by Khloe Wren
"It is rare, son. Very rare."
Angelo chuckled as he watched his Bride get herself a bowl of cereal.
"What? I know it’s night time but I just woke up, so to me it’s breakfast. I can’t face a full meal so soon after waking."
Angelo prepared them all a coffee then joined his Bride and his father at the table.
"How did you know to tell me to look for abilities?"
His father caught his gaze, "Because there are legends. Stories believed to be nothing but fables."
Fear gripped Angelo’s heart, "Tell me what these fables foretold?"
"There is one legend which tells of a Bride, born like no other, who will hold special talents. This Eternal Bride will be Queen to all vampires, and she will bring peace to the species."
Angelo patted Darcy on the back as she choked on a mouthful of cereal. He could understand her shock. He was more than a little stunned himself.
"Me? Queen? Of all Vampires?"
His father smiled compassionately at Darcy as she continued to cough. Allowing her a few moments to catch her breath, Angelo turned to his father.
"I hope you can remember more of the legend, father. What is meant to happen now?"
"It has been some time since I have studied it, but I have the legend in my library back in Italy. Once we rescue the others, we will work out exactly what is due to happen. For the moment, we need to focus our energy on saving the others."
Angelo mentioned a plan. When are we going in to get my mother and the others?"
"Not for a number of weeks. We'll go in on the twenty-eighth of February."
Angelo could feel the tension radiate off Darcy, "No. I will not leave my mother there for another eight weeks!"
She stood up to stare down at his father. Angelo did his best to stifle his chuckle.
"Calm down, Darcy. It’s a little over seven weeks now and we need to wait. Sit back down—stop trying to influence me—and I will explain why."
Darcy cocked a brow at his father’s words. “How long did I sleep?”
“Three days. You lost most of your blood. That takes a serious amount of time to recover from.”
Angelo pulled Darcy so she was sitting on his lap. He could feel her inner turmoil and he needed to comfort his Bride.
"Relax, piccola. Please, listen to what we have planned. If you want to come with us, it is important you understand what needs to happen."
"We must wait until the twenty-eighth to ensure the captured vampires are strong enough to get out. We do not have the manpower to fight the Nobles and carry out those rescued. And we do not know how many captives are being held. We need to make sure we have everything possible in our favor."
"Forty six."
Darcy’s words brought both his father’s and his attention to her.
"Forty six what?"
His father gentle question caused Darcy to tense up slightly.
"Karl told me, there are twenty-six brides and twenty vampires. I don’t know how many Nobles there are, sorry."
"Twenty couples and six unclaimed. That knowledge helps us a great deal, thank you Darcy. I will make sure suitable rooms are waiting for them after the rescue."
Angelo pulled Darcy in closer to his body. His heart swelling with pride.
"Um, since do have several weeks until we can go in, can we plan a little later? I’m feeling really tired all of the sudden."
Angelo frowned in concern, "Of course we can plan later. Let me carry you back to bed."
His father stood with them, "I’ll see myself out. Rest and recover, Darcy. You might like to try to get a handle on how your new powers work too. I’m sure they will prove useful in the rescue."
~ * ~
Eight weeks later, Karl still felt more than a little humiliated. He followed the Guardian Nobles down the hall remembering how he was rescued from the van. They came to the room where the other Rescued Brides were finishing their work. He still couldn’t believe he’d never realized what went down every twenty-ninth of February. His gut churned with the thought that he was conceived from such a horrific act. Sweat beaded on his brow as he reached the door to the workroom. Now that he knew what he was taking the women to, he struggled to complete the task.
"What are you stopping for? The sooner we get them over to the dorms, the longer we’ll have to play."
He turned on the Noble who’d spoken to him.
"Do you know what happens to them in that dorm?"
The other man, Burke, who was about ten years older than Karl, gave him a puzzled look.
"Of course I do. Don’t you?"
"Just found out."
