by Julie Wetzel
“It’s the best chance we have.” Vicky pulled the stopper from the bottle and dumped it into her mouth. She could feel the thick liquid coat the inside of her throat as she swallowed. It bottomed out in her stomach, making her shudder.
Darien held her, waiting for the spell to kick in.
After a few seconds of nothing, Vicky recapped the bottle. “That wasn’t so bad.” She handed the vial back to Dakine. He just smiled as he slipped the bottle into his sleeve. A sudden spasm clenched Vicky’s stomach, making her double over.
Darien sighed. “You had to say it.”
Vicky gasped as waves of power pulsated from the lump in her stomach. Shivers racked her frame as her internal temperature dropped to arctic levels before shooting back up. Darien held her tight as her muscles clenched and darkness ate at the edges of her vision. After a few moments of her system going haywire, things finally calmed down, leaving her hanging limply in Darien’s arms.
Drawing in shallow breaths, Vicky waited for the feeling to return to her extremities. That hadn’t really hurt, but it was not something she wanted to do again. She opened her eyes and worked to stand on her own feet. Slowly, she felt something pulling at her. It was warm and soft, like feathers brushing against her mind.
“I feel it.” Vicky closed her eyes and followed the familiar feeling out. The further along the line of power she got, the more twisted and sinister it became. Pulling back, she opened her eyes. “I don’t know where he is, but I think I can find him.”
Elliot stood up from where he was leaning on the counter watching. “Then what are we waiting for?” He turned his attention to the elf lord standing in the kitchen. “Are you coming?”
Dakine considered for a minute before shaking his head. “There are other things I must attend to.” He sighed as if he regretted the answer.
Elliot nodded in reply and headed towards the door to the foyer.
“Do you need to feed before we get started?” Darien asked Elliot before he could get through the door. Elliot had moved into Vicky’s room, but he hadn’t invited any of his menagerie over as Darien had suggested. The younger vampire had argued that keeping Darien’s lack of power secret was more important than his need for fresh blood.
“I’m fine,” Elliot answered before heading out to the elevators and leaving Darien and Vicky to finish with Dakine. He hadn’t had anything that evening, but he was finding that he didn’t need as much blood recently. The drawn blood Darien kept was more than enough to quench his thirst, which worried Elliot. He had survived on drawn blood before, but it always left him feeling weak, as if it were lacking something. But now, even after almost a full day without blood, he felt fine.
“If you’ll excuse us.” Darien bid Dakine good evening and helped Vicky out to where Elliot had started pulling coats out of the closet.
“Do you want our help?” Karl stood next to Sue in the doorway to the bedroom they had claimed.
“No.” Darien shook his head as he helped Vicky into her coat. “Sue won’t be safe on the street right now.”
“I could come,” Karl offered as Sue whined reinforcing his offer.
Darien shook his head again. “Sue needs you here in case there’s an issue.” Darien tugged his coat on. “Besides, we have Zak.”
The fay gurgled his agreement, wiggling over and wrapping a feeler around Darien’s leg.
Darien looked down at the protective hold the fay had on him. “If you’re coming, you need to get changed, too.” He pulled a leash out of his coat pocket.
Zak growled at the offensive object.
Darien snickered at him. “It’s not my idea.”
Vicky leaned over and held her arms out for the little horror. “Come here, Zak.”
Zak scampered over and jumped into her arms.
Vicky cuddled and petted him until he shook into fur. “I know you don’t like it, but we can’t take you out without it.”
Zak growled but let Vicky attach the collar around his neck. As soon as Darien clipped the lead to the collar, the fay got the leather strip into his mouth and started chewing.
Darien tucked the leash into Vicky’s hands as they headed out. “It’s just for a while.”
As soon as the elevator doors fully closed, Karl looked over at the serious elf lord. “Do you think they’ll be okay?”
“One can only hope,” Dakine said. “If you’ll excuse me.” He bowed to the werewolves and headed back into the kitchen. There was something he needed to discuss with Darien’s fay housekeeper.
