As the boy cradled the sleeping toddler, I slipped inside the boy's mind to let him know what I was about to do. To my surprise, he didn't panic. He simply nodded his head and got a firmer grip on his charge. With that taken care of, I crept out of our hiding place and began my own hunt.
The darkness was both a curse and an advantage. My night vision was coming back, but because of whatever Tristan's flunky threw into my eyes, my UV wasn't responding at all. On the bright side, because it took five of his coven to hold me down, he also got most of his own people. That left three in top form. Those were my first priority.
I drew in a quick stream of air trying to pinpoint a location for each vamp, but the death-stench that saturated every inch of the abandoned factory overloaded my senses. OK, scenting them was definitely out. Another mark in my favor since it reduced my worry that they might still track.
My worries that they'd find the kids by scent ratcheted down a couple of notches. I'd covered them in more clothes from the vamps that I had already killed, praying that that would be enough to throw the rest of them off until I took care of them. If my nose were any indication as to what the others could smell, the kids would be OK on that front.
I felt a slight change in the air to my right. Something was moving at a breakneck speed trying to take position behind me. Not happening, captain. I reached out just as fast, felt the vamp's aura in the darkness, and leapt.
I caught the Deadborn by the back of his head, twisted my body through the air, and used his momentum against him to slam his head through the concrete floor beneath us. Even with the force I had behind the move, I knew he wasn't dead. I crouched over his still form and reached inside myself to touch the feral part of my nature.
My features melted easily into a face that had seen the dark of night more in the past two days, than it had in the past five years. When I shifted, my night vision had returned to normal. I could finally see. With my head cocked to one side, I waited for signs of life from the still vamp. A deep rattle from his chest rewarded my short wait. I rolled him over so he could see the instrument of his death. Apparently Tristan had never shown his flunkies his feral nature, because I was sure the vamp would have peed himself if he could.
The look of terror on his face fueled my rage. I let go of what little control I was desperately holding onto and slammed my fist into his chest cavity. I twisted and turned until I could feel his spine with my fingertips. I pulled my hands free from the corpse and my ears picked up movement on the catwalk above me.
I squinted and looked up at a metal catwalk hanging overhead, and to my surprise, I could see the cool blue outline of three vamps all waiting for me to make the slightest move. My UV had kicked in also, seemed like what they used had no effect on my shifted eyes.
I slowly backed away from the lifeless shell of the vamp and lifted myself to my full height hissing as I straightened up. A direct challenge was the perfect bait to a newborn running mostly on instinct. One of the vamps couldn't resist and dove off the catwalk right into my waiting arms despite his comrade’s protest.
He came at me at a terrifying speed and got a good hit in causing my head to snap back and blood to pour from my nose. "You're gonna pay for that," I spat out along with a tooth. The baby Deadborn twisted my arm into a pretzel as he head-butted me onto my ass.
"Unlikely. My sire was right about you, Trumaine. You’re weak. You deny your true nature, and you will suffer for it.”
I flipped over backwards into a crouching position and eyed the vamp as he began circling me. He was unafraid of my feral appearance, unlike the other one. He was about five foot six and had blonde curly hair, not a bad body, but he looked all of fifteen or sixteen years old. Tristan was turning babies. "You look young. How old are you, boy?"
He sneered and took a swipe at one of my arms. “None of your business. The only thing you need to know about me is that I'm going to be the instrument of your destruction.”
Blah, blah, blah. "You watch too many horror movies. A bit overdramatic, aren't we?” I cast a quick look upward to his buddies. So far, they were staying in place, which was exactly what I didn't want. I needed the fight to come to the lower level. I didn't want to be that far away from the children.
The vamp continued to circle taking pot shots as he went. I ate his crow letting every single blow land and draw blood. The things I did for this job. "You don't have to live like this, cowering in the dark, living in squalor. Vampires are capable of living normal lives. You should know that. I don't know what Tristan told you, but he's only looking out for himself."
The vamp kicked me in the ribs hard enough to fling me ten feet across the filthy concrete floor. "My sire chose us out of all the people in the world. He chose us to be the future of our race.”
'Future of our race?!' He had these kids converted to apostles with his bullshit. I pulled myself to my knees and leaned forward onto my hands. "He chose you because you were convenient, kid, that's it. The only purpose Tristan has for you is in your becoming his late night snack. When a Pureblood really gives a damn about his turn, he takes the time and effort to make him a Lifeborn. Not a weak excuse for a Vampire like you."
That one earned me another trip across the floor. Pain exploded in my side from the force of the blow. I was going to be seriously hurt if those two didn't join in soon. The Deadborn closed the distance between us in one quick leap and hoisted me off the ground by my neck. "I'm the weak one, but you're the one with the busted ribs. I honestly don't see what he ever saw in you. Valeria this, Valeria that, I don't get it. When he finds everything he needs to bring the Founders back, I will sit on his right side, not a pathetic bitch like you."
The Founders, huh? Yeah, OK. I heard the soft thud of the other vamps landing. Looked as if they had decided I wasn't a threat.