"Ahh, got a case of the guilts, huh? You’ll get over it. It needs to happen. It’s the only way new Nobles are created." A sleazy grin spread over Burke’s face, "and I’m only four years off getting a turn."
A turn? Like these women were a carnival ride or something? Karl barely contained the shudder of disgust that flowed through him. He needed to help them escape. But how?
He allowed Burke to lead him into the workroom, where his voice took on a demanding tone.
"All Claimed Brides follow me."
Karl watched as each woman’s spine stiffened. They all knew what was coming. He was glad the Elders’ plan for Darcy hadn’t worked out. He couldn’t bear for her to be raped and abused like that.
Once all the claimed brides came forward he helped usher them out and up the hallway toward the dorms. Each bride had their Guardian Noble plus another, like Karl, either a Guardian of an unclaimed bride, or one who had no charge at the moment. Karl followed Burke and his assigned Bride into a room. He helped Burke strip her and dress her in a robe. The woman held her head high, unshed tears glistened in her eyes but she clenched her jaw, refusing to let them fall. He remember this was the woman who had embraced Darcy that night he’d come to take her for the last time. Sharon, was it? Yes, he’d definitely heard Darcy refer to her as Sharon.
They strapped her to the bedding platform and Burke pulled a needle and empty blood bag from the cupboard. He watched as he slid the needle into the pale flesh of her inner elbow. He taped the needle in place and hung the bag up to fill. He chuckled as she turned from his knuckles running down her cheek. In an action of pure lust he ran his hands over the rest of her body, parting her gown to maul her breasts.
"Is that really necessary?"
Karl couldn’t help the words from escaping. Burke’s head snapped up to glare at him.
"I have been her Guardian for the past ten years. This moment, every four years, is the only chance I get to feel the body that fills my dreams. So long as I don’t put my dick near her pussy, the Elders don’t care what I do."
Every new snippet of information he received, disgusted him further.
"Whatever floats your boat, man, personally, I prefer my women to be willing."
With one last tweak to each nipple he closed her gown and stepped back from her.
"Way to be a kill joy. For that, you can deliver the blood."
"Where do I take it? I’ve never done the blood run before."
He watched as the other man pulled the needle free from her flesh and place a bandage over the small wound. Sealing the bag he handed it to him. "There is a trolley out in the hall. Wait until all the others bring their bags out then take the trolley down to the dungeons. The vamps are due their weekly rations today."
As Karl watched a tear leave Sharon’s eye, a plan began to form. He could help get these women free.
He headed out to the hall with the bag as Burke moved in close to Sharon’s body. He shuddered at what the poor woman was about to be put through, but he couldn’t help her by staying. No, he would help her by freeing her vampire.
He loaded the last labeled blood bag onto the trolley and wheeled it down to the dungeon. He arrived at the security desk outside the main door and he stopped to sign in.
"You may as well hook up the bags while you’re in there. Set the feed lines to one-third of a bag. They do
n’t need to be hyped up this close to breeding day."
With a nod, Karl headed into the cell area.
He looked down at the bags. Each had a number on it. He grabbed Sharon’s bag first, labeled number six. He found the cell labeled likewise and began hooking the fresh bag into the feeding unit. He paused in his work to look in the cell and could feel the vampire’s gaze on him. His breath caught in shock at the sight of the withered dirty vampire lying on the bed in the small cell. A weak arm shakily lifted from the mattress to grip the tube attached to the feeding unit. Once he had it in his mouth, Karl pressed the appropriate buttons so that the vampire would get the full bag.
"Your bride needs you. Now."
The vampire frowned in confusion as he greedily drunk his bride’s fresh blood. Karl moved around the room setting each bag to empty into all twenty of the captive vampires. He was about to leave the cells when he heard a hoarse "Wait" come from cell number six.
He walked toward Sharon’s vampire, who was rapidly recovering his strength now he had a full feed of blood in him.
"Yes?"
"Why are you helping? What has happened to my Sharon?"
