by N M Thorn
All the vampires came into motion at the same time, assailing him from every direction. Silent and fast, Damian spun around, his daggers slicing through the vampires’ bodies, severing limbs and cutting their heads off, leaving piles of steaming ash behind. The attackers pulled back, shock in their glowing scarlet eyes.
“What happened?” Damian snickered, cocking his head slightly. “Are you done?” The vampires froze in that unnerving way only vampires could, waiting for his next move. “What? Already? No stamina, eh?” He dropped to one knee, placing his hand on the marble floor, and a wild smile crossed his face—the marble was natural. Got to love these rich undead assholes...
Rising, he waved his arm, the air around him vibrating with the deadly magic he was channeling. “Well, I barely warmed up, boys.”
The vamps hissed, leaping into action once again.
“Risurgius!” he yelled, moving forward. He ripped two massive blocks of marble off the floor and blocked both doors, barricading all ways in and out of the lobby.
Damian wasn’t moving as fast as the vampires, but he didn’t have to. Now that the vampires had no place to hide and no way to escape, he knew he had them exactly where he wanted them. Halting in the middle of the lobby, he allowed the monsters to surround him. As they started to squeeze the circle, he spread his arms, and the floor shook violently, deep fractures marring perfectly polished marble. The vampires hissed like a bunch of wild cats, retreating again.
He clenched his hands into fists and twisted them. The fractures grew wider, spreading farther and farther, pushing the vampires toward the walls. Once they had no more space to run, Damian touched the leather bracelet with his fingers, turning it into a silver bullwhip. He moved around with the fluidity of a dancer, the fractures closing beneath his feet and reopening once he was gone. The whip in his hand cut through the air with a soft whistle, striking vampires with deadly precision. A few seconds later, it was over, the last remains of the attackers slowly dissolving into ashes.
Damian stopped, breathing hard. With his other sight opened, he probed the area ahead but didn’t find any vampires or demons. He could still detect some vampiric energy in the building, but it was weak, barely detectible.
“Cole,” he breathed out, a feeling of dread settling in the pit of his stomach.
Connecting with the power of Earth once again, he moved the blocks of marble out of the way, allowing Jamie to come in. The young man passed the doorway and halted, observing the lobby with the warped marble floor covered in a thick layer of ash, awe in his eyes.
“I’m afraid to ask,” he mumbled. “How many?”
Damian shrugged, wrapping the whip around his wrist, turning it back into the bracelet.
“Sorry. I had no time for math exercises.” Motioning for Jamie to follow him, he ran through the dimly lit hallway. With all his senses focused on Cole’s dimming presence, he knew exactly where he needed to go. Soon, the hallway came to a dead-end in front of a tall glass door. Without slowing down, he pushed the door open and crossed into a large living area.
Every piece of furniture in the room was either moved, turned upside down or destroyed. The floor was slippery with blood, covered in ash and dead bodies, undoubtedly demons. At the far end of the room, he saw his brother. Cole lay on the floor, his hands clutching the blade of a sword protruding from his chest. Ace lay next to him, her blood-coated sword on the floor by her side. Her eyes were closed, blood still seeping from a wound on her neck.
“No,” moaned Jamie, his grief-infused voice ripping Damian out of his momentary stupor.
Damian crossed the room, dropping to his knees next to his brother. Opening his second sight, he checked Ace and exhaled with relief. She was still alive—barely, but alive. His gaze darted to Cole. He gently unlocked his bloodied fingers and explored the wound.
At his touch, Cole’s eyes opened, and his lips twitched slightly, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Meeting Damian’s gaze, he smiled weakly, his lips forming just two words, “Brat moi...”
Brother mine...
Chapter 2
~ Damian Blake ~
“Hold on, Cole.” Damian got up, his hands trembling slightly as he wrapped his fingers tightly around the grip of the sword. “I’m sorry...”
In one sharp movement, he pulled the sword out and threw it on the floor, a loud clatter of metal against the marble tiles catalyzing his boiling fury. Cole growled, his jaws pressed so tightly his teeth squeaked. He pressed his hands tighter to his chest, but the blood didn’t stop, trickling between his unbending fingers.
