Talon

by Alice Wade

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. And they just gave you up?”

  “Not just gave me up, ushered me out with a bow on my head. I was tied out naked against a tree to await my death.” Her silver eyes twinkled with the memory. “I looked good, I have to say. Firm young muscles, long hair unbound and waving in the evening breeze. I was terrified of course yet when he walked from the trees and stood before me. I knew. I knew.”

  “What?”

  “That my life was about to change. He looked at me with passion and desire, a different sort of hunger. I knew I wasn’t going to die, so met his evaluation with a smile.” She chuckled. “He showed me what a burning passion could feel like and he’s never ceased showing me all the time we’ve been together. Not even a little.”

  “So, you went to him willingly?” he was taken aback by her words.

  “Oh, yes. He is gorgeous, is he not? My body practically melted when he first touched my naked form and the heat from his hand alone on my freezing skin was like fire as it raced through my body.” Kailani sigh at the memory and then recalled her company, “Sorry.” She uttered the apology as she adjusted on the couch to give her time to shake the heat that was pooling between her legs at recalling her first night with Talon. If she didn’t stop, she would document every detail about the sensual awakening of her body. Her vampire memory was that accurate.

  “Uh, how long did you stay human though?”

  She gave a little shiver before slowly answering, “About one hour. When Talon wants something, he gets it.” She winked, “He’s very persistent.”

  “I mean no disrespect, but why you?” Dace had to adjust on the couch before taking another sip of tea. He knew the answer ever before he asked it.

  Kailani shrugged her petite shoulders again, “He saw me and just knew, I guess. He said I smelled right.”

  Dace frowned, “Did you want this life?”

  “I didn’t care. I wanted Talon. I got him and I still have him, which is all that matters. He lives and breathes and I care not what he is.” Her silver eyes flashed in awareness, “You don’t have to make the same choice. No one is asking.”

  “No, I guess not. Yet, I’ll be faced with losing her if I don’t.” His eyes burned with intensity, “I can’t do that. Losing her once was enough. I can’t think about not being at her side, and after hearing you’ve been with Talon for two hundred years, it just makes me think.”

  “Think about it a little longer. It wasn’t too long ago you were repulsed by my kind. You cannot change that prejudice overnight.” Her voice was firm and her tone demanded he listen to her.

  “When it involves Lainey I can.” His mind filtered through his thoughts. He definitely had more to think on but after last night, he felt he was already halfway closer to making up his mind.

  * * * *

  Talon quickly regretted the direction he chose with Lainey. Rubbing his stubbly jaw, he looked out over the town square packed with people. It was market day, and the farmers from the outlying villages had come to sell their wares. Brightly decorated booths lined the square. Each one had three or four people deep yelling to get the seller’s attention. Others loitered in the center of the square socializing or strolling slowly past the booths evaluating the wares. Talon pulled Lainey out of the way when a gaggle of screaming children raced passed and would have crashed into her.

  Growling, Talon steered her towards the side where it was covered and their presence would not be so noticeable. Not to mention he had spotted two of Kaen’s coven moving through the crowds hunting themselves. One of them in particular raised his hackles, causing his voice to lower to a lethal tone. “Stay here and don’t move.” Talon practically hissed, “I mean it. Don’t move.”

  Lainey watched anxiously as his strong back moved through the crowd, following behind the two men. Talon singled out one of them and plucked him from the crowd, disappearing into an alley. Lainey panicked but heeded his order not to move. Shite. Talon was engaging the Dûr Falas right now! Looking around, her eyes frantically searched the faces of everyone that walked by. She knew without a doubt that she was alone. Before she knew it, the people had filled in Talon’s wake and she was left to fend for herself.

  In the alley, Talon shoved his victim up against a wall and hissed near his ear, “What are you doing here, Warwick?” He looked every bit a killer with his fangs long and poised, but Warwick’s instincts reacted immediately and with lightening speed.

  In response, the Dûr Falas vampire challenged Talon, by pushing back and slamming him against the opposite wall. Brandishing a blade from beneath his long dark cloak, he bared his teeth, “Talon, did you miss me?”

  “More than you will ever know you wretched cur,” Talon growled, “You hide behind Kaen, you coward. You could have stood with us years ago and now look at you. You’re nothing but filthy scum.” Talon called in a blade from thin air and held it in defense before him. All of Talon’s weapons were embedded with an elven magic designed to kill vampires. These blades burned his kind and made their regenerative abilities impotent.

  Unmatched with a sword, Warwick stood no chance if he chose to engage him in a fight and the vampire knew it. He and Talon used to train together, so he knew Talon’s skills well. He stepped back but didn’t let down his guard because Talon could strike in a blur and Warwick wanted to be ready.

  “What do you want,” he asked as the air whistled through his extended fangs.

  “Information.”

  Warwick threw his head back and laughed, “What makes you think I’ll give you anything?”

  “Because if you don’t, your life is mine.” A biting coldness swept through the alley as Talon unleashed his threat. Power called up from his elven upbringing as he talked the breeze into aiding him.

