Drawing Blood

by Mary Lou George

  Vampire, it’s you I want. Cooperate, and Connor will live. Take Hwy 11 south. Will contact with further instructions. Tell no one or the child dies.

  There it was. The demand. As he’d expected, it came to him, not the boy’s parents. Stryker didn’t hesitate, he turned Dakota to the south and they took off.

  * * * *

  Stephen and Avery returned home about an hour later. They had no good news to share with Holly. In turn, she had none for them. After a brief moment of contact, she’d lost psychic connection with Stryker. Her experiment had been moderately successful. Mentally, she felt him for a while, but in the end she lost him. Had he shut her out? Unsure of what that meant, Holly didn’t share her concern with her friends. They had enough to deal with.

  Stephen stared hollow-eyed out the window while Avery paced. Her keen gaze moved from one object to another, refusing to rest in any one place for too long. They waited. Agonized.

  When the phone rang, Holly and Stephen looked at each other hopefully. Avery picked it up before the first ring was finished. The police had a trace on the line, but no one really had any hope it would prove fruitful.

  Avery’s hand shook and her knuckles turned white as she gripped the receiver. Stephen and Holly waited anxiously. The call lasted only a few seconds and Avery said very little on her end of the conversation.

  “Yes. Yes.” She hung up.

  “I know where he is!” She explained as she ran. “I’ve got an address. They said he was fine.” She glanced over her shoulder at Stephen, her control finally slipping. “You better drive.”

  * * * *

  Holly couldn’t rest until she knew Connor was okay. Millions of questions ricocheted off the walls of her mind. If Connor was okay, then what had happened to him? Who had rescued him? Where was Stryker? She took Avery’s place and paced up and down again in the exact same spot as her friend had just minutes before. Her cell phone rang forty-five minutes later.

  It was Avery.

  “He’s okay.” They both started to cry. “He’s been drugged, but Stephen says he’s going to be fine. We’re on our way home now.”

  Holly didn’t say a word. Huge sobbing gulps heaved in her chest as she collapsed on the sofa. He was safe. What a blessing. If anything had happened to him…it was beyond comprehension. Slowly she brought herself under control. Taking deep breaths, she eventually stopped hiccoughing.

  Finally, she smiled. Thank God, everything was going to be okay now.

  Her feeling of relief was short lived. Slicing through her chest, a pain so sharp ripped her feet out from under her. She cried out, clutching the leather sofa cushion. A shaky hand against her heart proved she wasn’t bleeding, but nevertheless she felt blood gushing as if from a mortal chest wound. Her hand was clean, no blood, no injury at all. What the hell?

  She felt bile rise in her throat and forced it down. She didn’t know how, but in that moment, she understood. The horror struck her full force and all of a sudden she knew with a certainty that almost stopped her heart. Stryker was down.

  Chapter 30

  For the moment, there was nothing Holly could do about it. Jessica and Aaron were sleeping upstairs. She’d have to wait for their parents to get home before going after Stryker. Where to start? She ran to the door and called out to the men she knew were watching the house. Almost before the words were out of her mouth a huge man appeared. He didn’t get the chance to say a word. Holly launched into commands.

  “Tell Declan that Stryker’s been taken. He gave himself over in Connor’s place. I don’t know where he is, but I know he’s hurt.” She barely finished her words and the man was on his cell.

  When he’d finished the call, he nodded to her. “We’ll take it from here.”

  She had no idea what more she could do standing outside in the dark so she thanked the large man and walked back into the house. She had an inkling of an idea. Was there something more constructive she could try?

  Sitting on the couch in the living room, Holly desperately tried to calm her racing heart. It wasn’t easy. She’d been drawing the future since she could hold a pencil, but tonight was the first time she’d force the ability or die trying. She’d work on it until she succeeded even if the attempt broke every blood vessel in her body. She didn’t care. She had to find Stryker and this was all she could do at the moment.

  Clear the mind, breath in and out, in and out. Visions of Stryker tortured, bleeding, dying…kept pushing their way into her mind. With a determined strength of will, she nudged them aside.

