by L. C White
“It won’t kill you, just make you more obedient.” She pulls out the needle.
“What… what…” I struggle to say.
“Just a cocktail of drugs aided into your system by concentrated blood serum. You better pray it doesn’t harm my harvest.” My vision spirals into a haze, as my heavy head falls forward. “You will sleep now,” Selene’s distant voice says, as the black bag is tugged down over my head.
Chapter 29: Daddy Demetrius
Nathan
Sara races to me, heaving my body into her arms, desperate to touch me. But I’m way too angry to hold her back. Ben chases a group of new bloods into the woods, and Adrien is still standing on the same spot like a useless lump of meat, with Daniel in his arms. I push Sara aside, and stride to his back.
“How could you let them take her?” I prod his shoulder.
Sara quickly scoops Daniel out of Adrien’s arms, so he doesn’t witness this, and takes him inside the house.
I prod him again. “Are you fuckin listening to me!”
“Yes, I’m listening.”
He takes his cell phone out of his pocket, turning his back to walk toward the house. I jog after him as he holds his iPhone to his ear. He wants to ignore me, then that’s fine. But I won’t let him ignore the fact he has just sent Liz away with Selene. Why wouldn’t he fight? So what if we were outnumbered. If you have something worth fighting for, the odds are well in your favour.
I reach out and grab his arm to pull the cell phone away from his ear, only to find myself flying ten feet in the air. I land hard, but immediately spring back up to my feet to chase after him.
“Leanna,” he says with his vamp eyes fixed on me.
I hold back. He’s up to something, and I want to know what it is.
“It’s too late,” he says. “You have Demetrius and Gwen with you?” He listens briefly. “Well you have thirty minutes. If you’re not here, tell Demetrius, I will blow up everything, and I’ll mail him Selene’s head in a goddamn box.” He hangs up and marches into the house.
Dom lies on the sofa with several empty blood bags on his chest. He’s battered and bruised, but healing quickly. He raises his hand to wave weakly at me, but I don’t wave back. I walk on, and follow Adrien into the kitchen.
Sara changes Daniel’s diaper on the kitchen table, as Adrien pulls a long holdall out from under the counter. He slams it down on the work surface, oblivious to anything around him. I push my hands down on the edge of the worktop, arching over as he unzips the bag. He pulls out a blade: solid silver with a black leather bound handle.
Ben enters, his face pale, covered with dirt and dry blood. He takes a handful of kitchen roll, wets it under the tap, and rubs the back of his neck with it. I examine his face. The blood on his skin is not his own. It’s on his hands, shirt, it’s even in his hair.
“Gerrard’s gone,” he says. “I took out a few new bloods and Vigore, but too many got away.” He looks directly at me. “Could have done with some help out there.”
“I’m not here to chase around new bloods, cleaning up your mess,” I sneer. “I’m here for Liz. The one,” I look at Adrien. “You let go. The one you turned. The one you were supposed to take care of. I should have took her hand at your wedding, and dragged her far away from you.” He’s still playing with his toy sword. Like it’s far more important than his own wife. “You are no better than Selene. You’re a…”
Before I can call him a dick, the edge of the blade is against my throat. I should be wary, but I’m not. He’s staring, biting down on those fangs of his. I however, feel strangely calm. Mr Prick needs to know the truth.
“Adrien,” Ben says. “Don’t you think this idiot is the last thing we should be worried about? Lower the blade.”
Adrien grumbles under his breath, doing as Ben asked, slamming the blade down on the worktop.
“Sara, take Daniel into the lounge please,” Adrien orders, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and finger. “I think we men need a little chat.”
Sara blows out, her apprehensive eyes falling onto me. I curl my lip a little, nodding my head to indicate I’ll be fine. I turn back to Adrien, his brow is puckered on Sara.
“You and him?” he says, like a father would at his daughter’s bad choice of boyfriend.
Sara holds Daniel on her hip and walks through the door, mumbling.
