Blood Candy (30 page)

“Your friends are psychotic,” Blake
said.

Melvin hooked paint grenades, undoubtedly full
of holy water, onto his belt. “Not psychotic, just ready to fuck
some vampires up if it comes to that.”

Candy picked up Blake’s shirt. He tossed his
leather jacket onto the hood of the car and when she handed him the
shirt he held it carefully so as not to touch the holy water on it.
Medium Dave shifted into a moose to scout ahead as they made their
way into the dark field. Candy could barely see ten feet in front
of herself while everyone else seemed perfectly at home in the
dark.

About a half mile into the field Blake made a
sound and held his arm out to stop everyone. Candy did what
everyone else did, dropping down onto one of her knees while
keeping her head low. She had a shaky grip on the paintball gun,
her breaths coming in quick rasps. Blake put his shirt on while
Medium Dave, human again and naked, hustled towards
them.

“The wall is ahead,” he said. “It’s about
fifteen feet of stone. I found a spot I could climb.”

“Perfect,” Blake said. Crouching low to the
ground, he hurried through the field to the wall. Before they got
there Candy was able to make out the top third and fourth floors of
the mansion—the same exact mansion she had seen before. Though it
wasn’t from the same angle, it was the mansion from her dream with
Rupert.

Seeing it sent chills through her body. She
had never been at this mansion before, and yet there it was right
out of her dream. “What the hell,” she mumbled beneath her
breath.

Melvin climbed to the top of the wall using a
tree and protruding stonework. He laid flat on his stomach while
Felicia climbed up after him. She was surprisingly nimble for a
girl, with enough upper body strength to pull herself to the top.
Candy, having flashbacks to gym class, needed a hand to get all the
way up. Blake climbed the wall with ease.

They studied the yard around the mansion for a
long time. Two guards in black suits stood at one corner leading to
the front door, no doubt packing heat. The whole front yard was
brightly lit and there were a dozen cars parked in the driveway. As
far as Candy could tell, there was nothing else going on. There
certainly weren’t any other shapeshifters running
around.

“We beat them here,” Melvin said.

“Good,” Felicia said. “Look how many cars are
parked outside and I’ve already seen at least ten different people
walking in front of the windows. I’m sure there are more of those
bodyguards around. Maybe we can cut the others off when they get
here.”

“Wait,” Blake said. “We can use this
opportunity to get in and help Jimmy before the rest of the
shapeshifters arrive. This may be your only chance.”

Felicia shook her head. “We shouldn’t do
anything without The Alpha.”

Blake settled his eyes on Candy, longing for
her approval. Candy knew he’d do anything for her, knew he was
ready to sneak into that mansion full of vampires to find Jimmy if
she told him to.

“Blake’s right,” she said. “We don’t have time
to wait on the others. We can’t take that chance. Think about
Jimmy.”

“I can find a way in,” Blake said. “I can try
to find out where they have Jimmy.”

“No,” Melvin said, mistrust clear on his
voice. “We all go together. If you ever leave my sight, I’ll assume
you’re betraying us.”

Melvin and Blake glared at each other, but
neither said anything. Instead, Blake glanced back at Candy, and
the odd way his eyes caught the moonlight made him look hungry,
unnatural. She turned her head away from him.

“We find a back entrance,” Melvin said. “If
there are guards, Dave can distract them. Then he’ll wait on the
outside for the others to let them know what’s going on. Our goal
is to get Jimmy out of there and nothing else.”

Blake studied Melvin for a moment with those
eerie eyes and then he nodded.

“Wait,” Candy said. Even though it was dark,
the yard was familiar; she was seeing what she had seen in her
dream with Rupert. There were the sculpted hedges in the darkness,
and there was the fountain. A distinct feeling of déjà vu chilled
her to the core.

“There’s a cellar door on the other side. I
remember seeing it,” she said.

Everyone stared at her and Melvin said, “What
are you talking about?”

