Exsanguinate (35 page)

L
udovic
, obviously never having sired a vampire before, wasn’t particularly adept at summoning Dakota. In fact, he downright sucked at it.

I watched as Khaldon took the time to show him how to connect to Dakota as her maker.

“Ludovic, you’re trying too hard. To communicate effectively with her, you have to embrace the connection between the two of you. You have to let it flow out of your heart with the passion of your love for her. Do you need a visual?”

Ludovic nodded.

“Picture in your mind a figure eight with a shining thread of golden energy. Now extend that energy cord down from your heart to your sacral chakra and down through your loins. Send that golden energy cord to Dakota’s heart and then down through to her sacral chakra. Wrap the thread back to your heart and complete the circuit of the figure eight.”

“I know you don’t like this.” I patted Briggs on the back. I whispered close to his head. “It’s the only way we can communicate with her. I don’t like it either.” Briggs sent another blast of steam out of his nose, making a temporary fog bank around us.

Ludovic stood with his eyes closed and his hands out in the air as if he was trying to catch the rain.

“Now feel it in your heart and find where Dakota lives within you.”

It was intriguing to observe Khaldon talk him through this.

“When you find her, capture the communication down into your rocks and let it flow. Send the golden thread to her with no message. Just create the open portal of communication.”

Ludovic opened one eye to look at Khaldon.

“Trust me, okay?” Khaldon said. “Watch me.” Khaldon closed his eyes, and it looked as though a peaceful calm came over him.

Who is he contacting? Has he sired anyone? Is he sharing a sex bond link with some other woman? Why hasn’t my rogue creator ever tried to contact me? Maybe he doesn’t know I exist.

I became aware of heat coursing through my body.

“I’ve got it! I found her!” Ludovic cried out. “She’s accepting the thread. She says she’s hungry.”

“Good. Relax. Take a deep breath and hold onto her,” Khaldon continued to coach. “Acknowledge you understand. Tell her you have the blood she needs. You’ll keep her attention.”

Am I picking up on Ludovic’s signal? Could Ludovic be my attacker?

My pulse hammered through my chest.

Briggs pulled me into his wing. “You all right, Chey Chey?”

I could barely catch my breath. I felt the pull of the golden thread coursing through my body, and it pulled thoughts out of me. As suddenly as it appeared, it was gone.

“I’m all right. Just got a little winded there for a moment.”

I stood bolted to the floor as if someone had played a joke on me and super glued my shoes. I couldn’t move. My head hammered with the energy jolt. What was that? Why did I feel it when Ludovic sent out the signal? Could this dweeb be the guy who attacked and killed all those people on Halloween night and left me for dead? Was he experimenting with the lunar blood too?

Keep your head on, Cheyenne – you need this guy to get Dakota back. Just play it cool. You can address this later.

“Don’t worry, Chey Chey, I’ll help you get rid of the little creep after all this is over.” Briggs spoke in my mind.

“You can hear my thoughts too?” I mind-messaged back to him. “Isn’t that a violation of some kind of preternatural privacy act or something?”

Briggs snorted and puffed out a bit of vapor.

“She’s got it!” Ludovic cried out again. “I told her we’re bringing the blood to her. She thinks it’s a trap.”

“Tell Dakota I’m here, and everything is okay.” I walked over to him.

“Let me try,” he said. “She says to prove it.”

“Tell her I pinkie swear promise. Find out where she is, Ludovic. Tell her I’ll bring her proof.” And with that I climbed aboard Briggs and strapped myself onto his back. Briggs began to beat his wings and created a fog around us.

Khaldon screamed out, “NO! She’ll kill you!”

“Ludovic, tell me. Where is my sister?”

“She’s just landed at the Cove Florida Lighthouse towards Miami.”

Khaldon yelled at me and now at Briggs, . “Don’t do it! Bring her back!”

Harris and Sheridan were right next to Khaldon, yelling after us, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

“Come on, Briggs, the only way to bring her back is to go after her!” Briggs soared up and within less than a heartbeat, we were flying through the night sky. I had to close my eyes and keep my head down. I looked behind us, and Torchy was right on our wings.

