Claude's Conquest (Maura's Men Book 2)

by Stella Williams

  Claude struggled, all too familiar with this particular choke hold.

  “Bring him to me.” Claude froze as Maura appeared a few feet away. The mountain started to move towards her and Claude really began to panic.

  Where are Xander and Shane when I need them!

  Claude swiveled his head as much as he could, searching for Gretchen, but she was nowhere to be found. He was only slightly relieved to see Declan’s lifeless form still on the ground. At least that much of a victory had been won. The giant's grip tightened on Claude’s throat restricting his air flow even more.

  Black spots began to crowd out his vision, and his head began to swim. If he survived this, he would have a few very choice words for Xander and Shane about the timeliness of battle.

  Declan was dead. His blood pooling around his lifeless body and soaking into her pants. She was relieved and mortified and about to be sick. She bolted to the nearest bush and hurled, hand shaking as she wiped her mouth. She almost forgot the other half of the battle until she heard Claude’s scream.

  She whipped around in time to see Claude crumple to the ground at the feet of Maura. That was the only person this woman could be. She was beautiful other than the evil grin on her face. Her eyes boring holes in Claude as he fell and cried out in agony.

  Without thinking Gretchen charged. She took the woman off guard managing to knock her to the ground before she was pulled away by the giant at her side. Her adrenaline pumping, she fought off the guy and rushed to Claude’s side. He was still and unconscious as she cradled him.

  “Wake Up! Claude, please. I need you! I love you!” She was hysteric.

  “He’s dead child and soon you will be too.” Maura raised her hand high above Gretchen’s head.

  Gretchen shielded Claude’s body from the coming blow, but it never came. Instead, a bright white light surrounded them, and she could hear Maura cackling away. When the light faded Gretchen and Claude were alone in the clearing in front of the cabin. She searched the area and spotted Molly at the edge of the clearing. Her skin held a light glow, and her chest heaved as if she had just run a marathon. Cat soon joined her a shocked expression as she stared at her best friend.

  Maura and her two henchman were gone. How had they disappeared so fast? Xander had no idea. He stopped in the middle of the path leading away from the cabin and frowned. One minute he’d been going head to head with that mountainous brute and the next bright light had enveloped everything.

  He’d only managed to catch of glimpse of Maura and the men he and Shane had been fighting before they had slipped into the night. They had taken off before the light had subsided. Where it had come from Xander had no idea, but he hoped it meant Maura was gravely injured. Her familiar cackle had filled his heart with dread as he thought she managed to complete whatever dastardly deed she’d been up to.

  “We should head back and check on Claude.” Shane patted his shoulder.

  Xander looked at the gaunt man beside him and nodded. Shane was lucky the man he was fighting was no stronger than a flea. Otherwise, Xander would have been alone in facing Maura and her henchmen. They headed back to the cabin the bright light had faded, and Gretchen sat sobbing over Claude still form. There were no visible marks on him, but Xander knew Maura’s power allowed her to kill in other ways. He tried to pull Gretchen up, but she fought him off. Desperately clinging to Claude.

  “Give them a moment.” Cat came up beside him. He glared at his wife and cursed.

  “How? Why?” He was so angry he barely managed to get the words out.

  “I couldn’t sit at home alone and worry. I had to be here not only for you, but for Gretchen.” Cat hugged him close, his anger melting away with her embrace. The threat of Maura was still out there, but at least for now they were safe.

  Molly and Shane emerged from the cabin with Gretchen’s brother supported on their shoulders. The man was unconscious, but Xander could sense Maura’s blood in his veins. He prayed the man hadn’t suffered too many unspeakable horrors in his short time with that demon wench.

  not over

  “Declan, dead, deadweight! My plans, my plans are ruined. They will pay they will all pay! That bitch may have escaped my curse, but Claude didn’t. He’ll be dead soon, and then it will time for the rest of them. I won’t just sit idly this time. RUN! That is your great plan? Maura does not run!”

