The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo (Love at Stake)

by Kerrelyn Sparks

  The sudden screech of a sword being yanked from a sheath made her look up. Mina had her sword pointed at a strange man. He was dressed all in black, with shoulder-length black hair and sparkling green eyes. The same characteristics as Dougal, Leah thought, but he’d always looked wonderfully handsome. The way this man glared at her was cold and mean.

  Abby gasped and scrambled to her feet. “Darafer.”

  He gave her an annoyed look. “I haven’t come for you.” His gaze refocused on Leah, and he stepped toward her. “You’re the fool who’s pestering me, aren’t you?”

  “Stop!” Mina charged toward him, but with a flick of his hand, Darafer sent her flying backward with so much force that the plaster cracked when she hit the wall.

  She crumbled onto the floor, unconscious.

  “Mina!” Leah started toward her, then hesitated. Her gaze fell to the dagger on her table. She would have to defend herself.

  Abby pulled a gun out of a drawer just as Howard and Phil ran into the room, leveling their pistols at the demon. Rajiv followed them, wielding a sword. With a bored look, Darafer waved his hand, and they all froze.

  It took a second for Leah to realize what he’d done. Marielle had warned her that he could stop time. He’d frozen everyone in the room but her.

  She grabbed the knife and threw it hard. It froze in midair.

  “Dr. Galileah Chin. The brilliant disappointment of her family.” Darafer strolled toward her and plucked the dagger from its frozen state. “They never appreciated you like I will.” He tested the sharpness of the blade. “I wonder if your parents will grieve for you like they would your brothers?”

  She swallowed hard. Marielle had warned her that the second Darafer saw her, he would know which wounds to pick at and which fears to manipulate. She looked frantically about for another weapon. A scalpel? She eased toward it.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” In less than a second, Darafer had zoomed over to Abby. He pointed the dagger at her belly. “It would be a shame to slice her up when she’s pregnant, don’t you think?”

  Leah clenched her fists. “What do you want?”

  “Revenge, of course.” He tossed the dagger on the ground. “And you’re going to give it to me.”

  He zoomed toward her, morphing into a black cloud. She ran, but within seconds she was engulfed in darkness, choking for air. Panic seized her, freezing her with fear just before everything went black.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  The second Dougal woke from his death-sleep, he knew something was wrong. Howard and Phil were in the basement, watching him, their faces grim.

  Rajiv hurried down the stairs, carrying a sack. “I warmed up some bottles for them.”

  “What’s wrong?” Angus demanded.

  “Leah,” Dougal whispered. When the shifters grimaced, his heart stuttered.

  He dashed up the stairs to Leah’s dorm room. Her bed was empty. Abby was sitting on her bed, sniffling, while Gu Mina tried to comfort her.

  Abby glanced up at Dougal and burst into tears. “I’m so sorry. We tried to protect—”

  “Abby!” Gregori zoomed to a halt in front of her. “Are you all right?”

  “Darafer came.” She threw herself into Gregori’s arms. “He took Leah.”

  Dougal stumbled back a step. Leah . . . gone? He ran down to the lab. It was empty. Mina’s sword lay on the floor next to a cracked wall. The sgian dubh he’d given Leah was on the floor behind Abby’s worktable.

  “We tried to protect her,” Howard said quietly behind him. “We came in, prepared to fire our weapons, but the next thing we knew, he was gone and Leah was missing.”

  “He froze us,” Phil added. “We’ve been watching the tape to see what happened.”

  “I want to see it,” Angus said as he entered the room.

  Dougal wandered to Leah’s table and empty stool. There was a microscope loaded with a slide. She’d been working.

  And now she was gone.

  A searing pain slammed into him, jolting him out of his shock. Leah was gone. Taken by Darafer. And he’d failed to protect her.

  His prosthetic hand clenched. There was hope left. “Her tracking device.” He turned to Howard. “Did ye track her?”

  Howard winced. “It’s not working. We’ve been trying for three hours.”

  A cold chill swept down Dougal’s spine. How would he ever find her? He’d failed her.

