The Fangs of Bloodhaven

by Cheree Alsop

  “I don’t know about the plants Dr. Transton described,” Adrielle said later during their trek through the jungle. “How will we know they eat living creatures? I mean, plants that live on blood? It just seems so...” Her voice died away and she and Vanguard stopped walking, their attention on something in the clearing in front of them.

  The scent of blood hit Everett like a wall. The thirst returned so strongly he could barely hold back. He was only then aware of the fact that it had vanished almost completely since his incident in the sunlit clearing and their picnic lunch. The rational part of him wondered if being in the sun had chased it away, while the visceral side pushed him forward, urging him into the wide clearing that smelled of flesh and blood.

  Adrielle grabbed his arm. “Everett, look.”

  The blood-lust haze that filled Everett’s vision faded at her touch. He blinked and his gaze focused on the clearing.

  The canopy overhead was thickly linked so only a little bit of light showed through. The colored beams that made it to the floor of the clearing lit a nightmarish scene.

  Huge plants taller than Vanguard spread out along the grass. They opened in half like two sides of the pea pods Everett’s father grew in the green house, except that in the place of the smooth insides where the peas usually sat, these plants had huge, jagged fangs that bent inward like hooks. A few of the plants were closed and it was from these that the blood scent wafted.

  Everett squinted in the half-light in an attempt to see what hung from the plant closest to them. His breath caught when he recognized the hindquarters of a deer. Blood dripped from the almost-severed limbs, and where it fell to the meadow floor, smaller pod plants opened their eager mouths for a taste.

  “Oh no,” Adrielle squeaked.

  Everett followed her gaze. Within moments, he could hear something thundering through the trees across the clearing. It was obvious she heard its flight better than they did. Her head turned as she focused on the sound.

  “If it doesn’t stop, it’ll head straight for the plants,” she said. She took a step forward.

  Everett caught her hand. “Adrielle, you can’t!”

  He stopped her progress just as a massive buck crashed into the clearing. It snorted and stomped, throwing its wide-sweeping antlers as it checked over its shoulder for whatever had been pursuing it.

  “It’s coming,” Adrielle whispered.

  A twig snapped from the shadows. The buck leaped forward and landed directly on one of the pod halves. Before the animal could jump again, the pod snapped shut, engulfing the buck completely. The animal gave a strangled scream. The pod jerked, shuddered, then became still.

  An eerie silence filled the clearing. Adrielle’s face was buried against Everett’s arm.

  “Wolves eat deer,” Vanguard pointed out. There was awe on his face, but none of the horror the werewolf displayed.

  Everett let out a breath, realizing he had been holding it since the buck stepped into view. He couldn’t push away his own dismay at the beautiful animal’s death.

  “It’s different,” Adrielle said. “There’s honor in it. It’s a fight for life, for survival. Wolves take the weak, not the strong.” She waved a hand in the direction of the clearing without looking there. “It’s nothing like...that.” Her voice choked off.

  Vanguard threw Everett a grin and nodded at Adrielle with a shoulder shrug as if he still couldn’t understand why she was upset.

  Everett turned away so she wouldn’t see her boyfriend’s callous attitude. “Dr. Transton said we would find the entrance on the south side of the plants. Something about a door to the darkest night.”

  “Sounds inviting,” Vanguard noted. “Shall we, babe?” He held out his elbow to Adrielle.

  She gave Everett an apologetic look. “Thanks,” she said quietly.

  She took Vanguard’s arm and walked away, leaving Everett to follow or be left at the edge of the very creepy clearing. He couldn’t deny the way his mouth watered at the scent that clung to his clothes. It took nearly all of his self-control to move one foot in front of the other instead of dropping to his knees beside the dripping hindquarters of the deer to lap up the blood like the tiny pod plants.

  “Keep it together,” Lisette said quietly at his side. “You’re going to have to be clear-minded to survive this.”

  “Survive what?” Everett asked.

  Lisette didn’t answer.