“You were right. You’ve always been right, Nathan,” Adrien says to me. “The right thing to do would have been for me to stay far away from Elizabeth. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t because regardless of what I am, the way I feel about her will always consume me. Staying away wasn’t an option. And I don’t think you understand this Nathan, but she feels the same. She is everything to me.”
I hold back a cynical smirk. “Well, how are you going to fix this?”
“I’ll get her back. I will fix this. And that is all you need to know.” His brow rises. “I need to talk to Ben alone. Do you think you can drop the immature jealousy now, and let me get the hell on with saving Elizabeth?”
He stares at me, waiting for me to refuse, or state how much I hate him. But it’s no use me blowing a fuse again. That won’t bring Liz back. He has nothing more to say to me, because the righteous asshole always knows best. I push myself off the worktop and turn my back on him.
Daniel is sleeping in his car seat next to the armchair. Dom sits up on the couch, groaning and rubbing his scruffy hair. He was pretty messed up when I saw him just ten minutes ago. Now he’s healed fully, he’s looking like his old-self again.
Sara places a blue blanket over Daniel’s legs, as Dom carries the empty blood bags he’s drank toward the kitchen. As I move closer to Sara, he tugs on my arm.
“Go easy,” he whispers. “She’s blaming herself, but there was nothing we could have done.”
The kitchen door closes behind him as I watch Sara. She’s messing; the kind of nervous messing humans do when they’re upset and anxious. I make my way to her, and take the coffee coaster out of her hand, dropping it onto the sofa behind me.
“Whatever happened, I know you would have done everything you could to stop it,” I say, lifting her chin so she looks at me. “Somethings you can’t stop. Even you Sara.”
“There were too many,” she murmurs. “I tried.”
I take her into my arms, inhaling her hair. “I know you did.”
A loud frantic knock on the front door forces me away from Sara. Adrien, Ben, and Dom march into the lounge. Adrien opens the front door wide to allow Leanna in first, then some middle age red-head, wearing shades. Now, probably one of the oldest and most feared vampires enters, Demetrius Valt, Selene’s Father.
Leanna walks by me. I reach out and grab her arm. Her fierce eyes scowl up as I bend to her face.
“You should have known Gerrard was playing you,” I hiss, my fingers digging harder into her arm. “You better hope Liz comes out of this unharmed, or you’re going to pay.”
She jerks her arm back, brushing down the sleeve of her leather jacket.
“Nathan, tread careful.” She goes to stand next to the red haired woman.
This is the first time I have ever been so close to a member of the Nemuritori, and I’m not going to sugar coat it, he makes me nervous. He’s wearing a black suit, white shirt, with a bowtie. His face is gaunt, with shadowing beneath his deep eye sockets, and under his cheekbones. His skin is thin, and the purple veins prominently pulse the black blood around his body. One pro about this walking dead character, he has this great retro hair: black and styled, with not a strand out of place. He makes no facial expression as he holds out his hand to Adrien.
“Demetrius,” Adrien greets, bending over to kiss a ruby medallion ring on Demetrius’s thumb. “Thank you for coming.”
“Leanna here told me this meeting was detrimental,” Demetrius says so low, I can barely hear. “About my Selene.”
“Yes.” Adrien takes a step back, cautious. “You don’t know where she is; what she has been doing?”
/> Demetrius’s creepy eyes land slowly on each and every one of us, then lower down onto Daniel. He studies the car seat with an eerie inquisitive intent. His beady view on Daniel has me on edge.
“You have a Dhampir child?” he asks.
“Yes,” Adrien says, shamefully. “The reason you are here.”
The red haired woman removes her shades to reveal her big white eyes. Not Pure blood vampire eyes, but human blind eyes. She steps closer to Demetrius, and reaches out with a shaky hand to touch his shoulder.
“The child is harmless to you, Demetrius,” she says. “It is what Selene plans to do with the mother, the one blessed with fertility, you should be concerned about.”
Demetrius spins in a blur and grips the woman’s throat. She chokes, her fingers clawing at his bony wrists.
“Witch, if I need your words, I would ask for them,” he says, tilting his head.