“You’re not healing,” hissed Damian, his voice shaking with anger and desperation. “Why aren’t you healing?”
He glanced at Ace, noticing that the glow of her human soul started to dim down. His eyes darted back to his brother. Cole groaned, and his eyes rolled back, his features distorted by undiluted anguish.
“Dammit!” Damian threw his hands up and dropped to his knees next to Ace. Glancing back at Cole, he muttered apologetically, “I have to help Ace first. If I don’t heal her now, she’ll be dead in a few minutes.”
Cole nodded, large, red drops slipping from the corners of his eyes, running down his strained, pale face. Suppressing the desire to take care of his brother first, Damian turned back to Ace and quickly explored her body for any visible injuries. Besides the vampire’s bite on her neck, she had a few bruises and lacerations on her arms and face, but none of them were lethal.
Taking a deep breath, he connected with the elemental power of Earth and placed his hands over Ace’s forehead and chest, slowly circulating the healing energy through her body. In front of his eyes, the cuts closed up and the bruises disappeared, but the bite on her neck remained opened, even though the bleeding slowed down.
“What the hell?” muttered Damian. Leaning down, he explored the bite marks, noticing four puncture wounds instead of two. “Cole, does it—”
He cut himself off, remembering that his brother wasn’t in any condition to help him. Turning back to Ace, he opened his other sight and carefully checked the wound on her neck. He could see the presence of vampiric energy, but there was something else there. Dark, menacing, unclean, it lingered over the bite mark, seeping into the wound, entering Ace’s bloodstream. He didn’t recognize what it was, but it made his blood run cold with the expectation of something terrible.
“What on Earth is that?” he murmured, channeling more of the healing energy through Ace, but no matter what he did, the wound wouldn’t heal. He summoned one of his daggers and frowned, staring down at the shining blade in his hand. “If that’s not going to work, I’m taking you back to the Destiny Council realm, sweetheart. Now...” His voice wavered, and he swallowed hard. “I’m truly sorry about this.”
He pressed the blade to the bite mark on her neck and whispered, “Illucious...”
The purifying energy of Creation lit up the weapon, penetrating the wound. Ace screamed, and her body arched like a tightly stretched bow. The dark energy hissed, and its tendrils slithered out of the wound, refusing to give up its territory. Keeping his other sight open, Damian increased the flow of the purifying energy. Ace screamed and thrashed violently, almost knocking the dagger out of his hands.
“Jamie,” he yelled, struggling to keep the energy of Creation flowing. “Hold her.”
As Jamie grabbed Ace’s shoulders, pinning her down with the full weight of his body, Damian pressed the blade to her neck with both hands, channeling all the power he could gather through it. Blood oozed from under the dagger where the blade cut into his palm, but he ignored the pain. The dark energy hissed and slithered, fighting his magic, but little by little, it started to retreat, and a few seconds later, it dissipated in a dark smoke-like wisp.
Ace stopped screaming, and her body relaxed, lying on the floor limply.
“Ace?” Jamie called, gently slapping her cheek. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she cracked her eyelids open, her hand rising to her neck.
“Wh
at happened?” she croaked, her voice barely audible.
“That’s what I would like to know.” Damian let go of his magic and sat back on his heels, wiping sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. Feeling slightly dizzy, he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
Overused my magic... A troubling thought flashed through his mind, but he forced it back. Rising on his knees with a strenuous grunt, he turned toward his brother. The sharp movement made the world around him spin, but he clenched his teeth, focusing on Cole.
“Do you know why you’re not healing?” he asked.
Cole nodded and winced. “Silver bullet... in—” He endeavored to lift his hand but had no strength, and it fell to the floor with a dull thud.
“Whoever did this to you...” Damian growled, anger spiraling through him. Channeling his magic once more, he opened his other sight. It wasn’t as strong as it normally would be, and this little bit of magic came with an effort, but he could see the soft glow of silver in his brother’s chest. “Sorry, it seems I’m dealing in pain today.”
“I’m already... in pain. More... less... don’t care...” Cole closed his eyes. “Do it.”
