Key to Conflict
Page 34
Tanis’s eyes went red for a moment at the scent of fresh blood as he pushed himself into a sitting position. “Get her away from me,” he rasped, as fangs descended through his shriveled gum line.
Pavel moved Kimber behind him and faced the Vampire, ready to defend the woman if necessary. Trocar pulled her back farther, closer to the door, blocking the Vampire’s view with his body as well. Tanis could still smell the blood but now didn’t have the additional visual torment.
“Gillian?”
Strong, familiar fingers lifted her chin and she found herself staring into Tanis’s eyes, now shifting back to golden again. Eyes that were almost shrunken in a face that resembled a skull, the skin was pulled so tight and thin. She managed a nod, still gasping and wincing with pain as she forced air through her throbbing trachea. Reaching up, she patted Tanis’s shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting gesture.
“Allow me, Captain.” Trocar eased gentle, warm hands around her throat, sparing a brief glance at the skinny, wretched Vampire who was glaring daggers at him.
“Do not exert yourself, blood drinker. I mean only to heal her.”
Focusing his attention on Gillian, the Dark Elf concentrated his considerable power. She felt her throat heat up in a flare of warmth, then subside. Drawing air deep into starved lungs, Gillian patted Trocar’s hand.
“That’s great, Trocar. Thanks. I can breathe again.”
To Tanis, she said, “I’m okay. Yeah he’s a Grael, but he’s also a healer. We’ll talk later; let’s get out of here.” As she struggled to her feet, the Ghost wailed softly.
“Please! Please don’t leave me!”
Gillian didn’t stop getting up or helping Tanis up. “Fine, come with us. Just shut up for right now.”
Tanis’s skeletal hand on her arm stopped her. “They have another, Gillian. I heard his screams.” His voice was weaker than before, she observed. He sure couldn’t look any worse.
“Well, that’s great. Look, we are not stopping to rescue everyone that could possibly be held captive in this palatial shit-hole. Now get moving and let’s get out of here before something else happens.” Her face held firm resolve that she wanted to be the hell out of there with everyone in one piece.
Pavel had finished with bandaging Kimber’s arm and was sniffing the air. It was unnerving to watch him in Human form, doing such an obviously doggy thing. Moving out of the corpse-strewn room and into the original chamber where the women had been held, Pavel scented the stairs. “Here. It is faint, but his scent is up there.”
“Whose scent for Crissakes?” Gillian was completely out of patience.
“Your friend, Luis.”
“Goddammit!”
CHAPTER
31
R ULE number one in the United States Marine Corps was that you left no one behind. Living or dead, your team, group, platoon or friends, you did not leave without them. Luis technically fell between two categories, being a Vampire, but it made no difference to his comrades. They were going to pull him out or they would all go down together. The party began to move toward the stairs when Tanis balked.
“No. Not without Grace.”
“Tanis, look, I appreciate your loyalty, as I am sure Grace does, but we really need to get the hell out of here.” Gillian reached over Pavel and tugged at her former lover’s arm, but Tanis was implacable.
“No.”
“Shit.” Gillian snarled, “Grace!”
They’d abandoned all pretense of not making noise. Sure as shit, something else would be coming after them soon, so it made little difference if they were discreet or not. The demi-Fey was only the beginning, of that she was sure. Jack the Ripper and Goddess knew who else were right upstairs—most likely comatose, with dawn breaking—but upstairs anyway, probably with guards. No one stopped to think why Tanis wasn’t affected by the rising sun.
The Ghost fluttered over. “I cannot come with you, m’Lord Tanis. I only gave you what comfort I could here. You need a real lover, not a vapor.”
“Grace, you have helped me survive. You must come with us.” Tanis’s voice was still raspy, but getting weaker.
“Don’t argue with him right now. It will keep him calm if you’re with us.” Gillian and Trocar exchanged a glance.
Apparently the Ghost had been a source of comfort for Tanis during his imprisonment. She’d find out all the details later; now was not the time.
