communicated with several potential employers and spoke to one in person. He could not see himself being happy working for a meat packing plant but he would take whatever got him into honest employment.

  Heading home early, he spent time with his wife after she got off work. They planted flowers along their walk and he trimmed their shrubs with his laser trimmer in a delicate formation that pleased her. He sighed as he realized that it really didn’t matter what they were doing together; as long as they were together, they were happy. This could be his life if only he weren’t tied to the syndicate.

  Chapter 4

  Don’t Name It or

  You Won’t Want to Kill It

  Squeaky woke up the next morning and was delighted to find the vampire’s disappearance was still at the top of the news feed. Squeaky would at least be able to share that with the poor man and perhaps it would give him hope.

  When Squeaky came into the warehouse, Josh and Little Jo were sleeping. One was lying on the table and the other was leaning back against the wall. The vampire no one knew what to do with was leaning against the wall, asleep as well. His chains were still in place. He dropped one bag of Synth-B in the cooler and brought the other one with him to sit with the vampire the humans did not know what to do with.

  Squeaky whispered, “Mr. Shardon, I brought you a data stream so you can see the news. Many are looking for you. Have hope, my brother, the police will soon come for you.” He laid the electronic pad on his lap so he could read the news articles and went to retrieve the blood bag. He slowly fed the blood bag to Alek as he read.

  Alek glanced up from the news feed and said pleasantly, “Please, call me Alek.”

  Josh woke up, reprimanding Squeaky earnestly. “Don’t get attached to the hostage. You know there’s at least a 50% chance we are going to have to kill him. I grew up on a farm and I can tell you that once you name them, you won’t want to kill them. I don’t like this situation any better than you do, but we have a job to do here.” Josh sounded a little exasperated.

  Squeaky could see the pain and the conflict in Josh’s eyes even as he spoke the words and he wondered how someone with a conscience fell into this type of work. Perhaps, like him, Josh wanted out as well.

  The Kalian came in about four hours later. For no apparent reason, the Kalian walked right over and began kicking their guest in the legs and hit him in the face with his fist. That was when Squeaky noticed his eyes were black again. Faran was normally a very cause and effect kind of man. Squeaky knew Mr. Shardon could not have provoked him, because the man had been sitting in the corner in chains all morning. I was unclear what provoked such anger in their friend.

  It took both Josh and Little Jo both to pull Faran off.

  Josh was furious. “Did you not hear me say that I don’t want a scratch on his skin? Unless you have a kill order, you need to just get the hell out of here.”

  The Kalian shoved Josh a step back and said, “I have been working with you for four long years and all you do is disrespect me constantly. Now you treat the vampire hostage respectfully. There is only one of us who is stupid here, and it is not me.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “There have been many times when I was the only reason you walked off a job alive. You humans love your vampires better than any other species because you are too foolish to realize that, to them, you are just food.”

  “You know something, Faran, in all the time I’ve known you, I’ve never let you down. I’ve always had your back and yet, you’re never anything but obnoxious and difficult. I think it’s the way with your kind. All you do is complain, eat anything that doesn’t eat you first, and have sex with anything that stands still long enough.”

  Faran sounded earnest in his reply. “I am a Kalian male and I have an obligation to mate. I never force myself on others. Can I help it if many are attracted to me? I try to be accommodating to as many partners as possible. Where I come from, that is called being considerate.”

  Josh yelled back, “Well, on earth, it is called being a man whore.”

  Faran seemed shocked speechless by this revelation.

  Squeaky kind of tuned them out and kneeled down to check on Mr. Shardon.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Of course. It would talk more than being mishandled by a Kalian to inflict real damage on a Vampire prime. What’s up with those two?”

  “I wish I knew. They are proving to be more distracting than helpful lately.”

  *****

  Squeaky went to check on his vampire brother several times a day over the next seven days, left bottled water, encouraged him to stay hydrated, and gave him a container to relieve himself in.

  After turning the situation over in his mind, he though he may just have to take the hit on this one. Dropping down onto the floor beside Mr. Shardon, Squeaky handed him a Synth-B pouch. He seemed to have something to say, so Alek waited patiently for him to spit it out.

