by R A Baker
He drank his juice and stood up, then walked over to me and whispered, “We have more than just that waiting for you.”
I shivered as his breath caressed my neck. “You do?” I couldn’t help it, the question just slipped out.
“Oh, yes, Katja. We have a whole list of things to show you.”
I gulped as I looked into his eyes. “I don’t think I want to know, Erick.” He chuckled deep in his chest and ran his hands across my shoulders. I leaned into his caresses. He massaged my shoulders and then my neck. I sighed as my muscles started to loosen.
His hands ran along my jaw and roughly tilted my head. “I could snap your neck.”
I struggled to move away from him but he held my neck tightly. “Erick?” He chuckled and it wasn’t Erick’s laugh. It was Cyril’s.
“Cyril?”
His hands stayed on my throat. “Oh, yes, slayer, it’s me. Your men are trying in vain to wake you but, as you know, these dreams are a tricky thing to master.” He dug his fingers into my throat. I choked as I tried to loosen his grip on my neck. “I’m coming for you, slayer.” He bit my cheek and then shoved me against the table.
Chapter Thirty-One
I woke up clawing and screaming in fear and pain. Trace and Erick had me by the waist and legs while Todd and Sven held my arms. “Let me go. I’m me. I’m awake.” They didn’t look sure. “Please?” I choked as my breath came in rasps. I must have been screaming for some time for my breath to be raspy.
They slowly released me. I sat up and put my hand to my throat. “What happened?”
“You fell asleep drinking your juice, Katja,” Erick said quietly.
“So, when you said there was a list of things that you guys were going to show me, was that in the dream?”
“No. That was real. You fell asleep shortly after. I carried you into bed and a few moments later you were screaming bloody murder. We couldn’t wake you.”
“It was Cyril. He just wanted me to know that he’s coming for us, me. It’s similar to the dream-things that Antreas used to bring me into.”
“He couldn’t hurt you outside of the dream,” Todd said.
“He could. But he never did. He loved me, I suppose, and wanted no physical harm to come to me.” I looked away from them. I didn’t want to think about Cyril or Antreas. Soon, Cyril would be old news too. I remembered Cyril biting me.
I ran my hand along my cheek and came away with blood. “Did I do this in my sleep?” Sven shook his head. My heart clenched in fear. He could harm me in the waking world. “He can harm me, guys. This proves it,” I held up my hand and showed them the blood and pointed to the mark Cyril had left on my cheek.
Sven came up to me. I flinched from him but he took me gently in his arms. He ran his tongue across my fingers and licked the blood off, then turned and licked my cheek, kissing the healed wound as he opened his arms for me to escape.
I stayed where I was but pulled back a fraction of an inch. “I’m sorry, Sven. I don’t mean to fear you but you are a vampire. I just figure if Cyril is the way he is then maybe you could be like that too.”
He averted his eyes but not fast enough for me to see the pain my words caused him. “I’m not like Cyril. I like humans. Just because I’m a vampire doesn’t mean that I want to harm you. I…” He paused and fiddled with the bedding. “I really like you guys. I hope to stay here for a long while.”
I slid from Sven’s lap and got off the bed. I took the jackets from the chair and huddled in it with my arms wrapped around my legs. I rested my chin on my knees and looked at my men. They were looking at me with worry. “I’m fine, guys.”
I stayed sitting in the chair for a few minutes and then walked into the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and cleaned myself up. I walked out of the bathroom and kept going. I wandered into the kitchen. I flipped the light on and found Thorn standing by the door.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I kept my voice quiet but I knew that Sven could hear me.
A moment later Sven, walked into the kitchen. I looked at him and asked, “Is this another of those dreams?” Sven shook his head.
“What are you doing here, Thorn?” Sven asked quietly. I think he was trying to keep his voice under control.
“I had to see you, Sven. I miss you.”
“Is this a trick, Thorn?” I spoke normally. I succeeded in keeping my voice neutral.
He looked at me and said, “No. I really do miss Sven. I miss having him beside me when I wake up.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Why are you here?” I stressed the words hoping he would fill us in.