  Rodney watched Maura as she paced the small hotel room angrily rambling the same incoherent nonsense she’d started two days ago. Whatever she had been in the middle of doing back at the clearing had completely robbed her of her beauty.

  Her once flawless skin now marred with age spots, and sagging with wrinkles and dare he even say jowls. Her long ebony hair was now brittle and white, falling in a ragged mess over her frail hunched frame. She was not the woman who had enticed him and his brother. The altercation had weakened not just her body, but her mind. Her eyes flitted wildly around the room even as she spoke directly to him. It was time to bail. This ship was sinking fast, and he had no intentions of ending up like that bastard Declan.

  It would be so easy just to knock her out and takeoff, but just as he was about to reach for the nearby table lamp, Axel arrived with Maura’s meal. The poor girl barely made it into the room before Maura pounced.

  Like a starving wild animal she demolished the poor girl’s throat, blood spattering everywhere, ensuring the need to move on by cleaning time tomorrow. At least the girl didn’t scream, her body struggled initially before slumping over lifeless.

  Glassy spaced out eyes stared back at Rodney, and he had to look away. Maura had held him and his brother in some trance, but now it had weakened enough for Rodney at least to feel some kind of remorse for her prey.

  When Maura finally let the body fall her skin and hair had regained some of its youthfulness, but not enough. She was still grotesque; even Axel cringed a little as she reached for him. Still he went to her, and Rodney shook his head before leaving the room. There was no way Rodney could stomach what was about to happen. His brother had it the worst at the moment, but her hold over him was stronger.

  The longer they stayed, the harder it would be to get away. Even starved and crazed she was regaining her power every time she fed, and it wouldn’t be long before she regained enough of her faculties to put Rodney back in her thrall. If it weren’t for Axel, Rodney would have already taken all the money and made a run for it. He loved his brother, but sometimes he was a major burden. He had to handle the situation delicately if he were going to get himself and his brother out alive.

  Molly frowned as she surveyed her half empty club. News of Maura lurking in the area had severely deterred the vampire community in the area. Even Brody had distanced himself from her. She wanted to be pissed, but she couldn’t exactly blame them. Maura was a real piece of work and would surely be back to retaliate for Molly interrupting her curse. Molly hadn’t even realized what she was doing until it had happened. She’d come stumbling into the clearing just as Maura was casting her spell over Gretchen and Claude.

  There’d been a force field surrounding the pair and Molly had just reacted. Using her mind she’d latched on to Gretchen and somehow managed to shield her from whatever horrors Maura had in store for her. For all her efforts, all Molly got in return was two days of exhaustion and the complexion of a glow worm. The light had since dimmed, but was still enough to have people giving her a double take.

  At least Gretchen had been safe, and Molly had been able to locate her stud of a brother. If Shane hadn’t been present Molly probably would have stood gawking for a good hour before thinking to untie him. Now that he was awake maybe she should do the neighborly thing and bring him a pie. Molly laughed out loud at the very inappropriate turn her thoughts had taken. She may be reckless, but she wasn’t stupid.

  Molly made her way over to the bar to check on things. With Gretchen taking care of her brother and Claude, she was out of a manager indefinitely. Still she held out hope that Gretchen would return soon, so i
nstead of hiring a replacement, Molly was taking a more hands on approach to her business.

  “Cheer up Boss. Just give it a few weeks and the blood suckers will be back.” Mack, the bartender, set a glass of red wine in front of her.

  He was human, but he knew a lot about the vampire world. Molly had never asked how or why, but today, it helped to have someone equally on the outside to commiserate with.

  “I’m not worried about them.”

  “News on the red says there’s going to be an official investigation by the Trues.”

  Molly rolled her eyes at Mack’s quirky slang for the vampire gossip network and the pure blood vampires. “As long as they don’t put a ban on my business they can do whatever the hell they want.”

  Mack leaned over the bar, getting real close to her. “I might have to take a vacation if they come.”