***
Elliot looked out of the window at the bustling coffee shop. “Are you sure?”
“Oh, he’s in there all right.” Vicky nodded as she tried to see through the flyers taped to the window. “And he knows we’re here.”
“How can you tell?” Darien looked at her, concerned. Once they had loaded into Darien’s SUV, Vicky had lead them straight to this little hole-in-the-wall place.
“I can feel him in there. Waiting.” Vicky explained as best she could.
“Then what are we waiting for?” Elliot reached out to open his door, but Vicky grabbed his arm, stopping him.
“Wait.” She looked at the storefront and the number of people passing. “We can’t just go in there and drag him out.” The two men turned to look at her. “For one thing, Darien has a reputation to uphold.”
“She does have a point there.” Darien sighed. Sometimes being a pillar of the community sucked.
Elliot eased back into his seat. “Then what do you suggest?”
Vicky chewed her lip as she thought. “Let me go in and talk to him,” she suggested. “Maybe this whole thing is a huge misunderstanding and he’ll come along quietly.”
“And maybe I should take up sunbathing,” Elliot scoffed. “He’s not going to come along quietly.”
Vicky held an exasperated hand out towards the building. “And he’s not going to attack in the middle of a coffee shop.”
“I don’t like it,” Darien grumbled. “If he knew we were coming, why would he pick such a place for a meeting?”
“Maybe he just wants to talk,” Vicky offered.
“And maybe he wants to take as many people with him as he can,” Elliot countered.
“Enough,” Darien snapped as he put his head down on the steering wheel to think. Someone needed to go in there and find out what was up with this guy. But, if Vicky’s feelings were right, there was a good chance the guy would disappear if they all went in. The logical choice was to send Vicky in to get him out. She had seen him up close, and there was less of a possibility of a public confrontation if she went in alone.
Darien sat up and looked at Elliot in the rearview mirror. Something was up with his friend. He had been acting oddly for a while now, but Darien couldn’t tell what was wrong. Clenching his jaw, he leaned back and made a decision. “Victoria.” He turned to look at her. “Take Zak in and find out what’s up with this guy.”
Zak barked his agreement.
Elliot gave Darien a sharp look.
“We will wait here in case there’s trouble.” It wasn’t the most desirable answer to the situation, but it was the best they could do at the moment.
Vicky opened the door and slid from the car. “Come on, Zak.”
Darien and Elliot watched as she led the small fay across the street.
“Are you sure about this?” Elliot asked.
Darien let out a long sigh. “As sure as I can be.” He hoped this was the right thing to do.
***
Vicky looked around the little café as she held the door open for Zak. The place was bustling with tired holiday shoppers. She shouldn’t have been surprised; Christmas was just around the corner, and this shop was nestled between two long rows of stores. Vicky paused for a moment as the thought of Christmas rushed through her head. She still wasn’t sure what one should get a billionaire vampire.
Shaking away the stray thought, Vicky’s eyes quickly found who she was looking for. The rogue vampire h
ad claimed one of the booths in the back of the shop. She carefully slid into the empty seat across from him.
Zak jumped up into her lap and growled at the man across the table.
The vampire raised an eyebrow at the little dog and pushed a large cup across the table towards Vicky. “Caramel macchiato.” He smiled at her.
Vicky looked at the cup warily.
“Don’t worry. I haven’t done anything to it.”
Sliding the cup over, Vicky popped the top off. She let Zak sniff at it. The little fay lapped at the whipped cream happily for a moment before Vicky took it back and sipped the coffee. “Thank you.” Vicky set the cup down and rested her hands on Zak.
“You’re welcome.” The vampire smiled and leaned back in his seat to look around the room. “I used to love coming here. They have the best chicken salad sandwiches. Unfortunately, they don’t agree with me now.”
“What do you want?” Vicky cut into the man’s reminiscing.
He stopped and looked at Vicky for a moment. Pinning her with angry eyes, he replied, “Justice.”
