Saving Grace (Grace Chandler Mystery Book 1)

by T. R. Lester

  “No. The kitchen is a big mess though.”

  “Same in the living room.”

  “I’m going down the hall. Stay here and watch my back. I’m going to look at the room you were attacked in.”

  “It’s the door on the left.” She tells him.

  He nods and starts walking down the hall. As he enters the hallway, he can smell the scent of vampire. The decaying, coppery smell permeates the whole area. Strigoi have the smell of the dead. An earthy fetid smell that has the coppery tinge of blood and the hint of decay. Not a pleasant smell to have wafting around you.

  Draven enters the bedroom where Grace was attacked. He sees blood on the floor and the room has been torn apart as if someone was looking for something. Drawers have been pulled out and emptied, items from the tops of the dresser and chest have been shoved to the floor. Draven tilts his head back and takes a deep breath, smelling the air.

  He can smell Neal’s scent.

  Looking around, he rummages through the contents of the spilled drawers, searching for anything that can tell them what is actually going on.

  Moving over to the bed, Draven kicks something, and it slides across the floor. He looks down to see a gun. A Sig Sauer P229 sticking from under the edge of the bed.

  “Did you lose your gun here?” He asks Grace.

  “Yeah. You find it?”

  Draven reaches down and picks the gun up.

  Grace, still at the front of the hall, takes a glimpse to her right to a table. A telephone, lamp and a phone book sit on it.

  “Who uses a phone book these days?”

  A small card catches her eye. She takes a step closer and picks it up.

  It’s a business card with the address of the old corrugated container plant is printed on it.

  “Draven.” Grace calls out.

  He walks up the hall to see what she is holding out to him.

  Handing her the gun, he takes the card from her hand.

  “We need to check it out. It may end up being nothing, but we should look.” Grace tells him.

  “Let’s go then. We still have time before night falls.” Draven says.

  “I know who may at the bottom of this.” Draven tells Grace.

  She shoots him a questioning look.

  “Neal Aleron. He’s a vampire who was turned, meaning he’s a strigoi.”

  “Is that his real name?”

  “I’m not sure about that. I ran up on him about eight years or so ago. He’s a killer. I’ve been hunting him and can never get close enough to take him down. Somehow, he always knows I’m coming.”

  “Do you think he’s the one who killed the girl?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Then we need to find his ass and end him.”

  “I agree.” Draven says.

  “First, we need to find out what all this is about. It’s hard for me to believe that he just killed Emily and doesn’t have any other plans to create himself some offspring.” Grace says.

  “Strigoi know they can’t procreate. I’m not sure why this fool tried knowing the female would die.”

  “I want him dead.”

  “Well, we may find something at this warehouse that will help us kill him.”

  Grace and Draven get into her car and head to the warehouse.

  The drive takes about twenty minutes as it is across town from where Lucas lives.

  When they pull into the lot, Grace sees that some minor restorations have been made. Such as a new awning for the front. A few windows replaced. Nothing that anyone who has never seen the building would know to look for.

  “That’s odd. This place closed years ago but there are some new additions.”

  Grace tells Draven what she sees.

  “We may have hit the jackpot then.” Draven says with a smile.

  Getting out of the car, guns in hand, Grace walks to the left and Draven heads over to the right of the concrete walkway leading up to the building. Both are taking in all the details and looking on the ground for any tracks that may have been left.

  “I enter first, cover me.” Draven says.

  Grace nods.

  The door is the old metal double door types that most old warehouses have. The ones that have the push handle on the inside. Draven reaches out, grasps the handle and presses down on the lever. The door clicks as it releases. He turns to look at Grace and shrugs.

  Grace, finding it odd that the door is unlocked and unchained, watches as he pulls the door open slowly. The smell of must and mildew permeates the air around them. It’s been about ten years since the building was used as a factory so she expects the scents. It had once been scheduled to be torn down but for some reason, the city has postponed it numerous times.