  Her eyes widened as she stared at Mack intently. She could read nothing other than human about him and given that he was cool about vampires he probably wasn’t a hunter. She decided to let the man have his secrets.

  “Fine just make sure you call in first. I don’t want to be short a bartender and manager.” Molly downed the rest of her drink and stalked off. She needed a vacation herself.

  The mansion had been a somber place since the fight. With Claude still unconscious and Maura still on the loose. Breakfast was more a time to plan than the family affair it had been just a few days before. Gregory had thankfully awaken shortly after arriving at the mansion, but hadn’t been thrilled about being a vampire. He mostly stayed locked in his room only opening the door for Gretchen.

  “Any luck tracking Maura?” Xander eyed Shane expectantly.

  Shane sighed and shook his head. “Nothing.”

  He took a sip of his breakfast. It was already beginning to cool and congeal. He pushed his mug away and focused on the stacks of documents they managed to retrieve from Maura’s lair.

  “Any idea what that light could have been?”

  Cat choked on her breakfast at Xander’s question. Sputtering and gasping for breath, tiny drops of blood sprinkled the counter in front of her. Xander patted her back as she gained her composure.

  “Seems like you have something to share.” Shane took a moment to study Cat.

  Ever since the fight she had been acting a little strange. She was wary of Molly when she came to visit, and Shane had caught them arguing a few times, but they’d both go silent as soon as he came near. Something was up with those too, but he would let it go for now.

  “I should go check on Gretchen. She gets so caught up taking care of Claude and her brother, sometimes she forgets to eat.” Cat stood, but Shane raised a hand to stop her.

  “No, I’ll go. I need to chat with her anyway. She is the only person, other than Claude, who knows what happened before we arrived.” He was out of his seat and down the hall before she could protest.

  Shane shook his head when he found Gretchen curled up next to Claude. He’d known it was only a matter of time before those two found the common ground of love between them. It was too bad Claude wasn’t able to enjoy it at the moment. He closed the door quietly and shuffled back to his room.

  He paused as he passed Molly’s empty room. She had insisted on staying at her condo, but she came to visit every night. They had worked well together the night of the fight. She hadn’t minded his touch as they’d helped Gretchen’s brother from his restraints. She had even smiled at him when they had returned safely to the mansion. It made his heart swell, and a smile graced his lips. Maybe there was some hope for them yet.

  Naked and exhausted Claude lay on a bed of needles. The only comfort in his living hell.

  Bright! So Bright! Endless...

  Claude’s self-defeating thoughts were cut short by the now familiar roar of his demon pursuer. Claude forced himself up onto his feet, the sharp gravel cutting into his skin with every move he made. The bed disappeared as if it were never there at all. Claude couldn’t be certain if he only dreamt that it appeared at all.

  He kept his eyes shut for a moment longer, the only respite from the glaring white light all around him. From where it came he had no idea, but it was everywhere in this torturous maze. The sound of heavy hooves crunching on gravel forced Claude to start moving.

  He cracked his eyes open wincing at the immediate sting of light glinting off gravel like polished glass. It was painful but not as harsh as looking ahead and into the direct rays of whatever blinding light source was there.

  Claude lurched forward his limbs weak and achy from countless hours of avoiding his tormentor. He stayed close to the bushy wall of the maze careful not to let his skin touch the deceptive feather soft foliage.

  A muted green it had felt wonderful to lean on, but Claude had learned his lesson quickly that everything here was meant to injure. After a few moments of rest, his skin had begun to tingle and then burn. Those soft shrubs were poisonous, just a brief minute of contact, and he’d lost half of his strength.

  Claude kept moving, turn after turn, dead end after dead end. The hooves got closer and the roar louder, more menacing. There was no place to hide. The jagged ground tore open his skin and left a marked trail of blood wherever he went. His only safe bet was to keep moving.

