Sweet Blood of Mine (42 page)

I pumped my fist. "Yes!"

After a few minutes I had freed the two prisoners.

The girl cried gratefuly but didn't go quite so far as hugging me when she saw the ravenous look in my eyes. The hunger bordered on unbearable but I had too much to worry about to give in. Dad was too weak to walk on his own and too heavy for the girl to carry. Elyssa was stil unconscious as wel.

"I hate to do this," I said to the girl, "but I have to leave you here with them."

"Can't you take me with you?" she asked. "Please.

I've been trapped here for days, maybe weeks."

"There are more vampires upstairs. If I try to lug two people with me, I'l be too weak to do anything but watch as they finish us off." My stomach made a loud almost mournful noise. "Plus, I'm so hungry right now, I don't think I can resist much longer."

"You eat people?" she said in a whimpering whisper.

I laughed despite the situation. "No. I feed on emotions."

"I'm feeling very emotional right now."

"I know. But in my condition, I might also have sex with you and drain you of everything."

She cringed even farther away. That simple prey-like movement increased my desire to pounce and take her.

Every demonic fiber in my body demanded it. I closed my eyes and tried to colect myself. Elyssa was depending on me. My dad was depending on me. Feeding on this girl would help me save them. Maybe I could control myself. I stepped toward her, her hot essence cowering just feet stepped toward her, her hot essence cowering just feet away from me and tugging me like gravity. Her sacrifice would save those I cared about the most.

You're a monster.

"No!" I shouted, backing away from the girl. "I'm not a monster."

"You don't look like one," she said in a quavering voice. "None of them did."

I shook my head violently, as if that would clear it.

It only made me dizzy. "You stay here," I said. "I'l go for help."

She whimpered but nodded. I held up a finger, indicating to hold on a minute, and jogged over to the spot Elyssa and I had lost our swords. I grabbed them and brought them back to the girl. She took one of Elyssa's sai swords and held it with both hands. I put Dad and Elyssa in the back of the tomb, away from the door, motioned the girl back in, and shut it.

"Remember, the vamps can see in the dark, so stay in here until I get back."

"I can't believe this is happening to me," she said as fresh tears trickled down her cheeks. "I can't believe vampires are for real. And they're not even as beautiful as Edward."

I should've known she was Team Edward.

"Pretend they're kidnappers if that makes it easier.

Kidnappers with night vision goggles."

She nodded. "Okay." Some of the fear in her eyes diminished. "Thinking of it like that kind of helps, actualy."

I ignored the desire to rol my eyes and grabbed my sword from the floor. It felt heavier in my hand than I remembered it, probably because I was almost spent, both naturaly and supernaturaly. My night vision dimmed and brightened as I walked. My heart hammered at the thought of losing myself in the pitch black. Was I running on a quarter tank? Less? If I ran into any vampires, I'd have to rely on fear and intimidation. A fight would be suicidal.

The spiral staircase went on forever, although between trudging and listening for sounds of impending attack, I wasn't exactly running. I reached the door to the main sleeping chamber and peered inside. The power was back on and the lights hummed overhead.
Sexy and I
Know It
thundered from the speakers since Dance Central had turned back on with the power. Otherwise, the place was empty.

I tried to dash but ended up trotting across the room, thanks to my weary legs. I reached the long staircase leading up to the first floor. Shouts echoed from above but I couldn't make sense of them. I heard a feline roar and then a scream. The moggies must be inside, I realized. I huffed and puffed my way up the stairs and peeked into the halway. Two vampires, Felicia and one of the males, an Asian-looking guy, were circling a large black panther, their eyes wary.

"Who the hel let a panther loose?" the male asked.

Felicia shot him a scornful glare. "It's not a panther, you idiot. It's a felycan."

"A what? I'm new to this crap. I don't know what a felycan is."

"A werecat, you moron."

"Oh crap. Like a werewolf? Those things are mad strong. Maybe we should run away."