  “I contacted everyone as soon as night fell wherever they live,” Howard continued. “Mikhail in Moscow. Zoltan in Budapest. Jack in Venice, and Connor in Scotland. They all started teleporting west. Emma picked up a few of the older werewolf boys. Ian, Carlos, Robby, Jean-Luc, Phineas, Nate, and Finn all volunteered, so we now have a total of fifteen in Hawaii, waiting for our call.”

  “Call them,” Angus ordered. “And call the three guys in Australia. We need all the manpower we can get.”

  “Here.” Rajiv pulled a bottle of blood from his sack and passed it to Angus. “You guys need to stay strong.”

  Dougal strode from the room, ignoring the bottle that Rajiv tried to give him. How could he have failed her? From the moment he’d met Leah, he’d sworn he would protect her.

  The hallway was lined with Vamps, drinking their breakfast bottles and giving him sympathetic looks.

  Dammit. Save yer sympathy for someone who deserves it. He rushed out the front door and down the steps. He was halfway to the beach when he realized his socks were wet from walking on snowy ground. He stumbled to a stop, gazing out at the black water while freezing pain seared his feet.

  He deserved it. The cold wind whipped at his shirt and kilt, freezing his bones. He deserved that, too. All the pain in the world could not compare to the ache in his heart. He’d failed her.

  Where was she? Was she still alive? Hopefully, Darafer would keep her alive, but only if he could use her. Was he torturing her? Whipping her into submission so she would be his slave?

  Another pain shot through him, wrenching his gut and doubling him over. Guilt and hunger. But the guilt was the worst. He deserved the pain of hunger.

  “There ye are,” Connor said behind him. The pebbly shore crunched beneath his shoes as he approached. “Here.” He offered Dougal a bottle of blood.

  Dougal ignored him.

  Connor sighed. “I know ye’re suffering—”

  “Leave me be.”

  “Nay.”

  Another hunger pain shuddered through Dougal’s body.

  “Take it.” Connor jabbed the bottle at his chest.

  Dougal stepped back.

  “Bugger.” Connor ripped the top off the bottle. “Yer suffering willna help Leah.”

  Dougal turned to gaze at the black waves crashing on the shore. “I failed her.” Tears burned his eyes. “Again.”

  Connor paused, then said, “Ye can only fail her if ye give up.”

  Dougal didn’t respond. If Leah was being harmed in any way, then he had failed her.

  Connor sighed. “All right. Ye’re allowed three more seconds of self-pity, and then I’ll be bashing yer head in.”

  “Self-pity?” Dougal whirled to face him. “Ye think I’m thinking of myself? Leah could be facing torture right now!”

  “Aye.” Connor glowered at him. “So what are ye going to do about it?”

  Dougal’s prosthetic hand clenched. “I have to rescue her.”

  “Good.” Connor motioned to the school. “Luckily for you, ye have a lot of friends, and they’re all here to help.”

  Dougal blinked away tears and grabbed the bottle to guzzle down the blood.

  “That’s more like it.” Connor shoved him toward the school. “Let’s get back inside before ye freeze yer bloody feet off. Did ye want prosthetic feet, too?”

  Five hours later in Tiger Town, Dougal was ready to rip something apart. Everyone kept telling him they were making progress. Keep your hopes up, they said with forced smiles. Bollocks.

  They hadn’t found her.

  Ten unit
s had been formed out of the twenty-six available Vamps and shifters. Laszlo, Gregori, Emma, and Gu Mina had remained on the Japanese island to protect Abby. Dougal and J.L. had teleported to all thirty of Master Han’s campsites, calling back on their sat phones so the others could use their voices as a beacon. Within an hour, all the Vamps knew where the camps were located, and the ten most likely sites had been chosen. A unit was assigned to each site, and a Vamp from each unit teleported into his assigned camp to look for signs that Leah was there.

  Now they had all returned to Tiger Town for a quick meeting. Everyone had managed to remain undetected by the enemy, and they congratulated themselves on their excellent work.

  Bollocks. Dougal scowled at them. No one had any news about Leah.

  Angus narrowed the search down to the five most likely sites. Shifters Howard, Phil, Rajiv, Carlos, and Finn were each given a location, and the remaining three werewolf boys were paired with Rajiv, Phil, and Finn. They would watch their assigned sites during the day. For now, they were told to get some sleep.