  “I have decided that if there is a time when we are here alone I will try to free you. I think they will not trust me alone with you because we are both vampires. If they think you tried to escape and I didn’t put up a good fight, they will probably kill me and perhaps my wife as well. If I can manage to free you, then you will have to beat me very, very badly so they will think I really tried to do my job. I am sorry.”

  “That sounds very painful for you.”

  “I have promised myself to try to become a better person and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. I think Josh’s estimation of you
r survival chances being fifty percent was probably not very accurate. I believe they will eventually terminate your life. This is the only solution I can think of to get you safely away from these people while minimizing the danger to my family. Is this plan acceptable to you?”

  A crease formed between his brows and Mr. Shardon replied thoughtfully, “I am desperate to be free and worried for the safety of my children but I cannot agree. That plan of action sounds dangerous for both of us and there’s no guarantee your employers will refrain from harming your wife. If they have made such threats before, they may harm her out of spite. Humans are very emotional creatures. We must always remember that.”

  Squeaky sighed and before he could speak, Mr. Shardon stated, “I have a better idea. Why don’t you contact a hunter and alert them that I am willing to pay a handsome amount for an impromptu rescue.”

  Squeaky pondered the suggestion out loud. “That would get us both out of danger. Hunters are always looking for missing people, particularly wealthy ones. Everyone would think they hunted you down for the reward. It’s standing firm at a hundred grand right now.”

  “No one would blame you if a really prominent hunter came knocking. They wouldn’t expect your crew to be able to stand up to a professional. The syndicate would most likely chalk it up to underestimating my worth.”

  “This idea is better than any of the ones I came up with on my own.”

  “Have you heard of Dakota Davenport?”

  “Hell yes, she’s amazing. My nephew has a poster of her on his bedroom wall. She has a success rate of a hundred percent and is good about searching for missing vampires. Even though she’s human, she is the go to person when… oh I see where you’re going with this conversation. You want me to contact her on your behalf.”

  Nodding, Mr. Shardon chewed his bottom lip. “I think she will take the case because we are acquainted.”

  Squeaky’s mount dropped open in shear shock. “You actually know Dakota Davenport? Like know her, know her?”

  “Yes. We travel in the same circles. Whenever we’re at a formal function, I always manage to get a little face time and dance or two from her.”

  “Wow.”

  “What’s more, her teenage son is the preferred feeding partner for my young daughter.”

  “Gods of chaos, you’re practically related.”

  “Miss. Dakota has a strained relationship with her son. I am not certain she is aware of their relationship.”

  “You still feel confident she will hunt for you?”

  “Yes. I must caution you, if you speak to her directly, someone might notice. She is in the public eye. What with the press and her many admirers, I can’t imagine much of what she does goes unnoticed.”

  “What is the best way to reach out to her?”

  “I wish you to speak to her son, Jared. He will engage her on my behalf, I’m certain of it.”

  “I agree to this request, and pray it is the best for both our sakes.”

  “God’s speed, my friend.” Yanking off the crucifix from around his neck, Mr. Shardon shoved it into his palm. “Jared knows this is sacred to me. Give to him as proof that you are acting as my emissary. You can find him at The Advent Home For Children.”

  Pushing up from his sitting position, Squeaky headed straight for the door. He was eager to see to put this whole business behind him.

  Vampire

  Brotherhood

  The Dark Words Series

  Prequel

  A.J. Daniels

  GTQ LLC

  Orlando, Florida

  Copyright © 2017 by A.J. Daniels

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  GTQ LLC

  PO Box 540375

  Orlando, FL 32854

  www.gtq.com

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Vampire Brotherhood/A.J. Daniels -- 1st ed.

  ISBN

  CONTENTS

  Epilogue

  Ghosts Whispering From The Past

  Touching the Face of a Goddess

  Vampire Brother

  Don’t Name It or You Won’t Want to Kill It

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  Epilogue

  It’s the year 2092, and the world is a very different place, especially since the end of the alien wars. The earth is now populated by several different species, all living side by side, working together, and things can get rough. Aliens sometimes have difficulty navigating the complexities of human civilization, and there is still much prejudice against the newcomers.