“I left Cyril. For the moment at least. I had to see you, Sven.” He went down to one knee and bent his head.
Sven walked up to him and held Thorn’s head against his stomach. He petted him for a moment and then backed off. “Why would you leave me?” There was such emotion in his voice.
“I had to be with someone powerful. The girls here are lovely to look at but even you aren’t as powerful as Cyril. Katja and her men are strong but only together. If you split them up, they are just halves of a powerful base.”
“Maybe you should leave, Thorn,” I said. He looked at me with bright brown eyes, tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. Sven shot me a look that said I was being mean. I shrugged. It was his call. If he ended up dead it was his problem not mine.
My men walked in and stopped. They looked from me to Sven to Thorn. I shrugged again. There wasn’t much we could do for them. If Sven wanted Thorn here the only option we had was to kick them both out.
“Why is Thorn here?” Todd asked.
I shook my head. “He needed to see Sven. He left Cyril for the moment and came here.” I stopped talking as Sven held out his hand to Thorn. Thorn grabbed it like a lifeline and Sven pulled him into his arms.
I watched closely for any signs that Thorn was going for a weapon but he didn’t. He just held Sven tightly and started to shake. It took me a moment to realize that he was crying. I sighed. Sven was going to make a choice and that choice was going to affect us all. I groaned in my head at the thought.
I went to the fridge and grabbed beer for us humans and we sat at the table. We weren’t letting them out of our sight. Sven was sort of ours now. We had to protect him as best we could, but, in this instance, there was nothing we could do.
Thorn stopped shaking and clung to Sven tighter, if that was at all possible. A moment later Sven pulled back from Thorn. He led him to the table and made him sit with us. I gritted my teeth, angry to be so close to someone who had led murderers to me. I drank half my beer and then looked at Thorn. His head was down. He’d removed the green highlights and replaced them with red and purple.
“Tell them what you told me, Thorn.” Sven pulled on his hand. Thorn looked at us. His eyes were still watery. I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Cyril said that he was going to use one of you to do his bidding. One of you means, you, Katja, or your men. I suppose he knew that I would run away and has sent me as a warning.” He quickly said, “But I doubt it,” when we looked at him. He tried for convincing but it didn’t ring true to me.
“I don’t want to cause problems between the two of you so I won’t say what I truly want to.” I took a deep breath. “Sven if you want to go with Thorn, that’s up to you. If you want Thorn to stay here, it’s out of the question. Sven, I’d, we’d, like for you to stay but I understand if you don’t want to.”
He took a deep breath and kept his dark blue eyes on mine. “Can we keep him in the ‘dungeon’?” Hope lit Sven’s eyes as he watched me for a reaction.
I clenched my jaw tight and refused to respond at this moment because my immediate response was not kind. I kept my eyes on Sven’s even though I wanted to look at Todd. They were Todd’s vampires, or at least Sven was. “Todd?” I asked, even as I looked straight into Sven’s dark blue eyes.
“I don’t see the harm in having Thorn stay in the ‘dungeon’ for the night. If you, Sven, go down there dur
ing the night or day I will ask that you leave too, is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.” Sven’s blue eyes flashed with relief. His Thorn got to stay.
I frowned at him and said, “I really hope we don’t regret this decision.” I stood up and walked out of the room, taking my beer with me.
I walked into the sitting room and slouched on the couch. I looked out the big window. It was still dark out and I could see the stars twinkling in the sky. I drank the rest of my beer and put the bottle on the floor. After sighing a few times and then grumbling I curled up on my side and fell asleep.
>< ><
I blinked into sunlight. I cuddled under the afghan that someone had tossed over me and closed my eyes against the sun. I heard someone enter the room. I kept the blanket over my face. “Katja?” The voice belonged to Erick. I pulled the covers back and smiled up at him.
He sank to his knees beside me and gave me a light kiss on the lips. “Erick?”
“There’s been a development.”
Fuck. I sat up. “What’s happened?”
“It’s Thorn.”