Candy looked at Blake. She knew he understood.
“I’ve been here,” she said. Melvin’s eyes went wide with confusion,
and maybe betrayal. Candy spoke up, “I dreamed about this. I was
here in a dream, you have to believe me. There’s a cellar
door.”

“She’s right,” Blake said. “The dreams we were
talking about in the car. She’s seen this place before because she
saw into Rupert’s mind. If there’s a cellar door we can get in
through the basement. That’s probably where they have
Jimmy.”

Melvin and Felicia consulted each other with
their eyes. They pondered the situation for a moment and then they
both nodded. Everyone lowered themselves to the ground where it was
darker on the other side of the wall. They snuck alongside it,
keeping within the shadows. The wall slowly curved inward toward
the hedges at the very back of the estate.

Medium Dave found some open space and shifted
into a moose. He trotted out into the yard, disappearing behind a
tree, and then came back a moment later. He stamped his hoof twice
on the ground and tossed his head.

“Two guards,” Melvin said. “He’ll try to run
them off.”

The rear of the mansion didn’t have as much
lighting as the front. With Blake leading, they all dashed to a
tree on the side of the yard. Candy pointed out the entrance into
the basement and then they all waited on the distraction from
Medium Dave.

The two guards were stationed on a low patio
in front of a set of glass doors, the same doors Candy had seen in
another dream. With a pool adjacent to the patio deck, there was no
way they would be able to get past the guards unseen. Medium Dave
tossed his head and charged.

The guards flinched at the massive animal
heading straight at them. Candy cringed, gritting her teeth when
they reached into their jackets. Medium Dave bucked and the guards
instead made a run for cover on the side of the pool. The moose
made a deep bleating sound and charged again, but this time he kept
running out into the darkness of the yard. The two guards didn’t
give chase, running instead around the side of the mansion towards
the front.

Blake and the Misfits made their move and ran
to the side of the mansion. The cellar door had a padlock with
chains and Candy didn’t see how they’d get in. Making sure to keep
well below the level of the windows, Blake took hold of the chains
and heaved. Nothing happened at first, then the latch finally gave
way with a loud snap. Everyone tensed and remained motionless with
their eyes on the window. Blake cracked one side of the storm door
open and waited for everyone to go in. The cellar smelled of damp
earth and mold, and it was completely black except for a seam of
light beneath a door ahead. The faint sound of music and chatter
seeped through the ceiling.

“This is so creepy,” Felicia whispered.
“They’re having a party for an execution.”

“Everyone be ready,” Melvin said.

He made sure the safety was off on his
paintball gun. Candy did the same; at least she thought she did,
she hadn’t a clue how to work it other than pull back on the
trigger. Blake slowly led the way with Melvin behind him. He
glanced over his shoulder a few times, not quite trusting all of
the holy water at his back.

Blake held out a hand and put his ear to the
door. He listened for a moment and then checked the doorknob; it
turned all the way over, clicking slightly. He cracked it open to
look through. Light from the other side bathed the handsome
features of his pale face. He opened the door wider and waved
everyone to follow.

The other side was an uncomfortably warm
boiler room. Pipes ran along the walls from a furnace and water
tanks. The room extended out to a corner with a more brightly lit
wine cellar on the left where the noise from upstairs was
louder.

“Keep watch here while I check what’s ahead,”
Melvin said.

Blake nodded and moved closer to the wine
cellar to keep an eye for anyone coming down while Melvin snuck
along the wall towards the back of the room. Candy noticed he had
several wooden stakes strapped onto his utility belt. He paused at
the corner and slowly moved his head to look around. He stood there
motionless for a moment and then he silently moved back to
them.

“There’s a door with two more guards,” he
said, keeping his voice to a whisper. “That may be where Jimmy
is.”

“We don’t have a lot of time,” Felicia said.
“They have ear buds and I’m sure they heard about the moose
outside. Those other two guards may walk past the cellar door so we
need to take them out fast.”