  Entering the doorway, Draven lets his senses expand. He can detect the faint smell of a strigoi and also of blood. Looking around, the whole first floor is empty. The areas where machines once sat are now void of any machinery or other remnants. There is a stack of bundled cardboard over in the corner to his right covered in dust.

  Grace follows in behind him and covers the left side, also empty.

  The production floor is about half the length of a football field and at the end of it, she can see a set of stairs that up to a second floor.

  She nudges Draven and points with her chin to the stairs. He nods and slowly walks toward them.

  The scent of blood gets stronger as they walk. Draven can sense the strigoi as he nears the stairs. The vampire would have to be here or sheltered during the day somewhere as they cannot withstand sunlight.

  When they reach the entrance, Draven looks up into the dark stairway. There’s nothing there except a small box at the top. He makes his way up a few steps, then stops to listen. No sound. When he stops, Grace bumps into him.

  With a wry smile, she says, “Sorry.”

  He smiles back.

  Walking up a few more steps, he stops again to sense the area. This time, he feels the faint trace of a strigoi. To him, the strigoi feels like a suffocating cloud. Their black auras wrap around and try to bind the seraphic blood line. Draven has learned to resist the pull over the years of dealing with them and has no problem pushing the aura back. But, this also means that the strigoi knows he’s there.

  He turns to look at Grace and tells her, “Stay here for a moment.”

  “No way. She whispers.

  “Until I get to the top of the stairs?” Draven questions.

  Grace nods, reluctantly.

  He makes the last few steps and quickly looks to the right. His movement is so fast Grace doesn’t notice. The he looks to the left. Nothing in sight, except a door down the hall to the right.

  Looking on the floor, he can see foot prints. A small trail made in the dust of people coming and going. He follows that trail all the way to the door.

  Turning back to Grace, he whispers, “I think we may have found a hiding place.”

  “Stay here until I get to the door, then walk slowly down to me.”

  “Ok.”

  He walks down the hall, making sure to silence his steps. Sine he’s considered a predator, being silent is an easy feat for him.

  As he nears the door, the scent of the strigoi gets stronger. He’s either in there or has been recently.

  When he reaches the door, he takes hold of the door knob and turns gently. The strigoi normally sleep during the day, but that isn’t always a guarantee.

  The door is locked, so he twists a little harder until he hears the lock break. He pushes slightly and the door starts to open. The smell of blood and strigoi is very overwhelming now.

  He pushes the door open only enough to allow him through. He looks back at Grace and motions her down.

  As she nears the door, she can smell blood now. The coppery tinge wafts in and around her nose.

  Making her steps as silent as possible, she eases down the hall to Draven’s side and stops.

  Draven nods toward the open door and Grace follows in behind him.

  The r
oom is dark. Grace takes a minute to adjust her vision somewhat and Draven looks around to determine if anyone, or anything, is occupying the space. Not seeing anything, he takes another step forward. He can feel Grace’s breath on his back as she is so close to him.

  Draven looks through the bleak darkness and sees a desk over to his right, a tall metal file cabinet behind the desk, a computer on the desk and a coat rack to the left of it. The room is small and has a musty odor and a smell of unwashed body.

  He moves further into the room and looks around. The room appears to be just a room with a desk. Looking to his left, he sees a door that opens inward. Walking over to the door, the smell of strigoi envelopes him.

