Black Heart: Coeur de Sade (Black Heart Series) (20 page)

Knowing my night would end with girl-on-girl-on-girl kinda irritated me.  Frowning, I headed up to see who the cat dragged it.  She felt vaguely familiar.  If I'd had sex with her before, I would recognize her feel.

"Desiree, who do you have up — oh!" I said, spotting Lolita buck ass naked and sprawled out on the den couch.  Desiree had shed everything but her shoes, and was giving the smug vampire cunnilingus.  There were multiple fang punctures on both sides of Desiree's throat, all still oozing blood.  My friend was mesmerized by the vampire.  Fury consumed me.  Lolita's clothes were no where to be seen, so I knew instantly what happened.  I was such a fool.  "Bitch.  You'll pay for following us home."

Lolita changed into a bat and followed us home.  I did nothing to make it hard for her.  Never suspecting a thing, I drove straight home.  I was getting sloppy.

"I don't think so," she said.  "I'll kill sweet Desiree if I even think you will attack me."

Heart thundering, I gawked at the beautiful vampire.  She had me where she wanted me and knew it well.  I hadn't felt that helpless since Yuri captured me.  Then I heard footsteps behind me and my blood ran cold.

"Hello, Lorelei," I said.

"Hello, Sable," Lorelei said softly, then brushed her fingers through my long black hair.  "Kneel."

When I hesitated Lolita drove two fingers straight up under Desiree's chin.  Her fingers penetrated her soft flesh, and then the vampire clamped her fingers down and held tight.

"Aaaaaiiiieee," Desiree wailed, broken out of Lolita's power by the severe pain.

"Lorelei said kneel," she said, dark eyes narrowing dangerously.

I dropped to my knees.  What could I do?  They would kill Desiree.  I had no doubt about that.

Lorelei locked my ankles into steel shackles attached to a spreader bar.  My wrists were handcuffed, and that attached to the middle of the spreader bar via a chain.  I had no doubt everything was vampire proof.  Then Lorelei drove a sanctified silver dagger deep into my left shoulder.  That would keep me from transforming into a bat and escaping.

Lolita cast Desiree aside like a broken doll and strode over to me, eyes blazing.  She kicked me in the face, and then yanked my latex dress down to expose my boobs.  Bound, stripped, yeah I was feeling helpless and vulnerable.

"Yeah, I was right," Lolita said.  "You're rep is way blown out of proportion."

"What do you want?" I said.

Lorelei stepped up.  The sight of her filled me with dread.  As far as I knew, vampires were not immune to magic.

"If you fight my magic, we will kill Desiree," Lorelei said, cocking her head and smiling sweet and innocent.  "I promise."

Lolita came up behind me.  She swept my hair back from my neck, then began licking and nuzzling my neck as she fondled me.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"I want to, but Lolita wants to leave you alive," she said.  Lolita sank her fangs into my jugular, and began sucking greedily.  I groaned and writhed.  I know, pathetic, but it felt so good.  "So once we get the Coeur de Sade, she can make you her personal servant.  Her beautiful, deadly, tamed slave."

She shrugged.  Lolita released my neck, cocked my head the other way, and sank her fangs into my carotid on the other side of my neck.  Then I forgot about Lolita, because Lorelei pricked two fingers on each hand.  I knew enough about magic to know some spells required a blood sacrifice from the witch.

The witch started muttering as her eyes glazed over.  Lorelei's hands were glowing a black-tinged red that radiated cold.  Then her eyes refocused on me, and narrowed.

"What are you doing?"

"We have questions," Lorelei said, and both sisters giggled darkly.

Lorelei placed her hands on either side of my head and held tight.  That blackened red engulfed me, as icy cold claimed my entire body.  It saturated me and froze me, and consumed my will.

"Do you know who is killing the vampires?" Lorelei said.

"No."

All I could do was answer with perfect honesty.  I understood what was happening, but I had no self-control or willpower.

"Do you have any ideas of who might have the talisman, the Coeur de Sade?"

"Yes."

"Using magic to question is like pulling teeth," Lolita said.

"But it is one hundred percent honest and truthful," her sister said.  Then to me, "Sable, tell me the name or names of the persons you think could be committing these forced vampire suicides."