“Don’t move.” Damian placed his hand over the area where he’d seen the silver bullet and whispered the spell, “Transvectum...”
Cole’s eyes flew open, and a howl of pain tore from his bloodied lips, but he managed to remain still, his hands clenched into tight fists at his sides.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” mumbled Damian, his mind foggy. “It’s over now.”
He flipped his hand over, unlocking his fingers. A single silver bullet lay in his palm. He held it between his thumb and middle finger, surveying it from every side. In the bright glimmer of electric lights, he noticed barely visible fissures going all around the bullet. Even though he couldn’t recognize the symbols, he was positive they were either sigils or runes.
“Do you recognize any of these symbols?” he asked, showing the bullet to Cole.
The vampire shook his head, struggling to sit up. “I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said, giving up on his fruitless attempts. “But something wasn’t right here from the very beginning.”
“Okay,” said Damian, watching the wound on his brother’s chest close up and heal. “You can tell me all the details later.” He looked around the large room, sharpening his hearing. Seemingly, the house remained empty, but it didn’t mean no one was watching them or listening to their conversation. “I’m going to give you some of my blood so you can walk on your own, and after that, we should get the hell out of here as soon as we can.”
“I’ll give him my blood, Damian,” whispered Ace, sitting up with Jamie’s help. “You look like you’re ready to faint.”
“I’m not going to faint,” snapped Damian, turning to her. “Healing magic requires a lot of energy, and whatever was done to you required not only healing but also purifying magic. As a Destiny Enforcer, you should know the toll this kind of effort takes on your body.” He took a deep breath, suppressing his aggravation. “Don’t argue with me, recruit.” His eyes flashed from Ace to Jamie. “Both of you. You, Ace, are head over heels for my brother and are already addicted to his bite, which both are in violation of the Destiny Enforcer’s code. I don’t want to hear about you donating your blood to him anymore. Am I clear?”
“Yes, Commander Blake,” Ace mumbled, her ashen face turning a few shades paler.
“And you, Jamie,” exhaled Damian but then just waved his hand dismissively. “We’ll talk later about your performance today. In the meantime, stand down and help Ace. I don’t need to deal with another child being addicted to a vampire’s bite.”
Jamie’s eyes widened, but he had enough common sense to keep his mouth shut. Damian pulled Cole up into a sitting position, supporting him with his shoulder. He moved his bleeding hand closer to his brother’s lips and exhaled, feeling lightheadedness sweeping over him.
Cole’s icy-cold fingers seized his arm. “I’ll make it painless,” he whispered, his fangs expanding.
“No,” Damian objected, his entire body going rigid. “Make it hurt. Make it as painful as you can.” Cole’s eyebrows rose, but Damian just shook his head and chuckled weakly. “Come on, little bro. It’s kinky even for you. The pleasure of a vampire bite? Thank you, but no, thank you. I don’t want to feel like I want to screw my own brother.”
Jamie snorted, unsuccessfully trying to suppress his laughter, and Ace bit her lip, looking anywhere but at him.
“As you wish,” said Cole and sunk his fangs into Damian’s arm.
Damian drew in a short breath and jerked involuntarily as the sharp sting of pain spiked through him. The heavy copper odor touched his senses, and he held his breath, looking down. But as his blood gathered and spilled from under his brother’s fangs, he swallowed and turned away, dizziness assailing him with new strength. A few seconds later, Cole let go and closed his eyes, shifting slightly to rest his back against Damian’s chest.
“Thank you.” He ran his hand over his face, trying to wipe the blood off but only making it worse by smearing it all over his cheeks. “Give me one minute, and I’ll be ready to go.”
Damian looked down at his arm where Cole had bitten him—two small, bleeding holes. He’d seen the marks left by vampire bites many times. It was always two deep puncture wounds left by their long fangs. Depending on how much force a vampire had applied, sometimes he could see the imprints of their regular teeth. But never had he seen a vampire bite with more than two puncture wounds. Upirs left deeper holes in their victims’ flesh and their fangs were spread wider. But it had always been two. His eyes darted to Ace’s neck, but the mark of the vampire bite was gone, healed by his magic.
