Dangerous Love

by Stephanie Radcliff

  Jeran came around the edge of the table to her side as he said, “What happened?”

  “The chair cut me,” she replied as she looked for something to bandage her hand with. It was bad enough that she cut herself on a rusty metal chair. She didn’t want to risk any other infections on top of that.

  “Here, let me see,” he said as he reached for her hand. She let him draw her hand closer and inspect it. The wound wasn’t very deep, and looked more painful than it was. He felt his fangs grow at the sight of the blood and forcibly fought them back as he continued, “It’s not very deep. I can heal it, if you’re okay with that. My saliva does contain healing properties.”

  Sage debated his offer for a few moments. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her, but she wondered how Vayna would react if she smelled him on her… She could always wash her hands before she joined her vampire lover again. Shrugging, she said, “Why not? It’ll probably be more disinfected than any doctor could make it.”

  “True,” he said with a small chuckle. He knew this was going to be awkward for the both of them, so he tried to make it as quick as possible. Drawing her hand up to his mouth, he very gently ran his tongue along the cut on her palm. He heard her hiss softly as he pulled back and looked down at her hand. The cut healed up within a matter of minutes and he released her hand as he took a step back. He kept a kind smile on his face as he said, “You’d best be getting inside and washing your hand. Vayna will go nuts if she sees you’ve been cut with the smell of my saliva on your hand.”

  “Yeah, she probably will,” Sage agreed as she turned and headed back inside. She paused long enough to grab her cup before disappearing into the depths of the castle.

  Jeran shot one last glance at the chair where a few specks of her blood remained before whirling around and walking into the darkened interior of the castle. Once he was somewhere safe where he knew the sun’s rays wouldn’t touch him, he collapsed against a door as he shakily brought a hand up to his mouth and murmured softly, “It can’t be… she’s…”

  Chapter 18

  Dusk came and the night plunged the entire castle into darkness. As the vampires awoke, one by one lights were lit as they prepared for the operation ahead. Vayna herself was one of the first few to be up as she dressed in a pair of dark grey pants and a matching sweatshirt. Her movements forced Sage awake, whom went back to sleep after her conversation with Jeran that morning, and she asked softly, “What time is it?”

  “Little after 9 at night,” she replied as she strapped a small dagger onto her hip. Along with it went a single stake and a rope. She mentally went through what they were going to do and nodded her head once she was satisfied that she had everything she needed.

  Sage got up and proceeded to put her own clothes on. They were similar in appearance to what Vayna wore, and she also had a small dagger strapped to her hip. Even though she was human and the only one out of the entire group able to die quickly, they all knew that if it came down to it, she could help them fight. Once she was done, she turned and nodded her head to her vampire.

  The two headed out of their room and walked down the corridor. Vayna mentally went through the plan again in her head. The headquarters for the council was located in Paris. She was thankful that it wasn’t located back in New York. As much as she loved that city, this whole thing would’ve been delayed another day if they had to go back there. Since it was in Paris, those that could fly were going to fly. A few members of the group could shape shift, and the rest were going to run. It was quite a long distance, but as vampires, it would only take them a few hours to get there. They would be in Paris long before the sun came up.

  Sighing softly, she led the way into the dining hall. This was where they were going to meet before they departed. It had a convenient hole in the ceiling and an exit for those running. She entered the room with her human and noticed that everyone was there already waiting for her. They all wore the same kinds of outfits with minimal weapons on them. The only two that carried anything more was Frostflower and Mirie. They both carried a duffle bag each, but appeared to not be hindered by them. Sage found it amusing that Mirie still managed to dress like a Lolita despite the situation. The only difference was her entire outfit was a dark grey instead of some other color.

  Vayna stopped in front of them and placed her hands on her hips as she looked at them. Sage stopped next to her and smiled at each of them. She wanted to reassure them in some way, even as Vayna started to speak, “I won’t make a long, lengthy speech. There isn’t much to say anyway. You all know what you need to do. Try not to die tonight.”