Felicia's scornful look turned thoughtful. "I think you might be right this once."

They turned to flee when a bright flash popped in their faces. Their red eyes roled into the backs of their heads and they colapsed in a heap. Shelton walked over to them, whistling a cheerful tune as he secured them with silvery-looking zip ties.

"Shelton, Stacey, I need your help," I said as I hobbled toward them.

"Holy crap, kid, you look like hel," Shelton said.

"Holy crap, kid, you look like hel," Shelton said.

Stacey morphed in mid-stride and rushed to me in al her naked glory. "Where are your father and Elyssa?"

"I was too weak to carry them up. I need help."

She cried out with a high-pitched mewling that hurt my ears. A moment later, the moggies padded into view.

One bled heavily from a gash in its shoulder.

"Oh, my poor dear," Stacey said, examining the wound.

The moggy rumbled a reply and rubbed against her leg.

"He is so brave," she said, her eyes misting. "They wil go with you to retrieve the falen."

"Take these," Shelton said, puling some leather straps out of the man purse he wore over his shoulder.

"Strap them to the moggies." He handed them to me while doing his best not to stare at Stacey's nude form.

I gave the moggies a doubtful look. "Are they strong enough to carry people?"

He chuckled. "If you'd watched them in action tonight, you wouldn't be asking."

I thought back to the moggy that had almost kiled me and shuddered. Yep, they were strong enough.

Something smal, black, and furry did a figure-eight between my legs. Nightliss looked up at me and meowed.

"She smeled danger and came to warn us," Stacey said. "We would have been down sooner, but were staled by several vampires."

"Speaking of which," Shelton said, "you've gotta hurry. Some of them escaped and I wouldn't doubt they've placed cals to whoever's in charge of this place. We might be able to whip a few youngsters, but not a horde of them."

I summoned my remaining strength and hobbled down the stairs. Shelton and Stacey took up positions outside. It took the better part of fifteen minutes to make it al the way back down to the tomb. The girl saw me and almost hugged me then shrank back at the last second.

She'd probably remembered what I'd said about having sex with her while I sucked her essence dry. When she saw the moggies she screamed and jumped on my back, her arms in a death grip around my neck.

"They're with me," I said. "Now help me strap on Elyssa and my dad." I pried her loose.

I put Elyssa and Dad stomach-first on the backs of the moggies then used the leather straps to fasten them. The big cats took off like they weren't carrying anything, leaving me and the girl behind. She stared into the darkness ahead and shivered.

"Please don't eat me," she said in a plaintive voice.

"Stick close. I can see in the dark."

I had to give her credit. Despite the constant trembling in her hand, she didn't scream once. I couldn't imagine being led through a pitch black crypt with a soul-sucking demon spawn as the guide. When we made it into the light of the sleeping chamber, she cried with relief and hugged me.

"Thank you, thank you."

"There are more people waiting upstairs," I said.

"We stil have to escape."

She nodded. We continued up the stairs. I stepped out into an apparently empty halway. I had just turned to motion for the girl to folow me when I heard a hissing noise. I looked left. Five vampires, murder in their glowing red eyes, streaked inhumanly fast down the hal toward me.

Shelton stepped from a niche in the wal and raised his staff. Stacey, back in panther form, stepped from a niche in the opposite wal and roared. The moggies were nowhere to be seen. I assumed they were delivering their cargo to the van.

"There's a van in a parking lot across the back," I told the girl in a rush. "Run to it. Unstrap the man and the girl from the big cats and put them into the van. Now go!"

She nodded and skedaddled.

Shelton raised his staff and shouted, "Yod!" At first, nothing seemed to happen. The vampires raced down the yards of empty hal straight for us. About fifteen yards from us, they slammed into an invisible barrier. Holow booms resounded in the hal, sounding like a maniac pounding on timpani drums. Bloody outlines of vampire faces hovered in the air as their bodies slid to the ground in a colective heap.

