Defender's Blood The Return (An Urban Fantasy)

by A. K. Michaels

  Conall moved to engage the winged beings and Zach went to help – as his son made contact with the smaller of the two it's attention was broken and James, Dmitri and Alex were released from the intense pain.

  Alex started fighting with Andre – although in a limited manner due to his hold on her. She managed to grab one of his hands and broke his thumb – pulling it back and hearing it crack!

  Alex tried to get lose – she tried to throw Andre off – but he held her as if she was in a vice and she could barely move! The pain in her neck and shoulders was so bad she thought she had broken something. She gasped trying to get enough oxygen in – and a thought went through her head – she wished vampires were like the books she had read as a child! Not needing to breathe, all being able to disappear and appear at will! In the next second she was shocked at herself – how had her brain started to think such stupid thoughts in the midst of a fight!

  Lexi moved with such speed nobody saw where she was going or what she was going to do. Then she placed her hands on the larger of the two beings – and it fell to it's knees – the roar from it's throat hurting everyone's eardrums.

  The huge Fallen Angel fell forward – unable to move and it's eyes closed as if unconscious Lexi jumped out of it's way – and looked to the second Fallen in the room. Conall moved back slightly – to give Lexi room to get to it and it disappeared – just before Lexi could touch it!

  As it was gone Lexi turned to Andre – who still held her mother – and walked slowly towards him. Her anger was nearly overwhelming her senses - “Let her go!” she screamed and Andre laughed once more before he was gone! Taking Alex with him!

  “NOOOOO!” Zach roared and ran to the spot his mate had been – his head was flying right and left – hoping to get a sense of where he had taken his love. Nothing, there was nothing, no sense – not of Andre and he also could no longer sense Alexina!

  The next instant Michael appeared with two other Angels. They took hold of the Fallen one who was still on the floor and grabbed hold of him and disappeared. Less than a second later Michael was back, moving to Lexi – cupping her face with his hand - “Are you ok? What's wrong?” he asked, feeling her anger, her fear – feelings were coming from her that he hadn't felt before!

  Lexi's face was desolate as she spoke “Mother – he took my mum!” she whimpered and Michael looked about the room as if just seeing Zach and the rest! “What are you doing here?” he spat out and Zach marched to stand in front of him - “Don't fucking use that tone with me Angel! We were following a vampire – he's been taking girls and they don't get home! We had him here with those two girls ...” Zach pointed to Tammy and Jenny on the floor - “and then these fucking Fallen appear – then the vamp up and moves with my wife in his fucking arms! Now tell me – can you help or not? If not get the fuck outta here!” Zach was roaring – and Jenny was cowering into a corner of the sofa having moved from the floor, pulling Tammy with her!

  Michael looked down at Zach and then into Lexi's fear stricken face - “Hold on.” the Angel said and left – Zach cursed loudly and Conall moved over beside his father. “Try to stay calm dad – we can't help her if we don't.” Conall said and Zach looked at him – ready to tell him to fuck off!

  Then his centuries of training kicked in – Conall was right. Zach worked hard to relax his body and get his mind to think. Just as he was getting somewhere, some semblance of order in his brain, Michael reappeared.

  The huge Angel was right next to Lexi and Zach noticed his hand resting on Lexi's back – it looked – what? Protective? Or was it more like possessive?!

  Anyway, the Angel started talking - “Ok that one has been processed – the vampire was getting them girls to try to mate with. He's been doing it for a long time – over one hundred......” and Dmitri interrupted - “What?! Over one hundred girls he's handed over to those things?” the large Russian shouted his question.