She gave him a confused look.
“I want Darien Ritter to pay for what he’s done.”
“And, what did he do?” Vicky asked.
The man slammed his fist into the table and yelled. “He ruined my life!” The room went quiet as heads swung to take in the sudden outburst. The only sound was a steady growl from Zak. The vampire took a ragged breath and rubbed his hands through his hair. Slowly, activity started back up in the room. “It seems you don’t even know the man you intend to marry.” The vampire smiled at Vicky as he eased back into his seat.
“Then, tell me.” Vicky rubbed her fingers into Zak’s fur, soothing the tension from the little fay. He was ready to eat this rogue.
“Gladly. My name is Travis Darecy, and I am really not a bad person.”
Vicky raised a questioning eyebrow at this, but the man was deep in his own thoughts and missed it.
“My father, William Darecy, use to drive a semi for Ritter Enterprises. Two years ago, he was killed when his truck hit a school bus.”
Vicky’s jaw dropped. She remembered that accident. It had been on the front page of every newspaper in the area. The driver of a tanker truck had lost control and nailed a school bus. The trailer flipped over, spilling out ammonia gas and causing an area-wide evacuation. Vicky closed her mouth and listened as Travis went on.
“Darien took my father away from me and then had the nerve to visit each of those families and pay them off.”
Vicky shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around Travis’ story. The papers had told how Darien had visited the children from the bus with an apology and a $50,000 trust towards their college education. She could see how that might be viewed as paying them off, but how had Darien been responsible for the truck driver’s death?
“Wait.” She held her hand up, stopping Travis from continuing. “How is Darien responsible for your father’s death? Didn’t the autopsy show that the driver was drunk at the time?” An in-depth investigation revealed that William Darecy’s blood-alcohol levels were more than twice the legal limit at the time of the accident.
“My father was not drunk!” Travis slammed his hand into the table, making the room go quiet again. He took a deep breath, composing himself. “He spent years in AA meetings and had just gotten his five-year coin. He was so damn proud of that thing that he had it mounted on a chain so he could wear it. There’s no way he would have been drinking. There had to have been something wrong with that damn truck. Darien must have paid the coroner off to cover it up. Better a drunken employee than failure on maintenance.”
Vicky shook her head. “Darien wouldn’t do that.” She had seen Darien do horrible things, but he always stood up and took responsibility for them. He would never blame another for an error in his business.
“He did,” Travis snapped at her angrily. “Two days after the accident, he had all the trucks in his lines pulled for full inspections and service. Why else would he do that unless he was guilty of neglect?”
Vicky didn’t have an answer.
Zak just growled at Travis.
“So, you blame Darien for losing your father, but how did that ruin your life?” Vicky pressed. She had lost a father, but she had managed to get through it.
Travis narrowed his eyes at her. “Because the autopsy came back saying he was drunk, Dad’s life insurance refused to pay out for his death. Apparently, they had taken his alcoholism into consideration when writing the claim. Mom and I struggled to get Dad the burial he deserved. And, while Darien was out flaunting his money to those kids, he never once lifted a finger to help us.”
The bitterness in his voice made Vicky’s heart hurt.
“A few months later, Mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer and took her own life. That bastard then had the nerve to show up at her funeral—after he wouldn’t do a God damned thing to help us!”
Vicky could feel the waves of hate rolling off Travis.
“I swore he would pay for that. I was going to take away everything he loved. Crush his life as he’d done mine, no matter what it took.”
“So you stole his powers.”
This comment shocked Travis out of his rant. “I asked those things for Darien Ritter’s power, but I never expected this.” He held his arms out, looking at his hands, seeing the changes in his body. “To think, he’s been cheating his way to the top for all these years. He probably didn’t even pay the coroner off, just mesmerized him into lying on the forms.”
“Darien would never do that,” Vicky snapped.
Zak growled his agreement.