Then the thick dark blood which seemed to be hanging in midair, splashed to the floor.

"Duy wov," Shelton barked, and a blinding light flashed above the vampires.

Most of them conked out immediately, but one staggered to his feet and turned to run. Stacey streaked over, batted him with a massive paw, and sent him flipping through the air to thud onto his back. She leapt on his chest and opened her mouth as he screamed and wriggled like a caught dormouse. A dul yelowish light flowed from his eyes and mouth in a vortex and swirled into Stacey's eyes.

His screams sent chils down my spine. I turned away.

After a moment, Stacey released his unconscious form and stalked over to me.

"Watching her feed gives me the creeps," Shelton said. "Half of them are scared witless by the time she gets to them, though, so I'l bet it's good stuff."

I shuddered and found my voice. "We should go now."

Shelton stared at the unconscious and groaning vampires longingly. "I don't suppose you could help me take a couple back to the van?"

"Are you kidding me?" I said through clenched teeth. "I'm about to fal apart here. I can barely carry myself."

Stacey rubbed against me like a giant housecat and made a cooing noise that sounded very strange coming from a panther.

Shelton sighed. "Yeah, probably don't have any room in the van anyway. Let's go."

We reached the van and found the girl standing ten feet from it and shaking in fright. She ran to me, making the noise one makes when one discovers a spider climbing up your bare leg. She shielded herself from the van with my body and pointed over my shoulder. "V-vampires in there!"

I gave Shelton a dirty look. "I hope they can't escape."

"Nah, I got 'em locked in sleepers."

"Those plasti-cuff things?"

"Yep. Sorcerer's best friend. They can't wake up until I release them."

Elyssa and Dad were stil strapped to the moggies, so we untied them. I lifted Elyssa into the back very gently and puled her against me. The vampires snoozed in a heap near the back doors. Stacey morphed back into her naked human form right in front of the girl whose name I stil didn't know. The girl gave a little squeak and fainted.

"Truly, it's for the best," Stacey said with a smile.

She slipped back into her clothes and climbed into the passenger seat.

Shelton closed the sliding doors and hopped in as driver. "Where to?"

driver. "Where to?"

I doubted a hospital would do much good. "My house."

"You got it."

On the ride back, I stroked Elyssa's cheek and whispered in her ear. She didn't respond but at least she was breathing. I hoped I hadn't severely damaged her mind. For al I knew, she'd never wake from this coma she seemed to be in. I clenched my teeth to keep the tears at bay.

Dad groaned a few times but seemed otherwise okay. I figured he had to be weak from not feeding, not to mention the obvious health effects of vampires sucking his blood. Both he and I would have to feed at some point. It would take al of my self-control to keep from hurting anyone. I stared hungrily at the sleeping girl. I wasn't sure what we would do with her.

"I'l take care of her," Shelton said in a grim voice, startling me out of my reverie.

"Don't kil her! Maybe we can mind wipe her somehow."

"Geez, you think I'm a murderer? The Arcane Council has a program for ordinary people who have seen too much of the supernatural side. We can help them adapt to the terrible discovery of the Overworld."

The tension left my shoulders. "Good."

We reached my house. Shelton took Dad inside. I carried Elyssa in and put her on my bed. She was a mess.

Encrusted blood covered her shoulder and she had bits of rotten vampling flesh spattered on her clothes and skin.

"I do so hate to leave you, dear," Stacey said. "But I must get my companions back to shelter. Dawn is only a short time away and these moggies do not deal wel with direct sunlight. It wil hurt their sensitive eyes."

I hugged her and kissed her cheek. "Thanks for everything. You're a true friend."

She laughed and pressed a hand to my cheek as a tear weled in her eye. "I am rather glad I didn't eat you, you precious little man."

"Wait, I thought you didn't eat people."

She giggled. "Not in
that
way."