  Holly slid from the couch to the floor and grabbed the crayon and notepad that lay on the coffee table. Staring blankly at the wall, she concentrated on the mundane and started doodling with the crayon. After what seemed like a lifetime, her left hand moved across the paper of its own accord.

  She drew, but Holly wasn’t aware of it. Finally her fingers stopped moving, her eyes focused and blinking rapidly, she could make out the west wall of Avery’s living room. Everything was in its place. Afraid to look down at the paper and see useless scribbling, she took a deep breath and forced her gaze down toward what she’d drawn.

  She’d done it! This wasn’t just chicken scratch. Hope filled her chest as she picked up the paper to get a closer look.

  What she saw made her want to scream…not in fear, but in frustration. All she’d drawn was a vaguely familiar landscape with farmhouse and barn.

  “What’s the point? You desert me just when I need you most.” She spoke to her raised left hand, at her wit’s end.

  Teeth clenched, she grabbed the offending sketch and crushed it in her hand. With all her strength, she threw the crumpled ball against the wall, but taking frustration out on the paper did no good. She threw like a girl and the projectile was too light to land with the even the softest of satisfying sounds. The paper lightheartedly sailed through the air, mocking her.

  The tears fell. With an effort she tried to keep her sobs muffled. She didn’t want to wake the children. If they saw her in such a state they wouldn’t believe that Connor was safe. She had to do something, but knew of nothing that could be done, so instead she paced, just as Avery had. On her second circuit of the room she stepped on something and looked down only to see that damned paper ball again. Swinging her foot back, she prepared to kick it across the room, but at the last minute she changed her mind. Kicking the thing would be no more satisfying than throwing it had been.

  She paused. Not so fast, maybe… Holly picked up the crumpled paper ball and smoothed it flat on the coffee table. Maybe she hadn’t tried hard enough. Was she missing something? And if she was, could it be important?

  She studied what she’d drawn. Finally, something twigged. Was it possible? Maybe…yes, the scene was familiar, but why? Holly searched the drawing for information. Of course! She recognized the house in the distance. She’d been in that house...by that lake. They’d vacationed there when she’d been very young. Where was it? At the time she’d been too young to take note of the house’s location. It wasn’t far from Toronto, that much was certain. Alan Seaton wouldn’t have wanted to be far from his business. The thought of the man she’d believed was her father made Holly shudder.

  Was the picture as innocent as it had first appeared? Why draw that place now? There had to be a reason. She decided to trust her instincts. The drawing had to be significant, if she could only figure out why.

  Could this be where Stryker was being held? If that were true, her father had to be involved with the kidnapping. Could he be that far gone as to kidnap a child? How had she missed it all these years? Is it possible? Of course it is! How foolish she’d been! Alan Seaton had Stryker! With a certainty she could feel in the marrow of her bones, Holly knew she was right.

  With shaking hands, she dialed the phone number of the house she’d once called home. Thankfully, Matthew answered on the third ring. She didn’t explain much, the catch in her voice transmitted immediately the urgency of her call.

  “I remember the place,”
he said.

  “Where is it?”

  “On Lake Simcoe. I was boat crazy that summer.” Matthew said.

  “Give me directions. I think Father has Stryker.”

  “What the hell?”

  “Don’t ask, just give me the damn directions!” She practically yelled at him. Matthew provided her with sketchy directions and everything he could recall from that summer. He began to offer his help but before he could say more, she hung up on him.

  At last, she heard the car in the driveway and rushed out to meet Avery and Stephen. Connor was sleeping soundly. He actually had a small smile on his face.

  “The little bugger has the nerve to look content.” Avery’s voice was charged with emotion and Holly hugged her close.

  She quickly explained the situation, but didn’t wait for her friends to argue. They tried to stop her, hoping to be of some use, but she was way beyond their help. Mad with fear and panic, it never occurred to her to call out to Stryker’s men and tell them to follow her. She never thought to tell them that she had an idea of where Stryker was being held. That would have taken rational thought and she was beyond that. All she could think of was getting to him herself. She moved with a supernatural speed she never knew she possessed. Behind the wheel of her car, she honked the horn as gravel shot out from under her tires.