I could end this now. "Tristan is insane, child. The only thing he's going to lead you to is your second death. This is your last chance. Come in with me, I can get the CMS to go easy on you. You're young. Your life could be so much more than the delusions he's filled your head with."
One of the new vamps clasped a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled, "Good job, David! Don’t listen to her. Finish this, and claim your reward when the Founders rise again."
"I thought Tristan wanted me alive," I said, stalling.
He squeezed harder, but the look in his eyes wasn't the look of a killer. He was just a confused kid mixed up in the wrong crowd. His friends egged him on to finish me, but he didn't put any lethal strength behind his grip.
I reached up, gripped his arm with both of my hands, and looked into his eyes slipping inside his conscious, "This isn't you, David, you're not like them. Let me show you another way.” I offered him redemption instead of the death I was duty bound to deliver.
The kid flinched, and his grip faltered. Bingo, I'd cracked his tough guy armor and made him think about what he was doing. This didn't make the other two happy at all. Someone threw David across the room, and another Deadborn quickly tried to take his place. I dropped the pretense of weakness and flashed out of his grip. Before either could turn, I was behind them. Grabbing both their heads, I smashed them together, and, for the time being at least, they were out cold.
The scent of fresh blood assaulted my nose and caused my stomach to roll in hunger. I shook off the feeling and willed my features to melt back into my normal form then wheeled around to check David. My UV sight blinked off again, just as I knelt by his side. Damn it to hell and back again! It looked like I could only use it while I was feral. I blinked my eyes and tried the night vision, but it blinked in and out like a TV on the fritz. I tried dropping my films, so I could at least see normally but had no luck. Hampered by the dark again, I hadn't gotten to see where the bleeding was coming from. I ran my hands across his stomach and felt something poking through the skin, something that was wide enough and had caused enough damage to prove lethal for a Deadborn.
The ‘something’ that was wrapped in David's hands proved
to be a jagged, rusted pipe. "I don't wanna die, please help me.” Damn me, and my sense of moral obligation. This boy just tried to kill me, but I saw something that was worth saving.
I gripped the pipe and slipped into his mind again. "I can help you, David, but this is going to hurt. Blood can heal you, but I'm going to have to remove the pipe. You can't heal around it.” David nodded and ground his teeth together in anticipation of the pain. Reaching around the boy to make sure the pipe wasn't attached to anything, I pulled it through his body in one quick tug.
I'll give it to the kid, he didn't scream as loudly as I thought he would. Pipe out, now for the blood. I helped David to his feet and walked him back over to where his two buddies were just beginning to gain consciousness again. Another knock on the head took care of that. "There's your blood.” He looked at me in horror, but dropped to his knees and began feeding from his former friends.
While he fed, I looked around in the darkness and tried willing my UV eyesight to work. No such luck. I sighed and reached out with my mind trying to feel the auras the remaining vamps. The only thing I got were the worried minds of the children I'd left in hiding. I reached out farther but got no feel for the other vamps. What I did get was the taste of blackest aura I had every felt in my life.
A knot of dread settled into the pit of my stomach and a feeling of familiarity wrapped around my brain. I snatched David away from the second body and flashed back to the kids before he could utter a word. I had to get them out of here before whatever was heading our way made its appearance.
I forewent any subtly and uncovered the children in one quick movement. My eyes blinked back on as the air around us took a nosedive into colder climates and the knot in my stomach got even bigger. It was closer and strong as hell. At this rate we weren't all getting out of here alive, and losing any of the children wasn't an outcome I could accept. Giving David a hard look, I reassured, "Alright kids, this is my new friend, David. He's going to get you to the nearest police station, so your mommies and daddies can come and take you home. OK?"
David looked at me with a puzzled look on his face, and I cut him off mentally before he could express his concern out loud. "There's a big nasty heading this way, and I'm gonna stay here to give you guys a chance to make it to safety. I'm trusting you to control yourself, David. One scratch on any of these kids and I'll forget that I'm starting to like you, are we clear?” David nodded, and I turned my attention back to the children.
"David is special just like me. He’s not like the bad men that took you from your homes," I looked around for the nearest exit and got zilch. Luckily, for me, I was a one woman wrecking crew when I needed to be. I took a few steps back and ran forwards as fast and as hard as I could. The old wall didn't stand a chance.
When I looked back, David and the children looked at me with mixed looks of awe and terror. "Alright guys, up and outta here, no time to waste.” I took the unconscious child still huddled in her protector's arms and passed her to David. "Run hard, run fast, and no matter what, don't look back. The first people you find, you bug the fuck outta them until they take you to a Human police station. You got it?”
David signaled 'OK', and rushed the kids out into the night and away from the building as fast as he could. As they ran, I prayed that I was strong enough to hold whatever was heading in my direction off long enough for Irulan and Priest to arrive with backup.
As the icy chill around me settled into my lungs, I seriously doubted it. Whatever was here packed some serious power, and I'll be damned if it didn't know my name.
