"Hey buddy, I’m so lost in what’s going on here. You might want to defer to someone else," I said. Gregory seized my arm in a death grip. I got his point. This guy was dangerous and I needed to stop taunting him. I looked around the room. We were grossly outnumbered. Even more vampires had arrived with Lucha. Saying that we were surrounded was such an understatement. Saying we were screwed seemed to sum things up nicely.
We weren’t leaving the mill alive that much was clear. I touched Gregory’s arm. "Can someone tell me what’s going on? How is it I know Dracula’s bride over there, and how is it that Lucha knows me? And...," I turned to Guytano, "did I know you too?"
Guy shook his head no. His eyebrows rose up as he shrugged. Great, he was as lost as I was. My attentions went to Camille, and her face twisted in disgust. I think the Dracula’s bride comment pissed her off. Oh, well. Lucha made a move toward me and I looked at Guytano. He shook his head no. If he thought the guy was dangerous, then I was in trouble. I’d seen the people Guytano hung around with. He didn’t act scared of Torin, and he was pretty damn intimidating.
"First, let me see you, Linnea." Lucha said, holding his hand out to me. "Then I will tell you all I know."
Gregory stepped away from me. "No, Lucha, she is not the same. She, she is alive, and of warm body. She’s no longer like you. When I turned her over ... after I shoved the sword into her." I put my hand up and stroked his back. I was beginning to view him as a very practical man. If I needed slayin’, I needed slayin’. There were no two ways about it. "When I turned her over I saw who she was. That’s the point when you must have left Camille. If you would have stayed longer you would have seen that Valerie did not die instantly. She had no memory of me, your Valentino saw to that when he lured her out of hiding and turned her into a vampire. When I told her where she was and what she’d done, she was full of remorse. She conjured a spell that would bring the dead innocents back to life in exchange for her demise. When I looked at her I knew that she could be the wonderful caring woman she’d once been." His shoulders slumped forward. "I tried to beg her to stop, but she ignored me and continued with her magic."
I moved closer to Gregory and put my hand up to caress his back as he spoke. His hand touched my arm and an electric spark leapt between us. My body stiffened. Lucha saw this tiny gesture and his face hardened. I wasn’t sure I wanted to get him pissed off, but I needed to hear what Gregorios had to say, and right now he needed my support.
"Valerie finished the spell and quickly cast another to dislodge the sword from her chest. I could have reversed the death. It was by my own hand and I think part of her knew that. Instinctively, I reached out to stop her. I grabbed the blade, cutting my hand in the process. My blood seeped into her body. She looked at me and remembered me; she remembered everything. She told me that she must battle her demons, and when she was done, she would return."
Lucha took a step forward. He looked like he was going to ask a question, but decided against it. Gregory continued. "She had been gone for a hundred years, and I knew that she would take every minute of that time to atone for what she’d done. I wasn’t sure that Valerie would ever feel that she’d sacrificed enough. I knew her well enough to know that she’d gladly spend eternity in hell if need be, so, I summoned her back five years ago. She came to me frightened, beaten, confused, and with no memory of her life. Although she did not tell, I believe her to have been in the depths of hell, literally, fighting for redemption. There was little to no trace of anything civil or human in her. It was to be expected, but seeing the magic that surrounded me scared her. She ran away from me into the night. I did not find her. Several days later, the newspaper told of a mysterious woman with no memory fighting for her life in the hospital. I didn’t want to scare her again, so I watched from afar. I have always watched from afar."
"You, you’re the mysterious benefactor," I said. Everything suddenly made sense.
He nodded his head. "I have lived for sixteen hundred and eighty-five years. As with most of us here today, we have amassed more money than we could ever dream of spending. Whatever I have is yours, Valerie."
"You should have told me," Lucha said, sternly. "I had a right to know. I loved her too."
Gregory looked up at him. "I thought that you or Kerr were the ones who made her. It was only a few years ago that I learned that it was Valentine who sired her. I didn’t notify you that she was back then either because I thought you were the one who called me that day telling me about the upyr killing innocents."