  The beast would stalk him until Claude could move no further and then Claude knew it would be his death. If only he could get out of this maze, but the maze was alive. Changing and adjusting to his every move. This place was to be his grave. The grave Maura had prepared for him.

  eternity

  Gregory lay huddled under the blankets of his borrowed bed. He was hiding like a coward from his new reality. He didn’t want to believe what Gretchen had told him, but he had no choice. There was no other explanation for what was going on with him. Well, except that maybe he had lost his ever loving mind. Right now, the only thing keeping him sane was his solitude.

  He didn’t want to meet the others, even if he could now hear them as they made their way around the house among other things. Gregory had heard a lot he hadn’t intended on hearing lately and light of any kind against his overly sensitive eyes had him screaming in agony. He’d thought having sand in the eyes sucked, but this, this was a million times worse.

  “You will get used to it,” a female voice said from outside his blanket shield.

  Gregory tensed as he knew the door to his room had been firmly shut and locked. There was no way anyone should have gotten into the room without him knowing. He slowly lowered the covers and for once in the last two days his eyes weren’t immediate balls of fire. Another shocker, the woman standing at the foot of his bed was beautiful. Not in the same way as the crazy lady that’d attacked him, but that didn’t stop his male appendage from reacting to the sight of her.

  She had long brunette hair that stopped just shy of her hips, a small heart-shaped face that sat upon a slim regal neck. She was small and in today’s standards a little on the heavy side, but to Gregory she was picture perfect. She had curves in all the right places. It was the innocence that radiated from her that made him feel like a lecher. The blush that crept to her cheeks had him looking away.

  “Who are you?”

  “That isn’t relevant. I just came to ease your transition. Maura will be coming after you again.” The woman moved around the bed and reached out to him.

  Instinctively he pulled away, but when her hand settled on his cheek, he felt instantly at ease. He could feel things shifting in his psyche as all sorts of new information became available to him. Even with everything else that was going on the warmth of her hand against his cheek felt a lot more intimate than it should. Greg’s thoughts turned to a sexual nature as he pictured her hand trailing down his cheek to his chest and even lower still until she grabbed his--the woman gasped and pulled her hand away.

  “I’m sorry,” he began and reached for her, but she disappeared into thin air.

  Startled Gregory jumped out of bed. Gretchen hadn’t mentioned anything about ghosts.

  C
laude fought back the panic rising in his chest as he stumbled and fell. His legs had given out and for the first time he was getting a full glimpse of his pursuer. First to round the corner was a massive pair of horns, nearly six foot long. Their sharp conical tips swooped down and then up again, as if to ensure maximum damage when used as a weapon, and Claude was sure that is what they were used as.

  Next came the real monstrosity. The face of a bull, torso of a man, and legs of a Shetland pony. Mottled shades of red and gray fur sprouting haphazardly across its form. The creature roared at the sight of Claude, who was now frozen in fear on the ground.

  The creature came closer, snot glistening and dripping from its snout it bared razor sharp teeth. Claude instinctively began to crawl backwards, adrenaline numbing the sharp cuts to his arms and legs. The demon lowered his horns and positioned his body to charge. It hoofed the ground kicking up gravel and dust.

  This is the end.

  Claude closed his eyes unwilling to see death coming. Sweat poured down his forehead as he waited.

  “Claude!” An angelic voice pierced the air around him.

  Claude’s heart sang as he recognized Gretchen’s voice. His eyes flew open in time to see his last chance at survival. The beast was startled by the voice and had turned away from Claude. Giving him mere seconds to make an escape.

  “Claude!” There it was again to his left. The poisonous bushes parted before him and he ran towards the sound of Gretchen’s pleading. A small part of him knew this was probably another sick joke, but his heart wanted to believe that Gretchen had somehow managed to find him and was here to help him get out.

  It was the chill that woke her. She’d felt safe and warm curled up next to Claude, but a sudden chill had jerked her from her rest. Claude lay completely still beside her his lips blue and his skin, cold as ice to the touch.