“Take them out?” Blake said. “We can’t kill
anyone.”

“I don’t necessarily mean kill them,” Felicia
hissed. “You’re a freaking vampire, go in there and bang their
heads together or something.”

Blake wasn’t one hundred percent on board with
Felicia’s plan. With a glance at Candy, he sighed and nodded. “I’ve
never done the head knocking thing,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I
can put them down before they can get a gun out or call for
help.”

“Whatever it takes,” Felicia said impatiently.
“We have to do this—”

Something crashed upstairs, a glass door or a
window. They heard yelling and then Candy heard a noise that sent
pure fear pumping through her veins—a noise that sounded like the
mixture of a wild animal and a nightmare. And then the sound of
total chaos erupted up the stairs from the wine cellar.

“Shit! That’s them,” Melvin said.

The two guards came around the corner with
their pistols drawn. Candy and the Misfits raised their paintball
guns for what good it would do against real weapons. Blake dashed
forward just as the guards saw them. Before either could react one
went flying off his feet, discharging his gun twice into the
ceiling. Candy heard four successive
POP
sounds and the
other guard screamed, clutching his face. Felicia put him down with
several paintballs to the kisser. Blake finished the job with a
punch to his nose.

The Misfits rushed over. Blake looked
absolutely horrified that he had to punch two people. They hurried
past him and Melvin threw the door open. Jimmy was inside, tied to
a chair with his head hanging down. He had been beaten.

Candy ran to him. “Jimmy!”

She lifted his head up. One of his eyes was
swollen nearly shut. There were strange, black scribbles on his
face and what looked like blood smeared around his mouth. The only
article of clothing he had on was an oversized pair of sweatpants.
His good eye flickered open, taking a few seconds to focus. Melvin
worked at the ropes binding him to the chair.

“Hey,” Jimmy said weakly. “What took you so
long?”

Candy let out a relieved laugh as tears filled
her eyes. She ran her hands gently through his hair to check for
wounds. Everything seemed okay. The moment was cut short when
gunfire erupted upstairs.

“Shit,” Melvin said while he worked
frantically at the knots.

Felicia screamed. Candy turned in time to see
her crash into the wall next to the door, but she didn’t see anyone
else in the room. Melvin tried to pick up his gun but he crumpled
to the floor clutching his gut when someone dashed out from the
shadows at the back of the room. Candy whirled around on the
attacker.

“Been expecting you, love.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Blake was nowhere to be seen, but Candy didn’t
have time to think about that as Rupert snatched the paintball gun
out of her hands.

“What’s this?” he said. He pointed the gun at
Jimmy and shot him in the chest. Jimmy yelled and
cursed.

“Interesting,” Rupert said, laughing. “Here I
was worried about this band of Misfits and then they come in here
with toys.”

He threw the gun to the ground and then lunged
at Candy, pulling her into his arms. She screamed and tried to
move. He was too fast.

“I like those tight pants you have on. Shows
your ass off nicely,” he said.

Jimmy struggled in the chair. “Let her
go!”

Rupert ignored him and smelled her hair,
making sure Jimmy saw him doing it.

“You smell so bloody good,” Rupert said. “I
want to drink you right here in front of your little boyfriend. And
then, for all of the trouble you’ve put me through, I’m going to
make you watch when I kill him for what he did to my
brother.”

Jimmy strained against the rope binding him to
the chair. Candy saw the rage in his eyes, the fear etched all over
his face. He didn’t deserve anymore abuse.

“Please don’t,” Candy begged. “I’ll do
anything. I’ll be yours, just let them go.”

“Let them go? What about the wolves running a
mess up in my house? Doubt they plan to let anyone go.”

Candy heard the
POP
sound of a
paintball gun and Rupert’s eyes went wide. His mouth dropped open
and when he turned several damp spots on the back of his shirt sent
steaming flesh into the air. Felicia steadied herself onto a knee
and took aim.