by T. S. Ryder
Armstrong's men stopped firing their weapons. Everything seemed to go still as Sheridan withdrew the stake, pain and anger twisting his face. The human stumbled back, gasping.
"Fitting," Sheridan spat, "that you would die like the vampires you despise so much."
Armstrong dropped. Sheridan turned to her two men. He pulled the second stake from his other wrist and ran at them. They dropped their guns and fled. Neither of them turned. Neither saw Sheridan stumble and fall. He lay on his face, unmoving.
"No," Maribel whispered. She dragged herself to her feet and ran to him, tears running down her face. "Sheridan! Don't leave me."
She rolled him over with effort. His eyes rolled wildly, his face ashen. Maribel's heart jumped to her throat. The silver was poisoning him. She set to work quickly, grasping the ends of the stakes that had been driven through his body and pulling them out. Each wound was crusted with dead, black skin, like an old scab left to fester. The smell of burning flesh made her stomach roil. She choked back bile and continued.
When she was finally done, Maribel pulled him into her arms as best as she could. Numerous holes riddled his body. There was nothing she could do about the bullets inside his body. His eyelids flickered, and when his gaze focused on her he shook his head.
"Maribel," he groaned.
"I'm here," she whispered. "I'm here, I'm not going to leave you."
"No. You have to get away."
Maribel held him tighter. "I'm not leaving you."
"You have to go. I need to feed. I need blood. You have to go, or…" His gaze fastened on her neck. "Go, Maribel. Please. I don't want to live if it means killing you. Please. Call Billie. She'll know what to do. Just go before I lose control. Go! Now!"
Maribel's heart hammered. She shook her head. "I'm not leaving."
"Don't argue with me."
"No. You don't argue with me. If I leave you'll die."
Sheridan groaned, eyes rolling.
Maribel shook him hard. "Don't you dare leave me! Stay with me, Sheridan. I love you. Drink from me. You aren't going to kill me. Please. For me. I don't want to… I don't want to have to live without you."
She kissed him hard. Sheridan was still. Slowly, one of his hands rose. It combed through her hair before resting on the nape of her neck. He guided her neck to his mouth and kissed her throat gently. Maribel's skin tingled and she shivered. She braced herself against the ground.
"Count to ten and stop me." He grasped one of the silver stakes and pressed it into his hand. "Drive it back into my wound if you have to."
Maribel nodded. She closed her eyes. His breath was cold against her skin. His fangs grazed her skin. A sharp sting made her gasp. The sting turned more painful and she couldn't stop herself from crying out. And then the pain was gone. She felt Sheridan suck. A rush coursed through her. It wasn't pain, but it wasn't pleasure either. It was something else, something that made her arms buckle. She fell down over him.
"One," she gasped. "Two. Three."
Another pull. Sparks exploded over her vision. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head.
"Four. Five. Six. Seven."
Sheridan held her tighter.
"Eight."
His hands clenched her arms.
"Nine."
He released her abruptly, gasping. Maribel’s heart beat wildly, exhaustion running through her blood. The world swayed beneath her. But she rose her head just the same. Sheridan looked down at her. Their eyes met. His face was regaining what little color it normally had. He brushed his fingers against her cheek.
"Ten," she whispered. "Told you."
"Yes, you did." His eyes closed. "You're always right."
"Are you going to be okay?"
"Yes. I just need to rest for a moment. Then we can go home."
"Home," Maribel whispered. "That sounds good."
Chapter Ten – Sheridan
A scream made Sheridan jump. He winced as his still-healing wounds pulled. There had been substantial damage to his bones where the spikes had been driven through, and even after all these months, he still wasn't back to peak condition. If it wasn't for the silver Armstrong had used, he would have been healed within a week, two tops, but with the extra damage of silver poisoning, it had taken him four times that long just to start walking again.
Another scream rang down the corridor. Sheridan's heart jolted. Whatever pain he was still in from his injuries, it was nothing compared to the agony he could hear Maribel was in. He felt sick with worry, but there was nothing he could do.
Maribel was in labor and had been for the past two hours. The midwives wouldn't permit him into the birthing room with her, declaring that birthing babies was women's business. He wished he could be there, to hold her hand as she went through this pain.
The scream died off and Sheridan let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He'd never felt so helpless before. Even when they had been in Armstrong's clutches, when he was forced to stay still while the nails were driven into his body, he hadn't felt like this. Then he knew he could do something to save Maribel if he needed to.
And he had. The agony of ripping himself off that cross would stay with him forever, but he had saved her.
Now, if something went wrong with the birth, there was nothing he could do. No amount of brute force or strength of will would be able to free her from the dangers of childbirth. He was helpless.
Billie walked up the corridor. She winced as Maribel let loose another scream. Sheridan dug his fingernails into his palm until this scream passed as well. With a sigh, he yanked at his hair. If something didn't happen soon, he was going to go crazy.
"You're a woman," he said to Billie. "Go into the birthing room and find out what's happening."
"Sir, with all due respect I'll only get in the way. Labor takes a long time. I remember when my younger brother was born my mother took nearly a full day to birth him."
