Dark Salvation (13 page)

“I’ll set off some explosions out here; that should get them on alert. Once they give chase, you’ll be on your own until backup arrives.”

“I’m good, don’t worry about me.”

“Your safety has never been a concern for me. Just stating facts.”

“From the sound of the yelling, she’s underground. I’m thinking basement. We might be lucky and find an external door.”

“Wishful thinking. This is a city home. Basements are deathtraps. One way in, one way out.”

“That complicates things a bit. Give me a second to check for any other ways in. You call the others and have them ready to go. Tell Ian to bring a car around back here.”

Nicholas, using the shadows, crept into the darkened courtyard, looking for any low-lying windows or doorways. There were four, one set on each wall of the surrounding building. He crept lower still, listening for sounds, voices, talking, anything.

The first two windows were dark and silent, but the third looked promising. Situated on the northern most wall, he saw light, and heard the faint whimpering of a woman. Kitara. The window was small. Nicholas wasn’t a big man, but he wasn’t too sure he’d be able to fit inside. Plan B. He’d have to enter through the doorway just a few feet from the window and hope the stairs down would be easy to find.

He returned to Santino. “I’m going to need you to clear the building.”

The old vampire looked absolutely thrilled. “Duck and cover.”

Nicholas crouched low behind the brick wall.

Santino pulled out another small egg-shaped grenade and threw it over the wall. The sound of breaking glass told him it hadn’t landed in the courtyard. Seconds later an explosion rocketed through the building. Glass broke, wood crumbled. Nicholas felt the reverb through the brick wall.

“Same old tricks, eh?” he asked Santino.

“There’s a reason the old tricks work the best. No one wants to die trapped in a burning building. They’ll be forced to come out.”

“Just leave the north side alone so I can get in and out.”

Santino grunted in assent and pulled out another grenade. He threw it hard, sending it through a third-story window. Nicholas watched as the explosion blew out more windows. Then covered his head as a rain of broken glass showered him.

“That’ll get them running.” Santino laughed and stepped into the gated area. He withdrew a large gun from his coat and fired a few shots. Nicholas didn’t see who or what had been shot, but he smelled blood.

“I figure you have about five minutes before this place is crawling with police officers.” Santino warned.

“I’ll only need three.” Nicholas took off using all the speed he could summon.

***

Each press of the cattle prod to her skin burned. Her muscles twitched and jerked. She tried not to scream, but the sound tore from her throat of its own accord.

She murmured a silent chant, asking the gods for protection. She’d done nothing to deserve this torment.

“Stop trying to cast your spells, witch,” Jeremy yelled at her and hit her with another jolt of electricity.

An explosion erupted outside. Then another. Kitara continued chanting her prayer, begging the gods to protect her.

The sudden commotion coming from outside gave Kitara a few moments of peace. Jeremy lifted the cattle prod away from her and looked to his superior.

Kitara’s arm burned from repeated jolts with the cattle prod. Her muscles failed to allow her even the tiniest bit of control. She wanted to turn her head and see what was going on, but even the slightest movement had her whole body trembling.

“What the hell is going on up there?” The soldier shot an angry glance at the basement window.

“Do you want me to check, sir?” Jeremy asked nervously.

“You, stay on task. We have others above who can take care of whatever nonsense is going on up there.”

An angry scream tore from Kitara’s throat. “I don’t know what you want, and I wouldn’t tell you even if I did.”

“You heard the lady. She’s of no more use to us.” The soldier’s words were deadly serious. He pulled his sidearm, chambered a round, and handed the gun to Jeremy.

This was it. Her life was over. Still, as she stared down the barrel of the gun pointed at her face, to the man standing behind it, she couldn’t believe that her once and former love would be the one to do it.

He hesitated; his arm trembled. Jeremy took a deep breath. His lips formed the words “I’m sorry,” but there was no sound to them.

Kitara mashed her teeth together, bracing herself for the shot that would end her life, but shattering glass stole what should have been her final moment.

The gun that had been pointed at her suddenly jerked right. Jeremy aimed for the window, but there was no one there.

“Orders, sir?” Jeremy asked.

The commander pressed the box on the wall. “What the hell is going on out there?”