  Michael moved his eyes to take in Dmitri and the look in them quieted the large vampire instantly. “Yes – over a hundred – he only uses this place to hand over the girls. He doesn't stay here. They think he has a place in Europe that's his base. With regard to the girls, so far they have not been successful – apparently few survive the actual mating itself – once the Fallen have released their hold on their emotions and become sexually active – well to say that they can't control themselves is an understatement! The actual coupling is so fierce that most die either during or shortly afterwards. The few that didn't die the first time usually do the second or third time. Seemingly they are trying to leave the ones that survive the first time alone – to see if they are indeed pregnant. If they are not then they are subjected to another coupling – and they usually don't survive it. They want more and more females – thinking that if they do it often enough one will become impregnated. Their reasoning is flawed, of course, but it seems to be all that they are interested in at the moment – obsessed is a better word. The vampire hands over at least one a night from this location and he has others working for him – some in the US others all over the world. They have recently upped their numbers so that they are handing over around twenty a night. The Fallen appear and take the girls then move back to the realm they have hidden in. They pay in diamonds – something which is easy for one of us to produce. We will try and get more information out of the one we have just taken but I'm sceptical there will be any more he can tell us. The vampire has been very secretive – Lexi, if you need me just call.” Michael finished and was now looking directly at Lexi. She smiled at him and nodded – he was gone in the next second.

  Soft crying broke into Zach's mind and he turned around – Jenny was sobbing – Tammy looked to be coming around slowly. “Shit – we need to get these two to a hospital – James.....” and Conall broke in - “I'll do it.” he said and walked over – his hands out in front of him, palms up – trying not to scare Jenny who was staring at him wide eyed. “It's ok – I won't hurt you.” Conall said and as soon as he was in touching distance he let his hand fall onto Jenny's head – all three vanished from the room. A minute or so later he came back – into a full blown argument!

  “No – dad you need to go home – Conall and I will search for mum – if we locate her we'll come get you but for now – go home, to the hotel or whatever, but please let us do this on our own. I don't want to hurt you but you'll just get in our way – hold us up!” Lexi's voice was raised and Conall had never heard her talk like that before!

  Zach was shaking his head - “Lexi – I need to do something!” he shouted back. Dmitri moved over - “Zach – why don't we search this place – see if there's any leads as to where he's gone? Then we can take it back to the hotel and set up the laptops – get to work. By the way – how are you feeling?” Dmitri finished and Zach knew why he was asking - “Dmitri I'm fine – just feel a bit off that's all.” Zach answered – if he was separated from his mate for long they would both get ill, they would die if not reunited!

  Conall and Lexi stepped forward and placed their arms around their father - “We'll find her dad – and when we do we'll come get you – promise.” Lexi said quietly and Zach knew she was right. He had to let them do what they thought they could. Christ – they were far more powerful than he – he would do what he could too and hopefully they would locate Alexina soon. He didn't want to think of the alternative!

  He had lied to Dmitri – he didn't feel a bit off – not at all – he felt terrible. His skin felt as if it was on fire and his head throbbed – they had to find his mate soon – as powerful as he was, if he felt this bad he could only guess how bad Alexina felt!

  Zach took a deep breath - “Ok Lexi you and Conall do what you need to do – we'll check here – meet you back at the hotel – I'm not going anywhere unless it's to your mother.” Zach finished with a firm voice – Conall and Lexi didn't say anything, they just moved – to where, none of them knew.

  Dmitri started tearing the place apart, James phoned Lisa on his mobile telli
ng her they would be out soon. He didn't tell her about Alex – he would do that when he was near enough to take her in his arms. He knew it would hit her hard.

  Simeon started to help Dmitri and winced – Zach noticed - “Simeon are you ok?” he asked and Simeon gave a small smile - “I'll be fine, when we get back to our rooms I'll feed, most of my ribs are broken – that fucker is really strong Zach – nobody has hurt me like that before.” Simeon finished with a slightly worried look on his face. Zach guessed that Simeon had never came across someone as old as Andre – apart from him that was, and he had definitely never fought Simeon, so the younger vamp would not know the extent of his powers.

  Zach nodded - “Ok – take small shallow breaths – it will help with the pain until you heal – we won't be long here.” he said and Simeon just carried on with Dmitri looking for any kind of clue. They hunted for a while but found nothing – Zach was getting frustrated and grabbed a sofa and pushed with all his might – it went flying across the room and thumped loudly as it hit the wall, the back of the sofa crumpled and plaster fell off the wall. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying hard not to lose control. As he slowly opened his eyes something shiny caught his eye – he bent down and picked it up – it was a phone!