  Everett gritted his teeth and followed his friends deeper into the shadows beyond the south side.

  “Here it is,” Vanguard said. Laughter touched his voice. “You’d think the door would be a little better hidden.”

  “Maybe they didn’t think the entrance to a community of vampires needed hiding,” Adrielle pointed out.

  Everett studied the door. It had been made out of some sort of wood so dark he had never seen anything like it before. It looked as though it sucked every bit of light inside to never let it free again. He reached out a hand and brushed the wood with his fingertips. The surface was smooth and fine-grained for a moment, then the wood rippled beneath his touch and his hand sank inside as though he dipped in a cool pond. He yanked it back in surprise.

  “Whoa,” Vanguard stated. “I didn’t see that coming.”

  Adrielle set a hand on the door. The wood remained normal and flat.

  “This is why we needed a vampire,” she breathed in amazement. She glanced at Everett. “You can get us through.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked, watching the door with a foreboding feeling rising in his chest.

  She nodded. “When you touch it, it turns. Just don’t let go of us, okay?” She took his hand.

  “I’m usually against holding hands with a vampire,” Vanguard said. “But in this case, I’ll make an exception. I have a feeling this is going to lead to quite the adventure.” He grabbed Everett’s other hand.

  “I didn’t sign up for this,” Everett said under his breath.

  He touched the door with the toe of his shoe. The wood rippled and pulled him forward. Everett took a deep breath and stepped through the wood.

  “Whoa!” Vanguard exclaimed when they reached the other side. “That was like taking a cold shower, and I hate showers.”

  Everett’s attention was on the hallway beyond. It sloped downward and curved to the left out of sight, winding below the pod killing fields. The hall was arched and paved with smooth white stones that appeared as though they had been put together like a puzzle. There was no mortar between the stones, yet no space, either, only a fine line where they had been joined.

  “Where is the light coming from?” Adrielle asked.

  The hallway was comfortably lit, but Everett couldn’t tell from where. It took him a moment to realize the truth.

  “It’s the stones,” he said in awe. The white rocks actually glowed a soft, luminescent white. He put his hand to one and felt a slight heat rising from it.

  “Amazing,” Adrielle breathed. She touched the stone beside Everett’s. The stone immediately went dark, then flashed on and off. The same flashing ran through each of the stones in the row down and around the corner. A humming sound rose from the rocks; it wasn’t quite ominous, but set Everett’s teeth on edge. Adrielle gripped her boyfriend’s arm.

  “I don’t think you should have touched that,” Vanguard pointed out needlessly.

  “They’re coming,” Adrielle replied with a tremor in her voice, her attention on where the hallway curved out of sight.

  The sound of footsteps came to Everett’s ears. The thought that he was about to meet members of his own species sent a tremor of anticipation through him. He smiled, anxious to make a good impression.

  Six men dressed in solid red from head to toe came into view. Only their eyes were visible behind masks that made them look like the ninjas Donavan used to draw. They carried staffs with red spikes on each end.

  “Down on your faces!” one of the vampires barked.

  Everett held up his hands. “We’re friends,” he said.
“We don’t mean to intrude, we’re just—”

  “Get down!” the vampire yelled.

  “Whoa,” Vanguard protested. “We’re not a threat!”

  The vampires attacked.

  They moved so quickly Everett had to channel his strength just to keep up. He managed to block a staff from one vampire and tripped another with a well-timed kick. A growl sounded behind him.

  “It’s a werewolf!” one of the vampires shouted. “Kill it!”

  Vanguard waved his hand and Adrielle disappeared from view. In the next second, she had two of the vampires pinned to the ground. The leader slammed her side with the blunt end of his spiked staff so hard she crashed into Vanguard. He fell backwards and his hold on the magic was lost. Adrielle reappeared in her wolf form.

  All of the vampires advanced with their staves raised. Everett knew the moment they brought them down with their channeled strength, his friends would be done for.