"I am a Noble by birth, not choice. I swear to you, I never knew what they did to your brides. Now I do, I refuse to stand idly by while they are abused and raped. You need to stop it and rescue them as soon as possible. The brides are with their guardians, who have permission to do whatever they wish, so long as they don’t have actual intercourse. Then tomorrow, they’ll be forced to be with the Elder Nobles."
He watched the vampire grow before his eyes. His muscles thickened and a low growl came from deep in his throat.
"Can you get out on your own? If I trigger the release, they will know and you’ll all be drugged before you can even leave the dungeon."
"Give us five minutes, for the blood to soak into our systems. Then we’ll break out just fine." The vampire bowed slightly to him. "Thank you for your help."
With a nod Karl left the cells and returned to the upper levels.
But what should he do now?
Chapter Nine
Finally the night had arrived. Darcy stood dressed in tight black pants and shirt, with her hair pulled back into a bun. Angelo stood by her side, also dressed completely in black with his hair tied out of the way. They had made their way through the golf course, coming up to the back garage entrance. Word had spread throughout the vampire community about what was taking place tonight. They had fifty vampires to do this rescue. Darcy was confident they would succeed. She’d been working with Angelo and Luca on honing her mental control ability, and she was happy she now knew how to focus it and use it to the maximum benefit.
"Okay, team. Let’s go get what’s ours."
She went to move forward but Angelo held her back, "Let the men go in first to clear the way."
Darcy didn’t like it but understood. She watched ten vampires move to the front of their group. Orlando was leading them. Darcy had sat next to him on the drive over. His unclaimed bride, Fiona, had been caught seven years ago.
They had never had a chance to meet. Fiona had only been twenty-two when she’d been taken. Seeing Orlando’s shimmering red irises—just like a red opal—for the first time had made Darcy’s heart clench for the friend she’d been forced to leave behind. Orlando was extremely grateful that Darcy had been able to give him his bride’s name.
She watched the men disappear inside the garage. Minutes later, they all followed their path. She tensed up as they walked through the garage and went past the blacked out van which had caused her so much grief. Walking the now empty hallways was eerie, and aside from the occasional dead Noble slumped against the wall, it was silent. She felt Angelo stiffen beside her and she looked down the hallway to see one of the vampires drag a man toward them.
As they came close enough for Darcy to see who it was, she gasped and Angelo pulled her in tightly against his side.
"Karl." He said on a growl, "Rocco, why is he still breathing?"
"He said he has information and wants to help. He could save us a lot of wasted time if he can lead us straight to them."
Darcy remembered the sorrow and pain she’d seen on Karl’s face the night she’d been hurt. Could he be on their side? She stepped toward him and focused her mind on his.
"You will tell the truth. Are you truly helping us?"
"Yes, I am helping you."
"Why?"
"Didn’t know before, what happened. Now I do, I won’t stand by and allow it."
"What have you done so far to help?"
"I gave each captive vampire a full bag of blood a few minutes ago. Sharon’s vampire told me they would be able to break out in five minutes. We must hurry; the Guardians are with the brides, abusing them for their own pleasure."
Darcy stepped back into Angelo’s hard body.
Emotion threatened to overtake her mind. The mention of her mother’s mate, of the abuse already happening had her heart bleeding. She took a deep breath and pushed down all the emotions, refusing to let them rise.
"Where are the unclaimed?"
"Still in the workroom."
She nodded her head and turned to the bulk of the vampires.
"Okay, we need the first group back here pronto. I will lead a smaller group down to the workroom to rescue the six unclaimed. Everyone else needs to follow Karl to where the claimed brides are being held. We’ll head up there as soon as we’ve rescued the unclaimed."
It only took moments for the other vampires to be found and for them to return. Supernatural speed was a glorious thing indeed.
"Orlando, you need to come with us now. Let’s go."