“Let her go Demetrius,” Adrien yells. “We may need her.”
Bit by bit, Demetrius unlocks his grip, letting her drop to the floor, spluttering. Leanna crouch’s down to help her to her feet. My eyes follow as Leanna leads her into the kitchen.
“It’s okay Gwen,” Leanna says to her.
So, she’s the witch Adrien used to foresee all this shit. Not a good one. I guess she must have had her crystal ball upside-down that day.
“I need your help Demetrius,” Adrien says as Sara subtly creeps through the room, carrying Daniel.
“Hold,” Demetrius commands. Sara freezes then slowly turns. “The child stays.”
“Let them go.” I take a step forward. “This has nothing to do with them.”
“A Vigore.” His freaky-ass eyes are on me.
“Demetrius!” Adrien calls for attention in a pissed tone. “Selene has my wife.”
“You called me here, because of some Red you married?” Demetrius stares at Adrien. “Only for me to find you have broken our codes to give her a child.” His flat tone heightens. “An abomination for our kind. If Selene is punishing her for your actions, then I have no business here. You know she is in charge.”
Demetrius turns to the door, but Adrien flits to stand before him, blocking his way. I give him this, he has balls for standing up to a Pure.
Ben and Dom position themselves a little closer, ready to fight if need be. I however, hold back, waiting to see how this unfolds.
“Executive, you think you are higher than I?”
“No, I have given The Order my all,” Adrien says, his body backed up against the door. “This is about your daughter, going behind The Orders back. Using dark arts to bring our whole society down. Selene tricked us. She used unsanctioned craft.”
“It’s true, Sir,” Ben speaks up.
Demetrius’s rigid body hunches slightly; a maternal disappointment with a rebellious child.
“She has taken Elizabeth to harvest her.” Adrien moves away from the door. “She’s going to destroy everything you and The Order have achieved. I’m sorry, but this is the Voax all over again, and Selene is running the show.”
Demetrius walks into the centre of the room, and stands deep in thought with his head down.
“Please, help me find Elizabeth,” Adrien begs. “If the other order members find out about this, we are all done… including you.”
“Is that a threat?” Demetrius’s jaw throbs, his fangs fighting to break out.
“No,” Adrien approaches him. “It’s the truth. None of us knew what she was planning, and you are responsible for giving her the freedom to do it.”
Demetrius lifts his head. “You fool. You, our most valued Executive did not see. Your role is to protect and preserve our ways. Why did you not call on The Order; explain this?”
“I am sorry,” Adrien snaps. “But I didn’t know who to trust.”
“The fault lies with you,” Demetrius paces. “You know the punishment for failure… disloyalty.”
“Yes. But now I’m begging you. You can do what you want with me, but first, help me stop Selene.”
“Oh, I will stop Selene,” Demetrius states firmly. “But I care not for what happens to your Red. She is fertile with something that could start a war between man and vampire. What is inside her, has to be destroyed.” He looks down at Daniel.
I anger with a protective fire flaming beneath my cold skin. There are many sick things I’ve seen and done since being turned. But I’m not going to stand here as he harms an innocent baby.
I march to Sara and snatch the handle of the car seat. “You touch him, then I’ll kill you.”
“A brave Vigore.” He smirks, showing his yellow teeth. “Maybe he should take your role Adrien.”
“You stay away from him,” I warn, with no fear at all.
“You can stand easy,” he says. “I’m not in the habit of murdering children. But he needs to be hidden far away, preferably for an eternity.”
My shoulders un-scrunch with a little relief, as Demetrius walks away from the car seat, almost floating back to Adrien.
“Your wife.” Demetrius comes to a stop. “If my daughter somehow removes what is inside her… she will die.”
Adrien shakes his head as I swallow down a lump of fear.
“I have to try,” Adrien utters.
“Love annihilates us all.” Demetrius turns to me. “Go bring me the witch. My daughter has become somewhat powerful at shutting me out. I need to locate her.”
I give Sara the car seat, running my finger over her hand, affectionately.