I sighed and laid back down. “What’s happened?”
“He seems to be asking for amnesty.”
I rolled my eyes. “Talk to Todd. Thorn’s his vampire, not mine.”
“I have. Todd feels that you should be the one to speak with Thorn. Apparently Thorn won’t accept Todd’s decision without yours.”
“Really?” When Erick nodded, I sighed and got off the couch. Erick escorted me to the kitchen. I looked at Todd and grimaced. “What was your decision, Todd?”
“I’ve decided to let him have amnesty.”
I took a deep breath before saying, “Did you speak with Sven?”
“Yes. Sven knows that if we let Thorn into our group that we reserve the right to kill him if he turns on us again.” I nodded. Sven was in the room too. I crooked a finger at him and had him follow me into the basement.
We walked up to the holding cell. I looked in at Thorn. He was lying on the bed with his hands wrapped around his stomach like he was cold. Maybe he was. “Thorn.” He stood up and came up to the window. He placed his hand against the glass and then knelt onto one knee. “I hear you want amnesty?”
“Yes,” he said and bowed his head.
I wasn’t convinced of his innocents just because he was kneeling down. “You understand the rules as Todd explained them?”
“You reserve the right to kill me if I turn on you again.”
I nodded and added, “If you turn, you also forfeit Sven’s life.” He looked up at me. I could see fear darken his brown eyes. “Do you still want amnesty?”
He bowed his head and said, “I still ask for amnesty, yes.”
I listened to my inner thoughts, the ones that were saying don’t do this, for a few minutes, then said, “Fine. You will be on probationary lockdown. You will not be able to leave the premises. You will have someone with you at all times, that isn’t Beatrice. You will have no technology. If I catch you making a simple phone call you get tossed back into this cell. You will not be able to carry any firearms or weapons, that is to include steak knives or kitchen knives, is that clear?” I suppose stating simply obvious things helped me.
He looked up at me. “Yes, I understand.”
“There’s more.” He waited expectantly. “You will be able to visit Sven with a chaperone. I know that Charles has been around vampires who have had other than heterosexual relationships, so he will be your chaperone. If you so much as argue with me or my men I’ll toss you back into this cell personally.” I was being unusually hard on him but I wanted to make sure that everything was covered. Of course, not everything will be covered but the basics that I could think of on the spot should be.
“Is there any other rules that you see fit to impose upon me?”
I thought about it for a moment. “Yes. Blood. You may take your fill from the people of this house, if they allow it. Or Todd can gather some source blood for you. If you have a problem with that, take it up with someone who isn’t mean and cruel.” I waited a moment and thought further. I was sure I was missing something.
“If you are contacted by Cyril for any reason you will immediately report what happened to one of us that isn’t Sven or Beatrice. I would prefer you talk with me or my men about any encounters you may have with Cyril.” I hesitated for a moment. I didn’t want to call it good yet.
“Okay, that’s all I have for now. If I see that you require more instruction then I will inform you before I take action. Oh, and if any of my people are physically harmed by you, I will take action without discussing it with anyone, do you understand?”
Sven piped in at that moment. “Don’t you think you’re being a bit rough on him?”
I turned to him and held back my anger. “I wouldn’t say that if I were you. He tried to take my life on two separate occasions. If it had been you, you’d have probably killed the person by now. I’m doing you a favor by not killing him.” I turned back to Thorn. “Do you understand?”
“I do, mistress.”
I cringed at the term. “Katja will do.” He bowed his head. “Stand up and face the far wall.” He didn’t ask questions he just did it. I tapped in the code for the lock and heard the hydraulic latch hiss air and the door popped open.
“Keep facing the wall.” I searched Thorn for any weapons or technology. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Charles, I just wanted to make sure for myself. “You’re good. You can leave.” I walked behind him, and Sven and I escorted him out of the basement.
Beatrice was waiting for us to appear. She launched into Thorn’s arms. He caught her and held her against him. She squealed like a little girl with a new doll. I rolled my eyes and walked out of the room. I left them in the capable hands of Todd and Charles.