"Linnea never killed an innocent and I was made long after her. Valentino thought it funny to kill me after he found out about our affair. She tried to stop it but she arrived too late. The best she could do was to offer me a choice, death or eternity as a vampire."
"Linnea?" Guytano asked.
He walked toward me. I looked around. None of Camille’s people were here. They had used our revelations period to cut out. I couldn’t say that I blamed them. If I’d been smart enough to take off, I’d have done it too.
"No, you can’t be the legendary Linnea they speak of..." Guytano’s voice was hushed.
"Master," I turned to see who was speaking. A thin man with a head of yellow hair was standing near the entrance to the mill. His hair hung to his waist and was slightly wavy. His skin was pure white, and his eyes were amber. He looked like someone had just yanked him into this time from one long ago. My guess was that he was from the days of Vikings, and knowing this bunch I was probably right.
"Paging this century," I said aloud and surprised even myself.
Gregorios laughed under his breath. The blond-haired man turned his attention to me. His eyes widened and he took a step backwards. I scared the guy. I found that pretty funny since I was ready to wet myself about an hour ago. He looked to Lucha for guidance. Lucha nodded his head in approval.
"Mistress Linnea," blond-boy said, and dropped to one knee as he said it. I turned and looked behind me convinced that another sneaky vamp-chick was standing there. No one was there. I glanced at Gregory. He looked as lost as I felt. Guytano made a move to come to me.
Lucha looked at the new arrival. "Yes, Folco, it is Linnea, but she is not the same. She is no longer one of us." Lucha put his hand out to Guytano, who was still trying to make his way to me. "Stop! I will deal with you later."
Guytano froze in place and looked at me. I could see how very sorry he was. I was suddenly angry with myself for blaming him for all of this. From the way it sounded I was in it long before he was. The only catch was that I didn’t know I was playing the game. I watched as Guytano ignored Lucha’s orders to stay put and moved back toward me. Lucha moved so quickly that he blindsided Guytano. His hand came out fast. He struck Guytano mid-chest, and sent him flying backwards.
"No!" I screamed out and ran to Guytano. Gregory tried to grab me, but I dodged out of his reach. I cried out for Guytano to "Go, fly away!" He didn’t move. His body was limp on the floor. My feet lifted off the ground. I wasn’t moving anymore. I was being turned around in someone’s arms. At first, I thought Gregory had managed to stop me, and then I saw the black head of wavy curls. Lucha. I looked into his dark eyes and looked for the evil monster that everyone here feared. All I saw was a man who oozed sexuality and made most cover models look ugly. He set me down on the floor so that we would be standing face to face. He kept his hands resting lightly on my arms. I was betting that being gentle with me was harder for him than it looked.
"Why do you run after him? Do you know what he is?" he asked.
"Yes, he’s Guytano, he’s a vampire, and he’s my friend."
Lucha looked over me at the slumped Guytano. "You do not fear him? You do not view as a monster?"
"No, I don’t view him as a monster. I..." I searched for the right words to describe how I felt for Guytano. I didn’t love him, that much I was sure of. I did care for him, though I wasn’t sure it was only as a friend. "I...."
Lucha’s eyes swirled with flecks of orange. He tightened his
grasp on me. "You have been intimate with him." He said it like he was positive it was true. I shook my head no and Lucha looked back at Gregory who was now standing within ten feet of us with his gun drawn. Lucha didn’t look very concerned about being shot. "Have you been intimate with him as well?"
I opened my mouth to deny all of this but changed my mind in mid-thought. "How dare you show up here and assume, no demand to know who I’ve been with. I don’t really give two shits how you know me. I don’t know you at all and you will not stand there and threaten me with your creepy vampire tricks. Are we clear?" I reached up to pull his hands away from me. He yanked me to him. His lips met mine hard at first, then softer. I struggled against his kiss, at first, not wanting to give into his dominant male trip. My body took over, wanting him more than life itself. I bit at his lower lip and his tongue danced cleverly around mouth. We drank one another, pulling, kissing, sucking, biting until tiny moans escaped from us.