“Adrien, we must destroy everything that could put our existence at risk,” Demetrius states. “I will deal with Selene, but The Order, they must never hear of this. Do you understand me?”
I push open the kitchen door, listening to Adrien agree.
Chapter 30: For Love
Liz
My head feels like it has been hit with a bag of bricks, and my eyes refuse to open. Hunger burns me up to the point my skin itches all over. I move my wrist, stretching my fingernails out to scratch my thigh, but something is stopping me. I yank both arms around to hear rattling metal, and I feel the restraints.
A cool air whooshes over my bare toes, and I can feel my legs have been elevated. Shit. Where the hell am I?
I flinch and jerk, but I can’t move. I need blood. I need to feed. I prize open one eye at a time, but I’m blinded by a glare of whiteness. Screaming out, I bounce around on the springy surface I’m lying on.
“LET ME GO… GOD!”
I bite my bottom lip hard, drawing a little blood. But the taste, the feeling, it does nothing to ease this ache inside me. I want to destroy something. Rip my nails down flesh and bone. It’s a pain worse than any torture.
Taking a breath, I try to calm myself, but the brightness through my eyelids is a discomfort, and I still can’t see.
“Selene… Selene!” I grapple against the bonds on my ankles and wrists. “I need to feed… Selene!”
I’m stronger than this. I know what’s inside me is powerful. But shit, whatever Selene drugged me with, has really messed me up. I’m weak and twisted, and all I can think of is blood.
“Shush now, Elizabeth. This is your big day.”
I know that voice. It’s deep and spine-chilling. I’m unsure, but it has a South African ting to it. The last time I heard it was on my wedding day, when Selene showed her face. It’s Vincent. The weird lanky vampire who has taken over Adrien’s Executive role. I have to open my eyes. I have to know exactly where he is, so I can try to protect myself. Cringing and sobbing in agony, I force open my eyelids, blinking out the stinging tears.
The room I’m in, slowly comes into a hazy focus. Above me is a long Florissant light; one of those lights you’d find in a surgical theatre, movable and attached to the ceiling. I slide my head to the side to find a stainless steel trolley. On it lies operating tools: two different size scalpels, a set of large forceps, and a kidney dish. The large room I’m in is clinically clean. It smells sterile with a filtered air.
Again I yank
on my wrists, trying to sit up. Whatever Selene plans to do with me in here, is not going to end well. I have a feeling, like death is here, waiting for me.
I’m doing this for Daniel and Adrien, but that is not stopping me from being shit scared. If I just had one bag to fuel me, I could break these damn chains. Maybe I could succeed and even kill Selene. I holler out her name, flinging my body as far as it will bounce on the hospital bed. My legs have been splayed, my midriff is on show, and there are sticky patches and wires on my lower abdomen. Fuck. I’m going to be cut open on this damn bed. I need to get the hell out of here.
“Elizabeth, you need to stop fighting.” I turn my head sideward to see Vincent hovering over me. “You’re going to be awake for the procedure, and struggling will only hasten your death.”
Spluttering and weeping with a mix of anger, hunger, and terror, my fangs lengthen, pulling open my jaw in pain.
Vincent removes his brown jacket and rolls up his shirt sleeves, before placing his hand on my head.
“Put those away. They will not do you no good,” he says.
“Get your fuckin hands off me,” I snarl.
“It will all be over soon… look.” He points to a screen at my side. “Our children are ready to come into this world.”
Oh god. I can see my ovaries on a screen, swelling and pulsing. This is so fucked up. I can’t look any longer. I close my eyes, with every muscle inside me cramping and tightening in disgust.
“Your eggs… my seed.”
I swallow down, looking up with a slim view to see Vincent holding a container. A container full of his revolting semen. I can’t do this. I’m not strong enough to go through with this. This is way beyond freak show horror. It’s extremely real agonising terror.
“After we extract your womb; that is when the magic begins.”
His hand is brushing over my hair, and his touch has me retching. I gag, choking on the bile building up in my throat. I turn my head. I’m losing control and unable to hold it back. I vomit violently over the floor.