  Everett forced every ounce of strength into a knot in his stomach. Red colored his vision. He leaped in front of his friends and forced the strength forward. A red blur of energy burst from him, knocking the vampires back to the end of the hall.

  Everett fell to his knees. He had never done anything like that before. He felt as though every cell in his body was empty and cold. It took all of his strength just to remain somewhat upright.

  Adrielle quickly changed form behind Vanguard. The vampires advanced, their stances and gazes wary this time.

  “Don’t you dare touch them,” Everett said with a snarl that revealed his teeth.

  The vampires halted.

  “Leonard needs to see you,” the spokesman of the group said with a tone of distaste.

  “What about my friends?” Everett asked. With Vanguard’s help, he rose back to his feet. Every nerve in his body felt fried. The blood thirst was so strong he could barely think. He had burned everything in that burst of energy. He didn’t know how much longer he would be able to hold a conversation.

  “Your friends,” he stressed the word so that Everett knew exactly how he felt about it, “Are a warlock and a werewolf. Both species are, to say the least, strictly forbidden from entering these hallowed halls. They will be tortured and killed,” the vampire concluded levelly as though he described a slap on the wrist instead of death.

  The thought of Adrielle and even Vanguard suffering at the vampires’ hands struck a chord of steel inside Everett. He was the only one who could save them. Through Dr. Transton’s instructions, he had unwittingly brought his friends into this situation. He would do everything he could to get them back out.

  Fierce protectiveness filled him with white-hot anger. Everett stared the vampires down using a strength he didn’t know he had. “If you want me to meet Leon, you will let my friends leave in peace. If there is any threat of them being harmed, we’ll leave now.” He lowered his voice. “But if you think they’re a threat, wait until Leon sees what happens if he tries to harm a hair on either of their heads.”

  The vampires were silent for a moment. The leader finally spoke. “It is approved. Your friends will go free and you will come with us. Leon requests the pleasure of your company.” His tone stated he felt Everett’s company would be anything other than pleasurable.

  “They won’t be harmed,” Everett repeated just to make sure.

  “Everett, we won’t leave you here alone,” Adrielle protested.

  “Yeah,” Vanguard seconded. “This is madness. We should all just leave together.”

  “Then Nectaris will be lost to the wendigo,” Everett replied quietly so only they could hear. “I’ve got to try.” He turned back to the vampires.

  “They won’t be harmed. You have the word of Leon, Sovereign of the Vampires of Bloodhaven.”

  Just the name sent a surge of pain through Everett’s cramping stomach. He needed blood.

  “Go back to the clearing where you found me. I’ll meet you there,” Everett said in a voice just above a whisper. He walked with them back to the door. “Stay wary. I don’t trust these vampires. Maybe you’d be safer leaving the jungle entirely.”

  “We won’t leave you,” Adrielle protested. “Even leaving here without you feels wrong.”

  “It’s okay,” Everett reassured them. “I’ll be there soon.”

  He put a hand on the door. The wood turned into the pool once more. Adrielle’s eyes were filled with tears, but she knew they couldn’t stay.

  “Rett?” she asked.

  “It’ll be alright,” he told her with as much reassurance as he could muster. “I’ve got to try. Whether I fail or succeed, I’ll meet you in the jungle. Keep an eye out for me.” Everett took her hand and helped her through.

  “I will,” she promised.

  Vanguard was next. Everett met his gaze. “Take care of her.”

  The warlock nodded solemnly. “You take care of yourself.”

  “I will,” Everett replied.

  He waited until Vanguard’s last purple shoe disappeared through the door. A breath of relief escaped him. Regardless of what happened, at least his friends would be safe.

  Everett turned cautiously around. He met the leader’s gaze. “I’m ready to meet Leon.”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  The six vampires surrounded Everett. He fought back a feeling of claustrophobia as they led him down the hall. The luminescent rocks lit the walkway around the corner to a set of doors. Each vampire set a hand on them. Instead of opening, the doors again became like ponds, sucking them through.