No response came from the box; but above, the metal door buckled. Someone was pounding from the other side. The frame cracked with each thump.

“Orders, sir?” Jeremy asked again, his tone anxious.

“Give me that.” The commander snatched Jeremy’s weapon and aimed for the door.

The door opened with such force it almost came off its hinges.

Kitara threw her head back, the effort taking all of her concentration. She met the feral gaze of Nicholas standing at the top of the stairs. The mesmerizing dusky blue eyes filled with blind rage peered straight into her.

Too weak, Kitara did not fight against his mental intrusion.
Don’t move.
His words formed in her mind as clearly as if he’d whispered them in her ear. For once, she listened – not that she could move anyway. Seeing him there, even in this angered state, gave her relief. 

The commander opened fire. Nicholas bolted from his spot. The commander emptied his clip in Nicholas’s direction, but he did not allow them to stop him. He came down hard on the commander, teeth bared, ready to strike.

“Touch him and I’ll kill her,” Jeremy shouted. Kitara felt the sharp edge of a blade pressed against her neck. Her heart hammered in her chest. She gulped. The edge of the blade was razor sharp, slicing into her skin.

Nicholas paused, but only for the briefest of moments. “Kill her and I will make sure you live to regret it.” His voice was deadly.

The moment of hesitation gave the commander time to strike. Kitara didn’t see what he’d done to Nicholas, she was only able to hear the resulting painful groan.

“That was your last mistake.” Nicholas growled. He lunged at the commander, bit down, then pulled back, ripping the man’s throat out.

Bloody and looking more monstrous than she’d ever seen before, Nicholas turned on her and Jeremy. “You’re next.”

Jeremy’s arm shifted; that was all it took to send the blade tearing through Kitara’s tender throat.

***

Horror rose up within him. He’d come so far only to fail yet again.
No.
He couldn’t let her die. Though badly wounded, the hilt of a dagger jutting out from his side, he still found the strength to rush Jeremy. With one swipe of his arm, he sent the Saint backwards, his head colliding with the basement wall with a sickening crack.

Kitara was fading fast. Her blood poured from the wound at her neck. He knew she only had moments. If that. He tore open his wrist and pressed his bleeding wound to her mouth.

“Listen to me, Kit. You have to drink.”

She was unresponsive, listless. He hoped he had not been too late.

“C’mon. Please. Drink, sweetheart. You have to, or you will die.” Truthfully, there was no guarantee that if she did drink she would live, but he had to hope.

He felt the wound sealing itself and brought his wrist to his mouth again, tearing the skin with fevered rush. Blood poured everywhere. Both of them were coated with it.

Again, he pressed the wound to her mouth and gently, with his other hand, massaged her throat, encouraging her to swallow.

She let out a gurgled moan.

“That’s it. c’mon. You can do it.”

 He watched the contraction of her muscles, the slight movement of her throat, and breathed a small sigh. His blood was strong. Though he’d never turned another, he’d seen it done plenty of times, and the stronger the vampire, the better chance the human had of making the transition.

If she made it, she might hate him for what he had done, but at least she would be alive to feel that hatred.

All around him the chaos continued. He heard gunshots, screaming, and the soft thud of bodies. Police sirens blared in the not-too-far distance. His five minutes were up. He needed to get Kitara out of there, and fast.

With his free hand, he dug into his pocket for his phone and speed-dialed Ian.

“Talk to me.” The chipper voice answered.

“Bring the car round and leave the doors open,” Nicholas barked, and then ended the call. He had no time to waste.

Again he felt his wound closing. He ripped the dagger from his side and used the blade to slice the restraints at her wrists and legs. Then he sliced another gash in his own wrist. He fed Kitara as much blood as she could swallow, hoping she’d get enough.

Her movements were still weak, her breathing too shallow. If she died… no. He would not let himself finish that thought. He had a mission to complete. He needed to get her out of here and back to the safety of their home.

Her body began twitching, she started to convulse, throwing up the blood she’d drunk.

The police sirens were close, too close. He couldn’t wait any longer. Nicholas had to move her or risk being found. He whispered an apology as he took her thrashing body and tossed her over his shoulder.

Up the stairs he ran as fast as he could, bounding over dead bodies he’d left like a trail of breadcrumbs to find his way back out to the courtyard.