Trocar cleared his throat. “If the young lady would prefer”—he let go of Tanis with one hand to indicate the fallen Fey assassin—“that one lives still, but just barely; if she would enter the body as the other’s spirit leaves, she could become corporeal again.”
Tanis struggled to lift his head and look at Trocar, then at Gillian for confirmation—she shrugged—and back to Trocar. “This is possible?”
Grace caught on and squeaked happily, twisting around Tanis’s emaciated form. “I would do it for you if you want me to be real again.”
Tanis’s voice was growing weaker. “Yes. Be alive again, Grace, if that is your wish.”
The Ghost blurred over to the body of the Fey and hovered. Trocar helpfully provided instructions. “Wait, little one. Not much longer.” He listened intently. “Now.”
Grace propelled herself into the Fey’s lifeless body. There was a shimmering fountain effect as she pressed herself through flesh and bone. Trocar murmured a few words. The Fey jerked, back arching and bowing as the possession occurred, then lay still. The lips moved and the tinkling bells of the Fey’s voice were heard. “I can’t move! Tanis, help me!”
The Grael was already moving, propping Tanis against Pavel and Gillian, to attend to the newly embodied Ghost. He crouched beside her, his hands splayed around her broken neck and concentrated. There was another muffled pop, then the body jerked and seemed to shrink a little before poofing into the pint-sized, six-inch body of the Fairy standing amidst the corpse sludge of the basement. Wings, neck, everything was intact and working. She was a tiny perfect person with adorable wings that fluttered as she struggled to be airborne.
“I’m alive! Tanis, I am alive!”
“Sorry to interrupt this happy little moment, but we still need to find Luis and get the hell out of here.” Kimber had been mostly silent, nursing her arm, but was regrouping well.
She’d been outraged and a little frightened by the speed with which the Fey had wounded her. Now she was pissed off and ready to fight. Trocar took a moment to heal the worst of the damage to her arm to prevent any incident with Tanis.
They mounted the stairs gingerly, letting Pavel’s nose and Trocar’s ears guide them. Grace was experimenting with her newfound wings and discovering that she’d forgotten that walls and people were solid objects, after she nearly broke her nose on Gillian’s gun hand, then careened into the wall. Everyone but Tanis ignored her. He reached out and plucked her from the air, settling her into his shirt pocket for safekeeping.
“Tanis?” Grace whispered, her tiny voice trembling. “I don’t think I can change back to full-sized form.”
“We will worry about that later,” Tanis whispered, smiling down at the tiny beauty and stumbling uncharacteristically on the stairs.
“Careful,” Trocar reprimanded him as they continued on.
It didn’t take long to find Luis in the estate. The smell of blood drew Tanis and Pavel like a beacon. He was unguarded, in one of the lower rooms that had been modified into a torture chamber. Fortunately, the rest of their weapons were in the same room, neatly laid out on a table, and they repossessed them.
Since Luis had been in Dracula’s clutches only one night, he wasn’t as badly off as Tanis was. Still, the damage was extensive. They’d staked him to a table in several very lethal areas, puncturing the arteries in his arms, legs and abdomen. It was meant to kill him, but slowly. Now with the lethargy of dawn, Luis was senseless and unresponsive. Luckily for him, Vampire daytime torpor had stopped his bleeding, or he would have bled out by now. He was still a fairly young Vampi
re and couldn’t stay awake during the hours of full daylight.
Tanis, unhappily, was fully conscious and suffering. Luckily for everyone, he was so near death that he couldn’t react to the amount of Luis’s blood on the table and floor. As it was, his eyes blazed red and his fangs snapped down, driving through his lower lip with need. Writhing in Trocar’s and Pavel’s hands, even weak as he was, it took the combined strength of the Werewolf and Dark Elf to keep his teeth away from them. He required blood, and fast, before he went truly mad and killed one of his rescuers.
Gillian and Kimber pulled him out of the room, away from Luis, while Pavel freed the other Vampire and Trocar helped hold Tanis. Seeing how badly the Vampire was trembling, a bloody froth forming on his torn lips, Gill was desperate enough to offer herself as a donor.