  “Nice try, elven cast-off. You won’t get anything from me, so do your best. Kaen will find you eventually.”

  “Why are you here, Warwick?” Talon continued to call a torrent of cold air to swirl around their bodies, ready to aid him if needed. “You’ve denied me the pleasure of your company for over a century, old friend. Why show up now?”

  “Figure it out for yourself. I’ll only say this: the girl will be found and returned to the one who sired her, not the one who pretends.” Warwick threatened, inching closer towards the alley mouth. He knew Talon would be up for a fight, and he wasn’t in a position to oblige. “How’s Kai?”

  Talon saw the slow approach, tracking the man with his narrowed eyes. When Warwick was within reach, he slashed his blade, splitting Warwick’s face. He was through talking.

  Warwick screamed, whirling back against the wall as the magic burned his skin. Blood from the cut which split his face oozed through his fingers

  Talon laughed wickedly, “There, now you two match. Tell Kaen that I left you alive and marked you how I marked him so many years ago.” The tip of his blade appeared at Warwick’s throat pushing him against the back wall. “Tell him Lainey is off limits. She’s my ward now. If he tries to interfere, well, he knows the consequences.” Talon pressed on the hilt and the razor sharp blade cut into Warwick’s throat. “And stay away from Kai.”

  Talon disappeared then, one minute he pinned his old friend to the wall and the next he was just gone. Dazed, Warwick looked to the entrance of the alley and snarled just as two passerby’s had stopped to investigate, sending them scurrying off to be anywhere but there.

  Warwick knew Talon wasn’t far and raised his voice as he staunched the flow of blood at his neck. “She’s his Talon! You can’t stop him from claiming what belongs to him!”

  Nothing answered him but an eerie wind.

  * * * *

  Kaen felt her heartbeat first—strong, alive, and beating fast. He spun in the square he circled slowly smelling the air to catch her scent. There. The wind changed direction and her delicious smell flooded his nostri
ls causing his cock hardened into a firm shaft in his pants. Lainey.

  She watched an alley not far from where he stood, surprised he hadn’t seen her before now. Inhaling a drugging breath, Kaen smelled Talon’s magic about her, forming a concealment to protect her. It was useless though, especially when she was out in the open like this. He had sired her and he would scent her anywhere. What was Talon thinking by bringing her here in broad daylight?

  Because of Talon’s mistake, Kaen growled in anticipation and stalked towards his prey with a lethal intent. Now was his chance to reclaim her. Damn the people if they saw; she belonged to him.

  “Come to me,” his voice filled her head and as his voice caressed her mind. From this vantage point, he watched her eyes glazed over in submission.

  Lainey watched the alley for any sign of Talon when a warm tingling sensation started to burn in her core and spread out towards her arms, almost as if she were drunk. Confused by the suddenly feeling of intoxication, she shook her head because she had not touched any ale since she had been converted. So how could she be drunk?

  Looking around nervously, she saw him. Kaen. He stood about twenty feet away and watched her with a wild hunger that still haunted her dreams. Before she could scream for help or call to Talon with her mind, she felt the tug from her very blood as if Kaen now controlled her body. She felt as if she were falling into a ravine and her mind slowly slipped farther from her awareness until she was left hanging suspended in a pitch-black expanse so vast it was dizzying.

  Kaen pulled harder on his blood link which still ran in her veins. It was already diluted, but there was enough there to force a separation of her sense of self from her own mind. Once he saw she was under his control, he lured her to him with that connection. She mindlessly moved towards him as if in a trance, stepping blindly into the crowd.

  “Come to me, my lovely Lainey.” He slammed against her mind and sent strong coercions that would calm her fear. The last thing Kaen wanted was for her to realize what was happening until it was too late.

  If she were aware, she would have felt the hot flash of desire at the sound of his voice alone. The further she walked, the more aroused she became. He added to her torment by caressing her mind with forced images of what he would be doing to her once they were alone.

  “Lainey, yes. That’s it, love. Come to me,” Kaen continued to call and watched each step carry her closer to his embrace. He couldn’t wait and closed the distance. In one smooth motion, he secured the back of her neck and dipped her back to cover her lips in a deep passionate kiss that had them moving in perfect unison. His head tilted to the side in order to deepen the caress as well as have better access to absorb her very essence. That alone sent a shiver of excitement running the length of his body and tickled his groin.

  Lainey moaned a deep throated sound as his tongue ravaged her mouth. He paused to revel in the sound, licking at her lips that were swollen from his rough kiss until he captured her tongue as she willingly inserted it into his waiting mouth. “We’ll be together again, love. You are so wonderful and I’ve missed you.”

  Kaen continued to coo to her mind while his greedy hand cupped her full breast through the shirt she wore and pinched her taunt nipples that were already hard from his entrapments. Kaen knew that if he reached between her legs, he would find her wanting, demonstrating that she still remembered. To prove his point his large hand cupped her sex and pressed up through the saturated fabric or her trousers to feel her hot core burning with desire.

  Kaen was fixated and didn’t hear or smell the elven vampire approach from behind. Innocent bystanders parted and then scattered like goats for he stalked through the square with two swords held slightly out to the side and a look of murderous death on his face. No one was going to interfere.