Death and blood were everywhere, but thankfully no live Saints stood between him and his goal. He rushed through the courtyard to the gate where he’d last seen Santino.

Red and blue lights flashed there in the alley.

Shit!

Kitara moaned, her body still trembling. She threw up again.

Nicholas wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. He set her down as gently as he could to check on her.

She was dangerously pale. Her breathing was labored. Should he give her more blood? He wasn’t sure, and that thought scared him. Erring on the side of caution, he opened his vein again and offered her more blood.

A rush of heavily booted feet came up behind him.

“You there!” A man barked at him.

Nicholas let out a growl. He didn’t have time for this shit.

“Put your hands on your head and turn around slowly.” The police officer had picked the wrong time to bother him.

Nicholas turned and met the officers eyes.
Turn around. Clear the way for us
. He sent the command with a burst of mental energy.

The officer blinked and turned around as commanded.

Kitara let out a bloodcurdling scream. Her eyes shot wide open.

“You’re okay. Just try to relax.” Nicholas tried to reassure her.

“What’s happening… my head… help me.” Kitara trembled violently.

“I’m going to help. Just stay calm.”

Nicholas picked her up into his arms and headed for the alley.

Ian had the car parked at the end. He honked and waved Nicholas over.

“Drive,” Nicholas yelled as he hopped into the back seat with Kitara.

“What the hell happened in there?”

“She’s in transition.”

“She needs blood, man. Keep feeding her.”

“She won’t keep it down.”

“Just keep trying. I’ll get us home quick.”

Kitara let out another scream, her mouth opened wide. Nicholas saw the fangs emerging from her gums. That small sign gave him hope. Her body was changing. If he could get her to keep some blood down, she might be okay.

Kitara woke with a start. Her eyes flew open. She knew the room she was in and the softness of the bed she was lying on, but somehow everything was different.
She
was different. Colors seemed brighter, smells stronger. What the hell had happened? The last thing she remembered was the blade slicing through her neck.

Instinctively, she reached up, but there was no wound. Her skin was unmarked.

She shouldn’t be alive. She remembered seeing the light, heading towards it, leaving her broken body behind.

But, then something had pulled her back, painfully. What had happened? She tried to get up but found her body weak and slow to respond.

“Easy, sweetheart. Don’t try to move too quickly.” Nicholas’s voice was unusually soft.

“What happened?” Kitara slurred. Her mouth felt strange. Her tongue butted up against her teeth, which felt unusually large.

“I couldn’t let you die. I’m sorry.” Nicholas sounded more broken than she felt at that moment.

“What did you do to me?” She knew the answer before Nicholas could utter the words. All the clues were painfully obvious, but she didn’t dare to utter the words aloud. “You… I’m a… Oh, no.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Why?” She’d never asked for this. Never wanted it either. Kitara had had enough troubles being a pagan, fighting the daily battle to just fit in; now she had a pair of fangs to make that all the more impossible. And what was this going to do to her business? People were not just going to wait around until night for her to take their pictures. Her life as she knew it was over.

“Kitara, I had no other choice.”

She gingerly lifted her hand to silence him. “Just give me a moment to process, please. This is too much.”

“I know. I—”

“Just a moment, okay.” She couldn’t be mad at him. He had saved her life. But this was not the way she’d envisioned things working out. Everything she knew about vampires had been wrong. Everything she knew about the Saints had only been a whitewash for their true depravity. She wasn’t sure what was truth or fiction anymore. Now, to be thrown in head first into life as a vampire… it was more than she’d been prepared to handle.

Kitara looked up at Nicholas’s mesmerizing eyes. She felt a connection there. It went beyond just an intruding presence in her mind, it felt like warmth, pulsing with the beat of her heart. She wanted to be mad for how things had turned out, because it was not as she wanted, but looking into Nicholas’s eyes she knew they could not have turned out any other way. 

“Kit… When he slit your throat….” There was no snark in his voice. He was speaking from his heart. And, through their newfound connection, Kitara felt the raw emotion pouring out with his words.

Whether she wanted this or not, she owed her life to this man who had risked it all to save her. “Thank you.”