Tanis graciously refused with a snarl. “No, piccola. In my current state, I might truly harm you, and that I will not do. Find a donor quickly, then I will go to ground.”
See, that was the problem. Quickly. Quickly didn’t look like it was happening…well, quickly. Kimber searched around while the other two held Tanis and Pavel appeared, carrying Luis wrapped in heavy velvet curtains. Soon, she found a way out of the estate that deposited them in back of the manor.
As she led them out, Gillian noticed the disturbing lack of guards of any kind. It was a little unnerving. The place was too damn quiet. There should have been some Human servants around, just breathing, walking. Some kind of noise in the large estate would have been apparent to at least the non-Humans. Gillian and Kimber exchanged a look that spoke volumes. Something was very wrong, but they couldn’t pinpoint it yet.
Everyone was quiet, even Grace, as Trocar covered Tanis as best he could with his cape. Since the Elf and the Werewolf were the two strongest beings currently still fully functional, they decided to carry the Vampires into the forest and hope for a cave or other hiding place away from the sun’s rays, which were beginning to stream over the huge house.
They discovered they were on the western side of the estate. That side of the mansion, the meadow and the forest beyond was still in enough shadow that they didn’t risk the Vampires bursting into roman candles on the way across. Tanis was slung over Trocar’s shoulder, Grace perched on his butt. Pavel had Luis in a fireman’s carry as they all ran like hell to the shelter and safety of the thick trees.
Reaching the thicket, they paused in the most shadowy place they could find. Trocar gently lowered Tanis to the earth, sheltering him with his own body and vast leather cape. The Vampire looked quizzically at him, then flicked his gaze to Gillian, a thousand questions in his eyes.
Chuckling, Trocar reassured him. “We are close, but not in the manner which you believe, Vampire.”
He rolled back his leather sleeve, exposing a sleekly muscled obsidian arm. “Take but a little to sustain you until we can attract prey. My blood is powerful and will invigorate you.”
Gillian watched with Kimber and Pavel. It wasn’t like the Grael to be too helpful without a damn good reason. He was her friend and she trusted him, but he was a Grael; he always had ulterior motives. Still, she didn’t interfere as Tanis grasped the proffered arm and bit down. Trocar hissed at the sudden pain.
Unexpectedly, Tanis jerked back, nearly gagging. “Almighty hells!”
His voice was clearer and he abruptly looked more inflated. Grace fluttered excitedly around his head, squeaking. Tanis batted her impatiently away and she lit on a nearby log, sulking.
“Elf blood is powerful, but very disagreeable in flavor,” Trocar helpfully provided. “That is one of many reasons why you will never see a Vampire Elf.”
Wiping his arm free of blood and Vampire saliva with the edge of the cape, he rose, towering over them. He looked toward Luis, still curled beneath the coats and purses.
“That one will not survive if we do not get him out of daylight.”
Tanis was on his knees and spitting unhappily into the fallen leaves. “Can’t get the taste out.”
“Anyone know where the hell we are?” Gillian asked.
“I can guide us back to the hotel, but Luis will not survive,” Pavel stated.
“Bury him here,” Tanis rasped, shakily getting to his feet. Kimber and Gillian reached to steady him. “Tanis is right, Luis will do fine if we leave him and come back later.”
“How much later?” Kimber asked. “I don’t want to be back here at night, thank you very fucking much.”
“At least by dusk, plus Tanis has to go to ground too, very soon,” Gillian stated, looking intently at her former lover. He looked really awful and she worried that he might not make it.
With Tanis too weak to open the earth, Pavel speedily dug a hole and lay Luis in it, packed his wounds with earth to help his own blood heal him, then covered him with earth and leaves. He’d be all right until nightfall, when Tanis would be rejuvenated enough to help him fully recover. The tall Vampire was looking paler instead of gray, which Gill took as a good sign; the Elf’s blood had revived him a bit.
“I do not want to seem ungrateful, Gillian, but why did you come after me? I cannot imagine Aleksei allowing such a thing, piccola.” Tanis’s voice was nearly back to its former glory after the light infusion of Elf juice.