Darcy headed down the hallway toward the workroom. Angelo and Orlando flanked her on either side, while a dozen others followed behind. They reached their destination quickly and Orlando flew forward to swiftly kill the sole Noble guarding the door. Using the dead man’s thumb, Angelo unlocked the door. The second it opened, Darcy dashed inside. All six remaining women were standing at their machines with puzzled frowns on their faces.
"As promised I’ve come back for you all. Quickly, follow me. We need to help rescue the others."
She spun to leave but Fiona’s shocked gaze caught her. With a grin she stood back to let Orlando and her have a moment.
Orlando stepped forward hesitantly as if he couldn’t quite believe his Bride was finally within his grasp. Fiona was also creeping forward. She was staring into his eyes with her mouth hanging loose. When they reached each other, Orlando pulled her into him for a bone crushing embrace. His body shuddered as he closed his eyes tight and breathed in her scent. Darcy watched in glee as Fiona’s hands slowly worked their way up and down his back. They pulled apart and Orlando gripped Fiona’s face as he bent to lay a heat filled kiss on her lips.
As she turned away to give them a moment of privacy she noticed Nikki had also found her vampire. She didn’t know the vampire’s name, but he held her to him reverently. With her cradled against him, he had his face buried in her hair.
Angelo spoke up, breaking the intimate moments.
"I am sorry to interrupt but we must get moving. We have more to save tonight. But ladies, when this is over, know we have a secure place for each of you to stay in. Where you will all be safe."
Darcy ushered the still unclaimed brides from the room. Fiona, Nikki and the vampires followed them into the hallway. They returned to where they’d started. As they reached a fork in the hallways, they heard a massive explosion and watched as a metal door flew in front of them. From the doorway, ragged dirty men appeared. The first man looked up at them and Darcy gasped when she saw his eyes, so much like her mother’s.
"Barret?"
The man frowned in confusion.
"Who are you?"
"I’m Darcy. Sharon’s Darcy. We’re here to rescue you all."
As the other vampires came through the door and were greeted by the rest of the team, Barret moved toward her with tears in his eyes. He reached
her and took her face in his palms.
"My Sharon’s Darcy? Her little girl?"
"Yes."
She was pulled into a tight hug, which earned them a growl from Angelo.
"We can do the reunion later. We must get moving."
~ * ~
Karl led the vampires through the maze of hallways to get to the dorms then stopped outside the main entrance.
"Okay, men. Here we are. Inside this door is a security desk. When I left, there were a dozen Nobles standing guard. Once past that, you’ll find a dorm, each room has a bride and one or two Guardians. The brides are dressed in robes and restrained on beds... I’m sure you all realize I’ve signed my death warrant by helping you, if you could donate a weapon for me to use, I’d really appreciate it."
He was quickly handed a large sharp knife then nodded his thanks.
"Okay. Let’s go start us a war."
He pushed open the door and quickly spun to the side to let the much quicker vampires enter. Within moments all hell broke loose. The first few Nobles were killed quickly as they were surprised. One of the remaining Nobles set off the alarm. The blaring siren seemed appropriate as Karl attempted to keep focus on the rapidly moving vampires. He noticed the Guardians begin to file from the dorm rooms. As soon as they saw the vampires they darted back in, and he had no doubt all the doors would be locked now.
As much as Karl wanted to help, he was a crap fighter so he just tried to stay out of the way. He found a darkened corner near the desk and pressed himself into it just as a flood of Nobles rushed in through the door. Reinforcements responding to the alarm, no doubt. He choked down bile as a man’s head rolled to a stop at his feet. He was still trying to not retch when more men—no vampires—bolted through the door. These were obviously the captives he’d fed earlier. Their clothes were dirty and torn, and their hair and skin a mess. Following behind were the remaining rescuers and the unclaimed brides. Vampires blocked the doorway, shielding the women behind them.
The newest vampires to join the party headed straight through to the dorm rooms. Karl guessed they would be able to sense their brides. Suddenly, he was pulled from the wall, a Noble had him, his shirt gripped tight in his fist.