  On the highway, the exit signs didn’t come fast enough, so Holly pressed harder on the accelerator. She’d never driven so fast in her life. She prayed some poor innocent animal didn’t decide to run out in front of her. Instinctively, she used every sense she possessed both human and vampire, to get her to her destination. When she came upon a stretch of road she couldn’t get a beat on, she concentrated as hard as she could on Stryker and her senses took over and told her where to turn. Instinctively she knew she was on the right track. Now that she was on her way, Holly realized her oversight. She should have let Stryker’s men know where she was headed. Scrambling for her cell phone, she glanced at the screen. Damn it! No signal. She cursed her foolishness and prayed it wouldn’t cost Stryker his life. She was alone in this and there was no way to tell how long Stryker would last. Would Alan Seaton kill him outright? Something told her no. He’d want to enjoy bringing a vampire of Stryker’s strength to his knees. She could only imagine what he’d done to her biological father, Mackenzie Holister. Rather, she didn’t want to imagine. Her imagination only served to make her more desperate to get to Stryker and she was already breaking the sound barrier.

  The area around Lake Simcoe was also considered cottage country, but was a good distance east from Muskoka. Despite the speed, for Holly the drive was far too long. After what felt like years, she pulled up to the laneway of the house she remembered from her childhood and from her drawing. Still no signal on her cell phone.

  There was a surreal quality to the darkness of the night. The moon, hidden by dense cloud cover, could provide no light by which to navigate. She’d have to rely on her senses, not daring to keep the car’s headlights on for fear of alerting the bloodstalker inside. What now?

  She rolled down the window to smell the air. Horse. Incredibly, the night air smelled of horse. Holly heard a soft sigh and spotted Dakota. Stryker had come to this place on his own. She didn’t dare approach Stryker’s stallion. He looked prepared to do violence and she wasn’t sure he’d discriminate between the good human and the bad one. In her heart she knew though, that if necessary, she’d risk anything to save Stryker and Dakota might well come in handy in that respect. But that would come later. First she had to find him.

  She got out of her car and spoke softly to the horse, giving him a wide berth.

  “Good boy. Easy boy. You stand guard. I’ll get him or die trying.” The horse tossed his head as if nodding. Perhaps he understood more than she’d given him credit for. Wouldn’t be the first time…

  Carefully but with as much speed as she could muster, Holly headed to the house. From what she could tell, not much had changed since her childhood, so it was easy to find the kitchen door despite the darkness. Memories of the summer they’d spent here flashed through her mind like a slide show. She’d loved it. Matthew, Alison and she’d been almost like a real family. She could recall Matthew patiently teaching his sisters how to water ski, any excuse to drive the boat.

  Holly shivered and remembered that it had all been a fabrication. Her childhood had been a lie. Dear God, somehow she’d have to tell Alison and Matt the truth about their father. She pushed the thought aside. She had other things to worry about at the moment.

  All was quiet, but Holly could feel Stryker’s presence like a wild thing struggling to free itself. He was here and her instincts told her just where to find him. Below ground, how fitting, considering the rock Alan Seaton had crawled out from under.

  Years ago, the basement had been off limits to children. Young Holly hadn’t minded and had no inclination to explore the damp musty place. It gave her the creeps. Her father had been furious at Alison when she’d dared to venture down the stairs. He’d made them all promise not to go near the place, claiming it was dangerous down there. In retrospect, Holly wondered if it was perhaps the only time he hadn’t lied to them. Tonight she was positive there was danger down in that particular basement.

  The door made no sound when she swung it open. The concrete stairs were dry and clean. Could it be that the basement was the only part of the house used on a regular basis? The thought and what it implied made Holly sick. Her heightened senses smelled fear and despair. It tasted bitter, but she breathed it in anyway, using it to help harden her resolve.