When Gillian glared at him and a light blush hit her cheeks, he chuckled. “Aleksei will have much to say to you in this matter when he arrives.”
“What?” Gillian blushed again. “Why is he coming here?”
“To rescue you, of course, little Captain, should you fail to rescue me.” Tanis smiled at his former lover.
He knew it was over from the time he left. Gillian and he weren’t suited for a long-term relationship but he didn’t begrudge his brother from trying to win her. His brow furrowed.
“Which brings me to an unsettling question. Why did they allow us to escape?”
“I’ve been thinking about that too, but right now, we need to either bury you or get you a victim.” Gillian was looking around to see if any movement stirred in the woods.
“Prey, please, Gillian. Only Dracula and his kind take victims.” Tanis was offended but too weak to continue the argument.
Trocar shook and fluffed his crystalline hair out, then flapped his cape to straighten it after being rumpled by desiccated Vampire. He looked absolutely stunning and there wasn’t one speck of corpse goo on him.
“You look like that when you were in the same places we were. It’s just not fucking fair,” Kimber muttered, much to the Elf’s amusement.
“It is a gift.” He smiled. “I will find Tanis some sustenance.”
He melted into the trees. No small trick for a six-foot, two-inch Elf wearing a red leather slutsuit. Tanis sat heavily on the log where Grace perched. His skin was still taut but his eyes were clearer. Gillian sat next to him, ignoring the Fairy’s indignant squeak. Dawn was fully upon them and Tanis was growing weaker even with the Elf blood infusion.
“Let me cover you, Tanis. The sun is getting higher,” Gillian offered, holding her jacket up to shield him as much as possible. “Aleksei will never forgive me if you turn into a crispy critter now that you’re out.”
“Why are we out, Gillian? You just slithered into Oscar Gray’s estate, rescued me, your friend Luis, then were allowed to escape. Why?” Tanis asked.
Kimber stepped up, eyeing Grace. “Because they knew we’d take a spy with us.”
Tanis glared at her and Grace recoiled in horror as Kimber leveled the flamethrower at her. “Grace has been one of the reasons that I am still alive, Human. Do not threaten her before me.”
To her credit, Kimber didn’t move, but Pavel stepped closer to her, watching the Vampire closely. Kimber wasn’t impressed with Tanis’s warning. “Nope. It’s too convenient. Dracula would have never let us out so easily.”
She looked at Gillian. “It’s either her or it’s Luis. I don’t think this one,” indicating Tanis, “would just roll over for Dracula and turn traitor. At least not from what you’ve told me.”
“No! I helped Tanis! I kept him alive!” Grace shrieked, flitting around the Vampire’s head.
“I don’t think so, and Kimber, get that away from Tanis.” Gillian pushed the business end of the flamethrower in another direction.
A soft call turned their attention. Trocar was leading a pair of glassy-eyed female joggers toward them. The women were clearly enthralled, whether by being Elfstruck or magically enhanced by the Grael. He positioned them on their knees in front of Tanis, who looked pointedly at Gillian and Kimber.
“Oh, sorry.” Gill turned away.
Vampires didn’t like to be stared at when they fed any more than Humans did, but she watched him from the corner of her eye. Even starved as he was, Tanis fed only a little from each of the women and he took it from the wrist each time.
Neck feeding was rather intimate and required either a desire to create an erotic sensation or a deliberate intent to kill. A little blood from these two people would serve his purpose for the moment. Taking as much as he needed right now would potentially kill both of these women, so he fed lightly. Their blood also served to get the taste of the Elf’s blood out of his mouth. When he was done with each one, he nicked his own tongue and laved his blood over the wounds. The pinpricks sealed instantly. No mark or bruise remained to testify that a Vampire had just given them wrist hickeys.
While Trocar was taking the women back to where he’d found them, Tanis used his once more superior Vampire powers to open the earth. The small amount of Grael and Human blood would keep him alive until nightfall when he could hunt for prey himself.
Lying down, he reassured the assembled group. “I will be fine. Let me rest for the day here. The sun is too high for me to remain awake much longer outdoors.”