  Talon was furious and still felt the adrenaline rush from his conversation with Warwick. The moment he saw Kaen cradling Lainey in that intimate embrace, he wanted to kill him. But he knew he wouldn’t. Not yet. Now was neither the time nor the place to challenge Kaen, especially since they were in broad daylight in a crowded public square. If he did, innocent people would die. Right now, he needed to get her away from him before they caused a larger scene.

  Taking advantage that Kaen hadn’t seen him yet, Talon broke into a run.

  The upper slice of Talon’s swords opened the other side of Kaen’s cheek, the one unmarred. In surprise and pain he dropped Lainey who was caught by Talon as he dashed by. He howled with a blend of frustration and pain looking at the space where his prize had just been. When Kaen whirled in the direction the elf had run, he was gone.

  “Get her!” Kaen screamed, knowing those of his coven nearby would hear and give chase.

  Talon had a dazed Lainey thrown over his shoulder, bouncing wildly. He raced down an alley looking for a quick escape and finding none. He heard Kaen calling to his coven to pursue him, and knew he had precious time to find what he was looking for.

  Spinning around in circles, his almond shaped eyes searched the walls of the dead end he had run into. No ladders, not gutters, not windows or pipes. Nothing. Lainey started to recover and moaned against his back. His frantic motions rattled her back and forth while he continued his calculated search.

  “Talon?” she moaned.

  “Shhh. Not now. Just hold on,” he whispered as he thought through his options. Three vampires were searching, that much he could tell. Three were not much of a fight, but when in close quarters, with brick on both sides and a woman draped over your shoulder, he knew it would be a victory for the Dûr Falas. That he would not accept.

  “I need you lean up and grab my neck. I want you to hold on with everything you’ve got. Can you do that, honey?” When all he heard was a moan, he snarled. “Lainey!”

  She responded by lifting her body in order for him to swing her around which placed her riding piggy back. She wrapped her arms around his neck in an almost choking hold and repressed a sob. “Don’t let go and don’t look down.”

  Talon threw himself at the wall and found each crack in the mortar between the bricks. Slowly, he pulled himself up the wall and didn’t pause until he was easily forty feet off the ground. The roof was another twenty, but the coven was coming. They had scented him down the alley and were now at the entrance.

  Talon pushed himself and climbed another ten feet. That was when Lainey’s grip faltered and almost sent them tumbling from the wall to fall back to the alley floor. He calmed her with a thought that instructed her to hold still. “We’re almost there, just a little farther.”

  “Don’t let me fall,” she fearfully moaned, and clung to him with all her strength. Her tears wetted his neck because she pressed her face against his back.

  He didn’t have time to comment because he was back to scaling the wall which demanded all his concentration

  “There!” yelled a vampire from below. “Follow them!” he ordered.

  That caused Lainey to almost lose her bladder for she was terrified of being captured by Kaen again.

  “Please hurry. Please,” she begged desperately.

  “Almost there.”

  Just then he reached the roof and adjusted Lainey over his shoulder again, chancing one last look back the way he had just climbed. Like cockroaches, the coven vampires were climbing fast as they were unhindered by the weight of a dazed woman.

  “Now we run. Grab my waist and hold on. I’m going to be moving fast.”

  She leaned down and wrapped her arms around his firm waist and pressed her face into his back upside down while he pinned her legs to his chest with one strong arm. The other he would need for balance, and he held it out to the side as he shimmied across the narrow peak of this rooftop.

  He didn’t even have time to call in any spells or ammunition. Kaen’s men were crawling over the ledge and commenced their pursuit after the fast moving elf.

&
nbsp; Talon didn’t give them much to see though for he quickly scaled another wall and disappeared over the high rise.

  Talon gingerly ran across the tiled roof tops, cracking a few and sending a volley of terra-cotta shingles down the streets below. Absently he heard the shattering tiles when they made contact and the frightened screams of innocents as they dodged the missiles. Each one was a step away from disaster for the tiles were old and loose, which caused him to lengthen his strides, almost hopping across the expanse to try and escape a bad foot placement. One wrong step and he and Lainey were dead.

  Up ahead he saw a large gap between buildings and knew he had two choices at this point—stand and fight or jump. Without slowing, he knew a fight here would be suicide.

  “Hold on and close your eyes.”

  He jumped. The ledge disappeared from his sight signaling he was over the edge and they had a chance.

  Lainey suddenly felt like she weighed nothing as Talon soared across the gap. She chanced opening her eyes and earned a heart stopping view of the ground below with nothing between them. When he landed, it jarred every bone in her body, sending both of them to tumble and roll, crashing into the wall on the other side.

  Talon rolled away and collected a spell, crouching in a stance that was part kneeling and part squat. He was prepared this time and fired one off just as the first Dûr Falas attempted to leap the gap. As his spell hit, the vampire hung suspended in the air screaming as his skin began to char and his nose, eyes and ears oozed blood from the squeezing pressure that compressed him from thin air.