  He puts his hand behind him to stop Grace’s steps. Draven reaches to the door knob and turns it. It isn’t locked, so he pushes it open slowly. As the door opens, Draven is hit with force hard enough to send him slamming into the wall by the desk. His attacker is on top scratching and clawing, trying to get an open spot to sink his teeth in. Grace turns to fire at the attacker and is slammed from the back. She hits the floor on her stomach and is pounced on by Lucas Cane. She knows this as she can remember his scent from her previous attack. As she hits the floor, her gun goes skittering across the floor and under the desk. She tries to turn herself so she can kick out at him. Wriggling and elbowing Lucas, Grace finally gets herself turned and reaches into her leg pocket to get her small knife she carries. Lucas delivers a slap to her face that rattles her teeth and leaves her stunned for a moment. Giving her head a shake, she gets her knife out and stabs at his neck. Lucas blocks the hit and Grace catches his forearm. Lucas growls in pain and Grace takes that moment to bring the knife up again and make contact with the left side of his neck. Blood sprays from his wound. Before she can roll him off her, Lucas bends down and sinks his teeth into Grace’s arm. She screams in pain. He begins to drink greedily as Grace continues to stab at him with her knife. She glances over to see Draven in a fight moving so fast she can’t tell which person he is. She pulls the knife from Lucas’ neck and jabs it back in. She can feel herself getting woozy and losing consciousness as Lucas’ grip on her arm lessens. She twists the blade once again, and he releases her, clutching at his neck. The last thing she sees before she blacks out is Lucas falling over on his side.

  Draven and Neal claw and slash at each other. Draven manages to get punch in to Neal’s temple and the evil vampire hisses at him. Neal bends down, extending his canines, and pushes Draven’s head back, trying to get an angle to bite him. Draven rears his head back and head butts Neal. The vampire shakes his head and slashes at Draven with his claws.

  “I’m going to kill you light one.” Neal says.

  “Not today you aren’t.”

  Draven grasps the vampire’s neck with his claws and sinks them into his skin. The vampire hisses as Draven pulls his claws, allowing blood to spray across his face. He raises his legs and flips the vamp over his head, flipping over onto his hands and knees as Neal hits the floor. Draven runs at Neal again and rams his extended claws into the bastard’s chest, trying to reach his heart and rip it out. Neal shoves Draven with both hands before he can get a grip on his heart, and Draven flies across the room hitting the opposite wall. Draven bends slightly and propels himself up through the ceiling to get away from Draven.

  Standing and shaking his head, he looks over and sees Grace on the floor. He can still hear a heartbeat so he runs over and scoops her into his arms and sees the bite mark with blood still dripping slowly from it. Kicking Lucas away from the entrance, Draven makes his way back down the hall and to the stairs. He takes a step back and jumps, clearing all the steps and landing silently at the bottom of the stairs. He runs full speed toward the main entrance and outside. Opening the back door of Grace’s car, he gently places her on the seat and closes the door. Getting in the driver’s seat, he starts the car and roars out of the lot.

  “Fucking hell.” He says to himself.

  Draven breaks all speed limits and heads to his house. Taking Grace to the hospital is not an option as everyone doesn’t know about the supernatural and he really doesn’t feel like explaining.

  As he reaches his drive way, he turns in, throwing gravel up behind the car. He speeds into his garage and sees his nosey neighbor peeking over the fence.

  “Great. She’ll have more reason to spy on me now.”

  Getting out of the car, he opens the back door and takes Grace out. Punching in his security code, he enters the house and lays her on the couch and turns to go grab the first aid kit and a wash cloth.

  Sitting on the edge of the couch, he takes her arm and looks over the bite. She wasn’t drained else she’d be dead. So, she’s not in danger of turning. A strigoi has to drain their victims then replenish their blood loss with their own in order to turn someone.

  He starts wiping the bite with the cloth and examining it as he goes. It’s a deep puncture that will be sore for a few days, but it should be alright.

  He raises his wrist to his mouth and makes a small puncture to release a few drops of his own blood. Taking his finger, he spreads his blood over the wound, allowing it to heal the bite. It started closing instantly. The bruising has already begun and has spread around her wrist and upper arm.

  Pulling the antibiotic ointment out of the kit, he smears a bit on and takes a roll of gauze to wrap around the wound.

  He looks at Grace and sees that her breathing is steady and she seems to be resting. Feeling her pulse, he determines that it is also good.