Sheridan blanched. How could he survive another hour of this, let alone a day? More importantly, how could Maribel? Even in this day and age when there were so many medical advancements and knowledge, women still had to go through this!
"Why did I ever decide I wanted to be a father?" He yanked harder on his hair. "I would take it all back to stop Maribel from being in this agony!"
Billie smiled sympathetically. "She'll be fine, my lord. You have the best midwives available and all the equipment they need. She is the one who decided she didn’t want drugs. But if I can distract you?"
Sheridan let his hands fall to his side and nodded. "What news have you brought me?"
"The governor has once again extended a personal apology to you for your mistreatment at Armstrong's hands and has decided on a compensation for the blood donors whose identities were revealed. The investigation into the vampire relations bureau is still under way, but so far there have been no other anti-vampire sentiments found in it. And the men that attacked you with Bennet and Armstrong have both been caught."
Sheridan nodded in satisfaction. That was good to hear. Since the attack on his person, the governor had been bending over backward to keep the relationship with the vampire kingdom friendly. A war with vampires would be costly, not only in terms of loss of life but also in trade. The king had no desire to make things more difficult than they had to be, but it was a good wake-up call for the humans to police themselves better.
"Invite the governor to come see the baby," Sheridan said, brow furrowing. "I'm getting tired of his apologies."
"And have you made a final decision about Romanoff?"
Sheridan ran his hand through his hair. "Yes. The general will stay in the dungeons, except for a few hours every day when he serves at a human soup kitchen. Maybe if he serves them, he will develop compassion."
"And if it doesn't work?"
"Make sure he's always heavily guarded when among the humans." After experiencing being nailed to a cross himself, he was never going to threaten crucifixion again. It was his hope that Romanoff would come to
see reason eventually.
The door to the end of the hall opened. A wizened little woman came sweeping down the corridor, a satisfied smile on her face. As she got closer, Sheridan could smell blood and the distinctive scent of newborn baby on her. He ran to meet her.
"Your daughter has been born, my lord."
A girl. Sheridan's face broke into a smile. "May I see them?"
The midwife nodded.
Sheridan turned to Billie. "Gather everybody in the ballroom for the announcement, and prepare a statement for the press."
Billie nodded. Sheridan raced down the corridor, beaming. The midwife followed close behind him and made him wash his hands before he was allowed into the birthing room. The other midwives bustled about, cleaning up, but Sheridan went straight to the bed where Maribel was lying. Her skin was pale with exhaustion, brow sweaty, and dark bags circled under her eyes.
She was so beautiful.
"Hey," she croaked at him.
Sheridan sat on the bed next to her and peered into the face of the tiny baby she was holding. "Hey."
The hospital gown she wore was on backward, the opening at the front. It was gaping so that the baby could rest right against her chest, a receiving blanket covering them both. Big brown eyes, blinking and squinting, peered out of the tiny wrinkled face. Sheridan gently stroked the downy hair.
"She's beautiful," he whispered. "Perfect, just like you."
Maribel smiled sleepily. "I don't feel all that perfect right now. I feel like I was just hit by a truck."
Sheridan had to laugh at that. He looked up as the midwife checked Maribel's pulse and her eyes. "Can I take her back to our room?"
"Always in a rush!" The midwife rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Men! The woman just had a baby. Give her half an hour and we'll see. But if you want your privacy, we can give you some."
"Thank you. You may go announce the baby's gender now."
The midwife bowed at her waist. She hustled the rest of the midwives out quickly, leaving husband and wife alone. The baby was rooting around, her lips pursed. Maribel shifted her hospital gown off her breast and held the baby to it. The baby girl latched on and began to drink eagerly.
"Amazing. She knows exactly what to do." Sheridan beamed.
"Mmmm. I wish I could say the same. I know we took those parenting classes and everything, but I still worry. I never even had a babysitting gig before this. What if I do something wrong?"
Sheridan kissed her forehead. "You won't be alone."
"Yes. Yes, you're right. I don't have to do this on my own. I have you."
"Of course. You have me, and you'll always have me."
He wrapped an arm around her. Maribel laid her head against his shoulder, nestling in closer to him. Both were silent as they watched their little baby feed. Sheridan kissed his wife. The road bringing them here had been painful, but oh so worth it. If he had a choice, he would do it all again.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you, too."
Maribel kissed him as a cheer rose from the ballroom.
*****
THE END
Vampire Romance: Night of the New Moon
Description
What do you do if you’re forced into the King’s harem?
Matheus Lindgern is the new Vampire King and interested in only two things: repairing the badly damaged relationships with neighboring kingdoms and finding a mate to become his queen.
The moment Alice walks into his manor, his blood is on fire. He knows her wants her, but what he doesn’t know is that she is a powerful witch who could easily destroy him if she wanted to.
Curvy and beautiful Alice is a warrior who has served in the war against the Vampires. When the war finally comes to an end, she retires to a small village far away from the politics of the courts. But her plans to become a healer are cut short when she is abducted and forced into the King’s harem.