"Valeria, Valeria, Valeria, you've been a very busy girl. And a very naughty girl. I felt the light of my turns go dark. I'm assuming they were extinguished by you as you're the only one present.” The voice wrapped itself around me like silken butter and turned the knots to butterflies.
Without even the effort of reaching out, I felt an immense aura looming in the darkness, a very familiar aura. Trying to get a feel for what I was up against, I squinted and turned my head in the direction of the voice. I got nothing - no scent, no sounds of a heartbeat, no breathing. I tentatively reached out with my mind and ran right into a solid wall. Whoever this was, he was shielding like a big dog. I couldn't find any cracks whatsoever.
The voice wrapped itself around me again, "Not nice to try and get by my shields, Donnie. You might hurt yourself.” Before my mind could accept the truth of who was out there in the dark, it was plunged into a world of pain.
I screamed, but the only thing I heard was the pounding of blood in my ears as my knees buckled under the onslaught that was attacking me. I writhed in agony for what seemed like hours, but in actuality, was only a few seconds. The voice became louder and clearer, forcing its way through the haze of pain that clouded my mind as its owner made its way to my side and kneeled down, leaning forward till it was inches from my sight, finally allowing me to see its face.
My eyes couldn't let the doubt my mind was trying to grasp hold purchase any longer. I felt this thing was definitely Tristan, but that didn't make any sense to my frazzled brain at all. I had felt Tristan's aura coming from the rooftop, not fifteen minutes ago. I saw his face when he dropped the first child through the skylight. Hell, I heard his voice when he ordered his fledglings to drop the others.
Those two auras were miles apart strength-wise. I don't know how he did it before, but the man in front of me was Tristan, this time there was no doubt in my mind.
The look of understanding on his face spoke volumes, "I understand this is all a bit confusing for you, love. It's nice to know my decoy did his job as well as I'd hoped. I go through great pains spelling my blood for the decoy to consume in order to keep that charade stable. In my line of business, it pays off in the end. Tristan ran his hand down the side of my face to push a stray hair back out of the way. "I'm sorry I had to hurt you, love. Hopefully, you won’t provoke me like that again." I tried to pull away from his touch, but my body wasn't ready to cooperate just yet.
Tristan tsked me and sucked on his teeth before settling back onto his haunches, "Careful there, Donnie. You're going to hurt my feelings, make me think you don't enjoy my company anymore. Oh, incidentally, I've forgiven you for the little misunderstanding that caused our breakup. At first, I was understandably furious, but, over time, I realized that your father drove us apart. He never thought that I was good enough for you, not strong enough."
Tristan ran a cold hand up and down the side of my leg, "But no worries about that now, love. I've got all the strength I need and then some. Both of our fathers will have no choice but to smile upon our union and admit they were wrong about me."
I couldn't believe it, all the deaths, all the forced turns, just to prove to our fathers that he was big enough for his breeches now. I'd hate to see what he was capable of if he had a legitimate cause to advocate.
My body finally decided to come back to the land of the living. I pulled myself up into a sitting position, and a wave of nausea rolled over me. It took a concentrated effort not to hurl as I struggled to talk. "Our breakup was never about either of our fathers, Tristan. It was about you and your lack of a conscience. I didn't need my father to tell me I didn't belong with a monster like you. I came to that realization all on my own."
I know, not a bright move, but it'd been a long time since I bit my tongue for anyone, and I was all about moving forward, not backward.
Apparently, he didn't like what I said. Tristan halted his stroking and gripped my calf like a vice. "I told you, baby, if you're not careful you're going to hurt my feelings.” With that, he flexed his hand barely an inch and crushed the bone in my leg. "You really should be careful with my feelings, Valeria.” Tristan poked at my leg with a finger, moving the broken pieces of bone around under the surface of my leg. "Since you and your friends are so fond of breaking the bones of my associates, let's see how you like the same treatment.”
Everything in me wanted to scream out as the pain shot through me, but I refused to give him the s
atisfaction. "You're not getting any brownie points breaking bones, Tris," I said through clenched teeth, "and you can't blame everything on our fathers. In fact, my father was the reason our relationship lasted as long as it did. At some point, you’re going to have to admit to yourself that you're nothing more than a demented, spoiled, little brat who never learned how to play with the big boys. "
Tristan flinched and ran his hand down the other leg before he leaned forward and promptly broke the bone in it too. The fragmented bone pierced through the surface of my skin and this time, I couldn't stop the low moan of pain that escaped my lips. If Irulan and Priest didn't get here soon, I wouldn’t have any bones left intact.
Tristan leaned close enough to drop a quick kiss on my lips, "I never had to learn to play with the boys, love. I simply became the biggest boy on the block. Now everyone has to play by my rules.”
Tristan hauled me up by my arms promptly breaking them both and bent his head to nuzzle my neck. "I so had much higher hope for our reunion, Donnie. With things the way they are between us, I'm sure you'll understand that I can't have you down here decimating my plans."
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