I went into my bedroom and found Trace and Erick lying on the bed. They were about a foot apart and asleep. I crawled into bed with them and snuggled up.
I relaxed for twenty minutes and realized I hadn’t told them anything about the rules. I heaved a sigh and kissed Trace and Erick awake. They stretched and smiled at me.
“Come on, I have to tell everyone the rules about Thorn.”
They sighed and got out of bed with me. We followed the loud talking to the sitting room. Everyone was in the room listening to, and asking questions, of Thorn. I waited until a break and then interrupted.
“I’m going to explain the rules about Thorn. Beatrice, this definitely means you.” I laid out the rules. Beatrice had a few snide comments for me but Thorn hushed her. “Does anyone have a question?”
Beatrice stood up and said, “You’re being mean to Thorn.”
I clenched my fists to hold back the well of anger at her behavior. “Regardless of me being mean to Thorn, are there any real questions?” I looked around the room. “No? Okay, then. Have a good rest of the day.” And with that I walked out of the room. They went back to talking loudly.
I grimaced as I walked into the kitchen. I was pacing when my men came into the room, that didn’t include Sven, which I was grateful for. “Are you okay, Kat?” Todd asked softly.
“Not really.” I continued to pace and clench my fists. I was steamed at Beatrice and I didn’t know how to correct the issue.
This time Erick asked the question, “Do you want to talk about it?”
I shot him a look and went back to wearing a hole in my kitchen floor. “I don’t want to talk about it, no.”
“Kat,” Todd started as he took me into his arms. I fought against him but my heart wasn’t in it. I wanted to be held. “She’s young. She’ll learn.”
This time I did fight. He let me go. “Yeah, and in the process of learning she’ll tear everything we’ve worked hard for apart. I’m about ready to toss her on her ass and let her find out what it’s like out there without protection…” I stopped. This was ridiculous. I got to the meat of my thoughts with, “Is there any way to send her back to the grave?”
A gasp came fro
m the kitchen door. Great, it was Ardeness. “Yes?” She bowed gracefully and walked out of the room. I looked at Todd and then Erick. “Is there a way to put her back in the grave?” They shrugged. “I take it the only way to send her back would be if I killed her or she died, right?” They nodded solemnly. I couldn’t kill her even if I wanted to. When she gets hurt deep enough I feel every bit of it. I learned that when we went up against Antreas. I felt all of their pain.
Thorn walked in at that moment. He bowed from the waist and said, “I beg your pardon, Katja.”
I sneered at him but hid it behind my hand. “What is it, Thorn?”
“I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation. Would it make it better if I cut ties with her?”
“No. She’d just blame me for it. Go…uh…be with her or whatever.” He bowed again and then walked out of the room. I sighed and sank into one of the chairs at the table.
A moment later, Sven walked into the room. I looked up at him and stifled my anger. It wasn’t his fault that Thorn was who he was, or Beatrice was acting like a child. He sat down on the chair opposite me. I stewed a moment and then stood up and grabbed a beer from the fridge. It was probably too early to drink but, at this moment, I didn’t care. I was pretty sure I wasn’t an alcoholic but who knows.
I popped the metal cap as I sat back down. “Why do you want to send Beatrice back to the grave?”
I blew out a breath. “I don’t really want to. I was just blowing off steam. She’s like a teenager and Thorn is her forbidden boyfriend or something.” Sven chuckled. “Don’t you want to be with Thorn, Sven?”
His face blanked. “We’re taking a moment from each other.”
“What does that mean?”
Erick spoke up. “I believe Sven and Thorn have taken time apart.”
“You mean, you split up? As in, broke up?” I couldn’t conceal my dismay. I had taken pains to keep Thorn alive for Sven and this is what happens?
Sven looked at the table and then into my eyes. “I have found someone who makes me entirely happy. I love Thorn, yes, but I’ve found a place to be happy.” I stifled a groan. It wasn’t that I didn’t want Sven because I did. It was more that I had kept Thorn alive so he could have his beau back.