Alice is determined to hate the King and escape as soon as possible. But she knows she’s in trouble when she discovers just how sexy he is. Even though every instinct is warning her, she is slowly falling for the king, who might not be the monster she thought him to be. Her determination to get home begins to waver, especially once she discovers something is growing in her belly...
But she soon finds out that not everyone in the Vampires’ courts has good intentions. Someone is planning a deadly attack and Alice must do what she can to stay alive and protect the ones she loves.
Chapter One
The sunset painted the sky in rich, golden tones above towering evergreens. The world seemed to be ready to settle in for a long night. A basket full of spring’s first flowers and herbs resting against her hip, Alice made her way down the foggy path towards her cottage, determined to reach home before day slipped completely into night. Pulling open the door to her small shop and home, she went inside and pulled her damp cloak from around her shoulders, allowing a cascade of curly chestnut hair to fall down around her shoulders.
“You were out an awfully long time,” a velvety voice drawled from the corner of the room. Sprawled out across a stack of books on Alice’s disorganized desk was a slender black and white cat, who stared back at her with a pair of bright yellow eyes. “I figured you would hurry home, what with the new moon tonight,” he continued, licking his paw with a nonchalant look on his face.
“If I was concerned with the townsfolk taking advantage of my temporary weakness I would have hurried, but since I no longer serve as a mercenary I am not worried. Thank you for your concern, Talon,” she said, setting her basket full of goodies on a table and starting to sort them out to let them dry.
Talon had been her companion for almost a hundred years. She had adopted him after finding him in the crumbled ruins of a town destroyed by one of the many warlords she had been hired to fight against. He had been just a kitten, and after so many years of exposure to magic he had not only gained immortality but a place at her side as a familiar. He was her dearest companion and, for the longest time, had been her only friend.
“I found a fantastic little flower patch just past that stream we came across the other day, and I was finally able to locate that feverfew that I need for the shield spell I wanted to enchant my talismans with,” she continued, separating out the flowers before moving over to the stove to start warming up water for her tea.
“I remember it. You let me fall into the stream when I went after that mouse, wicked woman,” Talon huffed, glancing up at her with a glare when she snorted and sat beside him at her desk with her cup of tea.
“You wouldn’t have fallen in if you had listened to me and left the poor thing alone,” she hummed, flipping open one of her journals and starting to scribble down the directions to the feverfew. She tended to be a bit forgetful with so much information in her head. She wasn’t 140 any longer. “Anything interesting happen in town while I was out? I assume you were spying on the locals.” She smiled when the cat glared at her.
“I was not spying, I was merely observing, but, yes, I did notice something strange,” he said, stretching with a yawn before continuing. “I saw a group of newcomers, a rather suspicious group. They were lurking around the inn. Pale, red eyes, I’m sure you understand my intrigue at their arrival.” Alice’s silver eyes flashed with interest.
“Oh? Vampires this far north? Now, that is strange.” She frowned, spinning around in her chair to snag a book off the shelf. “I didn’t think they ever left their territory in the west, not since they lost territory to the shifters twenty years ago,” she mumbled, opening her book and examining the map in front of her. “Ostende mihi,” she ordered, swearing when the page slowly started to light up before it went dark once again.
“New moon, dearest. You won’t be able to use divination until at least tomorrow,” Talon reminded her with a knowing little hum.
Glaring up at the cat with an irritated look on her face, Alice closed the book and leaned back in her chair. The last thing that she wanted to hear about
was vampires lurking anywhere near her town. The sweet townspeople had been under her protection since the end of the last Great War that had pitted humanity, the shifters, and the Fairy creatures of the forest against the creatures who ruled the night.
“Do you suppose I have enough juice to put up some warding spells around town?” she grumbled, rubbing at her round, sun-kissed cheeks with a slender hand.
“I suppose that depends on whether you took my advice and actually stored away some of those spells or not,” Talon grumbled, glancing over at his mistress and letting out what she could only assume to be a mocking laugh when she groaned and shook her head.
“Guess we’re doing this the hard way then,” she huffed, moving to her feet and changing quickly into the uniform she had not worn in years: a pair of magic-infused breeches and a matching tunic that hugged her full form a bit too snugly. “I’ve put on a bit of weight since my fighting days. I need to let these out,” she complained.
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Talon hummed, sliding down onto the floor beside her as she strapped a nasty looking knife to her hip. “Are you really going to fight these things? That seems ill-advised.”
“Fight them? I hope not. I just want to gently remind them that this a protected territory, and they aren’t allowed to be here without proper documentation,” she insisted, pulling back her unruly hair into a tail before pulling on her cloak once again and moving out of the door into the misty night.
Glancing up at the sound of a soft little grunt of exertion, she sighed when a sudden weight formed on her shoulder and Talon wrapped himself around the back of her neck lazily.
“You don’t have to come with me, you know,” she pointed out. “And if you are, I think you can walk.” Yet, he just shook his head and rubbed his nose against her cheek.
“Can’t let you face a bunch of vampires alone. You’re out of shape and out of practice.” His voice was teasing, but also held a hint of seriousness. Vampires were dangerous alone, let alone in a group. He knew as well as she did what they were capable of. “And I could walk, but the ground is muddy. I don’t want to get my feet dirty.”