Lucha caressed my face, shoulder, then back, coming to a stop when his hands reached the small of my back. He formed tiny circles there and matched the movement with his tongue. I panted, damp with the anticipation of having him deep within me. I wanted him to throw me down on the floor and ravish me.
"Let her go!" Gregory shouted, breaking the moment of passion that Lucha and I shared.
Lucha stiffened and drew his lips back from me slowly. "Amore eternal," he whispered with a sigh. He was the man from my dream, my lover, the one who told me that he’d see me soon. He had indeed found me.
"Don’t hurt him, Gregory!"
"Valerie, get away from him," he shouted.
"Gregory is right Valerie, get away from him." Guytano said from behind me. "Lucha is extremly dangerous."
"He’s not going to hurt me and he won’t hurt you either." I looked at him. "Will you?"
I caught a small smile creep onto his face. "You had only but to ask, I have always obeyed you," he said, as he let go of my arms and stepped backwards. Gregory eyed Lucha suspiciously as he walked over to me. He looked me over for obvious signs of being turned into a vamp. I thought that was cute.
"I’m not sure you should trust him." A look of uncertainty came over Gregory’s face.
Lucha glanced at me and held my gaze. "I would never harm you, this is the truth. Well, not unless you asked me too." The promise of ecstasy in his words did little in the way of helping my wet panties problem.
Guytano was suddenly very close to my back. "He speaks the truth. I have known Lucha for a hundred years and he has never once broken his word."
Chapter 16
An awkward silence followed us as we made our way out of the old mill. I walked very close to Guytano. This, I’m sure, did not sit well with Lucha or Gregory. The only one who seemed relatively unaffected by my choice was Folco. The Nordic looking vampire had been careful to stay as far away from me as he could. That made me wonder what kind of person I really was. On one hand, I had Gregory talking about how sweet and wonderful I was, and on the other I had vampires terrified of me. My pocket beeped. I jumped, so did Guytano.
"Cell phone," I said, reaching in grab it out. "Yeah?"
"What? We’ve dispensed with greetings altogether now?" Dillon’s voice sounded like music to my ears. I knew then that it had been a rough night when a cheating ex-fiancé sounded good.
"Sorry, it’s been rather interesting around here lately."
"You can say that again. That’s what I’m calling you about. Shit’s hit the fan over there. I got a call about an hour ago telling me that the local sheriff called in the state police." Dillon’s voice broke up a little. "Valerie, I think you should lock your doors tight. Call Joe and have him come down with you and Molly till I get there."
This wasn’t like Dillon. I knew he would try just about anything to get in my pants again, but scaring the hell out me wasn’t one of them. "Dillon, what’s going on?"
He was silent for a minute. "Valerie, the sheriff ... his men were responding to a call, and ... and his men claimed that the assailants weren’t human." He let out a forced laugh. "Now, I know that sounds crazy, but Valerie, I’ve known Sheriff Robinson for ten years now. He’s not one to exaggerate and if they’re calling me for expert advice it’s bad."
I squeezed Guytano’s cold hand. No, the sheriff had been right in his fears. The problem now was how much damage had Camille’s people caused. "I believe you. I can’t tell you how I know this, but Sheriff Robinson is right." I took a deep breath. "How bad is it?"
"It’s bad enough that I’m heading that way now. As far as I can tell so are the state police, along with several of the city cops. Valerie, promise me you’ll stay at Molly’s house. Get the bat out of the hall closet. Hit anything that moves. Put on the necklace I gave you, the one with the silver cross. Don’t ask me why, just do it, okay?"
"Don’t come here Dillon. I’m fine. I have several friends with me now. We’re on our way back to my house. Trust me when I say they are much better equipped to deal with the problem than the police, and even you." I said, hoping that he’d leave well enough alone and not come.
He protested, angry with me for being out and about on a night like this. I couldn’t go into details. He didn’t need to know what was going on, at least not yet anyway. I made him swear not to come. He made me promise to give him a second chance. I didn’t want too, but I wanted to see him hurt less than I wanted to stay mad at him. I agreed.
"What did Dillon want?" Gregory asked.