It was much cooler up in the sky than I’d anticipated. But the heat coming up from Brigg’s body, up between my legs, was enough to keep me warm. I checked the blood-filled pads under Torchy’s wings and they were secure. Once we got closer, he was going to unroll them off his wings.

“We need to head south. I don’t know how long it’ll take to arrive, but we’ll need to haul ass if we are going to get her back before sunrise.”

I heard another voice in my head. “I know exactly where that lighthouse is – follow me.”

I watched Torchy take off ahead of Briggs. Obviously, they were communicating because before I knew it, Briggs was heading straight up into the sky after Torchy. I could’ve sworn the stars were close enough to touch as the dragons performed a backwards loop and switched directions. Thank the heavens I was holding on tight. I tried to adjust my hand for a better hold on the ropes and realized my arms and legs were glued to Briggs.

“Thanks for holding me down on the loops. Wasn’t quite expecting that, guys. Is the roller coaster portion of this ride over, fellas?” I could feel Briggs’ belly laugh underneath me. The laughter sent vibrations up between my thighs. It felt a little
too
good. “Hey now, enough of that. I’m a taken woman.”

Briggs flew us close hovering just over the water off shore. “The way I see it, you’re still up for grabs. If your Khaldon boy ever fails you, you just let ole Briggsy know, and I’ll take care of him for you.”

“C’mon, big fella. Let’s go find Dakota!” I patted him on the back.

Horrible visions of blood demon Dakota filled my head. I didn’t care if I had to open up a vein, she was still my sister and I was going to bring her home.

* * *

I
called
Khaldon on my cell phone, hoping to be able to get reception while moving this fast. People talk from mobiles on planes all the time, so why shouldn’t I get dragon reception?

He picked up on the first ring. “Where the hell are you? Why would you do that, Chey? Do you have any idea - ”

“Stop,” I said. “There’s nothing you can do about it now, so this is what I need you to do to get ready for our return.”

“You mean
IF
you return, ” he snapped at me.

“Fine, we can do this one of two ways. You can either help me, or I can try to do this alone. I won’t lose her, Khaldon. If this is the only way to do it, then it’s worth the risk to me.”

I heard his
hrmped
grunt into the receiver. “Okay fine, but if you don’t make it back here …”

“Seriously, Khaldon, unless she runs a wooden stake through my heart, or tears off my head, it’s not like she can kill me. You have to let me be a vampire and stop treating me like I’m still a human.”

Silence.

“Okay, I’ve got the extra drums of blood into place and the harness system. How long do you think it’s going to take to get your bloody arses back here?” Khaldon asked. “If I know Torchy, he can probably have you both back in about an hour or so if everything goes as planned.”

Briggs must have been able to hear the conversation because I could feel his body nodding in agreement. “Yes, Briggs agrees. Please get everyone and everything in order. This is going to go down a lot faster than any of us thought.”

“Just one more thing,” Khaldon demanded. “Well, maybe two more things. I want you back.”

“And the second thing?”

“Don’t get too cozy with Briggs vibrating between your legs. How the hell you think he’s wooed so many princesses out of their virginity?”

Briggs belly roared and tipped his wings into the water creating a beautiful cascade of waterfalls beside us. A little embarrassed I said, “Well, it’s a good thing I’m taken then, because it has been one helluva ride already. I’ve got to figure out a way to mimic his vibrations for my next cybrator.”

I heard Torchy laugh at the joke as he mind-messaged me, “Nice one, Cheyenne.”

“I love you, Cheyenne,” I heard Khaldon say over the receiver.

“I … I love you too, Khaldon.” It was lucky I was glued to the dragon because I might have fallen off.

Khaldon told me, Cheyenne, that he loved me. Not as our avatars, but for who I am now.

“
T
here she is
!” I pointed to a winged creature sitting atop the peaked roof of the lighthouse, effortlessly balancing on the vertical pole. The strobe spun on its 360 axis blinding me with each revolution. As soon as I focused, the light rotated again.