  Zach's heart sped up - “Simeon – do you still have your phone?” he asked and Simeon hunted in his pockets – pulling out his mobile. Zach looked at the phone in his hand – it had plaster from the walls over it and the screen looked to be cracked slightly. He hoped it still worked.

  Dmitri came over - “Is that Andre's phone?” the large Russian asked Zach - “Hope so.” Zach answered and turned the phone on – the screen lit up – and Zach began to get excited! Once the phone was powered up he started to check it – for texts, calls, browsing history – it was not in English and he was getting more and more annoyed!

  James stood in front of Zach – who raised his head to meet James' eyes - “Come on – there's nothing else here – we'll go back to the hotel and deal with the phone. We can use the laptop for language recognition and hopefully get some intel.” James spoke with a calm voice which broke through to Zach - “Ok – let's go.” Zach replied and they all left the the room – which now resembled a war zone.

  Zach bent down and retrieved the dart gun that he had dropped earlier – placing it in his pocket and hoping he would get the chance to use it.

  As they neared the vehicles Lisa jumped out – running to James - “Are you ok?” she asked breathlessly and James nodded - “Yes – Simeon's got some broken ribs but he'll heal and quicker once he gets some blood back at the hotel.” Lisa looked over to Simeon and saw him walking gingerly, trying not to jostle his ribs.

  Lisa looked at everyone, trying to convince herself they were all ok. James had been guiding her back to the SUV and she stopped dead – her head whipping around - “Where's Alex?” she asked fearfully and James's arm tightened around her making her move forward once more.

  Zach and Simeon got in one SUV – Simeon in the driver's seat and Dmitri walked to the other vehicle. Dmitri glanced back at James and Lisa and got in to drive – he thought James would be taking Lisa into the back seat!

  Dmitri was right – James almost pulled Lisa into the vehicle – and she was struggling - “I said – WHERE'S ALEX!” she shouted and James held her tight - “She was taken – Andre is far more powerful than we thought – he can move like Zach can – he took Alex with him.” James told his mate who started shaking - “No – that can't be – nobody knows of anyone else that can do that! James – how could this happen?” Lisa asked as she fought for control of her eyes – tears were there but she refused to let them fall.

  James shook his head - “We don't know – this guy has been so far under the radar that we didn't have a clue – we didn't know how old he was or how powerful. It was Andre that broke Simeon's ribs – he only pushed him – but the force was so much that he flew backwards and his bones broke! We have to find him and fast – we all know what'll happen to Zach and Alex if we don't. So, Lisa, we need to be calm, we need to work this and fast so try and stay calm. Alex needs you Lisa – ok?” James finished and saw that his mate had got herself under control – he was proud of her – this was her first mission and it had gone wrong – badly wrong!

  Lisa straightened herself in the seat - “Ok – so what's the plan?” she asked and James smiled - “Well we found Andre's phone – it's all in a foreign language – we didn't look too hard so not sure what one yet. We needed to get back to the hotel, Simeon needs blood and we need the laptops. I'm not as good as Alex or Vlad but I'm pretty good so hopefully we'll get something useful. Lexi and Conall …........” Lisa interrupted James.

  “What? Lexi and Conall?” she queried and James realised that he hadn't told her everything. “Ok – here's what happened............” and James told her everything – by the end of it her eyes were wide. “The Angel Michael and Fallen ones?! Shit – yet again I didn't get to see him!” she whined and James laughed - “Trust me – he wasn't in a good mood and Angel's when they're angry are just plain scary!” James told her but she still looked pissed off!

  Lisa thought on all that James had said – she knew Lexi and Conall were very powerful – she hoped they could find Alex. Fast! Then a thought struck her - “Do they know?” she asked and James raised an eyebrow in question - “I mean – do they know what'll happen to Alex and Zach if they don't find Alex?” she restated her question. James looked thoughtful - “I'm not sure – maybe?” he said and Lisa hoped they did – it might just make all the difference.