  Everett gasped at the shock of cold followed by the heat of the next room. When he drew in his next breath, he could barely control the animalistic surge of survival that followed. Blood was so thick in the air he could taste it. He clenched his hands into fists in an effort to center himself and looked around.

  They were beneath the pods in the clearing. Giant brown roots snaked along the ceiling and walls. Tubes were interspersed among the roots and the blood of the buck and other creatures being devoured ran through the tubes to a great vat below. An arm of stone churned the mixture as it boiled, sifting dark bubbles off the top. Below, the now nearly black liquid dripped into thick containers of blown glass. Other vampires dressed from head to toe in gray stacked these bottles carefully on trays. One vampire carried a tray through another of the strange doors and out of sight.

  Everett pictured himself taking down the six vampires and shoving his face below the dripping liquid. He wanted it so badly he had to force himself to keep walking. He knew the blood thirst was giving him false confidence in his abilities. He didn’t know what the force he had pushed from him was, and given the state of his frayed nerves, he doubted it would happen very soon in the future.

  His eyes locked on what appeared to be cells along the far wall of the room. Three individuals that were barely skin and bones leaned against the bars and watched the dripping blood. Their eyes were glazed and not even a flicker of interest showed when Everett was led past. He wondered if they had been guilty of stealing blood. It was a merciless torture, watching the blood drip so closely, yet so far out of reach.

  He allowed the vampires to lead him through another chilling door to a vast, dark room beyond. His sneakers sunk deep into the thick orange carpet that covered the middle of the glowing stones that lined the floor. Wall sconces with flickering candles lit the walkway from pillars spaced along the cavern. Everett couldn’t tell how big the room was. It fell away on either side with a feeling of emptiness.

  The vampires reached the door at the end and motioned for him to continue.

  “You’re not coming?” he asked. His voice sounded small and pathetic in the huge cave.

  “Leon awaits,” the leader said in a level tone.

  Everett took a steeling breath and stepped through the last door alone. It took a moment before his eyes cleared and he could focus on what lay around him.

  The room was warmly lit with both the glowing stones and sconces of candles. A scent of sage and lemon touched Eve
rett’s nose. A carpet worked with beautiful scenes of forest hunts and bold knights had been spread across the floor. It appeared ancient, yet perfectly preserved. Animals that no longer existed were depicted with extreme detail. Everett felt as if he was staring at something lost and found again.

  “Welcome.”

  The voice ran across his skin like a breath of cold air within the warm space. His head jerked up and he spotted a vampire sitting at a simple table near the other end. He could have sworn the room had been empty when he entered it; the thought set his teeth on edge.

  Everett crossed the carpet.

  “My friends were attacked.” He kept the statement level, not accusing or complaining, just stating a fact.

  “And for that, you have my deepest apologies,” the vampire Everett knew must be Leon replied. His voice was also level without any inflection to let Everett know how he really felt.

  Everett stopped near the far side of the table. Five rich wooden chairs gilded in gold and lined with plush red velvet circled the table away from the vampire. Everett stood behind the furthest of these like a shield. It didn’t help him feel any safer.

  “Are they safe in the jungle?” Everett asked.

  Leon set his elbows on the table and threaded his fingers together. He looked at Everett across them, appearing very vampirish to Everett’s way of thinking. The vampire was a bit older. His surroundings made age appear like a fleeting thing, definite at one moment, and then whisking away in the flicker of the candles and the glow of the floor stones.

  “Is anyone ever truly safe in the jungle?” Leon asked, raising an eyebrow.

  The thought of his friends being attacked by vampires set Everett on edge. He had to resist the urge to jump onto the table, cross the short distance between them, and pummel a real response from the vampire. Blood thirst was definitely taking its toll and the pain in his stomach rapidly increasing.

  It took every ounce of self-control for Everett to ask instead of demand, “Are my friends in danger of being attacked by vampires?”