“That’s what… five times this week?” Nicholas playfully winked. “At least you’ve finally decided to recognize it.”

Maybe it wouldn’t be all that bad. “What will this mean for me and my… abilities?”

“Usually witches lose their connection to nature and the spirits when they are turned. My last mate… Rozaline… was a witch before she was turned.”

Kitara heard the pain in his voice. “You had a mate?”

“Yes,” Nicholas sighed. “She died a few months ago.”

“I’m so sorry. And I was so mean before when I said you didn’t understand love.”

“It’s okay. You didn’t know. And I deserved your ire. I was being a jerk.”

“Still. I shouldn’t have been so cruel.”

“All is forgiven…,” Nicholas said peacefully. “If you can forgive me for changing you.”

“I’ve already done that.”

“As for your gifts. You may not have the ability to connect with nature any longer, but your mental abilities should remain. I’d been fascinated before by your strength of mind. It should be infinitely more powerful now.”

Kitara took a deep breath, hoping the pain would not follow her attempt, and glared directly into Nicholas’s eyes.

His mind opened up like a book for her to read. She saw the scene of her transformation played out in images and feelings. He had been so scared for her. He had wanted her to live so desperately. Tears welled in her eyes.

She blinked away the connection.

“I thought I’d lost you.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.” The depth of his caring touched her in ways she’d never expected. He was so hard, so cold on the outside. But underneath all that he was so full of raw emotions and deep feelings. So unlike Jeremy, who’d been turned into an emotionless shell of a man.

“So.” She took a deep breath. She had to ask but didn’t really want to know the answer. “What happened to Jeremy?”

Silence answered the question for her.

She’d never been one to wish harm on anyone. As a pagan, one of the defining rule to live by was ‘An it harm none do what ye will.’ To wish harm on any living creature went against that, but Jeremy… after the atrocities he had put her through, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief knowing he’d met his end. “Good. He deserved it,” she said trying to hold back the pain in her voice. “The things he did to me.” Nothing would ever erase the memory of her former lover torturing her and trying to kill her. Though she loathed to admit it, Kitara hoped there was a special place in the underworld for him and that he would burn for all eternity. She truly understood now the depths of depravity of which the Saints were capable, and would do whatever it took to see their destruction.

Nicholas pulled her into his arms. “It’s over now. He’s gone.” He stroked her shoulder-length black hair. “I’m sorry, though, I had to break my promise to you.”

“You don’t need to apologize. You promised not to kill Jeremy. That man, that... thing with the hate in his eyes... I’d never met that bastard in my life.”

Nicholas chuckled. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

“Beware my wrath,” Kitara joked. “So, what happens to me now?”

“You learn to live as a vampire. If you’ll let me, I can teach you.”

“I think I might like that.”

 “You sure? I’ve been told I’m a bit of an asshole.”

“After the way you came to my rescue… you can be all the asshole you want.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“But just remember… you’re stuck with me… so it would be best not to get on my bad side.”

“Touché! A vampire for only a few hours and already picking fights with an ancient. You and Alyssa will get along great.”

“What about you and me?” Kitara turned around to face Nicholas. “That’s not too soon… is it? I’m not trying to replace Rozaline. That was her name, right?”

Nicholas winced at the mention of her name. “No one can replace lost love. Just as I could never expect to replace the spot Jeremy filled. But, as for us… Do
you
think  there can be a ‘you and me’?”

“Well, we are stuck with each other…”

“Spoken like a true romantic.” Nicholas laughed and pulled her in close for a kiss.

Kitara couldn’t hold back the smile stretching all the way to her ears. “After the way you risked your life to rescue me, I’d like to think we have a fair chance at a ‘you and me’.”

“Me too. Let’s see where this goes.” He kissed her again. “And for the record, you were more than worth the risk.”

“Then, I guess you were right…”

“How so?”

She pulled back and smiled. “The black knight always wins.”

“Always, sweetheart. Don’t you forget it.”

Kitara might not have asked for this, to become a vampire, but there were certainly perks. And Nicholas, underneath that hard exterior, was the best man she could ever have hoped for. Her black knight in shining armor. She’d learn to love her new self, and hopefully spend the rest of eternity with a man who would walk through fire for her.