"A werewolf named Fritz.  I have three names of werewolves with Fritz in their names," I said.  "Fritz Simmons, Fritz Rotmensen, and Alfred Fritz-Haeg."

"Good girl," Lorelei said.  "Now, do you have any other clues?  Anything at all?"

"No."

Then Lolita whispered in my ear, "Do you have any money?"

"Yes.  A lot."

"Give us all of your money," Lorelei said.  "Give us all of your account information and passwords."

There was no denying them anything they wanted.  The magic ensured I obeyed their every command without hesitation.  I watched them get on Desiree's computer and transfer all of my money to their own secret accounts.  Then they revived Desiree just enough to get all of her information and rob her blind, too.

Halfway through stripping away Desiree's money Lorelei got a call on her cell.  My vampire ears let me eavesdrop in.  The man on the other end found Fritz, and gave an address he would be at in about one hour.  It wasn't that far away.

I listened to them start making plans to capture him as they began a systematic search of the house for easily portable wealth.  Apparently Lolita was the bait, and Lorelei was going to use her magic to waylay him while he was distracted with her sister.

CHAPTER 12

            Before they left, the Giorgi Sisters went through the house, taking anything of value and easily transported.  Yeah, they stole all of our jewelry.  They also took my vampire staking gear, and then stole my Mustang.

            They left me still secured in the leg spreader and manacles, to which they added a ball gag.  That really pissed me off.  Gagging someone was worse that tying them up.  Only spitting on someone was worse.  In my opinion.

            "Don't go anywhere," Lorelei said as they left.  They giggled at their joke.  I didn't think it funny.  "We'll be back after we kill Fritz and get the Coeur de Sade, then we'll show you what it can do."

            "Yeah, then we're going to have you get the council together for us," Lolita said.  "Should be an eventful night, don't you know?"

            I had no intention of waiting for their return.  The last thing I wanted out of life was to be the magically enslaved whore of some witch or vampire.

            Hobbled as I was, I crawled across the den to Desiree as best I could.  She was barely conscious, just softly whimpering and groaning.  She was laying face down in a small pool of her own blood.  The thought of how much blood she'd lost so far made me dizzy with despair.

            All I could do was make muzzled noises, trying to get her to understand.  She had to remove the dagger of blessed silver before I could escape my shackles by morphing into a bat.  It took a good twenty minutes before I realized she understood what needed to be done, but she didn't have the strength to do it. 

            I rolled over on my side, putting the dagger's hilt as close to her hands as I could.  Over the next thirty minutes, Desiree tried five times to reach up and pull out the dagger.  She got it on the fifth try.

           
Yes!
I silently cried as I turned into a bat.  A second later I was beside her in human form.  I immediately healed all of the bites.  I couldn't do anything for her blood loss.  "Hold on, Desiree!  I'm taking you to a hospital right now."

            I quickly pulled my clothes back on, and picked her up.  She felt so light and fragile.  The Giorgi Sisters stole my car, so I grabbed both of our purses and headed for her car.  Soon we were racing down the road in her red Charger.  I went straight to the emergency room of Medical City.

            "Help!" I cried as I carried her inside.

            No one moved.  They just looked at me.

            "God damn you, she's been attacked by a vampire," I cried, setting her on a gurney.  That got them moving.  "She's lost a lot of blood.  A whole lot."

            "Are you all right?  Were you attacked, too?" a young doctor said.  He was looking at my neck and chest, which were also covered in blood.  My blood.

            "I'm fine," I said, and when he looked doubtful, I showed him my fangs.  "Like I said, I'm fine."

            Someone gasped and one of the emergency room nurses yelped.  They scattered, the stench of their terror filling the air.

            "Did you do this?  Is this your fang whore?" the doctor said, backing away from me.

            "She is my fang whore, but another vampire did this to her," I said.

            The doctors and three nurses looked doubtful.  They didn't seem to want to look at Desiree anymore, either.

            "Take care of her, damn your souls," I demanded, eyes blazing.  That just frightened them more.  "If she dies, I will kill you all.  You understand?  I will
slaughter
you."