Cole is right... Something is seriously wrong here...
A few minutes later, they walked out of the house. As he suspected, the building stood abandoned, and their passage through the property was uneventful. Ace moved slowly, weakened by the blood loss and the healing magic, and Jamie had to nearly carry her all the way to Cole’s car that was parked on the opposite side of the driveway.
“Jamie,” said Cole, handing him the keys to his car, “can you please take Ace home? Damian and I don’t need a car.”
“Whoa,” exhaled Jamie, his blue eyes lighting up with excitement. “Seriously, man? I can drive this...” His voice melted into silence as his fingers trailed over the streamlined body of the silver Lamborghini Huracan Spyder. “Six hundred ten CV, V10 engine, two hundred miles per hour... Dude, it’s a dream...”
“Yup,” murmured Cole, snickering. “It’s a dream. Two hundred miles per hour in combination with thirty-five miles per hour speed limit. Do try not to get any speeding tickets.” He turned to Damian and shrugged. “Why do I feel as if I’m giving matches to a child?”
“Because you are,” muttered Damian, switching his attention to Jamie. “I expect to see you in Paradise Manor for training tomorrow after you’re done with your shift at the library, Jamie. Don’t be late.” He turned to Ace, giving her a quick once-over. “Ace, you are taking the day off tomorrow.”
“But Commander Blake—,” she started to object, but he made an impatient gesture with his hand, and she fell silent, averting her gaze.
“You do as I say,” he said dryly, “or I’ll have to have a personal chat with Commander Moore, which I’m sure you’re not going to appreciate.”
“No, my lord,” she whispered, looking guilty. “Please, don’t do it.”
“Damian—,” started Cole, but Damian’s scorching stare silenced him.
“Ace, you will remain at home for at least twenty-four hours. I will shadow my brother in your absence. As an owner of the company, Cole will give you a paid day off. Am I right, Mr. Adams?”
“Yes, sir, Commander Jackass,” replied Cole, sarcasm overflowing his voice. “Oops, did I say it out loud? I meant to say, yes, my lord.”
Ace giggled, pressing her hand to her mouth, and Damian looked heavenward with a heavy sig
h.
“And Ace, no more bleeding for Cole. Am I clear?” asked Damian, frowning. “You’re addicted already. You have to get clean or your career as a Destiny Enforcer will end with a dishonorable discharge. Trust me, you’re not going to like the consequences.”
Ace nodded, her face turning a flaming shade of red. Jamie helped her sit down in the passenger seat and made himself comfortable in the driver’s seat, beaming with exaltation. Damian waited until they drove away, watching the silver car disappear into the darkness. Then he placed his hand on Cole’s shoulder and snapped his fingers, teleporting them to the entrance door of Paradise Manor.
Letting go of his brother’s shoulder, Damian swayed and lowered himself down, hiding his face in his hands. Cole sat down next to him.
“You okay?” he asked, touching Damian’s elbow.
“I’m fine. Drained,” replied Damian. “Nothing a good night’s sleep can’t fix.”
“You were right,” said Cole, staring into the dark desert. “I shouldn’t have gone for peaceful negotiations. It never works with assholes like that.”
“I’m not sure about that,” objected Damian, lifting his head. “Something is not right. You said it yourself.” He glanced at the puncture wounds on his arm and frowned.
“Do you want me to heal you?” asked Cole, tones of remorse in his voice. “You don’t have to drink my blood for—”
“No,” Damian interrupted him, shaking head. “This doesn’t bother me. The bite that I healed on Ace’s neck does.” He turned slightly toward Cole. “Have you ever seen a vampire or an upir with more than two fangs?”
“What?” Cole’s eyes widened, his eyebrows climbing up. “No. Never. It’s always two fangs. Upirs have bigger fangs and wider space between them.” He rolled his eyes. “Big mouths.”
Shivers ran down Damian’s back, raising goosebumps on his arms. “There were four puncture wounds on her neck, Cole,” he said quietly. “What the hell are we dealing with? Who attacked you?”