  Without the slightest sound, she slipped into the dank room. It was dimly lit but using her enhanced vision, Holly could see everything. The sight that greeted her was one from a nightmare. Unaware of her presence, Alan Seaton stood by a huge stone fireplace with a glowing branding iron in his hand. Stryker was stripped naked and chained to a cinder block wall stained with blood and sweat and God knows what else. He was soaked in so much blood that it pooled in the hollow of his collar bone and trickled down his chest. With a sniff, Holly knew the blood was not his. With rising horror, she understood what had been done to him.

  “You sick monster, you’ve been force feeding him human blood,” she said aloud, drawing Alan’s attention to her.

  When he turned in surprise, she could feel the excitement oozing from him…excitement, not revulsion, pity or fear, but excitement. The bastard was enjoying himself. She gagged.

  His eyes were glazed with sick pleasure. Alan Seaton looked at her and in a conversational tone he said. “Yes. It’s most interesting. He’s needed more than any other vampire I’ve ever known. His control is remarkable. The others reverted to their savage states almost immediately after having consumed human blood. But this one,” he poked Stryker with the branding iron and Stryker growled, “resisted until he smelled you. How does it feel, Holly, to know that the creature you love could rip out your throat without regret?”

  “Shut up.” Her lip curled with disgust.

  “Have you ever seen the change before? It’s really an incredible sight to see. They are such powerful creatures. I guess you’ll find that out soon enough now that you know where you come from. Who you are.”

  Alan Seaton showed his teeth in what might have at one time been a smile.

  “They, or rather, you are a plague my dear. The most dangerous animals on earth. For generations we’ve been studying these creatures. We had to for the protection of all human kind. You see, we had to learn as much as we could in order to protect ourselves. To protect an unsuspecting world. Once reverted to a savage state, vampires make wonderful prey. I’ve known them to elude a bloodstalker’s grasp for days. This one,” he poked Stryker with the iron again, “would have made the best hunt we’ve had in a long time. At least the best since your biological father died. Now that was a hunt to remember. I suppose you know about your father.”

  “Yes, and I’m relieved you and I don’t share the same bloodline. You’re wor
se than any animal. You torture and kill for pleasure. Is that what you did to my mother? Did you kill her too?” Holly tried to keep his attention, to distract him from his purpose. She knew there wasn’t much more Stryker could withstand.

  Seaton looked genuinely sad for a moment then blinked and the look was gone. “I loved your mother. She betrayed me and had to be punished. I wanted to keep her, but our leader insisted that she had to go. She knew too much. She refused to see things my way. I didn’t do the deed, it was arranged. They let me keep you in order to document your early development as half savage, but I knew I had to do something when your abilities started to present themselves. Luckily the drugs kept your vampire abilities dampened.”

  “But I haven’t taken the drugs in years,” Holly said.

  He laughed. “Yes, you have. When you stopped taking them voluntarily like a good little girl, I had them put in your food. You made it a little difficult when you moved out, but then I simply sent food up to you. The drugs had to build up in your system to be effective. Someone else eating one or two dinners wouldn’t have felt a thing but you, eating them regularly would get just enough to keep your levels steady. And you thought I was just being a concerned papa. Touching.”

  “Why? Why didn’t you kill me when I was a child?” Her voice was filled with confusion and sadness. From the corner of her eye she could see Stryker fighting the blood madness, struggling for control. He was slipping fast and she knew of nothing else she could do. Alan Seaton stood between them. A maniac prepared to kill and enjoy it.

  “You were so like Helene. She loved you so much. You, her only link to her beloved.” His face flushed and his eyes looked feverish. “I liked denying you your heritage. It seemed fitting somehow. I made you mine...human. At last, I took what mattered most from Mackenzie Holister. His own flesh and blood. What better revenge?” Warming to his subject, he placed the branding iron in the fire again. “My family has been bloodstalkers for generations. Vampires cannot be permitted to mix with humans. It’s an abomination. Such a thing would destroy civilization as we know it. Men of my kind, we keep the world in a delicate balance, under our control.”