            One of the nurses pissed herself.  I felt two inches tall.  I was terrorizing innocent people, but I didn't see how to save Desiree unless I did.  All I managed to do was freeze them in place.

            "Now, or I start biting," I said.  "She is O-positive."

            They rushed to Desiree.  Soon they started a blood infusion.  She got the blood she so desperately needed.  I sensed her stressed out body starting to relax, and I was able to breathe and consider our dire circumstances.  Neither one of us could go home now.

            Glancing at the clock, I realized it was close to the time Fritz was supposed to arrive.  They planned a dreadful kind of ambush, which I thought was very dangerous for Lolita.  But the sisters seemed at ease with it.  I assumed they were used to using each other as bait.  But if I hurried, I might be able to jump in at the right time, and steal away their thunder.

            I smiled darkly at the thought.

            The hospital wasn't safe for me.  The staff surely called the police as soon as possible after learning I was a vampire.  If I wanted to keep my clothes and Desiree's car I had to leave before they arrived.  It was obvious they were going to save my friend, so I left as I pulled out my cell.

            "Jeff," I said when that ancient vampire answered.  "The Giorgi sisters are hunting the werewolf, too.  They almost killed Desiree coming after me."

            "What do they know?"

            "More than us," I said, grimacing.  "I was captured and Lorelei used magic to question me.  I don't think I had anything they didn't already know."

            Jeff showed a remarkable talent for cussing at that point.  Quite an impressive string of vulgarities, too.  Cursing like a sailor came to mind.

            "I know where they are ambushing the werewolf," I said.  "I'm on my way now, and if lucky I'll get there before they leave."

            After hanging up on Jeff, I called Bone Daddy.  Boney might be a backstabbing bastard, but he cared about Desiree.  He would take good care of her.

            "Sable!" he cried.  "I've been trying to call you."

            "I know," I said.

            "I'm really sorry about what happened.  I didn't want that, but — "

            "Can it, Boney," I said.  "Desiree is in the hospital."

            I sketched out for him what went down.  Boney would have to report back to his mistress, I'm sure.  He knew the Giorgi Sisters, and what they were capable of doing.  That was one pissed off undead pimp.

            "Make sure they take care of her, Boney," I said.  "Neither Desiree nor I have any money to pay the hospital.  The Giorgi Girls stole all of our money, pulled it right out of our accounts with a computer."

            "Call the bank, they'll pull it back into your account," he said.

            "I will," I said, feeling better.  I never thought of that.  "But first things first.  I'm going after the Giorgi Sisters and getting that talisman."

            My next call was to my bank.  I got one of my three account managers.  Since they were a twenty-four hour a day bank, they worked in shifts.  Simon Roach was on the job.  I explained what happened, and he listened sympathetically.  Yeah, sympathetically.  Doesn't sound good, does it?  And he said as much

            "I punched up your account while we were speaking," he said, sounding half-distracted.  I assumed he was looking over my account and transaction records.  "The funds were transferred to a rival bank, one that we don't have good relations with.  We
might
be able to get your money back."

            "Might?"

            "I sorry, but it doesn't look good," he said.  "But it is worth a try.  And I promise, we will try real hard."

            "Thanks," I said.  That made me feel loads better.  Uh huh.  "I'm going to stake them both, face down in mud."

            With my phone calls taken care of, I could concentrate on the coming fight.  The address I heard Lorelei given on the phone was familiar to me.  It was across the street from my gym.  I believe there was a Tom Thumb or Kroger's supermarket there.  Among other things.

            Gym made me think of Kale, from Dane's class.  A wannabe my fang whore kinda guy.  Cute.  Tough.  And I needed a place to stay if I didn't kill both of the Giorgi Sisters that night.  I hoped to kill at least Lorelei.

            Yeah, I know.  I no longer worried about killing mortals as much as I should.  At least I didn't fret killing anyone I thought of as evil, or deserving it.  It frightened me sometimes to realize what I've become.  I blamed my vampirism, but feared it was just me descending into evil.

            Since I had every intention of calling Kale back, I had already programmed his number into the cell.  So I punched him up.  He answered with a sleep husky voice.