  The Vamps teleported back to their sites to search for Leah. Shortly before dawn, they returned to Tiger Town. No good news. The shifters were wakened and teleported to their daytime assignments.

  As the sun neared the horizon, Dougal trudged to the room where he’d made love to Leah the night before. Her jasmine scent still lingered on her pillow, and he pulled it to his chest as he struggled against the pull of death-sleep. How could he rest when Leah was still a prisoner? Was she in pain? Doona be afraid, Leah. I will find you.

  But no matter how hard he fought, death-sleep crept up on him, dragging him into darkness while his old vow swirled around in his mind. I will find you. No matter what. If it takes a thousand years, I will find you.

  Leah came to with a gasp. More darkness. She breathed deeply, cautioning herself to remain calm while memories washed over her. The dark cloud. The icy-cold feel of Darafer grasping her. The terror that had escalated until she’d lost consciousness.

  She was alive, she reminded herself. There was always hope as long as she stayed alive.

  So where was she now? She looked about, trying not to move a muscle. If someone was watching, she didn’t want them to know she was awake. She was lying on her side with something rough prickling her face. She slowly opened a hand to feel the surface. Straw or hay on top of stone.

  It wasn’t completely dark. In the distance, a torch burned, its flickering light casting shadows that danced ominously around her. She narrowed her eyes. Bars. Wooden bars like a grid. She was in a cage? Her gaze lifted up to the high ceiling. No, it was more like a jail cell.

  Footsteps caused the ceiling above her to creak. There was a floor above her. She moved her head slightly, looking around. No windows. One stone wall in the back, and wooden bars on three sides. No windows anywhere. Was she underground?

  Her hand slipped up to her chest to grasp the jade dragon. If it was nighttime, Dougal would be looking for her. They would all be looking for her. And she had the tracking device in her forearm.

  She heaved a sigh of relief. No doubt a rescue team was on its way.

  “I know you’re awake, bitch,” a voice snarled in Chinese. “You’re not fooling anyone.”

  Her heart lurched. Was that a guard? She eased to a sitting position, looking around. A figure slipped out of the shadows and approached the wooden grid to her right. A prisoner in the cell next to her. As he moved into the light, she recognized him. The soldier from the basement at Romatech.

  But he had remained loyal to Master Han. Why was he in jail? “Why are you here?”

  He snorted. “So you remember me. It’s all your fault, bitch.” He motioned toward the front of her cell. “Did you want your supper? If not, I’ll take it.”

  She rose slowly to her feet. “Are we alone?”

  “For the time being.” He motioned again. “Your food?”

  She wandered toward the front of her cell. The cell to her left appeared empty. A narrow corridor ran in front of the three cells, ending with a stone wall to her right and a narrow staircase to her left. “Are we underground?”

  The other prisoner scoffed. “Are you planning an escape? There’s only one way out of Darafer’s dungeon. Well, make that two.”

  She turned toward him. “How?”

  “You join him. Or you die.” He motioned to her food. “Come on, bitch. I’m hungry.”

  She spotted a folded blanket near the locked door. And next to that a tray holding a bowl and spoon and a tin cup filled with water. She dipped the spoon into the bowl. It was some sort of rice porridge, cold and runny. She lifted the cup of water and sniffed. A tiny sip. No strange aftertaste. After seeing what had happened at the zombie village, she was suspicious of any food or drink from Darafer.

  On the other hand, she wouldn’t last long without food or water. And she had to keep her strength up. She drank half the cup and took one bite of porridge before sliding the tray close to the next cell. She’d let her foul-mouthed neighbor eat the rest of the porridge and see if he exhibited any signs of being drugged.

  Instead of reaching for the food, the prisoner made a grab at her, and she jumped back.

  He sneered. “I’m trying to do you a favor, bitch. Wouldn’t you rather die by my hands before Darafer starts on you?”

  “Why would you want to kill me? I was trying to help you.”

  “Help me?” He spit through the bars at her. “I lost my superstrength, and now Darafer says I’m damaged! You destroyed me, bitch, and you’ll pay for it!”