  When your back’s against the wall, and your survival is on the line, don’t trust public law enforcement. They’re overworked, underpaid, and spend most of their time combatting the never-ending war on designer drugs.

  No matter who’s after you, alien or human, a good hunter can mean the difference between life and death. Get the best one you can find, and then sit back and enjoy the no holds barred thrill ride as they do their thing. Dakota Davenport is the best in the business. She protects newcomers with a vengeance. Trust me, she won’t let you down.

  Chapter 1

  Ghosts Whispering From The Past

  The planet Earth was a weird and wonderful place. The sky was blue, the oceans were deep, and it was just about far enough off the beaten path not to be visited by his kind anytime soon. Alek had been stranded on this obscure planet for over fifty years and had somehow managed to carve out a semblance of a life for himself and his family. The humans were an odd lot, but he had slowly become used to their strange ways.

  Alek leisurely strolled through the city park on his lunch break. Pulling his hoodie up over his head, he was careful to block out as much as the sunlight as possible. Though his kind thrived on their new world, prolonged exposure to sunlight did strange things to their photosensitive skin. Vampires were one of the few species that never fed in the middle of the day. The human world stopped every day at the same time for this activity called lunch. It was one of the several times each planetary rotation when his mortal counterparts fed. Alek had long since identified it as an opportunity to either have a refreshing swim or a massage.

  Today, he had taken a shortcut through the park to get to his favorite spa with the intention of swimming his lunch break away. Normally, he thought of walking to swim as a clever way to cram twice the exercise into his hectic life.

  In the year 2092, the world was a very different place. Since the end of the alien wars, the ozone layer was extensively damaged to the point of being in imminent collapse. Alien weapons had leached exotic chemicals, including high concentrations of abrasive particulate matter into the upper ionosphere, creating what the humans called the Cerion Effect.

  The Cerion Effect resulted in increased oxygen in the air, fluctuations in atmospheric pressure, and a slight increase in surface temperature. The ice caps melted, creating more temperate zones in the polar regions. A rapid influx of water into the oceans as the ice caps melted lead to an increase in sea level, which ate up an estimated hundred kilometers of the coastal land mass around each continent. Eventually, the planet would become uninhabitable but not for generations.

  The atmospheric changes allowed plant and animal life to grow much larger than before the ships had landed. The changes had been well tolerated by the human physiology, proving mortals were both robust and adaptable. The Most noticeable change was size, with the average human nearing six feet tall. The effects had been especially profound in the deep ocean ecosystems, where squid were now regularly growing to the size of s
kyscrapers. Alex didn’t understand the intricacies of why this was happening but, then again, he was a computer programmer, not a botanist.

  The lush New Florida landscape was hot and balmy, even in the fall. Alek came to a stop, unwittingly drawn to a bizarre flowering plant. The lush foliage towered over him, covered in beautiful snow-white blossoms the size of his head. Each bloom had several long thin tendrils snaking out from the center. The tiny filaments gently undulated in the breeze performing a captivating ghost-like dance in the wind. A light floral scent filled his nostrils. It was a heady scent, and one he’d not encountered before. It was so out of sync with the surrounding vegetation that anyone would know it was obviously of alien origin. It was just one of dozens of new uncultivated life forms thriving on this new world, much just like himself.

  Alek paused briefly to let the intoxicating scent wash over him. His body quickly calmed, and a transcendental feeling stole over him. This was what his people would identify as a moment of heightened spiritual awareness. He immediately decided to embrace it, unaware of the impending danger creeping ever closer.

  The sounds of nature filled his ears, the sweet scent of the spring flora filled his nostrils, and a warm breeze swirled around his body, caressing his skin like a long lost lover. He felt a brief wave of calmness wash over his senses and his head began to fill with memories and thoughts of days long past. It felt like being tugged gently backward by a hand of a wise and all-knowing specter from his past.

  Hearing the soft whisper of long departed friends soothed his battered soul. He could feel long dormant emotions flare to life. It felt good to reconnect with his inner self in that way. It was that part of themselves vampires considered to be the most sacred. He felt whole and complete for the first time in a long endless age, standing there centering himself in the moment.