We flew down the beach along the shoreline to turn around. The cove, a small rocky inlet, looked as if a red tide had crashed upon its jagged boulders. The beach’s formerly pristine ocean waters ran crimson rivulets over the pure white sands. Each wave crashed and puddled around the leftover body parts where seagulls plucked at the human remains.

“Torchy, undrape the mattress pads. Dakota is on the roof of the lighthouse,” I messaged him in my mind. I watched as Torchy unfurled the pads from a flapped section under his wings, almost as if they were pockets. Now every time he beat his wings, the coppery blood perfumed the air, beckoning even me to follow him.

Briggs and Torchy sped past the top of the lighthouse and shattered its triangular windows. Dakota screeched at them and took off into the night sky after us. I gasped in horror as I saw what my baby sister had become.

Briggs released the dragon essence as I pulled up on the harness. I needed to turn around to face her. “Torchy, keep flapping, it’s working!” Operation Blood Soaked Pads was already a success. The scent of the Solunarae blood drew her in close. I prayed she wouldn’t land on me thinking I was the one providing the snack.

Carefully I removed one leg from the stirrup straps and swung my leg out in front of me to face backwards. Suddenly, Dakota shot underneath Briggs and cut him off under his belly causing us to have a mid-air collision. Her clawed wings tried to grab hold of me as she flew over us. I crooked my elbow under the netting harness to prevent her flying off with me. Briggs countered to the port side and helped to pull me out of her grip. He immediately corrected his course and righted us. Dakota’s razor sharp wingtip talons ripped open deep gashes in my bicep. My blood had become its own beckoning call to her.

Torchy slowed his pace and flew beneath Briggs to keep Dakota from attacking us from below again. Dakota circled back around. Briggs evasively turned his belly away from her. I lost my grip and slid from his back and held on for dear life. Torchy and his poisoned spikes were mere feet away from mine. From my position, I lost track of Dakota, but her screech blasted my ears to the point of silence. I scrambled for the netting as Briggs righted his side up, helping me hang on. Dakota came back at him, as though she were trying to attack him for the blood. He rolled over to starboard this time and, my boot barely had time to wedge itself under the netting. I grabbed onto Briggs’ wing, this time he seized me in with his dragon glue.

Torchy maneuvered above Briggs while we flew at ridiculous speeds. I felt as though I was a part of the US Air Force Thunderbirds, but I didn’t recall any dragon divisions.

Dakota came up along the back of the two dragons. Briggs released me so I could unscrew the lid to the pony keg.

The deliciously tempting Solunarae blood swirled inside the lid. I dipped my fingers into the round hole and then brought them to my mouth, sucking my fingers clean. I wanted Dakota to see that I would drink it, too. I dipped my hand in again and then let the droplets fly off my fingers and onto her face. “Dakota, it’s me, Cheyenne. I have the blood. Stop attacking us!”

She screeched at me again. It was if a banshee and a screech owl joined together to make her song.

“Enough of the damn screaming already. Get down here and drink this blood!” I yelled at her while pointing to the container.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Torchy fly off to the side and then sidled underneath us and starboard. It made me feel better knowing if I fell off of Briggs again that I wouldn’t land on Torchy’s spikes. I looked at my arm, amazed it was already beginning to recover from Dakota’s attack, but it hurt like hell.

I remembered Khaldon saying to Briggs, ‘whatever you do, don’t let her take the keg away from you. She’ll fly away with it, and this might be your only chance.’ “Briggs, slow down just a little, so she can land on your back,” I hollered through the wind.

Her claws caught the netting secured to his back. He slowed even more, and she was able to pull her legs in under her belly and land gracefully on him. I scooted back away from the keg. I barely recognized Dakota’s face as she appeared emaciated with the skin barely stretched over her skull. If it hadn’t been for her red hair, I’m not sure I would have recognize her like this. She looked ancient and exhausted. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve guessed she was a thousand years old. I sat a three feet away from the barrel opening and pushed my back up against Briggs’ neck. The Solunarae blood cocktail sent splatters flying onto her face as she licked at the droplets with her serpentine tongue.