“Yeah, right,” Travis scoffed. He leaned forwards to place his elbows on the table. “What I want to know is how he gets past the daylight thing.”
Vicky cocked her head in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“How does he function during the day?” Travis asked. “When the sun comes up, I’m out like a light until night. He’s got to have some secret to staying awake during the day.”
Vicky smiled sweetly. “He’s just outside if you want to go ask him.” Maybe she could talk him into coming out to the SUV. “It’s not like he’s much of a danger to you. You’ve got his powers.”
“Oh, no.” Travis laughed. “I’ve seen that other vampire that he keeps as a pet. I don’t know how he keeps it under control without his powers.”
Vicky raised an eyebrow. Was he referring to Elliot? Hadn’t this guy ever had friends? “You have to leave some time.” She leaned back in her seat, willing to wait him out. Travis would have to seek shelter before dawn.
“Sure.” Travis grinned at her evilly. “But you’re going to be long gone before I leave.”
Vicky petted Zak. “And what makes you say that?”
“This.” Travis pulled some kind of switch from his pocket and flipped it open.
“What is it?” Vicky asked cautiously. It looked like something she had seen on a cop drama somewhere.
“It’s a dead-man switch.” Before Vicky could do anything, Travis pushed a button and squeezed the trigger. “There is a box truck parked just behind the Boys and Girls Club, filled with ammonia nitrate and nitro methane. Oh, did I happen to mention there’s a Christmas party going on over there this evening?”
Zak growled in anger.
Vicky glared at him. “You’re lying.”
“Do you really think so?” Travis started to loosen his grip on the device. Vicky gasped and moved to grab it, but Travis pulled it out of her reach and squeezed back down on the thing.
“What do you want?” Vicky asked in a defeated voice. She didn’t know if the man had really set up a bomb behind the club, but she wasn’t about to take the chance with children’s lives. The man was just crazy enough to do it.
“Take your dog and your vampire, and leave.” Travis leaned back in his chair and smiled at her. “And, just so you know—whatever you did, I can feel when you’re near.”
Vicky felt him push
on their connection. She clenched her jaw and clamped the link down as tight as she could.
Surprise filtered across Travis’s face.
“Fine.” Vicky scooped Zak up and stood up from the booth. “But, you know we will be back for you.”
“Oh, I am looking forward to it.” Travis smiled. “It will be fun to kill Darien using his own powers.”
Zak barked at Travis as Vicky placed him on her shoulder and stormed out of the shop. She was glad when the door swung shut, cutting off the evil man’s laughter.
“And?” Darien asked as Vicky threw herself into the SUV and slammed the door angrily.
“Drive,” she snapped. Both Elliot and Darien stared at her in shock.
“Where?” Elliot asked.
Vicky buried her fingers into Zak’s fur as she stared straight out the front window. “The Boys and Girls Club.” She had to know if Travis was bluffing or not.
Darien exchanged a look with Elliot before starting the car and pulling out into holiday traffic.
If there was a truck there, Vicky was going to make Travis pay for endangering innocent kids.
***
Vicky dropped herself on the couch, exhausted. There had been a box truck parked behind the Boys and Girls Club. Darien had called the police to report the potential hazard, but it turned out that the truck belonged to the club. Yes, it did have fertilizer in it—three bags that the kids were going to use in potted flowers for the local nursing homes. Travis had played her like a fool. He was so going to pay for that.
“You did the right thing,” Elliot tried to soothe her.
Vicky rocked her head over and gave him an irritated glare. She had spent the rest of the embarrassing ride home telling them about Travis Darecy and his troubled past.
Darien fell into the seat next to Vicky. “I just can’t believe he would go this far.”
Vicky sighed, and she leaned her head over onto his shoulder. “He thinks you killed his father.”
“The investigation did find something wrong with the truck. That’s why I had the rest of the trucks serviced,” Darien said, defending himself for the second time. “But I didn’t do anything to the man’s autopsy. And I certainly didn’t bribe the coroner to cover anything up.”