  He reaches over her prone body and pulls a blanket down to cover her and stands to go into the kitchen. His wounds have started closing, but he needs blood to rush the healing. Taking a bag from the refrigerator, he sinks his canines in and begins to drink.

  When he finishes, he tosses the bag in the trash and goes back to the living room to check on Grace, who is still sleeping. He sits in the recliner next to the couch and waits for her to wake.

  He must have dozed off because when he wakes to Grace groaning, he notices that the sun has gone down. He jumps up from the chair and sits on the couch beside her.

  “Grace.”

  She groans again.

  “Grace. Open your eyes.”

  Grace tries desperately to open her eyes. The feel like they have been glued together.

  Draven touches her cheek and she cringes.

  “You're safe. It’s ok.”

  She finally pries her eyes open to see Draven staring down at her.

  “What happened?” She asks him.

  “Just take your time and relax.”

  “I remember going into that damn warehouse, then into that room, and the smell of blood.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Then, I saw you fighting with someone.”

  When that thought came to her, Grace started trying to scoot away from him. Terror filled her eyes.

  “Whoa. It’s ok. It’s me, Draven.”

  “What are you? Humans can’t move like you were. What the hell are you?”

  “Calm down and relax and I’ll tell you everything.”

  “Calm down? That bastard tried to kill me again and then I see you moving with the speed of light, and you tell me to calm down?”

  “I’m a vampire Grace.”

  Grace started scooting again, trying to get away from the vile creature at her side.

  “I’m not strigoi, I’m seraphic Grace.”

  “You’re still a vampire.”

  “But, you know the difference, right?”

  Grace nods.

  “Then you know I’m not going to hurt you.”

  “Just back up please. Move to the other end of the couch.”

  Draven slides down to the opposite end of the couch as Grace stares at him.

  “Where are we?”

  “At my house.” Draven tells her.

  Grace raises her arm to look at the wound and sees it’s been bandaged.

  “Oh hell! Am I going to turn into a vampire now?” Grace asks
in a panic.

  “No, no. He only drank. He didn’t give you any of his blood.”

  Rubbing her hand over it, she looks back at Draven.

  “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

  “Well, considering your reaction…”

  “Fuck that. You should have told me. The only experience I’ve ever had with a vampire has been a bad one. You should have told me.” Grace says.

  “You’re right. I should have. But I wasn’t sure how you’d react knowing that your partner is a vampire.”

  “Is Lucas dead?”

  “He looked pretty dead to me. You did a job on him.”

  “That son of a bitch.”

  “Neal was the one I was fighting with. He got away from me before I could kill him. I’m still not sure what he’s got going on there, but it’s more than we’re seeing at this point.”

  “Is he the one who killed Emily?” Grace asks.

  “He is. His scent matched the one I detected at the murder scene.”

  “You were there?”

  “Yeah. After you guys left, I stopped by there that night to see what I could find.”

  “Who is he?”

  “He’s a strigoi that I’ve chased for about eight years and always seems to be able to evade me when I get close to him.”

  “We need to go back there and kill him.”

  “I agree, but we need to find out who he’s working with. He couldn’t get all the stuff we saw in that warehouse all by himself. He can’t go out in the sun light, so I’m guessing he has a human working for him or with him to make runs and errands for him during the day.” Draven says.

  “Then we need to find out who the idiot is that’s helping him.” Grace tells him.

  “When I talked to Francine, she mentioned that your head director is missing. Do you have any lead on him yet?” Draven asks.

  “No. I went to his house, but he wasn’t there, then the bitch put me on Lucas Cane’s trail, he tried to kill me, so here we are.”

  “We need to start looking for the director. He may or may not be involved, but we need to start there first. Lucas is dead so we can mark him off the list.”

  “Let’s go.” Grace says.

  “Hold up. You need to rest. You lost quite a bit of blood and you need to rest for the night.”