  Jeran was the only one with an amused smile on his face as he shook his head at her small speech. Leave it to Vayna to keep things short. He watched as three of their group took off immediately, running as quickly as their vampiric speed would allow them. Bryanna, Lucius, and amazingly enough, Mirie all bolted out of the castle as fast as their legs would go. Mirie was unaffected by the extra weight of the duffle bag and kept up with the other two easily. Vayna, Frostflower, and Kári all hissed as wings grew out of their backs. Each one had a different style of wings. Vayna’s was, of course, long with sleek black feathers. Frostflower’s wings appeared to be similar to those of bat wings, Jeran thought as they grew out of his back. Kári’s wings were smaller and rather similar to those of a butterfly’s wings. Jeran could’ve sworn he could see right through them.

  Vayna lifted her human into her arms and took off up through the ceiling closely followed by Frostflower and Kári. Jeran sighed once they disappeared from sight and watched as Kaunan and Dracula both transformed. Shape shifting was never an easy process, he thought as he watched their bodies contort. The sound of bones popping made his skin crawl and he looked away until the two were done. Turning back round, he looked at the two wolves standing there waiting for him. His sigh was heavy as he started the process of changing himself.

  The pain that went through him made him wonder why they bothered using this form. They could’ve easily kept up with the other three that were running if they really wanted to. Then again, it probably would appear strange to see six people running together, he decided. Once the transformation as complete, he shook his fur and padded over to the other two. Dracula was a bit bigger than both he and Kaunan, but they would easily keep up with him. With a chorus of howls, they darted out of the exit and into the night air.

  Sage kept her face buried in her vampire’s chest. As much as she wanted to look at everything as they flew, the speed they were going at made that impossible. So she settled for curling up into her vampire as much as possible and enjoying the flight. What should have taken quite a long time to get from Romania to France took the vampires a mere four hours to travel. Before Sage knew it, Vayna was carefully landing in the alley way they all agreed to meet up at. She gently lowered her human to the ground as they waited. They didn’t have to wait long as everyone showed up within minutes apart. She waited for Dracula, Kaunan, and Jeran to all transform back into their normal forms before she spoke, “How long will we have to get inside?”

  “10 minutes is how long I can delay the security before they notice anything wrong,” Mirie replied as she kneeled and began to take what seemed to be every technological device known to man out of her duffle bag. Sage recognized very little of it. A laptop, cell phone, and tablet were all she knew. It amazed her that Frostflower and Mirie could keep all that straight in regards to which device was which.

  Vayna nodded her head as she said, “Alright. Lucius and Kári will guard the entrance we go in. Just in case any rogue vampires decide to come after us. Dracula, Jeran, Bryanna, Kaunan, Sage and I will proceed inside to find Brade and the other three ex-council members. Everyone clear?”

  “Crystal,” came the reply as they all nodded their heads. Everyone but Frostflower and Mirie snuck out of the alley way, making sure to keep to the shadows. They silently crossed the street and slid along the side of the building as much as they could. Their goal was a side door located around
the block from the alley way. Luck was on their side that night as the street was empty of everyone, human and vampire alike. It was a moonless night as they were careful to avoid the light from the street lamps. For someone like Brade, it was a surprise that most of the building seemed unguarded.

  Vayna slid along the wall of the building as she moved as silently as she could. She took a quick look around the side of the building and cursed softly under her breath, “There’s a guard at the entrance and that’s the only way we can get in without being detected.”

  “We can take him,” Lucius spoke up as he stepped closer to her. He too looked around the corner and studied the guard. It was easy to tell that it was a vampire, but from the awkward way the guard moved, he could tell that it was a newly turned vampire. Probably under Brade’s control, he figured. Pulling back, he murmured, “Leave him to Kári and I.”