I turned and looked at him, a bit shocked. "You know Dillon?"
"I told you that I’ve been watching over you since you ... umm ... got back. Of course I know who Dillon is. I thought I’d be watching you walk down the isle already. It’s a real shame that didn’t work out." The way he said it told me that he was happy that I didn’t end up marrying Dillon. Lucha looked over at me. I glared at him. He didn’t bother to accuse me of anything. I think he knew I’d attack him. Guytano’s grip tightened on my hand. It was a subtle warning, but a warning all the same.
"Can someone answer a question for me?" I asked.
All the men, except for Folco, said yes. "Will Payton ever be the same?"
Guytano responded first. "Valerie, you need to understand that there is an adjusting period once you’ve been made. Dependant upon who your maker is, you may or may not retain characteristics from when you were human."
I thought about Payton’s touch and his caring face. He had been my friend for five years, and now my lover. He had fought hard to save my life. If there was a chance I could save his, I had to know. "You seem somewhat normal to me."
Guytano smiled. "I’m also a hundred years dead. Your friend is only a day or two into it, and he’s been exposed to a great deal of violence."
"What about you?" I asked looking at Lucha.
His eyebrow rose up. "I would like to think you would remember that, after all you made me."
I stopped walking. Guytano didn’t and he nearly yanked me over. He reached out and caught me as he gave me an apologetic look. I turned to Lucha, horrified. He had just confirmed my suspicion. I was a vampire. I was a member of the blood drinkers’ club. How many people had I slaughtered? How many people did I make into monsters?
"I’m so sorry." I said as I walked over to him. Guytano didn’t want to let go of my hand I had to pry my fingers out of his tight grasp. "I am so sorry that I did this to you."
Lucha looked down at me and touched my cheek lovingly. He brought away a tear. I didn’t know I was crying. "Do not weep for me. It was long ago. You gave me the choice to live as this or to die. You made me be the one to decide. I picked this, and the two of us spent many, many years together. The only regret I have is losing you."
I was crying even harder now. It was Gregory’s clearing his throat that brought me back. Guytano was pressed against my back. I had been so captivated by Lucha’s speech that I hadn’t heard Camille’s people surrounding us. The twin blond men that had been accompanying her stood very close to Lucha and me
. There were at least a half dozen other vampires that formed a circle around us. The two blonds looked at each other and then back at us. They smiled. I watched in horror as their faces twisted. Their noses spread as their faces lengthened before my eyes. Tiny hairs sprouted all over their bodies. Their shoulders thickened and their legs widened. I took a step back. My body was firmly pressed against Guytano’s.
"They can smell your fear," Guytano said. He didn’t attempt to be quiet.
My pulse rate quickened. I looked back at them. They no longer resembled men, they looked like walking wolves. Then it hit me, werewolves. I had only a moment to think about how I’d managed to get myself surrounded by a magic man from Valhalla, vampires, and werewolves. My, how my life had changed, or had it?
One of the wolves lunged at me. Lucha’s hand came out and seized the animal by its throat. It let out a whimper as he twisted and snapped its neck.
One down, how many more to go?
My lack of remorse scared me. I should have felt bad, a life had been lost, but I didn’t. I knew that this was a case of kill or be killed. There was no way I was going to let these things roam the streets in my town, not if I could help it.
The other wolf made a fast movement at Lucha. A shot fired and it fell backwards into the grass. A hole the size of my fist was showing on its chest. Both Lucha and I turned to look at Gregory. He gave a Gallic shrug and looked down at his gun.
"Silver bullets," he said, grinning.
Lucha nodded and smiled. Nothing like male bonding over lethal toys. Two vampires charged Lucha and a third went for Gregory. I pulled at the back of one of the vamps that had gone for Lucha. It acted like I wasn’t even there. It made no movement to get me off it. I was nothing more than a fly to it. I grabbed it by the back of its head. Its short, dyed-blue hair was slicked full of gel. I wondered if that was comfortable to sleep on. I let that thought run through my head for a millisecond before I twisted quickly. The vamp’s head jerked violently to the side and its neck snapped. It dropped away from Lucha.
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