  “Enough, Guang,” a voice came from the stairs. “It’s my turn to welcome our guest.”

  Leah suppressed a shudder at the sound of that cold voice. Darafer had come for his revenge.

  He reached the base of the stairs, moving into the torchlight. She stepped back, steeling her nerves.

  Her neighbor, Guang, fell to his knees. “Have mercy on me, Master. Return me to my former glory, I beg of you, so I can serve you.”

  Darafer cast an annoyed look at Guang. “How can I change you back when Dr. Chin and her friends have burned my supply of demon herb?”

  “Then let me kill her for you!”

  Darafer snorted. “And take away my fun? I think not.” He crossed his arms, regarding Leah with an amused twist to his mouth. “It would be a shame to kill someone as smart as you. I’d much rather use you.”

  Leah kept her mouth shut. He’d have a harder time playing cat and mouse with her if she refused to play.

  Darafer approached the bars and leaned his forearms on a horizontal beam. “How do you like your new home?”

  She remained quiet.

  “You could live in luxury and have everything you ever wanted.” He shrugged. “All you would have to do is join me. Why don’t you show your parents how smart you really are? If you join me, you could rule the world. You would be superior to your brothers. And all the jerks who bullied you in school—you could make them squirm.”

  She stayed quiet.

  “Do you really think your side has a chance? You saw what happened. Your shifter friends couldn’t stop me. Your vampire friends can’t stop me, either. Why don’t you join the winning team?”

  She crossed her arms. Join the evil team? Never.

  “You’re going to resist, aren’t you?” Darafer smiled slowly. “I was hoping you would. I do love a challenge.”

  She swallowed hard, and her hand moved to the jade dragon on her chest. Stay strong. Dougal will be here soon.

  Darafer chuckled. “Perhaps I should tell you. After all, it would be a shame for you to get your hopes up.” His face turned harsh. “There is no hope for you. That stupid device in your arm has been removed and destroyed. There will be no rescue.”

  A chill skittered down her back, and her hand clenched the dragon tighter. How would Dougal find her?

  Darafer tilted his head, studying her. “You still think your lover will charge to the rescue? How will he find you?”

  Her eyes burne
d. She couldn’t give up. Dougal would come. He loved her.

  Darafer snorted. “You think he’ll stay true to you? Don’t you know you’re just a replacement?”

  She flinched. She wouldn’t listen. Marielle had warned her that he’d know the best way to manipulate her.

  “Dougal is his name, right?” Darafer sneered. “He had his first and only love almost three hundred years ago. You’re a cheap copy. Easy to find, and easy to replace. Come on, be honest. He got you into his bed easily, didn’t he?”

  She stepped back. She couldn’t listen to this. It was too crude, too cruel, too . . . true? She shook her head. No, Dougal loved her.

  “I’ll give you some time to think about it.” Darafer ascended the stairs. “By the way, Lord Qing has come to visit. I might bring him downstairs to meet you. If he gets hungry.”

  With a chuckle, Darafer passed out of her view. A door slammed, and the grate of a key echoed down the stairs.

  Guang laughed as he reached through the bars to grab her bowl of gruel. “You’re going to be lunch, bitch.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  No rescue? And she would be fed to a vampire? Leah sank to the floor, shivering as she hugged her knees.

  Get a grip, she told herself. Don’t panic. Darafer wants you to panic.

  She took deep breaths to calm herself. She would think about this logically. Rationally. Darafer wasn’t going to kill her. He wanted her alive so he could use her. And he wanted her to panic so she would be easy to manipulate. Be smart about this. Stay focused.

  She rose to her feet and strode toward the front of her cell. Starting on the left, she tried each horizontal and vertical bar.

  Snickering came from the cell to her right. “You think you can escape, bitch?”

  Maybe not, but she would be prepared for all possibilities. She tested the lock on the door. It was firm. She didn’t dare get close to her neighbor, so she checked the wooden grid on the left by the empty cell.

  Marielle had been right. Darafer knew which wounds to pick at and which fears to manipulate. Surprisingly enough, his digs about her family and so-called college friends hadn’t bothered her at all. It was a good sign if those wounds were healed. She’d grown stronger and more confident since she’d started her new job with the Vamps.