  Vayna nodded her head once as she moved back. Kári stepped up next to Lucius and the two looked at each other without speaking a word. Nodding, they slipped around the corner as quickly and quietly as they could manage. They stayed to the shadows until they were almost upon the guard. Lucius disappeared from Kári’s view as she took a deep breath and stepped into the light, making her presence known. She sauntered down the street, ignoring the guard as if he wasn’t even there. The guard watched her movements closely, part of him watching to make sure she didn’t do anything, another part admiring the way she looked.

  It was the opportunity that Lucius needed as he appeared out from the shadows behind the guard. Without warning, he reached around and plunged a stake into the young vampire’s chest. The guard froze up, his eyes wide as he slowly fell backwards. Lucius caught him and carefully dragged him away from the entrance as Kári ran over to it and pretended to guard. He turned to motion to Vayna only to realize she and the others were already on their way down the street.

  Before they could enter the building, Vayna held up her hand and carefully pressed the headset around her head closer to her ears. She listened for a few moments before nodding her head as she said, “Mirie says the security is down. We’d best move now.”

  The group nodded once and slipped inside. Lucius took up guard on one side of the doorway while Kári took up guard on the other. Both of them were confident that they would keep any random vampires from going after their Pharaoh.

  The rest of them slipped through the hallways as quickly and quietly as they could. For the most part, the building was empty. The few times they did come across someone, they quickly took care of them. They stopped in the foyer of the building when Vayna held up her hand and listened to Mirie speak to her again. She turned to them as she said, “Brade is on the top floor according to the security cameras. We’ll be forced to take the elevator.”

  “What are we waiting for then?” Dracula asked as he turned and strode down the hallway toward the elevator, “There’s no use in standing here chattering like girls. Let’s get to it.”

  “You heard the man,” Vayna replied as she nodded her head and followed Dracula. The others resisted a laugh as they followed behind them to the nearest elevator. It would’ve seemed strange to take the elevator, but they all knew that the only way to access the top floor was by elevator. The stairs didn’t go up that far.

  The elevator slowly climbed up the floors. The group was unsure what they’d find when they reached the top and they jumped when the elevator slowed down a third way up the building. They all tensed when the elevator doors slid open, expecting to see an army of vampires there. Instead, a lone figure stood just on the other side of the door smirking at them as she said, “Well, well, well. Look who we have here. You want to get to Brade, you’ll have to go through me.”

  In front of them stood Tracie, the long white dress she wore gone. In its place was a pair of jeans and t-shirt. Her arms were folded over her chest as she merely waited for them to make a move. Vayna was just reaching for the stake on her hip when Bryanna stepped forward and said, “Leave her to me.”

  “Are you sure?” Vayna asked as she looked over at the young vampire woman.

  “Trust me, my Pharaoh,” Bryanna said as she stepped out of the elevator and faced Tracie. She wore a smirk of her own as she spoke, “I’ve been wanting to teach this one a lesson for a long time now.”

  Vayna nodded her head and pressed the button to continue. The last sight they had of Bryanna was her reaching for her weapon, a short sword. She pulled it from its sheath and held it in one hand as she said, “Let the fun begin.”

  The elevator moved smoothly up the building as it steadily climbed the floors. They were once again surprised when the elevator slowed down and jerked to a stop only halfway up the building. The doors slid silently open to reveal Jesse standing there with a bunch of books in his hands. He blinked in shock at seeing them there, but quickly grinned maliciously as he said, “I was hoping to play tonight.”

  It was Kaunan’s turn to step forward. Sage stepped forward to pull him back, but Vayna stopped him. She saw the look of pure hatred in Kaunan’s eyes and understood. This was a fight long in the making between the two vampires and she silently wished her friend luck as the doors slid closed behind him. He pulled a katana out of its sheath as he murmured softly, “I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”

  By the time the elevator stopped for the third time, no one was surprised. Vayna was leaning up against the wall of the elevator as the door opened and gave Erik a tired look. The other vampire merely shrugged and shook off his leather jacket as he said, “Brade’s up on the top floor, blah, blah, blah. Who’s going to fight me?”