  Chapter 24

  Very soon they were back in the busy strip of Vegas and once more handed the vehicles over to the valets. They made their way quickly to their floor and all congregated in Zach's suite. James got the laptop up and running and Zach placed the phone down – the texts messages were there – if only they could read them.

  Zach could read and speak German fluently, he was passable in both French and Spanish too – this language looked vaguely familiar but his brain seemed foggy – he was finding it hard to concentrate!

  Lisa went through to Dmitri's suite and brought Simeon a package of donor blood – which the Guard took gratefully. Once he started he didn't stop until it was done – he needed it to heal. Once he was finished he sat down and waited on his body to start mending itself. It was slightly painful but a welcome pain – soon he would be fighting fit again!

  James shouted - “Italian! It's Italian.” and Zach realised that was why it was familiar – he knew a little Italian but not a lot. “Can you do an online translation of the texts?” Zach asked and James was nodding - “Yea – might take a while to do them all but …....” and Lisa stopped him - “James – I can do it.” she said and everyone turned to look at her.

  She blushed slightly at the scrutiny but continued on - “I speak Italian – I love languages so I learnt all I could – French, Spanish, Italian, a little German and a little Russian. Give me the phone.” and she held her hand out – James passed it to her and they all waited.

  Lisa started scrolling through the phone – after a few minutes she spoke - “Ok – the texts are mostly between Andre and his Second – someone named Marcello – basic stuff – nothing too important. Andre has told Marcello he would be back at the Country House – that's what he calls it – at about two am and he was to have at least three females waiting for him. He wants humans – or so he says here. There are numerous calls to an Italian landline too – possibly the house he talks about. The most important thing tho is the number – it has the prefix for Italy and the local area code – James – here – put this number in on the laptop – we should get an address.” Lisa finished and handed the phone back to James. He was smiling widely – Lisa was doing ok on her first official mission!

  After several tries and a phone call to Vlad they had the address – it was in a remote area of the country and was indeed a large Country House. There was acres of land around it an
d nothing else even close to it. Just the place for an old vampire to keep off the radar!

  Zach was itching to get there, however, he was feeling worse by the minute. He knew he wouldn't be able to move there under his own power! This made him mad as hell and he cursed under his breath.

  Dmitri was looking at him intently and Zach guessed he looked as bad as he felt! “I think you should sit down Zach.” Dmitri said and Lisa whirled round – moving to take Zach's arm and leading him to a chair. Zach let her – mainly because he wasn't sure he had the strength to argue! Once he was sitting down he tried to take a deep breath and it only resulted in him coughing – something he hadn't done since he was turned vampire!

  Lisa was kneeling in front of him - “Zach – can we do anything?” she asked and Zach shook his head – which resulted in severe pain radiating from his head and down the back of his neck! Shit, he needed to get to Alex soon!

  Simeon was watching closely and he thought Zach looked like hell – he had never seen a vampire look ill – hurt in fights or battles yes – but ill – never! It worried him immensely and he didn't know what to do!

  Lisa looked up at the ceiling - “Conall – Lexi – we need you here – now!” she shouted out in a very loud voice and everyone looked at her as if she was mad! “What?” she said - “They might be listening.” she finished and looked a bit sheepish – maybe it was a daft notion!

  She looked to Zach - “You call them Zach – I'm sure they'll hear you.” she said and Zach wasn't sure – it seemed a bit silly to him! He felt so bad tho that he gave it a try - “Conall Lexi – come here.” Zach tried for a loud shout but it came out so much less than that. His strength was going fast now – and his only worry was for Alex! If he felt this bad she would be feeling worse!

  A moment later the twins arrived – immediately in front of their father. As soon as they saw him they both fell to their knees - “Dad what's wrong?” Conall asked and the concern in his voice touched everyone in the room.