“Dakota, drink it!” I yelled. “Drink the blood. It’s what you need.”

Instantly she was over the top of the keg and in my face. Open mouth screeching with fetid breath. Her jaw contained hundreds of fangs. She looked like one of the monster piranhas that live in the depths of an Amazon River. Green wisps of smoke seeped out of her throat as black liquid goo dripped from each jagged tooth edge.

I screamed and pushed at her nose. “Dammit, Dakota, I said drink!” I shoved her face again and guided it toward the keg opening.

Dakota looked into the barrel and then back at me. “Go ahead. Do you think I’d hurt you? I’m your sister, remember?”

Her eyes glared daggers at me.

I raised an imaginary glass as if I were drinking and motioned for her to do the same. I pointed to the hole in the keg. I prayed that somewhere, hidden inside her hideous demon shell, she could understand me. I swallowed hard as my eyes rained crimson tears seeing how horribly my sister had been suffering.

Dakota wrapped her clawed appendages around the keg. Pieces of rotting flesh were impaled upon her talons. She looked up at me and snaked out a long, serpentine tongue.

Did she seriously just stick her tongue out at me?

She slithered her tongue into the opening and sucked through it as if it were a straw.

Unholy hell – she’s a giant mosquito!

“Now, Briggs!” I shouted in my mind. “Do it now!” Instantly both our bodies were sucked down onto his scales with dragon essence. I didn’t think Dakota noticed she had become ensnared in our little trap as she continued to drain the keg faster than a rugby team.

Her wings and body muscles seemed to relax a bit as she lay quietly on top of Briggs’ back. As she sucked up the blood, Dakota looked up at me. Even if it was the briefest of moments, I could’ve sworn I saw delight reach her eyes when she smiled.

With her tummy distended, Dakota sat up and looked around. “Guys, she’s full. She might try to fly off. How far out are we?”

“We’re about five miles out.” Torchy messaged me. “Can you call

Khal and let him know we’ve got her?”

“Dakota,” I yelled to her again. “It’s okay. Don’t go. Everything is all right. Come back with us. We have the blood you need.”

Dakota looked over at Torchy and then looked back at me out of the corner of her eyes. I knew that look. She was getting ready to play a trick on me. Chase me around the house, steal my favorite blouse, or pour cold water over me in the shower. But instead, she opened her wings.

Her wingspan had to be ten feet across. The air caught under her wings and pulled Briggs off course. She struggled to remove her legs from his sides, but she couldn’t. She screeched again.

“Dakota, drop your wings – you’re going to make us crash!”

She screeched again, only this time in my face. Her glistening, serrated teeth were a mere breath from me as I squished myself as far into Briggs as I could manage. I hid my face as her teeth scraped at my neck.

I hollered at Briggs, “Go faster, and please don’t let her fall off!”

CRACK!

Dakota’s demon appendages made a horrible cracking and tearing sound as the wind broke them backwards. Her shoulders bled as the bones protruded through the joints in contortionist angles. The muscle surrounding the breaks flapped in the wind mimicking Torchy’s bloody bed sheets. Tears ran down my face when I saw the excruciating pain Dakota was in. I could do nothing to help her. She screamed as loudly as a train horn over and over. I heard the faint echoes of breaking windows as we flew by. Perhaps they broke from the soprano screams of her pain.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Khaldon. “We’ve got her. We’re almost there. Please get ready. Her wings are broken.” Nothing but static as the wind rushed past my ears. I had no idea if he heard me or not. With the barrage of her moans, I swiped the phone off and said a prayer to our mother to send us angels.

Dakota laid her head down along the dragon’s back. I wanted to touch her beautiful red hair, now matted with blood and dirt. I prayed the blood she had drunk would help her mend her torn body quickly after we landed.

I felt the descent in our altitude and looked towards the ground. Torchy was already preparing for his landing.

I saw the breeding facility and looked back at Dakota’s torn body. I whispered, “I’m so sorry, my sister. This was the only way.”