  “I will,” Dracula said before Jeran could even think about taking a step forward. The famous vampire stepped out into the hallway and smirked playfully as he said, “Long time no see, Erik. This ought to be fun.”

  “Let’s just get this over with,” Erik said as he drew two small daggers from his belt and gazed at Dracula.

  The doors slid closed behind him, sending the three remaining passengers up to toward the top floor. Dracula closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he whispered softly, “May the Gods be with you.”

  “Are we ever going to reach the top?” Jeran asked as he lounged against the wall opposite of Vayna. At this rate, it’d be sunrise by the time they even found Brade. He was getting a bit annoyed with the interruptions.

  “Eventually,” Vayna replied as she smiled slightly at him and pulled Sage closer to her. The constant stops had her troubled, though. It was almost as if… “Does it strike you as odd that they seemed to be waiting for us?”

  “Yes,” came the immediate reply from him, “If I didn’t know better, I’d think we were expected to show up tonight.”

  Vayna nodded her head thoughtfully as the elevator dinged and came to a stop. They finally made it to the top floor. They all pulled their weapons out and stood ready as the doors slowly slid open. Mirie was right when she said the only way to reach the top floor was by elevator. The doors opened up right into the huge office that sprawled out before them. On the far side of the room sat a large desk covered in papers. Behind the desk sat Brade, who glanced up from his paperwork once before doing a double take and shooting up to his feet.

  “Looks like he wasn’t expecting us,” Jeran said as the three made their way inside the office. The only light in the room came from a giant fireplace burning off to their left. It made seeing a little difficult for Sage, but the vampires could see perfectly in the dim light.

  “Vayna,” Brade said as he took a few careful steps backwards and pulled a long sword off of the wall. He held it loosely in his hand as he eyed all three of them closely, “I didn’t expect you to come here tonight.”

  “Something tells me that that isn’t quite true,” Vayna said as she took steady, sure steps through the room. Her hatred for the man increased at the sight of him and she clenched her dagger in her hand as she glared at him.

  Brade shrugged innocently and smiled at her as he said, “Alright, I’m lying. I had exp
ected you to come at some point. I just didn’t expect it to be this soon.”

  “Well, I’m here, and I’m going to make sure you die once and for all,” she said in a quiet, angry voice as she advanced toward him. She wanted to tear him apart limb by limb and watch him burn.

  “Please, Vayna,” he said as he shook his head and tsked lightly, “You haven’t fought for years. I doubt you have the courage to even take a life anymore. The humans have made you soft.”

  He sneered at Sage as he said this and Vayna growled angrily as she made to rush forward at him. Before she could move, Jeran stepped out of the shadows behind Brade and said, “She may not, but I do.”

  He lifted his stake and plunged it downward toward Brade’s heart. Before it could even get close, Brade moved out of the way and tossed Jeran across the room with all of his might. Jeran slammed into the wall with a sickening crunch and fell to the floor unconscious. Sage’s heart leapt in her chest and she rushed over to him, bending down to check and see if he was still as alive as a vampire could be. She sighed softly when she realized he was still breathing, “He’s okay, just unconscious.”

  “Oh, look,” Brade taunted Vayna as he watched Sage move Jeran into a more comfortable position, “Your human whore actually cares about our kind. How pathetic.”

  “She’s not a whore!” Vayna growled as she rushed toward him. The sound of metal clashing upon metal filled the air as she thrust her dagger at him.

  Brade easily deflected the attack and swung his sword back at her with an angered snarl. He couldn’t believe it came down to this. He was fighting with his Pharaoh all because of that stupid human. It would be better off if she’d never existed in the first place! He looked over at her and snarled in anger. Shoving Vayna hard with his sword he ran over to Sage, moving faster than she could escape. His arm came around her neck as he held his sword to her stomach, ready to plunge it in her. He gave Vayna a twisted grin as he said, “You left your whore unprotected.”